Legacy of the Dark Sage

Deception looked at the night sky, and an alluring smile appeared on her delicate face.

Unlike Savagery and Ruin, she did not come to the Human plane in her real form. She only came with her essence. That was why she was not affected by the Sovereign Cradle. The downside, her mage level was only at Exalted. Normally, it would not affect the use of illusions. But she miscalculated her prey's ability. She thought it would be easy to get her things back as long as she pried into his memories. Alas, her prey had not only a monstrous physical ability but also possessed beast-like reflexes while unconscious.

In any case, Deception did plan on coming down to the Human plane in her real form. But she was waiting for Ruin to make a move first. She was not invested in that little girl's game, after all.

However, now that she was interested in Kyran, the only way for her to take him was to come down herself. Normally, it would be hard for her original self to find the Human plane, but using her essence as the end point, she could easily locate its coordinate.

The only annoying part would be creating a distortion so she could slip inside.

Cracks appeared in the night sky as several golden lightning struck, their angry roar sending chills down the spines of all the remaining people in Noser.

RAWRGH!

HISS!

Manti and Bas roared and hissed at the skies. Even Mera and Iss paced back and forth inside the rift while looking at the sky. Their beast senses told them that a threat to their master was fast approaching.

No.

It was already here!

CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!

All the cracks in the sky connected, forming a huge one. The Sovereign's Cradle shook violently. Bits and pieces that made up the golden net fell from the sky but quickly dissipated in the air, filling the sky with what looked like golden stardust.

It was quite a spectacle.

Alas, the people watching the sky failed to see it. Only those who knew the existence of other planes could actually see the Sovereign's Cradle.

"W-What is that?"

Someone exclaimed among the remaining people in Noser while pointing at something from beyond the crack. Gasps of fright soon followed as they realized what it was.

A huge but delicate finger was pressing down on the crack, trying to pry it open!

WHOOOSH! BOOM!

A black figure flew into the crack and launched a powerful punch, sending an almost visible shockwave that pushed the 'finger' back.

The crowd from the ground was flabbergasted by what they had seen. What, or who was that black figure?

Deception's eyes narrowed at once after looking at the figure. Judging from its stature, it was a man. A young man. And for some reason, it was very familiar!

Deception looked back at Kyran at once.

However, Kyran was still standing in the same spot. Not moving an inch.

'Then who...?'

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The black figure continued his assault on the crack. Sending ripples of concentrated magic to push the 'finger' further.

"AAAAHHHH!"

An ear-piercing scream sounded from the crack, and a force akin to a powerful gust of wind burst out, sending all the people below to fall to their knees while clutching their heads. It felt as if their brains would explode just by the intensity of the scream!

A dark reddish barrier formed around the black figure, defending himself from the surge of pure magic energy from the crack.

Deception looked back at the black figure in the sky. She did not have time to recall where she had seen that figure. While he appeared to be similar to Kyran, she could be mistaken. After all, the former was up in the sky. Putting her doubts aside, she immediately flew up to intercept the black figure. She could not let him hinder her original self's descent!

But.

BAM!

"UGH!"

A sudden sneak attack came from her left side, and she was sent flying to the side, hitting several buildings in the process.

RAWRGH!

The sneak attack came from the Manti, who had been 'asked' to keep an eye on Deception!

On the other hand, Bas slithered his way to the remaining army officers and took advantage of their muffled state to launch an attack.

HISS!

He opened his mouth and released a powerful shockwave, reducing all of the officers within his range into pieces.

Screams of agony filled the air.

As for the black figure in the sky, he glanced at the two beasts gratefully. Surprisingly, the black figure was wearing a black panther mask! Except, the color of the mask was slightly off. It was not pure black but dark blue and purple, and upon closer inspection, hexagonal lines could be seen on the mask's surface.

"No time to waste! Let's close the crack as soon as possible!"

"Humph! I only listen to my master!"

"If you don't listen to me, then you will not have a master to listen to!"

If Kyran were conscious, he would have recognized the voices of the two.

They were none other than True Void and Zephyr!

"Tsk," Zephyr clicked his tongue but did not argue. True Void was right. Zephyr knew that the woman, or at least the owner of that huge finger in the sky, was a Sovereign. Such a powerful existence was definitely not something they could deal with. If Kyran were conscious, then that would be a different story.

