Key of The Guardian

'Please hurry, but decide with a calm mind. The door is opening and it must be locked.'

I opened my eyes to a dark void surrounding me. Looking down, I found a beautiful stained glass tapestry with a white fox in front of a cathedral. Behind both was a sky blue sky with writhing black tendrils coming from behind the cathedral. While the tendrils disgusted me a bit, it just caused an uncomfortable chill to go down my spine. I was glad that I was on the fox. In front of me, more like surrounding me, were three podiums with an object hovering above all thee. Directly in front of me was a sword, to my back right was a shield, and to my back left was a staff.

'Step forward, move to get used to the new area.'

I took a step and immediately realized that the gravity felt heavier than what I was used to. It was a battle to just take a step, but my determination kept me from falling to the ground. It was odd that I was so determined, I would have normally just given up, but this was new or maybe because it felt like a dream that I had this confidence. I only knew this fact was because of the few lucid dreams I had recently. After a minute or two, I was able to walk somewhat comfortably.

'Good, this will help you when you awaken, but not by much. The gravity will be almost ten times stronger than what it is now, but this should give you at least some movement.'

I'm so fucked.

'Don't sell yourself short young one. Now attempt to jump. This should allow you to gage how strong the gravity is.'

Me being me, I did it and fucked up the landing to the point that I did a split. The pain was indescribable, but it was the kind of pain that kept you from screaming. It took a minute before getting back to the voice chuckling softly; no doubt they thought I couldn't hear them. I did, I very much did, but I let them have this since I couldn't blame them. I'll be joking about this later.

'Now, onto business.' The voice suddenly became quiet as the atmosphere instantly became heavier. 'A power sleeps within you. If you give it form... it will give you strength... Choose wisely.'

I looked around, no doubt the voice was talking about the sword, shield, and staff. I wandered what would happen if I chose one over the others. Once again, this still feels so unreal to me so I could be imagining an RPG-esque scenario. I began to think of my style when I play action RPGs before I walked forwards to my chosen object.

'The power of the warrior. Invincible courage. A sword of terrible destruction. Is this the power you seek?'

My fighting style was always DPS heavy with use of close, quick melee and long range, heavy hitting magic, but it was mostly melee if I can help it. If I could stun the enemies in game, then it meant that I'd be safe for a moment. It fits me pretty well with how blunt I am in real life... when I'm not behind the walls of anxiety.

After thinking about my own style, I nodded with a fond smile on my face. It was in credible to think how little I changed from my first run in Dark Souls, my first RPG.

'Tour path is set. Now, what will you give up in exchange?'

I get it now. I naturally have all three, but I need to choose one to focus one and one to use to empower my chosen path; sacrificing that path entirely. That maybe only for the time being at the very least. Anyways, I already know what I was going to give up.

'The power of the guardian. Kindness to aid friends. A shield to repel all. You give up this power?'

I nodded before making my way back to the center to await my next instuction, still expecting to wake up at any moment.

'You've chosen the power of the Warrior. You've given up the power of the Guardian. Is this the form you choose?'

I hesitated a bit, knowing that I'd most definitely get hurt more without the extra armor, but some times a good defense is a good offense. Time will tell if I regret this decision; however, this is my choice.

'Your path is set.'

The area changed into a something similar to the last one, but the stained glass was depicting me behind the fox. The tendrils were now coming from behind me with the sky chaining into a royal purple and a maroon. It seemed more cryptic than the last.

'The path you chose will be one of pain an hardship, but in time that same pain will be your strength. Never forget that nothing is done alone, even if it seems to be that way at first. Adapt and overcome with the aid of others. Should you heed my words, the pain will be infinity more bearable knowing you have others to share in it. This moment you may forget, but the consequences of your choices will still appear. Use them as you see fit and as you're strength. Remember, even the most evil contraption can be used for good. You're life was spared by simple luck, but it may be fate that you're not the only one. Find her and you'll understand why fate has brought you here. Goodbye for now, but we'll speak again.'

I was a little curious what the voice meant, but my attention was taken elsewhere as a light flashed from behind me. I sighed, thinking this must be end. I was anxious, but after remembering what the voice said, I knew it couldn't be death, but a gate into the future... The cast, unknown future.

I'd be lying if I said that didn't scare me more. Unfortunately, it was the only way I could walk. What a bull shit metaphor for life.

