His body walked in a straight line, killing the soldiers that came for him, only adding to the souls circling him. He eventually made it to the center of town, where a small regiment of soldiers was standing at the ready.
Behind them stood a tall and slick ash elf. He had a snide on his lips, like the man walking towards them was only vermin.
“Why are you attacking your fellow ash elves?! Are you a traitor?!” the man screeched from behind his men.
No answer.
“Answer, filthy traitor!” He angrily shouted.
His only answer was the wailing wisps floating around the man.
“Kill him!” he ordered, in an almost funny high-pitch scream.
The soldiers obeyed and ran at Astaroth, weapons drawn. These men and women would never return to their families.
***Somewhere in the sky, among the stars***
The kingdom spirit of the ash elves, Alantha Anulo, was resting on a gaseous nebula, observing the kingdom from above. She had rested for a month after the incident in the palace, and had been observing ever since.
The king was still making preparations for war, training soldiers and amassing more and more taxes to pay for his rising military expenses.
Although she was vehemently against war, due to the substantial cost to the people, as long as the king didn’t intentionally kill his people, she could do nothing about it.
It irked her that such a man had been born from such a noble bloodline as the Uuthli’vlos. Their family had been honourable and good for the last four generations, and now this warmonger was graced by their name.
She silently wept as visions of death haunted her dreams at night. This day was no different, as she observed the army slowly expanding.
She had witnessed a battalion attack a human settlement within their borders, but could do nothing to intervene since they weren’t ash elves. After the killing started, she had turned her eyes elsewhere.
‘I’m sorry, humans,’ she had thought silently, shedding a single tear.
But after half an hour of that incident, she suddenly felt a pang of emotion from that same place. But this time, it was much more powerful, and she could feel it came from an ash elf.
She glanced back to the settlement, and what she saw horrified her. From the sky, she could see the massive tornado of blackened, corrupted souls spinning around a single man.
She recognized that man, but she couldn’t recognize his soul imprint right now. It was traceless, like he completely locked his soul out.
The pang of emotion came from the man he was currently grasping at the throat. His other hand was deposited on the choking man’s chest, as the souls surrounding him rapidly flew inside him.
ƥαṇdα- ηθνε|·ƈθm
She stepped inside, reappearing over Astaroth and the quickly dying military officer. Lady Anulo rapidly flew down, trying to salvage the situation.
But the souls tried blocking her path. She angered rapidly, waving her hand at them, disintegrating them.
When she reached the men, she put her hand on Astaroth’s head, trying to breach his mind.
“Boy, listen to me. You must stop this madness.” She whispered, trying to reach his soul.
Astaroth was still floating deep within himself, enjoying the silence and peace enveloping him. Suddenly, he heard a whisper around him.
A soft voice reaching out to him.
‘Who’s there?’ He shouted, opening his eyes.
As he did, his mind reconnected with a part of his senses. His vision appeared to him, like watching through a screen, in a first-person view.
He saw his arm holding a person by the throat, while his other was pressed on his torso, as black wisps floated inside the man around his hand.
At first, he wondered what was happening, but then he heard the voice, clearly this time.
“Boy, please hear me. I do not want to have to kill you. Please let my voice reach you,” he heard the voice say.
Astaroth recognized the voice as lady Anulo’s and slowly, his mind started recollecting what was happening. He gripped his head as images of blood and death assaulted his brain.
‘Stop. Please stop.’ he shouted in his mind.
Until he shouted with more strength, and it came out of his mouth this time.
“Stop!”
The surrounding souls stopped pushing into the officer as his grip around the man’s throat slowly loosened. Astaroth’s eyes regained some semblance of emotion in them, and Anulo knew she had reached him.
She sighed in relief as she embraced Astaroth from behind.
“Welcome back, boy. I thank the gods you were not completely lost.” She said to him, closing her eyes.
Astaroth slowly regained full control of his body, as the souls started dispersing. He released the half-dead man in his grasp, and his legs went soft.
He slowly turned his head, seeing what he had done in the village. He had to refrain from puking, as bodies mangled beyond recognition were strewn all around the place.
Violette, who had been shivering in fright, watching from afar, ran to him at full speed when the souls started disappearing.
She was crying tears of joy as she jumped at his chest to hug him. She didn’t recognize the tall lady behind him, but she felt at ease next to her, so she ignored her presence.
“Finally, you’re back! I thought you were gone forever!” she cried, giving him small punches on the chest, as she sobbed.
“I’m sorry I worried you,” Astaroth replied, patting her head with his bloody hands.
“Thank you, lady Anulo. I’m sorry I caused you to worry,” he whispered to the woman, embracing his back.
“It is alright, my child. You deserve my protection just as much as any other Ash Elf. I am only glad I could reach you and you were not gone too far,” Lady Anulo responded.
“But now I need to go. Staying here drains my energy rapidly, and I am already weakening. Please do be careful, child,” she added, letting go of him and floating upwards.
And just as she had done to get here, her hair flared up, creating a portal that she stepped through and disappeared.
Astaroth watched her disappear as his vision blurred.
“Violette, I’m sorry, but can you guard me?” he asked as he lost consciousness.
Violette almost panicked at first when he crashed to the ground, but she quickly saw he was only sleeping.
So she guarded him for the rest of the day, and a good part of the night, staying awake and connected as long as he didn’t wake up.