Three hundred long years had passed. Three centuries since the day the Grandminister was reduced to ash, and the schism was born.
A man of striking bearing and long, shoulder-length hair stood over the simple, unmarked pyre site.
"Three hundred years," **Red** murmured, his voice heavy with the weight of the past. "Three hundred years since they burned Sariel. Yet the memory of the fire is as sharp as a newly forged blade."
The man beside him—handsome, his features etched with profound grief—turned his head. His gentle blue eyes abruptly flashed with the terrible, incandescent red of a Seraphim's rage.
"No one must ever know your true, angelic identity," Red cautioned. "The **Silver Chains of Protector** will shield your power and your identity. Sariel entrusted this to you in our last conversation. She chose you to be its keeper."
Red presented the bracelet. The man, his grief profound, wept. As his tears fell upon the silver Chain, it glowed, recognizing him as its chosen protector.
"The Chains we hold are more powerful than their pathetic fragments," Red continued. "I know the pain of this discovery runs deep, **Raziel**. But we must still be cautious in every move we make."
Raziel looked at Red. In the Guardians' twisted hierarchy, Red was known as Grandmaster Redivester. Raziel himself was now known as **Grandmaster Nephtali**.
"Sariel," Nephtali whispered, the name a silent oath. Power, steaming and volatile, began to leak from his body, a visible manifestation of his raw, suppressed fury.
Red and Nephtali made their way toward the gathering of the Superior Grandmasters. They passed through a doorway just as **Hector** emerged.
"Grandmaster Redivester, well met," Hector said, his smile oily and condescending. "I hear wonderful things about your work. You have impressed Superior Andrel and me greatly. I wish for you to remain permanently in my Seekers Sector."
"Forgive me, Superior Hector," Red replied, his tone smooth and diplomatic. "But I have already given my word to Superior Herus when I first began my duties."
"If Superior Herus is your superior, I have nothing more to say." Hector's gaze shifted to the silent figure behind Red. "And who is your newest companion?"
"This is the new Grandmaster, Master Nephtali of the Knights Sector," Red introduced.
"A pleasure, Superior Grandmaster Hector." Nephtali's greeting was formal.
"Just Superior Hector," he corrected. "I hear you are quite the fighter, but I must warn you both: Superior Herus does not care for excessive skill. I am certain you will be assigned to the most chaotic Division, working with the most stubborn of the new Guardians. Reconsider your Sector carefully."
Nephtali smiled, a slow, cold expression that didn't reach his eyes. "Our skill is best tested in chaos. We have no desire to sit idly while the Guardians we teach remain ignorant of true combat."
Hector paused, startled by the directness, then huffed and walked away. Nephtali watched him go, the anger in his eyes barely contained.
"Control your temper, Brother," Red murmured. "This is not the time or the place."
"They belittle the capability of every warrior under them," Nephtali seethed. "Their arrogance is suffocating."
***
In a secluded, forbidden chamber, the **Chains of Guardians** rested in the center, powerless. **Remiel** stared at the artifact, his mind as vacant as the weapon itself.
**Herus** paced, his frustration a physical force. "It is the same with the Chains that Andrel and I held. Decades passed, and the power simply drained away. So, where are the *real* fragments of the Chains?"
"You know where they are," Remiel said flatly. "Why don't you hunt them down and claim the Chains you crave?"
Herus exploded, seizing a large table and hurling it toward the pedestal. The glass case holding the Chains of Guardians shattered.
"Three hundred years have passed since we burned Sariel!" Herus roared, his breathing ragged. "Her return to Earth is imminent! I will not wait here while her return approaches! I must secure at least one of her original Chains! I know Sariel—she will never allow this betrayal to go unavenged!"
"You want your Chains, so you should be the one to find them," Remiel shot back.
Herus clenched his fist, punching the empty pedestal of the Chains of Guardians.
"Take the Chains of Guardians," Remiel instructed, waving a hand in disgust. "Bury it in your lowest Division. That thing is worthless to me."
Herus, still fuming, snatched the useless artifact and went to hide it in his most neglected Division.
