The Forsaken Hero

Incinderus arrived just minutes after me, flying from over the mountains in a blaze of fire. He landed just outside the circle of demons and soldiers. They respectfully cleared a path for the hulking demon lord, letting him approach.

”So, you’ve returned. Are you prepared?” he asked in a low, gravely voice.

I swallowed hard, turning from the bear demon, my hand dragging through its fur.

”I-I am,” I stammered, my tail swishing nervously. The Fire Demon remained relaxed, but I took an unconscious step back. Not that I was scared of him, but compared to Zephyriss...he was intimidating. She might be more volatile, but her capriciousness came off as playful. The fire demon lord was stern and unyielding. Though literally wreathed in flames, he felt cold, always calculating.

”Then shall we begin?” he asked, extending his claw toward me.

I retreated a nother step, casting an anxious look around. ”Not here?”

He paused, weighing me. ”You’re worried about your aura?”

I nodded, and he considered that.

”Very well. Haven, would you take us to the Heart?”

The realm twisted, reforming with the two of us at the Heart of Haven. The spirit hadn’t even bothered to materialize.

Even with just the two of us, the island was small, cramped even. But as I took a steadying step, my breathing slowed, and the tightness in my chest eased. A gentle light emanated from the shrine, warm and comforting.

Gathering myself, I stood as tall as my slender stature allowed, reaching my hand toward the demon lord. I was barely the height of his knees, but he moved a claw close, letting me touch the tip. It burned to the touch, but I pressed my hand to it, and the sensation soon passed.

”Brace yourself,” Incinderus said. ”Attunement will be no easier than with Zephyriss.”

”I know,” I muttered, gritting my teeth. Why did he think I’d been avoiding Haven for so long?

But I took a deep breath, letting the irritation pass. There was no sense in letting fear speak.

”I’m ready,” I said, opening my other hand. The Final Star appeared, but even as the stars coalesced, it released a pulse of mana. It struck me like a bucket of cold water, and I gasped, shuddering as it flowed through me into Incinderus. Within my breast, the Primordial Mark lit up, resonating with the demon’s soul.

My consciousness shattered, and with it, the vistas of Haven. The world was filled with fire and ash, perceived only through vague sensations of touch and a strange sense I couldn’t quite describe. The closest I had experienced was detecting other souls with my own, but it was purely physical. An awareness of the environment around me.

And that environment was hell. Literally. An infernal realm of fire, ash, and volcanic rock. Scions crawled through flowing rivers of lava, drifting on rising pillars of superheated air over thermal vents, or crawled through the ground beneath my...feet? No, not feet.

The memories were unclear, even less intelligible than when Zephyriss had brought me through her existence as a Scion. Fortunately, it didn’t last long, and the memories carried me onto the first mortal world, and then the second. Soon, it became clear that Incinderus had begun as some sort of worm or snake demon. It took him...us...hundreds of invasions to finally reach the fourth level, growing with every kill, until he’d reached fifty feet in length.

The chance for evolution came in a world most unsuited for his kind. A planet of oceans, covered in sprawling seas with little land to conquer. The inhabitants were largely elf-like humanoids, but with gills and webbed fingers. They launched an attack against the horde’s strongholds on one of the small continents, and Incinduerse managed to claim a sixth-level mage that had been slain by the demon lord’s avatar holding his mark. His evolution was swift and violent, assimilating the humanoid’s form and inheriting its affinity for magic.

There was no path for magehood among demons. Barely a fraction of them ever bothered learning spells, much less teaching. But Incinderus struggled for countless more worlds, targeting mages with a lust and focus Zephyriss had never known. Not just for their souls, or to gain their favored attributes, but to seize their knowledge, tomes, and spellbooks. The passion and gnawing hunger of a demon, channeled into a singular purpose that took him far above the rest of his horde, to the heights of the ninth level. When he finally challenged his emperor’s avatar for the mana of a world shard, the battle ended in a single spell, one he’d spent an entire century crafting for that single purpose.

Our souls broke apart, and I fell to my knees, gasping for breath. My head pounded, overwhelmed with thousands of memories from a mind I still couldn’t fully comprehend. The Primordial Mark burned within my chest like a live ember, and I curled up in a ball, tears seeping from my eyes, squeezed tightly shut.

Slowly, the intensity of memories faded, and with it, the mark cooled in my soul. Dozens of spells, mastered in a life I never lived, began to muddle. I clung to them, desperate to hold on. Not because of my own love of magic, but because somewhere, deep inside, Incinderus’s resolve was still rooted. He had fought and died countless times for those. They were the core of his progression, the heart of his being. Even if our souls were disentangling, and I had some idea our experiences were separate, I couldn’t let them go. They were a part of me now, as much as the yearning for the wind in my hair, or the open skies before me.

”Marvelous.” Incinderous breathed.

I looked up, my vision blurred with half-shed tears. The demon stood tall, staring down at his clawed hands, his fingers curled. His body, cracked with molten red, now held a distinct golden glow. The charred black color of his scales was flecked with flickering motes, like stars in a faraway sky. The occasional star joined the sparks drifting from the molten cracks in his armor.

”Is it done?” I asked weakly.

”Zephyriss was right, it is a strange feeling,” he murmured, closing his hands into fists. The grate of his claws on his palms sent a shudder down my spine.

”Incinderus?” I asked, gripping my skirt in my lap.

He blinked and lowered his head, beholding my trembling form. ”Yes, child, it is finished. I’ve fully attuned with this realm.”

”Thank fate,” I breathed, sagging. ”You and Zephyriss can handle the rest, can’t you? I don’t ever want to do that again.”

”I find myself agreeing with you,” he said softly. He crouched down, the grass igniting as he peered at me, an unfamiliar light in his eyes.

My heart dropped. ”Did you...Did you see?”

”Winter.” He rolled the word around in his mouth and shuddered.

”I...I don’t like it,” I mumbled, staring at the ground.

”How fortunate for my existence as a fire demon. Never again do I want to experience this...cold.”

He offered me the tip of his claw, and I took it, letting him lift me to my feet. He misjudged my height, and I let out a squeak as my feet dangled, a foot above the ground. A low chuckle rumbled in his throat as he shook me loose, letting me fall to the ground.

”Haven, return us to the Keep,” he said.

Again, Haven listened, and we teleported to Starfall Keep. The courtyard bustled, growing crowded in our absence. Bethiv was there, with his officers, as were Korra and Gayron. The other prominent demons of the horde were present, along with several remnants.

”You did it!” Zephyriss said, spinning lazily as she drifted to the ground.

”Good work,” Fyren said, nodding.

Korra ran to me, holding me up with an arm around my back. She glared at them all. ”Do we really need to do this now? Look at her! She can barely stand.”

”Do what?” I asked, leaning my head against her shoulder, suppressing a yawn.

”Finish the attunement. Though Zephyriss and I will act as a medium, you must be present in your role as the realm’s core,” Incinderus explained. ”It won’t take long, maybe an hour or two.”

”I’d say that’s a little long,” Korra said, frowning at the demon.

”No, it’s alright,” I said.

She looked at me, caressing my cheek with her hand. Her thumb rose, brushing a tear from the corner of my eye, and her brow creased. ”Are you sure you’re not pushing yourself too hard?”

I took a shuddering breath and straightened, pulling out of her arms. ”It’s not much more. Better to get it over with,” I said.

”At least sit, my lady