The Forsaken Hero

”I saw them all,” I whispered, staring at the ground.

Elaine folded her arms, eyes narrow. ”What do mean all? Did you find something to help us win or not?”

I wilted under her gaze.

”I found all the ways we lose...”

”And the one where we win?”

Her eyes stabbed into me, daring me to lie. I squeezed my eyes shut and shook my head.

”I thought as much,” she said, hefting her sword. ”Then let us fight to the end. Come, Avant, we’ll make these bastards remember us.”

The older mage nodded and lifted his staff. ”It was always meant to be that way. There is no wisdom in defying the gods.

”We didn’t have a choice!” Elaine said, ”They slaughtered our people!”

”Yet you let them escape,” Avant said.

She glared at him, aura flickering unevenly. ”After you missed that inquisitor with your spell. What would your master think if he saw that?”

Avant’s grip on his staff tightened. ”My goal was to protect the emperor, which I accomplished. I even saved the filthblood and Life Hero. If an eighth-level inquisitor and Father managed to escape, it’s of no concern to me.”

”Stop, please,” I said, hugging my staff. ”Don’t say that. We can still fight and–”

Avant rounded on me. ”Your presence here has become bothersome, Filthblood. You failed to do as you promised, and our empire will fall because of it. Flee or fight, I care not which, but I do not wish to hear any more of your childish naivety.”

I shrank back against Fable. The wolf’s eyes glowed, and his lip curled in a silent snarl at the mage.

”He’s right, child,” Elaine said. Her expression softened as I flinched. ”This isn’t your fight. If you flee now, you might still overtake the apostles and appeal to them for safety.”

”It won’t matter,” I mumbled. If we lose here, none of it will matter.” They don’t want freedom, they want revenge. We can’t–”

A fierce aura descended on us, signaling that our reprieve was over. A dragon roared overhead, gathering mana for a fire breath. Elaine raised her sword and crouched, gathering mana in her legs.

”No, wait!” I shouted, ”Don’t do it!”

But it was too late. Elaine jumped toward the dragon, aura blazing around her. Time slowed, memories flickering through my mind, overlaying reality. Of the dragon rearing back, its breath a bait. There was a flash of claws and an explosion. Elaine’s sword came spinning out of the flames, her body dropping limply to the ground behind it.

There was no time to think, no time to hesitate. I activated the Oracle of Eternity, bringing time to a standstill.

The backlash struck instantly, before the stars of fate appeared. It wasn’t as much pain as

I caught a glimpse of stars before I screamed, writhing on the ground, as the backlash struck. A strong, reassuring presence rose behind me. Fable’s tail wrapped me, holding me close while I battled the pain that threatened my consciousness.

”You did it,” I whispered, hugging his tail tightly. ”I’m so glad.”

Fable licked my cheek. I was too tired to care.

The dragons were frozen overhead, as was Avant beside us. The mage’s staff was half raised, the beginnings of a spell glowing faintly around him. I didn’t need to read the forming runes to know it was another eighth-circle spell, likely a Dragon Lance. He seemed to love that one more than anything and was always crushed when it barely hurt the dragons.

Just as I was beginning to breathe easy, an explosion rocked the world, sending a ripple through Fate. I tightened my grip on Fable’s tail, concentrating all my power on maintaining the world. Elaine landed beside us, frowning as she surveyed the surroundings.

”What the hell is this?” she asked, shifting uneasily. ”My attack didn’t even touch it.”

I shook my head, breathing ragged. ”Y-you did...”

”Avant? What’s going on?” She ran over to the mage, touching his arm. When he didn’t respond, her eyes narrowed as she turned on me. ”What did you do to him?”

I struggled on my knees, leaning on Fable for support. ”It’s just for a little while. I had to save you.”

She barked a dark chuckle. ”I appreciate the thought, but I doubt you’re capable of facing anything I can’t handle.”

I waved my hand, and the stars of fate answered. Elaine gasped as the scene around us shifted, portraying her back in the sky. The same sequence as in my memories played out, ending when she slammed into the ground, broken and bloody. The stars returned to their place, but Elaine continued to stare at the space she’d fallen.

”Was that...? Child, I won’t ask again. What’s going on?”

Her eyes turned to me, cold and uncertain.

