Author's Note: Right, so I recently switched from part-time job to full-time, meaning I have less time on my hands. This means I won't be able to update as frequently as I would like. However, I will try to get a minimum of one chapter out for my fictions (perhaps with the exception of Daunted Templar of Turian). Please let me know if my quality drops at all. Do not hesitate to give me any sort of feedback.

Thank you all for your words and thoughts. Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoy!

“Master Myron!” the young warrior and aspiring hero in training stopped his swing as I fell to the ground breathing heavily. I grasped at my chest and the unbearable pain within. The pain was strange, not a part of me, but of the power granted me. Something had disturbed the power’s source, my patron, greatly.

“We will take a break. Quickly, get me some water.” The boy obediently abandoned his training to fetch me a cup. He was a bright lad that had great potential. I was training him to be a Dark Knight. Even though I had done well in protecting humanity with the dark power granted me, many still believed the power to be taboo. The lad had sought me with a strong desire to protect, now I was training him to reach levels beyond even myself.

The pain in my chest began to abate as I heard the lads light footsteps pitter-patter across a stone pathway that cut across the gardens in which we trained.

“Here Master Myron. Has it gone?” The boy was truly worried for me. He had a kind heart.

“Yes, for now. I should make preparations for the summons…”

“You mean…. It’s time for me…?”

“No lad, it is not yet time for you yet. This summons is to be sure our patron is well and whether mere mortals can help in some way.” Truly, I revered the shadow that gifted me my power. More than once I had nearly lost myself to its all-consuming embrace, only to have our conversation ring through my mind and snap me back to reality.

“But Master! Surely I could help you to protect people if only you would-”

“No, lad, it is still too soon! Even now I have difficulty in maintaining my very senses! It’s power is great! You must remember! Absolute power corrupts absolutely. To forget this is to lose yourself as a Dark Knight.”

“Yes Master…” The boy gave in, and I downed the cup of cool refreshing water given to me.

========================================================================

“Mochi? What’s wrong?” Strange, Mochi was acting far more violent than usual. He normally ate the other summoned beasts slowly, but today he was fiercely tearing them apart limb from limb. Everyone was becoming far too terrified for their summoned beasts to challenge us…

Mochi was a quivering ball of rage under my hands as I pet his deceptively soft shadowy surface. Maybe I should try to contact Kage? After all, he is Mochi’s creator. Maybe he can tell me what is wrong…

========================================================================

… Why are there so many summon requests today? Most of the summon requests were from people I had visited before, and the reasons for their summons were… vague… Just what happened to cause so many summons? Even the massive room that housed the requests was crowded with mountains of them.

Regardless, I should get to work. It would be best to work off my thoughts so that I don’t have to think about what I did. It was a huge mistake. Attacking gods and elementals randomly on a massive scale. I remembered every bit of it. My vision was clouded in red and my mind in an uncontrollable rage. The strangest part is that I am definitely not an angry person…

No, no more thinking of it. Time to work. I’ll have all of me work to reduce these mountains of requests. Ah, heres one. Looks like… This world. I shifted.

Around me was a familiar sight. I rose from a seeping pool of darkness. Around me were worn and dusty ruins of stone. Before me stood a man I had seen before, and a new face stood behind him. No scripts popped into my head. I guess this was just a vague sort of visit.

“Ah, the champion who seeks to protect. What have you summoned me for today?” The man I recognized was the first man I had ever gone off script with. I warned him that ‘absolute power corrupts absolutely’. I was happy to see that he still seemed to be himself.

The young man behind the champion was shaking. He looked well built and wore a flamberge at his back like the Champion. A disciple perhaps?

“I see you have begun to teach others as well? You have come far in your desire to protect. Well done.” I felt he deserved praise.

“Lord Patron, thank you for your kind words.” The Champion bowed his head humbly. “That, however, is not why I have called you here today. I felt a terrible pain emit from the power you gifted me. Such a thing could only happen if something happened to you… You appear well, but my eyes are only mortal. Are you well? Can I help you in some way?”

I was baffled. This man, a mortal, was concerned for an otherworldly unknown being such as myself? What’s more, he wanted to know if he could help me in some way… To think power I had gifted to others was also affected by my actions… That is troubling… Truly I would never allow any of myself to sleep again. It was fortunate I did not need sleep.

“I admire your desire to protect, and the kindness you would extend even to me… I am well, Champion. You can help me by continuing as you have.” With that I said my farewell and shifted back, meanwhile at the same time many other ‘me’ had similar experiences or met similar faces.

One me reunited with the summoner girl, Tira I believe was her name. She was cautiously and hesitantly asking me questions about Mochi. In the end, all I could tell her was that everything was fine. I simply did not want her to be worried about Mochi, who she clearly adored. I was happy to see my creation so loved.

========================================================================

“Master Myron, was that…” The young man, Arken, asked with shaky voice.

“Yes, lad, that is the overwhelming power that is our patron, Kage. Hard to think something could be wrong with him… But something did not seem right…” It felt as though Kage was hiding something… Not to my detriment of course… It felt as though he was keeping me away from an issue.

“So, now what, Master Myron? He said to ‘continue as you have’ right? Does that mean more training?” The rambunctious lad was already recovering from his encounter with Kage and craving to learn and grow… So much potential…

“No, lad, Something just doesn’t sit right with me… We need to investigate!”

========================================================================

“Phew- its nerve wracking being around Kage… Say, Mochi, something seemed… off… didn’t it?” I hugged the now complacent Mochi tightly to my chest. Kage assured me everything was fine, but it just didn’t feel that way to me. Kage seemed happy that I was taking care of Mochi, and I was relieved to see Mochi return to himself when Kage appeared.

It felt like Kage was trying to hide something away, as if to keep me out of an adventure… Adventure. I was craving an adventure lately. What better way than to investigate the issue of my benefactor!

“Mochi! We’re going on a trip!” I said as I placed Mochi back on the ground. Mochi bounced happily in agreement with some loud chirps. “That settles it then!” The first step to this journey was the most dangerous… To follow Kages presence through the immaterial plane. Powerful beings like Kage left a trail that could be followed easily. If it was anything less powerful, one would easily get lost.

What’s more, Mochi, who happens to be made of Kage’s power, could easily serve as a link. All in all, a summoner had every ability to follow an elemental. Summoners were told it is forbidden and impossible to walk through the immaterial plane. Well then, Tira Felin of Cainin Summoner Academy would be the first to make it possible!

The thought excited me.