Magic Awakening in the Nullstone Kingdom

The July heat and humidity arrived as expected in the Demacian Imperial Capital.

Even though this magnificent city, living up to its name as the "Imperial Capital," was located west of the Sea of Conquest and bordered by the Conqueror's Bay to the west and the towering Dragon Ridge Mountains to the north, offering a mild climate year-round, it was still unavoidably stifling in July.

The humid sea breeze greatly increased the air humidity within the Demacian Imperial Capital, shrouding the entire city in a persistent, muggy atmosphere, leaving everyone feeling sticky and damp.

Unlike Demacia's political system, the humidity and heat of the July sea breeze were equalizers, affecting nobles and commoners alike.

While the nobility could store ice in their cellars, commoners could opt to sleep outdoors, "disregarding the weather." Once night fell, they would bring out their woven grass mats, lie on their rooftops, and enjoy a rare moment of coolness—in terms of heat and humidity, everyone suffered about the same.

Moreover, in the Demacian Imperial Capital, even the poor without savings could buy a cold drink from the ice vendors who roamed the streets.

Although the ice in these affordable cold drinks mostly came from ponds or rivers that naturally froze in winter, and consuming them could easily lead to stomachaches, who cared?

Anything that could relieve the heat and cool you down was good ice—clean and hygienic!

The early morning was the most precious moment of coolness during these hot days. As the first rays of sunlight climbed the majestic city walls of the Demacian Imperial Capital, the diligent Demacians were already rising and starting their day's work.

Most of those who rose early were commoners, needing to seize this rare cool time to set a simple tone for the day's labor ahead.

However, not all nobles would continue to sleep at this hour.

For instance, in the Crown Guard Manor, located in the noble district on the west side of the city, the occupant of the prime top-floor bedroom was already awake.

A fair, slender arm stretched out from the covers and precisely reached for a wind-up mechanical alarm clock on the bedside table.

"Tinkle, tinkle—click."

The knob was turned, and the alarm clock's ringing stopped.

The next moment, the energetic little girl opened her eyes. Her bright blue eyes stared at the ceiling adorned with the Crown Guard family crest, and then she let out a long yawn.

Her name was Luxanna Crown Guard, nine years old. Those familiar with her usually called her Lux. She was the little princess of the Demacian noble family, the [Crown Guard family]—her father, Peter Crown Guard, was the patriarch of the current generation.

This luxuriously decorated room was Lux's bedroom.

The gilded bronze alarm clock she had just turned off was a birthday gift from Peter last year, reportedly from a place called [Piltover].

This magical little gadget, as long as you remembered to wind it up on time each day, could tell time with perfect accuracy, eliminating the need to check the sundial and calendar daily. More importantly, as a premium product from the Levick Workshop, it also functioned as an alarm clock, ringing at a set time by winding the spring.

In Demacia, this was an absolute novelty!

Lux's brother, Garen, had been eyeing this alarm clock for a long time, wanting to borrow it several times to "take it apart and see how it works."

But Lux always refused sternly. If Garen insisted, she wouldn't hesitate to use "telling our parents" as a trump card.

This wasn't because their sibling relationship was strained or because Lux was unwilling to share. It was because Lux's previous birthday gift, a wind-up music box—a beautiful, intricate box that could play the "Grand Heroic Hymn in G Major, First Movement"—could no longer be reassembled after Garen borrowed it to "take it apart and see."

That time, after realizing Lux was crying from frustration, Garen sullenly called his good friend, Demacia's prince Jarvan IV. The two sat together, scratching their heads and fiddling with it for a long time. They exerted all their strength and barely managed to put it back together in its original form.

Unfortunately, while the music box was reassembled, the two of them were left with three extra gears, two gear shafts, a spring, and several other unidentified small parts in addition to the music box.

The music box, missing these components, naturally could no longer play beautiful music.

From then on, Lux refused to hand over any intricate items to Garen. She also understood why Garen's birthday gifts from their father were always shields or greatswords...

