The scenery blurred into view, putting us high above the Fangua river, where I met the first ancients, my comrades. The sun was rising, already past the horizon, with a gentle spring breeze. The water glistened with a soft reflection of the sky, roaring as it collided with rocks and brush, tumbling and foaming. The forest was alive with birds and wildlife searching for mates or food.
Silently, I waited. Protecting the little girl asleep on my shoulder, wondering if I was successful in removing her tracker. I was helpless against the dark presence, stabbing needles into my skin with their aura. The air had become toxic, scratching and dehydrating my lungs. I was lucky enough to have survived the surprise attack. Any critical damage would no longer be healed by the void, freezing time and repairing my wounds. It helped me grow and survive reality, but now the training wheels have been ripped off, as I ride on a tightrope, high in the mountains.
Cloud after cloud passed me by, the air feeling crisp against my cheeks. The darkness did not follow. I wanted to check my pod, but I would not offer my location to the demons tracking the wavelengths. First, I will have the ancients research a way to block signals from entering or leaving, before turning it back on.
I took a risk and headed in the opposite direction of Sarconia, baiting the dark fiend. If they were waiting out there, I expected them to follow. Bringing a calamity to the capital's doorstep, was the last thing I needed right now.
Traveling through the clouds, the landscape below flickered in and out of sight. I rose higher into the sky, where I saw a flock of birds ahead in the distance, migrating in a ‘v’ formation, perhaps going back to their homelands further north. Except, they were getting larger the closer I approached. Making out more details, they appeared to be colored red and black, thick tree trunks for legs, and long tails protruding out their back. Curious about their appearances, I sped up a bit, carefully holding the little girl close.
Were my eyes deceiving me? Crimson red scales the size of car doors, pointy and protruding from around the body, sharp horns curled slightly upwards, pointing backwards, and as expansive as a passenger aircraft.
“Dragon!” I yelled out, now realizing I was flying a few meters away from its side.
“AaaaaaAAAhhhh!!!!” a loud shriek escaped from the dragon as its long neck jolted its head away from me.
“Aaaaahh!” I flinched and yelled too.
“Human! Do not do that!” the dragon spoke into my mind with a female voice, glaring at me.
“You can speak?!” I lost my breath, surprised by this discovery. The other dragons looked back, and cackled as they bounced up and down through the air.
“Hmph! Stupid human, our intelligence rivals the great devil and those weak angels!” she quipped, puffing her chest out.
“Oh? Then please tell me, why does this little girl not wake up?” I attempted to kill two birds with one stone on this shot. Finding out what's wrong with the little girl and peek at their magical prowess. I did not forget that comment about the angels, it seems they still live, however, in rather unfavorable conditions.
The dragon leaned its head back, now glaring at the girl. Moving in with her giant head, her eyeball inspected the girl closely. After hearing her ‘hum’ and ‘hm’ for a few seconds, her eyelid shot straight up. Then, she shook her head.
“Her soul does appear a bit frail. But, it surprised me that she has a ninety percent soul for a demon at this young age. A bit of rest and she should be fine.”
“I see, thank you for the information. I didn’t introduce myself. My name is Joe,” I was grateful for her help.
“Kamira,” she responded. She smiled, I think.
"Where are you all headed?" I asked, hoping for a friendly relationship. These were dragons! Allying with these beings may prove beneficial in the future.
"Nonya," she twisted her head away.
I wasn't sure where that was, but replied, "I see. Well, I'm from Sarconia, stop by if you ever need help."
She stole a quick glance at me, then snapped her gaze forward, "Hah! We won't need human help!"
"I do hope we can be friends one day, but until then, safe travels!" I yelled out while slowing down.
"Hmph!" Was all I heard, as I watched them shrink away into the distance. They were majestic creatures, and surprisingly not as hostile as one would expect.
My thoughts shifted, concerned about my stalker, but I didn't feel the dark aura coming after me. Did we escape safely? Floating in the air, surrounding myself in a hardened shell of mana multiple meters thick, I waited.
But, nothing came. Time slowly ticked by, as a few minutes passed. But, nothing approached. If they knew where I went and didn't follow, there must be a reason, but only two came to mind. Something is protecting the reserve at large, or they want to discreetly investigate with spies, since this is foreign territory.
The demons appeared to have relationships with the surrounding nations, perhaps part of their deal was to avoid mass bloodshed. Are we protected by an unknown force, or by the devil himself?
Giving up, I risked it all, and made my way back to Sarconia, landing near the north gate, where a trail of people were traveling in and out of the city. Commoners took over as the entrance authority, but carried no weapons. It picked my curiosity, as my turn next in line arrived.
"Next!" The young man with blond hair, standing a few inches taller than me shouted out.
He sat back down at his desk, holding a rock and asked, "What is the purpose of your visit?"
I leaned in closer, carefully holding the girl from falling, and said, "I'm an ancient."
A faint sky blue aura peeked out of his shoulders, but quickly dissipated.
"I see, and what proof do you have?" He replied.
What proof did I have? I was not prepared for this question. I could show him my magic or convince him with my clothes? No, that wouldn't work.
Leaning in even closer, I whispered, "I'm the Soul Eater."
His eyebrows shot straight up, the aura returning a bit more fierce, before calming it down again.
"S-sir, I still need proof," he no longer looked me in the eyes.
"Are you able to call Harry or Dean? They can vouch for me. My name is Joe," I calmly used my lifeline.
I was proud of the team for being paranoid and implementing this inspection. This is a time of war, whether it's hot or cold, defense is a good offense.
The young man reached for his chest pocket and pulled out a telepathy stone. After silently communicating for a moment, he responded, "A-alright sir, you are clear to enter!"
