The Soul Keeper

Asher fell asleep not long after we all sat by the fire, though I could see his sleep wasn't a restful one from his shallow, sharp breathing. Beads of sweat covered his forehead as he slept. Worried, I glanced at Lucius. He shrugged, being careful to remain silent.

Not long after, Lucius also fell asleep. His deep breaths were a stark reminder of how wrong Asher's breathing was.

I opened my interface and switched to my skills panel. Wasn't there anything I could do for the sorcerer? My first thought was Keeper's Haven, but unfortunately that skill didn't cure anything, it only healed wounds.

Hours passed as I resisted the dark embrace of sleep. I wasn't tired – well, physically, at least – so standing watch seemed like the best choice. Besides, I was too worried about Asher to fall asleep anyways.

I couldn't imagine why he'd suddenly fall sick. He seemed fine until a few hours ago. Though, looking back, he did seem somewhat preoccupied or… not quite as active as one would expect. Especially after using his spells to kill the giant eagles, he had taken a more passive approach. 

I sighed; I should have noticed something was off when the massive eagle attacked us. There was no way Asher wouldn't notice it laying in wait beneath our feet. 

Dawn arrived, ending this restless night. Lucius woke up as the first rays of sunlight touched his face. His eyes shot open and he quickly glanced at the still sleeping sorcerer. 

"He hasn't woken up at all." I said quietly. 

"Didn't you sleep at all?" The young man asked as he slowly stood up and stretched his legs. I shook my head. His expression darkened. "You should have woken me up if you wanted someone to keep watch." 

I chuckled. "It's fine. It's not like I could sleep anyways." I glanced at the pale sorcerer. "What should we do?" I asked after a moment.

Lucius pondered a moment. "I don't think we should wake him up." He hesitated. "Kai, don't you have a healing spell?"

I shook my head. "It's only for wounds, not illnesses." Still, I closed my eyes and focused. It took a moment to figure out how to cast Keeper's Haven without using the interface. Darkness spread beneath my feet as soon a silvery green mist settled in. As the air grew heavier, Lucius drew a sharp breath. 

Both of our gazes were locked on the blonde sorcerer as souls slowly left me and circled around us. We waited, hoping for his breath to return to normal. Seconds turned to minutes, and minutes passed when I eventually stopped channelling the spell. "It's not working." 

Lucius looked at the sky – the sun was just now starting to climb to its zenith. "We have to do something." He said finally. "How far away are we from the city?"

I opened my map and scrolled out as much as I could. "We're here," I pointed at a spot not too far away from the mountain. "The city is…" I pointed at a large, white area quite a ways away. "Here."

"It's too far away to carry him." Lucius said, biting his lower lip. I nodded. I could feel Asher's situation worsening – the magical bond between us made sure I was well aware of that. How I hadn't noticed anything was beyond me.

"Asher," I said as I knelt besides him. Letting him sleep wasn't helping – he wasn't getting any better. "Wake up." I gently touched his shoulder. "Hey, come on." I said as panic slowly began to grasp at my throat. We couldn't lose him. Not him, not now. 

"Kai!" Lucius' alarmed voice caught my attention. What could be more important than our most powerful ally being so sick? I glanced at the young swordsman, but my annoyed words got stuck in my throat as I noticed him looking at the sky, wide eyed.

When I followed his gaze, I nearly choked on my own breath. Several dark silhouettes flew towards the castle on top on the mountain. While they were too far away for me to see them properly, I knew one of those silhouettes all too well. 

"Demons." Lucius whispered as my gaze followed Vixia. "So that's what they look like." He said, his face pale. 

"We need to leave." I said as the silhouettes disappeared in the clouds. "Once they notice the castle is empty, they will try to find us."

Lucius nodded. "I'll carry Asher." He said as he quickly put out the small campfire. I nodded. "Get going, I'll cover our tracks and catch up."

The young swordsman didn't hesitate. Despite his slender build, he picked up Asher with ease and disappeared among the trees. I could hear his footsteps as he made his way in the direction of Baile Chailce.

I had no time to waste. I glanced at the sky anxiously as I summoned my wings. I quickly dug a hole in the ground to hide the burnt wood and ashes, then covered everything with dirt. A few powerful beats of my wings ensured leaves and sticks scattered around randomly, hiding the tramples grass. 

I hid my wings again as I dashed after Lucius. Flight wasn't an option – if I were spotted, that would be the end of me. While I was sure I could take on Vixia alone, I had counted at least fifteen silhouettes there. I'd stand no chance against them.

It didn't take long for me to reach Lucius. "Did you hide everything?" He asked, as he glanced at the sky. I nodded. "Yeah, but I'm sure it won't take them long to understand we're headed to Baile Chailce."

He bit his lower lip. "Yeah." I barely heard his whisper as he increased his speed. I clenched my fists and adjusted my speed to match his. If only Asher wasn't unconscious, he'd find a way out of here.

"We need to find a way to heal him." Lucius said as we passed through an opening. We both glanced at the sky again – were they coming after us? Thankfully, I spotted no silhouettes and felt to demonic magic.

"How?" I asked. I had no healing spells aside from Keeper's Haven. I had checked my available skills during the night – there was nothing that could be considered useful.

"I don't know." The young swordsman's voice gave away how afraid and anxious he was. "Are there any villages on our way to Baile Chailce?" 

I shook my head – there was nothing like that on my map. "What level are you?" I asked after a moment's hesitation. Lucius raised his eyebrows, but answered, nonetheless. "95, why?"

I clenched my fists. "Never mind." If he were at the brink of 100, I would have suggested it, but now, it made no sense. "We have to hurry." I said.

We ran at a steady pace, tough as the hours passed, I could see Lucius slowing down and breathing more frequently. When arrived at a shallow river, I finally made the decision to stop here for today. If Lucius also collapsed on me, I wouldn't know what to do.

We made camp by some large trees. I avoided using any magic and I didn't let Lucius make a campfire. One could be sensed from afar and one could be seen. I wasn't about to take any chances like that. 

"He has a fever." Lucius said as he wiped the blonde sorcerer's sweat with a piece of cloth. "And he hasn't woken up once since last night." He glanced at me. "Kai, did you do something?"

I froze mid step. "What?" What was he talking about?

"Yesterday, you looked weird when we fought. You felt weird. You almost weren't the same person." He moved away from Asher and glanced at the sky. "I wasn't sure of how to explain but now I think you look like…" He hesitated.

"I look like what?" I asked, my heart beating faster by the minute. 

"It doesn't matter." He said with a sigh. "What matters is that there was some magic involved with how you acted yesterday." He made a vague gesture. "Maybe something happened at that time and made Asher fall ill like this."

I hesitated. I was annoyed – he had avoided explaining, again – but I forced myself to consider the possibility. Was it really possible? Could I have done this to Asher? But no, he had started acting weird before that. Soon after he used most of his mana to kill the giant eagles, he had become more passive. That was when he first said he was tired and had no mana left.

"I don't think that's the case." I finally said. "Maybe my power somehow escalated the situation – it's a possibility – but I don't think that was the trigger." I shook my head and glanced towards the river. "I'll go get some water."

"I'll keep watch." He said with a faint smile. I nodded and walked past the bushes. Once I arrived at the shore, I knelt beside the shallow water. I closed my eyes and washed my face. 

When I opened my eyes and saw my reflection on the water, I flinched. Lucius' word rang in my ears. He now knew what I looked like.

I looked like them.