New Eden: Live to Play, Play to Live

"This can\'t be undone by anyone else than the person that cast it. I\'ve already spoken too much, and my soul has to pay a price. If you try to remove it, you\'ll only be hurting me more, all in a futile attempt to save me from myself. Give up."

David smirked in response.

"If anyone can do something about a soul snare, it would be Alexander. I\'m almost certain he can break one already. I\'m just uncertain how efficiently, or how painlessly he can do it."

Alex was completely in the dark about what a soul snare was, except for the fact that it was a grave threat. His confusion and hesitation were palpable, etched on his face.

Scoffing a bit, Killian opened his mouth again.

"He barely seems to know what we are talking about. How do you expect him to break it? Give up, already."

But David\'s smirk didn\'t waver.

"Because I know how. All I need to do is guide him through it," he replied, his confidence oozing from his words.

Alex looked at David, a frown appearing on his face, as his eyebrows almost connected together.

"How would you know that? Have you ever broken one?" he asked.

David shook his head no, but his confidence stayed etched on his face.

"I haven\'t, but I\'ve had one broken on me. And I vividly remember that memory of my past life. It\'s one of the most painful memories from it, and my mind won\'t let me forget it even if I wanted to."

The question of why he had one at all on him burned inside Alex\'s and Killian\'s minds, but they stayed silent. If he wanted to share, he would have already.

"In any case, I remember the steps that were taken, and I can guide you through the process. How precise you are and how much you overpower the caster will be the deciding factors on how painful or long this takes. But I am confident you can accomplish it."

Alex had no further reason to doubt himself. If David was certain he could break the snare, then he would trust in him.

"Then how do I do this?"

As Alex said this, he noticed that everyone else aboard the airplane was watching with rapt attention. They had quickly become the center of attention.

11:37

David saw that as well and coughed lightly.

"I\'ll show you how, but we aren\'t doing this here. Even if I am sure everyone is curious, it\'s a gruesome sight, and it would be better if the younger ones didn\'t see this. But we will need Cody—

"It\'s Cory, man. Get his name right," Alex cut him.

"Right… Cory. We will need his help, so he can come with us in the back. Killian, Alex, me, and Cory. If anyone else butts in, I\'ll punish them myself."

Kary raised an eyebrow at him.

"Oh? You would try to punish me for watching?"

David felt a cold chill run up his spine, and he swallowed nervously.

"Of course, you are welcome to watch. But I would rather you watch the kids so they don\'t try to pry?" he said, questioningly.

Kary chuckled lightly and nodded.

"I can do that, although I will be asking about the soul snare once this is done, though. I am curious about something," she said, before glancing over at the younger ones.

"As for you, little ducklings; no peaking," she said, sternly.

A glint of a spark flashed in her eyes, and the kids knew she wasn\'t joking. All of them might be awakened, and Violette was almost sure she was an even match for her, but they weren\'t foolish enough to try her patience.

After all, even if they could battle her, they were about to take off soon, and battling in an airplane, at thirty thousand feet above the ground, was not an ideal scenario.

In any case, they wouldn\'t want to battle the pyromantic woman. They were all friends here.

But Aapo felt tension build inside him as he realized some of them were considering whether a battle to appease their curiosity was worthwhile.

\'Monsters… All of them…\'

At this moment, as silence lingered in the passenger cabin, Major Schrute climbed back aboard the aircraft, making her way through the passenger cabin toward her pilot cabin. She stopped as she entered the passenger area and felt the awkwardness in the air.

"Did you all fight already? Be warned, I don\'t want people to start being prissy in my aircraft at thirty thousand feet. If you feel you can\'t tolerate each other, get off now. I don\'t want any battling or arguing aboard. You don\'t pay me enough to act as a nanny."

Her words defused the lingering awkwardness, as most of them realized she had no idea that if a fight were to break out, the entire plane would most likely cease to exist mid-flight.

A wave of light laughter spread out, as the kids felt like they weren\'t the ones being oblivious, for once in their lives, with adults present.

"Nothing of the sort, Major," Kary interjected, giggling softly. n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

"Just a slight divergence in standpoints. It\'s already been cleared. We were just contemplating how to act now. But I think we can safely assume that everything will go back to normal."

The Major nodded her head once, glad that she wouldn\'t have to act as a middleman in any argument, for now.

"Good. Keep it this way, at least until I drop you all off. A smooth flight is a pleasant flight," the woman said, resuming her walk.

As she reached the piloting cabin\'s door, she spun around and looked at Alex.

"I finished my checkups, and the tanker is unhooking as we speak. All of you should get strapped in. We should be taking off at a moment\'s notice."

Alex nodded at her, before she spun back forward and closed the door behind her, a distinct click resounding as she locked it.

David looked at Alex and Killian before sighing loudly.

"We\'ll need as much stability as we can get for this, so I guess we\'ll wait until we are airborne. Once the plane has stabilized, come to the back, both of you, and we can get this over with. Can you hold on until then?" he asked, looking at Killian\'s pained expression.

When the Major boarded, the man had hidden his pain, but cold sweats were already dripping from his forehead.

"I can manage. For now, it\'s only a searing pain. As long as you don\'t keep questioning me, I should be fine."

"Good. Then I\'ll see you in a bit."

I am sorry about the last few days without chapters. I hit another bump on this burnout, and my motivation tanked to nothing. It feels a bit better today, so the chapters should resume at a normal pace for a while.

Thank you for your understanding.

Galanar