The Forsaken Hero

Fyren and Fate. The two immortals I had known the longest, and yet knew the least about. I had so many questions about their nature, purpose, and vision for me. Where did I even start?

My tail flicked, and my hand closed around the Soul Binder. "When Fyren was fighting the Death Demon, he said that, um, I was beyond death. What does that even mean?"

"That is...somewhat hard to explain," Fate began. "I first noticed it some time ago, but fate has... diverged." She nodded to herself. "Yes, that’s the right word. Two different visions of existence have written themselves into the end of its path, and it has struggled to reconcile the difference."

"Two paths? One that I die, and one where I live?" I asked, swallowing the knot forming in my throat.

"One where fate continues, and the other where it ends. Fate has always been influenced by its steward, and right now, that role is divided between a mortal overburdened by its divinity and a god who has none. Two halves driving it in opposite directions, a pull just strong enough to influence, but not divert entirely. Perhaps this is why the new god of fate agreed to face you on the field of battle before the Divine Throne. To preserve his power for the fight, yes, but also because this fight means more than just collecting the divinity. Fate is as it should be; thus, if he wins, then he proves himself as the worthy successor of fate itself.

"So, our war is just a proxy war?"

"No, to you it is personal. But in the grand scheme of all reality, yes. It’s a battle to determine the course of our ship, being the whole of the Divine Realms. Do we sink back into the old, rote paths of old, or turn the prow toward uncharted skies?"

"But what does that have to do with the death demon?" R’lissea asked.

"Only that there are some consequences to bearing a divinity in such a state. By drawing so heavily upon its power, you are altering your own existence. The Oracle of Eternity has woven you deep into the tapestry, and it is resistant to change. Not impossible to accomplish, but..." She spread her hands. "It is a double-edged sword. No mortal is meant to serve as an anchor to the flow of fate. You might have realized, but the longer you’ve held it, the more in tune you are with the divinity. The more of its power you can draw. It’s affecting your soul, placing undue burdens alongside the power it bestows."

"When you say resistant to change..." I half-asked, not sure how to word it. "You mean it’s forcing me down its path?"

"Not forcing, merely guiding. And it’s not fate’s path, but yours."

"You make it sound alive," I said, echoing my worries from earlier.

"Alive? No. But just as rivers always flow downhill, following the path of least resistance, so does fate. Only, instead of going downhill, it meanders by its own laws. That is where it splits: one toward perpetualization and the eventual ruin of immortals, and the other toward oblivion. The God of Fate fights for the first, and we for the second. You are caught up in the current, heading toward the inevitable divergence where a path is chosen. Anyone, even a god, will find it almost impossible to take you or Fate out of the flow before then. Call it fate, or destiny, if you wish. But either way, it was not thrust upon you. You have chosen it through your actions and divinity, and being caught in the current is simply a consequence of that choice."

For some reason, her cryptic words put me at ease. I’d been worrying about being a pawn in some game. Things hadn’t exactly been convenient, but for a while now, events had carried me forward such that even the worst, scariest experiences served a purpose. Like Alex capturing me and taking me to Verity. Was that what it meant to be carried in the current? The path I had worked so hard to follow was now leading me along.

"What will happen if we win?" I asked quietly.

"If you manage to defeat Fate, then we’ll finally have a chance to end the Divine cycle. It will be proof that your path was the right one, and his the wrong one."

"It’s like some sort of ideological battle?" R’lissea asked, tilting her head. "That’s all this is? Proving who is right?"

"Charting a course," Fate corrected. "One battle, one victory, will accomplish nothing, yet will show everything. What happens is what is meant to be. If Xiviyah prevails, it is the first step on a new course. We will have successfully diverted the flow. We must work within the current and direction; else what we seek to accomplish will be impossible. You’ve felt it yourself. The power that guided your hand against your enemies, the power that let you preserve Xiviyah’s life against the demon lord of poison and her apostle ally. It guarantees nothing, but it smooths the path, so to speak."

"This is your fight, Xiviyah. This small battlefield on a single world. Your victory here is meaningless in the war between the gods, and in the greater conflict of the Divine Cycle, but by winning here, you secure the path for others to move forward past anything you’re capable of," Fyren said.

"That’s you? And Fate?" I looked between them, a small twitch overtaking my tail. "You’re together, aren’t you?" A realization, not a question. "This whole time, you’ve been working together."

"The Cycle was forged by intertwining divine and infernal. While the gods hold the power of fate, the demons carry oblivion. To reforge it, one must have the powers of both." Fate answered.

"You’re...not a fire demon."

Fyren hesitated, just for a second. "I am not."

I took a shaky breathe, my fingers curling into my skirt. Only one answer could be true. The signs had been there from the beginning. I just hadn’t been willing to believe it.

"Oblivion." It came out as a whisper, but seemed to suck all the air from my lungs.

He didn’t answer. He didn’t have to.

"Wait, you’re an oblivion demon? I didn’t...is that possible?" R’lissea gasped. Then she paused, frowning deeply. "Wait, what does that even mean? For how long? You’ve been lying to us?"

My thoughts raced just as much, jumping from one assumption to the next. Fyren had come to me in a fire demon gate. The first demon gate. He had an artifact only arbiters carried. He came for me and me alone. Every other demon was wary of him, but didn’t seem to know why. Those that did...

"How did I not see it?" I murmured, pressing a hand to my horn. No wonder Rash’alon had been terrified of him. No wonder he bore the same power as Arantius. No wonder he terrified even the God of Magic himself! Fyren was an oblivion demon.

"Why? Why did you keep this a secret?"

"Because it would have been too easy for immortals to connect the dots. "Gods, demons, it did not matter. You saw how Magic reacted, and he was a sworn ally. Gods and demons have been at war for eternity. That is the natural order of things. Gods create, and demons destroy. That a god and demon were working together as we were was already concerning for all parties, but if it becomes known that a goddess of fate is entangling with oblivion, it will bring calamity to us all. The heavens would fill with the wrath of gods and arbiters on a scale that hasn’t been seen in millennia, since the time gods and emperors swore never to descend personally."

"But why?" I asked.

"Because fate alone can do very little. It is but one half of a whole, and, as I explained before, it resists change. Fate cannot end itself. Fate cannot control itself. Fate simply is. But oblivion..." She shook her head. "There is a reason fate and oblivion were divided between two forces incapable of reconciling."

"But why would they descend? Why would they risk everything just because of that?"

"Because the last time fate and oblivion joined, it was to forge the Cycle of Divinity," Fyren growled, folding his arms.

There it was. The reason for all the lies and deceit. Just Fate rebelling herself had drawn the ire of the entire Divine Realm. They had sent arbiters and literal divine avatars to reclaim the divinity. They knew how important it was. What if they knew Oblivion had sent a demon to work with her? No matter how important Fyren was to me, he was more than one singular soul. His very presence heralded a union between fate and oblivion itself. They didn’t need to declare their plan. That those two forces had come together could only mean one thing, and any god or emperor against that would stop at nothing to stop them.

"We’re going to destroy it all, aren’t we?"

Fate’s eyes softened slightly. "I believe you already knew that"

Knowing and believing were two different things. And now, I actually believed. Not because of anything I knew or they’d told me; I didn’t really understand the implications. But I could feel it. A quiet certainty settled in my heart.

"I’ll defeat him," I whispered, meeting their gaze. Making a promise. "That’s all I can do."

Fate smiled kindly. "One star, Xiviyah. The night starts with one single star. Light the first, and the rest will follow."