The Forsaken Hero

Korra was silent for a time, her lips pursed as she slowly digested my words. Giving her hand a final squeeze, I stood and reached for the cotton dress sitting beside us, extending it toward her.

”Yours?” I asked.

She looked up and smiled, scratching her cheek bashfully. ”Yeah, sorry about that. You were covered in blood and grime after the fight, but I couldn’t access your ring without your consent. I know it might’ve aggravated your Sunpurge, but with the villagers being around and all, you had to wear something.”

Her agitation made me smile faintly, and an unfamiliar pressure built in my chest. A second later, it bubbled up and broke through my lips in the form of a soft giggle. The sound was as foreign and unfamiliar as a smile, but it brought a strange sense of lightness to my heart. Korra’s brows knit together, blinking quickly in confusion, before she too began to smile.

”Thanks, Korra. It’s not the first time I hurt my soul and slept for a week, but waking up this morning was much more pleasant than last time. Even if it’s a bit uncomfortable, I’d settle for a cotton dress over chains any day.”

Her smile faltered, and she ran a hand through her short brown hair. ”I’ll never forgive those bastards,” she muttered. Then, brightening a bit, ”Are you feeling well enough to walk around? The village chief won’t quite badgering me about that star thing, so if you could take a look at it...”

”I’m...tired,” I admitted, sighing, ”but we can’t afford to tarry here any longer. The demons are close to reaching Brithlite, and I can’t sit still while she’s in that monster’s clutches.”

She nodded, and together, we gathered what little we had and moved outside the room. My legs trembled on the stairs, but I made it to the door with Korra’s support. The air had warmed somewhat, but after the blazing fires of the inn, felt like ice against my skin. Again, I fought the thought of shielding myself with magic, but my soul had only just stopped hurting. I didn’t dare risk aggravating it again.

My muscles were weak from a week of lying dormant, not to mention the exhaustion I’d forced upon my body by burning my soul. After only a dozen steps, I began to grow unsteady and clung to Korra’s arm, my legs nearly giving out.

”Xiviyah?” She asked, eyes wide with concern.

”I’ll be fine,” I panted, ”Just a little weak.”

Before she could respond, a silver blur streaked toward us. I gasped and practically hid behind Korra, shielding my face against her back. Fortunately, Fable had a little more care than he normally did, slowing down enough so he didn’t completely bowl us over. Circling us once, he pushed between us and licked my cheek, an excited whine in his throat. His tail swished through the air as I rested I reluctantly left Korra and tentatively embraced him. I hadn’t forgotten what happened after we left Heartland, or any of the other times I’d been separated from him for too long. It was sweet and endearing in its own way, but I had no desire to be pushed to the ground and covered in licks right now. Or ever.

”Good to see you too,” I whispered, stroking his neck.

It didn’t take more than a second for me to bury my face in his fur, inhaling deeply and soaking in his familiar scent and warmth. Just being near him chased the chill away and brought quiet peace to my soul. He lowered his shoulder and practically pushed under me, squirming until I somehow settled comfortably on his back.

Korra shook her head and chuckled, a smile playing across her lips. ”You two are something else. Now, shall we get going?”

I nodded, cheeks tinged with red, tail twitching in embarrassment. ”Y-yeah.”

The villagers had given the star a wide berth. They’d retrieved any bodies but left the ashes and ruins untouched. Erik waited before it with his arms folded across his chest, wearing a very stern look. He gave the barest dip of his head in greeting.

”So you’ve awakened. I figured as much when the beast left, but looking at you know...perhaps you’d better go rest. I’d like this taken care of as quickly as possible, but you are in no condition to–”

”I’ll be fine. We can’t afford to wait any longer. Has it hurt anyone?”

He shook his he and I breathed a sigh of relief. The star was even more beautiful up close, a gleaming silken spiderweb of starlight and fate. It looked just like a sheet of broken glass superimposed in the air, a rift behind the curtains. Its location was the exact place the demon had stood when I countered his spell, at the level his chest must have reached. I still wasn’t entirely sure what I did, but this star must be an unintended consequence for abusing Fate in some way.

Yet, despite that conviction, the more I studied it, the more baffled I grew, until my tail swept confused circles across the ashen street. The stars of fate became more visible the closer they got to the rift, yet they didn’t seem disturbed or damaged in any way. The golden threads connecting them, the very fabric of reality, were strong and firm. They should have been torn where the rift emerged, yet they wove around it like a dreamcatcher, a glistening tapestry of intentional pattern and design. Maybe...it wasn’t bad?

If anything, it was similar to the portal the staff created to summon Fable. I snatched hold of that thought and followed, noting several striking differences. The first was that it was much rougher around the edges, like shattered glass. The other was that this ”hole” led nowhere.

