“What are we going to do?” I asked.
We were moving now. I was stumbling along while Alysia kept me from collapsing to the ground. To anyone who saw us, we looked like two common Osteria. The man drunk and his wife dutifully bringing him home. Meanwhile, we were talking to each other while keeping our eyes out for any incoming guards.
“From what I understood, my soul was supposed to hold the other soul in place, wrapping around it. Broth- that man told me that he had a method to extract the soul safely. I never asked him why they needed the soul. They said it would provide our nation the strength and power necessary to throw off our shackles. I believed them. I was such a fool.”
“I think his extraction method was refining the soul and killing you in the process.” I croaked.
“I tend to agree.” Alysia nodded. “If he gets his hands on me, he’ll have his hands on the god soul as well.”
“That can’t happen.”
“Then, I have to die.”
“Wh-what?” I stopped, but Alysia continued to drag me forward.
“I have to die. It’s the only way to release your soul. Once your soul is released, you can be resurrected like normal.”
“Are you sure… if your soul is wrapped around my soul.”
“That’s why my soul can no longer be allowed to exist.”
“What are you saying?”
“Have you heard of darksteel, ah… I think your people call it Malacrum.”
My narrowed eyes popped open. “You can’t.”
“If I die from a Malacrum weapon, my soul would burn away. However, your soul is a god soul, it will be released. You will be saved, and their plan will be upset.” She stated as she continued to pull me along.
“No! There has to be another way. Besides, we don’t even have a Malacrum weapon, so this point is moot.”
“There is one.” She declared. “The ancient sword.”
“The… ancient sword?”
She pointed, and I looked to see where she was dragging me. It was the sword in the stone. It was the one I had tried to pull out earlier. My eyes popped open.
“That’s Malacrum?”
“Anyone who has ever died to that sword has not been able to resurrect. In the ancient days, it used to be the source of countless executions.”
“That…”
I had seen Malacrum weapons. That dagger had been buried in the ground for countless years but hadn’t rusted a single bit. As for this blade, it was old and rusty. It didn’t look like Malacrum at all. However, if it did function like a soul-reaving blade, then it could work. If Alysia died, then I could just be resurrected again. Before I could say something else, she started to drag me toward the sword again.
The courtyard was quiet, and everyone was either drunk or sleeping. I pulled back against her hand.
“W-wait! I can’t access mana, but I can access my dungeon blessings. They function a lot like mana. I can make a Portal to Chalm. We can escape.” I explained.
She turned back to me, frowning. “Escape? Why so you can die shortly after? If it’s between you and me, I should be the one who dies. As long as I possess your soul, I am a vulnerability. We do not have time to think about this.”
“We can go to the church. Maybe, they’ll have an option.”
She still didn’t seem convinced.
“Look, I have a Malacrum dagger in my treasury. If we exhaust other options, then we can do your option. You can free my soul after I’m dead. Until then, we need to look for a different option. Agreed?”
She slowly nodded, and I started to breathe easier. I didn’t know what to do though. Going to the Capital and consulting the Prince was the best option I could think of. He was a surprisingly deep well of information at times.
I lifted my hands and began to summon a Portal.
“Watch out!”
Halfway through its creation, Alysia slammed into me, shoving me aside. A fireball struck where we were standing and exploded, the two of us were thrown to the side, and our escape dissipated like smoke.