I expected to feel sothing more as I stepped through the portal. I expected to feel the sa thing as I felt when I could create rifts. But no, I felt nothing but the cool breeze of dusk.
"The sll…" Aoife mumbled as she stepped through as well. Inspector John nodded.
"It's the flowers," I explained, taking a deep breath. The beautiful sll fille my nostrils. "Starsnatchers,"
"This is a sacred place." The Keeper spoke in a low, gentle voice. "If you wish, I will give you a mont."
"Thank you," I stepped away from the group and walked among the flowers. At so point, I knelt down and picked a single one of them. "I'm done," I said, returning to the group.
"What's that for?" Aoife asked, her voice filled with curiosity and wonder.
"An apology." I gestured her and Inspector John to follow the Keeper. "Don't get left behind."
We walked along the bottom of the valley, until we reached the other end. Inspector John was already sowhat out of breath, and I could see signs of exhaustion in Aoife as well. As for …
"How are you not tired?" The inspector asked. "You're still weaker than and your sister!" His protest brought a smile to my face. My worries seed to disappear, if only for a mont. It was funny seeing his and Aoife's reactions to things.
"Magic," I said with a faint smile. I glanced at the Keeper. "His magic." I added after a mont, with whisper so low, they couldn't hear . I knew full well that whatever strength I had now was borrowed power.
"Now, we wait." He said after a mont of silence. "Rest for a while."
I furrowed my brows. "What are we waiting for?" He had the power to take us directly to the Demon Lord, why wasn't he using it.
"An old friend." He replied with a faint smile on his lips. "And to answer your question, I can take you there, but not the other two. The Rift would tear them apart."
My eyes widened. "Ah." I mumbled as I glanced at Aoife and Inspector John. They both seed rather alard. "I see,"
"Kai…" Inspector John called over. They had chosen to sit slightly farther away from the Keeper. "What's a rift?" He asked after I ca to sit by them. I hesitated, what was the best way to explain this?
"Think of it like this portal, but…" I tried explaining it to the best of my abilities, but I could see how it made little sense to them. So ti and a lot of effort later, I gave up. "The details of how it works doesn't matter anyways," I said to the disappointnt of Inspector John.
A sudden surge of mana caught my attention. I quickly got up on my feet as a sudden wind blew my hair back. Not too far from us, darkness covered the ground, quickly rising until it ford a sphere large enough to allow a tall person to stand in.
Then, the darkness dissipated, and a familiar figure ca into view.
My eyes widened. "Fetheion!" I exclaid, surprising Aoife and Inspector John.
The Exiled Divine looked the sa as before. He was wearing his long, crimson hair in a braid, and his simple, yet comfortable clothes weren't any different from the last ti I had seen him.
He hesitated as he saw . I grinned – of course he couldn't recognise . "It's , Kai." I clarified as I walked towards him. It was so odd to look at him now – the striking similarities were even more glaring than before.
"I'm glad you survived, Kai. I heard what happened – the invasion of the Ereth. Of Aelith." He glanced at Aoife and Inspector John and furrowed his brows. "They shouldn't be here." He said at the Keeper.
"The man is here as their world's representative."
"But she-"
"I deed it to be fine, Fetheion." The Keeper's eyes flashed purple as he walked closer to us. He rested his hand on my shoulder as his tone suddenly changed. "Or do you disagree?"
Fetheion flinched. "No, no I don't. Of course not."
"Wow," Aoife whispered to Inspector John. "Everyone is scared of him." The Inspector simply nodded. The power dynamic was clear as day. The Keeper stood above all. The only possible exception was the Demon Lord. That was, in fact, sothing I was quite curious about: Was he in charge, or the Keeper of Souls?
"Shall we?" The Keeper asked, glancing at . I gulped, then nodded.
"Kai, listen." Fetheion said in a low voice as I gestured at the other two to get up. "The so-called representative is one thing, but I don't think bringing your sister here was a good idea. I…" He hesitated. "I will try to protect them both, but please make sure they don't cross a line. You know how powerful the Demon Lord is."
Flinched. "Yes, I know." I was quick to step away.
"What's wrong?" Aoife asked, noticing the sudden shift in my expression. I shook my head, took a deep breath, and turned to face the Keeper. "Let's go."
We gathered around Fetheion, and he raised his hands. Power gathered around us, and a dark mist soon enveloped us. As it circled around us, I felt dizzy for a mont, more so than I did in the past. Aoife grabbed on to for support, and Inspector John grumbled sothing. Only the Keeper and Fetheion himself seed to be unaffected.
Soon, the dark mist dispersed and we could see our surroundings once more.
"What in the world…" Inspector John whispered as he looked up at the massive fortress in awe. "How… is this even possible?" The towering structure was so large and tall that it didn't seem physically possible for it to be standing.
"You've been here before," The Keeper spoke in a soft voice as he lightly touched my shoulder. "You t the Lord here, setting the events that proceeded in motion. If you hadn't co here in search of a primal core, then I would still be in that space – floating in nothingness."
I nodded. "I rember." I chuckled. "I was certain I wasn't going to make it out alive."
Seeing my nervous chuckle, Aoife's expression soured. "What happened here?" She asked.
"I… fought two demons and t the Lord for the first ti." I chuckled, seeing her confused expression. "We were quite the rivals."
"Follow ," The Keeper's words sounded. He slowly walked towards the entrance, and the rest of us followed him. I gulped as we passed by the guards. I could feel their gazes on .
"Welco back, Keeper." A beautiful, soft voice sounded as the gates closed behind us. "And you as well, Kai Friseal. It's been so ti."
I didn't need to look at her. So, she had survived the war. "Hello Vixia."
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