Legacy of the Dark Sage

"Right. After tonight's banquet, we'll visit the Ancestral Shrine and have you and Sisi enter the Ancestral Steele. That way, she will be officially recognized as part of your family and granted protection by the clan. This is good timing as well. That way, if that old sly fox took a liking to you and did underhanded tricks to put a claim on you, she wouldn't be able to touch Sisi.

Of course, she also can't claim ownership of you since your life is no longer yours alone," Aillos said, thinking of Estrid.

That was the protection granted by their ancestors to those who chose their life partners. Simply put, the fate of two beings would be tied together and blessed for eternity. This protection, however, only worked once. For this reason, the dragons were careful when choosing their life partners. Moreover, it was also because of this that they practiced monogamy.

The Regis Family also had the same custom. There was also an Ancestral Steele in the Regis Marriage Hall, where couples made their vow. Though the magic on the Steele was slightly inferior, it still bound both together and received protection.

"... You make it sound like I will fall for her tricks unless Neah and I present ourselves before the Ancestral Steele," Kyran could not help but complain.

He never once doubted his feelings for Cyneah. Thus, he believed he would only ever choose her as his life partner even without the Regis's custom or the Steele's protection. He could not explain it well, but that was how he felt when she disappeared. If not, he would not have bothered looking for her and entertained Stella, who had already confessed to him.

There were also a few others from the opposite sex that showed interest in him. But once he realized how important Cyneah was to him, he chose to ignore them.

If Kyran had to be honest, it was a matter of standing by his choice. It also helped that he was overly possessive of Cyneah. Proof of that was his lack of interest in correcting others when they called her his mistress. Of course, he did not know it at the time. He only realized it after Cyneah disappeared.

"I'm not questioning your devotion to Cyneah," Aillos snorted at Kyran's complaint. "However, Estrid is an old sly fox. I'm sure even in the Human plane, there is information on what a fox beast is capable of."

Kyran widened his eyes in realization and said, "I thought you called her that as a metaphor for her character, but she is actually a fox?"

"Yes," Aillos agreed, with Ducal nodding helplessly to show his agreement.

"She is from the older generation. Thus, only a few remembered her origin. It did not help that the Fox Clan were among the ones who suffered during The Fall, and the survivors had gone into hiding," he continued.

Kyran frowned slightly at this. He did not know Estrid had that kind of story. If she belonged to the older generation, like Aillos, her strength should be about the same as him.

No. Aillos was definitely stronger. He was already a peak Overlord and could break through to Supreme Overlord if given enough time. Nevertheless, Estrid should be among the powerful Overlords in the Higher Realm.

But wait.

There were only a few Overlords in the Higher Realm, and meeting one would be hard. So why did it feel like Kyran had already met about half of them?

Aillos, Oceanus, Zigor, and Estrid— if she was indeed one.

Kyran inwardly shook his head and pushed the matter of Estrid at the back of his mind. While it was essential to know the latter's background and level so he could prepare when meeting her, that was not his priority. There were still matters he needed to attend to at the moment.

"In any case, be careful about what you drink, eat, or smell when in her company," Aillos, seemingly understanding that their discussion had gone off track, reminded Kyran one last time before veering back on topic.

"Before I ascend, I will teach you the fundamentals of Chaos magic. We'll only need a day for that. After my ascension, we will proceed to the next topic."

"Alright," Kyran decided to compromise. Now that he knew Estrid's background learning the fundamentals of Chaos magic would give him an edge if something unexpected happened during his meeting with her.

"We'll start the lesson the day after visiting the Ancestral Shrine. After that, I'll start my preparation for my ascension," Aillos confirmed and looked at Ducal. "I'll leave the rest to you and others, Ducal."n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Ducal nodded and lowered his head in respect. "Rest easy, and please focus only on your preparation."

"I'll have the array ready before you finish your preparation," Kyran assured Aillos.

"Speaking of array," Ducal turned to Kyran and asked, "Would you need assistance from the Research Department?"

Kyrann shook his head, "I'm good. Instead, when will the workshop be ready for Patriarch Eldir?"

"A group has already been assembled to create the forge. It should be ready in a few days. Well, to put a number to that, the target completion of the forge is three days."

"Three days..." Kyran made a mental calculation in his head before nodding. "It is cutting short on the edges, but time-wise, I should still be on schedule."

He looked at Aillos and said, "After our lesson, I'll help Anahita complete her technique, hopefully in two days. After that, I'll assist Patriarch Eldir with his request for the following three days. You will need at least a week to prepare, right? I should have about three to four days to complete the Ascension Array."

Aillos wanted to reduce his preparation time to three days. However, if he rushed things, he might face some challenges during the ascension. Thus, he nodded his head, confirming Kyran's statement.

"A week is more than enough."

*

The atmosphere at the banquet that night was lighter than the first. By then, all representatives were already aware of Aillos's intention to improve the clan's strength in preparation for war. Although he did not say if they would openly declare war, everyone was surprisingly looking forward to it.

They were still outnumbered, and they could not overcome that in a short time. However, the clan leaders were responsible for devising solutions to overcome their numerical disadvantage, while the members improved their strength and combat experience. If they followed this, they should all be ready in no time.

Aron and Cade joined the second group, which entered the Energy Assimilation Array. Initially, they should be adjusting their bodies to the immense magic energy they have absorbed. However, they did not want to miss the opportunity to accompany Kyran and Cyneah to the Ancestral Shrine, which was why they decided to return first.

Aillos and Ames, along with Euan, Rin, and Anette, went with them.

Jared also wanted to come, but since he was part of the third group to enter the Energy Assimilation Array, he had no choice but to stay.

Typically, visiting the Ancestral Shrine was equivalent to a wedding. However, Kyran and Cyneah decided against preparing one because they wanted to have their wedding in the Lower Realm, where most of their acquaintances lived.

Their family respected their wishes and decided to have a simple ceremony, followed by an intimate dinner attended by the close family only.

After Kyran and Cyneah made their vow before the Ancestral Steele, their names appeared on the Steele's surface, binding them for eternity.

In the evening, they had dinner. If they follow tradition, Kyran and Cyneah should have their first night together after that. However, Anette and Rin decided to take Cyneah with them because they believed it was too soon for her and Kyran to share a bed.

Ames did not share their sentiment, however. She insisted that the two start sharing a bed as soon as possible so they could have their own family.

Kyran and Cyneah listened to their banter with a deadpan expression. Frankly, the two had already talked about those things and decided they would only share a bed after their wedding in the Lower Realm.

Aillos, Aron, Cade, and Euan chose to remain silent during the three women's discussion. Although they each have their own opinion about the matter, they believed it best to keep them to themselves, especially when the women were the ones talking.

In the end, Cyneah told them her and Kyran's decision, putting an end to their disagreement.

Ames was disappointed. But considering Kyran's training with her father the following day, she finally relented. After all, if Kyran spent the night with Cyneah, he would have been in a less-than-pristine condition to train the next day. He might not even be able to participate, thinking he would rather stay with her.

Ames's offhanded remark almost made Cyneah hyperventilate.

Kyran, on the other hand, had a deadpan expression, making it hard to know what he thought about Ames's remark.

The following day, Aillos and Kyran did not waste any time and started their training even at the crack of dawn.

With Kyran's ability to learn fast, he succeeded in learning the fundamentals of Chaos magic by noon. In the afternoon, Aillos gave him a practical lesson so he could apply what he learned in actual combat.