The Soul Keeper

"His name shall not be spoken until he walks upon these lands once more…" I whispered to myself, then sighed and looked up at the sky. Oh, how annoyed I felt right now. I wanted to punch Fetheion in the face – how dare he say something like that to me, knowing what it meant?

Once the Keeper of Soul walked on this world again, my soul would be who knows where. I knew I wasn't going to keep this body – all I could hope was that the Demon Lord's words were true and we'd all be freed, sent home, back to the real world. 

Asher believed him. Not because he trusted the Demon Lord, but because it made sense to him. And considering Asher's profession as a lead game developer, I trusted his judgement. He had way more experience than me, it was right to follow his lead.

My attention turned to the door as it creaked open.

"I'm done." Fetheion said as he stepped out of his house. It was his idea to come here after I asked him the name of my predecessor. He said wanted to get a few things he hadn't gotten the chance to take before. I just thought that he wanted to see his home once more before this whole war began. 

Who knew when he'd get to come back here again? Or if he would even survive the upcoming hardships. I hoped he would, despite knowing that I'd no longer be in this world. Despite his usually annoying and bossing demeanour, I believed him to be a good person at heart. It would be a pity if he died, especially in Aelith or Uriithe's hands.

"Let's get going," I said with a sigh as I pushed myself up from the grass covered surface. "You should know," I added as he prepared his spell again. "Erik, Vincent and Victoria are also there. Asher made sure none of the Divines were watching them."

Fetheion's eyes widened. "He did? What about their minds? Some of them have mastered subtly controlling the minds of others. Aelith tried it on you, so you should know." 

I nodded. "Erik was affected, I think." I sighed. "Asher got rid of that too, but I'd appreciate if you could take a look at them too. Just in case."

Fetheion smiled. "Of course," He said as his shadowy magic enveloped us. 

I felt dizzy for a moment as the ground shifted beneath my feet. I could almost feel us moving through space. Then, then his magic dissolved, revealing the grasslands cut in half by the shallow yet wide river right by my predecessor's old home.

"He loved this place," Fetheion mumbled as he looked at the small keep. "You fixed some of it." He added as he glanced at the not as ruined barn, windows, and roof.

"Laura and the others did." I said with a chuckle. "The interior is actually comfortable now. Not at all like when me and Asher first found it."

He laughed. "I'm glad they did," He approached the entrance, and I followed him. It was mere minutes before dawn now. While I was sure Erik and Vincent were deep asleep, Asher was probably about to wake up.

We stepped inside.

"It's…" Fetheion's voice faded as his gaze wandered about the common room. There was a book on one of the low tables. It was probably the one Lucius was reading. Two glasses, one half full of water were on the counter. I could see the few pillows and pelts tossed on the couch.

"Cosy." I said with a smile as I sat on the couch I usually did. "The study is mostly untouched. We cleaned it up a bit but didn't displace anything. We did read most of his notes though," I added after a moment's hesitation.

"I doubt you found anything useful," Fetheion sighed. "He never kept anything important on paper. Perks of a perfect memory, I suppose."

I raised my brows. "What do you mean?"

Fetheion shook his head. "All I know is that he never forgot anything. Ever." 

"I envy that," I said with a smile. "But anyways, I'll prepare breakfast. You, uh, do whatever suits you, I guess."

"A walk sounds nice," Fetheion said with a bitter smile. I nodded and he quickly left through the front door. 

I headed to the kitchen and started preparing a nice, yet simple breakfast. Midway through, I heard footsteps at the entrance and glanced there, only to see Mona.

"He's back." She said as she looked out the windows. "Let me guess, he never said what he was busy doing."

I shook my head. "You're spot on."

"He changed the subject when you pressed, and in the end, you told him more than he told you?" She shot me a glance. I couldn't help but smile as I noticed her mischievous smile.

"Bullseye." I chuckled. "It's fine though, he's here to help, nothing more, nothing less." 

"That's the way I like it." She giggled, then came into the kitchen. "Let me help," She said as she also got to work.

We chatted a while as we prepared the breakfast, then Mona sprinted upstairs to wake people up as the first rays of sunlight entered through the windows. As we all sat down by the larger table, I could feel Fetheion outside. He wasn't hiding his presence – I wondered why.

"You seem nervous." Victoria's words startled me. She shot a meaningful look at my fingers as I tapped them on my arm.

"Ah," I said as I clenched my hand into a fist. "Sorry." She was right, I was nervous. The war was going to begin today. Probably at dusk. 

"A lot happened in the last few days." I said with a sigh as the door swung open and Fetheion stepped inside. "A lot will continue to happen in the upcoming days as well," I added.

"Indeed," Asher said as he glanced at the Divine. "Thirteenth Divine," He said with a formal tone. "We request you help in the upcoming days."

Fetheion's eyes glittered. Was that excitement? Anticipation of battle? 

He looked at each and every one of us. I could feel it – he was checking if anyone here was affected by the magic of other Divines. Only once he was convinced that we were all ourselves did he nod.

"Tonight, the Demon Lord will begin his assault on the Ereth forces." He declared. "And the following will happen;"