Legacy of the Dark Sage

Kyran never dreamed that the first human he proactively absorbed would be Gael. To be honest, he could not remember all the things he absorbed before. He did not even know what would happen when he absorbed things, especially living things— at least, not after he discovered Bas's and Iss's presence inside the fissure.

From there Kyran surmised that all living things he absorbed would likely end up becoming his loyal subjects. He would then gain affinity to their innate magic.

Gaining affinity to other magic did not require for him to absorb a living thing. He could also absorb concentrated magic energies of particular magic to gain such affinity. These explains why back in the Tower of Tribulations, when he was presented magic paths, there were several magic types he was unaware of.

Kyran already guessed that the Tower of Tribulation sensed all of those magic inside one of his magic core— the magic core he presumed where all the things he absorbed ended up going.

Anyhow, Kyran had yet to understand how the Void's absorption nature works because there were still some things that he did not understand.

One good example was how Nolan's innate magic, Elements, appeared in the paths presented by the Tower of Tribulations.

As far as Kyran was concerned, the only way for him to possess the Elements magic energy was if he absorbed Nolan's magic before.

Kyran took a deep breath and put all the matter about the Void's absorption nature aside, once Gael had been fully entered the fissure.

As soon as the fissure closed, Kyran felt a new magic energy start to circulate in one of his magic core.

However, before the new magic energy could complete a circulation cycle, he sensed another magic energy stir in the same magic core, which instantly made him feel hot all over.

"Ngh…!" Kyran groaned as a sudden onslaught of pain shook his body.

These days, it was rare for Kyran to feel real pain. It was all thanks to his improvement in using Draconic magic as well as the enhancement he received from the Elixir. Thus, if he felt real pain, there were three possible reasons: one, it was caused by a very powerful attack that even with an enhanced body could not withstand; two, an emotional blow; and lastly, an incident which was similar to when his Draconic magic went haywire and his Void magic tried to calm it down in his central core.

At the moment, Kyran's pain was caused by the last one, but it was not happening in his central core but in one of his magic cores. To be accurate, it was the magic core that had several misty colors swirling inside. It was also the magic core at which he guessed all the things he absorbed went to.

Kyran felt his magic core and sensed two different types of magic energy at odds with each other. It did not take long for him to recognize which type they were.

Light and Shadow.

'Seriously?' Kyran cursed.

Shadow could be considered under Darkness magic, thus, it was not a surprise if Light reacted badly around it. But both of them were already inside Kyran's magic core. His Void energy should have neutralized any 'differences' the two types of magic had.

Why were they reacting like this? It even looked as if the two had a mind of their own.

'No,' Kyran paused as he remembered what happened to Zephyr after being 'infected' by Gael's Shadow magic. He had felt something was off with the latter's magic because of its ability to infect others.

It was also because of this ability that Kyran developed an interest in Gael's magic.

Kyran endured the pain and immediately checked the two clashing magic energy in his magic core. He soon noticed that the Shadow magic's energy was trying to 'infect' the other magic energies and the Light magic's energy was trying to stop it.

They really did appear to have a mind of their own.

Frankly, Kyran suspected that Gael succeeded in integrating his own consciousness in his magic. The reason he thought this was simple, Gael loved power and dominance. Thus, it was not surprising if he wanted full control over his magic and everything it touches.

Kyran mobilized his Void magic energy at once and let it circulate in his magic cores, except for the Draconic core.

Soon, whatever it was that made the Shadow magic's energy infect the other magic energies disintegrated under the Void magic's influence. After that, the Shadow magic's energy  stopped its activity and the Light magic's energy also calmed down.

The whole incident happened in less than five minutes. However, the toll on Kyran's body was too heavy it felt like he had suffered for days.

As soon as Kyran stopped circulating his Void magic energy, he felt lightheaded and almost keeled over.

"Careful, master."

Neo instantly appeared beside Kyran and grabbed his arm before he fell to his knees.

"You can't let others see you in a weakened state. That scary ancient uncle is still watching."

The scary ancient uncle Neo mentioned was Osric, and what he said was also true.

Kyran might have succeeded in containing Osric in his water form underground, but that did not stop him from observing the surroundings.

Kyran glanced at Neo sideways and muttered a low, "Thanks," before trying to stand on his own.

However, before Kyran could even straighten his body, his vision dimmed. Neo's eyes turned reddish-purple as he activated the Void magic energy in his sytem. He then warped, taking Kyran along, back to the Tower of Conclave.

If not for Neo's quick thinking, others observing the situation from afar would have discovered Kyran's condition. The former, birthing a sentient, was indeed timely and a good fortune.

Neo and Kyran appeared right where Aki and Len, with Hugh and Vaness were.

Hugh and Vaness were surprised when they saw Kyran looking pale and weak.

Before they could take him to Malia, a teleportation array appeared above them and Stella descended, with Cyneah in hand.

Hugh and Vaness started to lower their head at Stella in respect, but the latter raised her hand and stopped them.

On the other hand, Kyran felt somewhat indignant at their not-so-welcomed sudden appearance. Nevertheless, he did his best to appear normal so as not to worry them.

Seemingly sensing something did not seem right, Neo retreated and also gestured at Aki and Len to move back.

Kyran opened his mouth, wanting to say something. But he closed them again after realizing he had nothing to say. He was not in the position to scold them when he was the one who did not keep his promose. He could not even scold them for teleporting so close to the entrance because the Tower of Conclave's defensive array was already fixed, so no one could see what was happening inside. It was one of the formulas Kyran included: anti-spy formula.

Cyneah looked toward Kyran in silence. Her line of sight was normally a little off, but this time, it did seem as if she was looking straight at him.

Kyran knew at once that the reason this was the case was obviously his waning magic's influence. He possessed the Shaiha that conceals his magic aura. But Cyneah was using her magic sense to see. And while she still could not completely see Kyran's silhouette, she could roughly estimate it.

It was Kyran's first time seeing Cyneah with an unreadable expression. From this, he knew she was really angry at him for not keeping his promise.

While it was true that her demand earlier was unreasonable, he planned to keep it. Unfortunately, one thing led to another and he failed to return.

Hugh and Vaness initially wanted to say something. However, seeing the sudden tension between the two made them swallow whatever it was they wanted to say.

Finally, after almost a minute of awkward silence, Cyneah took a step toward Kyran.

Kyran only watched as she approached. He already accepted his fate and braced for her scolding.

Cyneah stopped in front of Kyran and raised her hand.

Just when they thought she would get 'physical,' she placed her hand on Kyran's chest and said, "You've pushed yourself too far again."

After that, she used her magic to heal him internally.

Kyran could not help but gape at her. Her words, and action reminded him of his mother, and to be honest, such action was a far greater blow to him than words.

It was not just him.

All of them were looking at the two in silence.

Stella in particular let out a wry smile and shook her head. She thought, 'What happened to scolding him when he returns? Alas, humans can really be weak in front of their loved ones.'

"I'm sorry," Kyran said in a low voice, looking at Cyneah with a rare gentle gaze.

Cyneah did not respond and only healed him in silence.