The Summoner: Rise Of The Night Vanguard

Chapter 3: Another Shot At Life

When Adrian opened his eyes again, the world around him had completely changed.

Pure, endless darkness stretched in every direction. The only thing breaking the void was a pristine white staircase beneath his feet, glowing softly as it spiraled upward until it vanished into nothingness far above and everywhere else was just dark with no walls, no ceiling or nothing to hold onto if he fell.

He started wondering if he had truly died, then guessed this was heaven or something like that.

"Where am I?" he said out loud, and his own voice just came back at him as an echo, because his current location was empty and it was echoing all round.

He raised his shirt to check the bullets and saw that there was nothing there.

He didn't even feel like he had just been shot. His chest was clear, there was no wound, blood, nothing at all. He ran his fingers over his own skin like he didn't believe it either.

He remembered dying, so why was he standing here talking to himself like none of that happened?

Then he remembered something about summoners, some fact he remembered when Ruby told him about her summon.

About how when they first awaken their summon their minds go to somewhere called the Soul Space where their summons live. Maybe that was what this was all about and maybe he wasn't actually dead.

"Is this it?" he thought, and started climbing before he could second-guess it. Excitement flowing through him as he started thinking of his own Summon.

Because if there was even a small chance he was finally getting a summon after years of nothing, he wasn't about to just stand there and let it waste.

The stairs didn't end as he climbed for what felt like hours with his legs burning, chest heaving, sweat running down into his face, and every time he thought he was close to the top there was just more staircase waiting for him, as the stairs just kept curling up and up.

"Are you kidding me right now?" he shouted, and his voice cracked halfway through.

"I already died once today and this is how you want to finish me off? With stairs?" He cursed.

“Mother Luck, why do you hate me so much?!”

Nothing answered him back except his own voice bouncing around, over and over and getting quieter each

He kept going anyway. There was nothing else to do. No way to wake up and no turning back. Sweat poured down his face, His thighs screamed in protest.

At one point, he seriously considered throwing himself off the side into the darkness just to end the nightmare, but something stubborn inside him refused to quit.

He rested a bit and kept going because there wasn't anything else to do, no way down and there was even no way to just stop and sit there forever.

He thought about Ruby's face when she said he didn't have a future, and the determination to prove her wrong was enough kept him moving.

Then there was a platform up ahead, some white building that looked like a house or a temple, floating there with nothing holding it up, and he pushed the rest of the way up on legs that barely worked anymore until he collapsed in front of two huge doors.

Whoever designed those damn stairs… I hope you rot in hell” he shouted aloud, gasping for air, his chest heaving as he forced himself back to his feet.

The doors wouldn't move no matter how hard he pushed on them.

It was big and old-looking and there was no way it was budging no matter how hard he kicked, and right when he was about to get annoyed all over again, a blue screen just appeared in front of him out of nowhere.

{System Notification}

Welcome, Azuma Adrian.

Do you agree to become the next Heir to The Night Vanguard?

** Yes / No **

He waved his hand through it and it passed right through like it wasn't even there…

It even followed him when he moved left, then right, staying right in front of his face no matter what he did.

Wait, he thought. Is this like one of those stories? The overpowered systemAm I actually the main character of this story? Am I actually the main character here?

A wild, almost manic grin spread across his face. Was life finally giving him a chance to go back and take revenge?

“Mother Luck, I take back every bad thing I ever said about you. Thank you!”

"Yes!" he shouted out loud, before he could think twice about it, because whatever this was, it had to be better than the life he just got shot out of.

The screen flashed once and it then said.

** Welcome, Night Heir. **

A crimson sigil blazed to life above the massive doors. Thick darkness poured from its center like shadows and with a deep, resonant boom, the doors slowly swung open.

Then, he walked in.

The hallway kept going for a while and he kept walking, until it opened up into a huge room, ceiling so high up he couldn't even see it properly, with the walls fading off.

Then the wind started blowing through the middle of the room out of nowhere. It really was strong enough that he had to plant his feet, and another red symbol appeared above his head, spinning slowly.

This is it, he thought. My summon. Yesss! Finally.

He was already picturing something huge and strong, a gorilla or a dragon or anything that could actually fight, because that's all he wanted at this point.

Something that could protect him, and make sure nobody ever put a gun to his chest again.

But what came out of the dark wasn't an animal at all.

It was a humanoid figure, or something shaped like one, seven feet tall in black armor. There was red smoke in the shape of eyes coming out of the helmet, and a massive broadsword rested across its back. This knight radiated a quiet, overwhelming presence.

It walked forward and the ground shook a little every time it took a step that even Adrian tensed up without even meaning to.

Then it stopped in front of him and got down on one knee.

His excitement dropped a bit. He knew humanoid summons weren't the flashy kind, no fire, no claws, everyone always looked down on the knights and golems compared to the beasts.

But it was still something and at least he had something by his side.

Another screen then popped up.

** Please name your summon.**

He looked at the panel for a second, and then at the way the Knight just knelt there waiting on him.

" Noir " he said, wanting to name his summon something simple and easy to remember especially since it was his first Summon. The screen soon disappeared.

He looked up at it, his first summon, and he actually smiled a little despite everything that happened today.

"I look forward to working with you, Noir."

He held his fist out pointed towards his summon. The kneeling knight looked at it for a second, then drew out his fist and bumped it back slowly.

Adrian then laughed so hard with all of his teeth outside of his mouth.

*******

He woke up back in his apartment with the mess still everywhere from the beating and the same smell of blood.

He sat up on the bed slowly, every part of him still aching. If it wasn't for the bullet casings still sitting on the floor he probably would've thought the whole thing was a dream or just some kind of fever thing his brain cooked up before it shut off for good.

Then the same Crimson symbol flashed above him and Noir stepped out for real this time with the full seven feet of black armor and sword planted into the floor with both hands.

Adrian looked at him and smiled.

The system had given him another shot at life and now it was time for revenge!