?After a long silence, Kyle massaged his temples. He wanted to curse, but the problem was, who should he curse? After all, he didn't even know who put the artifact in his body.
Bia sensed his discomfort, so she gently nuzzled her head into his neck.
Haylee observed the pair and then turned to Ris. His voice echoed within the chameleon's head.
'Is there any other way? I don't want the kid to die.'
Ris looked towards the boar.
'Have you become attached to him?'
Haylee paused, unsure of how to respond. Without even realizing it, spending time with Kyle had caused him to develop a subconscious care for him.
Ris closed his eyes.
'I am not certain if there is another way. However, you know my mind has problems. How about seeking advice from the realm guardian? He is a divine rank individual, and he might have better insight.'
Haylee nodded and looked over at Kyle. Without hesitation, he asked if Kyle would like to seek the guardian.
Kyle agreed immediately. After all, anything was better than nothing. He stood up and turned to face Ris.
"Thank you... And do you have any idea when the dormant artifact will activate again?"
He paused for a moment.
"Also, could you give me more details about the mind space?"
Ris blinked in surprise. It was fine for the human to ask about the artifact but he wondered why Kyle was asking about the mind space. How did he pick up on those specific words from the previous sentence?
He examined Kyle from head to toe.
"You're familiar with the concept of mind space?"
Haylee furrowed his brows.
"It's a separate space that opens up when someone reaches the divine rank. I know about it because master opened his mind space before leaving."
He turned toward Kyle.
"You know about it?"
"Just a little..."
Two pairs of eyes stared at him, eagerly awaiting an explanation.
Kyle raised his hand in surrender.
"Alright, I know about it because I have got one."
"Huh!?"
Ris's eyes widened, looking at Kyle as if he were some kind of freak. Haylee's expression mirrored the same astonishment.
The chameleon's body flickered around him.
"Wait, wait, wait! You have a mind space? Are you kidding me, kiddo? You haven't even reached the (SS)-Rank!"
The two beasts were stunned by this revelation, but after a few moments, they regained their composure. Suddenly, Ris's tail grabbed Haylee's paw, and he stared at him with deadly seriousness.
"Go, go to the guardian! Hurry up, don't waste any time!"
Kyle let out a sigh and pushed the matter of the mind space to the back of his mind. Regardless, he already knew almost everything about it anyway.
Before Kyle left, Ris gave his body one last examination with narrow eyes.
"The artifact is dormant right now. So, I think it'll wake up in a year or two. Or maybe three. I am not too sure about the exact time, but it's a soul-consuming artifact. So, I believe it's gonna consume your soul until it's fully brimming with energy."
Kyle thanked him one last time and left with Bia and Haylee. After the trio had gone, the chameleon crystal body flashed with countless sparks. Its large blue, beady eyes turned faintly red, and it hurriedly rubbed them with a pained groan. A drop of blood trickled down from its left eye, and it quickly closed it to avoid further damage.
"Tsk, I really hate using the fate skill... If I hadn't seen talent in him, I would have never used it. But it's strange that the kid has no future, no past... It's completely blank. Why is he even here in the first place? Even though my head is all jumbled up, just after using the skill for a few seconds I sensed that he shouldn't have been part of the people who entered this realm."
"Clearly, he should have died because of the artifact before even turning eighteen... Or maybe I saw it wrong? Hmm, whatever, it's too complicated to figure out. Also, it's not like my skill is a hundred percent accurate. Ah... even in the past, it's always been 50% inaccurate. I probably sense it wrong."
The chameleon mumbled under its breath and, after resting for a while, went in another direction to observe someone else.
....
After traveling for two days straight, Kyle, Bia, and Haylee arrived in an area that was completely wrecked.
The trio peeked from behind a large leaf held in Kyle's hand. The air around them was filled with violent mana. The land was barren, devoid of any greenery. Additionally, a faint dark energy permeated the air.
Kyle narrowed his eyes and sniffed the air after activating the scent perception skill.
"What's happening"
Haylee blinked and narrowed his eyes at him.
"Why are you sniffing the air? Ah... don't tell me you learned the bad habit from Ris."
Kyle hurriedly pinched his nose when a foul smell entered his nostrils.
"It doesn't smell good. I think someone's fighting in the distance. Is it even safe..?"
Haylee's eyes showed surprise. He cleared his throat, clearly reluctant to show that he couldn't sense anything.
"The last time I saw the guardian, he was fighting with Guil, so it's safe. The guardian is strong enough to restrain him!"
Kyle let out an 'Oh' and pointed towards the distance with the huge leaf they had grabbed along the way.
"Let's go then. We need to find the guardian!"
With a nod, the duo started moving forward. Bia circled above their heads, trying to see as far as she could. However, her sight was limited by the massive dust clouds billowing towards the sky.
After a few minutes, a powerful tremor shook the land, causing the ground to quake beneath their feet. A flash of dark electricity appeared in the sky.
Kyle narrowed his eyes and observed the electricity. Haylee spread out his wings to inspect it as well, but at that exact moment, the duo spotted a faint dark dot hurtling towards them with lightning-fast speed.
They watched as the dot grew larger within a second. Their trance was broken when Bia let out a loud cry.
"Oh, shit!"
They cursed together, and Haylee quickly leaped in another direction. He glanced back, momentarily forgetting that Kyle was weaker, but before he could worry about him, a body landed with a resounding thud in front of him.
Haylee coughed as another cloud of dust billowed into the air.
Suddenly, a relieved sigh sounded from behind him, nearly causing his heart to jump out of his chest.
The boar turned around to see Kyle wiping his forehead.
"That was a close one."
The faint, illusionary old man appeared in the air, but instead of focusing on the massive pit, he stared at the human and the boar with a speechless expression.
"Why the hell are you two crawling around in such a dangerous place?"
