The Forsaken Hero

My blood ran cold, a thick, heavy weight gripping my heart, but I fought the urge to flee the vision. If it were only Luke, I would have left without looking back, and probably cried myself to sleep again, but tears would have to wait. The reason for that was the massive demon gate hovering over the chasm.

It was a deep, inky black so dark it seemed to absorb the light of the morning sun. It must have been close to a thousand feet tall, bigger than any gate save the one my staff had summoned above High Valley. The currents of mana swirling across its surface were thick as trees, emitting the pressure of an eighth-level soul. The oily miasma could only ever come from one attribute. This was a curse gate.

Beyond the curse gate, I could make out other gates dotting the horizon. Each was a beacon of its attribute, releasing plumes of mana into the sky. There was a fire gate, an ice gate, and another curse gate, none weaker than sixth. There were half a dozen more, but they were too far for me to discern their attributes.

The curse gate hovered at the lip of the cliff, its center directly before Luke. Behind him, ten thousand demons–the remnants of the army we had taken from Brithlite to the Empire, had assembled. The scions were skittish, yet none fought or wandered off. Their gazes were locked on the gate. The evolved demons were more composed. It was difficult to read many of the monstrous demon types, but the humanoid ones looked nervous.

After a few tense seconds, Jessia emerged from the tent, standing by Luke. She folded her arms, shifting her weight onto one hip.

”What’s taking so long?” she asked.

Luke glanced at her, frowning. ”Ask them yourself, if you’re so curious.”

She pouted. ”You’re no fun anymore.”

”Fun? We’re here for blood and vengeance, Jessia. This is the last stage of the Descent. Can’t you be a little more serious?”

”Is that what’s on your mind?” She leaned closer, peering at him with a small smirk. ”Not, say, a kitten perhaps? With lustrous red hair and a tail that never stops twitching?”

”No.”

”Are you sure?” she whispered, circling around him, hand brushing his cheek.

Luke stiffened at her touch, his tail stirring, but remained fixed on the gate. Jessia frowned, losing the flirtatious edge.

”I still think you’re no fun,” she muttered. Then, with one of the most sincere looks I’d ever seen, she whispered. ”Secrets aren’t any fun if they’re built on lies, Luke. Anyone can hide something by lying about it. True art is hiding it when you’re telling the truth.”

”I don’t care about her!”

His outburst was accompanied by a wave of aura, shoving Jessia back a step. She teetered dramatically, making a show of recovering her balance. The other demons weren’t so lucky, sprawling dozens of feet away. Jessia dusted herself off, glaring at him.

”Careful! One might think there’s a reason behind that passion,” Jessia said. ”Besides, I thought all your anger was saved for the church.”

”I’m not angry. Just...frustrated. Now leave me be. I can’t afford to be distracted right now. Rash’alon is a difficult opponent even without your tricks.”

Jessia pursed her lips. ”The demon lord himself is coming first? No wonder you’re so tense.”

”Former demon lord,” Luke muttered. ”And yes, there’s much that can go wrong. None of the curse demons the other apostles gathered accepted their mark. He’s obviously plotting something.”

”I wonder if she knows. Such a shame you hate her. You might have made use of her still,” Jessia said.

”Never again,” Luke said. ”She’s not a tool. I can’t...I can’t hurt her like that again.”

”I say you’ve hurt her pretty bad already. You might find it interesting to know she spent a week straight sobbing, refusing to eat or leave her bed. You really meant something to her.”

Luke’s eye twitched, but he took a deep breath, maintaining his composure. ”You spoke with that damned Life Hero, didn’t you.”

She pulled closer, speaking in mock outrage. ”I would never! I hear whispers all over the world, much less in a simple slave girl’s bedroom.”

”Stop trying to get a rise out of me. It won’t work. I have nothing to do with her anymore. Spy on her all you wish.”

Before she could respond, a powerful shockwave erupted from the gate, hushing the horde of demons. Luke’s grip on his sword tightened, the bare blade resting on the ground on its tip. Jessia leaned in, lips a whisper from his ear. Luke shivered.

