My mind was flooded with unanswered questions. Why would the council members take an interest in me? What could they possibly want? But there was no one around to provide the answers I sought. The chamber remained silent, leaving me alone with my thoughts and the weight of uncertainty pressing upon me. I had to find a way to navigate through this tangled web of mysteries and uncover the truth that lay hidden in the shadows.
Sniff*
"!!" Sniffing the air, I suddenly detected a strong scent of burning. My attention immediately shifted back to the Kobold's tail, which had now transformed into a charred pile of charcoal.
"Well, this is unusual," I muttered. It felt as if I had been absent for a few minutes, yet the Kobold's tail had been burnt to such an extent that there was no meat left to consume.
"It's because your fire has been enhanced," Blaze explained. "Initially, your fire was... crude, but now it possesses the power of a phoenix fire."
Blaze's statement triggered an immediate question in my mind, so I inquired, "Hey, does this mean I am now half-human?"
I realized it might sound strange or even foolish, but I couldn't help asking. Blaze had previously mentioned that phoenixes only required seven steps to reach the status of Demi God, but I wasn't a phoenix, right? So, how far could a half-phoenix like me progress?
"Huh?" Blaze's expression turned confused, sending shivers down my spine.
"Please don't say something stupid again," I silently prayed, knowing that the silence from this parasitic companion was usually harmful.
"Nah, I just wanted to inform you that you are not half-human," Blaze nonchalantly replied.
*Swoosh*
A gust of wind inexplicably swept through the chamber, playfully tousling my hair. I stood there motionless, my eyes fixated on the smoky black creature with a vacant stare.
Every single molecule in my body urged me to sever the mana that sustained Blaze and let him dissipate into nothingness. Curses swelled in my throat, ready to burst forth. But just as they were about to escape...
"Because you are no longer a human; you are a phoenix through and through," Blaze concluded.
"What?" My body suddenly experienced a chilling drop in temperature.
"I mean, you're not just a snotty human brat anymore. You're now a snotty phoenix chick, or I'd say more than... well, more than 80 percent phoenix, I suppose," Blaze spewed out a string of absurd statements.
"So you're saying I'm predominantly phoenix now, more than just half or a third?" I questioned.
"Yeah, any problem with that?" Blaze retorted.
"Not actually but is Bloodwell responsible for this transformation?" If that's the case, it's an astonishing breakthrough. People could completely shed their human identity.
"Nah," Blaze dismissed, hovering around me. "It happened because... it was the heart of a purebred phoenix goddess, or rather, partly your mother, technically," he concluded.
Ah, that explains a lot. A phoenix goddess's heart would undoubtedly have a much greater effect than a regular DNA sample.
"Well, *#?##...got her clan heir," Blaze muttered something under his breath, and I couldn't quite catch it.
"What did you say?" I asked, noticing Blaze flinching slightly.
"Um... nothing, just talking to myself. But look at how it benefits you in the long run. Now you don't have to worry about hitting a wall in your bloodline potential, and you can surpass many of your future rivals," Blaze stated.
Rivals? I highly doubt I'll have any rivals in the future. And if he's referring to Adam, as long as I keep my distance from the main cast, everything should be fine.
My goal is to focus on this 'he' guy who's been tailing me.
"But I don't sense much of a difference, to be honest," I remarked, feeling a hint of weakness in my body but nothing significant.
"That's because you're at the lowest point now. You won't be able to perceive any internal changes at this stage," Blaze explained.
"Internal changes?" I couldn't help but hang onto each of his words, curious about the details.
"Hmm... I must say, you do look slightly more aesthetically pleasing on the outside now that you've undergone Bloodwell. Not that it matters much, though," Blaze blurted out.
I couldn't care less about my external appearance at this moment. It held little importance to me in my current state.
"Well,We should start moving now. It's a good thing you have your legs back, but I'll still miss seeing you crawl on the ground," Blaze sighed.
"Yeah... it's great that it built a new body, but-" something just crossed my mind,I paused in the middle of my sentence, a peculiar thought racing through my mind at lightning speed.
"Hey, can Bloodwell create an entirely new body for something that has lost its physical form?" I asked, genuinely curious about the capabilities of this place.
"I don't know. Falkor and I never attempted it because we never encountered a creature that had lost its physical form but remained alive in the mortal world," Blaze shrugged.ραпdαs `n?ν?| сom
"Hehe... hahahahahahahahahahah," I burst into uncontrollable laughter, realizing I had the perfect subject to conduct this experiment on.
