Legacy of the Dark Sage

Alta felt a surge of disorientation the moment she stepped inside the portal. She knew it would pass once she reached the other side, but as half a minute ticked by, she was still trapped in the swirling vortex. Her insides churned in protest, and a splitting headache threatened to overwhelm her.

"This... How come this portal feels different?"

Alta, still struggling with her disorientation, heard Leif's words. Her expression mirrored her own confusion, creating a shared sense of bewilderment.

Alta looked at Leif and could not help but ask, "Have you entered a portal going to the Tower of the Ancients before?"

"Yes—," Leif answered without thinking much through it, but then she realized her mistake and hastily added, "—No. Not a portal going to the Tower of the Ancients. But you know how The Emperor wanted to horde all the portals in the Higher Realm, so we could not have one for ourselves, right? Anyway, we wanted to have our own portal, and we did set our eyes on this one..."

Leif paused and smiled wryly at Alta, "But you don't really need to hear the story since you already know about it."

Only then did Alta remember that they had a few hostile exchanges with the Ogen Clan when they insisted that the unnamed plane where the portal was discovered was in the Blade Dancer Clan's jurisdiction. In the end, the Ogen Clan withdrew just as always and backed off, so the Blade Dancer Clan was supposed to take over the portal.

But then that black mage appeared out of nowhere, and he and his people stole their portal.

Alta would have already burst out in anger, recalling what happened with the black mage back then. However, after The Emperor took her soul thread, she could no longer draw the anger she felt back then. Frankly, even the memory itself seemed vague to her.

She could still remember it, but because the main thread that held that particular scene was already removed, what was left in her mind was just a faint trace of what happened.

"Right," Alta replied after a short pause. "Something like that did happen."

Leif kept silent as she observed Alta. She had already heard about The Emperor removing the latter's soul thread, and to be honest, she felt sad for her. She knew how scary it was to have even a thin thread removed from one's soul, but apparently, she still underestimated the effects it could have on someone.

Leif remembered Alta as being someone with grit. The latter belonged to one of the newer generations, yet her strength was already comparable to that of the generation just below Leif's. This was a testament to Alta's potential. Yet, after having her soul thread removed, she now appeared hopeless.

"I have been curious as to why you lack a decent reaction after someone gave you a chance to fix your removed soul thread," Leif started. "Seems like you are not really expecting anything from Null's method, huh?"

"I am only being realistic."

"Is that right?"

"...."

"Both of you stand behind me."

Alta and Leif's conversation was abruptly ended upon Kyran's arrival. He immediately asked them to stand behind him as he raised a hand before him.

The two did not ask questions and did what he asked them. It was not that they were willing to listen to anything he said, but more that they noticed their condition improved the moment he appeared. That was proof enough for them that Kyran knew what he was doing and that he had better control over the space in which they were currently.

'...Wait... Space?'

A light bulb seemed to light up in Alta's mind as she realized Kyran's presence seemed a little different. She could not sense him per se, but she somehow could tell he was not using his Draconic magic to influence the space they were in.

"You... don't tell me you have two innate magic?"

Having two innate magic was not rare in the Higher Realm. However, it was also not common. In any case, there were a few discoveries of mages possessing two magic cores with different innate magic energies.

But Kyran was not a normal mage. Since he was a dragon, he could not possibly have two magic cores with entirely different magic energy.

It should be noted that Draconic magic could resonate with almost all types of magic energies that did not respond to the other Ancient Magic.

Space was definitely not a magic that Draconic could resonate with.

So, how could Kyran control the space?

"..."

Kyran did not respond to Alta's question. She was correct, but he knew her train of thought was entirely different from the truth about his innate magic. He focused on fixing the path ahead so they would come out at a portal close to one that would lead them to the Dragon plane.

Kyran inwardly breathed a sigh of relief as he realized that his control over his Void magic returned the moment he stepped inside the portal. He did expect it in a way because the portal could not be considered as part of the Higher Realm. Thus, whatever was aggravating Kyran's Void Core in the Higher Realm should not be able to reach inside the portal.

