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Description
The little fire crackled listlessly, belching thick black smoke into the cold night air. Three figures huddled around it, trying to keep warm. It was the wood, a dark, foul-smelling, moist substance that kept the fire from burning well. There wasn’t anything better in the area, though, so they had to make do with what they had. The alternative was the bitter cold of the Dark Realm’s night. It was always chilly during the day, because the sun was dim and weak. At night, with no sun to speak of, the cold became unbearable.
The three of them hadn’t spoken much since they came to the Dark Realm. Manfred broke the silence. “Hey, guys?”
“What is it?” Weiss poked at the fire with a stick, absent-mindedly.
“Something’s been bugging me. You two… when you saw Anemonae today…” May and Weiss were looking at him quizzically. “Uh, didn’t you find it odd?”
May cocked her head. “Find what odd, Manfred?”
He threw his hands in the air. “Isn’t it just a bit strange that she was there in the first place? I saw her die, didn’t I? People don’t just die, come back, and then tell you to go run errands for them!”
Weiss and May looked at each other for a moment, a look of uneasiness on both of their faces. May turned back to Manfred. “We know she’s dead. In fact, today just confirmed it. Weiss and I… we…”
“We saw something,” Weiss said, finishing her sentence. “A while back, the both of us. We were hanging around my house, pretty late at night. We went into my living room, and… my parents were sitting on the couch.”
“You’re… kidding, right?” Manfred stared at him like he was crazy. “You saw your parents. And this is why you weren’t surprised to see Anemonae… And you think I’m strange,” he scoffed.
May shot him a dirty look. “Weiss’s parents are dead, Manfred. They’ve been dead since he was a baby.” Manfred looked away, embarrassed, while May went on. “We saw them that night. They were sitting on his couch, holding hands and smiling at us… and they looked just like Anemonae did earlier today! Kind of like they weren’t entirely there… you know? We did a bit of research, and found out that their souls must have found a way to visit us…”
“Anyway,” Weiss said, “that’s why we weren’t really surprised to see her.” He sighed, running his hand through May’s hair. After a moment, she took the necklace she had been given out of her pocket. It was a very fine, yet simple piece of jewelry. It was a gold locket with an ornate M engraved on one side. May could feel something special about it, but couldn’t quite place what it was. She turned it around in her hands, rubbed it, and tried to get it open, to no avail. As she tried harder and harder to get it open, tears began to stream down her cheeks.
Weiss took notice and wiped a tear away from her face. “What’s wrong?”
“I can’t get it open.” Her voice was quiet and choked up. “I can’t get it open, Weiss. I need to get this locket open! There’s… something important… I can feel it.”
“Oh, May… don’t let it bother you that much… look, we’re all tired. Why don’t we get those blankets out of the bag and try to sleep?” Manfred rolled his eyes, but May nodded, wiping her nose. The three of them got a blanket out of the satchel for each of them. Manfred climbed a nearby tree and wedged himself in between a pair of branches. Weiss preferred to stay on the ground, and May curled up next to him. The blankets, made in the Light Realm, did wonders to keep them warm in the bitter cold of the Dark Realm. They fell asleep quickly.

They wasted no time getting started in the morning. Snow had started to fall, a grey, wet mess that motivated them to keep moving. They made it to the forest in about an hour, and once more, the Museum loomed on the horizon. They rested for a moment in a small clearing, when a black blur darted between a pair of trees, a few feet away from them. Weiss and May barely noticed it, thinking it was one of the many creatures in the forest, most of which were harmless. Manfred, though, sat up, focusing intently on the spot the blur had ended. There was a long, tense pause, until suddenly a creature jumped out from behind the trees at them.