Anyway, if that woman entered the Human plane, even if the Sovereign's Cradle managed to suppress her mage level, she would still be too powerful for them to handle. Tritus, Kyran's Sigil with the highest mage level, would not be able to hold a candle against her if he was here.

"I'll absorb any attack she launches. Just focus on releasing your punches to that crack," True Void instructed Zephyr.

"Wouldn't the crack widen from my punches?"

"Don't kid yourself. Your not really Void Halfling. With such half ass punches, all it could do is tickle that woman!"

Zephyr felt some veins on his forehead pop in annoyance. So, his punches were not as powerful as his master's. But it was not half-assed, alright? Did he piss that woman off just now?

"Anyway, can you talk to Void Halfling?"

"The connection is there."

"Good, good. Go and wake him. My goodness, and I mean my goodness. He is such a handful at times!"

Zephyr decided to ignore True Void's ranting. Frankly, his patience was growing thin by this guy's pompous attitude. From his arrival in the cottage, he had tested Zephyr's patience.

Nevertheless, Zephyr was really grateful for True Void's timely arrival.

When they were having dinner earlier, Cyneah suddenly froze before falling into a trance, saying 'Nar' was in danger; Zephyr also had a bad promotion. Good thing, before Anette could leave to find Kyran, True Void arrived.

Since True Void could enter the cottage, Zephyr and Anette knew he was not an enemy. Besides, Zephyr felt Kyran's 'branding' on him, so they decided to listen. Thus, after learning what happened, the two of them left to find Kyran.

Zephyr did not expect that his master had actually fallen into an illusion!

No matter. Since his master needed his help, then Zephyr would do his best!

With clenched fists, Zephyr gathered his magic energy and sent out another punch into the crack.

*

"Ky....n."

Distant voice.

"Hey! Kyr..n!"

Seemingly unfamiliar yet cordial.

"Wake up, Kyran! It's already time for breakfast!"

Kyran snapped his eyes open. What greeted him were two round silver-gray eyes that belonged to a chubby little elf girl. She was about nine or ten years old with long wavy silvery hair tied in cute pigtails. On her cute face was a similarly cute pout, a clear sign of her displeasure.

"Are you planning to ditch training again?"

"Ellys..."

Kyran heard himself say. The name sounded foreign to his lips, not because it was his first time saying it but because it had been some time.

Some time...? Why?

He felt his heart tighten but had no idea why.

Ellys, the little elf girl's pout, instantly turned into a bright smile, and she said in a sing-song voice, "Good morning, sleepyhead~."

Kyran sat up, and his head was immediately assaulted by excruciating pain.

"Ugh..." He clasped his head with his left and keeled over from the pain.

"Kyran!" Ellys exclaimed in concern. She touched his head at once and closed her eyes. A soft golden light formed in her little cubby hand. Upon closer inspection, small gold runes were dancing within the light.

Slowly, the pain Kyran felt eased, and he looked at Ellys with a slight smile, "Thanks."

Ellys opened her eyes and looked at Kyran in concern, "Are you still not used to our plane?"

Upon the mention of the plane, memories flooded Kyran's head, and his eyes widened.

That was right. Three days ago, he was transported to this plane for training. His training objective was to learn the use of Light and Dark Arts and understand their balancing effect. Of course, the tower did not tell him this. Kyran came up with it after staying on this plane for a few days.

Came up with it? Was it he who came up with that objective?

Somehow Kyran felt he was missing something.

Kyran shook his head and decided to push the thought to the back of his head. There was no point in understanding it now and worrying Ellys further.

"No. I just feel like I had a very long dream," Kyran answered Ellys with a smile.

It was not a lie. He did feel as if he was dreaming before she woke him up. But he could not remember what dream it was. In any case, it was not really important. He had to master the use of Light and Dark Arts as soon as possible because he had to...

He had to... What? What exactly is it that he had to do?

'Master!'

"Ugh..!" Kyran grabbed his head with both hands as another splitting headache assaulted his senses.

"Kyran!"

'It's not real! Please, wake up!'

Snap!