Legacy of the Dark Sage

What Kyran thought after the second spar match ended had been accurate. All tribes that sent spar requests before the spar match started until that day sent a withdrawal request. The decision to withdraw came not from the talent nor their patriarchs but from their tribe elders.

Their reasons were the same. They recognized the magic Kyran used during the free-for-all and did not want their tribe's young talents to be exposed to it.

Kyran's Chaos magic might not be as powerful as Coelus's, but the trauma the elders endured because of it was so deeply ingrained in their memories, and they could not stand the thought of their young talents experiencing it.

In addition to the withdrawal requests, Aillos received letters demanding an explanation of why he allowed someone who had the potential to awaken Coelus's corpse in the Dragon plane. These letters also came from the tribe elders who knew about Coelus's corpse sealed underground.

"..."

Aillos stared at the pile of rolled parchments that had the same content: reprimanding him about the threat Kyran posed.

It was already late afternoon, and he was again inside his study with Ducal and Kyran, sorting out all the letters and requests they received.

"...I could almost imagine the elders going ballistic once they learned that the seal on Coelus's corpse had been destroyed more than a month now," Ducal said while putting down another roll of parchment on the table.

Continue your adventure with empire

Like most of the letters they had read thus far, the content of the parchment he had just put down expressed an elder's disappointment at Aillos's decision to accept a walking time bomb into the clan.

Kyran looked up from his seat and said, "Are there no elder dragons that attended the Grand Gathering?"

Ducal, seated on a single chair in front of Aillos's study table while sorting parchments, replied without looking at him, "There are. However, they did not come to the dome in person and chose to watch the match from their temporary residence in the palace."

Aillos furtively glanced at the two while checking the parchments. He could still remember how Ducal was so against Kyran and his family during their first few weeks. But he seemed to have eased up a little after the latter left the plane and allowed Ducal and the others to work on the new array formation under Rae's watch.

Ducal's attitude toward Kyran improved even more, although the former would rather die than admit it these past days.

Kyran returned to reading the parchments on the low table between the long coaches in Aillos's study.

"Can you tell me which tribes they are from?"

"Why?" Ducal finally looked at him with a slight frown.

Aillos also stopped pretending not to look at them and turned his attention to Kyran. He asked, "Are you wondering why none of them noticed that Coelus's seal has already been broken?"

Kyran looked at him dryly and said, "You're no fun to talk to, Lord Aillos. You keep moving the conversation two or three steps ahead."

Aillos chuckled, "Is it not that your generation prefers fast-paced settings?"

"...Where did you even get that from? Though I don't deny that getting things done fast rather than later is better."

"..."

Ducal looked at them blankly. The first time he heard these two talk, he had wanted to strangle Kyran for his impertinence. However, he was already used to it by now. Getting worked up because Kyran talked to their Lord as if they were equals would only make him look like a fool.

"Hm... but you seemed to move rather cautiously recently," Aillos pointed at Kyran as he returned to reading the open parchment on his table.

"It's because I have little information," Kyran replied with a shrug. Just as he said this, he recalled what happened in his last venture and frowned at the bitter aftertaste it left. He took his time, prepared, and even made improvisations along the way, but ultimately, everything he did was wasted because of the Fates' intervention. "That won't happen again."

He paused and scowled before saying, "Don't change the subject."

Aillos only chuckled in response.

"Since you already know what's bothering me, why don't you tell me the answer?" Kyran asked why none of the elder dragons noticed the seal on Coelus's corpse was destroyed.

"A dragon's trust can be a double-edged sword."

"..."

Aillos was telling Kyran that the elder dragons trusted him completely. Thus, the thought of him messing up with guarding or ensuring Coelus's seal was intact never crossed their mind. However, it was precisely that trust that would have caused their deaths if Aillos had other designs in using Coelus's corpse.

Kyran understood this. However, for some reason, he vaguely heard a hint of ridicule from Aillos's words. To him, the Dragon Emperor's words seemed to jab at a particular experience with a human he trusted, yet in the end, betrayed him.

