Karma's Love

"The Oracle, good day."

Yi bowed, and Jia Ruo and Neeko also hurriedly curtsied.

"Yi, you, a free spirit, coming here must mean something extraordinary."

"Originally, I shouldn't have disturbed you upon your return from your travels. But, there's a reason for this."

Yi replied.

"Are you... still blaming yourself for the decisions of the past?"

"For years, I've traveled all over Ionia, apologizing to everyone, apologizing for the harm and pain I caused. I supported... insisted on the war against Noxus. However..."

He paused, sighing.

"I do not apologize for myself—for Ionia's counterattack."

"May Ionia's vitality last forever."

"May Ionia's vitality last forever."

Karma and Yi clasped their hands together simultaneously.

Meanwhile, Jia Ruo and Neeko watched with wide eyes from behind the Sword Saint, not daring to breathe.

Although Yi had introduced it earlier, Ionia had a provincial council system, but with Karma's reputation, her status was akin to that of the Great One in the Celestial Empire.

"Let's talk in my meditation room."

Karma gestured for the three to follow her deeper into the monastery.

Karma's meditation room was excessively tidy. Apart from a few floor cushions, a small tea table, and a set of cups and a teapot, there was nothing else.

As for why it was called a meditation room, most sects in Ionia referred to their cultivation process as meditation, with only the specific content differing among them.

For example, the meditation of Wuju could even awaken unique defenses.

Karma, Yi, Jia Ruo, and Neeko took their seats according to precedence on the floor cushions beside the small tea table.

A monk entered and added tea leaves and hot water to the teapot.

Karma nodded slightly. "Thank you. You may go now."

The monk bowed silently and then withdrew from the meditation room.

Yi and Jia Ruo began to recount their findings, including Zed's arrangements on the island and Jia Ruo's conjectures.

Karma personally poured tea into everyone's cups. Jia Ruo felt somewhat flattered—even though Karma had always been so approachable, he still felt a bit constrained.

She put down the teapot.

"Ionia can no longer withstand disaster. Her many wounds need time and peace to heal."

Yi nodded in agreement.

"The Council will thoroughly investigate this matter. We cannot interfere with the past affairs of the balance. However, if the Kinkou dares to do anything that endangers Ionia..."

Karma clenched the teacup in her hand, her peaceful and humble tone disappearing.

"We will show no mercy!"

Taking a sip of tea, Karma's voice returned to its previous state: "Thank you for your contributions to Ionia."

"It is what we should do."

Yi also raised his teacup and took a drink.

Karma summoned the monk from before.

"Go inform the elders of Placidium that tomorrow... no, tonight, a meeting will be held tonight."

After finishing the important matters, Karma then asked about Jia Ruo and Neeko's identities.

"Who are these two?"

"These are my new disciples."

Yi glanced at Jia Ruo.

"My name is Jia Ruo."

Jia Ruo smiled, a little embarrassed.

"The other is the last member of the Wu Wei Clan, a Vastaya tribe that was once destroyed because they sealed their Magic Power. Her name is Neeko."

Suddenly, the corner of Yi's mouth curved: "And now, she wants to call me Master along with Jia Ruo."

In Ionia, besides becoming fellow disciples, a disciple's partner could also call the same Master.

Neeko understood Yi's double meaning and, blushing, did not refute.

She hadn't drunk any tea, her fingers intertwined, and she spoke a sentence.

"Neeko wants to ask The Oracle a question: What is love?"

Jia Ruo almost spat out the tea he had just drunk.

After finally swallowing it, he choked on it.

Neeko shot Jia Ruo a glare. Even without touching Shuoma, she knew what he was thinking.

Neeko turned to Karma.

"We of the Wu Wei Clan can read hearts. Neeko has met many, many people. But even now, Neeko still doesn't understand, what is love."

So it wasn't about relationship advice, Jia Ruo felt a little disappointed.

"The lineage of Vastaya Shapeshifters, I have heard of them."

Karma looked at Jia Ruo and Neeko. She possessed memories of a thousand lives, meaning she had lived a thousand lifetimes. But this question...

Karma pondered for a moment.

"Great love is boundless, vast yet perilous; small love is for individuals. Though it is warm... it has never lasted since ancient times."

Yes, it has never lasted since ancient times. She had said this to an old woman before.

She knew that old woman, or rather, that old woman had once been her fiancée.

Sixty years ago, this old woman named Wo Tai was still a young girl.

At that time, Wo Tai and her fiancé, Jia Geli, went together to the Hall of Eternity—it was there that Jia Geli became the previous Karma.

Now, Jia Geli's memories, like those of a thousand other lives, resided within this life's Karma.

"I love you, Jia Geli."

When Wo Tai said this to her, her voice trembling but filled with joy.

Her eyes dimmed: "I'm sorry. But this has never lasted since ancient times."

"Thank you. For giving me this chance."

"It is I who should thank you, Wo Tai."

"Why?"

"He has been silent for a long time,"

She murmured.

"Ever since that attack. He... he was very disappointed, and then he stopped speaking altogether. For all these years, there has been no voice of Jia Geli, no wisdom from the previous Karma."

She suddenly gripped Wo Tai's hands.

"Thank you for bringing him back."

At that moment, Karma solidified her great love: to protect Ionia, even resorting to force if necessary.