Shurima Is Not Yet Dead, The Mountains and Rivers Will Return, You Don't Have to Walk Towards Annihilation

"Don't be so arbitrary, Aatrox."

"Let me introduce myself first."

"I don't care who you are! Bug!" Aatrox retorted furiously.

Li Ke paused, fell silent, and then reached for the cloth bag placed beside the bed.

"Wait! What are you doing?"

Li Ke remained silent, but simply lifted Aatrox with his other hand, opening the bag.

"Let's talk, let's talk! Bug, I'm willing to talk to you now, come on, what's your name?"

Aatrox shouted impatiently.

Li Ke paused his movements, then looked at Aatrox in his hand with a hint of annoyance.

On the sword, an eye stared at Li Ke, its gaze filled with terror.

Well, Li Ke was somewhat surprised by this because although Aatrox's lines were quite chuunibyou (a Japanese term for someone with delusions of grandeur), the conviction hidden within that chuunibyou was undeniable. Ascended who went mad without faith was just a walking disaster machine.

Aatrox is perceived by many as a fearless warrior who hates the Celestials, resists the Demigod, and is driven mad by a desire to return the suffering he has endured to the world. Therefore, his will should be unwavering, and he shouldn't have anything to fear.

But in reality, Aatrox has something he fears.

After thinking for a moment, Li Ke concluded that Aatrox had two things he feared.

One reason is Shurima. He fears that if Setaka were to return one day and question him about Shurima is gone, he would be speechless.

The second one is sealed inside a sword that is shrouded in darkness.

What does that feel like?

Li Ke once read a post that said even the strongest person, if locked up in a dark room for a period of time, will break down when they come out, and may even go insane.

Depriving one of sensory experiences, forgetting time, lacking information to meet one's spiritual needs, and being left without feedback leads to emptiness and ultimately, collapse.

Aatrox faced a situation even more dire than the dark room. First, there was the time—a thousand-year-long ban, which may have been one of the reasons that destroyed his will and drove him mad. Second, there was the feeling.

Humans locked in dark rooms can at least still move their bodies, at least cry, curse, and vent their emotions for a moment. But what about Aatrox? He was a sword.

When he was sealed, his senses were perfectly clear, but he was trapped in a black and red void. He could not see the outside world, nor could he fall asleep. The voices of Void in his mind kept eating and disturbing him, but he couldn't even cry.

In Aatrox's personal story, there is a line that goes like this—

[My limbs and muscles are completely unresponsive. I can't breathe. I'm suffocating. My blood pressure is rising. My chest and limbs are gradually going numb. I want to scream, to tear my face apart, to wail—but I'm trapped. I can't move. I can't move.]

This shows that being sealed away was something Aatrox feared, which also helped Li Ke understand why Aatrox had backed down.

No matter how powerful or transcendent the Ascended may be, they are still evolved from humans. Apart from the power bestowed upon them by the Sun Disc, the Ascended are essentially human.

Nasus chose to flee in the face of the collapse of the Shuriman Empire.

Renekton, plunged into darkness and driven mad by Xerath's insults and mockery, was driven to madness.

Given the only chance to be resurrected, Azir would choose Sivir.

Ascended are a group of strong-willed humans with unwavering beliefs.

It's important to understand that the stronger a person is, the more devastating their breakdown will be, because it represents a complete collapse of their entire mental world.

Thinking about this, Li Ke suddenly felt a little sorry for Aatrox.

"Now, are you willing to have a proper talk with me?"

Li Ke softened his tone, sighed, and then spoke to the sword.

"What do you want to talk about?" Aatrox said sullenly, his arrogance and madness lessening somewhat.

"Let's chat casually, Aatrox. You haven't been out for long, have you? You've been sealed in the sword for so long without speaking to anyone. Don't you want to talk to someone?"

"Give me your body, and I'll have a good talk with you." Aatrox murmured, the sword trembling.

Before Li Ke could speak, he muttered to himself again, "Actually, in the end, you insect just want to gain my power, right?"

"If you don't speak, then I guessed right. Don't put on that nice face; it disgusts me. Humans are the filthiest things in the world. Yes, the filthiest, the most despicable, the most deserving of death, the most deserving of--"

Aatrox suddenly became violent again, his greatsword trembling on Li Ke's thigh, and he started howling again.

Li Ke looked at Aatrox with a strange expression, then found it amusing.

Aatrox, that guy is actually a super chatterbox.

The number one insult king in the Rift, he's even insulted Ornn. Among the few top lane champions he hasn't insulted, Jax is one of them?

"Aatrox, don't forget, you were once human too." Li Ke interrupted Aatrox's spellcasting with a single sentence.

