Chapter 1: Sudden Summoning

In the back center of a large golden room decorated like a Christian church, a sudden golden light flashed, and with it, 11 people appeared. Some looked to be in their 50s or 40s, while others appeared to be in their 20s or teenage years. Each one, stunned by what had just happened, looked around at one another, trying to figure out what just happened to them. A man who looked to be from Florida, appearing to be in his 50s, with black hair streaked with gray on the sides, wearing worn jeans and a faded t-shirt with red flowers on it, spoke in English: "What the hell is this?" He looked at the shocked old men in white clothing, who were frozen stiff by what had just happened in front of them.

With this one question, other questions erupted from the others who were summoned. Some spoke in English with Irish or Australian accents, while others spoke German, Swedish, Japanese, and Spanish. With everyone speaking over each other in different languages, it was impossible to understand what anyone was saying. An older Japanese woman was shielding three kids while speaking to them about something. The Australian guy and a businesswoman stood next to the Florida man, trying to communicate with him, while the rest looked at the old men in white clothing, who were conversing among themselves. Suddenly, one of the old men ran out of the room with astonishing speed for someone who looked to be in his 80s. With that display, all the summoned ones went quiet with their jaws dropped, a silence quickly broken by the Australian guy shouting, "Jesus, that bastard can move!"

"Yeah, that dude must be roided to the fucking brim," the Florida man responded. After a moment, the old man returned, carrying 11 scrolls. He handed each of them a scroll and motioned for them to open it. They did, but nothing seemed to happen. The Swedish girl asked, "What is this?" and everyone looked at her in shock. For everyone in the room, it seemed as if she was speaking their language perfectly.

"You speak Japanese, foreigner?" the old Japanese woman asked.

"Japanese? What are you talking about?" the Swedish girl replied.

"Wait, to me, everyone is speaking English," the Irish man said.

"Ah, good, good. I didn't get the wrong ones," the old man said. "Now, I know you all have questions, and so do we," he continued, stopping anyone from speaking up. "First, we have no idea why you are here. However, something like this has happened a few times long ago, and if this is like before, we are all in great trouble," he said with a grim expression, scratching his chin. "I need to talk with the king. The other clergymen will take you to a room where you can collect your thoughts, and you can ask them any questions you have." The old man left the room with the same speed as before.

As they walked with the two clergymen, everyone's minds were racing, trying to understand the situation they were in. They all knew they were not dreaming, drunk, or on drugs; they were thinking too clearly for that. Their memories were not hazy, and they could clearly remember all the events that happened before and after being summoned. Knowing this, they became even more confused, which made them go along with what the old man said, hoping that they would get some answers.

As they entered a room with a large round wooden table in its center, surrounded by 13 seats, everyone was still in a state of confusion; this situation they were in could not be real, yet it was. So, in the end, there were only three main questions they wanted answers to: 'How did we get here?', 'Why us?', and most importantly, 'How do we get back?'

One of the clergymen said, "Please take a seat, and we will try to answer any questions you have. But first, let us introduce ourselves. I am Rose and this is my fellow clergyman, Oliver. And let's start with you," he pointed to the Florida man who sat next to him.

The Florida man responded, "Ah, I'm Rhys, and I work at a bar in Florida." He was tall and not fat, skinny, or muscular, but a heavy, thick-looking guy, in his 40s. He had weathered features and a few streaks of gray on the sides of his dark hair. He had a rugged charm and looked tired.

The Australian man next to him introduced himself, "I'm Declan, and I do yard work for my dad's business." He had an athletic build with sun-kissed skin and tousled dark blonde hair. He had a friendly aura and looked to be in his 20s.

Next was the Irish girl, "Caoimhe Gallagher, and I work in IT." She had short light brown hair, freckled skin, green eyes, and appeared to have a very open personality, being in her late 20s.

The businesswoman was next, "Elara Quinn, I'm a lawyer." She seemed very elegant and sophisticated, being in her late 30s, with long dark hair styled in a bun and hazel eyes. She carried herself with confidence.

A German guy introduced himself, "My name is Wolfgang and I—" he was cut off by Rhys with a little laugh. "Hold on, your name is 'Wolfgang'? I mean no offense bud, but what kind of name is that?" Wolfgang looked at him blankly, "It's not that uncommon in Germany." Rhys responded, "Well, it's a pretty cool fucking name you got there." Wolfgang gave a slight smile. He looked to be in his 30s and was tall and athletic, with rugged features. He had a confident demeanor and a strong presence.

