Chapter 866 Acquisition (6)
Kyran realized they were not on the same page, especially when Cyneah looked flustered and even started to stutter. He could sometimes be oblivious, but he was not a hopeless case. He obviously realized why and what got her flustered, and he could not help but be amused.
In the end, Kyran did not burst Cyneah's bubble and went along. Like her, he knew this was not the right time to discuss that particular topic.
With that, Kyran smoothly changed the topic by asking Cyneah how everyone was doing.
Earlier, Nachum told Cyneah the situation on their side when they went to Kyran's room. But because the distance between Kyran's room and Cyneah's was pretty close, he only provided a brief overview of everything.
.cοm Thus, for the next few minutes, Cyneah told Kyran what she knew, and they exchanged insights.
"When the Abbot dropped by earlier, he said that Princess Kesiah sent a coded message. But the only one who read it is your little friend. That's why the Abbot could not tell me anything."
A small smile tugged at the corner of Kyran's lips when Cyneah referred to True Void as a little friend. Now that he thought of it, the two had not met before. True Void knew Cyneah, but not the other way around.
"It's fine. He can tell me."
Cyneah only thought a little about Kyran's reply. In her understanding, he meant to ask True Void about the message once they joined the others outside.
She was wrong.
"True Void," Kyran called at once, making Cyneah's heart skip a beat.
Crackling sounds filled the room, followed by an answer, "What? What? Now that you need something from me, you finally notice me?"
Cyneah almost jumped out of her seat after hearing True Void speak.
Did he say 'notice me'? Did that mean he had been here all this time?
She did not even notice his presence!
Cyneah's confusion over the matter was quite reasonable because she did not know Kyran possessed the Shaiha. Now that he was awake, he had the Shaiha's concealment ability to also hide True Void's presence.
Kyran did not do this to tease Cyneah, of course. He did it because True Void practically reeked of Void magic energy. If not for Ames's overwhelming energy that drowned True Void's energy, Flos's side might have already gotten the news of Kyran's presence in Somuli.
"And please, Mistress," True Void looked at Cyneah in displeasure. "Can you not call me little? I may look little in this form. But once I am in my truest form, I am majestic!"
As a matter of fact, he only used the miniature Void armor form, so he would only occupy a small area and limit the space at which his presence and signature could be sensed.
Cyneah slightly raised her head toward where True Void's voice seemed to come from and saw an empty-like space hovering right above them. It was the very same spot where she had seen him yesterday.
Did that mean he never left and only hid himself?
The thought made Cyneah blush again.
Mistaking Cyneah's reaction as her feeling embarrassed about being called Mistress, True Void teasingly said, "Look at you, looking as if you're about to faint after being called a Mistress, yet you held Void Halfling's hand as if your life depended on it!"
Cyneah belatedly realized that she was still holding Kyran's hand. She let out a muffled cry of embarrassment and wanted to pull her hand away. However, even though she thought it, her body refused to listen. She never expected that she would become bolder and greedy when she admitted her feelings to herself! But if she did not let go, Kyran might notice something.
Before Cyneah's self-consciousness won over, Kyran had already moved his hand. But instead of letting go, he adjusted the position of their hands and interlocked his fingers over hers.
By now, Cyneah's blush had already spread to her ears. Still, she did not protest or even attempt to remove her hand.
Kyran noticed this and was inwardly pleased. He was waiting for her to complain or even discreetly pull away. Instead, she said nothing and even felt her hold tightened.
Nevertheless, Kyran knew Cyneah had yet to acknowledge his intentions completely. And that was fine with him. What mattered was that she was avoiding him anymore.
On the other hand, the third unwanted party could only look at them with a deadpan expression.
True Void inwardly snorted at Kyran's straightforwardness. Alas, he truly could not comprehend humans.
"Tell me what Kesiah said," Kyran told True Void, as if nothing happened.
"Alas," True Void sighed before he continued, "As Mistress told you, the disappearance of Gael's minions resulted in the King discovering the rebellion. The King sent out one of his trusted aides to diffuse the situation immediately.