The greatsword suddenly stopped, then jumped up in a fit of rage, only to be forcefully held down by Li Ke.

"I'm curious. I remember you Darkin can use blood magic to bewitch people, right? But since I released you, you haven't done anything except get angry and emit blood energy," Li Ke asked Aatrox.

This question really put Aatrox in a bit of a bind.

The idea that Darkin are proficient in blood magic—I don't know which bastard came up with that. Who said Darkin have to be skilled in blood magic? Can't they use blood magic to influence Aatrox's ability to kill people?

"I would never stoop to such underhanded tactics. I was once a warrior, and I have my own pride," Aatrox said.

"Would you rather bear the pride of a rotting corpse?"

"You know nothing! You're just an insect who's only lived for a few decades, what do you know? I admit you are indeed powerful. As a human, possessing such strength, in our era, all the Ascended would have to call you a genius. But you know nothing! You know absolutely nothing about this world!"

Aatrox chuckled, and then began to mock Li Ke again.

"How do you know I know nothing about this world?" Li Ke interrupted Aatrox's taunts, calmly continuing:

"I'm curious about one thing: if Setaka knew that she entrusted Shurima to you, and that in your hands Shurima perished and was scattered, until thousands of years later, it had vanished beneath the yellow sands, what would she feel?"

"The Queen didn't entrust Shurima to me, she entrusted it to Nasus! But that dog, it was him, he abandoned Shurima! I had no interest in the Darkin War. He was willing to step in and take charge, everyone would have listened to him, but instead he handed the Queen's weapon to Grass. Wait, how the hell did you know all this?!"

Aatrox stared at Li Ke with Big Eyes.

"I know all the dirty secrets you've been talking about. Nasus was tricked into giving his weapon to a girl, and that girl..."

"Don't mention her!"

"I'm going to kill her! I'm going to kill her! I'm going to break her bones, cut off her head, drink her blood, eat her heart, I'm going to kill her, Zoe, you deserve to die!"

The girl whose name Li Ke couldn't utter drove Aatrox completely mad.

This time, even threatening Li Ke with a seal couldn't calm Aatrox down from his madness.

Helpless, Li Ke could only use up the little Emotion Points he had accumulated.

His hair instantly turned white, growing to his waist, and a beautiful lotus pattern appeared between Li Ke's eyebrows. The lotus was in full bloom, pink and white, emanating a gentle spiritual power.

Li Ke gripped the sword hilt tightly in his palm, and the spiritual power belonging to the Soul Blossom surged towards the center of the sword. Pinkish-white light spots stained the blood streaks on the sword blade, and through neutralization, the red color actually faded considerably.

On the greatsword, the eyes that had been completely consumed by madness and chaos gradually regained their senses, and Aatrox's angry curses and swears gradually subsided until he was completely calm.

"How did you do that?" Aatrox asked Li Ke after calming down; he was quite surprised.

The voice from the Void disappeared, and the negative emotions in my heart seemed to be soothed.

Self-blame, anger, and resentment seemed to dissipate because of this human power.

What remained in Aatrox's heart was a confused emptiness.

"I know this world better than you think." Li Ke didn't answer Aatrox's question, but continued on his own, "In my opinion, if you continue like this, you'll regret it."

"You are a hero, Aatrox. It is because you drove the Void from Icathia that Runeterra has been able to live in peace until now. Once, humanity revered you and admired you, but now, people condemn you. Even today, Shurima mentions you, all they will receive is a chorus of curses."

Don't you feel resentful?

"I'm not reconciled! Is this my fault?!" Aatrox retorted, his voice loud, but without the madness he once displayed. Indeed, he was known for his loud voice.

"Human lifespan is short. As they reproduce generation after generation, they forget who saved them, who protected them! It's clearly their fault! Is it wrong for me to take revenge on them and make them feel my pain?"

With his mind clear, Aatrox began to think. He gave a cold laugh, raised his sword, met Li Ke's gaze, and said, "I know what you want to say, but past glories cannot bind me. When Shurima still existed, I could endure the corruption of the Void because my sun still shone, my faith remained! But now, Shurima is gone, destroyed by Azir himself! He trusted that villain, and it is all his fault!"

Those useless old memories, the past is the past. All I can think of now is revenge, only revenge! This is far more real than any past glory! There's nothing wrong with going mad and self-destructing, right, Li Ke? You're not me. You've never experienced what I've been through, never felt the pain I've endured, so what right do you have to lecture me like this?"

Li Ke said helplessly, "I didn't mean to lecture you, I just don't want you to regret it later."

"Regret? Heh, I will never regret it."

