The Soul Keeper

It was thrilling. It was exciting. It was what I had been longing for.

Every move I made was calculated. My body screamed in pain and exhaustion, but my magic kept me going as I dodged, blocked, and struck with the crystalline blade of my scythe.

The first seconds of battle seemed to be going in the Ereth soldiers' favour, but soon that was no longer the case. They wanted to keep me at bay with their long, deadly spears, but things weren't the same as they were in Baile Chailce.

These Ereth weren't right next to a Divine Pillar. They didn't have that golden light constantly supporting them, giving them power, healing and protecting them. Here, I had the upper hand. And I didn't hesitate to demonstrate that.

Flames burst out of me as I blocked the first thrust of their spears with my scythe. The flames burnt them as I dashed forward, cutting off their limbs without hesitation. Empowered by my magic, I was too fast for them to react in time.

The battle was over before I knew it, and nothing but ashes remained from the Ereth soldiers' bodies. As I returned to Aoife and Inspector John, I didn't look them in the eyes. I knew what they were thinking.

"Let's go. She'll send more soon." My voice was heavy. I led the way, refusing to look Aoife in the eye.

"Why is she so adamant about killing you?" Aoife asked after a while. "And who is this person?" 

Inspector John sighed. "I'd like to know how she found you." 

I shrugged. "I don't know how she found me. She was the leader of the Ereth in Baile Chailce." I raised my head to look at the lighthouse. "The Divine Matriarch Aelith." My words echoed across the plains.

Now that we had reached the lighthouse, I could see in greater detail just how ruined it was. The wall facing north was almost completely destroyed, the second and third floors had collapsed along with the stairs that led to the top.

"This is it," I mumbled as I rested my palm against the wall. "Then…" I walked to the other side of the lighthouse, to the cliff it rested atop of. "There!" I shouted.

There it was – a secluded area, a cliff that bended inlands, that could only be seen from here. I could see the symbol carved into the cliff. The details matched with what I remembered.

"What the hell… How did we never notice this?" Aoife mumbled in shock as she looked at the symbol. I was as confused about that as her. A symbol of this size, clearly visible and undamaged… How had humanity not noticed its existence?

And what was even more surprising was the sea before the cliff. The waves didn't seem to reach the shore. Black sand covered the bottom of the cliff, creating a thin stretch of beach. 

"It even has a beach." Inspector John said, shaking his head. "What's next?" He asked, glancing at me. I hesitated. The Keeper hadn't told me anything else than 'find the cliff'. 

"I have to get down there." Was all I could say. 

"Yeah, but how?" Inspector John asked. I had no answer for that. As far as I could see, there was simply no way down there. The stretch of beach reached nowhere, it was just long enough to create a place in front of the cliff with the markings on it.

"You'd need to fly to get down there." Aoife mumbled. "Don't try that," She quickly added, glancing at me with a somewhat worried expression.

I chuckled, though she was right. I would need to fly down. "Or just fall." I mumbled, almost making both of their eyes pop. "Just really slowly," I added with a low voice. Somewhat lost in thought, I approached the cliff. Could I do it? I wasn't sure. I had never tried using my magic to slow my fall. I had always relied on my wings.

"No!" Aoife shouted as I took another step towards the cliff.

"Calm down," I said with a grin. "I'm not going to jump." If I died now, to something stupid like a fall, I'd never be able to rest in peace. And Earth would be taken over. But that wasn't my point right now.

"Actually, I think there is a way down." Inspector John pointed at a spot a bit farther away from the symbols. "Look, there's a path that leads all the way down."

'Path' was an overstatement at best. I could spot a tiny ledge that led all the way down, but it was broken off at places. Even with my magic, it would be difficult to use that snaking trail to go all the way to the bottom. I would likely lose my balance and fall, or the rocks would crumble beneath my feet and I would fall.

"I don't think that idea is any better than jumping down." Aoife mumbled. She had a defeated look on her face. "Why do we need to go down there anyways? What are you going to do there?"

I hesitated. I hadn't told them about my – well, the Keeper's – plan of letting the demons come and take care of the Ereth. "I need to activate that sigil." I said, pointing at the cliff. "Then, we'll have a fighting chance against Aelith."

I walked to the spot Inspector John had pointed out earlier. "I'm going down – you two should wait up here, and I'll-"

"No! Have you lost your mind?" Aoife shouted. Her sudden and loud voice startled me. "You're not going down there alone!"

Inspector John was quick to nod. "I must join you," He said, then tilted his head towards Aoife. "And we can't leave her up here."

"That's not my point!" Aoife protested. "You can't-"

I felt a flash of pain in the back of my head. Without hesitation, I grabbed Aoife's shoulder and pushed her away from the cliff, towards Inspector John.

The ground beneath my feet exploded. I felt something twist around my waist and chest as my feet dangled. I could hardly breathe.

"Got you!"