Chapter 77
The group continued their journey into the night, occasionally encountering patrolling Noxus soldiers, but none of them dared to block the path of Kalan, the highest-ranking officer of Fae'lor Island.
Soon, they reached the uneven stone steps leading to the temple—steps that had weathered far more storms than the fortress itself. They quickened their pace, taking three steps at a time. The wishing lanterns on either side of the steps were all black.
These lanterns burned continuously, day and night, until Noxus conquered this sanctuary.
They quickly ascended the curved staircase and soon arrived at the temple, which the Ionia once called Darye Ashira – the Dreaming Pool.
Two guards stood ready at the temple entrance atop the cliff. Both were muscular and clad in heavy black armor, each holding a massive shield in one hand and a serrated meat-slicing axe in the other.
The moment they saw the four dark figures, they first drew their weapons fiercely, but quickly put them away and gave a military salute—undoubtedly, it was Kalan's doing.
"I need to go in and check the treasure I've hidden inside. You absolutely cannot let anyone in during this time, understand?" Kalan's tone was extremely cold, yet it carried an unyielding air.
"If I were to see anyone else inside... I think you should be aware of the consequences."
He stared intently at the two guards, his yellow eyes unblinking. Under his gaze, the two men turned deathly pale, and seemed to shrink in size, like toads retreating into their burrows.
"Yes, sir!" one of the guards shouted nervously.
Kalan nodded in satisfaction, then led the three of them into the dilapidated temple.
The interior was even darker than the exterior, almost pitch black. Countless ruins had accumulated here over countless years, transforming the once spacious and bright passageways into a labyrinth of winding, narrow alleyways.
Bypassing the ruins of the temple's main hall, Kalan quickly found a cave entrance.
He led the team into the cave, and in order to allow the other three to see their surroundings clearly, he took out a glass ball filled with glowing fireflies.
The stone steps inside the cave were wet and slippery, and the temperature dropped lower and lower as you went down, making your hair stand on end.
They reached the deepest part of Darye Asila, where the last ten feet were rugged rocks. They slid down and landed in the shallow pool below, splashing water everywhere.
This sanctuary was once a beautiful sight, but a disaster many years ago turned it into a cave deep underground.
"The Dreaming Pool... we've arrived."
Kalan gradually stopped walking and turned his gaze to the depths of the cave.
There was a calm pool of water there, shimmering with a blue Shimmer.
In the center of the pool lay a beautiful white-haired woman...
The forest, gradually darkening, was breathtakingly beautiful, but the girl had no interest in admiring it, stamping her feet as she walked along the winding path.
The glowing fireflies danced gracefully in the twilight, leaving luminous afterimages behind them, but the girl swatted them away forcefully, completely unconcerned about this fleeting elegance.
Her eyes were fixed on the ground. She kicked a stone aside, letting it leap among the tangled tree roots, oblivious to the setting sun filtering through the dense canopy. The petals of the purple sable slowly opened, releasing Shimmer of pollen into the warm twilight, but she, passing by hastily, snapped the stem in half.
Her cheeks burned red with shame and anger. Her mother's reproaches still echoed in her ears, and the mockery of her brother and other children lingered.
She's only nine summers old this year... well, maybe ten, but it's about the same.
She didn't understand why her Ivard, always mocked her, nor did she understand why her mother scolded her so easily—was it even her fault that the milk in the house went bad?
No, that's not it... she thought. She stopped, and out of the corner of her eye, she seemed to see something black.
She looked around, trying to see clearly. There were four dark figures, but she could only see them when she wasn't looking directly at them.
She frowned in confusion. She didn't understand what those dark figures were, and the surrounding environment seemed different.
Something is very wrong.
Everything was a little strange... it seemed she had already--
Kalan and his three "co-prophet companions" stood in a circle, looking down into the depths of the distant pond. A woman lay there, submerged beneath the surface, her long, pure white hair cascading lazily around her.