"Next!" He called up the person behind me. I stood up straight, adjusting the girl on my shoulder, and nodded to the gentleman.
As I entered the city, it was brimming with life. People were advertising their wares outside, trying to lure in customers, horses pulling carts and carriages waddled through the roads, which were now compacted, avoiding deformation from the traffic. I wanted to explore, but needed to get this girl to the ancients who have medical expertise.
Racing down the west road towards the noble district, I headed straight for the castle. Passing multi-story houses, conjoined with their neighbors, as I finally reached the castle entrance gate. Harry was waiting there, motioning two men standing guard to let me in.
"Where did you run off to this time?" He pretended to be angry.
Staring at the girl in my arms, he motioned to follow him, as he quickly led me inside.
"Let me take you to the 'infirmary'," he curiously quoted the last part with his hand.
"Thanks, also… I have more news to break to everyone," I replied, as my voice faded into a whisper, losing confidence.
"You didn't nuke something did you?" He must still be bitter about that accident, but perhaps what I did was worse this time.
Finally reaching inside, as I dodged his question, the infirmary was cordoned off in the main hall shared by the stations, with blurry clear walls reaching a few meters up towards the ceiling. We passed through the entrance covered with long plastic strips, as they swayed around behind us.
Harry said while pointing, "Joe, this is Astrid and Heidi, they are in charge of medical problems."
Looking at the two rushing towards me wearing lab coats, I flinched, but caught myself when they stopped to inspect the girl.
"Please tell us what happened to her," Astrid spoke up. She had short, brown curly hair, with thick red framed glasses, missing their lens.
I kept it brief, "I believe her incomplete soul was being drained away through a needle in her thymus gland. She is a demon."
Both ladies jumped backwards at my last word, but resolved themselves to approach again. Heidi, the one with blond hair down to her shoulders, carried her from my arms. Placing her down on a bed, I couldn't stop thinking about the suffering my daughter went through in hospitals. Vomiting from post surgery recovery, skinny as a twig, pain protruding her body, not enjoying life.
The little girl in front of me has the same copper toned hair, slightly wavy, with a light amount of freckles under the eyes. The sadness was eating at my heart.
I spoke up concerned, "Is it possible for us to measure the Soul? The demon's had a device that could measure its completeness."
"N-no, but we will look into it! Now, get out of here while we examine her!" The curly haired girl kicked me out.
Holding onto the doorframe, before being pushed out, I shared, "The Demonus Empire is a modern world with all the culture and technology. The girl will be rightly confused here in Sarconia, so be careful. She may not be able to control her magic."
Their jaws were hanging open, but I nodded and headed out with Harry, wishing they could help the girl recover.
"Is that true?!" Harry couldn't hold it in anymore.
I nodded, unsure about which part he was asking.
I walked over to the stations and searched for Tamara, but she wasn't here yet. A familiar man sat at a station up against the wall. I approached and gently knocked on his table to get his attention. He was the one who created the thymus device. He had long gray hair sprouting off to the sides. and brown eyes with thin glasses with bags on his eyes, wearing a professor's suit.
I broke the ice, "I saw your capsule device being used to complete a demon's soul over in the Demonus Empire."
He had a relaxed look on his face, processing what I just said.
After a moment, he dragged his words, while pointing to a black rectangular brick, "I see. I had been curious ever since our conversation at the assembly, so I tinkered all night on this."
He lifted it up to my chest and closed his eyes. A purple aura mist lightly surrounded him, then disappeared.
Opening his eyes, he slurred, "Fortyyy perrcennt."
His eyes faltered, shutting down once more, and plopped onto the desk, letting out a big snore echoing throughout the hall.
My eyes were frozen on the brick. If remembering it correctly, Dr. Gray here got my number right. I borrowed the device, curious to run a test of my own. I forgot, but noticed Harry was still standing right next to me, awfully quiet.
I stared at him, as he finally opened his mouth, "Why is your soul not complete?"
Ignoring him, I put the device up to his chest and closed my eyes, adding mana into the brick. I could feel the mana swirl out and into Harry, searching inside desperately. In the darkness, a calm white flame spawned, outlined with red. Surrounding the flame appeared a faint outline, perhaps the vestiges of its once completed form. If I had to gauge the percentage difference, it would be around…
“Ten percent,” my words slipped out.
“What? Me?! No no.” Harry was not having it.
“This may be a result of our revival. It doesn’t mean we are demons,” I told him.
He stood there, hand on his chin, pondering what I just said.
Finally, breaking the silence, he said, “Hmm, I have noticed a change the past three weeks. I’ve been able to control the mana and conjure slightly more complex magic. It might be possible to level up our Soul.”
This was an interesting observation. Until this moment, I only imagined myself getting stronger, but if the ancients can also get stronger, this would give us a better chance at fending off the demons and other threats.
“AHHHHhhhhhh,” a high pitched scream came out of the infirmary.
I sprinted over, with Harry trailing behind me, and entered the plastic room. The girl was crawling backwards on the bed, away from Astrid and Heidi, who had their arms up trying to calm her down.
"Human rodents! Don't you dare touch me! I am the Princess of the Empire, take me back at once!" Her words were shrill, piercing daggers at the two.
She tore an angry glance in my direction, but her emotion shifted and a grin rose on her face. She hopped off the bed and dashed straight for me, jumping at me, wrapping her arms around.
“You all are in trouble now! Destroy them!” She pointed at the ladies, while looking at me.
“They are friends,” I patted her on the head, noticing the left eye filled with darkness and the right glowing a puffy cloud of white. My breathing froze for a moment, but I continued, “We were trying to help you, the Director was trying to take your soul.”
