After the life-or-death battle, a blinding pillar of light erupted from the sky, swallowing Cannon Turtle and vanishing into thin air. Kael Phong stood there trembling, hands bloodied and barely steady. The mana in his body was almost completely drained after the clash with the three Phantom Shadow Wolves.
All that remained was him... and Longlong the Eternal Stoneheart his universe beast, now quietly floating beside him like a puff of ancient light and fur.
"Cannon Turtle… it's gone…" Kael muttered, panting, eyes trembling with guilt and despair.
"It hasn't disappeared," Longlong replied calmly. "It was simply pulled back into the Contract Space. If you cannot sustain the connection, any summoned beast will be recalled."
"Contract Space… but I never signed any real contract…"
"Exactly. You're the outcast who couldn't form a pact like others. That's why I chose you."
Dragging his wounded body through the dense forest, Kael Phong moved with sheer willpower alone. Blood stained his robe. His limbs were heavy. Yet he pressed forward.
Hours later, light broke through the treetops. Before him stood Dandelin Sanctum, one of the Seven Great Citadels of the Elgradia Continent.
Dandelin Sanctum The Gateway of the World
As Kael stepped into the towering plaza beneath dragon-carved gates, he collapsed. Murmurs rippled across the square.
"He's a summoner…"
"Wait... what's that presence? That aura… it's ancient!"
Clad in sky-blue robes, healers from the Sanctum of Restoration rushed forward. They carried him into the sacred chamber and cast ancient light-based magic to stabilize his body. His soul was saved… but his spirit was torn. The loss of mana had fractured something deep within him.
He awoke three days later in a silver-lit chamber, glowing with runes of slow-moving starlight. Ancient glyphs turned in a slow orbit across the ceiling.
"So, you're finally awake."
The voice was calm but heavy, like the weight of the cosmos itself. An elderly man stepped from the shadows, draped in a black robe embroidered with silver threads. His eyes seemed to see through Kael's entire existence.
"I am Eclipse Dusk, once called the Starcaller. But I no longer chase the heavens."
Kael blinked, confused. "You… you know something about me."
"You are not of this world," Eclipse Dusk said gravely. "And that thing floating beside you… it doesn't belong to Elgradia either."
"You mean Longlong?"
The old summoner narrowed his eyes. "I've seen summoning constructs before relics of a forgotten age. But your Longlong… it's something else. It feels like an external will, something from beyond time and space itself."
He sat beside Kael and continued.
"Most summoners form two to three contracts. A rare few manage four. They channel mana through ritual and bond with a beast directly."
"But you… you summon through Longlong. That being forms its own contracts, far beyond count. There is no upper limit. You are… unique. And because of that, you are in greater danger than any summoner alive."
Kael gritted his teeth. "Then what should I do? I can't control it. I can't even hold onto my own beast…"
Eclipse Dusk stood. "Then start again. Throw away the convenience of what was given to you. Learn as a true summoner does. From the ground up."
Kael bowed deeply, kneeling on the cold stone floor.
"Please… teach me."
"First, you must recover. You'll train only when your body and soul are whole."
The Forgotten World and the Weapon of Beasts
During his recovery, Kael began learning the ways of Elgradia.
This was a world without clear boundaries of day and night. Reality itself bent to no predictable rules. Ancient clans dwelled within the sanctum's outer lands some old as the stars themselves.
He discovered weapons forged from beast remainsclaws turned into blades, bones into spears each imbued with the beast's inherent power. Still, summoning remained the dominant path. The ability to command a beast was worth more than any weapon.
Silent Sanctuary The Training Begins
Once healed, Kael was taken to the Silent Sanctuary, a hidden retreat built by Eclipse Dusk deep within the ancient woods beyond Dandelin.
Here, Kael was taught the very basics of summoning how to still the mind, feel the root of mana within, and project it through a proper summoning formation. Not through Longlong, but from within himself.
Yet...he discovered a painful truth.
"I can't form any contracts," Kael muttered. "It's like my soul rejects them."
Eclipse Dusk sighed. "Your mana is… chaotic. But your mind is something else brilliant, unyielding, razor-sharp. That is your strength."
Under the old summoner's strict guidance, Kael learned to:
Calm the mind and sense internal mana flow
Channel mana into summoning glyphs
Speak with beasts not by voice... but through will
The Red Moon Day 49 of Training
Kael stood inside a summoning circle drawn in his own blood.
No system. No external help. Only him, his will, and the ancient language of beasts.
"Cannon Turtle… if you still believe in me… return!"
The circle pulsed. The air trembled. A beam of light tore the heavens.
Cannon Turtle returned.
It stood strong, proud, its eyes glowing not as a borrowed beast but as a true partner.
Eclipse Dusk smiled.
"This is only the first step. Longlong is more than it seems. It is a gate to forgotten entities. But only those who prove worthy may open that gate."
The Journey Begins
At dawn, Kael wrapped his robe, packed his gear, and stepped outside. Longlong hovered by his shoulder. Cannon Turtle followed behind, a silent sentinel.
From a distant cliff, Eclipse Dusk watched him depart.
"Go, child of fate. And remember… the greatest contract isn't with beasts. It's with hope itself."
Before him stretched the vast world of Elgradia.
Behind him, a forgotten past.
Ahead of him, a future where the "useless boy" would rewrite the meaning of summoner.
[End of Chapter 3]
Next Chapter 4: The Meeting