The Forsaken Hero

”Hmm? Oh, probably.” She offered me a playful smile. ”I was just planning on walking through the woods a bit. Being the Life Hero, you know? ”

”But the demons–”

She waved me away. ”I’ll be fine. They all bear your mark, right?”

”Yes, but...”

I trailed off, not quite sure how to verbalize what I felt. R’lissea had never wandered off on her own. She’d even gone through the trouble of getting dressed. Was she planning to leave us?

Something flickered through her eyes, but the starlight was too dim for me to read her expression. Her face noticeably softened, however, and she let out a small sigh. She came back up a few steps.

”Xiviyah, sometimes, you can’t walk another path without leaving the one you’re on. That’s what makes secrets, betrayal, and mysteries so interesting. They convince us we, or maybe someone else, are on a different path than we thought. It’s kind of exciting, isn’t it?”

”Maybe scary,” I said.

She smiled faintly. ”Yes, that too. But it’s important to remember that not every path deserves to be walked. Sometimes, the path you’re on will take you the farthest. Be careful not to lose the things you do have to something you might.”

For some reason, she looked relieved after saying that. I nodded wordlessly, torn between looking at her and the stars above. Stars, paths...they were all the same. You couldn’t have one except you sacrificed the rest. There was only one present, one fate.

Was she telling me to forget about Luke? To move on from the yearnings of warmth and light? Maybe it was a warning that if I kept looking for a connection I could never have, the ones I’d already connected with might slip away.

The words were so cryptic, so different from how she normally communicated. Why couldn’t she have been as straightforward as she was in the tent about Fable?

R’lissea’s voice came from down the hill, at the edge of the forest. ”One more thing, Xiviyah. Sometimes, as infuriating as it is, people don’t tell the truth. Sometimes they lie about the things that matter most to them. And sometimes, it hurts when it’s not supposed to. All you can do is move forward and trust that one day the darkness will come to light, the cold to warmth, and the secrets to truth.”

A chill ran down my spine. I tore my eyes from the heavens, but R’lissea had already vanished into the woods. There was no sign of her, not even a wisp of mana. For some reason, she’d kept it tightly bottled in her soul.

”Move forward?” I whispered, leaning back against Fable.

Maybe...maybe things were alright now. I was cold and lonely, but she was right. I had her, Elise, and Fyren. Korra was out there, somewhere, too.

Had I really been looking for a different path when I’d finally reached a good one? I doubted I’d ever feel something like I had for Luke, but I couldn’t let myself get lost in the dark, looking for the light that was already in front of me.

I spent a long time looking at the stars, thinking about R’lissea’s words. When I couldn’t think any longer, exhaustion drove me back to the tent. I cast a longing look at Fable, but he pretended to ignore me, nudging me in by myself. It was strangely easy for me to fall asleep again.

The next day, Incinderus held a small war council. It was little more than an informal meeting between the two demon lords, Fyren, and us mortals. In it, I finally revealed my plan to save the elvish shards.

”You’re insane,” Incinderus muttered. ”In all my eons, not once has a Shard been spared. It’s sacrificing a seventh or eighth-level combatant. As I’m sure you noticed, that kind of power is something we demons sorely need in the mortal realms.”

Fyren rubbed his chin. ”I’m in favor of it.”

”What?” Incinderus asked.

”Yeah, me too,” Zephyriss said nonchalantly.

”Surely you jest.”

The storm demon shrugged. ”Why not? Doesn’t it sound interesting?”

Fyren chuckled, rubbing his chin. ”We came here because we’ve proven salvation cannot come from demon minds or hands. If we wish things to end differently, this time, we must do things differently to begin with.”

”Rash’alon would never agree to this. He’s desperate to regain his fallen status as quickly as possible.”

”Rash’alon might not lead the horde,” Zephyriss pointed out.

Incinderus snorted. ”You think that whelp could do it? From what the Oracle said, he isn’t the most reliable.”

