Legacy of the Dark Sage

Ames jolted at Cade's words and shouted, "Don't! The path connecting the gate may look stable, but it's not. Once your feet touch that, there is no telling if it will lead you here. We need Kyran to stabilize the path."

She immediately turned to Teryl, one of the first Regis members to arrive in the Higher Realm, and said, "Contact Myst and let them know that the gate is—."

"There is no need to trouble Kyran over this, Lady Ames. We've anticipated this and made ample preparations."

Ames was not one to be startled that easily, but when she heard Cade's voice sounded too close to her ears, she almost jumped back in fright.

Standing approximately five feet before her, Cade was gaping at her awkwardly.

"S-Sorry," he apologized with an uneasy smile. "I did not mean to startle you, Lady Ames."

Before Ames could adequately form the question in her head, another person stepped out from the gate and lowered his head respectfully at her.

He did not have the features of a Regis and looked much older than Cade. But he appeared to be very respectful, not only toward Ames but also to Cade.

"Pardon the intrusion, milady. And also, I will have to ask for your understanding of what we are about to do."

Ames's eyes narrowed as she looked at the middle-aged man. Though it was not as strong as Kyran's, the middle-aged man's emitted the same magic energy as the Void. It was mixed in with another type of magic energy, but it blended well with the Void.

If Kyran had been there, he would have immediately recognized the man— Gael.

"He is one of Kyran's Servants, Gael," Cade introduced Gael to Ames while they stepped aside to give the older man some space to stabilize the path connecting both gates.

"No wonder. That explains why his magic energy has a strong blend of the Void."

"Yes," Cade nodded and continued to explain, "He'll take care of stabilizing the path on this side while another Servant does the same on the other side."

Ames sighed, shaking her head. She said, "I didn't even think this was possible. He is not a Regis, nor does he have any dragon blood. It should not have been possible for him to enter the Regis Terram."

"About that..." Cade smiled wryly and said, "We don't know how Kyran did it, but all his Servants and Sigils can enter the Regis Terram without problems. We also checked if people he only placed a mark on could also enter, and they could."

"... He did not go around giving away a drop of his blood to his people, did he?"

"As far as I know, he didn't."

"Could it be... because he is also the new Dragon Lord, so as long as he acknowledges them, they are recognized as Regis? No... that kind of connection needs to be more specific. They must possess a clear and distinct representation of his acknowledgment, which allows them to enter the Regis Terram."

Ames was not saying this to Cade. Instead, she was voicing her thoughts aloud. In the end, she decided to bring this up to her father later.

Gael stabilized the path connected to the Dragon Plane's gate, while Achim was responsible for the path from the Regis Estate's Regis Terram.

Initially, Achim and the other Somulians were not supposed to go to the Higher Realm because the situation in Somuli had not yet settled down completely. But when Achim, Kessiah, and the rest of the Servants and Sigils thought of the dangers their master would face in the Higher Realm, they worked themselves to the bone to fix the situation in Somuli so they could leave without a problem.

Somuli had not settled down yet because Aran stepped down as the King of Armakea and declared Ravan the new King. This decree shocked the royal family, especially after Aran encouraged the new generation to fight each other to become his successor.

The stepping down and passing of leadership also happened in the Kingdom of Cretea. In a way, this was to be expected because there was no way Euan could have continued ruling over the kingdom when he was only pretending to be Anshel. Besides, he had to return to the Human plane; otherwise, he would not be able to witness the growth of his newborn son.

Since Anshel did not have an heir, Euan created a situation in which the Kingdom of Armakea and the Land of the Eidums would combine to become a new nation. It was difficult, and it took them years to pacify the Nobles. Ultimately, Euan appointed a Noble family with a good background and had their daughter marry Nahir, who became the new Abbot after Nachum's ascension.

The marriage might be political, but it was necessary for both sides to have enough autonomy in their specific jurisdictions.

Euan then retired quietly while switching with Anshel once more.

