“Won't anyone stop her?” was everyone's thought, but no one felt compelled enough to do so.

Because they felt it—the pressure. 

Even the hungry muttons grew nervous when the battered woman limped towards them. Her iron-braced leg scraped against the pavement, screeching eerily with every step. The muttons backed away, baaing. Even if the pressure wasn't directed towards the people, they retreated too. 

“No need to fear,” she reassured the sheep rather than the people. “Cause I am here.”

Shivers turned to desperate baaing, prompting the first one to charge. Amalthea stopped it by interlocking her sheathed sword between the horns, keeping it stuck and dead on its track.

“I’m not much of a sword master, but,” in one fell swoop, Amalthea pulled the long sword out of its sheath and lacerated the second one that charged at her, “I know how to swing it.”

Thrusting her hip forward, she shifted the weight off her legs and pulled back her healthy left leg; muscle tension flared through her calf. Amalthea softened her grip to lower her sword. Right when the first mutton was about to headbutt her, she swung it in a wide arc upwards, decapitating the sheep in one fluid motion.

Blood sprayed over the fields, drizzling the flowers with crimson and dying the shaggy fleece red. With a swift swing, Amalthea flung the blood from the sword, causing everyone to step further away. 

Ajax stared incredulously, swallowing hard. The strength and brutality radiating from Amalthea were beyond his expectations. “This isn’t what a guardian’s supposed to be,” he muttered.

Amalthea huffed at the comment and squared her shoulders. “Scatter,” she growled fiercely, executing the force of a titan that could blot out the sky with his sheer size alone—one who could crush anyone remaining underfoot. 

Amalthea was not one to hesitate. The monster muttons bleated in distress and bounced back into the forest. 

Pulling her hood over her head again, Amalthea hobbled back to the city. “My cane, please,” she said, and it was promptly handed back to her cane. Leaning towards the bewildered Ajax, she added, “You owe me a shawarma.”

Tired and out of sight, Amalthea collapsed in an alley. Holding her side, she stifled an agonised cry as pain surged through her, tearing at her from the inside. Gripping her one good leg, she willed it to stop trembling. From her cloak, she retrieved a device—one that granted her the power to transform her into a titan.

The Chrono Driver. 

A spherical, fist-sized gem with three discs orbiting it like a globe. The problem was that the once bright red stone was dim. 

Dim like its current user.

‧. .ᯓ★. .‧

“What do you want?” Amalthea gruffed at the young teens, annoyed by their presence as she fed the fire-spitting ducks. A shawarma held at her face then took her aback.

“An apology,” said Ajax. “I mistook you for a Guardian and roped you into a dangerous situation.”

Amalthea scowled at the boy. “What does he mean I am no Guardian?”

Lydia, with a hop, slapped Ajax over the head. “You're an insensitive prick,” she barked, offering Amalthea a drink. “Halfling speciality. Sorry about our MORON friend here. Your fight was awesome! Where did you get so strong?”

“Ah, haha, thanks,” Amalthea replied shyly, reaching for the drink that smelled like the intoxicating smell of coffee back in her world. “I don't think I did much, but—” her hand cramped painfully.

Lydia caught the mug again before it fell. “Got it! Nimble as a squirrel, won’t you say… Everything alright, miss?” 

The trio looked confused at Amalthea as she grasped her thigh, encased in a metal brace. A faint crack formed on her tawny face, stardust escaping it. Only Ajax noticed before it vanished. 

Amalthea straightened her face and took the offerings from the kids. “Thanks for that. Now, what do you want?” She took a heavy gulp from the mug. Her eyes fluttered when she tasted the fresh honey and milk from it. 

“Who said we want something?” Lydia asked innocently, hiding her arms behind her back and drawing circles on the ground with her feet. 

Marius snickered at Lydia’s shamelessness. “Cause no one will trust your attitude is genuine—” 

Lydia shut up Marius again with a hit against the stomach. 

Ajax approached Amalthea, clenching his fist before him. “I want you to train me!” he proclaimed loudly. “You’re not a Guardian, but one day, I want to reach the stars and become one myself! I need to get stronger for that.” 

Amalthea relaxed her awkward posture. She smacked her lips to remove the moustache from the drink and leaned forward, looking into the startling green eyes of the boy. They reflected an image of her past self, one where she was full of dreams and vigour to become a Guardian. Now, battered and lost, she wasn’t sure she could ever be one again. 

“Party's over, captain. Get home for us.”

“We're gonna hold the line.”

“Don't forget us, Thea. We're gonna give them hell!”

“You have to rebuild the Titans, child. This is your burden to bear.” 

“Don’t let hope die.” 

