Legacy of the Dark Sage - Chapter 944: Truth (3)
Before Euan could even say anything about that person, Kyran more or less guessed who it was.
It was not hard to guess because there were only a few people who went missing in the Human plane who knew Cyneah’s identity— or, at least, were aware of the possibility of her connection to the royal family.
Cyneah seemed to have also gleaned this fact as her expression lit up.
“That person…” she asked with a hopeful look in her mirror-like eyes.
Though knowing Cyneah could not see, Euan was reluctant to look her in the eyes. Because when he did, his heart constricted from both longing and guilt. Longing for being separated from her since that fateful day, and guilt for not even realizing that all these years, he had only been raising an essence as a daughter.
True, Haylee was created from Cyneah, but fundamentally, they were different. Not to mention, because the former was made from the latter’s magic core, she started to have her persona. A persona that Euan belatedly learned was very different from the original.
At that moment, Euan mustered up the courage to look straight at Cyneah. Seeing her hopeful expression, he finally understood what that person meant when he said to tell her, ‘There is nothing to worry about.’
Initially, Euan had thought those words were meant as a suggestion of what he should tell his daughter when they finally meet each other. Apparently, those words were that person’s message to her.
“D-Did he had a huge frame, and… and a bald head? And… And… was his name…”
Euan could not help but smile at Cyneah’s stuttering. He learned she stuttered when nervous. He found it endearing. Not to mention, her showing such obvious signs of being nervous meant she did not know how to lie about her emotions.
As for Cyneah’s description of that person, she was on point. Euan then responded with that person’s name at the same time she said it.
“Gage.”
Cyneah became teary-eyed as she sighed in relief. All this time, she had wondered about Gage’s whereabouts and worried for his safety. Hearing that he had survived the horde of beasts back then and even managed to meet with Euan relieved her. It felt as if a huge weight was lifted off her chest.
Euan continued, “Before we parted, he asked me to tell you there is nothing to worry about.”
“‘Before we parted…?'” Cyneah repeated, feeling slightly disappointed.
Euan nodded with a sigh, “He is known as an aberrant among the complete beings.”
Seeing Cyneah’s confusion at his words, he explained, “Because he was bald, they did not know he was not blonde. He also did not have to worry about changing his hair to blonde. However, his eyes were deep red— a shade very different from the Nobles’ blue eyes. And unfortunately, he was not good at transformation magic. Nonetheless, the complete beings were convinced that the magic weapon he carried around was his Divine Armament, and because he kept them summoned, his eyes continued to burn like flames. His innate magic is Fire, after all.”
“That’s how things are. People come up with absurd ideas to explain things they have little knowledge of,” Kyran chimed in with a deadpan expression.
Euan looked at him wryly, “Just like how they believed you’re an Imon-spawn because of your appearance?”
Kyran shrugged in response.
“You could’ve disguised yourself. Why didn’t you?”
“I can’t use Transformation magic. My mask was created with Array, and the images saved in it are limited. The only light-haired image it has is Tyr’s hair color, and even that is not light enough to pass as blonde.”
“Tyr?” Euan repeated while raising his brows in confusion.
“Ah.”
Kyran belatedly recalled Euan had gone missing before knowing he was Tyr. Gage was also unaware of this. Thus, he did not say anything about it. Then again, even if Gage had known, he would not have spilled information about Kyran. Gage might not even reveal information about Cyneah if not for the situation she was in, as well as them being on a different plane.
“Let’s talk about that later. You have not told us the most important thing yet,” Kyran diverted the conversation at once. “You said you have been posing as Anshel half a year after being healed by Neah. How did that happen?”
“You probably already realized that Anshel’s ascension was brought by the Saint’s healing ability. But first, keep in mind that his body was deteriorating from an illness. The Saint’s healing stopped this, but it did not restore his body to its prime. Anshel did recover from his illness, but what it did to his body remained. As for the remaining effect of the Saint’s healing, it was diverted into pure magic energy that was infused in Anshel’s, allowing him to break through.
