Legacy of the Dark Sage

Back when Rin discovered she would give birth to a child that the world would shun, both Cade and Nolan already guessed the child would possess forbidden magic. And with the Spirits' relationship with the previous Void Master, it was not hard to guess the kind of forbidden magic the child would possess.

Because of this, Nolan swore to find a suitable husband for Rin. In his opinion, Rin needed a loyal, responsible, and trustworthy man to ensure he would not shun his own child. Knowing that such a person could only appear from a family like the Regis, which possessed high moral values, Nolan asked Cade's help to find that man among his people.

Cade agreed at once. Even Patriarch Aron gave his consent. The latter's consent actually gave Nolan and Rin assurance that no matter what happens in the future, the Regis Clan would protect them and the child.

While looking for that 'suitable man,' Nolan realized a huge problem. Most of the eligible male members of the Regis Family could barely pass his assessment. As to which part they fell short, it was in terms of battle strength.

Even the ones who were give the opportunity to partake a drop of dragon's blood was unable to defeat Nolan, and to him, only someone who could defeat him would be worthy of his sister. He would not settle for anyone less.

Alas, the only one who could defeat Nolan among the Regis Family was Cade— at least, among their generation that is.

However, Cade was the next Patriarch of the Regis Clan. Nolan might be shameless, but he would never take advantage of his friendship with Cade and ask him to marry his sister. Besides, the three of them practically grew together and he knew Cade treated them like his real brother and sister.

That was why Nolan was shocked senseless when Rin easily resolved their problem by boldly asking Cade to marry her in front of the Patriarch and the elders. Cade was speechless. But nodded in agreement in the end.

It was then that Nolan realized his sister had always admired Cade, and vice versa. But because Nolan had always been a— ahem, siscon— he failed to see it. In any case, knowing that his sister and his sworn brother would be a real family, Nolan felt more at ease.

So what was the point of all these thoughts that flashed through Nolan's head after hearing Ruin? It was quite simple. In Nolan's opinion, Kyran being born in the Regis Clan was a result of their circumstances. But the way Ruin brought the topic, it felt as if the Soul Emperor and the previous Void Master had coveted the Regis bloodline since before.

Nolan recalled a passing remark True Void mentioned about how Kyran acquired the Draconic core. Quoting True Void's exact words, he said:

"Same as how there are certain things that needs to achieve before a new Void Master is born, the new Dragon Lord is the same!"

Anette reacted after hearing his words, but Kyran deliberately avoided the subject.

Nolan did not think much of it because he was busy sorting his own thoughts at that time. But now that he was reminded of those seemingly trivial words, he realized why Anette reacted.

Frankly, if others heard it, True Void's remark sounded like him speaking his own mind. But as far as Anette and Nolan was concerned, True Void would not have said those words if the subject about how Kyran become the Void Master had not been brought up.

It was possible that Kyran and True Void had discovered something and had a conversation about it, resulting in the latter saying such words as a passing remark.

Nolan felt his blood run cold when he thought of something.

But he made sure to conceal his emotions. He would not let Ruin dictate the flow of their conversation.

"Tell me what you know," he demanded.

Ruin raised his brows and said, "Can I take it that you agree to my proposal?"

"F*ck, no."

"Oh, then—?"

"Don't get me wrong. I agree to a truce on the premise that you don't lay your f*cking hands on my family."

Ruin's eyes narrowed upon hearing that.

"You are also related to my prey?" He asked, seemingly putting the subtle clues together.

"What if I am? Are we going to resume our fight?"

Instead of becoming annoyed, Ruin suddenly burst out in laughter.

"Interesting! This is such an interesting turn of events! No, actually it is not really that strange for you to be related. Though I don't get why you only appear now?"

Ruin's eyes widened as he thought of something, "Could it be that you and my prey... Yes. Of course.... No wonder I can't seem to find my mark. It's you..."

"What the f*ck are you even saying?"

"You sealed the mark I gave him!"

Only then that Nolan recalled Kyran received a powerful mark on his left arm. Nolan sealed it when they were still in the Tower of Tribulation, because it was getting in the way of their 'training.'

Alas, Kyran actually told Nolan about the mark. Unfortunately, Nolan could not be bothered to recall the f*cking names of other people thus he did not expect Ruin was that guy.

Suddenly, Ruin sighed exaperatedly, "Ha~, it can't be helped. I'll agree to your condition. I won't lay a f*cking hand on your family."

"Really? Your prey, is my nephew."

Ruin chuckled. He already guessed as much. Though this guy had runes all over his body— even his face had a few— Ruin could see some semblance. It was not as distinct as with the previous guy, because they had different hair and eye colors. Nevertheless, his nose and brows did seem more similar to his prey.

Suddenly, Ruin thought of something and burst out in laughter once again.

"I get it now...! That guy, who punched me earlier. That's him!"

To think he did not recognize his own prey. No wonder he punched him with such zeal. Just recalling how a single punch managed to destroy his defenses made Ruin shiver in excitement.

Even so, Ruin could only suppress his emotions. With Deception asking for help from two other Sovereigns, even if Ruin used his full strength, he would not be able to hold them back if he was also dealing with this guy.

With the restriction in the Human plane, he would definitely be at a disadvantage if he fought them alone. He could only propose a truce for now.

At least, by doing this, he could prevent anyone from snatching his prey.

As for agreeing to not 'laying a hand on his prey,' well, there were plenty of ways to deal with that.

With this in mind, Ruin smiled at Nolan.

"Tell me, after saving that man, did he went back there to continue luring the army?" He asked while pointing at the west direction.

Nolan only shrugged in response.

"Fine. You don't have to answer, since I agree not to lay my hand on him now, I will keep my word."

"Swear an oath if you really agree."

"I swear by my name as the Sovereign of Ruin, that I will not lay a hand on my prey."

Nolan scowled at him.

"Oh, right. You're family. What is your name again?"

When Nolan only glared at him, Ruin sighed and shrugged before saying, "Fine. I swear not to lay my hand on your family. If I go back on my words, then I will be judged by the Fates and the Higher Being that presides over the Higher and Lower Realms."

"Such an ambiguous oath."

Ruin shrugged, "I am not from this plane. That is how we do it from where I came from."

"Doesn't matter," Nolan also shrugged. But then his eyes turned bright blue and he suddenly flicked his hand toward Ruin.

Ruin's eyes narrowed and raised his hand to block a dark object that Nolan threw at him. His face distorted at once as he lowered his hand to look at his palm.

The moment he grabbed the object Nolan threw, Ruin already felt it seeped into his skin. His defences actually failed to stop it from entering his palm.

"You—!"

"That's an assurance. If you leave this plane, it will automatically leave your body."

"What did you do?" Ruin growled while he roused his magic energy and tried to search for any anomaly on his body.

"It's pointless. My magic already fused into your body," Nolan explained and sneered. "I'm actually surprised that though there are different creatures in other planes, our body composition are quite the same. Don't get me wrong. I'm not complaining, because its actually good for me."

Before Ruin could refute, the thunderous roar sounded above as the Sovereign's Cradle appeared.

Nolan and Ruin looked up. Their expression turned solemn as fissures started to appear in the sky.