Chapter 21

The Soul

An end to things.

That was all that this was.

The end of pain. The end of suffering. The end of fear. The end of despair.

It was so easy to just let her soul slip into that mix of. She could let herself go free, and be at peace inside the Great Soul, that very core which governed the world. It could have been nice, and at first, sinking deeper inside the white calling her home, she let it be.

This was home, and comfort.

Drifting along, Meredith opened her eyes, lost in that white realm she’d visited so many times before. It felt larger, somehow, and more like a heaven than Crea’s realm had been. There was peace here.

It wouldn’t have been so bad to die like this.

Meredith kept sinking, letting her body ride the waves of souls that coursed through their world, bringing her deeper within them. There was no hope of getting out now, and she knew her body would never be able to make the trip. Perhaps, the old thought resurfaced, it would be better to give in and accept her fate to join with the world’s soul for whatever time was left of it.

Time…how much time is left…? It was subconscious to her, rising in her mind just for touching on the issue. The strange noises, like a wail, didn’t give a response. They didn’t say anything at all, and she continued to dive further. It was just like when she’d arrived at Crea’s realm, and she embraced it, closing her eyes to accept sleep.

You can’t go.

His voice stopped her from slipping. It was just like before, and Meredith tried to sit up, reaching for that wisp. Her fingers passed through it, and when her eyes adjusted to the white void of the Soul Realm, things looked different.

“Eddie!” she shouted. Water splashed at her feet and bottom, but she wasn’t wet. Meredith looked down, panicked in more than one way, and kicked her way out of the pool she’d woken up in. The clear water was undisturbed by her doing so, letting her stand up and spin around without repercussion. “Eddie! Is that you?!”

The whispers of the souls didn’t provide a clue. Meredith dropped to her knees at the pool, willing to fall back into it if it meant hearing him one more time. Connecting to him again.

She felt, yet again, so alone.

“Please…let me talk to him…” she whispered, running a hand through the water.

It refused.

Rather than allow her to hear her best friend, she felt like she was pulled deeper within the Great Soul. Her body remained kneeling in front of that pool, if she had a body left. Her soul, however, hurtled forward, deeper within the world’s soul until she found herself on a white plain. Or it looked white. Sometimes, when she turned, it became black and diseased.

The soul is stagnant…

Our pillars gone…

Who will guide us? Who will repair what’s left?

Meredith couldn’t speak in the presence of the souls that whispered in her ear. They were showing her something that she couldn’t get the pieces on. It confused her, and she started to wonder how she’d even gotten here in the first place. A pair of hands settled upon her, a woman whose kindness could be felt speaking to her.

Come and look. That melodious voice dragged her deeper within, taking her across the plains to a darkened space. She offered no explanation to Meredith, and implored her to watch as the space exploded with a soul, the land and world forming around it. Meredith didn’t see the land, but continued to watch the soul as it thrived, but for that stream of souls going upwards.

There was nothing at first, but soon the soul became erratic and tainted.

Six pillars erupted from the ground, a single soul placed inside each of them, lasting for millennia. All that time, the soul grew stagnant, ailing from many things. When the pillars shattered, blowing apart in such a confusing haze that Meredith suspected much had happened, that soul came to a halt. Nothing was left to protect it or hold it up. The guidance of souls came to an end, and then a stream of souls left the planet, sealed off and then resuming in a trickle.

Meredith knew what that all meant, and what had happened to the world. She had figured it out from her time spent with Crea. This had just made it clearer what needed to be done to save the world from sliding towards destruction, with or without the “goddess”.

Reminding her of that ticking time clock was the vision before her, showing the world as it was now. The Desert Loop was gone, and much of the northern seas. The continent upon which Corps Castle once stood had disappeared. Just the place they were in and the Metropolis remained, and they, too, were dangerously close to being consumed, the sea turning to sand.

“No!” she yelled. She wanted to pull on the soul, telling it to stop and turn back time to revive the land. “You have to stop! This isn’t right!”

