There was no other option than to keep Ella close to himself. If he let her escape from the radius of his own soul realm, who knows what the enemy would do with her unguarded soul. Without possessing a soul realm herself, Ega had to extend his own realm outward to keep her safe.
“Get on my back.” Ega crouched down as he placed her back onto the ground.
Despite her shaking hands, she climbed onto his back and wrapped her arms around his neck tightly. More than a dozen bandits were lurking around, ready to strike at him. With a weight on his soul and shoulders, and an unknown enemy who specialized in soul manipulation, Ega had to tread carefully.
Arrows whistled through the air as a few of the bandits charged forward with a newfound confidence with a soul manipulator supporting them from behind. Unable to dodge the arrows with Ella on his back, Ega swiftly deflected it with his sword.
After getting rid of the projectiles, he charged forward to try and catch one of the bandits on their own. However, just as he moved, so did the rest of the bandits. Dashing over to support their comrade who had been picked off by Ega, they held back his strike.
Sparks lit up the night as their swords collided, and though four of them faced him head on, they were no match for his subsequent strikes. With all the souls that he mixed, the bandits could barely keep up with his speed and strength. Before they knew it, their blades were pathetically parried to the side and they were cut down in just two slashes.
Arrows whizzed by Ega as he took care of the bandits in front of him, and although he didn’t get hit by them, an arrow had nicked Ella in the arm.
“Shit.” Ega cursed as he felt her flinch and held onto him even tighter from the pain.
Ignoring the other bandits who were charging at him, he went straight for those who had been trying to pelt him with arrows. In one breath, he dashed forward with all of this strength instantly cutting one down before they could reach for their sword. Just as he was about to dash toward another hiding in the bushes, he clashed swords with a familiar face.
Dallen stood before him, his eyes still that of an animal’s, but all that he could do was clash blades a few times before his shoddy swordsmanship was quickly dismantled. Ega left a deep gash across Dallen’s body before turning back to his other men.
More arrows flew toward him, and not wanting Ella to be caught by them, he stood his ground and deflected them. Unable to catch all of them, one arrow has slipped through, ready to pierce his chest. Just before it could, however, the Old God’s bones that he had taken from Olian quickly moved to his chest.
The arrow shattered against the bone, but Ega still felt the power in that shot. With no less in his tempo, he dashed toward the archers. Swing after swing, dash after dash, kill after kill, he was beginning to bring their numbers down closer to zero.
But just as fast as the bandits’ numbers were dropping, his stamina was also plummeting as he tried to rush this battle.
Just as he thrusted his sword through the last bandit, the weight of the enemy’s soul realm suddenly crashed down on him. Ega crumbled to his knees, barely able to breathe. If he withdrew his extended soul realm, he might have had a better chance to hold off the effects of this soul manipulator, but he couldn’t put Ella at risk.
“Ega? Ega!” Ella shook him, hands trembling from his sudden loss in strength.
Seeing that he had grown too tired to hold off the pressure of her soul realm properly, Illia had finally decided to show her face. Every step forward toward Ega was adding more and more weight onto his soul. Her grip on his soul was beginning to grow stronger and stronger, but it took every ounce of effort to hold him in place.
Her steps were stiff and slow, her gaze solely focused on Ega, and just like him, her movements were incredibly limited. As much as she wanted to stab him in the throat, it was taking everything to even keep such a tight hold on his soul.
Seeing Illia step closer and Ega’s face twist into even greater pain, Ella reached into his coat and pulled out a dagger. Gripping it as tightly as she could, she charged at Illia.
Noticing this child’s attempt to stab her, she was left with two choices. Let go of Ega and stop her, or simply hold her ground. As Ella got closer and closer to pressing the cold steel into her flesh, Illia made her choice.
Loosening her grip on Ega’s soul, she drew her sword, swiftly slashing at Ella. It was a shoddy attack, but Ella couldn’t block it. Having the eyes to see it was one thing, but possessing the mind and body to respond to it was another. As steel cut into her flesh, Ella fell, her blood staining the earth.
