Darian had never heard the term "Summoner" before, but given the situation, he figured that's what people in this universe were called. He stared into those amber eyes, and just as he was about to ask a question, a massive wave of weakness hit him.
It felt like he'd been through an insanely long and draining battle… well, he kinda had.
Without realizing it, he just passed out.
...
Some time later, he woke up. The first thing he felt was warmth running through his body — a physical connection he recognized. It was very different from being just a soul.
'A body… did I go back to Earth?' he thought, still a bit disoriented.
But the very next second, he noticed something weird and tried to sense what was around him...
'Wait... this is a body, but it's not mine!'
'Hm? You're awake.'
A soft female voice broke through his thoughts.
He couldn't see anything but darkness again. Given the situation, everything that had happened finally came back to him.
Darian tried to calm himself down and asked, 'Who are you? Where am I?'
'My name is Niara. You're inside my body, since you don't have one of your own to stay in and recover. This is a method used by Summoners, meant to help their partner heal when they haven't formed their physical body yet. I didn't think it would work… but we really are connected by the contract, just like we should be…'
Darian was stunned. He was really inside her body?
'As for us… we're stuck in the Celestial Academy's dungeon,' Niara added, sounding thoughtful.
That made him panic: 'Dungeon? Why am I in a dungeon?'
'I was the one imprisoned here. I summoned you… and you were supposed to be my Spiritual Guardian. But everything's completely different from what I studied…'
She answered, and Darian went quiet, thinking.
Back on Earth, his instructor had said that if he passed the test, he'd be taken to a safe place… well, he was in a dungeon. Calling this place "safe" was a stretch, but at least he didn't feel the presence of any of those monsters.
'My test wasn't like the others'... I don't even know if it was a test.' Darian muttered inwardly, tense. 'Well, at least I didn't get sent back to Earth disqualified.'
That thought brought a small sense of relief — until he remembered something important.
'What did you do to end up here?'
He heard a quiet sigh first.
'I've killed more people than I can count. A lot of them deserved it… but many were innocent. Those are my crimes. But I was the one who turned myself in.'
Her voice wasn't cold. Every word came out heavy, like it weighed on her chest.
Darian felt a strange pain. Why was he feeling that?
On Earth, his life had been peaceful — until the day his mother died. And in that "test," he fought and killed things that didn't even seem alive... even though he knew they were. But he never felt anything after taking them down — their dark aura and his will to survive made him forget all of that.
He couldn't imagine killing a real person. But now, everything had changed. He had to fight to survive, and he'd do whatever it took. Still, he had a line he'd never cross; he'd never kill an innocent person on purpose.
He sighed… he saw her past. Her life wasn't simple, and he couldn't judge someone from another universe by Earth's standards. Even after she admitted what she did, for some reason, he didn't feel any evil in her.
'My bloodline is really weak, and I can feel the contract between us is complete.' Niara said seriously. 'But… why do I have a spiritual root now? What happened?'
Silence fell for a few seconds. Let's not forget that she wasn't supposed to have a Spiritual Root; Darian was. The roles were inverted.
Darian decided to be honest. If she was his partner, they couldn't start things off with lies — that would go nowhere.
'When I got here... you were dead.'
He felt her heart pound like a drum. Then she took a deep breath...
'I really didn't survive… the curse pill kicked in.' She confirmed what her memories had already told her, but she hadn't believed it until now. '... So how am I alive now?'
Darian answered without hesitation: 'I can't really explain. I'm being honest. I just tried to use my power... something I only recently discovered I even had, and I still barely understand it. So I just tried to heal you somehow… and this is how things turned out.'
She was speechless. Strangely, Darian felt something warm well up inside him. It was a rush of intense euphoria. He was totally confused by those feelings, and only then realized they weren't coming from him.
The bond he had created between them still existed. That bond let him feel what she felt — and they could even communicate directly through their souls.
Niara started talking, her voice full of burning emotion: 'You activated my spiritual root... that should be impossible for anyone in my universe. We can't beat our enemies because we can't awaken our roots or even gather Qi. That's why the only way we can survive is by becoming Summoners — hoping to form a contract with a Spiritual Guardian from another universe.'
Darian understood now. His instructor had said the Awakened ones were special. As for how he did something no one else could… there was no way to know yet.
Darian realized something dangerous. Having a power so different from others drew attention — good or bad. How would people react to this ability? Could he defend himself if someone tried to use him?
'Niara, I'm still figuring out how my power works…'
'Don't worry about that.' she cut him off quickly. Of course she could feel what he was feeling and understood where he was going with that.
