The Forsaken Hero

The magic circle of Grand Aegis stretched out, encompassing a mile in radius with me at its heart, extending over the entire battlefield and well over half of the city. As I bound the final soul to the spell and completed it, the circle emitted a dazzling golden light that reached upwards, forming a shimmering hemisphere above the battlefield. With the sphere complete, the souls I’d selected within it lit up with a golden shimmer.

Grand Aegis worked by redirecting all force and magic absorbed by the individual shields to the greater magic circle encircling the battlefield. It possessed incredible durability, but if it sustained enough damage from sixth-level and above attacks, it would eventually crack and fail. Under normal circumstances, that is.

But my magic was imbued with the power of Adaptive Resistance, effectively nullifying any spell or technique below the seventh level, including the devastating mana cannons. Unless the magic surpassed that threshold, it wouldn’t even reach Grand Aegis, granting the spell near-infinite durability. Only attacks above the sixth level could truly threaten it, and those were incredibly rare, originating from only a handful of surviving individuals.

Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to observe the full impact of my spell. The moment I resolved Grand Aegis, and the golden hemisphere began to take shape, the torrent of lightning crashed into the ground just a dozen feet away. Electricity charged the air, making my hair stand on end, as powerful arcs of lightning crawled across the ground like hungry roots.

R’lissea squeaked and shied away as one struck her shield, leaving a hairline crack on its surface. ”H-hey!” she cried, a pout forming on her lips. ”Grace!”

As the lightning storm subsided, a figure rose from the blackened crater, wielding a spear with a long, sword-like blade. Electricity crackled around her, her irises flashing with lightning.

”Sorry I’m late,” Grace said with a with a cocky grin, flourishing her spear dramatically.

R’lissea shifted on her feet, leaning forward to scold her. ”Grace! What are you...I thought you were supposed to wait and–”

Grace shrugged. ”Heard there was some cool fighting going on here. What was I supposed to do? Follow some damn boring plan and miss all the fun?”

Before R’lissea could reply, a scream pierced the air, and Verity’s body flew toward us, traveling at dangerous speeds. Grace frowned and raised her hand, releasing a big wave of air from her palm that caught the Fate Hero and lowered her gently to the ground.

With a gasp, R’lissea ran over and cradled the girl in her arms. Six magic circles blossomed around her, and Verity lit up with a soft green glow. After a second, she coughed a mouthful of blood, cleared her throat, and opened her eyes.

”I couldn’t stop her,” she mumbled incoherently, tears welling up in her eyes.

”You did well, really,” R’lissea whispered, stroking her hair.

”But I couldn’t get it,” she said. ”He’s going to be mad at me.”

”No, you did the best you could. No one expected you to be able to defeat any of them, but you still tried your hardest. I’m sure Soltair will be proud of you.”

Verity nodded, a look of relief on her face. ”Do you think so?”

”Of course.” R’lissea patted her shoulder, and they both rose.

”Well, well, well, if it isn’t Grace,” Korra said, striding over, a broad smile on her lips.

”You didn’t kill her?” Grace asked, raising an eyebrow.

Korra shrugged, coming up to stand beside me. ”I doubt gods would be pleased if I killed their precious Fate Hero.”

Grace stared at her until Korra’s lips curled in an unwitting smile. ”Alright, fine; I mostly just wanted to make Soltair explain what happened to her predecessor. He deserves to do that much, at least.”

Verity shivered as they both looked at her, taking half a step behind R’lissea. Whatever confidence she’d had before was gone, stripped from her by the humbling experience of being beaten so badly by Korra.

”Well, I couldn’t care less about that,” Grace said, raising his spear and leveling the tip at Korra’s chest. ”I just go where the winds are loudest, the rain falls hardest.”

Korra grinned, her fighting spirit beginning to rise again. ”You don’t want to try to talk this out?”

Grace smiled back, the lightning in her eyes growing brighter. ”Sure. But you should know by now that I do all my talking with my spear.”

”I wouldn’t want it any other way. Come on, let’s get out of this dumb thing. I have a feeling our fight won’t be very fair otherwise,” Korra said.

