MATTHEW'S POV
The figure stood protectively in front of me. I stupidly watched with my mouth open. 'Did I... Do that?'
"Ugh!" I snapped back to reality when the blond-haired guy grunted. The weird creature had tackled him to the ground. When the guy pointed his gun at it, the creature was fast enough to slap the gun out of his grasp.
The creature made a sound like he was laughing. I saw fear flashed in the guy's eyes. The strange creature widely opened his mouth - it intended to eat its prey.
"No!" As soon as I yelled, the figure I just summoned rushed in to help the trapped boy. The shadow figure punched the creature away with such force.
As the figure did this, I felt excruciating pain blow up inside my head. I screamed in agony. 'W-What's happening?'
The creature tried to stand up. The shadow figure pinned it to the ground and mercilessly ripped it to shreds. I felt another wave pain, my chest felt like it was the one being ripped apart. I took a step back at the sudden feeling. The blond-haired guy rushed to catch me before I could fall.
"You're doing great. Keep it up. I called the others here."
I watched as the shadow figure rammed all of the creatures on its own. Hitting a few trees in the process. I would have been amazed if only I didn't feel tired and pained as the creatures got hit one by one.
The world was spinning. My mind felt it was being burned by flames. I couldn't see anything clearly.
One creature had pushed right past the shadow figure and charged towards us. The guy grabbed his gun and pointed it at the creature. He pulled the trigger. The bullet hit the creature at one of its arms. The creature stumbled back and hit the shadow figure, who punched it in return. My legs were about to give out.
"Damn. Gold eyes really are powerful." I heard the guy mutter.
The creatures that surrounded us earlier were now lifeless on the ground. The shadow figure stomped on one more creature before turning to me.
I stared at him right in the eyes. The golden glow emitted power, I could feel it and I was sure the guy did too. The shadow figure bowed before me. Then it disappeared with the wind.
I felt dizzy, I couldn't handle it anymore.
I landed on my knees. The guy held me by my shoulders and also knelt. "Hey, just a little more! We'll get you out of here." His eyes explored the area. "I guess you just single-handedly took down all of them."
My ears rang, my head hurt, it was getting hard to breathe. I fell forward.
"Damn!" Before I blacked out, I saw the same group of people running towards where we are.
-
My eyes snapped open. I was laying on the ground in an unfamiliar place. I slowly sat up and groaned. "Where am I?"
I heard snarling from my side. I quickly looked over in its direction to see a shadow figure charging right at me. I put my hands in front of me - a useless shield, I know. But I didn't have anything else.
Nothing ever came. I opened an eye to see the shadow figure just standing there. It had the same features as me, except for the eyes that glowed gold.
Y̶o̶u̶'r̶e̶ f̶i̶n̶a̶l̶l̶y̶ a̶w̶a̶k̶e̶.
Even though the figure didn't open its mouth to speak, I knew he was the owner of that voice. My eye twitched and I shouted, "What the hell man?! What was that for?!"
The voice laughed. Y̶o̶u̶ c̶o̶u̶l̶d̶ s̶a̶y̶ i̶t̶'s̶... P̶a̶y̶b̶a̶c̶k̶ f̶o̶r̶ n̶o̶t̶ s̶u̶m̶m̶o̶n̶i̶n̶g̶ m̶e̶ f̶o̶r̶ t̶w̶o̶ y̶e̶a̶r̶s̶.
"I didn't even know you exist. How could I?" That was my defense. The voice sighed and I could hear it whisper. G̶o̶o̶d̶ t̶h̶i̶n̶g̶ y̶o̶u̶'r̶e̶ p̶o̶w̶e̶r̶f̶u̶l̶ M̶a̶t̶t̶h̶e̶w̶. I̶f̶ n̶o̶t̶...
The voice paused as if it was making a mistake. F̶o̶r̶g̶e̶t̶ w̶h̶a̶t̶ I̶ h̶a̶v̶e̶ s̶a̶i̶d̶. A̶l̶s̶o̶, f̶o̶r̶g̶i̶v̶e̶ m̶e̶ f̶o̶r̶ d̶o̶i̶n̶g̶ s̶u̶c̶h̶ a̶n̶ a̶c̶t̶, m̶a̶s̶t̶e̶r̶.
'Master?'
"Um, you're forgiven? Anyway, what is this place?" I looked around, all I saw was nothing but darkness.
