Legacy of the Dark Sage

"Yes," Zephyr replied with such conviction as if being a Sigil was a great honor. "I am a Sigil. Anyway, you dare claim my master is a liar? You may be a Sovereign, but with master at my side, I can take you on even with a huge gap in our level."

"Err, no. There will be no taking on anyone happening here," Kyran replied while virtually scratching his head. "I called you to show her I do know someone with Air magic. You did not have to appear in that fashion. See what you did to Loar's ship?"

While saying this, he was already making a move. He willed his magic sense to cover Loar's ship and began to repair the damage using his magic. In doing so, he realized that the ship itself was a huge array formation.

Loar's expression changed from shock to utter disbelief after sensing Kyran fixing not only the damaged frame of his ship but also its array. He already knew he could do this, but even more unbelievable was that he was not using any materials while fixing them.

Kyran was using pure magic.

The expressions on Wing and the rest of the Sovereigns watching from afar also changed.

Initially, they were only curious about Kyran, who made a name for himself by being the first low-level mage to escape Ruin's grasp. Their interest had been piqued further after the fact of his being the new 'Dark Sage' surfaced.

Nevertheless, to them, Loar, the Sovereign of Automa who could create a vast army of automatons, was far more interesting and useful in the upcoming War of the Sovereigns.

Until now.

Seeing Kyran effortlessly fix Loar's ship and before that, he summoned a Quilin out of nowhere, who called himself a Sigil. These things proved there was more to Kyran than being the new Dark Sage.

To be honest, some of them were skeptical about Kyran's identity as the new Dark Sage because there had been no citings of him using the Macabre Glacier.

One should know that the Dark Sage's presence was synonymous with the Macabre Glacier since the latter was why many feared him.

But all of that did not matter anymore. With Kyran's Array understanding, his possible connection with Dragons, and possessing the most ancient magic of all—Void, his worth had increased tenfold.

No.

Hundredfold.

[You have to poach him, no matter what, Loar.]

Axil's voice sounded in Loar's head once more.

At the same time, Wing also heard her speak in her mind.

[Do not get on his wrong side, Wing. Put aside your pride. We have to get him to our side no matter what.]

When Axil spoke these words, Wing was not the only one who telepathically heard them.

All of the Sovereigns with her and Loar also heard it.

Loar could not help but chuckle inwardly, noticing how Axil said 'no matter what' twice, first to him and now to all of them. It appeared she had indeed seen Kyran's worth.

On the other hand, Cade and Nolan more or less guessed what was playing in Loar and Wing's minds when they saw the change in their expression. At the same time, they looked at Kyran at the corner of their eyes. Currently, the latter appeared indifferent to what he was doing. Because of this, Cade and Nolan could not help but shake their heads inwardly, realizing how cunning Kyran had acted just now.

Correct.

Everything that happened just now was all in Kyran's plan, and it did not go unnoticed by the two men beside him.

Others might not realize it, but these two would never miss it.

After all, one was his father, while the other sort of mentored him.

In any case, Kyran did not lie when he said he did not want to deal with any drama, which was why he chose to call Zephyr out.

Obviously, he knew Zephyr's temperament and how he would react to certain things other people would tell him. Thus, he expected the latter to reveal his identity.

Nevertheless, Cade and Nolan were surprised that Kyran would use this chance to reveal his possible connection with dragons. 

"But master—."

"It's fine," Kyran interrupted Zephyr before he could say more. Then he looked at Wing and said, "Can we go back to discussing that intel?"

Wing scowled. But since Axil told her not to get on Kyran's wrong side, she reigned in her annoyance and retracted her domain. Once she did, she realized that the two men with Kyran were not affected by it at all. This was a blow to her pride as a Sovereign.

"I think my worth went up a notch now that you know one of my secrets," Kyran added with a slight smile.

Wing's brow twitched, but she did not refute. She was even more convinced that this young man before her was not someone she could mess with even if she wanted to.

A person having a connection with the Dragons was not something a mere Sovereign from the Lower Realm could deal with. No wonder this guy dared face Ruin and managed to escape unscathed.

"Humph," Wing snorted, but she unfurled her wings— both on her head and back— and landed on the ground.

With a sigh, Loar waved his hand, and a new chair appeared for Wing.

