Legacy of the Dark Sage

Anette sighed inwardly. She looked at Kyran in silence, with mixed emotions.

She wanted to know what happened that led him to kill the previous Kaiser. There was also the matter of the 'person' backing the Gramen Kingdom. But most of all, she wanted to know how Kyran ended up going to that plane.

'It took me three years in the tower before allowing me to train in another plane. Then it took me another two years, before learning about the Sovereigns. That is how I came to understand they were the ones who stirred the war to rule the plane in Myedeo. Are you telling me Kyran has already trained for that long in the tower? And his first training outside the tower was in Myedeo?'

Recalling something Kyran had said, Anette shook her head inwardly, 'Wait. He said another person has been persistent in trying to kill him. He will not say that if he has not met that person on numerous occassions. Don't tell me...'

Her mind reeled at the possibility that Kyran had been to a lot of planes before coming to Myedeo. He and Nolan had only left a week ago!

Just how long had Kyran spent training in the Tower of Tribulation?

'Or... has the Tower made him train in another plane early?'

If Anette knew that Kyran's first training took place in another plane, she would probably flip. She had never met anyone the Tower had allowed to train outside right from the start. Not even Cade or Nolan who was known to defy the tower's standard.

"I am not going to ask questions about what you have gone through. I'm sure the Tower also forbade you from telling anyone," Anette finally said after a short pause.

Kyran shook his head, "Actually, they did not say anything. Only... they told me to not dally and continue with the training as soon as possible."

"They?" Anette asked, feeling a little confused. As far as she knew, the tower only had one warden at a time.

During her time, the warden was only a remnant soul who had been keeping the Tower of Tribulation running for thousands of years. The only reason why he could not pass on was that there had been no one worthy to replace him.

That changed after one of the five conquerors of the Tower had the desire to train others. The warden offered him to become the new warden, which he gladly accepted.

"I don't know who I am talking to, honestly," Kyran replied with a slight smile, "I only hear overlapping voices. So I call them they."

Anette raised her brows in surprise. Remembering their good friend who was now the new Tower's warden, she could not help but burst out in laughter.

'So he wanted to conceal his identity by doing that. Might as well,' she thought.

Almost an hour later of talking, Kyran and Anette finally went downstairs for breakfast.

Cyneah was already there waiting for them and though she was still feeling embarrassed, she managed to act naturally in front of Kyran.

While having breakfast, Anette and Cyneah talked about what they had been up to the week Kyran and Nolan had left.

Kyran listened most of the time with a few side comments every now and then. But he never once shared anything about his and Nolan's trip. Even when Cyneah had asked, he managed to divert the topic back to her or Anette.

Cyneah could not see, but she was no fool. She sensed Kyran did not want to talk about it, so she did not pursue the matter. Instead, she decided to make sure he could stay at ease while he was there. After all, she was convinced that he would not be staying.

As she expected, after breakfast, Kyran told them he would be leaving in the afternoon. The two did not ask when he would return. With his ability to warp, he could return anytime he wanted anyway.

Kyran busied himself with his puppets and a few other things, for the rest of the morning.

When it was almost time for Anette and Cyneah to leave for their 'work,' Kyran met them downstairs to help with setting up their face-altering masks.

He also asked Cyneah for the token he left with her before and adjusted its array calculations before turning it into a necklace, with the token as its pendant.

Kyran then explained that the token now had the ability to teleport Cyneah back to the cottage once she inserted some magic energy into it. He also told her that the token would only recognize her magic energy and would not activate when others tried.

As Anette and Cyneah left, Kyran also made some adjustments to the cottage's array.

Previously, it only had defensive and support formulas. This time, Kyran added offensive formulas just in case. He was not expecting others to find the cottage but in case of emergency, at least Anette and Cyneah would be safe.

Of course, the best offensive Kyran could leave with them was still Zephyr. So he planned to get him after taking care of the magic items for the Blacksmith Order.

After resting for a couple of hours, Kyran finally returned to the Tower of Conclave. By then it was already morning.

As soon as Kyran appeared in the training room where he had stayed before, he found Stella sleeping on the makeshift bed.

Just by looking at her, Kyran could guess she had just fallen asleep. She was still wearing the same clothes yesterday, and her hair was somewhat in disarray. Her complexion was also a little on the red side which made Kyran frown slightly.

Moving as quietly as possible, Kyran went toward her and sat down at the side of the bed. He gently laid a hand on her forehead and his frown deepened after confirming that her temperature was higher than normal.

It was then that Kyran realized that Stella must have been silently enduring the pressure the early inspection of the Royal Army had brought. There was also the secret auction they had scheduled for the coming month. She also had other things to deal with as the Lord of the Tower as well as the new Time Keeper.

