The Forsaken Hero
Chapter 326: Depths of Integrity

Chapter 326: Depths of Integrity

"You’re sorry?" I echoed duly. The word reverberated through my mind, swirling faster and faster until it plunged into my soul, igniting a spark of white-hot fury. Words bubbled up in my chest, breaking past my natural timid restraint and erupting through my lips. "Sorry? What are you sorry for? For letting Korra die? For allowing the inquisitors to defile her with their filthy hands? Korra, who called you a beloved friend to the very end...you’re just going to abandon her?"

At the end of my outburst, I found myself standing, my chair cast out behind me. My tail lashed violently at my feet and my hands gripped the edge of the table hard. Levin stared at me, open-mouthed, his face pale.

"I-it’s not like that!" he protested, growing a little heated himself. "I told you already. There’s nothing I can do! So don’t act all self-righteous and lay your own sins and weakness at my feet. If it weren’t for you, she never would have run away. She never would have been hurt. It’s your fault she’s dying, that the inquisitors have her. Don’t lay your sins at my feet, filthblood."

He spat the slur like a curse, glaring at me across the table. Wisps of power, solid as the earth, emanated from his soul, griped the room with unbearable pressure.

Every breath came hard and labored, and I stumbled back a step, my weakness returning. His words bit into me like poisoned barbs, and with a shuddering breath, I collapsed back into the chair. Despair and self-loathing pooled in my chest, and the flickering flames of my indignation sputtered and died, plunging me into bitter darkness.

"Was it all a lie?" I asked. My eyes glistened wetly with tears, shed and unshed. "You said you owed her, that you wanted to help. Why are you abandoning her now?"

He shifted in his seat, something close to guilt flashing through his eyes. "I...didn’t mean to. I do owe her, but this is just...different. I didn’t believe you could heal me, but now that I’m restored, it’s risking too much for nothing. Simply being seen with you could be damning, much less attacking church sanctioned inquisitors. Right now, it’s a lot more important that I find R’lissea and get my body healed. My soul’s around the peak of sixth level right now, but I have a feeling that if I can get this corruption–" he rubbed the scars on his hands "–I’ll be able to reach my full strength again. Until then, even if my soul’s capable, I doubt I could handle more than a fifth-level magical technique."

I stared at him, the tip of my tail beginning to lash once more. "You’re just like them. The pope, Soltair, Alex...Korra said you were better, but she was wrong. You lied to me and are now choosing to abandon her, all so you can get what you want. Is that what it means to be a hero? Perhaps that’s the real reason Korra chose to leave. She couldn’t stand being compared to people like you. People who lie and manipulate just to accomplish their own selfish gains. The kind of people who hurt me."

Levin frowned as I broke off in a sob, his hands tightening into fists. "Why are we still having this conversation? As sad as it is, there’s nothing I can do for Korra. She’s going to die. I’ll mourn her, but right now, the most important thing is driving the demons back from Brithlite. Victor is out on the front lines fighting, but he can’t do it alone. There are too many strong demons, and their allies are no slouches either. There are always casualties in war, but we can’t linger on them. We have to continue fighting and ensure their sacrifices aren’t in vain."

His words were an eerie echo of everything they had said about me. The pope, arbiter, and even Fate to an extent. War was a time when innocent people were forced to make sacrifices. It wasn’t fair, but it was reality. It was fate.

My grip on my skirt tightened, a tremor running down my tail. I was supposed to be the sacrifice, not Korra! When I was condemned, she refused to accept that. She attacked the Divine Throne, and when that failed, cast aside everything that had ever mattered to her and hunted across the world for me. She didn’t accept that I was a necessary sacrifice.

"You’re wrong," I mumbled. Slowly, my voice gained strength. "You’re speaking as if she’s already dead, but you’re wrong! She’s not dead. Her fate is not written. I’ve seen it, I’ve seen that she can be healed and well again. I’m supposed to sit with her atop that spire and we’ll laugh and smile, basking in the warmth of the sun. I can’t let her go...not like this..." A fresh wave of tears spilled over, blurring my vision, but I looked up and caught Levin with a fierce stare. "Levin, if...if there was you could use your ability to help her, would you?"

