Soul Rift

The Rip in the Rift

Soul Rift - Chapter Three - The Rip in the Rift

Nyla was still next to the Rift, even though it had been an hour or more since she'd met Lee. Lee himself was still there, but he was more restless, pacing back and forth, trying to get used to the feeling of being a Fairna.

Nyla was just sitting quietly, her eyes fixed on Quellar, who was still admitting more souls through the rift.

But then a man came through, the like of which Nyla had never seen before.

The Fairna have a silver aura round them, the Scintil a gold aura. This man had an emerald green aura, that pulsated with strength.

Quellar, on seeing the strange man, made a sudden, violent gesture, and backed away as though he'd seen a man without a head.

Nyla rose to her feet slowly, and even Lee was affected by the extreme strangeness of it, though he was inexperienced and unsure of what the man could be.

The man regarded the other souls with a cool gaze the same colour as his aura.

"I am the Cutter," he said in a smooth voice.

The Cutter was built powerfully. The feathered bird-like wings folded on his back were dark, like a Scintil's. But at the same time he had light eyes, unlike the black eyes of the Scintil.

"Does the Cutter have a name?"

It took Nyla a minute to realise it was she that had spoken so boldly. The Cutter turned his unwavering gaze onto her.

"The Cutter does. My name is Zhivarie, he who has existed for a billion years."

Quellar jerked as though he'd been struck.

"Zhaverie?"

The Cutter looked at him.

"Gate-Keeper," he acknowledged blandly. "He who has been around almost as long as I."

Nyla stared at Quellar.

"It is time, Zhaverie?"

"Time, brother. What has been foretold will happen this day."

Zhaverie unsheathed a knife at his waist. The blade flashed like a star, and the hilt showed a kaleidoscope of vivid colouring.

"Time."

And Zhaverie drew the knife across the gate, and ripped a hole in the rift.

The way through to the world of the living.