“Welcome to our world, Max,” the most imposing figure among them said to the boy, she is a tall, thin woman with silver hair that fell to her waist. Her hair is straight, and her eyes are sky blue, these were the most beautiful eyes Max had ever seen in his life. “I am Lyra, the lead guardian of the Temple of the Ancestors, honestly, we have been waiting for your arrival for a long time. But finally, the moment we have longed for has arrived.
Max felt a lump form in his throat, he became nervous, and no wonder, he was faced with something unknown about his reality.
“Thanks… I guess,” he murmured, impressed by the commanding presence of Lyra and her companion. All of them exuded quite a strong aura and power.
“This is the first step of your training,” Lyra continued, pointing towards the center of the training field which is a flat surface, and then, towers of rock began to rise from the ground one after another, all looking different sizes.
Max watched that event with great surprise, eager to know what he had to do now to demonstrate to these beings that he is a warrior and not weak as people in real life believed.
“Here you will learn to master the skill of defense, dexterity and strength to know how to fight in a fight to the death without dying on the first attempt… Magic in Atería is not just a power, it is an extension of yourself that, little by little, you should know about yourself. You will learn how to control your powers, and use them wisely,” Lyra continued.
Soon, the guardians appeared in the blink of an eye right above the rock towers that remain motionless beneath their feet. Max never saw how these enigmatic beings moved from one place to the other so quickly. From above, the guardians looked at Max, critical but expectant that he could live up to their expectations.
“Okay, Max. The guardians and I consider your training to begin from this moment on,” Lyra announced. Her voice resonates in the air like a kind of invisible echo. “You must show us your ability to defend yourself and face challenges that will test your strength and bravery.”
Before Max could finish processing all the information, the guardians took advantage, beginning to conjure his powers. Beams of light of various colors with great magical and perceptible energy emerged from his hands, heading towards the boy with lethal precision. Max felt a wave of panic and, without thinking twice, he started running in circles all over the place, not knowing exactly where he was going to hide to protect himself because the truth is that at that moment, Max had no idea what he was going to do how to defend yourself against those wonderful and dangerous attacks.
But the rock towers made the terrain where they were located weak, they did not offer any type of shelter for an ordinary human being. The ground beneath Max's feet shook as if an earthquake was about to occur and swallow everything. Max moved quickly, preventing the dancing floor from trying to knock him to the ground, however, it was an almost impossible task to achieve. As much as he wanted it, it was impossible not to fall to the ground.
"Don't run away, Max! Remember to use the energy of the ring you're wearing to become that warrior we need," Lyra shouted, she and the other guardians continued to launch their powers against Max, seeking to attack him, but without reaching the brink of death. .
When he had gotten back to his feet, Max stumbled and fell to the ground as he dodged a dark beam of light coming from Lyra's hands. Lyra is the only one who had the power of her as dark as her fellow guardians were powerful and brave.
Max knew that he had to stop running and that it was time to start fighting. She had to be able to show that he is brave, that he is strong, and that he is worthy of all that power that the ring he wore is his alone. No one else's.
The boy stopped running, stopped in his place, yet the ground continued to move under his feet. Max gathered his courage, and prepared to feel how the magic of his ring took over his entire body like a kind of tickling. Then, the magical energy of the ring warned of its beginning to be released. With a cry of determination, Max raised his hands, first raising them towards the sky, and then, a flash of red light emanated from his hands in the direction of the guardians.
Immediately, the red light hit the guardians with such force that he sent them to the ground with a slight push, regardless of whether they were more powerful. All the guardians fell to the ground, the rock towers vanished before Max's eyes, just as the ground stopped shaking and remained stable.
As the guardians stood up, Max looked at them, now, he felt confident in himself, capable of winning every battle without anyone being able to defeat him. Max smiled at the guards.
“Well done, Max,” Lyra said proudly. “That's what we wanted to try; that you were worthy of deserving the power that takes refuge inside that ring. Although you have not followed a line of training, the guardians and I are satisfied that you have managed to master it without our guidance.”
“Thank you very much, Lyra. To you, and to the other guardians, I promise that I will not fail you. I will be a good follower of his teachings. I will not let you down in each of my battles. If necessary, I will defend our world even with my life if necessary,” Max responded with self-confidence, without taking his eyes off the guardians.
“Come, Max. Let's stop with the cardinalities, and join us inside for dinner,” Guardian Aldrich offered to Max kindly.
