N-no, this can't be happening!? Sho thought.
He touched his face with both of his paws, feeling his soft paws over his face and his silky fur. He burrowed his face on the ground and felt something moving behind, his tail. While he was hiding his face, Sho noticed that he was standing on what seemed to be a pentagram written on the floor, with some texts of some unknown language.
Is this..a spell circle!?
He looked up and noticed that the people around him were wearing what seemed to be a uniform of some sort.
"Awwwww" The people around him gasped collectively as they saw the summoned black cat looking at them as if it was studying them.
"My, my, the cat looks surprised to be here." One of the students gathering around Sho said.
"Yes, Ms. Cecile. The cat does look kinda shocked.... or weird." Another chimed in
A tall lady with lavender-colored hair and black round glasses approached Sho and took a careful look at him, noting all of his features.
"Hmmmm, it does look different from what I was expecting.. But nevertheless, good job, Alice." The lady said as she walked behind Sho and patted a girl on her shoulder.
The girl has short ashen hair, dark red-colored eyes, and skin as white as snow. She looked surprised and shaken when she saw Sho, all curled up on the floor. She was nervous a while ago she might fail the summoning spell and get embarrassed across the entire classroom, again. But now, all her worries were gone and is now replaced with glee and a cheerful smile. She thought that this might be the start of a series of good things happening to her.
"Dear, please pick your pet up and bring it to your table." The teacher instructed.
"Now can the next student please stand up now and prepare to summon their familiar?" She added, then a new student stood in line behind the pentagram while Alice picked Sho up.
Sho's eyes widened as the girl began to pick him up
What are you doing!? Where are you taking me??
"Come on, Mr. kitty." Alice said cheerfully as she held Sho on the belly and picked him up. She could feel how Sho was shaking when she held him. She held him higher and raised Sho eye level until both of them were looking eye-to-eye.
"Don't worry, Mr. Kitty. I'll make sure to take good care of you!" Alice assured.
But Sho still couldn't believe what was happening. He still had a lot to process.
Nooo, this can't be happening This can't be real. Sho thought.
And because of this, he suddenly wiggled himself out of Alice's grasp and landed on the floor on his feet.
"Kitty!" Alice said
Sho saw that the rear door of the room was wide open, hence, he immediately ran out. Alice, noticing that her pet was running away, tried to catch up but bumped into several students who were standing in line for the summoning test, causing her to lose the cat.
Some of Alice's classmate saw this incident and began murmuring around her.
"Look, she lost her pet."
"Clumsy Alice, I knew this would happen sooner or later."
"Can't believe she's from House Dawnbirth, imagine the embarrassment she's making every time she fails."
"She fails all the time, I can't believe they're making her their hero"
Alice heard all of this, and though she was used to it every time she fails, she couldn't numb out the pain that goes along with hearing it. She held back a sob and instead ran out of the room, not having a single clue where she could find her pet.
Meanwhile, Sho kept on running and running around the hallway, not knowing where to go. Until he saw a door slightly left opened and decided to enter to the room to gather his thoughts once again.
The room was dimly lit and quiet. Unlike where he found himself earlier, this doesn't to be a classroom. A statue of some lady was standing in the middle of the room and around it was wall of fountains, creating a soothing sound of flowing water around.
Sho caught his breath as he slowly approached the statue, taking a good look of what he was seeing. Then he realized it was the same lady he talked to at the party, the goddess.
"Hello, we meet again." The statue spoke
Sho jumped a few feet in the air in the air, like how house cats do, which made the goddess giggle.
"My, my, my, aren't you an energetic feline friend." The statue mused as it starts to move slowly and put its hands down in a more comfortable pose.
"What did you do to me?" Sho asked furiously
"Why, I saved your life. If it wasn't to me, you'll be wandering aimlessly in that black void that mortals call death, or maybe even worse."
"I-I, I have so many questions an-"
"Unfortunately, we don't have much time but I'm sure you'll figure out most of them on your own."
Sho sighed and eased up a bit, realizing that everything happening around him might be all true and not some horrific nightmare.
"Why am I here? Why did you saved me?"
"I brought you here because I need your abilities, this world needs your abilities."
Did the goddess just said this world? Is this somewhere far from earth? Sho then confirmed that this world is indeed a different one from where he was.
"This world? What happened to my own world?"
"Do you remember the accident?" The goddess asked and Sho nodded in response
"After you got hit by the vehicle your soul wandered around your world without a physical body to tether it in your realm. So I took it upon myself to save your soul from vanishing by bringing you here and giving you a new purpose"
"Wait, so I died!?"
"No, no, no. But your body is currently in bad shape and you won't be waking up soon even if your soul was to return to its body. Your doctors call it comatose I believe."
Sho suddenly felt heavy and grim, realizing what happened to him and everything he left behind. The goddess sensed this rising conflict within him so she made her move
"But all is not lost." Sho heard and looked up to the Goddess.
"That is why I brought you here, to strike a bargain."
Of course, Sho said to himself. The goddess wouldn't save a mortal like him if there wasn't any catch. He guessed, even higher beings tick the same way like humans do at some point.
Sho, now fired up with a mix of determination and angst, stood in all fours and looked the goddess in the eye
"What is it? What do you want?"
"I can give you your old life back, or bring you back to your world and heal you as if nothing happened." The goddess folded her arms in a cross and placed one hand on her chin
"But? What do I need to do in return?"
"A great danger is looming over this world, and I fear its people won't be enough to stop it. That's where you come in"
"To fight this great danger??"
"No, to guide its people."
"What??"
The goddess giggled in response.
"You'll understand what you exactly need to do, don't worry."
"And if I don't? What happens to me if I fail?"
"If you fail, everyone and everything fails." The goddess then gave a serious look.
Sho felt that what ever this was, it had a sense of great seriousness and responsibility. And even though he was unsure how he should solve it, he knew he didn't had any choice but to push through.
"I understand. I'll do my best, but you better keep your bargain."
"Why, of course. And don't worry, I will be giving out some help from time to time."
"Like what?"
"Oopps, looks like I have to go now, one of the key people to our success is coming." The goddess said then she slowly walked back to her pedestal and returned to her original pose
"Wait!-" But Sho was ignored and the goddess returned to a statue again.
Seconds later, the door behind Sho opened wide and someone came in. The sound of them catching their breath echoed around room.
"Finally, I found you. I knew I'd find you here. Thank you, Celeste"
Sho looked behind him and saw his master, Alice.