Legacy of the Dark Sage

"And what is the difference? They may look like humans but there is a difference, right?"

"Yes," Wing nodded. "They considered themselves \'complete beings.\' Physically, they do not have any flaws, which is why they considered incomplete beings as someone suffering from an Anathema."

Kyran noticed how Wing emphasized the physical aspect of those people being complete rather than as a whole. It was reasonable too, if not, they would have considered the now-Sovereign as someone suffering from Anathema when he fell ill.

Guessing what Kyran was thinking, Wing nodded and supplied, "That\'s right. They do not consider a person who fell ill as suffering from an Anathema. Still, to ensure an illness would not threaten their \'complete\' state, they normally purge that person.

"That\'s right," Wing sighed, seeing Kyran frown at what she said. "It is quite inhumane. But that logic is accepted in that plane and no one seemed opposed to it. At least, that is how my subject has noticed.

"Anyhow, there are other locals there that do not have human features but are beast-like. However, they stood on their hind legs, which make them pretty much \'human-like."

"And they coexisted freely?"

It was not the first time Kyran had seen such a scene. Some of the planes he went to had inhabitants coexisting like this. The only difference was there were no \'humans.\' Instead, there were beastmen or demons.

"Not entirely," Wing shook her head. "According to my subject, there is only one place in that plane where they freely coexist. But there is a law in place that prohibits \'humans\' from mistreating beast-like inhabitants. If anyone is caught doing such a thing, they are killed on the spot— without any trials."

"Then that means the beast community has better control over the plane."

Wing smiled knowingly, "You are quite perspective. That\'s right. So far, we only know that the Sovereign\'s homeland is in the Kingdom of Cretea where humans live. He also came from a very distinguished family. However, we do not know what he looks like, or if he possessed any beast bloodline."

"So among the \'humans,\' there are also beasts, figuratively speaking."

Wing nodded, "Yes. There is an old lore that says that the plane was first inhabited by beast-like men. So they are considered the true inhabitants. How the \'humans\' came to be... well, we have not investigated that plane\'s history to that degree yet."

"That is fine. What is the plane called?"

"Ah, right. I should have said that first, Somuli plane."

"How far is it from here?"

"About a month\'s travel— in human time."

Kyran frowned. He did not expect the plane to be that far. Then again, if it had been close, he would have already heard about it.

"If you plan on going, it\'s best to go now. We confirmed Flos\'s side is also investigating that plane\'s Sovereign. It is understandable, given how both our side is trying to recruit as many Sovereigns as possible before the war started."

Kyran sighed inwardly. He was lucky not to encounter Flos or Ruin in the past year he was out. But now that he finally had a more reliable clue about Cyneah\'s whereabouts, having one of them— or at least one of their people— in the same plane as he would be too risky.

Nevertheless, he was not going to back down. He would not have ventured out of the Human plane if he were truly afraid of them. Besides, if Flos got wind of the news about Somuli\'s Sovereign\'s healer, he would also be interested in her. Besides that, Ruin might have also heard of the news and would be interested in going there.

Of course, Flos and Ruin would not be stupid to enter the plane themselves. At most, they could only send their people\'s essences inside— in Ruin\'s case, his essence— while negotiating with the plane\'s Sovereign.

But if one of them succeeded in receiving the Sovereign\'s favor, it would only be a matter of time before they could do anything they pleased in that plane. That means getting to Cyneah if she is there.

Kyran had to work fast and confirm if that healer was truly Cyneah. He had to take her back as soon as possible if she was.

"What is the closest plane to Somuli?"

Wing let out a wry laugh, "So you truly have tried warping to other planes before."

Kyran only responded with raised brows.

"Fine," she sighed in resignation. "Tell me the planes you\'ve been to lately."

Kyran told her all the planes he had searched, and she gaped at him in disbelief.

"You\'ve been busy."

"It\'s already been a year, if I can\'t do this much that means I\'ve slacked off."

"I suppose... alright. I\'ll check the map and let you know."

"Give me the map, I\'ll do it myself."

Kyran knew the Guardians had a map of the Lower Realm. But such a thing was a treasure because nobody could map the whole realm. Because of this, they had not shared it with him. He did not want to ask for it either because that meant he had to give something in return.

"You know the map is not something we can share with outsiders."

"I\'m willing to work as a consultant to the Guardians. Sharing a map to your faction\'s consultant is fine, right?"

"What in the realm are you even talking about?"

"Give it to him."

A voice suddenly spoke from behind.

"You took your time," Kyran replied as he looked at Axil.

Axil chuckled, "Would you believe it if I said I\'ve only arrived?"

"Are you looking down on me?"

Axil let out a laugh, "Alright, alright. You win. Seeing you two discuss about your situation, I did not want to intrude."

"We are talking about a plane that you guys had set your eyes on."

"The Sovereign of that plane," Axil corrected him.

Kyran shrugged, "Plane or Sovereign, what does it matter? If you poach that plane\'s Sovereign, then you\'ll have the plane as well. Besides, you would not put in the effort in investigating a new Sovereign if you are not interested in what that plane has to offer."

"Truly insightful," Axil commented with a nod of appreciation. "If you work as our consultant, we will definitely gain a lot. Thus, sharing the map is not a problem."

She looked at Wing and nodded, "Share it with him."

"As you wish, Axil," Wing replied begrudgingly. Nonetheless, she waved her hand, and a translucent orb appeared before Kyran.

"Don\'t share it with anyone."

"Who would I even share it with," Kyran replied, taking the orb and putting it in his storage pouch.

"I can list a few, do you want me to say them?"

"I won\'t share it," Kyran replied with a frown. Although sharing such a map with Nolan and his father crossed his mind, there was no point in doing so. They were not planning to expand the Human plane\'s influence anyway.

He still believed that as long as the Human plane stayed clear of anything pertaining to the War, they would remain safe from getting destroyed.

Worst-case scenario, where they could not avoid the war, Kyran would use all his hidden cards to protect the Human plane. He did not mind summoning the Dragon King using the Heaven\'s Conch, either.

Of course, if that happened, he would first face the wrath of the Venerate Dragons, but he was not as afraid of facing them now as he had been.

In the past year, he had amassed resources and puppets.

Loar kept telling Kyran his puppets were no longer considered mere puppets but Automatons, but Kyran did not think so.

After learning a lot from Loar and adding it up to everything he learned in the Tower of Tribulations, Kyran knew an Automaton was not as simple as being able to function without any need for its maker\'s interference, much like how Neo and the rest of Kyran\'s puppets had once been.

To put it simply, Automatons are new existences. A good example would be Neo, after forming his own sentient.

This was why Kyran was more confident than he was in the past if the Venerate Dragons appeared.

"It doesn\'t matter," Axil assured Wing. "Besides, if he shared it with Nolan, then we can take it as him accepting our invitation."

Kyran sighed at Axil\'s persistence. After a year of staying with them, she still had not given up on poaching him. In the first place, he was not a Sovereign, so what was the use of poaching him? Working for them as a consultant was enough. At least, the Human plane would not be involved in the war.

"The map shows all hostile planes, so you may want to avoid warping to a plane close to them," Axil reminded Kryan.

"Thanks," Kyran responded and was about to warp when Wing said, "Going to Somuli will take a lot of your time, it is best you let your family know."

"You don\'t have to worry about that," Kyran assured her. He was not about to leave without leaving countermeasures for the Human plane and his family. Especially when the war they had been expecting to happen after what in Ylfaen Empire was about to break out in the Human plane.

Without waiting for any of them to say more and prevent him from leaving, Kyran warped to his room.