"Dyu-na-mi-su~", Titi sang out, dragging out the syllables of his name. "Yuu is coming to visit! With Gingky and the others!" The young child scampered eagerly to Dunamis, who was seated in the stone chair.

"Are they really? When are they coming?" Dunamis asked. It had been a couple months since Gingka and his friends had flown the two of them via helicopter to the temple, after both of their beyblades had been repaired by Madoka. Yuu had given Titi some mechanical device so that they could video chat, along with a battery-powered charger and wi-fi router.

Personally, Dunamis didn't really like the idea of the modern era's machines tarnishing the ancient temple. But Titi loved being able to talk to his best friend, and Dunamis was growing quite fond of the little boy. So he had kept his opinions to himself and quietly went about his duty.

"They're coming in a few days!" Titi's blue eyes sparkled in the moonlight as he bounced excitedly. He was dressed in a miniature version of Dunamis's robes.

The first day Titi had come to the temple, the guardian had adamantly insisted that he change out of his dirty old poncho. Titi had not been happy to be forced into a "dress", but he had reluctantly agreed after Dunamis threatened to wash off his face paint.

Dunamis smiled at Titi's obvious enthusiasm. There had been a little difficulty getting used to Titi's loud energetic antics, as he was used to the silence and solitude of the temple. But he found that he enjoyed company. Before Titi had come to live with him, he could only occupy himself by battling the few treasure hunters that made it past the maze, reading books from the temple's small library, or tending the garden. Most of his time had been spent watching the stars. Sometimes he had wondered if it was possible to go crazy out of boredom. But he had not wanted to let down his father, and he had a duty to fulfill.

Not that I've done a very good job at guarding, he thought, glancing ruefully at the cracked and damaged columns left from Kyoya's last visit.

Now he had to raise a young, hyperactive boy, who was constantly either getting on his nerves or making him marvel at how adorable he could be. He found that life was a whole lot more interesting.

Now, watching Titi run around, laughing and performing various flips and cartwheels, Dunamis idly wondered if he had ever been as carefree and innocent. Somehow, he doubted that.

After all, he had grown up knowing that he would one day be temple guardian and battle Nemesis, a mighty god of destruction. Not exactly a happy future. And his father had always been so distant, almost untouchable in a sense.

But he was only distant to protect me, he reminded himself firmly.

Do you really believe that? Naïve as always, cursed one. How you ever defeated Nemesis is beyond me. Oh wait, you didn't; it was the Autumn Blader that did all the work. You were useless, as always.

Be quiet! Dunamis mentally snapped at the voice. Recently, it had grown louder, and its words were constantly annoying him. The whispers had lost their echoing quality, becoming clear and audible, as if the speaker stood right in front of him. A few times, he had to stop himself from talking to the voice out loud.

Why? I was only saying what you know is true. Besides, you can't stop me. You're too weak to do anything useful. Why do you think you're always the odd one out? The one that can only watch; the one that can only wait for events to happen by themselves. You can't do anything. You can only sit around, waiting, like the pathetic, star-gazing fool you are!

"Just shut up!" Dunamis shouted, eyes screwed shut and hands slammed on his ears, as if it could block out the horrible whispers.

"Dunamis? Are you okay?" Titi tugged imploringly at the front of his robes, anxiety evident in his expression. Dunamis took a deep breath, removing his hands and clenching them together in his lap. He opened his eyes, which hid far too much weariness in their blue depths than any child his age should carry.

"I'm fine. We should go to bed now."

"Oh...are you sur-

"I said I'm fine!", the older boy snapped, eyes flashing, dangerously sharp. The guardian immediately regretted his harshness as Titi flinched, retreating back a step. Dunamis tried to calm down, ignoring the mocking laughs at the back of his mind. "Let's get some sleep. It's late, and I'm tired."

Getting up suddenly, he swept into the temple, leaving Titi to scramble hurriedly after him.

..~*~...~*~...~*~...

"Titi!"

"Yuu!"

The two children ran towards each other eagerly. Gingka, Modoka, and Kenta followed at a slower pace. Dunamis stood from the stone chair he had been seated in and made his way over to the four visitors.

"Hi Dunamis! How've you been?" Gingka asked, his shock of red hair and his white scarf moving slightly in he light breeze.

"I'm fine."

Gingka frowned as Dunamis turned to talk to Modoka. The guardian's reply had been abrupt, and his eyes had been fixed on a point over Gingka shoulder, as if he hasn't been speaking to the Pegasus wielder, but to another person entirely. Gingka also noticed that his smile seemed almost strained as he conversed with Kenta.

