Legacy of the Dark Sage

Time seemed to have slowed as the imminent sneak attack of Lucian's approached Kyran. He could not cast any defensive spell because of the latter's overwhelming pressure, and due to the rules of his Dimension, casting escape skills like teleport or warp was also impossible.

What about Dragon Steps?

No.

Kyran could not use that technique simply because Lucian saw him use it when he tried to escape the latter's pursuit back in the Lower Realm. Furthermore, even using the Dragon Step would not guarantee Kyran's survival. This was how close Lucian's attack was to his neck.

If Kyran was using True Void, they could endure the initial contact of Lucian's attack until they could get out of harm's way. They would suffer, yes, but at the very least, it would not be to the point that they would die.

However, True Void was too far away. True Void also could not teleport to Kyran's location because of Lucian's Dimension.

What about Ruin?

The sudden thought of that psycho brought a wry smile to Kyran's face. He did not even realize how much he had relied on Ruin for support and protection.

If only he could stop time.

The thought made Kyran remember Stella. Thinking of her left a bitter feeling in his heart. It was not that he disliked her. In fact, he considered her something similar to a benefactor. The reason behind those feelings was his belief that she was wasting her feelings on him.

In short, Kyran felt he didn't deserve someone like Stella. And frankly, he believed he was unworthy of Cyneah as well. His selfish desire to keep Cyneah close was the sole reason he pursued her despite knowing he was undeserving of her.

If Kyran had not avoided Stella when he returned to the Human plane, he knew she would want to go with them to the Higher Realm. Stella would have willingly offered everything she had and could do to assist Kyran. And Kyran knew he would accept it, regardless of how much of an assh*le he would appear to be, because he knew her worth.

With Stella's assistance, the Dragon Clan would have completed their war preparations ahead of time. Kyran's people would have also improved their strength. Not just them. Kyran, too, would have improved himself. He could have devised a better strategy for infiltrating the Crespuscule Auction House without Estrid noticing him.

More importantly, Kyran would not have ended up in this situation.

Could this be the end?

At that moment, Kyran found it odd that the people on his mind were not his family or Cyneah, but Ruin and Stella.

It made him feel guilty.

Would he die harboring such an ugly emotion, then?

No.

Something within Kyran stirred as the thought of death loomed over him.

He could not die.

He promised Cyneah that he would return to her no matter what. Besides, his family and the people he dragged along in his conquest to destroy Lucian's reign in the Higher Realm were also waiting for him.

Yes.

Kyran could not die. Not until he ensured his family's safety and everyone he held dear.

All these things flashed through Kyran's mind in a fraction of a second.

And that was when...

Whiiir!

Shaiha was shocked the moment Kyran's magic cores started to stir. Whether it was the Void Core, the Draconic Core, or those still obscured magic cores, they all began to resonate inside Kyran's sea of consciousness.

It was strange that Shaiha was only despairing at Kyran's situation not even a second ago, and then suddenly, the magic cores she was keeping under control started to resonate with each other. As the one who became Kyran's central core, Shaiha was the point of resonance of all the magic cores.

Lucian, who had suddenly appeared behind Kyran, with his hand enveloped with a brilliant light about to cleave through the latter's neck, suddenly had a foreboding.

It was then...

CRACK! CRACK! SHATTER!

"!"

A portion of Lucian's Dimension shattered, resulting in blood gushing out of his mouth after suffering from a backlash.

"Your Majesty!" Deus was shocked at the sudden turn of events.

Because of this, neither he nor Lucian noticed how the latter's hand only passed through Kyran's neck upon contact.

"Keep your hands off him!"

The voice that spoke those words was calm, even gentle. However, the magic aura and pressure emitted by the owner of the voice were anything but calm and gentle.

True Void looked upward and, through the shattered part of Lucian's Dimension, saw an unfamiliar face, yet a familiar presence.

"M-Mistress?"

Cyneah hovered just beyond the edge of Lucian's Dimension. Behind her, a massive mirror reflected a human silhouette that writhed incessantly, trying to escape the mirror's surface.

