The Forsaken Hero
Chapter 438: Soulmark

Chapter 438: Soulmark

"Now that you’ve asked your questions, I’ve got a few of my own," Korra said, turning to Gayron with a challenging glint in her eyes.

He glared at her but didn’t outright refuse, so Korra pressed on.

"What the hell is that cloning ability? You’ve only ever used one or two on me at once, but there must have been twenty of them attacking Xiviyah. Are there any limits on it, or did you just never take me seriously?"

Something about the way she said that made me shiver, and judging by Gayron’s twitching tail, he felt it, too. Korra’s gaze seemed to pierce right through him, causing him to rub his horn and shrink back slightly. I couldn’t help but smile a little. At least I wasn’t the only one who felt intimidated by her intensity.

"It’s nothing like that, and they’re not clones," he mumbled defensively. Using more than a handful of incarnations on a small target is wasteful. It’s impossible to optimize my attacks effectively, though they can be useful for sheer, overwhelming power."

"So that was your goal? Trying to overwhelm my wards before the elemental appeared?" I inquired, curious about his strategy.

He shrugged. "Something like that, though now I realize how naive a thought that was. To be honest, I thought you were looking down on me a bit when you summoned that spell to protect the soldiers. I’ve never had trouble breaking through a barrier of the same level as me, at least, until today."

It was a surprisingly honest answer, devoid of the usual mockery or condescension. In fact, looking back, Gayron had been remarkably civil throughout the entire conversation, especially since the duel ended. He hadn’t once tried to belittle me or make me feel ashamed.

"How does it work, then?" Korra pressed.

Gayron fidgeted with the pommel of his sword, avoiding her gaze. After a long pause, he sighed and looked up. "I suppose it’s alright to tell you. You’ve been transparent with me, after all, even if it’s foolish. Don’t forget we’re enemies."

Korra rolled his eyes, and he shot her a glare before continuing. "Whatever. It’s an ability called Infernal Wildfire. I can spawn demonic incarnations of myself by using Fire Magic or other techniques. It’s not like they’re independent though, and they all pull from my soul."

"Is that why your skills drop so much when you use them? Do you have to concentrate on controlling their actions?"

Gayron stiffened, tightening his grip on his undrawn sword hilt. "Something like that."

"Ah, that makes sense. You’ve never been great, even in our duels, but I really saw a difference when you were fighting Fable. That wolf’s a monster to begin with, and I have a feeling he wasn’t even going all out."

I nodded, clasping my hands together nervously as Gayron turned his glare on me. "Gayron, if it’s alright for me to say, I think you rely too much on your abilities. Your attacks are really big and flashy, but they don’t have a lot of actual power. The strength of your ability, Infernal Wildfire, allows you insane burst potential, but you’re unable to coordinate any meaningful attacks."

I swallowed hard, my tail flicking nervously. "A unified party is capable of so much more than a group of individuals. When I traveled with Soltair, Fyren taught us how to work together. Your ability would be far more powerful if you could coordinate your incarnations in a meaningful way. Normal people can’t cast multiple high-circle spells at once, but you’re not subject to that limitation."

He opened his mouth to protest, fire dancing in his eyes, but he hesitated. After a moment, his shoulders slumped, and he rubbed his eyes tiredly. "It’s not as easy as it looks, you know. It’s only been a few days since Xiviyah healed my soul. I haven’t used Infernal Hellfire for months now."

"It’s not supposed to be," Korra said, her voice firm. "That’s the whole point of training. But if you don’t learn to rely on yourself instead of your abilities, you’re going to meet someone who counters them, and you’ll die. Hell, you’re actually a hard counter for Xiviyah and should have been able to overwhelm her in seconds. But unlike you, she’s studied and trained every day, no matter how much it hurt or how tired she felt. You haven’t, and that’s why you lost."

"I could say the same about you," he retorted, "If I’m so weak and unskilled, then why do I beat you in our duels?"

Korra sniffed, turning her head away. "Less than half the time, and that’s because I don’t have any magical items. At least you have a good sword and armor."

I shifted uneasily, not liking how heated things were getting. I clasped my hands together and practically pleaded, "Please, Korra, Gayron, we all still have a lot to learn. The battles ahead require us to be more than we are. All of us."

Korra grimaced and turned her head to the side. "Fine, whatever."

"Korra, please?"

