Celestial Bloodline

A loud voice rumbled inside the mountain, and the air quivered slightly. Azazeal slowly turned his gaze toward the narrow opening Kyle slipped into.

"Did the spirit show up? So soon?"

He stood up, and the space around him rippled and stretched out with many dark particles before he stepped out from the separate space he created to make his presence known once again.

The flower between his collarbones evaporated into the particles. However, as he recall Kyle's last expression, he paused for a split second. He thought Kyle's presence was just something he would notice in passing, but in the past three months, the human was nothing but amusing... Similar to someone he remembers.

The moment that thought flashed in his head, a strange possibility flickered through his eyes that maybe Kyle was the descendant of one of them.

But as soon as the thought appeared, he dismissed it because he had killed all their descendants himself.

"No, not them, but he is similar to me except for his eyes... right?"

"I wonder why he was born with the celestial essence naturally when a human body can't even endure that much pressure. His body should have crumbled after being born with the essence."

His feet left the ground, and he floated, only to enter the same opening Kyle slipped into a while ago.

Azazeal thought Kyle wouldn't notice his change, but strangely, in the middle of the story, everything went awry.

"I wanted to tell him more. At least the true ending, so he would know what happened to that person who forgave the world and started leading a normal life..."

However, what could he possibly do when Kyle had a bad habit of catching on to things quickly. The human's intuition, for some reason, was quite sharp.

Azazeal rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

He concealed his presence completely mainly because, among the three paths Kyle could potentially take, he wanted the human to follow the path where he would encounter the celestial spirit.

And for that to happen, Kyle's bloodline, which had been concealing itself within his body, needed to reveal its presence.

But who could have guessed that after his presence vanished, the celestial spirit would show itself on its own probably because it was attracted to the essence within Kyle's body.

"His bloodline was calm because it hadn't detected any threat from the spirit yet, but I immediately sensed what it wanted to do. That's why my eyes briefly changed, but he had to injure his hand in that exact moment just to look at me, huh?"

"As usual... the path he took this time is also completely different from the ones I anticipated. It's even more dangerous than the previous three."

Azazeal's body traveled through the narrow tunnel leading underground, but his floating figure paused in mid-air when he arrived in a wide hollow space, enveloped in profound stillness. His eyes witnessed the dazzling light in front of him that shimmered brightly, illuminating everything in its surroundings.

"Found you..."

He whispered slowly with a snicker as he watched the celestial spirit's ethereal form that radiated a gentle, otherworldly glow.

Its presence was a manifestation of pure spiritual energy, with shimmering iridescent wings on its formless figure.

However, the spirit was struggling to escape the layer of darkness enveloping it from all directions. Its voice sounded more melodic as it emitted a faint shriek that reverberated through the hollow space.

"Glad I was ready."

Azazeal moved his finger, causing the darkness to constrict around the spirit, fully shrouding its ethereal form.

At the same time, below on the uneven surface, Kyle stood frozen in his spot as he watched the majestic and ethereal form in front of him. He snapped out of his daze when his bloodline stirred in his body, urging him to get away from the light.

The same light that bathed the surroundings in a warm, golden hue, casting intricate patterns and shadows on the walls.

The air seemed to hum with a soothing energy that calmed Kyle's heart, and it was as if he was being controlled because even though his bloodline was getting restless and he could notice the layer of darkness that was trying to swallow the light, he took a small hesitant step forward toward the formless entity that was made of light.

In that very moment, a familiar yet extremely cold voice sounded above him that sent chills down his spine.

"Don't you dare. It's mine."

Kyle snapped his head up and only then did he notice the pair of obsidian eyes staring down at him. Aze was floating in mid-air, his body enveloped by the same darkness that trapped the ethereal light. Moreover, the man's eyes... they held a clear warning that if Kyle took even a single step forward, he would die.

Kyle halted in his tracks and stared at the formless entity that gave him a profound sense of peace, as if all his worries and fears were momentarily lifted. But it was struggling to break free from the darkness, and after Kyle paused in his actions, the spirit let out a sharp noise as if frustrated.

The space around the spirit responded to its struggle, and numerous glistening plants sprouted from the ground.

The energy from the plants was absorbed by the spirit, causing the land beneath Kyle's feet to start trembling. In that moment, he heard Aze speak up again with an unbothered voice.

"This place is going to collapse."

"?"

Kyle's eyes widened as he took a step back. He frantically looked around to find a path he could use to leave the area. In the end, the only place that could lead him outside was the place he originally dropped from. He immediately ran toward the narrow tunnel he fell from.

The tunnels walls were slippery, but he was grateful that Hubert had made him climb something similar and deeper before. He easily dug his fingers into the sand to climb up, allowing him to exit the hollow space.

His mind was a mess because too many things were happening at the same time. Not to mention that strange light... it looked so dazzling that he had the urge to absorb it inside him.

'No! I don't even know what that thing is! Not to mention, did it just control my mind...? Don't tell me it wanted to swallow me just like the energy from the plants!? Fuck!'