Chapter 203: The Tomb of the Keeper of Souls

Vixia seemed conflicted. Her expression showed a host of emotions. She was worried about Delthur, clearly upset, even angry about something and she also seemed rather desperate. This wasn't a look fitting for her. Despite being enemies, I disliked seeing her like this.

"But where could his soul have gone?" She finally asked, turning her gaze on the old woman. "It should have been here – he was buried here, wasn't he?"

I furrowed my brows. Whose grave was this? Who lay in that sarcophagus?

"Yes, but it no longer is." The old woman said, her thin fingers gently stroking the sarcophagus' surface. "Perhaps you should speak to the Lord," She paused and cleared her throat. She didn't seem like she had much time left in this world. "He knows more than I do."

Vixia shook her head. "No, I need to do this on my own – I can't cause him more pain." She clenched her fists. "Please, tell me what you know."

Delthur seemed to want to warn her, but the moment he opened his mouth, he quickly touched his throat and stepped back. That's when I noticed the scars on the back of his hand and arms. Had… Had I done that?

Clearly unable to speak up, he tried to muffle his coughs under that piece of red cloth. 

"He's not ok…" I whispered. He was much healthier before; I was sure of it. Of course, he was coughing a lot even the first time I met him, but back then it only seemed like an inconvenience, nothing more.

"All I can tell you is that a long time ago, the Lord argued with a man shrouded in shadow. The man left that day but came back and took the body sometime later." Her frail hand formed a fist. "I couldn't stop him." Her voice cracked. "The Lord was angry, furious even. He never told me who that person was, just that he'd 'take care of it'." She turned to face Vixia. "That person must be long dead by now."

Vixia didn't move for a while. "Someone took the body?" She asked. "And I'm only hearing of this now?" I felt the flow of magic around us shift and change as her eyes flashed purple. "Why didn't you tell me of this?" She shouted at the old woman. I glanced around anxiously. Was Vixia trying to take control of the magic array around us?

The old woman didn't even seem phased by the younger demon's anger. "Because it was the Lord's order. No one shall know, he said, and none ever learned." She turned her back on Vixia and gently touched the sarcophagus again. "If that is all, it is time to leave." She glanced at the sky. "Soon the sun will begin to set, and we do not wish to be here at dusk, lest the guardian of this place devours us alive."

Delthur flinched, as did I. "The guardian?" Delthur asked, his voice barely audible. The old woman nodded. "Are we done here, Vixia?" Her voice was firm and cold. Vixia hesitated a little, then approached the sarcophagus. 

Her fingers touched the sarcophagus as she spoke with a low voice. "I didn't want to believe it." She glanced at the old woman. "I didn't want to believe that boy was the Keeper. I wanted to believe he was a fake. That the bloody Ereth had done something that would eventually blow up in their faces."

Delthur clenched his fists as Vixia continued. "They succeeded, didn't they? It's not a fake. He is in… his in his body," She glanced at the old woman. "Please tell me I'm wrong."

The old woman said nothing, but from the way she averted her gaze, it was clear that Vixia wasn't wrong. "Damn it!" The younger demon shouted. "Why? How?" She asked. "If they revived his body, what happened to his soul?"

I clenched my fists. They were talking about me and my predecessor. I needed to hear this – all of it. Perhaps this would answer the many questions I had. I also wanted to know where my predecessor's soul was.

The older woman seemed hesitant as Vixia turned to look at her with red eyes. "Where is it, grandma?" She whispered.

"They took it." The old woman finally spoke, her gaze fixed far away. "Sealed him in a crystal – an eternal prison." She looked at the sarcophagus. "Or that's what I believe." A faint smile appeared on her lips. "I don't know what happened to him – his soul was here one day, yet gone the next one. I found no traces of Ereth, or Demons. No one seemed to have come here, yet for some reason, he was gone." She took a small, thin object out of her pocket and showed it to Vixia. "A single crystal shard is all I found that day."

I flinched. I knew that pink colour all too well.

"That's-" Vixia began to speak, but the older woman quickly shook her head. "It may be them; it may not be them." Her voice was calm, almost as if she were lecturing someone on a subject. "Don't get worked up over something you can not change. Even if I am right, there is nothing you, or any of us can do. So, focus on what you can do Vixia." She looked at the mountains. "Don't let the past root you in place."

Silence followed her words. Eventually she broke the silence again. "Let us leave. There is nothing left for us in this place." She raised her hand and snapped her fingers. I looked around to see the flow of magic slowly die down. The array disappeared within seconds and that low, annoying ringing sound I was hearing slowly died down.

"Let's." Vixia mumbled. As I watched, the old woman created a rift and they passed through is if it were normal.

I sighed a breath of relief once the rift closed.

"The magic disappeared Mona," I said as I glanced at the eagle on my shoulder. "You can turn back to a human now."

She hopped to the ground and did just that, then shot a look towards where Laura and Theresa waited. "Before we talk about anything, let's call them here." As soon as she finished her words, she placed two fingers between her lips and whistled.

Less than a minute later, Laura and Theresa entered our view and approached us.

"What happened?" The blonde woman asked before Theresa or Mona could get a word in.

"There were three demons, they lifted the spells before they left." I made a vague motion pointing at our surroundings. "But we still shouldn't stay here for long," I glanced at the sky. The barrier preventing entry from above was still present and I was sure it also prevented exit as well. "They talked about a guardian." I added after a moment of silence.

"Uh, yeah…" Mona mumbled. "About that, I didn't understand a word of what was said since they were speaking in demonic the whole time, so you'll need to explain what was said."

I nervously chuckled. I hadn't even noticed they were speaking demonic. Fetheion had lifted the spell that clouded my mind, but despite that I still wasn't able to always tell the difference. "Right," I mumbled as I wondered why. Demonic and English weren't even similar. "I'll explain everything, but once we are out of here." 

"What's this guardian anyways?" Mona asked, her voice filled with curiosity.

"I don't know but apparently it's strong enough to uh, 'devour' all three demons." I hesitated. "We do not want to disturb it." 

Laura nodded while Theresa's attention quickly shifted to the sarcophagus. "What's that?" She asked as she climbed through the gap in the wall. "Whose grave is this?"

"Ah," I tried to reach out to stop her, but Mona quickly followed her. "It's the tomb of the previous Keeper." I explained with a sigh as Laura also followed them. I leapt up and stepped on the platform as well. "We really shouldn't be here," I quickly said as they approached the sarcophagus.

"Kai, this guy's face looks a lot like yours." Mona glanced at me as she pointed towards the carved figure on the sarcophagus' lid. I nodded. "Yeah, I know." I wasn't surprised in the slightest. Asher and I had also found a painting that looked exactly like me. And even if we hadn't found that I already knew my body was my predecessor's. Fetheion had told me that already.

Did I want to share that with Mona and the others? No, not really. It was best if some things weren't said immediately. And it was best if Fetheion explained this instead of me – he knew more about this whole thing anyways.

I glanced at the barrier covering the sky as the three of them inspected the sarcophagus. "Why is that still up?" I whispered. It clearly wasn't relevant to whatever the demons were doing here earlier. 

"Guys," I suddenly spoke as a I felt the magic in the barrier shift ever so slightly. "We're leaving – now!"