The Everlasting Guardian

**— I — **

The wave of darkness consumed me, drifting my soul into the shore where a giant tree of light stood gracefully. It seduced me to touch its trunk, to let myself be absorbed by its root. Yet, the iron chain pulled me away from the tree. It bashed me to the battlefield, over and over again. I was trapped in this domain, cursed to fight over my life for eternity. Yet, I always found myself at the same ending.

Death and Rebirth.

Long had gone my sense of time, and my memory fractured beyond recognition. I don't know who am I, or what brought me here. Even death did not free me from this prison. Yet I longed for the daylight could touch me but in reality... The light would always come for my life. The Chosen Heroes would always try to kill me in vain.

I wonder… is this the afterlife? But what have I done to deserve this fate?

Until one day… Someone grabs my hand. It was a husk of a human, cursed with imminent death as she forcefully step inside this realm of gods, The Obsidian Theater.

“I… found you, Devil.”

With her green eyes, she cried at me. It was tears of relief and joy of finding what she truly believed in her life… that all her sacrifices were not in vain.

Yet, I didn’t understand, why meeting me brought so much happiness to her.

I asked, “What is your wish, Hero?”

I am The Devil, the one who bears all the sins of the world. Inside my heart lies the crystal of the omnipotent magic, called Magicore of Ideal White.

Ideal White is the magic that all witches dream of. With its absolute strength, those who possess it can fulfill any wish they desire, even bringing back the dead. With that sweet seduction, Heroes are willing to sacrifice everything to achieve Ideal White.

However, the Ideal White is incomplete without the Hero's Soul inside it. It means that they have to kill each other for a miracle promised by the gods.

And thus, she wasn’t the first Hero to meet her end here.

“I… No, I’m here because I wanted to ask you,” she answered with her body slowly decaying into nothingness,

“What is your desire, The Cowardly Devil?” she asked me.

My desire?

Crackles whispered in my ears, slowly wove the pieces of memory I had left. My eyes opened to realize the truth about myself. They brought me into a scene that I'd lost long ago.

My life is nothing but pain. None of my wishes have come true in this life. I've never experienced true love. I've never felt the warmth of a family. I've never even seen the hope that drives me to live…

Until I realize…

When that subtle touch gripped my index finger, when I first saw the red baby crying so loudly in my bosom, a strong urge came to my heart. A life born of my greed and stupidity. An innocent soul who does not know the dangers of life that will await her.

“Arleina Milliana Gremory,” I named the little girl.

The moment she stopped crying and smiled at me, I remembered what I should've done.

“I… wanted to protect my daughter's smile,” I answered.

The Hero's smile surprised me. It was as if she found the correct answer in her life, the destiny she was meant to be. I’d never understand countless Heroes that fought me here to their despair, Every Hero would rush for my life, killing me desperately for their ideals. Yet, she was the first time touched and even talk to me. And somehow, I felt a familiar presence within her, as if, we know each other for a long time.

“I finally… found you,” she cried silently, making me confused at what she meant.

But then, she took off her heart and show it to me. It was her Magicore, cursed with dark energy to reflect her soul. Coughing blood, The Hero gave me her heart,

“With this, you’ll have a second chance to meet with your beloved. However in return, I want you to do one thing for me…”, she said as her right hand destroyed to pieces.

“Do you want me to save the world?” I asked.

But the Hero shook her head, “No, this world is beyond saving. No one, even the gods could save it from its doom,” she said before her leg shattered into pieces and she leaned to me. Hugging me tightly, she whispered to me,

“Please… stop me, Mother.”

“What…?”

Before I could ask anything, she vanished into particles of light in my embrace. Yet the void of my heart began to fill with an enigmatic feeling. I found myself strangely crying, but I didn't understand why. The only thing she left behind was just her tainted Magicore, lying helplessly in my hand. It was in contrast to mine which was always devoid of any energy.

”A completed Ideal White... No, it can’t be… you are not a Hero. You're the same as me.”

It's ironic, really. I was chosen as the Devil, but the truth is that my Magicore is defective. It was always been empty because I didn't have magic inside my body, which means that even if I were to fuse my Magicore with the Hero's Soul, I could never complete the Ideal White.

Yet at the same time, no matter how many times I die at the hands of Heroes, I always seem to revive. I am immortal, but why? It's like some cruel joke. Perhaps my immortality is the reason the gods chose me- because they found it amusing that after everything the Hero had been through they would only meet one truth... Despair. The Ideal White they chased was only a cruel illusion, a dream they could never have.

However, this Ideal White is complete. How...? No, I don't care about that.

“Are you… Milli?” I whispered to the Magicore.

I grasped that light and pledged to myself to never betray this light again. Facing the Tree of Life, I chanted to my only light, the very first magic I had,

“Once there is only one truth, one reality to the world, one guiding spirit through the night. Let my intentions be pure and my heart be light, as I call to you the Primordial Truth.”

Suddenly the ground began shaking as the souls enraged within the Tree of Life. The tree attacked me with its roots, but as I dodged its attacks, I continued,

“With the words, I speak be my promise, may my desires manifest and my wishes live within the stars above. I, bearer of all sin, beseech you.”

Suddenly giant knights of light pierced my body with their lances. Yet I persisted as the Magicore in my hand shone ever brightly. With the curse mark on my eyes, I look directly at the eyes of the gods above the tree. I raised the Magicore into the sky and shouted,

“Give me the power to defy destiny. Ideal White!”

And thus, the clock in my heart began to move again. May the string of my fate leads me... to a certain future where I vowed to save you, Milli.

PS:

Hello, nice to meet you. I'm JA Chrysant, the author of this book. It is my first time telling the story in English, so I'm sorry if I made many mistakes, hehe.

This is the new book I wrote, a simple story about a sinful girl who longed for true love. It will take place in two eras, the era before her first death and after she use the Ideal White. If you enjoy the story, please give like and share story, it'd make me really happy!

JA Chrysant.

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***