"For this reason, Kesiah had to leave HQ to help Achim and Nahir's group. But before she arrived, someone else attacked the fort where Achim and Nahir's group defended.
"Fortunately, another group showed up to assist them. In the end, they managed to prevent the worst-case scenario from happening, but there was a catch."
"That someone who attacked is an outsider," Kyran provided.
True Void nodded, "Yes. And not just any outsider. It is someone we know."
Kyran frowned at his words. Knowing True Void, if the outsider were someone from Flos's side or Ruin, he would have said so without trying to sound mysterious. But since he did not, then it could only mean one thing.
Cyneah's expression also turned grim as she was overcome with a bad feeling.
"Layla..." she breathed as fear gripped her heart.
"Yes," True Void confirmed. Then he hastily added, "But that other group who helped was also someone we know. They subdued Layla and turned the tables against the King's forces."
Kyran's expression lit up as he guessed the things True Void had not shared and put them one after another. "Gael found them?"
"Gah... As always. You are no fun. No fun at all! You're insight's becoming more and more like your father; it's scary!"
Kyran gave him a deadpan look, "If Gael is still missing, I would have known. Since I can sense all my Servants, then it means he has returned. He obviously cannot overturn the tides alone. Meaning he brought someone who could. Before I left, I ordered him to continue investigating in Hollow Pass.
"I don't need to explain the rest, right?"
"Yes, yes. You and you're scary insight," True snorted. "You're right. Gael returned and found Malek and the others. As a matter of fact, it was Malek who subdued Layla."
Thinking about that weird right-hand man of Stella, the Time Keeper made True Void sigh inwardly. He remembered Kyran and Malek's initial meeting and broke out in a cold sweat.
At that time, True Void had started to regain consciousness and would sometimes witness what was happening around Kyran. Because the latter had yet to satisfy the energy required to wake True Void completely, he could only observe what was happening within Kyran's Void core.
True Void was awake when Malek and Kyran confronted each other. And since the latter had only started circulating his magic and barely knew how to use it, he suffered in Malek's hand.
Apart from that, True Void remembered how Malek easily inflicted internal and almost fatal injuries on Kyran when the latter's body had already undergone the first changes after taking a sip of the Elixir.
That alone was a testament to how powerful Malek was. Not to mention, at that time, he was in a crazed state and had not fully manifested his strength. If he was already that strong then, after several years, how much stronger was he now?
"Malek?" Cyneah finally spoke after listening to them in silence. "The Head Master of the Conclave? He is also here?"
"Ah, well..." True Void looked at Kyran.
Not wanting to let True Void answer that in case he gave an exaggerated account and Cyneah might think it was her fault that those people ended up in Somuli, Kyran took the initiative to explain the situation.
He only gave a brief explanation of how Malek and others had gone missing after Layla's ambush in Ravenpass.
Cyneah had a thoughtful expression after Kyran finished his explanation. After a short pause, she asked, "Would you know if... Uncle Gage is with them?"
Kyran and True Void looked at her in surprise.
"Gage? Did you meet him—?"
Cyneah nodded her head and replied before Kyran could even finish his question. "Yes. A few days after I arrived here, I was attacked by a beast. I tried to run, but the beast was too fast, and eventually, more joined the chase."
She paused, her brows slightly furrowed as if recalling something unpleasant. Then she shook her head slightly and continued, "To make the story short, I fell into a small gorge and escaped their pursuit. But one of them jumped down. Before the beast could hurt me, though, Uncle Gage appeared and killed it. After that, we traveled together for several weeks. But then we got separated when we... encountered a magical beast...
"Anyway, so many things happened after that, and I never knew what happened to him. So..."
When Cyneah shared some of her experiences after arriving in Somuli, Kyran and True Void remained silent. They were both surprised at the fact that Gage was also there. But after hearing that last bit, they realized his chances of surviving were close to nil.
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