BEEP

BEEP

BEEP

Did someone change my alarm sound to an actual alarm clock. I set it to the Kingdom Hearts 1 theme for a reason. Whoever did that, I'll kick their ass... okay, I'll be lenient and give a stern talking too. Wait, way do I have a tube on my arm.

I opened my eyes and looked at my arm. I couldn't believe that I got another IV and was in another hospital. Oddly enough, this isn't the first this happened to me. I looked around once more to get a hold of my surroundings and figure out what happened. I don't remember getting hurt, but people can forget events if it traumatic enough.

I looked at my arms and I couldn't have been unconscious for long since my muscles haven't atrophied. It was kind of weird to be in a situation like this when I felt perfectly fine. I looked away from myself and to the door. There wasn't anything that would allow me to call a nurse and I was in a patents gown so no phone. When I tried to say something, I found my voice was dry and incredibly difficult to speak.

"Videamus quomodo facere." A voice said before the door opened and the strangest thing happened. What walked in was an anthropomorphic arctic fox in a doctor's coat walked in. If it wasn't obvious from the foxes body, its clothes and general look seemed female. What caught me even more off guard was how she seemed to have an outline around her as if she was in some kind of cartoon. "VIGILANTIA!!!" That caught me even more off guard since she was speaking in another language.

I couldn't speak so I could only lie there in anticipation for the consequences of her yelling to come. Her look at me was negative so I'm understandably scared. The fact that I couldn't understand her and can't speak well meant that whatever I did would probably be useless. I moved back a bit in fear as the fox took the IV out of me before pulling me off the bed.

Armored foxes walked in and took my arms as if I was a man being dragged to prison. They were literally lifting me off the ground and were close to breaking my arms as I kicked, by throat was still dry and I didn't know if I could hurt myself if I tried... Plus, I was a generally a quiet person so I doubt they would of heard me.

They just ended up throwing my towards a door that sent me through a a pair of doors which hurt like hell. What waited for me was a room with about 100 foxes that are, what I could only assume, posh aristocrats high off their own money and power. In front of them was another fox with blue fur. She was standing before these guys and immediately came to my side. I checked myself to see if I was fine and found that I now had a broken arm which fucking sucked.

"Oh no, are you okay?" She asked which was a breath of fresh air to finally understand someone. I made a drinking motion showing that I needed something to drink. I just needed moister to talk. This only confused me more since I was apparently injured, asleep the entire time, didn't atrophied, and can't talk.

She had a bag on her and pulled out a water bottle before letting me take a sip. It was oddly refreshing. "What's happening?" I asked... my arm was numb so I could focus of the crowd.

"A trial." I looked at her in confusion causing her to sigh. "It was either this or you get killed." She helped me to my feet before we face the foxes which upset my shyness.

I took a step back only for my body to crumble to the ground. The gravity was so heavy, everything hurt, and I could barely move. That's not counting the hell my lungs were going through just to keep up with the pressure. I was gasping the entire time and it was made worse when I could feel my bones flex inwards. I think the only reason why I didn't notice it before was because I was panicking.

"What are you doing?" The vixen asked as I struggled to look at her. She was definitely not happy and I think that'll be worse when I tell her why.

"Can't... Move... The gravity... is... Too strong... It hurts..." I responded, gasping for air between words. From the upwards view I had, I could see 20 more Foxes above the initial 100. About half looked like guards, but what confused me was an additional vixen off to the side of them.

"Members of the Parliament, please excuse him! His body isn't adept to handling the pressure from the gravity like we are! He cannot stand on his own!" The group continued to speak in that odd language. I couldn't make heads or tails of it, but what ever they said, it pissed off the blue vixen. "He is communicating perfectly, but he hasn't adapted to this planets gravity! The medical scans from my MSD, showed that he is from a planet that has 20 times less gravity! I implore you to remember that even I am from another planet!" I looked at her with a little shock after she said that, then I realized who she looked like. "Planets and life come in varying sizes and those who developed life adapt to that specific plant! He's on a planet that could be bigger or denser than what he's used to! We cannot simply say he's unfit and execute him for something beyond his control!"

I tried to stand, only to have my back hit the ground once more. Silence rained over the room as I rolled myself over and tried to push myself to my knees.

SNAP

"SON OF A BITCH!!!" I yelled at one of my forearms snapped in half. The good news was that I was on my knees. The bad news is that my face plunged to the ground.