However, at that moment, Ega charged forward and thrusted his sword straight toward Illia’s abdomen. Maybe the weight was still too much to bear or maybe he was too exhausted, but he missed, only slicing the side.
Screaming out in pain, Illia suddenly stepped forward and grabbed Ega’s head. As he tried to carve his blade deeper into her flesh, he suddenly lost control of his body. His eyes which could have seen all of the night suddenly had a black veil placed over them.
For a second, he couldn’t see, feel, or even hear anything, and as light finally entered his eyes again, he was greeted by a clear blue sky. Feeling the pickling of grass all over his body, he quickly shot upright in a panic.
But what was he panicking about? Ega couldn’t quite remember. Just where was he? What was he doing?
As he contemplated those questions, he felt something cold touch the back of his neck.
“What are you thinking so hard about?” That carefree voice, Ega could recognize it from anywhere.
Whipping his head around, his guess was proven true. Standing behind him was a man holding a metal staff against his neck. Seeing that strange weapon and that familiar messy hair, he instantly recognized it as his master’s.
“Oh, this memory.” Ega looked out at the wide open field.
His chest began to tighten as he recalled everything that happened here, as he felt the familiar spring breeze. How long had it been since he had heard his master’s voice? How long had it been since he had seen his face?
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Ega thought he would have forgotten it by now, but it wasn''t easy to forget such an important time of his life.
“Enjoying the view?” Pulling the metal staff away, he stood beside him.
He knew this was an illusion, he knew that everything that he felt and saw here was just a trap to let down the guard around his soul. But when he saw his master’s face, that scruffy yet strangely refined face which didn’t seem to have a care in the world, Ega couldn’t help but want to stay here for a second.
“It''s a nice place. It wouldn’t be too bad to settle down in this place after I’m done with all my travels, but who knows when that time will come. You know there’s a flower field close by? Why don’t we go check that out? Might see some nova bursts in the wild.”
Did Ega ever say anything here? Probably not, but now would be a good time to do so. As his master turned away, ready to check out that field of flowers, Ega spoke.
“Hey, master?” Even at this age, he couldn’t stop calling him that.
“Master again? Didn’t I tell you—”
Unable to meet his eyes, he spoke. “I’m sorry… for everything.”
A torrent of emotions began to break into Ega’s heart, slowly destroying the illusion around him. The blue sky began to crack, the horizon began to blur, but just before everything disappeared, his master smiled.
“Oh come on. How long are you going to keep blaming yourself, Ega?”
Surprised, Ega turned toward his master. He had never said those words before. Were his memories being changed? Or was he subconsciously creating an answer his master might have given. Ega would never know.
As the illusionary world crumbled into nothingness, all he could focus on was his master’s smile. That soft, pained smile, similar to the one that he had worn as he died in front of Ega.
“Just how—” Those were the first words that came out of Illia’s mouth as Ega broke back into the real world. Those would also be the last words he would hear from her.
The moment he had regained consciousness, he broke her grip on his head, and with all of his strength, punched her right in the face. The weight on Ega’s soul had lifted as he knocked her unconscious. She wasn’t dead yet, but that was the least of his concerns.
Whipping his head over to Ella, he quickly scrambled to her side. His hands were stained red as he turned her bloodied body over. For a few seconds, he couldn’t feel her breathing.
“Shit, shit, that can’t…” Ega stopped cursing as he felt a faint pulse through her skin.
Pulling a vial and bandages from his soul sack, he began to pour the green liquid over the wound which ran from shoulder to waist. Flesh began to mend, but the wound was too big. Blood was still pouring out, and if Ega tried to bandage her up now, he could undo the effects of the potion. There was no way to save her.
No, there was one way. As he contemplated whether or not to perform the method, Ega felt something wet touch his cheek. Ella reached out to him, touching his cheek with her bloody hand. Looking at him with hazy eyes, she tried to say something, but couldn’t push out the words with her dwindling strength.
