Page 190 of A Soul to Touch

Faunus’ fiery skull evaporated.

She jumped back when a hand materialised and shoved straight into her forehead.

“Because my power is limited. I can’t even create a physical form in this world, and I have stolen power that I shouldn’t have just to be here. I am not supposed to intervene, and punishment awaits me if it is discovered I do so.”

The cloud parted to show Mayumi his centre, and she realised the white glow she had seen earlier was a white-flamed soul.

“I have used this human’s soul just so that I could leave the mist I have created in the Veil. I’m allowed to collect the souls of my children, but their life is their own. The only place I haveany real strength is Tenebris, and even then, I am not able to stay physical for long – even if I wish it. What ghostly parts you see of me now are the same control I have physically in my own realm, and the longer I am apart from it, the sooner I will fade.”

“You really couldn’t have stopped the Demon King from cracking his skull?” Her eyes crinkled in the sadness and pity that washed over her. “Why is he after them, anyway? The Duskwalkers just existing doesn’t seem like a good enough reason to me.”

“Any excuse is enough for a tyrant,” Weldir stated. “But what you have asked is valid. The cause for Jabez’s ire solely has to do with me.”

Her brows drew together tightly. “What do you mean?”

His face appeared, and it turned in Faunus’ direction to look at him. It faded, but she had a funny feeling his gaze was rooted to the Duskwalker.

“He seeks to weaken me, and so he has targeted my children to do so since I, myself, cannot be harmed, and all attempts on Lindiwe have proven ineffective due to her being a Phantom and returning to me upon her many deaths. I am not permitted to intervene other than how I have tampered with his portal to the Elven realm.” The chalky face materialised facing her and then his hand lifted as though he was shrugging with it. Both disappeared at the same time. “I have three tasks in this world. One is to make Jabez’s portal a one-way journey, meaning any full-breed Demon that crosses over from the Elven realm into this one is stuck here. I am what stops his army from attacking. I am the Elvish people’s line of defence here.”

“And in doing so, you have cursed us humans,” she stated, her teeth gritting in irritation.

“Which is unfortunate but necessary. This realm is bigger, has more people, and you breed so quickly that the hope was that your kind would not be eradicated by the time the Elvish peoplecame up with a solution to remove the Demons from your world, as well as their own.”

Mayumi folded her arms, tightening them across her chest in anger she knew couldn’t be unleashed. Her snarkiness, however, was a weapon she wielded freely.

“What are your other tasks then, oh great demigod of darkness?”

“You remind me of Lindiwe. Quick to anger, and yet cold. Are you sure your soul was not cut from the same flame as hers?” Mayumi blew a cowlick strand of hair from her forehead, but before she could answer with a retort, he said, “Since the Demons have been forced here, I have been given the task of purifying the tainted souls that come from the Demons. Whether it be an animal or a human, what a Demon eats corrupts the flame of one’s soul, and I must use what little power I have to heal them. Then, my final task is to give those souls a place to live, otherwise, your world would be overrun by Ghosts. Even though they are human, they do not pass over to whichever Gods harbour the dead souls from here. I give them a home, and in doing so, I gain power – which is why using one like I have today to give myself a temporary boost in ability also weakens me deeply.”

It was only then that she realised that Weldir’s entire cloud seemed... smaller than when it had first appeared.

She turned to Faunus’ when she saw in her peripheral that he was scratching at the rope around his neck. A whimper of distress wheezed from him, and her eyes bowed at watching him doing so.

He was trapped. This was hardly a life for him to live, even if it was a half-life.

“Are you going to take him there then? To Tenebris, or whatever you called it. Will he be able to walk there, or would he be a flame, not actually conscious?”

“I may not have to,” Weldir said, just as his cloud moved to be in front of her line of sight.

“What do you mean you may not have to?”

“How deeply do you care for this Mavka?” A leg formed as he stepped closer to her. “Are you aware that they seek a bride in order to become stable in this world?”

“Stable?”

“They seek to eat flesh because they are soul eaters, and like a bride metamorphosing into a Phantom by the Mavka becoming their living anchor, that soul in return anchors them to the physical world, which strengthens them. It is why they no longer have hunger once the bond is formed.” His face formed before it faded and showed itself again to be turned to Faunus. “You have given him a name, I am guessing. You said he is your friend. But is he more? You tried to save him, but would you be willing to risk your life if I could bring him back?”

Her right fist clenched, desperately wanting to grab at this thread of hope but utterly fearing to do so. “You said you couldn’t interfere.”

“I can’t interfere with Demons, nor can I save a Mavka once their skull has been damaged.” His face appeared in front of her, and it once more had a large, fang-filled grin. “But he is currently in the bounds of my control. He has died, which means his soul is mine to do with what I will. I also can’t tamper with a living human unless granted permission. How else do you think I gained a mate? My interference with her was rendered null and void once she became mine, as would you if you became his.”

That piqued her interest, and she raised a singular brow.

“What would you do?”

“I must warn you. This may not work. This could see me bringing both of your souls back to Tenebris. Since I can’t bring anyone back from the dead, not even my children, I see no other option. But, in you keeping part of his soul alive and in thisrealm by fixing his skull before a day passed, it means it is not a full revival but a half-one – in which I can bend the rules, so to speak.”

“Oh, just spit it out!” she yelled, spooking Faunus, who launched at her only to be yanked back by the rope. “If there is a way to save him, then of course I want to do it! I don’t care what it will cost me.”

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