Arcbound: Tale of The Guardians

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Hillstead University was asleep. But the Arc beneath it pulsed.

A whisper, a hum, a low vibration in the foundation of the world.

And through that hum... came footsteps.

Not human. Not mortal.

They didn't walk. They glided, drifting through walls and stone, summoned by unseen rot and unspoken deceit.

From the boiler tunnels below, the Nether Fiend of Lies rose.

No longer broken.

No longer crawling.

It had shape now.

A towering, twisted figure of void-light and cracked green-glass skin, its face stitched together with jagged darkness and eyes that burned without fire. From its back emerged tendrils of oily shadow, coiling like smoke in water. And behind it, stalking in crooked silence, were Shade Fiends—six of them, smaller, snarling, twitching. Each moved like they had been born from nightmare.

The Fiend smiled.

> "Let them lie to each other."

> "Let them fall."

---

Just Outside the Arc Chamber

The Guardians stood on the northern courtyard, summoned by a pulse from their Oria. Jay had felt the ripple. A breach. A warning. And then—they saw it.

Shade Fiends emerged from the mist. Not like the ones before. Faster. Bolder. But not stronger.

Not anymore.

Carl grinned. "Finally. Something to punch."

"Guardians—Merge!" Henry shouted.

The Oria pulsed.

Flashes of color and energy swirled. In less than a breath, the Five were armored, weaponed, ready.

Henry was lightning incarnate, his dual staff sparking with voltage. Natasha blazed beside him in ember-red armor. Kai's shield cracked stone beneath him. Nora stood icy-calm, trident glowing. Carl swirled with slicing winds. And Jay—their silent guide—watched from the shadows.

The Shade Fiends lunged.

"Carl met the first with a spinning kick—wind detonating from his strike, launching the creature into the air."

"Nice try, fog-breath!"

Kai crushed another beneath a rolling stone shield. Nora pierced through a third with frozen spikes.

Henry blurred through the fourth, twin arcs of electricity searing the air.

It was over in seconds.

Smoke. Scars. Silence.

Henry panted slightly. "That felt... easy."

Jay stepped forward. "They were distractions."

Carl blinked. "Wait. Distractions for what?"

A voice answered.

Not Jay.

Not human.

> "For me."

The Guardians turned.

And there it stood.

The Nether Fiend of Lies. Whole. Massive. Grinning wider than before.

Its voice came from the cracks in the world—from stone, wind, breath."

> "You learned to fight shadows... but not the truth."

Lightning struck the sky. Clouds swirled unnaturally. The Arc beneath them trembled.

Henry took a step forward, planting his staff. "Then maybe it's time we burned the lie."

He looked at Natasha.

"You ready?"

She nodded. "Always."

He pointed to her. Then himself.

"Fire. Lightning. Hit it together."

Carl raised an eyebrow. "You sure this is the time for experiments, genius?"

"We don't have time. Just trust me."

Henry raised his staff high.

Natasha summoned flame to her palm.

Together, they hurled their powers forward—flame and lightning swirling in a blazing spiral.

> "Scorchbolt!"

The spiral struck the Fiend dead-center.

BOOOOOOOM!

Light exploded.

The courtyard shattered. Cracks spiderwebbed through the stone.

Smoke swirled. Heat shimmered.

Then silence.

They waited.

The Fiend's silhouette flickered.

Its body was cracked, leaking green.

They started to exhale.

But then—

> "You fed me... again."

The Fiend straightened.

Taller.

Stronger.

The green in its veins flared.

Jay's eyes widened. 'There was no one nearby. No civilians to feed it.'"

The Guardians froze.

No innocents nearby.

No civilians.

Just them.

The Fiend tilted its head.

> "You lied to each other."

It took a step forward.

> "And I... devoured it."

Henry turned to the others. "What is it talking about?"

Silence.

Kai looked down.

Nora looked away.

Jay took a step back.

"One of you," the Fiend hissed, "is hiding truth."

> "Your fire and lightning tasted of denial."

> "The ice came with regret."

> "The wind—fear."

