Legacy of the Dark Sage

Chapter 262: Tower… Tower? Tower!

Kyran's brow furrowed as he looked up at Cade. He wanted to tell him the truth about his identity, as well as the reason why he could not use any Regis technique. At the same time, Kyran was afraid that once he told Cade, Cade would change the challenge's rules.

From the few challenges he had before coming here, Kyran noticed that some platform masters would change their rule depending on their mood, and the tower would not do anything to stop it. For this reason, Kyran decided to deal with the platform masters efficiently.

However, when it came to dealing with his father, Kyran admitted he had some reservations about going all out. Partly because he was afraid his best was not enough, and another because of the deep respect for his father.

Cade tilted his head while looking at Kyran. He sensed the young man's conflicted emotions and wondered if maybe he was not selected to partake a drop of dragon's blood. This thought immediately made Cade frown.

He was absolutely sure of Nolan and Rin's aura inside Kyran. Meaning he was related to them one way or another. Looking back at Kyran's strange magic, Cade even thought of him as Nolan's son.

'…'

Except, thinking of Nolan's character, he could not imagine him settling down. If Nolan did settle down and find a woman for himself, Cade doubted Nolan would find a Regis woman.

As for Rin. Looking at Kyran, Cade did think of the possibility because the temper he had shown earlier was quite similar to her.

But the question was; if Kyran was Rin's son and a Regis, who was his father? 

A memory suddenly flashed before Cade's mind.

It was a memory when Rin found out her fate as a Spirit Child. She had felt great distraught knowing that she would bear a child rejected by the whole world. At the same time, she felt excited to know she would get to have her own family.

Nolan had vowed to find a good man for her and even asked Cade's help. Cade had always considered Nolan and Rin as part of the Regis, and he immediately agreed. If Rin's child would have a difficult life, Cade wanted to ensure that the Regis could at least keep them safe.

For this reason, Cade swore to protect Rin's future. However, Rin had a different take on the matter and said something that made both Cade and Nolan gape at her with wide eyes.

Cade recalled how Rin looked at him in the eye and said with full of determination, "Marry me. Then you don't have to look for anyone else."

Seeing the look on Rin's eyes that time, Cade could only nod in response. Even Nolan, who was still gaping at her stupidly, agreed absentmindedly.

Still, it was not an official agreement. There was a possibility that Rin ended up marrying a different man. Although, that man was still a Regis.

Cade looked at Kyran and wondered if he really was Rin's son, then he was the 'child' mentioned she would bore. This would better explain the strange magic Kyran had.

Nevertheless, this did not convince Cade.

If Rin married into the Regis, with him around, there was no way her son would not be selected to partake a drop of dragon's blood. Cade would have done his best to prepare her son to be chosen by the family. It did not matter whether her husband was from a branch family, as long as her son became Cade's disciple.

He believed that by letting her son practice the Regis techniques, her son could forge another path.

If, in the end, her son still ended up taking his original path, at least he could fend for himself. After all, a mage's greatest weakness was their lack of physical strength.

Sighing inwardly, Cade felt conflicted. At this point, he could only make guesses because it had been about twenty years since he last had a connection with his original self. He was unsure what had happened that affected their connection.

Suddenly, Cade's eyes narrowed as he thought of something based on this fact. What if something grave happened to his original self? And he ended up unable to fulfill his vow?

This was possible. Why else would Cade lose connection with his original self and let Rin's son unable to practice the Regis techniques?

Kyran also appeared not to recognize him, so maybe this really was the case.

Taking a deep breath, Cade looked at Kyran and asked, "Kyran. Do you know who I am?"

Cade's question caught Kyran off guard. This would be the second time he did that.

"I do."

[Oi! Why did you answer him honestly?]

True Void complained. He had known Kyran's filial attitude towards his parents, and seriously it was one of his greatest weaknesses!

Kyran could not help but scratch his head inwardly. He, too, realized how stupid it was to answer honestly. But he could not help it. The look on Cade's eyes was too piercing; Kyran felt his lie would be found out at once.