”I...paused fate,” I admitted weakly. ”It won’t last for long, but–”

”Then we must strike while you can. I might be able to kill one of them!” Elaine said.

I caught her sleeve, shaking my head. ”N-no, you can’t! They’re too strong.”

”Then at least I could injure it.”

”That...would be bad. You’ve been fighting for a long time, so take a breather. I have much to share with you.”

She eyed me, her frown returning. At last, she sighed and let the tension flow from her muscles.

”Fine, but at least tell me why Avant is frozen.”

I let out the breath I’d been holding. Even if we’d barely avoided calamity, this was better than most potential fates. She actually listened this time.

”He didn’t accept the call,” I said softly, glancing at the mage.

”Was that what that feeling was? You called me?”

I nodded. ”Yeah, something like that. If I were stronger, I could have simply pulled you in through the Nexus, but like this... The best I could do was to give you a little nudge. I’m just grateful the dragons didn’t catch on in time.”

”You can’t control who enters this space?” she asked.

”It’s...difficult to explain, but no. And I can’t risk doing it again. The dragons will be ready for it.”

She nodded while rubbing her chin. ”I understand. So, what’s so important that you had to stop time to tell me?”

I hesitated, anxiously twitching the tip of my tail. Her eyes narrowed.

”Tell me,” she said. ”I won’t be offended.”

A small shiver went down my tail. Was I that easy to read?

”Err, it’s just...you have to trust yourself more. And me.”

”Oh?” She arched an eyebrow. ”And what gives you the arrogance to know my strength better than I do? I’ve trained for hundreds of years to use every fiber of my body and soul to its fullest. You can’t reach the ninth level without mastering that much.”

”But not with Celestial Grace,” I countered. ”Perhaps it’s because you’re so familiar with your strength that you’re not adapting to its power. You’re holding yourself back, afraid that if you rely on it, it’ll fail you. You have to, or you’ll...you just have to.

She studied me closely. ”Do you have any idea how difficult it is to rely on another’s power?”

”Yeah, I think I do,” I said, returning her gaze. ”Every single day. Sometimes, I can’t even stand on my own. Right Fable?”

I scratched my wolf’s head, who hummed softly and nuzzled my side.

”Hmph. Cute.” She half turned away, gazing up at the frozen dragons. After a long silence, she turned back. ”Fine, I’ll do my best. Is there anything else? Or did you stop time itself just to tell me to rely on you?”

”Well, could you, um, not use that attack? The big one?”

Her face went stone cold. ”And how would you know about that?”

”I-It never ends well,” I hastened to explain. ”The dragons use fire to heal. Surely you’ve seen that by now.”

”My flames have burned them before,” she said shortly.

I shook my head. ”Only on the surface. One of their best tactics is to catch each other in range of their fire breaths. They internally absorb the fire mana and use it to heal. The stronger it is...”

”The more they heal.” She sighed, rubbing her forehead. ”Gods, that’s annoying. Our empire’s foundational strength is fire magic. No wonder my master’s failed to kill them and was forced to seal them away. ”

”There’s one more thing. You need to fight with Fable,” I said.

Fable stiffened, and Elaine cocked her head.

”I hardly think stripping you of your only protection is worthwhile. Besides, an eighth-level monster would only be left behind.”

”No, you need him. You’re not fast enough, and he can cover for you. He’s really strong.”

A low growl rose in Fable’s throat. I turned, taking his head with both hands and staring into his eyes.

”Not a word, Fable. I’ll be fine without you. Probably.”

His tail switched twice, then fell still. He lowered his head, headbutting me gently. For some reason, our bond was filled with pride and a touch of sadness.

”I rely on you plenty. There will never be a day I won’t,” I said, stroking him behind his horns. ”But you need to rely on me too. That’s how this works, right?”

With their agreement, I shared a few more observations with Elaine, detailing a few of the dragons’ weak points and strategies. There was so much to say and so little time. Soon, I was panting again, leaning on Fable for support. My soul throbbed in my chest, the stars of fate beginning to fade.

”You know a great deal, child,” Elaine said, taking her sword in both hands. ”Should we survive this, I’d be interested in learning more about these mysterious abilities.”

”One step at a time. Just try not to die, alright?”

She smiled, her aura igniting. ”I’d prefer that too. Now, can you hold this state a moment longer? I’d like to land at least one blow before you set us free.”