Legacy of the Dark Sage

Half an hour after Kyran dealt with Tritus, he made his way to the temple.

He did not warp or use the Dragon Step because he was too exhausted.

Using the Dragon Steps put a lot of strain on his body. Because he was crossing distances multiple times faster than what a human was capable of in an instant, his body might be stronger now. However, fundamentally speaking, his body frame was still that of a human.

Apart from this, he had used the Sigil twice. Not to mention, the second time he had to perform it was on an Arch Magus. Then he used the Dark Arts he learned to ensure Tritus would stay 'loyal.'

It was Kyran's first time; thus, the whole process put a huge mental and physical strain on him.

Besides, he tried not to change much of Tritus's memories and personality. Instead, he focused only on changing the latter's twisted plan about dragons and his unyielding persona.

Of course, Kyran made sure Tritus would only yield to him and no one else.

Regarding the other guy he took, Reuben, Kyran had not decided whether to turn him to his Sigil yet.

Kyran wanted to earn Max's unwavering trust, and making Reuben into his Sigil might produce negative results.

Kyran had another way to ensure Reuben would not betray him without using the Sigil.

He could do the same thing he did to Olivia.

Speaking of Olivia, Kyran made a mental note to have Byron arrange a meeting with her soon.

As he thought of this, his expression turned grim because he had just remembered the communication device he specifically made to contact Byron. But, unfortunately, he had not checked it yet.

Hopefully, Byron did not send him useless coded messages.

Kyran put the matter about Byron aside and began to sort his to-do list.

So far, he had started a couple of things from his list, but even those were still in progress. So he still had a long way to go before confidently saying he was on the right track.

Apart from meeting with Byron and Olivia, he had to visit the Chaos Palace once more. Only by going there could he let True Void out. Because he was sure that if he let him out right here, the Royal Family would be alerted of his presence.

True Void did mention that the Royal Family had ways of tracking him. But the unique atmosphere within the Chaos Palace would ensure they would not be able to sense him.

Kyran also wanted to visit the man who was in-charged of guarding his clan. He already guessed his family's current situation, but he wanted to understand how it all happened. His intuition told him that it would be wise to talk to that man.

Another urgent matter he had to attend to was meeting with Nolan and finding Azaloth's Inheritance.

Kyran guessed that Nolan decided to go to where the inheritance was located without waiting for him might have something to do with his clan. After returning from the Tower of Tribulation, Nolan likely went to the Regis Estate to investigate. He might have seen something which made him decide that finding Azaloth's Inheritance takes priority.

Apart from this, only by meeting Nolan would Kyran know any updates from Gage and Silas because Nolan was the only one who had direct contact with them.

Thinking of Silas made Kyran remember how he made a new note to find a way to talk to the Queen of the Faes. He had questions he felt she knew the answers to.

Thinking of all these things, Kyran could not help but sigh inwardly. He had set a month as his deadline before deciding whether to infiltrate the Royal Family as Tyr or not. But he was unsure if a month was enough to determine his course of action.

After all, he could only know if he was ready to infiltrate the Royal Family by knowing all the cards he could play. Besides, he would not only be going to Meliora as Disciple Tyr. Kyran also planned to enter as 'Nar' and work for the Blue Lotus.

'I wish I could create a human essence,' Kyran thought dejectedly. He still had his puppets, but making them work perfectly and in sync with him would be challenging.

As for his resource problem, what transpired here was a fruitful endeavour for him. He could keep his promise with Zephyr and take two new Sigils, and he also got a whole faction with deep resources under him.

If Kyran got hold of the Blue Lotus, too, he could say he no longer had problems with where he could get resources.

Err…, at least for the time being.

Anyway, his supposed 'rash action' back in the Blacksmith Order would soon take fruit, and he would have another channel where he could produce money.

There was another reason why he did what he had done. But for now, it was enough to say that he had planted what he would sow later.

While Kyran was lost in his thoughts, he finally reached the cave entrance that led to the temple.

'This is not a saint-tier array,' he thought when he saw the semi-translucent barrier covering the cave's entrance. 'This is a Transcendent Array.'

Kyran's eyes glowed reddish-purple as he approached the barrier.

He did not immediately send his magic sense to study the whole array to avoid triggering any hidden trap formulas.

'Zephyr. Can you hear me?' He asked.

A few seconds later, a reply came.

[I can, master.]

Kyran took a deep breath. He worried that Zephyr had passed out from his injury. If that happened, they would end up in a challenging situation.

Difficult for Zephyr because passing out would soon lead to not waking up for good. As for Kyran, things would be difficult because he would be forced to work on the defensive array and might unknowingly kill Zephyr if he made a wrong move.

'About the array,' Kyran started. 'Can you tell me more about it?'

[I… am not sure what you want to know, master. B-But… Y-You can check for yourself. Just…enter the temple.]

