CHAPTER 49: SOUL WALK

He tried calling her several times, but Eliza continued to sleep peacefully beside his dead body. He could do nothing but watch, his soul just hovering above the bed. His voice could not be heard. He felt so sad, but not for himself, for Eliza. She would be devastated when she woke in the morning to discover his corpse in bed beside her. She would blame herself for not noticing on time that he needed help. The guilt and shock could kill her.

"Calm down. You’re not dead."

Alrik gasped, and turned. His feet were off the ground, so it looked more like he swirled in the air, but he couldn’t locate the owner of the voice.

"Who are you? Show yourself." He snapped, and the voice laughed.

"That’s going to be hard to do because I’m not a person. I have no body or soul like you do."

’What’s happening to me? You say I’m not dead, so what else is going on here?" Alrik asked, still looking around just in case the voice was actually a person that was playing tricks on him.

"This is called a soul walk. Right now, you have no control over it, and since it’s your first time, that’s why you’re freaking out. But you’re definitely not dead. It’s just a new ability." The voice replied.

"If you’re not a person, then what are you? And how do you know so much about this?"

"You know what I am. I haven’t been able to communicate with you, only because at the moment, I am too far away from your location. Soul walking lets me speak to you because a soul is not hindered by the barriers a physical body has to endure. In this form, you can communicate with other souls still wandering around in the soul plane, you can spy on whomever you want, go as far as you please within seconds. But the disadvantage is how vulnerable it leaves your body. If any harm comes to your body, your soul will never be able to merge back with it. You will slip into a coma and never wake while your soul wanders forever, so be careful."

"Why me? All these abilities, and the strange visions I’ve been having. Why me, and why now? And you say I know what you are, but I have no clue. None of this makes sense at all." Alrik said with a look of frustration.

"Your bloodline among other things. I made a pact with your ancestor long ago, and since then, I have been bound to your bloodline. But I chose you, among the others because you are the only one I deem worthy. Your courage, your honesty, and your heart. You remind me of the one I made the pact with. The sacrifices he made so humanity can live, I don’t want them to go to waste. His story has been forgotten, or miswritten to cover up for decades of corruption, and that corruption came back to haunt you all in the form of beasts. I lay dormant for so long because I refused to grant power to someone who would only misuse it and cause more harm. But I can no longer stay as I have. Great danger approaches. They will need you. But first, you must find me."

"Find you... My bloodline...."

It only took a few seconds after this for Alrik to put it all together.

"My visions. You’ve been in all of them."

"Yes. I was trying to communicate, but it’s hard to do from such a long distance when we haven’t even bonded."

"Are my visions premonitions? Will they come true?" Alrik asked and if he was in his body, he knew his heart would be racing now.

He needed to know because he had seen Eliza die horribly in one of those visions, and if they were predictions of the future, then he needed to increase security around her. No matter what, he refused to lose her.

"They should be visions of the future. But the distance warped the details. So most of it will come true, but the rest won’t. The most accurate relates to the beasts. I was trying to communicate the danger coming, and try to force you into finding me. I know what fear you hold in your heart, but don’t worry, your wife is safe for now."

"Okay, so how do I find you? My team has been working on it, but it seems you’ve switched hands a lot since you were sold off to the enemy Valderrans. If you were within our borders, we’d have found you long ago. Not to mention that retrieving you could cause a war between both nations." Alrik said.

"I can show you in the soul plane. It’s up to you to find me in the real world. We have a connection that is stronger here in the soul plane. Focus on that, and it will lead you to me."

It took several minutes since Alrik was so new to this ability, but soon, he felt it. Now that he was aware of it, the connection was like a second heartbeat, pulsing, and beating. It felt tangible, yet he couldn’t see or hold onto it. He focused on the source of the connection, and soon he was floating away from his room, then his compound, then he was so high up that he could see the tops of several buildings.

Then he was being pulled along through that connection, like a fisherman pulling in his catch of the day. Alrik braced himself, but even when he got close to solid objects, nothing touched him. He was like a ghost. On his journey, he saw a few other floating persons, and he realised they were the wandering souls he had been told of. He didn’t have the time to stop and speak to any of them though.

He crossed the border of his nation fairly quickly, considering that in reality, the border was several miles away from his home. Then he began to pass through unfamiliar places, and he tried noting down memorable landmarks that could help him narrow down the location of what he sought for.

When he began to slow down, he paid more attention to the surroundings. He had to be close. He noted down the places he passed through till he finally stopped in front of a building with a huge sun painted by the side of it. It seemed to be a factory of some sort, and he passed through the locked doors. He was pulled along to a back room with a safe installed. He passed through it and finally found what he was looking for. The Zerdon Sword.

It was stored alongside some gold, and a few blueprints that had to be company secrets, then some money.

"You found me. Good job. Now you just have to do it in the real world."

"This should be more than enough to narrow down your location. I’ll get you back soon. Do you have a name?" Alrik asked. "Back in the days you were made, warriors usually named their weapons. I’m guessing my ancestor named you too."

A laugh was the sword’s response. "It was the opposite actually. He took my name, and so have his descendants for generations."

"Your name is Zerdon."

"Yes. It is a forgotten language from my world. It means unbroken. But you can call me Zee, to avoid confusion. My name is now yours anyway."

"I no longer use that name. I have a new one. Crest. I dropped the Zerdon name after being betrayed by my family."

"I know. But you are a Zerdon forever, even if you don’t like it. Blood never lies." Zee replied, and Alrik sighed.

"Wait. You said you came from another world. What does that mean? I thought you were forged by my ancestor?" Alrik asked.

"Like I said, his story, the true tale of the events of the past, has been forgotten or miswritten. Find me, and I will tell you the true story. You must return now. Your wife just woke up and she thinks you’re dead. Go back before she dies of a heart attack. Farewell."

Alrik didn’t have the time to respond or say goodbye. It was like he was being pushed back into his body, the same way his connection with Zee had pulled him forward. This was like going back on a rollercoaster that was perched on a mountain, but within seconds, he merged with his body.

His eyes snapped open, but that rollercoaster ride feeling remained, and it made his eyes spin. He got up and rushed to the bathroom to puke.

"Ugh!"

He was nearly tackled to the ground by Eliza, and she sobbed on his shoulder. The others also rushed into the bathroom.

"I thought you were dead. I thought I lost you."

Tears rolled down her face and soaked his pyjamas. He hugged her tight, and sighed.

"I’m okay. I just left my body for a while." He replied to everyone’s shock.

"I’m hearing words I never thought I would ever hear nowadays. What do you mean you left your body for a while? That’s impossible."