Unsealing the Armor

The powerful magic only lasted for about half a minute before fading away. At this moment, the old man said calmly:

Come in.

"Excuse me."

As I stepped through the door, the dark room suddenly became bright, with countless ancient books neatly arranged on the shelves, resembling an old library.

The air was filled with the smell of dust, a scent left over from countless years.

The old man sat on a chair at the very back of the library, holding a thick book in his hand, but he didn't turn a single page for a long time.

I quietly observed him; judging from his appearance alone, it was hard to say whether he was still alive.

The old man was skin and bones, with sunken eyes, and was basically a mummified corpse. However, he had a large frame, suggesting that he must have been a tall man in his youth.

After standing there silently for a while, I finally couldn't hold back any longer. "Hello, I'm Ezreal, I'd like to ask you..."

"Shh... wait until I finish reading this."

The old man, not wanting to be interrupted, made a shushing gesture and continued reading.

I've already witnessed his power and know he's fully capable of helping me, so I'm not in a hurry.

But waiting around was getting a bit boring. "Can I look at the books here?"

"Whatever, remember to put it back after you're done."

The library is very large, with thousands of bookshelves and countless books.

I just picked up a book nearby; the text was in Ancient Shuriman, which I could barely understand with the help of the database's parsing capabilities.

This book, titled "Blooming Flowers," tells a story of war and life in ancient times, and is quite romantic, making it perfect for passing the time.

Time flies when you're focused on something, and before I knew it, I'd finished the book. Just then, the old man approached, startling me.

Can you understand this book?

"Yes, that's right. My armor is equipped with a super database that can recognize the scripts of more than twenty Ancient Shurima tribes."

"Hehe, that's interesting. I'm actually looking for someone to talk to. You can stay here with me."

"I'm afraid that won't work; I still have very important things to take care of."

"Oh, right, you said you came to ask me for help. Tell me about it."

"I would like you to remove my clothes. This is armor made with modern technology, and wearing it will make me a target of the organization's pursuit."

"Can you still recognize these words after you take them off?"

"This... I'm afraid not."

"Then why should I help you? Just live here peacefully; no one will dare to cause trouble here."

"Even if you don't help me, the armor will run out of energy in a few days..."

I recounted my experiences to the old man in detail, including the origins of our Project Warrior and the current state of Piltover.

He listened attentively, but because his facial muscles had long since atrophied, his expression was unreadable.

The old man thought for a while and finally decided to help me, "Alright, I'll try using magic, but don't have too high hopes, I don't know much about modern technology."

"Thank you for your help. May I ask your name?"

Nasus.

After the old man finished speaking, he moved a few bookshelves to make room for a small space and began to set up Magic Circle.

With nothing else to do, I searched his name in the database to see if there were any records, and the result shocked me:

Name: Nasus, Ascended the Shurima Empire;

Ascended Form: Dog-headed human body, standing posture;

Ascended Weapon: Soul-Reaver Axe;

Ascension location: Naremajet;

Ascension Ability: Increases size and weakens enemy strength;

No wonder his power is so great; he is actually Ascended from the legends of Shurima!

But the Ascended were warriors from over a thousand years ago, so why are they still alive now?

Puzzled, I looked up information about the Ascended, which showed that they perished in the Vastaya War more than a thousand years ago.

It seems Nasus is one of the few survivors, but has been forgotten because he has lived here for so long.

After setting up the magic circle, he had me stand inside it, and then began the magic ritual using the Soul-Reaver Axe in his hand as a staff.

At first, I just felt a slight warmth in my body, like the heater had been turned on.

After a while, a round hole suddenly opened in the roof, and sunlight shone directly on my head through the hole. The heat became increasingly intense, and eventually it became unbearable!

I had to activate the Project Armor's heat defense system to withstand the heat, otherwise I was really worried I would die.

After a while, the heat finally dissipated, or maybe I just got used to it, but anyway, I didn't feel so uncomfortable anymore.

Just when I thought the magical ritual was about to be completed, Nasus suddenly swung his battle axe at me.

Because I didn't react in time, I was knocked unconscious...

I don't know how much time had passed when I groggily opened my eyes and saw Nasus still sitting in that dilapidated chair, holding a thick book in his hand, just like when we first met.

Before I lost consciousness, I thought he was attacking me, but now it seems he wasn't, otherwise I wouldn't have woken up.

At this moment, Nasus closed the book. "Well? See, is the armor destroyed?"

After hearing his words, I tried using the armor's functions and unfortunately found that it was still usable.

"Unfortunately, the function is still available."

"Then there's nothing I can do. I've already used Destruction Array and attacked your consciousness, but if that doesn't work, then I'm out of options."

"Oh, so that last attack was a mental attack. I thought you changed your mind."

"However, I couldn't disrupt your consciousness; it seems to be protected by something."

"Yes, that's right. I was once subjected to Consciousness Sealing by the Harbinger in Ionia."

"Yes, it's like some kind of seal. I also discovered another consciousness in your brain."

"Another consciousness? Can you unravel it?"

Without a doubt, the other consciousness Nasus mentioned refers to my past memories!

"No, but this consciousness isn't sealed off; you can unlock it yourself."

"Rely on yourself? Please enlighten me."

"I've already told you I can't help you. Try looking for people or things you're familiar with; maybe those things can help you unlock your memories."

"Okay, thank you then. I'll take my leave now."

Nasus was terrifying in both appearance and strength, but he was surprisingly kind. After helping me, he let me go without making any demands.

I thought he would ask me to discuss books with him!

I arrived at night, and it's still night now, so it seems exactly one day and one night have passed.

Walking down the street, I kept thinking about Nasus's words, "Look for familiar people or things," but where should I look?

Piltover is gone forever, Yasuo is my enemy now, and as for here...

Oh, right, Sivir!