187 Desperate Pressure

Upon hearing King Yuen's words, a ripple appeared on the surface of Ne'Zuk's consciousness, which had been floating in the air like a ruby, but then disappeared.

Clearly, Ne'Zuk didn't care about this... but he wasn't completely indifferent.

Realizing this, without needing Yuan Chen's prompting, King Yuen couldn't help but say in a sorrowful voice:

"Ancestor, have you truly abandoned us? We await your knowledge, await your truth. Countless scholars have worked day and night to calculate so that you may be freed from the shackles of this fallen body. Why do you assert that it is all over when even we have not given up?"

"That's because you're too short-sighted, my descendants."

Perhaps unable to withstand King Yuen's questioning and his overflowing pent -Ne'Zuk, who had already given up on explaining, spoke again:

"Compared to mortals, your wisdom is vast. But you cannot imagine what I see... Nothing ever existed, everything was predetermined."

The ruby formed from liquid, taking the form of Ne'Zuk's bird head in his Ascended form, spoke with a face full of helplessness and bitterness, even with a hint of fear:

"The wisdom we take pride in is nothing more than a worthless toy in their eyes. They can understand it and digest some of it simply by tearing it apart, swallowing it, and then eating it."

"Can you imagine? The countless days and nights we've spent struggling for this, just to get an answer—in their eyes, it's something like food, something you can swallow whole, understand completely, and master without even chewing it."

"I tell you with great sadness, my descendants."

The blood-red light formed a complete shape in the Nezuk.

Contrary to his historical portrayal as a "tyrant," the actual Ne'Zuk, like his symbolic animal, the heron, could not conceal his elegance and demeanor even with his body covered in swollen, dark red, rotting flesh.

Especially when looking at King Yuen--

Although Yuan Chen wasn't entirely sure, he was fairly certain that the bloodline of King Yuen was directly connected to that of Ne'Zuk.

Perhaps it was for this reason that, when looking at King Yuen, Ne'Zuk's gaze was filled with grief and despair:

"The moment the first rift in the Void appeared in Runeterra, we had already lost forever."

"Whether it's Setaka, Azir, the other Ascended, or even Ryze, or the witch who froze the Watchers between the two realms... it's all useless."

Upon hearing Ne'Zuk mention Ryze and the others' names, Yuan Chen couldn't help but narrow his eyes.

The witch who froze the Watchers was Lissandra. But the very act of freezing the Watchers predates the founding of Shurima...

It's not that Ne'Zuk knew; the key point is that, as Dark Descendant sealed away before the Rune Wars, he even knew about Ryze, who was well-known at the end of the Rune Wars, a time when the Classic Era had passed.

He...

How did you know?

"The Void has revealed everything, including the final outcome."

Ne'Zuk said weakly:

"The moment I and my fellow Ascended poured our last ounce of energy into the Monolith Fortress, willing to sacrifice all the lives upon it to shatter the Void and crash into the Deep Purple Sea, I saw the future that the Void foreshadowed."

"I didn't believe it, I even scoffed, and so I became the only one who escaped."

"But I was wrong... It wasn't that I escaped, but that the Void let me go."

Ne'Zuk said with some anger, but also with a sense of helplessness, "They want me, the defeated general and stray dog who is considered a 'symbol of wisdom,' to declare the end of everything in the material realm."

"I was furious. I thought that so-called future was just a lie... until I saw Queen Setaka fall in the war."

Seeing the once invincible Golden Army, which had conquered all known territories, utterly annihilated; seeing the Empire's proud Ascended become the foundation of the Deep Purple Sea one after another.

"That's when I realized they hadn't lied to me."

"Perhaps..."

Remaining silent, Ne'Zuk said with a hint of helplessness but utmost sincerity, "Letting this world be destroyed by our own hands is the only response we can make..."

Therefore, Ne'Zuk became a "tyrant"...

Upon hearing Ne'Zuk's words, Yuan Chen also fell silent.

It's somewhat laughable, although Yuan Chen had long known that the Void was powerful and terrifying, and might be the final enemy or even the boss of Runeterra.

But Yuan Chen didn't understand what the Void was really like...

In fact, we haven't even had any in-depth contact.

But now, through Ne'Zuk's words, Yuan Chen had a better sense of the terror of the Void.

An Ascended considered to possess "wisdom" and "reason" is called the "Holy King" in Ixialia, a place that reveres truth and wisdom.

Under the pressure imposed by the Void, he was forced into becoming a madman, a destroyer of the world, a tyrant...

No, that's not right.

Yuan Chen quickly shook his head.

It wasn't the Void that drove Ne'Zuk mad; it was that Ne'Zuk...

According to the storyline, during the final battle between Ancient Shurima and the Void, many Ascended ventured deep into the Void, which is what Ne'Zuk referred to as the "Deep Purple Sea."

After that, the surviving Ascended did not go completely mad like Ne'Zuk, but continued to follow the leadership of the Golden Bloodline.

But Ne'Zuk is different...

He was the first person to see the "Void future" and also the first person to personally experience part of the "Void future".

As a rational scholar, Ne'Zuk prefers to think. Compared to those muscle-bound brutes who shout "Aaaaaah! I'll kill you a thousand times!", he prefers to find the final answer through logic.

However...

Yuan Chen knew very well that sometimes, being too eager for the truth was not a good thing.

Especially in this realm of spirits, in this Runeterra countless demons with minds reside.

If we compare emotions to a horse and reason to reins, then thinking about this matter is like using those reins to guide the horse onto the right path.

As for Ne'Zuk, under the constant stimulation of the Void, his out-of-control reason turned into a knife, directly killing the horse.

Not insane, but completely out of control...

Thinking about it, Yuan Chen couldn't help but recall Ezreal's gauntlet.

The gauntlets and the crystal were originally one piece, and on the gauntlets were engraved the endless glory of Ne'Zuk when he became Ascended.

Even if an ordinary person exerted all their strength, it would be impossible to damage such top-tier magical equipment...

Looking back now, perhaps the one who erased Ne'Zuk's Ascended glory Ne'Zuk himself, who had already given up all hope.