Legacy of the Dark Sage

Nolan's light blue eyes flashed as he spread his arms, palms open wide, and roused his magic. Different colored elements sprang from the ground and formed three gigantic spears that flew toward the jagged hole.

Ruin waved his right hand at the spears. His red eyes glowed with intense light, and his magic energy flew out of his outstretched arm. The magic energy turned into red lightning before circling the spears and reinforcing them.

A guttural scream, seemingly done by an ancient beast from the abyss, sounded from the other side of the hole. The sky shook, and a terrifying beam of grayish-green light flashed through.

The moment the grayish-green beam and the spears had made contact, the space between them crackled. Terrible magic fluctuations tore the surroundings, sending out a thunderous sound.

The Sovereign's Cradle, which hung over the jagged hole, emitted a sanguine light and quickly smothered the grayish-green beam.

A deafening roar filled with anger sounded from the other side of the jagged hole. As if the one who fired the beam got angered by the timely action of the Sovereign's Cradle.

With the removal of the grayish-green beam, the gigantic spears filled with red lightning energy pierced through the hole successfully.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Powerful blasts could be heard from the other side, and Nolan and Ruin saw different colored flashes of lights radiating from the hole.

Nolan's brow furrowed slightly while trying to observe the spears' movements with his magic sense. However, he failed to sense anything. As a matter of fact, the moment the spears passed through the Sovereign's Cradle and into the jagged hole, he could no longer perceive them.

It was not that surprising. The other side of the hole was not an extension of the Human plane, nor was it part of another plane. It was the very cosmos where all planes coexisted.

In any case, although Nolan lost control over the spears, they continued targeting the Sovereigns.

Meanwhile, Nolan wondered why the three Sovereigns had not attempted to enter the Human plane now that there was a massive hole in the sky. Sending essences to attack him and Ruin was now possible, but the three Sovereigns remained outside and only unleashed powerful, concentrated magic attacks.

Unbeknownst to Nolan, it was not that the Sovereigns stopped their attempt to enter the Human plane but that the Sovereign's Cradle had already imprinted their magic signatures, preventing them from moving beyond it.

Unless they could destroy the Sovereign's Cradle, they would not be able to advance through the hole.

Nolan looked at Ruin, who hovered cross-legged in midair. With a slight frown, he said, "Oi, are you planning only to reinforce my magic and not push them back head-on?"

Ruin looked at him with raised brows, "Your plane's Sovereign is already doing a good job at it. Why should I do something so troublesome?"

Nolan was slightly surprised to hear his reply. It was not that he underestimated the might of the Sovereign's Cradle. However, from what he knew, the cradle could only reduce an outsider's mage level and magic output, preventing them from unleashing powerful destructive attacks that could easily destroy the plane's balance.

Nevertheless, Nolan was sure that the cradle alone could not hold back the three Sovereigns. It would only be a matter of time before it got overwhelmed. Maybe it would even get destroyed.

Just thinking of the possibility of the Sovereign's Cradle getting destroyed made Nolan's scalp itch. Because when that happened, those three could easily destroy the Human plane.

Of course, the restrictions on Ruin would also get lifted, and maybe he could finally be of help. But there was no telling if Ruin would keep his word. After all, once his full strength got restored, the mark Nolan left on him would no longer work.

'If I could reinforce the cradle, it may last a bit longer,' Nolan thought. But then he frowned in exasperation and cursed, 'Just where the f*ck is the Sovereign of the Human plane anyway? Why won't that guy show up?'

Alas, Nolan had yet to know that Azaloth was the Sovereign and that he was still in deep slumber.

After some thought, Nolan finally made up his mind and said, "I'm going out."

"Take care. I won't see you off."

Nolan glared at Ruin, "You're coming with me."

A sinister smile appeared on Ruin's face, and he said, "Are you sure you want me to leave and be freed by the cradle's restrictions?"

Nolan understood Ruin's implication. If the latter left the Human plane, he would regain his real strength. At the same time, it would remove Nolan's mark. If Nolan also went out, there was no telling if Ruin would hold back the other three or join forces with them and deal with him.

In the end, Nolan only shrugged as he made his way toward the jagged hole. There was no point in dwelling on the matter. Nolan knew how much Ruin wanted Kyran. Thus, he was 99% sure that the latter was only spouting empty threats. As for the remaining 1%, Ruin was untrustworthy. With that being the case, Nolan just had to be on guard.

In any case, Nolan would not decide on something and put himself in danger. He was confident in his abilities and magic, after all.

Seeing his words did not affect Nolan; Ruin's smile disappeared. However, his eyes glowed in amusement as his interest in Nolan increased.

'Looks like coming back here is not that bad,' he thought.

Finally, Ruin also moved and went after Nolan.

*

In a forest near the east border of Meliora, Kyran, Mannick, Max, and Reuben were gathered. Behind them were around a hundred people composed of Conclave members and Army soldiers.

Their group would serve as the advance party scouting the situation in Meliora.

As they circled around a town that separated the Meliora from Starhorn City,  Mannick suddenly raised his head toward the direction of Regis Estate. He frowned slightly before looking at Kyran, standing a few steps before him. After which, he leaned forward and whispered, "Just now, I sensed Nolan and Ruin passing through the cradle's restriction."

Kyran frowned after hearing Mannick's news.

Kyran knew Nolan was a shrewd person and would not do something that would put him at a disadvantage. However, Kyran could not think why Nolan would voluntarily leave the cradle's restriction and even seemed to lure Ruin with him.

'Don't tell me he plans on using the last Transmission scroll to return after successfully luring Ruin?'

As soon as he thought this, Kyran rejected it. After all, Ruin could also be considered a shrewd person. He was also a psycho; thus, luring him out of the Human plane was nearly impossible. Even if Nolan did succeed, Ruin would likely have a way to return.

Since Kyran could not understand Nolan's train of thought, he put the matter aside.

Nolan was a Sage. Though there was a considerable gap in magic prowess between a Sage and a Sovereign, Kyran believed Nolan would not die easily. Even if the latter ended up fighting four against one, Nolan had the capability to escape.

"Are you able to tell what is happening outside that hole?" Kyran asked Mannick.

Mannick shook his head, "With this body, I can only detect faint activities within the cradle's area of influence."

"Let me know if you sense anything more."

"Alright."

On another side, Malek and Hugh led quite a number of Conclave members and used the transmission array to appear in the basement of the Mercenary Hall. They would wait for Kyran's update there.

Kyran was not the only one who had finally made a move.

Gael, who had yet to return to Meliora, had already received the news of the anomaly after entering a medium-sized city called Mour. After going to the army's branch in that place, he also learned the overall situation and could not help but frown slightly.

It appeared most of the people who had witnessed the attack in Noser believed that an intruder from the north did it.

Frankly, Gael was unsure if this was good or bad. After all, he had already decided to disclose Kyran's identity. Unfortunately, because of the latter's sneak attack, the people who learned of it had all perished.

'I have to return to Meliora,' Gael thought as he decided to visit a small business under a local businessman. The army had granted the latter authority to create a small transportation array in his shop, connecting it to one of his business's branches in Meliora.

While Gael was still on his way back to Meliora by utilizing the transportation arrays the army had control over, Tritus had already arrived near Ravenpass by simply flying in the air.

Tritus was already half-a-step to becoming a Legendary, which was why travelling by air at an unbelievable speed was as easy as breathing.

Tritus circled through Ravenpass and rushed toward the Regis Estate. His gaze landed on the massive hole in the sky, and a thoughtful expression appeared on his face.