The Guardian

Chapter 255: Realist

I am the oldest of our race, but even with my eighty years of life, when I was born, the world was already facing Chaos.

At first, the inhabitants of this world blamed the creatures of evil, those red-skinned and horned individuals.

In those times I was small, but I could know that we... Our race was weak and even treated as monsters and wild beasts.

Were we?

That was a question I asked myself ever since I came to my senses and realized that some had more bestial instincts than intelligence.

Perhaps it was because of my sense of rationality that I was chosen as a shaman.

As members belonging to the proud upper caste, we were what to humans was nobility.

Great and powerful... We faced the same fate as the other races facing Chaos.

At first I remember it started with some monsters occasionally coming to the village and before I knew it, our village was taken down by such monstrosities.

We fled, but the battle continued everywhere.

The beings of the forest were contaminated without their realizing it and the humans knocked each other down and when they went to face Chaos, they fell to the relentless wrath of the monsters.

Such creatures had no intelligence, but they were many and slowly expanded more and more.

It corrupted the water, the land and even the air... leaving no place to live.

The races with the largest population suffered that blow and having no food, they stabbed each other to get what they wanted, to try to survive.

We were the same, attacking other tribes and other races.

That was over fifty years ago and it was at that time that I learned that there was a time when the ‘Chaos’ was stopped.

It was thanks to our guardians... They had many names and titles, being worshipped in different parts and in different forms.

Humans even gave them a history as ‘gods’, but as for us, we knew them as the Guardians of Abakas.... The guardians of our world.

Maybe other ignorant tribes didn’t care for them, but some of their history was passed down among some shamans.

I don’t know where or when the ‘Chaos’ began to corrupt this wonderful world, but what I do understand was that it was when they weakened.

Surviving was difficult until he appeared.

He was cunning from the time he was born. He was a hobgoblin who made the entire upper caste proud... Someone talented and skilled.

Giving birth to a life in that kind of environment was cruel, but it was a way of not giving up hope.

That little creature grew up becoming more skilled, until one day, looking at Chaos for himself, he changed... No, not changed, he found his target.

Unfortunately, the weakness of our guardians became more evident and their help became more and more ephemeral.

Entire races ended up dying, but in the midst of that bloody mess he moved.

He was skilled, capable and could be terrifying.

His goal was not something as simple as saving one tribe, it was to save the goblin race... It was to save them all.

With fear, strength and terror he began to unite the tribes and before anyone knew it he had become the Savior... Zrag had begun his quest, knowing where hope could lie.

Still, the world was coming to an end, not a natural one, but one brought about by unchecked corruption.

The seas and rivers turned black with corruption, the land became infertile, and the plants became monsters along with the animals.

The other races eventually came to an end amid their conflicts that never ended.

It was difficult to say if they had a ‘savior’ or it was just us, but if they did, that individual failed to help them.

In our case, there were times when the situation seemed difficult and impossible for us, but he succeeded.

When our destiny was on the other side of the black sea that could corrupt everything it touched, he moved naturally.

As if he knew where to go... As if someone was pointing the way.

At one moment I doubted if it was our guardians, but at that time the voices of those entities could no longer be heard clearly.

We crossed that sea following the tunnels created by the Road Maker, who at that time only sought to survive like everyone else and, after a great journey, we made it.

Then at that moment it came... Our guardians could no longer resist their struggle and fell.

As a last hurrah, they succeeded in driving their will into these lands trying to delay the Chaos... That great pillar of darkness is the will of our guardians.

It is the mark that gave an end to this world that I barely knew.

Perhaps they helped us because we were the last ones left in these lands of darkness.

However, we had not yet survived.

The portal was present to lead us to an unknown destination, but doubt was high and many were causing trouble.

Gathering the various tribes with their different lower, middle-and upper castes, led by their respective leaders, was a challenge, but Zrag stood his ground and overcame every obstacle.

Trusting no one, approaching no one, he had no weakness and was relentless in achieving his goal.

He wished for the goblin race to survive and if he had to make hard decisions to do so, then he would.

Such as murdering those who opposed him, torturing evildoers, punishing those who tried to confront him or simply leaving a group of his people to survive in this world, understanding that on the other side it could be dangerous and even deadly.

Yes... Maybe you’ve seen them. Those more troublesome goblins were ‘left behind’ to survive in this inhospitable world.

The other side was an unknown, and it was possible they would end up dead. That was why Zrag left the more savage individuals behind.

As for our group, it was the same.

Those who could not leave their world and take the risk, those who wished to survive in a place they knew, decided to stay.

Whether they by going to the other side disappeared or we by staying survived, the possibility of the species continuing to exist was present.

What he did not have in mind was that the Road Maker... The Great Worm would be contaminated by Chaos, affecting its peaceful nature to a savage and aggressive one.

******

Inside the subterranean cave, Aurora listened to the old goblin’s story.

“Now we are the targets of the Road Maker... In his aggression shared by his brood, we will soon become his enemies. All while this world is coming to an end faster than anyone would have imagined,” the goblin said and pointing to a statue standing in the small clearing, he specified. “The will of the gods is coming to an end and with it, their last protection.”

Aurora looked at the statue.

It was a strange statue, with multiple shapes that could not be precisely discerned... Perhaps that object was the symbol of the Guardians of this world, of the gods of this place.

Now it was slightly cracked, but it released a faint wave that managed to give life to this small clearing where nature gave its fruits to feed those who needed it and generated drinking water.

