"Jinx, take Taliyah back and call Silco up for me. I'm going to find Jayce."
Back in the Twin Cities, on Stellar Avenue in Piltover, Li Ke spoke to Jinx, while Kai'Sa, still sporting her Country Bumpkin face, curiously gazed at Piltover's skyscrapers. At the same time, Kai'Sa also posed a question to the people of Piltover.
That is, why didn't these Piltover feel surprised or frightened when they saw him?
This truly baffled Kai'Sa. Even she found her current appearance terrifying; her entire body was covered in spiky purple armor, and her skin would occasionally twist and writhe. It was undeniably bizarre. But here's the problem: when the Piltover people saw her skin, after a couple of glances, their gaze would fall on her face, and they would begin to admire her features.
Seriously, how could anyone bring themselves to eat that?
With a strange expression Kai'Sa followed Li Ke into a building. When she looked up, she couldn't even see the top of the building, which was pierced through the clouds and surrounded by white clouds.
Just how tall is it?
"Eat something first, Kai'Sa. What do you like to eat?"
Upon entering a room, Kai'Sa stood in a corner, looking completely out of place with everyone else. She was even too embarrassed to sit on the beautiful and exquisite sofa; just by looking at its quality, Kai'Sa knew that the sofa must have cost a fortune.
She was afraid of being implicated in a case.
Upon hearing Li Ke's question, Kai'Sa quickly replied, "I... I can eat anything."
"Hmm, how are the peaches?" Li Ke asked tentatively, looking at Kai'Sa.
Li Ke knew that Kai'Sa had a voice easter egg: when Kai'Sa was hitting flowers and eating fruit in the river, there was a chance she would hear the line, "Although it's not a peach, it's not bad either."
Therefore, it is clear that peaches are at least in the top three of Kai'Sa's recipes.
Upon hearing Li Ke's words, Kai'Sa's eyes visibly brightened. She looked at Li Ke without saying a word, but nodded.
"Please sit down. Don't be so awkward. Just make yourself at home," Li Ke said gently, noticing Kai'Sa's discomfort.
Upon hearing this, the goddess, who had been lounging on the table, lazily rolled over, her belly up, and said, "Li Ke, I guess I'm done for now?"
"Yes, but don't be in such a hurry to leave." Seeing that Janna was about to leave and go back to sleep, Li Ke quickly spoke up. He turned to look at Janna, walked to the table, bent down, and poked the little blue bird's upturned belly with his finger. The feel was so-so.
Janna's bluebird form is just a way she usually presents herself; her true nature is a wind spirit, and even her human form is a fabrication. Therefore, her belly under the bluebird form certainly won't feel like a real bird.
It doesn't have a furry feel, and the lower abdomen doesn't feel warm to the touch; instead, it's cool and refreshing with a gentle, moist texture.
"Is there anything else?" Life is tough. Janna sighed, propped herself up with her wings, sat up, and looked at Li Ke to ask.
"Once everyone arrives, I'll have Katarina and Fiora, the two representatives, come along as well. Also coming will be officials and representatives from various countries; we'll need you to make an appearance then."
Li Ke withdrew his hand and said with a smile, "Many people think that Twin Cities's claim of having Deity is a lie. After all, in the public's understanding, how could there be real Deity in this world? But now, I'm going to tell them that there really are Deity in this world."
"Can't you do it yourself? And Jax too," Janna said after thinking for a moment.
"That's different. Your story and image have spread Runeterra. When they actually see you, they'll fill in the blanks in their minds. But if Jax and I were to actually demonstrate our strength to them, they would only see us Jax powerful humans, not Deity."
"She... she's Deity?" Kai'Sa looked at Janna, her little face full of curiosity.
The goddess raised her wings, made a "coo" sound, and said, "Yes, I am Deity. Surprised?"
Kai'Sa paused for a moment, then explained, "You—no, you make me feel very close to you, and, and besides, aren't you angry about how Jinx treated you?"
Deity.
Shurima also has many Mythic. When her father was still alive, he would often tell young Kai'Sa stories after he returned from his travels. But the Deity in those stories were all tall, proud, and not easily approachable.
But what about Janna in front of us?
Recalling Jinx's interactions with this Deity, Kai'Sa truly finds it hard to believe that the adorable little bluebird before her is a Deity.
"Kai'Sa, Janna is different from other Deity," Li Ke said from the side. He then reached out to rub Janna's head, but Janna pecked him with her beak instead.
Li Ke chuckled awkwardly, withdrew his hand, and continued, "To us Zaunite, she is less a lofty Deity and more like our sister or mother. She is not a great figure enshrined in a shrine, but a relative who is always by our side."
"I won't be happy if you say that," Janna said quietly from the side. She continued, "I'm already very sleepy, let's hurry up."
