[0758] The Swarm

Karya knew something about Icathia's situation. The last time he had gone to borrow the Eternal Flame, he had taken a brief look around the territory of the Icathian Autonomy Committee, behind the temporal lock.

Overall... things were not looking good.

During the Icathian War, to ensure victory, the Icathian Sorcerer King had harnessed the power of the Void to build an entire "underground world" beneath Icathia, using it as a secret base from which to fight the Shuriman Empire.

After all, not everyone in Icathia agreed with using force against the Shuriman Empire. People like Kiyran, who had a good relationship with Karya and understood Shurima's situation, had always advocated resolving the conflict through negotiation.

To the Sorcerer King, doves like Kiyran were useful pawns. He used them to mislead Karya and keep the Shuriman Empire occupied. There was no way he would let such a pawn find out that he was already preparing to use the Void's power to strike back!

So, while the Shuriman Empire and Icathia negotiated their relationship, a small rift was torn open beneath Icathia. Although the Watchers could not enter Runeterra themselves, a large number of Void creatures poured through and began digging tunnels underground, building their nests.

As a result, without most Icathians even knowing it, the underground beneath several of Icathia's major cities became a forward base for the Void.

The burrowing creatures dug tirelessly, creating an immense maze of crisscrossing tunnels that reached as deep as a thousand meters underground. The Sorcerer King had spent ten years honing his plans, and the burrowing creatures had spent those same ten years digging below.

When the secret base was finally complete, and the Icathian Sorcerer King believed he was ready to launch a counterattack against Shurima, he lit the Eternal Flame and