Lake of Souls Chp.1

Previous Chapter

After three days of walking I finally arrived at the kingdom of fire. I had learned a couple of things while walking. Even though I had been bestowed with a sense of longing to find the lake I had not been given anything else. I still did not need nor want food, water, or sleep. I did not grow tired from walking either. I was rather amazed at how large my territory had been. I had thought the gods hadn't left me much space but I guess they never wanted any of their chosen children to find me even by accident. However I was here now and it was time to truly begin my search.

The landscape was barren, nothing but red sand, dust, and rock everywhere I looked. The air was warm and humid, precipitation clinging to my skin though I didn't really take notice. Off in the distance I could see a large mountain spewing flame and ash from its top. I could hear the sound of bubbling water a bit ahead of me. Walking forward I took in my surroundings trying to decide what would be the best course of action for finding the lake. Finally I decided to go investigate the source of bubbling water.

My course took me into a gorge and I could see the lake at the end of it. Tall cliff walls surrounded me on both sides. When I arrived at the bubbling water I found it to be nothing more than a pond. I shrugged and traced back my steps picking a new direction to move in. Soon I was on an upward heading path that I figured could take me to a better view of the land. The sun was high in the sky and I'm sure if things like heat meant anything to me I would be rather uncomfortable right now. Instead I was simply confused why my body was slick with water.

After many twists and turns in the path I came out onto a plateau, where there was a small village. I approached the village intending to ask someone there if they knew about the lake of souls. But as I approached I could see the villagers all running into their homes, away from something. I reached the outskirts of the village only to be greeted by a young child holding a spear, "W-who are you? Are you here to attack us?"

I stopped, looking down at the child, "I am the vessel. I am not here to attack you. I'm looking for the lake of souls. I just wanted to ask if anyone here knew of it." With that I started walking past the child only to be stopped by him and his spear again.

Some of the adults started to come out now to join the child in standing in front of me. A large round man with muscular arms stepped forward and grabbed the spear from the child shoving him backwards. Now the man pushed the tip of the spear against my chest, "You said you were the vessel? The one the gods couldn't put a soul into? I thought you were nothing more than a fairy tale. But from that funny symbol on your chest I think you've got to be something from a story."

I looked down at my chest wondering what the man was talking about. On my chest was a circle cut in half by a line down the middle. I ran my hand against my chest finding it to still be smooth, "Hmm.. I don't know myself. I wonder if he gave it to me or did I have this as a mark given to me by the gods? You've left me wondering but it doesn't matter because I'm looking for the lake of souls. Have you heard of it?"

The man lowered the spear deciding I was simply peculiar but not a threat, "Nope. Never heard of it. But maybe if you could talk to our King he could tell you. He knows all there is to know about this land."

I nodded, "So then which way to your King? I'll go to meet him now."

The man pointed me towards the mountain spewing flame, "Head to the volcano. You'll find the capital soon enough from there. Now please leave us stranger. We've been kind to you for the most part so let us be."

I nodded again and started walking in the direction of the thing the man called a volcano. If the only person who could help me was the King then I would find him. He would tell me what I wanted to know one way or another. It looked like at least a large chunk of my walk would be on flat ground. This was welcome because it would mean faster travel. I focused on my goal and pushed forward keeping the volcano directly in front of me at all times.

I would still stop to investigate any source of water I came across. Which made for slow going and some interesting detours. I would occasionally come across a random person out trying to forage from the mostly barren land. When I would approach they would often make a point to quickly get away from me. The ones who didn't run off I would question them if they knew of the lake. They never did and would just point me in the direction of the volcano.

After two days of walking the volcano was much closer though I had come up to a chasm, and was being forced to go a long way around to get past it. Finally I found a bridge but standing in front of it were five people in armor. I walked up to them intending to ask how I would get to the King when they all drew out swords. One of them who stood a little taller than the others stepped forward, "Halt! This is the bridge to go to the castle. What business do you have at the castle?"

I stared blankly at the man, "To talk to the King. Why are you stopping me?"

