Legacy of the Dark Sage

"Go join them. And refrain from calling me master in front of them."

"Yes, mas— I understand," Aki replied before joining Ladon and Thorn.

Thorn had already arrived beside Cyneah and was asking if she was hurt anywhere.

"Thank you, Thorn. I am fine," she assured him with a slight smile. Now that she knew Kyran was there, she suddenly felt overly conscious while being surrounded by the opposite sex.

"It\'s my fault," Thorn apologized remorsefully as he lowered his head toward her. "I failed to see through her real intentions and allow myself to be caught up in her schemes."

"I-It\'s really fine. I did not get hurt," Cyneah assured him once more. "If anything, she mostly attacked you and Ladon..."

"You\'ve healed us," Ladon chimed as he joined them. He smiled bitterly and added, "I\'m sure you intended to keep your magic a secret, but because of our incompetence, you were forced to reveal it."

"No, I..."

To be honest, Cyneah did not mean to hide her healing abilities. Ames was the only one who told her not to say them openly.

"Since the young mistress says it is fine, you both should move on. We still have to deal with the woman," Aki interrupted with a deadpan expression.

Cyneah felt grateful for Aki\'s timely intrusion. She truly did not blame Ladon and Thorn for what happened earlier, and their blaming themselves was not really doing them any good.

"True," Ladon agreed as he turned his attention back to the woman.

The woman had mostly recovered and sat on the floor in silence. Behind her stood Kyran, who Ladon realized had been watching them with a blank expression.

Although Kyran did not seem to be showing any emotion, for some reason, Ladon felt a chill run up his spine after seeing him.

"..."

Thorn also looked at the woman. Unlike Ladon, he ignored Kyran and said, "She may act docile right now. But she may be plotting something."

His eyes narrowed as he finally looked at Kyran, "She might even be in cahoots with that arrogant nobody."

Cyneah raised her brows in surprise. She knew who Thorn referred to when speaking of the \'arrogant nobody\' and was surprised to know that he had been Kyran all along.

"That arrogant nobody saved your asses," Aki could not help but refute Thorn with a slight frown.

"Huh?" Thorn growled as he looked at Aki. "What\'s gotten into you? You\'ve suddenly gotten talkative. Did you fall for that guy or something?"

"What Ias said is true," Ladon reminded Thorn before Aki or Cyneah could respond.

"Tsk," Thorn clicked his tongue and glared at Ladon. "Saying that is like admitting that we are weaker than that nobody."

"That is not true," Ladon replied, shaking his head. "While he did manage to subdue the woman, that is only because the nature of his innate magic is a good counter against her. I\'m not saying that our magic could not match up with the woman. But because of her identity and higher mage level, it is obvious that we can\'t overwhelm her."

Thorn scowled but did not argue with Ladon\'s explanation. As much as he hated it, Kyran\'s Lightning magic did do wonders against the woman\'s special constitution.

"I still find it strange that the arrogant nobody\'s magic just happens to be that woman\'s weakness," he still insisted.

"They are not in cahoots," Aki told them. "If not for me insisting to check what the aftershock we sensed earlier, we wouldn\'t even come here."

"It\'s you, then," Thorn growled. But then stopped, recalling that the latter was one of Cyneah\'s people. He looked toward her and said apologetically, "Sorry."

Cyneah only shook her head. She also turned her attention to the woman and found her still focusing on her. It made her wonder if the latter was still thinking of \'learning\' her secrets.

But then, Cyneah sensed another pair of eyes on her and flushed at the intensity she sensed from them. She cleared her throat to hide her embarrassment and said, "The only one who can deal with her is our friend from the other group. I suggest we discuss how we proceed from here with them."

"Yes," Ladon agreed. Thorn\'s expression distorted at the idea of working together with Kyran but did not say anything.

"...with them..." Ladon frowned slightly as he remembered Leif was not with them. He looked at Aki and asked, "I don\'t see Lady Anahia. Instead..." He looked toward Kyran\'s side again. To be precise, he looked at the automaton standing behind the latter. "Why is there an automaton with you?"

"N-Null succeeded in reprogramming him," Aki answered. He did not mean to falter when he called his master using his pseudo name and hoped Ladon and Thorn did not notice it.

Thankfully, the only one who noticed it and felt amused by it was Cyneah.

"As for Lady Anahia, we left her in the enlightenment chamber after she received inspiration from the previous room we went to," he added, skillfully concocting a white lie.

"Why don\'t you guys just talk over here?" Kyran suddenly grumbled. "We don\'t want to eavesdrop, but seriously, you\'re talking too loud; it\'s hard not to. Besides," he tilted his head and raised his brows, "You can\'t write off the fact that I just saved your asses by ignoring me."

Veins snapped on Ladon and Thorn\'s foreheads, but they did not retort this time. Frankly, Kyran had a point, and if they continued to ignore him just because they did not like the fact that he saved them would make them look childish.

The four joined Kyran, Auto-one, and the woman before resuming their discussion.

Surprisingly, Ladon and Thorn were not surprised that the woman was a remnant of the Ancients. Apparently, the Dragon Emperor had already speculated that there were survivors among the Ancients inside the tower. The only reason they failed to encounter them was that they were hidden in the upper levels.

For the record, the highest level any of the clans reached by the end of the tower\'s accessibility was the tenth level. Apart from that, the other clans did not really share with the rest what happened to them inside. For all they knew, some of the clans had already met a survivor of the Ancients but chose not to share the news with the others.

Moreover, there were several cases where representatives died in the tower. There was a possibility that they were killed by the survivors themselves and not because they failed at the tower\'s challenge.

Ladon also hinted that the Dragon Emperor believed the tower\'s real purpose was for the survivors to destroy the rising talents of the other clans. The tower could be considered their way of enacting revenge on the clans that banded together to destroy them.

When Ladon hinted at this thought, the woman only snorted derisively at him.

Her reaction somehow convinced Kyran that his theory of the tower\'s new purpose was more probable. He was even more assured after learning that the woman wanted Cyneah\'s group to remove the mirrors that imprisoned her.

Kyran\'s theory was that there were several other Ancients in the same situation as the woman. And those who were free, changed the tower\'s setting to allow others to enter it and help them in searching for all those imprisoned Ancients and free them.

As to why those free Ancients could not help their own people, Kyran did not know. Which was why he still felt conflicted about this theory. In any case, he might be on to something.

The woman called herself Diara. When asked if the remnant of the Ancients inside the tower were plotting anything, she feigned ignorance.

Thorn was initially enraged at Diara\'s attitude and wanted to teach her a lesson. With Kyran inflicting her with emotional scars, Thorn reckoned dealing with her would be easier.

Ladon stopped him, though, and explained that they would need Diara to lead them around the tower and that they might even need her help in searching for that someone with the powerful presence inside.

Diara gaped at them incredulously after Ladon confirmed why they were in the tower. After a short pause, she burst into laughter and said, "You want to search for that? I wish you luck then."

They looked at her with slightly narrowed eyes. She ignored them, but when she saw Kyran giving her a blank look, she felt her insides churn and was reminded of his ruthless strikes.

Diara snorted but then asked, "Have you ever wondered why that powerful presence seems to be present everywhere?"

"We have," Thorn snarled in reply. "Which is why we want to look for it and confirm it."

"That\'s why you lost to me. Your brain is empty."

"What was that—?"

"It is impossible for you to find it," Diara ignored Thorn\'s outburst and continued. "To be more accurate, there is never a need to look for it."