I Am the System

Someone actually dared to talk about evil magic at the farewell ceremony for her uncle's body. Even in her grief, Lux couldn't help frowning. The usually gentle and kind little Crownguard princess wiped away a tear, then lifted her head. "Who's there?"

Everyone attending the farewell ceremony jumped at Lux's sudden shout. In unison, they turned to look at the little girl, tears still clinging to her cheeks.

There was no doubt that Lux's impulsive outburst was utterly improper. Making a loud commotion at her uncle's funeral wasn't something a noble lady should do—but no one would blame the little girl for it.

Demacia had been clashing with Noxus lately. Though the two sides hadn't gone to war directly as they had years ago, plenty of people had still died in the skirmishes and assassinations that came with their back-and-forth conflict. It was only natural for children who had lost family to be on edge, and everyone understood that.

So, seeing Lux like this, most of the guests felt sympathy for her rather than distaste.

And Lux, who had called out without thinking, immediately realized that although the voice sounded as if it came from beside her, there was no one there at all!

What was going on?

Lux thought of magic.

But Mother had said that as long as she held this short stick, she wouldn't be affected by magic anymore...

Lowering her head slightly, Lux reached for the sword hanging at her waist. Then the voice grew clearer.

"Looks like I really did arrive at a bad time, little girl. You guessed right. It was me."

Hearing the voice again, Lux nearly threw her sword away—but the moment the thought crossed her mind, an invisible force seemed to take complete control of her body, freezing her rigid in place.

"Demacia's anti-magic measures are such a pain. My reputation starts out at 'hated'... Sorry, little girl, but I need to control you for a while so you don't move around. That way, we can have a proper conversation. Let me introduce myself first. I'm Karya. And you?"

"..."

Lux didn't respond, because she couldn't make a sound.

"Oh, your name's Lux. Uh, Lux of the Crownguard family?"

"..."

"So you really are a little girl from the Crownguard family. Ah? You're asking how I know what you're thinking? It's simple. Your feeble mind is practically defenseless. Since you're willing to make contact with me, I can read your thoughts. I know it's a little rude, but unfortunately, it's a necessary part of communicating."

"..."

"How can we avoid this? If you're willing to talk to me directly, I'll gladly stop reading your mind. After all, I'm not good at stealing thoughts, and it makes you uncomfortable too. Talking to me directly is simple: just let a little of your magic flow into me, and we'll be able to speak!"

"..."

"You don't know how to use magic yet? Looks like you've only just awakened your talent for spellcasting. That's easy too. I'll control you and do it once—remember how it feels, and you'll get the hang of it in no time. Magic should be rooted in instinct, just like eating and drinking. Come on, follow my lead. Feel the magic flowing through your body. That's right. Can you feel it?"

"I... can!" Lux concentrated on the strange sensation. "Is this it?"

"Excellent. That's exactly right. It seems our Miss Lux is a true genius."

"I don't want to be a genius in your eyes. Now let me go, you evil stick!"

"I'll say it again: I'm not an evil stick. I'm Karya. If you insist on describing me as something, then I suppose I'm a Void staff. Eight inches long, made of warped flesh, with a core of Void power. I don't mean to brag, but if I appeared in Noxus right now, countless warlords and nobles would spend a fortune to win my favor. Little girl, you're lucky to have me in your hands!"

"This isn't luck! You evil stick! Only equally evil Noxians would like you, you complete villain—"

"Stop, stop, Miss Lux. If you keep using such insulting words to describe me, I'm afraid I'll have to retaliate in kind. I doubt you'd want to sing and dance at a funeral, would you? That would be dreadful for a young noble lady..."

The villain's threat was quite effective. Feeling how rigid her body was, Lux didn't dare gamble on whether he could control it well enough to make her dance at her uncle's farewell ceremony. So all she could do was snort. "Then what will it take for you to leave me alone?"

"Why do you hate me so much, Miss Lux?" Karya asked in an innocent tone. "I haven't done anything wrong. In fact, when you couldn't control your magic, I even helped you conceal the fact that you'd become a Magic Corruptor. And yet you insult me. I don't think repaying kindness with hostility is in keeping with Demacian noble virtues, is it?"

