Legacy of the Dark Sage

It took him nearly an hour just to close Zephyr\'s chest wound, then three more hours to heal it from the inside. After that, Kyran shared more of his Draconic energy with him, to assist his natural healing ability in adjusting his condition.

Nearly six hours from the time Kyran entered the temple, Zephyr\'s condition stabilizes.

Only when Kyran was positive of this that he finally asked, "Can you undo the reinforcement on the array?"

Zephyr looked at him thoughtfully. He knew why Kyran wanted him to undo his reinforcement. Because it was connected to his life force, it would be dangerous to make any adjustments to the array.

"Is... Is it really safe to do that?" Zephyr asked feeling hesitant.

Kyran might have told him the defensive array in the temple was a Transcendent-tier and would not be easily breached even without his life force reinforcing it. However, Zephyr was still afraid.

The Shaiha was far too dangerous and should never be left unprotected.

Kyran looked at Zephyr in silence.

He understood his hesitation and instead of feeling annoyed at his lack of trust, he patiently replied, "Yes. It is safe."

"But... that woman..."

Zephyr still argued, sounding unconvinced. Kyran raised his brows finally sensing the latter\'s fear.

Zephyr\'s real concern was not the defensive array\'s capability to keep the Shaiha safe, but Freya. Most likely, the fatal wound he got from her, left a psychological scar on him.

Kyran waved his right hand without saying anything, and a bloody golden helmet appeared in thin air that rolled on the floor.

Zephyr watched the helmet distractedly, wondering why Kyran took it out. But when the helmet stopped rolling and he saw inside the broken visor, he realized it was not an empty helmet but a severed head!

Zephyr took a sharp intake of breath as he recognized the head on the helmet.

"T-That\'s...!"

His mind reeled from both shock and unbelief as her turned to Kyran.

"I had a feeling you\'d be concerned about her and took her head as proof. Do you want it?" Kyran asked with a shrug after seeing Zephyr\'s expression.

Zephyr\'s brow twitched as he looked at Kyran. Though he could not see Kyran\'s expression from behind the black panther mask, he could hear the amusement in his voice.

"I don\'t have a sick hobby of collecting human heads...." He answered with a monotonous voice. His mind had yet to fully register what he had seen.

At the same time, he also felt amazed at Kyran\'s nonchalance. That woman was the leader of the Templar Code assigned to the ruins.

Was he not afraid the Templar Code would retaliate by spending more manpower and effort on destroying the temple\'s defensive array?

"Master... T-This... Can you reinforce the temple\'s defensive array that will ensure the Shaiha\'s safety from future attack?" He asked.

However, Kyran did not answer and instead addressed Zephyr\'s answer to his question.

"I see. You don\'t like her head, huh. That\'s too bad. I thought you will want to keep it as a souvenir."

"M-Master..."

"Don\'t worry, I don\'t have a hobby like that either," he assured him and looking at Freya\'s severed head, finally snapped his hand.

Void flames instantly covered Freya\'s head, completely destroying it. Not even a speck of dust was left.

"Alright," Kyran looked at Zephyr again. "As for your last question. You don\'t have to worry about. This is only a Transcendent-tier array, I can—."

WEEEEEEENG!

The humming sound from the Shaiha suddenly turned into a deafening ringing sound, interrupting Kyran.

Zephyr\'s eyes widened and immediately looked at the Shaiha.

,m Its multicolored lights flashed erratically as it pulsated violently.

Kyran also looked at the sphere with his brow furrowed. He had guessed the sphere to be the Shaiha, but because he had been worried about Zephyr\'s condition, he had ignored it.

Now that he was looking at it again, he recalled how it looked very similar to his central core when his Void magic and Draconic magic were trying to occupy it.

The Shaiha\'s multicolor lights were definitely magic energies, and something riled it up.

WEEEEEEENG!

Before Kyran could think of a possible reason why the Shaiha acted up, a beam of multicolored light shoot out from the center and went straight at Kyran.

