"Ahri!"
"Ahri!"
"Lotus Valley! "Li Ke roared.
"You came really fast this time, what's up?" A cheerful voice rang out, but the laughter stopped halfway through, and the voice turned very serious as it spoke:
"Wait, Li Ke, what have you been in contact with these past few days?"
Before Li Ke, a thick white fog appeared and then quickly dissipated. Ahri, in human form, floated lightly in the air, looking at him with a serious expression and speaking.
"There's no time to explain, Ahri, look for yourself." Li Ke grabbed Ahri's hand and put it on his head.
Ahri was taken aback, then, following Li Ke's instructions, she reached out her fingertip and touched Li Ke's head.
The next moment, Ahri opened her eyes and looked at Li Ke, who was covered in wounds. She gently blew a breath at Li Ke.
A sweet aroma wafted over, and Li Ke felt a cool sensation on his body, after which all the discomfort and pain disappeared.
He looked at Ahri and asked, "Do you have any ideas?"
"A solution? Li Ke, do you know how far apart our worlds are? If you encountered this in Ionia, I would have many solutions, but Li Ke, you are in Zaun now. That place is far too far from Ionia. The barrier of the spiritual world is extremely stubborn and solid in Zaun. I cannot extend my power into the Material Realm."
"Solving it isn't actually difficult for me; she's not strong. But the plane itself is the biggest challenge." Ahri's eyes were filled with apology.
Of course she wanted to help Li Ke.
Ahri will be sad because of Li Ke's accident. It's not because Li Ke would bring her things, nor because she's lost someone to come and play with, but because Ahri will feel sad for every person who dies. Becoming a soul means it's difficult to appear in the Material Realm anymore, so losing life is certainly a sad thing.
As the Spirit of Salvation of the Soul Blossom world, Ahri respects every living being and cherishes every life, regardless of their identity or abilities.
"What should we do? Don't you have any ideas at all? Ahri, I really have no other way. If this continues, Zaun and Piltover will be destroyed by her."
"This..." Ahri pursed her lips, looked at Li Ke, her Fox eyes gradually turning into vertical pupils, and said seriously, "What if this method requires you to pay with your life?"
"Are you willing?" Ahri asked Li Ke, her golden vertical pupils staring into Li Ke's eyes.
Li Ke fell silent for a moment.
To sacrifice one's life to save Zaun and Piltover?
Li Ke does indeed consider himself a kind, righteous, and passionate person, but... sacrificing himself to save others?
He had thought about this before. Before he traveled here, in that safe and peaceful era, Li Ke had fantasized about whether he would do such a thing in the future. When he read about the heroic deeds online, he would admire them and even impulsively say that he could do it too.
But now that Ahri is asking him, Li Ke is stunned.
He doesn't seem to have as much courage as he thought.
Li Ke now understands just how great those people who risk their lives to save others truly are.
Didn't they struggle with their own feelings?
Was it really just a moment of impulsiveness, rushing in without thinking?
"."
Ahri silently watched Li Ke. When she saw Li Ke lower his head, she didn't say anything, but just waited for Li Ke's reply.
"Ahri, is this the only way?" Li Ke looked up and asked Ahri.
"Well, unless another Deity comes to Zaun, your local strength is not enough to resolve this disaster. Li Ke, that guy's power will continue to grow until he becomes an existence that you can no longer contend with. Zaun is too far away, and the walls of the spiritual world are too hard. If my power wants to reach the Material Realm and attack her, then I need a node."
"And you, you could become this node, but you are too weak. So weak that even if I gave you a fraction of my power, your soul would be burst open, and you would explode and die. But to deal with her, I need to use a considerable amount of power, so you will definitely die."
Li Ke was both amused and exasperated by what Ahri said.
He reached out and rubbed his hair; Ahri's power made his hair, which had been burned off by Stelaratu, grow back.
Ruffling his dark hair, Li Ke lowered his head and said, "I still have a lot to do. I haven't celebrated Jinx's birthday yet."
I wanted to give her those gifts myself.