The same thing could be said with his Draconic Core.

Moreover, a voice that he had not heard in a while finally spoke after only being capable of whirring sounds for some time.

[Ugh! I can finally gather enough magic energy!]

In Kyran's sea of consciousness, Shaiha's body emitted a blinding light and started to take on a human form once more.

'Was the magic energy in the Higher Realm no longer enough to sustain you?' Kyran asked.

Shaiha shook her head.

[It's not like that. But because Coelus's magic energy has contaminated your Draconic Core, I have been losing quality magic energy just from containing it in a small area. If not, you won't be able to use Draconic magic.]

'I see. Since this path is part of the unknown space, it is already outside the influence of Coelus. Similar to the Void Core and True Void.'

[Yes.]

Shaiha agreed.

'Once we return to the Dragon plane, does that mean you'd return to your central core image?'

[Ha... Well... I won't return immediately, but it's bound to happen once I lose quality magic energies again. Right now, I can replenish my reserves. But when we're back in the Higher Realm, I can only rely on those reserves to contain Coelus's magic energy.]

'Won't Neah be able to remove it?'

Shaiha shook her head.

[While she uses the Macabre Glacier as her medium to use Soul magic, she doesn't have the Soul core. So, it is impossible for her to overwhelm Coelus's magic energy. Then again, even if she has it, I doubt she will be able to do anything given how Soul is weaker than Draconic.]

'...'

In the end, the complex relationship between Ancient Magic was truly a pain to understand.

'Try to replenish your reserves as much as you can then. I'll need some time to adjust the path anyway.'

[I will.]

Fortunately, Shaiha was acting agreeable at the moment, so Kyran did not have to worry about her doing something unnecessary.

[You're not asking.]

'Hm?'

[Are you not going to ask how you can control the concealment ability I have over your aura and presence?]

'I reckoned you gave me permission, given your state.'

[True... but there is another reason you can control it now.]

'?'

[A connection has been established after Coelus's magic energy contaminated your Draconic Core.]

'... What connection?'

[I can't say for sure. But because Coelus's magic energy is considered the purest Draconic energy to have existed in both realms, it pretty much made your Draconic core a real one rather than an artificially made core.]

Kyran frowned. Shaiha's words were confusing as hell, but he still managed to understand the gist of what she meant. Nonetheless, it did not make him feel good because if there was a way to make his Draconic core real, the same should be true with his Void core.

[You're not wrong about that. But I don't know what kind of energy or who or what it belonged to that would allow your Void Core to evolve.]

Like always, Shaiha sensed Kyran's doubts and provided her insight soon after.

'...'

Kyran decided not to respond. In fact, he was already pushing the thought to the back of his hand.

[You—! Aren't you acting too complacent about this? If the evolution of your Draconic Core allowed you control over the concealment of your aura and presence, aren't you curious about what you'd receive once your Void Core evolved?]

'No,' Kyran replied tersely. In fact, he sensed Shaiha was once more withholding information, and she was hinting at those core evolutions and stuff to convince him again to accept his identity as the Realm Scion.

After that, Kyran zoned out Shaiha before she could start spouting out nonsense.

So much for her acting agreeable.

After about ten minutes, Kyran finally connected the path to the portal fifty kilometers away from the Dragon Plane's portal. A lush forest came into view and he beckoned Alta and Leif to step out.

Alta's knees wobbled uncontrollably as she stepped on solid ground. Finally, she was free from the awful sensation she had to endure inside the portal.

Meanwhile, Leif appeared to be in a better condition when she stepped out because she managed to stand without trembling. However, her complexion was awfully white than normal. Apparently, she was not entirely unaffected by the strange atmosphere in the portal.

Just when the two thought they could finally have some time to catch their breaths, Kyran stepped out of the portal and immediately grabbed the back of their robes. Following that, he warped them directly in front of the Dragon Plane's portal.

The sudden movement left Alta and Leif nauseated. Yet Kyran was not done. Without giving them time to understand what had happened, he pushed both ladies directly into the portal.