The Forsaken Hero

The visions rushed through my mind one after the other. My heart raced, and my breathing came in erratic gasp, matching the beat of my lashing tail.

”Who? Who did this?” I asked.

Luke’s hand fell to his sword. ”Who did what?”

I pointed at the scroll. ”That curse! It’s...monstrous.”

The emperor frowned, exchanging a glance with Elaine. She subtly shook her head. He cleared his throat.

”Perhaps there has been a misunderstanding. I know you are under a lot of stress, and much of that is our fault, but this is a fairly standard artifact I’ve personally signed many times. Yes, the feedback from the binding spell was stronger than unusual, but–”

”An artifact? ” My eyes widened.

Elaine nodded. ”It’s the only way to bind ninth-level beings to their word.”

”I-it’s from the church,” My vision spun as I reeled back, hand pressed to my forehead. A sharp ache throbbed behind my eyes, my mind overwhelmed by what I’d witnessed.

”Of course. All artifacts are from...” Elaine trailed off, her eyes widening. ”Guards, clear this room. Bring Etrial here immediately.”

She blurred, moving to the emperor’s side in an instant. ”Emperor, please, sit down. The healer will be here in an instant.”

The room burst into motion. Nobles scattered as the sixth-level guards ushered them away. The Apostles gathered together, hands on their weapons. Luke’s aura simmered, a thought away from being unleashed, but it barely caused me to shiver.

As the commotion disappeared, R’lissea put her arms around me from behind, rocking me gently back and forth. The soothing presence of her life magic soothed my heart, and my tail came to rest.

”There, there,” she murmured as my breathing finally slowed. ”Are you alright? It didn’t hurt you, did it?”

”I-I’m alright,” I stammered, staring at the scroll.

”How did you escape the backlash?” Elaine asked. ” but even the strength of the contract alone should have put you unconscious.”

I shook my head, uncertain about that myself. Adaptive Resistance had somehow fought it, but that curse was the eighth level. And I was only...eighth level.

The realization struck me hard, and I sank back into R’lissea embrace. I had broken through, and somehow, Adaptive resistance had as well. The stronger the ability, the more difficult it was to reach new tiers. The sheer difference in the amount of power it had to absorb differed greatly, and I assumed the seventh level would be the max.

”Luke, come here,” I said, holding my hand out to him.

The violet-eyed apostle had been whispering to the other Apostles but looked up the moment I called him. His face, a mask of anger, softened, and he hurried over.

”What is it?” he asked.

I took his hand, too worried to be embarrassed. ”You feel weak, don’t you?”

He looked around, ensuring the empire’s soldiers were out of earshot.

”I do, but it’s not much. I can still protect you,” he said.

I smiled sadly. ”Luke, please, don’t lie to me.”

His face fell. ”But I... fine. The backlash from signing the treaty hasn’t faded. There’s something fighting my soul. It reminds me of my Aura of Curses, but I can’t consume it. It’s feeding, slowly shaping my strength. I don’t think I could cast anything more than a sixth-level spell, and it’s getting worse.”

”That bad?” I whispered, tail flicking anxiously. ”What of the others?”

”Even weaker. Evla’s barely standing.”

I glanced over to see the white-horned girl trembling, leaning on Edrin. They wore grave expressions and were shooting dark looks at the emperor. For his part, the ruler of Blacksand was slumped on his Throne, holding his head in his hands. Elaine hovered over him, casting a few life magic spells, but her expression was dark. Surprisingly, the strongest spell she used was only fourth-circle.

The doors burst open, and an elderly man dressed in pure white robes rushed into the room, flanked by two sixth-level soldiers. He was eighth-level and clutched a wand in his hand.

”Finally, you’re here,” Elaine said, ”See to his majesty. The Binding Scroll was cursed.”

”Cursed?” The man’s expression fell. ”... I understand. I’ll see what I can do.”

”What’s wrong?” I asked softly as the man began casting spells on the emperor.

”Curse magic is notoriously difficult to heal,” R’lissea explained. ”The kind of damage it does isn’t physical, so life magic doesn’t work. All you can do is try everything and hope something weakens the curse enough for the soul to fight it off on its own.”

