[This is the first chapter from my new book! Please go check it out. I'd love some feed back!]

3rd person

"Al... Could you save him?" A female's voice asked curiously.

The brunet next to her looked up with eyes the colour of ruby and nodded. The male had been burdened with a quest of Croe's (Who is the god of life) which was to make a new body for this soul who has yet to complete their fate as for their real body was too damaged to heal.

"Sapphire, there's someone at the door of the guild. You're the only one who can talk to strangers and not get pissed as a beast's soul on its way to Akayus." A male, who looked to be related to, but slightly younger then the male who was working on creating a new body for the poor soul who died a horrible death, dragged her by her arm despite her protests.

"But Krix, you're the only one who does that! I'm helping Altrix right now.Can't you ask Hayze?" Sapphire tried to reason.

Her lack of struggling gave Krix no reason to put her down.

"It's simple. I fucking hate his guts. He's a fucking pussy who can't deal with a little pain. He doesn't anything unless it's for himself. If he wasn't soul bound he'd either be burning in Akayus, or he'd be drowning in my flames." Krix said bitterly.

"Oh c'mon man. Lighten up, and mind your language. You know I don;t like it when you say f-u-c-k. Also Hayze has a good reason to be in pain. I thought we already went over this." Sapphire sighed.

Their conversation was cut short as there was another knock on the guild's wooden doors. Sapphire breathed deeply and put on a nice friendly face. Krix stood behind her readying an attack krypt. (A krypt is what an elemental would use to summon an attack) The black haired girl raised her arm to lay her hand on the metal door knob. She opened the large wooden doors.

"Yo, umm... Have you seen anyone with black curly hair. or perhaps grey-ish blue eyes?" A male asked. He wore a green beanie. His eyes were the colour of an emerald, and his hair was brown and a little curly. An odd green slime oozed from the bottom of a pouch which was attached to his right side, or to Sapphire's left.

"Why do you ask?" Sapphire replied trying not to seem suspicious.

The man they currently were fixing fit his description so far. Sapphire didn't know if he could be trusted.

"I'm a friend of his. I heard he came by here. My gang and I have been looking for him for a while now." He explained.

Sapphire, who was quick to trust anyone, let him in with out a second thought.

"Hold on a second." Krix held his arm out and stepped into the door frame which prevented the man from stepping in.

"Krix, c'mon! He has a good reason. Jeez you're such a meanie sometimes." Sapphire frowned.

"You're quick to trust anyone Sapph. We don't even know his name yet." Krix was trying to be patent with the young women.

"My name's Brandon. I'm sorry for that. I guess I got carried away with excitement when I heard my friend might be here." Brandon scratched the back of his neck.

"Who is your friend you're looking for." Krix questioned the man's purpose. Krix's crimson eyes burned into Brandon's lush green ones.

"His name is Matthew, but he normally goes by Mat." Brandon says.

Krix lets the stranger in eyeing him wearily. Krix's shoulders were tense, his hand never leaving the grip of his sword. He held a formidable stance as he watched Sapphire guide Brandon to where his friend was. He was ready to attack before Brandon could act on any sort of thought.

The brunet and the raven haired women rounded the corner with Krix trailing cautiously behind them. Sapphire and Brandon were in a pretty deep conversation about the when Al came out and made a motion telling them that they needed to whisper.

"The stars connect us even if they can't physically be here. Do you think soul mates stay connected even if the gates to the after life is shut?" Sapphire asked.

"Yeah, I think that's reasonable to believe. Where do you think Phobe acquired her body?" Brandon asked.

Sapphire shrugged in response. Altrix stopped in doorway. He turned around and signed something to Sapphire.

"He's awake, but scared. He is vbiously a little shaken. He talked about someone named Pete? He matched your description. He might calm down if he sees you." Sapphire says quoting Altrix's sign language with out missing a word.

"Where's 56?" Sapphire asked.

He made a few more gestures and Sapphire's face fell.

"Y-you what? B-but he was your only form of easy communicatio-"

He made a few more motions.

"Yeah, I guess it had to be done. I'm sorry. I know 56 meant a lot to you. He was your voice after all." Sapphire looked apologetic.

Altrix shrugged, he didn't really care. He was here to play his part in the story, and if getting there mean sacrificing his voice he'd do it.

"What's going on?" Brandon asked curiously.

