Whoa, Model...

Whether they were her parents or her elders, they seemed never to have had any hope for Qiyana... Actually, it wasn't just Qiyana. The same went for several of her sisters.

Ixialia's traditions and conservatism were every bit as entrenched as Demacia's, if not more so. Among King Yuen's Ten Daughters, no matter their ability, personality, or talent, only the eldest could inherit the throne and hold the legal right to the central tower seat.

Of course, this wasn't absolute. At least over Ixialia's past thousand years, quite a few Second and Third Daughters had ascended to the throne.

But never had a Tenth Daughter ascended to the throne...

Just as Qiyana had experienced, her eldest sister Niesa, the Eldest Daughter of the Family, had received the blessings of all Ixialia from almost the moment she was born.

The Second and Third Sisters weren't as gifted as their eldest sister, but they had still attracted the attention of many nobles... Yet after King Yuen's fifth child, almost no one received much in the way of blessings.

Under the influence of tradition, these younger daughters usually meekly accepted the fate assigned to them—traveling to prosperous or remote counties to serve as their governors.

If Qiyana gave up the struggle, her fate would probably be the same.

Long years of being ignored and neglected had made Qiyana pathologically obsessed with gaining others' recognition.

Especially after Qiyana discovered her extraordinary talent for Elemental Magic, she became even more determined to prove herself—to prove that she was no worse than her sisters.

Those sisters who were inferior to her in ambition, ability, cunning, and talent!

But her attempts to distinguish herself only made King Yuen increasingly impatient. The nobles, too, were divided over her—they hated people who challenged tradition.

And now, hearing a stranger express faith in her, Qiyana couldn't help stopping in her tracks.

Why? Qiyana wondered. Why would someone I don't even know believe in me more than my own parents do?

"Why?" Lupe asked, puzzled. "Why does Yuan Chen think King Yuen's Youngest Daughter can earn the Yuentars' conviction?"

At first, Lupe had intended to follow Yuan Chen's advice and join Qiyana's faction directly.

After all, back then, the Lupe Family had nothing to offer.

Lupe had only planned to have her family pledge allegiance to Qiyana first. That way, even if Qiyana failed to claim the Imperial Throne, they could follow her to a county, build their influence, and gradually raise the next generation until they restored their former glory.

But after completing the Dragon Hunt and discovering Milio's exceptional talent, Lupe's thoughts had changed...

Would joining Qiyana's faction now be... a little too risky?

After all, with the resources Lupe currently controlled—the Dragon's Offering and Milio's work on the Fundamental Axiom—the Lupe Family could surely restore its former status, and perhaps even rise higher.

Yuan Chen understood Lupe's reasoning. As people grew old, they lost their edge and began to favor stability and peace—even an unchanging life that would keep their family prosperous forever.

To the young, that kind of stability looked like stuffiness and conservatism.

Yuan Chen understood, but he wouldn't indulge it.

"Ability, ambition, talent, resolve... The Outside World has changed."

Yuan Chen shook his head. "I'm not trying to show off, but the Outside World is in the midst of sweeping change... Look at the cheese bread on the table. Food from the distant Valoran Continent has reached us with Noxus's Expansion."

"What about next time? What will reach us then? Cannons or explosives? Come to think of it, do you even know what a cannon is?"

"I do." Lupe sounded a little displeased. "The Yuentars know what's happening outside. We're not truly isolated."

"That's exactly why we have to change." Yuan Chen looked at Lupe. "Do you remember what you saw, the shock you felt, and the thoughts and feelings that surged up when you underwent the Vidalion Trial?"

At that, Lupe opened her mouth, then fell silent.

It had happened many years ago, back when Lupe was still young and wasn't yet known as the Sage of the Earth.

She had undergone the trial and entered the Secret Chamber where the Magic Loom, the Vidalion, was kept, under the gaze of all the Yuentars in the central tower seat.

The vast loom was so magnificent. Alloy Rings encircled it, giving off a golden glow, while its tangled threads spun, weaving the truths of the world. Beneath its warp and weft, Lupe had done everything she could to protect herself.

It was the Center of All Things, the Node of the World.

Lupe had used seventeen secant lines to correspond to three parallel lines, softened the Earth Axiom through the Axiom of Water to offset the growing imbalance, and formed a perfect geometric figure—the World's Silhouette... Lupe had succeeded. She had proven what she had learned.

Then Lupe merged with the Vidalion... She became Ixialia itself.

It lasted only an instant, but Lupe saw the Gathered Geometric Patterns—the Lines Covering the Entire World.

