Still

A Body

The quest was almost over now. The only real obstacle they had left to face was the Bridge of Truths, which Lyda said would be easy to pass. One just had to confess to something unbeknownst to others, and they may go through. Only Marian really knew The Soldier, but there was so much he didn't let her know. It should be really easy for him to get by.

"The Bridge of Truths," said Lyda, staring at the map. "Should be right..."

Lyda lowered the map, revealing a blue, fizzing river in front of them. It was quite long, probably ten feet wide, and likely just as deep. Right in the center of it all stood a beautiful bridge made entirely of white stone. A golden plaque was set in front of it, reading: "The Bridge of Truths. Speaketh of Honesty to Me, and A Way Forward You Will See." Just in front of the bridge was a shimmering veil. It must have been what stopped people from going through without playing by the bridge's rules.

Oh, and there was a dead body besides it, too. The Soldier just kind of side-glanced that, as he did with everything that wasn't important to him. But when he looked at the body longer, the more he realized that he knew who it was. Or who it had been, rather.

"Is that one of the sisters?" Marian gasped as she ran over to the passed out woman.

"I say you should push her into the river," said Lyda, smirking. "See what happens."

"I agree," The Soldier added with a nod.

Marian bent down, and checked the pulse of the witch. It was a Sister of the Untrained Eye for sure, but not the worst one in the group. In fact, it was the one who had released Marian to The Soldier when he had first met them. Still, she was an awful person, and The Solder really wanted to see what would happen if they shoved her into the river.

"She's still alive," Marian announced, "but something's wrong with her."

"No kidding. She's a demon from Hell," Lyda joked. "Let's just tie her to a tree or something and go. The Soldier isn't getting any healthier."

As much as he hated to admit it, she was right. The Soldier had explained the growing pains in his head and chest, only for Lyda to shake her head solemnly. The curse put on The Soldier was slowly starting to work its magic, and he would be dead in a matter of days. They needed to get to the Tree of Life, and they needed to do it quickly. Only then would he finally think about the future. He must work through life one problem at a time, or else he would be blinded into forgetting what was important now.

"It's not that," Marian said. "Come over here. You need to see this for yourself. It's..... weird."

The Soldier and Lyda walked over to where the witch and Marian were. The Soldier crouched down besides the nymph, and looked over the sleeping body. Marian was right; something was wrong with the witch, and it wasn't something good. The body shimmered, almost as if she wasn't quite there.

"Lyda, you're familiar with sorcery," said Marian. "What's happening?"

"I'm no wizard," Lyda started, "but she's obviously not stable. Is it possible for her to – I dunno – be fighting against herself?"

"How?" Marian asked.

"Everything has a soul, even demons," Lyda explained. "That's why a person's physical form stays, even when they die. This thing here... If I didn't already know what it was, I'd say it looked dead, so something's gotta still keep it alive, right?"

The Soldier thought back to the ghosts. The only thing he could think of that would act that way was a broken spirit, just as Lyda had explained. And she was right – the girl looked dead, with sunken-in cheeks and a nastily pale face. Could it be possible that....