Chapter 957 Wanting To... (1)
Kyran knew what Cyneah wanted as a reward and even felt it was lacking. He remembered asking if her wanting to see him was enough of a reward because it was not hard to give— not that he would instead want her to ask for something he could not afford— and when she confirmed it, he inwardly vowed to find a way to cure her sight.
Thinking back on it, when he learned Cyneah and Haylee were the same person and that the latter was an essence created artificially by White Lily using the former's magic core, he thought that once the essence returned to the original, Cyneah's sight would recover. In the end, it did not happen.
One possible cause was that the magic core used to create Haylee had been Cyneah's spare core. It should be noted that all Ancient magic successors would have at least two magic cores, one of which would be the Ancient magic core.
In Cyneah's case, she should have two magic core, one being the Soul core.
However, White Lily used the empty magic core to create Haylee. As for the Soul core, apparently, Cyneah did not inherit it because her predecessor did not die in the first place.
Kyran had no idea how Cyneah ended up becoming the Soul Emperor's successor when the previous one was still alive. He only guessed that the reason might be that Layla no longer possessed a body. Thus, her existence could be considered a remnant soul rather than the living, lingering within the Soul core.
As a matter of fact, Kyran's guess was on point. Layla might have succeeded in preserving her full consciousness within the Soul core, but her existence was no different from the First Time Keeper Stella and the previous Void Master Caelan, who left a part of their consciousness in the Time core and Void core, respectively, to connect with their predecessors when the right time came.
Because of this, Cyneah became the Soul Emperor's successor while possessing no magic core. She was an anomaly, and the Fates would have already made a move to eliminate her. However, because her existence was similar to Kyran's, as they were both successors of Ancient magic, they had a specific immunity from the laws of the realms.
Kyran only learned this fact after studying the copies of the tablets Axil and her faction discovered. The copies still contained many things that did not make sense to him, but that was a discussion for another time.
Kyran continued to observe Cyneah from behind and was surprised when she turned suddenly and looked at him as if she could genuinely see him. He even felt his heart jump in shock at how his visage was reflected clearly in her mirror-like eyes.
"I want us to be alone when I take my reward."
Euan let out a strangled sound after hearing Cyneah. Kyran would have reacted the same way if not for his brain lagging for a second and failing to process her words completely.
Before Kyran could say anything, Cyneah already looked away and told Euan, "When I used Soul attack on those people protesting outside, I discovered a few of them were only there to stir the multitude. Most of them were not against Anshel's order to reform their nation's law."
Euan was at a loss at how his daughter could divert the subject without batting an eye.
'Hm?'
But then, he noticed the insides of her ears turning a little red as she kept a straight face.
The physiological reaction Cyneah had shown just now was something Euan had never seen in Haylee. This only proved that even if Haylee was Cyneah's essence, the former had formed her own characteristics.
This made Euan want to know his real daughter better.
But before that, he had something to clear first. This was the thought that crossed Euan's mind as he looked over to Kyran.
Kyran noticed Euan's stare but feigned ignorance. While he knew the latter was Cyneah's biological father, because of what she had gone through, he admitted not having any good thoughts on Euan.
But after their discussion a few days ago and discovering the things Euan did in order to protect Cyneah, Kyran changed his opinion. What the older man had done was not ideal, but he did what he could at the best of his limited capabilities at that time. What mattered was the result.
"Anshel's subjects are divided into three factions. Still, the ones who were in opposition to the reformation of the kingdom's law were the majority. Only a few support Anshel unconditionally, and a limited number were neutral," Euan explained after a short pause.
While he said this, he continued to give Kyran the look.
Similarly, Kyran continued to feign ignorance.
"Will the opposition be seated together, or will they sit with the other factions?"
"Normally, they will be seated at random. However, the place where I'll be taking you is called the Cretea's Inner Court. That place is where the council meets and discusses the kingdom's affairs. Because of this, the opposition side will be gathered on one side, while the neutral faction and those loyal subjects of Anshel will be on the other."
Euan remembered a similar setting within his court. The only difference was that the parliament was divided evenly, and those who were loyal to the Royal Family would only attend as observers. This was to ensure that Euan's side would not easily sway the parliament if their numbers were great because the loyal subjects of the Royal Family were greater in number.
"Which side will the opposition be?" Cyneah asked, following through with her previous query.
"Anshel's right side, if he is facing the court."
"I understand."
Euan had already gleaned what Cyneah wanted to do when she asked all those questions. She obviously wanted to do something similar to what she did to the multitude but would only target those opposing the reformation.
However, Euan believed otherwise. To him, he believed attacking all of them with a Soul attack was better, especially because this move would allow Cyneah to discover if there were spies among the neutral and loyal supporters of Anshel's side.
Just as he had this in mind, the younger man behind them had already voiced them out.
"If you're planning to use Soul attack later, target everyone inside the court," Kyran told Cyneah. "This would let us know if there are any spies among the neutral and loyal supporters of Anshel."
"Hm... that makes sense. I'll do that then," Cyneah agreed without even asking Kyran to give an elaborate explanation.
Euan was once more at a loss. He could sense the two had a very strong tacit understanding of each other, which proved how close they were. However, a chasm also seemed to spread between them that Euan could not truly understand.
As a matter of fact, the chasm Euan sensed between Cyneah and Kyran was nothing serious. If one even knew what it was, they might think the two were such noobs when it came to matters of the heart.
Kyran might have been outspoken about his intentions for Cyneah, but he had a strange habit of keeping to himself what he was planning to do to pursue her. Meanwhile, Cyneah, who was oblivious to what Kyran had in mind because— duh, he was not even saying anything— was feeling somewhat apprehensive. Thus, she decided to take the initiative to clear things between them.
To be honest, there was another reason apart from the one where Kyran acted distant from her that made her apprehensive. And that was Kyran's growing fame— or, to be more accurate— Nar's fame.
It should be noted that in the beginning, Kyran, as Nar, was seen as an Imon-spawn among the Eidums. However, after they learned of the existence of the outsiders, they started to think he was one rather than an Imon-spawn. This would also explain the strange language he and Cyneah used to converse most of the time.
For the record, only a few were aware that the strange language the two of them used at times was not native to the Somuli. Most were convinced that their language could be found among those lawless inhabitants of Somuli in Howling Pass.
The moment people saw Kyran as an outsider and not Imon-spawn, they started to admire his strength. He might be lacking in the face department, but his physical appearance, in general, was not bad.
It was one of the things that the inhabitants of Somuli noticed every time he appeared before them.
To them, Kyran's presence had a certain charisma, and it was not only because of the seemingly invincible strength he had shown them but also of how he carried himself.
Because of this, more Somulians were drawn to him.
That made Cyneah very apprehensive, especially when those who took notice of him were females.
As a matter of fact, there was one young woman who was very much infatuated with Kyran without her even noticing it— Yalen.
The source of this c𝐨ntent is freewe(b)nov𝒆l