Crazy stuff is gonna be happenin'!
Do you believe in magic?
It's been 6 days since Safr left The Mahoor. Safr's arm had healed up till then. Closing in on the Northern Raiders' base at noon, Safr could see the fort in the distance. The area is generally considered off-limits and a danger zone to any travelers nearby. Safr knew riding to the front gate would endanger Epona so he left her hidden behind a rock formation which looked like an entrance to a cave and then went on by himself, holding his bow in his right hand with a scimitar ready to be unsheathed on the left of his coat.
Two Raider archers on guard at the top of the wall above the steel portcullis saw Safr approaching. "Fresh meat." They said."Probably another traveler thinking we'll give him water or something."
Safr drew an arrow and pulled with his bow, taking aim. At the same time the archers took aim but before they fired, Safr shot one of them. The other archer shoots and Safr dodges the arrow and quickly fires one at the other archer, taking him out.
A guard inside sees the archers getting shot and calls the other Raiders.
The other Raiders got disappointed seeing only one man. One armor-covered Raider was particularly annoyed. "Let him in. I wanna have some fun today."He said in a deep, intimidating voice. He took out a war hammer and stood with a devilish grin while one guard opened the portcullis from the inside and Safr walked in.
"My name is Rabu. Rabu the Hammer! And it looks I'll be having something to smash today! So then, stupid traveler. You've got guts coming here on your own. Just for that, I'll offer you a free one-on-one match with yours truly. If I kill you, you're gonna be a mashed set of entrails! If you win, you'll be burned alive instead! How's that for a bargain? HAHAHAHAHA!!!" Rabu said.
"How about you just tell me where your leader is so I can snap his neck and get my camel back? I'm not much better at sword fighting than I am at archery anyway." Safr said.
"Oi! Oi! Don't get too full of yourself, boy. You wanna see the boss? Ya better be ready to fight hundreds of men on yer own, kid." Rabu said.
On the roof of another building, a woman with a crossbow saw the scene. "Looks like Rabu's causing a ruckus again. I'll have to teach him another lesson. He never learns. When the Boss tells you to only capture living beings, you do what he says. Idiot."
"Enough chitchat!" Rabu said,"Time to die!" He charged at Safr.
Safr drew out his scimitar and jumped to the left side while slashing at Rabu's arm, making him drop the warhammer. Safr quickly tries to strike off Rabu's head before he tries to pick up his warhammer but gets punched back and Rabu picks his weapon up. Rabu swings at him again and Safr dodges. Safr looks for an opening after dodging twice and then swiftly manages to make a large cut on his arm and then while he gets distracted, Safr slices off Rabu's head.
The other Raiders were surprised and shocked and then started yelling,"Get him!"
Safr was overwhelmed. He managed to kill 5 or 6 Raiders but got shot by arrows, cut and captured. He was locked away in a cell with some other prisoners.
-------------------
At the same time, Afsa, Nex and Robert were riding towards the base in haste. Robert was initially hesitant but tagged along when Afsa decided to go after Safr all by herself.
-------------------
A guard came to Safr's cell. 2 hours after he was captured."It's your lucky day, fool. The Boss is interested in ya."
"Don't have much choice." Safr thought."Starting to regret coming through the front. But I have to find Siin. She must be here somewhere."
They took him through to the main building and underground from there. Before going into the Boss' lair, they went through another room containing piles of corpses which were being thrown into pits of lava. They weren't just human corpses but corpses of animals as well. Including camels. "What in the hell is this place?" Safr thought."Could it be that Siin was.........? No. There's no way that could've happened."
They finally entered a large, ominous chamber. There were candles lit around the room instead of the usual lanterns. There were pillars and markings on the stone walls. There was a strange circle with even stranger shapes in it on the floor. It appeared to have been painted in blood.
There stood someone in the figure of a man along with a man and a woman standing on either side of him. He had red hair which was banded like a long ponytail. His skin was especially pale grey. His eyes were glowing red. He wore a dark red robe with a dark green mark of a skull. He also wore an amulet with a red crystal gem at its center. His expression was foreboding. To Safr, it was as if he had been overcome by an overwhelming force. He could feel the bloodlust emanating from it. Because whoever that was, he was sure that it wasn't human.
