New Eden: Live to Play, Play to Live

Astaroth immediately closed his eyes and breathed in deeply. The essence of divinity around him entered his body, softly circulating inside his mana channels.

He felt like his aching body was suddenly energized. It was almost like he had just awakened from a night's sleep.

He focused on the particles of glowing golden energy and followed their movement to find their provenance. And that's when he saw it.

Hidden behind an illusion, a monstrously large orb of golden white soul power.

Astaroth almost gasped at the sight, as this was like looking into a sun.

Only there was no burning heat or blinding light, just the soft glow and the pulsing of familiarity.

Around this orb, a familiar cage of runes, holding in the colossal soul. But something was different.

One line of runes, or bars from the cell, was missing. From this missing link, soul power trickled out and infused the soul space, making it stronger than the rest.

'So this is why the dark spots haven't reached here…' he thought.

Stepping closer to the soul cage, his eyes still closed, Astaroth reached the runes and slid his hands across them.

A tingling sensation coursed through his fingers, but it wasn't painful.

Again, the voice of Nemus whispered in his ear.

'This is only a barrier to hide the soul from Gaius until it finds its next vessel. You have nothing to fear from it. But don't try taking it all at once. Take it slow. This power is yours to wield. It always was.'

Going around the cage, Astaroth stopped before the missing rune line. He could see the golden energy leaking out clearly now.

But he didn't know what to do next. Should he jam his hand into the cage?

Or maybe he could consume the energy leaking out?

But he didn't need to do anything.

The moment his hand touched the energy leaking out of the soul cage, it suddenly snapped to his chest, the flow suddenly increasing, as Astaroth's body wreathed and shook.

His jaw clenched shut, no sound escaping it, as his body convulsed from the power entering him. The sensation coursing through him was a mix of exhilaration and unimaginable pain.

His feet lifted off the ground, his body suddenly floating four feet above the floor of the white room as it started glowing.

Geminae saw this and panicked.

"No! That power is mine! Thief!"

He could feel the power inside his very being getting sapped out as well, as his wings and body shrunk, regressing to a child's.

"No no no no! He shouted in his now much higher-pitched voice.

"Give it back!"

The demon used this moment of confusion to kick Geminae hard in the chest, sending him flying away like a meteor.

"RHAKHAKHAKHA! Talk about a twist! Nice going, but that isn't going to be enough to stop me!"

It charged toward Astaroth to stop him from becoming too strong. He still wanted to gain control of the body, and a powerful Astaroth meant his plan was void.

Reaching him in a mere moment, the demon extended his hand toward Astaroth's throat, trying to clamp down on it.

But the golden light radiating from his body surged out, burning his hand away.

The demon jumped back, letting his hand regenerate, and looked at Astaroth, confused.

"No… This shouldn't be enough divinity to hurt me. Not from a borrowed source…"

And as he said this, he realized where he was mistaken.

His eyes went wide, and he burst forth again.

"No! You can't have that! I refuse to get erased after just getting my freedom!"

He dived at Astaroth's still convulsing body, kicking, punching, and even shooting black flames at him, but the golden light always reacted to keep Astaroth's body safe.

The demon felt his power sap away as the mana he used evaporated in contact with the golden light. He could feel himself grow weaker.

Geminae rushed back toward them, his eyes still filled in panic, and he shoved his hands on Astaroth's body.

Unlike the demon, his hands weren't melted away, and his eyes started glowing in the same golden light.

"Give it back! Give it back, I said!"

But the power refused to leave Astaroth's body, solidly anchored in his soul.

The white room changed once more.

The darkness that had swallowed more than half of it started receding at a rate much faster than it had appeared.

Once it was back to being completely white, the change continued. This time, runes appearing on the walls, blue and bright, as the cage around the soul orb disappeared and transcribed into the walls of Astaroth's soul.

The demon saw this, and his eyes turned to fear.

"Stop this! If you finish assimilating it, your soul will burn up! It's too much power for you! We'll all die!"

Geminae grit his teeth.

The demon was right.

But he could tell Astaroth had no control over what was happening.

And what he was about to say made him sick to his stomach, but he knew there was no other way.

"We have to contain the seal! Help me, you disgusting demon. I'll slow down the transfer; you corrupt the seal. Make it so it doesn't finish moving the soul walls!"

The demon looked at him incredulously. This was madness.

"I'll have to use almost all my power to corrupt a seal of that magnitude! Are you trying to get me killed?!"

"Shut up, coward! You're going to die anyway if this thing transcribes completely! It'll flush out all the corruption in his soul! I refuse to die because of a mortal's greed!"

The demon reeled in shock.

Of course, his words were true. He had himself just told Astaroth they would all die.

He couldn't abandon his chance at freedom and life just because it would weaken him. He had to try.

"Argh fuck! If this doesn't work, it'll be your fault!" he screamed as he slapped his hands on the soul cage, now clear for all of them to see.

His hands started sizzling, but he grit his teeth through the pain.

Pouring almost all his power through his hands, he did what demons did best. He corrupted the seal.

The lines of runes started turning black and red, one by one, locking back in place around the soul orb.

But the process was far from fast enough, and he feared for his life.

Geminae had both hands on the white room's walls, trying to slow down the transcription, but it was taking all of his power to reduce its speed by a mere fraction.

"Does a mortal's greed know no bounds?" he complained, his face contorted into pain.

He could feel the last few drops of his essence sapping away from him. If this continued, he would vanish.

The corrupted lines locked in place as the last line of uncorrupted runes appeared on the walls. The soul orb flashed in bright gold, blinding everyone in the room.

A deathly silence followed…