Sweat trickled down the foreheads of Jian, Jas, Alec, and Asher as they struggled to grasp what Kyle was doing and telling them, since it was challenging. At that mont, Jas's communication device buzzed.
"A minute."
He vanished with the crystal, leaving the others, who watched his retreating figure with expressions of discontent.
Kyle paused after Jas left. He wanted to wait for him to return, but he finally noticed the blank expressions on the faces of those he was teaching. His eyebrow twitched.
"I suppose you all need to understand array symbols first to grasp this. So, give it a try once you have learned them."
He shook his head and freed the man he had captured to demonstrate how to break the dark chains binding the souls of those who had signed the dark contracts.
Monts later, Jas returned, but his expression was grim. They were supposed to travel to another planet to assist, but now he couldn't travel with them.
The elven Queen had just contacted him, informing him that the Tree of Fate had died and that the elves wished to give the remaining fragnt of its core to soone worthy. They needed his and the supre elders' assistance to make this decision.
Kyle furrowed his brows.
"The Tree of Fate has died?"
Jas nodded, but Kyle's expression beca even more troubled. His scent perception skill was active because he wanted to acclimate to the overwhelming sensation; that's why he could sense that the Tree's consciousness was still alive.
"No, it's not dead yet."
He whispered, and in the next second, he tore the space in front of him and stepped through. Jian followed imdiately, as if he could see it coming, but the others weren't able to enter in ti, and the crack closed.
Alec's face fell.
"What the... Did they just ditch us?"
Asher patted his shoulder.
"No, we just weren't fast enough."
They glanced at Jas, who had awkwardly reached out to enter the rift Kyle had created but hadn't made it in ti, just like them. They chuckled before Alec asked the middle-aged man to create a rift leading to the main elven planet. He could form one as well, but he wasn't able to make one that opened so far away from their location.
Jas nodded and summoned all of his people through telepathy before breaking the space in front of him.
Together, they all stepped through the rift, but the planet they arrived at was filled with nothing but the sounds of cries and wails.
Kyle was floating in the far distance, observing everything with Jian by his side. Countless elves were weeping as they knelt around the massive tree trunk that had lost all its strength and vitality.
The atmosphere on the planet was heavy with despair, as if the elves had lost their most precious possession.
All around the desolate tree, every house and city had been reduced to rubble, with the lifeless bodies of elves and demons lying scattered across the ground.
The air was thick with the scent of decay, mingling with the bitter taste of loss that hung heavily over the landscape.
In the center of it all stood the supre-rank elves alongside their Queen, who held a glistening fragnt of core in her palm.
Kyle narrowed his eyes as he noticed nurous dim souls roaming the land.
He knew that the Realm of the Dead had been out of order for now, aning there was no path for the deceased.
Therefore, he always eliminated all souls whenever he killed others, for if he didn't, they would transform into haunting spirits and possess weaker people.
"The elves didn't clean their land."
Jian sighed beside him.
"How can they have the strength to do it when they are all crying like this? It's almost as if they have lost all hope."
He wanted to say more but didn't, turning to look in another direction. He had seen a lot in his life, but still digesting the sight of so many in grief was heavy.
"I will eliminate all the souls on this planet. Whenever I do this, I know it's for the best, but still my hands tremble... it's like I am destroying another entire existence."
Kyle stayed silent and Jian left his side to eliminate all the souls roaming the planet before they turned into haunting spirits.
He grasped the much deeper aning behind Jian's words, and it wasn't that he wasn't affected. In the past, he had never destroyed anyone's soul, not even the soul of his worst enemy. But over ti, he had beco so hard-hearted that now he wouldn't hesitate to do it.
"Well, such is life... it teaches us many things, both bad and good, over ti. Our nature is fickle, after all. To survive, we must learn to adapt and change."
He noticed Jas, Alec, and the others approaching the old elven Queen, who tried to give the glowing orb in her trembling hands to Jas.
However, the man refused, stating that soone from the younger generation of elves deserved it more. After all, it was the last remnant of their guardian, the Tree of Fate, which had stood above the elves for thousands of years.
The Queen looked at her people, and they all shook their heads, indicating that they didn't want it; even those of supre rank shook their heads in denial.
The remaining part of the Tree of Fate's core was a treasure that could have helped them grow stronger, but the elves on the planet were unwilling to absorb it.
Jas sighed and rubbed his forehead as the Queen glanced at him once again.
"This is not sothing I should accept. True, if it were in the past, I would have fought for it, but now that the elves have lost so much, how can you expect to take it? Just find a young, capable elf from your race and give the fragnt to him so he can protect his people in the future."
It was at that instant that Kyle blinked and appeared beside them. He nodded at the Queen in greeting, but she didn't recognize him due to his appearance. Then he silently stared at the glowing fragnt of the core, and everyone assud he wanted it.
Jas glanced at Kyle and told the Queen he knew the person when she asked who he was before speaking to Kyle ntally.
'I think you shouldn't take it. Too many people are grieving because of the Tree of Fate. They want to give it to another, but it's best to stay away from sothing that has caused so many deaths.'
Kyle humd and glanced at the Queen, who was staring at him in silence.
"Can I take it for a mont?"
Jas's lips twitched. Did not he just tell this man not to take it? He sighed when the elven Queen glanced at him.
"Is he in your team? Can we trust him?"
Alec and Asher were the ones who responded to her question. Alec stared at her with a resolute expression.
"You can trust him one hundred percent."
Asher simply rubbed his nose.
"His mind space is filled with so many treasures that I can bet he is currently the richest among us. So, just give it to him. He is only asking for it for a mont."
Jas nodded as well, and although the Queen was sowhat skeptical, she turned to Kyle and held out the remaining fragnt of the Tree of Fate's core toward him.
She observed the tall bronze-skinned man and noted that he was at the middle stage of the supre rank, so if he attempted to flee with the fragnt, they could easily subdue him. If only she knew his current strength.
Kyle glanced at the fragnt, and he sensed it when his body resonated with it. This was to be expected since his body was made from the other half of the very core. The instant he touched it, it glowed and left the Queen's hand, settling in his palm as if it liked his presence.
The elves were astonished by the scene, and Wesley, who stood behind the Queen, scrutinized Kyle from head to toe. He felt an unusual sense of familiarity with this person, which was strange since he had never seen his face before.
Wesley was about to ask Jas who this young man was ntally, but before he could, everyone present got their answer when Jian also appeared at the scene.
"I am done with my work, Kyle. What are you doing?"
He glanced at the fragnt in his hands. All those who knew Kyle widened their eyes in disbelief and whipped their heads to stare at the bronze-skinned man, but that person had already started walking toward the tall, dry tree trunk alongside the red-haired man.
The two stopped just before the massive, dried-up trunk, and Jian silently watched as Kyle placed his hand on the trunk, which withered under his touch. But he didn't retract his hand even then.
Everyone stared at the duo from behind silently, holding their breath. The silence was shattered only when Kyle spoke loudly.
"The tree's still alive and can be saved."
Jian stepped back when he saw Kyle's eyes glowing and a massive amount of spiritual energy burst forth from the latter's body.
"Doing another good deed?"
He murmured, but Kyle shook his head.
"No, I am just repaying all debts. I don't like owing others."
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