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Eternity is like a torrent of tragedies and accidents, a cemetery full of meaningless joys, unforgettable regrets, and a sorrowful thread kneading the graves together. With no fence to limit the place, the desecrated soil kept expanding, turning the plains around us and even the horizon into a dull painting. Or rather, a sight devoid of emotion.

And everytime you would look around, you would be left with this bland impression, a blank taste in your mind, nothing to think about, nothing to ponder on.

There were just fireflies, short-lived, then sudden loneliness.

…

However, I never let my will become tainted by those sick thoughts.

The world I saw through my eyes always looked the same, even after three millenniums, two great wars, the demons’ threat and the gods’ departure.

Immortality has always been treated as a gift by my kin, a peerless benediction specifically made to metamorphose us into beings of unfathomable destiny, long-lasting guardians to fulfil a designated role. The desolation of time was at last removed from our worries, and this single difference changed us, turning us into transcendental entities with one wonderfully-designed purpose: slaves disguised as warden.

But I was not a slave anymore. I was free. I wasn’t willing to be made into a tool to fulfil their destructive will, so I freed myself and my people with the power I have been bestowed.

An undeniable sovereignty over the laws of this world, a supreme privilege to dictate and override everything that has been seeded on this planet and the many invisible threads connecting all and everything that was born, that breathed and that died.

The power to decide what was right and what was wrong, handed to me like a sword to purge any anomaly, to correct any foreseeable mistake in their godly oversight, to cut what shouldn’t be tolerated.

At first, this strength was granted as an honourable title, a lifelong lifestyle of dedication to this single task and a heavily choking responsibility that, despite all the constraints and the conditions, I proudly accepted as being my whole self.

My eyes were set to decipher any misdirection in the plan, my hands were guided by a set of etiquettes and manners based on a solid education to cleanly eradicate any pus and bobbles in this gigantic but beautiful garden we called our world.

Because it was what it was to them: a garden where one would nurture the vegetables and wait until they were ripe before harvesting the plot.

In this entire cycle of nurturing and devouring an endless amount of souls, mortals acted as the sheep, gods oversaw as shepherd, while my people was the sheepdog. As for me, I was chosen with the intention of overseeing this ugly machinery, like an all-seeing eye with the capability to annihilate anything that derived from its original purpose.

I said I felt proud while attending my tasks, however, I don’t believe I had yet any feeling back then, let alone the emotions of guilt, remorse, or even a mind of my own.

The age of gods should have been everlasting, plunging the mortals into an eternity of birthing more livestock for their lords. Generations after generations of humans and yumes were lost to the hunger of the deities, or simply disappeared under their wrath directing my intervention. Armed with the benefit of omnipotence, nothing could have changed this fate. Nothing should have. Until…

Until someone opened my eyes. Until someone talked to me about this unfair treatment and the atrocities the mortals and we were subjected to on a daily basis.

Confronted against the truth I turned against the gods, and successfully drove them away from this planet. Alas, the price I had to pay to accomplish such feat was too much for everyone.

We suffered immensely from the gods’ absence.

“This is the room” said the girl while facing a fancy double door with a metallic shape adorned with one distinct word: “Director’s office”.

Despite my agelessness, I hadn’t enough experience in mortal’s artistry to comprehend the many significations to the many shapes drawn on the doors, only that I could at least agree the design appealed to the eyes of sightseers.

Through the mantle of my mana overflowing from my soul I could already discern the interior’s situation, the many traces and leftovers which marked a recent history of a meeting between the two girls I’ve seen in Brine’s memory, along with the visage of one fellow cianala.

With no hesitation I pushed the door, bursting inside the room and instantly turning on the magical candles hanging on the walls, providing just enough light to allow the resident to acknowledge my presence.

“You’re finally here, Haliaetus.”

Sitting at the opposite of his desk, an old man was found scribbling on a grimoire with his writing feather, dipping the tip inside a small ink pot before resuming his task without ever stopping himself even after my apparition.

The face may be different, the bone structure may have been altered and even the mana signature was slightly changed, yet there was no mistake when observing this person with a very specific perception.

“Ukolonaetus…”

The old man looked at me with a meekly-surprised face.

“You saw through this disguise pretty quickly, I must say.”

It was quite easy. Or should I say, I instinctively knew the moment I laid my eyes on him. Only a cianala could recognize a cianala after all.

I had a plethora of questions I wanted him to answer. I also had a short story I wanted to share with him. But now, I was only feeling relief. At last, someone who sided with me in this noble cause of protecting the world.

“I’m sure you have a lot of things in your mind. Have a seat, and we will talk.”

Time to sit. Time to talk. We had none at the moment, for I still wasn’t made aware of the catastrophe’s true nature. Hence, I refused the gentle offer and quickly closed the distance with him, grabbing his desk in my hurry to obtain my answers.

“Ukolonaetus. Where are the others? What happened to the cycle of my rebirth?” I asked him in a dash.

“They’re…” he muttered before interrupting himself, seemingly hesitating over his choice of words “… Don’t worry about them, my friend. Let’s first talk about both your duty and your issue.”

There were not many left after the Fall who could help us preserve this world, or who would voluntarily tread on this long path with no end in sight. Besides, we did began this journey three millennia ago, so calling it a path with no final destination was actually accurate.

However, from the few who choose to endorse this colossal responsibility… None were present at my side when I awakened. Why?

“This will be hard to believe for you… But that situation was predicted.