***
Nephtali stood in the middle of a severely damaged training ground, surveying the ruin. Red arrived, accompanied by the emotionless Caius, who carried a simple wooden box.
"Forgive the state of this Division," Red apologized. "They care nothing for these low-priority sectors, as the Guardians who train here are deemed weak and expendable."
Nephtali turned and finally saw Caius, his face blank, his eyes fixed and serious.
"Caius?"
"He won't know you," Red explained softly. "Sariel removed his spirit that day so he could escape with me. He would never have left the Grandminister otherwise."
Nephtali approached the man who had been his sister's trusted friend and put a hand on his shoulder. "Caius, you were Sariel's most loyal warrior. She will return your spirit one day. She knew you possessed dangerous knowledge, and the only way to protect you was to hide your very soul."
Caius spoke only a single word, toneless and flat: "Sariel."
"He only speaks her name," Red confirmed. "He obeys every command I give him, as per Sariel's final order. But there is something you need to see."
Red handed Nephtali the box. He opened it and stared down at the **Chains of Guardians**.
"They hid it here," Red said. "They believe it has no value now. Sariel said that her spirit was the only life of the Chains."
"They are afraid," Nephtali realized, touching the cold metal. "They sense the Grandminister's return and are preparing."
"We must be ahead of them when the Grandminister returns," Red urged. "The body Sariel will use cannot handle her immense spirit. She will need our help to fortify her vessel. We will recognize her by a unique trait, a quality none other possesses."
"Her recklessness," Nephtali murmured, looking at the dead Chain. "Her refusal to obey the very laws she created."
He placed the box containing the Chains of Guardians on a desk and left it. Unseen by him, the moment his back was turned, the Chains within the box gave off a brief, faint shimmer of light.
***
Junior Guardians arrived for training, among them **Natalie**, a young woman notorious for causing trouble. She ran, laughing, chased by a group of angry classmates, cheerfully weaving through her fellow Guardians.
"What kind of madness is Natalie in today?" **Malika** sighed to her companion. "Sometimes, Kalmin, I just want to chain her down. She is the only one who brings chaos to this entire Division."
"You know Natalie," **Kalmin** shrugged. "She'd probably fall ill if she went a day without causing trouble."
Natalie was soon surrounded by members of her rival clan, led by **Adira**.
"You are truly testing my patience, Natalie!" Adira spat. "Why do you interfere with the new recruits for our Clan?"
"New recruits?" Natalie's eyes sparkled with mischief. "It seems they don't *want* to join your Clan. You're forcing them. Why, Adira? Is no one signing up anymore?"
"Fight her!" Adira ordered her followers. "I want to see that girl kneel before me!"
Natalie grinned, her movements blindingly fast as she fought the men surrounding her. One by one, they dropped.
"Well?" Natalie challenged Adira. "Aren't you going to help your friends? I was looking forward to seeing you kneel."
Furious, Adira summoned her weapon and lunged, but Natalie simply dodged, her movements fluid and irritatingly easy. In a flash, Natalie tripped Adira, snatched her weapon, and pressed the tip to her throat. Applause erupted from the onlookers.
The commotion drew Red and Nephtali.
"Junior Master Natalie!" Red's voice cracked like a whip.
Natalie froze, instantly turning to face the Grandmaster. The hall fell silent.
"Master Red, I wasn't causing trouble," Natalie protested innocently. "You can ask them."
The other Guardians, still nursing their bruises, said nothing.
"I guess I'm the only one to blame then," she sighed.
"Headmaster Kirill," Red commanded. "Ensure this Junior Master does not leave the Cursed Chamber until I say so!"
"Yes, Master Red."
As the Headmasters prepared to escort her, Nephtali and Natalie's eyes met. Nephtali felt a strange pulse of energy from the young woman.
"To the hall, all of you!" Red shouted. "Begin your training immediately!"
The youth dispersed. Nephtali watched Natalie being led away.
"Can a Junior Master withstand the Cursed Chamber?" Nephtali asked Red. "Its spell is too strong for a novice like her."
"Natalie is one of the most gifted trainees here," Red admitted. "But since she arrived, she has been the source of every disturbance. The Cursed Chamber has become her second home. The spell is meaningless to her now; her body has grown accustomed to it."