Safr was thrown down on the circle, his hands still tied. That was when the mysterious figure spoke. "Is it true that you fought one of my subordinates and killed him? Don't worry. I'm glad he's dead. He was a nuisance anyway. I'm more interested in you, skilled human. You could prove useful for our cause. As such, I will give you an offer.
Join and serve us.
or
Serve as a sacrifice for us.
What is it that you choose?"
"You're the 'Boss', eh? I've got a special neck-snapping appointment with you." Safr said.
"Ignorant child." He replied.
"Who the hell are you anyway? " Safr replied.
"Me? I am Sik. We are the Aniki! The first! The most powerful! The superior! We are the rightful rulers of this world!" He said.
"And what's with the corpses? This circle? What do you mean by 'sacrifice'?" Safr replied.
"That depends on what you choose. And it seems you wish to be sacrificed. I may inform you of your fate then, for this will be your last day on this world.
You will be sacrificed for our sake. Your soul will belong to us and it will be trapped in our shackles forever. After we have acquired your soul, your body will be disposed so as to confirm death. This is what we have done for many, many years.
A pity that you refused to work under us. Now prepare for your last moments."
Safr was afraid. Not of death. But of not ever knowing Siin's fate and the possibility that this may have happened to her.
At that very moment, Sik held his hands up around which an orange aura could be seen. "This is the power of the Aniki!" He said. "Show me your fear and despair!"
Safr felt like his insides were being pulled out and tried not to scream in pain. He felt as if he was being pulled on and pushed into something. Finally, his vision went black.
Safr.....had died.
---------------------------
9 hours later, Afsa, Nex and Robert had found the fort. They snuck into the base at night. They split up in search of Safr. Afsa had gone west to the prison cells and Nex and Robert went east towards the armory.
Afsa had passed by a cell which had blood scattered in it. She had wondered who's it was and felt sorry for whoever was locked up in there. That cell was Safr's. She wanted to open the cells and help them escape but she realized that they wouldn't be able to defend themselves against the Raiders outside.
Afsa snuck along the hallway and saw a guard sleeping on a chair with his feet on a small table and a wine bottle on the floor.
She continued on to the next room through a passageway to another building but saw two men's shadows walking towards the passageway. She quickly hid in a broom closet waiting for them to go away and heard them talking about something.
"Hey. You saw that guy with a coat who killed Rabu, right? Man, I wish I was there to watch the fight. Rabu got what he deserved."
"Yeah. He was all like "I'm gonna smash you!" and then that coat guy took out his scimitar and cut Rabu's hand and then sliced his head off!"
"Damn! That sounds incredible!"
"It's a shame the Boss sacrificed 'em. He'd have been a better Raider than Rabu."
Afsa widened her eyes and gasped."He's......dead? We were too late........." She thought.
"Hey. You ever wonder what happens to those sacrifices?"
"I've only seen it happen once and that was when he invited us all to see a hundred sacrifices at once. It's weird. They're throats aren't slit, they're not stabbed or shot. Just some blue light ghost-thing comes out of them and into the Boss' amulet."
"I heard the Boss locks their souls in his amulet and they're kept there forever."
"Yeah. Must be pretty boring. Never getting to see the afterlife. Just stuck in a weird amulet."
"Some of the guys say that the person isn't completely dead after trapping them in an amulet until they get rid of the body. Maybe that's why we burn 'em in the pits."
"Speakin' of burning bodies. It was your shift today. Where the hell were you? Your pile was rottin' away."
"Uh...Drinking."
"Drinkin'? If the Boss finds out, you're gonna be the next sacrifice."
"It was just this one time! Don't worry. I'll get it done tomorrow."
"Screw tomorrow. Hurry up and go finish up. If Saka sees a pile, you're dead meat. He'll cut you up and burn you before you can burn those things. Now go."
The other man grumbles and then walks off in the other direction.
