The sky was bleeding.
Scarlett Seleste Rowans stood at the edge of the cliff, the wind whipping her dark hair around her face like a living shadow. Above her, the blood moon hung low and impossibly large, casting a red glow across the landscape. The waters of the lake below shimmered an unnatural, liquid-blue, reflecting the moon's fiery hue. Her heart pounded, not with fear, but with a strange, thrilling recognition.
Tonight was the night she had been waiting for her entire life.
"Scarlett," a voice whispered on the wind, though no one was near. The hair on her arms stood on end. Her hand instinctively went to her chest, to the small mark she had carried since birth: a crescent-shaped scar that glimmered faintly under the blood moon. I am ready, she told herself.
And then, it happened.
A ripple tore through the air, like the world itself had exhaled. The waters of the lake surged upward, glowing brighter. A figure appeared from the blue reflection, a unicorn of silver and blue, its horn shimmering with pure light. Vailtest. The Guardian of the Day Dimension. Its eyes met hers, ancient and wise, filled with the calm of eons.
"Scarlett Seleste Rowans," the unicorn spoke, not in words, but directly into her mind. "The time has come. You are the Keeper. You are the bridge between worlds."
Her knees went weak, but she did not fall. "I… I know," she whispered, though the truth of her power had never felt so real.
A tremor shook the cliff beneath her feet. From the shadows below, the ground cracked and groaned. A deep rumble echoed through the valley, and molten fire glimmered in the cracks. Ikkibess had arrived, the Guardian of the Underworld. The bull-headed colossus stepped from the ground like molten rock made flesh, his magma veins glowing like rivers of anger. His eyes, deep, volcanic pools—focused on her with inscrutable intent.
"Are you the one?" he asked, his voice shaking the air itself.
"I am," she said, steady despite the fear curling in her stomach.
And then the skies darkened. Wings of crimson and blue unfurled, blotting out the stars. Gutheimiereh circled overhead, a dragon whose scales burned like fire and shadow intertwined. Its green eyes glimmered with curiosity and a hint of judgment.
"You bear the mark of the Keeper," the dragon rumbled. "The dimensions are vulnerable. Darkness stirs, and your summoning will not go unnoticed."
Scarlett clenched her fists. I can do this, she thought. The ribbons on her shoulders fluttered violently in the wind, the black cape around her shoulders snapping like a banner of defiance. She could feel the power of the guardians thrumming in the air, waiting for her command.
"Then we begin," she said, her voice louder than she expected, carrying across the cliff. "I am Scarlett Seleste Rowans, Keeper of Dimensions. I call upon you, Vailtest, Ikkibess, Gutheimiereh. Protect the worlds with me."
Light and heat, shadow and fire, wind and sky, the three guardians responded. Vailtest lowered its glowing horn, a silver beam connecting to Scarlett. Ikkibess stomped, molten stone spilling from beneath his hooves, linking the earth itself to her. Gutheimiereh descended from the skies, wings folding, eyes locked on her with an unspoken promise.
For a heartbeat, Scarlett felt the universe itself bend to her will. She was small, human, fragile, but in that moment, she was unstoppable.
A distant howl echoed through the dimensions. Darkness was coming, and it would not wait.
But Scarlett Seleste Rowans was ready.
The Keeper had awoken.
The air trembled, thick with power and anticipation. Scarlett's chest heaved as she tried to steady herself. The guardians' presence pressed against her senses in ways she had never imagined, Vailtest's calm purity, Ikkibess's molten intensity, and Gutheimiereh's vast, almost oppressive majesty. They were all there, yet somehow… waiting for her to make the first move.
"Focus, Scarlett," Vailtest's voice echoed gently in her mind. "You must feel the connection, not just command it."
She took a deep breath, closing her eyes. She could see them then, not just as enormous creatures, but as extensions of herself, mirrors of the power flowing within her blood. A pulse of energy ran through her fingertips, through her heart, through the crescent-shaped scar on her chest. The water below responded, glowing brighter, swirling like liquid starlight.
"Good," Vailtest whispered, as the unicorn stepped closer, horn dipping into the shimmering lake. The surface rippled, and the light spiraled upward in a column that connected Scarlett to the unicorn, a bridge of energy that hummed with life.
Ikkibess let out a low rumble that shook the cliff. "Don't just feel, girl. Command." His magma-fused fists slammed into the ground, sending molten fissures radiating outward. The heat licked Scarlett's boots, but she refused to step back. "I… command!" she shouted, her voice gaining strength as the fissures of molten rock froze mid-flow, bending to her will.
From above, Gutheimiereh let out a low growl that vibrated the very air. "Impressive. But you will need more than control. You must anticipate. Power without understanding will destroy you as easily as it destroys them."
Scarlett opened her eyes and saw the dragon's glowing green gaze pierce her very soul. She swallowed, feeling a surge of fear, and exhilaration, simultaneously. The guardians were not pets, nor weapons. They were forces of the universe. And she, a human, was the one linking them to reality.
A flicker of movement on the horizon snapped her attention to the darkened skies. Shadows stretched unnaturally, curling like smoke over the distant hills. A low, guttural growl rose from the rift forming between dimensions. Scarlett's stomach twisted. She had expected the guardians' arrival, but she had not expected the first test to come so soon.
"They're here," she whispered, almost to herself. The guardians stiffened, instincts flaring.
"Then we fight," Ikkibess said, his molten eyes narrowing. "You summon, we strike. Fail, and the dimensions will bleed."
Scarlett lifted her arms. Her cape whipped around her, ribbons flying like sparks. "Vailtest… Ikkibess… Gutheimiereh… protect the dimensions!"
A brilliant burst of silver and blue light shot from Vailtest's horn, illuminating the valley. The ground beneath Scarlett glimmered, forming a protective circle. Ikkibess stomped, magma and stone erupting to form walls around them, and Gutheimiereh swooped down, wings creating a whirlwind of wind and shadow that cut through the encroaching darkness.
The shadows recoiled, hissing like living smoke. Scarlett's pulse raced as she realized something terrifying, and thrilling. She had done it. She had summoned them, not as obedient beasts, but as allies responding to her will.
The blood moon glared overhead, red and commanding. Scarlett Seleste Rowans, Keeper of Dimensions, had taken her first step. And though she didn't know what awaited her beyond the rift, one thing was certain: the fight for the dimensions had begun, and she would not falter.
Her fingers tingled as a whisper of magic danced across her skin. This is only the beginning.