Arcbound: Tale of The Guardians

The sun filtered softly through the tall windows of Hillstead University's west tower, illuminating the Guardians as they sprawled across the far corner of their History of Mythic Civilizations class.

Carl leaned back in his chair, balancing it dangerously on two legs. "Okay, hear me out—'Guardians of the Gale.'"

"No," Natasha said instantly.

"Too breezy," Kai added, not even looking up from his notebook.

"What about 'Arc Sentinels'?" Nora offered.

"Hmm," Henry tilted his head. "A little dramatic... but better than Carl's."

Carl scoffed. "You people have no taste."

Jay, disguised as a quiet student in the back row with a book covering half his face, spoke just loud enough for them to hear:

"You don't need a name to be Guardians. What you do need—is focus."

They fell silent at once.

Jay shut his book and stood, walking over to them. The other students barely noticed him, their attention on a professor who hadn't yet arrived.

"The Arc," Jay said softly, "is more than a relic. It holds echoes of every Guardian before you—records, techniques, warnings. But it won't give you power you aren't ready for. It reflects only what the last Guardians knew."

Carl blinked. "Wait... so it's like a magical instruction manual?"

"With a limited page count," Jay replied. "Your growth must go beyond what's written."

He turned to leave, but paused.

"And one more thing—now that you've merged with your Shigamis, don't expect full power outside of battle."

Natasha frowned. "What do you mean?"

Jay tapped the Oria pendant hanging from Carl's neck.

"Unless fully transformed, the merge fades. You'll remain stronger, faster—yes. But your elemental powers will come in fragments, not full storms."

To prove his point, Carl tried summoning a gust of wind.

Nothing happened.

He grunted and held up his hand dramatically. "Winds of—uh—slightly concerned breezes?"

Nothing.

Jay smirked. "Exactly."

One Week Later…

The days passed in relative peace.

Between training in the Arc chamber, experimenting with fragment powers, and dodging suspicious professors, the Guardians almost started feeling... normal.

Almost.

They could leap higher, move faster, and punch harder than any human—but only barely. The merge was where their true strength lived. Without it, they were half-lit candles in the dark.

In the quiet moments, they practiced with their Shigamis. Jay oversaw their exercises, pushing them to read from the Arc when he wasn't mysteriously disappearing. Kai took to studying the stone etchings like they were sacred texts. Henry tried to replicate lightning tricks with a pencil. Carl kept designing logos.

And then… the wind shifted.

It happened on a dull Thursday afternoon, during a long, droning lecture in Professor Varlan's class on "The Ethics of Ancient Power."

Carl was doodling hero suits. Nora was pretending to take notes but drawing ice spirals on the edge of her paper. Natasha had zoned out completely. Henry's eyes had narrowed, alert.

The windows were open. And something—something—had arrived on the wind.

"…it dragged two hikers into the forest near Mistvale…"

Carl's chair thumped down. "Did you hear that?"

Henry nodded slowly. "That wasn't part of class."

Kai sat upright. "The forest?"

"Jay," Nora whispered.

Jay was already staring out the window, unmoving.

The voice outside belonged to one of the security officers, standing beside a professor near a bench in the courtyard below.

"…couldn't even describe it properly. Black. Tall. Something about glowing lines. We called the rangers."

The Guardians exchanged glances.

Shade Fiend.

Possibly something worse.

Jay didn't speak. He didn't need to.

Carl stood up suddenly. "Uh… sir?" he raised his hand. "Bathroom. Emergency."

The professor looked confused. "You've been five times today."

"Fast metabolism?"

He grabbed his bag and darted out the door.

Five seconds later, Nora raised her hand. "Cramps."

She left.

Then Natasha. "I think I dropped my phone in the hall."

Kai mumbled something about being dizzy.

Henry didn't say a word—he just got up and left.

By the time the professor realized what had happened, half the class was gone.

Jay stood last. "I'll, uh… help them find their way back."

The Guardians were shadows streaking through the outer fields—blurred, wind-cut figures racing toward Mistvale Forest. Trees bent from their momentum, the grass flattened in their wake.

Carl, running slightly ahead, groaned dramatically.

"I'm just saying—it's criminal that we don't have a team theme song by now. Or at least a motto. Something epic like—'By wind and will, we rise!'"

"And all this power and no super-bike? What kind of magic relic forgets the ride?!"

"Shut up and run, Carl," Natasha snapped, her bracelet already glowing.

"Seriously though," he huffed. "Even anime squads have catchphrases."

They hit the tree line.

And then they stopped.

Dead still.

Before them, the forest was torn open. Trees were uprooted, birds had vanished, and even the wind refused to blow. The space was unnaturally quiet—like a place between seconds. A heavy, sickly energy pressed on their skin like invisible fog.

Then it stepped into view.

Not like the Shade Fiends they'd faced.

No. This was different.

Twice as tall. Broad-shouldered. Humanoid in shape, but wrong in every other way. Its limbs were stretched unnaturally, and its surface looked like cracked obsidian stitched with pulsing green veins. Horns curled from the sides of its jaw. Its face was featureless save for a jagged line that opened into a mocking, twitching grin.