Li Ke said in a low voice, "But it seems I don't have that chance anymore. I don't even know if she'll like the birthday present I prepared for her."
"Have you made up your mind?" Ahri's eyes lit up when she heard Li Ke's words.
There was something she didn't tell Li Ke, but it was also her way of deliberately testing Li Ke's soul. His soul was pure, and the voice he emitted was pleasant. But Ahri was still curious, curious about what decision Li Ke would make in the face of life and death.
But in hindsight, she wasn't wrong about him.
"What else can we do? If even you can't do anything, then Zaun is doomed." Li Ke sighed. "They trust me and have entrusted their lives to me. When I was here, many Zaunite were helping me nearby. Vander and Janna were also fighting the Darkin."
"I wanted to be selfish. But I'm afraid I'll regret it, Ahri. From the day they called me the Lord of Zaun, I had to be responsible for them. Besides, there are still many people in Zaun I care about, my loved ones."
So please don't ask me anymore.
Li Ke looked up, having made his decision, and smiled at Ahri, spreading his hands:
"Come on, Ahri, everything depends on you."
"I understand. Don't worry, Li Ke, it will all be over." Ahri said with a smile, flipping her wrist to reveal a bright, luminous orb above her palm. She added with a grin, "I guarantee it will all be over in ten seconds."
Li Ke didn't notice the sly smile that flashed in Ahri's eyes.
Will they be affected?
"No, only you and her, only the two of you will be affected. You will die in that world and then disappear," Ahri said with a smile.
She reached out, pointing the pearl towards Li Ke, and then pushed it forcefully from behind.
"Buzz--"
Ahri's pearl entered Li Ke's body. In an instant, Li Ke coughed, and white light overflowed from his body, face, and limbs. Li Ke's body became like a piece of paper, with cracks and fissures all over it, and the light spilled out.
"Go ahead, I'll go with you." Ahri stepped forward and gently embraced Li Ke with both hands.
"Boom!"
The Hextech Gem emitted a dazzling blue light and shattered inside the cannon barrel. A massive black missile struck the fire monster, and Jinx was thrown back, staggering dozens of meters away on her flying platform.
As the smoke cleared, the fire monster wasn't seriously injured; Jinx's missiles only reduced the size of its flames and shrunk its massive body.
However, it was clear that this attack caused Stelaratu pain, because Jinx's missile was more powerful than those of Janna, Li Ke, and Vander, and posed a certain threat to Stelaratu.
Stelaratu turned around and swung his arm down toward Jinx, unleashing Jinx terrifying burst of flames.
"No!" Vi yelled, and flew towards Jinx on her Skateboard.
"Jinx!" Silco saw this too, and broke free from the enforcer's arm to rush into the flames.
But a fierce wind howled first, scattering the flames. Janna appeared and stood in front of Jinx. The giant blue bird raised its head, looking at the sky with astonishment.
Such powerful strength
That's incredible!
Even stronger than when I was at my peak!
How exactly did Li Ke manage to do it?
Janna was looking towards where Li Ke was.
"Call out--"
A figure flew out of the Grandstone Mine and crashed into the clock tower where Silco was. It was Vander. He shook his head dazedly, sat on the ground, and looked up at the sky with a blank expression.
Did Li Ke throw him out?
Why?
What is he going to do?!
Silco was also caught off guard, staring blankly at Vander had appeared beside him.
"Li Ke, this is your hometown."
With Ahri's voice echoing in his mind, Li Ke opened his eyes.
"You have seven seconds left, Li Ke. If you have something to say, hurry up and say it."
"You don't need to worry about anything, I'll take care of it."
Ahri's voice rang out, and white light gathered on Li Ke's body, spreading outwards. In the blink of an eye, the evening in Zaun turned into daylight, even brighter than daytime.
A dazzling white light illuminated the entire Zaun.
Gritting his teeth and enduring the pain emanating from deep within his body, Li Ke felt as if his body was about to explode at any moment. Looking inward into his own consciousness, he could even see that his soul had swelled up like a giant balloon, with the possibility of bursting at any instant.
