Guardian Cycle

Prologue

Ember cried. Her fox tails were singed from her out of control fire. All around her the Elements raged How did it come to this? She stared at the destruction that lay around her. She was the only living Elemental left. Even her partner, Andri, was no longer alive. I need to change the past. The Earth can't survive without its guardians to maintain the balance. She curled into a ball. Andri… She cried and cried. Gods of the Heaven and Sky. Hear my plea! Send me back! Let me change the past! Let me make things right again! Slowly, she cried herself to sleep as her own fire surrounded her… Finally extinguishing her life.

***

Far away, watching the destruction of the Earth below, stood the four Gods. A gentleman with a red feather in his hair reached out to receive the red pulsing soul that floated towards him. It pulsed in sync with the other orb that floated nearby,

"Over and over again," A gentleman with deep blue eyes and fish scales running over both arms commented softly. Nearby, two blue orbs pulsed slowly. "History repeats itself over and over," He reached out to the blue orbs and sighed as they danced over his palm. "Our guardians feel heartache over and over again." He looked over to the gentleman with the red feather. "This time it was Ember who made the plea to try again."

He glanced to the two other gentlemen with them. One had white hair that flowed wild down his back like a lion's mane and two white orbs that floated near his head softly pulsing. The other had a trail of green scales from below his left eye to the back of his right hand and two green orbs who floated near his left hand swaying as if buffeted by the wind.

"What are your thoughts… Byakko, Genbu?" He glanced uncertainly at the black streaks that ran through one of the red orbs. "Ember is now traumatised by this event just like Aqua was before her," He watched the gentleman with the red feather gently caress the orb. "Shall we try again? Knowing that the trauma will cause the catalyst to end the world." He watched the stray tears that fell from the gentleman before him. "Suzaku?"

"Just like Aqua was the catalyst this time around," The gentleman with the red feather, known as Suzaku, replied. "Ember will be the catalyst if we try again…"

"Before that, it was Kirei," The man with the wild white hair, known as Byakko added. "And then Rosalia before that."

"Each one of us has had a traumatized Elemental Guardian," The man with the green scales said irritably. "All because of the selfish humans." He was known as Genbu and he reached out to the green orbs in his attempt to calm himself down. "Perhaps it is the humans that we don't bring back if we try again."

"We cannot do that," Suzaku sighed softly. "Humans are part of the natural order of the world. Nature would not be so forgiving if we remove a vital element to its survival." He looked at his fellow Gods. "We set in motion the delicate law of nature. Do you wish to rewrite the entire law of Earth so it can function without humans in its evolutionary cycle? It needs humans to survive just like we need humans to give us strength through their devotion." The red orb with the black streaks moved as if nuzzling his cheek, the black seemingly fading when it touched the deity.

"Then we are in a bind…" Seiryuu folded his arms with a sigh. "The choice before us… Do we place Earth as a failed project and lose our beloved guardians? Or do we try again and risk Ember becoming the next destructive catalyst for the end of the world?"

Each of the Gods was conflicted. They had grown to love their Elemental Guardians and enjoyed watching their lives unfold within the world they created. It had almost become like a child's favourite bedtime story. What had gone wrong? All of their meticulous planning crashes every single time.

"She's your guardian," Byakko purred stretching. "We could try but we all know," He indicated to Genbu and Seiryuu. "What it feels like to see your guardian crumble when the memories return and they relive that trauma. It drives them insane."

Suzaku looked at the red orbs. He knew these two well. Ember was softer than Andri. She was a peacemaker and defender. Andri was also peaceful but easily angered by violence. He was overly protective of Ember and had proven in many lives over that he would die to protect her. Ember's foxfire wouldn't be able to overpower Andri's phoenix fire. The question became whether Andri would harm Ember to protect the world and her from herself.

"You know my thoughts," he said softly to the two orbs. "Can you do it? Can you break the cycle and bring the Earth to realize its full potential?" They pulsed excitedly. One grew bigger and engulfed the other before releasing it again and shrinking back to normal size. Suzaku laughed "You'll wrap her up in a ball of fire if you have to Andri? You both want to try again?" Again, the orbs pulsed excitedly.