We cannot, the same female soul called to her, without our pillars…without our guide. So long as his soul tugs at us, we cannot be free to be led. We cannot…

Meredith’s soul was yanked back, unable to converse any longer. Her body fell, hitting whatever substance the Soul Realm was made of. Her hair splayed behind her, her chest rising and falling while she reviewed what had happened inside. It explained much, but did nothing to help her. It didn’t stop him.

Meredith lifted her arm, covering her eyes with it to block out the light. That pure brightness felt like such a lie right now. It promised cheerfulness and she had nothing. She was gone, just like he was.

A soul is never gone, Meredith. I thought you’d know that by now.

It wasn’t Eddie’s voice this time, but that of Terrill’s. She sat up rapidly, looking around for where he was and why she could hear him in the first place. Wherever it was, he was drifting around on that abyss of souls she was lost in. When she realized this fact, she stopped looking. There was nothing to look for. Just a trick of the mind in a prison she’d be in until, at last, her body would fail. Marcus’s wound had seen to that.

It twinged upon her chest, the memory of the physical damage he’d inflicted her with making it real in that space. She lifted her shirt, touching to the wound. It wasn’t bleeding, held in stasis by the many souls around her, but the fact of what it meant overwhelmed her.

“I’m dead…I’m dying…” she said. Her fingers traced down the scar that was sure to form if she remained here, and sure to reopen if she managed to return: a reminder of her failure. “The world’s dying…”

She let it go, her shirt falling back down. In the constant wails of the souls around her, Meredith was listless. There was nothing left to fight for if it meant certain death to return.

Come on, Mera! Chin up! The others are fighting the good fight! You can, too!

I don’t think the excessive positive attitude is helping here.

Every voice was a familiar one, and she was starting to think that this place was playing tricks on her mind, just like the Trial of Enlightenment. Hoping to distract herself from that, she crawled to the edge of the pool and ran her hand through the water. It rippled, but didn’t moisten her hand. With a sigh, she leaned forward, putting her face as close to the water as possible.

It was different from earlier. Her soul didn’t leave, and it didn’t suck her in, but she still felt an inexorable connection within her. On the surface of the water, it morphed from a clear white bottom to something more concrete.

At what she saw, Meredith wanted to shout, but found her voice holding itself back.

Marcus was thrashing her friends. Ray had run forward first, enraged at what had happened to her before Marcus caught him. With a single, fast-moving spell, he threw her brother across the room, crashing into the same wall where the priests were gathered. The others rushed him, but with deft strikes, he held them off, going so far as to cut Amelia on her legs.

He had become a caged animal desperate to break free, each of his strikes belying the savagery and lack of control that had come to rest inside.

“No! Stop it! Stop it!” Meredith shouted, banging at the pool of water. She just hit the surface beneath, unable to do anything for those there. As the image was distorted, she felt her soul pulling away once more, and before the pool stopped showing it, she saw Vivian turn her head, as if she’d felt it. “Don’t hurt them…”

Don’t tell me you’re going to just give up like this.

“What can I do to help them…? How can I? There’s no more fight left…” She didn’t even know who she was talking to at this point. It could have been Terrill or Eddie or any one of the souls she’d seen disappear in her lifetime. It didn’t matter. There was nothing she could do from here, or out there, and it tore her up inside.

No fight left? Did you pay attention at all to my final words? Was our sacrifice for nothing?

Clive’s voice drew her eyes up again, Was the world’s soul responding to each of her thoughts and encouraging her? It seemed strange, but no stranger than the water changing pictures again.

This time, instead of a hopeless battle against the Reaper, it showed the sprawling skyscape above the mineshaft. Many monsters flew about, spawn of the magic cores that threatened to consume the world. However, at the helm of their skyships were Brynn, Sal and Felix, each leading the charge forward, wiping monsters out by the score. It was a hopeful sight, reminding Meredith of one thing.

The battle wasn’t over.

