Legacy of the Dark Sage

Ames told Aillos what Raelia told her while they made their way to the indoor garden.

"I had guessed as much," Aillos admitted after Ames finished relaying her conversation with Raelia.

"That butt-face guy," Ames cursed. "To think he'd twist the truth to conceal his intentions toward the Blade Dancer Clan."

"No, Ames. The Emperor did not twist the truth. Rather, the unrelated parties did, and the Emperor's people are using it to their advantage."

"But the fact that butt-face allowed it..."

"He doesn't care about those things, and that's why he allowed them. But you are right. Just because he does not care does not give him the right to turn his eyes away from what his people are doing just to turn the public's opinion in favor of them."

"Are we just going to stay silent and allow that rumor to spread?"

"Don't worry. The public will only appear as if they believed the twisted truth, but they will not brazenly condemn us. Some might even use this situation to feel us out. Ignore them."

"But Father—."

"The current situation actually works in our favor. Everyone will not have other thoughts if we choose to stay low because of the rumors. In the meantime, we'll prepare for any situation that will arise. At the same time, you can focus on doing what is best for Kyran and his family.

They will arrive soon, so keeping to ourselves while they adapt to the Higher Realm's condition and advance their level is our best course of action."

Ames did think the same. However, it still did not sit well with her that they would just allow others to spread false rumors about them. Then again, her father had a point. Most would not believe the rumors because they knew well enough that the Dragon Clan were not cowards. They would not do something like 'removing' evidence to hide their heinous deeds.

In fact, if they truly intended to attack all representatives under The Emperor's faction, they would have declared it openly and followed through with their decision until the end.

"I understand."

"I know you don't like it. But sometimes, keeping our silence is the best course."

"But not the best solution."

"No."

"What is the best solution then?"

"Hm..." Aillos paused, choosing the right words for that. He knew her daughter well enough to know that she would hold his words against him when the time came. "It will depend on one's priority."

"...Priority."

"Yes. Right now, what is your priority? Is it to ensure no one besmears our name? Or to nitpick The Emperor's faction?"

Ames fell silent. She knew at once what her father was trying to tell her. All the things he said pointed out her feelings toward her clan and if she had to label them according to priorities, none of them came first.

Her father did not say it outright, but at the moment, her real priority was not her clan's reputation, nor head butts with The Emperor's faction— it was to ensure Kyran meets his current objectives without problems.

What was Kyran's current objectives?

Ames was still unaware of Kyran's intention to create a new force. However, she already had an inkling after learning about what happened to the Blade Dancer Clan.

Before Kyran could accomplish this, he needed a lot of people he could trust. Finding those people would take a long time if he searched for them in the Higher Realm. Thus, bringing his clan and his people from the Lower Realm to the Higher Realm was the best choice. Of course, this was only possible because of who Kyran was.

In any case, bringing his clan and people to the Higher Realm was only the first step. Because all of them were not strong enough to be of help, they would only end up becoming a liability if they could not adapt to the Higher Realm's condition, and improve and advance their magic knowledge and level, respectively. Thus, Kyran had to ensure they accomplish all of this the soonest possible.

Fortunately, the magic energy from Coelus's corpse addressed most of this. After the new Array Kyran designed was completed, his clan and people would receive a massive boost in their magic level in a short span of time. It would also allow them to get used to the Higher Realm's condition while they absorbed Coelus's magic energy.

Improving their magic knowledge would also not be a problem as long as they advanced their levels. Besides, all of them were already familiar with the basics. Learning the advance concepts or combination of several concepts would be easier as long as they had enough magic energy to test them out.

Kyran already laid out the groundworks he needed to accomplish the first part of his objective. The only thing left that he had to secure was space and time.

Considering all these, it would not do Kyran any good if the Dragon Clan reacted to the bad rumors circulating in the Higher Realm.

Because once they reacted to it, all eyes would be directed at them, and it would only be a matter of time until they notice a powerful magic energy contained inside the Dragon plane, and the huge magic fluctuation coming from the gate that connected the Higher Realm and the Lower Realm.

Ames knew this. And Aillos only reminded her of it so she could discern her priorities well.

It did not matter if Ames's priority was not the Dragon Clan, because in Aillos opinion, Kyran and his people's improvement would also benefit them.

Of course, Aillos would not admit this to anyone. At least not yet, because admitting this was equivalent to him accepting the Regis Clan and Kyran's people as part of the Dragon Clan. He could not do that yet without telling his people of the truth.

"...I'll be sure to endure then..." Ames said after a moment's pause.

"Please do," Aillos replied with a wry smile. "I don't mind it if you fought your own battles, but don't provoke The Emperor's faction too much."

"I only responded to them in kind."

"Endure it for now. We have a lot of things to do on our end as well."

"I will, father. Don't worry."

They entered the indoor garden and went to the gazebo. Like most of the structures in the Main Palace, the gazebo was sculpted from silver diamond. It gave off an ethereal beauty while at the same time showing elegance and simplicity.

Ames waited for her father to take a seat on one of the chairs in the gazebo. However, instead of sitting, Aillos walked over to the other end and watched the small pond just beside it.

Seeing Aillos broad and straight back, Ames realized that the talk her father mentioned had yet to start. She initially thought the conversation they had while going there was already the start, but it seemed that was not the case.

"I've spoken to Kyran and he briefly explained his plans," Aillos started after a moment of silence.

Ames's expression turned solemn as she waited for her father to continue.

*

Kyran rested for five hours before Myst allowed him to leave the tent and help with the creation of the new Array.

Because the array creation was nearing its last two phases, Ducal, the other aides, and the rest of the dragons assisting cooperated without and concealed any discontent they might have.

To be honest, Ducal and the rest of the dragons were impressed with the new Array's design that they had nothing bad to say about it and to its creator— Kyran. As a matter of fact, some of the Array Saints wanted to talk to him and share some insights because they were on the verge of receiving an enlightenment.

They believed that talking to him might help them break through the bottlenecks they had on Array and assist them in improving their proficiency.

On the other hand, Ducal's thoughts remained unreadable. He followed the instructions given to him by Auto-one or Raya without voicing any objections.

In a sense, it was hard to voice an objection in front of Auto-one. As a creation by the Ancients Four Greatest Minds, it was impossible to talk about Array when his knowledge was far more advanced compared to them.

While they worked on the new Array, Myst and Raya continued to keep an eye on Kyran. They knew the latter far longer than anyone among the Regis there to know that he was enduring something.

Myst and Raya were on point with their judgment because Kyran was indeed in pain. Now that he was closer to Coelus's corpse again, his Draconic core was protesting. Shaiha was doing her best to stabilize it, along with the Void core and the other magic cores to stop it from affecting them, but there was only so much she could do.

To prove this, she already lost her ability to maintain her original form because she was pushing herself to the limits.

"Master, we are still missing some materials," Auto-one reminded Kyran.

"Give me a moment. I'll make them."

All the dragons looked at Kyran after hearing his response.

They were already aware of Kyran's innate magic and that he had been sending the unavailable materials to Auto-one. Still, they were curious as to where he got them, especially because the quality of the materials was very good.

But what did he mean when he said 'I'll make them'?'

Though this question fleeted through their minds, it was not as if they did not understand what it meant. As a matter of fact, rather than asking that question because they did not understand what he meant, it was the opposite. They understood what he meant but found the idea too absurd.