Y̶o̶u̶ c̶o̶u̶l̶d̶ s̶a̶y̶ i̶t̶ i̶s̶ m̶y̶ h̶o̶m̶e̶. I̶ l̶i̶v̶e̶d̶ h̶e̶r̶e̶ f̶o̶r̶ t̶w̶o̶ y̶e̶a̶r̶s̶ u̶n̶t̶i̶l̶ y̶o̶u̶ s̶u̶m̶m̶o̶n̶e̶d̶ m̶e̶.
'Wait, the math doesn't add up.'
"You said you lived here for two years. I just summoned you for the first time earlier though. I'm seventeen."
Y̶o̶u̶ w̶e̶r̶e̶ s̶u̶p̶p̶o̶s̶e̶ t̶o̶ s̶u̶m̶m̶o̶n̶ m̶e̶ w̶h̶e̶n̶ y̶o̶u̶ w̶e̶r̶e̶ f̶i̶f̶t̶e̶e̶n̶. T̶h̶a̶t̶ i̶s̶ w̶h̶y̶ I̶ d̶e̶c̶i̶d̶e̶d̶ t̶o̶ m̶a̶k̶e̶ y̶o̶u̶ t̶r̶e̶m̶b̶l̶e̶ a̶ b̶i̶t̶ f̶o̶r̶ t̶h̶a̶t̶. Y̶o̶u̶ k̶e̶p̶t̶ m̶e̶ i̶n̶ h̶e̶r̶e̶ f̶o̶r̶ a̶ l̶o̶n̶g̶ t̶i̶m̶e̶.
"Why couldn't I summon you two years ago?"
T̶h̶a̶t̶ i̶s̶ f̶o̶r̶ y̶o̶u̶ t̶o̶ k̶n̶o̶w̶, a̶n̶d̶ f̶o̶r̶ m̶e̶ t̶o̶ a̶s̶k̶.
"Sorry, but if it isn't obvious already I also don't know the reason."
T̶h̶a̶t̶ i̶s̶ o̶k̶a̶y̶, m̶a̶s̶t̶e̶r̶. I̶'m̶ s̶u̶r̶e̶ t̶h̶a̶t̶, w̶i̶t̶h̶i̶n̶ t̶i̶m̶e̶, y̶o̶u̶'l̶l̶ f̶i̶n̶d̶ o̶u̶t̶ t̶h̶e̶ r̶e̶a̶s̶o̶n̶ f̶o̶r̶ y̶o̶u̶r̶s̶e̶l̶f̶.
"I hope so. You said this was your home after I summoned you. What do you mean by that?"
T̶h̶a̶t̶ m̶e̶a̶n̶s̶ I̶ l̶i̶v̶e̶ i̶n̶s̶i̶d̶e̶ y̶o̶u̶ n̶o̶w̶. S̶i̶n̶c̶e̶ y̶o̶u̶ h̶a̶v̶e̶ p̶r̶o̶v̶e̶n̶ t̶h̶a̶t̶ y̶o̶u̶ c̶o̶u̶l̶d̶ s̶u̶m̶m̶o̶n̶ m̶e̶, I̶ g̶a̶v̶e̶ y̶o̶u̶ m̶y̶ s̶e̶r̶v̶i̶c̶e̶s̶. I̶ p̶r̶o̶m̶i̶s̶e̶d̶ t̶o̶ s̶t̶a̶y̶ b̶e̶s̶i̶d̶e̶ y̶o̶u̶, a̶n̶d̶ p̶r̶o̶t̶e̶c̶t̶ y̶o̶u̶ f̶r̶o̶m̶ t̶h̶o̶s̶e̶ c̶r̶e̶a̶t̶u̶r̶e̶s̶.
"Those creatures... What exactly are they? And also, What are you?"
The voice chuckled. T̶h̶e̶ o̶n̶e̶s̶ w̶a̶i̶t̶i̶n̶g̶ f̶o̶r̶ y̶o̶u̶ t̶o̶ w̶a̶k̶e̶ u̶p̶ w̶i̶l̶l̶ a̶n̶s̶w̶e̶r̶ y̶o̶u̶r̶ q̶u̶e̶s̶t̶i̶o̶n̶s̶. I̶f̶ n̶o̶t̶ m̶o̶r̶e̶. F̶a̶r̶e̶w̶e̶l̶l̶, m̶a̶s̶t̶e̶r̶. U̶n̶t̶i̶l̶ w̶e̶ m̶e̶e̶t̶ a̶g̶a̶i̶n̶.
A bright light came from above.
