The Forsaken Hero-Chapter 882: Crossroads of Fate

A/N: I accidentally uploaded an older version of the previous Chapter during the last daily upload. I’ve since corrected it (10/22/2025). Thank you for your patience.

The gentle rustling of leaves pierced the silence following the tense confrontation between Aerion and the Inquisitor. The darkness gave way to a grove of young, slender trees, quite unlike the ancient, gnarled forests of Sylvarus. Their broad, golden leaves seemed to flicker with flames in the red glow of the setting sun, which peered through the trunks. The air was crisp and clean, bearing a hint of winter’s chill. A few lazy trails of smoke rose into the reddening sky in the distance.

Another vision? I blinked, looking down at myself. Sure enough, despite the warmth of the sun, fresh air, and the caress of the autumn breeze, I was in my soul form. But this vision felt... visceral. A vision, but not.

The same presence that had pulled me from the last vision was still there, on the edge of my soul. It beckoned to me, a whisper I couldn’t quite make out.

I followed the feeling toward the smoke trails, drifting between the trunks of the trees. There was something familiar about the forest, something about the rugged mountains rising in the distance that tugged at my memories. I’d been here before, though in a dream, vision, or reality I didn’t know.

A few timbered houses with stone foundations and sparse gardens with wilting vegetables peeked through the trees. A shiver ran down my spine and tail as I passed by a large, two-storied barn. My suspicions were confirmed as I found the village proper.

The name came to me unbidden. White River Village. The land corrupted by the basilisk’s curse.

My chest tightened, a small gasp escaping my lips as I recognized it. That barn was where the villagers had kept their petrified kin. It was where I had first broken a curse, and where they’d...

No, it didn’t matter. They were the first to reject me, but far from the last. There was no point in dwelling on it now.

If only such resolve could ease the ache in my heart.

The village square was empty, save for a single woman who faced away from me. She had shining silver hair and a long-skirted dress that brushed her ankles. A naked blade was thrust through the silken sash at her waist, gleaming with starlight. She turned as I neared, catching my gaze with silver, star-filled eyes. Sad eyes.

My breath caught in my throat. "Verity?"

The fate hero met my gaze, but her eyes were far away and distant. Like the world, she seemed too...substantial. The stars of her soulform glimmered brightly, vivid as the vision I was in.

"You’re...here?" she mumbled dazedly. "But how did you survive...? Oh. You’re from the past."

She sighed, holding her wrist dejectedly.

"The past? Verity, what are you...?"

"To think...you knew this whole time. Why did you still come? Why did you fight? You had to know you would lose...that he would..."

She trailed off in a sniffle, letting a tear trace down her cheek unchecked. Sorrow welled up in my breast, an anguish so deep and heavy that my own eyes teared up. I felt an urge to embrace Verity, to weep with her, yet I restrained myself. These feelings weren’t mine. They belonged to the vision. To Verity.

"This isn’t a vision, is it," I said softly.

To you, maybe. But to me...?" She shook her head, another tear following the first. "I’m sorry. I told myself I wouldn’t cry...that I accepted it, but..."

She stiffened as I really did embrace her, eyes filled with disbelief. I held her close, a hand on her back, the other gently caressing the back of her head. She was taller than I, yet she seemed to melt into the embrace, her shoulder shaking with a sob.

"What happened to you?" I murmured, surprised to feel the wetness of her tears.

"I’m so sorry...I didn’t mean for it to happen. I didn’t want to hurt you..."

As her words tumbled out, jumbling together in a near incomprehensible mess, the vision twisted with more grief. Tears blurred the world as the depths of her sorrow poured into me. Was this how the remnants felt? Trapped in a realm tainted by my emotion? And yet, this wasn’t another realm. Verity didn’t have one, for no being without a divinity could.

I peered at the village again. Despite the smoke trailing from the chimneys and the warmth of the firelight in the windows, there were no silhouettes or shadows of people within. No women digging for vegetables in the evening light, nor men bringing in firewood from the leantoos aside each house.

"You’re lost, aren’t you?"

We dance as puppets on their strings. Heroes, Apostles...even you. Doing all their little tasks. But me....I’m not like that. They never wanted me to dance. They only called me for one purpose. I...I fulfilled it."

