The Forsaken Hero

”It’s my fault, isn’t it?” I whispered, looking down. ”I’m the one who made the Heart Crest.”

”No, you were simply a part of their machinations. They’ve been working on developing the heart crest for hundreds of years, and even if you hadn’t perfected it, they would have stumbled upon it eventually.”

”Then what hope is there? Even if we stop Alverin, can’t they just find another world to experiment on?”

She shook her head. ”Perhaps if the entire Divine Council supported it. But they do not. Only the faction of the Sun God seeks such dominion over the realms, and the opposition is rapidly growing. If they cannot complete it before the war starts in earnest, they will likely never have a chance again.”

”The war?” I asked.

She started to reply, then closed her mouth and tilted her head as though listening to something only she could hear. After a moment, she smiled at me softly and smoothed a crimson lock away from my face. ”My time grows short, so let me be brief. The war between the infernal and divine. The gods and demons have been preparing for it for a thousand years now. Enusia was supposed to be one of the first skirmishes, an overwhelming victory for the gods. It’s why they sent ten heroes, when normally only two or three are needed to stop an invasion.”

”They should have only sent nine,” I muttered. ”Then they’d have their perfect little war, right?”

”And you and I would be gone,” she replied succinctly. ”And the war would be progressing as it should have. But because of you, everything–every single plan of gods and demons–is in disarray. You can’t understand just how much of an impact you’ve had so far, how much things will change. The apostles weren’t even supposed to be recognized in this world. The demons were simply trying to test new strategies to employ later. But you’ve forced their hand as much as you have the gods. I have a feeling whatever the outcome of this world will drastically impact the rest of the divine realms.”

”All of that because of me?” I knew my survival and subsequent actions had impacted things outside the scope of the gods’ plans, but to this extent? How many lives had I ruined?

”Don’t overthink it, my child,” Fate said, giving me a final squeeze and pulling away. ”What makes your life and freedom any less important than others? Gods have often viewed themselves masters of mortals’ destiny, yet it seems the weave of fate has had enough of that.”

I could feel myself slipping away, the entire realm of starlight fading to blackness. ”Fate, just what is it? Is it sentient, and if it is, why does it even care about me?”

She smiled and stepped back, transparent enough that I could see the stars right through her. ”Fate is a mysterious thing. I used to be naive enough to claim I commanded it, but because of you, I see that isn’t the case. Fate is what is, and what it will be. Perhaps it’s simply returning the realms to their natural balance before gods sought to enslave mortals. Regardless, walk the path it gives you, and I will remain by your side.”

”Will I see you again?” I asked desperately, clinging to her fading visage.

Her voice was the final remnant of the realm of starlight, whispering in my ear even as I awoke. ”Protect the Final Star. I place my life and divinity in your hands. Oh, and be careful with your gate. Try not to do anything too absurd with it.”

I gasped as I startled awake, sitting bolt upright and pressing a hand to my cheek. My fingers came away wet with tears, but my heart felt lighter than it had for a long time. Actually, I felt great, at least, until the sunpurge reminded me of its existence.

The pain hit me all at once, and I found myself writhing in agony, clutching at my side even as the glowing scars flared. I waited, hurting too much even to cry out, for the pain to stop. But it didn’t. It filled my veins with lava, radiating through every nerve in my body and overwhelming my senses.

Was this the backlash Elinore warned me about? I’d felt pain like this before, but never for an extended duration. It was worse than the punishment of the slave crest, worse even than whenever someone grabbed the sunpurge or I accidentally bumped against something. The only thing that came close to it was when the high inquisitor had physically cut the scar. That had faded to a manageable level after a few seconds, but this...?

Somewhere in the distance, beyond the pain, I heard a faint whining and felt something wet on my cheek. I shuddered and drew closer to Fable, confident it was him even though I lacked the ability to actually confirm it. His fur was soft and cool, but I didn’t question the inconsistency and burrowed into him.

A wondrous icy touch spread over my body, spreading from the sunpurge and washing away the heat. The fiery ache was still there, but subdued to a manageable pain. I cracked my eyes open and met the gaze of the ice spirit, who had taken on corporeal form. Fable nuzzled against me, licking a tear from my cheek, his golden eyes shining with relief.

”Forgive me, my lady. I didn’t wish to invade your privacy, but I thought it necessary,” The spirit said, bowing its head. In its gauntleted hand, it held a small glass vial, some of the weaker salve for my sunpurge. Elinore had given me a small doze some weeks ago in preparation for anything that might happen.

It sounded good and all, but I frowned at the spirit. It had been safely stored in my spatial ring. Spatial rings were bound to one’s soul, and while the spirit certainly possessed powerful enough magic to break such a seal, I could sense my ring still had the protections on it.

”How did you...?”

”We are one, are we not?” It asked, favoring me with a mysterious smile. ”But leave that aside for now. I know you’re in pain, and likely still exhausted, but there are matters that need your attention.”

I groaned and rubbed my horn. ”Just...help me up. What’s going on right now?”

We were still in the core chamber, and by the looks of things, nothing had changed. Except...where was the Gate Core? The last thing I remembered was holding it in my hands, completing the spell. I vaguely remembered the spirit telling me Korra was safe, but everything beyond that up until I reunited with fate was a blur.

Fable pushed his head against my back, gently nudging me to my feet. I turned, reaching out to put a hand on his head, before I paused. My hand moved instinctively to the height I’d grown used to petting his head at, but it came a good foot shorter than his head. He’d been around ten feet long the last time I really saw him, but he’d almost doubled in length. Somewhere between fifteen and twenty feet. And this was the condensed version!

Fable whined in amusement, hooking a paw the size of my torso around my back and pulling me toward him. He lowered himself, and I struggled onto his back, wincing as the movement creased my side. The Ice Spirit lifted off the ground, surrounded by a blue-white light, and hovered at my side. I stared at him, at the mana surrounding his body, my mouth hanging slightly agape.

”You’re flying?”

He chuckled, a low resonate sound, and folded his arms. ”I am the storm, after all. What kind of cloud doesn’t yearn for the sky?”

I shook my head, filing the information and the mana and runes he used away. I had absolutely no desire to spend any more time above the ground than I had to, but such a thing was considered impossible in Enusia. Studying it later wouldn’t hurt.

As Fable made his way to the entrance of the core chamber, I glanced back at the ice spirit hovering gracefully beside me. There was something different about it, and while I couldn’t say precisely what, he seemed less...real, which was odd because he was an elemental spirit and had no physical form regardless.

As we wound through the ice caverns and tunnels leading to the surface, I cringed at every intersection, half-expecting demons to leap out at us, or at least hear the distant roar of high-level magic. But there was nothing, a fact that did little to alleviate my growing unease. Why was it so quiet? I’d devoted almost four or five hours to healing my soul after I abandoned the battlefield, and it was impossible to say how long I’d remained unconscious. Had we really won just like that?

Fable’s ears pricked as we broke out into the central chasm, clouds peeking through the crack a few hundred yards above us. I heard it a second later, my ears twitching as I made out the sound of mustered voices coming from around the bend up ahead.

”–And you’re sure about that?” a young male voice asked.

”Of course,” a more mature woman replied. ”They’ve been watching us for a few hours now, but not a single scion’s broken free and attacked. Not exactly sure why, as they were throwing themselves at us during the battle. Something about being able to sense the Lady’s soul or something.”

”If they’ve stopped, then that means she’s–” The first soldier trailed off as we rounded the cliff. The moment he laid eyes on Fable’s massive form, and the spirit trailing in the air, his eyes went wide. ”M-my lady!”