One lonely girl staring at the bright blue sky in wonder. The sky seemed ever lasting and bright.

"Harlan." her mother called sharply. "Time to go now, we wouldn't want to be late for dinner now would we? "

"Yes mother." Harlan answered.

Trembles and rumbles rolls against her feet even as she cautiously strides alongside her mother.

"Mother." she said, worry creasing her brows as she looked up. "Am I truly destined in greatness?"

Her mother stops in her track and kneeled down to her daughter's eye-level. "You have always been destined for greatness. I know you will make us proud." 

"Even if I make the wrong choice?" her lips quivered. "What then?"

She waits as the rolling slows down before cupping her daughter's face, "Even then. Because we know you will find a way to ensure it doesn't happen again."

Harlan nods as she attempts to smile convincingly. "Let's keep going, Father will start to wonder why we're late."

They continue on their way, their red hair curled in tight braids, flying in the air.

In two days, their worst fear comes true.

In two days, Harlan would be parting from her parents, never to see them again.

The sounds and echos of the loud cars blaring on the road makes Beyrill cringe as she turns up her music to drown them out. She shivers as the winter wind blows right into her as she's climbing up the stairs to her favorite cafe, Story-land Coffee. She pushes open the cafe doors and takes a nice deep breath of coffee beans roasting and pastries baking in the ovens.

Then she spots her group of friends waving at her from their window seats and hurries over to them.

"Hey sorry I'm late."  Beyrill said apologetically , plopping down on an open seat. "My dad wanted to go over the list of finances of the new businesses he made deals with."

"No worries bro, we know you're super busy as an heiress." A dimpled smile not quite reaching his eyes as he throws his arm over her shoulders.

"I told you before, Illa-" Beyrill shrugs off the arm. "Stop calling me an heiress. I'm not gonna be one. And he respects that."

"Yeah Illa when are you gonna learn?" The girl on the opposite side teases, hands clutching her drink as she leans in closer. "She's gonna be a hero."

"What are you talking about Dove?" Beyrill raises an eyebrow. "Whatever it is you better not buy into it."

"It's true though." Dove insists, her eyes gleaming with determination.  "I heard that if you stand in front of the Great Heroes statues and you're chosen, you get whisked away to another world. Training to become the ones to take over the vacant spot of the Great Hero."

Illa flicks her forehead. "That's stupid and you know it. What legend is that?"

Dove rubs her injury, "My uncle was one. I trust my uncle, he wouldn't lie about this."

"What happened?" Beyrill said, curiosity overtaking her, "Is it hard?"

"The only thing he mentioned was that he failed or they failed and that's it. There's nothing else he was able to say about it."

"Of course he can't because it's fake." Illa said, biting his crusted brownie aggressively.

"How can you say that?" Dove said, slamming on the table. "You don't know him at all!"

"Illa can you please shut up." Beyrill said, narrowing her eyes at him. "What else did he tell you?"

"You really wanna know?" Dove smirks. "There's a statue around here that we can visit. Let me check the closest one."

Illa sighs and gets up. "I have to go, have fun doing nothing."

Dove flips him the bird, even while she's searching.

Beyrill waits until Dove shows her the map. "It's one hour away? Isn't there any better time?'

"That's better than being halfway across the country or even in another country." Dove counters. "At least it's an hour away. We can make it in a day."

"Let's go right now then." Beyrill said, gathering her things together and hurrying out the door.

"Mother!" Harlan shouted, desperation running deep in her veins at the screams of the fallen. "Father!"

Her world shakes as she struggles to maintain her balance of rifting and crumbling ground. The very ground she was standing on split open and she shifts her weight carefully along the sharp ended ridges. Her ears straining for any familiar voice, screams and cries overlapping each other as bodies disappear under the weight of the earth.

"I got you." Harlan said simply, grabbing a hand just as it slipped through the edge. She gingerly yanks him up, settling him on the ground. "Try to keep your balance. I'll come help you when I can."

"Harlan!"

Harlan's head whips over on her left. She then takes a running start towards that direction, bounding over the cracks and stopped right before her childhood home, gathered in front were her parents.

"Oh Harlan, our darling Harlan. Listen to me. I'm so proud of you. I love you." Her mother whispers tearfully in her ears.

She gripped her just as tightly as she attempted to swallow the lump in her throat.

Her father grabs them both in a bear hug, gripped her just as tightly. "We will always be proud of you. I love you."

For a moment, she felt safe, protected.

For a moment, she was happy.
If only the moment lasted forever.

