The Light of My World

Chapter II

    "He's dead."

   Licht prodded the surgical scalpel on the floor. It glowed with Lightsource even after the priest's demise. He lifted it and twirled with his fingers. Old symbols were written on the bottom of the haft. Cronixism. Old language. That meant sorcery of unknown territory.

    "Or alive. It's complicated."

   Luna nodded. Lightsource shouldn't be able to persist without the Nexus. The Goddess had deemed it so that their divine blessing would sever its connection with the soul during death. It was to prevent mortals from abusing their powers that may lead to the avoidance of The Boundary.

   "I am still perplexed as to why it took you this long to tell me that you were the reason why Father Lazarus and the others had been disappearing lately," Luna crossed her arms, "And that you are a Shadowcaster."

   "No. I am not responsible for the others," Licht shook his head. He passed by the decaying corpses and made his way to one of the slated tables, to a small figure draped in white sheets. To his left were dead monitors used to determine pulses of the patients.

    "Could be another one of your kin," she shrugged, "I mean yours are the only ones who could corrupt Nexuses and turn others into thralls."

    "Have you ever seen a Shadowcaster in person?"

    "Yes? I'm obviously speaking to one now."

    "That's... interesting. It explains your unfounded confidence in saying that word so lightly." Licht said nonchalantly, "Come, take a look."

    Luna raised her eyebrows. She sighed and accompanied Licht from behind, her sapphire eyes peeking over the covered body hesitantly. She had always been unnerved by the dead, even when she had been entrusted to purify Nexuses. It was daunting to her that something so full of life once slowly crumble into nothingness. Taking a deep breath, she removed the sheets, revealing a young boy in torn garments, his eyes closed and arms clasped in the front. The body was surprisingly unscathed. No signs of surgery had taken place.

   Luna made a sweeping gesture over the body. The Hex hovered from above, providing light for her to inspect. Her eyes glowed as she scanned the internal parts for damage and corruption. There was none. Strangely, blood continued to stay liquefied even after the heart stopped beating. She pressed the chest, hands into the sternum, feeling for the Nexus. Lightsource manifested from her hands, white mist brewing beneath the palm. It entered the body, seeping through thin layers of cloth and pores.

"Divine mother, grant thee thy radiance and cast upon the flesh of the wandering, so that he may rise from damnation."

    She removed her hand. The body glimmered and began to waft mid air. From the sternum blossomed the soul— so white and astral, as if it wasn't made for the eyes to see. It was heavenly, circular in shape and at the top rested the filament, slithering like a viper.

    Luna smiled. No words could describe the joy she had seeing the soul untouched. It reminded her of the days when she was with her brother in the Halcyon Fields, lying on the crimson pasture and gazing at the millions of multicolored dots above. Cerous the sage moon hung from the vast sky, illuminating the world of Olthem in its jaden complexion. It was so serene, so marvelous that it had convinced her that the creations of the gods are unparalleled and unworthy of mortal eyes.

   "No problems from the inside," she sighed, "Blood hasn't solidified, which means it hasn't been that long since his heart had stopped. The soul is pure. No signs of corruption either. If we pump him up, he can still be sa—"