Legacy of the Dark Sage

"It's better than having the opposite sex spy on my thoughts," Kyran replied bluntly.

Kairos raised his brows in surprise. But then he burst out in laughter, which Kyran found very unlike him, given how indifferent he had been while using those overlapping voices to communicate back in the Tower of Tribulations.

"I see... I suppose you have some thoughts you would not want the opposite sex to know."

Kyran cleared his throat, belatedly feeling conscious of Kairos's implication. Not that the latter was wrong.

"We are getting sidetracked," he said, diverting the conversation. "You are saying something about Time Keepers having longer life spans."

"Indeed."

"And your point?"

"I had a terminal illness," Kairos confessed with a bitter smile.

And that was all it took for Kyran to guess what Kairos's desire must have been and why he became the Overseer of the Towers.

"You... wanted to continue watching over Stella. That's why you chose to become the Overseer."

"Yes," Kairos admitted, a profound sadness was deeply ingrained in his eyes. "Stella barely knew her mother because she... died young. The one who tried to fill the void she must have felt then was the previous Time Keeper, who also left soon after the Time Core was transferred to her. I could not bear to leave her alone.

"Malia's concoctions delayed my illness' symptoms, but in the end, it could not cure it. Fortunately, my illness did not hinder my capabilities as a mage. I was pretty powerful back then," Kairos added with mirth in his eyes before continuing, "But I supposed I still could not be compared with your father and Nolan."

Things that Cade and Nolan could do flashed through Kairos's mind, and he smiled at the memory.

Kyran shared the same sentiment and could not help but smile. Unlike Kairos, who remembered Cade and Nolan overcoming the Tower of Tribulation's training, Kyran recalled the times they beat him up.

But his smile was fleeting, and his expression sobered after he remembered the situation he had left in the Lower Realm to escape The Emperor's pursuit. Though Aki more or less updated him on the situation in the Lower Realm, the fact that The Emperor was still there worried him.

To be honest, Kyran had the crazy notion of revealing himself to any of The Emperor's subjects and luring him back into the Higher Realm. But he knew doing that did not necessarily mean The Emperor would return without wreaking havoc in the Lower Realm.

Aki assured Kyran that The Coven would not allow The Emperor to run amock in the Lower Realm to ensure the balance between the two realms. Still, all of them were afraid of the Fates intervening, and if a worst-case scenario happened, they would likely be unable to do anything.

Kairos sensed Kyran's doubts and contemplated whether to speak up about them. In the end, he decided not to because he did not want their conversation to stray too far.

"You managed to endure the training in the Tower of Tribulations even when you were ill," Kyran could not help but applaud Kairos's determination. In a sense, he knew well how that felt. "That is quite a feat."

Kairos shook his head, his expression turning solemn.

"The training during our time differed from the one you went through," he told Kyran.

Though Kairos had yet to elaborate on what he said, Kyran realized something from it and said, "Right. Back then, who was the Tower."

"There was only a remnant soul."

Kyran's eyes widened at the revelation.

"Because of this, the trainings were not as... challenging. Although I admit, the fatality rate was worse than now."

"How was it different?"

"When a mage reached a certain level in the Tower of the Tribulations, they would eventually team up with those who survived the training up to that point."

Kyran was surprised at this. He had always thought the training in the Tower of the Tribulations had to be completed alone.

Kairos smiled, "We thought so as well. But then, the five of us were grouped together until we finally conquered the tower.

"When the time to receive our reward arrived, the remnant soul revealed that the family I belonged to had ties with the Ancients that guarded all the Towers." He chuckled at the irony of it all before adding, "I suppose that explained why our family is called the Tower.

"The remnant soul admitted that the tower could only help grant my desire if I agreed to become the Tower's new Overseer."

Kyran fell silent. Although Kairos did not say it, Kyran felt that the only reason the remnant soul had offered Kairos to become the new Overseer was because he was from the Tower Family. If it had been any other mage desiring to prolong their life, the tower would have helped find a cure or remedy to increase their lifespan.