Idly stroking a horn, I urged Fable to circle the rift. It was two-dimensional, thin to the point where it completely disappeared if viewed from the right angle. A sudden thought struck me as Fable made his way around it, arriving back by Korra and Erik. My breath caught as I stiffened, an uneasy thrill running through my heart. Surely it couldn’t be.

”Korra,” I asked, hands tightening in Fable’s fur. ”Is it just me, or does this look like a...?”

”Gate?” She finished, ”Yeah, it does.”

I nodded, blinking several times, but the scene didn’t change. No matter how you looked at it, wasn’t this just a miniature gate?

”A gate?” Erik echoed. A second later, the blood drained from his face. ”You mean, like a Demon Gate?”

”Something like that, but it’s different. There’s no infernal mana or anything. It reminds me of the one above–”

My jaw snapped shut with an audible click, my eyes growing wide as saucers. Korra gave me an odd look, but I was far too fixated on the swirl of golden mana to notice. It wasn’t just similar to the one above High Valley, but identical. Something just like this, save a thousand times bigger, had brought forth a demonkin capable of casting ninth-level spells without effort. And it was done with the power of fate.

Forgetting the damage done to my soul, I extended a hand and summoned the Final Star. The gate trembled as the first stars appeared, growing more substantial as the staff materialized in my grasp. I could feel the infinitely complex and vast amounts of mana contained within the rift, pulsing in time with my rapidly palpating heart. The unique sensation was mesmerizing, as pleasurable and seductive as the first time I drew on mana. I focused on it, and the feeling grew, resonating with the familiar cycle of mana deep within my soul.

”Xiviyah?”

Korra’s concerned voice snapped me out of it, and I glanced about, blinking. Korra stared at me, her hands clenched and her muscles tense. Erik was frozen beside her, his eyes bugging out of his head, yet he seemed unable to move or even breathe. The air trembled with a powerful aura, and I took an uncertain step away from the gate, only to realize the source of the aura moved with me.

”What is it?” I asked, conscious of my tail flicking anxiously. ”What happened?”

”You did!” Korra breathed, ”Did you just...break through?”

I tilted my head in confusion and gazed inward. A moment later, the staff fell from my hands, my face going white with shock. The moment the staff left my grasp, the connection with the gate was shattered, but my soul continued to pulse with soothing cycles of mana. A fifth-level soul.

I stood motionless for an entire second before a shudder ran through me, breaking the spell of astonishment. With a surprised squeak, I grasped for my soul and restrained my aura. Erik collapsed to his knees, gasping for breath, and even Korra looked relieved.

”S-sorry!” I bowed my head, hoping to hide my blush, but was unable to so much as quell the agitated lashing of my tail. ”I didn’t mean to!”

”There’s nothing to apologize for, I should have realized sooner. Was it this gate that did it?” Korra asked, her eyes flicking from me to the gleaming sphere above.

I shook my head, staring up at it myself. ”I don’t think so, it just...reacted. I’m still recovering, so I’m not even capable of breaking through right now. My soul’s just healing. I was close to reaching fifth before the fight, and after a week of rest, it happened naturally. I was afraid of hurting if I touched my soul, so I didn’t until now. I’m sorry.”

A small smile made its way onto her face, and she shook her head. ”There’s nothing to apologize for. I’ve never seen you release your aura before, so it was a little surprising, that’s all.”

Erik didn’t look near as forgiving, but I nodded anyway, letting out a sigh of relief. I summoned my staff again, biting my lip anxiously. Fortunately, the connection with the gate returned, nestled deep in my soul. The sweet resonance rose again, and I took a deep breath, bridling myself. It wouldn’t do to accidentally release my aura again, not when Erik was still glaring at me.

With some confidence, I pointed the shining star atop my staff at the gate. ”Seal!”

The moment I spoke, a rush of mana flowed into the staff, nearly draining me again. The staff blazed with golden light, and I felt something leave it. It wasn’t mana, nor anything I understood. It just felt...divine.

The gate flashed with light and collapsed in on itself, vanishing in the blink of an eye. A moment later, the cracks in the air faded, the stars of fate slipping back behind the curtains. The gate was closed.

”Good?” I asked, turning to Korra.

She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms beneath her breasts. ”Done showing off? Any more, and I think Erik’s going to faint.”

At the mention of his name, the gray-haired man gave himself a shake. He stared at us, eyes wandering between suspicion and wonder. ”W-who even are you two? First the demons, and now this...?”

I shared a small smile with Korra. ”Just adventurers.”

She returned it with a wink. ”Yeah, just regular old adventurers.”