Celestial Bloodline

Alec laughed through the pain, his eyes vacant as he swung his blade at Kyle, who glared at him with anger.

The dark petal on the back of his hand blossomed, and darkness enveloped Alec's entire body as he battled Kyle in the sky in front of all his friends. After a lengthy fight, Alec stood alone atop a shattered building, his hands stained red with blood and his once bright eyes now completely dull.

Kyle was nowhere to be found. Half of his friends were kneeling weakly on the ground, while the other half aimed their weapons at him, tears glistening in their eyes, as he muttered hoarsely.

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry... I didn't mean it... I didn't mean to kill him..."

He stared at his bloodstained hands. This nightmare, if only Nine could witness it, he would have been utterly shocked, because it was eerily similar to the vision he had seen a long time ago on the blue planet.

Fortunately or unfortunately, Nine's vision was merely a fragment of the nightmare Alec was currently going through.

Alec's heart sank even deeper, as he collapsed to his knees when the two shadow generals ordered him to kill all his remaining friends as well. He shook his head, eyes wild with madness, screaming 'no' repeatedly. The shadow generals merely sneered at his state and relished in his torment. It was at that instant he sensed his body plummeting... perplexing, considering he was kneeling; why did it feel like he was free-falling from the sky?

Alec's voice faded, and once again, his vision started to darken when numerous voices echoed in his ears, urging him to wake up. He blinked a few times, and dazedly gazed at the many familiar faces gathered around his body.

'How...?'

His eyes were veiled with haze, yet he was absolutely certain that moments ago, all his friends were gravely injured because of him. So why did they all appear unharmed? Had he perished, or was he merely lost in a dream? His eyes shifted towards Lara, and his heart, which had been bleeding from everything he had just endured, began to slowly ease. She was sitting beside his head with a relieved smile.

"Finally, you open your eyes. Are you feeling okay? Any discomfort in your body?"

A familiar worried voice echoed in his ears, and he just wanted to lean towards Lara's warm hand resting on his head and do nothing. Not even move his body. However, in that calm moment, his eyes caught sight of the silver-haired man floating above everyone sitting around him.

Kyle locked eyes with him, a hint of amusement dancing in his gaze. Alec immediately jerked back, recoiling from everyone around him. His eyes reflected not just dread and fear but also intense pain, a tumultuous mix of emotions. He let out a bitter laugh and started mumbling.

"Don't approach me... I might harm you all... Please, stay away from me..."

Lara, Nine, and everyone else around him were stunned at his reaction and gazed at Kyle with solemn eyes. Carcel had already spilled the beans that the silver-haired man was the one who put Alec into a nightmare. Kyle blinked when he found all eyes on him and let out a sigh.

"What? Don't give me that judgmental look. I just threw him into a small nightmare-!"

He halted, raising his hand in surrender as the many eyes on him darkened.

"Okay, okay, it wasn't just any ordinary nightmare. But I did it to prevent him from fighting me and Carcle under the shadow generals' commands. I have no clue what he endured in that nightmare."

Kyle landed next to the group and began rolling up his sleeves with a serious expression as he examined Alec's face.

"Let me bring him out of whatever he went through. A couple of slaps, and he will be back to normal, just like before!"

Of course, he was joking. But the people around him didn't find his joke amusing. The first person to give him a smack was none other than Yue. She hit his leg and glared at him fiercely.

"Can't you see he's already not thinking straight? Don't do anything to make his condition worse."

Kyle hissed dramatically and sat down beside her. A touch of bitterness flashed in his eyes, but she ignored him. He glanced at Alec, who had ceased mumbling and was now observing everyone around him with a vacant yet puzzled expression. It appeared the blue-haired man was starting to regain his composure. Kyle then looked at Nine and patted his shoulder.

"You possess a powerful healing skill, right? Can you apply it to others? Alec isn't injured, but the skill could help soothe his mind."

Nine shot him a fierce look and swiftly moved towards Alec to apply his healing skill. He didn't really mind how Kyle knew about his healing ability as he extended his spiritual energy to envelop Alec, who gazed at him silently. Alec raised his hand to examine the black petal present on his skin, while a few notifications from the system echoed in his mind.

_______

- Error!

Attempting to identify the issue! Loading...

The host's consciousness was manipulated by the dark energy within his body. In result, the system was temporarily disabled.

The host endured a potent nightmare while the system was offline.

_______

After receiving the notifications, Alec realized that everything he had experienced was merely a nightmare, meaning he hadn't hurt anyone. He let out a deep, relieved breath and eased his tense body. However, he clenched his hands into fists at the realization that everyone now knew he could be influenced by the dark side before scanning the faces around him.

"I am sorry..."

He softly murmured.

"I don't remember what happened after the darkness overcame me... I didn't mean to harm anyone. If I did, I am truly sorry."

A bitter smile crept onto his face as he attempted to hide the dark petal glowing on the back of his hand with his sleeve.

"The shadow generals can control me because I signed a dark contract with one of them. I'm sorry I didn't tell you all..."

"It's best if you all stay away from me because you all would be affected if they controlled me once again."