Chapter 861: The Celestial realm I
Amidst an array of sparks, Kyle floated before a massive, glowing Gate that had materialized in a secluded corner of the universe, far from any known planets.
He noticed the intricate patterns and ancient symbols etched onto its surface. They were beyond his comprehension.
"So this is the gate to the Celestial realm. The place that started the nightmare this universe has gone through up till now."
He muttered, his voice calm and echoing in the atmosphere. He was alone, with not a single person by his side. Not even Bia.
Kyle could hear her angry curses in his head. He had vanished, leaving her behind when she refused to let him go alone. He was sure Yue and the others were trying their best to calm down the phoenix.
He closed his eyes and sent one final message to her, hoping it would calm her.
’I wanted to take you with me. But I can’t fight those three Celestials, even if I wanted to, because they are the only ones who can restore the balance of life and death here. I will beat them in the future. So, take care of Yue and come find me with the rest when you have reached the Celestial rank.’
He paused for a second.
’I am leaving something powerful within your body. It will help you a lot, even in my absence. Make good use of it.’
As expected, Bia’s voice finally fell silent. Due to his words, she closed her eyes and sensed the glowing orb, radiating the power of multiple powerful natural laws within her consciousness. She was shocked because she hadn’t even felt him do it!
The orb was a compressed version of the natural laws Kyle had comprehended and could manipulate. She had to absorb them slowly, piece by piece, to learn everything.
-’When...’
Her voice trailed off because an invisible barrier of energy broke the connection they shared, a consequence of the vast distance between them as Kyle moved and stepped through the glowing Gate before him.
His form shimmered, phasing through the pulsating energy field that surrounded him.
As he left the universe, the three ancient Celestials relaxed. The one among them who held a deep love for nature scoffed.
"Finally, he is gone. I was about to give him a kick into the Gate if he didn’t leave soon."
Everyone froze at his words. Many wished for Kyle to stay safe, while others planned to grow stronger to follow him soon.
Yue’s smile faded as she sighed.
"He left..."
Bia’s eyes widened at the words.
It took her a second to process them. The next second, she let out a shout that shook the very space, surprising everyone.
The fire around her erupted in anger.
At that moment, a symbol never seen before appeared on her forehead, finally shocking the three Celestials.The symbol showed a glowing, golden flame.
The female Celestial exclaimed.
"A mark of a future Celestial! Only beasts capable of one day reaching the Celestial rank are bestowed that mark by the nature! That phoenix has crossed the limitations of her race by reaching the supreme rank, and now she has broken her final limitation..."
Beside her, the strongest spoke.
"She is not the only one. I can sense the mark of the nature on the other beast with these people as well. His mark is stronger than hers, but it’s hidden."
The way the three old Celestials looked at Alec and the others finally shifted.
They hadn’t noticed earlier, but every single person in the area was at the supreme rank.
Many of them were even at the peak of that rank, only a step away from Celestial rank.
Still, the strongest Celestial sighed.
"They have reached the peak of the supreme rank, and those two beasts with them even bear the unique mark of nature. But crossing that final threshold is no easy feat. It’ll take them years to pass it. At the very least, a hundred years."
Nox glanced at the Celestials, who were watching them, and went toward Bia. He spread out his aura to calm her down.
The phoenix was stunned when she saw the chipmunk trying to command her, and her focus shifted from Kyle to Nox.
Then again, a weird scene erupted in the space. One phoenix chased a lynx to beat him up, who was crying for help from Yue and the others who laughed at the scene.
The female Celestial was tempted to claim the phoenix and lynx as her servants, but the strongest among them glared at her.
"Don’t break the rules set for our job. Let’s complete our work here and depart."
She nodded, and the three Celestials vanished. They quickly located the open Realm of the Dead nearby, and could only sigh at the chaos that greeted them.
"What a mess..."
"Indeed..."
***
On the other hand, Kyle was greeted by a completely different scene when he finally stepped out of the Gate he entered.
The air was filled with murmurs, some in weird languages he hadn’t heard in his life, and around him countless similar glowing Gates of varying size floated, from which people of different races were coming. All of them had bodies that glowed uniquely.
He watched with a calm expression, his eyes pausing at a group of individuals with glowing green skin and huge bodies. They were beasts he had seen before—Orcs.
However, Kyle didn’t think they should be capable of being so strong since they were just weak beasts in his universe, let alone reaching the Celestial rank. That’s why he stared longer than intended.
One of the huge Orcs met his gaze, a menacing glint in his dark eyes.
"What the hell are you staring at our princess for? Avert your gaze before I gouge out your eyes!"
His booming voice drew the attention of everyone floating nearby. Instantly, a chorus of laughter erupted, and a few even cheered for Kyle, shouting about what a brave soul he was for hitting on the Orcs when there were so many other options available.
Kyle blinked, unsure what the hell had just happened. It took him a moment to process it, and when he did, he was speechless.
He turned around and vanished. His true appearance was hidden due to the teardrop symbol on the back of his neck, preventing him from attracting too much attention.
For some reason, he was sure that unlike the other Celestials arriving here, the glow on his body was different, more ethereal.
Regardless, he was surprised to see so many Celestials in the area. Nearly all of them were at the first stage.
"Here, I thought reaching the Celestial rank was not something easy. Why are there so many of them? To think I have just entered this realm and already seeing so many."
He muttered as he landed on the massive bridge in the center of all the floating Gates.
Kyle noticed that the Gate he had come from was actually one of the smallest.
There were even Gates as vast as planets, making him curious about what made the universes those Gates were connected to different from his. His eyes darted around, taking in everything as he walked on the bridge, following everyone else who had just, like him, come out from the Gates.
"I need knowledge of this Realm... But above all, where is Azazeal? He should be here as well. Did he already leave?"
He mused and soon got his answer when he heard a group of individuals with wings on their backs muttering how a strong Dark Celestial had shown up a while back. But he had left without greeting the Celestials at the end of the bridge of divinity who are supposed to record their names.
"Oh... we need to greet someone?"
He was talking to himself but was startled when a short, weak-looking male with a set of amethyst eyes and white hair, clad in a plain robe, suddenly answered next to him.
"Yes, have you not heard about this place before from your elders?"
Kyle’s hair stood up and his first reaction was to distance himself from the man who had just shown up beside him suddenly.
He didn’t even sense his arrival!