Legacy of the Dark Sage

From Alastor's words, they guessed that he entered the Land of Desolation from the Higher Realm.

"So it is truly connected to the Higher Realm," Axil muttered.

"If Kyran did enter that place, he would definitely reach the Higher Realm," Cyneah said with such certainty that Alastor and they looked at her in surprise. "Is there another way... a safer route we can take to get to the Higher Realm, bordering the Land of Desolation?"

Alastor replied with a bitter smile, "If there were, I would have returned there already."

"But The Emperor managed to enter the Lower Realm, and Lady Ames... there had to be a path," Axil also said with a slight frown.

"There are paths, yes. But not one that we can take any time we want," Alastor replied. He then explained, "Clans with a certain level of influence in the Higher Realm are the only ones who can create those paths. But even then, the only ones who could pass through those paths are someone from the same clan..."

He then looked at Cyneah thoughtfully, "We have speculations about the Human plane's Regis Family being the Dragon Clan's descendants... maybe... just maybe, you may use the path Lady Ames passed through to get here in the Lower Realm to enter the Higher Realm."

Cyneah reddened despite the current situation at what Alastor insinuated about her 'identity.' Before she could comment on that, however, True Void said, "That may be possible if the Dragon Clan's blood still runs thick in the Regis Family. Unfortunately, a millennia has passed since the Dragon Clan mingled with them.

"Besides, let's not get ahead of ourselves. We still do not know if Kyran has indeed entered the Land of Desolation to escape The Emperor's pursuit. Although it is true that we came to this conclusion because it is the only place we can think of that may have severed our connection with him, there may be other reasons that we have not thought of."

"Point taken."

"Hmm, quite true."

Alastor and Axil agreed, respectively, while the others, with the exception of Cyneah, nodded in silent acknowledgment.

"While we are on that note...." Loar, who suddenly thought of something, started to say. "Is there a way for him to sever your connection voluntarily?"

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True Void and the rest of Kyran's Servants were silent. They never considered the latter to do that, so the possibility did not cross their mind. But Loar had a point.

"There is also the possibility that the Heart of the Cosmos activated and completely concealed him from every connection he had to ensure their safety," Axil also added. She had little knowledge of the Heart of the Cosmos, but she at least knew that since it managed to stay out of the radar all these years, it meant it had its way of protecting itself.

Since the Heart of the Cosmos now belonged to Kyran, then technically, he was included in its protective measure.

They continued to share their ideas about Kyran's whereabouts. However, Cyneah no longer joined in and remained silent throughout their discussion. She admitted understanding the points in some of their ideas but could not shake off the feeling that their initial belief of Kyran entering the Land of Desolation was correct.

She could not put it into words, but her instincts told her that he was in a very dire situation at the moment.

[Your expression tells me that you are not quite convinced about Void Halfling not hiding in the Land of Desolation, Mistress.]

In the midst of Cyneah's mullings, True Void's voice suddenly sounded in her mind.

[I feel the same.]

'But you are the one who made a point of not getting ahead of ourselves about him being there,' Cyneah replied, frowning inwardly.

[That's because I suddenly had a feeling that something or someone had been listening in on us when we started discussing going into the Higher Realm. If we continue talking about how we can enter there, I'm afraid Void Halfling will be in an even dire situation.]

'That something, or someone, might lie in wait at the other end of the Land of Desolation from the Higher Realm,' Cyneah voiced her thoughts. 'Is that what you're trying to say.'

[Yes.]

Cyneah's brow furrowed slightly. The change was too subtle that those not observing her closely would not take notice.

'We have to find a way to get to the Land of Desolation as soon as possible. Or better if we can find a way to get to the Higher Realm.'

[As I said, let us not get ahead of ourselves. We may be convinced that Void Halfling might be in the Land of Desolation, but we don't know if he would find a way to leave through the Higher Realm or go out from the Lower Realm again.]

'That's true... But... I know he is planning to go to the Higher Realm. He did not say it outright... and he probably does not plan to tell me... Still...'

Cyneah knew Layla tried to strike up a deal with Kyran. Although he had not agreed yet, she sensed his intent to find out the truth about why Layla was so fixated on winning the War of the Sovereigns and going to the Higher Realm.

Winning the war would have allowed Layla to enter the Higher Realm, but then she seemed to have given up on it because she believed Kyran had a way of going there.

Could Kyran's identity as the Void Master have something to do with Layla's change of heart? But if that was the case, then why did she not try asking for Caelan's help back then?

There were far too many things that Cyneah did not understand. Haylee, her essence, knew more about Layla's thoughts. Unfortunately, even after recovering her essence, Cyneah could not acquire all of Haylee's memories. That had been the case with her memories involving Kyran.

Thinking back, any memory of Haylee that involved Layla also included Kyran. Could these two be related? Was it possible that the Shaiha's concealment also included memories?

Cyneah had no way of finding the answers to these questions, which frustrated her.

Crackle! Crackle! Crackle!

Alastor and the others immediately stopped their discussion as they sensed a powerful magic fluctuation gathering outside.

Loar waved his hand, and several projections of the scenes outside the ship appeared at the center of the table.

Their expressions turned grim as several space distortions appeared around the ship. Following this, mages in white and red hooded robes emerged from them, surrounding the ship in every direction.

"Those are...?" Axil started as cold sweat trickled down the side of her face.

Alastor's brow furrowed from under his mask as he replied, "The Emperor's Elite Mages."

"That... doesn't sound good..." Loar commented with a stifled groan.

True Void cursed inwardly as he telepathically warned Neo and the rest of Kyran's Servants to stay on guard. If the worst-case scenario was to happen, they had to ensure Cyneah's safety.

"Do we go outside?" Loar asked Alastor and Axil.

Alastor looked at the projection that showed Ames and the rest of the Regis Elite before replying, "No. We wait here."

"They might have already picked up on our presence," Wings pointed. "If we don't go out, will that cause a problem?"

"I have a saint-tier Concealment Array placed in this room," Loar told her. "Unless those mages also have high Array attainments, they should not be able to detect our presence."

"Rarely are there any mages in the Higher Realm that do not have a high attainment in Array," Alastor told them as if to dash Loar's confidence. "The fact that the Lower Realm's Array knowledge was inferior to the Higher Realm also does not help."

"Oi... if you are going to trample on my confidence... you've already succeeded. Don't make it worse—."

"Do not get me wrong," Alastor hastily continued. "We have the realm advantage. So you don't have to worry."

"'Realm advantage,'" Wings repeated. "You mean... our location and not our levels, right?"

"Of course," Alastor confirmed. But then his expression remained solemn as he continued to observe Ames and the Regis Elite. "However, we have to stay vigilant."

Meanwhile, Ames and the Regis Elite, who were facing The Emperor's Elite Mages, wore a calm expression outside the ship. Even though the latter lot emitted an overwhelming magic pressure, they appeared to be unfazed and even seemed to be amused.

"Since you cannot do anything to the Dragon plane, you decided to come here as well?" Ames was the first one to break the silence as she asked them mockingly.

One of the mages hovering near the helm of the ship snorted at Ames's provocation and replied, "Your Dragon plane is still under siege while you idle around here. It will only be a matter of time before your side loses—!"

SPLAT!

The mage could not even finish speaking when his whole body exploded, causing everyone there, including the Regis Elite, to gape in shock.

Ames's expression remained indifferent as she looked at the mage next to the one who exploded, "I didn't get what he was saying. Care to continue?"