This was the first time Lux had used an alarm clock to wake herself up.

As a prominent family among the Demacian nobility, the Crown Guard family, while not known for extravagance, still had necessary stewards and servants. Under normal circumstances, a servant would knock on Lux's door every morning to remind her to get up.

Today was no exception—and the main reason Lux set the alarm was that she wanted to wake up earlier than her brother.

After all, their father and uncle were returning from the eastern battlefield today. Lux wanted to be the first to greet them, earlier than her brother!

Lux was the best child, so Lux would be the first to hear the stories of brave warriors defeating evil mages, so she wouldn't have to listen to Garen spoil the ending halfway through every time!

Hmph!

This time, I, Lux, will spoil it for Garen!

"Wake up, wake up," Lux mumbled unconsciously, rubbing her eyes after releasing the alarm clock. "Mmm, so bright. Why is it so light so early today..."

"Ahhh—"

The next moment, Lux's piercing scream startled almost the entire slumbering Crown Guard Manor.

Hearing Lux's scream, the first to arrive was Lux's mother, Mrs. Ogesha Crown Guard, who slept in the adjacent room.

Anxiously kicking the door open, the Crown Guard lady, holding a candlestick as if gripping a sword hilt, surveyed the room and then let out a slight sigh of relief.

She saw Lux lying safely in bed, mostly buried under the covers, looking fearfully at what was beneath them, as if she had seen something terrible.

Then, after a moment of stunned realization, Ogesha had a slight misunderstanding.

"Don't be nervous, Lux."

Ogesha put down the candlestick, waved away the servants and guards who had rushed over upon hearing the noise, closed the door behind her, and sat on the edge of the bed with a smile. In a gentle tone, as if she understood everything, she said, "Darling, you've already had your ninth birthday. It's normal for this to happen."

"It's really normal?" Lux blinked in alarm, her slightly dilated blue pupils betraying the little girl's unease. "You mean, this happened to you when you were nine too?"

"Of course, it happened to me too, though not at nine—around ten?" Ogesha thought for a moment, then smiled and replied, "But a year or two difference doesn't matter. It's a sign of maturity, indicating that our Miss Luxanna is growing up!"

Unfortunately, Ogesha's teasing did not relax Lux.

"When did it stop for you?" Lux still looked very nervous. "Will it always be like this?"

"Of course, it won't always be like this," Ogesha began to explain basic hygiene to Lux. "This usually happens about once a month, but it might not be very regular at first, so we need to be careful..."

"How long will that take?" Hearing it was once a month, Lux nervously wrapped herself entirely in the blankets, trembling. "I can't see anyone like this! And today—Dad and Uncle are coming back!"

"It'll just take a little treatment," Ogesha leaned closer to Lux, reaching out to stroke her lustrous golden hair. "Don't be nervous, silly child. I told you, this is a very normal physiological phenomenon."

"But the stories don't say that!" Lux's voice was already on the verge of tears. "The stories say it's evil, am I going to die?"

"Ladies shouldn't use crude words like 'die'," Ogesha smoothly patted her daughter's small face, then tidied her slightly frizzy golden hair. "And this has nothing to do with evil... Come, let me see. Hiding under the covers won't solve anything."

"..."

Her mother's touch and comfort finally stopped Lux's trembling. Under Ogesha's encouraging smile, she finally cautiously lifted the blanket.

However, there were no bloodstains on the bed as Ogesha had expected.

Then, as Ogesha looked on in confusion, Lux finally mustered her courage and extended her hands forward.

In Lux's fair, small hands, a ball of light danced like a sprite.

Undoubtedly, this was magic.

And this meant that in the magic-nullifying Demacia, within the magic-nullifying Crown Guard family, the sole direct descendant of the new generation, the little princess of the Crown Guard family, Luxanna, awakened her irrepressible magical talent at the age of nine.

