The Forsaken Hero
Chapter 378: Cornered

Chapter 378: Cornered

I nodded, my grip on my skirt tightening. "I don’t like being alone. It’s dark, and...scary."

"And vengeance?" Luke asked, surprising me with the sudden change of topic.

I stared at my feet, conscious of my tail flicking back and forth anxiously. "I...I just have to save her. I don’t want innocent people to die, but I will do what I have to save Elise."

Luke blinked several times, something close to disappointment coming over his face. "I see."

"Are you taking Brithlite?" Korra asked a surprise question of her own. "If you do, don’t you dare kill Alverin."

Luke stiffened, his mask cracking with anger. "The king? How could you possibly give your loyalty to that bastard? Don’t you know what his people have done to her?" Her jerked his staff toward me, "And to me?" he echoed softly, almost imperceptibly.

Korra’s aura erupted before she could contain it, making the demons tense, their souls surging with mana. If she were aware of the looming threat, she didn’t seem to care, taking an angry step forward and glaring hard at the demonkin. "Loyalty?" she spat, her face twisting in a scowl. "No, I’m going to kill that bastard myself, so don’t you dare touch him."

The vehemence of her response seemed to catch them all off guard, and Luke’s brow creased with genuine confusion. "You...hate him? But he’s a human. If this kingdom falls, then the entire northern continent is opened up to us. How can a hero possibly think that way?"

"As if I care," Korra returned, still glaring at him. "This war isn’t as black and white as you seem to think, apostle. Xiviyah and I are no more allies of the humans than we are you. Since we’ve been together, we’ve killed way more of them than demons and even killed Levin. At least your Fire Apostle survived."

I bit my lip and looked away, letting my tail droop against the cold stone courtyard. I didn’t truly regret killing Levin, he had tried to kill me after all, but his death was unintentional. It was as much a shock to me as anything I’d done before, proving my powers weren’t as much under my control as I wished. That was yet another reason I hesitated to use the Oracle of Eternity to severe souls from Fate. That wasn’t a power anyone should have.

"Levin? The Earth Hero?" Luke prodded. His tail twitched in confusion, the motion bringing a small smile to Korra’s lips. "He’s dead?"

"More than that," she replied evenly, with a glance in my direction. "Cut from Fate itself. That’s the price of going against the Oracle of Eternity, something you should keep well in mind."

"Threats?" a new voice cut into the courtyard, filled with pyroclastic fury. "Just what are you waiting for, Luke? Kill them and be done with it already."

A red-haired human strode into the courtyard, his clothes and hair streaming fire. Waves of heat rolled off of his soul with the signature mana residue of an ability, one I’d seen before. My heart skipped a beat as the fiery figure turned to look at me, and I drew close to Korra, all but clinging to her arm. Fable curled around me, his fur brushing my hip and lips curled back in a growl.

Gayron was a human, the Apostle of Fire. He was young, perhaps only a year or two older than I, with fiery red hair and eyes that sparkled like drifting embers. Despite his relative youth, he was muscular and powerfully built, his arms easily thicker than my legs. He carried a long-handled war axe that gleamed with sixth-level enchantments and wore bejeweled half-plate armor. He was speckled with blood and gore from head to toe, all of which dried and flaked off in the extreme heat emanating from his soul.

"Gayron? What the hell are you doing here? I specifically instructed you to lead the battle at the gates!" Luke said in a rare moment of undisguised anger. He whirled to face the demons standing behind him, his dark eyes raking over them with even greater fury. "Which one of you bastards told him?

One of the fire demons took a step back, his burning eyes wide with fear. Luke pointed his staff at it, but before he could do anything, Gayron growled, a very demon sound despite his human body.

"I’ve been waiting to find you, oracle. To watch you squirm and hear you scream as your flesh melts from your bones."

I swallowed hard, my chest tightening with apprehension. It was clear he hadn’t forgotten our last encounter, nor could he, I realized. His soul was barely at the peak of sixth level, an entire level lower than what he should be. It was scarred and chaotic, even for someone using infernal mana. From the tightness around his eyes and the hatred in his voice, it must have hurt him constantly too, a feeling I myself was well acquainted with.

"Return to your post," Luke said through gritted teeth.

