Legacy of the Dark Sage

With Loar's invitation, Kyran stayed on the ship while Cade and Nolan returned to the Human plane.

Loar led Kyran to the lower deck where the rooms were located.

Like the floor above, the lower deck had a long hall with automatons in human forms lined up at both sides. Although their heads remained facing upfront, Kyran sensed them looking at him.

Loar and Wing walked in front while Kyran followed behind with Zephyr.

Both were telling Kyran how they would go about searching for Cyneah.

Kyran had shown them Cyneah's image, and both were surprised to learn she was not blind by birth but that her 'eyes' were taken away.

Since Loar and Wing were unfamiliar with the saying that Ancient magic corresponds to a body part, Kyran did not tell them Cyneah's innate magic. The last thing he wanted was for them to poach her, too, if they learned what she could do.

Besides that, Cyneah now possessed the Macabre Glacier. If word of it came out, Kyran would not be the only one searching for Cyneah.

No.

That was not entirely correct.

Flos's side should already be looking for Cyneah. But he would never leak the information about her possessing the Macabre Glacier because he did not want others getting their hands on it. Besides, with the citing of Ruin with a woman who resembled her, Flos might be after them.

Ruin probably intended to bait Kyran into thinking that woman was Cyneah so that he would come after them. Instead, he unknowingly helped divert Flos's attention.

In any case, now that Loar and Wing knew Cyneah's condition, they finally understood why Kyran said he could not commit to anything else until she was found.

If they were in his shoes, and someone important to them had gone missing, they would also be unable to focus on anything else, especially when that someone had a special condition like Cyneah.

Every second counted, and that said a lot with the time difference in every plane.

Promising to give Kyran an update in three days, Wing left at once. As for Loar, he led Kyran to a room.

[Someone's inside, master.]

Zephyr warned Kyran before they could enter the room.

Kyran's expression remained unreadable as he stopped in front of the door.

Noticing this, Loar stopped short of opening the door and turned to look at Kyran. With a wry smile, he said, "She wanted to talk to you no matter what. I hope you don't mind."

"She?"

"Sovereign of Auxilium," Loar replied with a nod. "She is one of the founder."

He paused, realizing something, and added, "Come to think of it. I never told you the name of our faction."

"No."

Loar chuckled, "Sorry about that. Our faction is called Guardians."

Kyran frowned but did not comment on their name.

Still, Loar saw this and said, "It may sound childish, but there is a reason this is the faction's name."

"Don't get me wrong," Kyran replied. "I know there is a reason why you call yourselves like that. I'm just a little curious. That's all."

"She will tell you."

"Alright."

With that, Loar turned and opened the door.

Kyran watched him enter before following suit. Zephyr also entered.

When Loar had opened the door, Kyran saw a dimly lit room with a single bed on one side and a table for four on the other. However, that changed the moment he stepped inside.

Kyran squinted his eyes as a blinding light filled his view. It was only for a second; thus, in a blink of an eye, he found himself inside an empty well-lit room.

At the center of the room was a woman in white armor hovering in the air. The woman was wearing a headdress covering her whole face, and three one-meter golden rings, forming a triangle, were on her back.

Kyran frowned slightly upon seeing the woman. He found those rings familiar because it was almost similar to Obstruciton's. The only difference was that Obstruction's rings were of different sizes and overlapped each other, while hers had the same size and formed a triangle.

"I hope you won't take offense at my clandestine arrival," Axil greeted.

"I won't say it's clandestine because I already know you guys are watching."

"Oh? So you noticed?"

"I'm sure you know half the blood running in this guy's veins, right?" Kyran asked, gesturing at Zephyr behind him.

"Of course," Axil replied, chuckling at Kyran's undeterred attitude before her.

When was the last time someone stood before her as fearless as Kyran was now? Even Loar, who was usually unconcerned about most things, was covered in a cold sweat when she first approached him.

"Dragons," Axil said after a short pause. "I am curious how you managed to get acquainted to them."

