I Am The System

Someone dared to speak of dark magic at their uncle's memorial service, causing Lux, overcome with grief, to frown. The usually gentle and kind Crown Guard princess wiped away her tears, then lifted her head. "Who's there?"

Everyone attending the memorial service was startled by Lux's sudden outburst. Their gazes turned towards the young girl, tear tracks still visible on her cheeks.

Undoubtedly, Lux's impulsive action was completely impolite. Causing a commotion at her uncle's funeral was not something a noble lady should do—however, no one blamed the young girl for it.

Demacia and Noxus had been clashing frequently of late. Even though the two sides weren't engaged in outright war as they had been years ago, there were still many casualties from small-scale conflicts and assassinations. It was perfectly normal for a child who had lost a loved one to be a bit on edge; everyone understood this.

Therefore, seeing Lux in this state, most guests felt pity rather than annoyance.

Lux, who had let out the cry involuntarily, immediately realized that although the voice seemed to be right beside her, there was no one there at all!

What was going on?

Lux thought of magic.

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

Slightly lowering her head, Lux reached for the dress sword she wore at her waist. Then, the voice became even clearer.

"It seems I've come at a rather inopportune time, little girl. You guessed right, it's me."

Hearing the voice again, Lux almost dropped her dress sword—but just as she had that thought, an invisible force seemed to take complete control of her body, leaving her frozen in place, unable to move.

"Demacia's magic suppression is really troublesome. My reputation is already 'disliked' from the start... My apologies, little girl, I need to temporarily control you to prevent you from moving erratically so we can have a proper chat—let me introduce myself first. My name is Karya. And yours?"

"..."

Lux didn't respond, as she was completely unable to make a sound.

"Oh, your name is Lux. Uh, Lux of the Crown Guard family?"

"..."

"It really is a young lady from the Crown Guard family—Huh? You're asking how I know what you're thinking? It's simple. Your weak mind has almost no defenses. Since you're willing to interact with me, I can naturally read your thoughts. I know this is a bit rude, but unfortunately, it's a necessary part of communication."

"..."

"How to avoid this situation? As long as you're willing to communicate with me actively, I'm happy to stop this mind-reading. After all, I'm not good at stealing thoughts, and you're not comfortable with it either. Communicating with me actively is very simple. Just imbue a small amount of your Magic Power onto me, and we can converse!"

"..."

"You can't channel Magic Power yet? It seems you've just awakened your casting talent. This is also very simple. I'll control you to do it once. Remember this feeling, and you'll learn it quickly. Magic should be rooted in instinct, like eating and drinking—Come, follow my control, feel the Magic Power flowing within your body. Yes, just like that. Do you feel it?"

"Feel... I feel it!" Lux experienced the subtle sensation. "Is this it?"

"Very good, that's right. It seems our Miss Lux is a true genius."

"I don't want to be the genius you talk about. Now, let me go, you wicked staff!"

"Let me emphasize again, I am not some wicked staff. I am Karya. If you must categorize me, I am a Void Staff, eight inches long, made of twisted flesh, with a Void power core. Frankly speaking, if I appeared in Noxus right now, countless warlords and nobles would offer fortunes to gain my favor. Little girl, being able to hold me is your fortune!"

"This isn't fortune! You wicked staff! Only Noxians, who are just as wicked as you, would like you. An absolute scoundrel—"

"Stop, stop, stop, Miss Lux. If you continue to describe me with such rude words, I might have to retaliate in kind. I don't think you'd want to be singing and dancing at a funeral, would you? After all, that would be quite terrible for a noble lady..."

The threat of the scoundrel was quite effective. Lux felt the stiffness of her body and didn't dare to gamble on whether the other party could control her body to dance at her uncle's memorial service. So, she could only coldly snort, "Then how can you let me go?"

"Why do you dislike me so much, Miss Lux?" Karya asked back in an innocent tone. "I haven't done anything wrong. In fact, I even helped you conceal the fact that you've become a Magic Corruptor when you couldn't control your Magic Power. Yet, you speak ill of me. I think such ingratitude doesn't align with Demacian noble virtues, does it?"

