The Forsaken Hero

Evla huddled under her barrier, pale-faced and trembling. Sweat beaded her forehead, and her tail lay limply curled around her feet. She was streaked with blood and covered in wounds. The veins around the cuts and bruises were black with curse magic.

Her ward flickered as we approached, but she gritted her teeth, maintaining it as she slowly turned to face us. Her eyes widened as they met mine.

”X-Xiviyah?” she stammered. ”But how...why....?”

”It’s okay. We’re here to help,” I said.

The magic wavered and died. She started to fall, but R’lissea caught her, helping her to her feet.

I waved my hand, soul casting Liberation and adding her into my nexus. The curses entwined through her body and soul vanished. R’lissea followed up with a healing spell.

As life magic flowed over her, Evla took what seemed like her first true breath in hours. The tension left her shoulders, and she leaned against R’lissea, eyes fluttering.

”I don’t understand,” she murmured. ”Why?”

I felt a tug at my sleeve and looked down to see Villie.

”I have to go now,” she said quietly. ”Thanks for letting me play.”

”Thanks for your help. Even if...never mind. It all worked out.”

She beamed. ”Call me again sometime, okay? And don’t forget to come home to Haven. Everyone misses you.”

My throat tightened. Haven was where Fate was. I was still trying to come to terms with Luke. How could I face Fate after how much she’d encouraged me there?

”Okay,” I managed without sounding too strangled.

Villie vanished in a puff of stars. I relaxed my aura, letting the curse gate reclaim the cavern. My soul was tired, almost all of my mana consumed by the playful remnant. My physical body wasn’t in much better shape, either. The long exposure to the curses left me exhausted, wanting nothing more than to curl up with Fable and nap.

I glanced at Fable and stiffened, jarred from my daydream. Villie’s spells still lingered, including the one that shackled his soul. Shouldn’t it have disappeared with her? Given the gradual leak of mana, it would last for another few hours at least!

It wasn’t as if I had any control over which remnant was summoned, but I swore never to call the mischievous life mage again. She could play her games in Haven, leaving the real world to those who actually wanted to survive.

A flicker of movement caught my eye, and I looked at Evla. Her tail twitched as she abruptly pushed R’lissea away. She backed away, warily looking between the three of us.

”This is a trick. An illusion,” she muttered. ”Of course you couldn’t be here.”

Before any of us could react, she pointed her hand at me, fingers spread. A purple mote of light materialized and shot toward us, dragging eddies of her strange mana behind it.

The attack struck me in the chest, too fast to dodge. Adaptive Resistance flared, and the spell fizzled.

”Evla, it’s really me!” I cried, taking a few shaky steps back. My tail trembled. That was too close.

”No, it can’t be! This is a curse gate. Luke made you leave!”

”It’s really us,” R’lissea said. She spread her hands wide, letting her staff disappear. ”We’re not here to hurt you.”

”But you...I...”

R’lissea walked toward her, keeping her hands up. ”We fought for hours to get here. To save you. What happened?”

Evla tried to back up, but she tripped. R’lissea caught her again, and this time, the demonkin didn’t pull away. Tears brimmed in her eyes, and she let the life hero hug her.

”T-they attacked me,” she said between sniffles. ”I...I fought for so long, but they were...”

”Shhh, it’s alright. We’re here now,” R’lissea said. ”It must have been so hard.”

I leaned against Fable, letting out a pent-up breath, as Evla broke into sobs. It wasn’t hard to imagine what she’d been through, but seeing the cold, distant girl reduced to such was...sad. She might be an apostle, hellbent on destroying the world, but in the end, she was only a girl a few years older than me. Traversing the gate was hard enough with R’lissea and Fable, but what if I’d gotten lost on my own? The endless passages and demons...the darkness, the cold... It was almost too much to think about.

Eventually, Evla’s sobs slowed, and she stood there quietly, face buried in R’lissea’s shoulder. The elf gave me a small smile, stroking her hair.

”What happened?” she ventured.

Evla took a deep breath, her voice muffled by R’lissea’s dress. ”I wanted to help Luke. The demon lord is trying to take over the horde, and we needed all the allies we could get. I thought...I thought the demons in the descent might be loyal to Luke, not him.”