Seeing this, he turned around and looked at the group from Zaun.
"It's all over now."
Li Ke spoke up, a smile appearing on his face, and continued, "Silco, Vander, Zaun is in your hands from now on."
"Vi, please take good care of Jinx for me."
Li Ke's voice echoed throughout Zaun. Upon hearing Li Ke's words, Silco's lips trembled, and his mind went blank.
Vander was stunned for a moment, then instantly flew into a rage. "Li Ke, if anyone's going to die, it's me! You fucking come back here!"
"Be good, you bastard!"
Silco seemed not to hear Vander's roar. He simply turned to look at Jinx's position and saw Jinx sitting on the flying board, staring blankly at Li Ke.
"Four seconds left, Li Ke."
Ahri urged.
She had seen Li Ke's memories and knew who Li Ke cared about most.
Jinx stared blankly at Li Ke, Li Ke was also looking at her calmly.
If I had known, I wouldn't have pretended to be such a gentleman.
If only he hadn't been so shameless, he should have done it for Jinx that night. He promised to show Jinx Little Li Ke, but now it seems he'll have to break his promise.
However, he kept his promise: no one would ever see Little Li Ke again.
Ah, kissing feels so good, Li Ke Kechao likes it, but it's a pity that he won't have the chance to practice his skills with Jinx anymore.
Behind Li Ke, dazzling white light coalesced into a gigantic Fox.
If Stelaratu, at several tens of meters tall, was already a terrifying monster, then this translucent white Fox, with a single paw several tens of meters long and a pair of alluring eyes ten meters long, is a miracle.
She was in Zaun, but even the people of Piltover could see her snow-white fur at eye level.
"No, that's impossible!"
"Your power, you don't belong to this world! This is fake, fake!"
Stelaratu screamed and lunged at Li Ke's retreating figure. "No, this can't be! How could this be!"
This is a smokescreen!
This must be sorcery!
Stelaratu had never seen such a powerful spirit before; even the Celestials she had dealt with before were not this powerful!
How did this spirit manage to do that?
How is that possible!
The blood-red rat exploded and shattered under the white light, but its fiery body opened its Giant Mouth and swallowed Li Ke, engulfing his figure.
"No"
"Don't want!"
"Li Ke, Li Ke, come back! Don't abandon me!"
Jinx mind had been blank, reacted instantly upon seeing this, leaping forward on her flying board. However, Vi held onto her waist tightly, Ekko also grabbed Jinx's arm forcefully, preventing her from rushing forward.
Jinx clenched her teeth, drawing blood from her lips. Her eyes widened as she stared at Li Ke, tears streaming down her face. She reached out and grabbed at Li Ke.
But it's too far.
Behind Li Ke, Stelaratu's Giant Mouth began to close.
Ahri's voice echoed in my mind.
"You have two seconds left, Li Ke."
Li Ke looked at Jinx quietly, then he raised his hands.
Raising his hands, one on each side, Li Ke placed his index fingers firmly against his eyelids and then slid them down until they stopped at the corners of his mouth. Next, Li Ke used his fingers to press against his cheeks, looking tenderly at Jinx, and a big smile spread across his face.
The lower half of his body could no longer withstand Ahri's power, shattering and dissipating into white fragments. These fragments merged into the white light and began to devour Li Ke's body.
But his eyes were fixed on Jinx, and as he gazed intently at Jinx, Li Ke's lips parted slightly.
Behind him, Stelaratu's fiery Giant Mouth closed, the Fox's white light was dazzling, and it also lowered its head, Fox Giant Mouth seemingly about to devour the entire Zaun.
A voice rang out,
"Jinx,"
Don't cry.
The Fox's Giant Mouth slammed down, the white light vanished instantly, leaving nothing behind.
There was no more flame, no more white light, no more flood—
Yes, there was one girl who stared blankly at everything, then lowered her head, pressed her hands to her chest, and let out a heart-wrenching sob.
"Aaaaaah!!!"