[0833] Reunion

The discovery of Void infection inside the beluga sturgeon cast a shadow over Lux's journey through Freljord.

Although Karya's autopsy confirmed that the beluga sturgeon were ordinary cold-water carnivorous fish, merely corrupted by Void energy rather than, like burrowers, being creatures that had evolved from the Void, the discovery still made the severity of Freljord's Void problem abundantly clear.

After all... Void creations had accumulated in large numbers inside carnivorous fish, which could very well mean that something terrible and unspeakable was lurking in the waters of Kaelenforce Lake—or even on its lakebed.

And yet, the people of Freljord had never considered the Void a distinct and terrible threat. They even had a tradition of staying out of the lake, which only made the situation more worrying.

But no matter how worried she felt, or how tightly wound she was, Lux still had to keep smiling on the surface. She couldn't let anything show.

Maintaining an air of composure while troubled inside was no easy feat. Fortunately, pretending to focus on two things at once wasn't particularly difficult for Lux, and no one noticed her concern.

And so, the group continued along the shore of Kaelenforce Lake. Led by an Avarosan envoy, Lux finally reached Lakstak City on the afternoon of the twenty-first day after entering the Lakstak Plains.

Lakstak City, Freljord's first city, and the place where the Three Sisters swore their oath.

As a memorial, three ancient statues still watched over the old city from a gentle hillside outside Lakstak City, frozen in the posture they had struck when swearing their oath.

The statues were not particularly intricate, but even now, the Three Sisters' eyes shone brightly, seeming full of expectation as they waited for hope to come.

At the statues' feet, several people in Yukal woolen robes