The fire barrier slowly begins to get torn down, and as the last parts connected to the wall crumble, the fire raises like a hot air balloon, I use my right hand to attract and absorb the fire.

The star raises above, Harko stands on top of it as the star shoots rays that pierce and bend towards another target, Harko creates sharp light javelins that they throw from above.

Jathorn using his power summons red saw blades on the approaching swarm, taking out a large number of them before it explodes, and implodes, Jathorn punches the compressed explosion causing a beam to fire towards the swarm disintegrating anything caught into it.

I use my blue fire to create flying elementals to aid the Light beacon's soldiers, I then use my hand to create fireballs which I throw at the walls where a large group of void creatures lays, burning them to a crisp.

as I focus on helping through artillery I notice in one of the groups of voiding none other than the Herald, the roots on my neck allow me to understand its screeching

"Fight, My child, Do not let our connection hinder your battle performance, we will not fade, we will arise again."

relief spreads as the guilt of killing that which has shown me a part of the truth dissipates, I continue my attacks with little remorse, increasing the power of my support infantry and the fire's heat.

I make infantry surround the walls and drop down into a kamikaze firewall that burns through a majority of the void's swarm, the Herald shows up again, this time facing Jathorn.

Jathorn approaches the Herald and takes a takes up a stance, the Herald menacingly approaches with no stance, Jathorn holds his index finger with his thumb and keeps the other three straight, this causes the fingers to create a red blade and he snaps in the blink of an eye attacking the Herald with a stab motion.

The Herald blocked the stab motion with its palm, barely scratching its chitin, the Herald grabs Jathorns hand and pulls him toward itself, Jathorn uses the pull to increase the strength of his other hand, going for another pierce attack but the Herald punched Jathorn's hand which causes it to redirect towards his other hand in the Heralds hold, piercing deeply into his hand, the Herald kicks Jathorn but Jathorn does not flinch as a red aura surrounds him.

He looks at the Herald as he takes his hand out from his other one, he then snaps at a much higher speed punching the Herald in the chest, this time the Herald is pushed back.

Jathorn continues his assault, seemingly unaffected by the gaping hole in his left hand, the multitude of his quick attacks cracks the Heralds chitin, from behind Jathorn another Herald materializes hurling a fist with an ethereal aura, the collision of the punch sends Jathorn through the fake Herald, as he touches the ground ethereal tentacles grab onto him, immobilizing him.

Jathorn uses his powers to create the sawblades I've seen before to cut the tentacles and then throws them towards the Herald, multiplying on the way Jathorn runs towards the Herald as the sawblades approach, an Ethereal aura surrounds the Herald reflecting the sawblades on impact and exploding as Jathorn approaches. He reacts fast enough to create a shield in front of him, catching the explosion and the Herald's next punch that cracks the shield, Jathorn purposely breaks the shield into fragments that he uses to shower the Herald in sudden projectiles. The Herald spreads an ethereal cloud making the shards disappear, Jathorn's sawblades were correcting their trajectory towards the Herald since they got reflected.

I look over at Harko as they have prepared a lot of projectiles and have amped up the star, looking back at Jathorn and the Herald, Jathorns right hand now in the blade stance had a longer blade which he used to parry a punch from the Herald, the sawblades approach and Jathorn slices the Herald's right hand off, it screeches in pain

"Argh! Dammed be the red star!"

Jathorn attempts to lunge towards the Herald and it seems that Jathorn angered it, catching his blade hand and spinning him around as the sawblades are approaching, causing Jathorns left leg to get cut off. The Herald then smashes him in the ground and lets him go making a Shockwave around itself to make the sawblades break apart and injure Jathorn more.

Jathoron on the ground uses his blade hand to get up and spit blood, his missing leg is formed anew from his magic, having a red glow to it, Jathorn takes the whip from his belt and cracks his shoulders. The Herald takes its right hand and puts it back, fusing back into place.

Jathorn begins to swing his whip, it moves in a controlled manner snapping at the Herald which breaks its chitin armor in a single hit of the whip's white needle-like tip, The Herald attempts to block the tip but it breaks its right hand, and the Herald screeches again

"ARGH! I have weapons of my own!"

As another hit from the whip approaches, a shield appears in the Herald's left hand blocking the whip, and in the same hand a large greatsword appears

Jathorn continues his assault with the whip, moving it out of the shield range but the Herald's speed allows it to block the whip, the Herald parries a whip attack, smashing the shield against the whip disorienting the movement of the whip, the Herald grabs the whip as Jathorn attempts to pull it back and then pulls Jathorn with it, Jathorn brings the whips to handle up then he quickly brings it down sending a shock amongst the whip's length forcing the Herald to let go.

The Herald takes this opportunity and dashes towards Jathorn, swinging the massive greatsword, Jathorn dashes out of the great sword's range, but an ethereal wave extends further hitting Jathorn sending him backward onto the ground.