"Why are you rushing me? Isn't this just a matter of Silco and the others not arriving yet?" Li Ke said.
There was a knock on the door, and Li Ke said, "Come in." Then, a law enforcement officer pushed in a small cart with many exquisite silver platters on it, filled with various pastries and several plates of fruit.
Li Ke gestured to the law enforcement officer to push the cart in front of Kai'Sa, and then he said to Kai'Sa, "Eat up, take whatever you like."
Kai'Sa hesitated for a moment, then picked up a pastry from the nearest plate, put it in her mouth, and chewed it. Then, her expression gradually softened. Piltover pastries tend to be mild in flavor, soft and sweet, with a lingering egg aroma. Kai'Sa couldn't resist reaching for a second one after eating one.
Li Ke watched for a while and found that Kai'Sa really had a big appetite, eating pastries one after another, and soon finished three plates.
Kai'Sa continued eating. This skin did indeed allow Kai'Sa to gain power without food, but the desire for food is a human instinct. Was she not eating before because she didn't want to?
It's because I can't eat.
Sending Kai'Sa to eat the corpses of those Void Worms would be worse than just killing her. But now that she's out here, with such a huge feast laid out in front of her, how could she possibly resist?
Her initial reserve vanished, and she began eating with both hands.
The door was suddenly pushed open, and the tall Jayce walked in, shouting as soon as he entered, "Li Ke, what do you want?"
As he spoke, Jayce saw a dark-haired beauty with bulging cheeks, a mouth full of food, and hands still clutching food, looking at him.
Jayce was taken aback at first, then, when he came to his senses, he saw Li Ke leaning against the table with Janna. He asked Li Ke curiously, "Where did you bring this girl from?"
"Jayce, what do you mean I kidnapped him?" Li Ke laughed in exasperation at Jayce's words.
"Otherwise what? You kidnapped a Grand Marshal's niece from Demacia, a pirate queen from Bilgewater, a lord from Freljord, oh, and that little Shurima native you just discovered not long ago."
Kai'Sa paused, her hand stilling, as she listened to the conversation. She whispered, "I'm Shurima too."
Jayce chuckled. "The little native I was talking about isn't you, it's someone else. She looks a bit darker than you. Judging by her skin color alone, you don't look like a Shurima at all. Hmm, I think you look more like a Demacia?"
Kai'Sa fell silent. She knew about Zaun and Piltover; her father often went to Zaun when he was away. But she really didn't know what Demacia was.
After a moment, Kai'Sa spoke up, "Aren't you curious why I look like this?"
"What?" Jayce didn't understand.
Kai'Sa explained, "Neither you nor the rest of the Piltover people seem curious about why I look like this. My skin is quite striking, isn't it? But why do you all seem to ignore it?"
Kai'Sa finally couldn't hold back and asked the question.
Li Ke, who was listening nearby, spoke up, "Um, because they've seen even stranger guys?"
Jayce understood what Li Ke meant, laughed, and clutched his stomach, saying, "Compared to our guy, what are you? Although your skin is a bit strange, you're very good-looking, while him? Haha." Jayce found it funnier the more he thought about it.
"If Vander hears this, he'll definitely punch you twice."
Just then, a voice came from outside, "What did I hear?"
The door was pushed open again, revealing Vander's large face. His Zaun gray uniform couldn't hide his thick hair; the collar was open, and a large clump of thick, black hair peeked out. Vander was also wearing a hat, which made him look even stranger.
Silco followed behind Vander, with Vi and Caitlyn beside him, and behind them were Senator Kiramman, Mel, and others.
Further behind was Lux, her mischievous little face upturned, peering out. Lux's face was flushed, as if she had just been angry. Beside her was Fiora, who carefully controlled the distance of each step she took.
Katarina was also there, following behind with her hands behind her back, blow-drying her hair, a hint of mockery in her eyes.
She just teased Lux again.
When Kai'Sa saw Vander, she immediately understood everything.
Although it was very impolite to say that, she couldn't help but want to laugh at that moment.
She understood why neither Piltover nor the Zaunite were surprised or frightened when they saw her; it was because there was an even more frightening-looking guy among the leaders of Zaun.
"Alright, now that everyone's here, let's get down to business."
Li Ke clapped his hands, interrupting Vander's question.
Vander was puzzled and wanted to press for more information, but Jayce stood up and said seriously, "So, is it time to start that thing?"
Upon hearing this, Silco asked, "Have they caught them already?"
Vander opened his Kog'Maw slightly, then closed it again.
"Yes, we've caught them. It's their queen, and Janna has already brought her body back and stored it away," Li Ke said seriously.
Mel's eyes lit up, and she said, "Can we take a look first?"
