Legacy of the Dark Sage

"Whoever he is, he's quite skilled at concealing his aura and presence," Crei remarked, looking at the young man as well. "If he chose to hide himself, it would take a while even for us to detect him."

Thorn scowled after hearing his uncle's positive remark about Kyran. But he ultimately chose not to comment and remained silent.

Crei noticed his nephew's behavior and his suspicion about how and where the latter met the young man only increased. The fact that Lord Aillos asked his nephew not to tell anyone further confirmed this.

"I get that you can't say where you know him, but you can at least tell us his name, right?" Anahita chimed in while looking at Thorn.

Seemingly annoyed at being pestered about Kyran, Thorn begrudgingly replied, "Null. That's his name."

"Null," Anahita repeated with a playful smile on her face. "Is it a play on his ability to conceal himself?"

Since null could be interpreted as empty or blank, Kyran's concealment ability could almost remove his aura and presence as if he had become a blank canvas, which seemed like a tribute to his name.

"What the hell are you even saying? That's obviously not his real name, and I don't care if that's the name he goes around with because of his ability," Thorn grumbled.

Anahita suppressed her laugh, amused at her cousin's apparent unfavorable feeling toward Kyran.

Crei leaned back while observing his nephew's behavior. He then turned his attention to their patriarch, seated at the reserved table for all patriarchs.

About a hundred tribes participated in that day's gathering, and the table reserved for all the patriarchs could be said to exude a majestic aura. This was because all one hundred patriarchs' strengths were second only to the Dragon Emperor's aides; they could easily overwhelm anyone without exerting pressure.

This was similar to how Aillos's presence alone could make everyone fall to their knees if they did not activate their defensive skills or spells.

Crei could not help but smile wryly at the palpable tension covering the patriarchs' table. He could almost hear what was swirling in their mind at that moment.

The Regis Family's appearance at the gathering was one thing. Still, ignoring the three older men, the younger one's ability to hide his aura and presence alone had already given all patriarchs a bad premonition.

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Even in the Higher Realm, a being possessing concealment ability was rare. This was because such an ability could be used for many things. If they could nurture that talent and he or she grew strong enough to become one of the clan's leading powers, then their clan could do a lot more things.

The problem was that ability belongs to a human.

The patriarchs would not care much if it only belonged to a human. However, that human had dragon blood running in his veins, which made them somewhat torn and restless about his potential.

'Moreover, that young man's appearance in today's gathering does not bode well for us,' Crei thought, his expression darkening.

Lord Aillos might announce his intention to nurture Kyran. That would not pose much of a problem. It would be okay if they could develop his talent and use him for the clan. Some tribes might not be happy because there were tribes like the Night Dragon that might not possess concealment abilities but something similar.

Since their innate magic was Shadow, they could easily blend themselves in the shadows. Moreover, they were dragons, so it was impossible to compare their strengths. However, as long as Kyran could endure and prove that he could deliver more than the Night Dragons' talents, their opposition would die in time.

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But that was not the threat Kyran's appearance posed at the moment.

The real threat was the probability of Lord Aillos declaring him his successor. When that happened, would all tribes remain silent?

Obviously not.

But could they defy Lord Aillos?

That was a stupid question.

Aillos could fight The Emperor even when he was a level lower than the latter. From this, it was not wrong to say that only The Emperor could put up a fight against him.

Even if all the patriarchs joined hands, Aillos still had the support of his aides. With those eight on his side— and add Ames to the mix— even if they all joined hands, it would only end in a bitter struggle.

They would likely win in the end, but the loss they incurred throughout the ordeal would never justify the result.

While these thoughts swirled not only in Crei's mind but almost every patriarch and second-in-command in the hall, the side door opened again.

They did not hear the door opening because all their attention was on the Regis representatives. They only noticed it because of the pressure that enveloped the hall the moment it opened.

Everyone stood up at once and lowered their head to greet Aillos.

"We greet the Dragon Emperor," they all greeted.

Aillos would normally dismiss them soon after they were greeted. But this time around, maybe because it was an official and formal gathering, he only nodded in response and walked down the hall.

Ducal and the rest of the aides followed behind Aillos as he made his way to his seat, which was located at the other end of the hall on a crystal-like platform.

There were two high chairs before the long table— the one on the right was bigger, while the one on the left was smaller. One could easily guess that the chair on the left was reserved for Ames. However, it appeared that she would not participate in today's gathering.

A few steps below above the platform were eight chairs. It was where the eight aides would be seated throughout the gathering.

It took only half a minute for Aillos to reach his chair, but it appeared to be several times more than that to all those inside the hall.

Only after Aillos had taken his seat did all the guests in the hall straighten their backs, and only after Ducal and the other aides took their seats did they sit.

"Today's Grand Gathering has been announced on such short notice, and I appreciate everyone taking time off their busy schedules to attend nonetheless."

Aillos addressed everyone, his voice like a thunder that filled the hall.

"I'm sure everyone has their speculations as to why I prepared this gathering."

Not one to beat around the bush, Aillos got to the main point as soon as he finished his introduction.

"All of you have noticed the presence of new people in this gathering. In all the gatherings we had, this is the first time my daughter Ames's family could attend— well, for obvious reasons."

Though Aillos tried to make light of things by pointing out that the Regis Family could not possibly attend their gathering when they were realms apart, the expressions of all the dragons, except the younger ones, still darkened.

Aillos would not call his daughter's other family as such, but the way he naturally called them her daughter's family— removing the word other— was noticed by them, and it did not bid well with them.

Could their suspicion earlier be on point?

"Rather than letting your imaginations run wild, I will tell you one of the most important reasons I have gathered you here today."

As always, Aillos easily discerned what was running on almost everyone's mind and pointed it out shamelessly.

Then again, Aillos could act and speak shamelessly, and no one would dare refute it because he was the Dragon Emperor.

"As of this moment, I declare that my daughter, Ames's family in the Lower Realm, the Regis, be officially part of the Dragon Clan."

The moment Aillos declared that the suffocating tension that hung above their heads exploded. All dragons, including the younger ones, burst into muffled discussions.

They did not openly oppose Aillos's declaration. However, just listening to their exchanges, it was obvious that they were unhappy about it.

Ducal and the other aides remained silent and simply watched the commotion before them. They already knew Aillos would announce his intentions to acknowledge the Regis Family officially and did not oppose it.

The reason for their non-opposition was simple: they knew the truth of the current situation in the Higher Realm.

However, all the tribe patriarchs and second-in-commands were unaware of it, which is why they were still in opposition.

"Normally, I would have asked your opinion and voted for the Regis Family's inclusion into the clan," Aillos continued after allowing enough time for his declaration to sink into everyone's mind.

The muffled discussion between the dragons slowly died down as they heard Aillos continue with his speech.

"However, there are pressing matters that I know I have tried to push back several times that are now looming over us like an Arch Lich's scythe, threatening our clan."

The displeased expressions on everyone's faces were replaced with confusion at Aillos's following words.

"The Emperor is now on the move."