The Forsaken Hero

A hand on my shoulder brought me back from the brink of despair. ”Xiviyah, what’s happening?” Luke’s voice was urgent, laced with concern. ”Something... changed. I think I can feel remnants approaching.”

I sniffled, wiping the tears from my cheeks. ”They’re hurt, Luke,” I said. ”Hurt, alone, and betrayed. I knew something was wrong with this realm, but I didn’t expect it to be so... dark.”

He was quiet for a moment, then his hand squeezed my shoulder comfortingly. ”Does this change anything?”

I bit my lip, my tail twitching as I considered the implications. After a long pause, I shook my head. ”No,” I admitted, ”but it’s going to be harder than we thought. There are many remnants, some of which are ancient and powerful. Maybe even stronger than the one in the cathedral. Their cry for vengeance is stronger than their desire to see this place healed.”

His face hardened, but he nodded resolutely. ”I’ll take them as they come.”

I wondered if that would be enough, but then an idea sparked in my mind, calming my anxious tail.

From the moment I entered Haven, I had been unable to summon Fable. Whatever darkness held sway over the realm had suppressed our bond, preventing him from hearing my call. But that had changed the moment I connected with Haven. Now, my bond with Fable pulsed brightly. I could feel his worry and dismay, and I wasted no time waving my staff and summoning him.

Luke flinched back, raising his sword defensively, as a golden portal swirled open beside me, and Fable leaped through. The first thing my wolf did was bound to my side and check me over, circling and sniffing me until he was satisfied I wasn’t hurt. Then, he nuzzled his head against my chest and licked my cheek.

”Stop that!” I giggled, pushing him away playfully. ”We can cuddle later...” I glanced at Luke, who was staring intently and coughed, blushing slightly. ”Er, I mean, please be serious.”

He grinned at me, and I inwardly groaned, my tail twitching bashfully. It was one thing to act childish with Fable but quite another to display that side of myself to someone like Luke. I still had no idea whether trusting him was a mistake, or how he would respond now that he knew I was hiding a Shard of Omniscience. What if showing weakness like this only emboldened him?

Luke’s amusement was short-lived, however, as Fable turned on him, lips curling into a snarl. Luke instinctively backed up a step, giving me some distance, and hid his sword behind his back. Fable looked reproachfully between him and me, giving Luke a final, condemning glare before pointedly stepping between us. Resentment and worry bubbled up through our bond, though the exact cause was lost on me. Perhaps he was still upset that Luke had forced us to separate earlier.

I shook my head, deciding to let them sort out whatever grudge they had against each other later. This next phase wouldn’t allow for any distractions, and I could only entrust my life to their protection.

But first, I focused my concentration and cast Nexus, linking our souls and offering them the strongest protection I could provide. I wasn’t sure how the Remnants’ strange energy attacks interacted with Adaptive Resistance, but at the very least, my wards would allow them to ignore attacks below the sixth level.

”Alright,” I announced, my voice firm with determination, ”I won’t be able to help you anymore.”

Luke and Fable nodded, taking up positions on either side of me. ”Don’t worry about a thing,” Luke said with a cocky grin. ”We’ll make sure none of them get close to you.”

Fable growled in agreement.

With my preparations complete and the magic circle activated, I took a deep breath and drew upon my soul, channeling the power of the Oracle of Eternity. Instantly, the stars of Fate appeared, and the world slowed to a crawl. I frowned and, after a moment’s thought, eased back a little, allowing time to resume its normal flow. Even with the shard’s near-unlimited supply of mana, maintaining that timeless state for any significant duration would severely weaken my soul.

The rift above was as black and empty as it had been to my eyes before. The stars and weave of fate filled the sky normally, but as I traced them nearer to the rift, they began to fray and destabilize, eventually vanishing entirely. The dark chasm seemed to devour light and order, slowly creeping further and further.

It seemed an insurmountable task, but thankfully, I lacked the mental capacity to worry about the entire problem at once. I focused on the immediate, searching the sky with my enhanced connection to Fate, a slight smile curving my lips as I found what I was looking for.

