The Forsaken Hero

Within the grip of the soul binder, I could feel Luke: his aura, his warmth pulsing within me like a second heartbeat. Not like the primordial mark, but more intimate, while also less complete. I could feel where he was even without opening my eyes, feel the fire he felt for me, yet none of his thoughts, memories, or intentions. There was no communication or soul speak, just...him.

It was so comforting that, for a moment, I forgot the storm of mana, the grip of the soulbinder, and the terror that seized me. None of it mattered anymore, and I snuggled against him, breathing in his scent. My tail curled around his leg, and I nuzzled his chest, trying to get him to stroke my hair. As much as I hated to admit it, I loved it when he did that.

”Xiviyah...are you alright?” Luke asked.

His voice was unnaturally loud. Or rather, everything else was quiet. I opened my eyes, blinking away lingering tears, and looked around. The realm was silent, the magic circles gone. All eyes were focused on me, causing me to shrink further against Luke, my face warming.

”It’s done,” Emlica said. She sounded tired, more so than I’d ever heard her before. Even Nithalee’s soul was drained. But when did that happen? She was a ninth-level being! Never mind the fact that I hadn’t noticed her casting a spell; the sheer amount of mana she held would take hours to empty.

Luke distanced me, his hands firmly gripping my shoulders. ”How do you feel?”

”I feel...you?” I asked, tilting my head. My blush deepened when I realized what I’d said. ”It’s fine. It hurt a lot, but...wait, is it over?”

My hand flew to my chest, my breath catching in my throat. But my skin was smooth, no sign of a slave crest. I don’t know why I expected to feel anything there, but it relieved me to find nothing.

Feeling a little better, I raised my hand, looking at the glittering band on my finger. It shone brightly, woven with a spell of immense power. I stared at it dumbly, struggling to comprehend what I was looking at.

”I’ll admit,” Nithalee said, sagging slightly. ”I’ve never successfully cast a ninth-level enchantment before.”

”You didn’t. I did. You just loaned me your mana,” Emlica grumbled.

”Ninth-level...?” I mumbled, still looking at the ring dazedly.

”It had to be, else you would have resisted it,” Emlica said.

I blinked, opened my mouth, and closed it again. I hadn’t even considered that, but she was right. There was no chance I could have suppressed Adaptive Resistance in the face of that curse.

”None of that matters. Xiviyah, how do you feel?” Luke asked, more intensely this time.

I shook my head, finally breaking my gaze from the ring, and looked into his eyes. They were warm and worried, reflecting my tearstained face back at me.

”I don’t hurt,” I said.

”That’s good,” Emlica snorted. ”Could you be more specific? Your system’s probably in shock, but the sooner we can identify anything out of order, the more likely we are to be able to adjust the magic before it fully settles. It’ll be too late then.”

I took a breath, running a cycle of mana through my soul. Again, there was no pain. ”I can feel the magic, but it’s a lot warmer than the Soul Binder. It’s like a blanket, almost, hugging my soul. And there’s Luke, of course.”

”Luke?” Emlica looked up sharply. ”What do you mean by that?”

I touched my chest, tail twitching bashfully. ”I can feel him here. It’s like my mark, but...not?”

Her frown deepened. ”That shouldn’t be the case. The spell only bound you with his ring, not him. Apostle, give me that.”

Luke seemed about to protest, but one look from the remnant, and he promptly slipped the ring from his finger, giving it to her. The moment he let go, I gasped, tears filling my eyes. Where there had been warmth was cold, and comfort, anguish. A hollow filled my heart, as keen as any loss I’d suffered before.

But the feeling wasn’t unfamiliar. It was everything I’d known from the moment the soul binder clamped down around my soul the first time. It was helplessness, pure and simple. An animal chained to their master’s whimsy.

”Please...” I whimpered, clinging to Luke, ”Don’t leave me.”

”I’m not going anywhere,” he said, alarmed. Then to Emlica, he asked, ”What’s wrong? What happened?”

I struggled to explain, fighting sobs the whole time. Emlica finally huffed in annoyance and gave the ring back. As soon as it was in his hand, the terrible, lonely sensation vanished, and I breathed a sigh of relief, drying my tears with my sleeve.

