The Forsaken Hero

”You wish to fight me alone?” Connor seemed offended by R’lissea, his eyes narrowing. ”After feeling this? My power?”

He emphasized his words by bringing the haft of his scythe onto the ground. A sharp crack rang out as the decaying stones of the throne room floor cracked. A wave of mana swept out, a tangible wave that broke against my wards with the force of a seventh-circle spell. R’lisesa flinched, her wards flickering a good deal more than mine.

But she was undaunted, taking a step against the winds. ”Life is more than healing. It’s more than sunshine and growth. It’s more than the journey, for there can be no life without death. Even the gods and emperors have an end when they fall from their peerless heights. Life, and death, and then life again. New and exciting. But you’ve tainted all that with the Black Mist. With your own selfishness.”

”We’re all selfish, in our own way. We all act in our best interest. Even if you’re helping people, you only do it because you think it makes you feel good. Whatever that means,” Connor snorted.

”You’ve broken a precious cycle,” R’lisesa said, taking her staff in both hands. ”It’s my duty as the life hero to restore it, and to make sure it can never happen again. That no one gets trapped in the hell between life and death, tormented in the shambling corpse of a Risen.”

”Is that what you think?” Connor’s lip curled. ”It so happens that you’re right. But what can you do about it? The Risen are mine to command.”

He waved his scythe, and dozens of Risen coalesced from the black mist, forming a small army of corpses. They were mages and knights, elves and humans. They wore the tattered colors of Ornth and Sylbarus, and a dozen others I didn’t recognize from the other southern kingdoms.

R’lissea’s staff came up, and the emerald at its tip lit up. The remnant life mana I’d woven into my aura resonated, streaming toward her. It ascended in a vast spiral, funneling into the magic circles she’d laid earlier.

”Primal Guardian!” she cried.

The castle shook to its roots, vibrations buzzing beneath my feet. I shifted uncertainly, gripping Luke subconsciously as cracks spiderwebbed across the floor and up the walls. A deep, bone-chilling thrum shook the room. Dust rained from the ceiling as it stilled, only for the noise to repeat a second later. And again, and again. Like a heartbeat pulsing deep within the earth.

”The hell is this?” Korra asked, turning around with wide eyes. Her gaze landed on us, and she gasped, grabbing Gayron’s hand. The two ran toward us as R’lissea rose into the air, borne up by the surging power of her magic.

”We have to get out of here,” I whispered hoarsely.

Luke didn’t question me, scooping me and kicking off the ground, the others hot on our heels. He burst through the ceiling, taking us a hundred feet in the sky. The Star Guard noticed our escape and rose to follow us, leaving the Risen behind.

My soul thrummed as Luke slowed, and I urged him higher. Only when we were far from the castle did I allow him to slow, turning around with a tentative gaze.

The entire castle, its courtyard, cathedral, and fortifications rose and fell with the rhythm of the city’s heart. The masonry crumbled, the towers collapsing. A pulse of life magic erupted from the center of the structure, R’lissea’s spell resolving. Thick vines, some the girth of the towers themselves, burst from the ground, gray and ashen with rot. They spread throughout the castle, smashing through Risen and wrapping around walls, towers, and the central keep. With the roar of rending stone and the groan of the foundations, the entire castle rose into the air, torn apart and mashed together by the roots. As clouds of billowing dust and ash cascaded from the hulking mass, it began to take on form.

”By the Emperors,” Luke whispered. ”Is that an elemental?”

I nodded, my mouth too dry to speak.

The hulking creature rose, towering some five feet tall, dwarfing in mass even the Risen dragon. The ramparts and towers had taken to its body well, forming armor of sorts, with the vines, earth, and walls making up its bulk.

A small, green dot zipped into the air, alighting on its misshapen head. R’lisesa, wearing her wings of light, her staff held in one hand. The Black Mist gathered across the city from her, and Connor rose, stepping up on a wall. His hordes massed beneath him, numbering thousands, perhaps tens of thousands.

”He’s taken everything,” Luke said, nodding at the horizon.

