There was an inconsistency in the story. The Guardian could feel it with his very being. But the Raven gave a warning caw so he waited.

There is no time flow in the realm of fantasies, so the Guardian had no way of knowing how much time had passed. He only knew that the darkness was growing and any sort of sound faded slowly, leaving him in complete silence.

"It's coming." He muttered to himself and the Raven, completely invisible in the darkness, stretched out its wings.

A deafening roar sounded all over the place, echoing throughout the whole realm. The Guardian, who had been sitting at the edge of a skyscraper, stood up and let himself fall. He could faintly hear the rustling of wings and felt the claws grabbing his shoulders, taking him up. Up into the sky. From there, he could see everything.

It was a gigantic mass of blackness, barely forming a humanoid shape. A small black butterfly fluttered by the Guardian's cheek, who snatched it and crushed it between his fingers. It turned to black ash, confirming his suspicions.

A detail. A small detail out of place.

The Raven's caw brought him back out of his thoughts and the Guardian readied his weapon, a long sword with inscriptions so old, that not even the Raven could read them. At least the Raven had told him that the first time they had met.

He gripped the sword tighter in his hand as the Raven dived towards the beast. The claws that had been firmly holding his shoulders were slowly loosening its grip and he was dropped directly into the middle of the mass of black butterflies.

Sensing an invader, all of the butterflies turned alarmingly red and started attacking him viciously. He had no problem with crushing one, but there were thousands of them, each and one of them trying to get close to his skin and contaminate his existence. With a swing of his sword, he killed hundreds of them, which were immediately replaced with another batch of hundreds and hundreds of butterflies.

"This is pointless." He thought and whistled. The Raven came crashing through the butterflies and with a quick movement, the Guardian climbed on its back and the Raven fought its way out of the mass with his help.

The Raven started circling around the monster, which had now taken on a reddish tint and was screaming more furiously than before. But it had not shrunken in size nor did it seem to have sustained any damage.

"You have to find its weak point before attacking. Find the problem. What is missing? What is unnecessary?" The Raven consoled in its human like voice.

"I know," the Guardian answered gritting his teeth, carefully observing the monster. But it had hidden its weakness well. The Guardian's expression turned more and more perplexed as he analyzed the situation. No matter how he looked at it, he could not find a way how to defeat the monster. But even before he had finished this thought, the monster had taken a swipe at him, throwing him off the Raven's back.

He fell.

The Raven had continued circling around the monster and with his own scream, he could hear another faint voice accompanying his. He did not understand.

Why wasn't the Raven helping him?

It had been so reliable before, so why was it now deserting him?

It was the one friend he had had in this cold world. No. Friend was too much of a strong word. It was his mentor. It had taught him how to fight. It had taught him how to survive. It had taught him about what his duty was. But it had never been a friend. It had been there when he had had a tough time, but he had never once seen it waver. It had never come to him for comfort. It had never opened up to him.

I was just a tool, the Guardian realized. A tool whose time is over.

He crushed on to the hard ground and could hear his bones breaking. Through some miracle, he had survived, but not for long, judging by the amount of blood he could see pouring. It seemed almost like he was in the monster again, surrounded by a vibrant red.

A shadow landed over him and he recognized the soft touch of the Raven's feathers.

"Where am I?" A child like voice asked in astonishment mixed with fear.

"The realm of fantasies." The Raven answered and the Guardian understood now. He recalled his own first meeting with the Raven.

His time had run up. He was no longer needed.

The child began to sing and he could feel his life fading. The monster let out a scream of anguish, but the voice of the child was magnified and soon there was nothing else for the Guardian but the ghostly melody of the child.

He wanted to warn the child, but he didn't have the strength to open his mouth. His thoughts were hazy and the melody caused him to feel sleepy.

I'll just close my eyes briefly...I can warn the child about the Raven later...I'll just rest for a little...bit.


The Guardian's eyes stayed closed forever and his face was decorated with a peaceful, albeit small, smile.