Maybe betrayal was too strong a word to describe what Zane did to Aillos. However, the fact that even after Aillos warned Zane against forcefully siring a descendant with two Ancient Magic cores, yet did it nonetheless could truly be considered an act of betrayal.

In any case, that was already in the past, and Aillos seemed to have already come to terms with Kyran's existence.

"Well... after today, I'm sure they wanted to check the seal's status," Aillos said after a short pause.

"Do they know where Coelus's corpse is sealed? I mean, the exact location underground?" Kyran asked.

Aillos shook his head. "No. They entrusted everything to me and the Ancients. Their reason was that they were afraid that if they knew where his corpse was, they might be tempted to find it and then be influenced by his magic energy."

"Was Coelus really that evil?"

Aillos paused and lowered the parchment he was reading before looking at Kyran.

Ducal's countenance also seemed to have become solemn at Kyran's question.

"It depends on how you perceive evil."

Kyran was surprised at Aillos's answer. From what he heard about Coelus's exploits and what Aillos and the older generation of dragons endured during his reign, he expected him to say that he was pure evil. However, Aillos might have had a different opinion of Coelus's actions back then.

With a wry smile, Aillos shared a little of his thoughts, "If Coelus had not done what he did, we would not be here. Yes, his reason for creating dragons, just so he could spread chaos, was unreasonable. However, I have always wondered if that was the only reason he created us."

"Are you trying to find a justification for his actions back then?" Kyran asked.

"No," Aillos replied. "However, would someone act that way without a reason? Others might answer, yes, there are. And I do admit that it does appear that way."

"'Apprear,'" Kyran repeated while looking at Aillos skeptically.

Aillos nodded, "Yes. Appear. Because if you try to look deeper... or understand that person, you will be surprised to find that underneath what seemed to be an act of unreasonable evil might be reasonable to that person."

Kyran fell silent. In the end, Aillos was trying to tell him that one's definition of evil depended on a person's perspective and understanding of the evil person in question.

"Then..." he started after a short pause, "What do you think of Coelus's action?"

"...I, for one, think he was a very sad dragon."

"..."

Aillos smiled faintly before adding, "Imagine being the only creature of your race in The Realm for a long time. With complete confidence, can you say that you can remain sane, being the only one of your kind?"

Kyran was silent. In a sense, he resonated with that question. After all, he could be considered a one-of-a-kind, possessing two types of Ancient Magic.

Aillos looked at Kyran meaningfully and said, "Right now, I get that you may feel the same. However, if you change your perspective, you'll see that what you feel is not true."

Like a flash of light, Kyran was struck with a sudden realization as he looked at Aillos with wide eyes. "Is this... the real reason you agreed to let me participate in all those spar matches?"

Aillos chuckled, "You overestimate me."

"..."

On the other hand, Ducal looked at Aillos and sighed inwardly. He knew that Aillos arranged the spar matches to give the others a better understanding of Kyran. This way, they would not jump to the conclusion that he would become a threat like Coelus once the truth of him using the complete form of Draconic mage— Chaos magic— came to light.

Moreover, by letting them see his innate abilities, like how he could comprehend concepts easily and apply them in actual combat and how he could quickly adapt to sudden changes in his situation, rather than only seeing him as an irregular existence of also possessing Void magic, they would not be afraid of him.

Ducal knew that Aillos anticipated everything and arranged them in preparation for the closed-door meeting on the last day.

"Oh?"Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Ducal was forced out of his thoughts at Aillos's exclaim.

Kyran also had a puzzled look on his face while looking at Aillos.

Aillos raised the parchment he was reading with a mischievous smile, "The Golden Dragon Tribe requested to withdraw their request for a spar. However, they wanted to compare notes in an unofficial match."

Kyran frowned slightly and asked, "What's the difference?"

"Since the request does not fall under the Grand Gathering's spar matches, the rules are different."

Kyran's interest was piqued at once after hearing this.

"Who's my opponent from their tribe?" he asked, recalling that Thorn was part of it.

"Anahita, the current top talent of the Golden Dragon Tribe."