The Forsaken Hero

Every shadow on the hill seemed to flow together, moving like water and filling an invisible container, forming a towering wraith of darkness. Red eyes appeared in the forming head as Rash’alon stared down at me, glowing with pleasure. He had no facial features, but it was obvious he was grinning. A cruel, malicious, very pleased grin.

I stood shocked still, unaware of the blood still trickling down my arm and side. Time stood still. The whole world seemed swallowed up in those eyes, a gateway to endless darkness and pain. Dread gripped my heart, and fear crept into every fiber of my being. I felt no different than the frightened girl who’d sworn her soul to a demon lord in exchange for the life of her friend. Trapped, helpless, and alone. Willing to give everything for even a whisper of warmth.

”So the slave’s come out of her cage,” he murmured, gliding closer. ”How you’ve grown. I could smell your soul across the continent.”

”Stay away from me,” I stammered, backing up.

He followed me, step for step. The wraith was a good seven, eight feet tall, hovering an inch off the ground. Just being near him made my skin crawl, and my tail curl in fear.

”Did you think you could escape me?” he asked. ”You swore your soul in exchange for another. Did I fail to uphold my end of the bargain? What gives you the right to betray your oath?”

I released mana, no longer concerned with hiding. For a second, my aura soared, a beacon to every demon in a hundred miles, but then it fizzled and abruptly vanished. A dark sphere spread from Rash’alon, enclosing a space a hundred feet across, with him and me in the center.

The constant, chaotic murmur of the internal mark went silent for the first time since I marked Borealis. Even Fable’s bond was cold, a gaping hole in my soul.

”There’s nowhere to run, no allies to call. None but curse demons can enter or leave this barrier. You should feel honored for making me show this card.”

Tears streamed down my face. I couldn’t see anything. I could see Rash’alon, of course, but the mana...was gone. I couldn’t see stars, or gold, or anything! How many months had it been since I’d viewed the world without that golden filter? It was cold and raw, harsh to my eyes.

I tried to cast a spell, but my mana refused to leave my soul. Calling Fable was futile; there was no answer. I tripped over a small bush, scraping my leg and ending up on my knees.

Rash’alon loomed over me. ”Your magic and abilities are sealed here. Even archons are powerless once trapped. No one in this realm can help you.”

”Why? Why do all this? If you want to kill me, then just do it already,” I said.

He chuckled, a grating sound like the crunch of bone. ”Kill you? That would be too easy. I want you to suffer, to know the pain and humiliation you inflicted on me.

”I didn’t do anything,” I whispered. ”I just wanted to be free.”

”You wield powers you can’t possibly comprehend. The ability to touch fate itself isn’t something any mortal should possess, and yet here you stand. Lone and vulnerable. Ripe for the picking.”

He raised his hand toward me, but paused as the barrier suddenly shuddered. A harsh, white light flooded the darkness. Titillations raced across my skin, raising the hair on my neck and causing static to crackle in my hair.

Rash’alon turned up, his eyes narrowing. ”What is this power...? No, it can’t be. You actually–”

Another flash, and the barrier shook again, harder this time. Through the dancing light and shadow, I could make out a slender, winged silhouette hovering over the dome, surrounded by dozens of magic circles. Without the Oracle of Eternity, I couldn’t tell how strong they were, or how much mana they were wielding, but their aura made me shudder even through the isolation barrier.

Hope rose in my breast, hot against the chilling terror. The barrier had seemed unshakable, absolute, yet.

”An avatar? But it’s not...two?” his eyes snapped to me. ”He persuaded two to acknowledge his plan?”

He waved his hand, and several curse demons rose from beyond the barrier, all with auras almost equal to the Rash’alon himself. They streaked into the sky, releasing attacks at Zephyriss. She vanished, moving so quickly I couldn’t follow her, and one of the demons screamed, plummeting from the sky.

”I wished to draw this moment out, but it seems that won’t be possible,” Rash’alon turned back to me. ”You have something I want, and you will give it to me.”

I extended his hand again, and my chest started to burn. I screamed, tearing my dress open and clawing at my chest as black lines traced across my skin, weaving familiar patterns. The warmth of Adaptive Resistance failed, sealed by the barrier, allowing the curse to set in. The pain was excruciating, but I barely felt it past the terror that descended.

”In their arrogance, the Divine created a weapon they believed they were the masters of. A curse so powerful it could extract every drop of mana from what few worlds they have left. Do you know why I consider that foolishness?”

I could do nothing but writhe on the ground, screaming. The pain was growing unbearable, the fear making it impossible to breathe. Every scar I thought I’d healed had been torn open again, from Lord Byron’s lashes on my back to the Soul Binder’s threads in my soul. Rash’alon’s curses found them all, piercing them with ribbons of pain and darkness.

”Once a weapon is made, it can be wielded by anyone. And their folly was to assume they would be capable of using it better than any other. That no one could take their weapon and master it before them. The Heart Crest, they called it, an ironic name chosen by those who certainly have no heart.”

Shackles of mana wrapped around me, lifting me into the air. A cold hand caressed my cheek, brushing tears away.

”But you knew all that, didn’t you. You’re the one who invented this curse, after all. Why do you fight it? Soon, you shall be my puppet, and nothing shall trouble you again. Oh, you’ll scream and beg for death, but you’ll love every second of it. You’ll give the power you so selfishly keep from me. You’ll give me Fate.”

Finally, forced to the brink of everything I held dear, I understood. This wasn’t about petty revenge or a grudge. He was after Fate, or perhaps more accurately, the Divinity I carried.

I had crippled his soul when he descended, attacking his true immortal existence through his avatar, just as I’d done to Gayron’s demon incarnation. For a demon to ascend to become a demon lord, they had to consume a world Shard. But what would happen if a demon as cunning as experienced as Rash’alon’s could consume a divinity? And what if that divinity held the essence of reality itself?

The final runes seared across my chest, sending worms of curse magic burrowing into my soul. They tore through every resistance I had, and once they reached the center, it would be over.

”A new emperor hasn’t risen in over a hundred thousand years. Now, as the Cycle stands on the precise, a new one shall be born, unlike any other. One who possesses powers that have wasted away and been squandered by the Divine since the Cycle’s inception. Rejoice, little slave. You’re suffering in this world hasn’t been in vain. All of Fate, your goddess included, has sheltered you until the moment, preparing you to offer your body and soul for its rebirth.”

”No,” I whispered, ”She didn’t. She didn’t.”

”The Lord of Ash had a similar plan, you know. Haven’t you ever wondered why they never told you of it? How pathetic. Sacrificed by the ones you trusted the most to fix a cycle you didn’t break. And soon, you shall betray your very self to me.”

The curses passed a point they had never reached before, not even with the Soul Crest. My body shook violently, convulsing in Rash’alon’s grip. Blood bubbled up in my throat, choking my screams. Rash’alon stroked my cheek, almost tenderly.

”Surrender to me. Let it go. Give me your soul,” he hissed.

How many times has this offer come to me? How many people had tempted me to surrender to them? Soltair, Lord Byron, Alex. It would be easier to count those that hadn’t. And yet this time, unlike every other time, I didn’t hesitate, nor consider it.

I won’t,” I sobbed. ”As long as a single star burns in the sky, I’ll never surrender to you, or anyone. Fate hasn’t led me anywhere I haven’t chosen to walk. I’ll never surrender to you, or anyone. Not so long as light shines, even if it’s just a single star burning in the sky.”