The Forsaken Hero

”What is that, Xiviyah?” Alverin demanded, staring at the Remnant, his blade pressing into my neck.

”R-run,” I gasped, staring at the Remnant with wide eyes, my tail thrashing in terror.

He glanced down at me in surprise. ”What the hell are you talking about? You’re the one that brought us here, remember? Isn’t this... creature supposed to save you?”

”No, it’s—”

The Remnant’s sword sliced through the air, unleashing a wave of pure darkness at us. Alverin’s eyes widened as he sensed the overwhelming power contained within the attack, and he leaped aside, dragging me with him. Elise fled in the opposite direction.

The Remnant’s attack consumed half the room in its initial explosion, the shockwave tearing through my insides, making me cough up more blood. Alverin wasted no more time talking and practically threw me aside, leaping through the air to engage the monster directly. Their swords clashed in a blinding flurry of steel, neither landing a blow.

Elise hurried to my side and helped me to my feet, but before I could thank her or urge us to run, I froze. Cold steel pressed against my side, digging into my ribs.

”Don’t try anything,” she warned, offering a faint smile that didn’t reach her eyes. ”I may not be as strong as my love, but I won’t let you escape.”

”You don’t understand,” I gasped, shivering as the point of her knife sliced through my dress, drawing a bead of blood, just missing a vein of sunpurge. ”Those things... they’re everywhere!”

”So? My Lord will slay them all.”

”No, he can’t—”

Alverin managed to land a blow, his sword plunging through the Remnant’s arm, meeting no resistance. The creature seemed completely incorporeal, leaving the king momentarily stunned.

The Remnant seized the opportunity, its blade slashing across Alverin’s cheek, leaving a bloody gash.

”Damn it,” Alverin muttered, then raised his voice. ”Elise! Take her back and find the portal to get out of here! I’ll hold this thing off!”

Elise nodded and prodded my side, dragging me away. I followed as quickly as my broken body would allow, stumbling before her menacing knife. The sunpurge was still advancing, slowly wrapping around my body, but it hadn’t yet reached my feet. I could feel a strange heat at the edges of my soul, but I lacked the clarity to investigate it.

”Elise, please...” I whimpered as she led me from the cathedral into the streets of the inner city.

”What is it?” she asked, eyeing me hopefully. ”Would you like to submit to my master? I can probably convince him to forgive you, if you want.”

I shook my head. ”That creature is called a Remnant,” I gasped, ”and there are more of them all over this realm. We’re not safe anywhere.”

She tilted her head, confused. ”Then why bring us here?”

I took a deep breath and stopped moving, turning against the point of her knife to look her in the eye. ”So I could do this.” A magic circle blossomed around us, the runes light and cheerful, reminiscent of flowers. ”Liberation.”

Her eyes widened in shock as the soulcast spell took shape. The knife moved reflexively, likely on Alverin’s instruction, sinking a half-inch into my kneck. I cried out, hand flying to the wound, as blood spurted past the blade, trickling in thick ribbons between my fingers.

But at the same time, brilliant strands of pure, holy mana erupted from the circle, wrapping around Elise. She went slack, her entire body trembling, allowing me to slip free from her grasp. I hastily cast a Restoration spell on myself, though it did little more than staunch the flow of blood. My wounds were far too severe for such a simple spell to heal completely.

The strands of magic flowed through the barrier around her soul, bypassing it effortlessly. I wasn’t targeting her soul directly, but the black miasma that clung to it.

”W-what are you doing?” she cried, her voice filled with fear and confusion. ”Stop, it hurts! Please, it hurts!”

”You should have remembered this,” I said softly, wincing as the sunpurge on my arm reached my wrist. ”It was you who taught it to me, after all. You always said that after my soul healed, we could cast it together. Thank you for keeping that promise.”

”No, please, no! How could you remember that? I only showed you once,” she gasped, panic rising in her voice. ”I don’t want to be free! I love Alverin!”

”I’m sorry, Fate,” I whispered, looking up at the cathedral looming against the night sky. She had given me this spell through Elise, and yet I’d blamed her for the destruction of my soul at the Western University. Had she foreseen this moment, that I would need it to save Elise again, just as I had that fateful night?

Elise screamed, falling to her knees, as the pure, cleansing light sank into the darkness surrounding her. The Heart Crest was powerful, but Liberation was a spell from the hand of Fate herself, created to combat such curses directly. It was a level lower than the Heart Crest, yet it burned the darkness away like morning dew before the rising sun.

