Legacy of the Dark Sage

It took about an hour for Cyneah to tell Kyran everything that happened in her sea of consciousness— from Haylee gaining a separate will from her to True Void's real identity, why they should not interfere with his

return

, about being a Realm Scion was a

destiny

and finally, how she convinced Haylee to help restrain the Macabre Glacier.

"Haylee only helped because I tricked her into believing I have Layla's soul. I would not have succeeded if she had not admitted to relying only on me for information. She could hear my conversations with others but could not see what was happening because she depended on my sight."

"..."

"I made her believe that a conversation I had with someone in Somuli was with Layla's subordinate. But since she could not see who I was talking to, there was no way for her to confirm who that

subordinate

was," Cyneah explained with a bitter smile. "I made it sound that the subordinate was Ruin in disguise and that the item he asked me to hide was Layla's soul.

"Of course, Haylee did not believe me initially, saying she could not sense Layla near me. But I gave an excuse that the item was a relic of the Ancients and had powerful concealment and sealing arrays. In the end, she could no longer refute my words and agreed to help."

Kyran, who had remained silent throughout the explanation, wanted to commend Cyneah for her quick thinking. Though she relied on tricks to get Haylee to help, given the situation's urgency, there was no way he would criticize her.

"I feel bad about tricking her... but she was convinced that fulfilling the King of the Ancients' wish is the right thing to do."

Although Haylee did not elaborate on what the King of the Ancients would do after his revival, Cyneah more or less guessed what it was. She did not say anything to Kyran, though. Not because she did not want to talk about it, but more because she knew he already knew and talking about it would only waste their time.

And Cyneah was right.

Kyran already had an inkling that the King of the Ancient's purpose, after becoming corrupted, was to destroy all realms.

After a short pause, Cyneah answered what would come after the destruction of all realms.

"Once his wish is fulfilled, then, as the Realm Scion,

you

... can

revive

The Realm."

Kyran closed his eyes after hearing about the Realm Scion's responsibility again. He already guessed as much because Shaiha, Kairos, and the other Ancients had thrown so many clues every time they talked to him.

In any case, he did not want to fulfill his

destiny

as the Realm Scion for one good reason: he did not wish to take Cyneah and Stella's Ancient Magic Cores. No one said what would happen to them if they lost their magic cores, but that was because it was already obvious.

Hugh, who only damaged his magic core, had his life span reduced. From this example, it was not hard to imagine what would happen to those who lost it completely.

Kairos' request before Kyran left the Tower of the Ancients also hinted at this.

"Please spare my daughter's life..."

No matter how important Kyran's

destiny

was, he would never sacrifice them for it.

For the record, Cyneah might not possess the Soul Core at the moment, but Kyran planned to retrieve it for her so she could have her sight again. He made a vow to return her sight, after all.

The King of the Ancients was known for his justice and wisdom. Thus, ending up with a corrupted soul was truly unfortunate. However, despite the corruption of his mind and soul caused by his clan's unjust suffering and tragic demise, his desire to eradicate all realms might indeed represent the rightful course they should pursue.

Only after all realms were destroyed could the Realm Scion revive it.

This inadvertently supported Kyran's belief that the Tower of the Ancients falling into a unique space was likely by design. It's possible that even the Ancients who accessed the Tower were the chosen ones their king intended to preserve, ensuring the restoration of their clan when The Realm was revived.

This idea was initially rejected after learning that the Ancients' time, frozen inside the tower, would catch up on them once they exited. But if there was the Realm Scion, who possessed the four Ancient Magic, which was the foundation that created their realm, then they just might be able to survive.

"It's a little frustrating... I wanted to hear your thoughts..." Cyneah said, her voice filled with sorrow.

Kyran opened his eyes and gazed at her. He attempted to speak again, but even that felt difficult. It was odd how his condition seemed to worsen with each passing second.

Your adventure continues at empire

"...Sorry. I just... to be honest, I understand where Haylee was coming from. At the same time, I don't think it's right for us to discredit the efforts of those who strived in their own way to survive in this realm and the Lower Realm.

"But... maybe thinking like this is naive. I..."

"..ngh."

Cyneah perked up after hearing Kyran's muffled grunt. She sensed him move and immediately said, "D-Don't force yourself to speak, Kyran. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to aggravate you..."

She held his hand assuringly and smiled.

"I only wanted to speak my mind. I'm sorry."

"..."

Silence followed, with both falling into their respective thoughts.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Kyran, in particular, wanted to recover as soon as possible and share what he learned after observing the confrontation between Lucian and Estrid and then Lucian with The One Who Caused The Fall afterward.

It might be brief, but Kyran felt that what he learned would benefit them greatly. He could not say if it were a weakness yet, but what he discovered was similar to how he noticed the mages in the Higher Realm did not develop their specialties, like Domains. Thus, their basic foundations could be weaker than the Lower Realm mages.

If Kyran's side focused on strengthening his side based on those weaknesses, they might stand a better chance against The Emperor and his advantage of possessing high-level mages.

On the other hand, Cyneah fell silent while trying to recall all the records she had

seen

in Somuli and find a case similar to Kyran's condition. She wanted to help him recover as soon as possible because, seriously, they would be in big trouble if he could not circulate magic energy.

As mages, magic energy was like a second life force for them. If one stopped circulating it, their magic core might dry up. When that happened... well, it was practically a death sentence.

*

Three days after the events in the Crepuscule Auction House, the Higher Realm was in a state of unrest. With The Emperor announcing the conference, every clan and tribe was getting ready.

The Emperor gave them a week to prepare and another week to travel to the venue. This year, the conference will be held not on Solis' plane but in the Palace of the King.

The Palace of the King was the smallest plane in the Higher Realm. On that plane, only one construction was in sight: a huge palace made of white marble. A lush forest surrounded this palace, and at the periphery of the forest on the opposite side was a body of water.

When the old generation heard where the conference would be held, they could not help but be apprehensive. This was because the Palace of the King used to be the Higher Being's abode.

It was common knowledge that The Emperor used to be the Higher Being's disciple. So it was not that strange for him to inherit that place. He even preserved it as much as possible, ensuring it would be liveable.

However, the surviving old generation knew better. The Emperor preserved that plane not because he inherited it from the Higher Being.

It was because of his ambition.

The Emperor wanted to become the new Higher Being of the Higher Realm. And thus, he claimed everything that the previous Higher Being used to have.

Holding the conference in that place was The Emperor's way of declaring his position in the Higher Realm. Though most clans were already aware of why he wanted to have the conference, the fact that he did not even try to conceal his intentions was intimidating.

Most also worried that something unexpected might happen during the conference. Some even suspected that The Emperor ordered every clan leader and representative to attend so he could remove those he deemed unworthy and then choose a new clan that would replace the Blade Dancer Clan's position in his faction.

Their concerns were reasonable. The recent events justified all these.

Meanwhile, in the Dragon plane, Ames, the aides, the leaders of each dragon tribe, and Cade were in the middle of an emergency meeting.

There were only four days and a week left before the conference, and they still did not know how to hide that Aillos was in seclusion. Though it seemed they still had time, the Palace of the King was quite far from the Dragon Plane. Traveling there would typically take about a month, but with Array, they could shorten it to ten days. But given this number, it meant they only had one day left to decide what to do.

Everyone in the meeting knew they could not interrupt Aillos' seclusion. If they did, he might not be able to break through again.

"There is only one solution to this," Cade said, looking at them meaningfully. "Announce a new clan leader and have them attend the conference."