Henry gripped his staff. "Ignore it."

"It feeds on what we don't say," Jay warned. "If we start doubting each other—it wins."

But the Fiend moved again. This time with speed.

It crashed into Carl, slamming him through the outer wall.

Nora raised her trident, firing a freezing shockwave—but it dodged, slamming her with a tendril.

Kai blocked a strike—barely—and countered with a seismic punch. But the Fiend absorbed the shock.

Natasha lit the sky in fireballs, but each one fizzled as the Fiend opened its maw and swallowed the flame.

Henry flew in with his staff crackling—but was batted away like dust.

The Guardians regrouped, panting, bruised.

Carl clutched his ribs. "That thing just leveled up mid-fight!"

Jay looked at each of them, grim. "It's too strong now. We need more combos."

Henry nodded. "We combine. Like I did with Natasha. Carl, you and me—wind and lightning."

Carl grinned. "Thunderstorm Slam. Let's go."

Henry leapt.

Carl spun.

A cyclone formed around Henry's body as he launched like a human thunderbolt.

> THUNDERSTORM SLAM!

CRASH!

The Fiend stumbled.

It screeched, stumbling back.

Kai slammed a boulder into its leg.

Nora froze its spine.

Natasha scorched its chest.

"Now!" Henry shouted. "Everyone—together!"

Their powers collided—ice, fire, wind, lightning, stone—into a single orb that hovered.

Henry roared. "Shigamis—lend us strength!"

From behind them, the faint outlines of their Shigamis emerged—echoes of power.

Their Oria flared.

> Unity Burst!

The orb launched.

It struck.

And this time—the Fiend screamed.

Loud.

Its chest exploded in green fire. Its horns cracked. Its form destabilized.

They waited.

Waited.

But it didn't reform.

Not yet.

---

Jay stepped forward. "It's wounded. But it's not over. Not until we find the lie it fed on."

Kai said nothing.

The Shigamis' voices echoed faintly in their minds.

> "A truth has been hidden." "A lie… among you."

A cold silence crept in.

Nora's eyes darted across the group. "Who's lying?"

No one spoke.

The Fiend twitched—and smirked.

Kai's fists clenched. He took a shaky step forward.

"I have something to say."

Everyone turned to him.

Nora's eyes were wide. "Kai?"

He didn't look at her right away. His voice came low, rough—like it had been buried for years.

"You always wondered why Dad was never in the photos. Why we didn't talk about him. Why I changed the subject when you brought him up."

He swallowed.

"He didn't die."

Nora froze.

Kai went on. "He left. He walked out on us when you were just a baby. Said he didn't want to be part of this family anymore. I was old enough to remember his exact words."

The wind stopped. Even the Fiend stilled for a breath.

> "I don't even know if he's still alive. Maybe he is. Maybe he forgot us the second he left. But I do know… he never looked back."

And I never told you because I didn't want you to grow up thinking… thinking it was your fault. That he left because you weren't good enough."

Nora's mouth opened, but no sound came out.

Henry looked back toward the Fiend.

It stirred.

Groaned.

Then screamed in frustration.

Not power—pain.

Jay gasped. "The truth... weakened it."

Kai looked at the others. "Then we have to tell all of it."

---

One by one, they spoke truths.

Carl admitted he sometimes imagined running away.

Natasha confessed she doubted her ability to lead.

Nora admitted she blamed herself for their father's loss.

Henry confessed he was scared of failing them all.

And in that truth—the Fiend writhed.

Shrank.

Screamed.

Its body collapsed inward.

The green light cracked like glass.

Henry raised his staff.

"One more hit. For truth."

They nodded.

Together—

They struck.

And the Fiend shattered.

This time—for good.

---

The night was quiet.

Smoke drifted.

The Arc pulsed gently.

Jay looked at them. "You won't always win by force. Sometimes the hardest battles are with yourselves."

Henry looked up at the stars.

"Then let's keep telling the truth. Even when it hurts."

Jay smiled faintly. "Especially when it hurts."

The Shigamis shimmered behind them—silent, proud.

And Hillstead slept once more.

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