Watching them blast cannons, or combine magic, to take out those beasts which plagued the citizens, all in an effort to stave off the end of the world, it inspired hope. It was a hope doubled by the images of the Home Guard and Lacardians elsewhere, defending their lands from a similar onslaught. She felt her heart reach out to them all, encouraging to continue the battle, and their voices resonated within.

Of course, Mera! This is our world, too!

This made Meredith fall back again, shocked to hear their voices inside her, like they were right in her head. The reaction was followed by a laugh, perhaps the only laugh that she had ever heard from his lips.

You see, Mera? You’re not alone. I know you didn’t forget that.

Using her own energy, ignoring the hurt all over her body, Meredith stood. Her soul, through unconscious effort, reached out. The little strings that connected her to others became visible to her, and at the end of those, many other souls manifested in physical form. She spun, her heart beating faster.

“Captain Clive…Violet…Commander Masters…Kyle…Silva…” Meredith stopped in front of the last soul she saw there, surprised to see him smiling at her. She supposed it was closer to smirking, but more importantly, it was real. Lip quivering, Meredith stepped forward. Her feet stumbled over themselves, but her hands eventually found his. “Terrill…how are you…?”

“I told you, Meredith Childs,” he said, enclosing his hands around hers. “A soul is never broken. Not the way we did it.”

“Besides, did you really think you’d be able to enter the world’s soul and not be connected to those of us that are just that?” Violet asked. There were so many of them there, Meredith found it difficult to ascertain where she should stand to see them all. “This is the nexus of all life on this planet.”

“Even if we’re faded. Even if we’re not part of that conglomeration, all souls are part of the flow,” Kyle confirmed, nodding his head. There were others in the mess of souls surrounding her, many of which she had never conversed with before, but each with their own identity.

“Marcus was right about one thing, in that respect.” The commander’s voice, as booming with authority in death as it was in life, made her attention gravitate to him. “All life, living, dead or otherwise contained is part of the world’s flow. If one end is sick, the world’s flow suffers for it. Right now, that sickness stems from Marcus.”

“I know…” she said. Her body sagged with the implications he was speaking. “I know all that, but…”

“Come on, Little Meredith! Where’s the spitfire girl I always knew?!” Clive’s attempts at encouragement brought a smile on her face, forcing a choked laugh from her lips. “You have all the strength you need and more for this! You have us!”

“All of us!” Violet insisted. Silva was nodding.

“Even now, we continue to rebel from within Marcus. These are our souls. We won’t let him keep them without a fight,” the blacksmith said, grinning at Meredith. “Besides, I trust you won’t let him use us so carelessly. Didn’t you promise to save us?”

“Of course!” she said to all of them. Their confidence in her made her heart swell with emotion. They believed in her to see this through: to free them from their torment and restore the world to its healthy state. “I just…I know how to do it…but even with all of you, and my friends…I fear I lack the strength to. Can I really end your souls’ journeys?”

“You can. Because you have to, Mera. You’ve never been one to give up or doubt your own strength.”

Meredith’s mouth went dry. Her hands became clammy, even in a place with no temperature. The tears on her eyes fell directly towards her mouth. She didn’t need to look at who was behind her, because she knew now that her mind hadn’t been playing tricks. It hadn’t lied to her.

Eddie was here.

Meredith slowly turned, unable to stop crying when she saw him.

Eddie Montgomery looked the same as the day she’d last seen him, a great smile on his face, and his hands in his pockets. In that space of souls, he floated forward, and the best friends joined hands. She tried to squeeze them, anything to convince herself that she was really seeing him, really touching his soul. That he wasn’t gone completely.

“I’m sorry…I’m so sorry…I’m sorry…” The ugly sounds coming from her mouth were broken up by sniffles. She couldn’t stop crying, her nose becoming red as the tears dripped into her mouth, their salty taste reminding her of the sea breeze in Lumarina.

“What are you apologizing for?”

“I couldn’t…I couldn’t save you,” she said. She looked at him, barely able to see his soul through the tears, but he reached up and wiped them away for her.