"...That's different." Karya had deftly shifted the focus of the argument, and a nine-year-old girl like Lux obviously wasn't going to spot the trick so easily. For a moment, she even felt a twinge of guilt. Repaying kindness with hostility really was wrong. But she soon realized he was trying to muddle the issue. "A Demacian noble has to draw a clear line when faced with an evil magical artifact."

"Ha! So you've decided I'm evil? You don't even understand magic, so why are you acting so certain?" Karya seemed to be asking a question, but he was clearly trying to draw her out. "What, has magic brought some terrible disaster upon you?"

"My uncle died because of despicable mages like you!" At the mention of that, Lux could no longer control her emotions. "That wicked curse... Hic..."

Though her body remained perfectly still, Lux's tears once again dampened her golden lashes and rolled down her cheeks.

To the other guests, it looked as if "Miss Luxanna was weeping like a walking corpse." They instinctively moved away from her, tacitly giving the bereaved little girl some space.

"Is the 'uncle' you mean the man lying in the coffin in front of you?" Karya sounded a little uncertain. "To be precise, he isn't dead yet."

"He isn't dead?" Lux froze. "My uncle isn't dead?!"

"Indeed, he isn't," Karya confirmed. "The curse is somewhat sophisticated. His soul is being devoured by the Shadow Realm. Though he looks no different from someone who's dead, if we can retrieve his soul from the Shadow Realm, there's a chance he could come back to life."

"Then how can we get my uncle's soul back?" Lux asked, tense and hopeful. "Sorry, I've never heard of the Shadow Realm, Mr. Karya... Do you know?"

"I'm not a villain anymore, but Mr. Karya now?"

"...Sorry."

"Haha, magnanimous Karya won't mind a little impertinence. That's simply Demacian custom, after all. But getting his soul back from the Shadow Realm won't be easy." Karya's tone gradually grew more cheerful. "Of course, for the all-capable Karya, it's not much of a problem."

"Please, Mr. Karya, you have to help me!"

"Why?" Karya asked, sounding a little puzzled. "Tell me, Miss Lux of the Crownguard family. What reason do I have to help you?"

"I—"

At that moment, Lux was at a loss for words.

Although she was the little princess of the Crownguard family, Lux wasn't spoiled.

So even when faced with an "evil artifact," she still couldn't bring herself to say, "You should help me."

Karya sensed this clearly.

"Looks like you've realized the problem. You're the one who needs something from me, not the other way around, right?"

"Yes." Lux finally admitted it. "Mr. Karya, I want to know what I have to do for you to help me enter the Shadow Realm and retrieve my uncle's soul. As long as it isn't evil and doesn't break the law or violate morality, I'll agree to it!"

"That's simple." Karya sounded pleased. "Learn magic from me and pass my trials. You'll soon be able to enter the Shadow Realm yourself and retrieve your uncle's soul."

Learn magic?

At that unexpected answer, Lux hesitated.

Everything she'd been taught said that magic was evil. In anti-magic Demacia, awakening magical talent was called being a Magic Corruptor, and the law required Magic Corruptors to be exiled beyond Demacia's borders.

Lux could accept suppressing her magical talent with a sword, because it was a form of "purification," a way to turn away from evil. But for now, at least, she couldn't accept actively learning magic. In her mind, that would be a fall from grace.

"Looks like Miss Lux is hesitating and thinks I have an ulterior motive." As Lux considered it, Karya's voice sounded in her ear again. "But that's all right. As a kind and amiable mentor, I've always respected my students' wishes. You can take all the time you need to think..."

But to Karya's surprise, before he could finish saying, "It's just a pity your uncle won't last long," Lux had already made up her mind.

"I agree." The little girl clenched her teeth, her voice utterly firm. "If I ever truly fall into darkness, I'll exile myself and leave Demacia forever!"

"Good, little girl." Karya sounded delighted. "See? I trust you completely. You only had to agree with me, and I was willing to help. Now, go on and attend the funeral of this man who isn't dead yet. We'll talk properly tonight."

