Legacy of the Dark Sage

There was a female mage known to rival Ames in the Higher Realm.

The female mage was a member of the Blade Dancer Clan named Raelia. Although, at the moment, Raelia was directly working under The Emperor, she was one of the Blade Dancer Clan's pride.

In any case, Alta viewed Raelia as her role model, while she saw Ames as a target to surpass. Thus, seeing the latter in person while in such a complicated arrangement with Kyran— whom Ames confirmed was her family— truly made Alta feel complex emotions.

"Let's continue this in the palace," Ames suggested, diverting the conversation and heading towards the palace's direction. "You've arrived at the perfect time. We're in the final phase of the gate's construction and need assistance activating the last few calculations for a stable path successfully." The anticipation for the gate's completion was palpable.

"It's taken longer than anticipated," Kyran expressed his disappointment, which was evident in his voice.

"What did you expect? It's just Myst and I working on the array. He also had to adjust to my pace when my proficiency in Array is only at a bare minimum."

"..."

Kyran could not help but glance at Ames with a look of disbelief. When Ames replied to his remark, she expected her to be annoyed at him. Instead, she actually replied properly and even admitted to her lack of Array proficiency to assist Myst properly.

But then Kyran backed track on Ames's words and felt impressed when he realized that Myst was basically the only one working on the array. Although Kyran completed the array calculation, Myst successfully created it up to its last phase within half a month, which was very impressive.

It seemed like Myst and the rest of the Regis Elites who came to the Higher Realm first were not just idling around or looking for Kyran's trace. They also did their best to improve their Magic Knowledge in Array and Combat.

Ames turned to look at Kyran when she did not hear him respond. Seeing his blank expression, however, pissed her and said, "What? Are you that disappointed that we haven't finished the gate yet? You are such a stickler for deadlines. You should praise us for our hard work, especially Myst! Since he's the one who mostly did everything.

Besides, compared to us, those guys in the seal are stuck at the fifth phase, and there are far more people with high proficiency in Array working!"

"You sure are acting very proud of yourself for someone who has practically pushed all the work on Myst."

"Of course, I'd be proud. Myst is part of my family, after all!"

"You also have family members working on the array at the seal."

"And there are stubborn fools around them, which is why their progress is not going well. I won't blame them for it. In fact, I'd say that they are doing a very good job of being patient with those stubborn fools."

"...Those stubborn fools are members of your main family."

Ames glared at Kyran, "They're not. My only family is my Father, and then there are you guys. Those stubborn fools are part of other tribes."

"...I see."

"Are you purposefully pissing me off?"

"..."

"I said we are already in the last phase of the gate's creation. You reacted as if you were disappointed that the gate had not been created yet. However, you were not even in a hurry to get there. You're contradicting yourself, you know."

"I do want to get there as soon as possible, but you're the one who seems not to be in a hurry if you want us to get there using Dragon Steps."

"What are you saying? My Dragon Steps is way faster than your miracle steps."

"Dragon Steps is not the only movement technique I have."

Hearing Kyran's words, Leif already had a foreboding, and her still pale complexion turned even paler.

"You're not saying—! You are—!"

Leif could not complete what she was saying as a purple disc appeared beneath their feet.

Ames's expression sobered when she saw the purple light on her feet. "Ah. Right, you also have that," she muttered while inwardly scratching her head.

It was not that she completely forgot about Kyran's warp ability. But because there were other people around, she automatically assumed he would not use his Void magic, especially now that The Emperor practically declared his existence to the whole Higher Realm.

Kyran warped them at the Regis Terram's periphery.

Alta, who was basically new to everything that was happening around her, was unprepared when Kyran warped. She ended up feeling nauseous once more, and she barely stopped herself from vomiting again. Then again, she probably no longer had anything to vomit.

But that was the least of Alta's concerns. Kyran moved them without even using an array or a magic item, which pretty much confirmed her suspicion about his real identity. Another thing she noticed was how Leif was unfazed about everything, especially the casual exchange between Ames and Kyran.