“The accumulated magic energy was so much that it actually helped him break through to two levels. However, that magic energy is not permanent. Once it is fully consumed, he will revert back to being a Legendary, albeit without an illness, with a weakened body.”
“To stop the magic energy from being consumed, he wanted Neah to heal him again.”
“Yes,” Euan agreed. His expression then turned grave as he continued, “Another thing is, after Anshel was shackled by the plane’s law, he realized something.”
He paused to look at Kyran meaningfully before continuing, “He realized I am not a complete being.”
Kyran heaved a sigh. Before Euan could continue, he stated, “As Somuli’s Sovereign, he saw you as an outsider.”
Euan nodded, “That’s right. Which is why, if not for Gage, I would have already been dead. He might be weakened and, as a Sovereign, only possessed the strength of a Legendary, but his level was still above mine.”
Kyran remained silent. Cyneah, too. As if to urge Euan to continue.
With a wry smile, Euan explained, “I do not know the details. However, for some reason, Gage is immune to Anshel’s restrictions. Another thing to take note of is he has a very high mage level.”
Kyran’s brown twitched slightly as Silas’s image flashed through his head. He vaguely sensed a competition happening between the latter and Gage. If Silas knew that Gage’s mage level had increased while in Somuli, what would he think?
On another note, this information confirmed Kyran’s initial thoughts about Somuli’s advantage over the Human plane— the rate at which it produced high-level mages was astronomical. He also realized that Gage might have accidentally entered a rift and ended up in Somuli long before Euan and the others did. This was how he ended up improving his mage level by leaps and bounds.
Meanwhile, Cyneah raised her brows in amazement after hearing about Gage being a high-level mage. She did not know Gage’s level from when they were still on the human plane. But she did remember that she found his light glowing stronger than before. From this, she gleaned that he could fight the beasts in the forest with relative ease because he was far more powerful than he was before.
“You are the same,” Kyran interjected while looking at Euan. “You managed to increase your mage level after so many years.”
“It is true that while I was still under Anshel’s pact, I was promoted to an Archmagus. Not long ago, I was promoted to a Legendary,” Euan admitted.
“You said if not for Gage, you would have already been dead. Care to elaborate?”
“Anshel might have been promoted to a Sovereign, but his strength remained that of a Legendary. Gage managed to subdue him while I used Potion magic to bind him to me.”
“‘Bind?'” Kyran repeated.
Euan nodded, “That’s right. To put it simply, we have become one, but not in a complete sense per se, just that we share the same magic energy and level. As for our thoughts, they are separate. Nonetheless, there were times when he wanted to influence my emotions. Which is why I said he still poses a threat.”
Kyran fell silent. Although his expression remained indifferent, his brows were knitted slightly.
Seeing his expression, Euan more or less guessed what was running through the younger man’s mind. He then explained, “Though I say he is bound to me and that he might pose a threat since I have been promoted to a Legendary, I have enough strength to deal with his influence. Apart from that, I can remove our connection anytime I want.”
“But you haven’t because his authority over Somuli will resume.”
“That’s right. With our connection, I can more or less act on his behalf. I can use his authority as a Sovereign and also emit the aura of one. But since fundamentally, I am not him, I am not shackled by the plane’s rules.”
Kyran gave a wry smile. He now had a clear understanding of the whole situation.
“And your decision to still pretend to be interested in Neah? What was all that about?”
Euan sighed, “I cannot just retract what Anshel had ordered. Remember, there are still a few of Anshel’s subjects who knew about my existence. If I suddenly he suddenly lost interest in capturing the Saint, they would think something was amiss.”
“Fair enough,” Kyran responded while sorting all the information in his head, including new ones that came from Euan.
But then his expression darkened as he remembered something and asked, “Anshel is only interested in Neah’s healing ability, right?”
“Yes.”
“Dusk told me he was interested in her as a woman.”
Euan’s lips twitched slightly, “Ah… about that…”
Kyran’s silver-gray eyes seemed to have turned into blades as they pierced through Euan’s.
“You… made them misunderstand your intentions to force Nachum and Nahir to form a pact with Neah.”
“…”
“…”