"Humph. Can't believe I'm friends with that guy." He walks past the closet Afsa was in.
"Souls? Stuck in an amulet?" Afsa thought."I don't understand exactly what any of this means but.........if Safr's body is intact, I can save him! I just have to follow that guy and knock him out once I find the room. Simple."
Afsa followed the man to the main building and underground room where the bodies were. She knocked the man out and hid him in the pile of corpses. After searching, she found Safr's body under a few other corpses.
But behind her the woman with a crossbow stood. "You lost, little girl?" She said.
Afsa looked back and immediately got hit on the head.
She was taken to the Sacrificial Chamber and got shaken awake by a man. A man called Saka who had a sharp halberd with him while the woman with the crossbow, Ria, stood at the side of the Sik, the Aniki who sacrificed Safr.
Afsa could see the amulet and felt a strong force coming from Sik. Her hands were bound with rope.
"What's this? Sneaking around our base of operations? Another insolent human." Sik said."No matter. Another sacrifice is another sacrifice."
"I wouldn't count on that happening if I were you."Afsa said.
"Hmm. Such confidence. A pity. You show so much potential." Sik said.
"Didn't you have an amulet with you? Where'd it go?" Afsa asked.
Sik looked and couldn't find his amulet. It disappeared. "What!? Where is it!?" He looked back at Afsa.
"Looking for this?" Afsa said, holding the amulet in one hand. She had broken free of the ropes!
Saka and Ria pulled out their weapons.
"If you want it, you've gotta catch me first!" Afsa ran.
"Foolish human. You will not get away!" Sik said. He shot a red beam at Afsa. It hit the Afsa dodged and ran into the next room with the corpses and lava pits.
Saka and Ria ran after her.
Before Afsa could escape, the noise from the beam attracted the Raiders towards the room and she was surrounded.
"You have nowhere to run, human. Hand over the amulet!" Sik said.
"Over my dead body!" Afsa said.
"If that is what you wish, then it shall be so," Sik said.
Sik ordered his minions to attack.
In that brief moment, Afsa's split-second decision had coincided with an eternal bond of trust between two of the closest friends.
Afsa threw the amulet at the ground and broke it and a blindingly bright white light emerged from it in all directions.
-------------------------
9 hours earlier....
-------------------------
".............Where..........am I......?
.......Is this......the afterlife...?" Safr woke up, floating in a dark-blue void.
"Hello? Hello!? Anybody?" He said.
There were bodies of men and women floating around except they were transparent with blue outlines and there were balls of blue light floating as well.
"Safr....." A woman's voice came from somewhere. Safr had never heard it before but it felt familiar.
"Hello?" He said.
"Safr. Is that you?" The voice said.
"Who are you? Where are you!?" He replied.
One of the blue orbs came towards Safr.
"It's me, Safr. Siin...." The voice replied.
".......What....? How do you know......who she is....?" Safr said.
"I'm Siin. You probably don't recognize me, do you?" She said.
"Hold on. Siin can't talk like a human. She's a camel. How the hell do you know about her!?"
"What'll it take to convince you?
Let's see.....you like oranges, you fed me nuts and dates for 2 yours when you were young, you once decided to knit and sell clothes and then failed at that and you also ****** your pants at the age of 17 while sleeping."
"Okay okay! You're Siin! But did you HAVE to remind me of that last one!?"
"You drank way too much water that time. It's your fault!"
"Don't remind me, you jerk!"
"What're you doing here anyway!? You went and got yourself trapped in a soul gem by an Aniki!"
"I was looking for YOU! Great work getting yourself captured you reckless idiot!"
"So you'd rather have had your head cut off!? What kinda logic is that!?"
"I WAS SHOT ONCE ON THE ARM! NOT SEVERELY INJURED! I WAS WORRIED ABOUT THE DYING OLD MAN!"
"WHY DON'T YOU TAKE COVER BEFORE CRYING ABOUT SOMEONE WHO'S ABOUT TO DIE!? YOU KNOW YOU'RE VULNERABLE WHEN YOU LOSE FOCUS! YOU MORON!"
