The Guardians' Legacy

The little girl took a deep breath in fright after hearing an explosion, even though it was far away, that bang made her crouch down with her heart jumping into her throat.

The subsequent tremor, after the detonation of the Sathsai bomb in the vicinity of the small coastal village of Taemar, caused the tiles hanging from the destroyed roof of that charming church to shatter to the ground. In shock, the girl once again closed her eyes and hugged even tighter the three potatoes covered in dirt that she was carrying with her.

With dirty clothes, tangled hair and lost eyes, she slipped between the various disorganized wooden benches of the small, empty, ruined temple while some desperate screams and more explosions echoed in the distance in the destroyed environment.

— Hey, you! — a soldier shouted arbitrarily as he entered the church.

Fear immediately froze the girl, hiding her innocent look by lowering her head. The man walked towards her quickly, avoiding the debris.

— Are you alone? — he asked, observing the surroundings.

— ... 

— Don't you want to talk? Hmm... Come on, Misty, I'll take you to your new home. — Authoritatively, he grabbed the girl's arm, who immediately reacted by taking a step back and getting away from him. — What? Stop for nothing!

The man carried a rifle on his back and a simple cap of a private soldier from the imperial army infantry. He quickly lost his patience. He grabbed the child's small shoulder with his huge hand and forced him to walk, saying harsh words to him:

— You're all a bunch of animals. You can't even follow simple orders.

Once again the girl tried to free herself from the man, this time she had to let the precious potatoes from dinner fall to the floor and, even trying her best, she couldn't. The adult was strong and stubborn, remaining inflexible, forcing her with his hand on the girl's slender shoulder.

The girl had no choice, she had to resort to desperation, she sank her teeth into the soldier's arm who was surprised by the sudden pain.

— You piece of trash! — He hated the girl even more. He didn't think twice when he saw his own blood flowing down his arm, he pushed the child to the ground without mercy.

The girl sprawled across the dirty floor and rolled once until her back hit the first charred wooden pew in the church.

— Now I'm covered in blood, you idiot! — complained the man, shaking his hand to remove the excess red liquid coming from the small cuts left by the little girl's baby teeth.

Angry, the soldier went after the girl. She didn't have time or conditions to react, she received a full kick from the leather military boot that hit her shoulder and impacted her last fragile rib.

— Ahhh! — cried the child, already crying.

— No one will miss a piece of trash like you. — The soldier took a step back and armed himself with the rifle he was carrying. — You should thank me for putting an end to your suffering so quickly. ‘Arrest the children’, they said? To hell with the children in this hellhole.

He pointed the gun at the girl who continued to wail in pain on the floor. He hesitated, but then took aim, sweeping all feelings from her mind.

As he placed his finger on the trigger, the man felt something pressing against the back of his neck with an intimidating force. The barrel of a revolver behind him made the sound of a cocking sound.

—What do you think you're doing? — asked the man holding the gun in an imposing voice coming from behind the soldier.

— I wasn't going to shoot. — The soldier quickly lowered his gun as he said his words in an apologetic tone. — I was just trying to get her to cooperate.

The girl opened her eyes wide and remained lying down, seeing the scene right in front of her.

— If I shoot, no one will miss a soldier, right? — asked the mysterious one in control of the situation.

— No! Please don't do that — replied the trembling man, still under the gun's sights.

— The truly weak are those who think they control the world.

He pulled the trigger of the revolver without mercy. The noise echoed and mixed with the various other noises of gunshots and screams from outside.

The soldier's body, already lifeless, knelt and lay on the ground immediately afterwards. The blood spread in a single direction stained the sacred floor and splashed on the frightened girl's face.

— You. What's your name? — asked the man, reloading his revolver and observing the motionless girl stained with fresh red.

— ...

— Are you listening to me? I saved you, didn't I? You could at least tell me your name. — The man's calm voice did nothing to calm the child down, much less make things more normal.

— Ga-Garta — she replied stutteringly as her teeth chattered against each other.

The man smiled, convinced and fulfilled.

— I finally found you, Garta — he said, approaching while he put away his gun and took a cloth from inside his jacket. — Here, let's clean this up.

The stranger gently brought the cotton rag to the child's face, who, with some resistance, allowed it to be cleaned as he stood up.

— Tell me, were those potatoes for your brother? — he asked, pointing with his eyes to the vegetables scattered on the floor.