“That’s okay. Everything’s okay, Mera.” She wanted to bawl like a child who’d scraped her knee, but settled for falling against his chest. Her tears would have stained it in reality, but instead they just fell off, dripping to the pool and rippling it. More images of the mineshaft were displayed. “You can still save us. All of us.”

“But I’m…” Meredith reached up, gripping his shirt while she shook. “I’m so weak…”

“You’re not weak at all,” he reminded her. His hands took her wrists, prying away from her while he emitted that grin that always set her at ease. “You’ve grown a lot stronger. You’ve become a leader, and found people who care about you beyond just our tiny hometown. You’re not weak, because you’re not alone.”

Meredith knew it wasn’t platitudes with Eddie. It wasn’t empty praise. It was admonishment, and support, and love, all rolled into one package. She didn’t know when, or how it had happened, but Eddie’s soul wrapped around her, taking her into a hug that she felt. She returned it, biting her lip as she stemmed the flow of tears. “Can I really do this…? Can I really save you?”

“You always have, Mera,” he said, his voice quiet as he spoke. “No matter how many times we got in trouble or failed, you always got up and did what needed doing. You always saved me. Right now, that means saving us. Releasing us.”

“But then…I’ll never see you again…” It was a soft whimper that spoke those words. Her deepest fear of all, and one she knew she had to acknowledge. To this, Eddie pulled away. “I don’t…I don’t think I can…”

“You can, because you’re Meredith Childs! My best friend in the whole world!” he said. His head tipped forward, leaning their foreheads together. “And I made you a promise, Mera. I promised I would always support you. Whether that was with a body, or just as a soul, I’ll continue to support you.”

“But how can you…?”

“The pillars.” Violet was the one who answered. Her soul floated towards her, joined by the others. They put their hands upon her, each of their souls joining in that space deep within the world. “Eddie wants to become a pillar. As do I.”

“And myself.”

Kyle and Violet weren’t the only ones offering. Every single soul gathered was giving themselves up to be pillars for the world, to right the flow, and all because of Eddie’s offer. Even as a soul, he was still incredibly selfless. Terrill’s hands clapped her back.

“See that? The world isn’t done yet,” he said. He was softer, and looking beyond her, like he saw something he was waiting a long time to see. “And if the world isn’t done, what right do you have to be done?”

“I…” Meredith found her hands folding into her shirt, but when she looked up and saw all of the souls she was connected to, each as determined as the next, each longing for freedom, she found a new strength. “I know I can do it, but I can’t promise that I…will it work?”

“As long as our souls are freed, and the six pillars are guided, then there’s nothing to worry about. The pillars don’t even need to have chosen it, themselves. They just need to have the appropriate element. That’s what makes a pillar,” Terrill said.

“And you can trust in me to be one of those pillars, Mera.”

“You can trust in all of us.”

“Nuh-uh, Uncle Terrill. Your journey’s done. Leave this to us young souls!”

“Young? Violet, we’re already over a thousand years old!”

“So? Age is just a number to a woman! I’m young at heart! I can be a pillar longer than you can, Kyle.”

“Ah, sibling rivalry. It’s a fine thing to see,” Masters chuckled out, amused by everything taking place. There was a twinkle in his eye, and a glimmer of a plan he was formulating from within the flow. He smiled at her. “But, yes. I think for some, it’s time to rest. Not for you, though, Miss Childs. I think it’s time for you to fight. We’ll be with you. We don’t want our souls to be used in that way.”

Time for me to fight, huh…? Meredith thought, that energy resonating with all of the souls joined to her. They kept growing, she felt, more and more connecting to her. The only ones that didn’t were those whose power was held in Marcus’s thrall, despite the fact she could communicate with them here. Below her feet, the water showed her friends in the mineshaft struggling to stand, Marcus having taken advantage of their rage to bring about a decisive victory.

They were waiting for her.

