?The moment Kyle's body emerged from the dark portal, he tried to float mid-air. But his eyes widened in disbelief when the mana within his body refused to budge. In an instant, he lost his balance and tumbled down the stairway.
He let out a painful hiss and rubbed his back.
"What the heck!?"
After him, Bia flew out from the portal. Her eyes trailed downward, landing on the little body sprawling at the edge of the stairway.
She hurriedly closed the distance and circled above Kyle with concerned eyes.
-'Why are you lying on the ground?'
Kyle closed his eyes and moved his hand to massage his temples but the oversized sleeves made it impossible for him to reach his head.
He stared at her with blank eyes.
"Just because I wanted to."
Haylee's big frame stepped out from the portal with three round glowing transparent shields floating around him. As if waiting for him to appear, Kyle hurriedly dragged his clothes and stood up.
"Haylee! I can not use my mana, what the hell happened?"
Haylee gazed at him and let out a tired sigh.
"It's because you are in a younger body right now. I don't think you'll be able to use it until the illusion wears off-!"
He stopped mid-sentence abruptly when blue flames surged around Kyle's body. The flames traveled upward and vanished into thin air. A surprised expression appeared on the boar's face as he watched the tiny sparks floating in the air
Kyle shot him a frown.
"I can use the flames, but I can not use any other skill. Nor can I float?"
Haylee closed his eyes and hummed softly.
"I am not sure. Based on the punishment, you should have become younger and lost all your strength, like a little kid. But there seems to be something strange about the flames you are using. Somehow, the illusion doesn't seem to affect them."
Kyle gave him a serious nod and took a step forward, but he stumbled on his clothes. Taking a deep breath, he quickly rolled up his sleeves and hiked up his pants to make them fit better. He then gazed at Bia with narrowed eyes.
"I have a question. Why am I the only one going through the punishment? I believe I was not alone who jumped in the door."
Haylee landed beside him with a chuckle.
"It's because she is your bonded beast. Moreover, it's not her original form, so the illusion did not have any effect on her."
The trio enclosed in the floating round shields could do nothing but watch as Kyle and Haylee talked as if their presence meant nothing.
Still, before Haylee could enclose Kyle in a shield as well. Bia increased her size and dived down to land in front of Kyle.
-'Climb up. It's not safe if you can not use your skills.'
Kyle wanted to jump but considering his size he slowly grabbed her feathers and climbed her body. But, his somber mood made it impossible for him to enjoy the ride.
The phoenix soared above in the air, heading straight toward the opening from where they entered the place. Bia's body shot out from the tunnel gracefully. A few large insects gathered around the opening jumped at her, but they backed off when crimson flames spread out under her wings.
Bia stopped immediately when she recalled how Kyle could not use his skills. She flew above in the clear sky with knitted brows.
-'Are you alright?'
Kyle tapped her neck with a hum.
"I am fine."
Just like before he did not feel particularly uncomfortable due to Bia's flames. His body was still as cold as before, and his hair was silver instead of black.
'It's like the illusion can not affect my bloodline.'
He gazed down when Haylee flew out from the tunnel with the trio floating around him. For some reason, the insects did not dare to approach the winged boar.
Kyle clicked his tongue with annoyance.
'Hey, Bia ask Haylee to throw that golden-haired individual away.'
Bia's gaze wandered off to the person Kyle was talking about. A not so handsome muscle figure with light yellow color hair. At first, she thought she was imagining when she sensed Kyle's discomfort but it seems she was right.
-'I can not contact him until he is speaking inside my mind. Just tell Haylee directly. I think he is taking the trio with him because he thought they were your friends.'
Kyle scoffed and focused his gaze in front of him.
'Friends? I don't think I need to befriend every person I meet here. But I am indeed tempted to punch someone in the face.'
He stopped and gazed at Haylee when the boar appeared beside him.
"Where is the treasure land we are finding?"
Haylee narrowed his eyes in the distance.
"I don't remember properly but I believe we need to travel toward east."
Kyle gave him a nod but then suddenly he recalled the important questions he wanted to ask the boar. He thought for a few seconds as they traveled toward the east.
"I want to ask some questions."
Haylee hummed in approval, thinking maybe the human wanted to know more about the illusion but Kyle's next words made him lose his balance mid-air.
"Who is James?"
A shocked expression appeared on Haylee's face as he balanced himself.
"What!?"
Kyle raised his brow at his reaction.
"So, you do know him? What about Odiak and Elizabeth?"
Haylee's heartbeat quickened. He rolled the names on his tongue. It has been a long time since someone called out his master's name in front of him.
He let out a trembling breath when countless emotions clouded his eyes. But, unfortunately for him, Kyle was not done yet.
"Are they alive or did they... lost under the third shadow general?"
Haylee gazed at him with bated breath. Immediately a thin layer of mana enveloped him and Kyle, separating their voice from the trio hovering nearby.
"How the hell did you know about all this!?"
Kyle rolled his large sleeves with a frown. Bia had gone silent under him because she was also interested in their talk.
"I saw an old memory. It was stored in a gem. Odiak called it a resonite gem."
Haylee sucked in a deep breath and mumbled under his breath.
"A resonite gem? In this place."
What were the odds of a resonite gem being left in this place? And what were the chances of someone stumbling upon that exact gem in such a massive realm? He couldn't help but stare at Kyle for a few seconds.
"What about the gem?"
"It's vanished after I saw the stored memories."
Haylee moved his head in a silent nod. Indeed, the resonite gem can only be used once. After replaying the memories it would scatter in the air.
Kyle waited for a minute before staring at the boar with knitted brows.
"So?"
Haylee let out a sigh.
"I know a lot but not enough to answer all of your questions. Also, this knowledge is not recorded anywhere for a lot of reasons. It's dangerous as well. Do you still want to know?"
Kyle's frown deepened. He really wanted to ask why it was dangerous when they were just talking about some past events.
"Just tell me what you know because, for some reason, I am having a bad feeling about all this."
A bright light flashed around Haylee's body. He turned into a ball of light and slowly settled himself on Kyle's shoulder.
He started with his master, James. A powerful and strong human and a genius among his peers. Someone who was strong enough to reach the pseudo-divine rank at a very young age.
The story was ordinary. It started with a peaceful planet and a bunch of powerful youths, all trying to outdo each other and become stronger. Yet, everything changed when their elders told them about the danger lurking around the planet. All the people who reached pseudo-divine rank were forced to leave the planet to fight against an unknown enemy.
James, Odiak, and Elizabeth were among the first batch of people who returned alive from the war. Haylee never left the planet because he was not strong enough. So, he never got the chance to know more about the things happening outside the boundaries of the blue planet.
The only thing he knew from his master's tense mood was that the planet was in great danger. After James reached the divine rank, he wanted to form his army to fight the enemies. He and the dwarf named Odiak become great friends. The duo worked together to construct a huge shield around the planet. They even designed this realm and many towers on the planet to train young people with a lot of potential to grow stronger. However, while everything was going smoothly the dark race who at that time lived with the residents of blue planet suddenly went out of control.