The knight took another step towards me, "Are you the vessel that everyone keeps telling me about? Looking for a lake of souls?"

I nodded, "Yes. The few people who were willing to talk to me told me that I could find out about it from the King."

The knight now put the tip of his sword against my throat, "We have been given strict orders to not allow you into the castle, and to kill you on the spot if you attempted to cross the bridge."

Not knowing what to kill me meant I nodded again, "Well I am seeking to cross the bridge. Would you please move now?"

With that the knight plunged his sword through my throat. I fell to the ground gasping for air. The last thing I saw before I passed out was the horrified looks on their faces when I showed no sign of pain.

I dreamt of the lake. I was standing in front of it reaching for a soul inside but my arm kept getting shorter and shorter keeping me just out of reach. I could hear laughter all around me, "Poor little vessel. The gods didn't love it enough to give it a soul like us. It thinks it can be like us." My longing for the lake and its contents grew in me until it felt like I was leaking from it overflowing out of me. My dream turned to darkness and all I could see was the odd symbol on my chest. A voice spoke from the darkness, "Rise vessel. You are not bound by death like those fools. Rise and go forward by any means necessary."

I woke up laying on the ground staring up into the sky. It was nighttime now. It had been daytime when the knight had 'killed' me. I tilted my head slightly and saw the knights were now at the other end of the bridge. I guess they had decided they didn't need to worry about me anymore so they had left. I realized if they saw me up and moving they would come after me. So instead of standing up I rolled over on to my stomach and crawled out of their view before standing. If I wanted to get across the bridge I would have to get a weapon like them so that I could kill them before they put me down like before.

I traveled back to a village I had skirted past earlier in my travels. Perhaps they would have weapons I could procure for myself. It was another half day's walk back but time meant nothing to me. I found the village and walked into it intending to simply ask for a sword. However people were all running to their homes away from me. After much searching I found where the weapons were kept in, an even hotter area than the rest of the fire kingdom. In this place I found a blade that felt good in my hands and that I could swing easily. With the weapon obtained I made my way back to the bridge.

Upon arriving back at the bridge I found the knights on the other side still. I stood on my side and called out, "I'm back. Should I come to you or will you come to me?" I could see what looked like confusion on one of the knight's faces before he put on his helmet and marched towards me. This was a different knight than last time and he was the only one approaching me. I backed away from the bridge so that we weren't fighting on it. As soon as the knight cleared the bridge I rushed at him swinging my sword with all my might at his head. I caught him off guard with my speed and managed to score the blow. He staggered backwards and I stabbed this time trying to strike at the spot between where his helmet and chest plate were separated at. His neck had been exposed from the blow to his head. With the stab I placed the blade firmly into the knight's neck. Upon pulling it out I am sprayed with a small gush of blood.

The man falls onto his back dead now. For a moment time seemed to stop and I could see the soul of the now dead man. It was burning bright like a flame and at that moment I reached out and grabbed it. The soul flows into my body. I can feel it inside of me giving me new found strength I didn't have before. I don't have the ability to manipulate flame but in its place I am given additional strength. The sword feels even lighter in my hand than before and so I claim the dead knight's sword to wield as well.

As I look across the bridge I realize that now the other four are all running towards me. I stand at the front of the bridge so I can keep our confrontation to one on one combat. As soon as the one in the lead gets in my range I swing both swords at the same time into his right side. He puts up his arm to try and block but all he does instead is help me in propelling him off the bridge. As his body begins to fall I take his soul into me feeling my strength grow again. With his comrades now off balance I step on to the bridge to get to the next knight bringing my swords back from the left now. This time I propel him off the bridge collecting his soul as he flies off, the blow from the left at least partially fixing the bridge from swinging as much. I start to take another step forward when the last two knights turn and run back to the other end of the bridge.