'I can sense you managed to create a ring, right? I don't know how you function, since you said you don't have a spiritual root. But all the other Spiritual Guardians can only feel each other's rings. The spiritual root, once the ring is formed, is only used to make your power flow and connect to the heavenly laws. Me having one now won't alert anyone.'
Darian let out a sigh of relief. Since he had a ring, no one would notice the abnormal things he had done.
'I ended up stealing your bloodline to create the ring in me. With this spiritual root, can you fight now?' Darian asked, curious.
'Hm? It's impossible to steal my bloodline. I'm a descendant of the Divine Dragon. You just took all the energy. With time, the bloodline runes in my body will come back. Some of them already have.'
Niara answered, then took a deep breath, trying something. After a few seconds, she let out a frustrated sigh.
'I really can't do it, even with a spiritual root. People from my universe can't awaken them, and we can't gather Qi either. The laws of this universe stop us from doing both. It's like having a cup, but being unable to pour water into it.'
Darian felt a bit disappointed. Still, the fact that he'd awakened that in her had saved her. She had said she was a descendant of a Divine Dragon. According to the book, dragons were the most powerful of the Primordial Beasts, the first beings born in the universes.
Her bloodline definitely came from a Primordial Dragon. It was like having a monster living inside your body, giving you power and completely transforming your physical structure into something unnatural.
With her spiritual root awakened, that ancient monster had woken up too, giving her vital energy and allowing her to come back to life. It wasn't Darian who brought her back directly—after all, the power of the ring he used didn't have healing abilities like that strange white power.
'Well, maybe we'll figure out other benefits from this,' Darian said in a casual tone. 'I still don't know much about my power, and I'm way too weak to protect myself. Since I've got the ring and no one can tell what really happened, let's just say you're my Summoner. I need to be careful.'
She agreed, still radiating excitement. Then she added:
'I can't formally introduce myself right now—we'll do that later. I'll follow standard Summoner protocol. I'm gonna explain the basics to you.'
Darian nodded. He needed information more than anything.
'First, about our contract. You're someone from another universe, and you came here to make a fair trade.' She spoke calmly. 'I summoned you using the usual method. The fact that you came and used my power proves the contract is already sealed. Now we're linked by life and death. I'll help you get stronger and find resources. In exchange, you'll help me defeat the Risen and save my home.'
'Life and death… so that was already active when I arrived? I didn't get any say in choosing a partner?' Darian asked, surprised.
'Yep. The base of the contract is set from the start by the Heaven's Will and can't be rejected, only completed. We Summoners know you guys don't actually die—you just wake up back home, alive, but you lose everything. To keep things fair here, because of our bond, if the Summoner dies, the Spiritual Guardian dies too and suffers the same consequences,' Niara replied calmly.
Darian listened seriously. Their connection had only fully formed when he made his two rings appear. It was even before he created the 'normal' ring. Now he understood that there had already been a faint link between them from the start.
When the power of the rings activated, it linked directly to her, completing the contract. Without that prior connection, he wouldn't have been able to do what he did.
And regarding the relationship between Summoners and Guardians—it really did seem fair. Both sides had to protect and support each other no matter what. That was the biggest weakness of the Spiritual Guardians: no matter how strong you were, if your Summoner died, you were done for too.
She continued:
'As for choosing a partner... it's mutual; neither side chooses directly. According to old legends, your karmas only connect if there's destiny between you. There's no such thing as the wrong Summoner with the wrong Guardian. It's always a perfect match—for better or for worse.'
Darian understood—like attracts like. A lunatic could only be matched with another. He and Niara hadn't talked much, but he instinctively felt they'd get along. It was just easier to deal with someone who's kind of like you.
'Alright, but we're still locked up... doesn't that go against the rules? How am I supposed to get any resources like this?'
'Yeah, it does. But that happened before I became a Summoner. They thought I failed the test and locked me up. Now…'
Their mental conversation was suddenly interrupted. The sound of footsteps echoed, and a faint light appeared in the distance, breaking the darkness.
'Now that I managed to summon you, they can't keep me here anymore. They'll have to let me go...'
*Swish!*
The sound of a blade being slowly drawn cut her off mid-sentence.
Right then, a figure fully dressed in black stepped into view, radiating a killing intent. It was clearly someone who wasn't here to talk.
A suffocating sense of danger closed in around Darian. In that moment, he remembered the situation they were in.
He muttered:
'You... don't tell me... you're completely sealed, with no way to fight back or even speak out loud, are you?'
'Correct.'
Darian froze. He had barely arrived—and was already one step away from being sent back home.