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The bond between a ghost and their guardian was sacred. It was a bond that was unreadable. Even death couldn’t break it.
Coincidentally, it was also a bond forged in death.
Ghosts sought for their guardians the moment they are created. Sometimes it takes days, sometimes it takes years, and sometimes… It takes centuries. For one little ghost, it seemed to take an eternity.
The little ghost would search all day, everyday, to find their guardian. Festivals of the lost would come and go. The Dawning would pass by barely acknowledged as well. All so the little ghost wouldn’t waste a single moment they could use to look for their guardian.
It was disheartening at times.
New arrivals at the tower were nice to see, but they always made the little ghost realize exactly what they were missing out on. And the stories the new arrivals told could be so frightening. Ghosts being attacked by their guardian in a fit of dazed confusion upon revival, guardians being dead so long even revival couldn’t fully heal them, and even the occasional story where a guardian resents their ghost for reviving them.
The little ghost pondered on what their guardian would do upon revival. They hoped their guardian would be pleasant.
And so each day passed.
One day, the little ghost was flying near a mountain base. They highly doubted that they would find their guardian there, but they didn’t want to leave any stone unturned.
The mountain itself looked to have sustained damage from some type of explosive seeing as how a large portion of the snow had collapsed in an avalanche. The wind itself blew so strongly that the ghost had to fly low to the ground to avoid being blown away.
And that’s how they found them.
From the piles of snow stuck a hand. It’s fingers were frozen and as if the person had been reaching out for something at the time of their death. The wind helped to uncover the body that seemed to be perfectly preserved in the ice.
There was no way to tell how long the person had been dead, but the little ghost knew immediately that this was their guardian and waited anxiously as the snow was slowly blown off of them to uncover a full body.
The cause of death seemed to be exposure seeing as how there were no wounds on the guardians body. Perhaps they had been buried in the avalanche? Either way, the ghost knew they had to work fast or else they’d lose their guardian in the snow again.
The ghost contacted the tower over the emergency frequencies immediately.
“I am a ghost and I just found my guardian!” They announced in slight disbelief. “But we’re on a mountain and I can’t revive them until I know someone will be here to pick us up. My guardian could die of hypothermia up here if I revive them now.”
And the ghost certainly didn’t want that to happen. Luckily, the vanguard seemed to think the same thing.
“We’ll send someone immediately. Send us your coordinates.” Zavala said calmly.
“On it!”
After the coordinates were sent, the ghost rested itself next to their guardian’s face.
From that angle, they were able to tell that their guardian was obviously a male. However, it was impossible to tell if they were a human or awoken. The skin was tinted blue, but that could have easily been a side effect of being frozen for so long. However, the hair of their guardian was pure white. It blended in easily with the snow itself.
The ghost was thrust out of their musings my the sound of someone initiating contact.
“We’re 5 minutes out, ghost. Proceed with revival.” A different voice announced.
The little ghost didn’t need to be told twice as they immediately gathered all the light energy around them and funneled it into their guardian.
A bright flash of light emerged from the body before a loud gasp of breath was heard.
“Guardian? Guardian? Can you hear me?” The ghost asked immediately.
The body immediately convulsed as the nerves and muscles began to work again. Eyes opened to reveal electric blue. Almost the exact same shade of the ghost’s optic lens! An Awoken then!
They immediately latched onto the floating object as the guardian sat up which dislodged the snow holding them down.
“It worked! You’re alive!” The ghost said excitedly. “You’re actually alive!”
Their guardian looked down at themselves in confusion as they flexed their fingers. “A..” His voice was rough and unsteady from disuse. “A…alive?”
“Yes! Alive! Oh you must have so many questions!” The ghost realized. “How should I start?”
“What…what are you?” Their guardian asked as feeling began to return to their body. The ghost could tell as he began to shiver.
“I’m a ghost. Now I’m your ghost actually. You’ve been dead for quite a while. Don’t worry though, someone is coming and they’ll take us home to the tower."
The ghost reassured. "Do you trust me?”
Their guardian looked up at the words and nodded. “You…saved me?”
“More or less.” The ghost admitted hesitantly.
The sound of a ship was heard along the horizon which prompted the ghost to urge their new guardian to stand. “It’s going to be hard adjusting, but I’ll help you. You might experience memory loss and physical discomfort as your body revives, but that’s normal.”
The guardian’s teeth began to chatter. His clothes were soaked from the snow and he tried to hug himself for warmth. “Th-there are…o-others?”
The ghost nodded and spoke soothingly. “Yes, but let’s focus on you right now while the ship finds a place to land. Do you remember your name?”
The guardian seemed to struggle over the thought before shaking his head. “Can’t… Think…too… Cold.”
Luckily, the ship finally landed nearby and a guardian rushed out as soon as the ramp dropped. She didn’t speak as she led the man inside her ship in a hurry.
“Reina, crank up the heat to max and take us home.” She said to her ghost waiting by the controls.
“Already on it!"
She then turned to the still shivering guardian and reached for his shirt. "Close your eyes. That’ll make this easier."
"E…easier?” He asked looking to his ghost in confusion.
The guardian sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. “I’m just going to say it. Kid, we’re going to cuddle naked.” She stated bluntly. “To get your body heat up so you don’t die again.”
The ghost nodded awkwardly. “It has to be done.”
The guardian blushed but closed his eyes as he heard the sound of zippers and buckles. His clothes came next and soon a warm body was pressed against his own.
“Damn you’re a block of ice!” The girl said through clenched teeth.
The newly revived guardian couldn’t help it as he latched onto the heat as if it were his last hope. “S…S-sorry.”
She shushed him quickly. “I’m teasing you, Ice Cube. Now stay still.”
The ride was long which gave the new guardian time to warm up. His shaking was soon only occasional shivering as he pressed himself against the stranger.
“My name is Aiona. Aiona Roma. I’m a guardian of the Last City.” She told him.
He nodded against her neck. “I do not know my name. And I suppose I am a guardian as well?"
She chuckled as she ran a hand through his damp hair. "Yes you are. You catch on fast!”
Aiona took that as her cue to start filling the newbie in on everything he’d need to know before entering the tower.
Ten minutes before they landed, she pulled away from him and grabbed a heavy overcoat thrown over the pilot seat and tossed it to him.
“Put this on and I’ll take you to the medical bay.” She said grabbing her clothes and putting them on.
The newbie was caught off guard by the coat being tossed at his head since his eyes were still closed. But, he stood up and wrapped the coat around himself.
“Can I open my eyes now?”
A small laugh filled his ears. “Go ahead, Kid. We’re landing already.”
It took a second for his eyes to adjust as he opened them.
The next hour passed by in a haze of new faces and examinations. The entire time, the ghost… His ghost… stayed right by his side.
“We’re in this together, guardian!” It would say.
That made him feel better. Less alone in the crazy new world he woke up in.
Aiona left him in the hands of the medics, but promised to be back soon with clothes. She had tried to keep him up to date with everything new, but there was just so much.
But his ghost was there. Constantly speaking to him. Calling him the “best guardian”.
The newly revived guardian felt, for the first time since he was revived, that he was actually going to be okay.