I take off after them intending to overtake them before they get to the other side. I manage to reach the one in front of me about three quarters of the way across. Once again I simply swing my swords from the right into his right side sending him flying. Collecting his soul as he flies my mind has a brief moment of wondering how exactly I've managed to get so strong. That moment is cut short though when I see the final knight has made it back across. He starts wildly hacking at the ropes managing to sever them before I make it across. I jump in a last ditch effort missing the cliff's edge by mere inches. I can hear the knight laughing as I fall. Darkness begins to surround me as I fall further and further into the chasm. Suddenly I hit the ground blacking out before my brain fully registers the sound.

I'm at the lake again. Staring into the crystal aquamarine waters watching the souls swim around. Looking into the lake I can also see myself reflected back at me. My body appears to be rather beat up at this point. I wonder how I will continue moving seeing as my limbs are somewhat mangled from the fall. Pitch black surrounds me and I can hear the voice of the god, "Rise. You still have much farther to go."

I awaken in a dimly lit cavern though I can see no source of light. The heat here is quite strong but of course no real issue. As I stand and look around I see my two swords near me as well as the body of the final knight I had killed. I pull his sheath off of him so I don't have to always carry both swords. Once I've put one of the swords away I start trying to find the source of light. It seems to be emanating from another room and so I head in that direction. Walking into the room I find the source immediately. It's lava that is bubbling in a large pool in the center of the room. I look to the right of the pool and see a large iron door.

I walk up to the door noticing it has no handle to grab. So I push on it trying to see if I can open it. The door doesn't budge at all despite my increased strength. I step back and start thinking about how I might open it when I hear voices coming from the other side, "Yes we have to check! I'm telling you, that devil has risen from the dead once. I want to make sure it doesn't do it again." It's the voice of the man who made me black out twice now.

I then heard laughter, "I think you just aren't willing to admit that you failed to kill it the first time." I moved back into the cavern I had woken up in finding a spot of shadow to crouch in drawing out my second blade.

I hear a lock turn, the door creak open, and a third voice saying, "Make sure to keep that door open. If it closes we're all going to be stuck in here." I listen closely to the footsteps trying to determine how many of them there are. In total I think I can hear eight people walking around in the room with the lava.

Soon two of them enter the room I'm in. They look around spotting the body of their fallen comrade. One of the knights immediately noticed the missing sheath, "Hmmm… He probably just lost it in the fall. Though if that's the case I wonder why his sword is right next to him."

I watch the two men waiting until they are close together hunched over the dead body. I bring both my swords up and rush them slamming a sword down into both of their heads. Using the swords more like hammers, I crush both of their heads even though they are wearing helmets. I collect their souls even as I retreat back into the shadows and wait for the rest. It is quickly becoming apparent that these knights aren't going to be much of a match for me. Everytime I kill one I take his strength and make it my own. I hear yelling from the other room, "I told you it is still alive. Let's go! He can't fight all of us!!"

All six of the men who are left rushed into the room to of course find it empty of everything except the three bodies. I don't want to fight these people if I don't have to. All I want is to find the lake. Why can't they understand that? As all the men are looking at their dead comrades talking about what a monster I am for being able to crush their skulls the way I did, I sneak my way out of the room. Making my way to the open door that is being held open by a large metal block. I didn't want to fight these men but I would trap them here so they couldn't follow me. I moved the block slowly out of the way and started to step through the door when I heard, "He's escaping! He's going to lock us all in here." I step through the door and close it behind me with the fastest knight still about two steps away from it. I start walking up a set of stairs in front of me and can hear the knight screaming, "Our King will kill you monster. If no one else can, he will."

I climbed up the stairs for a long time. Flight to flight wondering just how far I had actually fallen. Eventually the stairs came to an end at another iron door. This one had a small window at about head height. I peered through and saw what looked like a courtyard and no knights around. I also saw that it was nighttime. I pushed on the door to see if it would open and this one actually did. But as I pushed it open I heard a voice to my right, "Oh you all finally back from your journey to find the undying vessel? I'm assuming you found him dead and broken at the bottom. I don't care who or what you are, there is no way you're surviving that fall."

I walked through the door keeping my head below the window so he couldn't see me, "But I did survive." As I pass the door I strike the knight with the pommel of my sword as hard as I could in the head. He crumpled to the ground unconscious and probably severely injured but not dead. I nodded to myself in satisfaction and then looked to my left to preview the gigantic castle I was standing in front of. I wondered where the King was in that castle when I saw a massive burst of flame erupt from one of the top towers.