"YEAH I'M A MORON! ARE YOU HAPPY NOW!?"
"I'M MORE THAN HAPPY, YOU PANT-WETTING DIAPER BABY!"
"WHY THE HELL DID I KILL MYSELF TO TRY AND SAVE YOU ANYWAY!?"
"BECAUSE YOU CAN'T THINK CLEARLY FOR ONCE!"
"THEN MAYBE WE'RE BETTER OFF DYING AS ENEMIES!"
"I'M ALREADY DEAD, IDIOT! I'VE BEEN DEAD FOR OVER A WEEK! JERK!" Siin cried.
Safr started to cry and covered his face.
"Stop trying to be a tough guy at everything, Safr.....
You can't weep and hide your tears from me." Siin said.
"I can't believe this......I'm dead....I can't believe it......" Safr said.
"You're not dead. Not yet." Siin said.
"What.......do you mean?" Safr said.
"I can still see you in the form of your physical body. Once your body is an inhospitable place for your soul, your soul will lose its connection with it and become an orb like me."
"You've lost........your body?"
"It is what it is."
"If my body's still okay, I can go back?"
"I think, yes. If the soul gem is shattered, then all souls with connections to their bodies will go back to life and all bodiless souls can escape into the afterlife."
"Wait.....How do you know any of this?"
"There's a lot of stuff that I know that you don't and shouldn't know. The Land speaks to animal souls directly. We learn about the spirit world from it and about the Allmaker."
"I don't get it. The Land? And why hide things from us?"
"The Land's knowledge is hidden from most non-animals. Some animals are not spoken to due to their mischievous natures. I've learnt much from it. Since you're in this predicament and probably not going to get out of it any time soon, I'll tell you all about what I've learned."
------------------
8.95 hours later
------------------
"Siin. I've got an idea."
"Hm?"
"Remember what I told you about Afsa?"
"Oh, your girlfriend?–"
"SHE'S NOT MY GIRLFRIEND!
Anyways, if I'm right, then Afsa is probably coming to stop me. She's also probably getting herself into way too much danger. It's a long shot, maybe even a miracle, but......there's a chance that she might come and be able to break the gem."
"Ah! So the girl saves the dude-in-distress."
"Haha. Very funny.
But my main concern would be you. How are we both going to get out?"
"Safr. Even if this miracle of yours happens, I'm not getting out."
"What? Why? After all that you told me about souls and magic and all that, you don't know anything about how we can get yourself out?"
"No."
"Liar."
"No."
"You're lying."
"I'm not."
"I can tell that you're lying."
"I'm not......oh fine." Siin sighs."I was hoping that I wouldn't have to tell you about this....."
"About what?"
"Soul binding."
"Soul binding?"
"The act of binding two or more souls together into one body. There are two types. Forced and Concerted. One can force other souls to give up their power depending on the willpower of the individual but that only gives one-hundredth of the power of a Concerted soul binding where the bound soul agrees to completely aid the individual. Concerted soul binding usually results in massive energy bursts."
"Oh.....then what are you afraid of?"
"It's never been tried in these conditions. It's rare for someone to use Concerted soul binding. But it's only been tried with soul gems. Never without them. Never inside them. We have no idea what could happen. We might even be wiped out from existence!"
"Stop worrying about it! If there's a chance it'll work, let's take it."
"But–"
"Just shut up and do it. I trust you. So why don't you trust me? I still have my body, right?"
"I.....I.....I trust you. But I..."
"Got doubts? Forget about 'em. Long as I'm here, nothing bad'll happen. Heck! Maybe we won't even need someone to break it if we make that energy surge."
"You naive fool.......Let's do it then. Together."
"Right!"
"Now close your eyes and keep calm. This might be a little tingly."
At that moment, the souls of both Safr and Siin came together when they would unknowingly be freed of their prison by a thieving woman surrounded by the most powerful of foes
That was when a blindingly bright white light emerged.