She sighed and rubbed her head, smoothing a lock of brown hair behind her ear. "You’re right, I’m sorry." She straightened and looked directly at Gayron. "I didn’t mean to insult you. It’s not that you’re weak or unskilled, just...unrefined, I guess."

Gayron stared right back at her, unflinching. "Is that so?"

Her hands curled into fists, and she took a breath before responding. "Yeah. The only reason I lose to you is because your ability’s busted, not because you earned it. I’ve got basically no practice with lots of high-level opponents, and because I don’t have much magical protection, I can’t afford to trade blows and have to spend all my time dodging. Kahlen’s the only one I can get to spar with me, but he’s not particularly agile."

"Kahlen?" Gayron asked, raising his eyebrow. "A curious name for a soldier."

I shook my head. "He’s a demon, actually. The leader of the small band you’ve probably seen walking around."

"Like Wisp!" Sari added helpfully.

"Wisp?" he blinked, then shook his head. "Never mind. I was actually going to ask about that. What the hell are those things doing here? I don’t recognize their soulmark, meaning they’re a rogue element. That kind of thing shouldn’t even exist, not with Luke directing the invasion."

"A soulmark?" I asked, tilting my head, a shiver of unease running down my spine. The demon army following Luke radiated a peculiar aura, thick and oppressive, like a suffocating cloud of Curse Magic. Kahlen and his followers carried a similar resonance, their souls like wisps of smoke and ash, clinging to the edges of my perception.

Gayron’s voice was surprisingly gentle as he explained, "Soulmarks are how demon lords and their followers control demons. Demons only submit to the strong, or those they deem worthy of their obedience. In the mortal world, that usually means whoever will give them the best chance to consume souls. It’s similar to a slave crest, in a way, though it’s voluntary since death breaks the bond."

"Voluntary?" Korra scoffed, "That doesn’t sound very voluntary to me."

Gayron shook his head, a flicker of amusement in his eyes. "Demons don’t dwell on death. The weaker ones have no concept of it, and the stronger ones see it as a minor inconvenience. Regardless, a demon bound by a soulmark is obligated to obey any command given. For the scions and mindless evolved demons, those commands are like immutable laws, like gravity. Fully sentient demons only allow a soulmark if they fully trust their leader, and they’ll often choose death if that trust is betrayed."

I rubbed my horn, trying to piece together the implications of what I’d just learned. "Are you trying to say the Lord of Ash isn’t under your control?"

Gayron stiffened, his tail lashing out as if struck. His voice dropped to a deadly whisper. "The Lord of Ash?"

I nodded slowly, and he groaned, raking a hand through his hair in frustration. "Damn it all," he muttered under his breath. "Just when I thought things couldn’t get more complicated. First Luke, and now this ’Lord of Ash’ bastard’s obsessed with you. Can’t things ever be simple with you?"

I shrank back, my tail trembling with a sudden wave of guilt. Was this somehow my fault?

"The Lord of Ash appeared out of nowhere," Gayron explained, his voice a mixture of confusion and frustration. "His existence should be impossible. There’s no demon gate strong enough to allow a demon of his strength through right now, and even if there was, the church would have thrown everything they had into closing it. The Demon Lords keep a close eye on every gate that reaches Enusia and would have at least warned us so we could support their entry. He’s an anomaly, every bit as big as that freak snowstorm."

An anomaly? My heart skipped a beat, and I looked at Korra wide-eyed. The Ice Spirit only existed because of me. In fact, everything that had gone wrong with Enusia, from the outbreak of the war to the destruction of the Western University, was because of me.

Korra’s brow furrowed in concern, and she subtly slipped her hand into mine, squeezing it comfortingly. "What are you trying to say?"

"That you should kill those demons, or at least reject them. That Lord of Ash is nothing but trouble, especially since we have no idea what his agenda is. He’s killed every messenger we’ve sent and even chased Edrin away. He’s another apostle, if you didn’t know," Gayron added casually, as if mentioning the weather.

"Another apostle? How many of you are there?" Korra asked, exasperated.

"It doesn’t matter," I said, shaking my head. "Kahlen’s only ever helped me. He saved my life when Victor attacked, and even managed to use that corruption attack you crippled Levin with. He could have hurt or killed me at any time, but he didn’t. He just–"

Gayron held up his hand, stalling me. "Levin? Who the hell is that?"