Desert Death

The stairs were very wide; the four of us could easily walk side by side. There was no sunlight here, but the visibility was good. I wonder where the light source came from. 👹♬ 🐤☝

After descending the steps, we saw a large gate with two shiny black doors and an eagle sculpture on each side.

My intuition told me that the two sculptures might come to life and attack us, so I was very careful, but they didn't move until I got close to the gate.

The door wasn't as heavy as it looked; it opened with a gentle push, revealing countless bookshelves with books neatly arranged.

It seems this is the library mentioned in the adventure log.

As soon as we entered, Kled gestured for us to stop. "Be careful, there's a powerful magical aura here, in this direction, no, in this direction..."

He pointed in several directions, but then dismissed each one, finally shaking his head. "Anyway, be careful. I don't know where it's coming from!"

At that moment, a voice echoed from deep within the library, "Lost people, why have you come here?"

This voice is familiar to me; it's the same old man who woke me from my illusion!

"Hello, we didn't mean to disturb you. We just saw someone mention this place in an adventure log and came in to explore out of curiosity."

"To satisfy curiosity? People come here only to satisfy their greed, not out of curiosity."

"We're not after the treasures here; we just want to see if this place has anything to do with the rotation of the Sun Disc."

As soon as I finished speaking, a powerful aura suddenly rushed towards us. Kled quickly used his Gale Force to protect us, but we were still forced to take two steps back.

"You old man, you're being unreasonable! We've already said we're here to investigate the rotation of that broken disc, and yet you still attack us! Do you believe I'll destroy this place?!"

When Kled's temper flared up, he completely disregarded the situation. The old man did not launch a second attack and slowly walked out.

His appearance could no longer be described as aged; he was practically a dried-up corpse.

He had very little hair left on his head, wore a rusty suit of armor, and his skin was dry and clung to his bones, covered with black spots all over his body.

However, his cane was very clean, Golden Light like a long-handled battle axe.

"Yordle." The old man recognized Kled at a glance.

"That's right, you've finally come out. Although your aura is powerful, I'm not afraid of you. Don't try to intimidate me right away!"

"Even angels dare not set foot here, do you really think you have that ability?"

"How will you know if you don't try! Since you're unwilling to communicate, then let's have a contest!"

"Heh, life is part of the cycle of reincarnation, and your part has already ended!"

Hmm? Why does that line sound so familiar? "Life is part of the cycle of reincarnation"—isn't that Nasus's line?

Just as Kled was about to make a move, I quickly stopped him. "Wait, I think I know him."

"Don't try to get close to him. He exudes an aura of death and could easily kill you!"

"I'm not making this up."

I walked up to the old man, looked him straight in the eyes, and tried my best to overcome my fear:

Are you Nasus?

The old man raised his bald eyebrows upon hearing my words. "Why do you know me? You shouldn't have seen me in the illusion."

"I come from another time and space, where you are known as the God of Death of the Desert."

There's nothing to hide from him. As Kled said, he exudes an aura of death, and if he finds out you're lying, you might be in trouble.

Even so, he stared intently at me, his deep-set eyes sending a chill down my spine.

Have you heard my story?

"I don't know much, but I do know some things, such as that you are an Ascended who has served several emperors."

"This is no secret. Since you know my real name, you naturally know that I am Ascended."

"Then let's talk about what happened before your ascension. You were once a general, leading the Shurima army to victory against all odds. Later, due to health reasons, you stopped leading troops and devoted yourself to studying books, a hobby that continues to this day."

"Hehe, that's really interesting. I haven't been this surprised in over a thousand years. You know quite a lot."

"Not only that, I also know something you've been struggling to let go of."

"Oh? Tell me about it."

"You've always regretted not attending Azir's Ascension Ritual, which led to his death at the hands of Xerath. And to seal Xerath away, your brother Renekton to take him down with him."

As soon as I finished speaking, Nasus's aura suddenly surged, Kled once again protected us. Even so, it still made us feel uncomfortable all over.

Lucian was in even greater distress. He coughed up a mouthful of blood and collapsed to his knees. At that moment, Kled swung his steel blade at him!

Nasus did not dodge, but instead used his cane to block Kled's attack, then he took a step back, signaling Kled to stop:

"I didn't mean to, but hearing about it from someone else was unbelievable. A thousand years have passed, and I still can't let it go."

"If you can't let this go, don't make us pay with our lives. They're just ordinary people!" Kled emphasized the word "ordinary people."

"Come in, perhaps we can have a good talk."

Nasus turned and went back. We exchanged a glance and followed him. Now that we were already here, there was no point in being afraid.

Besides, he's no longer hostile towards us, so chatting with him might yield some useful information.

Inside the library, there was a square table but only one chair. He sat there, and the rest of us stood opposite him, listening to him talk to himself:

He's been staying here ever since Azir was killed and Renekton and Xerath died together, and he's read through tens of thousands of books.

For thousands of years, no one had ever disturbed him, but not long ago two people suddenly visited.

They didn't barge in; they peeked through the crack in the door and were intimidated by Nasus's imposing presence.

Nasus didn't keep them; he simply used magic to hide the entrance to prevent further disturbance.

It seems these two are Ezreal's parents. The reason we couldn't find the entrance according to the exploration log is because Nasus hid the passage, but we still ended up in it.

As for the rotation of the Sun Disc, he didn't know what was going on. Since Azir's death, no Ascended had appeared, and the Sun Disc had remained silent ever since.

However, my words once again surprised this person who had lived for over a thousand years:

"Perhaps Azir can be resurrected!"