Arcbound: Tale of The Guardians

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The sun had begun to slip behind the western hills, smearing the sky in hues of gold, lavender, and sleepy orange.

The courtyard behind the art building—quiet, shaded, and mostly deserted—had become the unofficial meeting spot for the five. After all, where else could you attempt to summon fire or stop time without being expelled?

Kai bounced a rubber ball lazily against a tree. "Alright. So—whose powers are working today?"

Carl sprawled dramatically on a bench. "Mine are on vacation. Said they'd be back when I stop being 'emotionally inconsistent.' Whatever that means."

Natasha leaned against the tree, arms crossed. "Maybe yours are just as lazy as you are."

"Hey," Carl said, holding a hand to his chest. "Don't insult my bird like that. He's probably napping somewhere majestic."

Nora sighed and looked at her drink. "I tried freezing this earlier. All I got was a slightly colder straw."

Henry cracked his knuckles. "Okay. Let's just test it. One by one. Calm. Controlled. No screaming. No flaming flyers."

Everyone turned to Natasha.

She blinked. "What? That was one time."

---

Round One: Nora

She held out her hand toward the cup of water on the stone bench.

Deep breath.

Focus.

"Cold. Chill. Freeze. Chillax… ice ice baby…"

The water trembled slightly—then stopped.

Nothing.

Carl gave her a slow clap. "Wow. So intimidating. The mighty slayer of lukewarm beverages."

Nora flipped him off without looking.

---

Round Two: Kai

Kai crouched low, placed both palms on a large rock like it insulted his ancestors, and closed his eyes.

"C'mon. Hulk mode. Inner strength. Super—"

Nothing.

He tried again—pushing harder this time.

The rock sat there. Completely unmoved.

Kai grunted. "I swear I bent metal two days ago."

Henry shrugged. "Maybe the rock has better self-esteem than that car."

Carl: "Or maybe it's just… a rock."

---

Round Three: Henry

"Okay. My turn." He stepped forward and stared at the stopwatch on his phone.

"All I need is a freeze. Just a second. Just a sliver."

He hit 'start' and focused.

The stopwatch counted.

1… 2… 3…

Henry squinted. Strained. Almost farted.

Time did not stop.

Kai coughed. "Maybe blink harder."

Carl whispered, "If he explodes, I call dibs on his headphones."

Henry finally gave up with a groan. "It's like my powers are shy."

Nora: "Or passive-aggressive."

---

Round Four: Natasha

She stepped forward, lifted her hand… and stared at the candle they'd found in someone's locker.

Everyone watched in silence.

She focused. Stared. Narrowed her eyes.

Carl, under his breath: "She looks like she's trying to grill it with her mind."

Nora: "You're not helping."

The candle remained unfazed. A slight breeze made it flicker—purely natural.

Natasha muttered, "This is dumb."

Kai leaned in with mock suspense. "Try sneezing on it. Maybe you're a sneeze-bender."

Natasha deadpanned. "You wanna test that with your face?"

---

Round Five: Carl

With the confidence of a man who hadn't succeeded at anything magical all day, Carl climbed onto the bench.

"Behold!" he declared. "The power of the wind!"

He jumped.

Nothing.

He jumped again. Still grounded.

"Maybe you have to fart first?" Kai offered.

"I will land on you," Carl threatened.

Henry sighed, flopping onto the grass. "So… basically none of us can do anything unless we're panicking, nearly dying, or fighting flaming library ghosts."

Nora nodded. "Seems about right."

Natasha sat down beside them. "Maybe the powers are like dreams. They only show up when we're not trying too hard."

Carl flopped onto the grass dramatically. "So you're saying I should never try anything again."

Kai: "You've already mastered that."

Everyone groaned or chuckled.

---

As twilight deepened and the sky darkened to a velvet navy, the five sat in a circle, quiet now, the energy slowly settling.

A moment passed. The crickets began their nightly concert.

Henry yawned. "We should probably call it. Big day of being average tomorrow."

