The Soul Keeper

"Ready?" Fetheion asked as I approached him. After finishing my training, I had washed myself again, then came back to the opening just to find him there, waiting.

I nodded. "Do you want me to open a rift?" I asked. He shook his head. "I'll take us there," He said as his power whirled around us. I tilted my head as I watched the darkness whirl around us, forming a sphere. 

A few moments later, the darkness scattered. 

"I think you got the wrong place," I mumbled as I looked at the field of flowers before us. It stretched as far as the eye could see. To my left, I noticed a pond, with waterlilies on its surface.

"No, we're just stopping here for a moment." The crimson haired Divine stepped forward and walked among the flowers. "These are called starsnatchers." He said with a faint smile. "Pick one – a single one that calls to you."

I tilted my head in confusion. "What do you mean 'calls to me'?" 

"You'll know when you hear it." He said with a faint smile. "Just walk for a bit. Be careful not to step on any."

I did as he said, swallowing the many questions I had. It seemed as if this place and these flowers meant something to him. I could wait to satisfy my curiosity until we were on our way again. As I walked among the white flowers, I couldn't help but feel the serenity of this place. There was no sound aside from the rustle of our clothes as we walked.

A few minutes passed, with no flower 'calling' to me. I slowly became hesitant. Perhaps the flowers only cared about the Ereth?

I was about to give up when I heard a very faint sound. If I were to describe it, I'd call it the rustle of leaves. Yet, there was no wind to rustle the plants around us. Slightly confused, I looked around, only to see a particular flower moving ever so slightly, swaying in the non-existent wind.

I glanced at Fetheion, intending to as whether this was what he meant, but I stopped myself. He seemed lost in memories as he gently picked a flower. I took a deep breath, then used a small knife to cut the stem of the flower. 

When I returned to Fetheion's side, he only showed a bitter smile before his power enveloped us and took us away from this serene, beautiful place.

When his power scattered again, we found ourselves facing the cave leading to the valley, where the Keeper's tomb and the gargantuan snake was.

"Keep that flower safe," He said with a low voice. He stepped inside the cave, and I was quick to follow him. I used Soul's Aspect as we approached the other end of the cave. 

"The place is ruined," I mumbled as the valley stretched before us. The ground was overturned, the blue grass mostly trampled over or just gone. Seeing the result of our desperate attempt to escape from the creature, I couldn't help but feel somewhat guilty. The once peaceful aura of this place had been destroyed.

"It's fine," Fetheion said. "Soon, that monster will find its peace." He motioned to step forward, but I quickly grabbed his arm.

"Wait." He shot me a surprised glance. I took a breath before trying to explain. "I don't know if I can take in a soul as powerful as that of the snake."

The Divine shook his head. "You don't need to worry about that. I'll make sure nothing happens to you."

With those words, he shook my hand off and stepped out of the cave, to the valley.

As soon as his feet touched the trampled blue grass, the ground shook. The snake slowly lifted its head off the ground, shaking off what little earth remained on it.

As it focused it's gaze on Fetheion, I noticed how it moved its head. It was hiding one of its eyes from view. Was the eye I stabbed still wounded?

"And now, you die." Fetheion's words echoed. I flinched as I felt his magic for a split second. I watched him, expecting him to release a spell, but instead, the creature simply hissed and… fell.

"What…?" I whispered as the massive snake's head hit the ground with a loud thud. The ground shook one last time before silence covered the valley."

"I simply removed the curse cast upon it." Fetheion glanced at me. "If I were to fight it via normal means, I would have had quite some trouble." He showed a faint smile. "Come," He gestured me to follow him, then approached the giant beast.

I gulped, then slowly followed him. His explanation didn't really help much, as I assumed removing such a powerful curse was incredibly difficult in its own right. "How did you remove the curse so easily?" I asked.

"It was a curse made so the Demons couldn't remove it. Any Ereth, no matter how weak, could have removed the curse." He looked at me. "You wouldn't have been able to, no matter how powerful you were."

"I see," I mumbled, then took a deep breath to reset my focus. "What now?" I asked.

"You have a soul to take in, don't you?" He asked, gesturing at the giant snake. I gulped, that wasn't a soul I wanted to take in. As it slowly separated from its body and floated towards me, it took nearly all of my courage to just stand there and wait for it.

I felt cold, freezing cold, as it slowly melted into my chest. 

"Ah," I felt my head spin. "I don't… this wasn't a good idea." I mumbled as I quickly leaned on a nearby rock. I waited for the memories to come rushing in, but none came. Instead, I felt my stomach churn. "Damn it…"

Where were the memories? Why wasn't I seeing them? Wasn't the whole goal of this journey to learn who had cursed the snake? Was all of that in vain?

"Kai?" I head Fetheion's voice from the distance. "Have some water," he said as he gave me a bottle. I took a sip. The icy cold water calmed my stomach a little. Slowly but surely, my head stopped spinning and my blurry vision returned to normal.

"No memories, huh?" The Divine asked as I took deep breaths to calm myself. I shook my head. "Sorry," I whispered. I knew how much this meant for him. How deeply he cared about his friend – my predecessor. "Maybe I'll see them in my dreams."

"Perhaps." He said, though I could hear it in his voice that he didn't believe his words one bit. "Come, let's pay our respects."

We walked to the building at the centre of the valley. As we stepped inside, our steps slowed until we stopped a few steps away from the sarcophagus.

Fetheion hesitated for a moment, then stepped forward. He placed the flowers on the empty nameplate at the ground, then stepped back. I had to gather my courage to do the same. When I stepped back, Fetheion smiled. "Thanks," He said with a low voice. "For bearing with me on this."

I shook my head. "It's nothing worth mentioning." What else could I say?

He didn't respond. Instead, his gaze wondered around inside the building. "This place was beautiful once. Worthy to be the tomb of the Keeper of Souls." He whispered. "I am ashamed to have let it fall to such a state." 

"It's still beautiful," I said after a moment. "Sure, the buildings are ruined, and the snake did destroy most of the valley, but it was beautiful when we first came here." The memory was still fresh in my mind. Besides, considering the body this tomb belonged to was alive and the soul was taken away, did the tomb really matter anymore?

I glanced at Fetheion, who only smiled. I decided it would be best not to say what just came to my mind. Devaluing a place that mattered so much to him was one of the worst things I could do.

Instead, I pointed at the giant corpse of the snake. "I think the only potential issue it the corpse. It's huge and it will eventually begin to rot." The smell of such a gigantic rotting corpse would probably be enough to make this place inhabitable for at least a few decades. Maybe even more.

Fetheion chuckled. "I'll get rid of it." He glanced at me. "Normally, I wouldn't destroy it, but you're right. This will only damage this place." His voice was filled with sorrow, despite the smile on his face.

I wished he didn't try to keep up appearances like this. He wasn't the best at hiding his emotions.

He gestured me to follow him, then shot a final glance at the sarcophagus before heading outside. I followed him to the stairs. I had only taken one stop on the stairs when a familiar scent reached my nose.

The smell of hyacinth.