---------------------------
In a single second, all of the Raiders behind Afsa were cut into bloody pieces and there standing in front of her was a man with glowing dark blue eyes, a blue aura around his body and aiming a scimitar with a blue flame at the vile Aniki, Sik and his two body guards, Ria and Saka.
The living souls returned to their bodies once again. And the dying ones would go to rest in piece.
Safr. Had died. And lived again.
---------------------
Two Raider archers on guard at the top of the wall above the steel portcullis saw Safr approaching. "Fresh meat." They said."Probably another traveler thinking we'll give him water or something."
Safr drew an arrow and pulled with his bow, taking aim. At the same time the archers took aim but before they fired, Safr shot one of them. The other archer shoots and Safr dodges the arrow and quickly fires one at the other archer, taking him out.
A guard inside sees the archers getting shot and calls the other Raiders.
The other Raiders got disappointed seeing only one man. One armor-covered Raider was particularly annoyed. "Let him in. I wanna have some fun today."He said in a deep, intimidating voice. He took out a war hammer and stood with a devilish grin while one guard opened the portcullis from the inside and Safr walked in.
"My name is Rabu. Rabu the Hammer! And it looks I'll be having something to smash today! So then, stupid traveler. You've got guts coming here on your own. Just for that, I'll offer you a free one-on-one match with yours truly. If I kill you, you're gonna be a mashed set of entrails! If you win, you'll be burned alive instead! How's that for a bargain? HAHAHAHAHA!!!" Rabu said.
"How about you just tell me where your leader is so I can snap his neck and get my camel back? I'm not much better at sword fighting than I am at archery anyway." Safr said.
"Oi! Oi! Don't get too full of yourself, boy. You wanna see the boss? Ya better be ready to fight hundreds of men on yer own, kid." Rabu said.
On the roof of another building, a woman with a crossbow saw the scene. "Looks like Rabu's causing a ruckus again. I'll have to teach him another lesson. He never learns. When the Boss tells you to only capture living beings, you do what he says. Idiot."
"Enough chitchat!" Rabu said,"Time to die!" He charged at Safr.
Safr drew out his scimitar and jumped to the left side while slashing at Rabu's arm, making him drop the warhammer. Safr quickly tries to strike off Rabu's head before he tries to pick up his warhammer but gets punched back and Rabu picks his weapon up. Rabu swings at him again and Safr dodges. Safr looks for an opening after dodging twice and then swiftly manages to make a large cut on his arm and then while he gets distracted, Safr slices off Rabu's head.
The other Raiders were surprised and shocked and then started yelling,"Get him!"
Safr was overwhelmed. He managed to kill 5 or 6 Raiders but got shot by arrows, cut and captured. He was locked away in a cell with some other prisoners.
-------------------
At the same time, Afsa, Nex and Robert were riding towards the base in haste. Robert was initially hesitant but tagged along when Afsa decided to go after Safr all by herself.
-------------------
A guard came to Safr's cell. 2 hours after he was captured."It's your lucky day, fool. The Boss is interested in ya."
"Don't have much choice." Safr thought."Starting to regret coming through the front. But I have to find Siin. She must be here somewhere."
They took him through to the main building and underground from there. Before going into the Boss' lair, they went through another room containing piles of corpses which were being thrown into pits of lava. They weren't just human corpses but corpses of animals as well. Including camels. "What in the hell is this place?" Safr thought."Could it be that Siin was.........? No. There's no way that could've happened."
They finally entered a large, ominous chamber. There were candles lit around the room instead of the usual lanterns. There were pillars and markings on the stone walls. There was a strange circle with even stranger shapes in it on the floor. It appeared to have been painted in blood.
There stood someone in the figure of a man along with a man and a woman standing on either side of him. He had red hair which was banded like a long ponytail. His skin was especially pale grey. His eyes were glowing red. He wore a dark red robe with a dark green mark of a skull. He also wore an amulet with a red crystal gem at its center. His expression was foreboding. To Safr, it was as if he had been overcome by an overwhelming force. He could feel the bloodlust emanating from it. Because whoever that was, he was sure that it wasn't human.