Harko draws my attention

"Xavier now would be a good time to join Jathorn, I will weaken it with a potent attack, you defeat it"

I nod and get ready, Jathorn throws the built-up projectiles and a stronger beam, the Herald holding their shield up but the shield begins to crack against the onslaught of projectiles, and by the time it is broken the stars beam hits the Herald what looks like to be head-on, as the beam dims into nothingness, the ethereal shield is seen protecting it, with that I take a leap of faith from the tower, my landing creates a blue shock wave, then I hear the Herald speak

"Do not hold back against me my child, I will attack you and hurt you to make this seem like a real fight, however, I will not gravely wound you"

I start to walk towards the Herald creating for myself a war scythe, and the Herald begins to walk towards me. Its right hand is now healed, grabbing the greatsword with its right hand

I begin to run toward the Herald, and it does the same, I prepare my scythe, and with a combustion, I slice at the Herald with great strength, it blocks my attack with its great sword and goes for a punch with its left, I let go of the scythe and punch the Heralds left hand creating a combustion throwing it off balance, I then create claws on my right hand and slice its exposed chest, the Herald stomps throwing me off my feet with a shockwave from below and goes in for a kick, I brace for impact making a fire shield, from the impact I get thrown to the Heralds left, it then dashes towards me and attempts to slice down with the greatsword, I use a combustion to get out of the way and as I fly in the air I send fire javelins towards the Herald.

It deflects the javelins into the ground and jumps towards me, using the javelins from the ground I redirect them with a combustion from the rooted part sending them at a higher speed towards the Herald, I then send a flurry of fireballs towards the Herald forcing it to shield itself.

I then charge an attack with my war scythe as it defends itself, as soon as it lets go of the shield I create a greater combustion as I increase the size of the war scythe, the Herald with little time for reaction creates a shield to block the war scythe, but the sheer force slices through the shield, the Herald as a last straw blocks with the great sword, from the air, the Herald is pushed down by the force of the scythe, I make another combustion that pushes the scythe further, the Herald tilts the greatsword making the scythe slip and miss.

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With this opportunity, the Herald dashes to me and delivers a strong punch I couldn't react to, sending me back a meter, it rushes to me with its advantage, but the moment it gets close I pull my right hand back and grin as I create a massive combustion to boost my right hand straight into the Herald's chest, releasing a very intense burst of fire almost like a beam through its chest.

With its dying breath, it speaks to me

"Well done... my child..."

It drops the greatsword and puts its left hand on my right hand

"We will meet again... the roots will... guide you... when the time is right..."

I nod my head

"thank you, I will look forward to it"

I pull my hand out of its chest

"Farewell..."

The Herald falls on its knees as I move away, then it drops face first flat, its life gone.

I walk to Jathorn, who is laying on the ground half unconscious, I crouch down to his torn-off leg and heal the wound with my fire, I then begin to carry Jathorn inside to the infirmary holding a hand behind my neck, slowly helping him move.

Harko comes down to us

"I'll get Jathorn inside, Xavier, thank you for dealing with the Herald, the void's army is retreating now, go and help the other wounded soldiers, your powers will do more than mine"

I nod and go around where soldiers fought, helping those who are wounded and giving a swift end to those who cannot be saved even by my powers, the reported death toll is 100 killed soldiers, with 30 missing.

after I'm finished helping the wounded soldiers I make my way over to the infirmary to check on Jathorn, Laven meets me as I walk towards the Light Beacon.

"Hey, Xavier!"

I wave to her and she waves back

"Hello Laven"

She puts her hands behind her back as she walks alongside me

"Quite the invasion huh? I did not expect the void to attack us like this, many have died protecting the safety of the beacon but I'm glad we managed to push them back"

I nod

"I'm happy I was able to beat the Herald, that beast has enough strength to resist a lot of damage and even has beaten Jathorn in a 1 on 1 fight"

Laven appears shocked

"So Jathorns out of commission for now?"

I nod at her question

"Jathorns leg got cut off in the fight, that beast used his magic against him and won"

Laven smiles

"Good, with him weakened like that it'll be easier for me to talk with you. Say, Xavi, where are you planning to go?"

Haven't heard of that one before

"Well I'm going to the infirmary to check on Harko and Jathorn"

Laven grins

"Saaay, do they expect you?"

I shake my head

"not at all"

She seems happy with the answer

"Good! What do you say about escorting me to my room then? I've got something to show you"

I point to her crest where I've placed a flame guard

"you already have an escort, if you remember, but sure, I'm curious to see what you have to show me"

Laven seems a bit annoyed the way I pointed out the guard but becomes relived once I agree

"Alrighty then, follow me"

She makes her way through the light beacon, her room is not too far away from mine, and luckily there wasn't anyone inside as they were dealing with post-invasion troubles.

