Legacy of the Dark Sage

Those were probably blueprints of places Dusk had been investigating since he came to this plane.

In any case, Kyran found it strange that Dusk did not use a memory orb to save those blueprints. After all, memory orbs were magic items that could record a lot of things, and only people with magic signatures registered on them could check what was inside to prevent other people from seeing its contents. Then again, memory orbs were not omnipotent because there were ways to bypass its magic signature identification.

"Well, don\'t just stand there. Keep yourself comfortable. Just don\'t expect me to conjure you a seat, \'cause I am not exactly the most thoughtful host."

Kyran attention went back to Dusk. Ignoring the sarcasm in the latter\'s voice, Kyran remained standing and went straight to the point.

"How bad is the situation?" he asked.

When Kyran decided to use his Draconic magic, he knew the situation of the outsiders would take a sudden turn. And he was more or less correct. Proof of that was Dusk\'s remark when they met just now. From the latter\'s words, Kyran guessed the other Sovereign factions were tracking down every representatives that entered Somuli.

Why they would do that, Kyran only had a rough guess. But until he had enough conclusive information, he would withhold any opinion.

"Impatient as ever, I see," Dusk snorted as he waved his hand over the small box. All the parchment disappeared, returning them into his storage space. Then he sat on it and looked up at Kyran and replied with a shrug, "Depends on your description of bad."

Kyran did not respond and simply gave him a hard stare.

"Tsk," Dusk clicked his tongue and leaned back. "One of these days, your indifference would get you in trouble."

"Cut the crap and answer my question."

"It is very bad," Dusk replied monotonously. "Most leaders of the Sovereign Factions are in a state of panic after the appearance of humanoid dragon."

He paused recalling that the silver humanoid dragon appeared during the war between the borders of Armakea and Eidum.

"Were you there? When that silver humanoid dragon appeared? You were, right? Since your destination was to the Eidum\'s border."

"Does it matter?"

"Sure," Dusk responded at once. "None of the representatives who witnessed that being\'s descent stayed long enough to understand why he appeared. So if you were there, I\'d like to know everything."

Kyran looked at Dusk and sensed he genuinely wanted to know. Still, he found it strange that most Sovereign Factions would react the way they did just because a humanoid dragon appeares. As far as Kyran was concerned, it was not that uncommon for a beast with dragon blood to appear as a human. If they lived long enough, they could turn into a human.

This was according to Zephyr. But that did not explain why Zephyr could transform. Because his unicorn blood granted him with transformation abilities.

"Why? Did that silver dragon scare them off?"

Dusk gaped at him in disbelief, "You really don\'t know anything, don\'t you?"

Kyran scowled. He was starting to get annoyed at hearing those words from Dusk.

"At the very least, get your facts together," Dusk added with a scowl of his own. "We are not scared off by that being\'s arrival, believed it or not. Instead, everyone was frantic because of what his arrival signifies—"

Even before Dusk completed what he wanted to say, Kyran already guessed it.

"—the War of the Sovereigns will commence soon."

\'Start of the War of the Sovereigns.\'

Dusk and Kyran said and thought respectively.

Dusk paused to check Kyran\'s reaction. Seeing the latter\'s frown, Dusk mistook it with disbelief and explained, "Yes, yes. We kept saying the war is just around the corner, but this soon is a little different. Though we say it is around the corner, we believed there are still a few years before it officially begins. But that silver humanoid dragon\'s appearance gave everyone the impression that representatives from the Higher Realm are coming. They may have already arrived and are observing us at this very moment. If that is the case, it more or less meant the war is about to start— maybe in a month or even a week\'s time."

Kyran had a poker-face while Dusk was explaining. But inwardly, his mind was reeling especially at the idea of representatives from the Higher Realm coming to the Lower Realm. While staying with Guardians this past year, Kyran learned a lot about the War of the Sovereigns. However, this was his first time hearing about this. It made him wonder what role would these beings have in that war.

They would not come down just to watch it happen, right?

"Which is why most Sovereign factions are frantic," Dusk continued his explanation. "They want to recruit as many Sovereigns as possible on their side. Some are even thinking of combining forces. In any case, because of this it is safe to say that they no longer want to waste time here. But that did not mean they have given up the idea of recruiting the Somuli Sovereign. As a matter of fact, they want to recruit him even more. That is why they will make a big move soon to force him to join a faction."

"Why are they fixated on recruiting the Somuli Sovereign?" Kyran asked in genuine confusion.

He was not interested in learning who the Somuli Sovereign because his only purpose for coming in Somuli was to find the Saint and confirm her identity. Not even after confirming the Saint\'s identity gave Kyran reason to know the man. This was especially true because he was a fake Sovereign.

Dusk gave Kyran an exasperated look, "You know that is the first thing you should know. You should have read the intel we have in this place before you came."

"We\'ve already talked about this."

"Yes, and I will bring it up as many times as I want because your ignorance— no, you\'re indifference to matters in this plane apart from the Saint will be your undoing."

