Legacy of the Dark Sage

Dealing with poison was always dangerous, even if one was knowledgeable about it. Even those people who possessed resistance against it were not completely safe.

It is important to understand that resistance is not the same as immunity. It's a fine line, a delicate balance that can mean the difference between life and death.

Kyran was resistant to poison to a certain degree. This was because all Regis had to consume several kinds of poison in their childhood to build their poison resistance. They did it in preparation for entering the Regis inner forest, where several beasts— rare, mythical, and special types— that produced poisonous attacks could be found. These beasts were not meant to be killed.

They were meant for a Regis to tame.

Building up one's resistance to poison was not hard for mages because as long as they learned how to circulate raw magic energy in their body, they could easily isolate the poison in their body with magic energy and delay its effect until they found an antidote. There were even others with powerful innate magic that could counter poison, like fire and water, that could completely remove its effect.

For this reason, it was rare for poison to be used during a frontal attack.

However, that was not to say using poison in a fight was useless because, depending on its effect, it would still take a mage some time to remove it or stop its circulation. And unless one possessed powerful fire or water innate magic, they could not remove its effect completely.

Another point to consider was that poisons created by Alchemy could be treated. One only needed to know the ingredients used to concoct the poison to create an antidote. Moreover, a poison created by Alchemy was practically a healing potion gone wrong. Thus, depending on the mage's proficiency in Alchemy, they could extract it and adjust its recipe to create a good healing potion.

"I heard from Ames that you were made to drink a lot of poison during your childhood to build up your resistance," Aillos said as if reading through Kyran's thoughts.

Cyneah's eyes widened in shock upon hearing this. It was her first time hearing that about Kyran. She heard a lot of things from Stella during her short stay in the Conclave but nothing about him drinking poisons.

Whether it was good or not, Aillos and Kyran did not dwell on that topic and moved on, making it hard for Cyneah to question them about it.

"You should know that a poison created through Alchemy is different from a being whose innate magic is Poison."

"I know," Kyran nodded. Thus far, the only mage he knew who possessed a Poison innate magic was Avrum from the Alchemist Association under the Conclave. The rest were the beasts he had already taken in and turned into his Servants or Sigils.

Even when Kyran was training in the Tower of Tribulations and was sent to different planes in the Lower Realm, he did not meet any mage possessing Poison magic.

Come to think of it, Avrum was quite a rare talent...

"Don't veer your thoughts away from our discussion," Aillos snorted at Kyran.

Kyran did not react, but inwardly, he was shocked at how Aillos guessed his thoughts were about to wander off just then.

"Venom Dragons are far more poisonous than beasts that were said to have been born from it. This is because they are poisonous and dragons that can utilize Draconic magic."

Compared with his Void magic knowledge, Kyran was still behind his Draconic magic. Thus, he could barely understand the concept behind dragons having a different innate magic yet being able to utilize the Draconic magic.

"It is truly confusing if one is not familiar with Draconic magic," Aillos agreed as if reading Kyran's thoughts once more.

Kyran could no longer keep his calm and frowned at him. He then said, "Is your innate ability reading minds?"

"Rather than reading minds, I have a very good Insight."

"..."

"Putting that aside, I can teach you about Draconic magic. However, I will need a valid reason to do that."

"Valid reason?" Kyran tilted his head in confusion. "Why do I have to give you one when I can just ask Lady Ames to teach me?"

"Ames cannot teach you."

"Why—?"

"You should know by now that Draconic magic is different from the other Ancient Magic. In fact, every Ancient Magic has its unique trait. In the Draconic's case, its unique trait is that anyone with dragon blood in their veins can use it."

Aillos pointed at his heart and said, "This means my magic core could not be considered the Draconic core."

He then pointed at Kyran and added, "This is because there is only one Draconic core ever formed."

"...Formed...?"

"Coelus... the Original Dragon," Aillos replied. "He was the only one who possessed a Draconic Core."

"But everyone else says otherwise..."

"That is because we never tried to correct their misconception."

