The bond was complete, sealing Huter and Tio’s fates together. As the connection between them solidified, Huter could feel Tio’s essence deep within him—a fragile but persistent presence. Lysandra turned to Cassy, her voice steady despite the tension in the room. “How do we retrieve the missing piece of Tio’s soul, and where do we keep it once we find it?” Cassy gave them the Soulcatcher, the pearl would retrieve Tio’s missing piece and preserve it, till she fixed him. “Huter will activate it when he finds the missing piece,” she said, her voice smooth as silk. “It will capture and safeguard it until Tio can be made whole again.” But Orin, ever cautious, felt the weight of a catch in the air. He turned to Cassy, his gaze sharp. “And what do you want in return, demon?”
Cassy’s crimson eyes gleamed with amusement as she fixed her gaze on Orin, a wicked grin spreading across her face. “Freedom,” she purred. “I will stitch Tio’s soul back together, but only if you set me free.” Lysandra’s eyes narrowed. “How do we free a demon?” she asked, suspicion lacing her words. “I’ve never heard of such a thing.” Cassy’s grin widened, revealing sharp, gleaming teeth. “The only way to release a demon,” she said slowly, savoring each word, “is to kill it.” Shock rippled through the trio. Orin’s brow furrowed in confusion and concern. “You want us to kill you?” he asked, trying to understand her motives.
Cassy’s smile faded into something almost wistful. “I’ve been a demon for as long as I can remember,” she replied, her voice softer now. “Tired of being summoned and trapped by magical creatures, I want to be free. Free from this existence.” Lysandra, seeing the urgency in Cassy’s request, sealed the deal with a word of binding. In an instant, Cassy vanished, leaving the group in tense silence. Orin turned to Lysandra, his voice sharp with disbelief. “Why did you agree so quickly? We didn’t discuss this!” Lysandra met his gaze with a determined look. “There was no time to argue, Orin. We’ll deal with Cassy later—right now, we need to focus on saving Tio.”
Still reeling from the sudden turn of events, Orin shifted his attention to Huter. The pain was etched on his face, but it was clear he could bear it—for now. “Huter,” Orin urged gently, “focus on the Soulmate bond. Reach out to it.” Huter closed his eyes, centering himself, and soon felt the warmth of Tio’s essence. An orange thread materialized in his mind, glowing with a faint, pulsing light. Tentatively, Huter reached out to touch it, and as his fingers brushed against the thread, he was enveloped in Tio’s heartbeats, steady yet fragile.
Following the thread, Huter found himself in a tranquil landscape, by a small lake where Tio sat on the grass, waiting. Disoriented, Huter looked around until Tio’s calm smile grounded him. “We’re in my mind,” Tio explained, gesturing for Huter to sit beside him. They both stared out at the still waters of the lake. After a moment of silence, Tio began to speak, his voice tinged with acceptance. “Huter, I know I’m dying. What Eileen did… the tortures I endured… my soul is shattered.” “No,” Huter interrupted, his voice breaking. “We’ve found a way to recover your missing soul piece. We’re going to fix this.” Tio turned to him, his eyes full of sadness but also a strange peace. “I’m ready to leave this world, Huter. But you’re not ready to let me go, are you?”
Before Huter could respond, the world around them faded, and he was pulled back into reality. Tears streamed down his face, but his resolve hardened. He wouldn’t let Tio go—not yet. Huter remained silent about his conversation with Tio, instead telling Lysandra and Orin that he had seen Tio and that he was okay for now. He needed to stay focused on the bond. Concentrating again, Huter noticed something he had missed before a knot in the orange thread, delicate and frayed. The knot was barely holding the two ends together, straining as if something vital was missing. Tentatively, Huter touched the knot, and a surge of power flowed through him, connecting him more deeply to Tio’s essence.
In an instant, Huter was back in Orin’s apartment. The room felt charged with energy, something had shifted. Lysandra and Orin gasped as they all saw the orange thread, now visible to everyone, linking Huter to Tio. But Tio’s end of the thread was weak, almost transparent. Then, without warning, the thread vanished, sucked into the Soulcatcher, which began to pulse with an eerie glow. Without hesitation, Huter slipped the necklace over his head. As soon as the Soulcatcher touched his skin, it started to tug, pulling him toward some unseen destination. Orin grabbed Huter’s shoulder just as he began to disappear, and in a flash, they were both gone.
Lysandra’s heart pounded as she watched her friends vanish. Panic surged through her—where had they gone? She tried every tracking spell she knew, but none of them worked. Desperate, she summoned Cassy back to explain what had happened. The demoness appeared on the couch, nonchalant, her nails now painted a glowing yellow. “Where did they go?” Lysandra demanded, her voice tight with fear. Cassy turned to her with a sly smile. “Ah, I see the spell worked,” she said, her tone almost playful. “They’ve been taken exactly where the missing piece of Tio’s soul is. Now, it’s up to them to retrieve it.”
Huter and Orin found themselves engulfed in darkness, the kind that seemed to swallow the very light from their souls. The air was thick and suffocating, pressing against their chests like an invisible weight. A faint, eerie voice echoed through the gloom as they strained their ears, distant yet compelling. They instinctively followed the sound without exchanging words, the path beneath their feet uneven and treacherous. Every step felt as though it sank deeper into the shadows, and the oppressive atmosphere gnawed at their courage, whispering malevolent thoughts in the back of their minds. The darkness seemed to twist and writhe around them, like a living entity, its tendrils seeking to ensnare them in an inescapable embrace.
