The Forsaken Hero

Celestial Grace was one of the few secrets Luke remained unaware of, and if possible, I would have preferred to keep it that way. However, the dire circumstances in the city and the existence of an eighth-level mage forced our hand. Revealing this magic was our only viable option.

Luke and Jessia gasped as the spell concluded, unleashing a wave of golden-green mist that billowed outwards, enveloping our small group in its ethereal embrace. The thick tendrils curled around, drawn toward our souls. It shimmered to the eye, appearing almost illusionary, laying bare the stars of fate to the naked eye. To my surprise, I found Luke included in the spell, though Jessia had either appeared too late or R’lissea hadn’t felt like adding her.

I inhaled deeply, allowing the mist to permeate my body and soul. A thrill coursed through me as the Life magic enhanced my strength and endurance to the beginning stages of the second level. It was a laughably small improvement but still the strongest I’d ever felt. For just the briefest moments, I thought I could lift a sword if I tried.

As the mana seeped into my very being, I felt a power surge reminiscent of my attunement with Haven. It began subtly, a mere sensation of rejuvenation, but as I drew deeper, a gasp escaped my lips, my grip tightening on my staff. The sudden influx of mana was overwhelming, forcing me to stumble back. My body trembled as I struggled to contain the overflowing power, excess mana leaking from my soul in a shimmering haze of starlight that turned the air around me gold. I held so much mana that my soul, already at the upper echelons of the seventh level, now strained with power that belonged in an eighth-level mage.

”Xiviyah?” R’lissea’s voice was sharp with concern, her eyes narrowed in focus. ”What happened? You’re glowing.”

I took a deep breath, gradually acclimating to the storm raging within me. The power surging through my veins was unexpected but manageable. It was comparable to the raw, overwhelming amount of mana the Curse Demon had forced into my soul at Western University, an experience that had pushed me to the brink of destruction.

However, unlike then, when I had only just reached the seventh level, my soul was now far stronger. Beyond sheer capacity, where I still fell short of just how much mana I had, my skills had vastly improved. It wasn’t easy, but the countless hours of practice and experience healing and working with my soul allowed me to safely wield such power with minimal discomfort. Instead of the agonizing threat of my soul shattering, it was more akin to simply eating too much, like stomach ache, which compared to the agony I had lived through for years, was barely worth mentioning.

”Stand back, please,” I said in a forceful whisper, struggling to speak and maintain control at the same time.

The others exchanged bewildered glances. Their souls were on the same level as mine, which should have proved no problem, regardless of what I did. I was more speaking to Elise, though, who had only just reached the beginning stages of sixth. She didn’t seem to understand the danger, but Fable quickly grasped the situation and nudged her away from me just before I lost control of my aura.

She started to protest. ”Stop that, Fable. I can–”

Despite the reinforcing effects of Celestial Grace, Elise froze, a visible tremor running through her. Fable swiftly positioned himself between us, shielding her from the brunt of my power. She sagged against him, gasping for breath, her hands clutching his fur in a desperate attempt to regain her balance.

My aura spread over a vast area, so thick and powerful it made the air waver as though it were underwater. Demons for miles in all directions, perhaps even throughout the entire kingdom, suddenly froze, their eyes locking onto me with a lustful, if terrified, gaze. Even with the infernal mark’s influence commanding them, it was clear the only thing stopping them from charging me was the intense pressure emitted by my soul.

”Gods, it worked,” R’lissea breathed. ”Did you break through?”

I shook my head, afraid to respond else my voice trembled with the effort of maintaining at least a little control of my mana. While I held more mana than a seventh-level mage should, there was more to breaking through than simply accumulating the mana. As Elise had proved, I had to, at the very least, cast a spell the realm considered sufficiently difficult. Whether what followed would be enough remained unseen, but I had my doubts.

Raising my staff, I took a deep breath and began to cast.

”Looks like he noticed us,” Jessia said suddenly, her gaze leaving me to focus on the fortress.

Another aura, even more powerful than my own, flared up within the depths of the fortress. It caused another ripple among the demons, but despite the raw power, the purity lower than mine, and the stir soon faded.