Nephtali considered this, a faint flicker of recognition crossing his mind.
Inside the Cursed Chamber, Natalie sat comfortably, writing symbols on the cement floor. The symbols glowed, and she sat cross-legged within the protective circle.
"This is so much nicer than training," she mused aloud.
The door opened. Red and Nephtali walked in. Natalie rose, looking at them expectantly.
"What Clan do you belong to, Natalie?" Red asked.
"I don't recall our Clan name, Master Red," she lied easily. "I barely have time to join them before you lock me up."
"It is your own fault you are locked up," Red said, exasperated. "You cause chaos for your comrades. I have decided to place you under the direct supervision of Grandmaster Nephtali. He will be your new guardian."
Natalie looked at the man: serious, strikingly handsome, and radiating strictness.
"Master Red, why give me to a Master? I'm fine with Headmaster Kirill or Headmaster Fairah."
"You can easily outwit the Headmasters; you know all their routines," Red countered. "It is better that Master Nephtali oversees you. I guarantee you will cause no more trouble in this Division. Master Nephtali, this is Junior Master Natalie. She is under your care, effective immediately."
Nephtali noticed the protective spell carved into the floor where she had been sitting. With a snap of his fingers, the symbols blazed with light.
"How do you know this incantation?" Nephtali demanded. "You are only a Junior Master, are you not?"
"I just read about power-boosting spells," Natalie answered, unconcerned. "There's nothing in the Guardian Codes that says a Junior Master can't use incantations, is there?"
"You constantly violate the Codes," Red pointed out. "How would you even know what the Codes permit?"
Nephtali watched the young woman's defiant scowl, sensing a powerful, volatile energy beneath her frivolous demeanor.
Later, in the dining hall, Natalie joined her friends.
"Good, you're still alive, Natalie," Kalmin greeted her. "Did Master Red make you clean the whole training ground, or are you just here to clean the dining hall?"
"I have to clean my room after I eat, then read the Codes of Guardians, and join your training tomorrow."
"And will you actually obey Master Red's orders?" Malika asked skeptically.
"It wasn't Master Red who commanded me," Natalie corrected. "It was my new guardian, Grandmaster Nephtali."
Her friends gasped.
"Master Nephtali is your guardian?" Malika asked.
"Why? Who is he?"
"You don't know one of the Knights Sector's most skilled Grandmasters?" Kalmin exclaimed. "He can defeat fifteen creatures at once without backup! He's legendary!"
"How can I not know someone that amazing?"
"Natalie, don't provoke Master Nephtali," Malika warned. "He is strict and intense in training. The most respected Grandmasters and Headmasters respect his skill, so you must respect him, too. He will be a huge asset in your path to becoming a Headmaster."
Natalie considered her friends' words. As she headed to her room, she sensed a presence. A fireball suddenly hurtled toward her. She dodged, instantly launching a ball of energy in return. She kicked the fireball, and it exploded mid-air. An elemental fire being appeared.
"A lost Guardian!" the being sneered. "Your spirit is mine!"
"I'm not allowed to fight!" Natalie muttered to herself. *"Remember the Codes, Natalie. If I get punished, I'm turning you into a barbecue!"*
The creature laughed, engaging her. The bell signaling the rest period rang. Natalie glanced at the time.
"I'm really in trouble now."
She grabbed a nearby staff, and as she gripped it, the wood glowed. The creature hurled a massive fireball, and Natalie answered with an equally powerful energy blast. The collision exploded between them. The creature turned to stone, then shattered into ash. Natalie collapsed, weak and winded.
"Master Nephtali," she gasped, clutching her chest, coughing up blood.
Nephtali appeared instantly, writing a quick incantation in the air to restore her strength.
"Your spirit is too weak to handle that kind of attack," he observed.
"It happens all the time," Natalie weakly insisted.
She swayed, about to fall, but Nephtali caught her, his face taut with concern.
"Rest now. You need your strength."
Natalie drifted into sleep on his shoulder. Nephtali looked down at her, his expression a mixture of duty and deepening confusion.
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