Random stories

# Soulmage

**"Do you believe in second chances?"** I asked.

The patrons of the bar gave me skeptical glances. They were an eclectic bunch. A soldier. A butler. An uncle. A crow. But everyone had souls, and everyone died.

And a scant few of them came here.

"I died beneath ice," the soldier whispered, nursing a cup of loneliness as they sat on the memory of a table. "I was supposed to fall in a glorious war, and I died burning beneath the snow, my comrade in my arms."

"There's no such thing as a glorious war," the uncle cautioned. His body wavered as he turned to the other patrons. "You all should know that, more than most."

"I do," I simply said. I'd absorbed more than my fair share of broken, torn souls, and too many of them had died in pointless conflicts. The four soul shards that currently patronized the bar were no exception. "That's why I asked. Do you know what the four of you have in common?"

I got three head shakes and a piercing stare from the crow. She couldn't speak, of course, but crows were clever, and I knew this one's soul. She'd lost everything to the war, as well. She deserved to be here as much as the humans.

"I fell fleeing the Order's forces," the butler's echo spoke. Of the four souls here, his was the faintest—a memory of a memory, a ghost of a ghost. "That's not a euphemism. Literally, I died falling. At least I managed to warn the kids."

"You know how I came here," the uncle said. "My husband tried to protect me. And he did. Most of me. I'm what was left behind."

"Caw," spoke the crow, and this place of thought and memory shivered with the recollection of a girl who loved to feed birds, and the falling beam of wood that snuffed her out.

"You four," I said, "had someone you wanted to save. And now, you four... are here." I took in a deep breath, leaning forwards on the counter that wasn't a counter. "And I can give you a second chance."

"At what?" the soldier asked.

"At saving a child from a monster," I simply said.

"What's the cost?" the soldier said.

"Oblivion," I replied, and it was as if by speaking it I had willed it into being. The bar fell silent as an empty grave as four souls studied me.

Then the uncle spoke.

"Always," he said, standing up.

"Caw," the crow spoke, and hopped onto his shoulder.

"It'll be a pleasure to serve, one last time," the soldier said.

"Ah, you can say that again," the butler added, stretching his old back.

Regret and gratitude and sorrow flowed through my soul, and I could have reached out a hand and poured them a cup of each if I had so chosen. "Thank you," I whispered.

Then I held out a hand, and the door of the bar opened.

And four souls stepped from one realm to another, burning their eternity to save a soul.

A.N.

This story is part of Soulmage, a frequently updated serial in progress. Want to know what happens next? Check out [the table of contents](https://www.reddit.com/r/bubblewriters/comments/uxmwe4/soulmage_masterpost/) to be notified whenever a new part comes out! There's already thirty-six other chapters before this one, so there's plenty to catch up on. And if you want more stories, check out r/bubblewriters!

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Submitted by meowcats734 on Wed, Jun 29, 2022 to /r/WritingPrompts/

The prompt

Between this life and the next there is a bar where souls passing through can stop for a final drink You are this establishment's owner and bartender, listening to each of their tales before they move on.