Lake of Souls Chp. 2

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I grabbed a soldier running by me and picked him up, bringing him up to look at me, "Why are you all running around like this? Has the volcano not erupted before?" I took a moment to note that my voice now sounded much harsher than it had before. Like I was speaking through gravel.

The soldier shook his head vigorously, "Never like this! Our King told us if someone should ever kill him this would happen. Our kingdom will be covered in lava and ruin. You will die here monster! Just like the rest of us."

I put the soldier down now, closing my eyes. I remembered the King saying that his soul allowed him to know everything about his land at all times. I wondered if I could do the same. I thought hard on the physical last layout of the kingdom and a map popped into my mind. I was able to chart the best course to get out of this kingdom into the earth kingdom next to it. When I opened my eyes I looked up again at the erupting volcano. I suddenly found myself torn on what to do next. The King had not lied to me. The lake wasn't here so I needed to move on. However I had not come here with any intention to sentence an entire kingdom to death. Something about that thought left me feeling uneasy though I didn't know why.

After a few moments of thought I made up my mind. I would try stopping the volcano and then move on. I stopped another soldier running around me, "All of you have the ability to manipulate lava, yes?"

The soldier stared at me with distrust and hatred, "Yes. What of it? Are you going to tell me you have a plan?"

I nodded, "I do actually. Right now there is only one main stream of lava coming out. I can use my immense strength to put things in its path to slow it down. The rest of you start doing whatever you do and stop the flow. Calm the volcano down. I don't know but just do it. I'm going now." With that I took a deep breath and started running as fast as I could towards the volcano.

Arms and legs pumping with abandon I raced towards the river of lava. Taking note in my mind on the map of how best to get there as quickly as I can. I didn't know why I was doing this but I had already dedicated myself to it. Bounding out of the castle straight up fifteen feet I landed on the ramparts. Jumping off from there I started moving across the landscape with a speed and grace that was foreign to me. Everything around me had become a blur and yet I knew with absolute certainty where I was heading.

I could feel the temperature rising around me. I looked ahead, seeing the river of lava steadily running down towards me. I started grabbing any large rock I was running across and throwing it with ease and precision to start building a wall. Bouncing back and forth from area to area I was chucking boulders at this point. All still with but one hand. This power was truly a sight to behold. I soon had built a sturdy wall from the many rocks I had gathered. I continued to reinforce as much as I could. I could hear chanting coming from the castle. I looked back to see dozens if not hundreds of soldiers on the castle walls chanting with their hands out towards the lava.

I could feel the temperature drop a little as I continued to work as fast as I could. Building up more and more rocks however I could tell that the lava was starting to burn its way through. I looked back, "Faster! I don't know how much more I can do."

The soldiers already looked like they were on the edge of passing out but they continued with feverish intent. I stopped throwing rocks and started using both hands to pull massive boulders from the ground. Throwing them to where my wall was breaking down, trying to dam up the walls. I was starting to run out of things to throw but I could now tell a definite difference in the heat. The soldiers were succeeding in their jobs but I didn't know if it would be fast enough. I looked back again to see what looked like fresh soldiers on the walls. I sighed in relief and just kept throwing boulders. I had effectively dammed up the flow but now the lava was trying to go around so I focused on that.

It didn't take much longer before a call came out to me, "Beast! The job is done and even though you were the cause of our almost disaster, thank you for helping us to stop it. Now leave before we remember what you've done. Never come back either or we will find some way to be rid of you. Even if it means making the volcano erupt again." I turned and nodded before taking off out of their view. According to my mental map I would still have at least a two days walk before I was out of the kingdom. I could run the whole way if I wanted but there wasn't a real reason to. I will find the lake eventually and that's all that matters.

The route I had chosen while the fastest way out also took me across six different villages. However villagers had been running away from me before I took on this form now I'm sure they would run even faster. So I saw no reason to worry, and if I happened across any soldiers I was pretty sure I could outrun them. I had no desire to kill anyone if at all possible. Something about the thought made me feel uneasy at this point. Perhaps because I fully understood now how little of a chance they had against me in a fight.

I managed to make it through three villages without any incident. People all ran away from me and hid as soon as I entered the villages. It made it simple to walk through and continue on my way. At the fourth village however I found a group of people who had been trapped by some falling debris during the earthquake. There were a small group of soldiers who were trying to remove the debris but it was simply too large for them. Without thinking about what could happen I walked over and started tossing the debris away. Within a couple of minutes the people were free but they wouldn't leave where they had been trapped until I left. I shrugged and started walking away only to feel a sword strike against my back.