Zephyr replied. Just by the sound of his voice, it was clear how bad his condition was.

'Is it safe to enter?'

[Y-You are my new master. M-My life force will recognize your aura… and let you… pass.]

Kyran's eyes narrowed at his words.

From the report recorded in the white orb he found in Max's storage pouch; he had read how Zephyr used his life force as a last resort to reinforcing the barrier.

He said, 'Don't ever use your life force for something like this again. This is a Transcendent-tier Array. Even if it only has the final layer left, it will take the Templar Code weeks to destroy it.

'Transcendent-tier Defensive Arrays are like that. The first three layers seemed weak and will crumble with little effort. But that is because the fourth layer normally possess a damage assessment formula where it calculates the overall damage received by the first three layers. After that, it will automatically adjust its defensive capability that can withstand the damage accumulated by the three layers. The final layer is also like that. In the end, it will not be easy to put even a scratch on it.'

Zephyr's head spun from Kyran's explanation. But unfortunately, he got lost when the latter started talking about the damage assessment.

As a servant tasked to guard the Shaiha, Zephyr had to expand his knowledge. That included Array knowledge. But he had never heard nor read about a Transcendent-tier Array. More importantly, was there even a level like that in Array?

For this reason, Zephyr was convinced the temple's array was at Saint-tier, the highest Array level he knew.

Nevertheless, not hearing or learning about Transcendent Arrays did not mean they did not exist. There were far too many planes in the universe, and there were several Magic Laws and Array Theories that Zephyr was unaware of.

As to where Kyran learned it, Zephyr could only guess it was at the place Nolan had taken him to train.

[B-But… I did not know how long… it would take you to… return, master.]

Zephyr replied after a short pause.

'Alright, I get it.' Kyran said with a nod. Now that Zephyr had said it, what he did does make sense.

He already guessed Zephyr did not know about Transcendent Arrays. So his decision to reinforce the array with his life force was indeed a wise move as a final resort.

'Save your strength— and you don't need to answer,' Kyran added, sensing how much effort Zephyr had to go through just to reply. 'I'm going in.'

Zephyr nodded in response before closing his eyes and lowering his head.

Though Kyran did not see Zephyr's nod, he had sensed his acknowledgement.

Not wasting more time, Kyran passed through the barrier.

An invisible force instantly swept through Kyran as if to scan his whole body. However, when it touched him, his Void core reacted and immediately circulated void energy inside his body, protecting Kyran from any probing.

When the invisible force sensed the Void energy within Kyran, it retracted at once and readily accepted him inside.

This feeling surprised Kyran.

It almost felt as if the Array itself had its own consciousness.

'Or is it because of Zephyr's life force?' He wondered.

It did not matter. Once Kyran worked on the array, he would be able to understand it better.

If he were not worried about Zephyr's condition, Kyran would have started deciphering the array. But Zephyr's life takes priority; thus, he went to find him first.

The inside of the cave looked very different from what one could see from the outside.

When a person looked inside the cave from the outside, it appeared like an ordinary cave—a large opening in the earth.

But once inside, one would find an indoor pavilion with floor to ceiling high pillars lined up on each side. Though the walls and ceiling were made of earth, expensive ancient paintings still hung there, giving the whole place a very ancient and majestic feel to it.

The pillars were also coated with gold paint...

Wait… It was not painted; it was made of pure gold! The tiled floor had intricate patterns carved from diamonds! Even the torches on the walls were made of a bronze shaft and silver hilt.

Kyran's brow twitched. Looking at all these expensive materials, he was reminded of how poor he was.

Although he had acquired the Templar Code by making Tritus his Sigil, Kyran could not brazenly rob their resources for his use all at once. It would make the rest of the members, regular ones and the rest of the Elite Team, suspicious.

He had no plans on exposing Tritus's condition; thus, he would continue being the Commander of the Templar Code, and the matter about the Shaiha Ruins and the Royal Family… Kyran had already thought of a way to provide the rare stones they needed that did not involve breaking Zephyr's horn.

In the end, Kyran could only discreetly ask Tritus for resources to ensure the rest of the Templar Code and the Royal Family did not suspect anything.

'I wonder if I can take down some of those pillars and sell them outside,' he suddenly wondered. 'Or maybe I can melt some and use it in upgrading the rest of my puppets. Are these common gold or Aurum Gold?'

When Zephyr heard Kyran's thoughts, his eyes snapped open, and he sweated profusely.

[M-Master! This-This is a sacred temple! W-What are you thinking?]

Zephyr reprimanded, bringing Kyran back to reality.

'Oh, did I not cut the connection? My bad, I'll be careful to keep my thoughts to myself,' Kyran apologized.

Zephyr could not help but twitch.

That was not the case here…. Did Kyran really think of robbing a sacred temple? Was he not worried about receiving divine punishment?

Humans really thought of some scary things!