Submitted by Dais

"Shadow beast!" I cried, my cloak flowing out behind me. The gruesome monster which I named roared, seeking a meal. "Forth, and slay the trespasser!"

I shot a gauntlet of cold steel out, and called to the creature. "Go!" I watched as the deadly monstrosity strode forth hungrily, and the flickering flames died out suddenly. Darkness surrounded me as the predator made it's way across the hall, ripping and tearing the fleeing creatures. I turned, falling forward, before I grabbed the sides of the window.

The opening looked out over the dark tower, and the chilly landscape before me. A harsh gust of air clawed at my cloak, churning it into a swirling being, changing with every breath of nature. I could bear no more, and I leapt. My eyes watered, as the wind streamed past me, leaking into my twisted mask.

The descent accelerated, and I fell toward the ground with alarming speed. My hand rose up, despite the force surrounding me, and I watched as the world faded away. My senses were distorted as I flew down into infinity. Finally, the world returned, and I hit the cold, hard ground. I lay upon it for a moment, my body heaving with fatigue.

After a moment's rest, I shifted, rising into a crouch. My mind raced back to sanity, and rational thoughts. This would be the fifth, and final, test for boy. Gaia seeked a savior, and a Soulblazer was destined to come forth. An idea of freezing terror struck me. If the boy failed....

Suddenly and unexpectedly, my senses flared into awareness. I rose quickly, and glanced around me. As I had thought, it was Dark Space, but something was wrong. Feelings mortal man could not dream of screamed for my attention. My thoughts struggled to grasp the problem. With no other resort, and with grim fate hanging in my heart, I removed the gem from my pocket.

It was the eternal pact of the immortals, that which I now held in my hands. All the demigods within the realm of Dark Space had agreed to it, and I, the Guardian, was one of them. Never aging, I remained eternally strong, sustained by a magic only understandable by Gaia. This gem held the making of the pact, and it's destruction.

The gems magic allowed great power, at a greater price. It showed the ordained future, as much and as detailed as the use wished. However, it only showed the world of mortals, for Dark Space was beyond the gem's power. But when the user finished, before his eyes could be wrenched away, he saw his own death. And with the end of the vision, the gem's magic would fade, and the user lost his immortality.

I was prepared to die. I had served my purpose, and served it well.

I was not prepared for what I saw. At the sure assurance of my thought, I say the whole of the world's destiny unfold from the gem. It stretched in all directions, infinite, endless. I lost all bearings as I flew into each new occurrence, things that would later be history. I had held high expectations for the jewel, and it was much more then I expected. After a few moments of struggling, I lost all hope of understanding it, and floated freely among true prophecies.

And what I saw then was unexpected. From it I found a path, and flowed into history as a single observer. I was shocked at what I saw, and horrified. And when I had seen enough, things turned worse.

I found myself standing again on the solid, familiar floor of Dark Space. Hanging in the air before me, the gem hovered silently close to my face. Feeling it's beckon, knowing I had no choice, I leaned forward, my eyes gazing into the crystalline surface of it.

There was nothing within.

I leaped back, confused, not knowing what had happened. The gem hung for a single moment more, then crashed to the ground. It shattered violently, spreading into thousands of pieces across the floor. I stared blankly, watching as the magic faded, and the shards melted into nothingness. This was too much too comprehend.

The gem had been blank. And I was supposed to see my death. That meant....that meant...what did it mean? Would I not die? I stood silent for a moment, and felt nothing that could suppose a sudden mortality. Was the legend wrong? Had I been excepted? I had served my purpose! My mind twisted with the possibility. But before I could reach a conclusion, another thought struck my mind. What else I had seen.

Wondering if I could still do it, I raised my hand in another silent spell. I could feel the magic surround me, but it was weaker, much weaker. But there was enough. With a last burst of power, I called to the traitor, the criminal, the perpetrator. With a rush of destructive energy, I was almost ripped from my stance. Suddenly, without warning, he appeared before me. Dark Gaia.

The darkness towered over me, wrapping around me with unseen hands. Shadows circled around me, grasping. I ripped through them, rushing infront of the great presence. His crystalline figure was enclosed in black armor, as his face showed no emotion as it looked down at me. "Why have you called me, Guadian?" His mocking voice echoed throughout the air. He knew. He knew what I had done, and he had my fate in his hands. My immortality forsaken, I owed him no more.

