The Forsaken Hero

The second wave of undead was a tide of corpses, flowing through the forest in a fetid, rotting river. They smashed into our front lines, overwhelming the scions by sheer numbers. Evolved demons rallied to the fray, throwing themselves into battle.

A horde of dozens piled onto a salamander-like evolved demon, breaking their teeth and ripping fingers on its scales. The demon lashed out with four serrated claws, leaving mutilated piles of pulp in its wake. But, eventually, it fell under the tide, buried under the sheer numbers of bodies.

The assault slowed as more demons charged at the new threat. A sixth-level fire demon unleashed a devastating attack that annihilated fifty at once, opening a gap in the Risen ranks that allowed our forces a moment to breathe. A few blade demons led the countercharge, slicing bloated bodies apart with every motion. Scions filled in the gaps, tearing apart anything unlucky enough to survive the evisceration.

”Where are they all coming from?” Elise asked, gripping her skirt tightly.

R’lissea went still. ”They’re all elves.”

I gasped, realizing she was right. Of the hundreds, maybe thousands of Risen pouring from the depths of the forest, every single one of them were elves.

”It seems we need look no further for the city of Echo Hearth,” Fyren said grimly.

I bit my lip, blinking away tears as they gathered. ”I’m sorry,” I whispered, touching R’lissea’s shoulder.

She didn’t react, just continued to stare blankly at the massacre.

”Something’s not right,” Fyren said, frowning deeply. He looked at me. ”The Risen, they’re too organized. What was that thing before? It tried to speak to us.”

”A lich,” I said. ”Connor created them to lead the horde. They’re intelligent, like people, and can use magic.”

”That explains the spell from before. But why is it here? Considering I’ve never seen them before, they must be incredibly difficult for him to make.”

”I...don’t know. I’ve just seen them in visions, and not often,” I admitted. ”But I know they’re almost impossible to kill. If you destroy their body, they’ll just–”

An explosion rocked the forest, and an uneasy calm descended on the demon horde. Inciderus had reached the new front, yet hesitated, keeping the demons from delving too deep in the Risen.

The explosions had come from our right side, reminding me of a fireball, yet with jet black flames. They devoured the forest, spreading like fire and yet wilting the trees instead of burning them. A few demons caught in the blast fell to the ground, their life force rapidly eroding. Not even the gold mist could stop the flow, disintegrating in the same way the Black Mist had before.

I followed the magical residue to another hunched figure, almost identical to the Risen Fyren that had been destroyed before. The other stiffened as I pointed it out to them.

”Reincarnation?” Fyren muttered, ”That’s...new. How do we kill it?”

”We can’t, not unless we destroy something Connor stores in Ornth.” I hesitated, looking at Elise. She was pale. ”At least, he will store them there, once he takes the kingdom.”

”I don’t believe it can reincarnate forever. I’ll hunt it down, the rest of you keep an eye out for anything else this bastard has in store for us,” Fyren ordered.

The few evolved demons near us pulled closer, and Borealis hopped onto my shoulder, casting a vigilant eye around.

Fyren left a small crater behind as he lunged toward the newly reborn lich. The golden mist around him parted the Black Mist, letting his sword land in the corpse’s chest. It screamed as white fire devoured it, reducing it to ash.

”Did you really see all this in a vision?” R’lissea asked, shifting anxiously.

I nodded. ”Some here, some there. Nothing concrete, but enough.”

The Lich appeared on the other side of the battlefield, wiping out a triad of third-level demons with a burst of sixth-level magic. Again, the raw power of its darkness overwhelmed the Blessing of Fate. I responded by expanding the Nexus, pulling as many evolved demons as I could. Our army’s size was vast, numbering over forty thousand, but only a small portion of them were actually in combat. The rest shoved and pushed, but were locked behind our own lines.

But as the battle developed, things began to change. The tide of undead never stemmed, spilling around the fight, taking it to the walls of the chasm and forest beyond. There were very few of the Risen stronger than the third level, but their numbers were endless, forming a shallow concave around us.

”The demons won’t lose, right?” Elise asked nervously.

I shook my head. ”Not like this, but...I’m worried. What Fyren said, something doesn’t feel right. There’s no way a Lich would engage in a battle it couldn’t win without reason.”

”You think it’s plotting something?” R’lissea asked

I started to respond, but paused, tilting my head as a thrill ran through my soul. It wasn’t a warning or a reaction to a powerful aura. Then what...?