Having gotten her promise, Karya didn't press the matter any further. He released Lux, allowing her to finish attending the funeral.

Lux didn't choose to scream or simply throw away her sword, either.

Once she regained control of her body, the little princess of the Crownguard family let out a long breath. Having her body taken out of her control just now had been awful. She didn't want to go through that again.

At that moment, all she could do was hope that Karya would keep his word and hadn't lied to her.

If he had deceived her, Lux would rather expose herself as a Magic Corruptor and be exiled beyond Demacia's borders than let this Void staff remain intact!

Meanwhile, Karya let out a breath of relief too.

He might have seemed domineering, as if everything were under his control, taking over Lux's body the moment she disagreed with him. But in truth, he was only putting on a show of strength.

As a Darkin who had been asleep for a long time, Karya was in poor shape.

After his long slumber, he was incredibly weak. If Lux hadn't possessed such astonishing magical talent and unconsciously supplied him with an enormous amount of magic after taking hold of the Void staff, Karya might not even have woken up yet.

Besides, forcibly controlling Lux's body had no purpose beyond making her hold still. He could control her body, but he couldn't receive sensory signals. By contrast, the method of communication he'd taught Lux allowed him to "see" what she saw and "hear" what she heard through her senses.

From that perspective, Karya was more like a system that needed Lux as its host. To Karya, Lux was a battery with limitless potential, a vehicle that could move around, and a little leek with remarkable vitality.

It was a miserable situation. Other transmigrators got systems, but poor Karya not only had none, he'd become someone else's system instead.

That's right, Karya was a transmigrator. He came from a beautiful, deep-blue planet, only to end up in Runeterra—and not just any era, but ancient Runeterra.

How ancient was it?

To put it this way, when Karya transmigrated, human civilization in Runeterra was still organized into tribes. Even slave-owning states counted as advanced, and most people spent their days hunting and gathering, then huddled around fires at night, watching beasts bare their fangs in the darkness.

Dropped without warning into a world of supernatural powers and real Deities, Karya had a truly miserable time at first.

The one stroke of luck was that he knew a woman called Setaqa, a Big Sister, who would go on to establish a great empire: Shurima.

Though Karya wasn't much of a fighter, his outstanding contributions to the founding of Shurima earned him the honor of becoming one of the Ascended—ranking just below the Ascended Empress Wu herself.

Yes, he was an absolute nepotism hire, an Ascended bureaucrat.

Unfortunately, the Icathian War broke out, the Void descended upon Runeterra, and the Ascended Empress Wu fell in battle. During the Battle of the Monolith, Karya, who had originally been no more than a logistics officer, took command of the Monolith Fortress and joined the fight. In the end, though they sealed the Void Rift, he was infected by the power of the Void and became one of the Darkin.

At first, Karya could still use his seniority to keep the other Darkin in check and barely maintain order in Shurima.

But as the Void's infection worsened and he gradually lost his reason, Karya eventually chose to seal himself away, becoming a staff.

He remained sealed for thousands of years.

During that time, Karya woke up intermittently a few times, but unfortunately, the people who possessed the Void staff were all too weak to support the drain of a Darkin. And whenever Karya chose to seize the staff bearer's body, it would soon become a Darkin's body, after which the Void would erode Karya's will and drive him insane in no time.

To avoid becoming a paranoid madman like Aatrox and falling into an endless loop, Karya had no choice but to lie dormant and wait for a host who could provide him with magic.

Now, Karya had met Lux.

Though the girl was only nine years old, her magic was enough to keep Karya lucid at the most basic level. As long as he didn't do anything drastic, the demands of maintaining his consciousness day to day wouldn't be too great.

And if the butterfly effect wasn't too extreme, Demacia should be full of Nullstone. Once Lux learned to use the magic within it, Karya could reboot!

Now that he'd finally awakened in a relatively familiar era, Karya had to make sure he stayed closely bound to Lux: a high-capacity rechargeable battery, an all-terrain vehicle, and a leek with incredibly robust vitality!

He had to train her well!