"Hah... hah..."

Her face distorted slightly at the strain of keeping the Macabre Glacier under control. She gritted her teeth and endured as the mirror's sentient devoured all the lost souls within the inner city.

Cyneah felt her insides burn from the death energy entering the Macabre Glacier.

It was different from when it absorbed the souls of the dead in Somuli because the level of those souls was only at the Legendary at most.

The souls absorbed by the Macabre Glacier this time were Sovereign levels. There might even be High Sovereigns. They might only be at an entry-level, but the amount of death energy from them was substantial. Add that up to all the negative emotions they felt right before dying; it was already a marvel that Cyneah was still in control and did not pass out.

Ruin, buried in some rubbles after getting blown away by the explosion, also looked up. He smiled wryly after seeing the Macabre Glacier and muttered, "Well... doesn't this scene seem pretty ironic...?"

Whatever he meant by that, only he would know.

Stay connected with empire

In any case, Cyneah's arrival was somehow unexpected yet expected. It was pretty contradicting, but that was how Ruin saw it. Maybe the unexpected part was that they did not notice her approach when they should have seen her hovering above them.

But then again, because Dimension created a separate 'dimension' with different rules according to the mage that created it, it was to be expected that they would not see her.

Nonetheless, Ruin appreciated Cyneah's timely intervention, or Kyran would have already died...

Scratch that.

The Emperor would not kill Kyran. He would fatally injure him, but he would not kill him until he got the Void Core.

Still, The Emperor's move just now did look as if he was about to cut off Kyran's neck, and Ruin nearly went insane from that. After all, Kyran was his prey. He, Ruin, was the only one allowed to kill him.

Lucian glared at the newcomer with unmasked hatred.

"YOU DARE—?"

"I do!" Cyneah replied without even an ounce of fear in her voice and waved her hand to show her point.

CRUMBLE! CRUMBLE!

The Macabre Glacier erupted with a blinding light, and in an instant, the rest of Lucian's Dimension crumbled beneath it.

"!"

Lucian's eyes widened as blood started to gush out of his mouth again.

"Y-Your Majesty—!"

Deus immediately turned his attention to the newcomer and summoned more Winged Series and defense automatons. With The Emperor's Dimension gone, he regained the ability to absorb the magic energy in the surroundings. Moreover, he did not have to restrict himself when summoning his automatons.

The Winged Series did not need to hear Deus's command and immediately flew toward the newcomer. As for the Defense automatons, they formed a tight circle to protect Deus and The Emperor.

"Did you forget about me? I'm hurt~," Ruin complained as he appeared above Deus and The Emperor.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Deus glared at Ruin and shouted with such zeal, "AZALOTH!"

"Please, stop screaming~ do you like my old name that much?"

Ruin raised his arms, and two red lightning bolts appeared on his hands. He lowered his arms without hesitation as the red lightning bolts generated a massive concentrated magic energy.

CRACKLE! CRACKLE!

"Ngh...!"

The Defense automatons raised their shields and deployed their barriers at the maximum.

BOOM!

A massive explosion followed after Ruin's magic energy collided with the Defense automatons' barrier. The ground beneath them caved from the destructive output of the collision and sent out an aftershock that destroyed everything around them.

However.

Crack! Crack! Shutter!

The Defense automatons' shields shattered from the intensity of Ruin's energy.

"How?"

Deus's eyes almost popped out of their sockets at Ruin's display of strength. He did not expect the latter to show such power in a makeshift automaton body.

Meanwhile, the Winged Series approached Cyneah and brandished their great swords. Their great swords crackled with concentrated magic energy as they struck at her.

But.

A figure in glowing white armor appeared in front of Cyneah, with swords circling her and a bell. She blocked the automatons' path and made a grabbing gesture with her hand.

DING!

The bell circling her rang out, and the automatons suddenly came to a sudden stop.

"..."

Alta looked at the automatons with disdain as she muttered, "Don't you dare lay a hand on my Lady."