The Soul Keeper

Aoife's brows furrowed, her expression darkened, and she bit her lips.

"But…" She mumbled. "What if something happens to you?" She asked with a meek voice. I hesitated, this was unlike her. She had always been the strong one. Always confident, always so sure of herself.

And she had always trusted me too. She would be the first to cheer me on, and the first to try and talk me into trying things. So, seeing her afraid and unsure like this was unfamiliar. It made me realise just how wrong everything was.

"I'll be fine." I finally spoke after some hesitated. "I survived the game, didn't I? And back then, everyone wanted to kill me." I forced a smile. "So don't worry about me, sis." I lied through my teeth, faking my smile, and reassuring her that all would be well.

I noticed Fetheion glaring at me with a dark, almost angry expression. I averted my gaze, refusing to entertain him. He had no right getting angry at me after all the lies he had told.

"More Ereth." Delthur declared all of a sudden, distracting me. He pointed towards the distant sky. "No Divine though," He added after a moment. As he spoke, his claymore formed in his hand.

"Good. We will dispatch of them quickly." Vixia said with a breath of relief. She raised her hand, and a whip made from purple and black flames formed within her grasp. "Delthur, with me. Kai, protect the humans. Fetheion..." She shrugged. "Whatever." 

My brows furrowed. What was that chain of command? The Demon Lord had given Fetheion the option to choose as well. Was the Exiled Divine considered outside their reach? 

As much as I wanted to learn more about that matter, Vixia's sudden dash distracted me. She leapt into the air gracefully, then flew towards the Ereth in the distance, leaving a trail of flames behind her.

Delthur was right behind her. He used no magic, and he lacked her graceful and fluid movements, but every beat of his massive wings carried him forward with a scary speed. I knew how strong he was – no ordinary Ereth stood a chance against him, even in his weakened state.

As they flew ahead, Fetheion just sighed, but chose to stay behind. I refused to look at him, and instead watched the battle in the distance. 

"How strong are those two?" Inspector John asked after a while. I was about to answer when I hesitated.

"I don't know." I said after a moment. "I've never seen either of them go all out. Not with the intent to kill, at least." Well, I had seen Delthur chase me with bloodthirst, but he was even more sick and weakened back then. I didn't think that time was an accurate representation of his strength.

"How come?" Inspector John asked, confused. "I thought you were enemies back then."

I shrugged. "Well, yeah. But they always took care to keep me alive." I shuddered as I remembered the first few times I had come across them. "But yes, I don't know what the full extent of Vixia's power is, though I can guess Delthur's." I mumbled as I watched the distant battle.

My enhanced vision allowed me to see everything clearly. Delthur's style was as straightforward as it could get. He swung his massive claymore, and Ereth died. 

Vixia on the other hand, seemingly danced in the air. Every single one of her movements served a purpose. She moved with grace, and with each motion, rained death upon her foes.

"There are a lot more this time." I furrowed my brows. "Why would Aelith send them here to die?"

"Because they are simply drones to her. She controls their fates – if they die, their souls return to the homeworld. If they live, they can be used once more." Fetheion's words startled me. "Baile Chailce was a test – we decided to allow the drones to have their own minds."

My eyes widened. "What?" Was all I could say before the Exiled Divine continued. "Me and my sister cut off the tether between the drones' minds and ours. They were no longer ants obeying their queen's orders. They became individuals." He clenched his fists. "But soon, Aelith noticed how they disliked our practices. How most didn't want to be at constant war with demons." 

I drew a sharp breath. "My sister and I agreed. We were sick of war, death and battle. Endless fighting had dominated our lives until then. So, I ran away, left to help the Keeper, until the day he died." He looked up at the sky. "My sister left our world. You know what that means now."

I clenched my fists. Of course I knew what that meant. 

"Luhen and the likes of him chose to rebel against Aelith, but before we could pull it off, you and your kind arrived. Aelith had gotten another world into her grasp. She pulled you from your lives, into a world none of you belonged to." He glared at me. "Little did we know you would allow our plan to succeed. Luhen and the others who remained on that world are free – no longer under the threat of losing themselves."

He pointed towards Vixia, Delthur and their opponents. "They are not free. They can feel emotions, but when they are given orders, they simply must obey. It matters not whether they live or die – the Pillar will simply create new bodies for their souls. Sure, it will take hundreds of years, but they will return, only to die again."

He fell into silence. All of us did. 

I took a deep breath. Why hadn't they told me any of this before? Knowing this, I could have perhaps changed things. If I knew any of this, perhaps my struggles before returning to would have been different.

"A hivemind." I finally spoke. "Is that what your kind is?"

Fetheion simply nodded.

"Then, who is the leader?" I asked, taking a deep breath. "Aelith only controlled those in the Demons' world, and those who came here, to earth. Who is the core?"

Fetheion flinched.

"I can tell you very many things, Kai." His voice was heavy when he finally spoke. "But this is not one of them."