"..."

Kyran fell silent. That had been one of the things bugging him from the moment he learned about the birth of the Realm Scion and how Lucian was obsessed with finding the artificial Ancient Magic Cores that the Ancients created.

Why was Lucian adamant about absorbing an artificial Ancient Magic Core instead of a real one? Kyran could understand why Lucian wanted to absorb the Void, Soul, and even Time Cores. But what about the Draconic core? Lucian could easily capture a dragon, kill it, and take its Draconic core, so why didn't he?

"To give a brief explanation, having the Draconic core basically allowed you to be more attuned to all elements," Aillos explained after noticing Kyran's inner confusion. "After all, that is the nature of Draconic magic."

Kyran frowned and looked at Aillos, "I kind of get it... but... I also don't."

"Which is understandable. I'll be shocked if you do get it without understanding its true nature."

"Draconic's true nature..."

"To give you something to think about, remember that it wasn't originally called Draconic magic. Its name changed because of its unique trait, which— as I said just seconds ago— is that anyone with dragon blood can use it."

"...Chaos magic."

"That's right. Now, if you use that term when you refer to your magic core, not just anyone can have it."

Kyran placed a hand on his chest as if finally making sense of a lot of things. Read new adventures at empire

"Rather than call it Draconic core... it is Chaos core."

Aillos nodded, "Dragons can use Chaos magic, however, to a certain degree only. Because if we did, without possessing the core, our bodies would be destroyed."

"I think I am starting to understand it more clearly," Kyran admitted. "But I still don't understand why Lady Ames can't teach me."

"Because Ames can only channel the Chaos magic's 'Air' and 'Physical' elements."

Kyran's eyes grew like a saucer as realization hit him.

Nothingness gave birth to everything. Does this mean that everything represents chaos? Then, the order came after Chaos. If Kyran replaced the order with Ancient magic, only one can represent it— Time. Finally, there came life, which is represented by Soul.

"Seems like you're finally getting a better grasp of things. In any case, I am the only one who can teach you about your Draconic magic since I am the last direct descendent of Coelus."

Kyran's eyes almost popped out of their sockets after hearing that last bit from Aillos. He swallowed nervously and said, "Is it safe for you to tell me that?"

"Why not? It's not a secret among the dragons if that's what you're worried about."

"No... well, I suppose so..." Kyran's voice trailed off as he looked at Aillos once more. Somehow, he saw the latter in a different light after learning he was a direct descendent of Coelus.

In a sense, all dragons were Coelus's descendants. However, most of them would have been the great-great-great-great grandson or something by a direct descendent.

"If you're a direct descendent..."

"I am not his son," Aillos cut him midsentence. "However, I am his grandson."

"How old are you?"

"..."

Cyneah, who had been listening to them in silence, could not help but nudge Kyran. "I don't think that's important."

"I'm only saying... asking..."

"Going back on having a valid reason to teach you about your Draconic magic. I need it to convince everyone that they do not have to worry even if I teach you the real nature of Chaos."

Kyran heaved a sigh and leaned his back. Since he now understood the situation better, he could guess and also agree as to why the dragons would be worried if he learned about Chaos magic— Coelus was not a very good example, after all.

"I was only able to pacify them about Zane because he could not fully utilize Chaos magic. But you are different," Aillos's eyes narrowed as he pointed at Kyran once more. "Because you can also use the Void."

"...which is practically saying that I can utilize all elements because of its nothingness nature."

"That's right."

"..."

Kyran knew how dangerous it was to learn how to use his Draconic magic. It was only a glimpse, but the moment he fell into Coelus's magic influence, he felt his insides go berserk. If he could not properly control it, he would lose his mind and might even cause harm to others.

Cyneah also had the same thoughts. However, she knew how important it was for Kyran to learn how to use his magic— not only the Void but also Draconic. Only then could he put up a decent fight against The Emperor.

"You don't need to worry about losing yourself," Aillos assured him."

"..."

"Because I will not allow it."

Kyran could only respond with a wry smile.