The snow had stopped falling.
After the brutal battle with The Lost Frost Dragon and the divine appearance of the Ancient Spiritwood Fiend, Kael, Lania, and Draven finally departed the desolate white wasteland, a battlefield where life and death had once clashed violently.
The winds had shifted, now carrying a warmer breath. The sky gradually cleared. No longer were they facing a lifeless, frozen expanse, but rather a path leading toward a true marvel of the continent Elgradia: the sacred land of Dandelin.
Days passed as they traversed perilous mountains and misty forests. Finally, they arrived.
Before them stood a magnificent city, radiant beneath the sun, Lumielle.
Towering walls reached into the sky, carved with ancient runes shimmering with magical light. Hundreds of high towers, observation spires, and massive teleportation rings rotated around the city's heart like a beating pulse. A myriad of beasts soared through the skies, carrying powerful summoners on their backs.
The trio stood speechless. Lania clasped her hands to her chest. Draven tilted his head slightly, murmuring,
"This… is the legendary central city… Lumielle."
The Truth Behind the World of Summoners
Longlong's voice echoed, resonating as though from the void itself:
"You believe you live on a world called the Sacred Sphere. In truth, it is but a small fragment of a grander system known as the Layered Divine Realms."
"A summoning pact is not merely a link to a beast. It is a union of consciousness, a bridge between a mortal soul and a being from another dimension, where essence exists in its purest, primal form."
"Originally, this ritual belonged solely to the Ancient Race. Over time, humans mimicked it, though only capable of binding the weakest of beasts."
"Creatures like me, Longlong, or the Ancient Spiritwood Fiend, were not born in this world. We hail from the Primordial Space, known as 'Layer Zero', where thought gives birth to reality, where Universe-Class beasts and entities beyond natural law originate."
"And you, Kael… you don't form contracts like others. Your connection with me, Longlong, is a gate to the deepest tier: the Primordial Space."
"You do not choose the beast. The beast chooses you."
At this moment, the three stood atop a high mountain. Sunlight spilled over their shoulders, and before them, the city of Lumielle stretched out like a living tapestry. Roads spread like veins connecting all corners. Towering academy spires dominated the skyline.
Together, they descended the mountain path, heading toward the city's heart: the Astra Academy.
Its gates were crafted from primal crystal, etched with ancient runes. As they opened, it was as though fate itself welcomed them.
Lania whispered,
"We… we've truly stepped into another world."
The Astra Academy was unlike any place of training they had seen. It wasn't simply about power, it was a crucible for personal strategy, team coordination, the study of mana essence, and the analysis of dimensional summoning.
Draven grinned, his eyes blazing with energy:
"This will be the forge that turns us… into something greater!"
Kael said nothing. But in his eyes, the spark of discovery. His mind already raced with curiosity and vision.
Above the gate, the academy's glowing runes lit up:
"Knowledge is the key to the universe."
Three souls now stood before a magnificent threshold, one that would change the fate of all who walked through it.
"Power. Unity. Knowledge."
"Behind us lies the past. Before us… the future of the greatest summoner begins!"
[End of Chapter 8]
Next Chapter 9: Astra Academy