Legacy of the Dark Sage

Cyneah was dumbfounded at what Kyran did. Her knowledge of magic item creation might be lacking, but she knew that in order to repair a broken or damaged item, one would need materials. Apart from that, the Array Formulas included in them also required meticulous probing to ensure that the whole formation could be restored properly. However, Kyran not only repaired it by simply touching it, but she also felt some changes in the token's energy circulation.

"This token has its own defensive formula and should not have been broken easily," Kyran said while fixing the token. "Unfortunately, the magic energy in Somuli is different from the Human plane. It failed to absorb enough energy to activate all of its formula and could not defend against any form of attack."

"No wonder it broke so easily," Cyneah commented, recalling how the beast-like only exerted enough of his strength to completely shatter the token's outer shell.

"I revised the formula, which focuses on how it absorbs magic energy. It can now absorb both magic energy and mana."

Cyneah was surprised at what he said. She had been in Somuli for more than seven years, yet she still did not know anything about mana absorption and usage. How did Kyran learn it? He even knew how to write its array formula. She knew how proficient he was in Array Creation, but this level was simply too frightening. Was he able to do all these things because of his magic?

The more Cyneah thought of it, the more she was convinced that the nature of Void magic was very profound.

Kyran took her hand and returned the token while saying, "Sorry. The token can only accommodate a limited number of array formulas, and I had to remove one after revising its absorption capability. In this case, I had to remove the one-time teleportation formula. If I don't do that, the token will break completely."

"That's fine," Cyneah replied. "We can't have it all."

Although she said that, she felt a little regretful of losing the token's one-time teleportation formula. Truth be told, she had already used it when she was chased by a horde of beasts during her first few months in Somuli. That was why when she met with a group of beast-likes, she failed to escape and became their captive.

In any case, Cyneah was expecting that Kyran would include another teleportation formula and might even improve its usage capacity. But then again, she understood that if the token could not even absorb enough magic energy, even if its teleportation capacity was limitless, it would become useless.

Seeing Cyneah's heartbroken expression, Kyran could guess what was on her mind. While examining the token, he noticed the token's teleportation formula was used up. From this, he guessed she had found the token's teleportation capability to be very useful, especially in a dire situation. Thus, felt sad about losing it.

"What's with that expression?"

"What expression?" Cyneah asked innocently with raised brows.

"To be honest, I only included that formula back then for insurance. In case something happens and I can't come to your aid immediately, at least you can teleport to someplace safe," Kyran told her. He then frowned because the formula did come in handy; unfortunately, he could not come to her aid when she used it because he was several planes away from her.

Just imagining the dangers Cyneah had gone through all alone in Somuli made Kyran regret not enhancing the token when he had the chance. In the end, he inwardly snorted at his own reprimanded himself.

The token was not omnipotent. It could not ensure Cyneah's safety. Besides, back then, how would he know that he had to enhance it because she would willingly enter a rift and go off the radar to hide the Macabre Glacier, which would mean he could not protect her?

"Remember when the Tower of Conclave was under attack?"

Kyran snapped out of his reverie after hearing Cyneah's off-topic question. "Why?"

"I had considered teleporting out of there when I had thought my presence had put everyone in danger. Pretty foolish, huh—?"

"I know," Kyran replied before Cyneah could finish what she was saying.

"You knew that I was foolish?"

"No, to that. Rather, I had a feeling you'd do something like that. Why else would I go out and confront the enemy?"

Cyneah frowned, not understanding what he meant.

"I was determined to deal with the situation as soon as possible to put you at ease," Kyran explained patiently. "I can't have you running off to someplace I don't know."

Cyneah reddened and pursed her lips. Just now, she felt the shift in his mood again. That was why she wanted to divert his attention by bringing up something she believed was a foolish notion she had in the past. She did not expect him to respond like that, and even made her feel all jittery again.

"That's... unfair," she complained.

Kyran chuckled. He looked at her and reluctantly decided to bring up a topic he had put off for some time.

"Though the teleportation formula is gone, the rest of its function remains. Since we won't be in the same group in this operation, if you ever encounter someone you can't deal with, call me. I'll definitely come this time."

When Cyneah heard Kyran, she sensed a very strong conviction from his words, especially from his last sentence.

"Nar..."

Kyran knitted his brows. With clenched fists, he said, "Kyran."

"What—?"

"My real name. It's Kyran."

A tense silence followed after that, and Kyran looked at Cyneah with bated breath.

Telling her his real name might not be a big deal to others, but not him. Because it took a very long time to tell her the truth. Moreover, he had told her his intentions, yet he did not even tell her his real name until now. What kind of person did that make him?

For this reason, Kyran was nervous to know or hear Cyneah's response.

Cyneah's mirror-like eyes widened as she looked at Kyran. She could not see him per se, but his image was reflected in them.

Finally, her lips broke into a knowing smile as she said, "I know."

Kyran gaped at her, not knowing if he heard her right.

Was she getting back at him for teasing her just then?

Before Kyran could say anything, Cyneah laughed after sensing his conflicted emotions, "Is it really hard to believe? I'm blind, not deaf. Do you know how many times Uncle Gage tried to correct himself whenever he slipped and called you 'Kyran' when we were still in the cottage? Not only him, my Master— even Uncle Nolan. They would sometimes call you Kyran without them noticing.

"At first, I was a little confused and wondered if they were referring to a different person. But I soon realized that they were talking about you, and I reckoned maybe that's your real name and that 'Nar' is your nickname."

Cyneah paused and giggled after recalling something, "Sister Stella also called you Kyran when she told me stories about you."

Kyran was speechless. All this time, he agonized over the fact that he lied to her about his name and had not even done anything to tell her the truth. Now that he told her the truth, he suddenly found out she already knew and did not even tell him.

This...

"Moreover—."

There's more?

"—I did recover my essence, Haylee. The things I learned from her memories were very interesting. I discovered that she really likes Tyr—."

"I get it—."

"—But then her memories turned fuzzy at some point. I only managed to see her getting really flustered after realizing that Tyr was, in fact, Kyran Regis—."

"Alright. Fine," Kyran surrendered. "I know I was wrong for not telling you sooner. But why did you not tell me that you already know?"

"I did not think that is something that I can just bring up," Cyneah replied matter-of-factly while shrugging her shoulders.

Kyran groaned at her response, which made her giggle some more. She did not expect him to be flustered over such a thing. She found his reaction cute.

"Kidding aside," Cyneah said, deciding not to tease him too much. "I never gave much thought to it because I reckoned you don't want me to know your real name in case something happened and I ended up in the hands of the enemies."

Kyran remained silent. What she said was actually on point. When he told her his name, he did not consider the possibility of her becoming a part of their group. He did not even imagine she would become someone very important to him.

"After learning about your real name," Cyneah continued. "I was already used to calling you Nar. Because of that, I never tried to ask you about the truth. So you don't have to feel bad about it."

"Nar is not a nickname," Kyran told her. "It's... a name Nolan came up with to hide my identity."

He then explained how Nolan used transformation magic to change how he looked and how Nar's identity came to be.

After listening for a while, Cyneah looked at him curiously and asked, "Then... you mean all this time you've been wearing a mask?"

"Only when I'm around other people."

"Like right now?"

"Yes."

Cyneah sighed, "And here I thought I could ask you to grant me my request from before. Alas, if I did, I'd only be seeing you wearing a mask."