"...It's different." Karya had subtly shifted the focus of the argument, and Lux, a nine-year-old girl, clearly couldn't easily discern the key point. Lux even felt a subtle sense of shame for a moment, as ingratitude was indeed wrong. However, she quickly realized the other party was deliberately confusing right and wrong. "For a Demacian noble, one must draw a clear line when facing evil Artifacts."

"Ha, so you're convinced I'm evil? You don't even understand magic, yet you speak with such certainty?" Karya's question seemed rhetorical but clearly intended to elicit a response. "What, has magic brought you some terrible disaster?"

"My uncle died because of despicable mages like you!" Lux finally lost control of her emotions when this topic came up. "Vile curses... sob sob sob..."

Although her body was stiff and unmoving, Lux's tears once again wet her golden eyelashes, flowing down her cheeks.

To the other guests, this scene appeared as "Miss Luxanna weeping like a walking corpse." They instinctively moved a short distance away from Lux, tacitly giving the bereaved young girl some space.

"The 'uncle' you're referring to, is he the one in the coffin in front of you?" Karya's tone held a hint of confusion. "To be precise, he's not dead yet."

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

"Indeed, he's not dead," Karya affirmed again. "This curse is quite skillful. His soul is being devoured by the Shadow Realm. Although it looks no different from being dead, as long as his soul can be retrieved from the Shadow Realm, he might still be able to live."

"Then how can I retrieve my uncle's soul?" Lux's response was tense and hopeful. "I'm sorry, I've never heard of the Shadow Realm. Do you know, Mr. Karya?"

"No longer a scoundrel, but Mr. Karya now?"

"...Sorry."

"Haha, the magnanimous Karya doesn't mind your small offense. After all, Demacian customs are like that—However, retrieving his soul from the Shadow Realm is no simple matter." Karya's tone finally became gradually cheerful. "Of course, for the omnipotent Karya, this is not a big problem."

"Please, Mr. Karya, you must help me!"

"Reasons?" Karya asked back with a slightly confused tone. "Tell me, Madam Lux of the Crown Guard family, why should I help you?"

"I—"

At this moment, Lux was speechless.

Although she was the little princess of the Crown Guard family, Lux didn't have princess disease.

So, even when facing an "evil Artifact," she couldn't bring herself to say, "You should help me."

Karya clearly sensed this.

"It seems you've realized the issue. Our relationship should be that you need me, not that I need you, right?"

"Right," Lux finally admitted. "Mr. Karya, I want to know how you can help me enter the Shadow Realm and retrieve my uncle's soul—I'll agree to anything, as long as it's not evil and doesn't violate laws or morals!"

"It's very simple," Karya's tone became cheerful. "Learn magic from me, undergo my trials, and you'll soon be able to enter the Shadow Realm yourself and retrieve your uncle's soul."

Learn magic?

Hearing this unexpected answer, Lux hesitated.

In all her life, the education she had received taught her that magic represented evil. In Demacia, where magic was forbidden, awakening magical talent was called corruption, and corrupted individuals were exiled from Demacia by law.

Lux could accept suppressing her magical talent with a dress sword because it was a form of "purification," a path to redemption. But at least for now, she couldn't bring herself to actively learn magic; in her mind, that was akin to falling into depravity.

"It seems Miss Lux is hesitant and believes I have ulterior motives," Karya's voice sounded in her ear again as Lux pondered. "But it's alright. As a kind and amiable mentor, I always respect my students' opinions. You can take your time to think it over..."

However, to Karya's surprise, before he could finish his next sentence, "It's a pity your uncle can't hold on much longer," Lux had already made up her mind.

"I agree," the young girl gritted her teeth, her voice incredibly firm. "If I ever fall into darkness, I will exile myself and leave Demacia forever!"

"Very good, little girl," Karya sounded very pleased. "You see, I have full trust in you. Even though you simply agreed to my suggestion, I'm willing to help. Now, continue attending this funeral for the deceased. We'll talk properly tonight."

