A tear in reality opens up in front of me.

  I watch as it slowly grows, consuming the accolade I won for best soccer player in our local league. It continues to grow until it eats up everything in our living room. I stare at it in horror. My body freezes in anticipation of what is to come.

  It reaches about two meters in diameter, and an arm reaches through. A disgusting arm, one wholly not human. The arm reaches through and pulls at the tear’s boundary, forcing itself through.

  My mother rushes into the room, sees the monster about to enter our house and screams. She grabs the back of my shirt and throws me back. “Maka! Run away now, get far away from here!”

  I crash through the flimsy wall and into my bedroom, my clothing rips on shards of the wall and my arm gets a nasty gash down it. I land hard against the wood of my desk with a thud.

  I am going to die.

  I watch as a head appears through the tear and the monster emerges from the tear. If I had to guess, it is a grade two demon variant. Three meters in height, made out of the black form of aetherium. Its mouth is full of razor sharp teeth capable of shredding even aetherium.

  It notices my mother, who stands frozen, whether in fear or defiance I am unsure. She brandishes a butter knife. I know I should look away, but I can't.

  It lunges forward and rips her to shreds, devouring her within ten seconds. I scream and my brain finally allows me to start crying.

  My father rushes into the room, his standard issue plasma rifle aimed at the monster. He fires, but the plasma harmlessly bounces off the aetherium. Civilian weapons simply cannot counteract aether-based materials.

  This monster is pretty weak compared to what has come through tears in the past two centuries. There have been monsters credited with devouring entire planets and requiring hundreds of immensely skilled aether-wielding warriors known as Dragon Guards, to take them out. It has been an ever present battle ever since the monsters showed up.

  Sirens blare, the detectors have finally picked up the tear signature. But it's too late. The monster lunges forward, going right through the countertop, and devours my father.

  The monster turns towards me, its maw dripping with the blood of my parents. It has blonde hair – just like my mother’s – caught in its teeth. I could swear it smiled as it looked at me. The defenseless eight year old, prime prey for the monster.

  I try to stand up, but my legs are shaking and I am unable to get up. I start hyperventilating and I scream. A strange and somehow warm wetness gathers under me, with an unknown source. I grab a nearby shard of the wall and hold it in front of me bravely.

  Why me? Why do we have to suffer, why would the monsters do this to us? It’s so unfair. These monsters don't even need to consume us, they do it purely for fun.

  The monster tenses to lunge at me.

  But then, a shining ray of light bursts through the ceiling and spears the monster right in its chest. A Light Lance.

  That can only mean that The Dragon Guard is here, they are the only forces able to fight back against the monsters and protect the universe.

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  The monster disintegrates as its core is destroyed and disgusting black blood splatters all over me and what was once my home. In the other room, the tear is still there. I watch as another hand starts reaching through, this one far larger.

  Before it can escape, a figure crashes through the ceiling, shouting ‘geronimo’ as they crash into the floor. They are still for a few moments, then jump up to their feet. Their silver aetherium armor is unmistakable as one of The Dragon Guard. They look awesome. I fall to the ground, giving up my pointless struggle to escape. I am safe now.

  They notice the tear and the monster about to emerge and they call their blade. Immediately, a silver short sword coated in the light of aether appears in their hand. They Blink in front of the tear and slice off the monster’s arm, black blood splattering over their pristine armor.

  “Readings indicate a rank 1 tear. Requesting permission to purge the local block.” They say. After minutes of silence, my brain catches up and I scream. The guard immediately turns to look at me, blade at the ready. They calm down once they see I am human. “Exposed civilian found at tear site, minor injuries. Requesting permission to collect, I shall take responsibility.”

  A few seconds pass and they nod to themselves. They place some sort of barrier device over the tear and then walk over to where I am huddled on the ground, shaking and sitting in a puddle of my own piss.

  They deactivate their helmet. It is a woman, with long red hair and more than a few scars on her face. However, something else sticks out most of all. Her red eyes, the same as mine. The insignia – a shield with two spears – on her armor means she is an Athena squadron member. “Fear not little one, you will be fine now. Do you have a name?” She asks gently.

  “Maka.” I croak out.

  “Nice to meet you Maka, my name is Tein. How would you like to come with me?” she says, pointing upwards.

  “What about mother and father?” I ask, hoping she can give me a good answer. But in my heart, I know the truth.

  “They won't be coming.” She says flatly. “But, you might have potential to become a dragon guard, so what do ya say?”

  Tears well in my eyes as she blatantly confirms it.

  “Okay.” I say weakly, she merely nods and then we head into the dragon. It's not like I have any other choice. If I stay here, the next tear will kill me. There is nothing left for me anymore.

  Tein picks me up gently, and holds me against her chest, which is still covered in the blood of the monsters. “Sorry ‘bout the smell.” she says, as though I am not in far worse condition.

  “Collection successful, returning to dragon.” Tien says, “Maka, hold on tight and close your eyes, ‘kay?” Then we start flying upwards, I nearly puke. Of course, I don't close my eyes.

  We ascend high into the air, the bustling city growing smaller and smaller below us. We pass by several starships, on route to the stars and beyond. I look above us, and stare at the creature above us.

  A real dragon.

  I have been obsessed with everything dragon, aether and dragon guard since I can remember. But this is my first time seeing one in person. For good reason too. If a dragon shows up to a hayseed planet in the middle of nowhere, it can only be bad news. It is a type of creature that you never wish to see, but are always grateful when they do appear.

  It is a majestic beast, this one seems to be around twenty three meters long, so a late adolescent. Its wings are massive, their silver aetherium scales designed to harness massive amounts of energy from its surroundings and reality itself. Adults can get as large as one hundred meters long, though most only reach fifty or so. Its silver aetherium scales reflect the midday sunlight partially, absorbing some of it. Its scales are said to be hard enough to survive anything native to this dimension.

  Tien takes us to the top of the dragon and we land. “Gosh, I hate these moments. Collections are the worst.” She mumbles, not realizing that I can hear her. Her voice takes on a bit of a cheerier tone as she asks, “Hey Maka, how would you like to come to Travernium and enter the school there? I can promise you’ll have lots of fun and perhaps even some adventures. I can't force you though, you have to choose this for yourself.” She pulls me back and looks me right in the eyes.

  I nod, too weak to do anything else but agree as she sets me down inside the cockpit and straps me in.

  My adrenaline finally runs out and I pass out from exhaustion.