It was a strange place. A strange space--where Lucas woke up.

There was nothing, save the golden light which was everything. It filled the entire space. The only thing that wasn't warm glowing light, was Lucas's body. 

He looked at his hands, they were unreal, translucent. "Where am I?"

A voice rippled through the air, feminine, with a hint of African accent. "Well done, you've accepted the call of the Universe. Now, you must be wondering where you are. Your body is being transported to the Absconditum to meet the others. Your mind is temporarily in the medallion to receive this prerecorded message that I left for my successor–whoever you may be."

"Prerecorded message?" Lucas whispered. 

The voice that filled the place took a soft, emphatic tone.

"My name is Oreoluwa Ikunile. I may not know who you are, but I know the question you must be asking; ‘Why me?’. Honestly, I asked that same question on the day I answered the call. And some days after. You must be feeling lost, confused, unsure of what to do next. The world you thought you once knew is turning out to be different. And you're afraid more than you've ever been. But here's the silver lining; you're growing into the next version of yourself and who you become at the end of this phase is mostly up to you. 

"The Protectors of Balance are a team of individuals bestowed with the fate of the world. They can tip the balance in favour of Light Forces, or Dark Forces. Yet they have the sole responsibility of striving for equilibrium. As a Protector, your time in service will be packed with adventures across countries and realms. It will be loaded with battles, both physical and mental. But like all the generations of Protectors before you…you must give it your all. Because this responsibility is greater than all of us. It is the ultimate purpose. The one that the Universe saw you needed…that you were born to do. The only way to succeed is to embrace it. To embrace who you are, and grow. I wish you good luck on your future missions. And always remember, come rain, come shine, the Protectors of Balance are a team."

Suddenly, Lucas felt a tingle through his body and before he knew it, everywhere went pitch black.

He could feel he was now lying on a carpet, the texture smooth. It had that new carpet smell.

Gently, he opened his eyes to see a wooden ceiling above, looking brand-new. The ceiling was wide. He sat up, looking around. He was in a hallway of sorts. Broad and circular. He was sitting on a carpet that gradually altered its colour, like Christmas lights. Though it was barely brighter than a normal carpet, it was still a marvel. In front of him was a heavy wooden door, opened a crack. With tons of mysterious symbols engraved on it. Golden streaks of light seeped through the crack.

For a moment, Lucas was reminded of what happened back in the Janitor's closet. 

"The light doesn't seem to stop." He thought out loud, rising to his feet. His fingers wrapped around the smooth handle. Shaking off hesitation, he swung open the door which creaked during the act.

Beyond the door frame was nothing but blinding lights, sending Lucas stumbling back until his spine touched a wooden stair barricade. Instinctively, he turned around, surprised to see there was a floor below. He looked up and spotted a draping disco ball made of glass like a chandelier, illuminating the entire place. 

"How exactly did I get here?" He muttered, looking over the railings again at the ground floor. He couldn't see much from where he stood but a striking motion made his heart skip a beat. Stomping up the long sturdy staircase was a grim metal knight, sword strapped to his side. Every step resounded through the building, every step brought him closer.

"Shit! He doesn't look like a talker." Lucas knew he had to hide. He spun on the spot, face-to-face again with the shining door. He was hesitant once more, looking between the approaching dark knight and the mysterious bright door. 

One close look at the Knight's broadsword had him sold. He dashed into the bright door. 

The first thing he noticed was that he was free-falling. The second was that he was in a blizzard. Lucas screamed.

There was nothing but a snowy landscape decked with snow-capped mountains as far as his eyes could see. 

It was like he teleported. He concluded that he did. And that back at the Janitor's closet, Clyde and Fiona must have teleported too.

The cold breeze prickled his skin, his jacket danced to its rhythm–along with the royal blue scarf Coach Timi called 'Elasto'.

In a matter of seconds, he crashed into a snow pile on a hill, brutal chills running through his system.

