Skye's POV--
Three months. It felt like forever. The attacks on Comwen had gotten larger. As I feared, hordes of demons were vanishing into the thick of the night and wrecking Comwen's continents. Demon Keepers were dying by the tens from the power their subjects were taking. Underwater volcanoes were suddenly emerging and erupting in mermaid and siren cities. Forests had been burning for days. Elves were losing their last city even as I watched silently. Nymphs and Khaets were trying to put out the fires but many Nymphs were losing their lives. Humans were losing their farms to tornadic events. Mountain homes crumbled around the Dwarves and many were lost in their glorious tunnels. The humans had only one stronghold left: Celeste's City.
When I awoke from my soul shattering induced coma, Jasper asked me to report on my findings among the Fountain souls. I told him what I knew: dead people can't use mana. Not even if they tried. He seemed content with my answer and I also told him how the demons weren't being created by the evil. They were being taken from the Land of Demons and used against their will just like the souls of the dead were. He seemed surprised at the news and Bal reported the same.
"So, it seems that this evil doesn't have the same powers I have." Jasper stared at the flames he created within his palm. A smug smirk latched onto his face.
"It seems whoever or whatever it is, they can only manipulate your powers. They can't create or destroy the same way you can." I offered my two cents.
"Hmm." Jasper's smile unnerved me. "This is good news!" He leaped into the air and I sat on the ragged bed, annoyed. Breathing deeply, I stood. My legs didn't have any strength and I fell onto the floor. "You know, you should rest up a bit more." Jasper's cheery tone made me grind my teeth. They think I'm useless? I'll show them useless! I grasped the bedpost nearest to me and pulled myself up. Jasper didn't offer any help. Perhaps he could sense that I needed to do this for myself. I stood on shaky legs and willed myself to stand up straight.
Once I stabilized, I looked at the deity before me. He wasn't smiling any more and his energy had dulled.
"What's wrong with you?" I asked. I was actually curious. He stared into my eyes with an incredibly creepy look of longing. I shook my head. It's just my imagination! Suddenly, he slapped my back like an old buddy and his smile returned.
"Say, Skye, why'd you come to the Land of Demons?"
"Only the living can handle magic. Demons are the only living beings in the Underworld."
"Besides Jacqui." The way Jasper tensed when saying her name caught me off guard.
"No, Jacqui isn't a part of this." I don't know what compelled me to defend her. I didn't know if she was innocent or guilty, but she tried to heal me the best she could. According to Bree anyway.
"How do we know?" Jasper's melancholy doubt surprised me.
"Aren't you the one who said she wasn't a part of this when we first met?"
"That was before."
"Before what? What have you learned?"
Jasper shook his head and grabbed my arm. "Lets just go."
"wait, where?" I barely got the words out before Jasper materialized us to where my body lay at Old Post. Josephine's sword had disappeared but my body was on the altar surrounded by a peach colored mist and white flames. I could see myself clearly through the mist and the flames were merely the height of the altar.
My scarred body was shirtless and pale. My lips were blue. My dark hair had grown long and my beard reached my shoulders. My eyes were closed. My hands were at my sides. The wound Josephine had inflicted on me had stopped bleeding and was merely a gash in my chest. The mortal me had died. I was dead.
"Don't worry. You'll live again soon." Jasper continued walking like it wasn't a big deal. When he saw that I wasn't following him, he motioned for me to follow him. I couldn't look away from the man on the altar. I lifted my arm and saw the area within it. I was transparent. I was on the altar. "Come here." Jasper's voice lifted me out of my trance. He was standing beside my body and I inhaled deeply before moving toward him. When I stood before my dead self, Jasper spoke again.
"The peach mist is one of Josephine's specialties. It shrouds the area and all within it are quite invisible. The only ones who are able to see through it are gods and those within the mist." He waved the mist away from my corpse.
"And the flames?" I wondered. The flames had died when Jasper crossed through them. Jasper looked at me with a soft smile.
"The White Flame is one of my specialties. It burns nothing but evil intent."
"You can see good and evil?"
"No, but Josephine can."
This sounded like how he created the Demon Race.
"You borrowed Josephine's power to see good and evil and created a way to inherently destroy evil."
"Correct."
"And you borrowed Jacqueline's power of life to create the Demon Race."
"Correct." Jasper nodded.
"How does borrowing power from other gods work?"
"I'll tell you once you are alive." Jasper bartered.
"Fair." I agreed. Jasper then put his hand over the gash in my mortal shell's chest and an orange light emanated from his hands. I felt a strong pull and resisted.
"Don't resist. It just wants to be one again." Jasper called as if from a great distance. I allowed myself to relax and let myself be pulled into darkness once again.
Instantly, my eyes opened and all I could see was a goofy grin. I closed my eyes again and tried to move my arms. They felt heavy. My entire body felt heavy. I groaned as I pushed myself through it and got up. I was tired. Really tired.
"Good morning, sunshine!" Jasper yelled. My ears rang and my head throbbed. I could barely lift my hand to silence the giddy god. I grasped my head. "You'll be in a lot of pain and you'll probably be very, very tired." Jasper continued in what seemed to be like the loudest voice he could muster. "You'll probably be cold too. I mean, she took your shirt man! What a pervert, am I right?" When has his voice been so high pitched? And who took my shirt? Jasper went on, "We should get you a shirt as soon as possible. We should get to a town as soon as possible. Hey, do you know where the nearest town is? We should go there!" Jasper pulled me up and pointed in some random direction. Everything was blurry. Where were we? I rubbed my eyes and looked around. Things began to focus and my mind began to clear. We were at Old Post. Jasper brought me here after I had completed the last trial.
I hurriedly stared down at myself. I wasn't transparent! I was flesh and blood again! I breathed a sigh of deep relief. Wait, did I complete the last trial? Didn't I have to report to Jacqui in order to complete it?
"Did I complete the last trial?" I interrupted my chatterbox companion.
"Yeah." He answered confused.
"Don't I have to report to Jacqui? It was her trial wasn't it?" Jasper laughed.
"No, kid, it was my trial for you!"
"Wait, then what is Jacqui's trial?" I asked confounded. Jasper shrugged.
"Does it matter? Right now we've got to get you a shirt and rest! Now where's the nearest town?"
"Nearest town from Old Post would probably be the Draconi survivors." I pointed in the direction they were.
"Awesome! Let's go! Grab your sword and move forward!" Jasper lunged in the direction the Draconi would be at.
"I don't have my sword."
Jasper froze and slowly looked at me. "Say what?" I shrugged.
"I don't have my sword. It was lost in the battle with Linus."
"You mean to tell me that the sword you stabbed me with, and the sword you stabbed my sister with, is missing?" Jasper's disapproving tone made me roll my eyes.
"Yes, that is what I'm saying."
Jasper grasped my shoulders tightly and stared into my eyes. "We NEED that sword. YOU need that sword."
"It's not a big deal, I'll just get another one from the Draconi."
Jasper shook me with fiery anger, "We will find that sword if it is the last thing we do!"
I pushed him off of me. "Calm down. It wasn't like it was magical."
"You are an idiot." Jasper instantly calmed and then turned around. "I'll show you how to use it when we find it!"