Legacy of the Dark Sage

But more than being annoyed and disappointed at Alta, Lucian was angered by the fact that he was no different from her because he allowed that human to escape from his pursuit as well.

"Give me your soul thread of that moment," Lucian said while pointing a finger at Alta. "I want to see that black mage's feature."

"M-My s-soul thread, Your Majesty?" Alta raised her head in fear, gaping at Lucian with trembling lips.

Soul threads, the very essence of a human's memory, are not to be trifled with. Surrendering a thread is like tearing a small part of their soul away. It may be small, but the damage is permanent. A mage with a damaged soul is akin to a magic core in disrepair— their usage of magic will be severely hindered.

Geir and the Blade Dancer Clan's Elders also paled, especially the female elder, because Alta belonged to her House.

Alta was considered one of the most talented mages of the new generation, and her future as a leader was practically guaranteed. However, that would change if her soul thread was taken. Even if only a piece would be taken out, the damage to her magic core would make it hard for her to grow any further as a mage.

The Emperor's request appeared to be an innocent request to confirm if the black mage Alta encountered was the same one he was pursuing. But Geir and the rest of the elders knew better.

Asking Alta to surrender her soul thread was The Emperor's punishment for her incompetence.

"Are you deaf?"

Alta gasped as a streak of light that came from The Emperor's pointing finger pierced through her body. Afterward, a flimsy silvery-white thread weaved out of her and followed The Emperor's light as it came to him.

Lucian opened his hand and grabbed the flimsy silvery-white thread with his thumb and pointing finger before opening his mouth to eat it.

"Ngh...!" Alta fell to her knees. Her eyes shook in disbelief, with her face covered in cold sweat. She could not believe that her soul thread was taken just like that. The future she had wanted for their clan... the hope of breaking free from the Solis's rule, slipped out from her grasp so easily like how The Emperor took her soul thread.

Geir and the Blade Dancer Elders could only grit their teeth and endure the situation because they could not defy The Emperor.

Alta grabbed her chest, her eyes filled with bitter tears. She wanted to scream and ask the Head of the Clan and the Elders to help her. However, doing so would not improve her situation. The Emperor had already taken her soul thread, and there was no way for them to reclaim it. Even if there were a way, it would not return to her.

Once a soul thread is taken, it can no longer be returned.

...Unless one can use Soul magic, that is.

In the end, Alta could only shed silent tears at the hopeless situation she was in, as well as how pathetic their clan was for being helpless before The Emperor.

Lucian closed his eyes as he tasted Alta's soul thread.

Normally, no one could force out a soul thread from a mage because there was no guarantee that the thread they would get was the memory they wanted. However, Lucian was quite familiar with how soul threads worked after dealing with so many instances that required taking them from another mage.

For this reason, he did not hesitate to take out Alta's soul thread because he knew he would get the right one.

The trick was to ensure the mage was thinking of the memory before taking out the soul thread. Since Alta had just narrated her encounter with the black mage, and Lucian even demanded that she surrender her soul thread, the probability that she was thinking of the memory of her encounter was stuck in her head.

Of course, there were times when this method did not work. But Lucian was confident because he knew Alta's straightforward character.

As soon as Alta's soul thread melted into Lucian's mouth, a first-person view flashed through his mind's eye. It was as if he became Alta, and he was the one chasing after a man in black clothes.

"This presence..." Lucian muttered, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "Yes... this is the presence back then!"

Geir and the rest of the Blade Dancer Elders looked at him in fear. It was not the first time they had seen The Emperor look exhilarated. But each time he did, something big that could affect the whole Higher Realm always happened.

They remembered the time when The Emperor had the same smile after discovering the hideout of a group of small clans that was planning a rebellion.

A week after that, news of the small clans belonging to that group getting wiped out spread all over the Higher Realm. Moreover, The Emperor destroyed those clans without the Solis Clan or the clans under his faction being deployed.

Because of that incident, the fear most clans had for The Emperor was reinforced again.

Lucian opened his eyes as he looked at Geir and said, "I want that representative's soul thread as well."

Geir and the other elders paled further.

Alta, who was crying silently, abruptly stopped upon hearing this as well. This was because the representative, The Emperor, referred to was her brother.

'No!' Alta looked at her house's elder while shaking her head in fear and denial.

