Monochrome: Waking Dawn

Chapter 8: The Fallen Guardians

Professor Zeddra, inside her chamber called her ally, Cerberus and planned to talk with him.

                   “That Queen. I just hate her. I have been serving her for 10 millenniums yet, she never considered my experiments or any of my ideas. She never knew that after those years, I had already betrayed her. She never knew that since that day, the first day of the 11th millennium, I have already pledge to the evil of all nations. I, Professor Sirrus D. Zeddra of the Jinivivs have sworn to lurk and spy the Queen from the inside of her own home.”

“Master, I only know half of your life story. I don’t know you fully since I already joined you for about a century. Can you tell me what happened all those years? Can you tell me your story?” on how you started, what happened during your reign?”

“Well, my downfall started when the person I loved the most died right in front of me- my lover. When we were in a mission, he chose to sacrifice himself to save me from a giant griffin. He was bleeding because it hit him on the chest and on his head. I tried to ask for help and called out to the Queen since we were near her castle. When she finally arrived, all she did was said: “He is already dead. Let him rest. He needs it.” My world broke hearing my Queen said those words. It was like she said that everything was going to be alright while I’m going to be left all alone. It was like she gave up. She had the power to heal him but she chose not to. With that, my lover held my left cheek with his hand and said to me: “ Don’t cry my love. Everything will be alright. Even Guardians die if their time will come. You will make a fine Guardian of Spherea without me. No matter what happens, even if I forget everything, remember this… I will forever love you.” Then he breathed his last breath. When he died, he became blurry and was ghostly. He then went out of our sight and went off to wherever the wind took him. The Queen then said that both us should go home. It was like nothing had happened. Since that day, I never worked properly but I still remained on her side because I believed that she was doing the right thing. Well, she proved me wrong. Since that day, she ignored me and only talked to me when she needed my help. I was like her instrument. I was like a dog, she was my master. After all those times that I served her, I decided to go out of her Kingdom and traveled in the House of the Jinivivs- one of the organizations of the Gates of Despair and pledged there. I knew that she did the same thing to them. They were the lost hopes and dream of the guardians and felt pain all of their lives. The Queen never helped them because she believed that she must protect her own Kingdom only. I knew I had a connection with them and so I followed them. They gave me a mission to spy in the Queen’s Kingdom and follow their rules. I did so. And from that day on, I became a Jiniviv and years after, I met you, Cerberus who was out in the wilderness longing for a partner. Then, I took you and took care of you.”

“Now I understand. I shall serve you until the time I, too will decay. I will watch over you and protect you. You took me in your arms even when I was still a baby breaking out of my shell and protected me. That is too much- what you experienced is too much. I will give back the favor.”

          “Thank you Cerberus. You have been a loyal servant. Thank you so much.”

          “Right now, I just received reports from you that the Queen already has the prophecy without even telling me. That is what triggered my wrath against her.”

          “But master, her daughter, Robin went out without her permission. She and Gianne did it.”

“It’s her responsibility to know everything that is going on in this Kingdom. She should know that. It doesn’t concern me if she didn’t mean to not know about it. It’s her fault therefore, I shall break the   promise I made with her.”

          “But how?”

          “It seems you don’t know me that well Cerberus.”

          “What?”

          “You don’t know me.”

          “But why?”

“Don’t you know that there is another Jiniviv in this Kingdom?”

“There is?”

“Uhuh.”

“Who may this be Master?”

“Her name- Crystallia Mosaic- the Guardian of crystals. She is a Jiniviv. We work together perfectly. I ask her all the data she gathered and together, we shall initiate our plans.”

          “But why is she a Jiniviv?”

          “I don’t know her life story yet. She never told me. But, in the future, I will know it for sure.”

          “Master, can I ask you something?”

          “What is it Cerberus?”

          “Since we don’t know what will happen next, if the Queen knows about this, can you guarantee me something?”

          “What?”

          “That you won’t fail this mission and come back to me in one piece.”

          Zeddra went nearer to Cerberus and patted his head while he bent down a bit. She smiled and said:

          “I will never fail. We both had our sufferings. That’s why I’m doing this for the both of us. Since you don’t know the plan of the Jinivivs, I’ll tell you. Their plan, well, our plan to be specific, is to know everything about the Divine, find it and force it to grant their demand in making other nations feel the crisis and pain like they did. To attain this, they will do anything they can and nothing shall stand in their way. The Jinivivs has been crying aloud and searching for the love and support they were longing to have but nothing came. They were ignored. This time, it will be the other nations to suffer.”

          “I understand now. They only need to be loved yet even that, the Queen didn’t give it to them”

          “Exactly.”

          “Crystallia feels the same. We were no born originally as a Jiniviv but became one because we felt how they feel- unloved and ignored. We share the same blood by heart and wipe each other’s tears. We are sisters by heart.”

          “Master, promise me you won’t fail.”

          “With all my blood and sweat, I assure you, I won’t dear.”