Kyran did not reply to her. He did not have to because he knew Zephyr would.

"Woman. Don't say you are a Sovereign and hold the higher ground here, but saying my master is only acquainted with Dragons is selling him short. No, that is not entirely correct. You are being disrespectful!"

"How so?" Axil asked, turning her attention to Zephyr. She did not take offense at his attitude toward her. As a matter of fact, being in their presence was like a breath of fresh air.

"You only considered my master's worth because of some inherited title. But that is not his real worth."

Axil tilted her head, seemingly intrigued at Zephyr's words.

"Pray tell why that is?" She asked while looking at Kyran, checking if he would stop Zephyr from answering.

Surprisingly, she found him looking at her with a slight smile. Her eyes narrowed, finding his attitude strange.

"My master is no Dark Sage, but the inheritor of not one, but two Ancient Magic. You best be careful if you have ulterior motives."

Before Zephyr could even finish what he was saying, the expressions on Loar and Axil's faces already changed.

They knew about Ancient Magic and how only one could possess it in each generation. But for someone to wield not one but two? That was unprecedented.

Also, Zephyr did not tell them what Kyran's second Ancient Magic was. But only a fool would not realize it.

The Power of Chaos, Draconic.

This explained how Kyran was able to make Zephyr his Sigil!

"I think you've said too much, Zephyr. You're scaring them."

"Humph! They should be! Just because you don't emit the aura of a Sovereign doesn't mean you are someone they can push around! Master, I know you want to keep a low profile, but the more you do that, the more people will think you are a pushover and come knocking on your doors!"

Axil and Loar cleared their throats at the same time.

"We are not going to take advantage of your master," Axil explained. "We merely hoped for a cooperation."

"War of the Sovereigns," Kyran said before Zephyr could refute Axil. "What exactly is it?"

"A war of Sovereigns," Axil replied with a smiley tone but then added with a solemn tone, "... that will dictate the future of the Lower Realm's planes."

Kyran's brow furrowed at once. He did not like the sound of that.

"Yes, new Dark Sage. There is no hidden meaning behind my words," Axil said after seeing Kyran's scowl. "It is as simple as that. We, the Guardians faction, wanted to gather as many Sovereigns and planes as possible to preserve them.

"Unfortunately, the Radical Order has also proposed a way to deal with that, and some of the more aggressive Sovereigns chose to join them."

"And when we say aggressive, they obviously have more planes under their belt. If they are not, how could they take more, right?" Loar also quipped.

"When you say the future of the Lower Realm's planes and preserving them, you are not talking about during the war," Kyran tried to sort his thoughts. "But after, am I right?"

"Yes," Axil replied. "During the war, it is true that many Sovereigns will die, and their planes will fall. But after the war, it is far more tragic."

She paused and lowered her head as if recalling something.

"We have yet to complete our research, but based on what we have now, every plane that partook in the War of the Sovereigns, even if they remained intact during the war or after their Sovereign was killed, would end up getting destroyed. And that destruction comes with all its inhabitants."

"That's right!" Zephyr suddenly said. "Master, the Demon plane was destroyed because its Sovereign died. It is not because their plane became a battlefield of the War of the Sovereigns because by then, the war had already ended."

"What about those planes without a Sovereign? Did they get destroyed?"

Axil shook her head, "We are still looking for the information on that. So far, we have not confirmed anything."

But Kyran was no longer listening. He was already busy racking his brain with what he heard just now, and he more or less understood something.

"There is proof," Kyran said suddenly. "The Human plane."

Zephyr also nodded, "The Human plane did not have a Sovereign before, so they cannot join the war. And because it is hard to find, none of the other Sovereigns managed to win it for themselves."

"Yes," Kyran agreed.

"Hm," Axil leaned back and crossed her arms, "You have a point."

"Does that mean as long as a plane's Sovereign did not die, it will not be destroyed? Come to think of it," Kyran paused. "Won't a plane be preserved if their Sovereign did not join the battle?"