Lake of Souls Chapter 6

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I stared into the lake wondering how I was going to fight a guy I couldn't touch. As I looked at myself I started noticing all of the scars on my body. I never fully healed after each death, I just came back with fresh scarring. My body was an utter mess at this point but it was still functioning and strong so I guess I had nothing to complain about. I reached towards the souls swimming in the lake when my hand was stopped by an invisible force, "No no. Soul touching is for people who don't die. You have to go back and figure this out. This is only the third King. You still have two more to go after this one and I've heard the Water King is a real nightmare. So get back in the fight Xea. Go, win, and move forward to collect your soul." With that my vision went dark again and then I was waking up looking at the floor.

I could hear the Air King singing to himself though I couldn't hear footsteps which didn't mean anything. I slowly rolled over hoping maybe he wasn't facing me but of course he was. He dashed over to me before I could even sit up and placed one of his air blades to my neck, "Now now. No quick moves or I'll just go ahead and put you to sleep again right now." I took a slow breath in and noticed that some of the air from his blade was inhaled due to its proximity to me.

I laid my head back thinking. Of course that would be the case. If I could just inhale him then I could defeat him. Though of course that was easier said than done. The second he realized I was on to his weakness he would back off and just attack from a distance. Also we were surrounded by wind. Wouldn't he just be able to keep replenishing his energy or did he have a finite amount? Too many questions and no answers. I would have to take risks and hope for the best. I looked up at him, "Alright so are you going to kill me again or are you just sitting there? I mean you've already shown you have the upper hand on me. So why do you feel the need to hover over me?"

The Air King pulled his blade back grinning, "I'm so glad you've come to realize the situation you're in. So then what will you do vessel? Will you continue to fight me or will you leave my land? Your choice." He moved himself a couple of steps away now.

I stood up and rubbed the back of my head, "I'm not really sure what I'm going to do. To get to the lake I have to remove you but you can't be removed. What would you suggest I do?" Before he could answer me I rushed him again this time just shoving my arm through his body instead of going through. At the same time I flexed every muscle in my body as hard as I could to try and stop his blades from sinking through me. Finally I inhaled as much as I could standing right in front of him. I watched as the top right side of his head disappeared into my mouth. As I swallowed I realized the distinctive feeling inside of me. I had just absorbed a small piece of his soul.

His now one eye was wide in shock. I had managed to take him by surprise. I saw a couple of his blades disappear as if he no longer had the power to maintain them. I managed to inhale a little more off of his face before he regained his senses floating backwards and sending a barrage of blades at me. I brought my arms up covering my face and chest best I could feeling the blades hit and cut into me but not just skewer through me this time. When the barrage stopped I peeked an eye out to look at him. He had solidified and nothing on him was missing but he was looking a little tired now. He screamed at me, "Did you just breathe me in? You big brutish beast! You disgusting vessel dared to breath me in and take a part of my soul? Is this what you've been doing to those you kill? Steal their souls? That's why you've become so powerful. Well then now that I know what you're doing what will you do?"

I stood there with my arms still up ready to guard. My muscles still flexed to hopefully stop any incoming blades, "I'm not really sure. I didn't even know if this would work and I didn't really have a plan if it did. I mean I'm just a simple vessel right? How could I have ever even harmed you?" I started walking towards him slowly and deliberately. I've gotten the upper hand now at least on the mental game. I could see it in his eyes. He was scared of me now. He had thought this was going to be an easy ordeal for him and now he doesn't know what to do with me.

The Air King stood there stock still muttering to himself. I could see wind gathering around him in a massive flurry though it seemed to lack something now. He surrounded himself and started cackling now, "What will you do now? You'll never reach me! You'll be torn to shreds before you could even touch me."

I got within arms reach of the tornado around him and slowly pulled my arms back. After I had them as far back as I could I grinned at the Air King, "Are you sure about that?" I brought my hands together quickly with as much force as I could clapping directly in front of the tornado. The outward burst sheared away the tornado from him and I immediately lunged at him wrapping my hands around his neck before he could react. I saw the fear and shock in his eyes. His mind apparently shattered at me having even laid a hand on him. I was choking him for at least a minute with my face directly in front of him waiting for him to become incorporeal again.

