I Have the Sacred Sword?

The summoning had been digging for minutes, its small hands scratching at the hardened snow in desperation, feeling the cold seeping through its skin, numbing its fingers until it could barely move them.

But still, it did not stop, as it was being motivated by Eleonora's voice.

[You're taking too long!], Eleonora scolded in a severe tone echoing in the summoning's mind.

"I... I'm sorry," the summoning apologized, its voice trembling from both the cold and the fear of having failed. "The snow is very hard, and... and my fingers are so cold I can barely feel them."

Eleonora let out a cold laugh, a sound that reverberated in the summoning's mind.

[Is that all? That's nothing. Hurry up, we don't have much time]

"What do you mean we don't have time?" asked the summoning, pausing for a moment to look at all it had dug.

Despite having been able to fight much larger creatures minutes ago, digging through this hard snow was exhausting it too much.

"A human promised he would look for me," Eleonora explained in a more controlled tone, but still impatient. "But now that I've summoned you, my power has weakened. I lost contact with him, and my ability to sense his presence has considerably diminished."

The summoning nodded, understanding the gravity of the situation, so it continued digging, but its hands felt increasingly clumsy and painful.

Why?

Why was it so weak?

Suddenly, something black appeared among the snow, catching its attention. Without thinking, the summoning touched the object with one of its fingers, feeling a sharp pain as something sharp cut its skin. It let out a small squeak of pain, recoiling slightly.

[Oh, finally], said Eleonora with some satisfaction feeling a bit of the fresh air from outside. [Get me out of this damn place.]

If there was something Eleonora had endured for a long time, it was this icy pressure that had buried her for centuries.

The summoning quickly nodded, carefully searching for Eleonora's handle in the snow.

Its fingers, though trembling, clung to it with determination. With all its strength, it began to pull, feeling the resistance of the snow as it slowly unearthed the sword.

Finally, with one last tug, the summoning managed to pull Eleonora out, who let out a long sigh of relief.

Although the outside air was still icy due to the climate, it was nothing compared to the icy prison in which she had been buried for so long.

Free.

[Damn, finally], murmured Eleonora with some emotion, feeling the fresh and cold night air wrapping around her blade.

After many centuries, she had regained it again.

She had regained her freedom.

Eleonora couldn't help but notice how incredibly different the real world felt compared to the place where she had been training for so long.

The night sky, dotted with bright stars, seemed like an infinite marvelous tapestry she hadn't seen in centuries.

'It's real...', thought Eleonora as her gaze swept across the sky.

Although her mind had recreated a world for training, this one, with all its nuances and details, was much better.

Much, much better.

The sensation of the cold air, the distant crunch of the snow, and the moonlight illuminating the landscape...

Everything was a new, almost overwhelming experience after so long.

Of course, if she could set fire to the place where she had been buried for centuries, she would do it if she only had a candidate.

So right now her priority...

Was to regain her power.

And she could only use the full extent of her power if she had a candidate.

[Get up], ordered Eleonora to her summoning, watching as the figure obeyed and emerged from the hole it had dug with so much effort.

As it did, Eleonora surveyed the surroundings and something caught her attention.

'What are those trees...?', Eleonora thought strangely upon seeing the peculiar glow of the nearby trees.

There was something familiar about the energy they radiated, something she recognized, but couldn't quite define.

[Approach those trees], Eleonora ordered with her voice laden with curiosity.

The summoning immediately obeyed, and Eleonora was annoyed, as those trees were imbued with her energy, or at least a part of it.

However, in her current state, she couldn't do anything to reclaim it.

An idea began to form in her mind: if she made a pact with her summoning, she might be able to access that energy and might not even need to make a contract with a human. But just as she began to consider the possibility, a sharp pain stabbed her chest, so intense that it made her shudder.

The more she tried to focus on the idea of the contract, the stronger the pain became, until she had to abandon it completely. As soon as she did, the pain vanished.

[Eleonora?], the summoning called out, noticing her prolonged silence.

Eleonora remained silent for a moment, processing what had happened before responding.

[We must leave. Head southeast], Eleonora ordered quite firmly.

She wasn't going to lose that human.

Not now that she had this summoning with which she could do something.

[Alright], responded the summoning, not questioning the urgency in Eleonora's tone.

Determinedly, it began to move, venturing into the forest, with the shadows of the trees glowing around it.

2 chapter ahead on Patreon, for now.