1 1. Prologue

Hurried footsteps were heard from a distance as two teens, a boy and a girl ran across the corridor.

"Faster, Omen!"

"I know! Anyway, we are almost there."

True enough, the humongous, oaken doors loomed in the distance in front of them. However, the doors were being devoured by Shadows. Formless creatures that consumed magic to strengthen themselves, flicked their tongues in a mocking way against the teens while their acidic drool and sweat started to disintegrate the door. The door shuddered and shook as the wood started to peel off from the potent acid but to no avail as the sharp claws of the creature dug tighter into the wood, earning a scream from the doors.

"Omen, you go first. I will stop them from eating the Library doors."

"But..."

"No buts, go and stop him!"

Mike summoned his golden bow and lightning arrows as he fired at the Shadows. They yelped as they got hit by the arrows and the burst of light that it emitted upon impact, turning into dust the moment the light touched them. Omen hesitated as she debated whether to run into the Library or helped out Mike.

"After Arty and I finished here, we will join you. Now go!"

The fire in Mike's eyes stopped Omen in her thoughts. Without a word, Omen summoned her sword with howling winds as she angled it towards the door.

"You better finish this job, partner."

He gave a muted nod as he shot the arrows at the Shadows without looking at them. She mentally rolled her eyes at his display of prowess at a drastic time like this. She yelled as a burst of light hit her.

"If you're not going to get your butt there, we are all going to die! Imagination will die under their hands!!" She glared at his back as he proceeded to shoot the endless barrage of Shadows who mindlessly launched themselves at him, only to find themselves turning into a beautiful display of smokes and lights. Like a painter who splashed blotches of yellow light against a canvas of varying darkness.

Always the perfectionist. Omen thought as she hacked down the Shadows who also came after her.

"Good luck." He muttered, continuing to shoot the Shadow, almost disregarding the fact that he had actually shown some concern for Omen. That was a surprise because he rarely showed feelings towards anyone, let alone his thoughts or himself. However, although she was surprised at his words, she was also disappointed that he did not do much except for that few words.

Just your everyday heartless idiot.

Omen shook her head disapprovingly at him before giving a deep breath and charged towards the door with her sword pointed towards it, "Open!"

Her sunset eyes turned gold for a brief moment before returning to their original sunset colour. The doors were blasted off by the swirl of wind that was erupted from the sword. A few unfortunate Shadows also disintegrated away from the sudden force of magic. As Omen rushed through the doors, she heard whispers of gratefulness from the doors.

The Library was a school of imagination for young Guardians. Once stepped inside the Library, rolls of shelves could be seen filled with handmade books and students filtering in and out of classrooms located at the side of the Library, chattering merrily as they advance to the next class or to the canteen for food.

The roof of the Library was a glass dome. In the day, the sun and the fluffy white clouds could be seen flying around. And in the night, countless stars were twinkling around the moon and occasionally a night breeze will come and tickle the Guardians that stayed up late in the night.

The most majestic of all was the female stone statue standing in the heart of the Library. In her left hand, she held a pocket watch with its chain slithering around her wrist and on her right; she held the miniature Library in her hands. Ravenna Cross was the creator of the Library and also the first Guardian. However, her disappearance was widely known for hundreds of years and it was rumoured that perhaps, she had already died.

And now as Omen saw, the once glorious Library was in ruins, the shelves and books were destroyed. Many of the Guardians were lying around, either half alive or long gone. Ravenna's statue was destroyed and a man stood there with a sinister grin.

"Stop this, Astaroth! What can you even achieve from this? This world will die without Imagination to sustain it!" Omen cried out to him.

Astaroth gave no answer as he bent down and picked up the body of the Creator's. She gasped in shock. She had never imagined that all this while, the Great Creator had been hidden right underneath her statue! Holding a dagger in his hand and the other holding onto her, he finally raised his head where an ugly scar was across his face. He looked at the Guardian with a sneer.

"What do you know, young Guardian? With this, I can finally resurrect the Darkness that the whole world feared and see this pathetic world that you deemed fit to protect burn in ashes. The peace that you always took for granted will be no more. Say goodbye to dear Ravenna! Hahaha!"

The young Guardian raced to stop him but it was far too late.

With a powerful swipe, he hit the dagger right into the heart of the Creator. In that instance, a bone crashing tremor started as massive magic was released. The glass that made up the roof cracked and shattered under the pressure, sending out shards of glass pieces into the air. Like a Pandora Box, darkness as well as lightness swept throughout the whole Library, smashing the injured young Guardian into a still standing bookcase.

What Omen had remembered was the pair of icy blue and fiery red eyes of the Creator snapping open before she blacked out.