Legacy of the Dark Sage

Nolan entered the cottage and saw Anette concocting a potion for Kyran. On the other hand, Silas excused himself and told them he would have to go outside the cottage's array to summon Lumi and ask for her help with the rare stone.

When Nolan asked him why he had to leave, Silas awkwardly admitted that he did not give Lumi permission to enter the cottage because the cottage was his haven. He did not want Lumi's verbal abuse to tarnish its memory.

Anette, on the other hand, could only smile at his misfortune. She knew how frolicsome Spirits could become to the point where they love to see human suffering. It did not matter if that human was their master because sometimes, that was how a Spirit showed their 'love.' The more they loved to play tricks on them openly, the more they adored them. The only human Anette knew who could get along and play along with their tricks was Rin.

Rin's playfulness and innocence resonated well with the Spirits when she was younger.

After confirming that the people who almost discovered the cottage's location had changed course, Silas left the cottage.

An awkward silence followed when Nolan, Anette, and Zephyr were left in the cottage with the unconscious Kyran. It was not until a couple of minutes that Nolan broke the silence and asked Zephyr what had happened in the ruins.

Zephyr, who sat in silence at the foot of the bed after Kyran fell unconscious, did not hide anything as he explained what happened.

He might not know these two humans, but he had seen their concern over Kyran and knew they were trustworthy enough. Besides, Kyran chose to leave his unconscious body in their care, which proved he trusted them. Either way, now that Zephyr agreed to become Kyran's Sigil, he would guard Kyran whether he trusted the two humans or not.

When Zephyr finished narrating what had happened, Nolan and Anette could not help but glance at each other. Both wore a look of apprehension.

It was no surprise that they would feel this way. They had just learned that Kyran might also possess the lost ancient magic of the Regis Clan after all.

"How could it be?" Anette wondered out loud. "Draconic magic is not possible without a bonded dragon."

Zephyr frowned after hearing this, "What do you mean?"

Anette looked at him and replied, "Dragons no longer exist in this world."

Zephyr shook his head, "Dragons may have left this plane, but they still exist."

Hearing Zephyr's words, Nolan's eyes widened as realization struck him. He recalled a scene from Malek's vision that Stella had shown him and a cold shiver ran down his spine.

It was a scene wherein the orb that hid the item Gage was supposed to deliver to the Mercenary Hall had cracked. The sky had turned dark, and one by one, huge red reptilian eyes filled the sky...

Nolan's brain raced as he recalled what the public knew about the dragon's disappearance.

After the Dark Sage fell, all the dragons that joined the war were said to have exhausted their life force and died. Then the Regis ancestor, which was also the Dragon Lord, built a graveyard in their memory. Others said that the Regis built the graveyard inside the Regis's Ancestral Land. But no one was able to confirm this.

Even Nolan could not get any answers from Cade even though they were sworn brothers.

But that was beside the point now. Because Nolan interpreted Zephyr's words as, "dragons never died," they only left this plane. If this was true, then the graveyard the Dragon Lord built might not be a graveyard, but... what? What about the cylindrical item? What was inside it that could stir those 'beings.'

'From what the Ice Spirit said, that item was inside the 'Regis Terram.' Could the Regis Terram be the Regis Ancestral Land? Or is it a place inside the Regis Ancestral Land? Could it be the supposed dragon graveyard?' Nolan wondered.

"Argh! This is getting really confusing!" He exclaimed while scratching his head.

Both Anette and Zephyr turned to him with a puzzled look.

"What's wrong with you?" Anette asked.

Instead of answering her, Nolan looked at her incredulously and said, "I should be the one asking you that. Why aren't you surprised knowing that dragons still exist?"

Anette rolled her eyes at him and replied matter-of-factly, "I am surprised, of course. But what else can I do about it? I can only accept it and think of a way to help my godson face the burden of possessing two Ancient Magic!"

Nolan raised his brows at her in amazement.

"I applaud your high EQ. Seriously."

Zephyr creased his brows after hearing their exchange. Then he asked, "Is it really surprising that dragons still exist? We are talking about real dragons here. There is no way they will become extinct or cease to exist."

Nolan and Anette looked at him with a slight frown. They understood what Zephyr meant. Dragons were mighty existence humans believed to be close to gods from thousands of years ago. However, during that time, the Dark Sage also reigned. And he was an existence that was said to have also threatened the dragons. It was one of the reasons why the Dragon Lord had done everything in his power to subdue him.