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Suddenly, the oppressive blackness gave way, the world shifting abruptly around them. They were no longer in the pitch-black void but standing in a dimly lit cave, a place both familiar and filled with dread. The stone walls dripped with an unnatural moisture, glistening under the sickly light of unseen sources. Recognition dawned on them simultaneously—it was Eileen’s sanctuary. But something was off; the scene before them shimmered like a mirage. They were witnessing a memory, a moment in time etched into the fabric of Eileein’s mind. Their blood ran cold as they realized what they were about to see. Tio was there, shackled and trembling, his eyes wide with fear and agony. Eileen loomed over him, her face twisted with malevolent glee. Then, it happened—she reached into him with her dark magic, ripping a piece of his soul from his body. Tio’s screams pierced the air, a sound so raw and filled with pain that it seemed to tear at the very fabric of reality. Huter instinctively lunged forward, driven by an uncontrollable urge to stop the horror unfolding before his eyes. But Orin grabbed his arm, pulling him back with a grim expression. “We can’t,” Orin whispered, his voice barely audible. “We are in her mind and so far, she doesn’t know we’re here. We have to stay hidden.” Huter’s eyes burned with tears of frustration, but he knew Orin was right. They had to bide their time, as much as it pained them to do so. Orin clenched his fists, his heart breaking at the sight of his best friend being torn apart. He swore to himself that Eileen would pay for this, no matter the cost.
As the memory plays out, Huter and Orin are forced to watch the aftermath of Eileen's cruel act. The stolen piece of Tio's soul, shimmering faintly, was absorbed into her being. But even within Eileein, it was unstable, flickering like a dying ember, resisting the darkness that sought to consume it entirely. The Soulcatcher around Huter’s neck began to glow, its light pulsing in response to the presence of the missing soul fragment. The landscape shifted once again, the walls of the cave dissolving into an endless void, only to be replaced by a new scene—a dark, pulsating space that seemed to be the very core of Eileen’s magic. It was a realm of shadows, where a single, ominous flame hovered in the center, its dark light casting twisted shadows across the void. The flame beat like a heart, slow and menacing, each pulse reverberating through the emptiness like a drum of doom.
This was Eileen's essence, the source of her dark power, and it was overwhelming in its malevolence. Orin and Huter approached cautiously, the Soulcatcher glowing brighter with each step. As they drew closer, they saw it—a tiny fragment of soul, orangish and faint, floating within the core, but ensnared by dark, thread-like tendrils that wrapped around it like barbed wire. The fragment pulsed weakly, struggling against the dark threads that sought to crush it. Huter, driven by desperation, raised the Soulcatcher and tried to draw the fragment into it. But the dark threads tightened, resisting his efforts, and when he reached out to touch them, they reacted violently, snaking up his arm, trying to ensnare him as well. The darkness was alive, defensive, and vicious. Orin acted swiftly, yanking Huter back before the tendrils could tighten their grip, pulling him out of harm's way just in time.
Panting, Huter looked at Orin with a mixture of fear and determination. They had to free that fragment, but how? Just as they were contemplating their next move, a cold voice echoed through the void, sending shivers down their spines. Eileen had sensed their presence. She materialized behind them, her eyes blazing with fury. The touch of those dark threads had alerted her to the intrusion, and now they were exposed, trapped in the very heart of her power.
Eileen’s presence was like a shadow descending upon them, her form both ethereal and terrifyingly real. Her eyes, burning with a malevolent light, locked onto them as she took a step forward, her lips curling into a cruel smile. “How is it possible for you to be here?” she hissed, her voice dripping with venom. “None of you are mindwalkers.” Orin met her gaze with a fierce resolve, his hand tightening around the Soulcatcher. “Release what you took from Tio,” he demanded, his voice steady despite the fear gnawing at his insides, “and we’ll leave.”
Eileen’s smile widened, her teeth flashing in the dim light. “There’s no chance of retrieving it,” she sneered. “The darkness has already claimed it.” Huter, fueled by his bond with Tio and the memory of his friend’s suffering, stepped forward, his eyes blazing with fury. “Release the fragment,” he commanded, his voice trembling with rage, “or you’ll face me.” Eileein’s response was a mocking laugh, her eyes glittering with amusement. “You’re in my mind, fool,” she said, her voice silky and dangerous. “I control everything here. You can’t possibly win.” With a casual wave of her hand, she dissolved the massive wave of water magic that Huter had unleashed in his anger, reducing it to nothing more than a mist. Meanwhile, Orin’s sharp eyes were drawn to the dark threads entwined around Tio’s soul fragment. They were not just tendrils of darkness; they were knotted and tangled, a sign of something deeper. Eileein’s power was damaged, compromised by the very darkness she wielded. An idea began to form in Orin’s mind, a dangerous gamble, but perhaps their only chance.
He stepped forward, positioning himself between Huter and Eileein, his expression calm and calculating. “Let’s make a deal,” he proposed, his voice cutting through the tension. Eileein’s laughter died on her lips, replaced by a look of intrigue. “And what could you possibly offer me?” she asked, her tone laced with skepticism. Orin met her gaze, unflinching. “I’ll heal your magic knots,” he said, his voice steady. At his words, Eileein’s eyes narrowed, her expression turning thoughtful. Huter glanced at Orin, uncertainty and fear in his eyes, but Orin stood firm. He knew that Eileein’s greatest desire was to wield her power without limitation, and if he could use that desire to their advantage, it might be the key to saving Tio. The room fell into a tense silence as Eileein considered his offer, her eyes flickering with a mix of greed and suspicion. The stakes had never been higher, and Orin could only hope that his gamble would pay off.