"Yes of course. "I'm dying of hunger, what's for dinner?" Max answered, walking towards the guardians to join them and go inside the temple.
Instead of being bothered by Max's confidence, the guardians laughed at his comment, and as a group, they entered the temple.
Five years have passed since that day.Now, Max has become a completely different man, unrecognizable in the eyes of those who have known him before.Max had trained tirelessly under the guidance of the guardians, who took him in and treated him as if he were their son and not just another guardian or warrior.He has managed to perfect his skills, and given the position of the guardians, Max was already that warrior that Atería needed.His physique had changed drastically; Now, he is stronger, more agile, and more attractive than he ever was as a teenager. The ring that he always carried on his hand has become a very important amulet for his life. Thanks to that ring and his dedication; He has become a symbol of his power and determination.At this point in his life, Max was training in the lava terrain, a vast expanse of molten rock and searing heat. There is nothing green around it, there are no flowers, there are no trees, it is just pure black earth and hot lava.That day's traini
The pressure took hold of Max, as the lava reptile approached him dangerously. His zigzag movement advanced faster, gaining speed on the lava humanoid and leaving it behind him.Max had to act, and soon. His protective shield began to fade, as if at that moment, his battery had run out and was beginning to discharge, asking for rest.The warrior would have to take up another defense strategy very soon if he wanted to survive.Max focused all of his energy on the ring again, and then, when his shield disappeared and Max saw the reptile's strong fangs emerge from his mouth and prepare to bite him, his body began to levitate in the air gently.Little by little, Max rose to the sky, leaving below the important creatures that tried to reach him, and it was impossible for them to catch him. That was when he knew exactly what to do; When the reptilian creature finished approaching him, remaining just centimeters away, about to grab him with its fine and sharp teeth, Max rose into the air, no
That night, Max is in his room, trying to sleep, but it was impossible for him to do so.The full moon dimly illuminated the room through the window that has no curtains.Every time Max closes his eyes, the same nightmare came back to torment him, as it did every night since he had come to that world to live with the guardians.Some nights used to be peaceful, others used to be terrifying because of those nightmares that Max couldn't control from happening. As soon as he closes his eyes, everything happens immediately; The same woman asked him for help to rescue her, and she did so with great terror.Furthermore, he used to see the face of a very pretty woman; white skin, honey eyes, and dark brown hair. Perhaps she is the most beautiful woman Max has seen up to that point in his life. He felt a connection with that inexplicable woman, he didn't know how to assimilate those feelings, Max had a slight feeling that he should help her in any way he could. However, he didn't know how to d
Max felt an overwhelming vertigo as soon as he entered the portal.Opening his eyes, he found himself in a place that looked vaguely familiar, but at the same time, he seemed to feel strangely distorted.This world was dark and desolate, similar to the human world he remembered living in before becoming a warrior, but this world was in ruins.Max had not noticed it, but his clothing changed, he no longer wore his warrior robe like the same one the guardians wore, rather, now, he wore a leather suit attached to his body, it is a decorated black suit with red. Even on his head, he only wore a black mask that had been glued to his eyes.The buildings and other constructions of the city have been destroyed by an inexplicable force, everything was on the ground living among rubble, smoke and dirt. The sky is perfectly covered with black clouds. There are no signs of human life, only the echo of the wind howling through the empty streets.The air is charged with a sense of imminent danger.
Max felt an overwhelming vertigo as soon as he entered the portal.Opening his eyes, he found himself in a place that looked vaguely familiar, but at the same time, he seemed to feel strangely distorted.This world was dark and desolate, similar to the human world he remembered living in before becoming a warrior, but this world was in ruins.Max had not noticed it, but his clothing changed, he no longer wore his warrior robe like the same one the guardians wore, rather, now, he wore a leather suit attached to his body, it is a decorated black suit with red. Even on his head, he only wore a black mask that had been glued to his eyes.The buildings and other constructions of the city have been destroyed by an inexplicable force, everything was on the ground living among rubble, smoke and dirt. The sky is perfectly covered with black clouds. There are no signs of human life, only the echo of the wind howling through the empty streets.The air is charged with a sense of imminent danger.
