Legacy of the Dark Sage

Kyran belatedly realized that he could no longer absorb any magic energy in the surroundings after warping a couple of times.

He initially thought that as long as he traversed through the Lower Realm, he would have unlimited access to magic energy. Apparently, he had long gone off the realm's jurisdiction and entered an unknown since he could no longer do so.

Actually, that was not entirely correct.

Kyran could still sense the presence of magic energy around him. However, absorbing them seemed impossible. It was as if a veil of some sort was shielding the magic energies, preventing anyone from accessing them. There were some cracks in that veil where magic energies leaked. But black vortexes hovered near them, which spelled danger even to Kyran, who was considered familiar with those things.

He could summon similar vortexes that could absorb anything and everything, after all. However, it was precisely because he knew what those vortexes were capable of that he was being cautious.

It was one thing if he was the one who created those vortexes, but those formed naturally. There was no telling where he would end up or what he would become if he got sucked into one of them.

In any case, from what Kyran gleaned from these things, he had a vague idea where he was, so he could not really say the place was unknown.

The Land of Desolation.

Kyran first heard of its existence from Zephyr when the latter mentioned it as another possible route to get to the Higher Realm. Kyran then researched the place because he wanted to know if such a place truly existed in the Lower Realm.

Still, researching The Land of Desolation was not his priority. Thus, he only got any information.

"Ugh…"

Kyran let out a muffled groan after his internal wounds acted up at the strain caused by his warping. He took out a healing pill from his storage pouch, which he realized was the last one in his stock, and bitterly took it.

Healing pills had little effect on the wounds inflicted by The Emperor's magic, but Kyran had no choice but to take them. If he did not, he would collapse from the pain, which would then allow The Emperor or 'The Cause of the Fall' to get closer to him.

Kyran inwardly shivered after recalling the being shrouded in black mist.

A few hours ago, when he got captured by the being shrouded in black mist, who revealed his identity as the one who caused The Fall, Kyran's senses urged him to run as far away from the latter as soon as possible. If he had not realized that the one urging him to run was actually the Shaiha, he might have stayed in that cave listening to the being's nonsense.

…

Fine.

What that being had said was not entirely nonsense. Instead, his claim about not being interested in the Shaiha nor the Ancient Magic Cores he possessed was nonsense. Even as he denied it, his glowing red eyes piercing through Kyran as if wanting to bore through him proved that he had ulterior motives.

Because of this, Kyran no longer hesitated and warped away. There was no point hiding his Void magic from that being because it was implied he already knew about it.

Since Kyran warped hastily, he miscalculated his target location and appeared within The Emperor's magic sense range.

Kyran immediately warped to prevent the latter from sensing him because warping would leave behind a trace of his Void magic energy. However, the Emperor still caught a waft of it and went after its trace.

The Emperor appeared familiar with the Void magic signature and even more obsessed with it than the Draconic core because he no longer held back his magic energy and chased Kyran with such zeal.

This was why Kyran had to warp in succession, aggravating his internal wounds in the process.

Foooom!

Kyran frowned after sensing The Emperor sending a sonar-like wave to locate his position.

'Just how much magic energy does this guy have?' Kyran wondered in exasperation.

He could still hide from The Emperor with the Shaiha's concealment if they were in a place filled with magic energy. But because they were not, The Emperor only had to locate the last spot where Kyran had warped and follow it to get to where he was.

When was the last time Kyran felt cornered like this? During his training in the Tower of Tribulations?

No.

The things he encountered before were indeed dangerous, and his life was threatened a few times. However, he had always had access to his Void magic and managed to escape. What other mages that underwent the Tower's training considered a restriction because of the differences in a plane's Magic Law did not affect Kyran. Thus, he was never really in a situation where he needed a way out.

Until today.

Or was it?

Kyran's eyes flickered as he focused on his warp target. With his remaining magic energy, he could warp three or four times more at most, depending on the distance.

However, the rate and effort The Emperor employed to chase after Kyran made it impossible for the latter to reach a safe distance. And for argument's sake, Kyran did manage to get away from The Emperor, what then?

There was no magic energy Kyran could absorb to replenish his magic cores, and without enough magic energy, he could not enter his Void World and hide. Besides, even if he could enter there, there was no guarantee that The Emperor would not find it.

The Emperor was a peak existence in the Higher Realm; he definitely possessed a relic or magic item that could assist him in forcing Kyran out.

That sonar-like wave The Emperor had been emitting might even be a relic.

As for the matter of The Emperor's magic and abilities being restrained, that no longer applied because they were no longer in the Lower Realm. It was why he seemed to have far more magic energy at his disposal than Kyran anticipated.

Considering all these, Kyran made up his mind.

Instead of wasting his remaining magic energy trying to escape The Emperor through warping, Kyran would put it to good use.

In the blink of an eye, Kyran disappeared. His destination was a spot close to one of the cracks in the veil he discovered earlier.

He did not warp directly into the crack. He could not because the pull from black vortexes near it was too powerful, so he could not immediately escape it.

Kyran's eyes narrowed as he looked at one of the black vortexes.

'Those are naturally formed black vortexes, but they still possess the Void's nature…' Kyran thought, his eyes flickered with determination.

Based on the Human plane's Magic Law, a mage that broke through a certain mage level could manipulate naturally produced elements corresponding to their innate magic. It also allowed a mage to gain a territorial advantage.

But Kyran was not on the Human plane. There was no guarantee that such a law would be applicable in the Land of Desolation.

Nevertheless, it was still worth a shot.

After all, there was one Void theory he wanted to try out.

This theory was separate from those Caelan taught him. Instead, it was Kyran who came up with it.

But unlike the Void Theories Caelan taught him, Kyran's was still in its 'theoretical phase.' He had yet to experiment on it.

Kyran came up with the theory from Somuli's lack of magic energy. Basically, he would induce or find a spot or 'lifeform' that could naturally produce Void energy and influence it using his Void magic energy. For this reason, he needed to understand how Mana in Somuli formed, its composition, and how it worked. Only by understanding these would Kyran be able to test his theory.

It went without saying, but the reason Kyran wanted to know if he could influence naturally made elements or lifeforms with Void properties was to allow him to limit his magic energy consumption.

If Kyran could manipulate these elements, he would not have to rouse his magic energy whenever he had to use magic.

Unfortunately, Kyran no longer had the time to prove his theory, given how the sudden events in Somuli brought him into this dire situation.

In any case, if Kyran was right about his theory, he should be capable of influencing the black vortexes. He would use his remaining magic energy to do that and manipulate the location it would 'send' him to.

Of course, there was another risk to what Kyran intended to do: the possibility that the black vortex would not 'send' what it absorbed to another location but to oblivion- for short, destroy it.

For this reason, Kyran's plan could be considered a last-ditch effort— a do-or-die move.

Getting captured by The Emperor might be a better choice— only if The Emperor did not intend to take the Shaiha and the Ancient Magic Cores at the get-go. Otherwise, Kyran was as good as dead.

If Kyran was captured, he could bid his time, replenish his magic energy, and find a chance to escape The Emperor. But the question was: Would The Emperor allow Kyran to replenish his magic energy and escape?

In any case, Kyran deemed it better to die and destroy the Shaiha and the Ancient Magic Cores altogether rather than give The Emperor a chance to take them. This was because, there was no way The Emperor would use the Shaiha and the Ancient Magic cores to good use.

Moreover, the things Kyran learned from the being shrouded in black mist practically confirmed that the Shaiha was a very important item that could affect both realms.