The Forsaken Hero

The sounds of the battle faded as we flew across High Valley, the fort and village passing beneath us in a blur. Only Gith remained behind, taking a vantage on the skyship. We might need their cannons, after all.

Fable’s soulspeak was fragmented and hazy, like speech garbled in water. Even Kahlen had no idea what could interfere with it, knotting my stomach with worry.

”That being you spoke of before, that inquisitor. I feel him,” Kahlen said, flying alongside us. ”But his power is strange. It is not his own.”

”Fate must have blessed him or something,” Jenna muttered.

”Then we have a chance. He won’t be comfortable using it,” Luxxa answered.

Her words rang true, but provided little comfort. When Luke had broken through, he didn’t dare hold me for fear of accidentally crushing me. Not because he couldn’t unleash his ninth-level power, but because he was afraid he would. If you could obliterate a city with a single attack, it didn’t matter if you missed by a few hundred feet.

The church was quiet as we arrived, but tension gripped the small island. Fable growled, his hackles raised, before the gates, facing down a single, white-robed man. His tail twitched as we alighted at his flank, and I left Luxxa’s safety for his warmth, curling my fingers into his fur.

The inquisitor’s entire body glowed with faint, silver luminance. His irises and pupils had been swallowed by the starlight of his eyes. The lines on his face suggested age, or at least wear, but he had a divine, timeless look to him that made my skin crawl. Every instinct screamed at me that he was dangerous, filling me with the same primal fear I’d felt when the wolf had stalked me outside Westfall Village.

”So, it’s true. You are hiding here.” His voice was soft and warm, at odds with the chill in his aura. A crease furrowed his brow. ”And yet I cannot report. Just what is this place, locked away from the rest of the weave? Hidden from the sky by the stars?”

”Who are you?” I asked, trembling slightly. ”Why have you come?”

He clicked his tongue. ”Foolish child, asking questions to which you already know the answer to.

He paused, expectant. I shifted on my feet, tightening my grip on Fable. I couldn’t get a read on him. His soul was impervious to the Oracle of Eternity, and his expressions so smooth that reading his intentions was impossible. He wore a sword, but he acted as if he didn’t. Was he a warrior, mage? Priest?

He gestured at the gate behind us. ”What you have built here is impressive. A suitable foundation for Lord Fate’s kingdom.”

My hand tightened on my staff. My first instinct was to close the gate and protect Haven, but that would mean cutting off the conduit. If the Fatesworn were returned to Haven, would the Crimson Guard be able to hold on their own?

”Lord Fate is concerned with you and you alone. Surrender yourself and the Final Star to me, and I might be persuaded to let these insignificant souls live.”

”And if I don’t?”

His eyes narrowed. ”Then he shall water the blossoms of his garden with the blood of this realm. You witnessed but a fraction of his power before. But even now, you do not know the true breadth of what is to come. The path of fate is inevitable. He will take his place at its helm.”

”You inquisitors are all the same. Begging me to surrender when you lack the strength to kill me yourself. If your god were different, he would have come himself.”

The temperature dropped as the inquisitor stepped forward. My chest tightened, making it difficult to breathe. I held his gaze, unwavering.

”There is no path ahead, no future that must be. The only thing inevitable about what is to come is that something will.” I straightened, taking a step forward, staring up at the inquisitor. He towered over me, but I didn’t feel smaller. His arrogance was...infuriating. How could he be so blind as to the nature and beauty of fate? ”You ask for my surrender, and for the last time, I refuse. Go, bring your god my answer. But also tell him he needn’t bother hunting me down. I have no intention of running.”

”You dare challenge him? A wretched, pathetic filthblood?”

”If fate wills that your god ascends to rule the stars, so be it. But so long as they are mine, I will not forsake their calling.”

We stared at each other. My heart beat swiftly, so loud I heard it in my ears. I was certain he could see the tremble in my knees, exhaustion in my eyes. But I couldn’t let myself break. Not before his gaze. Not before the realm that had entrusted everything to me.

After what seemed like ages, he slowly nodded. Something in his eyes shifted, growing deeper, and his voice sounded different, richer, resonating through fate itself. ”You will live to regret those words, filthblood. But not much longer. Come, then, with whatever allies and power you can scrounge up. Bring your hope, and your faith, and your destiny. I await you at the end of your path.”

”The end?” I smiled faintly, shaking my head. I didn’t know I smiled, but something within welled up, pushing out in words I barely understood. Guided by fate. ”What could a god know of ends, for you exist on the fringes of eternity. But you will know. You will see oblivion, before this is over.”

”We shall see, child. We shall see.”

The inquisitor stumbled, and the strangeness departed his soul. The aura broke apart, and I sagged a little, panting lightly. The presence didn’t go anywhere. It just dissipated, revealing a fourth-level soul beneath.

The inquisitor gasped for breath, looking around in panic. His hand went to his sword, and my confidence wavered. A sharp, metallic sound rang out as he drew the blade, but silver flashed past me, fur tearing from my grip. There was a scream, cut short, and a body hit the ground, blood gushing into the stone. Fable sat on his haunches, his claws buried in the man’s chest. Blood soaked the pads of his paws, dribbling across the cobblestone courtyard.

I collapsed back against Luxxa, breathing hard as all of the tension, all of the fear, drained out of me. Black dots spun across my vision, and though I blinked them back, the edges remained blurry.

”What was that?” Jenna asked.

”He was here,” I whispered, pressing a hand to my horn. Luxxa lifted me, an arm around my shoulders. ”He hadn’t come to fight, but to deliver a message.”

”That’s ridiculous. Two hundred thousand soldiers, and a team of elite inquisitors, for a message?” Luxxa asked.

”I...I’m not sure. Maybe they intended to kill me, at first, but...there must be a reason. I don’t know.”

”What matters is he’s gone. Jenna, send the signal to Gith. There’s no reason for them to preserve their cannons anymore.”

The mage nodded, touching her temple. ”On it.”

”Kahlen, take Lady Xiviyah inside.”

I barely noticed the change of hands. Kahlen’s silver robes were just as cold as Luxxa’s armor, anyway.

Fate had come for me himself, first through a servant, but at the end...that had been his voice. I hadn’t seen anything like that in the vision. Was Arantius right? Had it been a trap? But then...why had he let me go? Had he not been able to bestow enough power on that inquisitor? The thoughts continued to echo, the questions compounding without answer.

It was too much. My fingers curled into the demon’s robes, but it was hollow. Why couldn’t he be here to hold me? He was so much warmer... Tears welled up in my eyes, but didn’t fall. What was the point? He wasn’t here to brush them away.

Fable whined, pressing his head against my side. Dully, I petted him, but Luxxa cleared her throat.

”If you don’t mind, my Lady, could I borrow the wolf? His power will be essential in ensuring none of them escape.”

My hand slipped from his oversized head, and I nodded. As everyone rushed off, Kahlen walked me back inside. I collapsed on a pew, staring at the gate without really seeing it. I knew I should enter it, that I needed to rest, but I couldn’t. Not before the battle ended, and the Fatesworn’s work was finished.

Kahlen hovered at my side, fidgeting uncertainly.

”You do not need to remain,” I said.

He stiffened, shaking his head. ”No, my Lady. I would not abandon you now. You’ve hardly the strength to raise your wards.”

”I don’t think I’m in any danger now. But...thank you.” Even if he wasn’t Luke.

”That prophecy you gave...I’ve never heard it’s like. You’ve never fit the role of Oracle beyond visions.”

I tilted my head. ”Prophecy?”

”Indeed. Those words were true, as true as any Fate herself has given. I’m curious to see how you plan on making a god taste oblivion.”