A while back, Kyle felt his heart thundering in his chest as he glanced at his own fist with disbelief. He screamed in his head with a desperate expression, hoping that the few blue particles he had gathered inside his body after so much struggle would heed his command.
But they did not. They coursed inside his arm for a split second, but when he neared the shadow general, the particles quickly returned back to his mind space and refused to come out again.
Kyle's fist collided with the shadow general's, and he heard the clear sound of his knuckles cracking. Not only his knuckles, but he also felt the bones in his entire arm breaking from the impact as he was flung backward. His body came to a halt only when it collided with a boulder. The pain was excruciating, rendering him unable to utter a single scream.
As his body skidded down to the ground amidst the dust, a trail of blood was left behind on the surface of the boulder. His fingers twitched as his breath started to fade with each passing second. His vision grew dim, and this time he didn't fight to stay awake.
The only question echoing in his mind was why? Why didn't his essence obey him? Wasn't he the owner... so why? Deep down, he knew that his chances of survival were slim after he used his bloodline, but if his essence had just helped him, he wouldn't have any regrets. He could have injured or perhaps even killed that bastard who sought to gouge out his eyes. It's not like there was any other option...
Amidst the haze and pain, a faint voice echoed in Kyle's head. It sounded familiar, very familiar. He tried his best to grasp the voice that started to break as his consciousness started to fade.
-'Kyle...? Kyle?'
-'It's Bi...a, can you hear... me?'
Bia's voice sounded very concerned because, due to the distance, she wasn't able to feel Kyle's emotions or presence properly. She lost consciousness after she left the ethereal tunnel and landed on an unfamiliar planet. It was fortunate that even though the planet she landed on with Jian was conquered by the dark side, a group of people who were still fighting for the planet saved her and Jian. They took them to a safe place before the duo met their demise at someone's hand.
Bia just regained consciousness, and the first thing she did was to use all her focus to contact Kyle. She wanted to make sure he was okay because Jian didn't let her leave the planet alone.
Kyle's ears twitched a little when the air around him started to stir for some reason. But his attention was diverted because his head started ringing when someone called out his name loudly again and again.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt-'Kyle!? You basta...rd! Reply or else I'm going to b...eat you up!'
-'Why aren't yo...u saying anything!?
Bia's voice cracked when she didn't get any response even after calling out his name so many times. She even cursed, but he stayed quiet. Instantly, dread crept inside her heart, and she let out a loud scream in his head.
Kyle gasped, and his eyes snapped open wide, their clear surface now marred with many red veins. He blinked to shake off the haze covering his mind and sight, so he could focus on the voice ringing in his head.
'Bia...?'
The phoenix's tense voice visibly relaxed when she heard his voice. She complained about why he wasn't replying but stopped only after a few seconds because she finally focused on the tremor in his voice as he called out her name. It was as if it took his all just to utter a single word.
-'Kyle...? Are you okay?'
Kyle let out a faint breath, his brows furrowed in concentration as he tried his best to close off all his senses and completely focus on Bia's voice.
'I am... fine.'
-'Are you sure?'
Bia's voice turned silent, but now that Kyle regained his sight, he deliberately forced himself to not sound like he was in pain.
'I am fine. You... tell me about yourself.'
His voice wavered in the middle because all of a sudden he heard many panicked cries around him and a suffocating pressure descended on his body.
Kyle glanced upward and watched as the entire sky above him started to fill up with red and purple hues.
-'I am okay... Jian too. We landed on a dangerous planet, but we found a good place to hide. I will come find you-!'
Bia's words were cut short because Kyle abruptly stopped her in the middle.
'Don't...'
'Just go to the sacred divine land with Jian. I will come to find you two... when I'm done here.'
Kyle wanted to laugh at his own words because he wasn't even sure if he would be alive to see the next morning sun with his condition.
But he was glad for the first time that the phoenix couldn't sense his emotions at the moment. His eyes started to sting as tears welled up in them.
'Bia, remember, don't ever look for me, or else I will never talk to you... I will come to find you. I will...'
The phoenix went silent for a moment, then she started bombarding his head with many questions.
-'Where the hell are you? What do you mean I shouldn't find you!?'
But before Bia could even get a single answer, Kyle blocked out her voice from his mind. And to make sure she wouldn't leave Jian and start searching for him alone, he quickly drew a symbol in the air with his gaze alone. The symbol glowed and then entered the back of his hand before disappearing inside his body.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm'Now she won't know, at least not for a few years, if I die today...'
He wasn't sure if that amount of time would be enough for Bia to forget about him, but at least the crybaby wouldn't be crying as much as she would right now.
After all, time had the power to make the memories fade away.
He closed his eyes and many familiar faces flashed through his mind... Yue, he wasn't even able to find her. His family, would they ever find out-!
Kyle's thoughts came to a screeching halt when all of a sudden the air beside him started to twist. He opened his eyes and watched with bated breath as a round tunnel formed in mid-air just a little distance away from him.
Violent currents surged out from the tunnel, and it started sucking everything in its surroundings inside.
'The hell...'
He narrowed his eyes and tried his best to look towards the spot where the shadow general was supposed to be. Due to the pain, his mind forgot to process the fact that the elven man had not come to check on him. However, before he could get a clear look, his body started getting pulled towards the tunnel because of the strong suction force.
'Now what's going on? It seems like I can't even have a moment of peace...'
He wanted to grab onto something nearby to stop himself from being pulled towards the tunnel because he could see that the currents in the tunnel were too intense. No way he would be able to fight them and stay alive in his current condition. But the pain coursing through his body and his lack of energy prevented him from doing so.
Kyle's struggle came to a halt when his eyes accidentally wandered toward the sky, where a massive crack formed and an obsidian eye with two purple slits peered out from the crevice.
He held his breath as he locked his gaze onto the eye. In that split second, he made a decision—to let the tunnel suck him in, no matter if his body could bear it or not. Well, he would die either way, so the method doesn't really matter to him anymore. But at least no one would be able to extract his skills or dig out his eyes.
Moreover, he has a minuscule chance of survival if his luck stat somehow kicks in, although it has been rather useless lately.