"Sure."
Li Ke looked at Janna, and the goddess raised her wings, a gentle breeze blew, and then, the corpse of a purple creature several meters in size appeared in the room.
Janna said, "Rek'Sai's body can't fit in here; this room is too big."
Jayce's lips twitched slightly upon hearing this. "Wait, this room can't even hold it all? Just how big is that thing called Rek'Sai?"
Lux had already stepped out from the crowd and was examining Xer'Sai's corpse. Katarina was doing the same, her gaze falling on Xer'Sai's claws before looking down at her own dagger.
After a moment, she gave up the idea of removing Xer'Sai's nails. Her dagger was engraved with runes, and they were runes that were difficult to inscribe and could only be used by her. She had now parted ways with the Du K'Kao family. Swain was indeed the Grand Commander, but in reality, he was a penniless man. She didn't have the money to buy herself a good pair of weapons.
"Rek'Sai is much larger than her people. Well, she's at least four meters tall and about thirty meters long. If you look at her from the front, her head alone is the size of a house. This room definitely can't fit her," Li Ke concluded.
"You went to Shurima and killed such a huge guy?" Vander was speechless.
"There are even bigger ones." Li Ke clicked his tongue, still somewhat resentful about failing to trap Bel'Veth.
Forget about things like Bel'Veth also dealing with the Void, or that keeping her alive would be useful to Li Ke. As for Void creatures, aside from Kassadin and Kai'Sa, I'd kill every single one I see. That's absolutely right.
Damn it, it's all those damn Celestials's fault!
Silco walked to Xer'Sai's body, touched it, and felt Xer'Sai's blood stain his fingertips. He rubbed his fingers together, then looked up at Li Ke. "You killed their queen, so I have a question, Li Ke. Are you sure they can really pose a threat to Runeterra? Logically, if the queen is dead, the entire race should disappear into chaos."
"If we do this with such fanfare, and the creature we end up fighting is as powerful as you say, then it's very likely that all of this will turn out to be a joke," Silco said seriously.
Once things get moving, the Twin Cities will forcibly bind Runeterra. Except for Shurima, which is still in chaos, all other places will join the Twin Cities to fight against the Void.
"Xer'Sai doesn't represent the Void; these guys are just a product of the Void," Li Ke said, shaking his head.
"As for what you said about the tribe perishing after the queen's death, well... I can only say you're overthinking it," Li Ke said to Silco. Then he looked at Kai'Sa and said, "Kai'Sa, you should know this best. Can you explain it to me?"
Everyone's gaze shifted to Kai'Sa. Seeing this, Kai'Sa, who hadn't stopped talking even while everyone was talking, blushed and almost choked. She swallowed the food in her mouth and patted her chest.
"Void creatures are different from the creatures of Runeterra. They are not reproduced through interbreeding, but are monsters directly created by the power of the Void."
Kai'Sa said seriously and loudly:
"I fought them in the underworld of Shurima, and I can only describe their numbers in one sentence: endless. Dead Void creatures are devoured by other Void creatures to evolve themselves, while those that are Void devoured are decomposed by the Void and recreated into a large number of monsters."
"Therefore, I suspect there are already millions of such monsters beneath Shurima."
After hearing what Kai'Sa said, Silco looked at Li Ke.
If what this girl said about millions of such monsters is true, then the Void truly is Runeterra's mortal enemy!
Seeing that Silco was looking over, Li Ke first shrugged, then straightened up, his gaze sweeping over the representatives of various countries in the room, before Li Ke said seriously:
Time waits for no one.
"Runeterra, it's time to unite."
The representatives from various countries who were summoned, whether Fiora or Katarina, all looked at them with scrutinizing eyes.
Runeterra
Should we unite?
But here's the question: is what Li Ke is talking about really possible?
Human nature is complex, and self-interest reigns supreme. Even with Twin Cities connection and representatives from around the world exchanging ideas, can unity still be achieved?
That's too difficult, unless...
As Katarina looked at Li Ke's face, an idea formed in her mind.
Unless, unless by forceful suppression, the Twin Cities become the overlords of Runeterra, only then can true "unity" be achieved!
And what happened next was exactly what Katarina had expected.
The leaders of Twin Cities came out and stood one by one beside Li Ke.
Instead, the representatives from various countries stood together, opposing the people from the Twin Cities.
Li Ke's gaze also fell upon these people. He clasped his hands together, Li Ke familial qualities vanished, and his gentle, welcoming aura disappeared.
He then turned and coldly looked at the crowd, saying:
"I forgot to tell you something."
"Now, I am not asking you all to join Twin Cities to fight against the Void, but rather, I am ordering everyone present to join Twin Cities."
"Now that I've finished speaking, does anyone have any objections?"