It is really cliché to start of a story with 'Once upon a time...' and yet there are still people doing this. And one of them is the author of this story... So here it goes...

Once upon a time, around the time of where witches began to come out and proclaim their magic powers and during the time where people said that people who have extraordinary powers were descendant of demons lived a boy named Merlin.

Please understand that this Merlin was not the famous wizard Merlin, he was named that way by his parents because his parents really look up to the old wise wizard. Not so different from the worldly known wizard, this Merlin also had magic powers, although perhaps not as good as the original Merlin.

During his life, he had been train by his master and his parents to be a great wizard just like who he was named after. All of those training were not wasted because he did become a great wizard. Everyone looked up to him. Not just because of his skill but also because of his heart. He was kind towards other and never used his magic power for granted. He was the perfect gentleman and always cared about others.

Unfortunately, good things did not always happen to good people. One day, Merlin's wife was killed by the priests and knights because they suspected her of being a witch, which she was not. Merlin was furious and devastated by the lost, especially since his wife was not at fault. But instead of planning to avenge his wife, Merlin just let go and train even more to ease his pain. During his training, his eyes were finally opened to the damage that has been done to the wizard community.

At that moment, Merlin vowed to make sure all the people with extraordinary power will be able to live happily without any threat or any fear. After years and years of wandering around the world and another years and years of extensive training, Merlin had finally able to create his own world. A world separated from earth. A world he called Platinum Dimension.

To prevent anymore witch hunting, Merlin sealed off the Platinum Dimension from earth. He invited people from various part of the world to life them and made sure that only people with extraordinary power could live there. Everything was going great, and even though it was Merlin himself who created the Platinum Dimension, he did not want people to think of him as the owner. He remained humble and became one of the commoner. He spent the rest of his life happy with everything. Even though he had nobody to share his happiness with, he was still content.

After years and years of living happily in the Platinum Dimension, Merlin knew that it was time for him to depart from the world. In his deathbed, he called off his closest friends, there were thirteen of them. With soft and weak voice he said to them "My time is near. I'm very thankful that all of you stay with me all these years, but I have to ask another favor from you guys."

"Anything," one of them replied.

Merlin took another deep breath before continued his last final wishes. "When I created this world, I found out there is another world separate from this dimension and earth."

"Really?" another one said.

"Yes," Merlin replied. "During the time of the witch hunt, the demons were able to penetrate earth and thus making chaos. It was the demons that did those evil magic, it was not from any of us."

Each one of them just nodded in understanding.

"When I created this dimension, the demon world where the demons came from got sealed away. Unfortunately, instead of standing side by side with earth, now it stands side by side with our world."

Everyone gasped in horror.

"But that does not change anything. Everything is fine," the oldest said.

"I don't know until when this will continue. If the demons were able to penetrate earth, the chances are, they will be somehow able to penetrate our dimension."

"Then what are we going to do?" the youngest said.

"I can no longer protect this dimension so I have to pass on the responsibilities to you guys. Please help me protect the Platinum Dimension, not just from demons, but from anything that might harm the wellbeing of everything here."

All thirteen of them just fell into deep silent.

"Lao Wushi," Merlin called.

"Yes?" the oldest amongst them step closer to Merlin's bed.

"I'm giving you all my powers," Merlin said slowly.

"What? Why?" Lao Wushi asked him.

"I want you to rule this dimension. Thirteen people cannot rule together. The Platinum Dimension needs its leader and it’s you. You will need all the help you can get. Take my power and accept this as my help to you."

"But Merlin, this is such a big responsibility. I don't know whether I can be a good ruler. I don't want to disappoint you." Lao Wushi said.

"You're not going to disappoint me, Lao Wushi. I believe in you. You are the most perfect candidate to be the ruler. You are the oldest among all of us and you are the wisest. I know this is such a big responsibility, but I know you can do it and I know everyone here agrees with me."

"Yes, Lao Wushi. I cannot think of a better person to rule the Platinum Dimension beside you," one of them said.

The twelve of them looked at each other and then suddenly knelt down before Lao Wushi. His eyes went wide when he realized what his friends were doing.

"Please Lao Wushi, guide us and accept our respect." they said in chorus.

Lao Wushi looked at them and looked at his best friend who was not almost out of breath. He relieved a deep sigh.

"Fine. I accept my new title. I will try my best to be a great ruler," Lao Wushi said to them.

All twelve immediately rose and said thank you to him, in chorus of course.

Merlin could not be happier to leave his new home to his oldest and dearest best friend. He knew that Lao Wushi will be a great leader, not just for the twelve of them but also for the whole Platinum Dimension.

"As for you twelve, I hope you all can help him in maintaining peace and balance in the Platinum Dimension," Merlin said.

"Yes, I will need all the help I can get," Lao Wushi said.

All twelve of them just nodded in understanding. Suddenly the room fell into deep silence. At that point, Merlin knew his time has come.

"Give me your hand," Merlin said to Lao Wushi.

Lao Wushi just complied without saying a word. Merlin held his hand and moments later strings of gold were visible from their hands, moving from Merlin’s hand to Wushi’s hand. Lao Wushi could feel his power increasing. Merlin slowly went paler and weaker. All the twelve of them just watched in awe.