-
My eyes fluttered open. I was in a large room laying on a soft red bed. A small table with a lamp and a chair was present not too far away. There were two doors here - one must lead to a bathroom. The walls were painted white with the ceramic tiles black. A seemingly empty closet with a mirror stood near the bedroom door. Other than those, the room looked pretty boring.
I struggled sitting up. My whole body hurts. The sunlight peeked from the window, making the room decorated with light. I groaned as pain shot through my arms, legs, torso, and head. I noticed I was still in my uniform.
'How did it come to this?'
Then I remembered everything. Scenes from that night flashed before my eyes. I saw how I followed the elites to the school gates, how I almost got mauled by a strange creature, how a guy saved me, how I summoned the owner of the voice I had been hearing, and how I never knew I weilded such an incredible power.
Questions came back to my mind. The things that happened. It was so unreal.
"Hey, you're finally up." I heard the door click open. Standing at the doorway was the same blond-haired guy who saved me.
"H-How long was I out?" I croaked. I was burning up.
"About three days."
'Three days?!'
"Oh no! I have to go-"
"Woah. If I were you, I would take it easy. It was your first time summoning a soul protector, I presume?"
"Yeah... How did you know?" The guy walked over to me and grabbed the chair to sit on.
"For one, I've never seen you before. All of the elites were present in the Elite building on the first day. Two, you couldn't handle the exhaustion so you're must not yet use to summoning the soul protector." He clarified.
"Soul protector. So that's what they're called."
"Yes. It's because they take a fragment of your soul as they fight and protect. That's why you feel tired of every move they make."
"All of this seems so... Unreal."
The blond-haired guy laughed. "I know what you feel. I've been summoning a soul protector for 3 years now. Speaking of summoning..." He crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. "Why don't you know about the soul protector? Why weren't you transferred to the Elite building?"
"I wish I could answer your questions like you answered mine. Unfortunately, I also don't know." I bowed my head down. It was always an 'I don't know' for me.
"Don't worry about it. I'm sure you have more questions though. I'll answer them. But first, What's your name?"
"Matthew. Matthew Martinez. Yours?"
"Samuel. Samuel Del Rosario." He smiled. We shook hands and the questions came.
"What was that place? What were those creatures called?"
"That was the Night Fog Forest, a place in the underworld where the Ventifios try to escape. We have to make sure that won't happen. If it did, hell would break loose on Earth." Samuel shivered when he finished saying the last part. I felt goosebumps.
"Why do they even exist?"
"That's a long story. I'll tell you all about it once you're comfortable at summoning a soul protector." That was understandable, but why did he say that like I'll be summoning that thing frequently?
"You shot one of it with a gun. Why didn't it die?"
"For the Ventifio to die, you need something more powerful than a bullet. And that is your soul." It sounded ominous and creepy when Samuel said that. I involuntarily rubbed my arms to calm myself.
"How does this whole thing even work?"
"Only at nine o'clock, the portal to the underworld can be accessed. We're doing a huge favor to the world by doing this. Have you ever watched the news and an 'unexplained' accident popped up? Well, that could also be caused by a Ventifio." Samuel scratched the back of his neck.
"What?! I thought it was your duty to keep them at the underworld? How did they get out?"
"Hey, we're not invincible, okay? We sometimes slip up too. The school pays for our transportation tickets if the Ventifio strayed too far from us. We even had to fly to London when one escaped. The school's rich."
'Wait, he said ventifios could escape... Is that what I saw when I went for a jog the other day? I wonder if they took care of it. And mom said to not stay out later than nine o'clock and to not involve myself with an elite. Did she know about this? If yes, why didn't she tell me?'
When my questions had been answered, another one pops up. I felt like blacking out again.
"Where am I?" Samuel smiled and said, "We're at the Elite mansion."
I was appalled.
"Mansion?! As in... A house for rich people?!"
Samuel shrugged and chuckled at my reaction. "Yes, that's one way to describe it."
"Why are you guys staying at a mansion?" I shifted my position so now I was facing Samuel properly.
"Like I said - the school's rich. Also, this was a gift to 'pay' for our efforts." He quoted. I stood up. My legs shook like it was jelly and I was wobbling like an earthquake was occurring. "Slow down, would you? You just took down at least five ventifios on your own. I understand if you want to get more rest." Samuel put both of his hands on my shoulders and sat me down on the bed.
"I already missed three days of school. And I have a report to get back to."
Samuel looked at me like I was crazy. "You just experienced what we elites have to go through for years. And you're worried about school?"
"I-I..." I stammered. I didn't have any explanation for that. My problems most of the time were school works, not this.