He hesitated, staring at the dying embers in the fireplace for what felt like an eternity. At long last he sighed and closed his eyes. When they opened again, he fixed me with a hard stare and said, "Are you trying to say you have a method to share my ability with her?"

"Y-yes, I can," I lied. Exhaling softly, I ran a hand over my horn, taking confidence in the familiar ridges. I had no idea how to share someone else’s ability, but if this was a chance, then I couldn’t allow it to slip through my fingers. Fate had brought me here for a reason, and I refused to believe it was just so Levin could lie and manipulate me into healing him. I would figure it out when the time came, but I needed this chance, even if it meant lying.

Levin nodded and tapped his chin, deep in thought. I shifted on the edge of my seat, heart pounding in my throat. Would he be able to call my bluff? My only grace was that he didn’t know me well, or he’d surely be able to tell I was lying by the way my tail twitched and my facial expressions. Please, just think I was nervous...

"Here’s the thing, Xiviyah," he said after a long pause, "I cannot comprise my integrity and standing in this world, not even for Korra. You’ve already thrown it all away, but I have so much more to lose. But–" he said, holding up a hand to stall my protests, "–Should Korra somehow be brought to my room, I won’t withhold my aid. Furthermore, I have no plans to leave this inn for the rest of the day. In fact, I would go as far as to say that nothing, not even a demon invasion, would convince me to leave."

I stared at him, breathless, my tears forgotten. "You’re not saying..."

He favored me with a tight, strained smile. "Indeed. After a sudden, miraculous recovery, my soul needs time to rest. I’m afraid I won’t be up to fighting any demons who suddenly decide to attack the city." His smile faded, and he gave me a meaningful look. "They would be foolish to do so, of course. There’s a sixth-level High Inquisitor there, but if they want to throw away their worthless lives, they’re welcome to it."

I stood quickly, perhaps a little too fast, nearly falling again as my legs trembled beneath me. My tail flicked back and forth, excited by the sudden warmth blossoming in my chest. The fires of my hope had burned low, but now they stirred again, flickering to life. Levin’s betrayal and the consequent despair evaporated like mist, retreating into the depths of my heart. I couldn’t forget the way he hurt and manipulated me for his gain. There would, if fate willed it, a reckoning, but for now, all that mattered was he was willing to help me save Korra.

"Thank you, Levin," I cried, wiping the tears from my eyes, "Thank you!"

He waved at me dismissively and leaned back in his chair. "I’m not doing this for you, filthblood. And for the record, I still think it’s a suicide mission."

Despite the slur, he couldn’t help but smile. For the briefest second, there was a flicker of the old warmth and camaraderie I’d seen at the Divine Throne, a whisper of the man he had been before the catastrophe with the Fire Demon. He had been a protector and a dependable shoulder for the others to lean on. Perhaps one day, he would be again.

There was nothing more to say, and so I dropped a shallow curtsey and made my way out of the inn. As I descended the stairs, I summoned my staff. Before even reaching the door, I waved my staff and opened a portal, calling Fable.

The willowy innkeeper shouted in surprise, shocked as a ten-foot wolf sprang through the gate, and for the first time, I understood her words.

"I don’t care if you’re the hero’s friend or not. Get the hell out of here, filthblood. And no demon summoning!"

It was exactly the pragmatic response I’d expect from a hardened native of Blue Canyon, and my lips twitched into a faint smile. Fable gave her a disdainful snort before totally ignoring her and winding around me, his tail wagging. I caught his neck in a hug, drying the last of my tears in his fur before pulling back and looking into his starry, golden eyes. I could see myself reflected in them, my eyes identical to his. My hair was neat, yet nowhere near as soft or lustrous as when Korra brushed it. Already, I missed her loving hands and tender touch.

"Thank you for answering me," I whispered in my wolf’s ear, running a hand playfully over his horns. "But it’s not going to be easy from here on out. Once, Korra attacked a fortress to save me. It’s time we repaid the favor."

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