Having received her promise, Karya didn't press further. He released Lux, allowing her to finish participating in the entire funeral.

Lux didn't choose to shout or simply discard her dress sword.

After regaining control of her body, the little princess of the Crown Guard family let out a long sigh. The feeling of her body being out of her control just now was too unbearable; she didn't want to experience it again.

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

If he had lied, Lux would rather expose her identity as a corrupted individual and be exiled from Demacia than let this Void Staff be destroyed!

Meanwhile, Karya also let out a sigh of relief.

Despite his seemingly domineering demeanor, as if everything was under his control and he could seize control of Lux's body at any moment, his toughness was actually a facade.

As a Darkin who had slumbered for a long time, Karya's current state was also not good.

After a long period of sleep, he was now incredibly weak. If not for Lux's astonishing magical talent and the immense Magic Power she unconsciously provided him upon grasping the Void Staff, Karya might not have awakened yet.

Furthermore, forcefully controlling Lux's body served no purpose other than to immobilize her. He could only control her body, not receive sensory input. Instead, by using the communication method he taught Lux, Karya could "see" what Lux saw and "hear" what she heard through shared senses.

From this perspective, Karya was more like a system that needed Lux as a host. To Karya, Lux was a battery with infinite potential, a mobile vessel, and a resilient little leek.

It was truly pathetic. Other transmigrators had systems, but poor Karya not only didn't have one, but he had become someone else's system.

That's right, Karya was a transmigrator. He came from a beautiful, azure blue planet, only to transmigrate to Runeterra—and into ancient Runeterra at that.

How ancient, you ask?

Let's put it this way: when Karya transmigrated, human civilization on Runeterra was still in its tribal stages. Even slave-based regimes were considered quite advanced. Most people could only hunt and gather during the day and huddle around a campfire at night, watching beasts bare their fangs in the darkness.

Karya, who arrived in this world of extraordinary powers and true gods with no prior knowledge, had a particularly miserable time at first.

The only stroke of luck was that he met a powerful figure named Setaqa, who would later establish a great Empire: Shurima.

Although Karya wasn't particularly skilled in combat, he still became an honored Ascended through his significant contributions during Shurima's establishment—ranking just below the Ascended Emperor.

Yes, a definite nepotism case, a civilian Ascended.

Unfortunately, with the outbreak of the Battle of Icathia, the Void descended upon Runeterra. The Ascended Emperor died on the battlefield. During the Battle of the Monolith, Karya, who was originally a logistics officer, participated in the battle piloting a Monolith Fortress. Although he eventually sealed the Void rift, he was ultimately infected by Void energy and became a Darkin.

In the beginning, Karya could still use his seniority to suppress other Darkin and barely maintain Shurima's stability.

But as the Void infection worsened and his sanity gradually eroded, Karya eventually chose self-sealing, becoming a magic staff.

This seal lasted for thousands of years.

During this time, Karya intermittently regained consciousness a few times. However, it was unfortunate that all the previous wielders of the Void Staff were too weak to support the consumption of a Darkin. And once Karya chose to seize the host's body, that body would quickly become a Darkin's body, and Karya's will would be eroded by the Void, leading to a rapid loss of sanity.

To avoid becoming a paranoid madman like Aatrox and falling into a vicious cycle, Karya was forced to lie dormant, waiting for a host who could provide him with Magic Power.

Now, Karya had met Lux.

Although the young girl was only nine years old, her Magic Power was enough to sustain Karya's basic consciousness. As long as Karya didn't make any drastic moves, the pressure of maintaining his consciousness daily wasn't significant.

And if the butterfly effect wasn't too extreme, Demacia should be littered with Nullstone. If Lux could learn to use the Magic Power within the Nullstone, Karya could reboot!

Now that he had finally awakened in a relatively familiar era, Karya needed to tightly bind Lux, this high-capacity rechargeable battery, all-terrain adaptable vehicle, and incredibly resilient leek!

He had to train her well!