"Y-You can't! I-It's one thing to take my soul thread, but even my brother?" she shouted in despair.

In fact, Shiloh was not the only one connected with Alta. The leader representative of the Blade Dancer was, too. With him being killed in the Tower of the Ancients, Alta's family had already suffered a lot. Now, her future had also been destroyed. If Shiloh's soul thread would be taken as well then...

"Oh?" Lucian licked his lips and leaned back on his chair. "To think that both the brother and the sister are in the middle of the whole situation... is it a coincidence? Or... fate?"

Alta paled as she saw The Emperor's eyes, which were veiled with darkness. It felt ironic that the most powerful mage in the Higher Being, having an innate magic of Light, would actually have such darkness hiding within him.

"Y-Your Majesty... S-Shiloh is still unconscious..." Geir started to say. His eyes trembled while he racked his brain to divert The Emperor's attention when he recalled something, "I-In fact, Shiloh is not the only one who survived. T-There is another one. He is also unconscious, but once he regained consciousness, taking his soul thread should be..."

Geir was talking about Uilleam. Since the latter was not part of the main family, he believed it was better to sacrifice him than Shiloh. His decision was not an easy one because even if Uilleam was not part of the main family, his prowess was among the best, especially within the night squad.

But the main family of the Sound House had already suffered far too much because of the Tower of the Ancients. Geir could not afford to offend them further.

"Humph," Lucian snorted. He was aware that Geir was trying to protect Shiloh because he had already taken Alta's soul thread. Since both were from the same family, if they suffered any further, the house they belonged to would not stay still, and Geir would be put into an awkward position.

Just because Geir was the Head of the Clan, that did not mean he held absolute power in the Blade Dancer Clan.

Lucian was also aware that the fifth elder, from the Sound House, had a wider connection outside of the clan. If Geir offended her any further, there was no telling how she would retaliate.

To be honest, Lucian cared little about the politics among the clans under his faction. As long as they supported the Solis Clan and responded to his call, then he could care less about what they did.

However, Geir did make a logical point. Shiloh was still unconscious, so Lucian could not forcefully take his soul thread.

"Then, whoever regained their consciousness will surrender their soul thread to me."

"O-Of course..."

Lucian's eyes narrowed as he studied Geir's face. Though the latter replied without hesitation, he obviously knew that even if Shiloh regained consciousness first, they would not let him know.

'Doesn't matter... taking his soul thread is only an excuse at this point. I only want to cut off their talents, especially after seeing some of Alta's thoughts.

That was right. Apart from the visuals, the soul thread also carries the thoughts a mage had during the memory. This was why Lucian was aware that the Blade Dancer Clan actually had designs on betraying the Solis Clan.

'This is only the start... I'll grind your clan to the bones for thinking you can betray me.'

*

Cyneah looked at Kyran with furrowed brows. It had only been three hours since he agreed to rest, and now he was already working.

"Kyran..." she started.

"I only want to know what The Emperor is up to. I am not doing anything that will tire me out."

"The fact that you are already working when you have only three hours of rest is what's worrying me."

Kyran chuckled as he looked at her. He wanted to remind her that he had been unconscious for more than a week but decided against it because he could almost hear her say that he was not exactly resting then because he was enduring the influence of Coelus's corpse.

"I'm worried about my informants," Kyran admitted instead. "I can't let The Emperor do anything to them."

"Do you think The Emperor will harm them?" Cyneah asked worriedly.

"I can't deny that possibility."

"Then..."

"I need more information about The Emperor, the clans, and the relationships between them. Lady Leif explained some of them, but it was not enough for me to draw a definite image of their relationship."

"What are you going to do with the information? You're not planning on kidnapping more people, are you?"

Kyran almost slipped off the mattress at Cyneah's words.

"Y-You..."

"Well... I say kidnap, but... rather than making their life hell like how kidnappers usually do to their targets... you ended up making them one of your people."

"..."

Kyran was rendered speechless because if Cyneah had not said it, he would not have realized it as well. Nevertheless, he had to make things clear with her.

"... I don't kidnap people."

"Okay."

"... you don't really believe me."

"I do believe you," Cyneah replied with a smile.

"..."

Kyran sighed in defeat and turned his attention back to what he was working on.

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