Legacy of the Dark Sage

Kyran stood in front of a floor-to-ceiling window in one of the rooms inside Oceanus's ship, gazing upon Ogen. He did not notice it when he arrived a month ago, but Ogen was a beautiful plane. The plane was mostly water, with a few small lands comprising its cities.

Looking at it made Kyran feel a little homesick. It was not because it looked similar to the Human plane but because it was more peaceful.

Thinking of the Human plane also made Kyran wonder if The Emperor was still in the Lower Realm or if he had returned to the Higher Realm. It was pretty unfortunate that he had no way of knowing the answer to this. He wanted to establish enough connection and rapport with Oceanus, thinking he would get access to exclusive information about the current situation in the Higher Realm.

But forming that connection would take time.

Kyran could exchange for information in return for his service, but Oceanus would likely become curious about why he needed them. The last thing Kyran wanted was to pique an Overlord's interest in his matter.

[You agreed too fast.]

Shaiha's voice brought Kyran out of his musings. He closed his eyes and looked at her through his mind's eye. She sat elegantly a little above the middle of his four magic cores. The Draconic and Void core hovered to the left and right, respectively, while the remaining two hovered at the front and back.

"You're supposed to stay out of the radar. Why did you agree to help Oceanus? You are going to expose yourself to The Council by helping them claim that portal," Shaiha said with a slight frown.

As Shaiha said, Kyran agreed to Oceanus's request without even going through a thorough negotiation. He also suggested going to where the portal was found to scout the area as soon as possible. For this reason, he was currently aboard Oceanus's ship. They were on their way to the portal's location.

Oceanus's people discovered the portal on a small plane that hovered between the border of his area of jurisdiction and an unconquered area. The portal was located on the side of the plane that was within Oceanus's jurisdiction, thus making it his property. However, the Council did not care about that because 80% of the plane was outside Oceanus's jurisdiction.

It did not matter if the remaining 20% of the plane that hovered toward Oceanus's side was where the portal was found. Since its 'center' was outside, it meant it belonged to no one.

Oceanus's people tried to argue that regardless of whether the plane was outside or not, the fact that they discovered it first should mean they were the ones who should claim it.

The Council claimed that their side was on the verge of conquering the area where the plane was. Thus, it did not matter if Oceanus's people discovered it first or not. Once The Council conquered the area then every plane there would be theirs.

When Kyran heard this, he had a bad feeling— the reason Oceanus wanted him, a nobody, to claim the portal was to avoid getting on The Council's bad side if they were the ones who did.

For short, Oceanus wanted Kyran to bear the brunt of The Council's hatred while he, Oceanus, and his people enjoyed the portal's benefits.

Kyran was rendered speechless. Only then did he realize that the real reason they needed his concealment ability was not so he could infiltrate The Council's camp but so they would not be able to detect or identify him when he claimed the portal.

If The Council could not identify who claimed the portal, they would have to relinquish ownership. There was still the risk of them being suspicious of Oceanus. But even if The Council seemed unreasonable, without any proof to acquit Oceanus, they would not do anything to him.

Shaiha was not particularly happy when Kyran still agreed, even after he realized Oceanus's real intentions. She did not try to voice her objection earlier, but now that they were alone, she wanted to give him a piece of her mind.

Kyran looked at Shaiha with raised brows, "I didn't know you have such little faith in me."

"This is not about having faith. It is true that no one will be able to counter my concealment, but it is not omnipotent."

"I know that."

"I'm sure you do. You did say something similar to others whenever they give you too much credit for the things you do, but—."

"I need to understand the situation in the Higher Realm before I can think of what to do next," he cut her off mid-sentence with an exasperated sigh. He more or less guessed what she wanted to tell him. But to be honest, he could not be bothered with it. He understood she was worried about his safety, but they could not run away forever.

Kyran would have to face The Emperor at some point, and before that happened, he needed to have the strength and a solid plan. However, he could not do that if he kept running and hiding. Although doing so would give him time to learn his magic, there was little he could learn by himself.

Kyran knew Shaiha had no plans of 'teaching' him. More importantly, he did not think she could teach him anything specific about his two innate magic. She was familiar with them, yes, but she would not be able to teach him the way Caelan did or if he learned from the Dragon Emperor.

"I learned enough about the Higher Realm's Magic Law in the previous month. But apart from those things, I haven't learned anything about the current situation in the Higher Realm. Records are open to the public, but they are limited to what was happening on the surface. Not to mention, most of them happened a few years ago. I need new information. Only then can I make proper preparations."

"What you need to do is stay out of The Emperor's radar," Shaiha insisted. "Ensure the safety of the Ancient Magic Cores while learning more about it in depth."

"The Emperor will not sit idle while I do that," Kyran refuted. "Even as we speak, he may have already found the Human plane in the Lower Realm and is…"

His brows furrowed at the thought. To be honest, he was far more worried about the situation in the Lower Realm than in the Higher Realm. At least, in the Higher Realm— notably, the Dragon Clan— they had the means to fight The Emperor's side. On the other hand, Somuli, or the Human plane, did not have that means.

If The Emperor stayed in the Lower Realm and returned to Somuli to find people who knew about Kyran, there was no telling if the Lower Realm's restriction could keep Somuli safe.

Shaiha sighed and shook her head, "The Coven will protect Somuli no matter what, so you don't have to worry about The Emperor destroying it. The core of Somuli was part of the Land of the Ancients and should not be destroyed. The Coven knew this, even if The Emperor did not. Thus, The Coven will protect it."

Kyran furrowed his brows. He suspected Somuli might be connected to the Human plane but did not expect that its core was part of the Land of the Ancients. Still, this would explain why it had such advanced Array knowledge and possessed all those automatons.

As to why its inhabitants could not utilize its Array, Shaiha already hinted at the answer. The only part of Somuli that used to belong to the Land of the Ancients was its core. After several years, the core mutated and turned into a new plane. However, it could not use its core's Magic Law and only relied on the laws it gathered upon the plane's creation.

This was also the reason it could not generate enough magic energy.

Anyhow, this was only Kyran's speculation. How close he was to the truth, he did not know. At the very least, he believed it to be the case.

Putting the matter of Somuli's origin aside, Kyran was still worried about its safety. To be more accurate, he was worried about the safety of everyone he cared about on that plane. This also applies to the Human plane.

"Kyran," Shaiha started once more after a short pause. "You have to understand how important it is that you keep the Ancient Magic Cores away from The Emperor—."

"Look," Kyran cut her off once more. "I'm not going there to expose myself. I know your concealment ability is not omnipotent, and honestly, I am not relying on it. I want to enter that portal not because I want to help Oceanus."

Shaiha frowned, "You're not going to tell me that you are also interested in the Ancients' treasures."

"I don't mind finding a few of their treasures, but that is not why I want to enter."

"What's your main reason then?"

"Is there another Tower of the Ancients?"

Shaiha tilted her head, somewhat confused at Kyran's question. Still, she replied, "No. There is only one tower. Others can enter it from different parts of the Higher Realm because of the special portals..."

Her voice trailed off as realization hit her.

"You... you plan on finding the portals in the tower?"

"Yes and no."

"What—?"

"I want to find the portal in the tower, but I am only interested in one."

Shaiha's eyes narrowed, realizing which portal Kyran intended to find.

"The Dragon Clan's portal."