”I never said that,” I protested. ”he’s just...well, he’s strong, but...”

”You worry about him? After everything he did and said?” Fyren asked, raising an eyebrow.

I blushed, staring at the ground. ”That’s, um, not the point. I’ve seen the two fight several times, in several places, and the curse demon is too strong.”

Incinderus folded his arms. ”Naturally. Even if their power was equal, a demon lives and breaths their mana. A whelp not even twenty years of age can’t match their experience or cunning.”

”We can’t let him die,” I said.

R’lissea put a hand on my shoulder. ”No one said that. It’s just...the elves and their shards come first.”

”You want to let that monster kill Luke, then fight his horde to protect the elves?” I asked in disbelief.

She wilted a bit. ”N-no, I’m just saying–”

”We will if we have to,” Fyren said. ”But if you want to save the boy, we just have to tip the scales.”

Incinderus said, ”Demons fight for the right of marking the horde in single combat, assisted only by their closest guards and advisors. If they were to just throw their armies at each other, there wouldn’t be any demons left to command.”

”He should be fine. The other Apostles will protect him, right?” I asked.

Fyren wore a dark look. ”Assuming they side with him. But, if we manage to catch up, I, Incinderus, and Zephyriss can step in if need be. I highly doubt he’ll have rallied enough to even slow us.”

”You would do that?” I asked, tail anxiously twitching.

Fyren smiled. ”I told you my oath was real, didn’t I?”

Tears came to my eyes. Ignoring the stares of the others, I threw my arms around him, burying my face in his chest.

”Thank you,” I sniffed. ”I...I was so worried.”

I didn’t know if I was more anxious about Luke or the genuineness of Fyren’s friendship, but his promise put both fears at ease.

Fyren coughed uncomfortably, patting my back before gently guiding me away. ”In any case, we ought to strike out now. There’s scarcely a week before the descent, and they have a long lead on us.”

”We should be able to catch them on the Arboreal Plains,” R’lissea said.

”What are those?” I asked.

”The stretch of unclaimed land between the Empire and Sylvarus. It’s almost as wide as the elves’ forest is, but there’s nothing but a few scattered farming communities. I think Jaedon is the biggest town, and it’s only like that because it’s the only place to stop and water merchant caravans on the plains,” she explained.

”You know a lot about this region,” Elise said.

R’lissea smiled shyly. ”I spent a lot of time in Sylvarus, about sixth months, I think. It’s where I trained before we were sent out.”

”Do you have any idea where the Curse Horde is right now?” Incinderus asked.

”I could fly around, stretch my wings for a bit,” Zephyriss said.

”No, let me find them. Please,” I said, taking a deep breath. ”Just give me some time.”

”Then we’ll head in the direction of the elves for now. Let us know when to correct course, ” the demon lord said.

There was little more to say, and within the hour, we were on the move. I, myself, and R’lissea rode Fable, who was just big enough to carry us comfortably without returning to his true form. The rest of the demons tramped all around us, shaking the ground with their combined weight.

Their numbers exceeded forty thousand, spread across the world like a colorful carpet. Wisps of fire, lightning, frost, and miscellaneous attributes leaked in all directions, leaving a polluted scar in our wake. Any animal unfortunate enough to be caught nearby was driven mad almost immediately, their minds and bodies twisted into monsters by the infernal mana.

As the sun reached its noon zenith, I relaxed amid the clamor, my tail no longer twisting in agitation. I started to share the happenings of Incinderus’s gate again. R’lissea had already heard it last night, but I made sure to include everything again for Elise.

”So you can summon a remnant? Makes me a little jealous. I wonder what my Divine Artifacts abilities are,” R’lissea said.

I gave her an odd look. I’d expected the question from Elise, not R’lissea. This was her second time hearing it, after all, and she hadn’t really cared about that part the first time.

Not that it mattered, I was excited to share about it all the same. I’d learned a lot from using it, and now had an idea of what exactly my staff could