Piercing Heavens

It is not uncommon for truth to be stranger than fiction. If fiction is limited to our imagination, then what limiters are placed upon reality? The answer is, nothing. Reality has no limits to what can happen, to how dark or painful it can be, to how light or pleasant it can be.

So it should make sense that all legends are based partly upon truth. Even the most gruesome, most horrifying of tales was based at least partly upon some event that happened throughout history. And this even includes legends from long, long ago…

Ten thousand years ago, there was a thousand year long gap in recorded history, where the only thing known about this time is that the sky had turned completely pitch black. Historians have argued endlessly over this, with some stating it was just an exaggeration, some saying it was an outright truth, and both sides unable to find the cause for this gap in history.

The answer lies in a story forgotten to time. However, its influence upon the world has never truly left, despite being forgotten.

Not a single soul in the world could have predicted that the sky would turn black on that day ten thousand years ago. It was a day regarded as being the darkest in human history, pun intended.

On the ground below, humans and animals alike cowered in fear as the sun seemingly disappeared out of nowhere. It was only on a day as dark as this when humanity could shine the brightest. People held each other in their arms regardless of the color of their skin or their sexuality, priests and atheists alike asked the gods to forgive them for their sins, and even the scummiest of people apologized for their wrongdoings.

However, it was never their fault. It wasn't caused by the wrath of the gods, or by their guiltless destruction of nature.

Hovering in the sky above was a crimson dragon whose body looked to be hundreds of kilometers long, with its wingspan being even larger. The dragon looked to be injured so heavily that it could barely even stay in the air.

The dragons right wing had been cut so heavily that it had nearly been completely severed from where it was attached to the dragons main body, and both wings were littered with countless other cuts and many holes that caused the dragon to need to use an even larger amount of energy than it normally would have to stay flying in the air.

"I never thought that I would ever be pushed as far as I have been in this battle." Said the dragon telepathically towards a speck floating in the sky a few hundred kilometers away. "Especially not by someone as tiny as yourself."

"You bore me, Dragon. You're not even strong enough that I want to bring myself to predate you." Said the speck with a yawn. The speck was actually a humanoid figure with long, white hair reaching all the way down to his hips. Covering his face was a blood red mask without openings even for his eyes. Unlike the dragon, he was completely uninjured. He held a sword that looked to be multiple kilometers long, which was covered in the blood of the dragon in front of him.

"Hah! So arrogant. Who's to say that won't be your downfall in this battle, Cain?" Said the dragon with a chuckle.

"Who's to say that you can beat me?" Responded Cain in an uninterested voice.

"I already have." Said the dragon as the sun disappeared from the sky, bathing the entire planet in darkness. "I didn't want to have to use this technique, partly because I myself will die after using it, but also because of the mortals below who can't live without it. I hope they are as good at adapting to abnormal situations as I think they are."

"What are you doing?" Asked Cain in a slightly worried voice.

"As a guardian, I have access to a myriad of techniques that mortals can only dream of attaining. And one of those is a technique to seal away your opponent for eternity. One that is impossible to break out of within the power of the person being sealed." Said the dragon with the corners of his mouth curved into a smile.

"What really makes this sealing technique so powerful is that the person being sealed has to rely on outside influence to be set free. I'm not gonna say much more, but you're not going to see the light of day for a while, to say the least." As the dragon spoke, his body began to break down, and his scales started to fall right off of his body, plummeting downwards into the ocean below.

"It seems this is my end as well. I hope you're never able to go back to your previous ways." Said the dragon as the last parts of his body broke apart.

"But nothing is hap-" Said Cain as he was suddenly cut off by a spherical yellow barrier surrounding him. Cain tried to yell outside of the barrier, but not a sound was made. He tried to cut it with his sword, blast it with his fists, but to no avail.

Cain was trapped. And it really didn't look like he'd be able to get out.

The spherical barrier began to shrink rapidly, shrinking its contents along with itself. As the barrier shrunk more and more, the light it gave off decreased more and more, until it had become infinitely small, giving off no light whatsoever.

Cain had been sealed away; However, had the dragon really won? Can sacrifice truly be called victory?

And if Cain is ever freed, what will happen to the world now that the guardian is gone?

These are questions all left unanswered by the forgotten legend, the legend of the Guardians Sacrifice.