Carl stretched. "Agreed. My powers clearly need beauty sleep."

Kai pointed. "So do you."

Nora rolled her eyes but smiled. "Night, idiots."

They rose one by one, brushing off grass and grabbing bags.

As they walked toward their dorms, the mood had shifted—still uncertain, still strange—but warmer. Comfortable. Like they were no longer five strangers, but five weirdos bound by something bigger.

As they all started toward the door, Henry muttered, "I'll race you all there—kidding."

Then, as a joke, he jogged a few steps—

And vanished.

Literally.

Gone.

There was a gust of air and the faintest whoosh, like someone had opened a window in a storm.

The others blinked.

Then—

SLAM.

Henry burst back through the door, panting, wide-eyed, clutching his sides.

"I—GUYS—I just ran outside. Like... OUTSIDE-outside. I passed a squirrel. It blinked."

Carl dropped his bag. "Wait—you left?"

Kai looked around. "Did anyone… see him leave?"

"No," Nora said. "I heard the air shift, but he was gone in a blink."

Natasha raised a brow. "So… you discovered yours?"

Henry threw up his hands triumphantly. "Yes! I have speed! Like, actual speed! I might be faster than the school Wi-Fi!"

Carl squinted. "Prove it. Go get me a soda and come back before we blink."

Henry raised a finger. "Don't tempt me."

Kai shook his head, laughing. "Okay, that was… mildly terrifying."

Nora smirked. "At least someone figured theirs out."

Carl crossed his arms. "Well, I levitated dramatically yesterday, so I'm still in the lead for style points."

---

It had been two days since the incident in the library.

Two days since Nora froze a drink with her thoughts.

Since Kai dented a car like it was cardboard.

Since Henry moved faster than time.

Since Carl floated like a budget airbender.

Since Natasha nearly cooked a flyer without a lighter.

And yet... nothing.

No powers.

No flaming hands.

No teleportation.

Not even a suspicious ice cube.

They had tried everything—Kai even kicked another car (lightly this time). Henry sat on the road for fifteen minutes waiting for a car to come (which never did). Nora threatened her water bottle. Natasha glared at a candle for an hour. Carl? Carl kept falling off chairs hoping to hover again.

Nothing worked. The magic, it seemed, had ghosted them.

---

The Third Morning

Carl blinked awake to the soft glow of morning light... and a floating eagle.

It hovered in the air like it had better things to do but was stuck babysitting.

Carl sat up slowly, rubbing his eyes.

"Okay, either I'm still dreaming or Hogwarts sent a scout."

The eagle bobbed slightly in greeting. Its feathers shimmered with silvery streaks, and its glowing eyes locked on him like a judgmental life coach.

"Hey, bird," Carl said. "You real?"

> "Depends. You always talk to hallucinations shirtless?"

Carl stared. "Okay, sass. Noted."

Carl sat up. "Wait. Are you the… uh… Shakira thingy?"

The creature floated closer. "Shigami."

"Right. Shigi-shaka."

"Shi. Ga. Mi."

Carl squinted. "Shimigami?"

"Closer. But still very wrong."

Carl raised both hands in surrender. "Alright, mystical ceiling dustball—what are you?"

The spirit sighed like a disappointed babysitter. "I'm your Shigami, Carl. A guide. A link to what lies beyond. Ancient spirit of wind. Not a pop singer."

Carl smirked. "So… no hips that don't lie?"

The Shigami blinked. "Only fists that don't miss."

> "Yup. You got the lucky draw. Me. The coolest one."

Carl grinned. "I knew I was special."

> "Let's not get ahead of ourselves, Sparky. You still snore like a chainsaw."

Carl blinked. "How long have you been floating there?"

> "Long enough to know you drooled mid-dream."

Carl pointed dramatically. "You and me are gonna be best friends."

> "Only if you stop naming me 'Sky Chicken' in your head."

Carl gasped. "You can hear my thoughts?!"

> "Unfortunately, yes. They're loud. And weird."

