Legacy of the Dark Sage - Chapter 949: The Dark Sage (1)
Ames said that there had been far too many War of the Sovereigns. However, the Dark Sage, or at least the one whom Caelan met, did not appear that old per se.
He appeared whithered and had an ancient aura, but he was not someone who had lived for several thousands of years.
For argument’s sake, if the Dark Sage lived for more than ten thousand years, how did he survive until now? Not to mention, if Kyran’s doubts were true, it would imply that the War of the Sovereigns would commence once the Macabre Glacier appeared with its owner. But if this was the case, how was the mirror and its owner connected to the true purpose of the war?
“No,” Kyran shook his head as if to counter what he had thought. “He is not the one who instigated it because if he did, why is the true purpose of the war to ensure the Lower Realm maintained the number of planes it had?”
Kyran continued to voice his doubts, even voicing the one True Void had.
“The Dark Sage was already gone this time as well. Even if others say that I inherited his legacy and his title, I am not him. Our innate magic is different. Even if I have possession of the mirror, I can’t even use it. Besides, the mirror did not have its owner.”
He then looked at Cyneah and added, “Neah had control over it, but she is not its owner. If she is, the mirror’s sentient would have allowed her to use its full power. Up to now, Neah’s control over the mirror is better than the others who tried to control it, but that was only because she did not have a magic core that the mirror could affect. Not to mention, the mirror worked as her magic core…”
The others remained silent as they listened to Kyran’s thoughts. They wondered if he knew he was voicing his thoughts aloud or if he was too deep in thought to realize it.
Even so, the others did not mind. They even appreciate it because listening to him allowed them to see how much they truly understand the situation.
“If we also included the Dark Sage’s age… and when the mirror was created, then the war should have happened even before his time.”
“I cannot say for sure,” Ames finally chimed in. While she knew Kyran did say his thoughts aloud because he was waiting for others to enlighten him, she decided to voice her own thoughts.
As she said, the war had happened far too many times, and Ames was not old enough to witness them. No matter how many generations of Regises she had outlived, as True Void suggested, she could not have witnessed the previous wars. At most, she had witnessed or even took part in the last one.
“But as far as I know, the mirror had been present in the past wars,” Ames told them with a solemn expression.
True Void scowled. He then voiced his doubts before Kyran, saying, “I don’t really remember much about the time my previous master met the Dark Sage. But I can assure you that that guy is not old. At least, not ancient old… err… I don’t know if I made any sense, but his age should not exceed two thousand years.
“One thing to take note of was how the lifespans of Sovereigns could not exceed two thousand years. Only when they managed to break through their limits and entered the next level could they gain another thousand years.”
“He has a point,” Ames agreed. “Most of the Sovereigns in this plane are only about a thousand and a half years old, or even younger, and only a few managed to break through to the next level.
“However, once they have broken through, they would be restricted by the Lower Realm’s laws.”
“If that’s true,” Kyran interjected before Ames could continue. “What about Ruin?”
He initially did not bring up Ruin in the conversation because he thought there was no need. But now that the age of Sovereigns was brought up, Kyran felt that Ruin seemed to know far more things than the other Sovereigns and was even part of the previous war. Kyran even had an inkling that Ruin had seen other wars before the last one.
As for the reason, Kyran did not know either.
In the end, Ames only looked at Kyran in response. But her silence alone had spoken a lot of things.
Kyran narrowed his eyes, “Ruin seemed to be connected to the Higher Realm… the same goes with the Dark Sage, isn’t it?”
Ames still exercised her right to remain silent. Not that that right had been mentioned. In any case, the reason she could not answer was not because she was being restrained or anything. That did not matter now since even if she told them more info about the Higher Realm, the confrontation between it and the Lower Realm was already in motion, and no other events could top that.
Kyran did not pressure Ames to answer. After all, there was another person who could answer that question more willingly than her— Layla.
“In any case, with the mirror’s appearance, the War of the Sovereigns would commence soon. The day when it had its owner would likely signal the start of the war,” Kyran continued to voice out his thoughts. “But… what if the mirror did not have an owner by then?”
“You forgot something, Void Halfling,” True Void suddenly said.
Kyran looked at him and waited for him to elaborate.
“The mirror itself has a sentient. If it did not have an owner, the mirror’s sentient itself by default is its owner.”
“Wouldn’t that mean the mirror’s sentient could influence her?”
The one who asked was Euan.
This surprised the others, but Kyran, who knew Cyneah and Euan’s relationship, understood his concern.
“The mirror’s sentient will not be able to influence her,” Ames replied with a slightly hesitant look. “The sentient is still sealed and could barely manifest itself. As long as she—” she looked at Cyneah, “— did not make a mistake, then the mirror’s sentient could not influence her.”
“You seemed confident,” Kyran could not help but comment.
Ames frowned at him. She was aware of the young man’s attempt to fish out more information.
“Don’t ask me. I cannot tell you.”
“You already said the confrontation between the two realms is already in motion. Even if you decide to stay silent about things in the Higher Realm, the war will happen. If that’s the case, why not share what you already know? Doing that will let us know what to expect.”
“This is different,” Ames replied, her frown deepening.
Kyran’s eyes narrowed at once. Just her refusal to say anything about the mirror’s sentient meant the Fates were connected somehow.
Thinking that those three entities were involved once more annoyed him. He had really wished he could have slain one of them back then. If he did, maybe their influence would be hindered.
After what appeared to be a few minutes of silence, Kyran turned to Axil and said, “I want to see the rest of the tablets.”
Seemingly understanding Kyran’s plans, Ames shook her head and said, “Even if you want to check every tablet they had, it would not make much sense. The only way for you— or, to be precise, us, to learn everything about understanding the situation and the lost history is to gather all the tablets.”
“I may not be able to glean much from the tablets they had on hand, but there would be clues in them,” Kyran pointed.
“I have already gotten permission from every member of the Guardians regarding your request to see the tablets. That’s why I had everything with me. They are only copies, but I am sure you can still find those clues without a problem,” Axil confirmed.
“The tablets as a whole held power,” Ames warned Kyran. “It is best to see the real one if you want to glean more from it.”
“I know,” Kyran replied. “I’ll settle with a copy nonetheless.” He looked at Axil again before adding, “Eventually, I will have to ask you to show me the real ones.”
“That will not be a problem as long as I escorted you myself,” Axil assured him.
After the two had agreed, Axil passed a diamond cube that fitted her palm perfectly to Kyran. She then said, “That cube is a rare treasure that can replicate anything with very good accuracy.”
Kyran accepted the cube before looking at Axil and muttered a word of thanks.
Seeing that Kyran would take some time to browse through the cube’s content, the others decided to continue their discussion by themselves.
They no longer talked about the war, as it displeased Nachum very much. After all, if what Ames said was true, Somuli would be one of the planes destroyed.
Who would want their plane to become a casualty in war?