PROLOGUE

Mustering all his strength, Xavier fought to rise from the rocky gravel where he lay wounded. His soft, light brown complexion was marred with an ugly array of scars which for the first time refused to heal. Behind him, a pair of once-majestic wings lay worn and tattered. His breathing labored, Xavier staggered upright, only to fall to his knees.

“Get up,” a voice sneered from the endless darkness ahead. Xavier loathed the voice - it was a cruel way for a warrior to die; goaded by an unseen assailant, reminded until the very end of his greatest failure.

Xavier attempted to stand once more, but his legs buckled and collapsed beneath him. A cold, heartless laugh emanated from the darkness, causing his head to snap back in a flurry of black hair.

Xavier barely discerned a figure - a towering black winged behemoth - materializing out of the endless abyss before him. Gritting his teeth in determination, Xavier edged closer to his last hope. The silvery sword with its golden hilt and ruby pommel gleamed to his left, the runes etched into the blade burning a brilliant orange.

The cruel voice was mocking now. “Why try anymore?”

Xavier fought against the despair welling beneath his exterior calm. He looked up, and warm brown eyes met dark red eyes peering from a blacked skull, their cold gaze a jagged dagger to his soul.

“Because there is a heir.” His voice remained strong, the voice of a true Guardian, even as his body betrayed him.

“Ha!” The voice was raspy. “Each protector before you has spoken those exact words - faced me with sickening determination - only to fall at my feet. But no more shall your heirs continue to spring forth like filthy maggots upon a carcass! This time I have eliminated the next in line - this time, there is no more hope for you and your despicable kind!" The creature paused, as if to savor his next words. "This is the end of your Bloodline, oh noble guardian, and the sacred seal will perish with you.”

"Never!"

In a liquid movement, Xavier thrust his sword with remarkable speed and precision into the bony, clawed leg of the demon.

An axe-like tail lashed out, and Xavier was left looking at the severed arm beside him that was still holding the jeweled sword. There was oddly no pain from the blow...and Xavier knew then that it was his time to die.

Returning his gaze to the monster, he slowed his breathing. Bit by bit, he closed his eyes, succumbing to the call of the otherworld. A peaceful smile lifted the corner of his lips. And before the darkness set in, a fleeting thought ran through his mind.

There is hope.