---

Across campus, Natasha was having an entirely different kind of morning.

She opened her eyes… and there it was.

A floating salamander. Glowing, fiery, and very present.

"No. Nope. Absolutely not."

She grabbed a blanket and covered her head. When she peeked out—it was still there. Just... floating closer.

The salamander raised a brow.

> "Wow. Brave. Truly. Tremble before the terrifying two-foot lizard."

"Shut up!" she hissed. "You're not real!"

> "Says the girl wrapped like a burrito."

Natasha grabbed a pillow and swatted at it. The salamander easily hovered backward.

> "Ma'am. I am ethereal fire. You're not gonna pillow me into another dimension."

She gasped. "Did you just—? You talk?!"

> "What gave it away, the sarcasm or the floating?"

The creature landed lightly on her windowsill.

She backed away slowly, eyes wide.

> "Relax. I'm yours."

"Excuse me?!"

> "Your Shigami. Think magical sidekick with trauma bond potential. Congrats."

Natasha blinked. "Why are you like this?"

> "Because you're like this."

---

At that moment, Nora walked past and paused outside Natasha's room. She opened the door and peeked in.

"What's going on?"

Natasha was backed into a corner, one hand raised like she was warding off a demon.

"You don't see it?!"

"See what?"

"The floating fire lizard with the mouth of a Twitter troll!"

The salamander gave Nora a slow, exaggerated wave.

> "She seems nice. Shame she's blind."

Nora squinted. "I see... nothing."

"He's literally glowing orange and roasting my self-esteem!"

> "Not wrong."

Nora stepped inside, confused. "Nat, are you okay?"

"He said he's my Shigami."

Nora hesitated. "Wait, seriously?"

The salamander floated by her head, completely unnoticed.

> "Wow. She's got the attention span of a soap dish."

Natasha glared. "If you're gonna be invisible to my friends, can you not roast them?"

> "I'm here for one reason: you. Everyone else is background scenery."

Nora watched her with concern. "You're not messing with me, are you?"

Natasha pointed to the floating salamander. "I wish I was!"

---

Meanwhile, in Carl's room, the energy was pure chaos.

The eagle now sat on his bookshelf, looking like it was seconds from a TED Talk.

Carl threw on a jacket. "So... what do you do, exactly? Besides float and roast me."

> "I advise. I observe. I occasionally save you from yourself."

Carl raised a brow. "Do I get powers?"

> "You already have them. You just need less flailing and more focus."

"I'll have you know I flail with style."

> "Says the guy who floated five seconds and screamed like a kettle."

Carl turned to the mirror. "I need a name. Something powerful. Epic."

> "How about Carl."

"Boo. No imagination."

> "Fine. How about Carl the Occasionally Useful?"

Carl threw a sock at him. The eagle dodged without blinking.

> "Missed. Again."

---

Eventually, Carl and Natasha met up with the others—still slightly overwhelmed, but for very different reasons.

Carl burst into the library lounge, arms wide. "I HAVE A MAGIC BIRD. HIS NAME IS UNDECIDED."

Natasha shuffled in behind him, rubbing her temple. "My lizard is emotionally draining and probably my spirit twin."

Nora looked up. "So it's starting again."

Henry frowned. "But only you two saw something?"

Kai leaned forward. "Then why not all of us?"

Natasha sighed, flopping into a chair. "He talks like me. It's disturbing."

Carl nodded. "Mine's cool. Little judgmental. Might be smarter than me."

Kai snorted. "Not hard."

Carl threw a napkin at him.

Henry looked thoughtful. "Maybe… it's happening one at a time."

Nora glanced at her hands. "Then where's mine?"

Carl gave a confident shrug. "Maybe you gotta do something dramatic. Like yell at the sky or punch a teacher."

Natasha groaned. "Please don't listen to him."

Carl grinned. "Don't worry. When your penguin shows up, I'll help you name it."

> (from somewhere unseen)

"If she names me 'Fluffy,' I'm leaving."

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