The Forsaken Hero

I plummeted into the darkness, the wind rushed in my ears, feeling numb and cold inside. Countless thoughts flitted through my mind, scattering like frozen leaves. The darkness below beckoned to me, sucking me in, but some small part of me, a survival instinct, perhaps, forced my heavy body into motion. Somehow, through more luck than anything, my staff snagged a hidden crevasse, pulling me to a stop. The sickening lurch almost tore my arm off, pain shooting through the numbness, but I held on for all I was worth.

Taking a shaky breath, I risked a glance down, finding my feet dangling above what seemed an endless abyss. A wave of dizziness washed through me, black spots dancing before my eyes, my stomach twisting violently. My grip nearly broke then and there, but I struggled to take deep breaths, and the vertigo lessened.

Tearing my gaze from the awful drop, I looked up at the twenty or so feet of sheer cliff that separated me from the rim of the chasm. Was that it? It had felt like I was falling forever, lost already in the darkness, but even if it was only twenty feet, it might as well have been a hundred. I was sore and exhausted, without the scantist bit of mana to support me. Fable was in a similar state, meaning I was trapped here by myself, for however long I could hang on.

My grip slipped, the glassy haft of my staff feeling especially slick beneath my trembling fingers. A moment later, aftershocks rolled through the chasm, nearly shaking me free of the wall, but I persisted, squeezing my eyes shut as large boulders plummeted into the darkness from above. It wouldn’t be long before the entire complex collapsed, burying this place of evil with the weight of an entire city.

That...wouldn’t be so bad. The Glory Chasers had enough time to escape. They would save Ror, and make it to the surface. I took a deep, shuddering breath, feeling a stab of loneliness. They were probably already gone, letting this chasm get their revenge for them. Rasce’s words still echoed in my ear, his accusations sharp against my heart. I had already known all that, but hearing the things I feared most come from one of the people who had once loved me hurt me in a way I hadn’t experienced since Soltair sold me to Lord Byron. Even now, they were probably glad I was–

"Starlight!"

I froze, my grip nearly breaking as Sorrin’s voice fell into my ears. My eyes slowly opened, revealing a silhouette crouching over the chasm’s edge. Sorrin?

The ground continued to tremble, but he held himself steady, driving his sword into the ground to give him something to hang on to. My tail twitched, and I flinched as a large piece of rubble broke free of the ceiling, tumbling toward his head, but my lips were stiff, unable to make a sound.

Suddenly, a glowing barrier appeared above him, deflecting the rock. Tana’s fearful face appeared beside his, her hand grasping her amulet tightly. She relaxed slightly upon seeing me, but I flinched away from her gaze, staring down into the darkness below. How could I face her after what I had done?