It was said that a regular sixth-circle spell could destroy a small town while a seventh could level a city. I was under no illusion that I was an ordinary mage, nor could I deny the power that now thrummed in my soul. The last time I’d actually been able to push myself like this while casting a spell had been years ago, perhaps even before I’d shattered it in the first place. There were so many scars and handicaps that had crippled my soul. Now that I was free of those, from the soul binder to Haven’s darkness, my soul was free and liberated. I could go as far as I could, and there was nothing but my own limits to stop me.

As I began to summon runes, my gaze fell on the city that would soon fall prey to my magic. For the first time, I felt nothing—not a twinge of guilt or regret. Whether this emotional detachment stemmed from the knowledge that I was doing everything in my power to save those within or simply the grim acceptance that my hands were irrevocably stained with blood, I couldn’t be sure.

I hoped it was the former, but something told me that no matter the case, I would push forward. There had been a time when I naively believed Brithlite would mark the end of my battles, that peace would finally prevail. But Fate, it seemed, had other plans. My heart ached for the innocent lives inevitably caught in the crossfire, but that hadn’t deterred me before, and it wouldn’t now.

”You can’t be serious,” Jessia exclaimed, her brow furrowed in disbelief. ”Casting a spell from this distance? We must be two miles away!”

”She’ll be alright,” R’lissea reassured her, her voice unwavering. ”Even if the spell loses some strength over this distance, she’s more than capable. She’s the one who broke Western University, after all.”

Elise nodded from where she still sheltered behind Fable. ”It’s true, I was there,” she added, a small smile tugging at her lips, ”But I think she’s even stronger now.”

Their confidence warmed my heart, though a pang of guilt accompanied the reminder of that particular incident. It didn’t slow me in the slightest, though, and I pressed on, summoning the same devastating spell that had crippled the university.

”Mana Storm.”

From the moment I released my aura, I’d already begun casting the spell in my soul, forming the first few circles before the sheer power became impossible to contain. At my word, they sprung into the air around me, and I waved my staff, causing the circles to expand out and upward, forming a pillar a dozen feet wide with me at the center.

The pressure exerted by the spell as it appeared merged with my aura, sending a visible shockwave hurtling outward. It washed over the ranks of demons, tossing them to the earth. Only the strongest, the sixth and seventh-level evolved demons, withstood it, bracing themselves against it like trees in a hurricane. The demonkin army fared no better, but the humans defending the city were far enough away that it would only have felt like a stiff breeze—enough to startle them but not rattle their curse-enforced courage.

A full minute passed as I meticulously crafted the spell, ensuring the circles could withstand the immense surge of mana coursing through me. A typical seventh-circle spell would falter under the strain of near eighth-level power, but Mana Storm was uniquely suited for this task. It required no intricate magical circuits or delicate interactions, just pure, unadulterated mana unleashed in a devastating torrent.

Once the spell’s framework was complete, I channeled every remaining drop of my augmented mana into its core. The sensation was akin to opening the floodgates of a dam, the power flowing from me in an unstoppable deluge. As the seconds ticked by, a growing heaviness settled over me, my tail slowly sinking to the ground. The abrupt absence of the overwhelming power left me feeling strangely deflated. I had never felt so vibrantly alive as in those moments when my soul brimmed with mana, and now, with its sudden departure, I leaned heavily on my staff, my legs trembling with the effort of supporting my own weight.

Surprisingly, the weakness felt good, satisfying even. It was akin to the pleasant exhaustion after intense physical exertion, a sensation I had only vaguely imagined, never having experienced it myself. It had been a long time since I had felt this drained and spent without the accompanying vulnerability and fear.

”Gods above,” Jessia breathed, her voice barely a whisper. ”How can you...?”

I glanced up to find the others staring towards the city, their faces etched with shock. Even R’lissea, who had witnessed the true extent of Celestial Grace’s power, gaped in astonishment. One by one, their gazes shifted toward me, filled with awe, admiration, and disbelief. A surge of pride coursed through me, particularly at Luke’s appreciative nod. That last bit surprised me, as I hadn’t thought his approval important, but I didn’t have time to dwell on it.

A small, satisfied smile touched my lips as I turned toward the mountains. A colossal magic circle, over a mile in diameter, hung suspended in the air. It was time to begin.