Syndra. It is both her name and a synonym for destruction, representing surrender to one's darkest fears and rage. To this day, the name is still cursed in many provinces.
She doesn't look fierce at all, but all the "Nameless" know very well how deceptive this appearance is. This person once destroyed the peaceful temple in the center of Feilor. She can only be controlled by the soul of this land itself, which dragged her down and captured her in this strange stalemate.
The massive root system of an ancient tree entwined her limbs. The roots looked like a loving mother cradling her baby, or perhaps they were suppressing and binding her, depending on the third person's perspective. She could easily be mistaken for dead, but her chest rose and fell rhythmically as she breathed the water from the pool.
"What should we do now?" Kalan took a deep breath, her gaze slowly shifting to Chen Ce —as anticipation faded, unease and doubt began to rise in her heart. "I brought you to the Dreaming Pool, and then what? What are we supposed to do? Or... what are you planning to do?"
Faced with this question, Chen Ce did not answer immediately, but first carefully observed the woman underwater.
Syndra is almost exactly as I remembered her, except that her demeanor is slightly different when she is asleep—she has lost that domineering arrogance and gained a quiet, elegant nobility.
Her attire was similar to what I remembered: a pure black corset, a pure black short skirt, and a pair of pure black... footed socks.
However, she doesn't yet have that horn-like "helmet"—or rather, crown—on her head.
She looked like a beautiful and delicate ordinary woman.
But in reality, she possesses terrifying power that even demigods fear.
A highly deceptive appearance.
"Mr. Chen Ce?" Kalan asked again after waiting for a long time without a reply, "What do we need to do now?"
This time, Chen Ce broke his silence.
He slowly exhaled, then slowly uttered a terrifying sentence:
"We must release Syndra."
That shouldn't be the case.
Something is very wrong.
The girl could still hear the forest whispering in the night beside her. She could still see the silver ferns and tree roots beneath her feet, and the last rays of the setting sun above the canopy.
But at the same time, she also heard roars and howls, though these sounds seemed to be blocked by something, as if they were from a great distance...
It also seems to be separated by...
A layer of water?
For a fleeting moment, she felt her throat fill with liquid, and a wave of panic washed over her. She was drowning! But no, that couldn't be. She was right here, the girl in the twilight of the forest beside the village. There was no water around her.
In the end...
What is it...?
"You're insane!"
Kalan's incredible roar echoed through the cave, the low growls emanating from his throat like a beast's final warning before launching an attack.
He could hardly believe his ears—he wondered if he had misheard, or if Chen Ce had said something wrong?
[Release Syndra.]
Is that even possible? She's a monster! She's already destroyed the temple! If she's released, she'll destroy all of Feilor! Even all of Ionia!
She poses a greater threat to Ionia than the Noxus invaders!
He left his hometown to come here, enduring years of infamy and scorn, all to prevent her from escaping!
How could this be... how could this be...!
Kalan revealed his claws, and his massive body blocked Syndra's path, as if he would stop Chen Ce from awakening this terrifying woman at all costs.
"This is a new prophecy." In contrast, Chen Ce appeared very calm. "Don't you believe in prophets?"
"I believe...of course I believe! But I absolutely cannot let Syndra escape! She will ruin everything!" Kalan has been guarding this prison for decades—since he became a "prison guard." It has been his life's work for most of his life.
"For Ionia... for everyone... we cannot release her, Mr. Chen Ce!"
"It's alright." Chen Ce's tone softened again. "The prophecy has changed, releasing Syndra isn't a bad thing—she won't destroy Ionia."
"You're lying to me!!" Kalan roared again. "New prophecies will emerge, and the prophecies may change, but they will never contradict the previous ones! You're lying to me!!"
Upon hearing this, Chen Ce promptly shut his mouth, which was still trying to argue.
He knew he couldn't fool this "watchman" anymore.
But... this isn't actually a hoax.
