Arcbound: Tale of The Guardians

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Evening settled gently over the campus of Hillstead University.

The buzz of conversation drifted from lecture halls as students filtered out of their evening classes. Laughter echoed in the distance. Somewhere, a club was playing music a little too loud. Everything felt normal.

Until it didn't.

A sudden crash echoed from the old science basement—loud enough to cut through the noise.

Then a second, louder this time. Metallic. Inhuman.

From the courtyard, three students turned. "Did you hear that?"

"Basement," one muttered. "Probably the theater club setting up again."

Curious and unbothered, a few students wandered toward the basement. One pulled out a phone, grinning.

"Weird lighting. Fog machines. Probably part of a campus prank or viral vid…"

Then they saw it.

Tall. Shadow-cloaked. Eyes like burning voids. No feet—just twisted smoke and claws like polished bone.

It stepped into the light.

The students froze.

"…Okay. That costume is next level."

The thing tilted its head, slowly.

Then it screeched.

One of the students stumbled back. "Wait, hold up—"

It lunged.

The hallway exploded into chaos.

A table flew through the air. Screams erupted. One student slipped trying to run. Another ducked behind a vending machine as the creature slashed through lockers like paper.

Alarms blared. The intercom crackled.

> "All students are to remain in their dormitories. Do not engage. Campus security is handling the situation."

Except they weren't.

Because seconds later, two more emerged through the cafeteria entrance, their smoke-bodies leaking oily darkness as they growled into the night.

---

Meanwhile…

In Carl's room, the Guardians were still recovering from Oria training.

Carl had just suggested superhero uniforms with built-in music players when the tremor hit.

Jay looked up sharply.

"That's not thunder," he said, already moving. "It's begun."

From outside came a wave of screams.

Henry reached for his cuff. "That came from the east wing."

Nora was already on her feet. "The cafeteria."

Carl lit up. "Shade Fiends? Actual Shade Fiends?!"

Kai frowned. "That's… a weird thing to be excited about."

"This is our first real mission!" Carl grinned, practically vibrating. "Do we have a code name shout? A battle cry? Wait, I have one—"

"Save it," Natasha cut in. "We move. Quiet and fast."

Jay's voice was low but sharp. "You've trained. Now you act. Go. And don't let anyone see you transform."

They slipped out through the garden side doors, cloaked by shadows.

But by the time they reached the courtyard—it was already chaos.

Students were everywhere—screaming, running, some frozen in shock.

The two Shade Fiends near the cafeteria let out snarls, closing in on a cluster of students backed against the wall.

One Fiend raised a metal bench with its claws and hurled it—straight at a stunned girl who couldn't move in time.

WHAM—

The bench froze mid-air.

Spinning slowly.

Everyone turned.

Carl stood behind it, palm out, wind swirling around him.

He smiled. "Okay. That was cool, right?"

Gasps rippled through the crowd.

"Who are they?"

"Is this part of a play?"

"Are those… costumes?"

The five Guardians stepped into view—armor shimmering, Oria glowing faintly. The Shade Fiends shrieked in response.

Henry's armor cracked with silver energy as he stepped forward. "Everyone get back. Now!"

Natasha's voice rang out. "Go to your dorms! This is not a performance!"

Nora twirled her trident. "We'll handle this."

Kai's shield rose with a dull thud. "Carl. You're up."

Carl raised his staff, smiling wide. "Let's show them what Guardians can do."

The Shade Fiend shrieked, rearing back as Carl's wind held the metal bench suspended mid-air. The gust swirling around him pushed at students' hair and clothes as if the storm itself had taken form beside him.

"We need to move it away from the building!" Jay's voice echoed faintly in Carl's mind.

Carl's eyes narrowed. "Zephro—let's fly!"

The wind beneath his feet exploded outward. He launched forward, swinging his staff wide.

WHOOSH!

A massive wave of air struck the Shade Fiend like a hammer. It screeched and staggered backward, then was launched clean through the hallway and out the broken cafeteria doors. The ground outside cracked as it landed.

"Nice launch!" Henry shouted, sprinting after it.

The others followed.

---

Outside – Eastern Courtyard

The Shade Fiend rose from the shattered pavement, snarling. Shadows wrapped around it like armor, healing the gashes.