Max hit the red diamond with all his might, and the gem began to crack under the pressure of his fist. A bright, blinding red flash emerged from within the red diamond. That's when the scorpion let out one last roar before collapsing completely. Max fell to the ground on his knees, luckily, the blow to his feet was not hard, and it didn't hurt at all.Max took a deep breath, corrected his posture, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and relaxed the tension emanating from his body. The scorpion lay dead motionless at his feet, and for now, tranquility took over again.Max stepped back, watching as the scorpion's body slowly disintegrated into the air, until nothing was left of it.Suddenly, Max felt his legs give out, and he fell to his knees on the ground, exhaustion overtaking him, and he barely had time to register everything that was happening around him before losing consciousness.He woke up hours later, feeling the cold ground under his body. His vision slowly adjusted, and the f
"Hey! Max, here I am!", The desperate woman screamed, her body trembling with fear because of the height at which she was levitating without knowing what her final destiny would be.From what Max could tell, the woman is very pretty, despite her appearance. Her hair is brown, her eyes seemed to be clear although she couldn't see them precisely because of the distance. The woman's figure was clearly of a slim build, although at that moment she was wearing a white coat that was a little loose for her size.Upon seeing her, a deep chill ran through Max's body, he knew it, she is the woman he so longed to find.Then, Max ran towards the edge, quickly assessing the situation. The branch from which the woman was hanging in the air was very weak, although the woman did not weigh more than about sixty kilos, it is evident that the branch is so loose that with any movement, no matter how slight or rough it may be, The woman would end up falling to the bottom of the ravine.There was no time to
The happiness of Max and the woman faded, when Max knew that the guardians were looking at him with indifference, he knew them perfectly well, after living with them for so long, of them being his only family,Max realized that Now, his moment of happiness has ended, because the disobedient had to be punished.The guardians' eyes flash with fury as they look at him.Lyra was the first to speak."What is this, Max? You have disobeyed us when you know perfectly well that we had forbidden you to commit this madness. Max, we warned you that we had to first investigate this situation before you make this absurd decision. "But you did not follow our orders, therefore, you will have to receive a harsh punishment that cannot be reversed," Lyra threatened firmly.From the first day, Max knew that he should not disobey his guardians, and he was always very obedient, but on this occasion, his masculine instinct prevailed over his reasoning. He knew what punishment he had to receive to be account
Thus, a new tremor shook Max, but he remained firm, he did not want to let himself fall to the ground, he had to sense that all of this was an invention of Xal'Thar to easily knock him down and thus end up winning that battle. Max was not going to allow it, one way or another he had to win the battle, whatever the cost, he had to stand if he wanted to win the war against that demon that invaded his tranquility and that of Max's family.Then, the ground fragmented under their feet while the cracks spread like snakes that left without defining an indeterminate destination, all spreading rapidly on the ground as if trying to break the little stable surface that was found in the world in which Max and the alien competed. That whole world, that dimension was perceived as a kind of extremely apocalyptic battlefield.From the center of the impact of the dark lightning, an abyss emerged that seemed to have no end, a bottomless abyss that looked completely dark, an abyss that seemed completely
Max stood still for a moment, watching as the darkness of the room seemed to fade after Xal'Thar's disappearance. Time was against them, and what was coming would be an unprecedented battle. He looked at Selene one last time, kissing her lips as if that gesture was going to be the last one he would have with her at that moment. Max had a strange feeling about that battle, he felt as if he would never be able to return home. even though he had a chance to win it. At the end of the day, no matter how bad feelings he had about the situation, Max had to ignore them and take care of his duty as a warrior."Take care of her while I'm away from her. "I promise to return to my children as soon as she has defeated that unfortunate man," the warrior said to Celen, his voice firmer than he really felt. There was no room for fear, he was a warrior, and a warrior was not afraid of anything. Furthermore, everyone's fate depended on his strength.Celen nodded with a solemn gesture, knowing that this
Max felt a lump quickly form in his throat as he heard the hesitation in Celen's voice, which announced that his plan had not gone as well as everyone thought it would. The warrior, who rarely allowed himself to be dominated by uncertainty, crossed his arms and looked at her with more intensity than he had ever been able to do before."Although...?", He insisted, in a tone that, although calm, showed the concern that was beginning to invade him — Celen, please, get straight to the point.Celen took a deep breath, unable to hold his gaze any longer even if she wanted to because she knew how embarrassed she felt about having involved Max's wife in said spell. What she was about to say would change everything, because now, more than ever, Max needed his wife's support, and having to know that she wouldn't wake up until everything was over was going to be a difficult nightmare. Finally, she looked down at the holographic map and spoke with a trembling voice, as if with each word she relea