I continued walking feeling hit after hit across my skin. Slicing me open with each strike. I ignored it until I got out of the village. Only then did I turn around. It had only been one soldier the entire time. The rest had followed him but they didn't attack either out of fear or respect for the fact that I had helped the villagers, I wasn't sure of which. I looked down at the soldier in front of me, "Stop. There is no need for this and I will take no pleasure in it if I am forced to kill you. Yes I killed your King. Yes I caused the volcano to erupt which is why those people were trapped. However you can help rebuild in my wake. Why throw your life away against an opponent you can't defeat?"

The soldier stood in front of me frozen in fear now that I had turned around. His face was covered in ash and I could see that his fingers were bloody and bruised. Probably from trying to move the debris earlier. His hands were shaking but he was still trying his hardest to hold his sword steady. Finally he found his voice, "You're a monster! I don't know what dark corner of hell you crawled out of but we all want you to go back there! So go away beast!"

I sighed and began walking away. I didn't understand their hatred and yet I did. I know why they hate me but they don't understand what I'm looking for. That what I'm after is far greater than any of their Kings. I only hope I can find the lake soon. I do not like this feeling of unease that sits in me like a malaise eating at the parts of my mind that aren't constantly obsessing over the lake. I'll be out of the fire kingdom soon and hopefully the unease will ease off.

My trek to leave the fire kingdom continued uninterrupted. I kept a constant eye out both on my mental map and with my eyes for any soldiers or villagers. As I walked I pondered how these people actually lived out here. While food and water were of no concern to me I knew that all other living things needed them. I had seen very few animals since I had come to the kingdom. The villagers grew only two crops that I had seen. Potatoes and something that was quite red that they also plucked out of the ground. Though I had noticed a number of prickly plants that bore large pink fruits. I also had seen no water here that wasn't constantly boiling. It made me wonder how they survived.

The final village I had to cross was only an hour's walk away from the earth kingdom. I decided I would take a few extra moments and detour around it. According to my mental map there were several soldiers stationed there and I didn't want to cause any more issues. I would step off the main path towards a river that was near the village. There was only one person there and if they ran to get the soldiers I could start running myself and be long gone before they found me.

After I had adjusted my course I walked alongside the boiling river, my mind once again wondering how people survived here. I came upon the one person I had noted. A small girl who was collecting water for her village. I would ask her my question. I called out to her, "The water is so hot. How do you drink it like that?"

When she looked up at me I realized this had probably been a mistake. She was going to run and not answer my question. However, instead she replied, "We don't drink it when it is hot, silly. We use our ability to manipulate heat to lower the temperature so we can drink it. It's never really cold but it's cold enough, especially as warm as it is all the time."

I tilted my head slightly confused not by her response but by the fact that she wasn't scared of me. I asked her, "Do I not frighten you small child? Everyone else either tries to attack me or runs away."

She giggled, "No! You do not frighten me. You're just a big scarred man like the King but your skin is black instead of red. Why would that frighten me?"

I answered without thinking first, "I am only this large because I killed the King and took his soul. Something about it made me into this giant."

I saw tears appear in her eyes but she wiped them away, "You killed the King? Why would you do that? He was a good King. We all loved him very much."

I could feel the sense of uneasiness rising in me again. I did not know what this feeling was supposed to be but I did not like it in the least, "I came to talk to him at first but because I am different he was scared of me and so he attacked me. I was forced to kill him in the end but it was not my intention to do so."

The little girl stared at me studying my face as if she could divine whether or not my words were true. After what seemed like a small eternity she nodded, "I believe you. Our King was a very strong man always ready to respond to any threat in the kingdom. He didn't care much for talking first, he let his hands do all his talking."

I thought about her words and realized something that confused me, "Wait, all the people of this land killed the creatures that were here before all of us. So what threat did your King ever have to respond to?"

The little girl sighed as if she were having to explain something simple to a child like herself, "From other kingdoms. Sometimes they send people to attack us."

I start to ask her why when we hear a voice call from not too far away, "Susanne you better have that water! The soldiers are getting very thirsty." The little girl turns to tell me she has to go but I'm already gone running as fast as I can towards the border. Other kingdoms are attacking each other. That seems very strange. When the kingdoms were originally founded they were all meant to work together. That was how they defeated the beasts who used to live here. It was how they changed the land and made it habitable. Maybe that's why I had seen so little growing here. Perhaps they weren't working together anymore.

I decided I would continue to run until I made it to the border. At this point there didn't seem any reason not to. As I got closer to the border I started to notice a bit more greenery here and there. I guess being so close to the border earth couldn't help but be part of this land. But it was obvious that earth didn't want to spread it's greenery here. What little was around was already starting to wilt and die. After a little while longer I could finally see the actual border.

