Celestial Bloodline

Kyle murmured a spell under his breath, conjuring a cage of spiritual energy before tossing the luminous figure inside.

The figure made of light writhed within the cage, her eyes filled with menace as a melodious voice escaped her lips.

"Release me, human! I am one of the guardians of this tomb!"

Kyle bent down to peer into her eyes.

"Just a piece of consciousness? I presumed it to be a shard of an ancient soul. Souls, after all, wield more strength than mere consciousness."

He got up and, under Bia and Asher's eyes, he approached the two metallic nails that the woman had thrown at him earlier. Kyle pulled the nails out from the ground and glanced at the woman.

"I never expected that a piece of consciousness would be one of the guardians of this place. What's more, it had the audacity to attack me without even making its existence known." The woman blinked and fell silent.

He was right. She was just a shred of consciousness who had been residing in this place for many years. She drifted into slumber ages ago but was awakened when Kyle stepped into her domain. The woman wanted to use her strength to break through the cage surrounding her body, but she was interrupted by a familiar metallic nail that swiftly impaled her lower body. A gasp escaped her as the area where the nail struck disintegrated into particles.

"Wait, hold on! You can't destroy my body! I am the guardian of this tomb!"

She murmured quietly.

"My existence will entirely disappear..."

Kyle titled his head.

"So?"

He lifted the second metallic nail in his grasp, channeling spiritual energy from his palm to encase its surface completely. But Asher intervened before he could hurl it at the woman's forehead. The half-dragon instinctively retreated as Kyle fixed his dark gaze upon him. A chill crept into Kyle's voice as he lowered the weapon.

"You do know, we both would have been dead if I hadn't captured her."

Asher scratched his cheek, letting out a sigh at his words, and glanced at the figure of light, which stared right back at him.

"I know, and I am not stopping you at all, but we need to gather all the information she holds about this tomb. I'm sure she has a lot of knowledge if she's proclaiming to be one of the guardians."

Kyle fell silent for a moment, then nodded. He tossed the nail he held before glancing at the woman who let out a sigh of relief.

"Go ahead, do as you please."

He stepped back and gestured to extinguish the remaining icy flames in the chamber. As the flames vanished entirely, the three golden boxes floating in the air reappeared once more.

Asher's eyes flashed with surprise as he saw the boxes. It seems Kyle made sure not to destroy them. His eyebrow twitched when he saw Bia swiftly glide towards one of the golden boxes that Kyle reached for with lightning-fast speed, enveloping it with her wings, even though her body was smaller compared to the box.

-"This is mine!"

The phoenix exclaimed loudly, causing Kyle's hand to pause in mid-air. The human chuckled and reached for another box next to the one Bia took. The duo left the third box untouched and silently retreated to a distance after taking the two.

Asher let out a smile and quickly went to seize the third golden box. Having reached the middle stage of the supreme-rank, he required a powerful treasure to advance to the next stage of the supreme-rank.

But unfortunately, all the treasures he stumbled upon in this tomb after attaining the supreme rank were useless to him; they could only benefit those in divine rank and transcendent rank. Nevertheless, he was certain these golden boxes contained something powerful! After all, a piece of consciousness was protecting them!

The woman watched them silently, but when one of them was about to open the box, she started sobbing.

"You can't... you can't open it. They all contain something made by him."

Tears made of energy streamed down her eyes as she looked sadly at Kyle, Bia, and Asher. Instantly, the half-dragon and the phoenix halted their movements.

Unlike the duo, Kyle didn't even acknowledge the woman and briskly opened the box in his hands. The noise caught the attention of everyone nearby.

"Gloves...? Nice, I needed a pair."

He nodded, and amidst the stunned onlookers, he extracted a dark pair of gloves with numerous tiny white symbols carved onto them from the box and tossed the empty container

away.

Bia followed his lead and opened her box too. If Kyle could open it, why couldn't she? She peered inside and spotted a ring.

-"What!? I can't wear this! Please, don't let it be useless for me!"

The phoenix panicked, but her eyes flashed with surprise when the ring floated out from the golden box and expanded in size. It then split from the center before loosely wrapping around her ankle.

The ring shimmered in the light, forming a striking contrast with her feathers.

-"Not bad. But what's this used for?"

The woman made of light stopped crying. She was secretly attempting to break free from the spiritual energy cage enveloping her body to reclaim the three golden boxes, but it appeared that the individuals in front of her weren't easily fooled.

"It's a life-saving artifact. It will transport you to a safe location when your life is at risk and even mark your enemy to reveal their whereabouts."

Bia wasn't satisfied, but something was better than nothing. She raised her talon and stared at the ring for a few seconds. At least it was making her look rich. She should wear more

accessories.

Kyle donned the gloves on his hands, and even before the woman could explain their purpose, he discerned it from the symbols inscribed on them. The gloves would amplify the strength of

his attacks.

They both gazed at Asher, who froze in his spot after opening the box in his hand as an ominous aura emanated from it.

Kyle stepped back and scrunched up his nose at the smell of blood and flesh drifting from the box in the half-dragon's hands.

Asher wiped his forehead, glanced at the pulsating crimson object in the box, and then turned

to the woman.

"This is...?"

The woman's eyes sparkled.

"This is the heart of a golden dragon. You are a half-dragon, right? Consuming it can enhance

your strength."