Chapter 0.5: Earthbound Heart: A Guardian's Descent

Unlike Lion, Panther, Cheetah, and Horse, who delegated their human observations to servants from their celestial mansions,

Hyena made a startling choice.

He abandoned his grand home in the sky, a place of shimmering light and cool detachment, and descended to the human world.

"My work is here, there is no need for help, I will handle myself".he declared to his bewildered servants.

He transformed Sofia’s house into his personal observation post and his work place.

He conjured a majestic, floating desk, a testament to his power, yet he spent more time watching Sofia in her cradle than working.

He wouldn't allow any other Guardian's servants to monitor her, insisting on managing everything himself.

Rumors swirled in the Guardian World, whispers of his unusual devotion like "He's lost his mind," they murmured, their voices tinged with disbelief.

"He's obsessed with a human child" some said, But Hyena, drawn by an inexplicable pull, a curiousity remained in unmoved, his eyes fixed on Sofia.

One day her naming ceremony was held on her house, relatives gathered,

Hyena thought so annoying, " where all this ant came from".

Their voices a low hum of casual cruelty in it, "Why is she so much darker than you two?" one asked, their tone dismissive, laced with subtle judgment.

Hyena's jaw tightened, a flicker of dark anger simmering beneath his aloof facade.

"Here those ants goes run their filthy mouths", he thought.his gaze started hardening.

" If only God allowed illegal things, I’d smack their lives out of their heads to let them understand". while clenching his fist

Suddenly, Sofia began to cry, a loud, heart-wrenching sound of pure distress.

Hyena felt a surge of protectiveness, a fierce, unfamiliar emotion. She's crying because of them, he thought, rage threatening to boil over.

Her parents’ attempts to soothe her failed.

Then, her gaze fell upon Hyena’s tail, floating above her head. Her cries ceased, replaced by a wide, radiant smile.

Hyena was momentarily stunned, a flicker of warmth spreading through him. "What? That's all you wanted?".... "For real?" .... "You're so simple, and so pretty your smile is" like.... he thought, his voice a silent whisper while standing looks at her

Sofia gurgled, reaching for his tail. "No, no, don't eat that," he said, his voice surprisingly gentle, a stark contrast to his usual cold tone in"I’m on this dirty earth with dirty people." while looking at those people.

He watched her grow, her first clumsy attempts at crawling, her triumphant first steps, her joyful laughter as she played with her brother. He saw the pure, unadulterated happiness in her dark eyes, a stark contrast to the world’s harshness.

When Sofia stumbled, her small body swaying while trying to stand at her feet, Hyena’s control snapped.

Magic flared, and he caught her, holding her suspended in midair.

A cold, unexplainable fear gripped him, a terror he had never known. "A little stumble? Made me fear like this", He mumbled, his voice laced with disbelief, his heart pounding in his chest.

As Sofia turned ten, her innocence remained a fragile light in a world of shadows.

Her mother, burdened by anxiety and the constant reminders of Sofia’s difference, began to lash out, her words sharp and hurtful.

"Why are you like this?" she asked, her voice laced with bitterness and a pain she didn’t understand.

"Why were you born this way?"

Hyena watched, a deep sadness twisting within him, a pain he couldn't comprehend.

He saw the confusion and hurt in Sofias eyes, the way her radiant smile dimmed. He saw the self-hate growing in her mother’s eyes, a darkness he desperately wanted to extinguish.

He wanted to shield her, to protect her from the world’s cruelty, to cradle her in his arms and whisk her away.

I can't, he thought, his voice a silent growl.

I'm just an observer.

But he was learning to feel, to truly see, and the sight was unbearable, the human world’s emotions a chaotic storm he was being forced to endure.

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