Aki and Auto-one finally caught up to Kyran and stood behind him.
"Master... the young mistress..." Aki started.
"Go join them. And refrain from calling me master in front of them."
"Yes, mas— I understand," Aki replied before joining Ladon and Thorn.
Thorn had already arrived beside Cyneah and was asking if she was hurt anywhere.
"Thank you, Thorn. I am fine," she assured him with a slight smile. Now that she knew Kyran was there, she suddenly felt overly conscious while being surrounded by the opposite sex.
"It's my fault," Thorn apologized remorsefully as he lowered his head toward her. "I failed to see through her real intentions and allow myself to be caught up in her schemes."
"I-It's really fine. I did not get hurt," Cyneah assured him once more. "If anything, she mostly attacked you and Ladon..."
"You've healed us," Ladon chimed as he joined them. He smiled bitterly and added, "I'm sure you intended to keep your magic a secret, but because of our incompetence, you were forced to reveal it."
"No, I..."
To be honest, Cyneah did not mean to hide her healing abilities. Ames was the only one who told her not to say them openly.
"Since the young mistress says it is fine, you both should move on. We still have to deal with the woman," Aki interrupted with a deadpan expression.
Cyneah felt grateful for Aki's timely intrusion. She truly did not blame Ladon and Thorn for what happened earlier, and their blaming themselves was not really doing them any good.
"True," Ladon agreed as he turned his attention back to the woman.
The woman had mostly recovered and sat on the floor in silence. Behind her stood Kyran, who Ladon realized had been watching them with a blank expression.
Although Kyran did not seem to be showing any emotion, for some reason, Ladon felt a chill run up his spine after seeing him.
"..."
Thorn also looked at the woman. Unlike Ladon, he ignored Kyran and said, "She may act docile right now. But she may be plotting something."
His eyes narrowed as he finally looked at Kyran, "She might even be in cahoots with that arrogant nobody."
The four joined Kyran, Auto-one, and the woman before resuming their discussion.
Surprisingly, Ladon and Thorn were not surprised that the woman was a remnant of the Ancients. Apparently, the Dragon Emperor had already speculated that there were survivors among the Ancients inside the tower. The only reason they failed to encounter them was that they were hidden in the upper levels.
For the record, the highest level any of the clans reached by the end of the tower's accessibility was the tenth level. Apart from that, the other clans did not really share with the rest what happened to them inside. For all they knew, some of the clans had already met a survivor of the Ancients but chose not to share the news with the others.
Moreover, there were several cases where representatives died in the tower. There was a possibility that they were killed by the survivors themselves and not because they failed at the tower's challenge.
Ladon also hinted that the Dragon Emperor believed the tower's real purpose was for the survivors to destroy the rising talents of the other clans. The tower could be considered their way of enacting revenge on the clans that banded together to destroy them.
When Ladon hinted at this thought, the woman only snorted derisively at him.
Her reaction somehow convinced Kyran that his theory of the tower's new purpose was more probable. He was even more assured after learning that the woman wanted Cyneah's group to remove the mirrors that imprisoned her.
Kyran's theory was that there were several other Ancients in the same situation as the woman. And those who were free, changed the tower's setting to allow others to enter it and help them in searching for all those imprisoned Ancients and free them.
As to why those free Ancients could not help their own people, Kyran did not know. Which was why he still felt conflicted about this theory. In any case, he might be on to something.
The woman called herself Diara. When asked if the remnant of the Ancients inside the tower were plotting anything, she feigned ignorance.
Thorn was initially enraged at Diara's attitude and wanted to teach her a lesson. With Kyran inflicting her with emotional scars, Thorn reckoned dealing with her would be easier.
Ladon stopped him, though, and explained that they would need Diara to lead them around the tower and that they might even need her help in searching for that someone with the powerful presence inside.
Diara gaped at them incredulously after Ladon confirmed why they were in the tower. After a short pause, she burst into laughter and said, "You want to search for that? I wish you luck then."
They looked at her with slightly narrowed eyes. She ignored them, but when she saw Kyran giving her a blank look, she felt her insides churn and was reminded of his ruthless strikes.
Diara snorted but then asked, "Have you ever wondered why that powerful presence seems to be present everywhere?"
"We have," Thorn snarled in reply. "Which is why we want to look for it and confirm it."
"That's why you lost to me. Your brain is empty."
"What was that—?"
"It is impossible for you to find it," Diara ignored Thorn's outburst and continued. "To be more accurate, there is never a need to look for it."