Aatrox said arrogantly, "My only regret is that I didn't make up my mind to completely destroy myself. I didn't kill myself completely, nor did I destroy the self that became the sword, turning myself into this pathetic state, madly craving killing while yearning for past glory. But from now on, I will never do that again. I will embrace annihilation until the day the world ends. So, do you want to try?"

"What if Shurima were still around?" Li Ke asked suddenly, looking at Aatrox.

"You want to try to control this, etc., what did you say?" Aatrox, who had been talking to himself, suddenly realized what was happening and stared at Li Ke with Big Eyes.

"I said, Shurima is still here, Azir is still alive, and Nasus is still alive."

"Impossible! Azir's death was witnessed by all the Darkin. They saw Xerath stab him to death and seize his power!"

With the Setaka bloodline extinguished and followers gone, the Darkin gradually abandoned their individuality and chose to embrace destruction.

In reality, after the Ascended were corrupted by the Void and turned into Darkin, they didn't go mad. They had been resisting the voices in their minds. They were powerful Ascended; they had even driven back the Void itself, killing it and turning it into ruins. How could they possibly become insane just because they were tainted by the power of the Void or because of the incessant chatter in their minds?

This event has historical significance, as countless years passed between the Void Wars and Azir's rule over Shurima. Setaka was the ancestor of Azir's ancestors, and during this period, Aatrox, Rhaast, and others also maintained Shurima.

They're not crazy!

They firmly believed that as long as the Queen's bloodline continued, the sun would never go out, and they would follow Azir. However, Azir's sudden death caused the sun in their hearts to set.

Without light and direction, they became the "Darkin".

And now, this human is saying Shurima still exists, Azir still exists?

"Azir is still alive, and even if he were gone, the Setaka bloodline would continue," Li Ke nodded to Aatrox and said softly.

"Impossible, how could this be?" Aatrox couldn't believe it.

Li Ke continued, "Her name is Sivir, the only remaining member of the Shurima royal family. Her bloodline is even purer than Azir's because she hasn't yet gained Ascended power. Also, you might be happy to see her because she's wielding Setaka's weapon, and she can use it perfectly."

Aatrox isn't the slayer he is now. But once he's killed the barbarians, stormed Mount Targon, and there's no turning back, Aatrox at that stage probably won't treat Sivir well either.

Li Ke remembered that Aatrox had a line for Sivir that went something like, "When you wield this crossblade, can you hear the Shurima?"

He confirmed Sivir's identity and recognized Setaka's weapon, but there was no turning back.

But things are different now.

Because Aatrox's sword was trembling, he looked at Li Ke, fearing that Li Ke's next words would be, "I was just kidding."

He'd go crazy if that happened!

"Chalicar. She can use Chalicar?"

"Yes, she's in Shurima right now, and she's probably around my age."

"Take me to see her! I want to see her with my own eyes. Even if she is royalty, if her character is flawed and her will is weak, she is not qualified to use Chalicar!"

"Azir isn't even qualified to use that weapon!" Aatrox shouted.

"But Aatrox, what identity will you use to meet her?" Li Ke suddenly asked.

Aatrox paused, then fell silent.

The eyes on the greatsword were vacant. Yes, what identity would he use to meet the bloodline of Setaka?

Should he meet her as Setaka subject, friend, or guard, or as the leader of the Darkin?

Li Ke smiled and said, "I can give you a direction."

"Explain."

"Become my sword, Aatrox," Li Ke said earnestly.

Aatrox didn't speak, but a look of disdain flashed in his eyes again.

After all that talk, in the end, doesn't Mom just want me?

Ignoring the sarcasm in Aatrox's eyes, Li Ke continued, "You made a grave mistake. No matter how many excuses you make, Shurima's destruction was partly your fault, but ultimately, the real blame doesn't lie with you."

What truly led Shurima to its demise was the Void, the Celestials, Xerath. You want to see Sivir, you want to see Azir, but you're not qualified right now. But we can be together."

"To be honest, I do need your power, Aatrox. In the future, I will fight the Void, the Celestials, and Xerath. And coincidentally, these guys are also your enemies, aren't they?"

Aatrox's eyes showed a thoughtful expression, and he surprisingly did not refute Li Ke.

This means that Aatrox did indeed take Li Ke's words to heart and was considering whether it was feasible.

Li Ke then said quietly.

"Shurima is not yet destroyed. The cities buried beneath the yellow sands will one day rise again, and the mountains and rivers will one day return. Aatrox, you do not have to face annihilation. Those voices that disturb you, I can silence for you. The glory you have lost, we can reclaim together."

The eye on the greatsword met Li Ke's gaze, the blade hummed and trembled, and blood energy permeated the air.