The Soul Keeper

"The battle will take place directly north of Baile Chailce." Fetheion raised his hand and a large map of the continent appeared. To my surprise, it was incomplete, unlike mine. He focused the map on the relevant area, then pointed at a shining circle at the bottom of it.

"This is the Chalk City." He said, then tapped three golden triangles north of it. "These three are newly created Divine Pillars. This triangle and its immediate surroundings are where the battle will take place."

Asher bit his lower lip. I could see how he was already trying to come up with plans. To my surprise, Victoria had the exact same intense gaze as him. 

"We have confirmation that the Demon Lord himself will join the battle, so I assume that most Ereth forces will be moved from Baile Chailce to this area by dawn." Fetheion continued. "During the day, the fighting should slow down. Demons are weaker under the sunlight and I'm sure they won't risk unnecessary deaths since the other side has basically no offense."

"What about the players?" Erik asked after a moment. "I know many who will fight by the Divines. They don't need support from the Divine Pillars, they can go on the offensive."

"And all they would find is their deaths." Mona cut him off. "I've seen demons, I highly doubt you did. They're at least as powerful as Kai was months ago." She glared at the paladin. "How many players can you count that can beat Kai in a fight?"

Erik hesitated while I sighed. "The point is," I joined the conversation. "Especially with the Demon Lord present, no player stands a chance. I've seen him kill a Divine with a single strike – she was as helpless as I was when it happened. Don't underestimate him."

Fetheion nodded. "The most non Ereth fighters can be is an annoyance. Nothing more."

Coming from him, those words sounded somewhat cocky. If I didn't know him, I wouldn't have thought he was telling the truth. "He's right," I said after a moment's hesitation. I didn't want Erik and Vincent to underestimate any demon. Especially not the Demon Lord.

"So, the Ereth have quite a bit of trouble." Vincent mumbled. "Do they even stand a chance?"

Fetheion shook his head. "It's not so clear cut as you'd like. The Divines can become nearly infinitely powerful as long as there are Divine Pillars there to supply them with power. While I don't think any of them can outright defeat the Demon Lord, I'm sure they can give him a lot of trouble."

"The battle that takes place there isn't our focal point." I said, intending to get the conversation back on track. "The point is that the Divines and most Ereth forces will leave Baile Chailce, which makes it the perfect time to orchestrate an attack."

Victoria's eyes widened. "Wait," She said in a panic. "Why are we attacking Baile Chailce?" 

"Two reasons." I said, taking a deep breath. "First of all, there is something we need to find – I need to find." I corrected myself. I wasn't going to make the others search for something they had no hope of finding. "And second, revenge. And hopefully finding a way out of here." I added quickly.

"What is it that you need to find?" Erik asked hesitantly. I chuckled. "A soul – I would ask for everyone's help but I don't think any of you can actually see the souls."

Rina cleared her throat. "Well, I can see them." She hesitantly spoke up. "Though only the ones you summon when you use your spells. I've never seen any others." She fiddled with her hair as she pondered.

"Thanks for the offer, Rina, but I can take care of it." I showed her a smile before continuing with my words. "I can sense souls from far away, so it's fine. I need you to keep the Ereth soldiers busy in the meantime anyways."

Erik's eyes widened. "You want us to fight the Ereth right next to their Divine Pillar?" He asked with disbelief in his eyes.

"No need to worry," Fetheion spoke up. "I'll be there to even the odds." He said with a cold tone of voice. "Or even tip them in our favour, since none of the other Divines should be present."

Victoria seemed as if she wanted to say something, but before she got the chance, Vincent spoke up. "You're forgetting something," He said, looking me straight in the eye. "We're not as strong as you guys. Sure, we can kill some mediocrely powerful monsters, but the Ereth soldiers are completely out of our league. All I feel like we'll do is get in your way and weigh you down."

I didn't have anything to say to them. It had been months since I last saw them. I knew nothing of their current power level. I didn't even know their levels.

"It's fine," Fetheion sighed. "I'll make sure you two are prepared enough."

"Three." Victoria intervened. "I'm not staying behind this time."

Everyone stopped. Even Fetheion seemed taken aback as we all looked at Victoria with wide eyes.

"Can you even fight?" Mona asked after a second of confused and surprised silence.

Victoria chuckled. "Well, I'm not as formidable as Kai or Asher, but I can hold my own in a fight. Maybe help you two out a bit as well," She glanced at Erik and Vincent as she spoke. 

"What the hell?" Vincent asked as he ran his fingers through his hair. "When did you stop being the rich and weird shopkeeper?" He was smiling as he asked that.

I couldn't help but chuckle as Victoria laughed. 

"I think we're almost ready." I finally said after a while. "Tomorrow at dusk." I added as I looked each and every one of them in the eye. "It's fine if any of you want to stay behind, if you don't want to join the battle, if you want to put your own safety first." 

No one said a word. "No one will judge you." I added after a moment's hesitation.

"What?" Lucius piped up. "No, fuck that. I will judge the hell out of anyone who turns back now!"