Anshel was also reformed through Cyneah's abilities. Like Aran, he did not recover completely from his illness, but his condition improved enough for him to live to old age.

Back to the present, Gael and Achim maintained the path while the rest of the Regis Family, a few of their clan members, Kyran's Servants, Sigils, and those he marked crossed.

The Regis Terram was not that big. So Ames led the first ones who crossed the path out of the terram to avoid crowding the small space. She then had Teryl escort them to her mansion.

It took several trips before everyone successfully gathered in Ames's mansion. It would have taken only a few trips if Teryl escorted more people. However, they had to avoid getting seen, so he could only escort a handful at a time.

Meanwhile, Kyran and the rest received the news of the Regis Family and the other's arrival. Unfortunately, they had yet to complete the new Array and could not return and see them.

Initially, Kyran planned to return to the Regis Terram to stabilize the path while his family and people crossed. Thankfully, Achim and Gael were able to handle it themselves. To be honest, Kyran did not expect them to do that. This was because their innate magic was different from the Void. Though they were reborn from the Void and their innate magic adapted to the Void, it was still different.

This was especially true with Achim, who followed an entirely different magic law.

Fortunately, nothing happened, and they even managed to keep the gate open on both sides. Of course, no one would be able to use the gate from the Human plane's side without the assistance of someone who could control Void magic energy. Thus, they did not have to worry about others brazenly entering without permission.

Moreover, the Regis Terram could not be entered by anyone, so it was not wrong to say that the gate had several security layers.

Ames's receiving area was not big enough to accommodate everyone, so she had to open up the patio.

Soon after Ames returned to her mansion, Aillos also arrived. He did not enter the receiving room, knowing full well that his natural presence could affect and might even be fatal to the Regises with low mage level. Instead, he went to the indoor garden and called for Aron and Cade.

Since Aron was the current Patriarch of the Regis Clan, and Cade was his successor, it was only right for them to be the first ones to meet the Dragon Emperor.

However, when he called for them, Aillos did not care about those things. He chose to speak with them first because they were Kyran's grandfather and father. Aillos would have also called for Rin, but because her mage level was low, she might not be able to endure his presence and suffer internal injuries.

Aillos wanted to avoid that. Thus, he only called for Aron and Cade, who were already a Legendary and a Sage, respectively.

Aillos sat on a chair inside the gazebo while Aron and Cade knelt outside, a few meters away from the gazebo's steps. Ames was also inside the gazebo, maintaining a barrier while standing beside Aillos.

Ames created the barrier not to protect her father. It was the other way around.

Aron's and Cade's mage levels might be higher by the Lower Realm's standards, and they could endure Aillos's natural presence. However, prolonged exposure to his natural magic energy could still affect them and might even cause some problems with their magic cores.

After a moment's pause, Aillos asked, "How is everyone's body coping with the Higher Realm's magic energy?"

"Everyone is managing on their own, milord."

The one who answered was Aron.

"Is it too much for most?"

"It can be intoxicating if we do not circulate it properly," Aron replied. "The quality of the magic energy here is at least thrice as good as the one in the Human plane."

"Hm... That's right, the Human plane is a remnant of the Land of the Ancients. Thus, the quality is not that far off. If other mages from another plane in the Lower Realm get exposed to the Higher Realm's magic energy, they will probably lose consciousness after half an hour at most."

"Wait," Ames frowned and tilted her head, "A few humans there are not from the Human plane, though. How are they able to cope?"

"They are mostly Kyran's people, so they will not have any problems," Aron explained. "In fact, those people are used to a plane where the magic energy is limited, so being in a place with an abundance of it can be a refreshing experience for them."

"A plane with limited magic energy... the Lower Realm actually birthed some strange planes."

Aron and Cade's ears perked up at what Aillos said. The latter might not have noticed it, but he said something that few from the Lower Realm knew.

"Alright, let's continue our idle chat later," Aillos immediately changed the topic and said, "For now, let's talk about what you will do in the next few weeks."