Wind slept over the grassy hills as a woman stood at the top, her whole body bathed in light Corrin could not describe with words. The light seemed to penetrate all the darkness around it, and Corrin was filled with a feeling he could only describe as joy mixed with fear. Below the glowing woman were five individuals.

  Two of whom were female, three of whom were male—none of whom Corrin recognized. Then the glowing woman at the top spoke. She spoke in a language Corrin did not speak, yet he could understand her clearly.

  “I have created you in five; One for the Othari, One for the Erthari, One for the Shem, One for the Mostiis, One for the Anees.”

  Her voice seemed to rip through the skies; it was loud, yet clear as day. It was then that Corrin realized what he was seeing. He was witnessing the creation of the guardians. He was looking at the Holy Goddess.

  “You five shall rule over your race with peace and prosperity to all. Each of you shall have a sliver of my power to which you may do what you must to maintain peace.”

  “Each?”

  Corrin said it without even thinking, for he had only ever known of four shards in existence. The gods all quickly turned to Corrin, who was standing behind them. Suddenly, a headache beyond measure rushed through his head, and the scene around him seemed to glitch and distort.

  In an instant, he was standing in a sanctum. At the top of a small staircase were five glowing golden crystals sitting on pedestals. The gods were kneeling in front of each one. Then, at the same time, they stood and grabbed onto the shards. Power surged around them, and wind erupted from them, and Corrin was shot back.

  The world again distorted, and he arrived, standing in a grand palace. Perfect brick and stained glass surrounded him amidst a huge area. At the other end was a single throne. In front of the ornate chair were three individuals who were in a heated argument. One stood with blonde hair and blue eyes, a woman. Another was timid, small, and frail. He had short brown hair and brown eyes. Another was a small, short woman who stood away from the conversation. She had light blue hair and was the only one with a hat, a pointed hat with a large brim.

  “W- Wh- What are you suggesting, Rotix?”

  The timid one fiddled with his fingers, making himself small amidst Rotix, the goddess of the Anees.

  “You’ve seen the way Mollou and Katan have been talking behind our backs, Fallis. They’re planning something. Ever since Katan learned that I had the shard of time all those centuries ago, things have been… very distant between us.”

  The timid god named Fallis cowered as she spoke with vigor.

  “That is why I brought you both here. Lumi, I need you to tell me exactly what they’re planning. I know that you know.”

  The petite woman, Lumi, shook her head.

  “I promised to the Holy Goddess I would never reveal the secrets hiding within the Shard of Fate. I cannot. To do so would be to disrupt the fate of this world.”

  She spoke calmly and quietly.

  “Though, perhaps it wouldn’t be too much for you to know, that we do not stand alone in this room.”

  Lumi turned and stared directly at Corrin. His heart skipped a beat and grew quicker.

  “The 32nd generation you so often spoke of is here.”

  Rotix turned and looked in the direction of Corrin.

  “I see nothing.”

  Lumi nods her head.

  “Well, he doesn’t entirely know how to truly wield the shard he carries. But, he may or may not one day fully understand its power.”

  Suddenly, the world distorted once more, and he flew in all directions at once, before coming to a stop in a barren land. The ground was nothing but black stone, and the sky was gray. Around him were thousands of dead bodies. All of which were covered in armor from head to toe. Suddenly, Rotix and Fallis appeared, seemingly out of thin air. Fallis seemed worried.

  “This was never supposed to happen, Rotix! These are innocent mortals; they never deserved to die over a dispute with the guardians!”

  Rotix raised her arm and backhanded Fallis; the wind from the attack rushed quickly, and Corrin had a hard time staying on the ground.

  “We’re not just guardians anymore, we’re gods! Don’t you get it?! This is no longer just a dispute over the shards. This is war. We just had a battle, Fallis! Who cares if these meaningless mortals die? They’re easily replaceable!”

  Fallis held his cheek and looked at Rotix.

  “You’ve changed, Rotix. The guardian I once knew to help all those around her is dead. You’re wracked with nothing but anger and selfishness.”

  With that, the world distorted again, and Corrin was flung into the same large, brick palace as before. Though it looked much different. Vines crawled up the walls, the windows were shattered, and numerous bricks were broken and cracked on the floor and ceilings.

