Legacy of the Dark Sage

Nachum sighed and shook his head sadly. He did not understand what Cyneah meant about 'the ugly side of herself,' but whatever it was, it greatly affected her heart and emotional state.

"Sisi," Nachum started after a short pause. "Don't you think you are giving Nar too little credit? He went through all the trouble of coming here. He defended the borders, taught us how better to utilize our strong suits, solved issues in the border that we deemed almost impossible to solve, and even endured sneak attacks from outsiders, all because you are here— because he did not want you to be exposed to further danger. Do you think he will change his opinion of you just because of one flaw?"

Cyneah remained silent. She understood the Abbot's point, but he could only say those things because he was unaware of her flaw. But before she wallowed in self-pity, her brows furrowed as she recalled what the Abbot had just said.

"What do you mean 'endured sneak attacks from outsiders?'" she asked as she slowly propped herself up.

"I do not know the complete details," Nachum started and sat on the chair by the bed's side. "But a few weeks ago, I chance upon him warping back to his room completely soaked in blood."

The moment Cyneah heard the last few words, her complexion paled at once. She got up in a hurry while saying, "Please take me to him."

"It is too late," Nachum told her, shaking his head. "This little fellow and I had— S-Sisi!"

Unfortunately, his initial answer scared the hell out of her, making her miss a step and fall off the bed.

It was a good thing the chair Nachum sat on was close, and he caught her before landing on the floor.

"What are you—?"

"T-Take me to him! I need to see him!"

Nachum belatedly realized Cyneah might have misunderstood his response and could not help but sigh. Seriously, young people. She obviously cared about Kyran, yet dared to avoid him.

One could truly act irrationally before the person they loved.

Nachum's heart ached for Cyneah and Kyran. He knew Cyneah had feelings for Kyran, but because of the pact, she had to conceal them.

If only the pacts in Somuli were not that powerful or overly binding, Nachum could have tried to rescind the pact between them even without Nahir's consent.

Kyran said he might have another way to absolve the pact, but Nachum was still skeptical. It was not that he did not trust the younger man, but the nature of Void magic was truly a mystery and Nachum was unsure it could undo the pact without triggering any repercussions.

With that uncertainty, Nachum swore in his heart that he would find a way to convince his son to rescind the pact. The pact was meant to protect Cyneah from the Somuli Sovereign, but with Kyran around and Nachum about to ascend to Sovereignty, there was no longer a need for it.

"Calm down, Sisi. When I said it was already too late, I meant that his condition had already stabilized. Besides, there is someone already assisting in his recovery," Nachum explained patiently.

"Please take me there," Cyneah, however, still insisted on going to Kyran.

"Alright," Nachum could only relent and helped the young woman to her feet.

Since Cyneah had been in bed for almost a month, she found it hard to stand upright and even walk properly. Nachum had to assist her as they made their way to Kyran's room.

Ames and True Void were still focused on the formation that helped Kyran adapt to the changes in his body after drinking the Elixir. Nevertheless, they were still very alert of their surroundings, in case of an emergency happening outside.

Because of this, Ames and True Void noticed Cyneah and Nachum entering the room even though they were very discreet.

Cyneah squinted her eyes slightly as the light she could see from a silhouette near Kyran dazzled her eyes. It was so bright, she could barely look at it. If not for the hazy almost empty space that hovered near it, she would be blinded by the silhouette's light.

'That empty space... is like Nar's...' she thought with a doubtful expression. Obviously, Kyran was not in that empty space because it was too small. But seeing the absence of light in that hazy spot gave her the impression that whatever was hovering there had the same condition as Kyran's.

Cyneah pushed aside those thoughts as she did her best to control the existing magic energies in the room so she could see Kyran's silhouette.

Somuli's natural magic energy was usually thin, but Cyneah rarely had trouble using her magic sense because the Macabre Glacier supplied her with enough magic energy. However, even without the Macabre Glacier's assistance, she could gather enough magic energy naturally because the silhouette with an overly dazzling light released a tremendous amount of magic energy.

Because complete beings generate magic energy within their bodies using their Divine Armament, it was not strange for them to have the ability to release raw magic energy. However, a Divine Armament's ability to generate magic energy had limits. Complete beings would normally constrain the amount of magic energy they used so they could fight longer, or in case of emergency, they could generate a burst of energy to defend or escape. 

But the owner of that light seemed to release magic energy indiscriminately and did not seem to care if its Divine Armament exhausted itself.

Meanwhile, Ames could not help but frown when she sensed a presence spying on her as well as controlling her excess magic energy. She knew that one of the two people who entered the room was the old man from earlier. As for the second one, Ames recognized its aura as a woman. Moreover, she found the latter's presence familiar, yet, also unfamiliar.

Ames opened her eyes but did not turn around. She did not have to because her Draconic Eye could easily have a 360-degree view of her surroundings. 

Upon seeing a young woman, Ames's frown deepened. The young woman's presence was familiar— annoyingly and infuriatingly familiar! But the young woman was genuinely young and not some powerful mage bearing a youthful appearance. Apart from that, the young woman's face did not ring a bell.

For the record, Cyneah might be Layla's successor, but the two did not look alike. Basically, the former possessed the appropriate body that could bear the Soul core and did not look anything like the latter. It was the same with Stella, the First Time Keeper, and Stella, the current Time Keeper. They did not look alike. They had the same name, though, and like how Ames found Cyneah's presence familiar, Stella and Stella, also had the same presence. One could say that their presence was similar because they were the Time Keeper.

Annoyed at the young woman's brazen act of controlling her excess magic energy, Ames wanted to censure her. However, she soon realized that the young woman directed the excess magic energy to Kyran, after which, she channeled her own magic energy and assisted in his recovery.

That was when Ames realized why the young woman's presence was familiar. This was that b*tch's successor.

"You conniving little b—!"

"Don't! Don't! If you do anything to her, your great x50 grandson will curse you to death!"

True Void obviously sensed Cyneah's presence and sensed Ames's anger the moment she recognized the latter.

Ames clicked her tongue as she glared at True Void, "That x50 is unnecessary!"

True Void only gave her a wry smile. He only said that to divert her attention. If not, she could have hurt Cyneah and Kyran would go ballistic when he found out. True Void even sensed that the latter would wake up in an instant if Ames attacked Cyneah.

Hmm.

Actually, that was not a bad idea. Maybe if Ames made it seem as if she wanted to attack Cyneah, then they could force Kyran awake.

Clearly, those were only True Void's wishful thinking. Ames could one-hit kill Cyneah and Kyran would not even react. That was how deep he was slumbering at the moment.

"Please, allow me to help..."

Ames glared at the younger woman. However, the next second, she realized that after the latter channeled her magic into Kyran, his recovery speed went up at an alarming rate. She could even see his complexion returning to normal.

Seeing such results, how could Ames refuse the younger woman's plea to help?

After a short pause, Ames snorted and said, "What's the point of asking permission if you're going to start anyway."

True Void sighed in relief. Cyneah's healing was truly potent to have appeased Ames's temper at once. Then again, it was to be expected, as Soul magic was said to be synonymous with life. Much like how Void was said to be synonymous with nothingness.

With Cyneah's assistance, Kyran's recovery speed was improved. And in just over an hour, one of his brows started to twitch.