The Soul Keeper

I placed the flower before the ruined entrance of the tower. "I'm sorry." I whispered in demonic as I looked upon the ruined building. I closed my eyes and listened a while.

When I returned to Aoife and the others, they didn't speak up. Delthur was the only person to speak. "Is she there?" He asked. I nodded. "Yes. She's sleeping, probably eternally."

"No pain?" He asked. I shook my head. "Good." He closed his eyes and whispered something under his breath before glancing at Vixia. She smiled. It was a kind, genuine smile. 

It was then Fetheion who cast the spell to take us to the valley of starsnatchers.

"What was that?" Aoife asked after we arrived, as we began walking towards the marked cliff – the portal that would lead us home. "Did someone die here?"

I nodded. "Long before I arrived though. Delthur's sister was killed by Aelith here." The memory of her death was still fresh in my mind. "I only learned what happened a while later."

My mind was cast back into last night. When the Demon Lord restored my powers, he had given me back the souls Uriithe had taken from me. Those, along with the power I was borrowing from the Keeper had brought me to a level of power I hadn't achieved before.

But that also meant the endless cold in my chest had returned, as the souls rested within. I didn't know how there could be two Keepers now, but if the Demon Lord was to be believed, I was nothing but an extension of the Keeper. Of the actual, real one.

It was a disturbing concept. 

"Then, why did you bring flowers?" Aoife asked, pulling me out of the mess that were my thoughts.

"I did get the chance to meet her. Her soul, of course," I added. "I saw how she died, so it seemed appropriate." I fiddled with the chain of my cloak. "Sorry, I know you'd rather go home as fast as possible, but I really felt like I needed to do this."

Aoife shook her head. "I don't mind waiting. It…" She hesitated. "It's actually interesting, seeing all these new places. Everything is so much more fantastical and… natural." She chuckled. "I can't exactly put it into words."

I laughed. I knew exactly what she meant. "I felt the same way when I first set foot in this world. I always had trouble believing this was a game. I always doubted it, everything was simply too real." I chuckled. "Turns out it was actually real."

Aoife fell silent. It was a while later when she spoke. "How can you confuse this for a game?" She asked, pointing at the flowers, slowly swaying in the wind. 

I looked away. "When you've got interfaces for everything, and other people around you who are convinced this is a game, it's not too difficult." 

"But how, Kai? Look at this!" She pointed at the distant mountains. "How can you not notice this isn't a fake world?"

I took a sharp breath. "Because I'm not supposed to be able to do this!" I replied with a hiss. I raised my hand to my chest right as I let my flames out. They danced on my skin, black and purple, with a hint of crimson in them. "How was I supposed to not think it was a game when I can control fire?"

Aoife's eyes widened. "You'll hurt yourself!" She exclaimed.

"No, I won't. Look at me." I glared at her. "I can control flames. I can sense people's presence. How am I supposed to think this is real?"

Aoife couldn't find anything to say to that. I sighed, let my flames die out and showed her my hand. "And you don't need to worry about me so much." I forced a smile. "I can take care of myself now."

"Considering you almost died yesterday, that's a little hard to believe." Inspector John chimed in. "I think the Ereth wants to speak with you Kai. He keeps looking at you," He added in a low enough voice that only the three of us could hear.

I clenched my fist. "Right." I mumbled, glancing at Fetheion. He was indeed glancing at me constantly. Watching me, trying to figure out why I had suddenly begun acting differently.

I took a deep breath. "I should probably take care of that before we get back home." I slowed my steps. "You guys go ahead." 

While both Aoife and Inspector John seemed curious, they didn't pry any more. As I slowly began falling behind, Fetheion soon joined me.

"Are you tired?" He asked with a worried tone. "Should we take a break?" 

I shook my head. "No."

He raised his eyebrows as he noticed the language I picked to speak. "Is there something wrong?"

I chuckled. "No, I'm just noticing how stupid I'd been this whole time." I glanced at him. The sun reflecting off of his crimson hair made it seem like it was on fire. "So, when were you going to tell me?"

"Tell you what?" He asked with a confused expression. "I don't think I follow, Kai."

"I never told Fetheion, the Exiled Divine, the name of my sister. I never told him what she looked like – and that's important, because we don't look alike." I pointed at Aoife. She was taller than me. Her facial features were nothing like mine. She had a graceful beauty, while I and my whole family looked more stoic and… well, not as good.

"She looks nothing like me, actually." I added. "So, how come did Fetheion the Exiled Divine know who she was? How did he know she was my sister?"

I could see his face grow paler with every word I spoke.

"I never had that spell cast on me. Only Aoife and Inspector John have that spell on them." I added after a moment. "You shouldn't be able to understand me right now. I'm not speaking in Ereth, or Demonic. I'm speaking English, and you just understood every word I spoke."

I glared at him. His steps slowed to a halt as he scrambled to find something to say.

"So, tell me." I said, clenching my fists. "Why did you lie to me all that time?"

His expression was enough proof that I was wrong.

"I should have understood the moment I saw your reaction to my name." I scoffed at him. "You've got a lot of explaining to do Feth- no. Eion."