The Guardians' Legacy

— Stop! Stop! Get out of my head! — the girl screamed in despair. Her mind was corrupting and her head hurt like never before. When she finally opened her eyes, she realized the place she was still in.

The ruins of that small church in the countryside became even more frightening at night. The few braziers lit on the dusty altar illuminated the place, which was much quieter than before little Garta lost consciousness.

— Is that enough? — asked the same man from before. The complete stranger remained calm as he sat in the chair next to the child on the floor. — Will you cooperate?

— Wh-who are you? How can you do this? — The girl was exhausted. To her, the last two hours seemed like days, maybe months.

— Finally, you want to chat, huh? — He raised an eyebrow in complete tranquility. — Very well, then. I said you can call me Manager, right? I'm just as special as you are, so I can unravel any dark secret you carry around with you.

— Special?

— Yes. I told you before, but you didn't want to listen to me.

— You have skill too...

— Skill? So that's what you call it? Whatever. I wouldn't torment you so much if it wasn't really necessary. I need your... skill.

— So, are there more people like me? — Garta sat on the floor, anxious for the answer while still recovering, panting.

— Ah, yes. There are some, just like you, who have powers in the palm of their hands, we call them guardians. Others, like me, we call emissary. But you are even more special, more special than any guardian or emissary.

— What do you mean?

— Guardians are summoned through a contract with a god. Their role is to serve their god and their world. For this task, they are given the gift of... They are given abilities. But you didn't make a contract with any god, did you?

— Uh... No. I didn't even know that existed.

— Exactly. — The man got up from his chair and crouched down next to the girl to look her in the eyes closely. — It was your mother who gave you this ability. She was the one who made the contract with the god. More specifically, Finn's god.

- My mom...

— She died for this. She sacrificed herself.

— Is that why she died?

— Yes, exactly. Now listen, Garta — Edgar placed himself even more prominently. — Don't you think your mother would like to see you, her dear and beloved daughter, mastering the gift she left you as an inheritance?

— ... — The girl was caught up in her thoughts.

—Better than that. Using those “abilities” to overthrow the empire that caused you so much pain?

—What do you want me to do? — The girl’s eyes focused on the Manager for the first time.

— I need you to come with me. First, I will train you to become a full guardian. Then, we will tell the world the truth about the false gods of the empire. What do you say?

— But what about my brother?

— You're tougher than I thought, huh? — Edgar stood up threateningly. — Do you really want to go back to your nightmares and...

“No!” she cried in supplication. “No, please. But I can’t just leave my brother.”

— Okay, whatever. You can take your brother. — He shrugged. — But I warn you that if you mess up, even for a second, I'll...

— Don't worry. He won't get in the way.

— Very well, then. If that's the case, there are no problems. Only solutions.

                                               ***

Garta closed her eyes due to the intense light, when she opened them again, she found herself in the middle of the blue sky, her body falling in free fall towards what seemed like an infinite dark sea. The guardian was not scared at all, she was already used to it, she left her feet down cutting through the air that presented no resistance.

In this way, his feet were the first to touch that black sea. He dove deeply after impacting the surface. The water enveloped his body without even wetting his clothes or his long hair.

Calm as a pool of warm water, the sea presented no resistance. The guardian did not move or swim, she remained motionless without moving a muscle, sinking into the water towards the bed, the only light coming from the sky weakening.

No matter how much she sank into the water, Garta breathed normally. That entire environment, completely contrary to reality, was not strange to the guardian who crossed it several times to find the destiny she had in mind.

Her vision was affected by the darkness, but the woman stood firm. When she saw what looked like steps of an incomplete staircase made entirely of sand at the bottom of the bed, she knew she was in the right place.

She arranged her body so that as she continued to sink, her feet met the last few steps of the sand staircase before the abrupt halt. The guardian blinked slowly as if begging the heavens for a favor and was answered by a characteristic shiver running through her body. The next moment, Garta was on the stairs of the Ministry of Communications building.

He took a deep breath of air that was much warmer than the one he had breathed in the fortress just a few seconds ago and immediately began to climb the steps of the staircase that would give access to the seventh floor of the building.

The sound of the siren still echoed throughout the corners and the guards were probably searching the rooms for her.

Garta quickly climbed the stairs without any major problems, but as soon as he reached the top floor, he saw a uniformed man trying to force open one of the doors in the corridor.

The guard noticed the woman approaching and wasted no time.

— Hey, you! Help me open the door, I've already called for backup, but maybe the two of us can open it. — ordered the officer.

He continued to force the door without paying attention to Garta who was approaching.

— Sure... I mean. Yes, sir. — Garta kept up her act. — I can open it using an easier method.

— Seriously? Can you do it? — The man stopped with his brute force on the door and turned his attention to Garta.

— Yes, of course. Can I borrow your truncheon for a second?

— Okay. All right. — The guard removed the bladed weapon hanging from his belt and handed it to the guardian without any resistance and with great innocence.

