The Soul Keeper

They both fell into silence as my question remained hanging in the air. 

"I see," I finally said after enough time passed. "That's fine,"

Was I disappointed? No, not really. I expected this – at no point had I thought that they could fight against their old friends, members of their family. But they didn't need to know that I was simply testing the waters, seeing how far I could push them.

"Sorry, Kai." Vincent mumbled as I turned my back on them and let my gaze wander around.

"It's fine." I said, then turned to face them with a smile. "Nothing to worry about."

I would have said more, but a familiar feeling stopped me. As the blood drained from my face, I turned away from them and looked at my left palm. I could feel the power pulsating within – the power given to me by the Demon Lord.

"Why don't you two go back inside?" I said with a fake smile. "I want to check our surroundings a bit, make sure no Ereth patrols are nearby."

Erik nodded. Vincent looked at me as if he wanted to say something, but then changed his mind. "Yeah, sure." He hesitated. "Be careful."

"Always," I lied as I grinned. I stretched my wings, then leapt into the air and flew off.

Only once I was far enough away did I let my expression change into something dark. Dark and filled with fear. What the hell was going on? Why was the Demon Lord so close by?

I gritted my teeth and followed where that power led me to. I wouldn't dare anger him now, not when everyone I cared about was finally reunited. Not just before the war began. 

The pulsating power led me over the forest, to a rather tall hill. I landed at its peak and looked around. There was no soul in sight. No demon, no Ereth… Not even any animals. I glanced at my hand again. Had I misunderstood? 

"We meet again," An intoxicating voice sounded from behind me. "Kai Friseal."

I took a deep breath. "Yeah," I said as I turned to face her. "Vixia, what do I owe the pleasure to?" I glared at her. Had she summoned me or was the Demon Lord nearby? I would like to believe that I would at least sense his power if he were close by, but there was no way to be sure.

"To my Lord, as always." She showed me a small, black crystal. "He has prepared a gift just for you." Her lips formed a wicked smile as she handed the crystal to me. "It's a compass, one that points to the Exiled Divine." She turned her back on me. "Be grateful."

I clenched my fists. "Thank you for delivering it." I hissed through my gritted teeth. She chuckled before stretching her wings and flying off.

Once she was gone, I sighed a breath of relief. Despite knowing that she wasn't here to kill me, I couldn't help but be anxious. She had made me suffer way too often in the past.

After calming down a bit, I glanced at the black crystal she'd given me. I could feel the Demon Lord's power within it. "Damn, that guy is strong." I mumbled to myself. The only silvery area on the crystal pointed north. I placed the thumb sized crystal in my pocket and stretched my wings.

As much as I wanted to immediately follow Fetheion's lead, I knew I had to let at least Asher know. There was a good chance that I wouldn't make it back before dinner and the last thing I wanted was to cause a panic.

I flew back to the building and quickly headed to the library. Alex and Rina were chatting with Victoria in the common room. Seeing me in a hurry, they shot me some worried glances. I showed them a reassuring smile, then hurried up to the library.

As I barged inside, Asher nearly fell off his seat. "God, you scared me!" He exclaimed, clearly startled. "What's wrong?" He asked, seeing me in a hurry. His tone of voice changed immediately.

"I just had a chat with Vixia," I said with a sigh, then explained what transpired just a few moments ago. "I'm going after him." I finished my words by declaring that.

Asher furrowed his brows. It didn't take more than a glance to see that he didn't like this idea too much. "Where is the crystal pointing to?"

I took it out of my pocket. "North." I said with a shrug. "So, I'll fly, I guess." I hesitated. Despite my usual speed, it could take a very long time to reach Fetheion. "I'll go to his house with a rift, then fly." I corrected myself.

Asher sighed. "I would like to come with you," He said after a moment. "But I would only slow you down." 

I smiled. "It's fine, I can make it on my own." I glanced at the door. "Besides, we do need someone sensible to stay behind and take care of everyone here."

Asher chuckled as I waved and left.

As I walked down the stairs, I stopped to talk with Rina. "I'll be gone for a bit, might not make it back in time for dinner. Don't panic though, it's nothing dangerous."

The green haired wizard nodded, though the worry in her eyes didn't disappear. "Where to?" Asked Alex. I chuckled. "Looking for something, don't worry about it." With that, I left in a hurry.

As soon as I stepped outside, I assumed the corrupted demon's form with Soul's Aspect and opened a rift to Fetheion's house. I stepped through the rift and took a deep breath as my surroundings changed to another familiar scene.

"Alright," I mumbled as I let go of the transformation. "Where the hell are, Fetheion?" I took the crystal out of my pocket and glanced at it. The white glow on it was once again pointing north. I furrowed my brows. What was north of here?

With some confusion in my mind, I opened my interface and navigated to the map panel.

"A lot, apparently." I mumbled as I looked over at the map. I hadn't gone too much north from here before, but looking at it, I could see with ease that the demon lands stretched quite far. The world was massive, and I had seen only a fraction of it.

"Great," I mumbled, then stretched my wings and leapt high into the air. My wings carried me north as I watched the increasingly wild lands below. Every couple of minutes, I would glance at the crystal, only to see it still pointing north.

"Damn it, Fetheion." I mumbled. He had chosen the worst time to disappear on me like this. The endgame was near – we needed him to be present. He wanted to save my predecessor's soul, didn't he? 

I flew, farther and farther away from the lands I knew, over the unfamiliar mountains and much darker forests. I knew this was deep in Demon territory. If I didn't have this deal with the Demon Lord, I wouldn't dare fly so openly here.

A while passed as my annoyance continued to rise. I glanced at my map again – was Fetheion on the edge of the continent or what? 

Come dusk, I still hadn't arrived at Fetheion's location. Feeling somewhat tired, I descended towards the earth and landed on a tall hill with a few trees on top. A couple hours of rest were what I needed, though I wasn't stupid enough to fall asleep in such foreign lands. So, I leaned my back on a tree and watched the sunset. Two hours, I told myself as darkness covered the world and the stars glittered in the skies above.

Some time passed as I rested my body. About two hours later, I forced myself to get up and stretched my wings. I wanted nothing more to open a rift back home and sleep in a comfy bed, but tomorrow was the final day before the fighting began. I couldn't waste this night by sleeping.

Taking a deep breath, I leapt into the air once more and continued my journey.

Soon, however, my flight was rudely interrupted by a very loud, very aggressive shriek. I paused in confusion and looked around; I didn't feel any powerful creatures around. I couldn't see anything that could make such a noise either. I paused and listened. The shriek sounded one more – it was also coming from the north.

"I swear Fetheion," I hissed as I continued my flight. "If I have to fight the source of that noise to get to you, you're in a lot of trouble." As soon as I spoke, the shriek sounded again. I clenched my fists – what the hell could be making such a sound?

I glanced at the crystal again, and nearly dropped the crystal as I noticed the glowing white area had grown larger and was glowing brighter. "Got you!" I grinned as I flew down. 

Soon, I landed on the ground.

My gaze wondered on the field of flowers. The Starsnatchers swayed gently with the wind as my gaze fell upon a cloaked figure in the distance.