I felt a hand on my back as gasps rang out from around the room. A feminine voice came from behind me. The blue vixen then spoke again. "He doesn't know how to use his mana? Is the translation spell still active?" A singular word was said by the new voice. "Can you fix it? I still can't make heads or tails of this magic thing."

The next thing I knew, my arm was fixing itself and the weight on my body became less intense. I looked at my arm and saw black wisps coming from it.

"Dark magic... Quite the innate element. Very few are born with the ability to wield that." I able to get on my knees a little easier and not break an arm. It was still a struggle, but it was better than nothing. "Should you desire, I will give it a name."

Of course I gave it some thought. It was quite a dire situation I was in so be acknowledged as something other than a criminal was refreshing.

"Priestess Aurora! You are over stepping your limits with such a declaration! Have you gone mad?!" Something welled up within me; an overwhelming desire to be a complete asshole to them. How could I deprived myself of such a compulsion.

"Y-yes." I said, my voice breaking as I struggled to not face plant on the ground.

"His innate ability seems to be something quite beneficial to him; I'll call it Adaptability!" Aurora said as a smile adorned her lips. It seems like this could be quite beneficial to me in the long-run, but that could also just be me reading into things too much.

"Young Priestess! Why would you conduct such a sacred ceremony with such a loathsome creature?!" One of the foxes from, what I assume, Parliament asked before the voice responded.

"The teachings only say that the ceremony should be done by those who lack the power to open their circuits! I'm only following the words of my ancestors!" I could feel the smugness in this priestess's voice. Technicalities have become my favorite kind of exceptions. "Also, how would the public react if our Parliament put someone to death who had no way to defend themselves?! Who's to say the people would want to tear down the Parliament in favor for the Council gaining more power?!" Oh, she's playing dirty... I like that. She's acting the same way I wish I could.

A small fraction of the foxes on the Parliament, can't believe I was right, began to whisper amongst themselves. They were planning something. Those who were whispering to one another passed it to the rest of the Parliament.

"We have a proposition! Seeing as his death would cause an uproar amongst the Council, we'll have him prove his drive to survive! He must become a candidate for the Guardian Trials! Should he fail, he'll be executed!" I wonder if anything realizes that the acoustics in this room allow them to talk to one another without yelling.

"What?! That is next to impossible! There are candidates for becoming candidates and you can only become one by getting a recommendation from one of the trainers! Not to mention that there are only 16 slots for the candidates and they're chosen amongst nearly 10,000 per trainer!" Wait what?! The Priestess is only making things worse for me! I don't care about the near death thing, I'm trying to figure out this anime BS!

"That's only a 0.01% chance of survival!" I yelled. Just because I noticed the anime BS doesn't mean I wasn't scared for my life. Also... Yeah, I did the math.

"It's clear that he already has the intelligence for it! Tell us, young creature, what is the highest form of education you have?!" The apparent leader of the Parliament asked. Seriously, this girl's been talking for everyone.

"I-uh... I... I have a... High... High school diploma." I tried to avert my eyes for them.

"Of course he'd be shy." The blue vixen said as she planted her face into a palm. Don't worry girl, I know I'm a disappointment.

"Priestess Aurora, why did you give his innate ability such a name as Adaptability?!" I have an idea from context clues.

"His ability allows him to adapt much quicker than most. We can only presume his mana created this hasty ability due to the strain on his body from the higher gravity. I predict that it'll go away when he's fully adapted to this world." Well damn, that sucks. I mean, cool, I have a chance to live, but I'll loose it later. "I recommend that we go through the Choosing Ceremony before he fully adapts to our world. This will allow him to be on equal footing with those who haven't had a weapon before the ceremony."

"Do as you wish, he's proven that he will be able to skip the study times, but it is up to him to train during those times. To make it fair, should he fail as a candidate for Guardian, he shall be spared. There are other ways for him to be pardoned, but that requires great heroism or incredibly strength." Anime as hell. This honestly feels like foreshadowing. "We have come to an agreement, correct?"

"We have."

"Then this meeting is adjourned. We'll reconvene if something were to happen." With that, everyone in the Parliament began to pack up their notes and paperwork before leaving.

Is it odd that they didn't ask me if I wanted this, I mean... I did, but they could have asked at the very least. It also turned out more empathetic than I anticipated. A little xenophobic at the beginning, but slowly became more rational halfway through. I still get fucked, but at least there's a chance...a very, very small chance.

