"Is he dead?" One of the Mages asked as Ashton fell to the ground with a loud thud with his eyes shutting abruptly as soon as he had fallen to the ground.
"He is not dead…" Master Chen announced holding his hands together as he raised himself up from watching Ashton who had fallen. "...yet!" He added and the other Mages gasped in awe.
"Will he die eventually?" Someone asked from the group.
"That is left for him to decide. He has gone into the labyrinth of the descendant's soul to attune to it as his spirit guide. His fate is not balanced on his shoulders alone." Master Chen explained in a husky tone.
***
"Where the hell is this?" Ashton asked no one in particular as soon as his eyes opened to find himself in a strange scenery.
The air was flowing differently in that labyrinth and he felt peace wash over his soul for the first time since he had known himself as Ashton. He let out a small sigh of appreciation and he closed his eyes to get immersed deeper into the energy of the language was in.
Suddenly, a stone was tossed at him and it hit his head from behind.
"Argh!" He groaned as he held the part of his head which had been hit by the stone. "Who the fuck is that?!" He raged as he turned around to see who had thrown a stone at him.
Standing before him as he turned was a girl, a beautiful girl who was cute and cruel at the same time. She was so pretty that stars began to flicker around her in circles. Her hair was elegantly beautiful as it changed its color every time he blinked. She had a red stamp etched right under her eyes but that stamp did not lessen any of how beautiful she was.
Ashton was so awe -stricken by her beauty that he didn't realize he had his mouth wide open agape. The tone of her face suddenly flushed off she watched him drool. One things that made her different from him was her height. She was like a miniature version of an average female and it seemed she was floating in the air.
"And who are you?" Were the first words that came out of her cute mouth. Her lips danced gracefully as they pronounced those words. Indeed, her beauty was out of the world.
Ashton finally got out of his awe stricken state and he shrugged while clearing his throat as he intended to speak again.
"I am Ashton." He subtly replied. "And you are?"
"Callista." She managed to reply, still irked by how he had presented himself to her. "Why have you come here? Who had let you in here?" She questioned again, swerving slowly towards where Ashton stood, making his heart thump as it skipped a beat.
Ashton shook his head abruptly as he tried to regain his mean demeanor. He cleared his throat because he felt his voice had been sucked up in his throat.
"Why did you hit me with a stone? Is that some manners you have up your sleeves?"
"You invaded my labyrinth and you're trying to obtain its energy for yourself." Callista replied. She then tapped her finger against her chin as she thought about something, then she remembered whatever she had wanted to recall and she continued, "Is that not what you call stealing in your world?"
"Stealing? I was just trying to immerse myself in the peaceful shower here. I have never felt anything like that before and it was normal for me to try and feel what it felt like." Ashton protested, his eyes furrowing as he spoke those words.
"Same, same," Callista fired at him. "It is still stealing something that doesn't belong to you."
"Oh please!"
"Why have you come here? Are you a student Mage?" Callista finally asked as she folded her arms against her chest.
"Yes, I am. And you are? What is this place anyway?"
"I am Callista and I am a spirit guide. This place is my labyrinth or rather still my subconscious." Callista explained.
"And why am I suddenly in a spirit guide's sub-consciousness?" Ashton asked moronically as another small frown etched on his face.
"Are you stupid or you really do not know anything about how things work in your academy?"
Ashton shrugged, seemingly not bothered by Callista's words. He kept mute as he awaited her to give more analytical details about what was going on.
"Okay, I will just explain." Callista mumbled with a hint of disappointment in her voice. "First thing you have to know is that time flows differently here and you have probably been unconscious for an hour in the normal world." She began to say.
"Eh?" Ashton shrouded not believing Callista's words. "How is that possible? I've been here for barely five minutes."
"As I have said, time flows differently here. Now, the reason why you are here is to attune to your spirit guide, which is supposed to be me so you can get your system ability." Callista continued.
"Okay, let me attune to you. I have a mission I have been assigned so I need to get out of here as soon as possible."
Callista suddenly started to laugh out loud cutely in her soft voice. She swerved relentlessly in the air. She finally stopped after a while and she turned back at Ashton.
"Can you prove yourself worthy? If you really can, I will let you attune and we shall become one." She said gloriously with a big smile sitting on her face.
"What do I have to do to prove myself as worthy?" Ashton asked to be prepared for whatever challenge she had coming.
"You have to control an elemental magic here, now!"
"What?!" Ashton exclaimed.
"The longer you stay in here, the earlier you begin to fade away from your world and then you will die in the end." Callista announced again as she began to cackle like an old witch.
"What?!"
._._._._._._._._._._._._._._
"He has been locked in his spirit guide's sub-consciousness for long. He might die now if we do not find a way to revive him." Marcus, who had by now joined the mages who were waiting at the old chapel for Ashton said.
"If he lives so be it and if he dies there, that is his fate." Master Chen said back to Marcus without an ounce of empathy in his voice.
"We cannot just watch him die and do nothing about it now when we can actually save him before the golden hour folds." Marcys protested, his voice laden with some hint of nervousness and fear.
"Do not be shaken by a mere student Mage like Ashton, Marcus." Master Chen said again.
"I am not shaken, rather I am trying to save him from death!" Marcus responded, his eyes blazing. "What do I have to do to bring him back? We have a mission to complete together do we not? If Ashton continue to stay in there for the next twenty minutes, he might eventually die if the golden hour passes by"
The other Mages in the room started to murmur at how insolent Marcus had suddenly become due to Ashton being stuck in a spirit guide's sub-consciousness for almost five hours.
"There's only one way to call him out of the sub-consciousness." Master Chen finally revealed as the voices of the other Mages added to the pressure Marcus was laying against him.
"What is that?" Marcus asked earnestly.
"You have to get into Ashton's sub-consciousness to call him out but if the golden hour passes by before you get him out,..." Master Chen paused as he looked into Marcus face to read his expression before breaking the remaining words to him. "...you will also die with him. Never to be seen again! Are you still willing to risk that for him? Are you willing to give your life up for Ashton?" He asked.
Suddenly, a deep deafening silence ensued in the chapel as everyone awaited Marcus' final response. Master Chen's hope's were raised against all odds that Marcus will choose not to go find Ashton in his sub-consciousness. The tension in the room became palpable and everyone was eager to hear Marcus' resolve.
Finally, Marcus took a deep breath and without much hesitation he voiced out his response to Master Chen's question.
"I will."