— H-how do you know about my brother? — she immediately moved away, suspicious of the situation.

— Don't worry. I'm here to help you. — he replied calmly as always.

—Who are you?— Garta's suspicions did not diminish.

— Let's say I'm a friend of your father, he called me Manager. I also know your mother, she was... well, I knew her.

— My mother? She's... — The girl stopped herself when she realized she was still talking to a complete stranger.

— Alive? No. — He looked away in pain. — I'm sorry.

—... — The child lowered his head as his hopes were destroyed.

— But I'm here for her. — The man tried to get the attention back to himself. — She asked me to take care of you.

— Did she ask?

— Yes, of course. Please come with me. I'll show you how special you are.

— No. I'm fine. — Garta remained suspicious and didn't move a muscle.

— Here, take this. — The man reached out after removing a small package from under his jacket.

- What is that?

— Take it. It's just a savory cupcake.

The girl collected the baked dough and quickly put it in one of her pockets.

— Aren't you going to eat?

— No... Not now — she replied, preparing to leave the place. She practically ignored the adult.

— You'll save it for your brother, I understand. Know that I can get you as much of it as you want. Just come with me.

— No. I already said no.

— Well, I really didn't want to do this, but you don't give me a choice, Garta. I'm going to have to shuffle things around a bit.

The man said with characteristic calmness as he raised his right hand with his thumb glued to the tip of his middle finger.

— Wait... — Garta sensed something bad, but couldn't do anything.

The man snapped his fingers, and before the girl's eyes, everything began to melt like metal in the boiling coals of a furnace. Nothing had form but the confusion that overwhelmed the little girl's innocent mind. Darkness took over.

                                               ***

Garta was closely followed by Celina and Colth. The three of them entered the restaurant in a hurry. In a few seconds the woman was already opening the door to Bertha's room.

“Where is he, Bertha?” the guardian asked hurriedly. Her determined nervousness was evident.

— There wasn't time... Sorry, Garta

— Shit — the woman grunted, returning to the hallway immediately. She entered the next door.

Colth's curiosity and confusion had led him to follow the menacingly strange guardian. They both found the Manager adjusting the cufflink on his shirt sleeve while Aldren breathed exhaustedly in the back of the room sitting in an armchair.

— Girl, how are you? — said the Manager cordially with a calm smile.

— What... What did you do? — The woman's euphoria diminished and she remained static.

— Nothing. What could I have done? — he asked without waiting for an answer. — Besides, you better get ready, Garta. I have an important mission for you. I'll pass the details on to Bertha.

The man walked calmly out of the room. Colth had to make way when he was met with his fearfully calm eyes. The Manager left and Colth ignored everything to go straight to his panting colleague in the armchair.

— Aldren, are you okay?

The boy was completely exhausted and sweaty, he looked like he had just run across the Capital. He took a deep breath, catching his breath as he stared at the nothingness on the ground in distress.

— Hey, what happened? — Colth insisted.

Aldren shook his head until he met Colth's worried eyes.

— Nothing, nothing. Nothing happened.

— Aldren? Are you okay? — Celina approached cautiously after joining the room.

— Ce-Celina... — Aldren quickly turned his lost gaze to the girl. — I will protect you. I will protect you — he said words without apparent meaning.

— Damn... — The whispered outburst came from the entrance of the room. Garta couldn't contain his anguish.

— Damn? — Colth snapped and walked over to her. — What do you know about this? What happened to Aldren?

— The Manager screwed with his head. — The woman watched the back of the room with restless eyes. — He scrambled Aldren's mind.

—Scrambled? What is this...

— Garta — Bertha interrupted the boy's confused question as she entered through the door of the busy room. She seemed as shaken as the rest of the room, even though she avoided showing it. — Garta, I need to talk to you.

                                               ***

— Invade!? — Colth gave voice to the surprised expression on his face.

— Keep your voice down — Garta said scoldingly.

“I’m not done yet,” Bertha added. She didn’t sound confident either. “After we storm the Ministry of Communications building, we’ll broadcast the message about the Shadow uprising.”

— This is crazy... — Garta whispered.

“What? What is the Shadow uprising?” Colth asked. His doubt brought the guardian back to her sober state.

— It's something the Manager planned for the future. A takeover by the renegade population. — The woman's seriousness made the atmosphere freeze. — I didn't imagine this would happen now, not today. This wasn't what I agreed on...