This shocking scene made Ogesha widen her eyes uncontrollably. The Crown Guard lady stared in astonishment at the light sprite in her daughter's hand, her mouth opening wide in disbelief.

"Ah—ahhh—"

It could only be said that like mother, like daughter—listen to that, even their screams had similar rhythms.

Ogesha kept Lux's awakening of her magical talent a secret. She instructed Lux to stay in bed and not move, then quickly got up and found her sister-in-law—Lux's father's sister, Tiana Crown Guard, the commander of the Fearless Vanguard.

Professional matters should be handled by professionals.

Tiana's husband worked in Demacia's Magic Seekers legion. Among the people Ogesha could contact, Tiana was probably the most capable of solving this problem.

Compared to the flustered Ogesha, Tiana did not appear overly surprised upon receiving the news. She narrowed her eyes and pondered for a moment before leaving with a "wait a moment" and hurrying off.

Then, when she returned, an eight-inch-long short staff was handed to Ogesha.

"Take this and give it to Lux," Tiana said with a sigh of relief. "It can absorb Lux's magic, allowing her to live like a normal person without fear—later, we can use it as a sword hilt to craft a dress sword for Lux, so no one will know she's corrupted by magic."

"What is this?"

Ogesha examined the unassuming short staff in her hand with some surprise. She couldn't discern anything different about it—if she had to say, at most, the raised parts for grip felt a bit sinister.

"A collection from the Illuminati. It can suppress magic without making the magic-corrupted person exhausted like Nullstone," Tiana rubbed her temples. "Fortunately, its previous owner has passed away. With the standing of the Crown Guard family, we can borrow it temporarily. Rest assured, its function has been proven for thousands of years. It's said to have been a 'Penitent's Artifact' since Demacia was founded. As long as she holds it, Lux can live like a normal person."

"That's wonderful, thank goodness!" Ogesha said, relieved, and quickly got up. "I need to give it to Lux quickly—Peter will be back soon, and I wonder if the Noble Council will be willing to increase their efforts against Noxus this time..."

"Hurry and go," Tiana's face finally broke into a smile. "When brother returns to the Imperial Capital, the thing he'll most want to see is Lux's carefree smile."

Ogesha nodded and left in a hurry. To avoid suspicion, she also brought some feminine supplies.

However, the Crown Guard family's day was destined to be anything but peaceful.

When the anxious Lux saw her mother again, she received two pieces of news, one good and one bad.

The good news was that being corrupted by magic wasn't scary; as long as she carried this short staff, she would be fine. The short staff had been made into a sword hilt, and Lux only needed to wear this long sword.

The bad news was that her uncle—the one who told her stories of the outside world, who always showed a row of neat, white teeth when he smiled, and who was deeply loved by the soldiers, the Ranger General—had been ambushed on his way back and died from his severe injuries.

It was said that a Noxian assassin disguised as a farmer had used an extremely vicious curse.

Lux, who had woken up early, didn't get to hear a story of justice triumphing over evil first. Instead, amidst the chaos, she encountered death for the first time and personally witnessed evil overpowering justice.

Looking at her uncle lying peacefully in the marble sarcophagus, Lux, for some reason, felt an indescribable, heart-wrenching pain.

Garen, who rushed over upon hearing the news, brandished his sword and loudly declared his intention to join the army.

"I want to join the Fearless Vanguard—or the Magic Seekers. If you don't agree, I'll go find Uncle Jarvan!"

News of the Ranger General's assassination quickly spread like a storm throughout the Demacian Imperial Capital.

Nobles flocked to offer their condolences, and the first words everyone spoke were "please accept my condolences."

Lux blinked her eyes and pouted, trying to appear as if she wouldn't disgrace the Crown Guard family—but no matter how hard she tried, crystal tears streamed down her face, silently forming a line.

Then, just as she burst into tears, a deep, magnetic voice sounded in her ear.

"Mage Cultivation System is ready. Under my guidance, you will become the strongest Spellcaster in Runeterra—Uh, did I come at a bad time?"