1 Prologue

Day after day the guard roamed through each and every one of the nooks and crannies knowns in The Sphere. Each of the sectors, each of the rooms and each of the corridors didn't go unnoticed by the eyes and other senses of the man. He also used all the skills he had available to make sure that no other living being entered or approached more than a thousand kilometers around the immense structure. Although the task entrusted to him lacked dangers, it was not exempt from difficulties, such as loneliness, because each morning, the first thing he did upon waking up and after getting ready, was to enter the chambers of the Great Lord, and he always found them empty. Although... what could he expect? Had not he, after so many centuries, come to assimilate the disappearance and the absence of his master? Why didn't he wanted accept the truth once and for all? In the last times these questions harassed him in his dreams, and he hardly slept because of the restlessness that they generated. Wasn't it better to destroy the world and the Sphere itself in order to end its mission and be able to rest? This last thought made a chill run down his spine, and he discarded it as fast as he could. No, he was the guardian of the most important place in the universe, and he would never allow such a fate to take place.

Thinking about all this, he continued to tour the titanic corridor of the Home sector. The immense walls rose to a height of twenty meters, then came up against a vaulted ceiling whose frescoes would have aroused even the admiration of the gods: images of landscapes typical of legends adorned the corridor, and to make things even better, that was one of those who had less details as to what decoration was referring. Ashreg realized that he had stopped to observe them, shook his head and prepared to continue the inspection when his magical sense alerted him of something. In that same instant, his eyes widened. Apparently, what happened was that a sign of life came to him from the chambers of the Great Lord. How can something like this be happening? And what was even worse... Who had managed to circumvent the safety of The Sphere to enter it to reach the most sacred place in the entire structure? An unprecedented fury invaded him. He wasn't going to let anyone dirty his master's gold thread carpets. He would finish the intruder as soon as he had the chance, although before he would ask him what method he had used to get through the magic barriers, because without a doubt such an achievement required great power to... What was the point of continuing to make conjectures? He used his teleportation ability to get immediately to the entrance to his master's bedrooms, and opened the gates wide, to observe the being who was behind them. What he saw surprised him deeply: he was a human. A simple human! While it was true that his form was not far from that of those despicable beings, it was more than clear that he, Ashreg, also known as the guardian of The Sphere, had nothing to do with a species as weak and pathetic as that.

"Who the hell are you and how you dare disturb this sacred place!" He bellowed angrily and without hiding the deep contempt he felt for that individual.

The guy stopped analyzing the room to look directly into his eyes. He had not even be affected his words in the least! How much insolence!

"Ashreg, is that you? What is the cause of such a scandal?" The voice of the human was particularly familiar, and this feeling, added to the fact that the human knew his name, did nothing but confuse him.

"How do you know?"

"Know what?"

"My name" he said firmly.

"It's obvious, Ashreg, or is it that you can't see it?"

The guardian of The Sphere was getting tired of so many detours. He clenched his fists and asked:

"What do I have to see that I have not seen yet? A simple human who for some reason knows what my identity is?"

The guy looked at his arms and then ran his hands over his face, as if to try to confirm that he was really a human. Then he raised his head and gave Ashreg a smile that disturbed him deeply.

"I-I'll ask again..." the guard had lost all confidence in himself "Who are you?"

The human crossed his arms, and still with that sly smile on his face he answered:

"Me? I am Dolwyn, the Great Lord of Annihilation"