Witnessing this, Ega made his choice. Even if this failed, he told himself that he’d be ready to kill her with his own hands.
“Ella, listen to me.” Seeing that little change in her expression, it seemed like she was conscious enough. “I’m going to help you create your soul realm, okay? Just focus on yourself, close your eyes and try to look inside of yourself.”
Ega’s voice was shaking, but Ella could understand him. Closing her eyes, she followed his directions.
“Just try to imagine what your soul would look like, what it would feel like.” Using his expanded soul realm, he tried to guide her toward her own soul. “Think of a vast, endless space separate from everything else.”
She was beginning to get there. Right now, her soul realm was big enough to hold only her own soul.
“Focus, just focus.” Ega tried to calm her down as her face twisted in discomfort. “When you see that little light in your soul, get closer. Imagine yourself getting closer, feel yourself getting closer and once you’re there, just—”
Before Ega could even finish his sentence, Ella had begun to expand her soul realm.
“Careful, careful. Slow down a little, don’t…” It didn’t matter what he said, Ella’s soul was beginning to burn brighter.
The flames of her soul were melting away at the darkness of her soul realm, expanding it at an incredible rate.
“Not so much! Not so much…” Feeling her soul begin to calm down, Ega heaved a sigh of relief.
Thankfully, they had avoided both a soul fracture and burnout. However, now was the hardest part of the process. Soul mixing.
Normally, it would take a soul bearer years to even begin to soul mix, but Ella would have to do it right after unlocking her soul realm.
Drawing out a salamander soul from his own realm, Ega placed it into her realm.
“Mix this into your own soul, just a tiny bit of it. I’ll guide you and—” Realizing that Ella was beginning to lose consciousness, he tried to keep her awake. “Ella! Ella!”
She tried to grab a hold onto reality, but all the blood loss was getting to her. Still, she could manipulate her own soul, and that was enough. Feeding small pieces of the salamander’s soul into Ella’s, Ega showed her how to properly mix it into her soul.
It was like two flames mixing together, but the process was delicate. Mixing too much at once could cause the soul to erupt and suddenly make it impossible to remove. He had to do it bit by bit, at least for the level that Ella was currently at.
To take the two flames and create one but with each flame distinct enough from each other so that they can be taken apart, that was the essence of soul mixing. Slowly, more and more of the salamander’s soul was mixing into Ella. Her wound began to mend, and once it was small enough, Ega quickly bandaged her up.
Feeling her breathing stabilize, Ega felt his entire body grow weak. He closed his eyes, needing a moment to digest everything that just occurred. Prying them open, he made sure Ella was okay before turning toward the battlefield. There were still two people left that he had to take care of.
Rising up from the ground, he picked up his sword with blood still stuck to his hands. Walking over to Illia’s body, he was about to plunge his sword into her chest when Ega took notice of something on the back of her hand.
A tattoo was etched onto her skin, but not just any tattoo, it belonged to the Black Flame Syndicate. The blob of black ink was in the form of a flame, but the one detail that made Ega’s blood suddenly run cold was the fact that instead of an outline, the entire tattoo was filled in.
It was an indication that she stood as one of the Seven Torch Bearers to the syndicate. If he killed her here, he would make enemies of the organization who controlled the kingdom’s underworld.
If the Imperial Family was considered the light of the kingdom of Lanier, then the Black Flame was its shadow. From slavery to the black market and even human experimentation, there wasn’t anything that they didn’t do.
He remembered an old phrase surrounding that group, that, “The Black Flame casts a light even upon its own shadows.” It was almost like they knew and saw everything that occurred in Lanier, and there was no way they would simply let go of the death of one of their core leaders.
Now, Ega was left with a choice, to finally end this battle here and risk making enemies with the entire underworld, or spare her for the chance that they would let this incident slide. The blade was in his hands.