The Soul Keeper

I gritted my teeth and forced more power into the spell. The rift slowly formed at the tip of my claw-like fingers. As it slowly grew, Asher shot me a worried glance. "Are you ok? You look like you're having some trouble there."

I shook my head. "I'm just tired, don't worry." I lied, then pointed at the rift that was now just large enough to let them pass through. "Go on," I said.

Asher seemed hesitant; he probably had realised that something wasn't right. I glanced at Mona and urged her to pass through the rift. "I can't keep this open for long, I'm almost out of mana."

The tired druid nodded and passed through. Laura and Theresa were quick to follow her. Rina and Alex were next. They both seemed rather exhausted as they didn't even glance at the rest of us as they passed through. With every person who left this place, I felt a little more relieved. 

Now, the only people remaining were Asher and Lucius. "Well, go on." I said as I gestured at the rift. I could feel the resistance – it was at the brink of closing.

Lucius sighed. "You don't look too well, Kai." He mumbled. 

"I know, it's a bit difficult to keep the rift open, so could you go through? Please?" It took a lot of effort to not just shout at them. They were worried about me, it's just that the time they were taking right now was the source of my distress.

The young swordsman nodded and passed through, but Asher remained here. "Something's off, and I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what's going on." 

I flinched – not because of his words, but because the air seemed to grow colder. 

"Nothing's wrong, I'm just really exhausted. Can you just pass through so we can all get a good night's sleep?" I was going to say more, but the blonde sorcerer slapped my hand away from the rift.

The spell broke, and the rift closed without so much of a warning.

"What the hell are you doing?" I shouted, glaring at him. Had he any idea of what he had done? He might as well just doomed himself and even me to a terrible fate!

"Getting to the bottom of this!" He pointed at my left hand. "What the hell is that power, Kai?" He shouted. His eyes were filled with anger. 

I clenched my fists. "What are you talking about?" I shouted, desperately trying to mask my panic. "My god, Asher, did you have to destroy the rift?" I stepped back and turned away from him as the air only seemed to be growing colder. What the hell was I going to do now?

I knew this feeling; I had felt it before. I knew whose arrival all of this signified. The cold air, the difficulties I had with creating the rift… My mind was drifting into a panic – how was I going to get Asher to get the hell away from here?

"We can fly back, it's not that far." The sorcerer replied with a flat voice. "Now, are you going to tell me what the hell that was?" A glance at him showed how determined he was to get those answers.

I gritted my teeth – I didn't care anymore if he found out about what I had done, but I wasn't about to put him in danger, no matter what.

"Just leave, Asher." I said with a sigh. "Please. Leave it be, leave this place and give me a bit of time. Then, I'll explain everything, in as much detail as you want. Deal?"

The blonde sorcerer shook his head. "No, not deal." He folded his arms and glared at me. "You always say that – that you'll explain later, that you'll be fine, that nothing is wrong. Constantly lying, tricking Lucius and the others, I'm sick of this." He would probably talk more, but he stopped when he finally noticed the abnormally cold air. "What…?" He mumbled as he glanced around.

I froze in place I felt him approach. "Asher, leave. Now. Please." I glared at the blonde sorcerer, but he didn't seem to care much about my words. "What is this?" He asked as he motioned to release a bit of his magic to inspect the cold.

"Stop it and leave!" I shouted as I grabbed his arm. I pushed him away by his shoulders, ignoring his surprised expression. "Can't you trust me for once?"

His expression changed into a mixture of anger and annoyance. "What's going on, Kai?" He asked as he stepped back. 

I shook my head. How the hell was I even supposed to explain this to him?

"I can only give you the very short version." I warned him. I had given up on sending him away without an explanation. Once he had put his mind into something, it was impossible to convince him to do anything else.

"I'm listening." He said with a much calmer tone of voice. 

"The cold means the Demon Lord is about to arrive and if he sees you here, you're probably dead." I looked him dead in the eye as I spoke. It was almost funny how his expression changed from calm to shock, then disbelief and finally, fear.

"What?" Was all he could get out as his eyes widened. "Wait – really?" I noticed his hands shake as he looked around with fear. "What the hell are you still doing here then?" He shrieked.

"Waiting. You, however, really need to leave." I continued looking at him dead in the eye as his expression changed once more. "What are you talking about?" He shouted as he grabbed my arm in hopes of dragging me away. "You can't meet him – it's too dangerous!"

I chuckled. We were way past that point. "Asher, trust me and leave." I glanced at the far away hill from where he, Rina, and Laura had rained down their spells just before, during the battle. "The least you can do is wait there."

I could see the hesitation in his eyes. He bit his lower lip, clenched his fists, glared at me with a mix of emotions, then finally sighed.

"I want the long explanation as soon as he leaves." He said through his gritted teeth. I chuckled. "Sure, I can do that."

I watched as the blonde sorcerer slowly walked away, each step filled with second thoughts. Only once he was far enough away did I turn my back and walk towards the now broken down remnants of the Divine Pillar.

As soon as I was near the remains, time seemingly slowed down. I gritted my teeth and prepared myself for the Demon Lord's appearance.

You have broken your promise, gone back on your word. 

I gulped. Had I done such a thing? Yes, I had. Moments ago, to make sure Asher wasn't here when the Demon Lord arrived. 

Nothing to say? 

As the Demon Lord's voice echoed around me, he stepped out of a rift that appeared to my left. I took a deep breath but remained silent. There was no point in trying to lie, he probably had listened to our conversation anyways.

Your fears were unfounded, I had no intention of killing that man. 

His words quickly proved me right.

Well done, on destroying these pillars. The war is about to begin, and as such, your opportunity is close. Do not waste it, or I will make sure you regret it.

I nodded. "I won't waste it. And once I do," I raised my sight to meet his gaze. "Everything ends, am I right?"

His lips formed a wicked smile. He raised his hand and a black, shadowy power pulsated in his palm. I nervously watched him as the power in my own left hand pulsated along.

That is true, in a sense. In three days, the war will begin on the frontlines. On the fourth day, the Golden Witch and her subordinates will leave the Chalk City to face me in battle. That is when you move. 

His eyes focused on mine as his wicked smile only widened. I nodded. "I know. I'll be ready."

Make sure to let the exiled Divine know as well. I am certain he would prefer to be there.

I hesitated. Noticing my silence, the Demon Lord raised an eyebrow. 

Is something wrong?

I drew a short breath. "I'm not sure where he is. I haven't found him yet." I looked away – I would have preferred to keep that information to myself, but I didn't dare lie right now.

I see. 

He didn't seem too bothered by the fact that Fetheion was basically missing. But then again, why would he be? They weren't allies, after all.

Search for him.

His words were everything but helpful.

"I will." I said, still. I wasn't in a position to refuse. 

On the fourth day. Remember.

With that, he left.

I remained there for a bit, trying to gather my thoughts. Then, I unveiled my wings and flew to where Asher was waiting. As soon as I landed on the ground before him, he glared at me wide eyed.

"Kai, what the hell did you do?"