Chapter Text
"Dark... so dark in here... where am I? How long have I been asleep?" I felt as though I was drowning. I tried to sit up but was held down by some invisible force or something that kept me on my back. I couldn't move at all. All I could see was this black nothingness. It seemed as though it went on forever in every direction.
My heart pounded in my head like an alarm clock set too early. My stomach knotted with anxiety and I wanted more than anything for someone to tell me what had happened. The darkness made it difficult for my eyes to adjust so I closed them. Then suddenly there came an image. A figure appeared before my eyes, it was small and thin. Slowly, the figure took shape, and it seemed to be a young boy carrying a baby bird back to its nest on a tree. After he finished helping the baby barn-owl, the boy continued planting saplings on the ground, his face bright with happiness...
"Ah, I remembered... " This realization brought a sense of peace to my heart. "That boy... I know him..."
That day was the same as any other, I became closer to nature, as usual, and then returned home. My father was sitting in his favorite chair watching news on his tv like he did every day, although this time the news was about how humans were destroying nature by cutting down trees and setting fire to forests. That's when I realized that I didn't know much about human beings. At least not enough to understand what could possibly make people do such things.
"Dad, is it true that humans are destroying nature?" I asked, sitting next to him. He turned to look at me and gave me a strange look. His expression was one of both sadness and anger.
"Yes, son. Humans are destroying nature."
He looked away from me, lost in thought. I knew that the answer wasn't going to satisfy me. But I also understood that if I didn't ask the question, I'd never find out the truth. So I continued.
"Why do you think they're doing those terrible things? Why don't they care about nature?"
"They only care about themselves." he said simply. And then he added "And their greed."
I nodded along with his words. If I had to guess, I'd say that most humans lived lives filled with fear and selfishness. They were afraid of being alone, afraid of death, and afraid of losing whatever little power they had over others.
"I want to change fate and save everything. Do you feel the same way, dad?"
My father gave me a long, thoughtful look before he glanced out the window and responded.
"It's not possible, you lack the ability to do so, and your hope is, after all, just that." He turned around and faced me. "Don't misunderstand me, I'm not implying you're worthless, I'm simply saying that there is a limit to what we humans can do. Someone is losing their life every second, can you save them all?"
He only said two sentences, but those two sentences were permanently engraved into my soul. I stormed back to my room angrily and laid on my bed. Just then, I noticed something unusual—a faint light coming through the windows. What caught my attention even further was that it wasn't sunlight, rather it was blue-white flames. As far as I knew, no living thing possessed the ability to create such flames.
The moment I saw these lights, I sat straight up in bed, wide awake. Something told me that this was important, but I couldn't quite grasp what that was. Yet despite knowing that this was significant, I still decided to go to sleep. When I awoke the following morning, the sky outside the bedroom window was completely clear, without a single cloud. Even though I was used to seeing sunrises like this, it seemed different somehow. Like something bad would happen soon...
But I shrugged off those thoughts and headed downstairs for breakfast before heading to the nearby forest as usual. I inherited the love for nature from my mom, who passed away when I was very young. Since it was Sunday, I had plenty of time to explore the forest. There weren't many animals left since humans hunted them nearly to extinction, but I managed to find several plants that grew well near the stream.
As I walked deeper into the woods, I heard voices nearby. Although I hadn't seen anyone else yet, I sensed another presence in the area. I approached slowly, listening carefully until I finally spotted three men. Two wore black suits, one with a white shirt underneath, while the last man was dressed in a blue shirt. Two were armed with axes, while the third was armed with a Nosler M21.
"What do you think? Isn't it great, boys? We'll be able to sell this stuff and make a fortune!" The two suited men laughed in their high-pitched voices, but I could feel that their laughter was just a cover for something else. My intuition told me they were up to no good. I couldn't decide whether or not to go check out the strange people before me. But I knew that they might be trouble, so I stayed hidden.
When I witnessed them begin killing animals and cutting down trees, my heart began to ache. After a while, the breaking point came, and I decided to come out of hiding.
"Stop! Stop, right now!" I called out. But they just ignored me.
After that, it was as if my memory had been wiped clean. The next thing I knew, I was surrounded by fire—and not just any fire, the flames were a dazzling white and blue. I could do nothing except sitting on my knees, watching the world go up in flames with a terrified expression on my face. I felt tears rolling down my cheeks.
"Oh dear! What's wrong with you?" I heard a voice from behind me.
At first, I tried to ignore it altogether because I felt as though I shouldn't have paid attention to these strange voices anymore, but then something changed. I felt a sudden burst of strength, and then my consciousness cleared somewhat. It felt like the heat of the flames was gone—but it wasn't. The flames remained there, but the feeling of terror that once accompanied them had also vanished.
"Who are you?..." I questioned.
There came a reply in return. "I'm Fauna."
"Fauna?" I repeated.
This time, a figure appeared before me. She was a young beautiful woman, she had long, flowing green hair. Her skin was pale, almost like marble, and her eyes glowed bright gold. I stood up and approached the figure, trying to get a better look at her.
"You're... Fauna?" I asked again.
She smiled and nodded. Then she extended a hand toward me and said, "Come on, let's go somewhere more comfortable. You must be exhausted from all that fighting."
As soon as she finished her sentence, rain began to pour, putting out the fires around me. When the rain stopped, there was nothing but a clear sky above us.
"How did you do that?"
"I've been waiting for you to awaken, Flame." Fauna gave me a gentle smile "I witnessed everything."
We stared at each other for a moment before I replied. "My nickname, you know my nickname?.."
"Of course." Fauna answered calmly. "I was curious as to what you would do, and you surpassed my expectations."
"Did you see it all? Everything?" I asked.
"Everything. I watched you fight the nature-destructive humans, plant the trees, and I saw you take care of the injured animals. I was impressed. I didn't expect you to be so strong."
"I am not..."
"Now I will offer you a gift." Fauna offered "But this gift comes with a responsibility, will you accept it ?"
"Can I say no?"
"Nope." Fauna grinned. "Except for one Guardian who protects the Civilization, other Guardians protect nature and its inhabitants. Guardians are granted special powers which they use to keep humans under control."
"So... what does that mean?" I asked.
"It means you now carry my blood within you." Fauna said with a proud expression.
That was when the meaning of what she had just said dawned on me. A wave of dizziness washed over me and suddenly, I fell to my knees, overcome by a fit of nausea. My vision swam and blurred in front of me so much that I couldn't stand straight. My thoughts became confusing and chaotic. Before I could regain myself completely, something happened to me...