For once, you were to wake up by yourself, walk by yourself, recover by yourself then come here by yourself.

It must have been an arduous twist as you were certainly used to receive help immediately after you woke up, but the current circumstances made us unable to support you.

Don’t worry anymore, now that you’re here you’ll finally contribute to our great cause, again.”

I looked at him, dubious about the prediction he talked about. However, fully aware of more pressing matters, I expected him to ignore such trivial details and focus on our mutual problem at hand.

“Tell me about the upcoming catastrophe. Tell me what I must do.” I pressed him, impatient to finally fulfil my own duty.

“I will tell you in due time. For now, I want you to rest assured we are still on your side.

-… What do you mean?

-I’m sure you already know how a small minority of our kin are not sharing our ideals.

Some of them simply chose to ignore us and our doings.

While some had begun to… Scheme against us.”

… Right, I do remember one such case. Iorivalith, this woman who tried to seal me in the Limbo, was a cianala just like us. Yet, despite sharing the same birthplace, she turned her blade against me and attempted to remove me from this world. I thought it was a pity at first, but now that I have been made thinking about it I started to acknowledge the gravity of this threat.

Her plan was to banish me with the help of an artefact made by the Black God, but the pact should have rendered him harmless towards me. Either he found a loophole and experimented how far he could go, or the pact was already cancelled when this happened.

“You’re right. Iorivalith was one such fool for trying to kill me.”

Ukolonaetus nodded at my words “And there are two more who will do the same today.”

This piqued my curiosity. Not aiding us was already blasphemous enough as it was, but trying to harm me would not be tolerated.

Should I dispose of them immediately, or should I wait and see how it unfolds?

Getting rid of obstacles was my forte. I was good at getting rid of nuisances. All I needed was… Certain conditions, then the foe would vanish before my eyes. It would surely, as long as neither my manacles prevented me from acting or an unknown variables forbad my miracle from occurring.

However, doing so would make me waste some precious time. I should focus on duty as a protector once and for all, but before that…

“I will take care of them later, for now I want to see my beloved.”

Suddenly, Ukolonaetus flinched before me. To this old acquaintance of mine, I asked a question that haunted me since the beginning of my travel.

Ever since my awakening, I had met everyone I wanted to see. Almost everyone.

“Where is Qalendra?”

It has been many decades, maybe even centuries since I’ve had the opportunity to spend time with her. What should we do once we were reunited?

How I long to caress her delicate cheek. I missed her so much I could already glimpse the sparks of her emerald eyes.

But my sparkling passion was blown away like a candle.

“You can’t. Not now.”

… I couldn’t?

“She is resting right now. You wouldn’t want to wake her up in the middle of the night, right?”

… What does the current hour mean before our love?

“Besides, you still have to wipe out those two traitors. And don’t forget to restore the school’s barrier, will you?”

… This is wrong.

… This feels wrong.

… I must see Qalendra.

Now.

… However, it now feels even more wrong.

At the chapel, the barrier was the impregnable obstacle preventing me from summoning my bride. After destroying it, I then refused to alter anymore things to reduce the damages I could unconsciously cause.

But now, the situation should have been… hospitable. Nothing should have interrupted my channelling. Nothing in this world could go against me, except the artefacts of the gone gods, or the work of the Black God.

…

Anger was only an emotion, a drive to push forward when neither hope nor faith could motivate you to march. An efficient fuel, indeed, but a dangerous fire which could scorch both the world and yourself.

I was the Protector, but I was also someone’s beloved.

I was the most powerful dalenh, but I knew someone was always waiting for me.

This power… This surge of unrepressed, pure, intense strength overflowing through every pore of my distortedly sick soul, was the axe used to chop down cataclysms, the sword to destroy disasters, the light to vanish the darkness of the Limbo. But more importantly, it was the shield to protect those who were dear to me.

I fought for this world for only one reason.

Without this little excuse, this endless battle would have crushed me under the unshakable despair of losing myself.

Without this little, bright ray in the shape of an emerald amulet, this world would become meaningless to me.

Without Qalendra, all of this would become meaningless…

…

…

WITHOUT QALENDRA, THIS WORLD IS WORTHLESS!!!

The air vibrated, before suddenly pulsating, exploding, slamming everything away in my vicinity. The candles on the wall, fuelled by the mana from my soul, began to throw flames at the ceiling like the geysers of an erupting volcano. The walls trembled, barely withstanding the collision with the shockwave which left many fissures around the room.

Amongst the mana exploding, the heat and the choking pressure in the air, I could hear Ukolonaetus shooting something.

“St…. op... op it!”

But I couldn’t stop.

Not with the thought stuck in mind that Qalendra was in danger.

His body suddenly shook as I grabbed him by violating the concept of distance, ignoring the space separating us so that I could hold in my hands the foe.

“What have you done to Qalendra? What have you done to her?!”

His words barely managed to escape his throat.

“Stop it! I order you to stop this madness, Haliaetus!”

I pressed against his trachea, painfully compressing the throat in between my bright gauntlets.

“Where is she?! WHERE IS MY WIFE?!!”

“… Why… Is this not… Working…?”

Then, he gasped.

“!... That’s… Aederinilitium… What did she do…?”

Seeing I wouldn’t get any answers, I did what I should have done earlier.

It was about time I finally receive the answers to all my questions… My current duty… And also Qalendra’s true whereabouts.

With a swift spiritual manoeuver, I pierced his soul and collected his memory.