-290- He must die!
"What do you mean it's not only in Icathia?" Kassadin immediately asked.
Concerning matters related to the Void, Kassadin naturally paid attention. The Void was humanity's great enemy, and Kassadin never doubted this fact. It constantly lured humans into Icathia, tempting mages to unlock its seals, waiting for their return.
Over the years, Kassadin had learned many things. He had discovered the secrets hidden in the Shuriman desert, witnessed the Ascended of the Shuriman Empire, and the Void itself. Kassadin even knew how powerful the true Void was. Therefore, it was impossible for there to be another place where the Void could be accessed.
"Kassadin, Sejuani is correct. There is indeed the Void beneath the permafrost of the Freljord," Linwin said seriously. But he didn't say one thing: that the Void in the Freljord was now even more dangerous than the one in Shurima.
But Kassadin immediately retorted, "No, that's impossible, Linwin, do you even know what you're talking about?"
"If there was the Void in the Freljord, that place would have been destroyed!" Kassadin raised his voice, saying, "Ancient Shurima paid an unimaginable price to repel the Void! That was ancient Shurima!"
Jayce and Silco looked at Kassadin and Linwin, and so did all the Piltover councilors and Zaun officials present. Along with them were the two Demacians and Sejuani from the Freljord.
The Nether Blade suddenly appeared as Kassadin coldly said, "And this weapon in my hand is proof. It belonged to the Ascended hero Horok. It's called..."
"The Nether Blade," Linwin interjected.
Kassadin paused, looking astonished at Linwin. Linwin continued:
"Thousands of years ago, the Void descended. Empress Setaka herself led the Ascended army to Icathia to repel the Void. In this battle, the mighty empress tragically perished. If it wasn't for Horok, who tracked the truth and faced those monsters alone in the darkness, Shurima would have lost, and our world would have been destroyed by the Void."
"Ancient Shurima won a Pyrrhic victory. Icathia was completely destroyed and became uninhabitable. But the Void was not completely expelled; it continues to lure humans at every opportunity."
"Until these years, the Void found a pawn, a mad black mage who awakened the Void beneath Shurima, releasing those monsters. It's because of him that Kai'Sa looks like she does now."
"Kassadin, please sit down," Linwin said, looking directly at Kassadin. "What I know is more than what you know."
Kassadin closed his mouth, unable to speak, wanting to ask but not knowing where to start.
What Linwin just said was about the figure Kassadin had been searching for all along: the mage who awakened the Void, causing Kaisa to plunge into the underground world.
Only when Kaisa reached out and touched his hand did Kassadin sit down with a complex expression.
"Linwin, what are the Ascended you and Kassadin mentioned?" Jayce asked.
"Do you remember what happened in Bilgewater?" Linwin asked Jayce in return.
"Of course, I helped you subdue that towering woman," Jayce immediately said, then added, "And I killed a few sea serpents too."
"I'm not talking about that. I mean the battle between Janna and Nagakabouros. Behind us, there was a canine-headed man who helped Janna in battle. He is one of the Ascended."
"Oh," Jayce was immediately shocked.
Was that powerful being, dog-headed man fighting alongside the goddess Janna, one of the Ascended?
It was a being that could participate in such battles; it must be a deity, right?
Jayce was amazed at the thought.
"Wait a minute, from what you and Kassadin just said, are there many Ascended?" Silco caught the point and immediately said.
"When ancient Shurima was at its peak, they had many, many Ascended, at least hundreds, similar to the number of our Enforcers," Linwin said. He didn't know the exact numbers.
The number of Ascended was also speculative; it couldn't be determined. But what could be certain was that the number of Ascended wouldn't be small, especially during the heyday of the Shuriman Empire.
After all, during the Void War, the Ascended destroyed Icathia, expelled the Void, but also suffered the deaths and injuries of hundreds of Ascended, including the Ascended Empress Setaka.
Linwin speculated that the reason for the numbers to not be small is because during a Ascension ritual, the Sun Disc would steal the power of an certain dragon and bestow it upon the Ascended, and the scene would be like the rising of a sun.
Just as in the CG, when the Emperor Azir was reborn as an Ascended, flying in the air, shining brightly.
And in Aatrox's voiceline, there was a line saying that he had witnessed the light of thousands of suns.
That was thousands of them.
In the records of Icathia, they had seen nine tall, terrifying hybrids of humans and animals.
And then they lost.
And those were just unnamed background Ascended.
"Are they all beings comparable to deities?" Silco frowned, unwilling to believe it.
It's hard for humans to accept things beyond their cognition, even for someone as crazy as Silco.
He trusted Linwin because they were now one, so Silco naturally wanted to believe that what Linwin said was true. But subconsciously, Silco couldn't accept this fact.
If there were indeed many such beings, then what's the point of the existence of other places? That's a being like the goddess Janna!
"I don't believe it. If ancient Shurima was really that powerful, how could there be Noxus and Demacia now?" Silco hadn't spoken yet, but Jayce immediately said loudly.
"If it wasn't for the mages of Icathia bringing the Void to Shurima, then Jayce, we would all be Shuriman subjects now. The world we live in would also be called the Shuriman continent."
Linwin understood Jayce's shock.
In Jayce's understanding, Janna should be the most powerful being.
And now Linwin tells Jayce that there were many beings as powerful as Janna in Shurima thousands of years ago?
How can Jayce accept this!
But Jayce didn't know that the current Janna was several levels stronger than she was during her Wind Spirit period. Despite this, Janna still wasn't the strongest on this continent.
There's Ornn, Aatrox, Zoe.
Not to mention more terrifying beings.
For example, beings from beyond the stars, and that omnipotent being that dwells between the galaxies, watching over everything - Aurelion Sol.
This being could just snap its fingers and annihilate countless planets.
What are Janna, Ornn, Aatrox, Azir, Zoe.
In front of this being, they're just ants.
Seeing Linwin so certain, Jayce could only reluctantly believe it.
"The Void is the enemy of all."
"But with such powerful beings, how can we possibly resist?" a councilor murmured.
"No, what we need to deal with is only the remnants of the Void left on Runeterra," Linwin said as he saw some starting to feel discouraged. "The Void is powerful, but it cannot open the 'door' to enter Runeterra."
"If no one summons it or opens the 'door' for it, they cannot appear in this world."
"And what we need to do now is figure out how to deal with the 'doors' that have already appeared on the this continent."
"Shurima, and Freljord."
Camille pondered for a long time before speaking, "Should this news be spread?"
"Spread it?" Mel bit her fingernails and said, "Forgive me for being blunt, but spreading this news will cause panic among people. And even if they know, many people won't believe it. Most people will only be immersed in their own world, not worrying until the fire reaches them."
"Moreover, because." Mel paused for a moment, then immediately continued, "Because of Noxus, wars are constantly raging, and hatred and disputes between nations persist. Now are we trying to win them over just by telling them this news? That's impossible."
"Don't worry, Mel."
Linwin spoke up, "We still have plenty of time."
"We don't need to worry about the Void in Freljord; someone over there will handle it. What we need to deal with now is what's beneath our feet, and soon we'll have to deal with what's happening in Shurima."
Realizing something, Linwin chuckled coldly, "And, we must kill someone."
Camille immediately guessed who Linwin wanted to kill, "You want to kill that black mage?"
Jarvan IV and Garen also looked at Linwin.
Jarvan IV certainly hadn't fully believed Linwin yet.
What Ascended, deities, the Void.
He was really confused by what he heard.
"Yes, Malzahar, he must die!"