Forged Destiny [Book 6: Ch. 14; Book 7: Ch. 4, Ch. 15; Book 9: Ch. 18]

When he fell, Cinder was behind him, crouched down with something new in her hands. I had a second to gasp before she thrust up, and the sword we'd found in Vacuo – Watts' sword – pierced through my armour, my chest, my ribcage and then then my skin again. It erupted from my back with a sickening squelch.

[...]

Forge…

Forge.

My hand, still clutched around Watts' sword in a death grip, tightened imperceptibly.

My cracked lips moved.

"S-Stoke… the Forge…"

Pale blue light flickered fitfully behind my eyes.

[...]

It was the sound which alerted her, a sound like steam pouring from a boiling pot. A hissing that heralded something far hotter than even her brightest flames burning on contact with naked air. Cinder turned, eyes growing wide as she watched the man – the boy – place one hand down onto the ground and push himself up onto one knee.

Steam poured from him. It obscured him. His skin shimmered and sweat ran down exposed flesh. The gaping wound in his chest, the one she had imposed, was gone. So, too, was the sword. In its place, an expanse of pulsing silver remained. Living metal.

—Forged Destiny [Book 6: Ch. 14]



"Unfortunately, she was able to steal the weapon we found from Vacuo, the one granted to the King of Mistral as our part of the peace process. It was heavily enchanted and powerful. It was able to pierce through my armour, even when it was molten, and tear through, or near, to my heart."

"It did not kill you?" someone asked.

"I… I think it did kill me."

—Forged Destiny [Book 7: Ch. 4]



"His life is already mine to take."

"Then why are you so insistent he make a wish upon you? If his life is yours to take, then take it."

Salem made no move to do so. Her eyes did not even glance towards me. In the silence that followed, I wasn't sure what to feel or think. Did I dare to hope that she actually couldn't kill me? But why? How? She'd had no problem whatsoever before and I'd only survived in Vacuo because of my Purify Object Skill.

Had I purified myself? No. I wasn't an object. The only things that had changed since then was my being kidnapped by Raven, the problems with the Guild and the end of the war.

My eyes widened. My hand flew to my heart. It beat quickly, evident of my fear, but more than what it did, I knew that it contained something it should not. Watts' sword, the sword that Cinder had run me through with.

"Cinder killed me." My heart beat against the palm of my hand. "Cinder killed me during the attack. My heart stopped. I died trying to save Vale. I died a hero."

And then, I'd come back.

But I had died.

I'd fulfilled the terms of the wish.

—Forged Destiny [Book 7: Ch. 15]




Salem placed her hand on my breastplate, over my heart. "You are the only human whose name and face I might care to remember. If nothing else, take solace in that."

The breastplate gave way with a crack. Metal caved in, shattering as her hand pushed forward. Her eyes remained on mine, always bright, always smiling, as she reached deep inside my body. Something inside me gave way. I heard a deep, metallic, clang, and then saw nothing but darkness. Dimly, I was aware of my body being thrown back to the ground. Of hitting something hard and cold and laying there, of feeling heat seep out of me, and hearing her walk away.

"Goodbye, Jaune Arc."

[...]

His breastplate was carved open, literally buckled inward like he'd taken a point-blank hit from a trebuchet. His blue jerkin and white tunic beneath were stained red.

"She killed him!" Ruby hissed.

[...]

With no regard for her fingers, she pushed into the open cavity of Jaune's armour and his chest, peeling back the blood-soaked clothing and skin. Muscle and ribs poked through, blood pooling, but as she forced the blood away, she gasped.

Her own face stared back at her, reflected in glimmering metal.

"What is… I… I don't…" Ruby's voice trailed off.

There was no faulting her. Shining metal twisted its way through the inside of Jaune's left breast, sticking to parts of his ribs like a spider's web. It coalesced in a singular spot, coiled and wrapped around what could only be his heart. Or what remained of it. There were bits of flesh that peeked through, but the metal was worked into it, moulding to the organ and filling in blanks and gaps, forming a clumsy and outright hideous approximation of a human heart. Small symbols flickered and glowed upon it. It didn't move but the metal of the locket had rattled against it. Why?

Blake touched two fingers to the smooth and hard surface. It was warm.

Vibrating.

"Is that…? Is he…?"

"I don't know." Her own heart was racing. "I have no idea. The metal is burnt but it's all forward facing. It took the brunt of Salem's spell. How did it last when his armour folded like paper?"

"It's like a shield over his heart…"

It wasn't. A shield was something you held in front to protect you. From her angle, she could see that the metal made up a portion of his heart. It was twisted and melded into it.

[...]

"C-Cinder…"

"You died then. Or maybe we both died – it's still hard to know what's real right now. The real me died soon after, slain by your hand. I don't think she – or I – blamed you, however. We were both just fighting for what we believed in." Cinder chuckled. "You stole my sword, you know. Or his sword."

The weapon implanted in my chest began to glow. Red light radiated out from my hand, turning the steel orange and then white, slowly melting it down until it drew into my body. I gasped, watching it sink into my chest with wide and frightened eyes. This… I remembered this. The refusal to die. The agony. The desperate grip of my hand around the blade, of drifting away but having the time to whisper.

"Stoke the Forge…"

"You forged your destiny, and in doing so forged so much more." Cinder laughed.

[...]

My eyes snapped open.

[...]

"Killed you," Blake said. "Or tried. How you survived. I don't believe it. Your heart is literally made of metal. How? Did you forge yourself from steel just to withstand her?"

"My heart…?"

"You don't know." Blake helped me up, pulling me back off the Ironwood root. "Your chest was carved open by Salem and she left you for dead. You should have been, but your heart – it's like its half flesh, half metal. It withstood her attack, though I don't know. Your armour didn't stand a chance."

The armour was just steel. It wasn't any stronger than any other material, just thicker and sloped to deflect or redirect force. My heart, though? I brought a hand up to try and touch my chest, but Ruby pulled it away. Blearily, I noticed stitches and felt the tightness as they pulled. They'd sewn me back together. Medical instruments were strewn across the floor, including some empty bottles of what I could only assume were healing supplies.

The sword, I realised. Watts' sword. Or Cinder's. The one we gave to the King, which Cinder used to run me through. It's inside my chest. I… Did I melt it into my body? Like the dream. Or the memory. I winced. Did I, in my dying moments, use the sword run through my chest to patch the damage and rebuild my heart? How…? It didn't make sense. It wasn't the only thing.

—Forged Destiny [Book 9: Ch. 18]