Tears sprung unbidden as she buried her head in her parents' grasp a little longer. Loud rumbling brought their attention back just as sink-holes caved under people's weights. She released them and hurried over to one, reaching in and grabbed a villager's arms.

She then pulled them up and hurried them along to safer higher ground. Harlan spared one last glance at her parents. The last thing she ever saw of them was her mother collapsing in her father's arms in tears. She jerks herself away and focused on the task at hand.

Harlan felt as though her motions were viewed from another perspective, her senses disorientating and slow.

Pulling them out, and guiding them away from the unearthed holes. Shuffling people around until the danger has passed. By the time she finished, the tremors stopped entirely, like it was a fussy baby finally calming down.

Moreover, a miracle happened before their very eyes, the rips and tears of the earth fixed itself and sealed up tight. As though it never happened.

"Thank you Harlan for saving our lives!"

She smiled rather stiffly at the response and blurted any reassurance, not quite sure to say despite the support she was given.

Harlan awkwardly wanders away to the edge of the village, caressed the ground where the seams were melded together.

"Harlan."

She jolted awake at the firm but quiet voice of the village head. "Yes?"

"Seeing how you single handedly saved everyone, might you be interested in being the village guard?" He looked at her meaningfully.

Being village guard meant she would be circling the edge of the whole village. It meant being away from her parents. it meant lonely days stretching for hours on end everyday. 

Perhaps, this was her destiny.

The silence dawned for a prolonged time before she answered. "Sure."

He sighs in relief, "I feel so much better now that you've taken up guard. We really wouldn't be here if not for you."

Her lips quirked up at the edges, though the grin never reached her eyes. Then as rolling clouds above her blankets the sun, the sinking feeling in her gut never quite stopped as the shadows seemed to rise high enough to form a figure grinning menacingly from afar. 

"That's her then." Beyrill breathes out, clasping her hands together tightly; her grin stretching her lips, hurting her cheeks.

"Incredibly tall isn't she." Dove said, grabbing Beyrill's shoulders, "And those muscles."

Beyrill stares at Dove in shock, "How can you say that with a straight face."

"Look at her. I mean really look at her." Dove protests, gesturing wildly with her palms, "I'd let her break me and I'd thank her."

"She's attractive but not to that extent." Beyrill said, shaking her head.

A tall statue made of pure bronze depicts a woman with long waist-length twin braids. She wears a simple top with an extra long sleeve wrapped around her right arm, an armband with multiple chains intricately intertwined with each other on her upper left arm and long pants. What's left of her body was covered in scars, long and short, jagged and straight. From the top of her head to the very bottom of her feet were all the signs that said she struggled.

"They say." Beyrill starts. "She was a monster. She killed one of her own friends and she never held back."

"Is that what happened?" A voice startles them both from behind. "I'm sorry I didn't mean to scare you."

"Oh no you're fine, I just didn't realize someone else was interested in the Great Heroes." Beyrill replies while turning around. "Who are you?"

"My name is Jehidah." He holds out his hand. "What's your name?"

"Hello!" Dove intrudes, shoving her face next to Beyrill's, "This should be a three-way conversation and not just two people speaking another language with each other."

"Sorry Dove, you're right." Beyrill clears her throat. "This is Dove, my friend. And I'm Beyrill."

"Nice to meet you both." Jehidah smiles reassuringly. "And sorry again for the confusion."

"That's alright as long as you tell me what you're talking about."

"That statue right there is among the Great Protectors, and they say it's magic." Jehidah said. "it might be true or it might not be true. I've been trying myself to see if it would open for me."

"You want to find to see if it opens for you?" Beyrill asks, eyeing the man next to her. "What for?" 

Jehidah instead walks forward and waves his hand in front of the statue. Nothing happened. 

"Aw damn. Oh well, there's always the next statue. Hopefully that's the one." Jehidah mutters to himself. 

Beyrill stares curiously at him, watching as he falls back to them and then she faces Harlan, taking one step after another and another, pressing right up in her space. 

And nothing. She waves her hand, eyeing the way the air seems to mold to her hand, like a force field. Her very surroundings feel as though she's encased in a bubble. 

"Hello Chosen One." 

Beyrill freezes at the familar voice coming from the cloaked figure in red. "Illa?" 

The figure, Illa, had the decency to flinch though the hood barely moved with the motion. "My name is Scarlet." 

"Illa-" 

"Please, my name is Scarlet." They said urgently. "I'll explain everything I can in due time. For now, you'll have to listen." 

"Explain away then."