"What purpose? To hunt me?"

She squeezed her eyes shut. "The gods need an oracle. They can’t fight this war without the divinity of Fate among their ranks. I...I thought they wanted me to get it, but...it wasn’t true. I was just a...a vessel."

She shivered, the warmth of her body fading as she grew more insubstantial. Not just her, but the entire vision. Something tugged on my soul, pulling me away. A shake on my shoulder in the real world, a frantic voice calling my name. I tried to ignore it, but the voice grew louder. Korra’s voice.

"I have to go," I murmured.

"Please...don’t leave me..." she sobbed, clutching me tightly. "It’s so cold...so dark..."

The desperation in her voice, the fear...it reminded me of the shadows of Haven and the despair that had gripped me. I let my confusion go, holding her arms and looking her in the eye. It didn’t matter if she was the enemy or working with Soltair.

With as much confidence as I could muster, I promised, "I’ll find you, Verity. Wherever you are, however you got here, I won’t abandon you. I won’t leave you."

Her head snapped up, eyes widening with horror. "No! You can’t!"

"I’m not afraid of Soltair," I said. It wasn’t true, but that didn’t matter right now.

She flinched at the name, but fate rippled with a deeper fear, of something far beyond the Sun Hero. "You can’t win, not against him. Please, don’t try, don’t fight him. Stay where it’s safe. I’ll...survive."

As if to contradict her, a sudden shockwave swept through the village. It left the gardens and homes untouched, seeming to exist only in the fabric of the vision itself. My soul constricted beneath its weight, and I let out a strangled shriek. The pain was instant and overwhelming, rising to levels I hadn’t experienced since sunpurge had consumed my body.

The vision shattered in the wake of the blast, leaving me with one terrified thought. Ninth-level. Whatever had caused that was ninth-level.

I jolted awake, looking up into Korra’s face. Her brow was furrowed, eyes wet with concern. When I gasped, sitting up, she slumped, relief flooding her face.

"Thank the gods you’re awake," she said, her grip on my shoulder slackening.

"What happened? " I asked, touching my horn as my head began to ache. Perhaps sitting up had been too ambitious. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

I sat in the leaves beneath the bows of Sylvarus, resting against Fable. Korra knelt beside me, Gayron standing over her shoulder, looking around the shattered forest.

"You really made a mess here, didn’t you. Was the dragon really that strong?" Gayron asked curiously.

"Dragon?" I blinked, tilting my head. Amidst the fog of questions and fears from my visions, I barely remembered the events that led to them in the first place. It did ring a bell, but--

"Are you feeling alright?" Korra frowned, reaching forward and laying her hand on my forehead. Her skin was cool, and--

"Oh!" I blushed, avoiding her gaze. "That dragon. Sorry, I was just...it was strong. But we managed to win. How is R’lissea?"

"Fine. She’s with the elvish army, treating the wounded. Apparently, she made a breakthrough during the fight and figured out a way to purge the Black Mist from festering wounds," Korra said. "But are you sure you’re alright? You gave us quite the scare, taking a nap in the middle of nowhere like that."

"I was waiting for the ship," I admitted, "I thought they might, um, you know..."

"What, pick you up?" she chuckled, letting her hand slip from my forehead. "Where would they park? The only SkyDock is in the city!"

My face warmed. "I know, I just...didn’t want to fly back. It’s scary."

"This, coming from the girl who just killed a dragon," Gayron said, shaking his head.

"It’s not dead," I admitted, biting my lip. "Connor made it a lich."

"So we’ll get the chance to fight it, after all, " Korra said.

Gayron grinned. "Nice!"

"What? No, that’s not a good thing...ugh, never mind," I muttered.

They shared a laugh, and Korra eased her arms under me, gently picking me up. Fable rose, giving his coat a shake. Borealis, disturbed from his place on my shoulder, squawked indignantly and settled on Korra’s head.

"Hey! You’ll mess up my hair," she protested.

"Sorry to tell ya, but fighting an undead horde already did that. Besides, isn’t that why you keep your hair short? So it’s easy to fix?" Gayron asked.

She glared at him. "So?"

"Just saying," he said, raising his hands defensively.

"Don’t just say,’ just do. Get him off already! "