Are you really "fine",Dunamis?, he wondered, as the guardian's head snapped to one side and his mouth opened, as if to speak to the empty space beside him. But he caught himself and shut his mouth quickly, resuming talking to Kenta. Gingka moved next to Yuu and Titi who were laughing at some joke Yuu had made.

"Hey, Titi." He said quietly enough not to attract anyone else's attention. "Has Dunamis been acting strange lately?"

Titi looked up, surprised. Then the pink-haired child cast a worried glance towards Dunamis before whispering back. "Yes. He's been acting weird these last few days. He's been talking to himself and hasn't been sleeping."

Yuu leaned in conspiratorially. "What's wrong? Has he finally gone off the deep end?"

Titi shrugged. " I don't know. Lately, when he tries to go to sleep, he always wakes up screaming a few minutes later. Sometimes, he goes to bed, but when he thinks I'm asleep, he gets up to go outside."

Gingka mulled over the information as Titi returned his attention to Yuu, who was feeling slightly bored. The orange-haired child thought for a moment before his eyes lit up.

"Hey Titi, let's have a beybattle!"

"I thought you'd never ask!"

The two children ran to the beydish, pulling out their beylaunchers.

"Okay, three!"

"Two!"

"One!"

"Let it rip!"

Modoka and Kenta rushed to the beydish to cheer them on, but Gingka ignored the clashing beyblades. He scooted closer to Dunamis, who wasn't paying any attention to the battle either. The guardian was muttering to himself, one hand fisted in his hair.

"Dunamis, are you alright? You've been acting strange and Titi says you ar-"

"I said I was fine." Dunamis snapped tersely.

"But-"

"Just leave me alone!" Dunamis's head snapped up to glare at Gingka. The Pegasus blader gasped, retreating hastily. Dunamis's eyes seemed almost crazed. They were filled with desperate rage and his pupils shrunken to black pinpoints.

"I- I want to help y-"

"Shut up! I don't want to hear your lies! Just leave me alone!" The guardian shouted, clutching his head and staggering backwards.

"Dunamis!" Quetzalcoatl and Libra flew back into their respective owner's hands as the others turned their attention to Dunamis with alarmed exclamations. Titi and Yuu hurried over with Modoka and Kenta to stand beside Gingka.

"We only want to help, please believe us!" Gingka stepped forward, hands held out in a placating gesture. The distraught blader only shrank away, eyes darting about wildly. He had backed up against a stone wall and had nowhere else to run.

"Dunamis! Please calm down!" Titi cried, running to stand in front of the Jupiter Blader. The child reached up to tug at his robes, his blue eyes wide and guileless.

Dunamis gave an animalistic snarl, lunging forward and grabbing Titi's throat. The little boy let out a gurgling cry, hands clawing weakly at the guardian's wrist. Gingka and his friends started forward with cries of shock.
Dunamis lifted Titi higher into the air, the child's kicking feet thudding uselessly against his stomach.

"I told you to leave me alone", the guardian hissed venomously. Titi could only whimper in reply, his face scrunched up in pain.

Dunamis spun around, slamming the struggling boy into the wall behind him. Titi cried out as his head cracked painfully against the hard stone, becoming limp in the guardian's grasp.

"Dunamis, stop this now! You're hurting him!" Kenta yelled. Gingka tackled Dunamis, causing him to drop Titi onto the floor. Modoka and Yuu immediately rushed to the unconscious boy. Modoka cradled his head in her arms as Yuu worriedly shook his arm in an attempt to wake him up.

Gingka was currently holding a struggling Dunamis in a uncomfortable-looking headlock. He grunted in pain as the guardian's elbow banged into his ribs. Taking advantage of his momentary weakness, Dunamis lashed out, striking his side again. Gingka released him with a yelp, stumbling as Dunamis kicked his feet out from under him.

"Dunamis, what is wrong with you?", Gingka gasped out, holding his side as he tried to get up. The Jupiter Blader smirked, arms lifting dramatically and eyes glinting.

"Nothing is wrong with me. This body is how it should have be. The heaven's will has been set upon this soul in the form of a curse. He has always been destined to be devoured. " Dunamis laughed maniacally, eyes rolling up in his head.

Then he collapsed.

...~*~...~*~...~*~...

A/N: I hope that those of you that live in the USA had a great 4th of July! Hope his chappie was interesting to read. TT•TT poor Titi.

Also, in case any of you haven't already, you should read Adýnama Tha Kerdísei:Weak Shall Win by Chidsengan. It's one of the best fanfics you'll ever read, but due to recent events, she wants to stop writing this awesome fic. It would be great if you could read it and review it to support those who don't want to this fic to end.