Most important of all, Alta realized the gravity of Kyran's real identity. Her expression turned grim as she straightened her back. As she did, she noticed someone looking at her. When she looked up, she saw Kyran looking at her with an unreadable expression.

Contrary to her expectation that he was going to warn her about keeping her mouth shut to whatever she heard or realized, he looked away and stepped inside a translucent veil before them.

Before Alta could adjust her thoughts, she felt another set of eyes on her and knew who it belonged to.

Ames.

"Since my grandson brought you here, that means he has enough trust in you. Break it, and I will have your head."

Alta felt cold shivers up her body. Ames only spoke those words without even emitting any magic aura or pressure, yet Alta felt her threat to her core. She would have retaliated and responded without fear if this had been any other time. However, even if she felt uncertain about her clan's current arrangement with Kyran, she still considered him their benefactor and knew how to show gratitude.

She would not retaliate to Ames's threat even if she could.

In any case, Alta knew what Ames was threatening her with. Ames mentioned Kyran having enough trust in Alta, but to be honest, she did not think so. Instead, she believed he brought her here as a test. Alta was unsure whether he truly intended to fix her soul thread or simply wanted her to know about his real identity and see how she would react.

But one thing she knew was that Kyran would not have revealed so many of his secrets without reason.

Alta only hoped that whatever his reasons might be, it would not spell her clan's doom.

"I understand."

Meanwhile, Leif silently watched the scene before her. Unlike Alta, who initially belonged to a clan that had been hostile with the Dragon Clan only recently, Leif's clan was on good terms.

Actually, that was not quite right.

Rather than saying the Ogen Clan was on good terms with the Dragon Clan, they were trying not to have anything to do with them. They would avoid the Solis Clan's radar by not having definite connections with them.

Anyhow, Leif more or less guessed Alta's conflicted emotions at the moment. But rather than act meekly before Ames, she would have still tried acting in a way that would preserve her dignity. After all, she was still in the same generation as Ames.

Among the few powerful female mages in the Higher Realm, the ones who were mentioned almost all the time were Ames, Midnight, and Raelia. No one barely remembered that Leif was also part of it.

However, Leif did not mind because if they were ranked, she was dead last. Nevertheless, that did not mean she could act less dignified before Ames, Midnight, or Raelia.

Putting those thoughts aside, Leif noticed that Ames did not follow after Kyran. Because of that, she subconsciously stayed put as well.

Alta might have realized this, too, as she did not follow Kyran inside the translucent veil.

"Are we not going inside?" Leif asked after a short, awkward silence.

"Only those with dragon blood can enter that place," Ames replied. She looked at Leif and smiled, teasingly adding, "You are free to enter, though. I won't stop you."

Leif's brow twitched at Ames's childish antic.

'After saying that only those with dragon blood can enter? This guy is truly annoying.'

"You just thought I was annoying, didn't you?"

"I did."

"As expected of Overlord Oceanus's beloved daughter, you truly have guts."

"Are we just going to stay here?" Leif ignored Ames's childish provocation and asked.

"We are. We won't be of much help to them anyway."

"The gate you mentioned... You guys are not working on something very dangerous, are you?"

Ames raised her brows, surprised at Leif's question. She even sensed the latter seemed to have realized what kind of gate they were trying to make.

"That depends on your definition of very dangerous."

Leif looked at her with all seriousness while opening her mouth. In the end, she could not properly phrase what she wanted to say and ended up closing her mouth without saying anything.

Ames noticed Leif's hesitation and was about to say something to make a point when a huge magic fluctuation erupted from within the Regis Terram. She looked at the translucent veil with a wry smile and muttered, "Seriously, that grandson of mine... it's only been a few minutes, and you've already completed the last phase."

Just as Ames had said, Kyran, with Myst's assistance, had already completed the Gate's creation.