The Forsaken Hero
Chapter 301: Oracle of Eternity

Chapter 301: Oracle of Eternity

Following the battle against the demons, both Korra and I were completely exhausted. She still bore many wounds, but she suppressed the pain with a smile, refusing to let me push myself to heal her. And so, we remained on the ground outside the village, resting and discussing the upcoming war and appearance of the Apostle. Though my retelling was scattered, I shared the things I’d heard and seen in my various visions and from Fate.

Perhaps an hour later, I was feeling well enough to summon my staff, but when I tried to cast a Life spell, searing pain exploded in my soul. The staff fell from my hands, vanishing in a cloud of stars, and I collapsed against Fable, clutching my chest and sobbing. Whatever I’d done, whatever that strange ability had been, pushed me well past my limits, tearing open the wounds that had begun to heal. Fable’s soothing power helped, as did Korra’s comforting presence, but by the time I managed to sit up again, the villagers had ventured out of their makeshift fort. There was the low murmur of Erik’s voice and Korra’s response, then everything faded away as I slipped into exhausted sleep once more.

For hours, I tossed and turned, haunted by scattered dreams of the past, present, and future. They would fall upon without warning, dark, intense flashes of blood, demons, and death. The moment a vision began to fade, another took its place, an endless parade of future wars and past tortures. In one moment, I thought I heard Fate calling to me, the next the inquisitor’s irons seared across my flesh. Once, I awoke sobbing, Aurle’s name on my lips, but a gentle hand was quick to answer, soothing me back to sleep. Beneath it all, my soul ached and trembled, a bitter reminder that our victory came at a cost.

When I could bear no more, the flood of scenes finally slowed to a trickle. A final vision flickered through my mind, a brief glimpse of an unfamiliar throne room. A man lounged on the throne, a slender girl in his lip. The scene was blurry preventing me from discerning any details, but their lips were pressed together in a passionate kiss. His hand rose to stroke her head, his fingers trailing through the long, glimmer strands of golden hair that pooled around her shoulders like a waterfall. Before I could discern any sort of details or meaning, the scene evaporated.

I plunged into darkness, falling for what felt like forever before the feeling inverted, and I found myself rising out of sleep. My body was heavy and weak, but the constant pain had faded to a dull throbbing. Uncomfortable, but manageable.

Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, my hands came away wet, stained with tears. Why had I been crying? That last vision hadn’t been sad, had it? I stared at the moisture glistening on my fingers for a moment, then down at my clothes. I was dressed in a soft, cotton dress that was snug around the waist but a little loose around my arms and chest. Simply sitting up had caused it to rub against the Sunpurge, sending an uncomfortable tingle through my veins. Just how long had it been since I’d worn something with proper shoulders?

Pushing the thought away, I looked around the room where I’d slept. It was tight and homely, sparsely furnished, and with a single, shuddered window. A small fireplace on the wall opposite my bed blazed brightly, releasing waves of heat into the room. The flames practically overflowed the mantle, the fire built up as large as physically possible given the limited size of the hearth.

Shifting to the side of the bed, I lowered my feet to the floor and let the sheets fall off my body, pooling about my legs. A cool draft whispered across my skin, and, despite the roaring fire, I shivered. Moving purely by instinct, I tried to settle back, only to pause as Fable’s welcoming warmth failed to materialize. Catching myself, I rubbed a horn and blushed slightly. Perhaps there was a reason I never slept in a bed anymore.

I found my spatial ring on the nightstand, and, setting myself against the cold, I stood and slipped the poorly fitted cotton dress off. A soft sigh of relief escaped my lips as the pressure of the garment left the Sunpurge. The cold air caressed my bare skin, raising goosebumps across my arms, and I quickly donned a more comfortable off-shoulder dress. Loosely folding the cotton one, I left it on the bed and stepped over to the window. Parting the curtain, I was able to confirm my suspicions, finding myself looking out into a scarred village.

The sun was low in the east over the hills. The soft pinks of the sunrise had mostly faded, lingering only on the edges of the horizon. Wood homes extended for a street or two, then abruptly ended in a charred field of ash and cracked cobblestone. The scorched remains of crude brick chimneys sat amid heaps of blackened rubble, all that remained of the homes destroyed in the demon raid. Villagers moved between the homes, seemingly engaged in the reconstruction effort. Their faces were shadowed, their eyes downcast, and their motions were rigid and stiff, like marionettes. Even accounting for those working in the fields or out of view, there were too few of them for a village of this size. After such a devastating attack, surviving the next few months, let alone the coming winter would be far from easy.