The creature was black, and an ethereal, smoky substance dripped from its body. It was humanoid, but stood in an animal-like position, hunched over, ready to attack with its long claws. A plain, white mask rested on its face, creating a very unsettling effect. It lunged at May, quicker than anything any of them had ever seen. Weiss managed to push her out of the way of the creature, taking a swing at it with his sword. It was unfazed, turning towards him and slashing at him with its claws. Weiss blocked the claws for a moment, but it was clear that he couldn’t stay on the defensive for very long. May got up from the ground, letting out a little yelp as she took in the scene.
“The mask, Weiss!” Manfred had drawn his strange weapons, the beams of energy running down his arms. He couldn’t attack the creature without hurting Weiss, though, so he just yelled at him. “That’s the only way you can hurt this thing! You have to break its mask!”
Weiss struggled with the creature a second longer, and then pushed one of its claws aside. This threw it off balance, and he used the opportunity to swing at its mask, chipping a bit of it away. The creature’s hands flew to its face, and it stumbled backwards. Manfred leapt in front of the creature, striking it in the face and breaking the mask cleanly in two. Its body instantly evaporated as the mask fell to the ground. Weiss relaxed, lying spread-eagled on the ground.
“Jesus,” he muttered. “What was that thing?” He looked himself over. He wasn’t injured badly, but he had a few scratches here and there. The skin around the scratches had turned a dark color.
“I think that’s a Soul Collector.” Manfred had taken a small black book out of his pocket, and was thumbing through the pages. He sounded terrified, and he quivered as he turned the pages of the book. “These things are… bad news. Their job is to take people’s souls, and… well… I don’t exactly know. This book’s kinda skimpy on the details, you know?”
“Taking people’s souls? Get real.” He got up and put his arms around May, who was standing completely still, silently staring at the broken mask on the ground. “Where did you get that book?”
“I, uh, found it in my pocket.”
“Right,” Weiss said sarcastically. “Well, this book you ‘found.’” He indicated the darkness around his wounds. “Does it say anything about these marks?”
Manfred looked through the book. “Yeah. Um… looks like it’s kind of like a stain… it’s not dangerous or anything.”
“Good. Let’s get moving.”
Weiss started towards the edge of the clearing, but neither May nor Manfred followed him. He turned around, beckoning them onwards. “Come on! We’ve got to get going, don’t we?”
May shook her head, her eyes blazing. “No, Weiss. Look at you! You’re a mess! You’re hurt! We were just attacked and… you want to just go?”
“May…”
“What’s gotten into you? Where’s the Weiss that thinks things through, that takes his time before making any decision? Ever since we got here, you’ve just been rushing through, blindly going forwards… hardly thinking at all. I think we should stay here for a while and plan our next move.”
There was a moment’s silence. Weiss sat down on the ground, rubbing his forehead. “You’re right,” he said. “I haven’t been thinking too clearly, have I?” He sighed. “Okay. Let’s just rest here a minute.” Weiss drank from the bottle of water in the bag. “Hey, May. Maybe we should try to contact Anemonae. She could probably give us some advice…”
She took hold of the locket around her neck and held it close to her, concentrating on it for a few moments. Her expression quickly changed to a very serious one, and she looked up, eyes bright. “Yes, Weiss? Manfred? Do you need something?” The two others exchanged a confused glance, and she laughed. “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t explain this, did I? This is Anemonae. It’s a bit crude, I understand, but this is how I’ll be communicating with you.” Weiss opened his mouth to protest, but she held up her hand. “Don’t worry. May and I have talked this over. Now, what do you need?”
“We were just attacked,” Manfred said, still on edge about the incident. “I’m pretty sure it was a Soul Collector.”
Anemonae’s jaw went slack, and she shook her head. “No,” she muttered, “That’s not possible. Are you sure?”
Weiss nodded. “It was a black creature with a white mask. We had to kill it by breaking the mask, and when we did, it sort of dissolved into thin air.”
She groaned. “He’s gone that far, has he?” She was silent, her head in her hands. After a long while, she looked up at them. “Look, those things are under the control of Samaiel. They’re sort of like what your people call vampires, Weiss. They only exist to take people’s souls. Once they lose their souls, their victims become Soul Collectors themselves… it’s terrible. Promise me you’ll avoid them if you can, alright? Don’t pick fights with them, you’ve got too much to lose.”
