Darkness and light have constantly battled since the beginning of time. Worlds are formed and crushed beneath the feet of their creators, yet the ongoing need for good and evil have never been in question. However, sometimes a new element is thrown into the mixâ¦ the one thing that both sides want but only one can have.

Paradoxical in nature, the Guardian Heart Crystal is the one constant that both sides have always striven to attain. The crystalline stone has the power to create and destroy the known universe, yet can end all suffering and strife in the same breath. Some say the crystal has a mind of its ownâ¦ others say the gods are behind it all.

Each time the crystal has appeared, its guardians have always been ready to defend it from all who would use it selfishly. The identities of these guardians remain unchanged and they love with the same ferocity regardless of the world or time.

One girl stands in the center of these ancient guardians and is the object of their affections. She holds within her the power of the crystal itself. This is the bearer of the crystal and the source of its power. The lines often blur, and guarding the crystal slowly changes into guarding the priestess from the other guardians.

This is the wine from which the heart of darkness drinks. It is the opportunity to make the guardians of the crystal weak and susceptible to attack. The darkness craves the power of the crystal and also the girl as a man would crave a woman.

Within every one of these dimensions and realities you will find a secret garden known as The Heart of Time. There, a statue of a young human priestess kneels. She is surrounded by an age-old magic that keeps her secret treasure hidden and well preserved. The maidenâs hands are outstretched as if waiting for something precious to be placed in them.

Legend says that she is waiting for the powerful stone known as The Guardian Heart Crystal to return to her.

Only the Guardians know of the true secrets behind the statue and how it came into existence. Before the five brothers drew their first breath their ancestors, Tadamichi, and his twin brother, Hyakuhei, protected The Heart of Time during its darkest history. For centuries, the twins protected the seal that kept the human world from overlapping within the demon realm. This task was sacred and the lives of the humans as well as demons had to be kept safe and secret from the other.

Unexpectedly, during their reign, a small band of humans accidentally crossed over into the demon world because of the sacred crystal. During a time of turmoil, its powers caused a rip in the seal that had separated the dimensions. The leader of the human group and Tadamichi had quickly become allies, making a pact to close the rip in the seal and keep the two worlds locked away from each other forever.

But during that time, Hyakuhei and Tadamichi had both fallen in love with the daughter of the human leader.

Against Hyakuheiâs wishes, the rip had been repaired by Tadamichi and the girlâs father. The strength of the seal had been increased tenfold, separating the dangerous love triangle forever. Hyakuheiâs heart was shatteredâ¦ Even his own blood brother, Tadamichi had betrayed him by making sure he and the priestess were separated by eternity.

Love can turn into the most wicked of things once it is lost. Hyakuheiâs broken heart turned to malicious anger and jealousy causing a battle between the twin brothers, ending Tadamichiâs life and splitting their immortal souls. Those slivers of immortality created five new guardians to take guardianship over the seal and protect it from Hyakuhei, who had joined the demons within the evil realm.

Imprisoned within the darkness he had become, Hyakuhei cast out all thought of protecting The Heart of Timeâ¦ instead, he turned his energy toward banishing the seal completely. His long midnight locks, reaching past his knees and a face belonging only to the most seductive, belied the true evil hidden within his angelic appearance.

As the war begins between the forces of light and dark, a blinding blue light is emitted from the sanctified statue signaling that the young priestess has been reborn and the crystal has resurfaced on the other side.

As the guardians are drawn to her and become her protectors, the battle between good and evil truly begins. Hence the entrance into another world where darkness is dominant within the world of light.

This is one of their many epic adventuresâ¦

Chapter 1 âFeathers of Midnightâ

Dark feathers left a path in the night sky as Hyakuhei flew within the raging storm he had createdâ¦ his anger forming the core of it. Lightning and thunder mimicked his mood as the rain hid the truth of his torment. His ultimate power was to thrive on the authority of the demons he battled then took inside his beingâ¦ but he had not expected it to backfire in such a way as this.