Finally he regained his senses enough to do so and I immediately began to inhale as much as I could. I could see whole wispy chunks of him disappearing with each inhale. Though my ability to take in such deep breaths was quickly diminishing. However with each inhale he became weaker and less able to mount a counterattack or even to float away from me. Finally I had to stop before I passed out, my chest having tightened to the point that I was forced to take a few normal breaths. I had managed to take over a quarter of his body and it showed when he finally became corporeal again.

His body looked ragged now, his own breaths coming out in wheezes, and his eyes sunken in but bulging in terror, "Please Xea. Spare me please. I'm so sorry for thinking so little of you." He was slowly inching to the edge of the roof now, "Listen to me. I could help you find your lake. I hear everything on the winds as you know. I would be your best source of information."

I quickly walked over to him now something burning in me again. I knew he was lying to me now. He was going to throw himself off the roof and become one with the wind. He would crush this whole temple on top of me. I grabbed him by his throat, picking him up and squeezing. I didn't just need to kill him to learn the truth for once I wanted to kill someone. "You condescending sniveling coward! You think me such a fool I don't know your plan. No you will not get to live. You must die like all the rest." With that I applied my full force on his throat and felt several bones in his neck snap. His head tilted to the side and now I could see what little was left of his soul.

I absorbed the rest into me and felt the changes occurring in my body with the inclusion of his soul. While I didn't grow or shrink my body felt significantly lighter. Closer to before I had taken in the Earth King's soul. I stretched my body some enjoying the feeling of lightness that permeated through me. Then I noticed that the massive wall of wind around the temple was starting to die down. The temple itself was starting to wisp away. I sighed to myself realizing that of course all the wind was going to go away now. This fall wasn't going to be very pleasant. I went to the edge of the roof and looked down seeing if there was anywhere still currently solid I could jump to.

I saw a ledge twenty feet down from me so I hopped off and prepared for a solid landing unsure if the floor would give or not. I had already forgotten about how light my body was feeling now so I was surprised when I landed on my feet lightly. I had landed with something close to gracefulness. The floors up here were still holding so I looked down again finding another ledge though this was one a bit further down. I braced myself and jumped again. I managed to land once again perfectly with nothing giving away. I was about a third of the way down now but I wanted to get further down before it all blew away. So I continued dropping down from ledge to ledge finding that I could once again balance myself perfectly on a pin point. The temple finally gave way when I still had about a quarter of it to go. However the fall was nothing to me now and as soon as I hit the ground I started running.

I looked to the sky and saw numerous animals that had been flying start to drop to the ground. Most of them are able to make a safe if bumpy landing but a couple don't make it. I close my eyes as I run pulling up my mental map of the air kingdom. Unfortunately the temple was near the middle of the kingdom which meant even at my current speed I probably had a day's worth of running. Thankfully I could use the map to avoid any of the various creatures that I'm sure would want my blood. Especially the dragons.

This new lightness in my body was such a wonderful thing. My running was much closer to being like the wind than a running boulder like before. I could hop and leap as I needed to. Scaling up any small mountain-like areas was easy now. My feet and hands could grip to almost nothing on the walls. It made avoiding the numerous creatures of air much easier.

About halfway into my journey I finally got spotted. A smaller bird that was still about to partially fly spotted me and started screeching. I could feel the rumbling through the ground as various creatures came chasing after me. I looked back and saw the griffins I had encountered when I first arrived. They were screeching and clicking their beaks at me in rage. I saw some other abomination behind them roaring almost as loud as the dragon I had met and was close to as big. It had a lion's head and body though the body was covered in scales, wings flapping crazily on its back as it tried to get in the air, and its tail was a snake that was whipping around wildly. I was certain I didn't want to fight this thing. I would eventually win but how many times I would die I didn't know.

My progress was brought to an abrupt halt when the all white dragon I had met dropped down in front of me. It had somehow managed to achieve flight to reach me. Probably through sheer willpower and anger. It roared at the others and they all stopped in their tracks. He had just named himself as the one who would kill me. I prepared myself for a fight when he spoke, "Wait. First tell me why you killed him. Then I will decide whether or not we have to fight."

