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The frozen lake cracked beneath his feet, and Kylan fell straight into the icy waters.Pandora screamed as she watched him struggle to hold on to the ice floor surrounding him. She wanted to move closer, but Kylan stopped her, shouting:“Don't come near! We can't have the two of us freezing to death in this damn lake! You have to keep going to the mountain.”She shook her head fiercely.“Don't say nonsense, I'll get you out of there.”She readied her harpoon, ready to fire at the unbroken chunk of ice around Kylan.But then she heard it.The ground began to tremble with the arrival of what they feared most. Pandora saw the shadows of the creatures beneath the frozen ground, swimming hastily towards the open spot left by Kylan's fall.Her companion saw the fear on her face and immediately knew what was happening. Desperately, he tried to move his legs to push himself up and tried to brace himself out of the hole.With the harpoon still in her hand, Pandora exclaimed:“Stop moving, dammit! I'm trying to shoot the arrow into a piece of ice.”“You'll shatter it and there won’t be anything left for me to hold onto!” he replied through gritted teeth. He was starting to feel numbness in his legs from the sudden hypothermia.With one hand, Kylan reached for his gun and began shooting at the creatures approaching him underwater.“Run, Pandora, run!” he shouted to his companion for the last time.With tears in her eyes, she ran without looking back.The ground continued to split with every step she took, but she did not stop in her sprint towards solid ground.Her final leap to the edge of the frozen lake sent her rolling across the frosty grass. Desolate, she stared at the large chunks of ice in the dark waters. There was no sign of Kylan. Only the mutated creatures that had once been living beings in better times, swimming at the bottom of the lake, looking for another body to feed on.Holding back a sob, she resumed her march toward the mountain, which was only a few meters ahead.Guilt is one of the most corrosive emotions in humans.For many centuries, she had been convinced that what she had done for Hiurilia had been for the good of its inhabitants. She took charge of the planet in its darkest period. Helping the inhabitants rebuild their home had brought a gratifying feeling to Pandora's long-lived heart. The people worshipped her.As time went by, she lost her powers, but not her influence over the planet’s development. She could no longer hear the voice of Mother Earth, so she became a voice of her own. Unintentionally, she motivated people to manipulate their environment and its living beings. Pandora watched them create bloodthirsty monsters in an attempt to increase the number of animal production on the planet, she saw them destroy all traces of vegetation to build giant granite structures. Pandora watched them kill each other over resources and more power.They tore down the statues erected to Pandora and raised their own. Technology and scientific knowledge completely replaced the power she once had. The planet that had been on the verge of death had been reborn from the shadows only to plunge into its destruction and that of neighboring planets…The memories of the past accompanied her as she made her way through the rocky terrain at the mountain’s entrance.She walked through tunnels she had not crossed in centuries. She could not feel Mother Earth’s pulse in those cold walls.She reached what seemed like a large underground chamber. Ice stalactites hung very close to her head. The floor was made of pure obsidian.She thought of Kylan being devoured by the creatures in the lake. She would never have made it this far without him, her only human ally in all of Hiurilia.They had promised each other to end the Ice Age even if it was the last thing they did. They would reach the Western Mountain and beg the Guardian for forgiveness.“Here I am, Pandora, the deserter of Hiurilia. Please! Come to my call,” she pleaded on her knees, not knowing what to expect.The cave remained dark, and the only sounds came from water droplets falling from the stalactites.“I'm sorry!” she finally shouted. “I've been a coward. I don't expect you to have mercy on me. Just save the few remaining inhabitants. They are not to blame... Kylan's not to blame...”The obsidian floor trembled and an intense white light began to reflect through the cave's crystals. Pandora covered her eyes.Instantly, she heard footsteps approaching her.Raising her eyes, Pandora met the gaze of the Guardian, whose eyes held deep pity.“At last, you come to answer for your actions, Pandora”, she said."I lost control," Pandora lamented.“You came to a world ruled by shadows and taught the inhabitants to be like them. Look at how they have corrupted the creatures of Hiurilia.”“I can fix it.”"You've done enough," the Guardian replied sharply.Softening her expression, the Guardian spoke again:“They needed someone to protect them, not someone to worship. You offended Mother Earth the moment you taught them to defile her for their own benefit. Freezing the rest of their existence is the appropriate response for their actions… and yours.”“But Kylan...!” - Pandora tried to protest sorrowfully."It is done," replied the Guardian.Pandora buried her face in her hands. The Guardian was about to disappear from her presence when Pandora began to speak with a serious look:“I knew you wouldn't help me, but it doesn’t matter. I just needed you to show up here.”Pandora placed her hands on the ground beneath her.“For centuries, I have been interacting with the Specters of Hiurilia …” she continued speaking.The Guardian looked around with growing alarm. The Light of her being, reflected in every crystal in the cave, began to flicker, losing its glow.“No… Pandora… What have you done?”“You and the Sanctuary abandoned me, so I had to ask for help from the very entities that corroded this world. They told me how to regain my powers.”The Guardian collapsed to the ground, unable to get up. The Light no longer emanated from her. Pandora absorbed her energy by reciting words in a strange language.With deep regret, she said to the Guardian:“I will bring Kylan back and end the Ice Age. I will restore order to this planet. I will rule this world again as it should be.”With renewed strength, Pandora stood up and looked at her sister's withered body, who tried to breathe out one last sentence:“The Sanctuary will come to stop and destroy you.”With a simple wave of her hand, Pandora made the ice stalactites fall on the Guardian's body, hastening her end."Well, then I'll be waiting for them. This time I have the shadows on my side." &nbsp;

Pandora, the rogue guardian

xteffyerios

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Xteffy Erios

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