First Blood

The Age of Light continued for countless millennia.

The Thirteen Guardians still traveled through the Father's creation, bringing peace to newborn worlds and destroying any threat that might disturb the balance.

But pride never rests.

It grows in silence.

And waits for the perfect moment to reveal itself.

That moment came during a mission at the edge of the known universe, in a region where immense storms of energy threatened to devour an entire system of stars.

The Father gathered His thirteen children.

“My children, a part of My creation needs you. Go together and restore the balance.”

“Yes, Father,” they answered as one.

For several days, they worked without rest.

Leo protected the creatures fleeing the disaster. Nerea healed the wounded. Agnis destroyed the rifts of energy tearing space apart. Tarus held a planet on the verge of collapse in his own hands. And Lucero led the eight lesser Guardians in containing the storm.

When the mission seemed complete, Tarus noticed that one of his most loyal captains was missing.

His name was Zakiel.

He had fought at Tarus's side since the first days of creation. He was an honorable warrior, incapable of betraying the Father.

Tarus began to search for him.

He found him in a valley of crystal, kneeling before Lucero.

The air was heavy with tension.

Lucero held a dagger of light in his hands. His gaze no longer held the peace of earlier days.

It held authority.

An authority that was not his to claim.

“What is happening here?” Tarus asked as he slowly descended.

Lucero smiled without taking his eyes off Zakiel.

“You have come at just the right moment, brother.”

Tarus looked from one to the other.

“Explain yourself.”

Lucero pointed at the captain.

“I have uncovered a traitor.”

Tarus's heart shuddered. He looked at Zakiel. In millions of years, that warrior had never failed him. Never disobeyed a single order. Never lied.

“That is impossible,” Tarus replied.

Lucero stepped forward.

“He was plotting a rebellion against our Father.”

Tarus remained silent.

He did not need words to know the truth. The Father had granted him a gift at birth: he could look into the hearts of those who spoke.

And when he looked at Zakiel… he found only fear.

But when he looked at Lucero… he saw something else.

Pride.

Ambition.

And a darkness he had never seen before.

Zakiel slowly raised his head. His wings were wounded. He had been beaten.

“Brother Tarus… I would never betray the Father.”

Tarus approached him.

“I know.”

Zakiel struggled for breath.

“It was Lucero…”

The silence became absolute.

Lucero kept smiling.

“Go on.”

“He asked me to follow him… He said that one day he would take the Father's place. That when he ruled all creation… I would be the first to die for remaining at your side.”

Tarus's eyes widened in disbelief.

“Is it true…?”

Lucero did not answer. He simply stared at his brother.

Then Zakiel added:

“I chose to die faithful… rather than live as a traitor to our Father.”

At those words, Lucero's expression changed. His smile vanished. In its place was a cold expression. One Tarus had never seen before.

Without a word… he raised the dagger.

And drew it across Zakiel's throat.

It happened in an instant.

The angel's golden blood fell upon the crystal floor of the valley.

For the first time since the birth of the universe… the blood of one of the Father's children touched creation.

Zakiel slowly fell.

Tarus caught him in his arms.

The warrior smiled one last time.

“Thank you… brother…”

His eyes closed forever.

The entire universe fell silent.

Tarus felt his grief turn into a fury he had never known. Slowly, he looked up.

“What have you done…?”

Lucero put away the dagger.

“I eliminated a traitor.”

“You lie!”

Tarus's voice shook the crystal mountains.

“You murdered an innocent!”

The thunder of his voice drew the other Guardians. Leo arrived first. Nerea, Agnis, and the eight lesser Guardians followed.

At the sight of Zakiel's body, they all froze.

Leo stepped back.

“No…”

Nerea raised both hands to her mouth. Crystalline tears began to fall from her eyes. Agnis tightened her grip on her sword. Never before had she felt such rage.

Leo looked at Lucero.

“Brother… what happened?”

Lucero answered with perfect calm.

“I uncovered a traitor. He tried to rise against our Father. I did what I had to do.”

Tarus stepped forward.

“That is a lie!”

Every eye turned toward him.

“Zakiel was murdered because he refused to betray the Father. Lucero tried to make him an ally… and when Zakiel refused… he executed him.”

A heavy silence fell over them.

One by one, the lesser Guardians began to step away from Lucero.

Leo placed a hand upon Tarus's shoulder.

“I believe you, brother.”

Nerea nodded through her tears.

“So do I.”

Agnis slowly drew her sword. Its blue blade began to burn.

“I will never raise my sword against our Father.”

The eight lesser Guardians knelt beside Zakiel's body.

“We believe Tarus too.”

Their words pierced Lucero's pride like a spear.

For the first time, he understood that not everyone would follow him.

His gaze changed. He no longer tried to conceal his true intentions.

He began to laugh.

A cold laugh.

Empty.

A laugh none of them recognized.

“Do you still not understand?”

The four Guardians stood motionless.

Lucero slowly spread his wings. His light seemed dimmer than before.

“Listen to me. We are the Father's first children. The most powerful. The only ones capable of ruling creation. And yet we still obey as though we were mere servants?”

Leo shook his head sadly.

“We are His children… not His slaves.”

“Exactly!” Lucero cried. “We are His children! Then why must we bow before Him for all eternity?”

Nerea stepped forward.

“Because we love Him.”

Agnis raised her sword.

“And because He has never stopped loving us.”

Lucero looked at his brothers and sisters, one by one. He waited for one of them to hesitate. For one of them to accept his offer.

But no one spoke.

No one moved.

Then he smiled bitterly.

“One day you will regret choosing the wrong side.”

At that very instant, a voice carried across the entire universe.

It was not a shout.

It was not a command.

It was a voice filled with sorrow.

The voice of the Father.

“My children… enough. Return to Me. The time has come to know the truth.”

Tarus closed his eyes. He knew that once they stood before the Father, nothing would ever be the same.

The eight Guardians lifted Zakiel's body with honor. Nerea walked beside him, weeping in silence. Leo kept looking at Lucero, hoping to find some trace of the brother he loved so deeply. Agnis held her sword, ready to defend the Father if she had to.

And Tarus walked at the front.

Not as a warrior.

But as a brother forced to lead another brother toward the most painful judgment in the history of Heaven.

Behind them, for the first time since creation began, the wind ceased to sing.

For the entire universe understood that peace had ended.

And that the first blood shed would mark the beginning of a war that could change eternity itself.