Summoner: The Book of Dimension

24 Return Of The Sphinx

Peter watched as the two gave him a hesitated nod. 

“We’re finally summoning a sphinx now?” Ray asked.

Well, Peter summoned the sphinx on his dream. But he won’t tell them anyway so he just nodded. “Yeah,”

Zack looked outside to see the mansion and he just gave them a surprised look. “The fire is devouring the mansion,” he said pointing it with his thumb.

Peter nodded. “We need to get going so we should get outta here sooner,” he said. “I just hope we’ll be able to bring Josh back here.”

“We must do everything, Peter,” Zack said. “I’m tired of summoning and failing. If we’re not able to bring Josh at this time, too, I’ll just leave you two here,” he said.

He sounded selfish, but Peter understood Zack. If he failed again, he might just leave Josh or take him home and wait until he’d find someone that could help him.

“It’s not just you, Zack,” Peter said.

Ray cleared his throat. “So, what do we do now?” he asked. He continued, “What do we need to prepare.”

“First, we should hide the weapons somewhere,” Peter said. “The sphinx might know though since he’s a fortune-telling creature. But we just want to give the sphinx assurance that we meant no harm.”

Zack looked around and saw a leveled plank a few feet from them. There was a space in between the plank and one of the walls of the indoor pavilion, and their weapons would be enough to hide there perfectly. He pointed at the space. “We should put it there,” he said.

Peter and Ray looked at where Zack was looking. “Yeah, that’s a good spot. It would be enough distance too, in case we needed access to those weapons again.”

Ray and Zack brought each of the weapons and hid it there.

While the two were hiding the weapons, Peter fished the phones from the bag and handed it to Ray and Zack who was just approaching him. “Turn the mobile data on. We might need it on answering the sphinx question,” he instructed them.

Peter paused to look at the two and hesitated if he needed to tell them they might not need the mobile data as well. Because last time he summoned the sphinx, he was given an easy question. He shook his head to dismiss the thought and fished his hand again inside the bag, to take the two books.

The Book Of Dimension, and the encyclopedia, which was for the offering.

“Who will summon?” Ray asked.

Peter kicked the empty bag and stepped forward. “I will. You guys should just stand by in case the summoning goes wrong,” Peter said.

“Would it be best if we stand close to the weapons?” Zack asked.

Peter hummed. “Yeah, that sounds great.”

Ray and Zack walked close to the weapons and sat down on the plank.

Peter glanced at the two and placed the book in the middle of the pavilion. He then walked backward, a few meters away from the book.

Holding the Book Of Dimensions, he sighed, closed his eyes, and focused his spiritual power to form a summoning circle. Like in his dream, he formed an ignazzi circle.

The ignazzi circle made a luminescent yellow light that illuminated the indoor pavilion.

The book was just near the middle of the ignazzi circle.

Peter sighed before he recited the mantra from the book.

The fortune-telling creature from the Nylathurow world;

Intelligent human head with a lion’s sturdy body, you soar high with your knowledge;

I offer you a source of knowledge, so you must answer my wonders.

In my name, Peter Cohen, I command you to appear in this world!

A whirling wind swirled around the circle, which lifted the encyclopedia. As the book slowly levitated, the pages of the books flipped through, before the encyclopedia dissolved in the air.

“Is that normal?” Zack asked.

“I think so,” Ray answered. “Never seen anything like that before.”

Peter only watched and waited until a big portal came to appear inside the circle. Just lie in his dream, it was bigger than him, but a little bit bigger than he remembered.

From the portal, ahead of a man appeared, then next was his body.

“Holy moly!” Ray exclaimed.

The familiar sphinx appeared from the portal, and Peter was the only one inside the pavilion who was not surprised.

“Who dared to conjure me in this world?” The sphinx asked, just like he did on Peter’s dream. 

The sphinx then saw Peter and he gave an interesting smirk. He knew Peter’s friend didn’t know he was summoned in Peter’s dream. “Oh, what do we have here?”

The sphinx then started to walk around Peter, who was carefully holding the book in his hands. “I’ve never been interested in someone’s knowledge,” he said.

“Peter, ask him,” Ray said.

The sphinx looked at Ray and Zack. He chuckled. “You should’ve hidden the weapons somewhere farther,” he said. “Anyway, that’s not how it works, Ray. Did you forget? I am supposed to ask you first before your questions will be answered.”

Ray was shocked the sphinx knew his name.

Peter sighed. “Just ask me your question already.”

The sphinx chuckled and walked back near Peter. “You impatient thing,” he clicked his tongue and looked around, but just walking around Peter. “Give me time to reminisce my memories here.”

“Too bad Edgar didn’t hear,” he sighed and looked at Peter. “He’s such a crazy guy. He was too in love with collecting creatures for his wall. I don’t want to eat him, his knowledge wasn’t extraordinary for me to want it,” he then laughed. “He should’ve conjured me instead of that creature. Such a shame. It would be great if I watched his death myself.”

“You know Edgar Lee?” Ray asked.

The sphinx hesitated to answer and grinned. “This guy is supposed to be the one to ask me, mister. But don’t worry, one of you will know what happened to him, soon,” he glanced at Peter and smirked.

He sighed. “I won’t waste everyone’s time. I’ll ask you now, Peter.”

The sphinx sat down and looked down at Peter. The sphinx was so tall that he needed to tilt his head up. The sphinx hummed. “It wouldn’t be fun if I give you an easy one, so I’ll give you a riddle.”

Ray and Zack took their phones, but the sphinx laughed without even seeing them. “I hope your devices could help you find the answers,” he said.

Peter looked at Ray and Zack who both gave him a worried expression.

“Just ask me the question,” Peter said.

The sphinx nodded. “Good luck,” he said and grinned before he proceeded to ask. “What is there to see on the horizon that could touch you?”

Ray and Zack searched on the internet from their phones, but couldn’t find anything that could specifically answer him. “I can’t find anything, Pete,” Ray said.

Zack scrolled from more and couldn’t find anything. “Me, too.”

Peter didn’t have the choice but to think of an answer himself. “What is there to see in the horizon that could see you?” he repeated, mumbling to himself.

He closed his eyes and thought about what could be there on the horizon.

“I could answer that,” Peter said. “But isn’t your question misleading? What do you mean by ‘that could touch you’? Is it physical or emotional? I’m pretty sure if my answer fell under any of those two, you’ll still tell me that I’m wrong and you’ll get the chance to devour me,” Peter said.

The smile on sphinx’s face dissolved and he was looking at Peter.

Peter smirked. “Am I right? Was that your plan?” Peter knew it. He realized that the sphinx planned to not tell him what to do with the invigorating blood and made the question for the last time be easier, so Peter could think he would need to summon the sphinx again.

The sphinx was in disbelief. He didn’t expect much. And he had never met someone like him. It made him want to devour him and consume his knowledge.

“You’re a venerable one,” the sphinx said. He smirked. “I’ll do everything to have the chance and devour you,” he said.

“It’s my turn to ask now,” Peter said, filled with confidence.

He took the orb from the pants of his pocket and showed it to the sphinx.

The sphinx grinned. “You succeeded to get the invigorating blood,” he said, impressed. He didn’t even know he succeeded.

“Yes, but we don’t know what to do with it,” Peter said. “What I want to know is, what would this do to save our friend? To bring him back to his normal state after being stoned by Medusa,” Peter finally asked.

The sphinx nodded. “I see that the creature from Kramer had brought some trouble,” he said, understanding.

“There’s something you can do,” the sphinx said and lied down on the concrete floor, looking down at him. 

The sphinx grinned. “You should summon a demigod.”