“We won’t.” Weiss pointed to the black lacerations on his skin. “What about these?”
Anemonae examined them carefully. “I’m not sure what causes that… to tell you the truth, I haven’t seen Soul Collectors in many, many years, so I’m sorry I can’t help you... They don’t seem to be posing a huge threat to your well-being right now, but if it gets worse, contact me immediately.” She sighed, nervous. “I have a really bad feeling about this. Be careful, alright? Not being able to help you directly makes me feel so guilty… but you have to go on without me-“ She cut herself off, cringing. “I’m sorry… I have to go. Keep yourselves safe.”
“Wait! I’ve got a question!” The two others looked at Manfred, a bit surprised by his outburst. “What’s up with that locket? May’s kind of freaking out about it, you know.”
Anemonae scratched her head. “I’m not sure, really. It’s something I came across in the Neutral Realm a few years ago. When I met May, I felt a connection between it, her, and… “ She stumbled to the ground as May returned to her senses.
Weiss helped her up. “Are you alright?”
“Yeah. I’m fine. Actually, I feel really good!” She laughed. “You should try leaving your body some time, Weiss! It’s refreshing!”
The three of them rested for a while as Manfred and Weiss explained what Anemonae had told them to May. When they were finished, they packed up their things and moved onwards, towards the dark walls of the Museum. At one edge of the forest was a cliff, overlooking a barren, featureless plain in the distance. Thousands of Soul Collectors swarmed on the plain, gathering around a single point: the tall, cloaked figure of Samaiel. As soon as they saw him, they ran into the forest, but they were sure that they were seen.
They set up a camp, and this time they arranged a series of lookout shifts. It was little use, however. None of them slept that night, each terrified of the fact that their worst nightmare was less than a ten minute’s walk away.

Description
The little fire crackled listlessly, belching thick black smoke into the cold night air. Three figures huddled around it, trying to keep warm. It was the wood, a dark, foul-smelling, moist substance that kept the fire from burning well. There wasn’t anything better in the area, though, so they had to make do with what they had. The alternative was the bitter cold of the Dark Realm’s night. It was always chilly during the day, because the sun was dim and weak. At night, with no sun to speak of, the cold became unbearable.
The three of them hadn’t spoken much since they came to the Dark Realm. Manfred broke the silence. “Hey, guys?”
“What is it?” Weiss poked at the fire with a stick, absent-mindedly.
“Something’s been bugging me. You two… when you saw Anemonae today…” May and Weiss were looking at him quizzically. “Uh, didn’t you find it odd?”
May cocked her head. “Find what odd, Manfred?”
He threw his hands in the air. “Isn’t it just a bit strange that she was there in the first place? I saw her die, didn’t I? People don’t just die, come back, and then tell you to go run errands for them!”
Weiss and May looked at each other for a moment, a look of uneasiness on both of their faces. May turned back to Manfred. “We know she’s dead. In fact, today just confirmed it. Weiss and I… we…”
“We saw something,” Weiss said, finishing her sentence. “A while back, the both of us. We were hanging around my house, pretty late at night. We went into my living room, and… my parents were sitting on the couch.”
“You’re… kidding, right?” Manfred stared at him like he was crazy. “You saw your parents. And this is why you weren’t surprised to see Anemonae… And you think I’m strange,” he scoffed.
