I ran as far as my legs would carry me. I didn't want to keep Mom waiting any longer. My lungs began to hurt every time I panted, like my chest was being compressed from the inside out. 

I continued to run, until I finally reached my house. I paused for a second to catch my breath, or else I would've collapsed.

I ran up to my door and swung it open. As soon as I stepped into the house, my mother ran up to me and hugged me tight. 

"SAKURA! Thank goodness you're back! I was starting to get so worried! You were gone a while and then for some reason we had a blackout. I tried calling you, but you wouldn't pick up! Why are you home so late?" She asked worriedly. She looked at my face when she didn't receive a reply from me. 

"Sweetie? Are you alright?" She put a hand to my cheek. For a moment, I couldn't answer her. I was just so lost in thought.

I still couldn't shake the fact that I had almost been attacked by a monster and then saved by a mysterious vigilante. I didn't want to say too much to Mom, if I told her what had just occurred, she would most likely freak out.

"Yeah Mom, I'm fine. I was just late home because of the blackout. It happened all over the town, I think it was because of an earthquake. I must've got lost on my way back." I half lied.

"Oh my goodness!" She replied as she hugged me again. "I'm just relieved you're back home safe and in one piece."

"Me too." I answered shakily. Seriously, she had no idea how much danger I was in back there. I knew that it was no earthquake that caused the blackout. It was something much more terrifying. I shuddered as I remembered the look of that frightening creature, but then I thought about how that incredible lion guy defeated it. I was safe now and that's all that mattered. So there was no need to tell her anything else.

"Come on, let's eat." She encouraged. "Dinner's getting cold." 

Dinner sounded like a good plan, I needed to relax myself for a little while, after that whole scenario. Plus I was feeling really hungry.

Not long after I ate dinner, I decided to go to bed. I was absolutely worn out from the crazy day I had. I put on my pyjamas and brushed my teeth.  As I stared at my reflection in the mirror above the sink, I thought about that person who saved me. How was he able to do all of that? Like me, he was able to transform into an animal, were his abilities similar to mine? They couldn't have been, they were so much more. He was truly magnificent, he was a hero. But who was he exactly?! The only thing I could think of was a Celestial Guardian. Who else? I had always heard stories of the mysterious heroes, but I never imagined I'd run into one of them. Did I really just meet one? I never heard anyone else having a close encounter with them before. How could I even be sure that was a Celestial Guardian I saw.

I came of the bathroom and started to head towards my bedroom. I paused and looked to Mom who was just coming up the stairs.

"Hey Mom?" I asked her as she reached the top.

She looked in my eyes with a curious expression. "Yes Honey?"

"I know this is random but...do you really think the Celestial Guardians are real?" I inquired.

"What? Why do you ask?" She questioned.

I looked down. "I dunno, I just suddenly started thinking about them. How would you know if you met one?

"Well I don't really know how to answer that. I have heard many stories about them, but I wasn't sure if I really believed in them or not. Why? Did you meet one?" She joked with a chuckle. I wasn't sure what to tell her. If I told her about tonight's incident, it might only confuse her.

"I'm not saying I did. I'm just curious as how you would react, if you were in that situation." I answered her.

She stared off in thought. "Before, I never really believed in the supernatural, so I didn't really think much about it. But after your little quirk manifested, I started to have more of an open mind." She explained. "There are probably a lot of things out there that we don't know about. The world is full of mysteries and secrets, yet to be discovered. If you truly believe in something, then it could very likely be real. But I would say don't worry about it, unless you have actually encountered something like that."

My eyes widened a little, before I looked down in thought. "Is everything alright Sakura?" Mom questioned. "Oh yes Mom, I'm just tired." I quickly reassured her. "Thanks for telling me that. Goodnight." I smiled.

She smiled back at me. "Goodnight Sweetie! Sleep well." 

That night, I laid in my bed while staring up at the ceiling. Although my body was exhausted, my mind just didn't want to rest. I kept thinking about the incident. I had so many questions, if only I could've talked to that guy a little more. I knew what I saw, I was certain he was a celestial guardian. He just had to be. The way he fought that monster with those incredible abilities and the way he transformed into a lion, just like how I would transform into a fox. Was he like me? Could I be like him? I wondered if I would ever even see him again.

Eventually I managed to drift off to sleep, but I ended up having a strange dream that night. It would also be one that I would never forget.

