Legacy of the Dark Sage

"The truth, the miasma's origin was very mysterious." Vaness answered with a troubled expression. He looked at Avrum and added, "I believe Avrum can explain it better."

Hearing this, Avrum beamed and immediately answered, "What Chief Vaness said is correct. The miasma around the Chaos Palace is one of a kind. Making its composition also unknown."

His eyes sparkled as he started to explain animatedly.

"It is even determined after years of research that the miasma itself is a new type of poison. Now since it has poison attribute, actual tests were done and finally it is confirmed that high quality detoxification potion has a certain resistance against it. Not much though, and the duration only lasts a couple of hours. Sometimes three hours depending on the body type of the person taking the potion. Unfortunately, when actual tests were done against the more concentrated miasma, it failed. Well, the failure is mainly due to test subjects can't last near the miasma. Oh, I forgot to add, actual tests are done on-site, because, we cannot get a sample of the miasma. Regardless of its dose, the miasma can easily corrodes any container, even with the help of arrays and prohibition."

The moment Avrum started explaining, Sigma's expression went blank. He was never the type to stay focused in class while a professor was explaining, anyway. He just focused on staying awake.

Even Stella had a stumped expression. Not because she could not follow Avrum's explanation but because it was her first time seeing how animated he was. She knew Avrum had a very easygoing personality. But this side of him was a pleasant surprise to her.

Malia, on the other hand, could not help but sweat.

As the Chairman of the Alchemist Association, she knew very well the oddness of her Head Alchemist. Aside from this, the subject of Avrum's research was the miasma in the Chaos Palace. He believed that once he fully understood the miasma's composition, he would also have a breakthrough with his magic.

'Easily corrodes any container?' Kyran repeated in his head.

It was true that most poisons had corrosive effects. But it would not be able to 'easily' corrode a container that was strengthened by array and prohibition. If not, how would alchemists even learn about poison?

If the miasma had such corrosive effect, and alchemists could not decipher its composition, then maybe...

Kyran suddenly had an idea as to what the miasma was.

"What does the miasma looked like?" He asked.

"Just like what a miasma would?" Avrum replied in confusion. "I'm sorry. I am not sure what you mean."

Black lines appeared on Kyran's head. His question did sound stupid.

"Right, um. What is its color? And does it have an odor? If what you said about it being a new type of poison, then it will have a distinct odor," he rephrased his question.

Avrum nodded, "True. But the miasma is actually odorless. And unlike the common poison that would appear green or deep red, it has this dark bluish violet color."

A smile escaped Kyran's lips.

'As expected from the Void Master's stronghold,' he thought and took out a transparent magic orb.

His action puzzled the rest of the council, especially when he closed his eyes and started to rouse his magic.

Molding magic could also be applied in non-solid form as long as a mage could picture it clearly and understand its structure.

Kyran concentrated and pictured his magic in a different form. To make sure he had a better image in mind, he recalled how Nolan's magic looked and how it felt.

Soon, a purple-colored mist formed inside the magic orb.

It instantly made Avrum's eyes widened.

The rest of the council members also stared at the orb in disbelief—especially Hugh and Malia, who had seen the miasma personally.

Although the purple mist in the magic orb was more concentrated, it gave off the same feeling as the miasma in the Chaos Palace.

Did it mean that the miasma was actually...?

Kyran opened his eyes and looked at the orb. He controlled the purple mist to touch the top part of the orb. Immediately, the orb sizzled, and the top part started to disintegrate.

"That's...!" Avrum exclaimed.

The purple mist's corrosive effect was fast, but it looked very similar to how the concentrated miasma corroded a container.

Seeing Avrum's reaction, Kyran confirmed that his guess was correct. However, he believed the miasma itself was not pure void magic. Most likely, it had void properties only. He suspected that there might be an array around the Chaos Palace that produces the miasma. And to produce the miasma with void property, then the calculation in that array used void language.

The thought made Kyran excited. Although he did not need arrays to use his magic, he was still interested in learning how to make one and learn his magic's runic language. Stella's book about Ancient Magic could help him understand its basic wording once he learned how to use magic sense. But what he wanted to know was its array application. Learning arrays that already had void runes would save him a lot of time.

Kyran canceled his magic and returned the magic orb inside his pouch.

Then he looked at Noir and Vaness again.

"I guess that is one less thing to worry about," he said. "Just tell me how I can recognize a Duali bark's age and I'll get it for you."

Avrum almost fell off his chair.

"Wait just a moment!" He exclaimed and stood up.

All eyes instantly zone in on him.

They saw the crazed look in his eyes as he stared at Kyran in disbelief.

'This guy...' Avrum thought. 'Is he not taking this discovery lightly?'

The miasma had stumped every exploration effort in the Chaos Palace. Every alchemist could not even recognize its composition. Now they found it was made up of the elusive void magic; wouldn't that make the people from the Royal Army's Research Division and their Alchemist Association crazy?

Void Magic had been a mystery to them, but if they continue to study the miasma around the Chaos Palace, who would say they would not have any breakthrough in the future?

"You-!" Avrum said while pointing at Kyran's pouch. However, he failed to sort his thoughts into what he wanted to say and just gaped.

When he tried to speak again, he could only say, "That-!" before his mind went into another flurry of thoughts that he could not sort.

Black lines appeared on the heads of the council members.

They knew why Avrum was acting like this. If he did not speak up, one of them might.

Stella was also looking at Kyran incredulously. He did act indifferent about discovering what the miasma was made of, and even she felt the sudden change of topic was abrupt.

That miasma changed Hugh's life, and Stella had supported the materials Malia would need to concoct a potion that would help him alleviate his condition. Now, they found the miasma's source was void magic. With Kyran's help, Malia might have a better chance of concocting a potion to make Hugh recover.

Hugh was also looking at Kyran with a complicated expression. But unlike Avrum, he contained his emotion.

Kyran might be able to help discover a cure to his condition, but he did not have a reason to help. Hugh could not ask for it as well. Although Kyran proposed a partnership, they were strangers. That partnership was between Kyran and The Conclave, not between them personally.

Kyran sighed in his heart. He pretty much had an idea why they reacted this way.

"Just to be clear. The miasma probably is not pure void magic. I'm not sure how I know but yeah, I just know it."

Kyran frowned a little at what he said. He got confused at his own words.

"But, it definitely has void properties. If I am correct, there is probably a huge array around the Chaos Palace that produces this miasma. As to why it is more concentrated during this time of the year, I still have no idea. I had to see it for myself before I can think of a possibility," he told them.

After hearing this, the rest of the council calmed down a bit.

Even Avrum returned to his seat, scratching his head with a carefree laugh.

"Yes, of course. While your magic did appear like the miasma, there is still a slight difference. I mean it could not possibly be void magic... if it was then detoxification potion would have no effect..." Avrum agreed, but he muttered the latter part of his sentence that it sounded like he was talking to himself.

Hugh also heaved a sigh with a bitter smile as he leaned back on his chair.

Kyran noticed this and even saw the disappointment in his expression.

He paused for a moment before adding, "But now that we know the miasma has void properties. If you need samples for... I guess for research purposes, I can help get it."

Hugh's looked at Kyran; his eyes reflected a mixture of surprise, gratitude, and disbelief.