As his mouth spoke the name, Emery could feel his memories about the two elves before and the young man in front of him began flowing back to his mind. They had been there during the incident at the Plant Institute of the Magus Academy.
The attack of the academy on his first year; the event which had been a part of his nightmare for quite a while.
As for Cole, the young man was the senior acolyte who was taken away. Now that the memory of that time was returning, Emery could recall the last moment he saw the other party, where he was brought into the portal with both of his legs chopped off.
It had been almost ten years since that incident, and Emery could only imagine what the young man had gone through in that period of time.
Cole took several moments to regain his bearings, and then with a hint of disbelief he said, "No one knows my real name anymore.. so I guess, Master is really still alive."
The young man's words basically told how close he was to Zenonia. It seemed that she really did some work on him.
Emery might not know much about the Khaos Domain, but he was quite confident that he knew the female grand magus pretty well.
Now that he seemed to be starting to gain the young man's trust, Emery decided to continue his efforts. He started to 'open up' and shared some of the things where Zenonia had helped him as well without getting too specific.
When Cole also began to open up in response, he began to subtly control the conversation.
"We need to help her," He said to the young man. "Are you willing to help me? With that, I will be able to help her recover faster."
At the notion of helping his master, Cole perked up and asked, "What kind of help do you need from me?"
"It's nothing much really. As I said before, the guardian of my Khaos space is really unwilling to share much. So can you tell me more about this place?"
When he received a nod from the young man, Emery started with simple questions to gradually earn his trust. That said, he went ahead and asked about the 4 special rune stones and the Khaos Champions.
As this information supposedly could be answered by the guardians, it was further proof to Cole of his situation and Cole had no problem explaining it.
The four Gates of Khaos; apparently, the elves had assigned names to all of them. They were the War Gate, Famine Gate, Death Gate, and Pestilence Gate. Each was named upon the titles of the first four Khaos Champions who shared the Khaos Domain in the past.
"The one Master Zenonia holds is the Pestilence Gate. The elves hold two, the War Gate and Death Gate. As for the Famine Gate, its existence has been lost for quite a while."
Hearing that, Emery instantly deduced that the one where Kilgragah resided was the lost Shadow Gate. Connecting the story, it appeared that both Zenonia and the previous owner of the Famine Gate, the elf Namariel, managed to hide its existence from the elves.
"I see… Then what about this matter of champions? I was worried because that guardian told my colleague here to accept and become the Champion of Khaos when it should belong to our Master.."
Cole seemed taken aback by Emery's words, and luckily what he said next explained his reaction.
"I guess Master Zenonia is really in such a bad state that it could make the guardian look for another champion."
The young man however was quite confused as to why the guardian had to push through the idea so quickly. After all, the fourth Khaos Gate, the Famine Gate, was still not found.
Without having all four Khaos Champions on the line, the four Khaos Gates would not be able to link up amongst each other. Therefore there was really no need to rush to replace the champion.
"Link up?"
"Yeah, linking up all four Khaos Gates. As far as I know, it's something about finally being able to receive the Khaos legacy."
Upon hearing that, Emery finally got the answer to the question that had been stuck in his mind. The reason why Kilgragah did what he did. That said, he quickly stopped asking about details so as not to get the young man suspicious.
Not long after, Cole left because he had been summoned back. With that, Emery took the opportunity to approach the dark rune stone of Famine Gate where Kilgragah was and said,
"What are you really trying to do? If Morgana accepts becoming Khaos champion, your existence will definitely be known to others."
The atmosphere was silent for a few moments before the dragon's voice could be heard.
"That is indeed my goal."
Kilgragah explained that he has been in the Famine Gate for over three thousand years. He was found by the elf Namariel a hundred year ago, one who already possessed the War Gate at the time and decided to keep him secret.
Namariel went to the Academy to meet Zenonia, which led to the incident and his War Gate was taken back by the elves.
That's when Emery's destiny was intertwined with Khaos power.
The Dragon longs to reappear into the world, but it was something that could only be granted by the Lord of Khaos. As long as his wish was fulfilled, he didn't really care who became the Lord of Khaos.
Hearing that, the only response Emery could muster towards the dragon was a long, deep sigh.
If Morgana had accepted the offer to become Khaos Champion, she might be able to access the Famine Gate and get his body for him. But at the same time, it would make the existence of the Famine Gate known to the other champions.
That was certainly not an acceptable risk, not until either Emery or Morgana were strong enough to take on the challenge against a group of dark elves with Grand Magus level among them.
However, on the other hand today's revelation revealed hidden dangers and brought a new objective for Emery, which was to find Zenonia's lost Pestilence Gate. If he would have access to two gates, he might be able to even out the difference in power between the Khaos Champions.
With that, Emery decided to leave the Khaos Domain and let the Khaos Gate matter rest for a while until he got more information about it; he actually had someone who might be able to help him. Zenonia' actual surviving pupil; Annara Vermont.