Just when he thought the worst was over, the snow pile rolled downhill, accumulating in an avalanche, tumbling to the very base before smashing into the base of another mountain. 

Lucas was seeing stars…or snowflakes. Probably both. It took some time to find enough composure to stand up. Turning on the spot, he realized the familiarity of the landscape. He'd been in a place like this in that dream he had back at home. 

He crossed his fingers, hoping those pursuers from the dream weren't real. But he knew better than that. 

A savage roar made him jump back. He could see a silhouette in the icy fog, large with unbelievable muscles. The figure charged at him, coming close enough to be entirely visible. 

A beast like a gorilla, only bigger, with thick white fur and orange skin on its hairless hands, feet and face. It leaped into the air, balling its fists together for a double axe handle attack.

Elasto tugged hard on the neck of a fear-riddled Lucas, disillusioning him just in time for him to dive left.

The beast pummeled his previous location, dislodging chunks of snow with a reverberating BOOM.

Lucas scrambled up and took flight. 

Another chase, great!

To his dismay, he didn't get far enough before the huge base of another mountain blocked his path. A glance revealed that if he went right or left, a bunch of hills awaited him.

"Fuck!"

He faced his assaulter who didn't seem to be in a hurry to close the distance any longer. It slowly moved like an aggravated King Kong that had his prey right where he wanted them. 

Troubled, he pressed his back to the mountain's cold surface, knowing fully well climbing was pointless. He was only good at climbing kitchen tables and school desks. Climbing the mountain was more futile with a beast like Mr Kong after him. 

Elasto, however, seemed to have other ideas. The scarf stretched one of its edges, digging it into the snow. It then began scribbling some words. When it retracted to its original size, Lucas examined the large cursive writing. ‘Profero’.

Looking at it sparked something inside him. Coach Timi taught him that word. He said it was magic and had called Lucas a mage. If that was true, and if the predecessor of his medallion was correct, then he had to give it a shot. No, he had to give it his all.

He clenched his fists and stepped forward. The beast froze at his sudden change in behaviour, though it didn't stop gritting and staring with blood-thirsty grey eyes.

Lucas glared back, gaining courage with every snow-crunching step. He pointed at the beast. "Hey! I'm done reacting to life. Event after event. Question after question. Nuh-uh. Now, I'm calling my own shots."

The white furry creature pounded its fists into the snow, outraged that its meal talked back. It pounced at him with a fury. 

Lucas sighed. It's now or never. Magic prefix, English command.

"Creo! Icicle cage."

Instantly, a barrage of mighty icicles materialized around the beast, forming a prison on all sides. The creature bonked its head on the new bars, screaming as it dropped to the ground.

An unbelievable sight. One that had Lucas grinning. "I did it." 

He couldn't help but imagine Coach Timi's face when the team won a game: a look of approval. "I caged a freakin' monster!"

A sharp cracking noise cut his victory speech short. The monster was pounding away at the bars, purely pissed at the behaviour of its meal. Perhaps all it wanted was a quick bite. But Lucas didn't want to stick around to find out. Howbeit he was dizzy, drained. Those words, they left with most of the energy his body had.

Back in the cage, every punch was quicker than the last–until a bunch of icicles finally shattered into a million pieces. 

Lucas fell on his backside in shock. C'mon body, work with me!

The beast charged yet again, closing in by the seconds until its fist was swinging merely inches from the boy's face. His eyes closed reflexively, and a punch echoed in the howling wind. 

But Lucas wasn't hit. Opening his eyes, he caught the beast rolling through the snow until it crashed into a hill with a resounding THUD. 

Perplexed, Lucas turned to his right and saw another creature stretching its hand in a right hook position. It was hairy too, but more ape-like, with reddish-orange fur and a majestic mane. It resembled a sasquatch from the urban legends. 

He stared a little longer, watching it breathe intensely as if it hurried over to throw that punch. There were really only a few conversation starters between a human and his sasquatch saviour.

"Umm…thanks?"