Still on guard I explained everything that had transpired between me and the Air King. His ridiculous test for me to see him. His cruel words and attitude. How his mind broke at the fact that I was even able to touch him. Finally the fact that he could not tell me what I needed to know. So I needed his soul so that I could truly know he wasn't lying to me. That at the end he left me with no real choice in the matter if I even had wanted to spare him.

I bowed my head to the dragon and then looked up into its eyes, "I promise you I did not come here to kill him but I did. If what you say about the kingdoms all fighting is true though I think that maybe this is a good thing. I think it might be time for a change to your system. If the Kings can not work together then maybe you need new Kings. This world doesn't work if you are all fighting each other. Surely you've noticed it and if you look in your hearts you'll see that I'm right."

The dragon stood there for several moments. Enough so that the sun had moved some before it spoke, "Perhaps you are right Xea. I believe that you did not desire to kill him. Perhaps we do need to change. Come with me to the border. No one here will bother you as long as I am with you."

I nodded, "Then before we walk I have a question. What is your name? I never asked earlier."

The dragon laughed, "You may call me Baunt. In the time when we all spoke different languages it meant bright light. It was the name I was given because when I was hatched my scales caught the sun and blinded all in my vicinity with its reflection. So my family thought it was quite fitting."

Nodding, I started walking again, "Interesting. I wish I could have been around at that time. But then I wouldn't be here today. So all things in their own time I suppose." With that we walked and we talked. I told him of my journey up to this point excluding any mention of the god. He told me about life in the air kingdom and what it had been like before all the kingdoms started fighting amongst themselves. How he bathed in the hot water springs in the fire kingdom, swam through the ocean of the water kingdom, explored the caves of the earth kingdom, and the amazing generosity of the life kingdom.

Our walk was met with no resistance until we were within sight of the border. I was getting ready to tell Baunt farewell when the large creature with the lion's head appeared ahead of us. I looked at Baunt, "By the way what is that thing called?"

Baunt lowered himself slightly as if he was getting ready to charge, "It is called a manticore. They are considered rather nasty even by other beings in the air kingdom. The bite its tail delivers is highly venomous, it can bite through almost anything, and it has several nasty claws hidden in those feet. I'll take care of this creature. You should go on ahead and cross the border. Once you have it will not chase you any further for fear of retaliation from the Water King so go Xea. I am happy we met and I hope you find your soul. Go now!" With that he rushed towards the manticore while roaring.

I took off to the left slightly trying to keep myself out of their path as they fought. I could feel the clashing of their bodies both in the air and the earth. I kept my eyes away from them because I knew if I looked I would join the fight. I could hear Baunt screaming in pain but I could hear the same coming from the manticore. I kept running as fast as I could, my eyes on the thin stretch of sand and water that was the beginning of the water kingdom. I jumped along the outcroppings of rocks that were starting to appear. My feet barely touched them before I was leaping again. Finally I landed in the sand denoting I had made it.

I suddenly heard a triumphant roar coming from Baunt. I turned around to see him standing over the manticore. One foot firmly through the manticore's neck blood pooling out from it. Baunt gave me a grin showing his blood stained teeth. I could see a few scratch marks on him but overall he was unharmed. I started to return the grin when I saw the snake tail rising up getting ready to strike. I called out, "Bau—" The snake head bit him in the neck, its teeth sank in deep through the scales. Baunt stumbled away from the manticore, his eyes becoming unfocused. He collapsed falling on his side. I could see him trying to speak but the venom worked its way quickly through him and within a moment his chest stopped moving.

I watched the entire thing happen and there was nothing I could do to stop it. I couldn't even have gotten to his side before he died. Something welled up inside of me that made me want to stop everything and mourn him. It was something I did not understand but it gave me a form of pain. Something I had never experienced before. I reached out and his soul came willingly into me. At least through me his journey would continue at least in some form. I turned back to the water now studying the calm sapphire blue and slowly placed one foot into it. As soon as my foot was fully submerged something grabbed me and dragged me into the water.

Well so that happened. For anyone reading this know this. That hurt me almost as much as it hurt you. The next chapter and the original short story will be linked down below. I hope you all enjoyed this. If you did then please heart, subscribe, and feel free to leave a tip. Till next time.

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