"Altrix used to be able to speak, but when he was held hostage by a bunch of creatures from the realm of conflict Krix said he didn't want to speak anymore. Altrix can very well speak right now, but he has made clear that doing so will not be good. He was even unsure about using 56 to talk at first." Sapphire explained.

Brandon nodded barely taking all of this new information. There a few more moments of speaking with hands before they entered the lab lab room.

A male who looked no older than 19 sat there shaking a little. His skin was pale, and his eyes were glazed over. He was staring at the grey speckles on the white tile floor, or perhaps even beyond that into the infinite white behind the grey. He was really interested in that tile.

"Matthew?" Brandon asked in a soft tone.

He looked up, his black curls bouncing with his movements. At the sight of a friend his pale face lit up and his eyes were filled with a new energy. Mat got up and hugged Brandon letting out a shaky breath as he slowly came back to reality.

"Now you know how it feels to be so close to death's sweet embrace, have it's beautiful fingers graze your soul only to be pulled back into this crushing reality. Get used to it." A voice said bitterly.

"Woah, Hayze, chill out heck out. It's hard the first time. I wouldn't know since I haven't been killed yet, but I bet it was hard for you when you were brought back for the first time." Sapphire said in a scornful voice.

"Yeah, sure. Believe me it's hard. Never gets any fuckin' easier. I got over it after the first moment. I didn't have a chance to adjust to the suffocating feeling if a soul long past it's expiration date. I was revived and FUCKIN' ABUSED BY THE VERY PEOPLE WHO BIRTHED ME!" Hayze yelled.

"Yeah yeah. Pain and suffering. Oh I feel like I am being crushed under life's Croe forsaken hardships and I'm the only one who deserves t'fucking suffer. WILL YOU SHUT YOUR FUCKING MOUTH?" Krix yelled back.

"BOTH OF YOU QUIET DOWN!" Sapphire screeched.

She was breathing heavily. Everyone except for Mat and Brandon were shocked. Sapphire never yelled. A thick silence fell over the room.

"Why can we all just save our stories for later. Hayze, if you want to be so in everyone's faces about your past then actually tell us it instead of being a broken record. Krix don't you dare egg him on. For the love of Croe do I have to the be mom?" Sapphire looked at the two. They both fell silent, but their blood boiled with anger. Neither of them said another word to each other.

"Now, you two explain why you're here. You got what you want, so give us what we want in return." Sapphire looked at Brandon and Mat.

"There are two more of us who are back at our base in Eltrice. Mat, Choco, and I decided to go out to explore the grey area. We heard there was some items that be useful for dream related potions. When we got there Mat wandered into the fog and he was completely unresponsive to anything around him. I felt my self being pulled into the fog next. Choco said he managed to drag me away. I caught word that Mat was by this area and I wound up here." Brandon explained.

"The grey area has nothing. Who ever told you was wrong and probably wanted all three of you, or even four of you to get pulled into the fog. Since we had to rescue your boyfriend I assume they were relying on the fact all of our fighters would go out to get you four since four people mean we need a lot of hands. Probably Krix, Sapphire, Hayze, Phax, and Omber. Jaedin if they ever decided to show up." A new voice came from the doorway.

He had pale skin with many freckles on his face. His eyes a light blue and his hair was light brown. He carried an old looking book in his hands with pieces of paper sticking out. The title read 'The Ancient Art of Alchemy' in loopy gold writing.

"How would you know what's there, also you didn't have to save either of us." Mat had found his voice again.

"You're right. We didn't have to, but denying a god would be a pretty stupid thing to do. Especially when it's Akamis, the god of death, who you say no to." Krix hissed.

"Y-you mean he actually spoke to you and no one died?" Brandon asked not believing whe he was hearing.

"Yeah! The gods always ask for our help." Sapphire said with a bright tone.

"It's not like it sounds. The gods are perfectly capable of doing these things on their own, but they just have so much on their plate with their god duties they usually ask us to do it. Croe could heal you, but it's not like he can rebuild limbs with out using great amounts of mana. He had us make you a new arm!" Sapphire pointed at Mat's left arm.

The metal glistened in the dark lab. The lights were off because Altrix didn't want to hurt Mat's eyes by leaving them on since the lights were very bright.

"How do you use it?" Mat asked.

Altrix just started to bend his left arm and then pointed to Mat as if telling him to do the same.