Kyran raised his brows at him, "Wouldn\'t that something you\'d want to see? My undoing."

"No," Dusk replied solemnly. His eyes then flickered with murderous intent as his lips curled into a sinister smile, "I\'d rather be the one causing your fall. So don\'t go around self-destructing."

Kyran responded with a slight smile, "Careful you\'d rouse others with that potent murderous intent. This ancient tree\'s life force might not be enough to mask it."

Dusk chuckled, instantly concealing his murderous intent. As if nothing happened, he asked, "Do you know the title of Somuli\'s Sovereign?"

Kyran raised his brows as if to say, \'Do you even have to ask?\'

"Of course, you don\'t," Dusk answered his own question. "Sovereign of Bulwark. That is his title. I bet you now understand why everyone is fixated on him."

Kyran\'s expression remained calm, but inwardly he was frowning.

Bulwark is a structure of protection. From this, it is easy to guess why the Sovereign factions wants the Somuli Sovereign to join them. Having a powerful structure that focuses on protection will allow offensive maneuvers of a team better leeway in attacking compared to a team without it.

In a large-scale war between Sovereigns, the side with balance might last longer than those with offensive capabilities only. Apart from that, planes could also be protected if that Sovereign summoned a bulwark that could cover a whole plane.

A thought crossed Kyran\'s mind and he was a little confused.

\'The old man\'s Divine Armament is a shield… that can also be considered a bulwark. Does the fake Sovereign possess the same Divine Armament? Or is it different?\'

Kyran shook his head inwardly, rejecting the thought just now. The fake Sovereign was a Noble, and nobles were known for their offensive mages. How did that person ended up receiving a title that focused on defense or protection?

\'This doesn\'t make any sense.\'

"You\'re face says you don\'t believe the Somuli Sovereign\'s can make a difference."

"Have you seen that guy or his Divine Armament?" Kyran asked instead of confirming Dusk\'s remark.

"No. As far as we know, he stop showing his face after becoming a Sovereign. He attends meetings at least, but most of the time he keeps to himself."

"He is a Sovereign, why does he need to attend meetings?"

"I know what you want to say," Dusk shrugged. "But even if a Sovereign can no longer meddle in the affairs of his plane, he can still attend meetings as long as they don\'t do or say something that will affect the plane\'s affairs inadvertently. For short, he can listen but not offer advise or talk."

Kyran shook his head and sighed in exasperation. He was trying to get Dusk to question the validity of the Somuli\'s Sovereign but he kept responding in defense of the latter. It was frustrating.

Kyran wanted to say it outright, but there was no telling if someone was listening in on them. Since he could not use his magic sense, he could only rely on his natural sensing abilities. For all he knew, a Sovereign representative might already be eavesdropping on them. Worse, Dusk might be a double agent and telling him the truth could make things bad for the inhabitants of Somuli.

Because if those Sovereigns knew the Somuli Sovereign was a fake, and he had been playing with them all this time, they might destroy the whole plane in their anger.

"Don\'t you find it odd that someone from the Kingdom of Cretea, who are known for their powerful offensive mages, became a Sovereign that focuses on defense and protection?"

"Not really," Dusk replied with a shrug. "They said the Somuli Sovereign had lived in Eidum at the time he was about to form his Divine Armament. He became fascinated with the prospect of having a Divine Armament that could excel both in defense and offense. According to our intel, he succeeded. But in my opinion, if he possessed a bulwark-type Divine Armament, its offensive move is likely consisted of ramming it on his enemies only."

"Then have you seen the Abbot\'s Divine Armament?"

"What does it matter? The Abbot is a low-ranked mage with powerful healing abilities. Or what? Are you trying to say that we focus on recruiting him instead? We already have Axil. You probably don\'t know but Axil is a very powerful Support mage—."

"The Abbot is a powerful healer, yes. But he is also a Sage, and yes, knowing what his Divine Armament is matters a lot, because…" Kyran\'s voice trailed off. He was still reluctant to tell Dusk the truth. Or to be precise, he was afraid to openly speak about the truth.

In the end, he said, "I need to speak to Axil."

Dusk frowned, "Just tell me what it is and I\'d tell her. Or, what? You don\'t trust me?"

"Do you even have to ask?"

Dusk snorted, "Fine. But I talked to her just yesterday. For now, I have some important task to do. I\'ll find you after I\'m done, since I\'ll be reporting to her again—."

"I need to speak to her now."

"You think its easy to establish a connection outside? This plane has a Sovereign, you know. A small fluctuation of magic to establish a connection outside will alert him and—."

"Tell me her location and code. I\'ll contact her myself."

Dusk scowled, "Those are classified."

Before Kyran could insist, he sensed movements outside. Since he was using his natural sensing ability, his maximum range was thirty meter radius only. This meant, whoever or whatever made those movements were pretty close.

Frighteningly so.