Guardian of Falling Dawn
Weight of two world
The marble balcony of the High Spire felt colder than usual tonight.
???
I looked out over Aethelgard, but I didn't see the sprawling, bioluminescent gardens or the floating architecture that usually defined our realm.
???
Instead, I saw plumes of obsidian smoke rising from the Eastern Marches. The monstrous incursions had breached the outer wards again.
???
I adjusted the silver gorget at my throat, my fingers tracing the crest of the Royal Guard.
Iren (ML/prince)
I am Iren, Prince and Captain of the Royal Guard, though the crown feels more like a shackle these days.
A soft, rhythmic flapping of wings echoed behind me
I didn't turn; I knew the presence.
Lara (Royal astrologer)
The stars are not silent, Highness
*dry voice*
Lara (Royal astrologer)
*landed softly on the stone, her robes shimmering with the constellations*
Iren (ML/prince)
💭 weight of my plate armor heavy on my shoulders
*turn to her*
Iren (ML/prince)
Then tell me something they haven't whispered a thousand times before, Lara. Tell me how to stop the bleeding.
Lara (Royal astrologer)
the only way to save our dying world is to find a "pure-hearted warrior" from another dimension
Iren (ML/prince)
A hero from a ghost story?
*laugh*
Iren (ML/prince)
We are losing our home, and you’re telling me fairy tales.
*look at sky*
Lara (Royal astrologer)
It isn't a story ...
* whispered, lifting her staff*
Lara (Royal astrologer)
It is a chance to save us.
On other side (Modern world)
？？？
The gravel bites my palms. Again.
？？？
I’m Cadet Serena Jones. Twenty laps, ten push-ups per lap, because I was three minutes late to roll call.
Officer Millar
Down
*barked*
Serena Jones (FL)
Sir, yes, sir.
Serena Jones (FL)
I hit the ground before he finishes the word. Habit now. My body moves faster than my pride.
Serena Jones (FL)
*Sweat drips off my nose, stinging my eyes, and my academy-issued shirt clings to my back*
Serena Jones (FL)
Twenty-three years old, and the ground knows my face better than my mirror does.
Serena Jones (FL)
Sir, yes, sir. I am up.
Serena Jones (FL)
💭 Because that’s the job. You fall, you get up. You mess up, you own it
Serena Jones (FL)
💭 One day that badge will be real. Today, the ground is.
Officer Millar
*stop pacing*
Officer Millar
Jones why were you late?
Serena Jones (FL)
💭 what should I say ? mama's chemo ?Bus broke ?
Serena Jones (FL)
No excuse sit
*bite out*
Because cadet don't get reasons only consequences.
Officer Millar
*node once*
Finish your set , Cadets.
Serena Jones (FL)
Sir, yes , sir
I sware gravel feel less sharp.
The Grind and the Ghost
The punishment for being late wasn't just physical; it was a test of willpower. Miller didn't let up.
Officer Millar
Keep pushing, Jones
*roared*
My arms felt like lead. Every time I dipped into a push-up, the gravel bit into my palms, leaving fresh scrapes.
Serena Jones (FL)
💭 But I didn't stop. I couldn't. I gritted my teeth and focused on the rhythmic thump of my boots hitting the ground.
Three hours later, the drill finally ended.
Serena Jones (FL)
By the time I unlocked the door to my small, cramped apartment, the sun was long gone.
Serena Jones (FL)
I didn't even turn on the lights. I collapsed onto my bed, still wearing my training gear, the silence of the room feeling heavy and welcome.
My muscles were screaming, and my body ached in places I didn't know existed.
Serena Jones (FL)
*closed my eyes, drifting into that half-awake state where the day’s exhaustion meets the dream world*
But instead of seeing the academy yard, I saw flashes of purple light. I heard a voice—thin, like dry leaves—whispering about a Veil.
Serena Jones (FL)
Just stressed I think
*shook my head, fighting the weird hallucination*
I drifted off, the city sirens outside the window sounding distant and small, oblivious to the fact that somewhere, light-years away, the stars were beginning to align for a different kind of war.
The weeks that followed were a descent into shadow
Iren (ML/prince)
I spent my days on the front lines, my blade permanently stained with the ichor of beasts that shouldn't exist.
Iren (ML/prince)
*armor was dented, my hands calloused from the hilt of my sword, and my nights were spent pacing the balcony, watching for the light that never came.*
Iren (ML/prince)
She has not arrived, Lara.
Lara (Royal astrologer)
The threads are twisted, Iren
Lara (Royal astrologer)
She is not yet ready. Her world demands her service first. She must become the shield that protects her own before she can be the blade that saves ours.
Iren (ML/prince)
We don't have time for her to finish her 'training.' The kingdom is turning to ash
*slammed fist against the stone railing*
Lara (Royal astrologer)
If you bring her before she is forged...she will break. The heart must be pure, yes—but it must also be tempered by the fire of duty.
*warned*
Iren (ML/prince)
💭 I was the Prince of Aethelgard, a kingdom of magic and wonder, now forced to wait on a girl from a world of steel and silence. I didn't know her name, I didn't know her face, but I hated that our survival rested on her shoulders.
Iren (ML/prince)
*turned back to the dark horizon and drew sword, the steel singing in the cold air*
Iren (ML/prince)
If she needed to be a soldier to save us, I would pray that her world taught her how to fight as well as I had been taught to die.
The Crossing
Months passed in a blur of dual existences.
In Chicago, Serena traded her cadet uniform for a patrol badge.
Serena Jones (FL)
*learned to read the rhythm of the city—to see the tension in a suspect’s shoulders, to trust the heavy weight of the radio on her belt, and to navigate the dark alleys with a flashlight*
In Aethelgard, Iren grew into a hardened commander.
Iren (ML/prince)
*mastered the arcane arts of his bloodline, weaving magic into his strikes*
The Prince was gone; only the Captain remained.
They were two souls living in parallel, unaware that the distance between them was shrinking with every patrol Serena walked and every monster Iren struck down.
The incursions were constant now, the monsters tearing through the very fabric of their reality.
Iren (ML/prince)
*stopped in front of Lara*
Lara (Royal astrologer)
*sat hunched over her star-charts*
Iren (ML/prince)
I am done waiting
Iren (ML/prince)
The stars are silent, and my kingdom is dying. I am going to cross the Veil myself
Lara (Royal astrologer)
*looked up, her tired eyes reflecting centuries of grief*
Lara (Royal astrologer)
Prince the energy required ...
Iren (ML/prince)
I don't care about the cost.
Iren (ML/prince)
If the warrior won't come to us, I will find her, bring her here, and force this destiny to manifest. You will open the gate, Lara.
Lara (Royal astrologer)
*looked at the desperate, stubborn fire in his eyes and finally sighed*
Lara (Royal astrologer)
*raised her staff, weaving a vortex of unstable, violet light*
With a final, grim look, Iren stepped into the abyss.
Download NovelToon APP on App Store and Google Play
