The Soul Keeper

I took a sharp breath. "Let's go then, no point in wasting time." 

Seeing me and the Keeper approach the massive doors at the other end of the large hall, Aoife and Inspector John quickly got up and followed us.

"What's going on?" The Inspector asked as soon as they arrived by the doors.

"Remember to not speak unless you're spoken to." I said with a cold voice. "Don't draw any attention to yourselves." I glanced at Fetheion, who simply nodded with a heavy expression. My expression soured. He seemed somewhat surprised when I furrowed my brows and then looked away.

"Shall we?" The Keeper spoke before the doors slowly creaked open. I simply nodded.

The doors opened, revealing a gigantic throne room. The black marble floor was so clean, it was almost shining. Straight across from us, on top of precisely seven steps of stairs, stood a throne. Black as the night, it was made of what looked like darkmetal. 

The large paned glass windows let the sunlight in, forming detailed shapes on the ground, where the light touched. Nothing else was in the room. 

As the Keeper stepped forward, about a dozen soldiers lowered their heads in respect. I took a deep breath and followed him. With each step I took, my anxiousness only rose. The Lord was nowhere to be seen, though I was certain he was watching us right now.

We stopped before the stairs. I felt Fetheion lightly touch my shoulder. He said nothing – he was simply trying to calm me down, but all it did was annoy me. I took a sharp breath and shrugged his hand off of my shoulder. 

We only waited perhaps a couple of seconds before the atmosphere suddenly changed. The light right in front of the throne changed, twisted. For a moment, reality seemed to break. As I watched, a rift, much like the ones I could once create appeared in the air. It grew larger, enough to let a tall man through.

I drew a sharp breath – this was it. 

A tall demon stepped through the rift, and as soon as he did, time seemed to slow. The air grew thicker, breathing became more difficult. It was hard to move, or to think even, as my body and mind went numb. His sheer presence was enough to send my mind into turmoil. 

The Demon Lord and the Keeper of Souls exchanged looks for a moment before the Keeper chuckled and stepped aside. I was now standing alone, at the very front of our little group.

"Come closer." His voice was surprisingly soft. I gulped and did as he asked. Each step forward required more strength than the one before. When I arrived at the stairs, I stopped. 

He moved faster than I could see. One moment, I was standing there, the next, his claw-like hand had grasped my throat and pulled me closer.

I gasped for air as I felt his claws dig into my skin. His purple eyes flashed with power as I felt his mind invading mine. 

I heard the hustle of footsteps behind me, and Aoife's muffled hiss. Then, Fetheion spoke in a low voice. "If you intervene, Kai is dead! Stay still and silent!" 

I felt my memories being pulled apart. Those about the Ereth invasion, and those that belonged to a time before that. Those that I made while in the Keeper's body. How I fought, how I killed and how I died.

His grasp tightened, giving me little to no chance to breathe. He let go of my memories. His lips formed a thin line – he seemed unhappy about something. My worries mounted – I wasn't so worried about my own survival, but about Aoife's. If anything happened to her, I didn't know what I would do.

"Aelith did indeed survive." There was no kindness in his voice as he glared at someone behind me.

"Indeed. She escaped as Baile Chailce fell. We couldn't stop her." To my surprise, it was Fetheion who answered. "She was too strong of an opponent for me, and the Keeper hadn't returned yet."

The Lord narrowed his eyes. "And Rohir died today." His next words seemed to surprise many of the demons here, as well as Fetheion.

"That's…" The Exiled Divine sighed. "The old man had it coming, I guess." I could hear the defeated tone in his voice. 

The Demon Lord chuckled. His gaze turned on me once more. "So, you're the one who fulfilled the role of the Keeper in his absence." His lips curled upwards. "And who are they?" He asked, glancing behind me. 

If I could speak, I would have answered, but his tight grasp on my throat was enough to stop me from doing so.

He stepped closer to his throne, dragging me along with him. 

I could now see Aoife and Inspector John with the corner of my eye. Their faces were pale and became even more so as they noticed the blood on my neck. 

"Introduce yourselves to me." He spoke, with a wicked smile on his lips.

Inspector John flinched. He glanced at me first, then took a deep breath before speaking up. "I am John Whittaker – An inspector of the United Nations, and, as of this morning, the only available representative." He gestured towards Aoife. "This is Aoife Friseal, she is Kai's sister. She came along because there was nowhere safe for her to wait for our return."

I closed my eyes for a moment. I wanted to thank him so badly. By introducing Aoife, he had taken away the necessity of her speaking and also gathered all the attention on himself.

"Representative John Whittaker…" The Demon Lord's pronunciation was a bit off as he slowly spoke. "You wish for our help in defeating Aelith, and her army of Lightbringers. You wish to see the destruction of the Divine Pillar, so your world can be freed from her grasp." He glared at the inspector. "Am I right?"

Inspector John nodded. "Yes, we came to request your assistance." 

Despite his rather pale face, his voice was still strong. The fact that he could still keep up his somewhat authoritative appearance despite being the weakest person in the room was quite admirable.

"And in return, what can you offer us?"

Inspector John gulped. "Our cultures and worlds are so different – I don't know what is of value to you, and I wouldn't want to offend you by offering things of little to no value." He took a deep breath. "What is it that you would like?"

I felt the Demon Lord's claws dig deeper into my skin as a wicked smile appeared on his lips.

"What would I like, indeed?"