Of course, Nolan and Anette were aware that the Royal Family had exaggerated the truth about the Dark Sage's ruthlessness. Both of them were also aware of some truth of what happened then. But what they knew was superficial to come up with a conclusion of what really happened.

Even Cade, a direct descendant of the Dragon Lord, did not tell them what he knew. Nolan and Anette never pestered him to tell them, though. They knew it was not because he did not want to tell them but could not. Most likely, it was a secret that might stir not just the whole empire but the entire world into chaos once known by outsiders.

"What you said just now, don't tell it to others," Nolan told Zephyr. "I get that you've been out of the loop that you don't even know about magic devices and items. Aside from that, there had been a lot of changes in the world since the time that dragons left."

Zephyr leaned back and crossed his arms across his chest.

"Yes. I already get that. I only told you about it because my new master trusted you."

Nolan raised his brows, "Oh, so you really accepted the kid as your new master?"

Zephyr shrugged and replied, "He removed my previous master's seal so that makes him my new master. Anyway, because of this, I confirmed his strength. To be honest, even without you two helping him earlier, it will only be a matter of time before he completely removed my old seal."

Anette smiled faintly.

"We helped him not because we are afraid he will fail. Kyran has just started learning about his magic. His central core is still fragile," she explained.

Zephyr nodded his head and looked at Kyran.

"I am not surprised. I mean, he has so many magic cores, not to mention two of it has not fully activated yet."

Anette frowned in confusion, "Wait, what are you talking about?"

Nolan also had the same question. But since Anette asked first, he decided to keep silent and listen.

Zephyr looked at them in confusion, "I thought you knew about magic cores since you talked about his central core."

"No. I mean, yes we do know about magic cores because our master had taught us about it," Anette agreed.

From the side, Nolan's expression turned sour after she mentioned their 'master.'

"What I mean is, what do you mean Kyran's 'two' magic cores are not fully activated? Do you mean he has not been using his two magic cores properly? Because as far as I have seen him use his magic, if I have not known that he has just started learning, he can already be considered an expert." Anette explained.

"I'm not talking about his two magic core that holds the power of nothingness and the Dragon Lord's. I'm talking about the two empty magic cores.One of which is damaged at the moment," Zephyr replied.

"What?" Nolan exclaimed. "He... The kid has four magic cores? Are you f*cking kidding me?"

Zephyr frowned at him and said, full of disdain, "Human. Watch your language. I may look like a kid to you but I am older than your forefathers!"

"Don't change the subject! How come he has four magic cores?" Nolan ignored his disdainful look and asked.

"That is not the main issue here!" Anette rebuked Nolan. She looked at Zephyr and asked, "What do you mean that one of his magic cores is damaged? I only thought it was his central core that has suffered from the strain of overusing his magic, but..."

Her voice trailed off as she recalled the different magic energies she had seen inside Kyran.

"Oh my goodness... Don't tell me..."

Zephyr sighed. He shrugged while saying, "My master possesses the power of nothingness. Having more magic cores is a given. What do you think the power of nothingness is?"

"You're now talking in riddles its annoying," Nolan growled in annoyance.

"I'm not. It is because your knowledge of the Four Great Magic is shallow. Right, you call them Ancient Magic. Anyway, going back to your question," Zephyr replied casually before looking at Anette. "One of my master's magic core is damaged. I'm not sure how it happened, but there are at least four types of energy trying to occupy it. It will take some time to stabilize if left alone."

Nolan and Anette felt an incoming headache after hearing Zephyr's reply.

What did he mean by at least four types of energy trying to occupy Kyran's magic core? A magic core could only hold one type of magic! How come there are four?

Though Anette was curious to know more about Kyran's magic core, she was also an Alchemist. After hearing that it would take time to stabilize his magic core if left alone, she became worried. They had to do something to fix Kyran's magic core.

Nolan also felt the same. He suppressed his curiosity because he knew what could happen to a mage with a damaged magic core. Nolan had seen it happen twenty years ago and regretted being the cause of it. For this reason, he had been searching for Azaloth's Inheritance because it was said that Azaloth knew how to repair and even strengthen a person's magic core.

"How badly is it damaged?" Nolan asked.

Anette looked at Nolan. She knew what he was thinking. To think that he had to encounter another situation where someone important to him had a damaged magic core. She could only imagine how he felt right now.

"Badly. But not life-threatening," Zephyr assured them.

"Is there a way to fix it soon?" Nolan asked again.

Zephyr thought for a moment before answering, "There is. If you know someone who inherited the power of souls, we can ask for their help. But given what happened in the past, I will not be surprised if the Dragon Lord wiped out the Soul Emperor's clan."