"Bastard!" I shouted, grabbing at my face. I removed the silver crescent which had so long been my sheild, and flung it away. It skidded off into the darkness. My hands felt the still burnt skin, the painful memories flooding back. I grimaced, and look straight at Dark Gaia. This was not the time to bare old wounds. I shot out my gauntled hand at the twisted form infront of me.

"What is wrong, Guardian?" I whirled away, my cloak slicing the air, as he reached towards me. He stood up straight, and the ground shook. Looking to his face, I realized he was laughing. My destiny seemed sealed, but that single vision kept me going.

"Be silent!" I growled. Dark Gaia turned to me, his eyes hollow. I recoiled away from the darkness, and yelled to him again. "You have broken the rule," I screamed, leaping aside as another grasping hand came at me. "Turning the Soulblazer to your own!"

The Gaia's face betrayed no thoughts, as he moved to tower over me. "What do you care, mortal?" His voice was cold, but a damning in it's words as a thousand hells. My body throbbed with anger, as he spoke again. "Chaos must favor both light- and dark!" He laughed again, the sound echoing continously. I scowled.

Dark Gaia raised a single hand before him, holding the air. A sword of burning shadows appeared, and he grasped it, his huge hand envoloping the hilt. Again he laughed, and I leapt away as a ball of dark energy ripped through the air where I had been. I rolled, the jumped up again.

"Stay your hand, demon!" I circled around him, avoiding his deadly attacks. For him, it was a game, he made the rules, and he was always the victor. I jumped away from a wave of fire. "You will truly pay for this!" I quickly ducked under his giant blade.

Dark Gaia laughed again, pointing his sword towards me. "And what can you do? A mere mortal?" He bellowed in triumph. I dodged away as another pulse of force emerged from his hand. He was right. I, a mortal, had no hope in defeating a god.

I backed away, as his attacks came less, and I dodged on instinct. To die by a Gaia's hands... I though to the gem. Had it worked? I was to have seen my death.....but legends are not always true. It had shown nothing. I ran on around my foe, avoiding death for but another moment. My mind raced ahead. What is nothing, as a death? Would I live? What is nothing? My mind stopped, and I turned slowly to Dark Gaia. What....is....nothing.....?

I stood before him, a solid pillar. He laughed again. "Given up, Guardian? All the better for you. I would not wish you pain." Again the mocking voice, and the assurance of sheer death. But now, now I knew what to do. His sword swung at me again, but jumped nimbly aside. I knew what to do.

I stood again before him, my body shaking with energy. I raised my hands before me. They crackled with fire. I could feel it inside me, as my thoughts became clearer and clearer. "Godly blood still flows in my veins," I cried out to him, my voice harsh. He looked at me in interest. "And there are powers you would not suspect!"

Dark Gaia smiled a hideous smile. "I doubt that blood shall flow much longer for you!" He thundered toward me, and the ground shook violently. His hand reached towards me, seeking to crush me within it's grip. I ducked away, standing up again a distance away.

I ripped away my cloak, watching in fly off into nothingness. My whole body was aflame, and I could feel the magic surging through my arms. I held them up high, and it power flowed into me. My eyes locked onto Dark Gaia. "I cannot slay a god," I whispered, my sharp voice echoing through the air. "But I can make one mortal."

Dark Gaia stepped back before my wrath. For once, his face was contorted with confusion. His gaping mouth twisted into unearthly speech. "Guardian! I command you!" But for him, it was too late.

Already I had left both mortal and immortal planes behind, now flying through an infinite greyness. I felt my body ripped away, revealing a shadow self, my inner soul. I reached ahead with shifting hand, grasped the core of true evil within him, and brought myself into it....

Years later, the Soulblazer Ark returned to his dark homeland underground. He found the once fertile world barren of life. He found Crysta, which he had oft dreamed of, as an empty ruin. And upon the Gaia Stone, the throne of the gods, he confronted Dark Gaia.

The battle was long and fierce, and the near-mortal Ark would have surely died that day, upon the Gaia Stone. But one nameless guardian had sacraficed himself.

So that a dark god would become mortal, and a hero...

...become true.