The Forsaken Hero

More waiting. More questions. No answers. Nothing I was used to, but...by fate, it was getting old.

But it wasn’t as if I had nothing to go on. Zephyriss and Incinderus had descended in Haven with their true form, and judging by their souls, I could confirm the rumor that demon lords possessed the strength of arbiters. Measuring exactly how much mana they had was...difficult, but that was to be expected. Only mortal realms used the level system. Trying to measure immortals by their visible strength was pointless.

Beyond that, I could only take what hints the others had given me literally. The Devoted were now bound to Haven in the same way other demons were bound to the infernal realms. Fire demons lived in fire realms. Ice in the ice realms. How would they change now that they were all in a realm saturated with Fate mana? Would it accelerate their assimilation? Or transform it altogether?

Three days was how long I was forced to wait before my mana recovered. Three long, agonizing days of nothingness. Elise was gone, R’lissea was busy studying with Selena, and Haven was closed to me. I couldn’t even practice any magic, for that would only force me to wait that much longer. All I could do was wander the gardens, nap with Fable, or read my ninth-level tome.

But at last I awoke with my soul brimming with mana. Scarcely had the maids finished my hair than I summoned my staff and leaped into Haven.

The realm had changed. I felt it the moment the cool, astral breeze ghosted across my face. The air was...moist. The scent of rain tickled my nostrils, and as the golden swirl of the gate retreated, I opened my eyes, peering about in confusion.

The entrance island had transformed, expanding in size. A small, crescent-shaped hill ran the perimeter of most of the island, leaving a small, circular valley with a single natural exit in the middle. Instead of soft grass, the gate hovered over a raised stone dais, its back against the sheer cliffs of the mountain. Small waterfalls cascaded on either side of the gate, throwing shimmering mist across the stonework. The twin rivers, barely a pace across, coiled around the valley, crystal clear and ankle-deep. The beds were lined with smooth, colorful stones translucent like glass and glowing with inner light.

”Welcome back, my Lady,” Haven said, appearing before me.

”It’s...beautiful,” I whispered, my eyes wide as I looked around. ”But why? What happened to the other island?”

”With how the realm has grown, such a small and simple entrance island was no longer adequate. Is this not to your taste?”

”No, no, I love it,” I reassured him quickly. ”But where is it? Is it far from the others?”

”Not at all, but you may see for yourself.”

He gestured with his hand for me to follow him, leading me across the island to the narrow neck between the mountain ridges. As we stepped onto the floating stone path waiting beyond, I gasped, staring about in awe. The entire layout of the realm had changed, building upon the arrangement of Starfall Keep.

Now, that island keep was nowhere to be seen, moved far off in the starlit mists that obscured the horizon. In its place was the city. But it no longer occupied a single massive island, but dozens more, spreading across the skies. They drifted all over, but at its center was an island containing the Citadel, the heart of the city.

Hundreds of smaller islands, with small features, gardens, or facilities, dotted the realm around it, connected by floating bridges like before. They extended into the distance, vanishing into the mists. I could just make out what appeared to be the colosseum in the distance, but none of the other major facilities I’d grown familiar with were in sight.

”How much has this realm grown?” I whispered, clasping a hand to my chest. No matter how endless the realm was, how far the stars or deep the mists, I never felt small or lost within the realm. But now, what I had felt upon first entering the realm became apparent. Haven was no longer a small, private sanctuary. It was vast and open as the night sky, a true realm of its own.

”Haven’s depths have never been stable,” the spirit reminded me. ”When you first formed this realm, your soul was only large enough to manifest a few of the countless oddities of the original realm. I prioritized and crammed as many important features as I could within that limited space. Now that your soul is approaching ninth-level, there is so much more room to work with, allowing us the space to work with the forces you’ve brought into the realm.”

”But, if it can change this much between the seventh and eighth level, then what if I break into the ninth?” I asked, my hand curling into a fist. ”Is it going to change again? Will I even recognize it as Haven?”

”It will, inevitably, but not as much as now. I finally succeeded in manifesting the original framework of Fate’s divine realm. It was never meant to be traveled across on foot or seen from one peak. No matter how much things change, now that the foundation is laid, it will forever be familiar to you.”

”I’m not sure I understand.”

”You will once you see it. Go, your Lady awaits.”

Haven vanished, leaving me alone once more. The island suddenly felt much more lonelier, the burbling of the rivers as they cascaded over the edge on either side of the skybridge not quite so comforting. I shivered, hugging my arms, and wishing I’d worn a cloak so that I could draw it tighter around myself. It was still Haven, and yet not. Was this how everyone else saw it when they first entered? New and unknown, maybe even dangerous?

Change had been coming. I’d felt it for a while now: the inner reaches of the realm too cramped, and the outer too distant. Just walking to the outer reaches could take hours, and with the addition of the demons and Fatesworn, too crowded.

”Why do things always have to change?” I muttered, starting down the path toward the city.

It was much closer now, only a few paths and small, almost decorative, islands away. The city wall was gone, and now that it was spread across different islands, it felt even more open and empty than before. A few remnants drifted across my path, but none gave me more than a friendly nod. More surprising was that I saw a few demons flying through the islands in the distance, seeming totally at home in the starlit skies.

”Welcome, my Lady,” Gathrin said as I approached the last bridge leading to the Citadel housing Fate’s cathedral.

”At least you’re still here,” I said, sighing in relief as I reached him.

”Fret not, child. To you, things are different, but to us, it’s like returning home. Warmer, actually. The stars were never so bright and cheerful in the kingdom before, nor the inhabitants so friendly. Your mark upon Haven is true and clear, even more than what remains of the old divine realm.”

”I suppose that’s something,” I said, letting a small smile show.

We exchanged a few more words, and Gathrin escorted me the remaining distance until I entered the courtyards of the cathedral. I left him with a small curtsey, hurrying inside, the butterflies in my stomach returning.

We exchanged a few more words, and Gathrin escorted me the remaining distance until I entered the courtyards of the cathedral. I left him with a small curtsey, hurrying inside, the butterflies in my stomach returning. Within, I sensed Fyren’s aura, mingled with Arantius’s.

”You’re here,” Fyren said, nodding as I reached the main chapel. ”We weren’t expecting you for another day.”

He was in his human form, standing just a few feet from Arantius, the two of them studying the shard.

”Where’s Fate?” I asked, looking around, a tremor in my voice.

”I’m here.”

The goddess’s voice came behind me, and I whirled, letting out a squeak. She smiled in amusement, embracing me from behind. I squirmed in her arms, turning about to hug her properly.

”What were you doing? You never leave the chapel,” I asked.

She chuckled, ruffling my hair, to my annoyance. ”Merely speaking with the leaders of the Fatesworn. They had questions regarding the inter-realm gates.

”You mean Bethiv?”

”And the demons.”

I gasped, covering my mouth. ”Demons? In the Fatesworn?”

”Incinderus and Bethiv wanted to inform you in person,” Fyren said with a hard look at Fate. ”But I suppose there’s no use putting it off. As of right now, the Devoted are no more. Like your mortal allies, they will defend and uphold this realm and the one who sustains it. They are Fatesworn.”

I stared at him, then at Fate, then back again, my mind churning. A thousand questions, each more pressing than the last. But one made it to the top, slipping out before I could stop it.

”Can you even do that?”