Kazu knocked on the door to Takeshi's room. He slowly opened the creaking door. A few drops of sweat dripped down his forehead, but he quickly dried them away with his shaking hand. He had entered here countless times the last few days, but it still made him nervous.
Takeshi sat on his bed; fiddling with his fingers while gazing out the open window. Heavy raindrops made their way through it; wetting the big, red nylon carpet on the floor. He turned towards Kazu.
"Hello again." Takeshi said trying to sound happy though Kazu could see that he was in pain. Still; he seemed to be in better shape than yesterday. Kazu felt relieved. His biggest fear these days had been to enter Takeshi's room only to find him laying lifeless in his bed.
"How do you feel? Any better?" Kazu closed the door behind him and sat down on a wooden chair beside his friend. Just then piercing thunder stroke from the sky. Kazu jumped from his chair, causing it to fall, and slammed the window shut. His heart pounded fast and he didn't let go of the window just yet.
Takeshi looked concerned at him. "You know we're not on Cronos anymore, right? Nature here is merciful, no need to be so afraid of it." Funny how Takeshi always ended up comforting him; even when he was the injured one.
"I can't help it, Takeshi, these things terrify me. One time I tried to save a group of people from a thunder storm in my home village. I failed and witnessed all of them fried alive in front of me." Kazu pulled the curtains and sat down beside his friend. "But enough about me; you didn't answer my question earlier."
"Kazu, I'm fine now. Don't worry about me so much." Takeshi brushed him off.
"Don't worry about you? You're lucky to be alive right now. He missed, Takeshi, he didn't spare you." The thought scared Kazu more than the thunder. Losing Takeshi is the worst thing that could happen to him.
The door suddenly opened and Taiki entered with hurried steps. Taiki was a 14-year-old boy with scruffy, short white hair and purple eyes just like Takeshi's. He clearly tried to imitate his brother; with an open west layered over a blue hoodie with its arms ripped off.
"So, you're here again." Taiki turned to his brother "I see your wound has healed a lot. Good thing I gave you that Healing Astra; though The Guardians would kill me if they found out."
"They would have to go through me first." Takeshi declared.
"That wouldn't be too difficult taking your current position into consideration." Taiki answered while picking up Kazu's chair from the ground. He sat down on it. "Anyway, that's not what I came here for. I have news from Cronos." Great. Just when Kazu had gotten his mind on something else.
"The protesters attacked a training camp yesterday." Taiki explained.
"Another one? Why do they attack the people who protect them?" Takeshi calmly asked. Kazu relaxed; he thought it would be something more serious. Like a new tornado wiping another town away.
"They're just a minority though, nothing to worry about. Most of the weak ones understand that they're not oppressed. Some mistreat them, yes, but it's far from reason enough to rebel like this." Kazu stated. The protesters were more of a nuisance than a threat. They caused a fuss from time to time, but it was never anything to worry about.
"Guys! You don't get it... they executed someone. Publicly." Both Kazu and Takeshi's jaws dropped. They both looked at each other and then at Taiki. Speechless.
"I can't believe they would do such a thing. Cronians killing each other is unheard of; the only exception being Khaos... and that's the reason he was sealed away." Takeshi finally said. And they were here to remove that seal. Suddenly it sounded like a really bad idea. But this was the only way; or else the cronian people would go under together with Cronos.
"Well, the guy who did it must be in the same category. I mean; he did wear the Khaos War uniform after all." No... no way. It can't be... "The protesters cheered afterwards and chanted the executioner's name. I guess he is their leader, what was it? Saato... Saito! Saito Daisuke."
Kazu was in shock. ["I have been watching all of you for a long time now."] He tried to say something, but stuttered and stumbled on the words. ["This is a warning. Leave this planet."] He couldn't say a coherent sentence; his mind was just a huge mess of thoughts. ["KAZU, GET AWAY FROM HERE!"] He didn't even know where to start. He supported his head on his hand. The only thing he could do was to look down.
Takeshi elbowed him on his side and brought him back to reality. He glanced at the doorway and froze. Hecate. One of The Guardians. She was quite tall; taller than Kazu for sure. She wore a long, navy cloak with light blue ornaments. The hood hid her eyes, but Kazu still felt her gaze piercing his soul.
"We wish to speak with you. Come at once." She stretched out her arm and opened a portal. Every time on them did this it made Kazu uneasy. Even for Astra's descendants that kind of power was unbelievable. The Guardian entered. Takeshi quietly grunted while trying to get up. He was clearly still too weak to go anywhere on his own. His arms were shaking and he just fell down on the bed again.
"Takeshi, you know we are here for you, right?" Kazu grabbed one of Takeshi's arms and carefully put it around his shoulders.
"Stop being so stubborn and let us help you." Taiki did the same thing. The second they entered the portal they were surrounded by a blinding light. Kazu struggled to walk forward; it felt like an invisible force pushed him back. He was freezing and the only thing he could see was The Guardian standing beside the other end. Kazu pulled himself together and kept going together with Takeshi and Taiki. They finally got out on the other side; on Cronos. The four Guardians were waiting for them; all dressed in the same dark robe and with their eyes hidden. Being this close to them was suffocating. There was an ominous aura around them.
"We need to show you something." Helios, another Guardian said and pointed to the sky. The moons. Cronos had two moons; one red and one white. The red was usually hidden behind the white, but would sometimes show. There was a superstition here that said when the red moon shows; a disaster would strike. Tonight, the crimson one glowed direly above them. Kazu may have imagined it; but it appeared bigger than last time he saw it.
"It rarely hides anymore. The blood moon has become more common than the white; it doesn't disappear even in the day light." Hecate explained.
"It is like Cronos itself is trying to warn us. The end is near." Right as Helios said that Kazu heard an ear-splitting thunderclap, followed by countless screams in the distance. Kazu reflexively ran towards the screams, but he didn't come far before he was stopped by an invisible shield. The sudden clash caused him to fall down. He quickly got back up; they needed his help, he couldn't just watch. But the invisible barrier was still there. He hit and punched at it with everything he got, but nothing happened. He took out his swords and tried to slice it.
"LET ME OUT! CAN'T YOU HEAR THEM DYING?" Kazu yelled. There was not enough time. He hit the barrier with all his strength. His arms started aching. It didn't matter, those people needed his help. He hit once again and kept going. The thunder fell in a forest and started a wildfire. He had to save them.
"Kazu, that's enough. There is nothing we can do about it." Takeshi's strong hand grabbed Kazu's arm. Kazu calmed down a bit and realized how mad he must have looked. In the end, he couldn't help anyone: not his people, not Takeshi, not even himself.
"He is right, fighting is futile. Besides; this storm has lasted for a week. We wanted to tell you that you're almost out of time. Khaos needs to be resurrected during the next six months. We'll send out more monsters to Tellus; they'll take care of your enemies while you gather Healing Astra." Ouranos, the third Guardian, explained.
"You; the next generation of Astra's successors need to work together to save the cronian people. Their lives are in your hands." Ares, the last Guardian, continued. "All four of you."
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Khaos Wars
قصص عامة16 years ago, the people of planet Cronos fought a terrible war against a merciless foe; the cronians survived, but their home was left in ruins. To this day the consecuenses of the war are still tormenting the people of Cronos. And if nothing chang...