"We're here, Xavi"

She closes the door with the lock behind me, and then sits on the bed, she rustles a drawer and takes out a device similar to the crest Laven has

"This is what I wanted to show you, the guest that should arrive soon will give you something like this, normally it would suppress your powers making you much easier to control, do you know who you used to be before?"

I shake my head, I only know of my childhood

"So they didn't tell you huh? no wonder, well, allow me to tell you what I know of you before you came to us"

I sit down beside's Laven, attentive to what she is about to tell me

"go on, I'm interested to hear who I used to be"

Laven nods

"Well, I know that you are the dreamer of the Blue Light Beacon or BLB as people call it. You made an empire by the beacon, strong and independent, your powers made you a powerful menacing leader, able to help those in need with both healing and damaging power, the malleability of the power you hold made you a powerful opponent against the void, it was said that your beacon was one of the best beacons to exist, the safest of them all until Jathorn showed up"

I look at her confused

"Jathorn caused its fall? But how?"

Laven looks at me as she continues to tell me the story

"Jathorn's beacon was attacked and destroyed, the star bursted into what people call the red nebula canyon, an explosion that made the darkness around a gigantic zone dissipate and create a new place where the ruins of the Red Light Beacon or RLB now reside, people believed that Jatohrn died along with the star but he escaped, he ran and let the star to burst, or so is believed, he didn't elaborate about those events with anybody, not even you who took him in after RLB's destruction."

I put my left hand on my chin as I chain it up

"So allow me to guess, did Jathorn's arrival cause me to get invaded by the same force that took him down?"

She nods

"That's right, you did manage to keep BLB safe for a year but somehow the void hive gained knowledge on how to suppress your powers and BLB eventually collapsed too, exploding into a nebula but unlike the red one, it shortly imploded, and from what living witnesses told us, you were the center of the implosion, practically you absorbed the stars matter instead of letting it dissipate. When that happened, a great blue beast was sighted, it was fighting the void hive and it made the void hive retreat killing many of its controlled bodies."

I take a shocked expression

"you mean to tell me that I created a huge beast to fight off the void hive?"

Laven shrugs

"nobody truly knows if it was you or the star, even you from before were unable to remember what happened on that day, but from what people said, you went unconscious as that beast woke up, Jathorn also survived and escaped amid the chaos, you then went missing as other fled the onslaught of the beast, but the most curious part is that the beast had void motifs, it had an ethereal right hand that spread roots among its body, it even attacked with ethereal attacks that the void normally used and it did not discriminate who it attacked, is just attacked everyone on sight"

I begin to feel a pang of guilt creep down my spine

"Huh... I wonder..."

I can't help but think if what happened was due to the void part of me merging with the star as a sort of catastrophic rain

"hmm?"

Seems like I've said something out loud

"ah it's nothing, continue"

I reassure Laven

She then continues

"alright, so after that incident you went missing before Harko and I found you close to the beacon, unconscious, we then brought you to the White Light Beacon or WLB, Jathorn though, arrived a few months earlier and filled us in on what happened to both beacons, you and Jathron have been living with us for almost a year, untill recently when we lost your memories, apperently Jathorn found a void hive hideout called the abyss manor, you asked for the location and you were very eager to go and take revenge on the void hive for destroying your beacon, Jathorn told you where it was with no hesitation, good thing Harko was there and heard you two talk, you went straight for the abyss manor, Jathorn, and Harko followed you with a team to make sure nothing goes wrong and well, you lost your memories in the process, however Jathorn since your memory got fragmented began to act more and more wierd as if he has something up his slevee, as if he wanted you to loose your memories, thats why i dont trust Jathorn"

I take some time to process the information

"I see"

She looks me in the eyes

"Look Xavi, I care about you for we used to be together before your minds fragmentation and now Jathorn is doing his best to keep me away and even Harko doesn't want me around you, I don't know what is it with them but for some reason, they began to be more possessive of you abusing their power to keep me at bay"

So me and Laven used to be together huh? I guess that explains why she wants to be around me and help me even though we are practically strangers now.

"Thank you Laven for sharing this information with me"

She softly smiles

"It's the least I can do for you, Xavi, after all, I still love you even if you don't, Oh and before you go"

Laven looks at the crest

"Take the crest, don't let them take advantage of you due to your condition, okay?"

I nod

"Thank you again, Laven"

I go to embrace her in a hug since we used to be together, I figured a hug is something she missed dearly from me

I hear a soft sob as she hugs me back

"I-It's hard to accept what happened to you my light, I've been in grief ever since I heard the news. I will help you get your memories back, no matter the cost, my dear Xavi..."

Her tone of voice is sad, it's unfortunate I don't have the love I once had for her, but maybe one day I will again

"I will be here to help you ease the pain, Laven, you deserve it for helping me, since I'm now practically a stranger and almost everyone might seek to control my power"

She nods as we break the Hug

"Go now Xavi, before they start searching for you"

A tear falls down her cheek, I wipe it off as I get off the bed and bid her farewell.

I unlock the door and head to the infirmary.