Valerian’s parting words brought Amalthea back to the present. She had her reservations about Ajax’s blind enthusiasm and the Guardians after recent events, but she couldn’t deny that she needed to look forward. The universe lost someone to protect them, one they couldn’t afford to lose. 

“I must return to the field.” thought Amalthea, grimacing at the misfortune of her injuries. She focused back on the children. “I have to start somewhere.” 

“Fine,” said Amalthea, “I’ll let you in a secret.” Standing up, Amalthea walked in the direction of the mutton attack. “Those of you who are curious to become strong like Guardians, follow me. Though I won’t guarantee your safety.” 

‧. .ᯓ★. .‧

“For a woman who can’t walk properly, she’s pretty fast,” complained Lydia. 

“Tell me about it,” huffed Marius, who couldn’t run more than five seconds without catching his breath. “How did she do it?” 

Ajax scanned the vicinity of the gates. After the attack with the Muttons earlier, the guards and adventurers were on high alert and didn’t allow anyone in or out. The strangest thing, however, was they didn’t see Amalthea anywhere near the gates.

It was as if she disappeared from the face of the earth. Were it not for Ajax's Elven heritage, he wouldn’t have guessed she got through the shut gates, and into the Dark Mutton Forest. 

“Ajax,” Lydia started, “don’t think of doing something stupid— aaaaaaand he ran away… great.” 

When they lost sight of Ajax, they knew he was chasing after the mysterious woman. They spotted him dashing through the guards, climbing up the high walls, and leaping toward the shadowy forest. 

“Don’t think I can’t navigate this forest. I grew up in one!” He shouted, pumped with adrenaline, and hopped into the crowns of the trees. Muttons bounced energetically below his feet, clearly agitated by something or someone. “I’ve fought off sheep since I was a child. I know how to evade them—” 

Vertigo gripped Ajax when a tree branch snapped underneath his feet and another into his face. He fell into the mud. Sputtering the dirt out of his mouth, Ajax got to his feet in time to run away from the wild sheep. 

“Don’t talk too much,” Amalthea’s voice echoed in the forest. “Your voice is overbearing and loud,” she complained, agitating Ajax to where he almost got bashed to a pulp. “You want to be as strong as a Guardian? Then work on your attitude first.” 

“My attitude!?” exclaimed Ajax, dodging the sheep's horns before it bashed in his head. Soon, Ajax would get overwhelmed by the sheer number of sheep, making fighting impossible. He escaped on top of the nearest rock formation. “Speak for yourself, woman! That’s why you could never be a guardian. Anyone acting like you would be a disgrace—” 

*Baaaaaaaaah*

A deep, loud bleating paralysed Ajax. A boulder-sized drop of saliva splashed beside him. The reason anyone avoided the dark forest was because of the two boss monsters living inside of it.

And they were now right behind him.

“Who do we have here?” pondered the monster with its one massive, glowing eye. The Cyclops patted his plushy gigantic sheep while ruffling through his own shaggy black beard. “An elf? No, close, what are you? Something tasty?” 

*Baaaaaaahhhh*

Ajax’s jaw almost dropped at the Cyclops’ presence. Whenever he entered the forest, he made sure to avoid the Layer of Polyphem, a ferocious Cyclops with untold strength, size and cruelty. Alongside his giant-sized sheep, Mega Ewe.

Instinctively, Ajax looked down at the other sheep. He was cornered. “Where would I run?” he wondered as the Cyclops’ hand descended upon him. “Don’t touch me!” Ajax shouted, swatting away his monstrous fingers.

The Cyclops blew at his stinging finger. “Feisty food, I don’t like that. HAH!” 

The blow pulverised the stones, destroying Ajax’s only foothold and bringing him down to the sheep. One sniffled at Ajax and baaed loudly before Ajax hit the sheep on the nose.

“Quiz time,” Amalthea’s voice echoed again. “Would a Guardian run or fight?” 

“Fight!” Ajax replied immediately, swatting away another sheep. “A guardian always fights!” 

“Wrong answer,” her voice reprimanded him. 

“Huh!?” complained the elf boy, running away from the sheep. He noticed the Cyclops looking perplexed over the forest. “What are you talking about? A Guardian always fights!” 

“A guardian rarely can choose a battle. It’s either fight or flight, and you are overwhelmed and outnumbered. Frankly, I doubt you can manage the enemies.” 

“I will manage,” said Ajax before a sheep bodychecked him into a tree. “A guardian never gives up,” he wheezed. “To protect the innocent, they always fight to the bitter end.” 

“And they die to the bitter end,” sighed Amalthea, throwing something to the boy’s feet. Gingerly, the boy picked up the sphere, which had a disk rotating around a dim grey gem. “But they can receive a helping hand to even the odds. If you want to step into the Guardian’s footsteps, keep fighting. The codeword is Transform.”