His target had been an easy demon to overcome and consume into the void that was his soul. But the sprite had hidden a piece of the shattered guardian heart crystal deep within its mind. That power allowed the dream demon to survive within him and it was now trying to get its revenge.

Hyakuheiâs black eyes became a shade darker as he wondered if that had not been the demonâs true intent all alongâ¦ to break him from the inside. The lowly dream demon thought to give himâ¦ nightmares! In his rage, Hyakuhei had mistakenly taken the dream sprite into his body to silence it foreverâ¦ only for it to torment him now from within.

The demon had unchecked power Hyakuhei had not expected. It held within it the ability to see the true past that even he had not been aware of. Things that had happened in another time and placeâ¦ alternate realities. With such a power, Hyakuhei should have known it possessed one of the sacred crystalâs talismans.

Now the demon chose to torment him with visions when he closed his eyes to the world around himâ¦ sleep had now become a place of trickery.

The unwanted memories left his blood heated to a painful degree by creating a longing in him that he had forgottenâ¦ a craving for the auburn haired priestess that would forever elude him. The hunger he had felt was unbearable now, a reminder of ultimate betrayal from the last place he ever expected itâ¦ love becomes something evil once it has been taken away from you.

Ebony hair obscured his angelic face as he screamed out in fury. âHow dare you show me the past when there is nothing I can do to change it!â The sound of his voice was lost within the thunder that resounded around him. It thundered deafeningly in response to his anguish, almost taunting him to continue. Lightning flashed, illuminating his face briefly, bringing his beautiful features to stark reality.

He had awakened but an hour ago to the night sweats that accompanied dreams of her. Heâd once held herâ¦ touched her. His ebony eyes narrowed in anger. She had let him love her and she didnât even remember. That alone was far more painful than the dreams, yet even now they had their own lives that fate had once again intertwined.

The recurring dreams never finishedâ¦ the ending always eluding him, making him want to see and feel more of the bittersweet tormenting tale. The most evil vengeful thing the dream sprite could have ever done was make him want her again. Heâd supposedly moved beyond it, embracing the creature heâd become in her name. Even now he dared not confront it for fear of losing himself to the suffering of his own soul.

Hyakuhei felt his anger ebbing as he listened to the mischievously whispered voices within him. The countless evil entities contained by him, demons that willingly did his bidding, converged on the dream spriteâ¦ fighting an inner battle that did not last long.

The dream demon was forced to bend to its new masterâs will, if only for as long as the invisible chains could hold it. He knew the demon could still taunt him with voices and seductive images, but he also knew he could now use that borrowed power to share those memories with the priestess.

Hyakuheiâs lips curved slightly into a tainted smile knowing he could now use the dream sprites power for his own advantage. He would feed the priestess dreams of what they had once shared on the other side of timeâ¦ planting himself within her nightly imaginings and mixing memories with the strange bond that held them linked even now within this world.

His hand rose in front of himâ¦ holding what would help him. The slivers of the guardian heart crystal he had collected lit up, reflecting the bolt of lightning that passed right above him. As he watched the tiny crystals glitter to life, her image appeared as a reflection in them. His gaze caressed the softness of her face and the ruby redness of her full lips. He would now become a master of illusion.

âI will have you again,â He whispered sullenly before evil crept back into his voice. âPriestess, Iâll get inside your mind where you cannot escape me or the memories of your own pastâ¦ our past!â

The shattered pieces of crystal glowed within his palm as their now tainted power crossed worlds and realities to find the priestess within her own worldâ¦ where she slept.

*****

On the other side of The Heart of Time, in her nice warm bed, Kyoko lay sleepingâ¦ but the silence of sleep became disturbed with flickers of images and sounds as she tossed and turned. The confusion broke as the sounds and movements became one within her mind and she was lost within the strange nightmare.

She broke out in a cold sweat as the dream became almost realâ¦ too real as it pulled her in.

Kyoko could hear the enemyâs scream of denial just as she passed out. She had done all she could. Sheâd kept Hyakuhei from acquiring the Guardian Heart Crystal the only way that she had known how. Her last thought was sadnessâ¦ she had shattered the Guardian Heart Crystal and nowâ¦ she couldnât go home to her own world.