She winked at me as they casually turned and left together, walking side by side like two best friends.

”Kill him for me,” she whispered as she walked by. She didn’t specify who, but then again, she didn’t have to. I nodded, my hands tightening into fists.

”Be safe,” I whispered back.

Once they’d gotten a safe distance away, they both leaped off the ground and soared away. The Grand Aegis didn’t even ripple as they passed through the golden membrane and landed on the other side.

”What the hell is wrong with her? Both of them...” Verity muttered, drawing my gaze.

R’lissea giggled softly, covering her mouth with a slight blush. ”Sorry, it’s just... those two are always like that. I’m glad to see some things haven’t changed.” Her voice softened wistfully at the end, and again, her eyes filled with that profound sense of sadness.

”I just... I don’t understand,” Verity said, looking at me, seeming offended, or perhaps disappointed. ”We did everything right. Why are you here? Why didn’t we win?”

I blinked, tilting my head in confusion before understanding dawned on me. I’d been waiting to feel her gaze, to know she was watching us in a vision, but it had never happened. Was it because I’d subverted the future before when I survived the capture? Had the moment she’d seen never come to fruition?

”There is no right or wrong thing to do,” I said softly. ”Fate doesn’t care about how things should be, only as they are.”

”No right or wrong?” she asked. ”How is that possible? The demons are clearly evil!”

I shook my head. ”Not to Fate. Right and wrong were invented by the gods, or maybe even mortals. To Fate, there are only things that happen and things that don’t. And the power to make that true.”

She shook her head, hands tightening into determined fists. ”That’s not true. It can’t be. Fate told me his role is to guide mortals when they step off the path. That’s what it means to be the Fate Hero.”

I looked at her long and hard, and she returned my gaze, unblinking. After a while, I shrugged, wincing as the motion sent a thrill through the sunpurge. ”As you wish.”

She stiffened, upset by my indifference, but before she could protest, R’lissea held up a hand.

”Do you...mean that?” she asked, her voice a whisper. ”You mean...the gods aren’t always...”

She let her voice trail off, her hand closing into a fist and pressing against her breast. There was conflict in her eyes but also...relief. Whatever it was, it was gone as she shook her head, smoothing a lock of blonde hair behind her pointed ear.

”Why aren’t you doing anything? You’re strong, aren’t you?” Verity asked, raising herself to her feet. ”If you help me, we could take her!”

R’lissea smiled faintly, gesturing with her hand. ”Be my guest.”

Verity faced me with a determined look on her face, sword clutched tightly in her hand. I straightened, tail twitching curiously, as her soul flashed for a single heartbeat. Again, her body blurred, and it looked like she was moving in several directions simultaneously. But, strangely, when her ability went dark again, she hadn’t moved a step.

Verity slumped, her eyes darkening in defeat. ”There’s...nothing. Not a single path where I so much as scratch her.”

I tilted my head, pursing my lips together, wondering about her statement. She hadn’t even tried, right? Did she have some sort of ability to manipulate time like I did? But my wards hadn’t even flared...

”That’s why,” R’lissea said with a nod.

”Even you can’t break through?” Verity’s eyes widened in disbelief.

The Life Hero gestured at the other side of the battlefield, where Fable and her dragon continued to fight. My wolf had the elemental on its back, ripping and tearing at its stomach. It wouldn’t be long before he killed it.

”That’s the strongest thing I can summon, but it can’t even beat her pet,” she said with a wry smile.

”Then...we retreat?”

R’lissea directed another long, ponderous look at me before nodding slowly. ”There’s nothing else we can do here. Alverin can stand against them on his own.”

Verity gasped, mouth parted in a slight gape. ”You mean...abandon them?”

”We’ve given them more help than they deserve. Grace decided to abandon her position, so there’s no reason we have to wait for the next phases of his plan.”

I listened to their argument keenly, gleaning whatever I could. It seemed I had reason to be grateful for Grace, after all, if she truly had messed up their plans. That’s what they get for trusting a battle maniac.