Eric Eragorn Rust

Eric Eragorn Rust is the son of Jack Rust and Vivi Eragorn. His short life binds Jack’s long absences from home to the grief, anger, and eventual change that follow Eric’s kidnapping and death. He is named for Jack’s late adoptive father, Eric Rust; the two are distinct people. (Chapters 325, 427, and 431)

Biography

A childhood shared with Ebele

Eric is born with his twin sister, Ebele, while Jack’s fighting draws him away from Earth. Jack is present for the twins’ birth, but he spends most of their early lives away; when he returns, the babies are only six months old and still crawling. During visits he introduces them to the world around Earth, from the planet’s landscapes to its deep ocean, and later tells them about his travels. Eric is too young to retain clear memories of his father, but he responds to Jack’s affection when they meet again. (Chapters 325, 355, and 376)

By the time Eric is five, Jack has been away for years. Eric and Ebele play and exercise under the care of Harambe and other family friends, and they share a treehouse their father built with them. They make up stories about Jack and where he might be. Eric is more reserved than Ebele, but he is not passive: when Jack returns, Eric listens closely to his adventures, worries when the stories turn dangerous, and joins his sister in welcoming him. Their time together gives him a father he admires, even though their relationship has had little time to grow. (Chapters 412 and 376)

Taken as leverage against Jack

Artus Emberheart takes Eric from Earth to punish Jack for killing Artus’s son. When Artus brings the frightened five-year-old into the confrontation, he uses his powers to carry Eric’s screams through the void so Jack will hear him. Artus keeps him alive with a Dao shield, since Eric has not begun cultivating and would otherwise die in the vacuum. Eric understands that his presence puts Jack in danger. Although frightened and in pain, he bites his lip and tries not to cry because he believes that showing distress would burden his father. (Chapters 425–427)

Jack asks Artus to release Eric and offers himself in exchange. Artus refuses to guarantee the boy’s safety, and Jack lowers his aura to surrender anyway. Artus then kills Eric by crushing his throat. Eric’s restraint cannot protect him, and Jack’s sacrifice cannot save him; the boy dies in front of his father. The violence ends Eric’s childhood and becomes the defining loss in the lives of Jack, Vivi, and Ebele. (Chapter 427)

Remembered after his death

Jack’s grief initially turns into self-blame and a campaign of revenge against the Emberhearts. In the confrontation with Brock, Jack realizes that he has been using Eric’s name to justify his own anger. The Eric who appears in that inward reckoning tells Jack he does not want more people to die and wants peace. This is part of Jack’s painful vision, not Eric’s return to life. Jack abandons the idea that further deaths would honor his son, though he still forces the Emberheart family to abandon its name. (Chapters 437, 459–461)

When Jack later returns to Earth, Vivi tells him the truth about Eric’s death. The family holds an empty-casket funeral beside the grave of Jack’s adoptive father, whose name Eric carried. Vivi and Jack continue to grieve, and Jack’s memory of Eric remains a reason he considers the safety of his loved ones. Eric also appears in Jack’s memories and in the Hall of Trials’ test of will; neither appearance changes his death. At the end of the war, Jack remembers Eric among the people whose lives and legacy he feels responsible for protecting. (Chapters 461–463, 533, and 560)

Appearance and personality

As a baby, Eric wears a blue cap and often chews on his foot. At five, during Artus’s captivity, he wears tattered blue robes; his hair is dirty, his cheeks are tear-streaked, and his eyes are sunken. (Chapters 355 and 426)

Eric is described as more reserved than Ebele. He is curious and affectionate with his family, laughs at his sister, and enjoys hearing about Jack’s adventures. When Artus threatens him, Eric’s fear is clear, but he tries to hide it to spare his father further distress. (Chapters 376, 412, and 427)

Abilities and cultivation

Eric had not begun cultivating when Artus abducted him at age five. The Dao shield that kept him alive in space belonged to Artus; Eric had no established class, skill, or cultivation stage of his own. (Chapter 426)

Relationships

• Jack Rust: Eric loves and admires his father, whom he knows mainly through stories and brief visits. Their reunion gives them a chance to reconnect, but Artus kills Eric while Jack is trying to save him. (Chapters 376, 427, and 461)
• Vivi Eragorn: Eric’s mother. She raises him with Jack and Ebele on Earth; his kidnapping and death leave her grieving and hoping for a time that Jack might still save him. (Chapters 325, 436, and 461)
• Ebele Eragorn Rust: Eric’s twin sister. They play and grow up together, and Ebele remembers him after his death. (Chapters 325, 412, and 436)
• Eric Rust: Jack’s late adoptive father, after whom Eric is named. He is Eric Eragorn Rust’s namesake, not the same person. (Chapters 325 and 431)
• Artus Emberheart: Eric’s kidnapper and killer. Artus uses Eric to force Jack into surrender as an act of revenge. (Chapters 426–427)

Items

No notable item is associated with Eric.