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Armando sat across from Xeira in her living room. After he’d explained that he was ready to activate his shield fragment, she’d intently stared at him. Her keen gaze made Armando wonder if she doubted his readiness. He was barely keeping himself from fidgeting under her scrutiny.
“I’m curious about what changed your mind,” Xeira finally said.
“I want to do everything to protect Izdahl. Others matter to me too, but he’s the one in my mind and heart.”
“Whatever your reasons are, I’m glad we can benefit. My advisors were growing impatient. Still, I had a feeling you’d be ready soon. I’m glad I was right.”
“So, how will we do this?” Armando asked. “Should I be sitting when it happens? Izdahl told me what it was like for him, but I’d like to know more.”
Xeira laughed softly. “Trust doesn’t come easily for you, does it?”
“What do you mean?”
“Will you pretend your dreams with Zaitiv have nothing to do with your decision?”
Armando sipped his tea, looking at Xeira over the rim of his cup. He took his time answering her, waiting until she frowned. “I value Zaitiv’s council, but Izdahl’s at the center of my concerns. So, what happens with my shield fragment?”
“I need to prepare a few things. Let’s meet here in three days at eight in the morning. We’ll go to the SRA facility. That will be safest.”
Armando tilted his head in confusion. “Are you expecting trouble?”
“With you?” Xeira laughed breezily. “Yes. I have an entire protocol based on you.”
Armando laughed too, until he realized she was serious. At the moment, he didn’t want any details on what exactly she meant about that protocol. He had enough to think about, with the impending activation of his shield fragment. He reached for his tea and took another sip.
***
A few minutes before the appointment, Armando met Xeira in her office. Izdahl stood at Xeira’s side, with his arms crossed and an eyebrow raised.
“What are you doing here?” Armando asked him.
“We’re not sure what’s going to happen. Did you think I wouldn’t be here to support you?”
Armando laughed softly. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.”
“You two never fail to entertain me.” Xeira shook her head and smiled. “Armando, are you ready?”
“As I’ll ever be.”
“Then let’s get to the core,” Xeira said.
She waved her hand to open a portal. Armando stepped through it with her and Izdahl. The portal took them to a massive room that had ten seven-foot monitors on one side. Various staff, dressed in blue, silver, and maroon uniforms, busily handling their assignments. A technician moved to Xeira’s side and awaited orders.
Xeira walked to a thick crystal column at the center of the room. Security lasers appeared from the ceiling and scanned the features of Xeira, Izdahl, and Armando. With the scanning complete, the column reconfigured into compartments forming an X. Armando saw four sections with clusters of five silver-blue crystal orbs, for a total of twenty, with only nineteen of them lit.
“Can I take a closer look?” Armando asked.
Xeira motioned to the compartments. “Of course.”
Armando stepped toward the structure. He read the names on each orb, avoiding the one that wasn’t lit. He recognized the names of Core Guardians whom he’d heard about in the news and through conversations with Izdahl and others. He ran a finger over the casing of the one that held Izdahl’s. Then he looked at the case carved with his name on it. The orb inside was dim.
“Can I hold the one with my name?”
“Go ahead,” Xeira said. She nodded to a technician.
A moment later, a shelf with the case holding Armando’s orb extended from the cylinder. The case slowly opened, revealing the orb. Armando reached for the orb with his left hand, but stopped just before touching it. He looked back at Xeira.
“Has anyone ever dropped one of these?” he asked. “Not that I plan on doing that, but this is important. I don’t want to be clumsy and mess up anything.”
Xeira laughed. “They’re shielded from destruction. Pick one up and then let it go.”
Armando did as Xeira directed and the orb floated.
“Okay.” Armando nodded. “That’s reassuring.”
He held the orb and power hummed through it. As he continued holding the orb, a feeling of warmth washed over him. The shield fragment in Armando’s heart pulsed and the orb began to glow. He took a deep breath as power surged through his skin. Silver threads of magic rose from his fingertips, traveling to the orb and lighting it. Euphoria spread through his entire body. What felt like a tense string, pulled to the edge of snapping, gently released inside of him.