With a feral shout, Gayron thrust his hand forward and released a fifth-level burst of fire. I smiled faintly as the licks of flame curled around mine, Fable, and Korra’s bodies, lapping at us like starving animals. The waves of heat lifted my hair, letting it stream out behind me, but when the magic subsided, Adaptive Resistance had protected us and we were free of even the scent of ash, much less burns.

"What the hell?"

Gayron gaped at us openmouthed only to cringe as a sudden aura dominated the courtyard, freezing every demon in place.

"What do you think you’re doing?" Luke asked quietly, walking unhurriedly to the stiff and trembling human. "You have your responsibilities. This is mine."

The Apostle of Fire stiffened, a look of anger replacing his cowering attitude. "I’m fighting this war. And what about you? Why are those damned heroes still alive? Will you jeopardize this entire war because of a passing fancy? If you want the slut, then rape her and be done with it. If you can’t dispose of her afterward, I’ll do it for you. With pleasure."

"You go to far–"

"Or is you who doesn’t go far enough?" Gayron spat. "The heroes are the single greatest threat to our mission, to your mission. How can you hesitate to remove them now? Do you lack the commitment? have you already forgotten why we’re fighting this war?"

Luke’s eyes flashed with anger, his entire body tensing with anger. He quivered silently for a moment, his tail lashing, until he let out a long, shaky breath and his tail fell still. His eyes slowly opened and focused on Korra and me, completely devoid of anything but cold resolve.

"Damn it, but...you’re right," he said in his callous, almost conversational tone. "I lost focus. But Gayron...do not doubt me again. I will not let you question my loyalty or commitment."

The apostle of fire let out a satisfied grunt. "Just don’t give me a reason to."

"Luke, please, listen to me," I said hastily, taking an unsteady step forward.

Korra grabbed my shoulder, her fingers digging into my flesh. "Xiviyah, we need to go!"

The apprehension in her voice was palpable, but I shook my head. "It’s too late to run. We lost that chance the moment they appeared."

Luke’s eyes softened for a moment as they fell on me, but there was no warmth there, not anymore. Only regret, and whispers of an apology."

"Have you ever wished to change the past?" I asked softly, returning his gaze without wavering. "To relive it with all of the power and knowledge you have now?"

Luke hesitated, his seventh-circle spell slowing considerably. I glanced at his tail and found it twitching, using that as courage to press on.

"Luke, I’m not a hero anymore. I lost my blessing and my cause, forsaken and tortured until my life lost its meaning. Do you have any idea what it’s like to watch your only friend tortured and raped because you won’t break? To have them torn from your arms all because you weren’t strong enough?"

Tears welled up in my eyes as Aurle’s smile flashed through my mind. Luke’s hesitation grew, much to Gayron’s dissatisfaction. But before the fiery human could protest, I clasped my hands together against my chest and pleaded with the demonkin.

"I know you do, I can feel it. The circle leaves a mark on everyone they touch, a shadow that won’t fade no matter how much light you find. There’s one waiting for me in Brithlite, lost in the chains of the Circle. I can’t change the past, I can’t save those who are gone."

Korra’s grip on my shoulder loosened until it became a comforting touch. "No one can," she murmured softly.

I felt a swell of inner strength as I lifted my head and reached out my hand, summoning my staff in a cloud of shining stars. The demon army tensed, and Luke gripped his staff mid-spell, watching me intently. I could feel a resonance between our souls, that he understood every word I was saying.

"I asked if you wanted to teach yourself in the past, to learn what you must to do find peace. The future yearns to do that very thing if we’ll but listen." My voice strengthened as I finally allowed myself to embrace the truths in my soul and declare, "I am the Oracle of Eternity, the heir of Fate’s divinity. You will spare our lives, and in return, I shall grant you the thing you seek."

"The thing I seek?" Luke’s voice was a wistful whisper, the spell on his staff flickering out.

I smiled softly, remembering the countless hours I’d spent wishing for it myself. We were the same, he and I, wanderers in the cold, lonesome dark. "A chance to find your fate."

His eyes widened as a soulcast circle erupted from my staff, ensnaring him in a starburst of fate magic. Taking it for an attack, Gayron and the demons ignored Luke’s plea for them to remain back and lunged forward, launching a dozen sixth-circle attacks at me at once.

I let them come, confident they would never reach me. Fate wouldn’t allow it, after all. With a deep breath, I forge the bond between Luke’s soul and my own, letting my soft voice rise in the air.

"Link Soul: Oracle of Eternity."

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