"The principal will take care of it. Speaking of the principal..." Samuel stood up from his seat. "I know that I said you should get more rest, but know that the principal is visiting us around nine o'clock."
'9:00? What time is it right now?'
I scanned the room for a clock only to find that there wasn't one. "Hey, what time is it exactly right now?"
"Last I checked, It was around 8:30 in the morning."
'I have time to get ready then.'
Samuel left the room and came back with new clothes. "I don't think you'll be comfortable in your uniform, so I asked Zed to buy one in your size."
"I assume Zed is also an elite?" Samuel nodded. "He is."
Samuel left the room again to let me change. It was slightly creepy that they knew my size, but I wasn't gonna complain. I changed into a black t-shirt with a yellow star in the middle and gray sweatpants. I stared at my reflection on the mirror. I looked normal, but what I did three days ago wasn't.
I exited the comforts of my room.
My jaw dropped when I saw just how big the mansion was.
It was up to the third floor. There was a railing to avoid falling to the first floor, as it gave us a view of the center of the living room - Like a mall.
I couldn't see the floor above me - only doors - but the first floor was a sight to see. Shiny white tiles reflected the light from the gold chandeliers that hung from the ceiling. A black leather couch a bit to the right was in front of a television and a coffee table between it. Another black couch was at the center of the living room. On the farthest left was an entrance - and was that a kitchen I see on the opposite side?
29 people, ages 15 to 21, gathered around at the central couch. They seemed to be talking about something. A girl with black hair and blue eyes looked up at me through her eyelashes. She seemed to be around my age. "He's here." When she said that, all of them stopped talking and looked up at me.
I shuffled at my feet. I wasn't used to so much attention fixated on me. I felt conscious of myself. "Hey, Matthew! Come on down!" Samuel yelled from the first floor. I did as he told me to and went around to find the stairs. It was found just a bit to my right.
'Going down the first floor, their stares becoming more intense. Surrounded by elites. Great. I'm loving it.'
That was sarcasm, by the way.
Sighing, I went up to Samuel. A tall guy with black hair and black eyes stood next to him. He looked solemn. "Matthew, this is Zed. Zed, meet Matthew."
Zed looked at me up and down with narrowed eyes. He nodded, "Nice to meet you. I'm Zed Villaroa."
'Why do I get the feeling I've heard of his last name before?'
"Likewise. I'm Matthew Martinez."
'Oh, well, it can't be that important.'
"I would love to introduce everyone to you, but there's too many of us. Why don't you eat first and wait for the principal to arrive?" Samuel showed me the dining table. It was in front of the kitchen. "Are there any particular dishes you want?"
"O-Oh, I'll have anything. I'm not picky. Thank you." Samuel left to go to the kitchen. Wait, who's cooking?
I didn't get the chance to ask. Samuel came back to the table holding a tray that had pancakes on it with chocolate syrup.
'That was fast. Do they also have a personal chef or something?'
My life kept getting weirder. Samuel set the tray in front of me and motioned to it. "Eat."
My stomach growled as he said that. I thanked him for the food and began to dig in. Chocolate syrup and pancakes just might be my favorite breakfast now. Kudos to the one who made it.
"So, this is the one that has a soul protector with gold eyes too?" The girl who first spotted me earlier came into the room. Samuel nodded as an answer.
"Such a shame. If only you began fighting at the age you were supposed to get your soul protector, maybe you'd be even more powerful by now." I swallowed my food. It seemed to create a barrier in my throat and made me lose my voice.
"Then maybe you could teach him, Ashley? You have the same level of soul protector as him." Samuel said.
"I only teach those who I'm sure has the potential to be strong." I felt like this girl, 'Ashley', just low-key insulted me.
"How about this? It was his first time summoning a soul protector. He took down five Ventifios on his own and saved me. How's that for strong?" Samuel came to my rescue.
"Hm, not bad, I must admit. But still not enough. Prove to me that you're worthy to have the elite title." Ashley turned on her heel and strutted away. Samuel combed his hair using his hand. "Sorry for that, Matthew. Ashley descended from an ancestry of elites that served the moon goddess since the beginning."
'Moon goddess?'
"Do you mean Selene?"
Samuel smiled widely. "You know the legend?"
"I only know that she's the moon goddess." I told him.
"I see. You'll get to know that later. For now, I suggest you keep eating."
"Thanks for everything, Samuel." The gray-eyed boy laughed and waved his hand. "Don't worry about it."
The ring of a doorbell echoed through the room. The elites straightened their posture, including Samuel. "The principal's here."