It didn't snarl.

It smiled.

Carl took one look and whispered, "That is not your average smoke monster."

Jay stepped forward from behind a tree, expression grim.

They turned to him.

"What is that?" Henry asked, already reaching for his Oria cuff.

Jay didn't blink.

"It's not a Shade Fiend."

"What?" Nora said. "But—look at it!"

Jay's voice dropped.

"It's worse. It's a Nether Fiend."

The Guardians stilled.

Carl's voice cracked. "Nether what-now?"

Jay turned his gaze on the creature.

"There are three in the known world… perhaps more in the forgotten ones. The Nether Fiend of Hate. The Nether Fiend of Greed. And this—" he pointed as the creature stepped closer, still grinning, "—is the Nether Fiend of Lies."

Kai narrowed his eyes. "You're saying this is one of the… generals?"

Jay nodded.

"Shade Fiends are born of darkness, yes. But Nether Fiends? They are born of us. When humans lie, hate, or crave endlessly, it disrupts the flow of energy within the soul. That negative force detaches... and begins to take form."

"Wait…" Henry breathed, stunned. "So you're saying we create them?"

"Not all," Jay replied, "but some. And the Nether Fiends are drawn to that chaos like moths to flame. They feed on it. Grow from it."

"Lovely," Natasha muttered. "And how strong is this one?"

Jay looked at the creature again.

"Weak—for now. But that can change quickly."

"Good," Carl said, stepping forward. "Because I vote we hit it with everything we've got before it grows a second head."

"Guardians—Merge!" Natasha ordered.

They each placed a hand on their Oria.

In flashes of colored energy, they transformed—flames, winds, lightning, stone, water—armor forming around them in perfect harmony. Their Shigamis shimmered for a moment behind them… then vanished into their bodies.

Henry gripped his dual staff. "Let's go."

The first strike was Kai.

He launched forward, slamming his shield into the creature's chest. The ground cracked from the impact—but the Fiend didn't even flinch.

Instead, it raised one hand.

SWOOSH—

Kai went flying backward into a tree.

"Okay!" Carl yelled. "Bad start!"

Nora swept in next, freezing the air around its feet with spiraling ice. It staggered—but stepped forward anyway, shattering the frost like glass.

Natasha dashed left, flames licking at her whip. She spun, snapping the ember-flame across the creature's torso. The crack echoed across the woods. The Fiend groaned—but didn't fall.

Henry and Carl came next—tornado and lightning.

Carl summoned a focused gust that launched Henry skyward, who descended like a bolt of fury—staff spinning, lightning arcing across the sky.

BOOOM!

It hit the Fiend dead center—dust and smoke filled the forest.

Silence.

Then…

The Fiend stood again.

It didn't roar.

It laughed.

Then, as they watched, its shoulders expanded—green lines glowing brighter, horns twisting longer.

Jay's face darkened. "It just absorbed something."

"The hiker," Nora whispered. "It… lied to them."

Jay nodded grimly. "And now it's stronger."

The second round was worse.

Henry dashed in again, faster than before—but the Fiend anticipated it, grabbing him mid-strike and slamming him into the ground.

Nora tried pinning its limbs in frozen roots, but the Fiend ignited them with green fire.

Kai blocked a strike with his shield—only to be thrown back again.

Their attacks grew desperate. Wild.

Even Natasha's fireball, thrown point-blank into the creature's chest, barely made it stumble.

"We're losing ground!" Carl yelled. "Jay—what do we do?!"

Jay didn't answer.

But something glowed on Carl's Oria.

He looked down.

So did the others.

Symbols.

Arc-script.

Glowing faintly on their Oria and weapons.

"The Arc," Henry said, breathless. "It's… updating."

Kai raised his shield. "No—showing us something."

In their minds, words flashed—memories from the last Guardians.

Bend, don't break. Trick the lies. Break the mind. Combine powers.

They glanced at each other.

Then Carl grinned. "Ready for something stupidly brilliant?"

Natasha cracked her knuckles. "Let's do it."

They attacked again.

But this time, smart.

Carl created a wind vortex—pulling the Fiend's vision.

Kai slammed a stone wall to block its retreat.

Natasha danced around it with fire illusions—burning shapes that faked attacks.

Henry zipped behind the creature, darting in and out, lightning fast and untouchable.

Nora climbed onto a ridge, her trident raised.

"Carl!" she shouted.

He launched her upward with a gust.

Nora spiraled through the air—trident glowing blue-white. She hurled it.

The trident pierced the Fiend's back, freezing around its chest.

It screamed—but couldn't move.

Henry struck from behind.

Natasha struck from the front.

Then Carl lifted it into the air.

"NOW!" he yelled.

Kai launched Henry again—this time with a spinning rock disc beneath his feet.

Henry struck like a drill, lightning first—straight into the Fiend's heart.

CRACK—

The creature burst into mist and vanishing green fire.

Gone.

They landed in a circle, panting, armor flickering.

Jay stepped forward slowly, nodding.

"Well done," he said. "But that… was only the beginning."

The trees swayed again.

Somewhere far off… another presence stirred.

Watching.

And the whispers of lies hadn't stopped at all.

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