Battle of the immortals

CHAPTER 4: Guardians of Eternity

Aethon's response was calm but firm, "The guardians are provoked."

Royce's heart raced as he processed the gravity of Aethon's words. "Guardians?" he repeated, his voice barely above a whisper.

Aethon nodded solemnly, his eyes betraying a hint of concern. "Yes, guardians. Five hundred years ago, during a time of mining, humans unearthed a powerful artifact they were not meant to possess. This artifact, unknown to them, held great supernatural power. When they tampered with it, they unknowingly unleashed chaos upon themselves."

Royce listened intently, his mind racing with questions. "What happened?" he asked out of curiosity, his voice barely loud over the trembling of the tunnel.

Aethon continued, his voice mixed with a sense of sincerity. "The artifact, stolen by humans, brought about a devastating war. It unleashed plagues and diseases, causing widespread suffering among humanity. In the end, the humans were forced to release the artifact, but not before sealing it away to prevent further calamity."

Royce's eyes widened in realization as he grasped the gravity of the situation. "And the guardians?" he asked, his voice tinged with tension.

Aethon's gaze grew steely as he replied, "The guardians were placed to ensure that the artifact remains sealed, guarding it against those who would seek to unleash its power once more."

Royce felt a chill run down his spine as he contemplated the implications of Aethon's words. The guardians were awakening, and they stood between Royce and whatever lay beyond the light at the end of the tunnel.

The beings materialized suddenly, their faces angular and menacing, flames dancing in their eyes, and tongues of fire licking at their lips. "What business does a mortal have interfering in the affairs of immortals?" they demanded, their voices mixed with authority and crackling with the heat of their fury. With each word they spoke, fire flew from their mouths, casting a frightening glow in the darkness of the tunnel.

Aethon acted swiftly, moving to shield Royce from the fiery onslaught. With a flick of his wrist, he conjured a shimmering barrier around Royce, protecting him from the searing heat.

Addressing the beings with a calm but commanding tone, Aethon explained, "I have brought the chosen one." His voice resonated with authority, cutting through the chaos of the moment. "Royce is the one destined to prevent the plans of the Dark Covenant. They seek to take revenge on humans for the death of their king's mother. Only the one who ate the fruit of the Golden Haven has the power to stop them. And Royce," he emphasized, gesturing towards Royce, "has proven himself worthy of this task.”

After Aethon spoke, the guardians’ angry looks went away, and they looked calm. They both stared hard at Royce, making him feel uneasy. Royce didn't understand why they were looking at him like that. He glanced at Aethon, then back at the guardians, “Why are they looking at me?.”Royce asked, his voice barely above a whisper

"Stay quiet," Aethon told Royce quietly, trying not to move his lips much. Royce stopped talking and just looked, even though he had so many questions.

Then, after a bit, the guardians moved aside, letting them go on. Aethon nodded, and they both started walking faster towards the bright light at the end of the tunnel.

As they got closer, the light got so bright that it filled up everything around them. They walked out of the tunnel and into the light. Now, Royce was ready to see what was next, thinking about what could happen.

They stepped into the light and found themselves in a big, beautiful room that looked empty and forgotten. The room was full of old, dusty paintings that made it look grand but also kind of sad because no one had been there for a long time.

In the middle of the room, there were three small thrones. They were really pretty, covered in shiny stones that glittered in the little bit of light. The thrones were so small like they were made for kids or maybe dwarfs from fairy tales.

Royce couldn't help but walk over to get a closer look at one of the thrones. It was so fancy and mysterious; he just wanted to touch it and feel the cool, smooth stones.

But just as he got close, Aethon yelled out, "Stop!" His voice echoed all around the big room. Royce didn't listen in time and touched the throne. Suddenly, hot oil came shooting out from it like a fountain and splashed all over Royce's hand. It hurt a lot like his hand was on fire.

Royce jumped back, shouting from the pain, and looked around for Aethon. But Aethon was gone. "Aethon! Where are you?" Royce cried out, holding his hurt hand and feeling scared and alone in the big, strange room.

After Royce's hand was hurt by the hot oil, he was in a lot of pain and couldn't stop crying out. Then, Aethon came back, looking a bit annoyed. "I warned you to focus," Aethon scolded as he approached Royce, his expression filled with disdain. "You brought this upon yourself, you deserved it".

Royce felt upset by Aethon's harsh words. "Aethon, that was mean. Can't you see I'm hurt? Help me," he said, trying to hold his burnt hand gently.

Aethon replied, not really sorry, "It's not mean it's the truth. Next time, listen when I speak." He then went over to Royce and took his injured hand. Breathing on it, his breath felt like a cold mist, and magically, Royce's hand healed right away.

Royce, feeling a bit cheeky despite the pain he just went through, joked, "Yuck, your breath smells awful. What do you eat, anyway?"

"I'm not here to mess around," Aethon said, clearly not in the mood for jokes. "Next time you ignore my advice, you suffer the consequences." With that, he started to walk off.

"Hey, wait up!" Royce called after him, not wanting to be left behind in such a strange and unpredictable place. He hurried to catch up with Aethon, who had already started walking away.