Chapter 707: The ancient projection III
Kyle chuckled at Bia's words. How easily the phoenix claimed she would destroy the projection if it didn't contain her name. He mused, amusement dancing in his eyes.
"I suppose I can only hope the projection knows what's best for itself. Still, Bia, you can't destroy it, as its presence conceals the planet directly beneath it."
Bia grumbled under her breath. Right, she couldn't destroy this thing... Suddenly, her eyes lit up with an evil gleam.
- "I can't destroy it, but... I can at least ensure that no one will ever be able to see the names on it again. Hehe."
Kyle could only sigh at her as he continued to scrutinize the veil shrouding the content of the projection.
Unaware to both Bia and Kyle, the divine-rank dragon's soul that had been residing within the projection for quite some time was rendered completely speechless by the phoenix's words. However, the dragon was filled with excitement and joy at the sight of Kyle, so it chose to disregard the phoenix. It couldn't leave the projection because, although the dragon had formed a new body for itself, it had not yet attained its full strength.
Regardless, it decided to solidify its form for a few minutes and step out of the projection to make its presence known to Kyle and see if the human remembered it.
The dragon had recognized the human immediately, even though the essence within the human's body had completely retreated as if it no longer existed. A deep voice echoed from the projection.
"Kyle...?"
However, the voice was so faint that it completely vanished within the golden energy swirling around the projection.
"You have transformed into someone entirely different from your once innocent and naive self. Also... you have come this far-so far that it's hard to believe Azazeal hasn't eliminated you yet."
At that moment, Kyle's ears twitched as he glanced around with an alert expression.
"What was that?"
Bia mirrored his actions.
-"What was what?"
He extended his senses this time with complete focus to confirm there was truly no one around. However, even after a while, he sensed no presence. He furrowed his brows and turned to Bia.
"I think I just heard a voice, but I'm not sure because it was very fleeting."
Bia titled her head.
-"You sure?"
Kyle checked his ears to ensure he hadn't damaged them as well during his fight with Ceano. He hummed in relief when he found nothing wrong with his hearing.
"I don't think I made a mistake. I'm certain I heard someone speaking."
He shifted his gaze toward the massive projection standing before him. If he was right, didn't the voice come from the same direction as the projection? Was someone hiding behind it? However, he had already surveyed the surroundings. Suddenly, his eyes narrowed at the projection as a startling realization dawned on him.
"Wait... Don't tell me the voice came from within the projection? No, that can't be..."
His words trailed off as he and Bia both sprinted away from the projection when a dark shadow emerged from its surface and began to take shape. The phoenix's eyes widened in shock at the sight.
-"Dark energy? No, that's not dark energy! It's a soul, and it's forming a body for itself!" Kyle readied himself for combat, feeling a twinge of displeasure that Bia had warned him something would go wrong with the projection due to him-and now it had.
'I need to make sure she keeps her comments to herself next time before I am going to do anything, because her words are manifesting into reality...'
However, he was quite surprised when he sensed the strength of the soul in front of him. It was only of divine rank.
He relaxed his body, ready to destroy the soul before it could successfully form a body for itself, but he halted in his tracks when he heard Bia's surprised murmur.
-"A true dragon...?"
"Huh? A dragon?"
Kyle lowered his fist aimed at the shadow when a deafening roar echoed through the air. His gaze caught sight of a pair of dark eyes staring at him from the shadow, each containing nothing but a white slit.
He stared into the eyes, and suddenly a forgotten memory flashed in his mind. The eyes- they were familiar.
While Kyle was distracted by this sudden realization, the divine soul in front of him successfully formed a body for itself.
The remnant of the dark shadow in the atmosphere scattered, revealing a majestic blue dragon with a sleek and powerful body, adorned with scales that shimmered like sapphires. It unfurled its ethereal wings, which spanned a vast expanse, and shook them to adjust to its new form.
Bia gasped with wide eyes.
-"It's truly a true dragon!"
She had sensed its presence after it began to form a body for itself. Perhaps she could sense that the soul belonged to a dragon because they were both beasts?
-"But... why is it bigger than me?!"
This fact was what frustrated and astonished the phoenix the most! She was already at the transcendent rank, while this dragon was only at the divine rank, yet its size was twice that of
her own!
Why?? That's not fair!
The dragon's eyes shifted toward the phoenix after it adjusted its wings, a hint of
speechlessness crossing its gaze.
"I am bigger because I am older than you, little one. Don't fret."
Bia's anger surged when the dragon called her little one! But before she could respond, the dragon turned its gaze to Kyle, who had been staring at it intensely with narrowed eyes and an
unreadable expression.
"It's been a while since I last saw you, young man. You have grown a lot... Still, I hope you can relax your fists. I can't harm you; after all, I am weaker than you now."
Kyle relaxed his fists. It was not because the dragon asked him to, but because after he stopped thinking about the old memory that flashed in his mind when he saw the dragon's eyes, he recalled what Mason had told him a while back and looked at the dragon with a
thoughtful expression.
"You are the guardian of this projection, aren't you? And we have encountered each other before, or perhaps I should say you have revealed your eyes to me in the past? I am certain of it, even though I haven't fully recalled that memory yet."