Chapter 239: The Countdown Begins (1)

"You wanted the long version, didn't you?" I asked as I glanced at him. His face was white as a sheet of paper. He looked like he was about to collapse.

"Yes!" He almost shouted. "And I swear to god, Kai, you better have a good explanation."

I chuckled. "I can't say I do." I glanced around, then walked towards a large rock and leaned my back on it. I was exhausted already, but the real reason was that I was trying to buy some time before we got into the very lengthy, heavy, and volatile subject of how I started working with the Demon Lord.

"You see," I said, taking a deep breath. "Apparently, the previous Keeper of Souls' death wasn't as simple of a matter as we first thought."

And thus began my long explanation. I told him most thing – not all though. I left out some details, such as the fact that we didn't know what would happen to me if my predecessor's soul returned to this body. Or the fact that Fetheion was hiding a photo in his basement.

Asher's expression shifted throughout my explanation. I could see how much he wanted to interject – to tell me how I had acted wrong or get angry for not telling him any of this earlier. Yet, he forced himself to listen until I was done.

"So," He said once I finished explaining. "Now you're going to storm Baile Chailce and try to free your predecessor's soul?"

I nodded.

"And then the Demon Lord will have won so we will all be kicked out of the game and go back home, to the real world?" Doubt was oozing from his voice.

"More or less." I mumbled.

Asher remained silent for a little bit. He was very clearly conflicted.

"I know what you're thinking." I said with a sigh. "I know it's not the brightest idea to work with-"

"No, I think it's brilliant." Asher's words surprised me so much that I nearly choked on my own breath. "I hadn't seen him before, but I could feel his power even from all the way over here. You were right – there was no possibility of a small group such as ours defeating him in battle. So, freeing us from the game by beating the game was out of the question anyways." His eyes sparkled as he spoke. "But by working with him, we're effectively ending the game with a defeat."

I was still to surprised to speak, and he clearly didn't intend to give me a moment as he continued speaking without so much of a pause.

"It can actually work! The best case scenario is if Divine Matriarch Aelith dies and the Ereth are utterly defeated, but I don't think it has to go quite as far. I'm sure just saving the soul of your predecessor will be enough. It feels like he is the win condition of the Demons."

I nodded, though I was still quite shocked to see him actually agree with my plan. Well, the Demon Lord's plan.

"You're still and idiot for not telling me sooner!" He added. I couldn't help but laugh. "I know, I know." My gaze fell upon the battlefield. "I couldn't have told you though – he'd have killed you."

Asher fell silent. It took a while for him to speak again. "How powerful is he, exactly?"

I shrugged. I honestly didn't have a clue. "Stronger than Aelith." I said, then glanced south east to where Baile Chailce lay. "Stronger than Aelith and the other Divines combined, perhaps."

Asher nodded. "That's what I thought as well, but what happens when the Divine Pillars are also in the equation?" He glanced at the remains of the Pillar we'd destroyed just a little bit ago. "They grant the inquisitors with ridiculous amounts of power. Who knows how much more powerful the Divines become with the pillars?"

I chuckled. "A lot." I had fought a Divine who was using the power of a Divine Pillar before. "They become powerful enough to kill me."

Asher flinched. "Sorry," He mumbled, but I shook my head. "No, don't be. It was my fault that it happened. And it was a valuable experience, though a painful one."

We remained silent for a while longer, but then, I broke the silence. "I've got enough mana now." I said with a sigh. "We should go back. And please don't tell the others anything."

Asher's expression darkened. "This is too big of a secret to keep from them."

I bit my lower lip. "I know," I spoke with a low voice as a rift began to form at the tip of my claw-like fingers. "But I can't explain all of that. It's too much and the plan is too risky." I hesitated. "I'm going to tell Lucius, and that's it."

The blonde sorcerer seemed as if he wanted to say something, but I cut him off. "I know it's bothering you, so how about we speak about it tomorrow? After we all get some rest?"

He forced a smile and nodded. "That is a good idea." By now, the rift had grown just large enough to let him pass through. With a sigh, he stepped though. I followed him without hesitation, only to be met with a shriek.

"Where the hell were you two?" Rina shouted as soon as we stepped out of the rift on the other side. 

"Sorry," Asher chuckled and fiddled with a few strands of loose hair. "Something caught my attention, and I wasted a couple of minutes, so Kai ran out of mana," He explained apologetically. "Sorry to have worried all of you."

"Oh my god, you're just so…" Mona took a deep breath to calm herself. I could see that she'd been fuming this whole time we'd spent there. "Is everything ok?" She finally asked. I nodded. 

"Yeah, I'm just really exhausted. I need to sleep for a whole day." I mumbled, then yawned. I wasn't lying, I really was exhausted. Emotionally, mentally, and physically. A good night's sleep and a relatively calm next day was what I really needed.

"Alright, stop crowding around them." Lucius' voice caught me off guard. "Kai destroyed both pillars today and I know for a fact that Asher is exhausted. All of us are, so let's just go to sleep – we can talk tomorrow about whatever we need to talk about."

Laura nodded, then shooed Mona and Theresa away. Alex glanced at me to make sure I wasn't any more battered before, then dragged Rina away once she was satisfied. That only left me, Lucius, and Asher here.

"Let's talk tomorrow," Asher said with a tired sigh. "There are some things that we should discuss before the war begins." He glanced at me, and I nodded. There were indeed plenty of things we needed to decide on before the fourth day happened. We were on a countdown, and tomorrow was the first day.

"Alright, but off to sleep with you." Lucius pushed us towards the stairs. "And me," He added. 

We climbed up the stairs, then then went to our rooms.

I collapsed on the bed and closed my eyes. My worries about not being able to sleep or staying up long because of nightmares and memories of the souls within my chest were quickly proved to be unfounded as I fell asleep instantly.

Instead of nightmares, I found myself in a memory that I had long forgotten about.

"The Cliffs of Moher?" I asked at the young couple who had gotten themselves irredeemably lost. "You're in the wrong place, they are south of here." I pulled out my phone and opened the map of the island. "Look, we're here." I pointed at the northern side of the island. "It's quite possible you got on the wrong bus, let me walk you to the station."

The woman clapped. "Oh my god, thank you!" She was so relieved that even I couldn't help but smile. The man nodded. "We would appreciate it."

I walked them to the station, then helped them find the correct bus.

"Thank you so much!" The woman said again before boarding the bus. The man, however, wasn't in as much of a hurry. "Do you know where this is?" He showed me a picture on his phone. "My grandparents visited this place years ago, but they don't remember the name of the place."

"Let me see," I mumbled as I took a good look at the picture. On the foreground, an elderly couple was posing. They were smiling at the camera as the wind blew their hair and tugged at their clothes. They seemed happy.

I turned my attention to the background. I could see distant cliffs, though there was nothing distinct that could help tell where exactly they were. I could see the silhouette of a lighthouse in the distance, but there were so many of those near here that it was hardly helpful. My gaze wondered on the cliffs; did I recognise any of those?

Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Nothing seemed distinct. "Do you have any other pictures?" I asked. The man checked his phone for a few seconds, then shrugged. "I mean, there is this, but I doubt it will be helpful. He showed me his phone.

The same couple again, they were standing under one of the cliffs. I furrowed my brows. This actually narrowed the possibilities down by a lot. I glanced around the background, was there anything else that I hadn't noticed yet?

My gaze fell on the top left corner of the picture just before I startled myself awake.

Was that a carving on the cliff?