Chapter 942 Truth (1)
Kyran took note of Euan referring to Cyneah as the Saint. He was not expecting the older man to refer to her as his daughter, but he felt his address a little cold.
Judging by Cyneah's seemingly indifferent facade, yet letting out an almost inaudible shaky breath, Kyran knew she was a little affected by it.
Then again, Kyran could not blame Euan. For so many years, he believed Haylee was his real daughter and doted on her. Technically, Haylee was still Euan's daughter. Unfortunately, she was only an essence. Not to mention, she ended up being influenced by Layla's will.
"'Half a year after...'" Kyran repeated as his eyes narrowed at Euan. "That means it was you who ordered the Nobles to pull out from here and let the Eidums handle their border defenses by themselves."
"Yes," Euan replied indifferently. Inwardly, he was aware that Kyran was a little displeased about what he did.
However, Euan had a reason for doing what he did, and that was to protect Cyneah. Others would not understand his reasoning, but he believed Kyran would.
Cyneah's indifference faltered slightly after realizing this matter. She tried to tell herself not to be affected, but she could not lie to herself.
She might not be the person Euan doted on, but she saw and even felt everything after recovering Haylee's memories. Because of this, she admitted to being envious of the relationship between Haylee and Euan.
In the end, Haylee was influenced by Layla's will and inadvertently betrayed Euan's trust. However, why was Euan hostile to Cyneah when she was not the one who betrayed him per se?
Haylee might be Cyneah's essence, but because the former was created from the latter's magic core, she became her own person. Haylee even managed to attract a different magic energy, thus possessing a different innate magic. In the end, the magic energy she attracted still possessed the Soul magic's nature.
In any case, hearing Euan was the one who ordered the retreat of the Nobles and inadvertently put the Eidums and even Cyneah at risk of dying at the hands of the Armakeans, Cyneah was upset.
Kyran sensed Cyneah's inner struggle and knew she misunderstood Euan's intentions. Thus, to clear her doubts, he heaved an exaggerated sigh and said to Euan, "You know, there are other ways you could have protected Neah without forcing her here."
Cyneah's brows raised slightly as she turned toward Kyran. She could not see his expression, but she knew he did not say that just to cover for Euan.
Euan smiled gratefully at Kyran. He obviously saw the minute change in Cyneah when he confirmed Kyran's conjecture. Her expression might have remained indifferent, but her complexion had turned pale.
"Somuli is a strange plane. And I do not have the power and authority here. I can only do so much. Thus, I believed the border's structure and array formation would protect her."
Hearing Euan's reply made Cyneah look at him questioningly.
Euan was slightly abashed the moment Cyneah's mirror-like eyes bore down on him. He knew she was blind and that she was different from Haylee. That person told him a lot about her and even her connection with Kyran.
Thinking back on the first time Euan met Kyran, he sensed the younger man was very cautious about him. Initially, Euan believed the younger man's reaction was natural, especially when his clan had been 'taken hostage' by the Royal Army. But after Euan learned from that person that Kyran saved Cyneah and had been under his protection since then, he finally understood everything.
At least, Euan thought he did.
Looking at Kyran and Cyneah's closeness, at the moment, Euan realized he had underestimated the connection they had.
"'Do not have the power and authority,'" Kyran repeated again while tilting his head questioningly. "Meaning the real Anshel is still alive and poses a threat."
Cyneah frowned slightly. She could not follow Kyran's train of thought.
How did he come up with Anshel being alive and posing a threat to Euan just from that statement? Her understanding of the latter's statement was that being a Sovereign, although a fake one, meant his power and authority in Somuli were already different. Thus, he could no longer meddle in the affairs of the plane.
"...!" Cyneah's eyes widened as she realized something.
The one she healed was the real Anshel, which means the one who became a fake Sovereign was the real one. So, could Euan pretend to be the fake Sovereign? Not to mention his ability to use transformation magic to disguise himself as Anshel; at the moment, his powerful presence also resembled a Sovereign, albeit weaker than most.