It was not much water, but it was enough for the hundred goblins that inhabited this place to survive.

Aurora stood silently, watching those goblins.

She didn’t need someone to check if that old goblin’s story was true... The old goblin couldn’t hide the sadness as he narrated the story and such emotions couldn’t be made up.

However, whether it was a true story raised too many doubts.

The goblins of this world were not helped by the God of Time and Space.

Unlike on Earth, where the Earth Gods weakened and asked for help from a Primordial God, here it did not seem that they had outside help.

At least not until it was too late.

Why didn’t the God of Time and Space help them?

That question popped into her mind and the next moment she realized how naïve she was.

Why would a Primordial God who hadn’t even moved on Terra nova help them?

That question generated a more important one... Why did that Primordial God help the Earth?

When that question popped into her mind, she shivered subtly and took a deep breath.

Aurora did not believe in any deity, but if she had to choose who she was closest to, then she would choose the God of Time and Space, because of the church’s influence and for other reasons.

That god was the only one Aurora had ever prayed to.

“What do you have planned?” Aurora asked, taking a deep breath and looking at the old goblin, she specified. “Why have you helped me and how do you wish to cooperate?”

It seemed pointless to Aurora to wonder about the reasons of those deities and more so when the answer might not be to her liking.

She didn’t know how the gods looked at humans, but she understood that the more powerful an individual was, the more indifferent they were to those they didn’t care about.

Even she was just as indifferent when murdering different people to achieve her goals.

That was why she focused on today.

That old goblin surely had something planned, and that was why he approached her being so friendly and was the reason why he told her his story when she asked for it.

“I have seen what has happened with the portal... I think I have a way to fix the corruption and instability,” the old goblin reported and looking at his people, who were now standing silently in a corner, he pointed. “But I won’t be able to save them all on my own. Even if I risk my life, many will die before I reach the portal on my own... No, I won’t be able to do it alone.”

Aurora looked at those goblins.

The only one with considerable strength was the old goblin and the reason they survived all this time was because of that statue.

However, Aurora could discern those cracks and understood that there must be a reason why he didn’t use it to get out.

The old goblin elder smiled and pointed. “It is just as you think... The statue channels the remaining will of the gods, but it will eventually break if used often.”

“Why do you tell me that?” Aurora asked earnestly.

“Because you are strong enough to kill us all here.” The old goblin replied and looking at the statue, he muttered. “And steal it from our corpses.”

He wasn’t a pessimist; he was a realist.

The old goblin didn’t have much to offer besides that object.

He wasn’t strong enough to resist an attack either and that was why he decided to take the other option... To be totally and completely honest.

That way, he was trying to gain her trust by risking everything.

As for the loss? They were already going to lose if he did nothing, and the old goblin, although he seemed calm about his fate, the others were not the same.

Just as he had said in his story, the children gave hope and now her gaze was on that hope.

Could she get them out of here?

That question flashed through Aurora’s mind and in the next instant, she found the answer without hesitation.

She would help those who needed her help, and now was that time to move.

Why did she do it?

It was not a question that needed an answer... She was always moved by her ideals, by her goals, and among those goals was her desire to help.

Maybe she was not as naïve as before and understood that sometimes there was a big picture, that even her wishes and her ideals could not change, but she also knew that sometimes it was not possible to back out.

Now it was the same thing... Aurora looked at those little green creatures that would be considered children and even babies.

If she had a reason to choose for which she would risk her life, it would be for the little ones.

It was her weakness.

In the midst of his thoughts, the earth trembled subtly and the old goblin’s face changed again.

“An enemy attack?” Aurora asked seriously.

“Perhaps...”

Before he could answer, another tremor was caused and only this time stronger.

Small rocks fell from the ceiling along with the dust... Giving the impression that hundreds of creatures were moving between the wall and the ground on the other side.

As if something terrifying was starting.

—It’s possible that those creatures were disturbed by something outside.

Her system gave a hypothesis, and Aurora understood what her system was referring to.

It was likely that the ‘reinforcements’ had run into those creatures and that led to them going into what seemed like a frenzy.

“Can you protect this place?” Aurora asked seriously, as she picked up her sword.

“Yes, but if their numbers are worse than I imagine... Then I may not manage to protect it on my own and will have to use the statue,” the old goblin replied with a grave expression.

He was worried about the portal... With the statue, it was possible to stabilize the portal and even prevent corruption.

That old man had scouted earlier for a way out and surely at that time he found traces of them, but in the end Aurora nodded, giving a smile.

“Take care of protecting the others. That’s the priority, no matter what you do.” Aurora said with her typical reassuring smile and looking back the way she had come, she stated. “The rest I can take care of.”

There was no need to wonder if she could do it. Now she had to.

Maybe she didn’t know them, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t risk it for the little creatures that were in this place.

Getting out of the portal was important and even though she didn’t know if Urfin and the others could stabilize the portal on their own or needed to ask some god for help, right now, what mattered was that they were still alive.

Turning her back on the old goblin, who was slightly dazed, she advanced down the tunnel through the vines.

Behind her back, those vines became thick, creating a strong natural barrier.

Aurora unsheathed her sword.

She didn’t know if it was the others that came or if it was actually something worse and that Great Worm had begun to move, but regardless of the possibilities, she could not retreat now.

Her mind was made up and if she had to get the attention of the attackers, to allow the old goblin to protect his people, then she would do so.

Staring down the dark tunnel, she advanced forward with her sword surrounded by her various auras that glowed brightly.