Merfolk Illusion

Janna has met many gods, including Ornn, the god of fire, Volibear, the god of thunder, and Anivia, the goddess of ice, from the Valoran Continent. They received the Divine Strength of the Soul of Valoran and became gods of that continent.

She visited Shurima relatively infrequently, and several angels she knew disappeared without a trace. She only learned of the internal strife after hearing my story.

She also visited Mount Targon twice and met Bard, Pantheon, Myisha, and others, but they didn't have any deep interactions. The angels and Aspects were both empowered by the Divine Strength of Soul of Shurima and became gods of Shurima.

As for the Sea Soul, Janna heard about it from a spirit in recent years, though I don't know exactly how many decades or even centuries she meant by "recent years."

At that time, shipwrecks frequently occurred off the west coast of Ionia. Survivors said they were attacked by monsters. The Western Harbinger were powerless to solve the problem and could only ask the gods for help. So Janna disguised herself as a mortal and went to investigate.

There are no passenger ships in Ionia, only fishing boats, so she disguised herself as a merchant and followed them. Later, on the way, she encountered beautiful singing and a pink fog, and everyone fell into a beautiful dream.

Janna immediately saw through the illusion and woke up more than ten crew members, only to be attacked by Skeleton Soldier.

Hearing her say this, a thought struck me. Wasn't this what happened the first time I went to Ionia?

The song left a deep impression on me. After the beautiful illusion was shattered, there were terrifying Skeleton Soldier. Finally, the captain ordered the cruise ship to be blown up before it ended.

Later, we didn't find a trace of the Skeleton Soldier. The captain suspected that the whole process was an illusion because we had no clue. I kept this to myself, but I didn't expect Janna to bring it up today.

She was much more at ease when facing the Skeleton Soldier, using her powerful Wind Element Strength to annihilate them as many as she could until no more Skeleton Soldier crawled out.

But the matter didn't end there. Not long after the Skeleton Soldier disappeared, Janna felt a powerful force approaching her.

She told her crew to flee to shore while she waited where she was. Soon after, she saw a merman emerge from the water.

Mermaids have upper bodies that are no different from humans, except that their ears have turned into two fish fins, and their overall appearance is stunningly beautiful.

Janna could tell that the merman was powerful, but not yet her match, so she wasn't in a hurry to attack. Instead, she inquired about the origin of the illusion.

The merman was arrogant; not only did he not answer her, he also attempted to teach her a lesson to avenge the breaking of the illusion.

The result was obvious: the mermaid, skilled in illusion magic, was no match for Janna and was utterly defeated. Only then did he realize that she was the God of Wind of Ionia and that he had gained the power of the Soul of Ionia.

So the merman confessed to Janna what she had done. She was originally an ordinary merman who later gained the power of the Sea Soul and became a monster. She attacked humans to punish their insatiable greed.

Because people have been taking from the sea without knowing how to thank the gods for their blessings, the Sea Soul sent her to teach them a lesson.

It was at that time that Janna learned that in addition to the Soul of Ionia, the Soul of Shurima, and the Soul of Valoran, there was also the Sea Soul.

Janna apologized to the merfolk, then returned to the Harbinger and sent a divine message, instructing the people of the coastal regions to worship the sea god and seek his protection.

In the centuries that followed, nothing like this happened again, and people gradually forgot about the illusion in the sea. So when I asked the locals, no one knew what it was all about.

Janna recounted her encounters with gods from various places, but none of the gods knew what kind of beings the spirits of those places were, and could only regard them as true gods.

"Perhaps they are the creators of Runeterra," Janna said, offering her opinion.

"Maybe so. Oh, and let me tell you something else. I had a strange encounter on Mount Targon —I was chosen by the Aspects."

"I already figured it out, it's the War Aspect, isn't it?"

"Alright, I knew I couldn't hide it from you, haha. But I didn't master the Aspect Power; I just activated it briefly."

"In that case, you're practically a god. We're all the same now. But you've received the favor of both the Soul of Ionia and the Aspects. I've never heard of anything like this before. I wonder if it's a good thing."

"Whether it's a good thing or not, this wasn't my choice. At least for now, it seems to be an effective way to deal with the enemy, and that's enough!"

Upon hearing my words, Janna revealed a rare hint of tenderness. "Yes, actually I misunderstood you. At first, I thought you weren't worthy of being Harbinger, but now I realize you have the well-being of all beings in your heart."

"In that case, you should talk to Karma. She misunderstands me even more. But saying I have a heart for all living beings is too much praise. I've always followed my heart, that's all."

"Hmph, all you do is show off. Goodbye!"

"Goodbye!"

After a brief chat with Janna, we said our formal goodbyes, wondering when we'd see each other again.

Karma and Miyue have both returned to their respective temples, Talon lingered at the Wuju Swordsmanship Mastery, and the Northspring Geographical Office should have been handed over to Irelia.

Although Taliyah has become familiar with the people, they are still new acquaintances, and there is no one here to guide her. I plan to take her with me when I leave, as a way of fulfilling my duty as a mentor.

After giving the instructions, we set off. Now that the portal to Northspring has been built, we no longer need to go to Prexian, which is much more convenient.

After arriving in Demacia, it was raining, much heavier than in Ionia. The sky was overcast, and it was already quite dark even though it wasn't night yet.

Taliyah and I went straight to Fiora's house, just in time for dinner, and it was just her and Jergente alone.

"I'm so sorry, did I disturb you?"

"Enough with the nonsense! How did you get here so fast?"

"Nothing's wrong now. I came here after handing over the Northspring base to Irelia. Have someone prepare some food. I'm fine, but my disciple is hungry." I heard Taliyah's stomach rumble.

She had been in a state of astonishment ever since she arrived at Fiora's house, seemingly having never seen such a large and beautifully decorated house before.

I explained to her that Fiora's family is the Laurent Family, one of the five great families of Demacia, and that the Laurent Family controls the economic lifeline of the entire country, and is on equal footing with the royal family.

"Wow, that's amazing! Shurima doesn't have any buildings like this, except for His Majesty the Your Majesty's newly built Sun City."

"Alright, this isn't something to be surprised about. Tomorrow I'll take you to see a peculiar stone and see if you can use it."

"Strange stones?"

"Yes, that kind of stone is called Nullstone."

After arriving in Demacia, I remembered these white stones. Since Taliyah possessed the Rock Power, could she possibly manipulate the Nullstone?

If possible, it will definitely be of great help when facing the Shadow Isles undead soon!