?α?dαsηθνε| Someone who had been forcibly divided into two forms and still existed with consciousness.
Perhaps sensing my thoughts, Blaze interjected, "No, absolutely not! There's no way, how could you even suggest that? But... no," he stammered, clearly frightened.
"Smokeball!" I called out to him, treating him like a pet. "Jump into the pond right now!"
"I won't!" Blaze resisted.
"Okay then, I'll disperse you," I threatened as I began withdrawing the mana from our bond.
"H-Hey, stop! I can't... I mean, I won't be able to. Don't we need a specimen or DNA of something for me to take physical form? Yes, that's why I can't do it," Blaze argued.
"..." Well, he was right. It was pointless if he didn't have a DNA sample of...
*Pull* Tuk*
"Fuck you!" Blaze cursed as he saw me retrieve the Winged Pardus's locket from around my neck. It contained the tooth, which should be sufficient.
"DNA sample obtained," I declared.
"But... isn't it an heirloom of your family? Your mother gave it to you," Blaze wouldn't back down so easily.
"And she also said I should use it wisely when the time comes. I believe the time has come," I responded, determined to proceed.
"Actually, listen to me... I remember now! Yes, there's nothing for me to focus my mana on. I won't be able to survive like that since every mana beast needs to harness mana through their body, you know, the anatomy that God created. We can't deny the laws of nature, can we?" Blaze's excuses came to a halt as I pulled out a hexagonal crystal from my bag.
"..." A hard, straight expression formed on his face as he recognized the lightning elemental dragon's core that we had obtained on the fifth floor.
I had planned to sell it once we left the dungeon after altering our Bloodline potential. It would fetch a substantial amount of money all at once.
"So, you expect the mighty Klashier to use a mere elemental dragon's core, which was slain by a teenage boy from another world?" Blaze's tone was chilling, but I remained unfazed.
"Yeah," I affirmed.
"But why-" Blaze was clearly unwilling.
"Listen up, you pathetic parasite. Right now, you're nothing more than a leech sucking the life out of me. I have no use for dead weight or useless baggage. I need someone who will actually be of value in the long run. If you can't offer even the tiniest bit of assistance, then I have no use for a worthless, so-called mighty dragon like Klashier." I said.
After my words, a silence of insult hung in the air.
"Wow, that was... harsh," Blaze remarked. "Okay, fine. I'll do it! I'll do it. No need to be a foul-mouthed jerk." Finally, he agreed, albeit reluctantly.
I strode purposefully to the edge of Bloodwell, clutching the locket tightly in one hand while firmly wrapping it around the hexagonal crystal. There was no way Blaze would be capable of grasping it himself.
With a swift motion, I propelled the fused objects into the air, watching as they ascended above the reflective surface of the obsidian water.
Blaze swiftly soared towards the hovering crystal, his ethereal smoke trailing behind him. As he reached it, the mist enveloped the crystal, shrouding it in a hazy veil. In perfect synchrony, both Blaze and the crystal descended into the water, causing a small ripple to ripple across its surface.
As I observed the crystal and Blaze submerging into the water, a faint glimmer of lightning flickered within the depths. It was a fleeting sight, too minuscule to hold its form, as the electric energy dissipated into the surrounding liquid, dissolving into the unseen currents of Bloodwell.
"Hope you have a nightmare-filled existence, Blaze," I whispered, my words carrying a touch of vindictiveness.
*Silence*
The entire chamber was engulfed in an immediate stillness. Despite my insult, I couldn't deny that having Blaze around all the time prevented moments from becoming dull, thanks to his incessant chatter.
I didn't regret insulting him. It was true that I couldn't constantly rely on him, feeding him my mana. If my mana depleted or, worse yet, if I lost my mana core, he would vanish. It was better for him to have his own source of power to sustain himself. And it would be better for me to have someone I could truly trust.
*Chuckle*
"Man, now I'm actually worried about him," I chuckled to myself. It seemed like I had formed a genuine friendship.
I settled near the shore, not wanting to sever the connection between us. I could feel Blaze delving deeper into the water.
How many days would it take for him to emerge? What form would he assume upon resurfacing? It's a Winged Pardus so, I held onto hope for something remarkable.
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