The Soul Keeper

I ran outside and circled the whole place, checking every single spot I knew they liked to hang out in. The lake was empty, the fallen tree behind the nearby hill was empty… No one was around.

Exhausted and worried, I collapsed on the grassy ground by the door. Where the hell could they have possibly gone to? I saw no signs of battle – everything was intact, nothing was out of place. This couldn't be the result of an attack, could it?

I shook my head. I honestly had no clue. If it was so, then the only person I could think of that could make all of them disappear was the Demon Lord. Only he was so strong that a fight wouldn't take place. But… there were no bodies either and I knew the Demon Lord didn't care about the clean up after killing his enemies.

That meant they were still alive, right? It had to mean that. So, the next question was, where the hell had they gone?

If I were going on with the assumption that the Demon Lord found them, then only Fetheion could have gotten everyone out of here. Now, where would he take them?

The first place to pop into my head was the field of flowers. I quickly shook my head – that made no sense. It was inside demon territory and it wasn't a place the Divine would want to disturb. The same could be said about my predecessor's tomb – Fetheion wouldn't go back there.

Perhaps he didn't think of anything, I thought to myself. If he did the exact same thing as he had done just this morning, as in, teleporting everyone out as fast as possible, there was a chance he didn't think of anywhere.

So, where could they have ended up if that were the case?

I pushed myself up and used Soul's Aspect again, assuming the form of the corrupted demon, then quickly opened a rift. While the rift appeared at the tip of my claw like fingers, I furrowed my brows. Why was I facing such resistance from it? I fed a little bit more mana into it and then sighed a breath of relief as it finally grew large enough for me to pass through.

I stepped through it and came out on the other side – I was in the same spot Fetheion had taken us as we escaped.

"Welp," I mumbled as I looked at the trampled grass around me. "I guess I was right." Despite my somewhat lighthearted words, I felt incredibly relieved – it was clear they had come through here. But that also meant that they had indeed escaped from something.

I sighed and brushed my hair back with my fingers. "Damn…" I whispered as I scoured my surroundings. Where could they have gone to from here?

I didn't see any traces on the ground aside from my immediate surroundings. I took a deep breath and forced myself to focus again. What was the best course of action for them?

If they were escaping someone – the Demon Lord in this case – then the most sensible course of action would be to avoid leaving traces. Tracks on the ground, magical remnants, campfires… 

Fetheion would probably avoid using his magic as much as possible – his power was unique after all, it could probably be noticed fairly easily. Especially if someone was actively looking for it. Asher and Mona's powers were a different story though. As far as I knew, they didn't have anything too special going on.

The most sensible course of action would be for Asher to use his flight spell. He was strong enough to bring everyone with him and the spell itself left little to no traces behind. Another option would be for Mona to transform into a large bird and carry everyone, though I highly doubted she could carry so many people at once.

I gritted my teeth as I looked around. Wasn't there a way I could find out how they had left?

After pondering a while – and looking at my immediate surroundings in hopes of catching a glimpse of any magical remnants – I decided that I had no feasible way of finding out how they moved on from here. 

Instead, I decided to focus on where they might have gone. The Keeper's Tomb wasn't too far away from here, but again, it made no sense to go back there considering that was the place where we first had to escape from.

"Where could you have gone to?" I mumbled as I summoned my interface and checked my map.

There weren't many places that I could think of in the first place, and those that I could think about weren't nearby at all. It would take them hours, if not the whole day to get to most of them.

"Let's see," I mumbled as my gaze fell on Stonepatch Village. Mona, Laura, and Theresa had all been there before. They had their contacts, and it was a place where they could get supplies if needed. Fetheion, however, would probably want to avoid any Ereth-ruled places since he was basically in hiding as well.

The second spot I thought of was the safe alcove in the Torchlight Woods. While Asher and Lucius knew very little of the place – and Mona, Theresa and Laura knew nothing of it – I had told Fetheion quite a bit about it. Though, the place was too far from basically anywhere and they would be risking getting stuck in the woods if something blocked the mountain path again.

I pondered for a bit longer. I could honestly think of half a dozen ruins they could use to lay low for a while – it would take ages to search through every single one of them. I clenched my fists – I couldn't waste too much time here. The more I waited, the longer the list of possibilities became.

"Let's go one by one," I mumbled to myself in an attempt to defeat the deafening silence.

Taking a deep breath, I raised my hand, then stopped. Was it even a good idea to use a rift to travel? I gritted my teeth – I couldn't risk leaving a trail leading straight to Fetheion and the others, could I? With a deep sigh, I ended Soul's Aspect. No, I couldn't take that chance – I had my wings to carry me – I'd lose nothing but time by flying.

My wings appeared on my back as I leapt into the air. I flew up, then aligned myself to face the direction where Stonepatch Village was. It was far away – several hours of flight at the very least, more if I wasted any time. On the way there, a single ruin came to mind that they could have chosen to hide in. I ought to check that as well, I thought to myself.

And such, my rather long and tedious journey to Stonepatch Village began. 

As I flew over the grasslands, I couldn't help but feel more worried and anxious as time passed. Not using my rifts to move around suddenly slowed me down so much! What if something happens to them by the time I find them?

I beat my wings faster, pushing myself to my limits. The ruin I was thinking about wasn't too far away. While I hadn't been there, I did remember Mona, Laura and Theresa talk about it a while back. They had explored it, then left. They knew it was a safe place.

The ruin entered my view soon, and I only needed a few moments to determine that Fetheion and the others had not come here. The place was filled with spiders.

Disgusted and reminded of my experience of another ruined building that happened to have spiers in it too, I didn't hesitate at all as I continued on my journey. I never wanted to see spiders in my life again. Ever.

By the time I reached Stonepatch Village, the sun had already set and only the stars were illuminating the land. I touched the ground on the hill overlooking the village. Could they have come here, I wondered? 

I didn't dare approach it, if any Ereth spotted me, Aelith and the other Divines would know I had survived. I gritted my teeth – Fetheion had similar worries as me, right? I couldn't think of a world where he would risk getting recognised. Even if Mona and the others entered the village, he wouldn't have followed them.

What safe places were there nearby that he could spend the night at?

The only place I could think of was the alcove – my safe place. He knew of it, I had told him about it in great detail, and the demons or Ereth knew nothing of it. Sure, it wasn't cosy, and it didn't provide much protection from the elements, but it was hidden and out of the way. 

Deciding to check on the place, I leapt into the air once more.

It took me mere minutes to reach the alcove – I knew the Torchlight Woods like the back of my hand after all. I landed at the entrance – the crack in the tall cliff, hidden from view by vines and bushes. 

I stepped through the crack and into the alcove. 

"Fetheion?" I called the Divine's name, hoping I'd see him here. The place seemed empty under the bright light of the crystals illuminating the place. I walked further inside, to the edge of the lake. My shoulders dropped as it became clear as day – the Divine wasn't here either.

I took a deep breath and turned to leave but froze mid step as a figure I knew all to well blocked my path. His shining purple eyes met mine as his lips formed a faint, deadly smile.