-269- A talk between father and daughter

By the bonfire, Kai'Sa kept roasting sand lizards and scorpions, the wooden forks stuck in the sand turned black from the heat, not to mention the meat chunks on the forks, all charred and hardly recognizable as food.

But Kai'Sa had eaten many of them already, and now Kassadin was picking some up too.

For Kai'Sa, expending a lot of energy would make her skin itch and squirm, making her extremely uncomfortable. So eating not only satisfied her appetite but also soothed her skin, making herself more comfortable. She thought Kassadin should feel the same.

After all, although different from herself, that power, and the taste of the Void... Kai'Sa knew that Kassadin had also been assimilated by the Void.

Ha.....

Thinking about this gave her a headache, hunting down Kassadin as if he were a Void monster.

Then, she noticed Kassadin still looking at her, smiling.

That smile, that face...

Kai'Sa suddenly remembered the past, fragments flashing in her mind.

"Could you please stop staring at me like that?" Kai'Sa opened her mouth, biting into the roasted sand lizard, tearing through the charred surface, skin and meat together, and swallowed it down, chewing slowly.

Kai'Sa wasn't quite accustomed to Kassadin's warm gaze, but it wasn't that she didn't like it, it's just... she simply wasn't used to it.

Of course, there was warmth in her heart too. After all, Kai'Sa's inner and outer selves were different.

Outwardly, she appeared cold and unapproachable, but in reality, Kai'Sa was warm, kind, and extremely talkative.

"Don't you have anything you want to talk to me about?" Kai'Sa looked at the fire, casting a glance at Kassadin across from her, then said softly.

"Of course!" Kassadin immediately nodded vigorously. "I have a lot to say to you."

"Then, could you please come closer, f-father?" Her voice got quieter as Kai'Sa recalled what happened during the day.

A few hours ago, she had knocked the man in front of her to the ground, pinned him down with her foot on his chest, and then fired several plasma rounds on his face while conversing with Linwin through the power of Janna.

Truly filial... If it weren't for the goddess, Kai'Sa might have killed her own biological father.

Thinking about it made her shudder.

At the same time, she felt a bit ashamed of attacking Kassadin.

Kassadin's body flickered, and he appeared next to Kai'Sa with a few skewers of branches in his hand.

"What did you call me? C-Could you say it again?" Kassadin's hand holding the food was trembling, he looked at Kai'Sa's profile and said softly.

"Father." Kai'Sa called out again, then put down her hand that was rubbing her hair. She looked up at Kassadin, shifted her posture, making more space on the big rock for Kassadin, then, staring into Kassadin's eyes, the girl who only knew how to be truthful and silent said loudly, "Aren't you angry?"

"Angry? Why would I be angry?" Kassadin was suddenly stunned.

Why should he be angry? He was overjoyed!

He had found his daughter, his little Kaisa was alive!

Even though everyone told him she was dead, he kept searching, and now, he succeeded.

But... Kassadin suddenly felt a bit sad.

He had only found Kaisa.

Kai'Sa raised her hand, clenched her fist, the meaning was self-evident.

Kassadin was first stunned, then immediately shook his head vigorously and said loudly, "No, I'm not angry, quite the opposite, I'm happy. It's because of this skin that you are alive. And, and I was also trying to kill you during the day, right? I know it was a misunderstanding, we just couldn't recognize each other at first, Kaisa."

"You don't have to worry about my injuries, I'm fine now." Kassadin showed a gentle smile to his daughter.

That smile had nothing to do with the cold and cruel man during the day, it was completely irrelevant.

"Father, I, I don't go by Kaisa anymore." Kai'Sa looked at Kassadin seriously. "I go by Kai'Sa."

Kassadin's resolute face froze for a moment. The murky eyes during the day now sparkled. Hearing Kai'Sa say this, he just looked at her quietly and then asked, "Can I know the reason?"

"Of course."

"Father, can you imagine....? Imagine..."

"Imagine a place like that. Forever in darkness."

Kai'Sa suddenly propped her body back, hands pressed against the big rock, her long legs stretched straight forward. Under the bonfire, her deep purple skin was somewhat frightening.

Kassadin looked at his daughter, his brows furrowed.

And Kai'Sa's calm voice continued.

"And you refuse to give up hoping for a dawn that will never come."

Actually, when Kai'Sa said the first sentence, Kassadin understood where she meant.

He was just about to speak, to say he had been there, to say he had looked for her, but when Kai'Sa said the second sentence, Kassadin fell silent.

