Discovering the Passage

The location where they reappeared was a small village, crowded with people. Since the houses were full, they pitched tents outside, and even so, people continued to flock there from all directions.

These people carried all sorts of construction tools, and from their conversation I learned that this was the site Shetaka had chosen for the new capital, and that Sun City was built from such a small village.

I did not witness the construction of their capital; in the blink of an eye, magnificent, towering buildings stood amidst an oasis.

Next, the craftsmen began to cast a new Sun Disc, which was even more magnificent than that of Naremajet, with sand waterfalls and stone bridges surrounding it as if they were made by nature itself.

Next came scenes of war: on one side, Aatrox led a group of Ascended to conquer the south and north, while on the other side, Shetaka advanced eastward.

It seems the two have indeed separated, but both are making significant contributions to the Shurima Empire in their own ways.

The sun and moon take turns, the stars shift and the constellations move; the concept of time disappears after one becomes Ascended.

Through the valiant efforts of hundreds of Ascended, the Shurima Empire finally became a super-empire spanning east to west and north to south.

Its symbol was the meeting of Aatrox and Shetaka on the battlefield, where they completed the encirclement of the entire continent.

It's unclear how many years it had been since they last met, but they gazed at each other for a long time without speaking, finally ending the silence with a hug.

The two did not mention the past, but instead discussed the future of Shurima. Aatrox wanted to march into Valoran, Shetaka wanted to consolidate the conquered territories.

They always disagreed, and this time they didn't even try to persuade each other; the army separated again as soon as they reunited.

Aatrox chose war, while Shetaka chose peace, but the result was exactly the opposite.

For some unknown reason, Aatrox did not go to Valoran, but instead returned to Naremajet to receive the people's worship.

Shetaka, who yearned for peace, was drawn into a new war, a rebellion from a remote region.

The remote region that launched the rebellion Icathia, located in the southeastern corner of the Shurima Continent. It was once a kingdom that worshipped magic, but was later conquered by the Shurima army. Now, the reason for the rebellion is unknown.

This was the first rebellion since Shetaka conquered Shurima Continent, so she took it very seriously. To demonstrate the inviolable authority of the Empire, she decided to send three Ascended to suppress the rebellion.

However, Shetaka was unaware that beneath Icathia's seemingly weak exterior lay a colossal calamity capable of destroying the entire Runeterra.

The mighty and majestic army set off in a grand procession. I knew they would not return this time, but I did not live to see this defeat. Everything went black again, and I had no idea where I would be next.

"You should go back."

Just as I was anticipating the next scene, an old voice reached my ears, and then the darkness disappeared, and I returned to reality.

This long, ethereal journey began silently and ended inexplicably; it's a pity I didn't get to see the end.

What I saw was the rise of the Shurima Empire, from the birth of the first Ascended to the establishment of Sun City. I didn't see the Void Wars that broke out in Icathia or the hundreds of years of development of the Shurima Empire.

"Why are you not leaving?" Riven asked me as she came to my side.

How long have I been standing here?

"How long? It was very short. We were just walking together when you suddenly stopped, and then I came over to call you. What happened?"

"No, I just spaced out for a moment."

I felt like I had been in that illusion for several days, but in reality I had only stayed there for a short while. It seems that time does not coexist in the two places.

The words they said as they left also bothered me, "You should go back now."

Who is this old man? Is he the one who created these murals, or one of the guards here?

Whoever it is, they must be a powerful being, at least a very skilled mage, otherwise they wouldn't be able to create an independent space.

At the same time, I was also puzzled as to why, even though we were walking together, only I saw the illusion.

"Yasuo, Riven, come quick!"

Hearing Kled's shout, we ran over quickly, but at the end of the passage, instead of a downward path, we found three forks in the road.

"What's going on? I clearly remember the log saying that the passage was at the end. If there was such an obvious record of a fork in the road, I couldn't possibly have forgotten."

"But the facts are there for us; don't rely too much on what's in books."

"What should we do? It's best not to separate at a time like this, right? How about we all try walking together?"

Riven shared her opinion, and we had no other choice but to give it a try.

We went in through the leftmost passage and found that there were many murals inside, with the same content as before.

When we reached the end of the passage, something strange happened: three more paths appeared before us!

"Where do I feel like I've seen this scene before?" Riven frowned and thought for a moment.

"We did see it, in Freljord..."

"Oh right, I remember now! It's in the Storm Ruins of Freljord!"

Riven interrupted me, recalling what happened in Freljord that day.

We and Lili were on our way to find Ashe when we stumbled upon the phantom ruins created by Avarosa and Sejuani.

That was the same situation back then; you'd follow a road and eventually end up back where you started.

We may very well have entered a similar illusion!

How did you get out?

"The illusion was broken with the help of a Demigods, but the situation here is different because this ruin is real."

"So this is a trap set within the ruins."

Indeed, setting such a trap to ensnare me in that magnificent scene wouldn't be difficult. The key question was how to get out. My mind raced.

"Forget it, I'll just destroy this place with my gale!" Kled was getting impatient.

"Wait, this could be a deception; the passage might be right here!"

I think the adventure log is right. Since it says the passage is here, we must be going the wrong way!

I carefully examined the walls and floor, tapping and knocking everywhere. Riven imitated me, exploring as well. Soon after, she suddenly shouted:

"Here! This place is empty!"

We quickly gathered around her and found that we were in the very center of the room. We could feel that it was indeed empty when we touched it with our toes!

I channeled the Wind Force into the Gale Sword and drilled downwards like an electric drill, soon discovering the hidden staircase underground!