The Soul Keeper

Victoria left soon after we discussed our plan, along with Asher. I, on the other hand, opened a rift and left the vicinity of Baile Chailce. Asher had his own ways of returning and Victoria wasn't going to join us back at base quite yet.

I stepped out of the rift in a familiar place. A circular, grassy area in the middle of a thick forest. The entrance to Fetheion's home was right behind me. Taking a deep breath, I stepped towards the door and opened it.

It creaked open, slowly. I stayed there and listened for a while. I waited, hoping to hear anything. Footsteps, the sound of doors closing or someone moving inside… Yet, I heard nothing.

With slow, careful steps, I walked through the door and down the stairs, the through the narrow hallway with doors on both sides. I stopped and checked every room, slowly making my way to the library. With each room I checked that was empty, my shoulders dropped a little more.

Where was Fetheion? Where had he gone to, if not back here, to his home? He did say he didn't have any family left. All I knew was his sister, who was gone. She had passed, I was sure. That was what his expression implied when we spoke about her.

Then, if not family, where could he have gone? Did he even have anyone else he could trust? I didn't think so. I pondered a while, more then decided to check his desk to see if I could find any clues on one of those documents.

As soon as I directed my gaze on the desk, I felt nothing but despair. It was a mess. A horrible mess. Looking at the piles of documents, my shoulders dropped. How was I supposed to find anything in there?

With a sigh, I got to work.

I scoured through the documents one by one, growing sleepier with each passing hour. There were maps, records of old legends, letters… All kinds of things were in these piles. Yet, nothing to indicate a goal, a destination, a hideout.

I gritted my teeth as I threw the last piece of paper on the desk. "Damn it Fetheion, where the hell did you go?" I hissed through my gritted teeth. I pushed myself up from the chair and hurried to his room. I barged inside and headed right down to the secret room – his workshop, or whatever it was supposed to be.

As I descended the stairs, I felt more annoyed than anything. How dare he just up and disappear like that without telling me a single thing? We had just escaped the Demon Lord when we last spoke. Didn't he think I'd worry at all? I clenched my fists. It was partially his fault that I ran into the Demon Lord anyways. I was sure as hell going to bug him about that once I found him.

The workshop lit up as soon as I stepped inside. I narrowed my eyes as the runes on the ground and the walls let out a soft shine, illuminating the room gently. I didn't remember this from the last time I was in here. In fact, I was sure it was Fetheion who had cast a spell to create light.

With furrowed brows, I looked around. Had something change since I was last here? 

The answer became clear very quickly. Yes, something had indeed changed, I thought to myself as my gaze focused on the shelves on my left, by the couches. I distinctly remembered them being filled with notebooks and other things before. Now, they were empty, save for a couple of loose, torn pieces of paper.

I approached the shelves. What were these smaller pieces of paper left on the topmost shelf? Despite my height, I could just barely reach them. I finally caught the corner of one of them and pulled it down. 

The paper itself felt odd, even before I glanced at its contents. It felt as if it was luminated. Too smooth, too clear. Not at all like normal paper. One side of it was empty, with nothing written on it. I furrowed my brows as I turned it to look at the other side.

I nearly dropped it as my gaze fell upon it; a crystal clear image of a cliff face. I knew exactly what this was – it was a photograph. The result of technology. Something of my world – of the real world. 

It was so out of place here that I couldn't help but just stare at it blankly for a while. 

No wonder the paper felt off, like it was luminated. It wasn't normal paper; it was the type of paper that photos were printed on! 

What was this doing here? How had it even ended up here? 

Questions whirled in my mind as I shook my head in disbelief. What was I supposed to make of this? I lowered myself onto the couch as I stared at the photo. I forced myself to actually look at it, rather staring blankly.

The cliff wasn't just any cliff. It had a distinct shape – it looked as if something was carved onto it. I narrowed my eyes and looked closely. A circle, with some vague symbols around and inside it.

"The hell is this…" I mumbled as I tried to make out what those symbols were. They were for sure not demonic, and they didn't look like any other language I knew either. Where was this cliff? It kind of reminded me of the cliffs back home, but there was no symbol like this carved onto any of them. I and the rest of the world would know it if there was.

I continued staring at the photo. Where had Fetheion gotten this from? 

Thoughts and theories were all I had. I glanced at the remaining few pieces of paper at the top shelf. Could they shed some light to this mystery? I got up, then reached and grabbed them. As soon as my fingers touched them, I knew none of them were photos. 

Some pages with scribbles on it. Names of locations, a simple sketch of what looked like the Divine Pillar in Baile Chailce and a torn piece of paper with a list written on it. None of these answered my questions. 

I fought against the urge to crumple these and placed them on the low desk. I needed to find out where Fetheion had gone to, how he had gotten a photograph and why he hadn't told me of it.

I put the photo into my inventory, then let my gaze wander around the room. Was there anything I had missed? Any other changes?

Sure enough, there were. The weapons on the walls were also gone. I clenched my fists. What the hell was that all about? Fetheion didn't need weapons – his own magic and that weird shifting weapon was more than enough to make him a formidable foe. So, why had he taken all of these?

Or was it not Fetheion who took these? Had demons come in here and taken them? But that wouldn't make any sense either – what use would demons have for these weapons?

I looked around one last time, then headed outside. My mind was filled with questions and I simply couldn't get that photo out of my mind. Those cliffs, the clear image… Nothing could make me believe that wasn't an actual real photograph. 

I sat on the grass outside as the sun began to set. I needed some rest, even if it was just for a little bit, I needed to just stop and watch the sky. Organise my thoughts and clear my mind a little. I couldn't get anything done with the chaos in my head right now. 

I got back up on my feet only after dusk. Assuming the form of the corrupted demon, I opened a rift back to my predecessor's home – our new base. I passed through with ease as usual and as soon as I was out of the rift, let go of the demon's form. I didn't want Dorith to have any more effect on me than necessary.

I sighed and pushed that thought out of my mind. Now wasn't the time to worry about it. Instead, I headed inside. As I pushed the wooden door open, the warm, welcoming air of the common room surprised me.

The burning fireplace was emitting a nice, comfortable warmth. A few soft lights were illuminating the interior, which also looked different than before. The previously wooden benches and chairs were now covered with soft, much more comfortable looking fur.

Theresa and Laura were sitting by the table right to the left of the entrance. Theresa was reading something, while Laura browsed her interface, probably looking for something. Mona was asleep on one of the benches.

"Welcome back," Laura said with a low, soft voice as I closed the door behind me. She gestured me to come and have a seat. "How did it go? Is the plan in motion?"