Chapter Text
Ralsei put the batter into the oven, setting a timer before closing it and taking off his gloves. "Alright, it should be done before Lancer and Rouxls Kaard get here.
His ears perked, hearing a knock at the door. "...or not." Ralsei sighed, leaving the kitchen and heading to the door. "Lancer, I told you we're meeting at-"
"Not Lancer." A muffled voice said, pushing the doors open. There stood Susie and Kris, two of the heroes of the prophecy, and his first friends. "Hey, toothpaste boy." Ignoring the teasing, Ralsei grinned, tackling his friends. "Kris! Susie! You came back!"
Kris wheezed. "Not again- Ralsei, suffocating-"
"O-oh, sorry!" He let go, not really wanting to, but not wanting to suffocate Kris. "W-what brings you guys back so soon? Not that I'm complaining!"
"We have a...situation." Kris turned around, and Ralsei now noticed that they had been pulling a cart behind them. Their fingers curled around the bars of a cage and they turned back around.
All the blood drained from his body.
Sitting in the cage was a red soul, glowing a bit brighter now that it was allowed to be noticed. He walked towards it, almost on instinct. "May I?"
Kris gave him a weird look before handing over the cage. Ralsei turned, walking deeper into the castle. "Come with me, quickly. I want an explanation." His fur was bristling under his cloak, muscles tense. Was it Kris's? He doubted it, in all honesty. The only change he saw was that they were being a bit more talkative.
"Ralsei! Not so fast!" Kris wheezed. He turned, realizing they had lagged behind and were having a problem breathing. He looked down at the soul, seeing it had dulled and was flickering weakly. He stopped, taking a deep breath and casting a spell.
The moment he did, Kris's soul appeared, what looked almost like a string trailing from the caged soul to Kris's own. "They're tied." He muttered. "That's a problem."
"What? What does that mean?" Susie reached for the string. "Can't we just cut it?"
"DON'T TOUCH IT-"
Too late. The soul suddenly sent out a viscous attack, easily knocking him down to less than half HP and Susie exactly half(he realized this after a quick check). The soul curled in on itself, preparing itself for another attack if Susie tried to touch it again. "Hey, hey," His hands glowed gently as he opened the cage. "Ralsei, what are you doing!?"
"Shush a minute, Susie. It's scared."
"IT'S SCARED!? THIS THING NEARLY KILLED-" Kris cut Susie off as all three felt the soul start charging itself for another attack. Ralsei sung gently, reaching for it as he cast his pacify spell. It wasn't tired, but the spell was enough to calm it down and prevent it from attacking again. Carefully he cupped it in his paws, pulling it out. "There we are, you're not that bad, are you? Just afraid." He looked at Susie. "Connections like these sometimes are done to keep one or both parties alive. I think, Seam or Rouxls Kaard might know a bit more about it."
"Can you talk to it? Like, communicate? That's one reason we came."
"Yeah, I think I might have a spell. Help Kris and follow me."
He'd put the soul back into the cage and left it with Kris and Susie while he grabbed a few spellbooks. He really just hoped Susie didn't scare it again, he didn't need it to lash out again. I need to try and get Seam to come, he should know a bit more about this kinda stuff. Maybe. He probably just wouldn't care. Seam would rather watch the world burn than help someone with magic or souls. Actually he'd rather see the world burn than do anything. Seam really didn't care about anything anymore.
Reaching up, the prince grabbed a spellbook, flipping through it.
It was then he heard the door open, Lancer yell excitedly and Rouxls Kaard shriek.
Oh no.
Grabbing as many spellbooks as he could carry, he rushed out before the soul could be further frightened and attack again.
Rouxls Kaard had prepared an attack of his own, Susie trying to block him. He was yelling about the danger and power it gave off, and he saw the soul preparing it's own attack.
He quickly interfered, dropping the books and scooping up the cage. "That's enough! You're scaring the poor thing!"
"Thou art DEFENDING it? Can thou not see-"
"Yes I do." Ralsei cut him off. "Lancer, can you hold it a moment while I find a proper spell?"