"You guys, try to keep my ship out of it next time you want to get rowdy, alright? This baby is worth more than a plane," he said as Wing retook her seat.

Kyran chuckled, "I noticed."

After fixing the part Zephyr had destroyed, he saw how many rare materials Loar had used to create the ship's frame. Apart from that, judging by the formulas in its array formation, most of the items could only be found in certain planes. To repair it, one had to gather all the materials in those planes first.

But that was the thing. The gathering was one thing, but finding them could be difficult because of their rareness.

Loar gave Kyran a funny look after hearing his remark. Then he said, "You say that, but you easily fixed my ship."

Kyran shrugged and leaned back.

Before he could reply, Zephyr had already started saying, "Of course. Such a thing is a piece of cake to my master. He is possess the power of nothingness, after all."

"Zephyr."

Hearing Kyran's voice lowered slightly; Zephyr knew he had said too much. Thus, he cleared his throat and, with a soft boom, turned into his human child form. Then he sat cross-legged while hovering in midair.

Since Kyran did not tell him to go back, Zephyr decided to stay and observe.

[Master, several hidden Sovereigns are watching from afar.]

'It's fine.'

[Have you noticed them already? As expected of my master.]

Kyran chose not to answer. Honestly, he did not notice them until he sensed a fluctuation from when Loar attempted to use his magic but then could not. He realized then that there were others secretly watching them. And seeing Loar's surprised look then, Kyran guessed he was unaware of them either.

In any case, for Zephyr to notice them despite only appearing now was a testament to how powerful his awareness was. If Kyran circulated his Draconic magic, he could probably do the same, but with Void magic, unless he used them intending to scan his surroundings for other people, he would not have noticed them.

"About that intel?" Kyran repeated.

Loar looked at Wing, who sighed in resignation.

"I'll tell you. But you have to keep your word to consider our invitation," Wing said.

"I will."

"Contrary to the rumors circulating as of late that Flos was missing, he is good and well. If not, all the essence guarding his planes would have long perished. Especially those planes where time runs double compared to others."

Kyran frowned, "But has anyone seen him?"

"Yes," Wing replied with a nod. "In one of my planes, one of my subjects has been unfortunate enough to come across him. Before my subject succumbed, however, he managed to send an image of Flos."

Instead of describing the image, Wing waved her hand, and one of the projectors on the side table lit up. Then an image of Flos, looking battered and appearing to have aged, was projected at the middle of the table.

Nolan frowned. He did not meet Flos, but looking at the projected image, it was nothing like the one Cade and the others had described.

"He had aged."

Cade was the one who spoke first.

Kyran nodded in agreement and asked Wing, "How far is that plane from the Human plane?"

"Two months' worth of travel in terms of the Human plane's time."

"And when was this taken?"

"Three days ago. Again, using the Human plane's time."

Kyran began to calculate things in his head. Two months' worth could be considered far. But not that far. If Flos was seen there three days ago, it did not mean he appeared the same day. In any case, if he calculated the days from when Flos was forced into the rift until he was seen in Wing's plane, five or six days had passed.

True Void was the one who summoned those rifts, and it was unknown where it would lead. Kyran was afraid that it might have led to a plane too far from the Human plane or even a plane he could never reach. When that happens, he might not be able to find Cyneah as soon as possible.

Still, knowing the time difference between the plane where Flos had appeared, and the Human plane, Kyran was sure the latter and Cyneah did not end up in the same place.

Kyran heard Cyneah calling him three days ago. And she sounded as if she had been in that place far longer than Flos appeared in Wing's plane.

'It's good if she is not with him, but....'

Kyran looked at Wing and asked, "What about Ruin?"

"He has also been spotted. But you might be interested to know what they saw when they did."

"What?"

Even when Kyran asked it, he suddenly had a bad feeling.

"He was seen accompanying a woman. No one saw the woman's appearance because her face was hidden under a hood. They were only able to affirm that that person is a woman."

Cade and Nolan frowned after hearing this. Ruin could not have possibly gotten to Cyneah first, or had he?

Zephyr's expression also turned grim as he looked at Kyran. He knew how worried his master had been after hearing the mistress's call a few days ago. If that call was because Ruin had come for her... things might not look good for them.

Kyran reigned in his growing fear and asked, "When was this?"

"Five days ago."