As I looked all around me, I found myself standing in the middle of what look like a mist made of Stardust. It was pretty, but very peculiar. 

"Huh? Where am I?" I asked myself. 

I couldn't hear, feel or smell anything, but I could see as clear as day that I wasn't in my room. Or anywhere that I was familiar with.

Also noticed that I had a slight orange glow around myself. I stared at my hands and arms in awe. Just then, a fox appeared in front of me. But it wasn't any ordinary fox, it looked like a silhouette of one.  It was covered in stars and it was the same colour as the glow around my body. It looked at me for a few seconds, before it started to run off. 

"Hey! Where are you going?" I called out curiously.

The fox stopped and looked back at me for a moment. It started to wag its tail in a friendly manner. It was like it was signalling me to follow it. So with that, I ran after the mystic animal.The fox ran fast, but I did my best to keep up with it. 

"Wait! Slow down!" My voice echoed through the mist, as I continue to chase after it. However, it soon started to disappear into the thick fog of stardust. When I couldn't see the fox anymore, I stopped running. As soon as I caught my breath, the mist around me cleared.

I looked up and gasped. In front of me stood what looked like a small shrine, it was in the middle of a forest surrounded by mountains. 'What kind of place is this?' I wondered.

Next thing I knew, the doors slowly started to open by themselves. I peered inside and I saw twelve silhouettes of animals all standing together. They looked just like the fox I was chasing after. From what I could make out, I noticed that the one in the middle was definitely a lion. Then slowly, their shapes started to change into silhouettes of people, instead of animals. 

I couldn't see their faces since they were all silhouettes. But we're all different in height, style, gender and colour of their auras.  One of them resembled a boy around my height, his aura was yellow. He was in front of where the lion was. But the one now standing in the place of the lion, was a tall guy shaped just like the mysterious person I met. His aura was in red.

"Who are they?" I wondered as tried walking towards them to get a closer look. But suddenly, everything around me started to glow brighter. The figures faded into white so I couldn't see them anymore. 

"What's happening?!" I exclaimed as my voice echoed through the void. The whiteness engulfed me. Until.......

*GASP!* I suddenly woke up in my bed. I looked around and panted. I was definitely in my own room. The morning sun gently peaked through my window. It cast a warm, golden, glowing hue across my bed. I could hear the faint chirping of the bird's from outside.

I slightly rubbed my head. What was that? I've never had a dream like that before. What did it mean? It felt so real. 

"SAKURA! TIME FOR BREAKFAST!" My mother called from downstairs.

"Coming!" I replied wearily. I had a small yawn and a stretch, before I got up.

As I slowly ate my breakfast, my thoughts continually traced back to the dream. I replayed it again and again in my head. It wasn't until Mom spoke my name, when I was snapped back to reality. "Sakura? Are you alright? You're very quiet this morning." 

"Oh! Yes I'm okay Mom. I just had a weird dream last night." I answered with reassurance.

"Oh. It wasn't a bad dream was it?" She asked with a hint of concern.

"No, no it wasn't bad at all. It was just....strange." I replied simply.

"In what way?" She questioned while boiling a kettle.

"That's the thing, I don't know. It wasn't like anything I dream't before." I expressed "I think it was trying to tell me something, like maybe it was linked to my ability." I looked down at the constellation mark on my arm.

My mom stayed silent for a moment. "Dreams are usually just a mixture of our thoughts, feelings and desires. Most dreams are often nonsense and they don't always make sense, but they sometimes they tell us what we want or need. Perhaps there is something you subconsciously want to do with your power? I'm sorry, I can't say for sure, since I don't have your ability. Try not to dwell on it too much Honey. It was just a dream after all." She responded.

But what if it wasn't just a dream? I knew all dreams were weird and didn't make sense. You have them and then forget about them. However, this one felt different to me. It was like the feeling I got the other night, from that strange encounter. Plus, I happened to have the dream straight after that event occurred. It felt like it was all linked together and I could feel that I was part of that connection.

I had always been curious as to why I had my ability, but there was never anything I could look into about it, nor anybody I could talk to. Could this dream have been the key to the answers I needed? Besides, the blackout incident only made me even more inquisitive than before. Where did that monster come from? Who was that guy? How did he pull of those awesome stunts?

I was certain that the dream was trying to tell me something. I could feel it. If this had anything to do with my abilities, then I would have to pursue it. There was no way I could just ignore it.  I wasn't sure what I would do, or if I would find anything

But I felt I had to at least try.