I watched the flame for a moment before a voice roared out from the tower, "I know you are here vessel! Stay where you are and I'll come rid this world of you shortly." I shrugged and did exactly as he asked.

After a short moment the flame died abruptly. Once it had, a large figure leapt from the tower down to the courtyard. Standing before me was a man of thirteen feet weighing in at least half a ton. Every ounce of his skin that was exposed showed thick beefy muscle. His skin was bright red covered in various tattoos that held no significance for me. His clothing also red did nothing more than to barely sit on his shoulders and cover his legs down to mid thigh. He lowered himself down to look at me, "You have killed six of my men. All with relative ease. Twice now have you suffered injuries that should have killed you. All of this for such a little thing, with two swords. I have watched your progress every step of the way. As King I know of every single thing in my kingdom and every movement. Now you will die." With that he swung one massive hand down towards me with such blinding speed I couldn't move in time. I felt the touch of his hand before I blacked out.

I was back at the lake but I didn't stay this time. Before I could even go through my ritual of trying to grab a soul I was pulled back. I looked up from the ground to see the King with his head thrown back letting out a triumphant roar. Without a word I stood up and rushed towards him jamming both of my swords into his right leg. He reached down, swatting me towards the castle wall. I could feel my spine cracking as I made an impact.

I'm back at the lake again. I can hear the god screaming, "You are not done! Up with you. Put your great strength to use!" I'm waking up to the King stomping towards me. Both of my swords are still sticking in his leg. I push off the castle wall running towards the King again. I dodge past his attempt to grab me and grab the swords pushing them further into his leg. I can feel him starting to topple backwards to which I push even harder, sending him falling down. As he falls I can feel the heat building up long before I see it. Suddenly the world is engulfed in orange before I black out.

I'm once again standing at the lake staring into the clear water at my body. My scars at this point are closed up, cauterized by the fire that had engulfed me. I looked hideous at this point. A true monster. But I didn't care about such things. I just needed to find the lake. I can feel the sensation of being pulled back once again. I awaken still clinging to the pommels of my swords. The King is still on his back breathing hard. I pull the swords out to discover they've been partially melted from the intense burst of heat. At this point they are nothing more than jagged metal. I start crawling my way up the King stabbing him with each sword and using it as leverage to pull myself up by. With each stab the King screams in agony. This isn't what I had wanted. There was no need for all of this. I scream back at him, "Tell me where the lake is and I'll leave! That's all I want to know. Where is the lake?"

I can feel the temperature rising around me again. I sigh and wait for the fire but it never comes. The King's breathing has become ragged. I finally pushed myself off of him and realized I had crawled and stabbed my way from his leg to his chest. He was bleeding out at a rapid pace now. I walk my way up to his head and look down at him. The fiery red of his skin has become pale. For as large as he is now he seems fragile simply laying there. He looks up at me with terror in his eyes, "I don't know. I don't know what you're even talking about. You've slain me and now my kingdom will fall into ruin. The gods were right to abandon you. I hope you find what you're looking for and I hope it's the thing that finally kills you." With that the King's eyes closed.

I stared at his body and saw his soul starting to come out of his body. He had been the worst foe I had come across in the fire kingdom. I took his soul into me and immediately I could feel my body changing shape to accommodate this new soul. My form grew larger until I was almost as tall as the King had been. Muscles rippling through my body taking solid shape. I would no longer need swords with this body. I would be able to defend myself just fine now.

I could hear rumbling coming from all around me and I looked up where I could see the volcano. The flame from it had grown massively and ash was starting to flow out covering the sky. Soldiers were running all around me screaming, "The King is dead! The King is dead! The volcano is erupting!"

I hope you all enjoyed this piece and I will be continuing it forward. If you enjoyed it then please leave a like, subscribe, and feel free to leave a tip. The next chapter and the original short story that started it all will be linked below.

Next Chapter

Original short story