The Soul Keeper

In the end, I didn't kill him in his sleep. I had two reasons for not doing so. First, I didn't believe he would even give me the chance to kill him, however unlikely it was. Second, I didn't want the blood of a real human being on my hands. Just the thought of murder made me feel sick.

So, I slept. And in the morning, we both woke up alive and well. Somewhat well, as I was starving. Though that issue was also quickly solved since Asher left the cave for a few minutes and returned with the same type of fruit Vixia had given me.

"Did you try this before?" He asked as I bit into the tasty fruit. I nodded as the sweet flavour covered my mouth. "Really now?" He asked, somewhat surprised. "When?"

"A few days ago, after I killed the phoenix. I didn't have any food left, so I survived on these fruits."

"Lucky you." He said as a smile flashed across his face. "These have mild healing properties. You and I don't really need it, but for those without healing spells, they are invaluable."

"I didn't know." I mumbled. Was that why Vixia gave one to me after the phoenix died?

"Tell me." Asher's voice pulled me away from my thoughts. "I know about Erik, Vincent and Joshua. I've heard of Alina and Samantha. But I never knew they had a friend called Kai." He glared at me. "Who are you? How did you meet them?"

"Does that mean you knew them?" I asked with narrowed eyes. If I were to give information, it was going to be a trade.

"I knew of them." He said with a grin. "I'll tell you who I am, if you tell me who you are." He glanced at my hands. "The way you used that sword tells me you're not a random friend from university."

I chuckled. "Actually, that's exactly what I am. I just happen to be that one transfer student who comes from overseas and has the highest grades." I shrugged. "Erik approached me after a few days because he's friends with everyone. I don't know why he decided he wanted to keep me around after that."

"Transfer student?" Asher asked with a confused expression. "If you're not even that close, how did you end up here? Are you rich enough to buy a PORTAL?"

I laughed. "No, no I'm not." A smile flashed across my face. "What about you? How do you happen to know 'of' them?"

He sighed. "I should have just threatened you." He mumbled. "I'm- no, I was the lead developer of the OTHERWORLD dev team. We created some of the biggest dive games of recent history."

I flinched. "What?"

"Despite being small in size and relying to outsourcing a lot, we did fine. Or at least, that's what I'd like to think." His thoughtful expression wasn't what I expected to see.

"Wait." I stopped him. "Does that mean you made this game? This world?" I shouted with widened eyes.

"No, aren't you listening?" He said with a piercing glare. "I said I 'was'." He sighed. "I technically still am, though it doesn't feel that way."

"What do you mean?" Was he fired? No, it must have been something else. Thoughts raced in my mind, and Asher finally pitied me and explained.

"When development on PORTAL began, my team began to design a game – a flagship title worthy of the most powerful dive console ever made. The working title of the game was 'Journey Through Andromeda'. It was supposed to be a sci-fi game, where you could pilot spaceships and explore distant planets."

"This… is not a sci-fi game." I mumbled as he created a small flame in his palm. It danced on his fingers as he laughed. "No, no its not."

"What happened?"

"They shut down development before it even began. Erik's father outsourced the first game made for PORTAL. Their flagship title was being made by a company I couldn't even learn the name of." He chuckled, though it was clearly a pained laugh. "Whatever company it was, they managed to create this whole world, and everything you're seeing in less than two years."

I hesitated. "That's incredibly fast, isn't it?"

"Yeah, you could say that. And do you know what makes it weirder?" He said with a grin. "This is meant to be an early access trial. That usually means bugs and glitches everywhere. Have you seen any? Cause I sure haven't." He clenched his fist and the fire dancing on his fingers disappeared.

"The only thing I can think of is not being able to leave." I said after a moment's hesitation. He chuckled and nodded.

"Now you know who I was." He said with a grin. "Your turn, Kai Friseal."

I hesitated. Not because I had much to hide, but because my mind was a mess. I think I had just gotten some very valuable information, but I didn't know the significance of it yet.

"I'm a martial artist. In training." I added after a moment's hesitation. "My family has a training hall back home, where Mother and my dad teach young trainees. At a certain age, they send us away from home, either via work or school. I was lucky enough to win a full scholarship, so I was able to attend that university." I fiddled with hair as I spoke. "I was training under another master in the city." I shrugged. "I don't really have anything else to say about myself."

"Really?" He asked with a clearly surprised voice. "How did you get your hands on a PORTAL then?"

"It was Erik's doing. He invited us over to his house and wouldn't take no for an answer. His father offered to let me use an extra device they had. He wanted to know what I thought of the combat – how realistic weapons were and all that." I shrugged. "I couldn't refuse. So, here I am."

Asher seemed somewhat shocked. He pondered a short moment, then shook his head. "Interesting for sure." He stood up. "Come on, let's go and do some more killing. You need to gain just a little more power, I think."