บท 13: Identification
Name: Xiviyah, Hero of Fate
Race: Demonkin
Status: Sun's Divine Curse; Fate's Blessing; Slave Contract: Sun Hero
Abilities: Mana: 9th; Affinity: Fate; Adaptive Resistance: Sun: (1st), Curse (1st); Eyes of Fate;
The information was scarce, with no explanation provided. I had no idea what the various statuses' and abilities meant, but whatever the implications might be left the Inquisitor speechless.
A warm, gentle hand landed on my shoulder, and I looked up, startled, to find Soltair grinning. "Well?" he asked smugly.
The inquisitor's jaw tightened. "She's a hero," he spat through clenched teeth.
The Pope clapped his hands together, adopting an expression of pleasant surprise. "Well, this is certainly unexpected. But truly, it is a great reason to rejoice. The tenth hero has finally found their way to us. The gods truly work in mysterious ways, do they not?"
I nodded dumbly, my mind a whirl of confusion. Everything was happening too fast, and I had no idea how to process it all. Somehow, I had already awakened, which meant they had to accept my calling as a hero. But they should have already known that, right?
"Thank you, Holy One, for accompanying us for the revealing of the Fate Hero. Now, if you'll excuse us, we are already late for afternoon training," Soltair said.
"Do as you wish," the Pope replied. He turned to his followers and said, "I'm going to be secluded for a while. Take no action until the will of the Sun God is known."
The Inquisitor nodded and left without another glance, followed by the soldiers. Soltair drew me close to him, resting a hand on my shoulder, and chuckled.
"There's going to be some crazy stories going around today. I can't wait to hear what kind of rumors those adventurers plan on spreading," he said, nodding toward the far wall, where the adventurers stood.
The Pope silenced him with a glare and stalked away. The adventurers buzzed with whispers, staring at me and Soltair with interest. He gave them a cocky grin and nodded to the priest, who shooed them away.
When we were alone, Soltair sagged and squeezed my hand tightly, the stress he'd kept hidden finally revealing itself. "We actually did it. But how are you awakened? Did you find a shard before you were captured?"
I shook my head and gazed at the shard for a few seconds before asking, "Is the shard the only way to awaken?"
He frowned, thinking quickly. "Well, I don't think so. I've heard it can happen during times of great duress, like in a battle."
"I-I think I understand, then," I whispered, shivering.
Suddenly, I was grateful for his firm grip and comforting presence, leaning against him and taking a long breath. Something like that could have happened to me at any time in the past months, but likely when Katlyn beat me to the brink of death. It was then I started understanding the languages, too, which might be related.
After a moment of quiet, I looked up into his glowing eyes. "But why did they leave? It seemed like they knew I was a hero already, so...why?"
A shadow crossed his face, and he let out a long sigh. "They wanted to catch us before you had a chance to awaken. The inquisitor's plan was to prove you hadn't yet, and they could feign ignorance."
"But why would that matter?"
"You can't be identified if you haven't awakened. And if you can't be identified, there's no way to prove you are a hero. And if that were the case..."
I bit my lip, a tremor running through my body. "...they could do whatever they wanted to me."
He slowed to a stop, pulling me close to him. My breath caught as he released my hand and wrapped an arm around my shoulders, drawing me against his chest. A tremor coursed down my back, causing my tail to flick nervously as he began to stroke my hair.
"It's alright, that'll never happen now. There's no need to be afraid; I'll protect you no matter what."
His words were soft and earnest, somehow overriding my instinctual fear. I closed my eyes, feeling tears on the horizon, and allowed my head to rest against his chest. He was so strong and stable, his heartbeat calm, arms encircling me with warmth.
"Thank you," I whispered, voice breaking. "But...can you really do that? Can you really protect me?"
His embrace tightened, his hand coming to rest against the back of my head, holding me close against him. "I've been training for a few months now and have grown pretty powerful. A hero's abilities are supposed to be secret, but considering I've seen yours, I can tell you where my confidence comes from. As you might guess, I have an affinity for Sun magic, Indomitable Will, and Heroic Fortitude. Sun Magic's pretty obvious, and the other two make me impervious to basically anything other than powerful spells or attacks.
