A Soul For A Soul

"But what?" Kies asked the owl. "Wait, actually, what do I even need to do?"

"It's a rather easy task if I say so myself. You need to enter the banshee's mind with your soul and defeat it. Then you need to find your friend and bring her back out."

"Huh, that doesn't sound very easy," Kies disagreed. "I don't know how to enter the banshee's mind, nor do I know how to do it with my soul."

The owl flew down from the branch it was standing on and onto a lower one. "Entering the banshee's mind is quite simple. It feeds off souls and will swallow any soul that is wandering about," it explained to Kies. "The inside of the banshee's mind is like a labyrinth and the souls that it captures are slowly consumed. Currently, your friend's soul is trapped inside there and is unable to find a way out."

"If I enter it, wouldn't I also be trapped in it?" Kies questioned the owl.

"Yes, and that is where I will be assisting you. I can detach a small piece of my soul and hide it in yours. Once we enter the banshee's mind, I can help guide you to its soul. However, defeating it will be up to you," the owl hooted.

"I see... but why are you helping me?" Kies asked suspiciously. The owl had nothing to gain from helping him. It might have an ulterior motive. "I don't see you benefiting from this."

The owl went silent and stared at Kies. Kies slowly started to back off from the owl. He knew he couldn't trust it. The owl was scheming something.

"Hoo hoo, you know you can't defeat me so why not give in?" the owl hooted. "You just need to listen to what I say and we will both get what we want."

"And what is it that you want?" Kies asked. He was quietly preparing a sphere of wind behind his back to launch at the owl. His previous attack had failed before but maybe a surprise attack might do something. In any case, the owl had just confirmed that it wasn't on his side.

"What is it I want?" the owl repeated the question to itself. "Hmm, that is a difficult question to answer." The owl tilted its head and looked straight into Kies's eyes and said in a vicious tone, "Your soul, I want your soul in exchange for your friend's."

***

"Ugh, my head..." Ammine slowly lifted her head up and looked around her. "Where am I?" She vaguely remembered the banshee going through her body. "Am I inside the banshee?"

Ammine pushed herself off the ground with her hands and onto her feet. She was surrounded by tall black walls that stretched up endlessly to the darkness. It didn't look like she could fly out. "I never knew the inside of a banshee looked like this." She had imagined it would be something like an empty black void where captured souls would mindlessly roam around.

Ammine suddenly heard a screech from above her and she looked up. It sounded like the banshee. Ammine squinted to try to see through the darkness for where the banshee was but had no success. She channeled magic into her left hand and shot it straight up. The purple flames illuminated the darkness and revealed the walls did indeed stretch all the way up to the ceiling.

"I must thank you for freeing me," said a raspy voice that sounded like it was coming through the walls. "If not for you, I would still be trapped under that stone," the voice thanked Ammine. "As a reward, I will let you be the first soul I devour in thousands of years." The banshee laughed hysterically and its laugh echoed the walls.

Ammine's fists flared up with magic and she punched the wall next to her but it didn't even make a crack. "It's no use," the banshee taunted. "You're inside my mind. I decide everything that happens here, and I can take away your magic just like that." The purple fire around Ammine's fists suddenly disappeared.

Ammine scowled and said to the banshee, "Coward! Come out and fight me fairly!"

The banshee laughed in response to Ammine's challenge and said, "You already had your fight. There were two of you against one of me and you still lost." Before Ammine could say something in turn, the banshee told her, "I don't have any more time for chit-chat. If you want to have a chance to fight me again then you best find your way out of this maze first." The banshee laughed again and then its voice disappeared, leaving Ammine alone in the dark maze.

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