Her entire body convulsed as the spell battled the curse at the core of her soul. She collapsed onto her hands, fingers digging into the worn cobblestones, pained whimpers escaping her lips. Little by little, the foul taint evaporated, its grip on her soul loosening.

Tears welled up in my eyes as I watched my friend writhe in agony. The Heart Crest had entwined itself with her soul for so long that it had become a part of her. Tearing it free was as traumatic as severing a limb. I longed to go to her, embrace her, and reassure her that everything would be alright, but I couldn’t even stand without assistance. The sunpurge had spread too far, and even a simple hug would cause me unimaginable pain.

After what felt like an eternity, Elise collapsed, her body limp and her voice silent. The last remnants of holy light faded from her soul and dissipated into the air. She shuddered and curled into a ball, sobbing uncontrollably. I mirrored her, tears streaming down my face, and knelt beside her, taking her hand in mine.

”Elise?” I whispered, barely daring to breathe.

She was unresponsive for a long, agonizing moment. Then, finally, her fingers curled around mine.

”I... I love Alverin,” she whispered, her voice hoarse and barely audible. ”I want to serve him, to do everything he asks of me. To give him everything I am. Everything.”

”Elise...” My heart ached for her, the words a heavy weight on my tongue. ”It was all a lie.”

”No, it can’t be!” She cried out, squeezing her eyes shut. ”I wanted him to...I love him. Otherwise...why? Why did he...?”

Her voice broke off in a sob, and I couldn’t bear it any longer. Ignoring the searing pain of the sunpurge, I pulled her into my arms. It was an embrace I’d waited over a year for, but I found no comfort in holding her in my arms. Her question was the same as Bethiv’s when he was freed, the only possible justification for the horrors she had endured.

I couldn’t imagine the absolute despair Elise was suffering right now, to have endured so much and loved so deeply, only to now suffer the greatest of all betrayals as she realized what she had become. What the heart crest had made her want to become.

”Shhh, I have you,” I murmured, stroking her hair and letting her sob into my shoulder. Her tears fell like molten lava on my scarred skin, but the physical pain was nothing compared to the heartache I felt for her.

”I wanted him to hurt me,” she whispered between sobs. ”Him and his men. Every night and day, they—”

”It’s alright,” I said, my voice soft, quieting her. ”It’s over now.” Some memories were better left buried, some shame too deep to verbalize.

I stroked her hair for a moment longer before the pain became unbearable, and I had to push her away gently. She sank back to the ground, her eyes closed, tears still streaming down her face. I felt like collapsing beside her, surrendering to the pain that now threatened to consume my soul, but instead, I forced myself to my feet and summoned my staff to my good hand for support.

Remnants surrounded us on all sides, dozens, maybe hundreds of them. They lined the rooftops of the crumbling walls and towers, flitted through the shattered windows, and paced restlessly on the streets below. None exuded the same overwhelming power as the Remnant in the cathedral, but all were armed, their shadowy forms wielding swords, bows, and staffs. Their mere presence filled me with a sense of unease that pierced through even the haze of pain.

”Haven, I know you’re there. Please answer me,” I whispered into the oppressive darkness, clasping my hands together in a silent plea.

I’d felt nothing in our bond since arriving, but he had to be here. The entrance gate we’d come through wasn’t in the cathedral anymore, yet I knew it had to remain open as long as I was inside. There was no way to close it unless I left Haven, which could only mean someone had moved it. Who else could it be but the realm itself?

”Please, Haven,” I pleaded again, my voice trembling as a ripple of unease passed through the watching Remnants. A few of the bolder ones drifted closer, their ghostly hands settling on their weapons.

Finally, I felt a stirring in my soul, and Haven’s presence brushed against our bond. It was faint and weak, but I clung to it, pouring my desperation and fear into our connection.

There was a flicker of acknowledgment, then the presence withdrew, retreating to some distant corner of the realm. I turned, my gaze drawn by a sudden golden glow, to find Elise. She lay motionless on the ground, eyes closed, her chest rising and falling in shallow breaths. A shimmering portal opened beneath her, and she slowly sank into the earth.

”Thank you,” I whispered, watching long after she was gone and the gate had vanished.

Ignoring the Remnants, I turned and stumbled back towards the cathedral. Elise was safe, or rather, at the very least, had been returned to Enusia. That left only one final thing before I was truly free. Alverin.