The prophet's predictions were very accurate, but only within the original timeline—now that I have arrived, many things have deviated from the original timeline, so the prophet's predictions are no longer accurate.
Moreover... even if things proceeded according to the original timeline, Syndra would still be released.
It was done by several other "Nameless".
They will one day in the future infiltrate the Dreaming Pool on Fae'lor Island, attempting to kill Syndra directly in order to end this lurking, enormous threat.
Unfortunately, they failed—they didn't kill Syndra, but instead "woke" Syndra up.
Then, in a fit of rage, Syndra caused the entire cave to collapse with a wave of her hand, wiping out almost all of the Nameless.
Kalan, who had come specifically to stop the Nameless, directly bore the brunt of this wrath—he had been one of Syndra's "jailers," and Syndra recognized him.
Syndra didn't kill him outright, but instead used terrifying magic to seal him in the collapsed cave, eternally imprisoning him with the branches that were originally used to create the "prison"—just as she had been suppressed by the Spirit of Ionia.
Kalan will eventually die a painful death in endless imprisonment, Syndra will destroy the entire Fae'lor Island because of her hatred.
This was not the outcome Chen Ce desired.
"Believe me, I'm saving you."
Chen Ce sighed softly, his gaze passing over the Vastaya in front of him and turning to the Syndra underwater.
"It's also about saving Feilor... and even all of Ionia."
"Nonsense!!" Kalan swung his arm forcefully, and a sharp, barbed dagger appeared in his hand. "Unless the prophet tells me himself, I will never believe you!"
"Sigh... If you don't believe it, then don't believe it." Chen Ce shook his head and winked at Lillia beside him.
The way things have turned out is entirely within his expectations.
He had long been prepared to "backstab" Kalan.
They had even discussed it with Lillia and Ahri long ago.
"Get some sleep, Mr. Kalan. When you wake up... everything will be alright, believe me."
Before Kalan could react, Lillia had already swung the Dreaming Tree branch in her hand.
A strong wave of drowsiness washed over Kalan, and his body began to sway uncontrollably.
Chen Ce caught him before he fell.
At the same time, the calm pool water was also stirred by magic, causing ripples to spread...
The girl seemed to have returned to the forest—or had she been there all along?
She felt as if she had entered some terrifying lucid dream. She had just run here, and shame and anger flushed her cheeks again. She needed to go to Spirit Willow to calm the raging fire in her heart.
No, she's already been through it once. She's been through it many times, hundreds and thousands of times. Living in that time again and again.
What if this is just a dream? A painful dream, over and over again...
Syndra's hatred and rage began to coalesce into darkness and surge within her.
And so she awoke from her endless dream.
Chapter 89 Dark Sovereign × Footed Sock Leader √
Syndra woke up.
Her beautiful, wisteria-colored eyes opened beneath the pool's surface. She freed her hands and feet from their bonds with the tree roots, then emerged from the water, gasping for breath. Pool water trickled down her body. Syndra rose into the air, hovering a few feet above the water's surface, the falling droplets creating shimmering spots of light in the pulsating glow of the pool.
Chen Ce watched this scene quietly, and even though he was prepared, he couldn't help but feel uneasy—the energy that symbolized hatred and anger was too powerful, even more despairing than Mordekaiser's aura of death.
Just standing in front of Syndra, the terrifying pressure she exudes is enough to make anyone want to bow down and submit.
And this was all without directly facing her wrath— Kalan, as the "jailer," had already been dragged outside the cave by Lillia beforehand, otherwise Syndra's "morning grumpiness" would have been even greater.
Just like the original timeline.
If she opened her eyes and saw the "prison guard" who had imprisoned her, and recalled the recurring nightmares she had been forced to have, she would definitely explode like a terrifying powder keg.
Her rage would cause the entire cave to collapse and the already ruined temple to be reduced to dust.
Then, destroy the entire Fae'lor Island.
That would lead to an uncontrollable loss of control, which would be terrible.