The Soul Keeper

I woke up some time in the middle of the night. My entire body ached as I lay on my back on a soft bed. I took a few deep breaths, gauging how painful moving would be.

The process of restoring my powers was not what I expected it to be. Not even close. I had prepared myself for some pain, but…

Just remembering made me shudder. I didn't know how long the process took, but I did remember collapsing at the end of it, and the Demon Lord catching me before I lost consciousness. How much time had passed since then? 

I glanced to the side, through the windows. Only the glitter of the distant stars was visible in the sky. There was no trace of sunlight to be seen. I hesitated for a while, then closed my eyes. If it was still the same night, then we would leave for war tomorrow. I needed as much rest as I could get.

The warm embrace of sleep welcomed me as soon as I closed my eyes. I drifted into unconsciousness, into a sleep no longer plagued by nightmares, or memories of lives which did not belong to me.

I woke up to someone shaking me awake. Startled, my eyes shot open as I prepared to burn whatever threat I came across.

"Wake up!" Aoife's wide eyes filled my vision as soon as I opened my eyes. I blinked a couple of times and glanced around. Inspector John was also in the room, along with my sister. He was leaning on the closed door. I saw no demons and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Aoife," I mumbled as I pushed myself up. "What time is it?" I suddenly asked as soon as I noticed the bright sunlight filling the room.

"I don't know, a few hours after dawn, I think." She looked at me from head to toe. "Why aren't you wearing your shirt?"

I flinched. "Ah, right." I glanced around the room and spotted the rest of my clothes on a couch. "Hang on," I mumbled, jumping off the bed and quickly getting dressed. 

Aoife's expression hardened as I finished putting on the darkmetal reinforced cloth armour. "I can't get used to you wearing that." She sighed, shaking her head. "Doesn't he look like some manga protagonist?" She asked, looking at Inspector John. 

"Well… I wouldn't know." He mumbled. "We shouldn't waste too much time here." He added, pointing at the door behind him. "I'm fairly sure they want to get going soon."

I nodded. "Yes, we should get going." I knew we wouldn't get left behind, but I'd still rather be at the rally point earlier rather than later.

"Before we go though," Inspector John's expression darkened. "Kai, what happened after we left?"

I froze mid step. "Yesterday?" I asked in an attempt to buy a tiny bit of time to get my thoughts in order. "To be honest… not too much." Both of them shot me suspicious glances.

"Care to elaborate?" Inspector John asked.

"The Demon Lord restored my powers." I hesitated before adding, "I think." I threw my cloak over my shoulders and clipped it onto my clothes. "I don't remember much, I lost consciousness pretty fast."

Aoife's eyes widened. "You-" She looked at me from head to toe. "That's not safe, Kai. What did he do to you for that to happen?"

I looked away. "Like I said, he restored my powers." I stretched my arms and felt the muscles on my back relax a bit. "The details don't matter. But now I have a real fighting chance against Divines." 

Inspector John's eyes widened. "How real is that chance?"

I grinned. "If I fought Rohir again, I could kill him." I said, clenching my fist. "As for Aelith…" My grin faded into a bitter smile. "I can keep her occupied for quite some time." I touched my chest, right over my heart. I could feel it – that familiar coldness. 

"Let's go," I said, and headed towards the door. Aoife seemed like she wanted to speak, but eventually she decided to remain silent. I opened the door, and noticed the demon waiting for us.

"Follow me," She said with a cold voice, and headed down the halls. I simply nodded, and soon we arrived at the waiting area right I front of the throne room.

To my surprise, Vixia was already here, and so was someone else.

I stopped mid step and looked at him wide eyed. He hadn't noticed me yet, or he was intentionally ignoring me. Noticing my hesitation, both Aoife and Inspector John paused to look at me. I ignored their questioning gazes as I took a deep breath and stepped forward.

"Delthur," I spoke as I stopped a few steps away from him. "You survived the war."

His gaze turned on me. "I never fought." His dry, cracked voice hadn't changed one bit. He cleared his throat, then coughed. "My lungs will never recover." 

I flinched. "I'm sorry," I said in a lower tone. I hand burnt him before when we fought. It didn't take much effort to see the connection there. "I…"

"What is done, is done. No point speaking about it." He coughed again, then wiped his mouth with a piece of red cloth. Was that a stain on it? "You killed Uriithe, and you destroyed the pillar. You drove the Lightbringers away – that is apology enough."

Aoife drew a sharp breath. She clearly wanted to ask me something, but now simply wasn't a good time.

"And now your people are lending us your aid." I said, lowering my head slightly.

"You know they have plans. Reasons for doing what they are doing." Delthur laughed. "I know you're not so naïve to miss it. It's clear as day."

I smiled. "I know."

He coughed again, then with dropped shoulders, turned his back on me. "Lady Vixia, I will gather the commanders."

"Please do so." The Demon said and waited for Delthur to leave before shooting a glance at me. As she looked, her lips curled into a smile, and her intoxication voice reached my ears. "I like crimson hair," She spoke, stepping closer to me. She reached for my hair and twirled a lock of my hair around her long, claw like finger. "It reminds me of all the blood that will spill."