The Betrayal of the Guardians

~ Prologue ~

Walking through the ruins, in a place that only the sages from all over the worlds used to live, he wondered how this world looked before the war. He was told that this region was all about peace, that even the darkest heart would find some—yet somehow, it ended up like this.

He took caution with every step, dodging the randomly tossed monuments and buildings that littered the ground. Everywhere he looked were sad marks left from the battle. From crumbled and burnt buildings to abandoned broken weapons such as swords, staffs, and arrows.

Everything had lost its color, except for the green left by the growing moss between the ruins. He wondered where the legendary light that used to bless this world was. It looked as though the light itself left a dim part of it to illuminate this place.

His armor was the only sound he could hear as he walked to the planned location. The deadly silence would disturb anyone, but as one of the chosen Guardians, nothing seemed threatening to him. Except for the new Guardian that would soon awaken.

He reached the rendezvous point. The only place left untouched by the war's destruction.

Before he entered the building, he examined the white round edifice. He was curious how the creatures of this world were able to build the floating tower at the center of this same construction. Maybe it was his helmet, but his eyes couldn't detect traces of magic supporting the tower.

He entered the hall where he would wait for his colleagues. To his surprise, everyone was already gathered. Six colorful armored figures were randomly sitting on one of the many stone built seats.

"Leo! How rare to see you without your father by your side," mocked the Guardian in bronze armor.

He ignored the attempt aimed to annoy him.

"You must know by now why we're gathered here," said Leo.

He didn't bother to ask them if they felt The Calling of the stars. As they were Guardians, the stars would warn them about the arrival of new members. After all, those new members would become their teammates.

"Yeah," replied another Guardian, motioning with an arm encased in purple armor. "We have to bring this new Guardian to our side."

She sounded bored as she spoke, and Leo understood her. This was not their first time welcoming a new Guardian.

"I wonder if this time we'll succeed," said the bronze Guardian, bored. "That Libra guy sure didn't show any sympathy towards us, and now he goes around staining our bad reputation."

Libra. Leo remembered.

The Guardian who appeared four years ago. When the star of Libra called for a new Guardian, they planned to recruit the new member. Fearing he was a surviving member of the royal bloodline, seeing who was behind the armor was their ultimate goal. However, that plan failed.

"Maybe if you were more forceful, he would have submitted to the group," said the purple Guardian. "He was still a novice, just receiving his powers—and yet he bested you."

"Never mind about Libra," Leo said before the purple Guardian could irritate her fellow member. "This time our mission is to eliminate the candidates before they obtain their powers."

For a moment, silence fell in the atmosphere.

He was sure that the silence wasn't due to hesitation. Shedding their heroic image long ago, some had already killed before. Hunting a potential Guardian shouldn't be a problem.

"I'm not sure if you can figure out which star is calling, and to whom?" Leo broke the silence.

"Well, we know that this time four stars are calling new members," answered another member.

"And if you count Libra we have eight active Guardians, do you know what that means?" Leo asked.

It took a minute for someone to shakily say, "A-Aries."

"That's impossible!" The bronze Guardian stood up. "The previous royal family bloodline has been wiped out; same happened to the Oracle's bloodline."

Leo was very young when that happened, but he knew how his homeland conquered Celestia. His people made sure the royal bloodline could not return to reclaim their kingdom.

"Apparently one survived. The King has ordered us to kill the candidates before it's too late," he said with a firm voice.

He remembered how his father looked nervous when he told him about The Calling. Leo wondered how the potential Guardian could be around. After all, the Celestian King's wife—who was part of the Oracle's bloodline—had been killed as well.

"With pleasure." The bronze Guardian summoned his weapon. "I won't let anyone destroy what's mine."

The others agreed by summoning their weapons. The hunt was just beginning.