The Forsaken Hero

”He spoke to you?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper in the sudden silence that followed Luke’s story.

”I mean,” I added quickly, ducking my head as they all turned to look at me, ”that was years before you were summoned to this world. Could he really do that?”

Luke sighed and sat back. ”As you can imagine, that was far from my mind at the time. He offered me power, in exchange for my oath to drive the gods from this world. I would have traded the entire world just to kill that one man, so his offer was easy to accept. For the small price of my life, I could avenge my sister’s death.”

”What happened next?” Elise asked, leaning forward, her curiosity piqued.

As dark and grim as the story was, I, too, hung on his every word. Each sentence filled in the gaps left by our entanglement, giving depth and meaning to the fragmented memories I had witnessed.

”For the first time, I tasted power,” Luke said, meeting my gaze. ”My master noticed and activated the slave crest, but the pain was nothing compared to the anguish in my heart. I stood, and the chains binding my hands snapped. Every step I took towards my master caused the ground to shake. He was a powerful swordsman, but as he drew his blade, my ability activated.”

Luke’s aura flared, mimicking what must have happened all those years ago. I recalled how his curses had attacked Ixtra, breaking her down and siphoning her very soul, and I shuddered. I had no sympathy for her or Luke’s master, but her cries were still fresh in my mind, and my gentle nature recoiled at the thought of such suffering.

Luke continued in a quiet voice. ”Once he was immobilized, I picked up his sword. It was heavy in my hands, but so sharp that I didn’t need to do more than touch him for it to cut. His screams echoed for hours as I slowly bled him dry.”

”And what about the slave crest?” I asked.

His hand rose, idly stroking his chest through his black robes. ”It continued to burn until he breathed his last. The curse mana mixed with the power the Emperor had given me, twisting my skin and inflicting me with corruption. It burns to this day, a constant reminder of the one I lost, and the vengeance that smolders within me. I won’t rest until the gods are cast out of this world, and even then, if I get the chance, I will chase them to their heavens and spit in their eyes. They will suffer as I have.”

As he fell quiet, his story finished, my eyes lingered on his chest. There, hidden from view, would be corruption’s terrible, twisted scars. From what R’lissea and I had studied, corruption was less painful than sunpurge, yet anything that showed on the flesh was only a symptom of a greater pain within. Unlike Sunpurge, Corruption had roots in the soul, and only after it had some foundation could it spread outward.

”Is your soul tainted?” I asked before I could think better of it.

”My soul?” he looked at me curiously. ”No, just my chest. The corruption only formed where the two powers met.” He chuckled sardonically, shaking his head. ”I wish it were my soul and could ask you to heal it. But I know there’s nothing that can be done for the corruption of the flesh.”

I bit my lip, my gaze sliding unconsciously to the peacefully sleeping R’lissea. ”R-right,” I mumbled. My heart ached for him, but it was too dangerous to reveal Requiem, and I didn’t know if he would appreciate me removing the one thing he had left from his sister—the pain of her death. Maybe, one day, once I was sure I could trust him completely.

”What about the other apostles?” Elise asked, breaking the silence. ”Are their stories similar to yours?”

Luke nodded. ”Something like that. I knew Evla and Jessia when we were slaves of the same master. The Emperor asked me to extend his offer to them, and they accepted. Gayron found us first, sent by the Emperor of Fire, and the others gathered over the next few years. There are just eight of us now, unless another emperor called an apostle in secret.”

”Eight?” I asked, tilting my head, quickly counting the ones I’d met the night before. ”Where are the other two?”

”They are leading the war on the southern continent,” he replied. ”I haven’t seen them much, and I doubt they can hold on for long. The Church is far stronger there than they are here, and they have orders to retreat and meet up with us once their forces are crushed.”

”You plan for them to lose?” Elise asked, her voice filled with surprise.

”Yes, though it pains me,” Luke admitted. ”When this war began, we had so few forces, and were surviving gate to gate, scrounging up reinforcements wherever possible. After crushing Brithlite and breaking into the Ingrid Alliance, our army has finally begun to stabilize. Until this point, though, the Church had enough power scattered across the world to destroy us in one fell swoop, so we decided to split their attention.”

”Their forces are weaker, too,” Fyren interjected, drawing our attention. He had been so quiet that I had almost forgotten he was there. ”The kingdoms on the southern continent are strong, and the Sun Hero has been diligently closing demon gates. Most of the infernal horde there comprises refugees from the Beast Kingdom and escaped slaves. Their numbers are great, but their power is limited. Unless an apostle is present, they lose almost every battle.”

”Yes,” Luke agreed, ”though I’m surprised you know their situation so well.” He eyed Fyren curiously.

Fyren shrugged. ”I spent much of the last year building an information network to search for Xiviyah. I have demons and spies in every kingdom of the world.” He smiled at me. ”I was unlucky that you ended up in such a remote place as Heartland, or I would have surely found you before the Water Hero.”

”It’s alright,” I said, smiling back. ”Things worked out as they should have. I don’t know where I would be if I hadn’t met the Glory Chasers, or had a chance to live so peacefully.”

”I suppose that’s true,” Fyren murmured. ”Inquisitors would have been hunting me no matter where I went. Perhaps your goddess is right, after all. If it were supposed to have happened, it would have.”

In the time since Luke and Fyren arrived, night had well and truly fallen. The air was crisp and chill, the flames dancing on the evening currents, the stars gleaming brightly above. It was still and peaceful, though I felt far from sleep. The weight of Luke’s story still rested on my shoulders, and as I met his gaze, I knew he felt the same. We had lived such similar lives, had those we cherished defiled and murdered by the cruel masters of this world. He had escaped young, while I suffered for years without end. But now, after everything I knew about him, it was clear that while he was no longer a slave, he was far from free.

”Xiviyah,” Luke said, his tone still dark and subdued. His eyes shone in the firelight, wet with unshed tears, reflecting my thoughts back at me. ”I... I don’t understand. Where are the chains shackling your heart, dragging you back into the past? Why do you not hate the gods for all they have done to you? Why are you so like her? She... she never gave up, until the very end...”

He broke off into a choked sob, dragging his sleeve over his eyes. I lowered my eyes, unable to watch the grief I felt all too keenly myself. His questions were ones I had asked myself countless times, questions I still grappled with today. But there were some things I knew, answers I had already found. He stiffened as I raised my head and locked eyes with him, my gaze unwavering.

”Because I’ve lived in darkness all my life, Luke,” I whispered, my voice firm despite the tremor in my heart. ”I’ve seen depths no one else can imagine, lived in hells deeper than any demon realm. When Aurle was taken from me, when the starless night descended, I was alone and forsaken. There was no emperor to seek me out, no goddess to call my name.”

”Then how? How are you still so pure and innocent? So...bright?”

Despite the emotion in our exchange, my face warmed at his words, and I gripped my skirt tightly. ”Luke...it’s not about where we’ve been, or where we’re going. Fate isn’t about the past or future, for neither of those can change. The past has happened, and the future is sure to follow, but in the present... in the present alone can we choose.”

”How can that be?” he whispered.

”I...I’m tired of the dark, of being cold and lonely.” I shivered, snuggling closer to Fable, feeling R’lissea’s comforting presence nestled against my side. ”There were times I didn’t believe it, but there is light in this world as surely as there is dark. It took me a long time to find it, but in the end, the stars always shine through the night.”