The Forsaken Hero
Chapter 383: Plans

Chapter 383: Plans

Orion released a bit of his aura into the mess tent, weak enough no one really noticed but just strong enough to make people give us some unconscious space. "The truth is, my lady, that every single person who was linked in the Nexus went up a level. Johnson, a third-level soldier, actually went up two, though he was close to breaking through to fourth before the fight."

I stared at him, my expression a mixture of shock and disbelief. "Is something like that even possible?"

He just shrugged. "The mages are still analyzing exactly what happened, but it seems to have something to do with the absurd amounts of power you channeled. I certainly felt some sort of supporting influence throughout the fight, and often found my mana regenerating significantly faster than it should have."

"The whole thing is a little mysterious," Sarra said, folding her arms beneath her breasts. "Korra was the first one to break through, but that didn’t happen until nearly a day after the battle. No one thought much of it, as she was on the edge anyway, but then reports began flooding in all over. Elinore suspected it might have been temporary, but each individual received the world’s blessing of an increase in mana, giving them enough strength to remain in their new level even if the old mana eventually faded."

"On the plus side," Luxxa added, "Right now, the Last Light Company has the highest percentage of fifth and sixth-level soldiers of any armed force in the world. If we were to rematch the Dead Wing Legion right now, we’d have a landslide victory."

As the words left her mouth, an unconscious ripple coursed through the mess hall, the gathered soldiers parting to allow someone through. I glanced over and met the piercing green eyes of Korra, who lit up the moment she saw me.

"Xiviyah! You’re awake!"

She bounded over in a blur, nearly throwing her arms around me before hesitating. I hadn’t even realized I’d tensed as she approached, but allowed myself to relax as she settled for mussing my hair. Her eyes watched me intently, searching for something on my face. Whatever she found seemed to satisfy her, because she gave a sharp nod and beamed again.

"Sorry I wasn’t there when you woke up, I asked Elinore to tell me but you were already gone when I got there. You look...fine." She hesitated a second before asking, "Did you hear about Sari?"

"Yes, I want to visit her as soon as I’m done here," I answered with a nod.

Her eyebrows rose a bit, a look of surprise flashing across her face. "Oh, that’s good. It’s just...I was expecting you to be a bit more...upset?"

Orion chuckled, though his words held no humor to them. "We’ve seen so much death and suffering the past few weeks. It’s only natural to be a little numb to it."

"It’s not that," I said softly, shaking my head. "I did everything I could to save her, and we did. Even she’s hurt and has scars..." A shiver down my tail, and I pulled the end of the appendage into my lap, stroking it gently, before continuing. "Scars are the price of surviving in this terrible world, I’m just grateful she’s alive. As soon as we save Elise, I will do everything possible to get her back to Ror in Heartland, where she can start healing."

Korra startled me by reaching over and laying a hand on my knee, squeezing gently. "I’m proud of you," she murmured, a smile on her face. "I thought you would be devastated, as you have been before, but you’re a little more mature than that now."

I felt my face heat up at her praise and my tail twitched out of my hands. It fell back against the hard-packed dirt of the mess hall, where it continued to quiver in embarrassment.

"I-I’m not like that," I replied, rubbing my horn until my blush faded. "I’m just...tired."

"Aren’t we all," Orion huffed, leaning back in his chair. "And sorry, Korra. I already told her about the mass breakthroughs."

"Ah, damn it. I wanted to show off first." Korra shot him a glare, but her tone was playful. Then, turning to me, said, "I can still do that though, right?"

I giggled softly, startling myself with the noise. "Okay, but later. After I see Sari."

"It’s good to hear you laugh, my lady," Luxxa said, a smile breaking her stern countenance. "Like Korra, we were all a little worried you’d be down after what happened. But do you know where we are going next?"

My smile faded as I thought of the path ahead. Despite my light-hearted mood, I hadn’t forgotten the agonizing visions I’d suffered in my sleep. Elise was trapped with that monster, bound with the heart crest I had given him.

"We’re going to take Brithlite," I said after collecting my thoughts.

There was a collective gasp around the table, and Orion leaned forward. "Like the capital city?"

I nodded. "Yeah, we have to. Not just to save Elise, but everyone. Alverin and the church are experimenting with magic that could enslave entire worlds. I don’t know how much damage has already been done, but we have to destroy that research before they can complete it."

"Is this about the heart crest?" Korra asked tentatively.

"They enslaved an entire army," I replied softly. "But I think they’re going for so much more. Entire worlds, like I said. The gods will do anything to get more power, which comes from faith. If they can use the heart crest to manipulate entire planets of people into giving them faith..."

"By the gods..." Luxxa gasped, her hand flying to her mouth. "You can’t be serious."

"What we saw in Bluegate will just be the beginning. Any world that accepts a shard of omniscience already has the framework. Free will, feeling, and even fate itself will be lost once they implement the heart crest and turn worlds into faith farms. We can’t let that happen," I said soberly.

"So what’s the plan?" Korra asked. She seemed remarkably calmer than the others, as though she already expected this. I knew not to underestimate her and figured she’d already come to the same conclusion as me.

I pondered my words carefully before explaining my plan. "I think I need to heal my soul first. If we try and get involved too early, we’ll be crushed between the demon army and the gods. I’m not strong enough to protect everyone yet, and even if you’ll bravely do what needs to be done, I can’t lose you all," I finished in a small voice."

"Then you have an idea for that?" Sarra asked, reminding me of her presence. As Elinore’s apprentice, she would have known about the full severity of my condition, and just how bad it looked.

"I do," I said, resting a hand fondly on Fable’s head. "But it’s going to be dangerous."

"Good," Korra flashed me a smile. "I’ve been looking forward to testing my new power. What did you have in mind?"

"A gate. We need to capture a gate and then defend it until I can utilize its mana to repair my soul. If I’m inside a gate, I don’t think the demons already in Enusia will be able to sense my soul. But even if they can, if we clear out the demons inside first, they’ll have to push through the gate itself, which we can defend with ease."

Korra frowned thoughtfully and ran a hand through her short brown hair. "It seems good, but what about the church? We’ll need to occupy a sixth-level gate for days on end. Even if they don’t know what we’re up to, I don’t think they’ll sit idly by and let a gate get that close to breaking. We’ll have to fight one of the heroes and any reinforcements they can bring."

I winced, my hand tightening around Fable’s fur. Somehow, she’d singled in on the biggest weakness of my plan, the one thing I had no confidence in facing. No matter how I much I thought about it, the appearance of a hero always ended in our loss. I’d seen what Alex and Soltair were capable of, and thinking of their powers turned on my friends and allies was sickening. With all of the sixth-level soldiers we had, it might be possible to at least drive them off, but not without massive casualties.

"It might be Grace?" I offered hopefully.

"Maybe, but I wouldn’t count on her mercy," Korra muttered dubiously. "She’s more inclined to be friendly, but she only cares about fighting and won’t think twice about crushing us if we can’t entertain her. I barely won the fight last time, and I’m not certain I can again until I reach her level. What about Luke?"

I shook my head hard, causing my hair to dance around my shoulders. "We can’t trust the demons, especially the apostles. They only care about power, and would try and consume my soul the moment they think my usefulness is at an end."

"Usefulness?" Orion asked, "Korra told us what happened, but didn’t give much detail. What did you offer them?"

I hesitated, my tail twitching uncertainty. Korra nodded encouragingly, and I sighed. "The future. I offered them a chance to change their fate."