Verity!

It took me only a handful of seconds to register the threat and cast Silent Stars, but in my heart, I knew I knew it was too late. A few seconds might as well be an eternity when it came to visions.

R’lissea and Elise both jumped as I released the spell, freezing fate over the battlefield. There was no need for words--they both recognized the magic.

”Verdant Guardian!” R’lissea cried, summoning a sixth-level treant elemental.

Elise cast a spell as well, conjuring a burning sun of pure white light overhead. It proved remarkably effective against the gloom of the undead mana saturating the air, driving the shadows from the forest. My horns itched at being so close to potent Sun Magic, but I ignored them, looking around wildly for any sign of danger.

”Verity?” R’lissea asked as she caught her breath.

I nodded, heart racing. ”She was watching. I’m sorry, it’s been so long since she...I should have--”

”It’s okay, just breathe,” R’lissea said, taking my hand.

I did so, taking a shuddering breath. Two heartbeats passed.

Elise started to relax, and said, ”Maybe they won’t--

Borealis’s screech cut her off. It streaked off my shoulder, leaving little red marks on my skin from where its talons had gripped me. A silver glint of light caught my eye, colliding with him a hundred feet overhead.

The resulting shockwave slammed into me with the force of a sixth-circle spell, quenching the raging fires of Incinderus’s spell and causing my wards to flare up. Elise screamed in surprise, covering her head with her hands, and Fable appeared at our side.

”What was that?” Elise asked, falling against his side.

I squinted up at Borealis, finding his soul in the center of the explosion. He wheeled about, exiting the cloud of light before darting back in, talons streaming a seventh-level technique. A powerful soul--a mortal, living one--rose to meet it, and another series of shockwaves tore through the forest. The mana signature was eerily familiar, taking me back to Black Sand and the touch of cold steel on my throat. My blood ran cold.

”Inquisitor,” I hissed, tail starting to lash.

”Here? Now?” R’lissea gasped.

A figure fell from the sky, tangling with Borealis. The ice demon’s claws flashed, drawing an arc of crimson blood across the sky. A man’s voice shouted in pain, and the figure released a burst of mana, pushing Borealis away. The attack also served to blast the dust and light particles away, giving us a clear view of our attacker.

”Evlon?” I gasped, eyes wide.

The inquisitor landed lightly, a trickle of blood running down his arm from a cut on his shoulder. He frowned at it in displeasure, and a gentle glow enveloped it, closing the wound.

His dark eyes rose to me, a slender smile gracing his face. He looked exactly as I held him in my memories: tall, menacing, and unassailable. His armor shone with wards, his sword gleamed with power, and his eyes overflowed with confidence.

”Eighth-level,” I whispered to Elise and R’lissea. Not that they could have forgotten the inquisitor’s strength, but I didn’t want to chance anything.

”She was right again, it seems,” Lord Evlon said, swishing his blade idly through the air. It left a gleaming ribbon of sunlight behind. ”Despite her misgivings, the Fate Hero is accurate as always.”

”What do you want?” I asked, backing up behind Fable. I waved behind me with my hand, signalling Elise and R’lissea to run. There were no footsteps.

”Hmm? You’ve forgotten already? And here I thought we’d carved it into your throat,” he said.

I shivered, touching my neck. ”To kill me? It’s come to that?”

”I need your staff, slave. If you won’t surrender yourself, you leave me no choice.”

R’lissea stepped forward. I bit my lip, trying to tell her to run with my eyes, but she never stopped glaring at the inquisitor.

”Don’t pretend you don’t want this. You’ve hunted her from the start,” she said.

The inquisitor’s lip curled in displeasure. ”Hero, I won’t waste breath on convincing you when you’ve clearly chosen a side. No, that role belongs to another. If you submit now and surrender, I swear your discomfort will be...fleeting.”

”You’re working with Connor. I’ll never forgive that,” she spat.

He blinked, looking taken aback. ”I wasn’t aware you were capable of such venom. Yet, again, you find yourself misguided. Direct your hatred at him yourself.”

A sudden surge of Black Mist billowed out of the forest, overtaking and infecting an entire swath of weaker demons. A dark-robed figure strode through, a silver scythe held in his hand.

”Hello, R’lissea,” Connor said, stopping beside Lord Evlon. ”It’s been a while since our last fight. Looking to try again?”