Next was the Japanese teacher and her trio of students. The teacher spoke first, standing up. "Hello, my name is Natsuki Mori. I am a teacher at Takarazuka High School in Tokyo. Nice to meet you. These are my students," she gestured to the three teenagers to introduce themselves.

The first student, a boy with a slender build and dark hair, stepped forward. "Hello, my name is Renjiro Aoki. I am a student at Takarazuka High School in Tokyo. Nice to meet you." He had expressive brown eyes and an energetic aura.

The second student, a petite girl with long black hair, introduced herself. "Hello, my name is Kohana Fujimoto. I am a student at Takarazuka High School in Tokyo. Nice to meet you." She had gentle brown eyes and a serene presence.

The last student, a girl with short, cropped hair, spoke up quietly. "Hello, my name is Emiko Sato. I am a student at Takarazuka High School in Tokyo. Nice to meet you." She exuded a sense of quiet confidence and determination.

Natsuki, age 32, continued, "As you know, we were together when the golden light brought us here. At the time, we were in a study session." She had an elegant and refined appearance, with a slender figure and graceful posture.

Finally, a young woman with platinum blonde hair and striking blue eyes stood up. "I'm Astrid Lindberg, from Stockholm, Sweden. I'm currently a university student studying fashion design." She was tall and slender with a poised demeanor.

Then a man with dark hair, a full beard, and olive skin stood up. "I'm Mateo and I'm from Mexico. I work as a mechanic." Mateo had a strong, muscular build. He wore casual yet rugged attire, such as jeans, a fitted t-shirt, and a leather jacket, projecting a masculine presence.

With everyone done introducing themselves, Rose said, "Good, now that that's settled, what are your questions?"

Caoimhe asked the first question, "So, how did we all end up here? I don't know about the rest, but I had just gotten up for the morning, eaten my breakfast, when suddenly that hot golden light engulfed my vision, and then I was here." The rest also stated that they were swept away by a golden light and that they were all awake when it happend. The only different story was from the Japanese woman, Mori, who was with her three students when it happened, making them the only ones who knew each other.

Rose cleared his throat and gave a direct answer: "I don't really know; it wasn't our doing. But…" He paused for a moment with a concerned look on his face and then continued, "This has happened a few times in our history, where strangers from the stars appeared in our cathedral. But each time this happened, a great catastrophe struck humanity." In response, Elara asked in a worried voice, "What kind of catastrophe? And what do we have to do with it?"

Rose cleared his throat again. "To answer your first question, there were two catastrophes before this. The first was the rise of the Horde, where monsters from the cold north headed down south led by the warlord Sha Wo 267 years ago. The second was the Great Fracture, where the earth split open and the denizens of the underground invaded 139 years ago. Even today, you can find some of their kind roaming the world with masks made of black glass. All of this happened exactly half a year after the summoned appeared." The summoned looked around at each other, not knowing how to process this new information. "That sounds like a story you would make up for a Dungeons & Dragons game or something," the Florida man said, plopping his head down on his arms.

"Can you send us back?" asked Mori.

"Sorry, but we do not have that ability. However, when the catastrophe is averted, it was recorded that all the summoned disappeared shortly after." The clergyman responded. Mateo then asked, "Why us? And who brought us here? Was it your god or something?"

"We do not have a god, and we are not entirely sure why you appear either. All we know is that at this place, where we worship and study the first elder texts, is where the summoned appear, and each of them has a high efficiency in pressing life energy." After he finished explaining, each person just had more and more questions. However, some of the people were dead tired since they had been up past hours when they were taken and needed sleep. After noticing this, the other clergyman, Oliver, who had not spoken yet, said, "It looks as though some of you are tired."

Rhys got up and stated, "Yeah, it was past midnight when I was taken to this shit hole." Oliver scowled for a moment and then relaxed, saying, "Yes, I understand. We can continue this tomorrow since the sun is setting. You will also meet our king tomorrow as well, so get some rest." Rose got up and said, "I will show you to your temporary rooms." They all followed him out the door.

The group entered a long hallway with doors on each side that led to small bedrooms. Each one was cramped and only had a bed, a chair, and a table. Everyone picked their own rooms and rested for the night.