"For what?" Instead of taking the cage, Lancer, to Susie and Rouxls's protests, opened it, taking the soul. "What're ya gonna do?"
"Destroy it I hopest." Rouxls muttered.
"Talk to it." He glared at him, flipping through the spellbook. "That's why Kris brought it here. It's just-"
"It is not a regular soul. This is a very powerful being." Rouxls scoffed, kneeling down to peer at it. The soul flinched, getting closer to Lancer. "Something as powerful as The Knight, perhaps even more so. Seam would be the only one who knows what to do about it."
"Are you sure? I checked its HP and it seems hurt." Ralsei frowned. How could something so powerful be hurt so easily?
"He'll know. Let's go."
"Wait! I need to take out the cake first!"
Seam leaned back in his chair, sighing as he stared at the key.
He'd shattered this key long ago, and the heroes had repaired it. But instead of fighting him, they'd smartly decided not to and returned the key. That fluffy child...Ralsei...had told him Jevil seemed lonely and maybe he should visit.
Yeah that was a bad idea. Jevil was just as mad as he'd last seen him. But there was...an air of seriousness.
"The knight...the knight....he's coming...coming." A chill went down Seam's spine. "Why not let me in? We can stop him together." Jevil's grin seemed almost forced, and Seam could see hatred shining in his dark eyes.
Jevil was never so angry or hateful like that. The Knight was the only thing that could rile him up. Despite acting like a child, and seeming to be the embodiment of chaos, he was usually very calm and calculated when he wasn't in one of his chaotic moods. He was intelligent, which was why Jevil could match him so well in the games they used to play.
"Excuse me, Seam?"
Seam sighed at Ralsei's voice.
"Seam. It's pronounced as Shawm..." He turned, seeing the three heroes, the new king and the duke. "I'll forgive you this time, what pleasure do I owe the Heroes?"
Kris stepped forward, Seam's ears perking as he noticed the cage they held. Inside was a glowing red soul, one that made his fur stand on end. He could sense the power, see how high its LV was.
This wasn't a regular soul.
"Never seen one of these before. Not around here." Seam muttered, walking around the counter to open the cage. "I've heard of them though."
"What is it?" Rouxls Kaard asked.
Seam reached in, paws brushing against it as he checked its stats.
It's health was oddly low, it was wounded, almost sickly. But you wouldn't be able to tell that if you didn't look closer. "This is what you call a Player. They're powerful beings from a universe in which none of us exist. They look down on our worlds, which are just games to them. They take a vessel and put themselves into the story however..." Seam looked at Kris. "Vessels are blank slates. No personality, no soul, no one who existed before the Player comes. Being put into someone with a personality, backstory and their own will can weaken them. Even the smallest touch can wound them badly, despite their high LV."
"LOVE."
"No. LV for Players stands for Level. In most worlds they visit, they have no choice but to fight and hurt. Their LV is not Level of Violence, but simple Level. Exp is Experience Points instead of Execution Points. Their stats do not adhere to our own." Seam had now been able to take the Player out of the cage. "This one is a younger Player, it's LV is high but not as high as you'd expect. It was already weak, which is likely how you could take back control. How did you do it?"
Kris looked almost guilty, looking down. "I ripped it out of my chest last night. I was afraid of it hurting others, I noticed it's LV and saw how high it was. And originally it just...was so aggressive."
"I can't blame you then. It's injured, but I don't think that's the entire reason. But I don't believe it should be in a cage, it's already frightened and in pain."
"It's tied to Kris's soul." Ralsei spoke up. "When I revealed it with a spell, and Susie tried to sever it, it attacked. Is the tie because it's injured?"
"Possibly. A Player has never visited here before, so I get my information from what I've read about them. Books about Players just...showed up in the Seap one day, so I kept them. Didn't ever think I'd actually need the information." He laughed a bit. "But this...isn't natural for them. They shouldn't be outside a vessel, a true vessel. It....affects them negatively."
"Can thou communicate with it?"
"I can try. Come with me."
Handing the Player back to Kris, he turned, leading them deeper into his home.
They had much to discuss.