May shot him a dirty look. “Weiss’s parents are dead, Manfred. They’ve been dead since he was a baby.” Manfred looked away, embarrassed, while May went on. “We saw them that night. They were sitting on his couch, holding hands and smiling at us… and they looked just like Anemonae did earlier today! Kind of like they weren’t entirely there… you know? We did a bit of research, and found out that their souls must have found a way to visit us…”
“Anyway,” Weiss said, “that’s why we weren’t really surprised to see her.” He sighed, running his hand through May’s hair. After a moment, she took the necklace she had been given out of her pocket. It was a very fine, yet simple piece of jewelry. It was a gold locket with an ornate M engraved on one side. May could feel something special about it, but couldn’t quite place what it was. She turned it around in her hands, rubbed it, and tried to get it open, to no avail. As she tried harder and harder to get it open, tears began to stream down her cheeks.
Weiss took notice and wiped a tear away from her face. “What’s wrong?”
“I can’t get it open.” Her voice was quiet and choked up. “I can’t get it open, Weiss. I need to get this locket open! There’s… something important… I can feel it.”
“Oh, May… don’t let it bother you that much… look, we’re all tired. Why don’t we get those blankets out of the bag and try to sleep?” Manfred rolled his eyes, but May nodded, wiping her nose. The three of them got a blanket out of the satchel for each of them. Manfred climbed a nearby tree and wedged himself in between a pair of branches. Weiss preferred to stay on the ground, and May curled up next to him. The blankets, made in the Light Realm, did wonders to keep them warm in the bitter cold of the Dark Realm. They fell asleep quickly.

They wasted no time getting started in the morning. Snow had started to fall, a grey, wet mess that motivated them to keep moving. They made it to the forest in about an hour, and once more, the Museum loomed on the horizon. They rested for a moment in a small clearing, when a black blur darted between a pair of trees, a few feet away from them. Weiss and May barely noticed it, thinking it was one of the many creatures in the forest, most of which were harmless. Manfred, though, sat up, focusing intently on the spot the blur had ended. There was a long, tense pause, until suddenly a creature jumped out from behind the trees at them.
The creature was black, and an ethereal, smoky substance dripped from its body. It was humanoid, but stood in an animal-like position, hunched over, ready to attack with its long claws. A plain, white mask rested on its face, creating a very unsettling effect. It lunged at May, quicker than anything any of them had ever seen. Weiss managed to push her out of the way of the creature, taking a swing at it with his sword. It was unfazed, turning towards him and slashing at him with its claws. Weiss blocked the claws for a moment, but it was clear that he couldn’t stay on the defensive for very long. May got up from the ground, letting out a little yelp as she took in the scene.
“The mask, Weiss!” Manfred had drawn his strange weapons, the beams of energy running down his arms. He couldn’t attack the creature without hurting Weiss, though, so he just yelled at him. “That’s the only way you can hurt this thing! You have to break its mask!”
Weiss struggled with the creature a second longer, and then pushed one of its claws aside. This threw it off balance, and he used the opportunity to swing at its mask, chipping a bit of it away. The creature’s hands flew to its face, and it stumbled backwards. Manfred leapt in front of the creature, striking it in the face and breaking the mask cleanly in two. Its body instantly evaporated as the mask fell to the ground. Weiss relaxed, lying spread-eagled on the ground.
“Jesus,” he muttered. “What was that thing?” He looked himself over. He wasn’t injured badly, but he had a few scratches here and there. The skin around the scratches had turned a dark color.
“I think that’s a Soul Collector.” Manfred had taken a small black book out of his pocket, and was thumbing through the pages. He sounded terrified, and he quivered as he turned the pages of the book. “These things are… bad news. Their job is to take people’s souls, and… well… I don’t exactly know. This book’s kinda skimpy on the details, you know?”
“Taking people’s souls? Get real.” He got up and put his arms around May, who was standing completely still, silently staring at the broken mask on the ground. “Where did you get that book?”
“I, uh, found it in my pocket.”
“Right,” Weiss said sarcastically. “Well, this book you ‘found.’” He indicated the darkness around his wounds. “Does it say anything about these marks?”
Manfred looked through the book. “Yeah. Um… looks like it’s kind of like a stain… it’s not dangerous or anything.”
“Good. Let’s get moving.”