Thinking about what the Founder of Conclave had tasked the coming Time Keepers, Kyran sighed inwardly. It was unfair for the Founder to force such an impossible wish.

With the identity as the successor of the infamous Dark Sage, it was impossible to ensure his safety. Especially now, when the Royal Family was now aware of him.

Nevertheless, Kyran would never let others take responsibility for his life. Staying alive was his business. Yes, others could help, but the Founder's last wish was practically subjecting all the new Time Keepers to a curse.

From what Kyran had gathered from True Void's off-handed remarks about the first Time Keeper's relationship with his predecessor, it appeared the two of them, including the Dragon Lord and the Soul Emperor, had been close friends.

When everyone else had shunned his predecessor, these three had been his real friends.

But then something happened, where his predecessor and the Dragon Lord ended up fighting. Most likely, they thought his predecessor had turned evil and the one who plot that was the Soul Emperor. As for the Time Keeper, Kyran knew the reason why Stella had been fixated on helping him was that she was affected by her predecessor's experience due to the Time core.

Kyran whose Void core had been sealed for a long time was not easily affected by his predecessor's experience, thus, he could recognize his own emotions. Stella, on the other hand, could not because she had been constantly in contact with her Time core since the time it had awakened.

The first Time Keeper might have regretted a lot of things that had something to do with Kyran's predecessor. This regret had taken root in all the experiences of the Time Keepers and had stayed in the Time core.

The Founder might have known this regret, thus, making such an unreasonable last wish.

It was for this reason that Kyran felt the Founder was cruel.

Stella stirred in her sleep as soon as Kyran removed his hand. When she opened her eyes and saw him looking at her, she smiled and said half-awake, "I prefer seeing you like this."

Kyran replied with a raised brows.

Because of his reaction, Stella's blue eyes instantly cleared as she realized he was real and not a dream.

"Kyran!" She exclaimed and abruptly sat up. The moment she did, however, her head spun and lost her balance.

"Ugh..."

Kyran caught Stella before she keeled over.

"You have a fever," he told her, "Don't push yourself and just lie down."

As he said this, he helped her lie down.

Stella's face had turned ruddy and it was not because of her fever. However, she only nodded her head and obediently went back to bed.

"I-Ignore what I said," she told him while avoiding his eyes.

Stella had thought she had been dreaming when she saw Kyran just now. Yesterday, he had arrived wearing Tyr's face. Though he had removed his mask and she was able to see his real face, it was only for a short moment because he had to show up in public again and had to pretend to be Tyr.

Seeing Stella's embarrassed expression, Kyran did not pursue the matter and simply looked away. Then he said, "Sorry I had to leave."

"It's okay. I know you had other things to do so..."

"I'll stay in the Blacksmith Order for a few days to make magic items," he said changing the subject.

"About that, why don't you make them here? I can set up a room and use my magic to—."

Kyran looked at her and shook his head, "There's no need. Rest and only focus on the inspection. Also..."

He took out a scroll.

"I need to ask you for a favor," he started and handed the scroll to her. "This is a blueprint of a magic item that could counter the new magic detectors. Can you put it up for auction? I need some gold coins."

Stella propped herself up a little as she took the scroll. Her brows furrowed slightly as she looked at Kyran incredulously, "This... Kyran if this is auctioned, this will cause a stir."

"I know... the truth I'd suggest to have Master Noir make the magic item and auction it anonymously instead. But I am afraid that others might try to dismantle and decipher it. Once they realized it is created by Master Noir, it may cause some problem on your end."

Stella fell silent as she looked at the scroll. She understood Kyran wanted to avoid creating the magic item himself. Because he would soon release a number of magic items under 'Disciple Tyr' and no matter how good Kyran was, he would not be able to change his work style in an instant. There was also a matter of the Royal Family wanting to employ him. If they found he had created an anti-magic detector magic item, it might or might not be beneficial for him.

In the end, it was better for the anti-magic detector to be known as Master Noir's work than Disciple Tyr.

Thinking of this, Stella nodded her head in agreement, "Let me handle this one."

Kyran nodded his head. He paused for a moment, before taking out a small jade box.

"I also got you something," he said and handed her the box.

"I won that item and, I thought of you."

Stella blushed as soon as she heard him. It was not the first time she had received gifts. But it would be her first coming from Kyran.

Her heart pounded nervously as she took the small jade box. From the box's luxurious design, it was obvious it was a small jewellery box. And somehow, Stella had started to imagine finding a ring inside.

Unfortunately, when Stella opened the box, there was no ring. Instead, there was a pair of diamond studs.

"That is a magic item. When you wear it and insert some magic energy inside, it can obscure your presence."

As soon as Stella heard Kyran's explanation, her eyes widened, realizing what these pair of studs could do.