”Good luck. I pray demons aren’t half as perceptive as I am.”

Jessia vanished in a puff of shadows, leaving a smirk hanging in the air.

The gate’s simmering mana within the gate started to swirl, turning into a vortex. The gate itself remained two-dimensional, yet the whirlpool held depth, seeming to extend back a hundred feet. Dark silhouettes appeared in the already inky blackness, tall and twisted like dead trees. A clawed foot emerged, followed by a humanoid shape the size of a house.

The demon was tall and slender, made entirely of living shadows. Darkness gathered around it like a cloak. The only visible feature was two burning red eyes. Their malevolence swept over the horde, settling on Luke. The apostle stood defiant, hands resting on the pommel of his sword.

”Welcome, Lord Rash’alon,” Luke said strongly, no hint of the hesitation he showed Jessia. ”I welcome you to the realm of Enusia.”

The curse demon’s eyes flashed with hatred, a deep voice resonating from somewhere within its form.

”Greetings, apostle.” He drew out the word like a snake. ”I, Rash’alon, accept your efforts. So begins the descent.”

My blood froze, shudders running down my spine. The demon’s voice was familiar to me. It had echoed in my nightmares time and time again, always forcing me awake in tears. It was the voice that spoke to me when Elise had died, offering me the power to save her. It was the voice that had claimed my soul as his. The voice of the demon who destroyed Western University.

More demons emerged from the gate, all as dreadful as the first. Rash’alon’s gaze flitted over Luke’s shoulder, fixing on my position. My heart stopped as the beady read eyes narrowed. He had no lips, but every instinct told me he wore a predatory grin.

”I’m coming, oracle,” his voice echoed in my mind.

I screamed, tearing out of the vision. My heart thudded painfully, my lungs burned, and my dress was sticky with sweat. Fable was already awake, his head pressed against mine. I hugged his neck, burying my face in his fur and sobbing.

”He saw me! He saw me!” I cried, trembling uncontrollably.

This hadn’t been my only vision of following the descent, but it was the first of its kind. Not even in my worst nightmares had I considered that Rash’alon would be the demon lord of Western University. Never mind how he hurt Elise; he had taken my soul and obliterated the city. That was when everything had truly gone wrong. It had condemned me first to the inquisitors, then to Lord Byron. He was the reason my soul had shattered. If it hadn’t, they never would have been able to create the soul crest, and then the heart crest.

But...was it really his fault? Had I not accepted his offer?

No, it didn’t matter. My fault or his, what was done was done. All I could do now was cry. Fyren’s words echoed in my mind. All the hurt that had befallen me in the ashes of that choice wasn’t enough for the demon lord. He had come to finish the job.

My terror mixed with the hollow darkness I felt at hearing Luke reaffirm his rejection. I couldn’t face this alone, so I turned to the only place I could for warmth, hugging the various bonds in my soul. Fable was there already, nuzzling my cheek in an effort to get me to stop crying. I couldn’t bear to face those in Haven yet, but I drew on the bond anyway. The infernal mark was also there, comforting in the same way as holding my staff was. A weapon at the ready.

”Please,” I whispered, drawing deeply on the bonds. ”Don’t leave me. Please. Don’t leave me.”

A pulse of mana escaped my soul, slipping into the infernal mark. I didn’t know who or what I was reaching for, but I found it. A jolt of cold stabbed into my soul. I gasped, breath fogging against Fable’s fur. I saw through a demon’s eyes, a landscape far below. The sun was low on the horizon, the land covered in black mist.

”Come back,” I whispered, ”Please, I need you.”

A resounding screech filled my mind, and the great demon bird wheeled around, heading toward the setting sun. At the same time, thousands of infernal voices echoed in my mind, sharing thoughts and impressions more than words. The jumbled sounds and sights were overwhelming, but every mind shared one sentiment.

I took a deep breath, severing the connection. I hugged Fable tighter, drying the last of my tears and calming my heart. This time, unlike in the abandoned city, they answered my call. This time, for sure, I wouldn’t be alone.