He had been there, but it wasn't the same.

"Father, I don't need to imagine, I've been there."

"In the darkness, I was lucky to survive, with scattered water bags, rotten fruits. I picked up everything I could to fill my stomach. But things always run out." Kai'Sa's voice was flat, like she was talking about something inconspicuous.

"The fruits didn't have maggots, but they still gave me diarrhea."

She had only told Linwin about this matter, but only mentioned a little bit.

"No one came to help me, hunger eventually overcame fear, I held the dagger you gave me and groped my way in." As Kai'Sa's voice grew calmer, sounding like she was recounting an insignificant matter, but Kassadin's heart ached more.

He silently watched Kai'Sa, listening to her words.

He knew what that world was like, he had been there himself.

But he hadn't found Kai'Sa.

So he couldn't imagine how a ten-year-old Kai'Sa managed to survive in that world.

Kai'Sa continued speaking, her voice calm, without emotional fluctuations.

Those things... they were already in the past.

Kai'Sa didn't care about those things, so why was she telling Kassadin now?

Kai'Sa herself wasn't sure.

But it definitely wasn't to question or blame Kassadin for not showing up when she was most desperate.

She just wanted Kassadin to know these things, to let him know how she had survived all these years.

"In an accident, I killed a weak insect with the dagger, I stabbed it into its glowing chest, into its pulsating heart, purple blood splattered on my face, its carapace stuck to my arm, it became my skin, giving me this power."

"Surviving in the crevice every day, every day is a difficult struggle. In the long years, this skin grew with me. I also tried crying, the first year, the second year, the third year... But it was no use, really no use. Father, do you know? The first time I couldn't help but cry out loud, I heard a voice, I excitedly went to find the source, only to find it was my own echo. They came back, as if mocking my helplessness."

"No one would come to save me, I'm just one child, right?" Kai'Sa shrugged, "But I didn't despair."

But Kassadin suddenly spoke up beside her, loudly refuting Kai'Sa's words: "It's not like that."

Kai'Sa was taken aback, her slender legs tightly closed together, she remembered what Linwin had said to her, her face immediately showed apology, smiling at Kassadin, "I'm sorry, father, I forgot you've been looking for me all this time. Yeah, it's not like nobody wanted to save me, you've always wanted to save me."

"Do you know about this?" Kassadin asked strangely. Strange. He met his daughter and was knocked out and was almost killed by her, and when he woke up, he didn't know how to talk to his daughter, Kassadin didn't remember telling Kai'Sa that he had been looking for her all along.

So staring blankly at Kai'Sa, Kassadin was stunned again.

Kai'Sa smiled at him.

The smile was very light, but in the firelight, Kai'Sa smiled beautifully, her smile relaxed and natural.

"Yeah, Linwin told me, he said you've been looking for me all your life, you've always been looking for me," Kai'Sa smiled and said, Kassadin felt something strange about it, but couldn't say it, just staring at his daughter.

Kai'Sa looked at Kassadin, tilted her head relaxedly, and said with a smile, "Look, you've been looking for me for ten years and haven't found me, but I found you in a few months. Doesn't that mean I'm more amazing? When I was little, I said I would be better than you in the future and I was right."

"Don't you... don't you hate me?" Kassadin asked.

"Hate you? Why would I hate you?" Kai'Sa became confused, then clapped her hands and said, "I'm not saying these things to blame you, I just want to tell you, I have always been getting stronger, the weak Kaisa who could only cry has now become the survivor Kai'Sa, from being a prey to being a hunter."

"Besides, how could this thing be blamed on you?"

Linwin said that Kai'Sa might be the most affected person in this incident, but she wasn't the most desperate.

The most desperate person was Kassadin, if it weren't for the flames of revenge igniting his life, Kassadin might have died in an unseen corner in Shurima.

Moreover, being able to survive strongly in that underground world, memories are the belief that supported Kai'Sa's survival.

The beautiful things in her life all had the shadow of her father.

He would hold her and put her on his neck, giving her a ride like a big horse.

When he came back from work, he would shave his face for her, bringing back all kinds of gifts.

He treated Kai'Sa's birthday as the most important thing and never forgot it.

How could Kai'Sa hate Kassadin?

She was not a resentful person, even in those years when she was fighting against the Void and rejected by humans, Kai'Sa never hated anyone.

When she knew that Kassadin was still alive, Kai'Sa might have had a moment of thought, since he was still alive, why didn't he come to save her?

But soon, Kai'Sa shook off this irresponsible thought herself.