Hyakuhei gazed down at the girl whoâd spoiled all his carefully laid plans. He had made them all think he was deadâ¦ no longer a threat, then heâd silently waited within the darkness.

He knew as long as the priestess was with her guardians, she was too powerful to approach. So he had hid himself and suppressed his power, playing dead, waiting for her to make the mistake of being alone. She would be weak and vulnerableâ¦ enabling him to take the Guardian Heart Crystal from her.

It had all worked out perfectly. Sheâd been alone within The Heart of Time gardensâ¦ ready to go back through the time portal now thinking the dangerous game was overâ¦ the game theyâd played for several years with no winner. Heâd been within inches of what he wanted more than anything.

Hyakuhei stood above the beautiful virgin priestess, his raven dark hair flowing like silk down the length of his body, brushing against his calves and still fluttering in the breeze created from the shattering of the Guardian Heart Crystal.

He was every bit as beautiful as a dark angel, but within him beat the many hearts of enraged demons. He wanted to kill the Priestess for what she had done, but he wouldn'tâ¦ he couldnât as his gaze caressed the face he loved. The starlight streaks that coursed from the shattering of the Guardian Heart Crystal were still lighting the sky like a celestial meteor showerâ¦ it was too late.

Hyakuhei knew her guardians would come for her. His brotherâs children would once again try to save her from himâ¦ and history would repeat itself over and over. The heavens had sealed their fate millenniums agoâ¦ only to offer up the continual chance of changing that same fate.

His angelic face turned into a sneer. The guardianâs would not find their priestess this time. Swiftly, he cradled her limp body within his arms. No one yet knew he was alive and for now he would leave it that way. He would not harm herâ¦ instead Hyakuhei decidedâ¦ this timeâ¦ he would keep her.

Again masking his evil aura, he used his power and opened a small black void and stepped inside, taking Kyoko with him through the gateway. The portal silently closed behind themâ¦ erasing all clues of the truth. When the guardians came for her, they would simply believe she had gone home, abandoning them to their land of demons.

Kyoko jerked awake in bed wondering where the nightmare had come from. She searched around the room with wide frightened emerald eyes making sure it had not been realâ¦ that Hyakuhei was not there. She could still feel him touching her, and strangely enough, she missed that touch. Yet at the same time, she wanted to erase the memory of it. She pulled the covers up around her in confusion.

Hearing the silence of the house, Kyoko knew she would never get back to sleep, so she made the biggest mistake of her young lifeâ¦ she decided to head back into a world of demons in the middle of the night. Being with the guardians would be the only thing that would make her feel safe again.

It was only a couple minutes later that she found herself on the other side of The Heart of Time looking across the clearing that surrounded the maiden statue. She sighed now that she was as far away from the bed sheâd just had the nightmare in as she could possibly get. But still, she could feel the dream haunting her as if it were waiting on her to go back to sleep.

It taunted the recesses of her mind, plaguing her imagination with images that were too corporal to let go. Shaking her head, she took a deep breath and drank in the familiarity of her surroundings.

Huge white stones jutted up from the ground in remembrance of the magnificent castle that had once housed the gardens known as The Heart of Time. The wind rushed through the limbs of the surrounding trees, lending a soft sound to the quiet darkness.

Seeing lightning flash way off in the distance, Kyoko turned her emerald eyes to the east. She shivered wondering how something so beautifulâ¦ could be so dangerous. Even against the dark sky she could see the clouds blocking out the stars. The lightning danced across the clouds like spidery fingers giving the distant storm a sinister appearance.

Kyoko blinked when she saw the lightning converge on one place in the clouds. It formed a tiny ball of light before blowing out like a tiny starburst. She wasnât surprised by this phenomenonâ¦ having seen things more shocking than a lightning cloud. What caught her attention was that it kept happening in the same spot.

âWhat am I doing here?â she asked the statue of the priestess who looked so much like her, knowing she wouldnât get an answer. The angry clouds from the approaching storm had not made it this far yet and the moonlight shone down as if it were spotlighting the maiden shrine.

