Celestial Bloodline

Azazeal stepped out of thin air and landed on the rooftop of the house where Kyle and Hazel were. He calmly placed his thumb on his fingers, his expression devoid of emotion.

However, his purple eyes gave away a hint of disappointment as he moved his thumb over his fingers, as if he was calculating something really important.

Despite his extraordinary senses that could rival the Celestials outside this universe, he had failed to find the most important thing he had come to find on this land.

"It's rare for me to find them through the visions of the future... but I'm sure I saw it clearly, one of the remaining eight guardian celestial spirits is here on this land."

He looked down, and his purple eyes reflected the silver-haired human engaged in conversation with the old woman inside the house.

"Do I really need to follow you to find it?"

His eyes gleamed as numerous fragmented images flashed through his mind. In that moment, the corners of his eyes lifted upward for a brief moment.

"After all, amidst the countless possibilities... among the myriad of paths you can traverse due to your blank fate, in one of them, the spirit willingly bestowed upon you all its power simply because, unlike me, your essence is pure, so beautifully cold... almost equaling nature itself."

Azazeal's ears twitched slightly upon hearing Kyle mumble a name under his breath.

"Nicole...?"

He briefly closed his eyes and then reopened them with a thoughtful hum.

"Your mother? It appears that your memories are fading quickly because your essence is trying to hide from me."

.....

The next day, early morning, Kyle stepped out of the house, wearing a loose-fitting pair of pants beneath a cream-colored sweater with long sleeves. His feet were snugly tucked into dark shoes.

On his back, he carried a sizable round bag that had been prepared for him by the old woman. Hazel and Joshua offered to walk with him until he reached the forest, but he politely declined their offer since the old couple had already done a lot for him.

Kyle had only taken a few steps when Bemail stopped him.

Bemail wore a determined expression as he locked his blue eyes with Kyle's.

"Kyle, I will accompany you to meet the owner. I know it's risky, but I can't just sit back knowing that the owner might grab hold of you and toss you down the mountain!"

"I considers you a friend, especially after you gave me so many moonlight flowers! They were quite valuable, and I want to repay the favor!"

Kyle stared at his face, which looked dead serious for the man to be joking around. Also, from Bemail's attire that clung to his body perfectly, he seemed ready for combat. Kyle blinked and opened his mouth, pointing toward an unknown cloud in the sky.

"What's that?"

Bemail immediately followed his finger with narrowed eyes, then turned around to face him with confusion.

"There's nothi-!"

But he stopped abruptly and his eyes widened because there was no one in front of him. The silver-haired human had vanished.

Meanwhile, Kyle was jogging through the cluster of small houses that surrounded him from all directions.

Many passersby noticed him, and he could even feel a lot of eyes on his back. But he paid no mind to them and quickly left the village, entering the forest and making his way straight toward the nearest mountain that overlooked the village.

Hazel and Joshua had told him everything about Hubert they could, and now he just needs to find the old dragon.

Kyle sniffed the air around him to keep a close check on his surroundings because according to the old couple, the manaless beasts were the most dangerous beasts on this land. It would be very dangerous if he somehow encountered one because even the lowest rank of them had a strength above Ascendant state.

He passed through the tall trees, bathed in the soft morning light. But even when he reached the foot of the mountain, he didn't see a single hint of greenery. Instead, the leaves of the trees and the petals of the flowers were gray.

Kyle gazed at the towering mountain, its shadow casting over the vast stretch of space. With the round bag secured behind his back, he raised both hands to stretch his back and arms. He was determined to find Hubert before night.

However, in that very moment, as he lowered his gaze, a pair of white shoes caught his attention. Instantly, Kyle's breath caught in his throat as he slowly lifted his gaze to meet the eyes of the figure dressed in white. No words could capture the depth of his shock, for he had not sensed the presence of the man, whose purple eyes bore into him with an unsettling lack of emotion.

"You!?"

Kyle backed away and assumed a guarded stance against the man, who stared at him with a raised brow and slowly withdrew his hand that had been suspended in the air, as if he had intended to touch Kyle's head.

'Did he want to attack me!?'

But before Kyle could confront the man, the latter opened his mouth and spoke in a deep and silent voice that vanished in the air within a second.

"Aze..."

Kyle took another step back in alarm, his mind racing. Despite using all his mental strength to perceive the man's strength through his scent perception skill, he couldn't sense anything from him except for a faint scent of warmth that strangely reminded him of the cold sensation of his bloodline.

He really thought the man who called him his friend, even though they weren't, had disappeared, and he would never see him again... but who could have guessed that the man would return?

Kyle got ready to run in the opposite direction when the man stepped towards him. A chilling sensation ran down his spine, and his bloodline, which had been holed up in his mind space, started to stir restlessly. However, before he could make his escape, the man spoke again, but this time his voice sounded surprisingly ordinary, just like that of an ordinary human.

"It's my name. You can call me Aze."