The mont the illusions stopped, Kyle rushed toward the boundary, but once again, he couldn't reach it. He sat down on the carpet of darkness, feeling peeved.
The illusions had examined his will by presenting him with everything one could desire, probing whether he would reach out and want for them to beco his reality. Yet, he still couldn't reach that boundary.
The inky darkness around him seed to mock his struggles, amplifying his anger. In that mont, he should have felt lost, but surprisingly, he didn't. Instead, he gazed into the dark void and regained his composure, waiting for sothing to happen again.
Ti trickled by, and he felt suffocated in the oppressive, eerie silence that seed to stretch infinitely. He couldn't even disturb it, as he didn't have a true body here.
Suddenly, a fleeting thought crossed his mind that he should leave this dark place if he couldn't stepped through the boundary, but he brushed it aside imdiately.
It wasn't his choice to arrive in this place, nor did he know that he would find himself here. But now that he was here, how could he admit defeat so easily?
He had faced multiple life-and-death battles. There was a ti when his skin was torn by monsters, and he could only scream as they devoured his flesh. However, he survived and grew stronger. So, how could this situation in the darkness faze him?
As if reading his train of thoughts, the dark space around him began to shift again. But this ti, he didn't care. Kyle simply closed his eyes and rested his arm over them.
The silence was shattered by the rustling sounds of the cool wind whispering through leaves, echoing in his surroundings.
He finally peeked out from the corners of his eyes, only to find himself enveloped by a dense forest beneath a clear, sunny sky.
Brushing off the plain brown robe-like clothes that clung to his body, he stood up and noticed a small, ordinary black-silver blade glinting beside his feet.
"A forest and a weapon?"
Kyle attempted to use his power again, thinking it was another illusion, only to realize this ti he couldn't. He blinked and noticed he didn't have even a hint of energy in his body. He was just like an ordinary human with no power or strength.
With a dissatisfied click of his tongue, he bent down and picked up the blade beside his feet before he began to walk.
He needed to understand what he was facing this ti, but he didn't have to walk for long before he saw many glowing eyes all around him. An icy chill ran down his spine because those eyes looked eerily similar.
"No way..."
He muttered and paused in his steps. This scene looked very familiar to what he had experienced in the No Mana Land.
Kyle's expression sank as he beheld countless familiar beasts that lacked a defined shape and had a color resembling molten steel walking out from the gaps of the tall trees around him. The beasts' bodies constantly shifted, like tal in motion. In the midst of the liquid, pairs of fiery eyes glowed, giving him a nacing look.
Imdiately, the beasts leaped at him from every directions, forcing him to jump back to avoid the vicious attacks. A wild laugh tore from his throat as he wielded the ordinary blade in his hand to fend off the ravenous beasts that lunged to bite his body.
"So many manaless monsters, and I don't have the power to fight them? Seriously, are you kidding ?! Damn it!"
He cursed loudly, feeling a surge of rage bubbling up within him, ready to erupt. No, it wasn't because of the beasts, but because of the haunting mory of when his body was devoured in front of Azazeal.
"Haha... Do you think I would let what happened then repeat itself? No freaking way! Not even in an illusion!"
His eyes turned cold and unfeeling as he fiercely fought the beasts surrounding him with such ferocity that even if anyone saw him fighting, they wouldn't believe the man battling lacked even a hint of power in his body and was rely an ordinary human.
His power may have been gone, but he hadn't forgotten how to skillfully wield a weapon and how to swiftly eliminate his opponent in the shortest ti possible.
Kyle battled for countless hours, which stretched into days, causing him to lose track of ti. The golden sun above him dipped below the horizon many tis, yet the relentless swarm of beasts attacking him showed no signs of ending.
The air grew thick with tension. His entire body ached from the unyielding struggle, but he pressed on, surrounded by the multiple sounds of snarls and growls.
As he fought, he remained unaware that a pair of eyes was observing him intently, filled with a sense of solemnity.
The eyes shifted uncomfortably as they watched him fight without rest.
They held a clear sign of disdain, but beneath that disdain was disbelief. The pair of eyes, imbued with the power of nature, would have continued to watch Kyle if a chuckle had not interrupted them.
"You're bullying the young ones again? If he is eligible, let him cross the boundary. Why are you making things difficult for him? The only job we have is to send back those who acknowledge their loss. But no, you always have to waste so much natural energy for trivial reasons. Stop making enemies; we already have our hands full!"
The voice was t with a scoff.
"He is too young! Does he even have enough experience to understand the responsibilities of a Celestial? He has reached this place only because he was born with sothing special!" The voice sighed upon hearing him. This petty reason again? Why does age matter? As long as the individual is eligible, they are allowed to beco a Celestial. After that, it is up to them to
reach the peak.
"How young? Last ti, you made a lady from the rmaid race fail her trial simply because she was only two hundred years old, and her grandmother caused so much trouble because of
that!"
"That was the youngest person we ever encountered so far. Is this one you are watching even younger than that?"
There was silence for a second before a whispering voice rang out.
"Even younger... he is not even 40 yet... Just a young cub who has barely crawled out of his mother's womb."
This ti, even the voice seed slightly taken aback as a gasp echoed. The eyes that were watching Kyle suddenly vanished as their owner was forcefully dragged away. As Celestials, they weren't allowed to create such chaos, but one among them, driven by an inferiority complex, always made things difficult for the younger generation.
Kyle, who was unaware that he had just been targeted by soone from a realm he could not even access yet, sighed in relief when the scenery around him shattered, replaced by a familiar
darkness.
His exhaustion and erratic breathing cald imdiately as his physical form faded away, along with the illusion.
He wanted to wipe the sweat from his forehead but chuckled inwardly when he realized he wasn't sweating anymore.
This ti, he didn't straightaway rush toward the boundary; instead, he observed it with a cautious expression. Kyle scoffed inwardly, contemplating whether he was finally allowed to
approach it.
After a mont of hesitation, he finally took a step forward, and his eyes sparkled when the transparent barrier before him remained still. A smirk crept onto his face as he hurried his pace, though he remained vigilant to ensure he wouldn't fall into any traps.
The closer he got to the barrier, the more giddy he felt, a thrill coursing through him. By the ti he was just a short distance away, he broke into a run.
Finally, he stood rely an inch from the barrier. Cautiously, he reached out with the tip of his finger and touched the barrier, his expression filled with anticipation.
His finger felt cold and warm before it passed through the transparent barrier with ease. In the next second, without hesitation, Kyle stepped through the boundary, and the surface rippled from his intrusion.
The mont he crossed the barrier, a brilliant light greeted him. He shielded his eyes from the brightness; there was no sun, but the light radiated a pure, natural aura.
He looked around to assess his surroundings, but aside from a vast, tranquil lake teeming with tiny fish of all kinds and a vibrant, large multicolored stone in the center, there was
nothing else.
The air around him was so clean that he couldn't help but take a few deep breaths.
With hurried steps, Kyle approached the water and dipped his fingers into it, instantly feeling
a refreshing sensation before locking his gaze on the stone. Instinctively, he knew that he simply needed to touch the stone to ascend to the Celestial rank.
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