The Soul Keeper

It took me a moment to realise what was happening. 

As both armies began getting pulled into the… well, black hole like thing in the air, the Demon Lord and Aelith's clash of powers didn't even slow. 

I beat my wings with all of my strength to try and get away from the incredible suction of the black hole. The three Ereth I was fighting against tried to grab on to each other and even me, but I kicked their claw like hands away. They screamed, their expressions filled with terror. Their leathery wings weren't enough to fight against the suction, and I watched them get sucked into the black hole.

Their screams sounded a while more even after they disappeared in the darkness. I gulped, all blood drawn away from my face, I used Fallen Grace to empower my body.

I beat my wings to fight against the incredible suction. The wind blew my hair back and pulled my clothes. Despite my best efforts, I hadn't been able to move forward even a little bit. 

"Fuck!" I hissed as my muscles began to ache.

"Kai!" Someone shouted. I glanced at the source of the voice, only to see Fetheion stand by Mother. He had turned his weapon into a large spear and thrust it into the ground. His dark powered circled around him and Mother. They were seemingly unaffected by the suction save for the mild wind tugging at their clothes. "Come here!" He shouted.

I shook my head. He was too far away. "I can't!" I shouted. His hopeful expression shattered as panic began to set in. Another Ereth flew right past me, straight into the black hole. His screams echoed in my ears, prompting me to beat my wings even faster.

Yet even despite that, I could feel myself slowly getting dragged into the seemingly bottomless darkness. I gritted my teeth and reached with my hand. A rift could get me out of here, right? My magic gathered at the tips of my fingers. Light began to warp, and a rift began to form. I breathed a sigh of relief as it slowly grew to be large enough that my hand could pass through.

Then, it shattered. The rift failed, my spell broke. Dumbfounded I almost forgot to keep trying to fly forward. It took me a moment to realise why I couldn't open a rift.

"It's not going to work!" Fetheion shouted, almost mirroring the thoughts running through my mind. "Their power is warping reality itself!" 

Having come to about the same conclusion, I clenched my fists. What the hell was I going to do? A shout echoed, and a demon fell into the dark hole. Two Ereth soon followed him. 

I looked up, only to see Vixia having the same struggles as I. Despite being farther away from the centre of the ongoing implosion, she was slowly being dragged towards it as well. I couldn't quite see her expression, but I would bet anything it was one of fear.

She looked around frantically, searching for something. The fast paced beats of her wings began to slow down she took shallow breaths in quick succession. I gritted my teeth, Vixia wasn't as physically strong as most soldiers. She wasn't used to exerting so much effort in such a short amount of time.

As the black hole began pulling her closer, I glanced around. The battle had screeched to a halt as both sides were simply trying to survive. Those closest to the black hole had already been caught in it. There weren't any soldiers, Ereth or Demon, left between me and the black hole. And There wasn't anyone who could help Vixia either.

Seeing her struggle, I bit my lower lip. She wasn't going to make it. She was being dragged much faster than anyone else. 

"Vixia!" I shouted, gathering my courage. "Your whip!" My voice startled her. Her gaze immediately darted off to the edge of the battlefield. I followed her gaze, only to draw a sharp breath as I noticed Delthur.

The sickly demon had come to the edge of the battlefield. Inspector John wasn't too far behind either. Both of their expressions were enough indication that there was nothing they could do to help us. 

"Fetheion!" I shouted again, ignoring the burning muscles on my back. "Can you help Vixia?"

The Exiled Divine glanced at the helpless demon, then shook his head. Beads of sweat rolled down his chin as he tightened his grasp on his spear, still stuck in the ground. His power seemed to wane for a moment, but he quickly recovered his focus.

Mother was still casting a spell, seemingly unaware of everything that was going on around us. I gritted my teeth. "We won't make it!" I shouted. Killing those inquisitors was all fine and good, but it wasn't going to be worth much if we all died.

He simply shook his head. His power fluctuated, and for a split second, it seemed as if the black hole affected him too. 

"Lady Vixia!" Delthur's shout echoed. At the same time, Vixia's terror filled scream sounded as her wings finally gave up. The suction dragged her towards the black hole as she reached for something – anything.

I folded my wings and dove down, straight towards her. "Take my hand!" I shouted as I came within her reach. Her hand grasped mine, and I pulled her closer as I beat my wings with all of my might.

Her wings disappeared in a puff of smoke as she wrapped her arms around me. "We won't make it, you shouldn't have come!" 

I shook my head. I couldn't leave her to die when I had a chance of helping. "Shut up. We'll make it." I hissed through my gritted teeth and reached for my power. Magic filled my muscles, giving me just a little more strength. 

But it still wasn't enough. No matter how much I tried, the suction was too strong. If we were on the ground, then perhaps I could have a chance. 

"Hold on tight!" I said as I folded my wings once more and dove straight down to the ground. As soon as my feet touched the ground, I struck the earth with my scythe, just like Fetheion had done with his spear. 

"We're too close to it for that!" Despite her being right next to me, I could barely hear her voice over the sound of the wind. "You shouldn't have come!"

"It's working!" I shouted, but as soon as I finished my words, I felt the scythe move a little. The suction was strong enough to almost dislodge it from the ground.

"Fuck." I whispered.