The Soul Keeper

"What's going on, Mother?" Aoife asked, looking our mother in the eye. The older woman shook her head, then placed her knife and fork on her plate. 

"Kai," She said as she got up. "Walk with me." She glanced at Aoife. "Would you mind if we left the cleaning to you?"

My sister froze for a moment, then sighed and shook her head. "No, I'll take care of it."

"Thank you," Mother glanced at me, then headed out the door. I hesitated and glanced at Aoife for a split second, then rushed after Mother. What the hell was going on?

When I caught up to her, she was at the foot of the stairwell. She headed upstairs, gesturing me to follow her. I did so, until we arrived at the door of her room.

"How are the nightmares?" She asked as she opened the door and stepped inside. I remained by the door and shrugged. "They were fine yesterday – I only saw a couple and I can't remember them very well."

Her lips formed a thin line. "Is that so?" She spoke in a low voice. "What about that figure you keep seeing?"

I hesitated. "I saw him last night. Fell asleep soon afterwards."

She took her coat from her wardrobe. "I see." She put it on the bed, then started brushing her hair. "What about those memories you told me about?"

I shook my head. "They're still there – nothing changed." I furrowed my brows. "Mother, are you headed somewhere too?" As I asked, she placed the brush on her nightstand and put on the coat.

"Yes, something came up that demands my attention – I can't put it off, so I'll be heading out now." Her bright blue eyes focused on mine for a moment. "Keep training."

She brushed past me and walked downstairs. I hesitated for a split second before dashing after her. "No, wait, hang on!" I shouted, grabbing her arm, and stopping her. "What is it that came up?" I asked, my eyes wide. "Why did both you and Uncle Eion suddenly decide to up and leave as soon as they showed that pillar on TV?"

Mother's eyes narrowed. "That is irrelevant," Her voice was sharp, commanding. She didn't want me to question her, to try and understand what had gotten both her and her brother so riled up. "You do not need to concern yourself with any of this, Kai. Just focus on your recovery."

I clenched my fists. "Mother, I may be naïve, but not quite that naïve. I know something is going on – it's clearly very important, or Uncle Eion wouldn't have left like that, and nor would you be heading out." I glared at her, demanding answers. 

Her gaze lingered on me for a moment before she smiled. "Work hard, Kai. I'll be back soon." With that, she left. I stood at the courtyard and watched her walk out, away from home.

When I returned back to the kitchen, Aoife had just finished cleaning up. She had a sour expression on, and it only got worse when I stepped inside.

"She didn't really tell you anything useful, did she?" She asked with a frown. I nodded, Aoife knew Mother well enough. She could probably guess that whole conversation word for word.

"Just as I thought," She put the dust cloth on the counter, then glanced out of the window. "I wonder when they will return," She mumbled with a sigh.

I shrugged. We had no way of knowing, really. 

"I need to make a call," I finally said with a sigh. "I want to call Inspector John, so I'll be up in my room."

Aoife's gaze snapped at me. She walked up to me with quick steps and hugged me. "You're not going to disappear on me too, are you?" She asked, her voice trembling. "Kai?" She asked.

I shook my head. "No, of course not." I hugged her back, I wouldn't do something like that to her. Never. "I just want to learn if I can call Erik, that's all."

She nodded but didn't let go of me immediately.

"So," Inspector John's voice sounded over the phone. "You're telling me that you think that golden pillar has more to it than meets the eye?" I could hear the disbelief in his voice. "Kai, have you been resting at all?"

I sighed. "I know how this sounds," I insisted. "But that thing looks exactly like its counterparts in the game. I'm talking about being identical!" I took a deep breath – I knew he didn't believe me. I honestly didn't expect him to, what I was suggesting was so outlandish that anyone else would probably have checked me into a mental institution.

"I get your point," Inspector John spoke in a clearly forced calm voice. "But Kai, that was a game, this is reality. We can't just barge in there and have them stop the construction of the damn thing just because you want us to do that." He took a deep breath. "This is the real world, it has laws, regulations, checks and balances,"

"I know that!" I insisted. "But there has to be some technical thing you can exploit to at least pause the construction for a bit!" I gritted my teeth. "Or," I suddenly spoke out again as an idea came to me. "Isn't Erik authorised to put a stop to this? He is a Gallagher, can't you ask him to do it? Or at least let me contact him."

Inspector John let out an audible sigh. "He doesn't have the authority to stop it – until his trial is concluded and he is found guilty and stripped from all his assets, Logan Gallagher is the sole owner of the Gallagher Mansion." 

My shoulders dropped. "And no, Erik Gallagher won't be in contact with anyone as per his own request. He has asked for solitude, and we are in no position to deny him of that."

"So, I can't speak to him." I said with a sigh.

"Yes, you can't." He took a deep breath. "And as I've said before, the real world has laws, and we must all abide by them. We have a balance, and I can't allow anything to disturb-"

A blast.

A shockwave.

Then, darkness.