Max had not imagined that that night, while he was sleeping, everything began quickly, Celen kept his word to take charge of casting a spell on Max's subjects in the city so that they would fall into a deep sleep and thus they would not have to realize any of the possible things that will happen in the final battle against Xal'Thar.He never imagined that Selene would end up involved in the middle of that blessed spell of Celen's. Although Max knew that Celen had no bad intentions in reference to harming Selene. Everything happened very unexpectedly, but anyway, Max knew that there was a very clear purpose at that moment for things to happen.While Selene, Max, Lyra, the Guardians and the subjects of the new civilization rested in the mantle of their homes and accompanied by their families, Celen prepared to work on her spell, she had locked herself in her room, she put herself in half of the room, closed her eyes, raised her hands in such a way that it seemed that she was bowing to a
Out of surprise, Max froze, as if time had frozen for him. Her mind was barely working for hers, his eyes met hers, searching for answers in her gaze. Selene, however, was determined to press the matter, because even if Max believed that what she was proposing might be a simple impulse at the idea of not having her children around at that moment, in any case, and from then on a Some time ago, she had wanted to talk to Max about it, she already wanted another child of his before everything happened."That? What about another son?", Max whispered, barely trying to process the words his wife said, interrupting a moment like that. The impact of that idea had made all the thoughts that were in his mind fade away for an instant, forgetting what they were really experiencing at that moment.Selene nodded slowly, looking at Max with deep eyes, in them, he could see that what she said was very sincere, wanting to have another child was not a simple whim for his wife. Then, Selene's hands car
As soon as the celebration ended along with the bottle that they all drank, the Guardians made the decision to go to rest, since obviously, it is time to do so, they had not been able to fall asleep for many hours after the entire journey they lived to In Max's rescue, their energies are completely exhausted, for them they deserved a good rest. Along with the company of his wife, Max watched in silence as each of them retired to their respective rooms, moving away from the meeting room. He only accompanied them with a figure that remained in the room, isolated, silent and distant: Lyra.Max looked at her out of the corner of his eye, he still felt a powerful anger emanating from her body against her. And he was sure that, despite her betrayal, they still needed her for the plan to work, after all, she was still part of her family, and family is never abandoned in the most complicated moments. However, he was also aware that he could not allow her to roam freely. They couldn't take th
That's how Max left the room, his mind already working on the perfect plan for the rescue. He knew that they couldn't go directly to the Xal'Thar dimension, that wouldn't be a great idea, it wouldn't even be the best idea in the world for the Guardians because even for them it would be very difficult to survive. Now, they would have to create a much more cunning strategy than the previous ones to rescue his children, one that would not force him to leave his territory. With that idea in mind, and with Selene holding her hand to walk together, they approached the room where the Guardians along with Lyra were waiting for them. Lyra, standing at a safe distance, watched in silence, feeling alien to everyone, but knowing that she was a crucial part of what was about to happen. The Guardians already knew everything Lyra had done, and like Max and Selene, they also felt betrayed and did not want her to affect them again in another rescue plan, which would be the last. Max cleared his thr
At that moment, Max let silence fill the air after Lyra's last words. He had never before been as angry as he was now. There is a completely palpable tension between the two, a tension that at first glance reflected that a fight had occurred between them from which there would be no way back to solve it, it seems that between them, the friendship and trust has been a flame of fire. that has been turned off. However, they both knew that for now they couldn't let his anger control him, the most important thing of the moment was at stake; rescue his children, the heirs of the warrior, Max. He turned slowly, turning his back to Lyra, in her head, there was no room for the idea of wanting to look into her eyes anymore after all. "Lyra," he said with firmness in her voice, but feeling a little calmer than before, "I want you to leave me alone." I need to talk to Selene before we take any further steps. Could you?Then, Lyra obeyed, and knowing that there was nothing more to say for the
The warrior stopped just a few steps from Lyra, he felt her breathing hard and her body trembling with contained anger that would be about to come to light at any moment. Max clenched his fists so hard that his knuckles turned white, but he had to hold on, because he couldn't afford to cause a scandal of such magnitude, or Lyra's punishment would be worse, after all, he still cared a lot about her, the 5 years they spent living together and feeling like family by the time this whole warrior story began.His entire being was enveloped in a storm of emotions that seemed to have absolutely no control: betrayal, pain and rage were submerged within a wave of emotions that were difficult to justify and calm. But something in Lyra's eyes stopped him. Despite his pride, there was a deep, almost desperate sadness in his eyes."Because? Why did you do this to me, Lyra? What do you have against me?", Max growled, barely containing his fury. —Why would you tell Xal'Thar everything?! You knew what