The Forsaken Hero

Time slipped from my grip, and I screamed as the world of agony returned. The last few tendrils of life magic soothed the scorching fire of sun magic, but they quickly extinguished. Luke’s curse burrowed deeper into my soul, reaching for the very depths and heart of my strength.

A powerful heat swelled within my soul, causing an unpleasant tingle to sweep through my chest. Golden light radiated outward, clashing with the white and violet in a shower of sparks. The pain began to lessen, but the fire within grew stronger. I started to squirm, moaning in discomfort, as Adaptive Resistance and the curse attacked each other, stealing mana and strength from the other. The cycle intensified, neither gaining an advantage, and sweat beaded on my forehead. My breath came in short, shallow gasps, and my tail lashed through Fable’s fur.

A searing pain erupted on my thigh just beneath my skirt, overwhelming the sting of the sunlight on my skin. Moving instinctively, I pressed my hand to the spot and then screamed, jerking away. Waves of fire thrummed through my body, the familiar agony of sunpurge.

I screamed again as more glowing spots blossomed across my body. The scars began to spread, consuming inch after inch of pale, flawless skin. I flared Adaptive Resistance, but it refused to answer. Its new form was crude and inefficient, and no matter how desperately I willed it, the ability remained restricted in my soul, unable to protect my body.

The pain continued for an eternity, slowly intensifying until black nothingness crept into my mind. Panic surged in my chest, chest constricting my lungs. Tears streamed down my cheek, refracting the light of the eighth-circle spells and blurring my eyes.

Gradually, the light faded, but it wasn’t until the curse retreated that I collapsed limply on Fable’s back. My entire body trembled uncontrollably, and almost a third of my exposed skin was covered by sunpurge. The pain bludgeoned my mind, distracting my thoughts and blinding my senses.

One thought rose above the jumbled mess, and blinking away tears, I raised my head. Luke!

The storm of light and curses left a massive, charred circle several hundred feet across. Lord Evlon painted on one side, surrounded by a thin mist of violet shadows. They tangled across his soul, forcing him to utilize most of his remaining strength to keep them at bay.

Across from him, in the space I’d been standing just moments before, was Luke. He knelt on one knee, cloak flapping in the breeze of the clash. His eyes were closed, face scrunched in a grimace, and his tail drooped on the ground. Curling ribbons of sunlight arced across his body like electricity, leaving black scorch marks on his skin and clothes. He shuddered violently and collapsed to the ground.

”Luke!” I cried, coughing as my voice scratched in my throat.

Fable, scorched black and struggling with the curse, managed to get me to his side before lying down. The curse had penetrated his soul deeply, requiring all of his focus to purge.

I slid off Fable’s back, biting my tongue as the impact jostled the sunpurge all over my body. The tang of blood filled my mouth, and I dropped to my knees, hugging Luke. Glowing scars covered his flesh, hot against my hands. A thick vein of sunpurge ran parallel to the faint scar on his face, just missing his eye. His soul flickered faintly, drained dry in the desperate struggle.

”Luke!” I cried, choking on a sob. ”Please, answer me!”

Tears streaked my face as I pulled his head to my chest. A spot of sunpurge on my stomach screamed in protest as his body pressed against mine, but the pain was nothing compared to the terror in my heart. It hurt more than all the sunpurge combined.

”Why? Why did you do that?” I whispered, squeezing my eyes shut. ”That was...”

Despite all of his promises and notions of revenge, he hadn’t hesitated. Luke had thrown himself in the way of an eighth-circle spell with little more than rushed magical technique and a prayer. I was just a tool for him! Why would he...

Luke’s eyelids fluttered weakly, giving me a glimpse of his dark, piercing eyes before he scrunched them shut in pain.

”A-are you...okay?” he gasped faintly.

”Luke!” I held him tighter, ”I’m here. I’m here.”

”Thank the gods,” he breathed. His body sagged, his soul growing weaker. ”I was so scared...”

”Why would you do that?” I asked, touching his cheek gently. My finger came away wet with tears. My own tears, fallen onto his face.

”You’d cry for me? How could--” he coughed, blood trickling between his lips. ”How could you? After the things I’ve done? The innocents I’ve butchered?”

”I...” A sob shook my shoulders. ”You can’t die here. How are you going to avenge your sister?”

