The Soul Keeper

I stepped closer to the cliff. My back itched and ached as the unfamiliar muscles slowly began to bulge. I leaned forward slightly, then fell on one knee.

"Kai?" Aoife shouted. "What's wrong?" She was about to run towards me, but Fetheion stopped her. "Stay away from him!" He shouted.

I clenched my fist and grabbed a handful of grass blades. 

"Let go of me!" I could hear Aoife's struggle as she tried to shake off Fetheion's grasp. "What's wrong with him?" 

I didn't need to wait long before the distant lights began to gain form. More than a dozen Ereth soldiers, accompanied by robed figures – Inquisitors.

"Well, what are you all waiting for?!" Inspector John shouted, looking at Vixia and the others.

She spoke with an intoxicating voice. "Him." 

I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled. My palms itched with anticipation, and my heart raced with the anticipation of battle. When I opened my eyes, my eyes glowed purple, much like those of the demons.

Aoife drew a sharp breath moments before I dashed ahead and threw myself off the cliff.

"Kai!" Her shout of desperation seemed funny to me in the heat of the moment. For a moment, I fell. Then, I screamed as the bulging muscles on my back finally broke free, and I stretched my wide, feathery wings.

It hurt for a moment, these muscles were brand new after all, and this body wasn't used to having a pair of massive, feathery wings.

But right now, the adrenaline rush made the pain disappear. I soared through the sky, and every beat of my wings carried me closer to the Ereth in the distance. A dark mist appeared around me, then formed the shape of my scythe. 

My hand gripped the metal shaft of the crystalline bladed scythe. I took a deep breath and used my magic to empower my body. As Fallen Grace filled my muscles with strength, I extended my hand. A volley of Dark Bolts leapt from my fingers, to the Ereth.

Perhaps moments later, I reached the first Ereth. We met mid air and our blades clashed. The sound of metal hitting metal sounded, and my expression twisted with a wicked smile as the battle finally began.

I knew we were short on time, so I couldn't waste too much time on these Ereth. As such, as soon as our weapons clashed, I released my flames.

Black and purple flames burst out of me, spreading through the air like wildfire on a dry summer day. The inquisitor accompanying the soldiers was quick to try and shield them, but her strength couldn't compare to mine.

I broke her barriers with a single swing of my scythe, then watched in silence as my flames consumed every single one of them. By the time I was done, there were no corpses left to fall into the depths of the sea. All that remained of the Ereth were the ashes, blowing away with the cold wind.

I waited for a couple of seconds after the battle, watching the seemingly endless sea. No new enemies arrived, either Aelith had given up, or she didn't know what happened to these soldiers.

I let my scythe turn back into mist and headed back to the island. Soon, I stepped on solid ground not far from Aoife and the others.

"Very well done, Kai." Vixia said with a soft, intoxicating voice. "You've lost nothing in the time we didn't meet." 

I rolled my eyes. Her praise wasn't given lightly, I knew that. Vixia was one of the stronger demons, any praise she gave had real meaning behind it, but right now, I found it difficult to care.

"More will come eventually. We should hurry."

We set off with that, though Aoife and Inspector John weren't about to let me off without an explanation. As soon as we resumed our lengthy walk, they crowded around me.

"How do you have wings?" Aoife asked as she poked and pulled the feathers of my left wing. "Where did they come from? How? Why?" Her questions seemed endless.

"Please don't pull the feathers," I said, trying to pull my wing away from her. "I can feel it and it's not nice." As soon as I spoke, Inspector John's eyes widened. 

"I thought these were just something you made with magic!" He exclaimed. 

"Well, yes and no. They're a part of my body – as real as my arms and legs – but they are created by magic." Seeing their confusion, I tried to explain in an easier to understand way, though I don't think it made much sense to them either.

"How far are we?" Vixia asked after some time. 

"About two hours of walking," I sighed. While we had covered quite a distance, the island was quite vast and our settlement was on a remote area of it. "We could use magic to get there, but if Aelith herself comes right now…"

The Divine herself coming was the only thing that could cause a real threat right now. With both Vixia and Fetheion here, even a horde of ordinary Ereth would be fairly easy to defend against. 

"Is she really that much more powerful?" Aoife asked. "I mean…" She hesitated. "You burnt a whole group of them in like… seconds." She shuddered. "I find it difficult to think anything could stop this group right now."

I laughed. I couldn't help it! It wasn't a mean laugh, I wasn't making fun of her. But her words, her hopes – I couldn't possibly meet her expectation.

"I'm sorry Aoife," I said with a smile after my laughter subsided. "The only person who can beat Aelith at her full power is the Demon Lord." 

Aoife furrowed her brows. "I see." She glanced at the sky. "So even you can't beat her."

"No, but that's why we asked for their help." I glanced at Vixia and the others. "We'll take care of this, Aoife. Just… Sit tight till then, ok?"

My sister looked away, biting her lower lip. She was clearly unhappy, and for good reason too.

"Will you fight too?" She asked after a while. I nodded. "Of course, how could I not?"