Origin

Long ago, the gods, wearied by their duties, began to neglect the balance of the world. What started as indifference soon grew into outright abandonment, and chaos consumed the land.

In order for balance to be restored, twelve humans sought out the gods and requested that they be given the power to restore and maintain balance in the world themselves. Indolent and unbothered, the gods shared their authority to these brave twelve, who came to be known as the Original High Humans.

***

In this realm, humans coexist with an array of other beings—some hidden in shadow, others blending seamlessly with humanity. Ghouls, vampires, werewolves, demons, and more—each race traces its origins to the gods, created at the dawn of time.

These beings fall into two lineages: The Old Generation, crafted by the elder gods, and the New Generation, born as offshoots of the originals. Lycans, for instance, are a pure race distinct from ordinary werewolves. Similarly, Upirs, an ancient lineage, gave rise to vampires and ghouls.

Once, the gods governed all aspects of existence, operating from a plane beyond mortal comprehension.

While some gods harbored hostility towards humans, others watched passively, finding amusement in the chaos below; curious as to how the twelve guardians would—or could—fix things.

Yet, one god stood apart from the rest—the Moon God, Kaguya, whose hatred for humanity burned brighter than the stars. To her, all humanoids were "humans," but none earned her wrath more than the “High Humans,” who dared to seal her away.

These high humans are people who have either trained their bodies to the maximum, or were born with powerful abilities that can affect the rules and laws of the world.

***

Centuries past, the moon god, Kaguya, attempted to destroy the world due to heartbreak and rage Her rampage was halted by the united strength of the Original High Humans, who imprisoned her within the moon—her domain and symbol of power.

Till date, she is still trapped inside the moon, however, Kaguya is a god—as powerful as she is, she could not be wholly contained.

By the immutable laws of the cosmos, a god cannot be killed or confined indefinitely; they'll inevitably revive or unseal themselves at some point.

Though, it wasn't applied in this context—it wasn’t time for Kaguya’s seal to break on its own.

But, over time, she projected fragments of her consciousness to the mortal realm, commanding her followers to orchestrate her return.

Her followers greatest goal is to retrieve their god and master, with everything they had.

The god's goal, however, is to destroy everything that is human.

Part of the requirements for her release involves the massacre of human population, which would have to reduce by half, in one fell swoop.

When that happens, the moon god in her anger towards mankind—and excitement upon being freed—would plunge the remaining half into Abadon. She is deranged, after all.

Although, her followers have yet to succeed for various reasons—vampires need humans as livestock, demons need humans for their dark emotions, and, of course, humans don't want to die. A lot of factors contribute to protecting the continued existence of humanity.

High humans remain till this day, fighting and foiling the plans of the Moon god's followers—Moonyrs, they call themselves.

They span a large variety of races; Lycans, Vampires, demons, and even humans. These devotees love and worship the moon god.

Of course, they know of the disaster that’d ensue upon her release, and they realize that she's deranged.

But they revere her despite that. Their loyalty persists, for they love and believe in their insane divine Moon God, Kaguya, regardless of her deranged ambitions of genocide—which will, no doubt, in turn affect them too

***

Centuries ago, in a realm of endless white, twelve battle-suited figures faced a chained woman adorned with a crescent moon upon her forehead. Their voices echoed through the void:

"Farewell, Kaguya. May your imprisonment teach you the gravity of your misdeeds," spoke a deep brown-haired man with dull green eyes.

"You cannot do this to me, Aries!" Kaguya’s voice trembled with fury and disbelief. "I-I am the great Kaguya!"

"Silence! Spare your strength for your futile escape attempts," retorted, a blonde-haired man with sharp green eyes, his disdain cutting through the air.

"I had faith in you, Kaguya,” lamented a pretty braided woman, her exceptionally blonde braids extending from her crown to the back of her head in a Dutch-style.

She continued. “I thought you weren't like the other gods... your actions today have greatly hurt me."

"I couldn’t care less about your thoughts of me, set me free this instant!" The white woman growled.

Kaguya’s defiance faltered as she turned to Aries. "Aries, I… I did it all for you… For us..." she whispered, a single tear tracing her alabaster cheek. "the violence, the wars… You realize I did all that for us to be together again, yes? Do not abandon me... My love"

Aries’ voice, though steady, carried a weight of sorrow. "I'm sorry, Kaguya; Humanity is a far weak race to serve as your plaything,"

The twelve heroes present began to turn their backs to leave, before Kaguya—upon realizing she had truly lost and would be sealed away—pleaded:

"Aries, wait!” I cried. “I… I'll be obedient this time, I swear! I...I..." The white woman desperately muttered, looking at her surrounding as if disgustingly large cockroaches creeped around.

Trembling, she continued. "Hey, Aries, I don't want to be left alone here... For old times’ sake, okay? Please forgive me..."

Lucian, the blonde-haired man, intervened, perceiving hesitation from Aries, "Desist at once! Kaguya, so you would resort to begging?!”

“N-No! let me—”

“Aries, don't listen to what she has to say. This woman, just like the other gods, sees us as things to be toyed with. She needs to be punished."

Aries calmed him down, reassuring him. "Lucian, it's okay... I have given her so many chances in the past I’ve lost count of how many… But I will never trust Kaguya again, rest assured."

Determination and sheer frankness could be perceived from his eyes, as he declared that—the white woman perceived it too;

“No way… Is he going to really abandon me…? Aries will?” she thought, then broke into more tears.

Except now, her pleas turned to enraged screams and curses. "Ahhhhh! Mark this day, Aries, Lucian, all of you, idiot humans! I will surely return, and when I do..."

