The Soul Keeper

Once again, we were sitting in the old watchtower, nibbling at some food and all in all, being worried and silent. Last night's operation had been quite a success – not only had we done it swiftly and with no errors, but it had also proved Lucius and Mona's strengths.

Yet not everything was going perfect. While none of the Ereth had escaped and alerted Baile Chailce, it hadn't taken the Divines long to respond to our attack. While we had escaped unseen, we now were forced to lay low since Ereth patrols were basically everywhere.

With only one week until the war officially began, I knew we didn't have the luxury to wait until things died down. 

The Demon Lord's words came to my mind. I shivered – I had to somehow destroy the other remaining pillars before the fighting began.

"Hey," I glanced at Asher, who seemed lost in though. I blinked a couple of times as my voice pulled him back to the present, then shot me a curious glance. "What is it?" He asked, putting his small notebook away.

"One week." I said, choosing my words carefully. "Can we destroy the two remaining Divine Pillars in that time?"

His brows furrowed as he remained silent for a good few seconds. "It's tough." He finally said with a low voice. It was clear that he didn't think it was possible. "We would need to strike the first one, then use the chaos that creates to quickly take down the second one." 

I tilted my head. "We can do that – we have the means to get from one to the other quickly."

"You can't go somewhere via a rift if you haven't been there before, remember?" Mona chimed in. "And if we use Asher's spell to fly, that's a good chunk of his mana gone. And there's no way I can carry all of you and Laura and Theresa."

I shook my head. "What if I go there before we strike? I can stay hidden, just scout the place out. That way, I can open a rift there once we're done with the first Pillar too." I suggested.

Asher was quick to shoot down my suggestion. "No! Don't rush it, Kai. If we do that, we're going to be at half mana for the second Pillar at best. And I'm not even counting how painful it is for you to destroy the damn things." 

I averted my gaze. It didn't matter whether it was painful or not – I couldn't afford to let it matter. I needed, I absolutely needed to destroy the remaining two pillars this week. Six more days was all I had, or…

"Why are you in such a hurry anyways?" Mona asked. She got up from her chair and approached me. "You were the one who said we needed to be careful, what changed?"

I hesitated. I couldn't tell them the truth. "I feel like the war is very near." I carefully spoke. "Once the actual battles begin, there is no way we can even get close to the front lines and I'm sure as hell those Pillars will be protected." I made a vague gesture with no real meaning, just trying to buy some time to find some more believable lies.

"The demons know the Ereth need the Pillars to fight." I explained. "And the Ereth know that the Demons know. The whole war will revolve around the pillars. Now, I'm a hundred percent sure that there are more Pillars – no way the Ereth made only these three."

Lucius nodded. "Yeah, and the more the Demons need to split up their forces, the weaker their whole formation will become. They don't have Divines, or anyone with power equivalent to them – Maybe aside from the Demon Lord – so they probably don't want to fight a scattered war."

"That's true." Asher mumbled. "They already don't have the best chances, considering Aelith's power." He glanced at me. "Do you think we should help them like this?" 

I took a deep breath. "Yes." I spoke. "We already know the Demons aren't as evil as we thought they are. At least, we know for sure they aren't the aggressors here." My expression darkened. "And… I don't want to let Aelith and the other Divine walk away with what they've done to me."

Lucius flinched. "Alina and Joshua too, I suppose?" He asked hesitantly. I met his gaze and nodded. 

"I understand." Asher spoke after a few seconds of heavy silence. "You're right – we don't want the demons to lose here. And yes, we can't let them walk away with what they've done to you, as well as Samantha." He glanced at Mona. "Do you agree?"

The druid didn't hesitate. "What they did to Samantha was unforgivable. And killing you – neither I nor Laura and Theresa intend to let them get away with it. I don't care as much about Divine Matriarch Aelith's actions, but Alina… I trusted her. She has to pay for what she has done, same for Joshua." Her voice didn't falter, and expression showed nothing but determination. "We have to do this."

I smiled. "Thank you," It was tough to speak, knowing I was lying to them. "We are strong enough to destroy one pillar – we just proved that last night. Taking on both Divine Pillars in one night though…" I shook my head. "Asher is right, it's going to be tough, at best."

"Laura and Theresa should be back tomorrow morning," Mona suggested. "That makes two more. I know you haven't really seen them fight too much, but they're as strong as me, if not stronger. Theresa is an amazing archer."

I nodded. "I wouldn't doubt it." I glanced at Asher and Lucius. "I can ask Rina and Alex for help. I know they will come."

Asher's eyes lit up. "That actually makes quite the strong team." He mumbled as he pulled up his map. "We can exchange roles, even." He tilted his head. "What is Laura's specialty?" He asked, glancing at Mona.

The druid hesitated. "Well… She's good with a greatsword and her magic is all about enchanting and supporting her allies and debuffing the enemies." She glanced at Asher. "Why?"

"We could have her support Alex and Lucius during the first battle, so Rina and I can conserve our mana. I know for sure the second fight will be tougher, reinforcements will surely arrive soon after we do. We will need to conserve as much mana as we can to hold them off, while also making sure we keep supporting Theresa, Lucius, Asher and you." He glanced at me. "I don't think I'll be able to give you as much aid as I did last night."

I nodded. "It's fine – I can take care of myself. I have a few tricks up my sleeve still." 

Mona giggled while Lucius rolled his eyes. "Don't get cocky, Kai." He chimed in. "All this is useless if any one of us dies, remember?"

I chuckled. "I know. I have the most tools to escape, I have my own magic, my knowledge, my wings, and the souls to heal and protect me if need be. I'm not speaking lightly, believe me."

Lucius looked at me for a few more seconds before nodding. "Good. Now, when do we strike, when do we get Alex and Rina to come here and what exactly is our plan?"

"That's a lot to plan." I mumbled as I pushed myself up. "We should wait for Theresa, Laura, Rina and Alex to get here before we think too far ahead. They know their own abilities and limits best, and we will need everyone at their best for this to work." I stepped towards the door. 

"Where are you going?" Asher asked, somewhat confused. 

"The river. I need wash this dirt off me."

Mona laughed and headed up the stairs. "I'll go nap." 

"You scared her off." Lucius chuckled. "But that's not a bad idea. You look like you haven't bathed in a year."

I rolled my eyes. "Want to exaggerate more?" I asked with a grin. "Anyways, I'll be in the woods." With that, I left the building and ran towards the spot where the river met the forest. 

Being out in the open would be dumb since there were Ereth patrols everywhere. The cover of the trees, however, was more than enough to hide from them. 

I took my clothes off and stepped into the icy cold water. It was somewhat surprising that the water was so cold despite being so far away from the mountains. I submerged myself and let the flowing water wash away the dirt, dust and sweat of battle. 

It was too bad that it couldn't wash away my worries and troubles too, but still, it did help me relax a bit. 

I felt a soul stir within my chest all of a sudden. Was there a threat nearby? I motioned to swim back up to the surface, but suddenly, my head spun. I felt something – someone – touch my mind. My vision darkened before I could try to protect myself.