1985: Dawn of a New World (A Summoner Fanfic)

Chapter 43 - Alpha, Beta, Omega

A blinding light suddenly covered the room, the moment the masked man tapped Mark's forehead. When the light disappeared, an unknown symbol can be seen tattooed on Mark's forehead with the boy suddenly going unconscious.

"Woah wait. I went through all the trouble of waking him up, only for you to put him back to sleep?" Aina protested as she tries to shake Mark once again.

"I didn't remember giving the order to wake him up. And what you are doing is futile." The masked man responded keeping his stare at the current unconscious Mark.

"Jeez, why do you want to wake that boy up so badly!" The man who was previously left as Mark's sentry suddenly spoke up.

"Well, shouldn't we be asking him about the Alpha demon already!" Aina hissed in annoyance giving up on trying to wake Mark up.

"Patience, we will have our answer once the ritual is over. In the meantime, call the rest of the brotherhood here, we have plenty of things to talk about."

Aina and the other guy stared at each other for a few seconds as if trying to convince each other to carry on the current command. It didn't take that long though before both of them decide to leave the room.

"It's been quite a long time Mark. Now you're here to fulfill what you ought to accomplish." The masked man spoke up in a hushed voice, the moment the two left the room.

Meanwhile, in Mark's dream, the boy suddenly found himself surrounded by darkness. In front of him, exactly at the line of his eyesight is Frost floating in the air, glowing in an emerald-colored light. Mark tried to walk towards his demon however, he was pushed back upon making contact with an invisible barrier which gave him a sudden shock and made the boy fell with his back on the floor.

Mark got up quickly, keeping his stare at his demon. He watched as Frost glimmer alternately between emerald and bluish-white. Frost appears to be unconscious yet still in an upright position except that its head is bowed.

Not too long, Mark heard voices that seem to be coming from everywhere, yet synchronized in speech. He can't seem to make out what the voices are saying. The voices appear to be chanting in an unknown tongue. 

Having heard the voices, Mark's attention suddenly switched from his demon to the dark emptiness around him, trying to find out where the voices could be coming from.

"Be still human child, for this is merely but a test. No harm awaits you whether you succeed or fail. But know that your demon's fate shall be decided by each of your choices." The voice now seemed to be of one origin yet projected from different directions. A blinding light suddenly exploded at the center of the room or at least between Mark and his demon for the room seems to be of no end in width nor depth.

Mark can't help but to suddenly close his eyes, even while being shielded by his right hand.

It only took a few winks before the light disappeared, along with his demon and the darkness that surround the room. Mark now found himself in a dungeon-like room covered with a moldy brick wall. In front of him, there seems to be a long corridor with its end seem to have been swallowed by darkness.

The dungeon is lit by old medieval torches, perfectly lined with similar distance, hanging on each wall of the long corridor.

Mark tried to wait for the voice to speak once again. He kept his stance, looking around him for anything that might show him what his next action with but the dungeon seems to be empty save for its old lighting devices.

After waiting for a while, Mark finally decided to walk forward giving up with his thought of hearing the voice again to at least give him a hint of what to do. As he walks, more torches suddenly lit up but still not showing him the end of the corridor he is currently threading.