”But they weren’t,” I said.

She shook her head. ”No, no they weren’t. I met the gate commander, and he... laughed.” She touched her shoulder where her gravest wound had been. ”He let me flee, knowing I couldn’t find my way out of the maze, and set his demons hunting me. I think he’s been watching the whole time, enjoying every second.”

A lump formed in my throat. Survival reduced to mere entertainment. A familiar story.

”We’ve killed a lot of them,” I said.

R’lissea nodded. ”Maybe two thousand in all. This gate’s big enough to hold three or four times that, though.”

”Do you know the way out?” Evla asked, looking up with wet eyes.

I hesitated before nodding. ”Kind of, but we’re not leaving until we close this gate.”

Her eyes widened, a tremor running down her tail. ”B-but the commander. He’s strong...”

”It’ll be okay. Fable’s strong, too,” I said.

She glanced at my wolf, who preened ever so slightly. I pet his head fondly.

”Do you know where you met the commander?” R’lissea asked.

Evla shook her head. ”When I entered the gate, the demons led me through the corridors to a room like this one. The gate core was there, as was the commander. But I ran so much, and into so many holes, I have no idea how to get back.”

I looked around the room, finding several holes. I let adaptive Resistance slip for a moment, seizing up as the curse clutched my soul again. Only one of the other holes felt the same as the one we’d entered in.

”That one,” I said, letting the warmth back out again.

”Are you sure?” R’lissea asked.

”No. But the others are all sticky,” I said.

Evla tilted her head. ”Sticky?”

”Like a spiderweb,” I said.

She blinked, glancing at R’lissea. The elf grinned.

”Don’t worry about it. Just trust her,” she said.

We made our way over to the hole, stepping over the corpses of demons that had yet to discorporate. Fable moved to the front, and I took hold of his fur. R’lissea did the same, snagging Evla’s hand at the same time. Before the apostle could question it, we jumped through the hole.

We appeared in another large cavern, filled again with demons of all shapes and powers. A jet black fist-sized crystal floated in the middle, surrounded by a powerful seventh-level shield. Before it stood a shadowy being with four arms and three eyes, each glowing red. Its soul was at the peak of the seventh level.

”That’s him!” Evla gasped.

”Welcome back, little apostle.” The demon’s voice sent shivers down my spine. ”I see you’ve brought company.”

Evla shrank behind us, hands trembling.

The demon’s lips curled. ”And who is this precious thing? This soul...” Its three eyes widened. ”Fate? My, what a gift the emperors have brought me. I shall feast on your souls and ascend to the ninth level.”

”I don’t have much mana,” I whispered to R’lissea. ”The remnant stole it all.”

She glanced at me, then back at the demon. ”It’s fine. Fable and I have this. Just stand back with Evla. Make sure she’s okay.”

”But Fable’s still–”

”It’s fine.” She flashed me a grin. ”I’m a quick learner.”

I hesitated, then nodded. Taking Evla’s hand, I led her back. She followed without complaint, shivering uncontrollably.

”A mere healer and beast think to face me?” The demon frowned. ”An insult without match.”

Fable growled, glaring at the nearest scions of the horde. A quick count showed hundreds of them, and easily a dozen fifth-level and higher evolved demons. The gate commander was, fortunately, the only seventh-level present.

”I have no words for those who hurt my friends,” R’lissea said, meeting the demon’s gaze. Her voice wavered a bit, but she stood tall and confident. ”Fable, ready?”

The wolf’s growl rose in volume, reverberating through the cavern. The scions shifted, casting uncertain glances back at the evolved demons behind them.

”White Thorns!” R’lissea cried.

Six magic circles blossomed overhead, lighting up the void. At the same time, Fable lunged forward, releasing a burst of starlight. He swelled in size, reaching nearly seventy-five feet from nose to tail. The scions recoiled at the sudden surge in aura. Even the shackles binding his body and soul strained to the breaking point. His claws moved, and an entire rank of scions disappeared, reduced to shadowy paste. He roared, turning to face the gate commander.

The commander took a step back.