On the edge of the rift, almost directly above me, I found a section of Fate that was nearly untouched. The threads were loose but still present, making it the perfect place to start. It was imperative to understand the process before attempting something as insane as generating stars where they had been consumed. Even a tiny mistake could have drastic consequences. Fate wasn’t something to be trifled with. It was only the divine power I carried that allowed me even to attempt such a feat.

Oddly enough, as I extended my will towards the stars above, Haven responded. It felt like the realm itself was merely an extension of my will, as easy to control as my hands or mana. It made sense, after all. Haven was sheltered within my soul, and neither I nor it wanted this destruction to spread. I could feel its yearning for the clear, starless skies and the peaceful floating ruins that had first greeted me when I opened the realm.

It was easy to lose myself in the work, falling into a state of intense concentration. I started tentatively, barely daring to touch the delicate threads of Fate, but quickly gained confidence. The process felt remarkably similar to healing my soul, providing a familiar foundation upon which to build.

Things grew more challenging as I worked around the edges of the rift, slowly hemming it in. When I encountered areas where the stars were irreparably damaged or completely consumed, I was forced to create new ones—a daunting task. If the sky were a tapestry, and mending the frayed stars was akin to weaving on a loom, creating new ones was like spinning wool into thread. Only, I had no concept of wool or spinning wheels.

My concentration shattered as an explosion rocked my wards, causing them to flare around me. I groaned in frustration as the last few minutes of my work unraveled before my eyes.

Having already lost my progress, I glanced over to see what had caused the disturbance. Sure enough, several powerful Remnants had reached the island, and Luke was engaged in a fierce battle against them. His Aura of Curses was at full strength, blanketing nearly half the island in deep shadows. They clung to the remnants, hindering their movements and weakening their strength, much like Korra’s magical arts, but applied evenly to all opponents in a wide area.

On the other side of the ridge, Fable fought a lone Remnant, but seemed to be at a disadvantage. He had yet to assume his true form, which, on an island this small, would be a liability, as he would be half as long as the ridge itself. Still, I wondered how powerful the remnant had to be to push Fable to this extent, where even with my spells, he couldn’t gain an immediate advantage.

The fight was a stark reminder of how little time I had. Hundreds, if not thousands, of Remnants, were converging on our position. I doubted they could kill either Luke or Fable, but I would be a helpless target if they broke through.

I tightened my grip on my staff and turned my attention back to the rift, redoubling my efforts. The occasional shockwave rippled through my wards, but I ignored them all, trusting in their protection, and poured every ounce of my concentration into mending Fate.

Gradually, I began to see a change. The aura radiating from the rift lessened, and the chasm seemed to shrink. My work was rough compared to the natural flow of Fate, yet the stars seemed eager to be fixed, and after I reached a certain threshold, they straightened themselves out and tightened my weave.

The longer I worked, the more pronounced this phenomenon became. At times, I almost felt a presence behind me, guiding my mana, but whenever I tore my eyes away from the rift to look, there was no one there.

Despite this assistance, progress was slow, and hours slipped by. At some point, I drifted into a trance-like state, completely absorbed in my work. I didn’t even notice the fading shockwaves and roars of the Remnants as they were defeated.

A small part of me wondered how Luke and Fable could have held out against so many for so long, but those thoughts were quickly pushed aside.

Then, it happened. One moment, I was diligently weaving Fate; the next, there was nothing left to repair. I could hardly believe it, but my hands lowered on their own, my staff vanishing in a burst of starlight. The jagged black crack in the sky had disappeared, leaving behind a soft, golden light. The weave of fate hadn’t fully settled, but the immediate danger was gone, and any remnants of the voice had stopped spreading.

”You’ve done well, little one,” a soft voice whispered, sending shivers down my spine. ”Be at ease. I will see the rest is done.”

I felt a gentle caress on my cheek, a warm and familiar touch that brought tears to my eyes. A tremor shook my tail, and I took a shallow breath, barely daring to hope, afraid that if I were to turn around, the presence might vanish.

”Fate?” I asked in a tremoring whisper. ”Is that you?”