He was barely able to enjoy the relief, when a burning sensation assaulted him, beginning in his heart and spreading through his body. He gasped, his eyes widening as he stared at the column of souls that appeared at the center of the room. The column was similar to the one from the Elite Fire Duel several months ago, but the energy seemed to be three times as strong. He was mesmerized by the eight souls who morphed into fully formed spirits and left the teeming column to stand before him. Adorned in what looked like ancient Nitelvosa armor, they stared keenly at him and then reverently bowed their heads.
“We will be here, when you’re ready,” one of the souls said.
Armando recognized the soul as Gesira, the Amasi general from hundreds of years ago whom Izdahl admired.
The eight souls disappeared, along with the column and the rest of the spirits. Overcome by the vision, Armando wasn’t sure if he’d been hallucinating. He swayed to the side, caught by Izdahl moments before he would hit the floor.
“Are you all right?” Izdahl asked.
“Yes. Did you see what happened?” Armando pointed to where the column had been. “Gesira spoke to me. There were others I didn’t recognize.”
“I didn’t see anything,” Izdahl said.
Armando wanted to talk more about the souls, but there was a sudden flurry of activity around him.
Three of Xeira’s assistants rushed toward her, all frantically trying to deliver messages at the same time. She raised a hand, before pointing at one of the agents, who began to update her.
“Velzo, the agents monitoring the Shield Guardians are on high alert. They’re saying the Shield Guardians are reported feeling strange. The guardians are having trouble describing what’s happening, but their vital signs are showing significant changes. For each of them, either their body temperature, pulse, breathing rate, or blood pressure has increased. Some have experienced all changes.”
“Has anyone been hurt?” Xeira asked.
“No, but three of the Shield Guardians are serving in our military. They were completing mecha exercises and needed to make emergency landings. I’ll keep you updated about any other statuses.”
Xeira nodded, before pointing at the second assistant.
“The Director for each Planetary Shield want to talk to you,” the assistant said. “The energy output from the shields have risen by seven percent. Our systems are compensating to prevent overload, but the directors wanted you to be aware.”
Xeira motioned to the third agent.
“All the Velzos want to speak with you,” the third assistant said. “Velzo Havad and Velzo Terada are irate.”
“I’ll meet with the Velzos in the main conference room. Tell them to be there in fifteen minutes. As for the Shield Directors, they have permission to use The Zaitiv Protocol for the shields. Inform the shield agents to keep monitoring their respective Shield Guardians and have the special medical staff on standby. I’ll trust the lead medical officers to make the right decisions. Tell them they have permission to use the Medina Protocol.”
Her three assistants rushed off to do her bidding.
Xeira focused on Armando. “These changes are far reaching, but we’ll manage.”
“This is all my fault,” Armando said. “I hope no one gets hurt.”
“I wouldn’t describe it as you being at ‘fault,” Izdahl said. “And I feel fine. The other Shield Guardians should be all right too.”
Xeira nodded. “I agree with Izdahl. Plus, this change may be just the thing we needed. I’ll turn it to our favor, even though there are some angry Velzos.”
Armando watched the frantic activity around him, before glancing back at Xeira. “You mentioned the Zaitiv and Medina Protocols. What are those?”
“They’re the plans I need to make sure you and Zaitiv don’t destroy our worlds.”
Armando laughed nervously. “That sounds dramatic.”
“I mean it. We’ve barely begun to feel the ripple effects of the change you just made. Imagine what things would be like, if Zaitiv awakens. Well, not if. When.”
“GG, Armando’s worried enough already,” Izdahl said. “Let’s not stress him out more.”
Armando looked at Izdahl. “It seems like everything coming together is just a matter of time, whether or not I’m ready.”
***
Armando stood before Xeira’s desk, his stomach tightening as he thought of what he could learn. A week had passed since he’d turned on his fragment. He’d finally gotten up the nerve to ask her about if he’d caused other changes in the planetary protection systems.
“Come with me,” Xeira said. “I’ll show you the Shield Inner Sanctum.”
He followed her down a wide hallway. Various staff, dressed in crimson and black, greeted her. Many of them glanced at him with speculation in their eyes.
“Who are they?” Armando asked in a hushed voice.
“They are Guardian Reapers. They deal with the Core Guardians who commit significant offenses.” Xeira patted Armando’s shoulder. “Don’t worry. You haven’t earned a visit from them. I doubt you ever will.”