  The world rumbled, and there stood Rotix and Fallis once again. Rotix sat in the cracked throne, her hand on her face. Fallis and Lumi stood beside. Lumi looked worried.

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  “This day will not end lightly.”

  Is all she said, and Fallis soon spoke next.

  “I’m done with this war. It’s been going on for far too long. Millions of mortals have died by our hands.”

  Rotix looked up; she had large bags under her eyes. Fallis continued.

  “If this keeps up, there won’t be any more mortals left! Are you listening, Rotix?”

  Rotix slammed her fist on the side of the throne, and the entire palace rumbled.

  “I am listening, dammit! There’s nothing more we can do. We have to go with the plan, and just hope that the 32nd generation understands what he is meant to do.”

  Lumi turned from Rotix directly to Corrin for only a moment. She gave a soft and gentle look before turning back to Rotix again.

  Suddenly, the world distorted once again, and Corrin was flung away and appeared before a young man. He was standing, pacing back and forth in a large room, when suddenly the doors broke open. Rotix stood there, holding a shard. She walked over and hesitated only slightly before handing the man the shard.

  “Fallis is dealt with, Oknata. I have his shard, the shard of life. He ran like the coward he is.”

  The man, who Corrin could hardly believe was the same man he continued to see in his dreams, grabbed the shard and looked at it. Rotix held onto it for a moment longer before letting go.

  “You remember what the plan is?”

  “Of course. You sacrifice yourself and imprison Katan, and I wait around for the next thousand years until my time comes to help the 32nd generation finish what you started.”

  Rotix nodded. She gave a quick sigh.

  “Don’t mess it up, I’ve laid down everything on this. Nobody else trusts my instincts, even Lumi left not long before I took Fallis’s shard.”

  Rotix then grabs the shard of time from around her neck and hands it to Oknata, who takes it softly.

  “You know what will happen if you use two shards at once: your body will be unrecognizable. Don’t try to. Just pass it on through the generations. I’ve ensured that it will reach the 32nd generation without too many hiccups along the way.”

  Oknata nods, and Rotix suddenly disappears in a flash. Suddenly, the entire building rumbles in a large explosion. Oknata stumbles down, but quickly runs and sets one of the shards in a box. He puts the shard of life around his neck.

  Suddenly, Corrin opens his eyes and looks around. He was standing in the same world he had seen countless times. Around him, the sky was cloudless, and an inch of water sat on the ground. Corrin got up slowly and looked around. Soon, he found what he was searching for: Oknata. The man stood a few feet away, his gray beard flowing.

  “Why didn’t you tell me about the fifth shard?”

  Oknata only laughed.

  “Why, that was sudden. I didn’t tell you about it because you did not need to know. I only say necessary things, you must understand.”

  Corrin gripped his hands, which he just now realized that his left hand was fixed. Though not entirely. He raised his left hand. His pinky finger and the tip of his ring finger were both completely gone. A small burning sensation made him wince, and as he curled his fingers, he felt as if it was still there, though it very clearly wasn’t. Corrin turned back to Oknata, disregarding his missing fingers.

  “Did you show me all of that? Everything I just saw?”

  He laughed again.

  “Well, of course not. I have no idea what you just saw. You could have been dreaming, for all I know.”

  Corrin sighed in annoyance.

  “I saw… the Holy Goddess creating the gods, I saw them taking the shards. I saw them arguing over Mollou and Katan… I saw Rotix giving you the shard of time and life!”

  “Ah, well, that is certainly quite a lot to see in such a short amount of time.”

  Corrin walked closer on slightly.

  “What does it mean? Why was I shown this!?”

  “Well… Rotix was in every vision you saw, is that correct?”

  Corrin stopped; he hadn’t thought of that just yet.

  “Yes, she was.”

  “Then it’s simple, you saw visions of the past, guided by her. She likely set the shard up so that you would see those things in the future. The shards are more than just objects of power, after all.”

  Corrin’s face scowled; he would not be letting Oknata off this easily.

  “I want to know everything. Everything that you know. If I am some kind of… successor to Rotix’s plan, then I want to know everything!”