Chapter 268 Shattered dreams  

Kyle's eyes shone brightly in the dark. In an instant, bright blue flames appeared around him. The flames moved according to his will and enclosed everything.

The trembling ceiling froze for a few seconds but the layer of ice he created wasn't enough to hold the weight for a long time.

Kyle clenched his fists and once again the towering cold flames enveloped everything around him. He secured his head and got ready for the impact. However, at that moment his eyes caught sight of a small light seeping from a distant corner.

Kyle's eyes zoomed at the light as he made the flames wrap everything in his path. The icy boulders in front of him crumbled into bright particles and he shouted out.

"Ice spear!"

In an instant, two large spears appeared in front of him. One after another they shot forward and crashed at the place where the light was spilling from. The space in front of him cleared up for a few seconds and amidst the shaky ground, Kyle immediately propelled his body forward toward the source of light.

Kyle's eyes narrowed at the light and a sudden burst of flames emerged from his body. In an instant, the wall froze and turned into bright particles and what appeared in front of him was a narrow hole.

The bird in his hand was so anxious that she bit his palm.

'Bia stay calm for a second!'

Kyle gazed inside the hole, it was going further underground, and at the end, he saw something bright. With a large breath, he jumped into the hole and his body dived downward at a fast speed.

Kyle cried out when hundreds of sharp rocks grazed his body. He hurriedly used mana to strengthen the 'ice armor' around his body. However, it wasn't enough. The speed at which his body was going down made his head dizzy for a second.

Still, he bore the pain and strongly protected the small body struggling in his grip.

After a long torture, his half-closed eyes finally saw the source of light as he crashed into a large boulder. Kyle's body jerked up in pain. He groaned and finally released Bia from his grip.

Bia cried out as she looked at him with moist eyes.

-'You fucker! I told you to let me go!' Her breath caught in her throat when she saw Kyle's condition. His whole body was riddled with injuries and his clothes were wet with blood.

Kyle sensed her worry and forced his eyes to stay focused. He gritted his teeth and moved his trembling hands to take out a mana potion from his mind space.

It was painful but he forced his hand to pour the potion in his mouth. One wasn't enough that's why he gulped down two more.

After two minutes of labored breathing, his hazy eyes finally regained some clarity as he looked at Bia who was sitting beside him.

"I am... fine."

Bia didn't say anything and quietly observed his injuries. They were healing with the speed visible to one eye. It was the effect of the high-grade healing potions Kyle just chugged down.

After checking that he was fine, she hissed and pecked his hand with an angry expression.

-'You are crazy!'

Kyle grabbed her body and he propelled himself up to look at his surroundings.

He blinked at the sight in front of him. The place in front of him wasn't narrow at all. A rocky path and a white beautiful lake surrounded by a batch of beautiful glistening flowers. Above the calm lake, there was a floating piece of land, and atop that land stood an old castle.

Kyle unconsciously looked up at the ceiling with astonishment.

"We are still inside the mountain."

He sucked in a deep breath and tried to stand up but hissed with pain.

"Ugh... I forget my injuries are healing..."

After thinking for a few seconds, Kyle's eyes sparkled and he looked at Bia with an innocent smile.

Bia sensed his gaze and almost had the urge to slap him. Just a second ago they passed through a life-and-death situation and he was already thinking about something evil?

Her hunch was proven in the next second when Kyle patted her head and ordered her to increase her size.

"I am injured. Now only you can take me to the castle!" Bia grumbled but gave him a nod. In the next second, she opened her wings and started flying. Her size started increasing and after a few seconds, a familiar sight appeared in front of Kyle who stared at her huge beautiful body in a daze.

"I didn't look properly last time due to the thousands of eyes watching us but your true form is truly awesome."

He nodded with a satisfied expression and dragged his legs to stand up. Due to the high-grade healing potions, his injuries were almost healed. However, he was too excited to climb the back of a certain phoenix that's why he made sure to wear a pained expression.

"Alright come down!"

Bia gazed at him. She flapped her wings and dived downward. However, instead of letting him climb herself, she casually grabbed his arms with her paws and picked him up.

Kyle was stunned for a second. His feet left the ground and his dreams of climbing the Phoenix back were shattered just like that. The whole process was so smooth that Kyle had to double-check if he was imagining everything. He grumbled under his breath.

"You could have let me ride you."

Bia scoffed and flew toward the castle gate. The moment they appeared above the lake, the air around the floating piece of land trembled.

Kyle narrowed his eyes.

"What's happening?"

In the next second, a large stairway emerged from the floating land and descended toward the ground.

Kyle blinked and let out a faint laugh.

"It seems we don't need to fly."

Bia almost had the urge to throw him on the stairway but she thought about his injuries and restrained her urge.

She slowly placed him in front of the shut castle gate. Afterward, she decreased her size and sat down at a nearby boulder.

-'I can't sense anything behind this gate. Is it safe to go inside?'

Kyle hummed and instead of opening the gate he actually descended the stairway. He stood beside the lake and cleaned his blood-filled body before changing into a clean set of clothes.

He nodded at himself and again climbed the stairway. All this while, Bia stared at him with a speechless expression.

-'I thought you were injured?'

Kyle ignored her piercing eyes and slowly pushed the gate open.

"I can't sense anything as well. Let's see what's inside then."