“In the end of the Before Times, when there was only one ground and only one sky, twelve Guardians, each with their own magnificent power, cared for and nurtured Life Tree. Life Tree was the sole sacred treasure that remained from the Before Times. Each Guardian used his power to protect the Life Tree.”
I lurched, trying to free myself from the blackened yet still very living roots of the tree. It had been dead—there was no way it could be alive—but still it was trapping me with its roots. The man in the black hood stepped towards me and drew his blade.
His ring flashed on his hand as he ran his thumb along the edge, cutting his finger to prove how sharp it was. He didn’t need to prove it; I knew. He lowered his bleeding hand and recited, “One of the Guardians created a man from the bark of Life Tree, carving out his figure. The man was no more than a husk. He had no heart, only emptiness inside.”
“Get away from her!” Another man’s voice shouted. It was weak but still powerful. It sounded familiar, but I could not find the name that belonged to it.
The hooded man—Chaser—ignored the voice. “The man created by the Guardians was jealous of their power since he had none. He searched for Life Tree’s heart and cut a sliver out. With the sliver, he created a ring that gave him the thirteenth power.”
“Chaser, enough!” A different voice bellowed. My vision was too blurred; I couldn’t see who was calling out. I was absolutely terrified of Chaser and the unholy blade he carried.
I slowly raised my head to peer into the darkness of his hood. “Why?” I asked. As if telling me to shut up, one of the roots snapped out and wrapped around my throat. I yelped, gasping for air.
He didn’t answer me; he simply continued to tell the story of the Life Tree as if it were some sort of spell. “The Life Tree slowly began to shrivel because of the evil force that had stolen a piece of its heart. The Life Tree was dying. In order to protect and embrace the heart of Life Tree, the Guardians—not including the thirteenth—divided the heart into two halves. This created the two worlds and the Exoplanet which remained out of reach.”
“CHASER!” That scream was both a warning and a plea.
“Half of one heart was hidden in the first world, known as Ether,” Chaser said eerily. “The second half was hidden in the Exoplanet to be forever protected by the Guardians and their descendents. However, by dividing the heart, the Guardians overturned time and space. In order to maintain balance, the Guardians split apart. One half became nameless and traveled to Ether to protect the heart even though they did not know its location.”
He chuckled. “This is your half, your six. Yet, Lina, you can’t remember them, can you? They are all nameless to you, aren’t they?”
“What do you want from them?” I whispered fearfully.
He didn’t answer my question. He never did. “You will never remember them,” he whispered, a murmured curse shared between the two of us. He raised his blade and brought it down.
I lurched, jolting out of bed. I took a deep breath to try and calm my pounding heart. I looked down at the floor next to me. Chris and Tao were sleeping peacefully with dreamlike expressions on their faces. I grew quiet, not wanting to wake them.
It had been a long time since I’d had a dream that scary. It frightened me because whenever I had such vivid, realistic dreams, I was seeing something that has happened or had yet to occur. I had never seen anything like this before.