Kyran wondered if Kairos was given other options other than becoming the Overseer. But if there were indeed other options, seeing as Kairos chose to become the Overseer, the other options might not have been promising.

"I agreed, only because becoming the Overseer one hundred percent guaranteed my survival. But after becoming the Overseer, even after escaping an early death, I could only see my daughter from afar," Kairos said, his voice laced with longing.

"I think Stella knew somehow," Kyran told him after a short pause. "About you being alive and watching over her."

Kairos looked at him in surprise before saying with a smile, "Is that so."

"She can always visit you. I'm sure Nolan or one of my parent's recommendations can be given to her."

Kairos chuckled, "You are right. Yet, you are also wrong. Your parents already gave you their recommendations, thus, the only ones left would be Nolan and Anette. Well, I don't think Anette would give hers because she might be interested in giving it to her apprentice."

Kyran was surprised by Kairos's words. He did not expect the latter to be well-informed of his fellow conquerors' current situation.

"I only knew it because Nolan visit me at times."

"..."

"As one of the five who conquered the tower, entering the highest floor is a privilege."

Kyran furrowed his brows. He should have expected it. Alas, he had little understanding of the Tower of Tribulations to think of such probability.

"Has my explanation cleared some of your doubts?"

"It did," Kyran admitted with a nod.

"But that is not what you truly want to know."

"I have a lot of things I want to understand, especially about what happened in the past before The Fall."

"Yet you doubt if I can actually give you all the answers you seek."

Kyran did not respond. Truth be told, he thought Kairos was someone who lived during the time of The Realm. If that had been the case, he would not have any doubts that he had the answers to all his questions.

But Kairos was not from the time of The Realm. How would he have the answers?

"As an Overseer, I inherited all the memories of past Overseers," Kairos answered Kyran's thoughts. "You do not have to worry about not receiving any answers."

"Will you tell me about what happened then?"

"Yes, and as I said, all you need to do is ask. We are in a place where the Fates cannot intervene."

"The Fates, huh," Kyran smiled wryly. "Can you tell me more about them, too?"

Rather than considering Kyran's question as a rhetorical one, Kairos chose to answer.

"Like The Realm, they are created by the Deity."

"'Deity?'" Kyran repeated with a slight frown. This was the first time he heard about that word.

Kairos nodded, "The Deity can be considered the highest existence to everything. It created The Realm, the Fates, the Rules, and Magic."

"I thought the highest existence is the Higher Being."

"The Higher Being only inherits the governance over The Realm. At the end of the day, he or she will still be bound by the Fates, the Rules, and Magic."

Kairos was not exactly talking in riddles, but to Kyran, his words sounded like one, and it gave him a terrible headache.

"... okay."

"I see you are confused," Kairos remarked with a chuckle. "You may ask questions, you know."

"I am confused, but I'd like to hear you out first. I'll ask questions later."

"Very well," Kairos nodded, acknowledging Kyran's request.

"As I was saying, the Higher Being governed The Realm. To ensure that he or she would not overstep boundaries, the Fates, the Rules, and Magic kept him or her in check.

"Back then, all existences in The Realm lived in harmony. But soon greed, envy, malice, strife... surfaced.

"It all started when the Ancients' Four Greatest Minds started to wonder if they could artificially create Ancient Magic Cores.

"The Higher Being back then were similarly curious of the possibility. Thus, he supported them and allowed their research. But when news of this reached the others' ears, malicious thoughts started to blossom in their hearts.

"No one tried to stop the Four Greatest Minds, however. And though there were a lot of mage clans who saw their creations and research as too unconventional and even abomination, they coveted them and wanted everything for themselves.

"Back then, the Higher Being remained unfazed about everything else the Ancients did because he was only interested to know if it was truly possible to create Ancient Magic Cores artificially.

"When the Four Greatest Minds successfully created the means to produce Ancient Magic Cores, the Higher Being started to harbor covetous thoughts about it. Soon, he demanded the Ancients to surrender their research, or else he would take it by force."