4 CHAPTER 3

The Middle, two years ago…

"My Elders," A cloaked figure materialized through a wisp of smoke and fell to one knee in respect, he kept his head bowed at the sight of the great elders of Elytrum on their throne. "The cracks surrounding the portals of the underworld only keeps growing day by day and more shadows are being released into the world. If we do not intervene soon enough, the earth can no longer become a haven for humans or us."

The four elders seated on their throne turned their attention towards each other and after a few minutes of silent conversation between themselves, they agreed.

"Fine, we will send former guardian... Akaia. She will be the best warrior for handling the shadow creatures." One of them stated plainly, he raised a hand in the air and magically summoned a wooden box onto the palm of his gloved hand.

He brought the box closer to his lips and whispered a few words that couldn't be heard beneath his breath, and a small visible shield of smoke appeared around the box before it slowly dissolved.

Sliding down the lid halfway, it made a scratching sound as the wood rubbed against each other and he slowly slipped a gloved hand inside to bring out a glass orb that appeared dull of any lifeform. While he held the orb in the palm of his hand, he made the box disappear the same way it appeared.

He rolled his eyes when the orb suddenly came alive with a glow and began to vibrate violently in his hand, the soul of a creature trapped within frantic in its effort to fly out of his grip and break away from its imprisonment. "Well, someone is eager to awake." He joked.

"Be careful, we don't want her getting loose in here." One of the three elders warned, her voice slightly agitated as she ran a hand through her silky blonde hair.

"Right you are Sibyl, after all, I'm sure she must still be angry about what we did to her in her last life." Another elder readily agreed as he gazed at the orb with narrowed eyes.

"Why, are you both scared the pretty phoenix demon will come straight to you two for vengeance?" The last elder of the four asked, an amused smile on her ruby red lips.

"Of course not, like her petty powers are of any match against–"

"Enough!" The elder holding the orb snapped in annoyance, and the others straightened up in fear. Letting out a sigh, he turned to his loyal servant and held out the orb. "Constantine, if you please?"

The cloaked figure who had been kneeling with his head bowed all along stood to his feet. With a practised spell, he materialized another wooden box in his hand, and the elder holding the orb gracefully made the orb disappear in his hand and reappear within the box. Once shut, green vines suddenly appeared around the box until the lid became immovable despite the constant jeering from the orb within.

"When you get to earth, ensure you do not have any skin contact with the orb. The problem with a soul trapper is, it traps the souls of unsuspecting lifeforms within its confinement and releases whatever soul was previously trapped within. So, in other to avoid such a problem find a way to get Akaia released from her prison and transmigrate her soul into the body of a well-matched host. Once you do, let her know of the mission she needs to accomplish."

"Of course, I will make sure everything is done according to your command."

"Good. Leave now."