The Soul Keeper

I was sitting right outside the village, with my back leaning on a large oak tree. Or, well, it looked like an oak tree. It was probably something entirely different.

I shuffled around. Wearing new, clean, and professionally made clothes felt weird. Nice, but weird.

After Luhen refused to buy the scythe, he had offered me some new clothes and weapons. While I was upset about his insistent silence about the cursed scythe, I was grateful for the opportunity to buy new clothes.

The clothes I was now wearing were dark green and grey. I had chosen not to wear armour as to not slow myself down. Instead, Luhen had offered to give me clothes enchanted with a few simple spells. Mainly a protective spell and a self repairing spell. Both enchantments drained my mana to work.

I glanced at the few coins I had left, then at my new sword. It was made of a very light metal. I didn't feel quite comfortable with it yet. I still had my crystal sword, but I didn't feel like it was a good idea to show it around. After all, it was made of the crystals the Ereth valued so much. I had no idea how they'd react if they saw it.

Low voices coming from the forest grabbed my attention. My ears perked up as I sprung to my feet.

"Let's go to the diner!" Someone shouted. I recognised the voice.

"We can't. They forbade Alina from entering, remember?" It was Vincent's voice. Leaves rustled and someone grumbled, then Alina shouted, as usual.

"It was not my fault, ok?" Her high-pitched voice rang in my ears.

"Yeah, yeah." Vincent said as they came out of the woods. "We all know-" He froze in place.

"What's wrong?" Erik asked also stepping out from behind the treeline. He almost tripped on his own feet as he saw me.

I smiled; it was so good to see them again.

"No way!" Vincent suddenly shouted as a huge grin appeared on his face. Samantha ran towards me along with Erik and Joshua. Joshua was the first to reach me. "Man, you're alive Kai!" He shouted as he wrapped his arm around my shoulders.

"You idiot!" Samantha's quiet, yet audible whisper pierced my heart. "I thought you were dead." She said with reddened eyes. Guilt struck me; I had promised her I'd come back. I had almost broken that promise.

"Sorry," I said with a bitter smile. "I couldn't make it back before dusk."

Erik squeezed my shoulder and smiled. I flinched; his sheer strength was incredible. "I'm glad you're still with us Kai."

I shook my head. "It's not-" For some reason, the words got stuck in my throat. I couldn't say them. "I'm glad to be back." I said instead, with hesitation still lingering in my heart. I felt a little guilty for feeling as I did but… Was I really wrong to think so?

"How did you survive?" Alina asked. She stood behind Erik and seemed to avoid coming too close to me. I shook my head. "It's a long story. One I'd rather tell over lunch."

"Oh yeah!" Joshua chimed in. "Let's go to the tavern. They serve some pretty good stuff there and it's cheap too!" Everyone nodded and I soon found myself being dragged to a tavern.

I couldn't help but smile as they talked and laughed on the way. They were excited and happy. But in the back of my mind, I still wanted something more. The resentment was still there.

Once we were seated in the tavern with some drinks and food, they directed their full attention to me. I sipped my water; I was in no hurry to tell the story of the last two weeks or so. Instead, I looked around, taking in my surroundings.

The tavern was on the northern side of the little town. It was a large, yet simple building. The interior was nothing special either. The floorboards were stained with what I could only assume – and hope – were spilled drinks. We were the only customers, which wasn't all that surprising considering it was still noon.

"Why don't you try some of the local drinks?" Joshua asked. "They're quite good."

I shook my head. "I'd rather not. I haven't eaten properly in a very long time. I don't think I can handle any alcohol." Besides, getting drunk in a virtual world, by consuming virtual drinks just felt wrong. I glanced at the group. They didn't seem to share the sentiment. Alina was already done with her first drink, while Erik, Samantha and Vincent were very slowly sipping theirs.

Joshua grinned and took a big sip. "You're just overthinking but whatever." He sighed and leaned back. "So, are you going to tell us how you're still alive?" He gestured to the west. "I saw that giant creature with my own two eyes. No way you'd survive a hit from that monster."

I sighed. "Well, you're not wrong."

"Wait," Erik suddenly said. "Does that mean you… died?" His serious glare and tone were uncharacteristic of him.

"What? No!" I quickly stopped him as I protested, waiving my hands in the air. "I nearly died, but no."

"How did you get past it then?" Samantha asked me. Curiosity filled her voice as she fiddled with her mug.

"That's what I want to know as well." Erik added. He dipped his finger in his drink and drew a very basic map on the table. I recognised it almost immediately. It was the area where I fought and killed the horned lion. "We estimated it'd take us at least a month of grinding to get to a level where we could take it out. It'd be impossible to sneak by it since it would smell you before you could see it. And no normal person can outrun the thing in such a long, wide and flat mountain pass." He glared at me.

A lump formed in my throat. Was that distrust I was sensing? It felt as if something sharp pierced my heart. I felt anger well up inside me. I looked away for a moment, then took a deep breath to calm down and started to talk.

"It was not as strong as it seems." They stared at me in silence and disbelief. I wasn't lying though, so I simply continued with my words. "I returned to camp the day after we left for the quests…"

I told them of my first encounter with the creature, how I almost died, how something saved me by distracting it. I told about how powerless I felt and how I had to waste a whole week just so I could recover enough to walk again. As the words left my mouth, a weight also seemed to lift from my shoulders. I felt better, even if only a little.

Once I was done talking, I had told them everything. Everything but one detail. I left Vixia and Delthur out of my story. Something about it just felt… off. Something, a little voice in the back of my mind told me to stay quiet about the two demons who seemingly enjoyed haunting me. I took a sip from my water as I smelled a hint of hyacinth.