“Wu, Wang, Cai, Tang, Zhang, He, Yang, Luo, Huang, Weng, Chou, and Cheng,” he said calling the twelve, “I leave the Platinum Dimension to you guys. Please help Lao Wushi.”

The twelve of them just nodded.

“Lao Wushi,” he called, “Until we meet again my dear friend.”

And with that, the last drop of Merlin’s power had finally left his body and went into Lao Wushi’s body. Merlin breathed in his last breath and finally let go.

What Merlin had said during his deathbed was true. Lao Wushi had become a great ruler. He was the King of Platinum Dimension, while his twelve friends was part of the royal council. Everything was doing great until centuries to come. Lao Wushi’s family and heirs had become the Royal Family and respected by all people of the Platinum Dimension, while the twelve families of the original twelve friends had become the Twelve Noble Families, which is also respected by the whole Platinum Dimension.

Everyone was happy and seemed to forget Merlin’s fear and warning about the demons. That was until one day a disturbance occurred.

Their greatest fear had finally come true. Just like what happened on earth centuries before, the demons were able to penetrate the Platinum Dimension. The Royal Family and The Twelve Noble Families were taken by surprise when they heard about the first attack. Nonetheless, they kept their poise and were able to push back the demons.

For years and years the Platinum Dimension had been in battle against the demons. They did not know how the demons were able to come back again and again after the Royal Family managed to seal them away from time to time.

Even though the Royal Family had managed to win each battle against the demons, they still have their limits. As the Royal Family’s energy got drain by exhaustion, the demons grew stronger.

“The Twelve Knights approaches,” one of the guards shouted.

“Send them in,” the King said.

The double oak door swung open. Twelve men walked into the room. They were all handsome and well-built. All equal to one another. The suits that they were wearing hung their body perfectly. Making them looked even more elegant. As soon as they arrived in front of the King’s throne, they all knelt down before him.

The King waved his hand, signaling them to get up from their knees. The Twelve Knights slowly rose from the ground. Silence filled the room.

“Your Highness, May I asked is there something wrong?” one of them asked.

“Wu, I can never hide my anxiety from you. You really are my best friend to know me that well,” the King said.

The person called Wu let out a small smile for a second and then back with his straight face. The King let out a deep sigh and then faced the twelve of them. He looked at them one by one before continues with his speech.

“The demons are getting stronger. At this rate I don’t know whether I can hold them back much longer.”

The Knights did not know how to react.

“Take this as my final wish. I will try my best to hold them back, even if it costs my life. And if it does, I want the twelve of you to hold them back as long as you can.”

“But Your Highness, we cannot hold them for too long. Please Your Highness, you cannot give up,” one of them said.

The King relieved a deep sigh.

“Wang, I’m not giving up. That’s why I’m willing to sacrifice my life. If I die because of this, then it’s fine.”

Another silence.

“I don’t know how long my power is going to be able to seal them. But if by any chance, and I’m guessing that it will happen, that the demons able to penetrate the Platinum Dimension again, I hope you guys can hold them as long as you can.”

“But Your Highness, only the Royal Family can seal off the demons. The twelve of us can merely push them back,” another guy said.

“I know, Tang. I know.”

Silence again.

“My only child is the last heir to the throne, the one that can help restore peace to the Platinum Dimension. But my child is not yet ready.”

“But when will the crown prince or princess be ready, Your Highness?” one of them asked.

“I don’t know. In due time, my child will be ready. But until that time, I hope all of you and your families can hold the demons for a while. Please have fate in the Royal Family for the last time.”

“Yes, Your Highness,” they all said in chorus.

“You all may dismiss,” said the King.

The Twelve Knights gave the King their final bow and left the room. Moments later, a beautiful lady emerged from the door behind the throne.

“My lord,” she said while giving her bow to the King.

“My dear wife, no one is here. Don’t be so formal,” the King said.

“I’m sorry, dear, force of habit,” the Queen answered.

“Is everything ready?” the King asked.

“Yes,” the Queen nodded.

“Well, let just hope our combining power can hold the demons longer,” the King said.

“What about our child, dear?” the Queen asked.

“I don’t know. Let just hope our child survive. Our child is the last heir to the throne and the only one that can restore everything back to order.” The King answered.

The Queen could not say anything and just nodded. Being a royal is both a blessing and a curse, but she already knew all the consequences when the King proposed to her and she accepted it. The only thing she regretted though was the fact that her child had to share the same curse and burden as the rest of the Royal Family at such young age. But she could not do anything about it. What her husband said was true. The only thing she could do is to hope that her child survive this horror and able to bring peace back to the Platinum Dimension.

The Queen gave her husband her most sincere smile to ease the tension. Little did she know that was the last time she would ever talked about her child, or talked to her husband, or smiled to him, because moments later they were attacked by the demons. It took a lot of effort from both of them to hold back the demons, but they managed, even though it caused their lives.

As the castle got burnt down by the forces both from outside and within the castle, The Twelve Knights could only watch from a far. The Royal Family really did care about the wellbeing of their people. They created a force field around the Platinum Dimension except the castle to lure the demons and sealed them, sacrificing themselves in the process.

While the castle slowly fall to the ground, The Twelve Knights could not help to wonder on who was the last heir, where, and when will he or she appear to them. The King and Queen had already left the Platinum Dimension in their hands, and the last heir had gone. Missing or dead; whichever was the worst.