I followed his gaze, squinting in the light of the Effulgent Dawn. The battle on the plains had ended, my demons making use of the limited power granted by Celestial Grace to scour the Risen away. What had survived now gathered around Connor, marshalled in chaotic ranks.

”We should call in an airstrike,” Korra muttered, folding her arms. ”That would show him.”

”Let’s give R’lisesa a chance,” I said, looking at Fyren.

He nodded. ”The Life Hero has only just begun. To win her battle for her would tarnish the victory.”

”Since when were you so sentimental?” Gayron asked.

Fyren ignored him, folding his clawed hands across his chest. I gave him an odd look, wondering much the same thing as Gayron, and got the same response.

”That’s the spell Selena cast against the Arbiter, isn’t it?” Korra asked.

”I think so. Primal Guardian. But I don’t understand. It should be weaker than hers, cast under the influence of the Black Mist instead of the Arboreal World, but it’s not. It almost feels stronger.”

”That would be your fault,” Fyren said. ”Your aura is saturated with Life Magic right now. Given how intimately familiar she is with your soul, I suspect you drew on it subconsciously, perhaps even instinctively.”

”But...she doesn’t have my mark,” I protested. It was the same with theLast Light Company. Had I messed up my array somehow? Was there a mana leak I hadn’t noticed yet? If so, the consequences, once fully realized, might be catastrophic.

But the answer would remain hidden for the time being. The massive elemental took its first step, crushing an entire garrison beneath its foot. The next step leveled a market, and then a small neighborhood of a dozen or so houses. Every step shook the earth, the mountain peaks themselves trembling against the horizon. I had no words for such power, watching with wide eyes as it picked up speed, charging at Connor.

Connor waved his scythe, and the Risen rose to meet it. They swarmed over its legs like ants, digging into the stone and roots with gritty nails, weapons, and foul magic. But none of it had any effect. Life magic pulsed in place of blood, closing gaps, mending roots, and stealing more of the city to replace lost mass. In just a few seconds, it lunged forward, obliterating several mansions, and brought its fists down on the city wall where Connor stood.

The Undead Hero jumped to meet it, slashing upward with his scythe. He vanished beneath its tremendous bulk. The impact split the city in half, opening a chasm. Buildings, markets, and manor grounds were swallowed into the darkness, along with thousands of Risen. The resulting shockwave reached the plains, knocking soldiers and demons to the ground. My wards flared gold as the wave reached us, followed by more aftershocks that rattled my insides.

”Damn,” Korra muttered, shielding her face with her forearm. ”Why didn’t she start with that?”

But before we could relax, the elemental suddenly reeled, staggering back a few steps. A terrible groan scratched my ears as dark energy tore through its forearm, bisecting it from fist to joint. Dark energy erupted in the rift, overpowering R’lissea’s aura. The stone crumbled,d and the roots withered, creeping up its arm until the whole thing collapsed under its own weight.

A black mote shot out of the dust clouds, aiming for the elemental’s chest. Connor, with his blade raised high, gathered enough mana for an eighth-level spell on his scythe.

But R’lissea was just as quick, conjuring a wall of protection magic before him. His attack obliterated it, but stalled his momentum.

The elemental’s good arm came crashing down, catching him at the apex of his leap. Connor flew like a fly struck by a horse’s tail, careening into the ground with enough force to crater. R’lisesa waved her staff, and thorny roots burst out of the ground around him, lashing at his limbs. They withered as they touched him, but as he ripped free, the elemental leaped, bringing its foot down atop him, only for Connor to cut his way out.

The fight raged across the entire city until barely a building remained standing. There was no way to predict who had the upper hand, who was coming out on top. Connor seemed to have an endless supply of Black Mist, but no way to deal any meaningful damage to the Guardian. But while he hacked and blasted, R’lissea’s spells grew sharper and cleaner.

”Is she...practicing?” Luke asked.

I nodded, watching as she barely missed another series of thorny vines. ”Connor’s fought his whole life with this style, but R’lissea...this is only her third time in actual battle. Her third time really fighting with life magic.”

”She’s going to win!” Korra said, a smile creeping onto her face. ”She’s actually going to kill that bastard.”