Grand Entrance

And Yuan Chen, out of unease about the future, was also learning the traditional Ionian war dances here... a special kind of dance, flamboyant and dazzling, filled with a vitality as vigorous as raging flames, making people unable to help but turn their heads and cheer.

Ionia emphasizes harmony between tradition and all spirits; the beauty of the human body's rhythm in dance is one way to achieve harmony. It can be said that in Ionia, dance and martial arts are interconnected—

Although Ionia is still flourishing in peace, and people seem to be able to live in abundance and stability forever.

But Yuan Chen, who is familiar with the future, knows very well that this peace will not last long. And in Ionia, elegance is synonymous with lethality.

This point, his junior schoolmate, Irelia from the Zan family in the countryside, would later prove with blood and the arms of Noxus's highest rulers.

However, it was of no use now.

It was about last month, Yuan Chen wasn't sure how long he had been drifting at sea. He set off from the mouth of the Prestation River, following his dancers to Sudaraya Island at the southernmost tip of Ionia to experience the beauty of nature.

But during this process, a Hoarding Sea Serpent from the Bilgewater Bay attacked their fleet.

Hoarding Sea Serpents are giant underwater beasts unique to the Bilgewater Bay. They have a severe hoarding obsession and like to pile up golden objects, thus they frequently attack fleets on the sea surface.

Almost every old sailor in Bilgewater knows that there are far more treasures underwater than on the surface. But these beasts, often over a hundred meters long, become the nightmare of any deep diver...

Yuan Chen didn't understand why the Hoarding Sea Serpents, which had always lurked in the depths of Bilgewater Bay, would appear near Ionia, but now Yuan Chen knew...

It was because of the Soul Devour Night. Feeling uneasy, the sea serpent chose to lie low, thus it patiently traveled to a calmer sea area, though one lacking treasures and golden objects.

It was during this process that Yuan Chen accidentally lost contact with the fleet—he was directly swallowed by this giant sea serpent.

Originally, Yuan Chen thought he might just kick the bucket like this, but unexpectedly, Yuan Chen did not die immediately...

The sea serpent was huge, and so was the space inside its belly. Relying on some remaining food, Yuan Chen managed to survive for a period of time. It wasn't pleasant, because it was pitch black inside the sea serpent's belly, with illumination provided only by scattered Night Luminous Stones.

While the light was enough to illuminate the surrounding space, it was impossible to determine the passage of time.

Perhaps five days, perhaps seven days, or maybe even longer... Yuan Chen saw the light again.

It was a woman, a woman with a strange smile on her face.

Her way of fighting the sea serpent was completely beyond human limits. Colorful, flowing water transformed into whip-swords in her hands as she dashed and ran across the shimmering sea surface.

The woman's aura was no less imposing than the giant monster, and her hunting techniques were dazzling. In one fluid motion, the hundred-meter-long Hoarding Sea Serpent was cut into pieces of various sizes by her Flowing Water Blade.

She killed the sea serpent, and Yuan Chen, in his joy of surviving the disaster, attracted the woman's attention.

Yuan Chen knew this woman's name—the Unfettered Joy, Nila. A bookworm, a pitiable soul blessed by the demon of joy, Oshirresh.

Yuan Chen was no stranger to this, so he called out to Nila.

Having once studied the background story of the League of Legends out of interest, Yuan Chen knew the story of Nila and Oshirresh.

In Runeterra, the concept of demons exists, and their powers vary. However, they are all born from the emotions of all living beings in Runeterra, feeding on emotions.

Pain, hatred, confusion, doubt, and unwillingness are all... Among these, the oldest are the demons born from the ten primordial emotions.

Yuan Chen is certain that Fiddlesticks, the Scarecrow, is the original demon representing Fear.

In contrast, Evelynn, the Widowmaker, and Tahm Kench, the River King, are second-tier demons. Although they also represent the culmination of certain emotions, they are far from the "primordial" and ancient nature represented by Fear.

And Azakana from the Yone storyline is just a lesser demon, with combat power and ranking even lower than ordinary demons. The demon Oshirresh, who blessed Nila, is one of the ten primordial demons, equal to the Fear demon Fiddlesticks.

Joy.