Safr was thrown down on the circle, his hands still tied. That was when the mysterious figure spoke. "Is it true that you fought one of my subordinates and killed him? Don't worry. I'm glad he's dead. He was a nuisance anyway. I'm more interested in you, skilled human. You could prove useful for our cause. As such, I will give you an offer.
Join and serve us.
or
Serve as a sacrifice for us.
What is it that you choose?"
"You're the 'Boss', eh? I've got a special neck-snapping appointment with you." Safr said.
"Ignorant child." He replied.
"Who the hell are you anyway? " Safr replied.
"Me? I am Sik. We are the Aniki! The first! The most powerful! The superior! We are the rightful rulers of this world!" He said.
"And what's with the corpses? This circle? What do you mean by 'sacrifice'?" Safr replied.
"That depends on what you choose. And it seems you wish to be sacrificed. I may inform you of your fate then, for this will be your last day on this world.
You will be sacrificed for our sake. Your soul will belong to us and it will be trapped in our shackles forever. After we have acquired your soul, your body will be disposed so as to confirm death. This is what we have done for many, many years.
A pity that you refused to work under us. Now prepare for your last moments."
Safr was afraid. Not of death. But of not ever knowing Siin's fate and the possibility that this may have happened to her.
At that very moment, Sik held his hands up around which an orange aura could be seen. "This is the power of the Aniki!" He said. "Show me your fear and despair!"
Safr felt like his insides were being pulled out and tried not to scream in pain. He felt as if he was being pulled on and pushed into something. Finally, his vision went black.
Safr.....had died.
---------------------------
9 hours later, Afsa, Nex and Robert had found the fort. They snuck into the base at night. They split up in search of Safr. Afsa had gone west to the prison cells and Nex and Robert went east towards the armory.
Afsa had passed by a cell which had blood scattered in it. She had wondered who's it was and felt sorry for whoever was locked up in there. That cell was Safr's. She wanted to open the cells and help them escape but she realized that they wouldn't be able to defend themselves against the Raiders outside.
Afsa snuck along the hallway and saw a guard sleeping on a chair with his feet on a small table and a wine bottle on the floor.
She continued on to the next room through a passageway to another building but saw two men's shadows walking towards the passageway. She quickly hid in a broom closet waiting for them to go away and heard them talking about something.
"Hey. You saw that guy with a coat who killed Rabu, right? Man, I wish I was there to watch the fight. Rabu got what he deserved."
"Yeah. He was all like "I'm gonna smash you!" and then that coat guy took out his scimitar and cut Rabu's hand and then sliced his head off!"
"Damn! That sounds incredible!"
"It's a shame the Boss sacrificed 'em. He'd have been a better Raider than Rabu."
Afsa widened her eyes and gasped."He's......dead? We were too late........." She thought.
"Hey. You ever wonder what happens to those sacrifices?"
"I've only seen it happen once and that was when he invited us all to see a hundred sacrifices at once. It's weird. They're throats aren't slit, they're not stabbed or shot. Just some blue light ghost-thing comes out of them and into the Boss' amulet."
"I heard the Boss locks their souls in his amulet and they're kept there forever."
"Yeah. Must be pretty boring. Never getting to see the afterlife. Just stuck in a weird amulet."
"Some of the guys say that the person isn't completely dead after trapping them in an amulet until they get rid of the body. Maybe that's why we burn 'em in the pits."
"Speakin' of burning bodies. It was your shift today. Where the hell were you? Your pile was rottin' away."
"Uh...Drinking."
"Drinkin'? If the Boss finds out, you're gonna be the next sacrifice."
"It was just this one time! Don't worry. I'll get it done tomorrow."
"Screw tomorrow. Hurry up and go finish up. If Saka sees a pile, you're dead meat. He'll cut you up and burn you before you can burn those things. Now go."
The other man grumbles and then walks off in the other direction.
"Humph. Can't believe I'm friends with that guy." He walks past the closet Afsa was in.
"Souls? Stuck in an amulet?" Afsa thought."I don't understand exactly what any of this means but.........if Safr's body is intact, I can save him! I just have to follow that guy and knock him out once I find the room. Simple."