"Yes," Euan replied with a sigh. "After the Saint healed him, he did become a pseudo-Sovereign of Somuli. But his body had weakened once more, and his authority over the plane had not completely changed. He could summon the Sovereign's Cradle, but its effects were far too weak. Moreover, the title he received, well..."
Euan paused and smiled wryly before saying, "It does not represent his innate magic."
"Bulwark is associated with defensive magic."
"That is right. I do not understand the specifics, but I believe there is a fixed title of a Sovereign attached to every plane. In Somuli's case, its sovereignty could only be called the Sovereign of Bulwark. But if this was the case, then the innate magic of the mage who would inherit that title, should be associated with defense-type magic."
"This is the first time I've heard about this..." Kyran started. But then his voice trailed off as he called that Azaloth, the Human plane's first Sovereign, was an Adjurer, and the one who preceded him was Nolan, also an Abjurer.
Technically, Nolan was also a Transmuter, but his innate magic leaned more towards an Abjurer.
Kyran did not know what the title of the Human Plane's Sovereign was, but from this, he more or less guessed it would also be associated with defense-type innate magic.
While he was thinking this, another thought crossed his mind. A doubt he had after learning Somuli also had spirit stones and even automatons that belonged to the Ancients— there was a probability that the Somuli was part of the Human plane, or, to be more accurate, part of the Land of the Ancients.
If this was true, did that mean the reason the old man could not ascend was because the Human plane already had a new Sovereign?
Kyran rejected the idea as soon as it crossed his mind. Since Anshel managed to become the pseudo-Sovereign, the Human plane possessing a new Sovereign had nothing to do with Somuli. Even if the two planes were connected, both had different Magic Laws. Thus, the Human plane's Sovereign would never be able to utilize his magic in Somuli.
Then why was the old man having problems ascending?
More importantly, if the real Anshel was still alive, how could Euan pose as him?
"I have learned a lot of things here. Because of my position, I was able to meet other Sovereigns and exchange information with them. In any case, the real Anshel could not have fooled those Sovereigns."
"But you can because although your innate magic was not defense-type, you know Transformation magic."
"Correct. I could fool the Sovereigns because their mage levels were restrained by the Sovereign's Cradle. Somuli's limited natural magic energy also prevented them from probing, using their magic sense. Thus, they failed to detect my Transformation magic."
"In the end, the restrictions in Somuli provided you enough cover."
"That's right. Still, the power I possess... is not mine."
"You borrowed it from the real Anshel," Kyran quipped.
Euan nodded in affirmation. He looked at Kyran and hesitated for a moment before saying, "I know you said you want me to make things short, but there are things I have to explain that may take some time."
Before Kyran could reply, Cyneah tugged on his sleeves as if to tell him to allow Euan to continue.
"Fine," Kyran could only relent since it was quite rare for Cyneah to request something.
Come to think of it, he still owed her.
Euan gave Cyneah a grateful smile; whether she could see or not did not matter. He only wanted to express his gratitude.
After receiving Kyran's consent, Euan told them his story.
When Euan arrived in Somuli, he was fortunate enough to have arrived near the capital of the Kingdom of Cretea. He realized at once that he was transported to a different plane because of the stale magic energy in the surroundings.
After observing the nearby town, Euan noticed that all humans had blonde hair and blue eyes. Not wanting to draw unnecessary attention, he cast Transformation magic and changed the color of his eyes and hair. After that, he entered the town.
Euan soon realized that his appearance might be similar to someone quite well-known there because humans around him acted respectfully. But because he could not understand their language, he was unsure.
Euan acted aloof around them simply because he could not respond to them. Besides, he wanted to learn more about the place he was transported to, as well as search for other humans.
This content is taken from (f)reewe(b)novel.𝗰𝗼𝐦