The Soul Keeper

I felt a sting on my shoulders as the sharp claws clenched around me. A mild glow caught my attention, but I couldn't afford to look there now. I gritted my teeth and forced my screaming muscles to slowly push the claymore away.

I felt something pull my clothes as the Ereth's expression twisted into something different. It took me a split second to realise it was fear, as he suddenly let go of my shoulders and pushed me away with all of his might. As I stumbled and fell on my back, a long, pale metallic spear wreathed in darkness passed over my head and pierced the Ereth's left wing.

He shouted, screeched even, with pain and hatred. A golden light fell on him, healing his wound about as quickly as it appeared, and the spear flew back. I glanced behind me, only to see Fetheion catch the spear. As soon as it returned to his hand, it seemed to liquify. It changed forms into a bow, and Fetheion hooked an arrow without hesitation.

"Stop staring and get up!" He shouted, pulling me back to the present. I scrambled to get up again and did so just in time as spears of golden light began raining down once more. Fetheion's dark power covered the sky above us, protecting us both. I shot a worried glance at Mother, but then breathed a sigh of relief. Vixia was protecting her from the spears. Seeing my glance, she nodded with a reassuring smile.

I made a mental note to thank her for the enchanted armour later. If not for my clothes, those claws would have made short work of me.

"How long will it take?" I asked at Fetheion as he released the arrow and hooked another one. He shrugged. "No clue." He mumbled with a dismissive tone. "Don't focus on any of that – just focus on this guy." He raised his chin and darkness gathered around his next arrow. "He started to get on my nerves."

I turned my gaze on the claymore wielding Ereth. The guy wasn't just a good fighter, he was clearly modified with magic. Larger, taller, and stronger than any Ereth I had seen before, he used the wide surface of his claymore to deflect Fetheion's arrows.

"Right…" I mumbled as I struck the ground my with scythe. I lowered myself to the ground, standing on one knee, and placed both of my palms on the blood soaked earth. "Let's see what I can do about that." I mumbled.

The ground lightly trembled beneath my palms. I closed my eyes and let my dark flames seep into the ground. They made their way through the moist earth and the roots of the now burnt and destroyed grass, all the way to right beneath the claymore wielding Ereth's feet.

"On my mark." I said with a low voice. Fetheion nodded and hooked another arrow. The Ereth showed us a disgusting grin as he slowly walked forward. The golden barrier around him reflected the light of the spears of light as they rained on the battlefield.

"Now."

I felt a bit dizzy as my mana suddenly drained. The ground trembled, and the earth beneath the Ereth's feet exploded with black flames, sending his senses into disarray. He fumbled as he tried to douse my flames. Without even a split second of hesitation, I grasped the shaft of my scythe and dashed forward.

As I ran, several arrows wreathed in darkness flew by me in quick succession. They all found their targets without exception, hitting the Ereth in the shoulders and knees. He grunted and stumbled back, and without delay, that golden light of healing came over him.

"Finish him!" I shouted at Fetheion as I brushed past the wounded Ereth. I kicked his claymore away though, just to make sure he couldn't backstab me all of a sudden, then ran ahead, towards the inquisitors.

I heard a weak grunt not a moment layer, and then the sound of something soft falling to the ground. I could feel the Ereth's soul being sucked into the light.

"Kai, can you stop that soul?" Fetheion shouted. I hesitated – could I? I wasn't sure. "Please!" He shouted once more. I tightened my grasp around the shaft of scythe. "Damn it." I mumbled before stretching my wings wide and leaping into the air. Essentially sparing the Inquisitors' lives for now, I reached to the soul with my mind.

Pain jolted throughout my body as the soul resisted my call. "Come on!" I hissed through my gritted teeth as we approached the pillar. I reached out even more with my mind, using my mental strength to stop the golden soul in its tracks.

As soon as my mind touched the Ereth's soul, vision flashed in my eyes. It was too fast, I couldn't make out the memories, the events that transpired. I forced it to approach me, all the while as I felt magic slowly gather around me. 

"Come on!" I hissed. The soul's resistance began to dwindle, and it slowly approached me. I breathed a sigh of relief, then shivered as the coldness in my chest grew. My body felt numb for a moment as I relived his last moments. The pain was… unpleasant, but I had grown used to it by now.

Knowing the vulnerable position I was in, I beat my wings in a hurry to fly away from the Divine Pillar. I had come too close to it during my chase of the Ereth's soul.

I felt a gaze, cold as a winter's night, on me. When I glanced down, my own gaze met that of Aelith. Her lips curled upwards ever so slightly, and that hint of a smile was more than enough to send shivers down my spine.

Flames covered my body as I rushed towards Fetheion. The Exiled Divine was now facing off against a seemingly unending barrage of spells. They rained down upon his barrier of darkness, lighting up the battlefield with each hit. I landed on the ground behind him.

"I can't hold this much longer." He shouted as soon as he saw me. "You have to disrupt them somehow!"

A spear made of golden light struck the ground between us just as he finished his words. My eyes widened as his barrier shattered, leaving us both exposed.

"No!" A woman shouted.