Garta didn't think twice, as soon as he received the weapon, he held the baton firmly and raised it quickly to hit the officer. Just one direct hit to the vulnerable man's surprised face was enough. He fell unconscious immediately with the impact cracking a sound as loud as his fall.

—Sorry about that—she thought out loud.

Garta went to the door and called for Aldren and Bertha. At that moment, the sound of footsteps coming from the stairs where the guardian had just climbed began to be heard.

— Aldren! Bertha! Open the door! It's me, Garta! — he shouted without sparing his throat again.

The footsteps were approaching quickly, it was certainly a group of police officers who were climbing the steps in a hurry to find the infiltrators and those responsible for the message that was being aired on the radio.

The doorknob turned at the same moment that the police saw the woman in front of the door and next to a motionless body.

— She's there! Get her! — the first man, who was accompanied by half a dozen others, shouted with conviction.

Fortunately for Garta, the path opened, she immediately walked out through the passage and then closed the door, locking it.

Aldren wasted no time, as soon as his colleague walked through the door, he immediately pushed an iron bar against the door and fitted it between the doorknob and the concrete floor of the roof, reinforcing the lock.

— I think this should work — said the boy, concluding the support.

The integrity of the door seemed truly insurmountable, even with the police on the other side kicking and pushing it mercilessly.

— Good idea — Garta praised when he noticed the boy's objective. He smiled in response.

— Good to see you, Garta.

— How is the transmission going? — The guardian returned to her usual direct seriousness.

—It’s happening now. — He pointed to the end of the rain-soaked roof, where, beneath the structure of the transmission antenna, Bertha held her device as she monitored and ensured that the Manager’s words would be transmitted over the radio waves.

— That's good. That's good. — Garta smiled for a single satisfied second.

The door continued to be attacked, but it didn't look like it would give way to the men on the other side.

— That’s it!!! Mission complete! — The excited shouts from under the transmission antenna came from Bertha.

The girl celebrated with her hands raised to the sky as she smiled happily. Obviously, that meant that the Manager’s broadcast had ended.

Aldren put on a smile, but it quickly disappeared when Garta gave him orders:

“Time for the escape plan,” she said confidently.

— Yes, of course. — Aldren came to.

— Girl, you're okay. What a relief. — Bertha said when she noticed the woman's presence. She ran over to them and continued humming her happiness. — We made it.

— Okay. Then let's get out of here. — Garta knew that was her cue. She left no more time for celebration. — Get ready, Bertha.

The leader stretched out her palm towards the smiling girl who had stopped a few steps away from her. Light began to illuminate little Bertha's face and...

Blast! The noise interrupted the sound of the rain for a brief moment and the flash of blue light illuminated the roof like lightning. Bertha was no longer there.

“That’s a little scary,” Aldren commented.

“You get used to it,” Garta replied, panting to catch his breath.

It was obvious that this skill required some of his physical conditioning, and the more Garta used it in a short period of time, the more evident it became.

— So, now it's me, huh? — Aldren asked, showing his discomfort.

— Yes... I just need a few seconds to recover. — Garta replied, breathing in his rest.

— Okay. Sure — he agreed. He noticed that the disturbance at the door had stopped, perhaps the police had given up, but even though he was the most optimistic one there, Aldren didn't imagine that. He had a bad feeling that made him worried. — Will it take long?

— No, just a few more seconds — he took a deep breath —, the day is very busy.

— Huh? What does that mean? — he asked, ignored.

Garta felt that he was capable again, he felt the energy flowing through his body again.

— Well, I'm ready.

The guardian turned towards Aldren and stretched out her palm.

— I hate this... — Aldren said, closing his eyes and waiting for what would come.

Garta concentrated, light began to emanate from his hand, the raindrops were tinted by the light. But then...

A sound echoed throughout the surroundings. That wasn’t the usual noise from Garta’s ability, his ability hadn’t even been used yet. That was a sound originating from the only access door to the roof.

In a split second, before Garta could displace Aldren with his ability, something hit the door on the other side and shattered it into pieces. The metal debris from the door flew out towards the roof and the two who were there.

The door had shattered into a dozen pieces, as if it had been hit by an explosion, but that noise heard earlier was not the familiar sound of an explosion or a bang, far from it, it was something very serene and even comforting.

Regardless of the characteristics of the sound, its result was undoubtedly as destructive as that of a real grenade being detonated.

The sudden destruction forced Garta to bring his hands back to protect his face. He couldn't maintain the concentration to use the movement, the glow on his hand disappeared in the next moment.

— Argh! What the... — she complained.

—See how a professional works, you useless people! — said the man in a pedantic voice in the newly opened corridor.

Where the door had been, now a man, with messy hair and red robes with gold details, showed his smug smile. He had one of his arms stretched forward with his hands open so that the palm was facing outwards.

Next to him, another, older man stood out and was accompanied by a group of officers from the capital's police. They all presented themselves on the roof while they were illuminated by a lightning bolt cutting through the sky.

— You? — Aldren stammered, his eyes widening and being surprised by the older figure in chic clothes that only a bourgeois would wear. — How is that possible?