— Wait. You knew about this? You guys planned this? — Colth replied in surprise.

— We don't have time for this. — Bertha overrode the boy's words with more impetus and urgency. — We have to get ready. Besides me and you, Garta, the Manager asked to take him. — She pointed to the other boy at the back of the room.

— What? No way! — Celina was the one who disagreed energetically next to the target of the looks. — If Aldren goes, I'm going with him.

— No. You won't. — The boy stood up, showing a sudden recovery. — That's my duty. And you must rest after what happened.

“I don’t need it, Aldren,” Celina pleaded. “I’m fine, I swear. Besides, why are Bertha and Garta going and not me?”

— I'm going to transmit the message of the uprising — Bertha replied — Garta will protect us along with Aldren. And since we're going to be discreet, it's better that there are only a few people.

— It's decided. Celina and Colth will stay here and take care of any problems that arise — Garta concluded after thinking silently.

“Please…” Celina’s begging was like a child’s. She held the fabric of Aldren’s clothing with her fingertips and stopped him from walking toward the others.

— Celina... — The boy went back to the girl and held her hand gently. — Don't worry, I promised I wouldn't leave you. I'll come back to fulfill that promise.

—... — Celina's labored breathing said more than any words. She released the crumpled fabric of her garment.

— I'll be right back. I promise.

Aldren followed Garta and Bertha's footsteps as they walked out of the room towards the restaurant's stairs, but halfway there, Garta stopped in front of Colth.

— Listen, Colth. I have no choice. I have to ask you this.

— Huh? — The boy's surprise at seeing the guardian's pleading tone was sincere.

 — Please stay here and take care of Celina. If we don't do this, we won't stand a chance, but... if it doesn't work out... — She showed her concern in an inevitable sigh. — Run away with Celina as far away as possible, hide in some city outside the Capital and don't let anyone, not even the Manager, get close. Please, that's what I ask of you.

— ...

— Promise me, Colth — the woman insisted.

— I don't really know what's going on, but I know you're a good person. If it were different, I would have already been killed by some scumbags from the capital, but... Why are you doing this? Why do you need to hide things so much? — Colth's questions reached her, but Garta kept silent with her head down. — Regardless of what this Manager uses to blackmail you, it's really worth it...

—Colth—Garta exclaimed in a mild tone.

— It's very obvious to me that he's using you. And that you don't want to be by his side, so just let us help you...

— Colth.

— I don't know anything about guardians, or this Goddess Lux, but I know that I, Bertha, Celina, can help if you...

— Colth! — The louder voice and the firm hand on the boy's shoulders finally made him stop talking and pay attention to what Garta had to say. — I really appreciate it. But for now, what I need most is for you to promise me that you won't let anyone get close to Celina.

Silence hung in front of their eyes, close together. Colth never thought of refusing that promise, but he knew there was something wrong with it all, he knew that this was not a simple promise. If that powerful and confident woman was lowering herself to the level of a simple aimless fool, it was because she was desperate.

— Okay... Sure. I promise — he accepted when confronted by Garta's determined eyes. He found himself once again coordinating due to his weakness, this time he would try to prove otherwise.

—Is everyone ready? — Garta asked the small group she led.

Aldren and Bertha nodded in agreement with the expected firm expressions. It was no wonder that the Manager had chosen those two for this journey. They were both willing to do anything for their goals, using this was not at all honest on his part, but it would undoubtedly work, Garta knew that. She disregarded everything with another deep breath before actually leaving the hallway.

Colth and Celina were quiet for a few seconds after locking themselves in Bertha's room. All they could do was hope for the best.

“That’s strange,” Colth whispered aimlessly. “This Manager controls Garta so easily. She seems like a different person when he’s around, or when she’s doing his bidding.”

— ... — Celina looked thoughtful.

— And Aldren... What was that? He didn't want to be separated from you at all, Celina. And now he wants to play the hero?

—“It messed up his mind.” That’s what Garta said.

— Do you think this has anything to do with Aldren's change in attitude?

“It’s pretty obvious to me,” she continued thoughtfully. “I just don’t understand how this could have happened.”

— I think you're right. But if Garta doesn't want to talk about it, then we don't have much to go on.

— It got mixed up... — Celina whispered thoughtfully to end the conversation and delve into her own ideas.