It was completely different from the fire kingdom. There were trees, shrubs, and actual grass. All of it a verdant brilliant green that seemed to shine in the sun. As my feet crossed the border I was shocked at the massive difference in sensation. The fire kingdom had been very much like my original home. Barren jagged rock and gravel everywhere you stepped. But here in the earth kingdom the ground was soft and squishy. The grass tickled between my toes as I walked feeling the earth beneath my feet.

I marveled at all the different trees and shrubs. Food and animals were abundant here. It seemed like all the creatures of the earth were running around me. However I noticed that they were all avoiding me. It was subtle but noticeable in their movements. Never coming within reach of me or even close enough for me to rush them, not that I had a reason to. The water that I could see was clear and crystal blue. The differences between the two kingdoms were massive.

I realized I was heading into a forest as I continued forward. I hoped that maybe I would encounter some other people here who could maybe point me in the direction of the lake. The trees surrounded me as tall guardians seeming to follow my movements. I could hear the branches creaking and groaning as if something or someone was moving across them. So I wasn't terribly surprised when the first arrow landed in my left shoulder. However I was caught off guard by the next twelve that landed across the nape of my neck and my right shoulder. Before I knew it I was falling down towards the earth and my vision was fading. They had cut me off at the spinal cortex and I was blacking out.

I opened my eyes to see the lake once again. The god was standing there this time as well. He looked over at me, "Well you're back again. How did you die this time?"

I rubbed the nape of my neck feeling little holes in my skin, "They separated my brain from my spinal column. Don't care how big and strong I am. That will make me black out everytime. But wait, you said I died. I thought I was just blacking out. If I'm dieing, how come I keep coming back? That doesn't make any sense. Dead things don't come back."

The god tilted his head back letting out a loud boisterous laugh, "No no you are currently dead. You simply will resurrect I'm a few moments when I see fit to let you do so. I'm the one who keeps resurrecting you. That's why the amount of time you're down varies. I continue giving your vessel the energy it needs to stand back up. Once you do the rest falls on you. You're a puppet and I just keep making new strings."

I frown. A facial expression I had never made before. Something about this news bothers me. After a moment I speak, "Why? Why do you keep bringing me back? What does me gaining a soul have to do with you? You are a god. Me gaining a soul has no impact on your existence. So why?"

The god turns to me with a look of irritation across his face. His form briefly shifts back to something far larger and monstrous than what he normally wears around me. He takes a deep breath and places a hand on my shoulder, "You gaining a soul means everything to me. You are like me. Forgotten and cast out all because you didn't fit the mold that my brothers wanted you to. I help you to help myself, I'll admit it. But together we can take revenge on my brothers and your part in that is simply to gain a soul."

The god's words touched me somewhere inside. We were kindred souls linked by the fact that no one wanted us. I didn't desire revenge like the god but if he wanted to use me for his plans I would use him the same way. To fill this burning desire in me to find the lake and claim myself a soul. After I had a soul I wouldn't be a puppet anymore and I could go live my life however I wanted to. I nodded to the god, "Then give me back my strings please. I have a lake to go find."

I wake up tied to a tree surrounded by several archers. I'm in what looks like a small village but there are only military people here. Soldiers carrying both bows and swords. The layout was quite simple, designed for efficiency instead of comfort. One of the archers called out without looking away from me, "It's awake sir."

A gruff older man came walking up to me. He had a scar running down his face that had barely missed his left eye. His countenance was that of a peaceful man hiding a mountain's worth of wrath just below the surface. He studied me for a moment before speaking, "Why are you here, vessel? You're the one who killed the King of fire and now you have come here to kill our King too I assume."

I tilted my head at him, "I have no desire to kill your King. I had no desire to kill the King of fire either. All I want is to find the lake of souls. That is all I have wanted since I took my first steps and spoken my first words. I do not desire conflict with anyone." At this point my tone turned harsher and I raised it to the point of a yell, "But everyone keeps trying to kill me! So just leave me alone!" With that I strained against the ropes pushing my bulky muscles taut to them until they snapped.

I stood there breathing deeply staring at the man waiting to see what he would do. I made no move to leave though it was obvious I had no intention to stay. Finally the man stepped to the side and told the archers, "Stand down. He could have crushed us all without a single thought and yet he waited to see if we would attack him before moving. Perhaps there is more to the vessel than meets the eye. Go towards the tallest mountain. You will find our King there if he doesn't come to you first."

I nodded slightly, "Thank you." I walked past them making my way away from this small outpost. The man had pointed me in the direction of the mountain though he did not tell me how much longer before I left the forest. All I could hope for was no more trouble.

I hope you enjoyed this newest continuation of my story. The next chapter as well as the original short story will be linked down below. I hope you enjoyed it and if you did then please leave a like, subscribe, and feel free to leave a tip. Till next time.

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