”That’s certainly an unintended side effect,” Emlica said, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. ”But I think I know where we went wrong. You’ve both been wearing those rings for so long that you’ve rubbed off on them, so to speak. To support a ninth-level enchantment, we also had to strengthen the bond between the rings, which, apparently, exacerbated the issue. It should be a simple matter to--”

”No!” I cried and immediately blushed at my outburst. ”I mean, um, it’s okay.”

”Are you certain? You couldn’t even bear a second of the ring being away,” Emlica said.

”I know, but, um, it makes me feel warm inside, like I’m not cursed. I...I like it.”

”Xiviyah...” Luke said, biting his lip. ”We can’t. One day, I’ll...I’ll leave, and then what will you do? I don’t want to hurt you when I’m gone.”

”I...I may have overreacted a little,” I admitted, looking down. ”It was so...nice when you held it, I wasn’t ready when you let it go. But really, there was no pain. If anything, it was even better than when I wore the soul binder before. It just wasn’t you. I’ll be fine when you leave.”

That was a lie. I most certainly wouldn’t be fine. But the pain I felt then wouldn’t be caused by this artifact. And if there were, I would welcome it, because that feeling of loss would remind me of what I once had.

”Are you certain? It will be too late if you change your mind.”

”Yes, please. Let me have this much,” I said, clasping my ring to my heart.

Emlica nodded slowly, her eyes shifting to Luke. ”You hold this girl’s heart in your hands. Do not crush it.”

”Soul,” Nithalee said. ”The word ’heart’ seems inappropriate, given what this research led to.”

”I said what I said,” Emlica said coldly, never breaking her gaze.

Luke swallowed hard, nodding stiffly. ”Right. And, er, how do I use it? The ring, I mean?”

”Why would you even ask such a thing? Do you truly wish to know how to fetter her mana?” Emlica asked.

”It’s okay, I’d rather him know what he’s holding than not,” I said quickly. I’d like to know too. Just...just because.”

Emlica’s gaze softened. ”Very well. It’s simple, really. All you need to do is focus on her soul and channel mana into the ring. The intensity of the mana will correspond with how much the ring suppresses her soul.” She raised her hand, and nine ribbons of mana flowed out of her hand, exerting an array of pressure from weak to strong. ”Use this as a benchmark for how to restrict her, should you decide to do so. Using this one,” she indicated the strongest, ”Will restrict her to eighth-level. The weakest will ban her from using any magic at all.”

”Please don’t do that,” I whispered, looking up at him.

”Never? Even if doing so would save your life?” he asked carefully.

I shook my head. ”If using magic costs me my life, at least that is my choice to make. If you take that from me...”

”I understand. If I were to do that, I would never be able to forgive myself,” he said reassuringly.

”And I can’t take this off?” I asked, holding my hand up, showing them my ring.

”You can, but...don’t let it stray more than a few feet from you. And even that might be pushing.”

”Got it. Anything else?”

”Aren’t you forgetting something?” Sari asked.

I blinked, tilting my head. ”I am?”

She put her hands on her hips, glaring at me with a slight pout. ”Why you did this in the first place! Your magic, remember? Aren’t you going to try it out?”

”Ah, right,” I giggled, blushing slightly. Looking around, I found the island had become quite crowded with remnants, all curious to see what had occurred. My gaze rested on Arantius, who had his arms folded, a dark look on his face.

”Please, would you help me?” I asked.

He smoothed his expression, floating over. ”What is it you require of me, child?”

”I, um...I need someone to test my limits.”

He gestured at the sky. ”Cast away.”

I nodded, taking a deep breath, and summoned my staff.

”Shining Aegis,” I called, casting the eight-circle spell.

The sudden rush of mana left me breathless, but it was nothing compared to the exhilaration I felt as the spell came together. The sheer thrill reminded me of the first time I’d ever cast a spell, free and untethered. As the runes appeared, I focused on my soul and was delighted to see it was completely stable. There was none of the wavering around the fringes or jagged edges in my aura that I was used to.

A shining gold dome appeared overhead as the spell completed, yet I barely sagged in response. I felt a little tired, but no more so than walking around the meadows with Luke. I had more than enough strength to cast another one immediately, if I wanted, perhaps even five or six, which was how much mana I had left.

”Ready, little one?” Arantius asked, drawing his sword again. ”I’m going to break it now.”