Armando and Xeira continued their trip until they reached the end of the hall, standing before two massive baltium double-doors. She spoke a phrase he didn’t understand. A trio of grooves extending from the top to bottom of the doors filled with silver-white flames, pulsing with energy for a few seconds, before their warmth faded. The doors slowly opened to reveal a massive room, with a circular platform projecting holographic replicas of the three planets, Rivkaen, Hasev and Lyria. Three panels on the platform also showed statistics about the 200,000 Shield Guardians, with a panel each being dedicated to the Silver Level consisting of 198,000 Outer Guardians, a Gold Level that had 1,980 Inner Guardians, and the 20 Core Guardians in the Baltium Level.
Armando walked with Xeira to the center of the room.
“Let’s look at replicas of the planetary shields.” Xeira flicked her left hand and holographic images appeared. “This is how the shields looked before you were born.” She moved her hand again. “The day after your parents died.” Another image. “When Izdahl died and you resurrected him.” A change in the image. “And when you switched on your shield fragment.”
With each change, power output numbers appeared above each planetary shield. The strongest numbers were with the last two images.
Xeira glanced at him. “Each planetary shield has increased its output by at least 12 percent. You’ve amplified the power of every single Shield Guardian. That’s 200,000 individuals you’ve impacted, and by extension, all other Nitelvosa and humans.”
“Have I hurt anyone? What about Izdahl? He seems fine but—”
Xeira held up her hand. “Everyone’s all right. Izdahl’s power went up 15 percent. He’ll have to be closely monitored. Our models for everything else were correct, but we didn’t predict such drastic changes with him.”
Armando turned to go. “I need to talk to Izdahl, just in case.”
Xeira gripped his sleeve. “You’ll get that chance. First, you and I need to have a discussion.” She motioned to a table at the side of the room. “Let’s have a seat.”
Armando sat, even as his mind remained on Izdahl. He hoped the conversation with Xeira would be quick.
“I want all of your attention here,” Xeira said, as she settled across from him. “You’ll talk to Izdahl soon enough.”
Armando let out a long breath. His left knee bounced, as nervous energy flowed through him. “You know I want to see Izdahl. Don’t keep me here for longer than necessary.”
Xeira laughed and shook her head. “You’re usually so polite.” She leveled her gaze at him. “It terrifies me how powerful you are. To have energy similar to Zaitiv isn’t something to take lightly. Other humans and Nitelvosa may sense it in you, as it’s no longer dormant. We might need to compensate to protect others.”
“What does that mean?”
“If your energy is too much for others, we’ll have to find a safe way to dampen it. Of course, nothing we do will hurt you.”
“What if I regulated my own power? I already decide when I want to see souls.”
“Do you think you can do that?”
“Based on a conversation with Zaitiv, I think I already naturally do. He says most can’t even sense my full power.”
Xeira’s eyes widened and she glanced away for a few moments, before looking back at Armando. “That may be the most terrifying thing I’ve learned about you.”
Armando peered at the diamond patterns on the table, feeling an uncomfortable silence grow between him and Xeira. After a few moments had passed, he looked at her. “Why were you so patient with me?”
“I knew you’d do the right thing. It was worth waiting.” Xeira reached out with an open palm. Armando copied her action and she grasped his hand. “That doesn’t mean it was easy for me to be patient. In the end, it was worth it to give you the leeway.”
“What if I’d taken longer to activate my shield fragment?”
“We had a protocol for that. It wouldn’t have been pleasant.”
Armando pulled his hand away. “Would you have forced my fragment to turn on?”
“To save billions, yes. I’d have put you in stasis and used your spiritual energy to activate your fragment.” Xeira cleared her throat. “Then I would have collected your spiritual essence for twenty years. It would be similar to what happens with Zaitiv, though he’s been in stasis for much longer.”
“But it would have been against my will.” Armando let out a long breath. “I’m really glad it didn’t come to that.”
“So am I. I would have lost you and Izdahl. You and him would have never trusted me again. But I have many more to think about than you two. I would have had to accept such a painful loss.”
“I know what you mean, but that doesn’t make it easy to hear.”
Armando sat silently, considering the heavy situation.
“I won’t let you spiral and think of the worst,” Xeira said. “We’ll just be thankful for any luck we have.” She rose, with a mysterious smile on her face. “Come with me. There’s something incredible I have to show you.”
