The Soul Keeper

"So…" Laura glanced around the now crowded common room. "We're a lot of people now, apparently." She mumbled.

All of us were sitting in the common room; Asher, Lucius, Mona, Theresa, Laura, Rina, Alex, and me. Suddenly, the room seemed much smaller and felt a lot more cramped than it did just yesterday.

"You could say that." Rina glanced around, clearly somewhat confused. "So, why are we here, exactly? What are we planning?"

Asher took a deep breath and got up from his seat.

"I'll explain," He summoned his interface and navigated to the map panel. "Here and here," He pointed at where the two remaining Divine Pillars were. "There are…" As he began explaining everything we knew, my gaze wandered around the room.

Everyone was focused. Everyone was giving him their full attention – even Mona. Asher's speech giving skills were surprisingly high, considering his job before we all ended up here. Did a game developer need such charms?

Despite his talent, it took him nearly half an hour to brief everyone. There was much to speak about after all. Once he was done, he gestured at Rina. "I'd like to know everyone's abilities before we even start planning for the actual battles. Could you give us a brief explanation?"

Rina nodded, and started detailing her abilities and spells. She had a surprising number of skills, since her explanation seemed endless at some point. After her, it was Laura's and Mona's turn. Asher kept his own abilities to himself, and I didn't have much to tell either. What I could do was already well known to these people.

"We've got quite the line-up." Alex said once the last person was done speaking. "But so do the Ereth, don't they?"

I nodded. "Their inquisitors are quite powerful – we can't afford to underestimate them. Dealing with one of them is a challenge already and I'm certain they will have more of them on the field after what happened to the Pillar."

"We can handle them with the eight of us," Rina said, the glanced at me. "But what if there is a Divine there?"

I shook my head. "They wouldn't risk that." I replied, pointing at Asher's map. "Two Divine Pillars are surely not all they have left – if they're preparing for war, they will be keeping their strongest people for the actual battle." I clenched my fist, hidden under my cloak. "They won't risk letting one of their own running into the Demon Lord."

Asher nodded. "They wouldn't take such a huge risk. We know no one Divine is a match for the Demon Lord, and they know it too."

Rina seemed somewhat doubtful, but she nodded anyways. "Alright. So, you want to strike both Pillars the same night?" 

"If we don't do that, we'll never get to destroy the third one. They'd put a small army there to defend it." Lucius explained. "This way, we can catch them off guard."

Alex seemed to agree as she nodded. Rina still seemed to have her doubts, but before she could say anything more, Lucius spoke again. "I do have something I want to add though," He said, glancing at me and Asher. "I think we need to contact our other allies before we set off to do this."

Asher tilted his head slightly. "Which other allies?"

"Luhen, for one." Mona chimed in. I nodded. "He did say there were those who wanted to help us, to be rid of Aelith and her allies." I added.

"My little network is sure to be useful too." Lucius suggested. "I know they're not as powerful as we are, but they are trustworthy, and they work well together."

I was actually somewhat hesitant on this one. I didn't want word of my survival to get out, especially among players because it would increase the chances of Alina and Joshua learning about it.

"I don't know…" I mumbled.

"They don't need to know the details." Lucius added, seeing my hesitation. All they need to know is where to be and when to be there."

"Let them know that they should prepare to gather here." Asher said. He glanced at me. "Kai, we can't afford to be on our own once the war begins. There is no guarantee that Fetheion will make it back in time."

I gritted my teeth but nodded. "Fine." I knew he had a point, no matter how much I disliked the idea.

"One more thing." Lucius spoke, this time with a lot more hesitation in his voice. "I think we should contact Victoria."

I flinched, along with basically everyone else in the room.

"Victoria Kestler?" I asked to clarify. "Joshua's and Vincent's relative?"

The young swordsman nodded. "Yes, her."

"Are you out of your mind?" Mona asked, finally shaking off her shock. "What if she tells Alina and Joshua? Those two would immediately tell the Divine and I can guarantee there would be several Divines waiting for us at the Pillars."

Asher nodded. "That's really not the best idea, Lucius. We can't take such a huge risk – not right now."

I didn't speak – I was listening to everyone while thoughts swirled in my head. Lucius had brought up something I had been thinking about for a while now. Players were the Ereth's trump card against the demons. They didn't need the power of Divine Pillars to fight, so they could be sent to construct more, scout outside their range and… basically do many more things.

And two of those players were Erik and Vincent. Blinded by Alina, I was sure they were doing everything in their power to 'avenge' me. Because as far as they knew, a demon had killed me. Such was the Divine Matriarch's declaration, after all. 

What had me somewhat worried was that those two would be sent to the frontlines as soon as the fighting began. The demons would show to mercy to them – Erik and Vincent stood no chance against the likes of Vixia or Delthur, let alone the Demon Lord himself. They would die – for ever. 

"But we have to at least try!" Lucius continued arguing as his louder voice pulled me back to the present. "What if she does want to help us. You know better than anyone how powerful of an ally she can be with the connections and resources she has!" He glared at me. It took me a split second to understand his words were directed at me.

"You do have a point." I said hesitantly.

"Not you too, Kai!" Mona cried out. "You already suffered so much because of Alina and Joshua. I don't want to see something similar happen to you again." 

"I get where you're coming from," I said, shooting a quick glance at her, "But I do have a reason for saying this. Once the war begins, the players will be sent to the front lines, I know it. We all do. I couldn't care less about what happens to Alina and Joshua, but I wouldn't want to see Erik and Vincent hurt because of those two traitors." I looked away. "Victoria could help us get them away from those two."

Asher ran his hand through his hair as he pondered. "Well…" He mumbled. "It would be bad if Erik died." He glanced at me. "Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't want anything to happen to either of them, but Erik will be an important witness in the real world." His expression darkened as his eyes sparkled with… revenge? "He will testify against his father."

"What makes you think he will do that?" Rina asked. "I don't know the guy too well, but it's his dad we're talking about."

"Don't worry about that. I'll make sure he does." Asher glanced at me. "So yes, what Kai said is actually rather important and I'm somewhat ashamed I didn't think of it earlier. We absolutely must ensure the survival of those two."

"Both of them?" Alex asked. "What made you change your mind?"

"It's for Samantha's death, isn't it?" I asked. Asher nodded. "They need to testify. Just freeing ourselves from this game isn't enough. We need to make sure people are held accountable for what they've done, for as far as we know, death has very real consequences."

I shrugged. "I wouldn't know…"

Mona chuckled. "Well… You might be an exception to that."

"Only thanks to Fetheion." Lucius chimed in. "Speaking of, we should try to locate him as well." 

Asher nodded. "Yes, but let's do it one at a time. Victoria comes first – Kai, the two of us should get a bit closer to Baile Chailce tomorrow."

"Is that really a good idea?" I asked, somewhat hesitantly. I didn't want to get too close to the city because I was almost certain that the Divine Pillar there was special – what if it caused Aelith to become aware of me?

"Don't worry," Asher's lips formed an almost wicked smile. "Not a soul will know we're there."

For some reason, his words gave me little reassurance.