A girl walked through the barren wasteland, her feet crunching on the cracked surface of the earth, webbed with black. A hot, dry wind long dark hair across her face as she scanned the once beautiful place with solemn eyes. She continued on, the beads she wore on her right hand clinking as she passed the dead or dying.

The girl’s footsteps stopped when she reached a large tree, its height towering over everything else in the area. She looked at its colossal bark before her gold speckled eyes moved towards its roots that jutted out of the earth. A network of black veins had settled itself there and it was spreading like a parasite, slowly and surely, killing it.

The Tree of Life was dying and if nothing was done, it’ll be dead just like everything else.

The girl sighed sadly then looked up at the tree’s branches. A single gold leaf dropped down and landed on her outstretched hand. She studied the leaf that has lost its usual shine and lustre then closed her hand around it, bringing it to her chest. She let out a low whistle, and a moment later, a small white dove flew down from the tree and perched itself on her shoulder.

After she had the bird, she stepped past the tree and walked towards a figure standing near the edge of a drying lake. She kept a respectable distance from the man who was studying the reflection in the water with his striking emerald eyes. After a while he notices her and smiled before beckoning her towards him.

“Ai,” He said to her. “What do you see?”

The girl observed the image of a beautiful blue and green sphere and said, “Earth.”

“The others had already been reborn and I will be next.” The man said, still smiling. “You have a rough and crucial journey ahead of you, Ai. Find us, train us and look after us until we are strong and prepared.”

She kept quiet for a while before saying, “And the one who caused this?”

The man’s smile dropped slowly. His eyes turned sad. “He was the Guardian before you. He was so obsessed about wanting control and power that his mind was completely overtaken by evil.” His emerald eyes looked into hers. “No doubt he’ll try to destroy us but I do believe you can stop him.”

She lowered her head in a curt nod. “I will do my best.”

He smiled again. “You are strong, Ai. We entrusted you with this task because we believe in your abilities.” The man placed a hand on her shoulder tenderly. “Believe in yourself and you will succeed.”

The girl gasped when the man slowly dissolved into silver dust which blew away in the wind. She held the spot on her shoulder tentatively then closed her eyes, trying to calm the churning emotions inside of her. The dove on her shoulder cooed a few times before she finally opened her eyes again.

Ai grasped the butterfly shaped pendant she wore around her neck tightly and with determination in her eyes. “I will find all of you, I will protect all of you, and I will stop this evil. I will carry out this promise with all my strength, even if it costs me my life.” She placed the pendant against her lips. “I swear I will.”