Madness was visible on Kaguya's countenance; her lips curving into a malevolent, evil smile; an evil smile which housed an unending sorrow; unending sorrow which, in the next moment, bled from her eyes in form of tears.

She swore, "Humanity itself will pay the price... I promise you... No stone will be left unturned, I swear on my authority as god of the moon and night!!"

Her voice, filled with venom, echoed as they vanished.

She screamed upon scream and thrashed, but the twelve human heroes turned away, leaving her in the white encased world through a gate which opened in space.

"Aries... no, don't leave me alone...again…" Was a soft, pitiful whisper within the loud cries all the twelve heroes heard, but none thought it valid, assuming it must have been their imagination.

***

Through the spatial gate, they returned to earth, in a mountainous area filled with imposing trees.

It was dark, and the only source of light came from the full moon that shone like a witness to their victory.

Lucian voiced his concerns.

"Hey, Aries, what do we do if she eventually breaks out? She is particularly intent on destruction, and her hatred for humanity knows no bounds. "

The others made exasperated expressions as they deliberated.

"I doubt it will be anytime soon.” Aries calmly explained to his comrades. “Our combined powers seal her, and unless we perish, she shouldn't be able to break free on her own."

"But the laws of the universe favor her eventual escape," interjected a fiery red-haired man among the twelve, in an animal-fur coat. "Don't be naive, Aries; you know gods cannot be sealed for long. Even if we remain, Kaguya will eventually break free; be it 500 years, 1000 years, or even 5000—it is an irrefutable rule."

The guardians exchanged worried glances, too aware of the looming threat of Kaguya's eventual return.

"I have an idea," a spiky, green-haired woman, whose hair was braided, extending down to her legs, stepped forward.

She continued. "With the help of Libra's balance, Virgo's precision, and my ultimate spatial ability, we could combine all twelve of our powers once more—like we did with the Monarchs—to make a new rule, one where all of us would reincarnate after death. This way we would always exist and wait for the inevitable danger of Kaguya's awakening."

A deep red-haired woman there recoiled in shock. "You're suggesting we become slaves to the world, then?"

Aries intervened, "Calm down, Capricorn.”

He turned to the green-head, “Cancer, please elaborate on this 'reincarnation'."

“Of course, leader. You see, the process is…”

She explained at depth how they would return with every generation, if they perished; not as completely different people, but as themselves—Original High Humans.

But that there were risks to consider, like minor amnesia and weakening. But with strong conviction and ambition, even those could be mitigated.

The twelve Guardians were divided—some opposed, others torn, and a few in agreement. But at the end, after much deliberation, Aries spoke with the conviction of a leader.

"When we accepted this power and authority from those indolent gods, we were ready, at that point, to die for the sake of the world’s balance and order."

Aries looked them all in their eyes and spoke with the allure of a superior. "We became slaves of the world a long time ago. So, because of our families, our next generation, because of the continued existence of this world we so love... I, Aries of the twelve Guardians, suggest we go through with this. We would both keep an eye out for Kaguya's revival and keep the world’s balance, at the expense of our spirits’ freedom… And… Uh…"

Aries’ eyes darted away as heat crept in his fair cheek. “Uhm, we would always be together, forever. We’ll always have each other.”

The twelve heroes smiled and met Atar's resolute gaze—his ambition, palpable and infectious.

"Goodness! Are you a little princess? Talking about being together forever… Well, I go anywhere the leader directs." the blonde-haired man, Lucian, laughed and stated.

They all shared a moment of levity, their banter and smiles a testament to their unity and bond.

"Well, if you'll take responsibility as the leader when something major occurs, then I'm in," one of them said.

"...Do as you like... But please, don't over work me to death... Though, I can't really die," another added.

The Spiky, green-hair who proposed the reincarnation theory sang in glee and excitement. "Hahaha, we'll deal with whatever comes up! We're the guardians of the world, keepers of equilibrium! Don't mean to toot our horn, but we're basically the gods of the world. We can do this, everyone!"

Aries’ warm smile encompassed his companions.

"Alright Cancer, Libra, Virgo! We're ready!"

Under the luminous moonlit sky they held hands, forming a circle enclosing the three in the middle.

These three—Cancer, Virgo, and Libra—closed their eyes for some moments, then together, they opened it, and like a white star dwelled behind their soul's window, their eyes glowed brightly.

Strange, eerie winds started to swim calmly; The clouds became unsteady, with subtle lightning flashing here and there.

Then the three started, simultaneously chanting something, like a spell. It sounded as though a thousand people of varied voices were speaking at once;

“Realm of power, where laws reside,

A new path unfolds, let it slide.

By the power of the original 12, a new reality is spelled.

With every thought, and every deed,

We pierce existences' fabric.

Let the essence of our collective will,

Reshape the law, and make it established.

Let the new law manifest, and be,

A reality that has become meant to be.

Now! Let the power of our resolve,

Bring forth change, and change... Bend to our resolve!!”

Myriad colors of light started to erupt downward from the heavens, and it blanketed the twelve of them.

At that moment, they felt an even more closer connection to each other, and the world.

The ritual was a success.

The world recognized these twelve as individuals who cannot truly be destroyed—beings like the gods, in the truest sense.

***

The ritual was a success, and a new rule was born: they became bound to reincarnate endlessly to guard against Kaguya’s return.

...But, while everyone else reincarnated throughout the years, after their deaths... Aries of the guardians did not reincarnate even once after his.

All the guardians—except for one—lost their memories of their origin past, with only fragments of it left.

A truly unforeseen change of circumstance.

But still, balance was held in place. The guardians, though imperfect and incomplete now, still remain active till this very day.

But one question remained:

Would Aries ever return?

Only time would tell.

All we can do is hope and wait patiently.