Kyoko stepped closer, examining the extraordinary detail of the statue and wondering at it for the hundredth time. They were almost exactly alikeâ¦ she and the statueâ¦ but it had been carved over a thousand years ago in this worldâ¦ not hers. Once again, she asked herself who could have put it there and why? How could something be carved with a face that no one had known or seen prior to its creation?

Kyoko sighed again wondering what she was doing. It was almost midnight and she had told the guardians she wouldn't be back until morning. But while lying in her soft bed, in her relatively safe world, she couldn't sleep due to some sixth sense telling her that things were about to change. Whether those changes were for the better or for the worse, she couldnât sayâ¦ and the dreams of the enemy werenât helping.

Her thoughts pivoted between the guardian heart crystal and the shattered talisman it had become. As always, her daydreams and nightmares shifted through the guardianâs that she had never asked for, and the dangerous demons they brought with them.

Her thoughts instantly turned to Hyakuhei, their enemy. She couldnât understand how someone so strikingly beautiful could be so cruel and dangerous. Kyoko saw another flash of lightning streak across the sky in the distance. She cocked an eyebrow reminding herself that looks could be deceiving.

Beautiful or notâ¦ just like lightning, Hyakuhei was very dangerous. She knew that as Hyakuhei collected pieces of the scattered talisman, he became that much strongerâ¦ even though he was extremely powerful to begin with. He already had the ability to take the weaker, lowborn demons within himself and thrive on their dark power. He could also release that power with devastating affects when the time was rightâ¦ like in battle.

With ability like thatâ¦ why would he bother with the guardian heart crystal? What would he have to gain by gathering the talisman? Did he truly believe he would gain everything he desired once it was complete and in his possession? Again, those were questions that only led to more questions and secrets that were never meant to be known.

Kyoko looked into the stone eyes of the maiden wondering what secrets it held. Reaching up with her hand, she touched the marble cheek gently and asked, âHyakuhei seems almost unstoppable even without the help of the talismans, so why is he trying to find them?â Silence was her answer.

Realizing she was once again talking to a stone object, Kyoko clamped her mouth shut so she would keep her thoughts to herself. âGee, I really need friends,â She mumbled. Lowering her hand, she turned her back to the shrine that transported her between worlds.

Resuming her thoughts, she bit her bottom lip as she pictured the enemy within her mind. As Hyakuhei gained more of the scattered talisman, he became more dangerous to deal with. If he ever gained all the pieces of the talisman, he would then be able to breach the barrier between the demon and human world. This was the true answer to her question.

If that happened, neither world would be able to stop his deadly obsession with the power of darkness. âI wonât let that happen, you know.â Her shoulders dropped with the weight of keeping that promise.

Her mind shifted back to the dream sheâd had less than an hour agoâ¦ the same dream that left her in a cold sweat and bolting upright in her bed. The sounds and feelings of the dream had been so real that she could have sworn sheâd really been there. It was as if she was watching it all happen and feeling it at the same time.

âBut thatâs impossibleâ¦ right?â she glanced back toward the statue as the memory of the dream came back to haunt her. Hyakuhei had captured her in her dream and although she had fought himâ¦ did she really stand a chance?

Kyoko blinked hoping the remembrance of the dream would soon vanish. She didnât want to feel the fear that she knew would come with the vision that bordered closer to a nightmare. Seeing the maiden statue staring back at her, it dawned on her. Whether it had really happened in the past or was truly just the memory of a dreamâ¦ it was still a memory in the fullest sense of the word.

She felt the images crashing back toward her, making her feel like a deer caught in the headlights. Her eyes slid closed again as if fate were demanding that she remember it allâ¦ even remembering the enemyâs thoughts. This time it was not the same visions as the last.

In the dream, sheâd come through The Heart of Time. But instead of the guardians being there waiting on her, it had been the enemyâ¦ Hyakuhei. As she turned to flee back the way she had come, heâd reached out and grasps her wrist in an iron grip to halt her flight. No matter how hard she fought to get away from himâ¦ it seemed the more she struggled, the closer he got.