"What?! You cant really expect me to understand that! Why can't you just tell it to me with words!" Mat stopped talking. He had thrown his arms into the air. The arm responded to the messages the brain sent and moved how ever he wanted it to.

"Oh." Mat said flexing the metal arm. "This is kind of cool." He said.

Sapphire was about to yell at Mat for his rudeness, but Altrix shook his head. She held her tongue and sighed.

By then Hayze and Krix had left the room. This left Sapphire, Max, Altrix, Mat, and Brandon in the dark lab. There was a loud crash from the halls. Sapphire bolted out to inspect the sound.

"Eltrice is quite far from here. Since the night is full of all sorts of nightmare-ish creatures why don't you stay here?" Max offered.

"Are you sure?" Brandon asked.

"Why would I offer it if I couldn't supply it? We get people all the time who come by and want to trade and spend the night. We're a pretty big guild. I'm sure you've heard of us." Max explained.

"Wait, but I thought that The Nameless (hah get it? It's because I don't know their guild name yet hahahha) didn't have a base set up around here..." Mat looked confused.

"We have ones off the Map. Our branch is one of them." Max says.

They continue to make small talk as Max shows them over to the cabins. The duo sit in their temporary home and try their best to settle down. Mat then explains what he saw when he entered the fog.

~-+-+-+-+-+-~

Something peered into the cabin window that night. The entity scratched at the wall only loud enough to break the silence in the cabin and leave some marks. After doing so they ran towards the guild.

Mat woke up to the light scratching at the wooden walls. He looked up to see nothing. He figured it was an animal. He went back to sleep.

~-+-+-The Void-+-+-~

*The void is the space between realms where one's soul is projected and able to be judged by those who can understand it's codes. The dwellers know all and see all. They can tell you things you haven't even learned about yourself, but such information does not come with out a hefty price. Do not ask for more than you need or you might find yourself in a debt you can never pay off. Ask wisely, and seek carefully. Not all will tell the truth.*

Mat awoke in the space that was the fine line between existence and non-existence. He had found a way into the void.

"Hello, Matthew." A women's voice cooed. It echoed off of what seemed to be nothing.

Mat was unable to speak. His mouth felt as if it was glued shut.

"What's wrong? Are you scared?" The voice asked in a taunting tone.

If Mat could move he would have shaken his head.

"Don't bother lying. I can taste the fear coming off of you. I never knew that your fear tasted so good. I might keep you for a while." The words were followed by a dark chuckle.

"I'm kidding by the way. I don't want to break you too fast. I tend to get a bit... Carried away. Don't worry though. Unlike the other souls I've tortured you're different. You're bound to life by what you people call fate. Just like him. I'll make this deal. Either you find a way to get me what I want, and you can go free and learn about anyone you want since I rule the void, or you could decline, and I get to have some... Fun."

Mat finally managed to open his mouth. "W-what do you want me to do? I cannot accept a request that may have an impossible goal for me." Mat said. His voice came out weaker than he expected.

"Where's the fun in giving that away! C'mon. You gotta take a risk. Think about it all you want. Let your friends forget you as you dwell here in the void forever. Alone with your thoughts. I have an eternity to wait while you only have a few decades."

Mat didn't even realize the evil presence was there until it left. He sat in the void. He had a feeling giving it what it wanted would mean hurting someone he was close to, or going to be close to.

"Ponder it while you're awake, but if you tell anyone about this chat the deal is off and you're mine forever."

There was a flash of blinding white light.

~-+-+-The Realm of Reality-+-+-~

"MAT!" Brandon screamed.

He was getting very worried. Mat was usually up before him, plus there was writing on the side of the cabin where Mat slept. A dried black liquid stained the carved letters a midnight black.

Brandon heaved a sigh of relief when Mat's eyes fluttered open. With out a word Brandon dragged the half naked Mat out of the cabin, and into the chilly early air in the season of rebirth (spring). Mat had white and blue stripped boxers and his face was flushed red when he realized he was half naked.

Brandon didn't care about the amount of clothes his friend had on. Mat could be naked and he couldn't care less. Okay, maybe he would tell Mat to get some clothes, but you get the point. He pulled his still half asleep friend over to the side of the cabin.

~-+-+-+-+-+~

'Don't you dare say a word'

~-+-+-+-+-+-~

The words read.