A cry of pain echoed in the vast icy space as the horned man, draped in a dark robe, was chased by countless floating ice spears.
The man stumbled and fell when one of the spears grazed his leg. But as he saw the other spears closing in from behind, he crawled and tried to run again.
Kyle watched with a bored expression, observing everything from the sidelines while seated on a familiar throne adorned with gems.
The throne had some cracks on its surface because he used it a few times in the secret realm as a weapon. But despite the cracks, it still had a malevolent and strong presence, just like before.
Kyle wanted to finish off the man who claimed to be a divine being that had lived for a thousand years. But there was a small problem. The man made him realize that he couldn't leave the mind space.
'Damn it, this is my mind space! Why am I unable to leave? Last time I went out so easily just with a thought...'
He closed his eyes and once again tried to leave, but again a powerful force held him back. A force that strangely felt very familiar.
Kyle massaged his temples and stared at the man who had been crying and running around for a while.
"I'm not going to believe that you're a divine being. If you are, why are you so weak?"
His voice echoed in the space, and the sharp spears following behind the man halted in their tracks. The man wiped the sweat rolling down his forehead.
He wanted to curse so badly. Of course, he would be weak because right now, he's standing inside a space that completely belongs to someone else.
Not to mention the edgy blue particles around him that, for some reason, want to tear everything that dares to get close to Kyle.
'It took me so many days just to find a small opening in his defense... I thought it would be a good chance to sign a contract with the mortal because he would be weakened, but who could have guessed the otherworldly thing inside his body would become so aggressive? And just what the hell did he do with his soul... it's not divine anymore.'
'It seems I have to change my tactics because there's no way I can fight him in his territory with only my consciousness.'
Kyle stared at him and raised his hand.
"Well, if you don't want to tell me anything, just die... anyway, I'll find my way out of this space on my own. After all, this place is mine."
The man's eyes dilated as towering flames surged all around him in an instant, ready to envelop him in a dangerous embrace that would definitely destroy his consciousness.
No way, he couldn't let it happen! His years of hard work would just vanish into thin air, and his dream to achieve transcendent strength would be gone! He leaped and started floating in the air before white smoke sizzled out from his body.
Kyle paused the flames for a few seconds and watched as the white smoke gathered together to form countless projections. He gazed at them with a yawn.
"Oh, so this is your final shot at survival, huh? Well, hate to break it to you, but it's not working-!"
His sentence was cut short when a familiar figure appeared on one of the screens.
"?"
He jumped off the throne and watched the scene reflected on the first projection with wide eyes. It showed the time when he and the others were fighting with Alec over who would kill the monster lord. Then suddenly, another projection lit up, showing the scene where everyone was calling his name and trying to wake him up.
Kyle watched as his body dropped to the ground with a low thud, and Bia went out of control with anger. The phoenix soared in the sky and started destroying everything around her. Yue and his brothers were crying above him, only to retreat when his master took out a healing potion and started pouring it on his bloodied chest.
His breath grew heavy as he locked eyes with the horned man. The man smirked in return.
"I believe you're willing to talk now, right?"
However, his smirk froze when Kyle vanished, and in the next second, he was sent flying backward by a lightning-fast punch to his face.
Kyle blinked down at him and spoke with a cold expression.
"I really can't stand it when someone threatens me."
He wanted to go and beat up the man even more, so the man would know that he had enough power to take him down in seconds if he wanted. But he froze when another projection lit up, showing Alec, Jian, and many others chasing the crystal that had sprung out from his heart.
Kyle watched as a pair of golden eyes appeared in the projection. The eyes stayed emotionless as the person owning them grabbed the crystal and disappeared before Alec could stop them.
Kyle chuckled and everything around him shook slightly. He clenched his fist and punched the projection. In an instant, the projection turned into smoke and disappeared into thin air.
"I finally know who you are! I'm going to track you down, no matter what!"
However, another projection lit up behind him. He turned around, and his eyes trembled as the sky above Alec cracked and shattered like glass fragments.
"No way..."
Kyle moved back, but another projection appeared next to the one showing the cracked sky. It showed two figures with sinister smiles on their faces.
The duo wreaked havoc and killed countless people. Kyle glanced at the next projection, which showed how Alec, Jian, Carcel, Yue, and many others tried to stop the duo but failed miserably.
His heart sank as Jian's screams echoed in the air around him. With dilated eyes, he moved closer to the projection, witnessing the woman with ears atop her head raise her whip toward Jian.
"Wait!"
Kyle shouted, but his hand phased through the projection, which turned into smoke and vanished into thin air. He stared at the dissipating smoke and turned around to see the other projections, but they all turned into smoke too. Then, a familiar voice echoed from behind him.
"How about we talk a little?"