He reached his other hand out and gripped her chin to raise her frightened gaze to his and she stopped struggling the moment their eyes locked. Instead of the cold black eyes of the enemy, she was looking into warm brown eyes.

âWelcome back,â Hyakuhei whispered softly just as his lips descended on hers.

Kyoko pinched herself so hard that it made her jump and the daydream came to a sudden stop as if she had turned a power switch off. Were the daydreams and nightmares trying to warn her of some unknown fate or had it already happened and was reminding her of the mistake? Either way she hoped the next time she closed her eyes to sleepâ¦ it would be dreamless.

âKissing Hyakuheiâ¦â she put her hands on her hips as if to lecture herself, âwhat in the world is going through your mind girl?â she felt like a traitor just for saying it out loud. âThatâsâ¦ thatâs almost as bad as kissing Kyou for crying out loud.â She smirked at the comparison even though it wasnât that funny.

âLack of sleep will do that to you,â She mumbled still fussing at herself. âIt also causes one to have full-fledged conversations with themselves,â She continued before sighing in defeat. âI need a vacation.â

However, despite her vocal ravings, the mental image of kissing Kyou jumped to the forefront of her mind and wouldnât go away. A rush of warmth traveled from the top of her head to the tips of her toes. She wondered where these thoughts had come from. Again the picture popped up out of nowhere and she made an almost physical effort to push it back down.

With an unsuppressed shiver, Kyokoâs mind did a boomerang back to the five brothers whom were predestined to be her guardians in this dangerous worldâ¦ or so they said. Her thoughts became centered for a moment on Kyou, the oldest and most powerful of the five brothers. Kyou presented himself just as dangerous and unnerving as his evil uncle Hyakuhei.

To everyone, even to his brothers, Kyou was an enigma. With the beauty of an archangel, he hid within himself the power to help destroy or heal this demon-racked world. But she could tell by his cold demeanor that Kyou cared not for either alternative. It was as if he had decided that his evil uncle wasnât his problem.

She was kind of glad Kyou didnât travel with the group but kept to himself. Kyoko had only seen him a couple of times since accidentally becoming their priestess and most of those times she had only seen him from a distanceâ¦ those encounters had been disturbing enough.

She still didnât know a lot about Kyou but sometimes wondered if he thought he was too good to be around his brothersâ¦ or was it her that he avoided at all cost?

Kyoko lifted an eyebrow thinking out loud again, âWell, itâs probably for the best anyway, because all he and Toya do is fight when theyâre within seeing distance of each otherâ¦ and Kyou pretty much ignores his other siblings.â She heaved a sigh. He seemed to hold a grudge against her for being the priestess he was supposed to protect.

âItâs not like I need his help.â Her thought flashed back to the past. Upon their first meeting, Kyou had narrowed his golden eyes at her saying that she was nothing but a weak human and not worthy of his protection. Right before that, heâd been even more frightful.

When she first came into their world by mistakeâ¦ Kyou and Toya had tried to kill her, thinking she was trespassing through The Heart of Time with the help of their uncle. It was the guardian heart crystal that had shielded her from their attack and thatâs what started this whole mess.

Somehow, while the guardian heart crystal was protecting her from the brothers, it had shattered into the four windsâ¦ sending the demons within their world into a destructive frenzy. If the demons that roamed this world collected enough of the shattered pieces, then they could have the power to cross into her world and plunge it into chaos.

She and the guardians would have to find the talismans before the demons did or all would be lost.

Since then, the five guardian brothers had realized that she was the true priestess of the guardian heart crystal and thereforeâ¦ very much under their protection. Kyou was the only one of the guardians that kept his distance from her. The few times they had crossed paths, she had the sensation that he was more of an enemy then an ally. His golden eyes seemed so hard and cold when he had looked at herâ¦ as if destroying her was more to his liking.

Toya had told her once that Kyou thought humans to be beneath him. That was putting it mildly. In Toyaâs own words Kyou was a self-centered, conceited asshole that couldnât develop a heart if his life depended on it. Kyoko would remember this occasionally and it always brought a smile to her face. For some reason, the aloof demeanor Kyou possessed just seemedâ¦ right.