On the other hand, Kyran's answer made Cade frown.

'So he knows me, then why?' He wondered.

Seeing that Cade had no intention of attacking, Kyran also stayed his hand. But he did not let down his guard. The truth, when he spread out his magic sense earlier to deal with the three-layered golden array, he had prepared countermeasures. Some of them had been destroyed from the explosion just now, but there were still a number of them left intact. If Cade made a move, he would use them.

"Let's take a break," Cade suddenly announced and sat cross-legged on the ground.

Kyran's brow twitched. The domineering attitude of his father was not new to him, but right now, he actually resembled Nolan's carefree side, which was relatively new to him. Then again, time might have changed his father.

"Are you sure you want that? You're practically giving me time to rest," Kyran said.

Cade chuckled and crossed his arms across his chest. He looked at Kyran with his head slightly tilted to one side and said, "Let's talk a bit."

[Uh-oh. Not good. Definitely not good. Disagree at once!]

True Void warned Kyran at once. His danger sensors had already sounded, but if earlier the sound was comparable to a bunch of crows cawing, right now, it sounded like thousands of vultures crying. There was something about Cade's piercing eyes that made True Void shiver.

However, Kyran seemed not to notice anything wrong and immediately answered, "About what?"

[Oi! Oi! Don't ignore me!]

"Sit first," Cade replied, gesturing for him to sit with his hand.

Kyran took a deep breath and similarly sat cross-legged on the ground.

A twenty-meter radius silver magic array appeared on the ground with him and Cade at the center as soon as he did.

[AAAAHHH!! I TOLD YOU SO! I TOLD YOU SO! COME ON! DO SOMETHING!]

True Void immediately shouted after seeing the array.

On the other hand, Kyran remained calm.

Black obsidian materials appeared at the magic array's edges, which rapidly formed a half-sphere, trapping them inside.

While this was happening, Cade never left his eyes on Kyran.

Kyran did the same.

"You don't look surprised," Cade remarked.

Several silver magic arrays appeared on the walls. Their glow provided light inside.

Kyran gave him a bitter smile and recalled how Nolan trapped him inside his domain before talking. He replied, "Someone did something similar. Although, he trapped me first before suggesting to talk."

Cade chuckled and shook his head, "I bet it's Nolan."

Kyran raised his brows but did not reply. Inwardly, however, he could feel his heart pounding in his chest. How did his father guess it was Nolan? When Cade probed him through his magic sense, did he notice anything?

"I'm doing this to make sure the Tower doesn't hear us," Cade explained.

Kyran's eyes narrowed after hearing this. Once again, he had that strange feeling about how people he met inside the tower seemed to address it as a living being.

"The Tower is a gossip, you see," Cade added with an amused smile.

'The tower… Tower… Tower? Tower!'

Kyran suddenly thought of Stella, the Lord of the Tower, because she was from the Tower Clan. Then, this tower uses Time magic. Could it be that a Time mage really created the tower? But wasn't there only one Time mage in a generation? Or was the 'Tower' here an essence? Or a remnant soul?

True Void was also surprised. During his master's visit to this place, he was never interested in finding out the tower's origin or its creator. But that did not mean, True Void was not curious.

Before Kyran could ponder more about this information, Cade suddenly said something that almost made him choke.

"You're Rin's son, right?"

[Goodness! My goodness! Did he find out from that probing earlier? But wait. Why didn't he realize he's your father?]

True Void wondered.

"I…" Kyran's voice trailed off. He really was unsure whether to answer or not. But his hesitation was already a big giveaway. Knowing his father, it was impossible for him not to notice.

Cade sighed, "I guessed as much. Initially, I thought you're Nolan's son, but—."

"How'd you even come up with that?" Kyran could not help but blurt out.

Cade chuckled and continued, "You said he trapped you, and I'm guessing it's because he did not know you are his nephew."

Kyran's heart skipped a beat. His relationship with Nolan was not openly discussed, and hearing it come directly from his father's essence gave him mixed emotions.

When Kyran fell silent, Cade sighed inwardly.. It appeared something did happen.