“See? You’re not alone.” Eddie’s words drew her to his face again. His smile wiped away the pain, and eased the fear which had gnawed in her chest. It was a smile that forgave her, didn’t blame her and would always stand by her, whether she saw it or not. A soul was never broken. “So, stand up. Move forward. Do what only you can.”

“Connect with us,” Silva added in. “Free us.”

The voices of all the souls joined together, one final urging shining from the chorus. “Use us, and save the world we love.”

Meredith stomped the water, dismissing the image. The action drew the souls unavailable to her away, Eddie waving as he vanished, while the others kept their ties to her active. The water bubbled beneath her feet, the entirety of the Great Soul roused from it slumber.

She was done doubting herself. Her sleeve wiped the last of her tears away.

“I will.” Her statement was final. Her soul surged, remembering the feeling of passing through Crea’s realm. That same feeling came to her, showing her the path out of the world’s own soul, back to her friends. “I’ll fight. I’ll free you. I’ll stop Marcus.”

“Go, Mera.”

“You can do it!”

“We seven are at your call!”

“Yeah.” Her body and soul joined together, breaking down until she was nothing more than the energy to which she was connected. That energy floated upwards, siphoning itself through the path she created, the light growing brighter and brighter. More hands were upon her, as if the Great Soul itself was providing all its power to her.

It wasn’t just those she’d spoken with either, sailing her way out, grasping for the light at the end. There was everyone that was a part of that flow. From presidents of nations, to her parents, to a television announcer. There was Brynn, and Conrad, and the souls she was bringing herself to. They were all aware, and for that one moment, their souls joined to hers, pushing her through and healing her chest of its grievous injury. She was at the edge.

“Thank you…Eddie. Now, hold on!” she screamed. Her fist sailed out, emerging from within the light of the world’s soul. It propelled her forward, catapulting her out of its depths. Cries of surprise echoed, but none more than the confused utterance from Marcus’s lips when he turned to her. “I’ll save all of you!”

Her fist landed on Marcus’s face before his reflexes could catch up. He stumbled back, raising his sword, but Meredith landed on her feet before he recovered. His blade flashed with malice, and it stabbed inward, only for Meredith to raise her hand.

“Legendary Souls, come to me!” Her body flared with a white light, the sinewy strands of all the souls urging her on, fueling her fight, visible only to her. The Legendary Weapons snapped to her hands. First the Bow of Torrents, knocking Marcus’s strike away and landing in an orbit around her body. Next came the Lightbringer Axe. Then the Abyssal Blade. Soon the Violent Staff and Spear of Squalls joined the rotation before being completed by the Chain Blade. The Earth-Splitter rejoined her hands, glinting with her and Terrill’s combined strength in the light of the Great Soul. “Stand up! Fight with me! Let’s stop Marcus and free those souls from torment!”

“Mera!” The shouts of Vivian and Emil were joyous, standing despite their wounds. Emily and Jay held on to each other, grinning in her direction, all while Amelia laughed. Meredith’s eyes met Rico’s, the experience of the soul shared between them as he clasped a wound in his side. He, too, was prepared to do whatever it took to take their fellow soul-user down.

“Trial girl.” His acknowledgement pushed her step forward, the Legendary Weapons continuing to spin around her body.

“Free them?” Marcus asked. His blade was drawn close to his body, prepared to strike its next deadly blow. “You think that will do any good? This world is poisoned. Only my will can save it.”

“Keep blabbering on, Marcus, but I won’t let someone who doesn’t understand the true value of a soul, or the true meaning of Soul Magic, have his way. So, go on about your will and making a difference. It won’t matter.” Meredith’s footstep on the ground rattled all the souls, including Marcus. The man stepped back, and the Great Soul poured great amounts of energy into her body. She grinned at him, her confidence sky high. “We’re going to fix this world together, like you should have done, as a part of it…as a Guardian.”

“Guardian?”

“That’s right. I am a Guardian, a Guardian of souls. And that means, starting right now, I’ll protect the world and everyone in it. Let’s go, Reaper! It ends here!”