He winced and raised a trembling hand to my cheek. I flinched at his touch, my tail twitching.

”My sister is gone...but you...” he coughed again, ”I couldn’t let you die too.”

”But you might have died! Nothing is more important than your revenge,” I whispered.

”Was,” he said.

I tilted my head, and he forced a small smile.

”Nothing was,” he repeated.

I shook my head. ”I don’t know what that means.”

”You’re soul,” he said, raising his hand to my chest. A shock went through me at the touch of his fingers against my skin. ”My curses...did this.”

”You saved me,” I sobbed.

He closed his eyes, and his soul pulsed with the last of its strength. The writhing tendrils of curse magic retreated, drawing into his hand. He let his hand fall limply to the ground, and the mana dispersed in the air.

I sagged, soul trembling, as Adaptive Resistance finally calmed down, taking my first breath in what felt like ages.

”Thank you,” I said, stroking his cheek, carefully avoiding his sunpurge. ”Luke, now I can--”

”So you survived.” Lord Evlon’s voice caused me to shudder. ”But at what cost? Imagine the heartless leader of the demons sacrificing himself for a useless, pathetic slut.”

He sounded tired, his words lacking the venom they should had. The wrinkles on his face looked carved from stone, and his legs trembled slightly despite leaning on his staff.

I bit my lip and looked down, gripping Luke tighter. My heart stopped as I saw the apostle’s eyes close again, his chest barely rising with breath.

”He was right, you know,” Evlon said. ”You should have stayed away. Your presence, your weakness, gave me the chance to finish this. Thank you.”

His gratitude stung a thousand times more than the sunpurge, and a fresh wave of tears fell. My tail drooped, and I lowered my head, a fresh wave of tears threatening to fall.

”But now this ends. You’re coming with me whether you like it or not.” Lord Evlon raised his hand, gathering his mana for a binding spell.

The light around him rose, flickering red and orange, and I started panting as waves of heat swept over me. The entire sky seemed ablaze with fire.

”I’m just glad we retrieved the Life Hero, as well. Your sunpurge shouldn’t be life-threatening,” Evlon said, walking toward me. ”I would have been most put out if you simply died after all this. All the lives we lost--”

”Could never be enough to justify hurting her,” a deep voice growled.

Lord Evlon stiffened, whirling as a dark figure slammed into the earth just behind him. The ground exploded with flames, a towering, writhing curtain of red and orange. Heat rolled off the figure within, driving Lord Evlon back.

”Did you think you left me behind?” Fyren asked, striding through the veil of fire. He was in his demon form, towering a dozen feet over the old inquisitor’s head. ”That your pathetic minions could hold me off forever?”

”Damn it,” Lord Evlon let his spell scatter, utilizing his mana to stave off the Demon’s aura.

He glanced toward me, eyes calculating, but Fable struggled to his feet, standing between us. His silver fur gleamed in the firelight, and his wounds almost entirely regenerated.

Lord Evlon’s eyes lingered on me a moment longer before he sighed, adjusting his grip on his staff. ”Are you certain this is the path you walk? Be warned: the gods will never allow your powers to serve the demons. If you do not submit to them, your existence will not be tolerated.”

”Even covered in sunpurge, I would never bow to your masters,” I whispered, holding Luke close.

”Very well. I shall take your answer to the Grand Inquisitor. May his judgment be swift and terrible.”

Lord Evlon raised his hand, a ring glinting on his finger. It flashed with light, and before anyone could react, he vanished.

Luke shuddered in my arms, and all thoughts of the inquisitor, Fable, and even Fyren fled my mind. The Apostle’s soul was fading, the time between his breaths longer and longer.

”Please, don’t leave me,” I whispered, stroking his cheek. ”I...I need you.”

Taking a deep breath, I brushed the tears from my eyes. Every heartbeat sent fire through the sunpurge, but I quieted the pain and let mana fill my soul. Luke’s eyes slipped open, looking dull and far away.

”It’s okay,” he gasped, ”In the end, I’m grateful you--”

I pressed my finger to his lips, smiling gently. ”Shh, it’s okay. I won’t leave you now.”

My mana exploded outward, forming six magic circles glittering with gold and green light. ”Requiem.”