A glimmer of gold flashed in the corner of my eye, and I leaned out of the window, straining to glimpse of whatever caused it. As I found the source of light, my breath caught, a shudder running down my tail.

A shining orb floated twenty feet over the rooftops of the village, a golden star of gleaming light. Dozens of fine hairline lines webbed out around the orb, literal cracks in space itself. Around it, familiar, tiny stars were faintly visible, winking in and out of time, the barest threads of fate connecting them.

I was absorbed in the sight, so much so that I jumped, startled, at a sudden knock at the door. The door opened a crack, and Korra stuck her head in, gazing in confusion at the empty bed before finally noticing me by the window. Her eyes widened, and she practically lunged into the room, sweeping me up in a fierce hug.

"Xiviyah!"

The breath left my lungs as she swept as she squeezed me tightly. Korra ignored my frantic gasps for a second before finally relenting, easing up just enough for me to take a welcome breath of air. After catching my breath, I hesitantly returned her embrace, feeling a little uncertain about the unchecked relief I found in her watery eyes. My concern deepened as a single tear trickled down her cheek, and she tightened her hold again.

"You’re finally awake," she murmured, her breath tickling my ear. "I was so worried."

"I’m alright," I replied, smiling faintly, "assuming you let me breathe and all."

With a squeak, Korra practically leaped away. "S-sorry! I just..." she sniffed and wiped the tear from her cheek with the back of her hand. "Don’t you ever worry me like that again!"

I nodded slowly, tail flicking back and forth, and sat on the bed. "What happened? Where’s Fable?"

"You don’t remember? You collapsed after the battle, and the villagers let you sleep here. They’ve helped watch after you and even managed to get you to eat during the few times you awoke, but... it’s been a week, Xiviyah. A week!"

I let out a slow breath, reaching up to caress my horn. "At least this time I woke up in a bed, not a dungeon. But there’s more, isn’t there."

She bit her lower lip and reluctantly nodded. "Yeah, but...you saw it, didn’t you. The star?"

Any hope that I’d been mistaken died, a heavy weight settling in my gut. "And Fable?"

She shrugged, coming over to sit beside me. "After we got you settled, he hasn’t left the star, or whatever it is. He’s not worried, as far as I can tell, but he won’t let anyone else near it. Xiviyah," her voice lowered and she laid a hand over mine. "It’s right where you fought that apostle. I’ve been thinking about it ever since, but it just doesn’t make sense. He was a full level stronger than you, and if they’re really the equivalent of heroes...just what exactly did you do? How could you, someone unable to use combat magic, defeat him?"

I looked at my lap for a long time, the only sound the crackling of the fire and the gentle swish of my agitated tail. At long last, I met her gaze, searching her gaze for any signs of suspicion or anger. Instead, she seemed genuinely puzzled, and worried. For me.

Taking comfort in her obvious care, I opened my mouth and spoke, my voice barely a whisper. "I don’t fully know, but I think it had to do with the Eyes of Fate. Or rather what they became–the Oracle of Eternity. I think I’ve had it all along, ever since Fate gave me her divinity, but I didn’t recognize it till now. Fable’s used its power several times, but I always thought it was just our soul bond that let me see it." I gave a wry smile, my grip on her hand tightening. "Turns out, it was the other way around, and he was borrowing it from me."

She nodded slowly, not quite understanding. "Okay, but what exactly is it? And what’s with that star?"

"It’s not a star, at least, I don’t think so. The demon backed us into a corner, casting a spell I had no hope of deflecting or surviving. It’s all a little blurry but I think I managed to manipulate fate, perhaps even magic, itself. I found the nexus of his soul, all the mana for the spell he’d cast past, present, and future, and...destabilized it. It was so easy, like lighting a fire in a pile of dead leaves. Just one small spark, and..."

I trailed off, a tremble of fear shaking my entire body. The magnitude of the experience had yet to catch up with me, but I knew whatever I had done would likely change everything. It had been a small, almost negligible change in the flow of fate, yet that one act had nearly shattered my soul.

"And the star?" she asked after a moment.

I gazed out the window, unable to see it, but sensing the raw, incomprehensible mana flowing from the rend. "That," I whispered, "Is the consequence. The true price of victory."