Oshirresh, known as the Lord of Joy, is rumored to be a monstrous beast with many limbs, who, along with nine equally ferocious siblings, wreaked havoc upon the world. To savor the purest joy, Oshirresh even plotted to devour the domains of the gods--

But was cast into the deep earth by the gods, imprisoned in a bottomless abyss on the seventh layer, guarded by a mysterious cult composed of valiant warriors.

When she was still a bookworm, a young girl who yearned for heroic tales unraveled the many mysteries and discovered that this cult was right beneath her feet, deep within the heartland of her hometown.

And so, she rushed out of her home in immense excitement. She wanted to find them, to learn more untold stories, and even hoped to become one of the heroes herself...

From then on, this girl vanished. Everything about this girl--

Her face, her voice, her true name--

Was erased from the memories of the living. Documents evaporated, inscriptions on walls and paper disappeared, and her family and friends could no longer speak of any past related to her. It was as if Nila had never existed.

Ten years later, a woman reappeared in Kashkan, like a stranger. She seemed detached from the world, always wearing a peculiar smile, exuding a seemingly endless, unchanging delight...

No one knew the woman's past, only that she called herself Nila, the name of the legendary river of fate.

If it were only this, it would be fine...

After all, the girl's name had long been forgotten. But the problem was, this was Nila's first time leaving her hometown, Kashkan. And Kashkan itself had not interacted with the outside world for nearly seven to eight hundred years.

Under these circumstances, Yuan Chen's voice caught Nila's... or rather, the attention of the Lord of Joy, Oshirresh, who accompanied her.

Sensing something different in Yuan Chen's soul, Oshirresh found it extremely interesting. However, having just arrived in the Outside World, Oshirresh was eager to obtain more joyful emotions to satisfy his ravenous appetite and thus cast a Joy Curse upon Yuan Chen.

This curse greatly enhanced Yuan Chen's strength, endurance, and agility, even granting Yuan Chen the power to control "water"...

But as a price, once the connection with Oshirresh deepened, Yuan Chen would uncontrollably feel joy. No matter the sorrow, pain, anger, or hatred, it would eventually turn into a morbid happiness and delight.

This is so damn unbearable... Because of this uncontrollable joy, Yuan Chen always felt a profound emptiness. Normal happiness is usually born from achieving something or obtaining something.

For example, going to a restaurant, enjoying delicious food, and feeling happy. But the happiness brought by the Joy Curse skips the beginning and the process, directly inducing happiness. Prolonged happiness would only lead to the collapse of one's Reason.

And to prevent his own Reason from collapsing, Yuan Chen had to immediately engage in some activity to fill in the omitted process...

And this filler for the cause of happiness could be anything... Among them, it even included self-harm.

Yuan Chen strongly suspected that Oshirresh's past attempt to devour the domains of the gods was due to his Consciousness being affected by boundless joy and delight...

Damn it, this isn't the Lord of Joy, it's more like the Lord of Lust.

Feeling the inexplicable joy welling up in his emotions, Yuan Chen couldn't help but dance a dazzling dance to the rhythm of the Sea Current.

Thanks to his past Fear of the future, Yuan Chen had been extremely diligent in cultivating his battle dance for self-preservation.

Just like now, as his limbs flew, water droplets slid from his black hair, an indescribable vitality surged from Yuan Chen's every limb and bone, and Muscle bulged on his robust body.

It wasn't bloated, but possessed a harmonious, flowing beauty. It gave the impression not of a warrior's toughness, but a dancer's fluidity—prominent parts were marked with white Curse Seals, and the upper arms were encircled by Vine Armlets woven from vines, appearing delicate and restrained.

Armlets are a type of bracelet. Those worn on the wrist are called bracelets, while those worn on the arm are called armlets. Thus, armlets are also known as arm bracelets or arm rings. The arm is one of the most noticeable parts of the body, especially in summer and autumn.

The importance and charm of the arm are sometimes no less than that of the face. Therefore, all dancers put great effort into their arms, and Yuan Chen, inheriting the traditions of Ionia, was no exception.

As the dance progressed, the Jade hanging from the Vine Armlet also made ethereal sounds with the collisions.

The surrounding Water Flow began to dance along with this joy, soaring into the air. In the harmonious and vibrant rhythm, they resembled small jade snakes, flowing and circling around Yuan Chen.

Gazing at this ineffable beauty of harmonious rhythm, even the Ixialia mages who had already set their sights on Yuan Chen held their breath.