Armando nodded slowly, as he stood.
Xeira directed the VI to bring up a holographic image. “If you can’t have faith in yourself or the process, trust Izdahl.” She pointed at two waves, dancing with each other. “That is a visualization of love and power.”
Armando stared at the display in wonder. “Has Izdahl seen this?”
“He hasn’t yet. Your wave only appeared, after you activated your shield fragment. I wanted to show you first.”
“How do the other Core Guardians’ connections look?”
Xeira told a VI to display the rest of the Core Guardians’ waves. Armando carefully studied the patterns for each duo. None of the others had waves as in sync as his and Izdahl’s.
“Everyone’s at 93 percent or higher,” Xeira said. “But your connection with Izdahl is sublime. Your patterns keep weaving and separating, drawn to each other, yet always beautiful and powerful. Never trying to outshine each other. Perfectly in sync. The other pairs have waves that separate but the energy gets weaker when they are apart. The waves for you and Izdahl, however, remain consistent and strong, regardless of the distance.”
Armando stepped closer to the image, mesmerized by the gorgeous movements. “Does this synergy only happen with Core Guardian pairs?”
“No. My husband and I were highly compatible too. That might be why I haven’t found anyone else like him. I have a recording of our patterns. It’s bittersweet looking at this because I think of how I lost him.”
Pulled by the sadness in Xeira’s voice, Armando looked away from the hologram. “Were you two also Core Guardians?”
“No. Kehalos and I were just two Nitelvosa in love. We’d known each other since he was ten and I was seven. Kehalos would have turned 120 last month.” Xeira laughed softly. “We met over a century ago and I didn’t like him, at first. Overtime, he became everything to me.”
Armando solemnly hung his head, unsure what to say to Xeira being so profoundly vulnerable. On the night Armando’s parents had been killed, Kehalos had appeared to help defend Armando and his sister. While doing so, Kehalos has been attacked by another Nitelvosa and lost his life. He’d been trapped in a column of black and silver flames that had destroyed him. And yet here Xeira was, protecting Armando. He thought he must be a constant reminder of that violent night.
“What is it?” Xeira asked, assessing him. “What’s going on in that head of yours?”
“Have you ever resented me for Kehalos dying?”
Xeira patted him on his back. “It wasn’t your fault. Stop thinking like that.” She pointed to the patterns of him and Izdahl. “Let’s just enjoy the light show.”
After watching his and Izdahl’s patterns for a while longer, Armando said, “I need to talk to Izdahl and I really want him to see our waves. Can I have a video?”
“Not everyone gets to see these waves. So be prudent about what you share. I’ll have a technician send you a secured link. Now, I have to head to a meeting, but you can ask me more about the waves later.”
“Thank you for showing me them. Is it all right if I leave with you?”
“Of course.”
As Armando headed out of the chamber with Xeira, he asked, “Do you think anything happened to Zaitiv because of what I did?”
“Yes, his energy fluctuated for several hours. We were able to stabilize him.”
“I hope I didn’t hurt him. Since I turned on my fragment, I’ve tried going into my dreams to talk to him, but he hasn’t been responding.”
She put a hand on his arm. “He’s fine. Don’t worry.”
“Of course when you say that, I worry. Isn’t there anything else you can tell me? Maybe I can help.”
Xeira rubbed her temples, as she sighed. “You and Zaitiv have become my biggest headaches.” She laughed softly. “But I wouldn’t have it any other way. I had no idea such important events would come into alignment during my lifetime. And to be a Velzo while all of this is happening...”
“You’re being cryptic.”
“Yes, for your protection. Just focus on what’s next for you, which is learning about your Core Guardian responsibilities. The Shield Registry Agency will contact you soon. Follow what the agent tells you.”
“I understand. Will you update me about Zaitiv?”
“Oh? Update you?” Xeira gave him a cutting glance. “Am I working for you now?”
Armando chuckled at her sharp tone. “You sound kind of cranky. After you drink some tea and get a nap, you’ll feel better.”
She slapped his arm. “Cheeky boy. Behave yourself.”
“Yes, Xeira.” He stepped a good distance from her before adding, “I look forward to your updates.” He hurried away, smiling as her laughter floated to him.