"Ugh, it's regenerating," Natasha muttered.

Nora stepped up beside her, Trident glowing. "Let's fix that."

She slammed the Trident down.

Ice erupted from the ground, shards hurling toward the Shade Fiend. One pierced its leg, another its shoulder. It shrieked but healed again.

"Doesn't stay hurt for long," Kai growled.

Henry raised both hands. Silver lightning crackled upward—then crashed down from the sky.

BOOOOM!

The impact threw the Fiend backward, smoke rising from its chest.

Kai's voice boomed next. "Let's keep it grounded!"

He stomped once.

Jagged rocks launched from the ground like missiles. Some cut through the Fiend's smoke-flesh, knocking it back down.

Still, it healed. Still, it got up.

"Why won't it die?" Carl muttered, spinning his staff again.

> "You're hitting the body," Zephro said calmly in his head. "Not the heart."

> "The heart," echoed Auris to Henry. "Strike the origin."

The Shigamis were united in warning.

Henry's eyes sharpened. "The core… We have to break through."

Suddenly, the Shade Fiend lunged straight at him.

"Henry!" Nora shouted.

He vanished in a blur.

The Fiend looked around—confused.

Behind it, Henry reappeared, spinning his staff. "Too slow."

He slashed across its back, sparks trailing from his strike. The Fiend staggered—but Carl wasn't done.

He slammed his staff into the ground again.

A swirling tornado erupted beneath the Fiend.

It screamed as it was lifted into the air, spinning violently.

"NOW!" Carl yelled.

Natasha's eyes glowed deep red.

"SOLARI—BURN!"

A blazing fireball surged from her palm—compact, bright, and crackling with fury.

It slammed into the Fiend mid-air—exploding with a wave of fire.

The creature shrieked… then burst into smoky dust.

One down.

But the second one, the more brutal of the two, broke free from Nora's ice.

It roared, charging at Kai and Nora.

"Not fast enough," Kai muttered.

He slammed the ground again, and a slab of stone tilted like a ramp behind Henry.

"Time to fly," Kai smirked.

Henry knew exactly what to do.

He sprinted at the ramp—Kai's shield launching him upward.

"SPINNING STRIKE!" Carl shouted helpfully from the side.

Henry began rotating in midair—his staff extended, spinning so fast he blurred into a silver spiral.

"NOW!" Nora yelled.

She raised both hands. The air grew cold, and water from the nearby fountain froze, spiraling around the Fiend's legs, locking it in place.

Henry descended, staff spinning like a drill.

CRACK—!

He pierced straight through the Shade Fiend's chest.

It let out a final, horrible sound—and then shattered like glass into shadow fragments.

---

Smoke cleared.

The five Guardians stood in the center of the courtyard, battle-worn but victorious.

Students peeked from windows and rooftops. Some emerged slowly from hiding.

Then, the cheering began.

Wild. Loud. Disbelieving.

"WHO ARE THEY?!"

"Did you see that lightning guy?!"

"The one with the wind—he FLEW!"

"They saved us…"

Carl grinned, spinning his staff again. "I told you we'd look awesome."

Natasha shoved his shoulder. "Don't pose."

"We're heroes now! We HAVE to pose!"

Henry shook his head, smiling slightly. "Not bad for a first fight."

"Let's not stay too long," Nora said. "We still have secret identities, right?"

Kai nodded. "Time to disappear."

As the crowd surged forward to get a better look, the Guardians turned and—

leapt out of sight, vanishing into the shadows like true legends.

---

Elsewhere…

Far beneath the earth, in a realm of smoke and shadow, a figure watched the entire fight unfold on a wall of black flame.

The Shade Fiends had failed.

His clawed hand curled into a fist.

"They've awakened…"

His voice was deep, growling like thunder under pressure.

Behind him, darker, taller forms shifted.

One stepped forward—a massive Shade Fiend with glowing red lines across its body, almost human-shaped but twice the size.

"They are not ready for you yet," the figure said slowly.

The Fiend growled low.

"Find the Guardians," the master said coldly. "Crush them before they learn what they really are."

The creature roared once—and vanished into the dark.

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