I thought back to the words and abilities the shard had shown me, referencing them with what he told me. "And what level is your magic?"
"8th, though, that feels a little pathetic compared to yours," he said with a slight grin.
"Is it really that different?"
"Not one in a million humans awaken 9th-level magic. I'll leave the explanation for later, but most countries would consider you a weapon of mass destruction. Well, if it weren't for that curse."
"Oh...that's right."
I frowned as I recalled the council of gods and the darkness the Sun God inflicted on my soul. After being locked in a cage for a few months and driven to the point of death, something as trite as an abstract curse had completely slipped my mind. I was so helpless it didn't even matter if I could attack or not.
But, now that I was freed from that darkness, what was I to do now? Even if I had powerful magic, could I really do something against a warrior like the inquisitor? His spells had scorched stone, and Soltair's sword seemed no weaker. What was I supposed to do if I couldn't learn combat magic? I couldn't even protect myself, much less kill demons.
Soltair gave me a final squeeze before, with some reluctance, releasing me. I sagged without his support, feeling cold and empty, but quickly scrubbed away my tears.
"Come on," he said, forcing a note of cheerfulness. "We really are late for evening training."
I nodded and allowed him to lead me along, arriving in his room a few minutes later. The word 'room' was a bit of an understatement, hardly adequate to describe the sprawling quarters and lavish furnishings, but he didn't seem to notice my awe. Instead, Soltair pulled me into a reception room outside of the main door and drew his sword.
I froze as the blade gleamed coldly in the magic lighting, shivering as he raised the tip toward my neck.
"Let's get rid of that thing," he said, snagging my collar with his other hand.
I bit my lip, holding back a whimper as he slid the blade beneath the lock, cleanly severing it. The chain rattled to the ground, each clinking link causing me to flinch.
As he pulled away the leather, I took in a deep breath, rubbing my flesh where the collar had chaffed my skin raw. Finally, I could breathe.
He looked me up and down before frowning, rubbing his chin. "I don't have anything else for you to wear, so you'll have to make do. I'll speak with the maids tonight and see if they can find something your size."
I nodded, glancing over the plain white dress that hung loosely on my thin shoulders. It was smeared with dirt and blood but had held up remarkably well. In any case, it was a thousand times better than the rags I wore in the warehouse.
"Wait, um, before we go, would you please tell me why?" I asked tentatively, tail twitching anxiously. "Why did you need me?"
He hesitated, a dark shadow crossing his face. "It's nothing good, but I suppose you should know. I needed a slave to reassure the populace of my abilities. The name Xiviyah is an ancient word derived from the magic rune for 'defeated' or 'broken.' Basically, it means you've completely surrendered yourself and admitted I, your master, am superior in every way."
I winced. "So...I'm to be a symbol of the demons, then. That you can subjugate them?"
"Afraid so. We heroes were summoned into younger bodies, presumably to allow us to grow and master ourselves, but that also inspires doubt in our abilities. As the Sun Hero, the church has decided I will lead the others so I cannot appear weak. Thus, they had me take a slave from the recently defeated beast kingdom, who were declared allies of the demons, to prove my strength."
"And what does that mean for me?"
He hesitated, eyes darting away. "The Pope instructed me to refrain from protecting you and allow the people to focus their hatred on our enemy."
"But I'm a hero, too," I started to protest before sighing and letting my tail droop dejectedly. "I suppose that's the best I could hope for. At least I'm not in a cage anymore."
He chuckled, surprising me. "Oh, don't worry so much about it. In fact, I've half a mind to just ignore him. I might not be able to stop words, but there's no way in hell I'll let anyone hurt you like that slaver did."
I nodded, but he didn't totally dispel my fears. Still, even if it was bad, I wasn't alone anymore, and it seemed like I might even get to use magic. Of all the things I'd witnessed in Enusia, that alone brought me a little hope, and I brightened at the thought.
"Um, Soltair," I ventured, picking at my sleeve. "You mentioned evening practice. Does that mean I can learn magic?"
"Excited for that?" He asked, breaking into a smile. "Then we'd better get going."
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