The turn of events was too sudden that Kyran failed to move in time and avoid it.

No. He did not really fail, but his body felt heavy for some reason.

"Master!" Zephyr exclaimed in surprise. However, just as Kyran failed to avoid it, Zephyr could only look on helplessly as the light went past him.

The ringing sound intensified as the beam of light increased in size before hitting Kyran. It covered him in an instant, then expanded.

"Ergh..!"

Searing hot pain spread Kyran\'s body which started from his left chest. Within seconds, the pain penetrated his insides and soon after, his bones.

"Master—! Ugh!"

A powerful force weighed down on Zephyr from above, forcing him to his knees.

If Kyran had not healed him, the pressure alone would have aggravated his wound and he would have fallen into a coma.

"ARGH!" Kyran fell to his knees and almost keeled over from the pain.

Shockingly, the excruciating pain was far more intense than what he had felt when he took the Elixir. It even exceeded the pain he suffered when his arms melted from the Sovereign of Ruin\'s lightning attack!

"Master!" Zephyr shouted helplessly. He was not sure why the Shaiha had acted up, or why it would attack his master. But most important of all, he was afraid of what might happen if the Shaiha did not stabilize soon.

As the ringing of the Shaiha intensified, so did the light it emitted. Soon the whole room was covered by a blinding multicolored light; completely enveloping Kyran and Zephyr.

Zephyr racked his brain for a possible reason for the Shaiha\'s behavior.

However, his train of thoughts was interrupted when the whole room flickered. And just as how fast the multicolor lights had filled the whole room, it cleared up just as fast. The pressure that weighed on him as well, lifted.

"What...?" Zephyr muttered in confusion as he looked at his surroundings.

He first checked if what happened did anything to the defensive array. When he was sure it was alright, he sighed inwardly.

Then he looked at where Kyran had been and saw him on all fours, white steams were coming out of his body as if he had just gotten out from boiling hot water. Although he was panting heavily, it appeared to be alright.

"Master!"

A blinding light covered Zephyr as he changed into his human form. After that, he was just about to fly toward Kyran when something caught his eye.

Stopping in midair, Zephyr looked up and blinked.

One.

Two.

Three.

He blinked once more. But when the scene before him did not change, his eyes widened and he shouted in utter confusion, "What just happened?"

What Zephyr saw nearly made his blood turn cold.

Because...

The Shaiha disappeared!

Zephyr flew up and hovered at the spot where the Shaiha had been. Due to shock and fear, he had completely forgotten about Kyran on the floor. He turned to his left and then to his right. He also flew to the ceiling and even checked all the walls of the room.

"No! The Shaiha!" He finally shouted after a few seconds.

His mind raced as he recalled every detail that transpired before the Shaiha acted up.

Kyran appeared and healed him. The Shaiha had been stable during that time. After that, they talked about reinforcing the temple\'s defensive array. But since Zephyr hesitated in undoing his reinforcement because of the woman leading the Templar Code outside, Kyran showed him proof of her death.

\'Was it because of the head? No... that should not be the case...\'

As if something clicked in his mind, Zephyr recalled Kyran snapped his fingers to completely destroy the severed head.

And that was when the Shaiha\'s humming erupted.

\'The power of nothingness! It reacted to the power of nothingness!\' Zephyr realized and turned his attention back to Kyran.

"Master! You—!"

WEEEEEEEEENG!

The deafening ringing came again but this time it came from within Kyran!

"This...!"

Before Zephyr could fully react to what he was hearing, Kyran\'s whole body lit up.

Multicolored lights erupted out from Kyran as his breathing finally stabilized.

Zephyr landed a few meters in front of Kyran, and he called out cautiously, "M-Master?"

The ringing sound faded, followed by the lights coming out of Kyran.

Then, a deafening silence ensued between them.

After a long pause, Kyran finally moved. He removed the black panther mask as he slowly stood up.

Looking at Zephyr with a complicated expression, Kyran said, "Err... I think the Shaiha just entered my body."