SSS-Ranked Summoner: Only I Summon All Heroes And Heroines Of Legend-Chapter 23: Herald Of The Watchers

TAP.

Altair’s feet hit solid ground, but his stomach was restless. The vertigo caused by the transportation was worse this time, like his entire sense of balance had been scrambled and reassembled wrong.

He staggered a bit before balancing himself, and looked up.

"What the hell?"

They weren’t in the cavern anymore.

They were standing on a floating island that looked made of rock, maybe thirty feet across, suspended in nothing. There was ground beneath it and no sky above. Just a void space that stretched in every direction, broken only by other floating platforms scattered at random intervals. Some were close enough to jump to. Others drifted so far away they looked like distant stars.

The void was moderately lit, from sources unknown. And the air was still, not a trace of wind. Yet, they could breathe.

Ryka’s face paled, as she turned in a slow circle. "Where are we?"

Altair pulled out his phone. The screen was black. He tried tapping on it, it was blank. Held down the power button, the phone remained the same, dead.

"Bad news, phone’s dead," he said quietly.

Svenja’s orbs materialized immediately, rotating around her in tight, defensive orbits. She didn’t say anything, her posture hadn’t shifted, but she was on high alert.

Altair looked toward the nearest platforms. Most were empty, just rock floating in the void. But one, about fifty feet away and slightly elevated, had something on it.

A figure.

Standing perfectly still.

Tall and wrapped in ash-grey bandages from head to toe, with a few gaps which showed the same skin tone. A flowing cloak draped over it’s broad shoulders, inscribed with strange patterns that were unreadable from that distance. The hood was pulled up, and beneath it, a smooth mask covered it’s face. It had no features, except two glowing eye holes.

The figure didn’t move. It just stood there, watching them.

Altair’s brushed his arm instinctively, feeling the space where his summoning seal rested beneath his sleeve.

"Stay close," he said quietly.

Ryka stepped up beside him, her seal already throbbed faintly at her wrist. "What is that?"

"I don’t know."

Then,

The figure twitched.

Simply shifting its form in a slight motion. Then it raised one hand, with the palm open, and gestured across the void.

DDUNNNNNNNNNNNN

Their platform began to move slowly.

Drifting closer together like pieces on a board being rearranged. And within seconds, the two platforms had unified, forming a single one. Solid footing from their island to the one where the figure stood.

Up close, it was even more imposing. The bandages were ancient, and it’s skin dry. The patterns were hieroglyphic, carved into its exposed skin and scripted into the bandages and the cloak like one long scripted code. The cloak flowed, without the aid of wind.

The figure tilted its head, studying them.

Then it spoke.

"Peace, young summoners."

The voice was deep, resonant, and carried an odd formality. Every word was spoken with care.

"Thou hast been brought here by mine hand, and for that, I do offer mine apologies for the abruptness of thy summons. Yet necessity doth compel such measures."

Altair’s face hardened with surprise. The speech pattern was so archaic, like this being was present generations ago, and then unaware of the shift in coming times. But it proved, this wasn’t some mindless construct.

"Who are you?" Altair asked.

The figure placed one hand over its chest ceremonially.

"I am ’G’, Ghrangoroth, fifth Herald of the Watchers, those who see all and command all. I am but an emissary of their will, sent forth to reclaim that which was lost."

Its glowing eyes shifted, focusing entirely on Altair.

"Thou art the bearer of the Codex Aeterna Heroica, art thou not?"

Altair didn’t answer immediately. His mind was racing, how did this thing know about the codex. And had it just pulled them out of a controlled Academy plane to get to him?.

"What do you want?" Altair said evenly.

"Compliance," Ghrangoroth said simply. "The Codex thou possess is an artifact of immense power, sealed beyond the reach of time by the Watchers themselves. Its presence in this realm is an aberration. A fracture in the order that must be mended."

He gestured slowly toward Altair.

"Surrender thyself to me, and thy companions shalt be returned unharmed. Resist, and I shalt claim you all by force. The choice, young summoner, is thine."

Ryka stepped forward slightly, speaking sharply before Altair had the chance to reconsider. "You abducted us and you think we’re just going to hand over..."

"Thou dost speak out of turn, child," Ghrangoroth interrupted, his tone still polite but edged with something colder. "I address the bearer, not his minions. Silence would serve thee well."

"Tch"

Ryka felt a sting of shame, but considering the difference in their strength, she bit back her response.

Altair kept his eyes on Ghrangoroth. "You said the Watchers sealed the Codex. Who are they?, and If it’s so important to them, Why not come themselves?"

Ghrangoroth tilted his head again, as if considering the question.

"It is not thy place to know about the watchers, I am their instrument, their voice in this realm. What they decree, is law. That is the natural order."

"And if I refuse?"

"Then thou, and all thy hold dear shalt perish."

The amber glow in Ghrangoroth’s eyes intensified.

"Do not take my words as but empty threats, bearer. Thy world is bare to those who know where to look. And now that I have found thee, there is no place thou canst hide."

Altair felt a chill run down his spine. The Codex had a signature, or something that could be tracked. Minerva had told him he was tasked with protecting the codex. And now, maybe the hunters had found him.

"So what?" Altair said. "You kill me either way?"

"Nay." Ghrangoroth shook his head slowly. "I offer thee a choice. To return to the watchers is not death, but glory. They take no joy in you pain, young summoner. They merely wish to restore what is theirs, and it shalt be painless,"

"Or face the descent of my wrath. And know this, I am not so generous."

Altair glanced at Ryka, then at Svenja. Both were tense, but ready.

He looked back at Ghrangoroth.

"I’m not giving you anything."

For a moment, Ghrangoroth was silent.

Then he sighed, a deep and almost mournful sound.

"So be it."

Then he stretched to his full height, his cloak billowing despite the absence of wind.

"Thy defiance is noted. Let the sands judge thee."

Altair didn’t hesitate. "Hear me, Heracles!"

Golden light exploded beneath him, expanding into summoning seal, carving itself into the floating platform. The light gathered above it, hardening into shape.

THUD

Heracles materialized.

Eight feet of divine muscle and barely restrained violence. He landed with a sound like a dropped anvil, and the platform cracked slightly under the weight of his aura.

"Finally,"

Heracles said, his voice rumbling in a low tone. "A worthy opponent."

Beside Altair, Svenja’s orbs reappeared, her eyes were locked on Ghrangoroth.

Ghrangoroth watched Heracles with interest. His glowing eyes trackin the details of his features.

"Ah," Ghrangoroth said softly. "Heracles, the God of strength, I am honored to meet thee."

He raised one hand.

"To witness the power of the Codex firsthand is indeed a privilege. To face a summon drawn from its pages... a rare thrill."

His hand moved in an overhead arc, and twelve magic seals designed with the same hieroglyphic pattern appeared.

The air pressure shifted.

"Come then, bearer of the Codex."

"Show me the strength thy artifact doth grant thee."