ASHIX-THE LOST GUARDIAN

"When the flames within waver, and the night grows cold,

Let memory be your fire—eternal and bold."

The days had blurred into each other inside the crumbling bones of the old world.

Ashix sat near a low-burning flame, flickering weakly in the hollow of the ruined passageway. His body was still sore from the brutal fight, and his left arm—singed from channeling too much spirit-fire—throbbed like it held a beating heart of its own. He stared at the dim embers, remembering the voices of the spirits and the silent warning behind their eyes. The air was different now. Something had changed after the battle. The ruins had grown... quieter.

Too quiet.

Suddenly, a breeze rolled through the ancient corridor. It didn't feel like wind, but presence—sentience. A whisper not in sound but in thought.

"You called... Guardian."

Ashix flinched and stood up slowly. He peered into the dark beyond the light of the fire. The voice hadn't come from his ears—it had come inside his mind.

Another whisper followed, this time softer, almost... playful.

"You burn so brightly. I wondered when you'd notice me."

A faint glow appeared in the shadows. Not fire. Not spirit magic. Something older. Something alive.

From behind a cracked stone pillar stepped a creature—sleek and four-legged, its fur black as the void with shimmering symbols dancing across its flanks like stars shifting in a night sky. Its eyes were white, glowing orbs with no pupils, yet full of soul. Its tail curled at the tip, like smoke in reverse. It was no larger than a hound, but power radiated from it like an ancient river beneath its skin.

Ashix stepped back instinctively, his hand rising—then stopping halfway. He wasn't holding a weapon. He barely had strength left.

The creature tilted its head and slowly walked closer, unthreatening, curious.

"Fear not," it whispered into his thoughts again. "I am not your enemy. You... are mine."

"What?" Ashix breathed aloud.

The creature stopped. It blinked once—slowly—and then raised its head. From it burst a pulse of warm light, like a memory being cast into the open.

Ashix stumbled.

Suddenly, his mind flooded with images: a memory, not his, but deeply familiar. A forest bathed in moonlight... a young boy with markings on his wrist, kneeling beside a stream... and this creature—only smaller—watching him from the shadows. It had seen him before. It had known him before.

Back when he was just a child. Back when he thought he was ordinary.

The memory faded, and the creature sat calmly.

"Your fire awakened me again. You were lost. I came."

Ashix didn't know what to say. His heart pounded. "What... are you?"

The creature's tail flicked gently.

"I am called Naru, of the First Flame. My kind once guided the old Guardians. And now..."

It stepped forward and pressed its forehead against Ashix's chest, a soft glow passing between them.

"Now I guide you."

Just then, footsteps echoed in the distance. Two voices. Familiar ones.

"Jake!" Elira's voice cut through the stillness, frantic and relieved.

"He's here! Marini—he's here!"

The two girls rounded the bend, their clothes stained with dust and ichor, blades drawn from a recent battle. Their eyes landed on Ashix—and then on the creature beside him.

Elira raised her weapon instantly. "Jake, step back! What is that?"

But Marini's eyes widened—not in fear, but recognition. She lowered her dagger slowly, voice caught in her throat.

"Elira… that's a Flame Warden."

Elira blinked. "A what?"

"They're ancient guardians," Marini said quietly. "They only appear to those who are chosen. I've read about them… but I never thought they were real."

"You've read about this?" Elira asked, turning. "Where?"

Marini hesitated.

"A... journal. A very old one. Belonged to my mother."

There was a silence between them then. Something shifted. A strange look passed between the two girls—of familiarity, perhaps even pain. For a moment, Elira's expression softened.

"My mother was a scholar too," Elira muttered. "Wrote about myths. Said the world was still alive with them."

Marini's eyes flicked up.

"Maybe we've been chasing the same truth all along."

Ashix didn't speak, watching the exchange quietly. Whatever wall had stood between the girls was starting to crack. Not fully—but enough.

The creature—Naru—sat silently beside him, tail curling with ease. Ashix felt a strange peace wash over him.

He was no longer alone.

A spark had ignited in the ruins—not just from battle or flame, but something greater.

And far beyond the edges of the ruin walls… something watched. Ancient eyes. Patient and cruel.

TO BE CONTINUED!!.....