"Good day, the Oracle."
Yi bowed. Jia Ruo and Neeko hurriedly bowed as well.
"Yi, you're a wanderer who comes and goes as he pleases. You must have an important reason for coming here."
"I shouldn't have disturbed you after your return from your travels. But something has happened."
Yi replied.
"You... still blame yourself for the decision you made back then?"
"For many years, I've traveled all over Ionia, apologizing to everyone for the harm and suffering I caused. I supported... I insisted on the war against Noxus. But..."
He paused and sighed.
"I won't apologize for myself—for Ionia's counterattack."
"May life in Ionia endure forever."
"May life in Ionia endure forever."
Karma and Yi pressed their palms together in prayer.
Behind the Sword Saint, Jia Ruo and Neeko stared wide-eyed, not daring to breathe.
Although Yi had explained earlier that Ionia was governed by a provincial council, Karma's renown made her seem as important as the great leader of the Celestial Empire.
"Let's talk in my meditation room."
Karma turned and led the three of them deeper into the monastery.
Karma's meditation room was almost too tidy. Apart from a few meditation cushions, a small tea table, and a tea set, there was nothing else.
As for why it was called a meditation room, most sects in Ionia called their cultivation practices meditation. The specifics varied from one sect to another.
For example, the meditations of the Wuju could even awaken a unique defense.
Karma, Yi, Jia Ruo, and Neeko took their seats on the cushions around the small tea table, in order of rank.
A monk entered and added tea leaves and hot water to the teapot.
Karma nodded slightly. "Sorry for the trouble. You may leave."
The monk bowed silently, then withdrew from the meditation room.
Yi and Jia Ruo began to explain what they had discovered, including Zed's arrangements on the island and Jia Ruo's theory.
Karma personally poured tea for everyone. Jia Ruo was a little overwhelmed by the honor—even though Karma had always been so approachable, he still felt somewhat ill at ease.
She set down the teapot.
"Ionia can no longer withstand another calamity. Its many wounds need time and peace to heal."
Yi nodded in agreement.
"The council will investigate this thoroughly. We couldn't interfere in what happened with the Kinkou back then. But if the Order of Shadow dares to do anything that threatens Ionia..."
Karma tightened her grip on her teacup, and the calm, conciliatory tone vanished from her voice.
"We will show no mercy!"
She took a small sip of tea, and her voice returned to its previous tone. "Thank you for everything you've done for Ionia."
"It was our duty."
Yi raised his teacup and took a sip.
Karma summoned the monk who had come earlier.
"Notify the elders of Placidium. Tomorrow... no, tonight. We'll hold a meeting tonight."
Only after they had dealt with the matter at hand did Karma ask about Jia Ruo and Neeko.
"And who are these two?"
"This is my new disciple."
Yi glanced at Jia Ruo.
"My name is Jia Ruo."
Jia Ruo smiled, a little embarrassed.
"The other is Neeko, the last surviving member of the Wu Wei Clan, a Vastaya tribe that was destroyed because they sealed away Magic Power."
Suddenly, Yi's lips curled into a smile. "And now, she wants to call me Master alongside Jia Ruo."
In Ionia, a disciple's partner could also call their master "Master," just like a fellow disciple.
Neeko understood Yi's double meaning. Blushing, she didn't deny it.
She hadn't touched her tea. Twisting her fingers together, she asked,
"Neeko wants to ask the Oracle a question. What is love?"
Jia Ruo nearly spat out the tea he had just swallowed.
After barely managing to swallow it back down, he choked.
Neeko shot Jia Ruo a glare. Even without touching Shuoma, she knew what he was thinking.
Neeko turned to Karma.
"Our Wu Wei Clan can read people's hearts. Neeko has met so many, many people. But even now, Neeko still doesn't understand what love is."
So she wasn't asking for romantic advice. Jia Ruo felt a little disappointed.
"I've heard of the shapeshifter branch of the Vastaya."
Karma looked at Jia Ruo and Neeko. She had the memories of a thousand lifetimes, which meant she had lived a thousand lives, but this question...
Karma considered it for a moment.
"Love for all is boundless, far-reaching, and fraught with hardship. Love for one person is warm, but... it has rarely endured since time immemorial."
Yes, it had rarely endured since time immemorial. She had once said those words to an old woman.
She knew that old woman—or rather, the old woman had once been her fiancée.
Sixty years ago, the old woman, whose name was Wo Tai, had still been a young girl.
Back then, Wo Tai and her fiancé Jia Geli had gone together to the Hall of Eternity—and it was there that Jia Geli became the previous incarnation of Karma.
Now, Jia Geli's memories, like those of the hundreds of other incarnations, lived within the Karma of this lifetime.
"I love you, Jia Geli."
When Wo Tai had spoken those words to her, her voice trembling with joy,
Karma's eyes had dimmed. "I'm sorry. But this has rarely endured since time immemorial."
"Thank you for giving me this chance."
"I should be thanking you, Wo Tai."
"Why?"
"He's been silent for a long time,"
she murmured.
"Ever since that attack. He... He was so disappointed, and then he stopped speaking. All these years, I haven't heard Jia Geli's voice. I haven't had the wisdom of the previous Karma."
She suddenly clasped Wo Tai's hands tightly.
"Thank you for bringing him back."
That was when Karma became certain of her boundless love: she would protect Ionia, even if it meant resorting to force.
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