Weiss started towards the edge of the clearing, but neither May nor Manfred followed him. He turned around, beckoning them onwards. “Come on! We’ve got to get going, don’t we?”
May shook her head, her eyes blazing. “No, Weiss. Look at you! You’re a mess! You’re hurt! We were just attacked and… you want to just go?”
“May…”
“What’s gotten into you? Where’s the Weiss that thinks things through, that takes his time before making any decision? Ever since we got here, you’ve just been rushing through, blindly going forwards… hardly thinking at all. I think we should stay here for a while and plan our next move.”
There was a moment’s silence. Weiss sat down on the ground, rubbing his forehead. “You’re right,” he said. “I haven’t been thinking too clearly, have I?” He sighed. “Okay. Let’s just rest here a minute.” Weiss drank from the bottle of water in the bag. “Hey, May. Maybe we should try to contact Anemonae. She could probably give us some advice…”
She took hold of the locket around her neck and held it close to her, concentrating on it for a few moments. Her expression quickly changed to a very serious one, and she looked up, eyes bright. “Yes, Weiss? Manfred? Do you need something?” The two others exchanged a confused glance, and she laughed. “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t explain this, did I? This is Anemonae. It’s a bit crude, I understand, but this is how I’ll be communicating with you.” Weiss opened his mouth to protest, but she held up her hand. “Don’t worry. May and I have talked this over. Now, what do you need?”
“We were just attacked,” Manfred said, still on edge about the incident. “I’m pretty sure it was a Soul Collector.”
Anemonae’s jaw went slack, and she shook her head. “No,” she muttered, “That’s not possible. Are you sure?”
Weiss nodded. “It was a black creature with a white mask. We had to kill it by breaking the mask, and when we did, it sort of dissolved into thin air.”
She groaned. “He’s gone that far, has he?” She was silent, her head in her hands. After a long while, she looked up at them. “Look, those things are under the control of Samaiel. They’re sort of like what your people call vampires, Weiss. They only exist to take people’s souls. Once they lose their souls, their victims become Soul Collectors themselves… it’s terrible. Promise me you’ll avoid them if you can, alright? Don’t pick fights with them, you’ve got too much to lose.”
“We won’t.” Weiss pointed to the black lacerations on his skin. “What about these?”
Anemonae examined them carefully. “I’m not sure what causes that… to tell you the truth, I haven’t seen Soul Collectors in many, many years, so I’m sorry I can’t help you... They don’t seem to be posing a huge threat to your well-being right now, but if it gets worse, contact me immediately.” She sighed, nervous. “I have a really bad feeling about this. Be careful, alright? Not being able to help you directly makes me feel so guilty… but you have to go on without me-“ She cut herself off, cringing. “I’m sorry… I have to go. Keep yourselves safe.”
“Wait! I’ve got a question!” The two others looked at Manfred, a bit surprised by his outburst. “What’s up with that locket? May’s kind of freaking out about it, you know.”
Anemonae scratched her head. “I’m not sure, really. It’s something I came across in the Neutral Realm a few years ago. When I met May, I felt a connection between it, her, and… “ She stumbled to the ground as May returned to her senses.
Weiss helped her up. “Are you alright?”
“Yeah. I’m fine. Actually, I feel really good!” She laughed. “You should try leaving your body some time, Weiss! It’s refreshing!”
The three of them rested for a while as Manfred and Weiss explained what Anemonae had told them to May. When they were finished, they packed up their things and moved onwards, towards the dark walls of the Museum. At one edge of the forest was a cliff, overlooking a barren, featureless plain in the distance. Thousands of Soul Collectors swarmed on the plain, gathering around a single point: the tall, cloaked figure of Samaiel. As soon as they saw him, they ran into the forest, but they were sure that they were seen.
They set up a camp, and this time they arranged a series of lookout shifts. It was little use, however. None of them slept that night, each terrified of the fact that their worst nightmare was less than a ten minute’s walk away.