”That’s not going to happen,” Luke said darkly. ”It affects even my soul and ignores my abilities that canabilize curses. Whatever this is isn’t something that can be resisted.”

”R’lissea, can you cure a burn with water magic?” I asked.

She gave me an odd look. ”Of course not; that’s what Life magic is for.”

”But water is opposed to fire,” I said.

”Xiviyah, now isn’t the time to–” Her mouth shut with a click, and she tentatively asked, ”What are you getting at?”

”Life magic doesn’t work on curses because it’s not supposed to,” I said. ”Fate magic does.”

She was silent for a long moment, then sighed and rubbed her head. ”I can’t believe I never realized that. No wonder fate magic works on healing corruption. They’re basically the same thing.”

”Fate magic can heal corruption?” Luke asked.

”I-in the soul,” R’lissea added quickly. ”But Xiviyah, magic like that isn’t something Enusia has. Fate magic has been discouraged and sometimes outright banned for hundreds of years. No one’s ever created a spell to break curses.”

”Right, they couldn’t risk someone coming up with a cure for their slave crest experiments I muttered. ”But the truth is, the spell isn’t from this world.”

”Can you cast it?”

Luke’s voice was cracked and strained, and I winced, finding him dangerously pale. His soul wavered like mine. Just how powerful was this curse?

”No, but she can,” I said, nodding to Elise.

Elise jumped, hands curling into her skirt. ”Y-you want me to do it?”

”Please, Elise. Help Luke,” I said.

She hesitated, chewing on her lip, then nodded. ”Alright. But don’t blame me if it doesn’t work. I’m not as good of a mage as you two.”

”You’re an amazing mage who reached the sixth level at only sixteen,” R’lissea said, smiling at her. ”I know you can do it.”

Elise took a deep breath and began to cast, summoning sixth magic circles. The golden glow of fate magic bathed our corner of the room, soft and warm amid the tension caused by the ravenous curse.

There was a time when this spell had taken more than Elise had to give, forcing her to burn and break the entirety of her soul for the strength to cast. Now, however, her mana flowed strong and steady, runes appearing in neat, tidy circles. We’d practiced this spell dozens of times since I freed her with it in Brithlite, but what came from her now was more than a result of practice but true skill.

”Liberation,” she whispered as the spell concluded.

Golden light shot out of her hands, wrapping around Luke. He squirmed as it penetrated the shadows, shaking his soul, letting out a small moan of discomfort. The curse writhed, rallying against her magic, but it was in vain, dissipating like the night shadows before the morning sun.

Luke’s tail started to lash, his face twisted in pain. Then, all at once, his aura exploded, breaking through the weakened curse, turning on it and consuming it.

He let out a short cry and snagged, dropping to one knee. I ran to him and grabbed his hand, checking his soul for lingering curses.

”he’s okay! ” I said, looking up, tears of relief in my eyes. ”Elise, you did it!”

”I...did?” she panted lightly, staring at her hands in shock. ”But that was an eighth-circle curse! ”

”That’s the nature of curses,” Luke said, allowing me to help him to his feet. ”They’re powerful and voracious, but fragile. Ordinary magic doesn’t affect them, but the kind that does...? ”

He let the question linger. I hugged his arm, closing my eyes as the warmth returned to his skin. I felt a hand on my head and peeked up, blushing to find him rubbing between my horns. His cheeks had regained their color and were now stained a light pink.

”Sorry! ” I squeaked, letting go of his arm.

I retreated into the safety of R’lissea’s arms, hiding my face against her shoulder. The elf chuckled, rubbing my head fondly.

”Really? During a time like this?” she murmured, shaking her head. ”Ah, whatever. At least you listened to what before.”

”Lady Elise, would you please see to the other Apostles? ”Luke asked, his tail flicking back and forth.

”I don’t know if I can cast it that many times,” Elise said, ”it takes a lot of mana.”

”Elise, you have to, I said softly. We only have a few minutes. Then it comes.