âHe definitely wears it well,â She said aloud.

The other four guardian brothers had readily placed her under their protection while they searched for the talisman before the demons of their world gathered them and used their powers to attack.

Toya had appointed himself as her closest watcher and protector. He covered up that closeness with the fact that she had started this mess by bringing the crystal back to their world to begin with. But then again, she could have argued the matter by saying that if he and Kyou hadnât attacked her when they first met, it wouldnât have shattered to begin with. It just wasnât worth saying anything thoughâ¦ Toyaâs temper always gave her a headache and made her irritated.

He still acted annoyed with her but sometimes she got the feeling maybe he loved her a little too. He just chose to often hide those feelings behind the huge chip he had on his shoulderâ¦ a chip sheâd really like to knock off every once in a while. Maybe it would actually give him a better attitude about the whole thing.

She smiled softly at the thought of him. To herâ¦ Toya was fast becoming her best friend and maybe even a little more. Kyoko could feel the slight blush spreading across her cheeks. Toya had saved her life many times since the day the guardians had tried to kill her.

They had created a very strong bond and even though she and Toya still argued a lot, that bond bordered very close to a deep love. It was as if the crystal knew the feelings they hid for each other because it had somehow chosen Toya to be the only one who could follow her back into her world when the other guardians couldnât breach the time portal. That had spurred some rather humorous arguments between the brothers. Kyoko was convinced they did it on purpose just to make her smile.

The other three brothers Shinbe, Kamui, and Kotaro all held a place in her heart as well. Kyokoâs lips lifted in a fond smile, which left her where she was now. Here she stood, all alone, in the middle of the night, in a land where demons roamed freely. Sometimes she wondered if she didnât need her head examined.

âMore like needing to be locked up in the loony bin somewhere, in a room with rubber wallsâ, she thought sarcastically. Not wanting to disturb the guardians just yet, Kyoko grabbed hold of a vine and climbed up to sit on one of the surrounding white rocks.

Just because she couldnât sleep didnât mean she needed to wake them up. It was way too late and still way to early. Looking up into the night sky, she just sat there, enjoying the view of the lightning bolts that didnât seem to be getting any closer.

Kyokoâs fingers rose to the small pouch she wore around her neck where some of the talisman they had gathered safely rested. She was unaware that as she touched the binding, a soft florescent blue light radiated from it and the direction of the cool breeze quickly began to change.

*****

Nearby, Kyou's head tilted as a tainted scent that was caught in the wind of the approaching storm drifted toward him. Hyakuhei was near. He narrowed his golden eyes as the breeze shifted, now coming from the direction of The Heart of Time. That scent, he gritted his teethâ¦ the priestess and the power of the guardian heart crystal.

His hands fisted at his side as anger flashed across his expression causing a small growl to be heard in the stillness of the surrounding forest. She was alone and unguarded. How dare she be at the shrine at this dangerous hour unprotected! Why were his brothers not with her? Kyou inhaled deeply of the woman-child that traveled with his siblings.

Within his mindâs eye, he could see the image of the priestess he and his brothers had become guardians of. Auburn hairâ¦ startling emerald eyes, it was as if the beauty of the maiden statue had come to life and color. She should have never come to this world with the guardian heart crystal. Neither she, nor it, belonged here.

If he could, he would toss her back through the portal and destroy the statue but to do so would be a bastardization of the barrier his father Tadamichi had protected. Despite his desire, it seemed this point was now very moot.

The dangerous power his uncle continued to gain was her fault. Had she not known what would happen? If she were the true priestess, she should have known to stay away from this demonic world. His father had died because he had closed the time portal and this small human girl had undone everything he had sacrificed his life for. It had all been for nothing.

Tadamichi wanted him to protect the humanâsâ¦ all of them. But why? Why would he now protect the very human who had been stupid enough to open the portal between their worlds. Why did Tadamichi care so much that he gave his life for them?