Afsa followed the man to the main building and underground room where the bodies were. She knocked the man out and hid him in the pile of corpses. After searching, she found Safr's body under a few other corpses.
But behind her the woman with a crossbow stood. "You lost, little girl?" She said.
Afsa looked back and immediately got hit on the head.
She was taken to the Sacrificial Chamber and got shaken awake by a man. A man called Saka who had a sharp halberd with him while the woman with the crossbow, Ria, stood at the side of the Sik, the Aniki who sacrificed Safr.
Afsa could see the amulet and felt a strong force coming from Sik. Her hands were bound with rope.
"What's this? Sneaking around our base of operations? Another insolent human." Sik said."No matter. Another sacrifice is another sacrifice."
"I wouldn't count on that happening if I were you."Afsa said.
"Hmm. Such confidence. A pity. You show so much potential." Sik said.
"Didn't you have an amulet with you? Where'd it go?" Afsa asked.
Sik looked and couldn't find his amulet. It disappeared. "What!? Where is it!?" He looked back at Afsa.
"Looking for this?" Afsa said, holding the amulet in one hand. She had broken free of the ropes!
Saka and Ria pulled out their weapons.
"If you want it, you've gotta catch me first!" Afsa ran.
"Foolish human. You will not get away!" Sik said. He shot a red beam at Afsa. It hit the Afsa dodged and ran into the next room with the corpses and lava pits.
Saka and Ria ran after her.
Before Afsa could escape, the noise from the beam attracted the Raiders towards the room and she was surrounded.
"You have nowhere to run, human. Hand over the amulet!" Sik said.
"Over my dead body!" Afsa said.
"If that is what you wish, then it shall be so," Sik said.
Sik ordered his minions to attack.
In that brief moment, Afsa's split-second decision had coincided with an eternal bond of trust between two of the closest friends.
Afsa threw the amulet at the ground and broke it and a blindingly bright white light emerged from it in all directions.
-------------------------
9 hours earlier....
-------------------------
".............Where..........am I......?
.......Is this......the afterlife...?" Safr woke up, floating in a dark-blue void.
"Hello? Hello!? Anybody?" He said.
There were bodies of men and women floating around except they were transparent with blue outlines and there were balls of blue light floating as well.
"Safr....." A woman's voice came from somewhere. Safr had never heard it before but it felt familiar.
"Hello?" He said.
"Safr. Is that you?" The voice said.
"Who are you? Where are you!?" He replied.
One of the blue orbs came towards Safr.
"It's me, Safr. Siin...." The voice replied.
".......What....? How do you know......who she is....?" Safr said.
"I'm Siin. You probably don't recognize me, do you?" She said.
"Hold on. Siin can't talk like a human. She's a camel. How the hell do you know about her!?"
"What'll it take to convince you?
Let's see.....you like oranges, you fed me nuts and dates for 2 yours when you were young, you once decided to knit and sell clothes and then failed at that and you also ****** your pants at the age of 17 while sleeping."
"Okay okay! You're Siin! But did you HAVE to remind me of that last one!?"
"You drank way too much water that time. It's your fault!"
"Don't remind me, you jerk!"
"What're you doing here anyway!? You went and got yourself trapped in a soul gem by an Aniki!"
"I was looking for YOU! Great work getting yourself captured you reckless idiot!"
"So you'd rather have had your head cut off!? What kinda logic is that!?"
"I WAS SHOT ONCE ON THE ARM! NOT SEVERELY INJURED! I WAS WORRIED ABOUT THE DYING OLD MAN!"
"WHY DON'T YOU TAKE COVER BEFORE CRYING ABOUT SOMEONE WHO'S ABOUT TO DIE!? YOU KNOW YOU'RE VULNERABLE WHEN YOU LOSE FOCUS! YOU MORON!"
"YEAH I'M A MORON! ARE YOU HAPPY NOW!?"
"I'M MORE THAN HAPPY, YOU PANT-WETTING DIAPER BABY!"
"WHY THE HELL DID I KILL MYSELF TO TRY AND SAVE YOU ANYWAY!?"