"This could have gone better. At the very least, we managed to buy you time for... about a year. We'll commence the choosing process immediately. The sooner the better." The Priestess said as as the blue vixen pulled me to my feet and helped me to my feet. I sighed, I felt bad that they had to do this for me. This was just how I was even if it didn't make sense, but it was just me being me.

"Thank you." I mumbled as I stumbled on the floor beneath me while the pressure starts to get worse.

"Don't worry, I've been helping helping you for a while now." The blue vixen said as I looked at her, my confusion was blatantly obvious after that statement. "You were unconscious for several months before I brought you here, so I took care of you for that time." Damn, that's kind of terrifying. "My name is Krystal by the way, what's yours?"

"My name's... Call me Nova." I know that lying to them was wrong, but I didn't want to trust them right away. Also, if I fail, I can leave and use my actual name somewhere else. The Priestess started walking backwards to face me. I couldn't help but notice that height difference between me and these two.

"Okay Nova, My name's Aurora, High Priestess of Snow Drop." I looked up at her with my usual blank expression, but the small smile on my face conveyed all it needed. Aurora seems nice and I know who Krystal is, but I don't want to jump to any conclusions without more time. Sure they helped me, but I'd like to see if they did this for me or themselves. Yes, I'm a little paranoid.

"A pleasure to meet you." I wasn't too sure where we were going, but I knew it wouldn't be good considering nature of the conversation prior. Might as well ask. "Where are we going?"

"To get you the necessities before sending you to the barracks to prepare for the Weapon Summoning Ceremony tomorrow." I nodded, not knowing how to respond. So many concepts were thrown at me at once. I was kinda missing the simplicity of basic for once.

I ended up tripping on something, maybe the gravity pulling my feet down sooner, and fell face first. I sighed, hoping for the pain to end.

(Canterlot-Third Person)

Celestia sipped on a cup of tea. It was a special imported tea, but it was one of her favorites. She made it a point to buy it whenever she got the chance. It was one she and her sister loved the tea which gave the tea a special feeling that no other kind had. It was also one she loved to introduce to other dignitaries and royals, but she only drank it on special occasions and when she had a stressful day. However, she brought the tea for a special friend.

"It's a pleasure to see you're enjoying yourself Cheryl and I'm happy that you could make the trip." Celestia said as her gaze landed on a female human with slightly reddish-black hair and light blue eyes. She looked as if she was in her mid-thirties and had a slightly frail body. She wore a white shirt with light purple stipes, dark blue jeans, and slip on shoes with a small design of a pink flower.

"I'm fine, Celestia. But the treatments are getting longer and longer... and I hope that we can find a way back to my world." Cheryl said as she looked into her tea before taking another sip. "I'd be lying if I said this wasn't an incredible experience, but I miss my children. One of them just graduated from military basic training, another is starting another year as a veterinarians technician, and my youngest is almost eighteen and is about to graduate high school."

"You're married? I don't believe that you ever told me that you had children either. I guess that's mom and dad had you watch over us." Cheryl chuckled as she looked out of Celestia's window at a couple in the royal garden. She gave a little wave to them as the wife looked up to them.

"As much as it pains me to say it, I remarried three times after my first husband." Celestia looked down at the same couple before looking away with slight embarrassment.

"Usually it's the other way around. Males usually take more than one wife with exception of royal families." Cheryl nearly choked on the tea she was drinking. She had to correct Celestia's misconceptions.

"N-no. We got a divorce. Most cultures on earth are monogamist." Celestia nodded with a slight sigh. She was self-aware enough to notice her mistake.

"I see. I apologues. I'll try to be more considerate." Cheryl wave her comment away.

"Don't worry, I understand."

"I'm sorry to ask this, but do you mind coming with me to investigate something. I was able to sense the rise of dark magic within the frozen north."

Cheryl sighed, but new that she wouldn't be called if the strange dark creatures didn't appear. "I will, but I have to ask that I'm given proper clothing. I don't have fur like you so I'll need time to prepare." Celestia nodded, understanding the situation.

"It may take a while, but I believe that we can accommodate you Mrs.Cheryl. It may be a long while before we can get you suck clothing so I hope you'll patent."

"Don't worry. These past three and a half years has helped me develop my patience." The two began to talk about Cheryl's family, since it was a new topic. Cheryl hadn't been that happy since before appearing on Equis.