Kai'Sa knew the dangers of the underground world best, and even more so the dangers of Shurima.

And when Linwin told Kai'Sa that this man spent every day, exhausted all means to come to travel to Icathia to avenge her, Kai'Sa remembered.

In this world... Kassadin was the person who loved her the most.

"I won't hate you."

Kai'Sa said, then lowered her head to eat her food.

She talked too much, and her stomach is growling again.

It's not like she's feeling embarrassed or anything....

Kassadin looked at Kai'Sa for a few seconds, then raised his head, holding a sand lizard in one hand and sending it into his mouth, and covering his eyes with the other hand.

His voice became somewhat choked, and the words he spit out trembled.

"Thank you, thank you."

"Thank you for being alive.... thank you..."

Kai'Sa's eyes reddened, and the next moment she sniffed, loudly saying, "How's the taste?"

"Delicious," Kassadin swallowed, surprised. He wasn't just trying to please his daughter; the food, despite its unappealing appearance, tasted surprisingly good.

Although no seasoning was used, once the charred surface was removed, the meat inside turned out to be tender and juicy.

Watching her father, Kai'Sa also began chewing and mumbled, "Even though it doesn't look good, I'm quite confident in the taste."

But Kassadin, struck by a thought, furrowed his brow, "Have you always been eating this kind of food?"

Kai'Sa's outward appearance was more extreme than his own. In front of his friend, Gutal, he was already considered a monster, someone shunned by humans. Kai'Sa must have had it even worse. Perhaps her ability to cook meat so deliciously was because she had always been accustomed to such a diet. Thinking this, Kassadin felt a pang of guilt.

"Huh?"

"No, I've eaten many exquisite pastries, various kinds of fish, lamb, beef, I've even had the meat of a giant sea creatures and all sorts of fruits," Kai'Sa said, picking up a few twigs with one hand and counting with the other.

"The fruit juice is especially good. Every morning, I have a glass of milk, and in the evening, I have fruit juice."

Kassadin: "???"

This is not what I imagined.....

Wait, can Shurima provide such luxury?

Kai'Sa continued, expressing her nostalgia for the days in Zaun, where she didn't have to do anything but look after her meals. Although different from what she had imagined her childhood life to be, it was still interesting.

"By the way, Father, when we get to Zaun, I'll cook you a delicious meal."

"...."

Kassadin finally sensed something amiss. He saw his daughter's excitement, felt the emotional connection during their conversation, and in the middle, felt a strange sensation.

Ah, now that he thought about it, it was after hearing the name "Linwin."

Kassadin took a deep breath, swallowed the sand lizard meat in his mouth, and asked, "Are you living in Zaun now?"

"Yeah, it's been almost a year," Kai'Sa said, smiling.

"...."

"Who took you there? It's not easy to get into Zaun now. Last time I tried to go there to buy a filter, I was stopped."

"Linwin took me there."

Now that she think about it, she was really easy to fool.

"And you and that Linwin....." Kassadin suddenly didn't want to continue.

Because he saw, in the flickering firelight, a momentary blush on Kai'Sa's face.

"I am his wife."

"Click!"

The sound of a branch snapping.

"Can I meet him?" Kassadin squinted and forced a smile.

He couldn't get angry, question, or object. He didn't have the right to meddle in his daughter's love life. If his daughter could forgive him and accept him, that was already good enough.

But how could he not feel resentment!

Just a few hours ago, Kassadin had watched Kai'Sa grow up little by little.

He had watched the baby in the swaddle grow up little by little.

Now she had a lover?????

"Of course, we'll go back together tomorrow." Kai'Sa smiled, "Old Zoran will definitely accept you."

"Who's that?" Kassadin asked.

"Linwin's father."

"Well, I'd really like to meet this..... Linwin," Kassadin said, picking up a sand lizard from the sand, dusting off the sand, and putting it into his mouth to chew.

Linwin, huh?

Looking at the woman pointing her finger in the firelight, Kassadin felt a sense of gratitude.

In Kai'Sa, he seemed to see the shadow of his wife.

It seems she loved him very much.

---

"Ha-Choo!"

Rubbing his nose vigorously, in the late night at the Zaun port, Linwin flew alone in the sky, looking down at the bridge leading to the Heart of the Sea.

This island and this bridge were the efforts of Taliyah, Zevi, and countless Zaunites.

The land reclamation project has been completed!

The sea breeze brushed against his face, and Linwin sneezed again, his nose itching. 

Then, he wore a puzzled expression.

"Who's cursing me?"