"BECAUSE YOU CAN'T THINK CLEARLY FOR ONCE!"
"THEN MAYBE WE'RE BETTER OFF DYING AS ENEMIES!"
"I'M ALREADY DEAD, IDIOT! I'VE BEEN DEAD FOR OVER A WEEK! JERK!" Siin cried.
Safr started to cry and covered his face.
"Stop trying to be a tough guy at everything, Safr.....
You can't weep and hide your tears from me." Siin said.
"I can't believe this......I'm dead....I can't believe it......" Safr said.
"You're not dead. Not yet." Siin said.
"What.......do you mean?" Safr said.
"I can still see you in the form of your physical body. Once your body is an inhospitable place for your soul, your soul will lose its connection with it and become an orb like me."
"You've lost........your body?"
"It is what it is."
"If my body's still okay, I can go back?"
"I think, yes. If the soul gem is shattered, then all souls with connections to their bodies will go back to life and all bodiless souls can escape into the afterlife."
"Wait.....How do you know any of this?"
"There's a lot of stuff that I know that you don't and shouldn't know. The Land speaks to animal souls directly. We learn about the spirit world from it and about the Allmaker."
"I don't get it. The Land? And why hide things from us?"
"The Land's knowledge is hidden from most non-animals. Some animals are not spoken to due to their mischievous natures. I've learnt much from it. Since you're in this predicament and probably not going to get out of it any time soon, I'll tell you all about what I've learned."
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8.95 hours later
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"Siin. I've got an idea."
"Hm?"
"Remember what I told you about Afsa?"
"Oh, your girlfriend?–"
"SHE'S NOT MY GIRLFRIEND!
Anyways, if I'm right, then Afsa is probably coming to stop me. She's also probably getting herself into way too much danger. It's a long shot, maybe even a miracle, but......there's a chance that she might come and be able to break the gem."
"Ah! So the girl saves the dude-in-distress."
"Haha. Very funny.
But my main concern would be you. How are we both going to get out?"
"Safr. Even if this miracle of yours happens, I'm not getting out."
"What? Why? After all that you told me about souls and magic and all that, you don't know anything about how we can get yourself out?"
"No."
"Liar."
"No."
"You're lying."
"I'm not."
"I can tell that you're lying."
"I'm not......oh fine." Siin sighs."I was hoping that I wouldn't have to tell you about this....."
"About what?"
"Soul binding."
"Soul binding?"
"The act of binding two or more souls together into one body. There are two types. Forced and Concerted. One can force other souls to give up their power depending on the willpower of the individual but that only gives one-hundredth of the power of a Concerted soul binding where the bound soul agrees to completely aid the individual. Concerted soul binding usually results in massive energy bursts."
"Oh.....then what are you afraid of?"
"It's never been tried in these conditions. It's rare for someone to use Concerted soul binding. But it's only been tried with soul gems. Never without them. Never inside them. We have no idea what could happen. We might even be wiped out from existence!"
"Stop worrying about it! If there's a chance it'll work, let's take it."
"But–"
"Just shut up and do it. I trust you. So why don't you trust me? I still have my body, right?"
"I.....I.....I trust you. But I..."
"Got doubts? Forget about 'em. Long as I'm here, nothing bad'll happen. Heck! Maybe we won't even need someone to break it if we make that energy surge."
"You naive fool.......Let's do it then. Together."
"Right!"
"Now close your eyes and keep calm. This might be a little tingly."
At that moment, the souls of both Safr and Siin came together when they would unknowingly be freed of their prison by a thieving woman surrounded by the most powerful of foes
That was when a blindingly bright white light emerged.
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In a single second, all of the Raiders behind Afsa were cut into bloody pieces and there standing in front of her was a man with glowing dark blue eyes, a blue aura around his body and aiming a scimitar with a blue flame at the vile Aniki, Sik and his two body guards, Ria and Saka.
The living souls returned to their bodies once again. And the dying ones would go to rest in piece.
Safr. Had died. And lived again.
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Do you believe in magic?
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