She raced along a line that circled Yishuaoken, returning to her homeland in the blink of an eye. She arrived at Ixialia's Boundary Wall.

Then Lupe crossed the wall—

She had thought chaos and annihilation awaited her, that she would see ruin and scorched earth. But what appeared before her eyes were towering snow-capped mountains, impregnable fortresses, boundless deserts, and a Peaceful and Serene Holy Land...

She even saw a purple-skinned, bearded mage, weighed down with scrolls and books, traveling through the Warped Paths of Space to every corner of the world...

His powerful Arcane Magic was so intricate that the shapes it traced as he cast his spells surpassed Lupe's understanding of Magic Itself.

Why could the Outside World also master the Yuan Chu Axiom?

Wasn't the Outside World supposed to be nothing but scorched earth?

Lupe could no longer remember the turmoil she had felt back then. She only remembered how utterly panicked she had been, how the worldview she had held all her life had been shaken to its foundations. But in the end...

"The truth of this world can't be explained or told in simple terms. You have to see it with your own eyes. You need enough wisdom to set aside your first reaction and draw reason from panic and confusion, so you can reach the Final Enlightenment..."

Lupe spoke quietly. "I convinced myself, and steeled my resolve... Then magic formed threads that wove themselves into my Vydalian Robe."

"Your younger sister did the same." Yuan Chen spoke calmly. "She, too, stubbornly accepted the truth... But unlike you, she refused to keep being deceived. She decided to change everything. And so she started a rebellion."

"No... More accurately, it was a revolution."

Yuan Chen said:

"She wanted everyone to know that beyond the Vine Wall lay not scorched earth, but a new civilization."

"But she failed!"

They had only been discussing the family's future, but now that Yuan Chen had brought up her younger sister, Lupe's emotions flared.

"That's how Ixialia's traditions are! Even the Yuentars can't change them. To recklessly meddle with—"

"Just because it's always been that way, does that make it right?"

Yuan Chen stared at Lupe, refusing to back down.

"The world is changing. Anything that never changes will be eliminated! I've read your books. Ixialia has never lacked for philosophical debate. You know this!

"Just like your sister Lunye, more than one Yuentar wanted to change Ixialia's isolation and passive withdrawal from the world!"

"..."

Lupe seemed to want to say something, but fell silent. She knew Yuan Chen was right.

Yuan Chen had read Lupe's books. Though Ixialia was nominally a nation of magic, its philosophical thought was extraordinarily rich.

And the introductory books on Ixialia's Yuan Chu Axiom described it in a way that was strikingly similar to Euclid's Elements.

In the eyes of the people of Ixialia, the entire world was a convergence of forces exerted by countless substances. Every possible combination of Elemental Magic, from the simplest to the most complex, was determined by a series of axioms.

Only by mastering these axioms, from the most basic to the most profound, could people wield their power. As a result, to the people of Ixialia, the towering halls that taught the axioms held supreme authority.

Ixialia's passive withdrawal from the world stemmed largely from tradition and conservatism. The people feared disease, war, and chaos, while the nobles feared losing power through reform, so they kept painting the Outside World as a wretched place.

"Some people want to bring about change, but they can't bear the consequences of that decision alone."

Yuan Chen said this as he watched Lupe.

Feeling Yuan Chen's gaze, Lupe seemed to realize something. Yuan Chen was a seer; he could see many things others couldn't.

The Threads of Fate from the future, and the ideals and decisions of the great figures whose lights shone like stars throughout the river of history.

And the major historical turning points brought about by those ideals and decisions...

"You mean Qiyana..." Lupe said, visibly surprised.

Yuan Chen shrugged. Seeing that Lupe had realized something, he nodded.

"I hate Noxus... Because in the past, it brought me countless nightmares from the future. But there's no denying that some of Noxus's ideals are excellent."

Yuan Chen spoke with conviction:

"Meritocracy!"

He paused, then turned his gaze toward a nearby window, as if he had sensed something.

The carriage carrying Yuan Chen and Lupe had been sealed with the Axiom of Wind, so their voices couldn't reach anyone else.

Now, a breeze sweeping across the wilderness slipped through a crack and told him a stranger had arrived.

A prowler who had nearly merged with the wind.

"Who is it?" Yuan Chen asked. The knife beside him rose from its sheath, glinting coldly.

"Your future queen!"

Qiyana boldly pulled back the carriage curtain and looked at Yuan Chen. The recognition she had received left her body burning, her gaze as fierce as a claw raking across Yuan Chen's chest.