Chapter 78

However, if Kalan isn't around, Syndra, though somewhat grumpy when she wakes up, can still manage to stay rational and negotiate.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Syndra."

When Syndra's dazed eyes cleared, Chen Ce took the initiative to greet her.

"..." The latter glanced back silently.

What happened next left the people in the Dreaming Pool both uneasy and mesmerized—they saw a helmet—or rather, a crown—growing from Syndra's head. The crown encircled her brow, as if darkness had been given life, forming a pair of tall, curved horns.

A pure shadow orb appeared in the center of the crown, silhouetted like a gem, burning like fire, radiating waves of energy like Syndra's blood, beautiful yet deadly.

With a terrifying gust of air, three Dark Sphere materialized around Syndra and slowly began to revolve around her. They seemed to devour the already faint light in the cave and tug at the souls of the group, suffocating them with a feeling of hatred and despair.

"How long?" Syndra asked in a commanding tone, her voice broken and ethereal from a long slumber. "How long have I been trapped here?"

"Many years." Chen Ce also began to mobilize the magic power within his body so that his voice wouldn't tremble under the terrifying pressure. "Probably several decades... But now, you are free."

"It was you... you awakened me?" Syndra looked down at the group, her eyes filled with deep disdain.

"Yes." But Chen Ce's answer remained neither humble nor arrogant.

"Where are those damn jailers?" Syndra asked again.

"Fae'lor Island has been completely occupied by Noxus —a hostile nation. The jailers who guarded you have changed batch after batch, but they have all died in the end."

"Good riddance."

Chen Ce didn't respond to the last three words.

Syndra hovered in mid-air, her beautiful purple eyes carefully surveying her surroundings—everything felt both strange and familiar to her.

That dream... there seemed to be some shadows in it...

It's so similar to this place... This is where she was imprisoned for decades. A damn prison.

"Are you Ionia?" she asked softly again.

As her body gradually adapted to the well-ventilated environment, her voice also gradually returned to normal—proud and aloof, yet melodious.

Yet it always carried a sense of contempt and resentment.

She was born in Ionia, but she had no affection for this land—she loathed everything and everyone Ionia.

This land was rife with deception, betrayal, and bullying, which was already evident during her childhood.

"Yes, I am Ionia," Chen Ce replied, enunciating each word clearly and without any deception. "I come from Placidium."

"Who are you?" Syndra narrowed her eyes slightly, asking again as if she hadn't heard clearly.

"Yes, that's me." Chen Ce answered again seriously.

Then he bore the other party's resentment.

The moment the words left his mouth, Syndra unleashed dark energy from one of her hands, suspending him in mid-air, rendering him powerless, while Syndra's eyes burned with a cold fire.

"Ionia... all deserve to die."

"Chen Ce!"

"Mr. Chen Ce!"

Upon seeing this, the two beast girls who were also in the Dreaming Pool rushed forward to try and rescue Chen Ce.

But in a direct confrontation, how could they possibly be a match for Syndra?

The two Dark Sphere erupted with a violent shockwave, sending the two girls flying dozens of meters before they finally came to a stop against the cave wall.

"Vastaya ...you are Vastaya, aren't you?" Syndra rarely looked directly at the two of them. "I don't hate you, but you'd better not bother me."

Ahri struggled to her feet, wanting to go forward again, but Chen Ce gestured to her at that moment—[Calm down].

Syndra didn't notice this little movement and shifted her gaze back to Chen Ce.

"You're from Ionia, haven't you heard of my reputation?"

"If you mean those bad rumors... I've heard them." Chen Ce felt his body being squeezed by some kind of powerful force, but fortunately his trachea was still normal, so he wouldn't be unable to speak due to suffocation—perhaps this was something Syndra did intentionally.

"Don't you know I hate the Ionia to the core?"

"I am well aware of your hatred for the Ionia."

"Then why..." A hint of doubt appeared in Syndra's beautiful purple eyes, "When you released me, didn't you ever think I would kill you?"

"I've thought about it," Chen Ce answered truthfully.

Aren't you afraid?

"I'm not afraid."

Why?

"Because I know you won't." Chen Ce shifted slightly, trying to ease the pain in his almost crushed shoulders, but it was futile—he was utterly powerless against Syndra. "You won't kill someone who wants to help you."

"Help?" Syndra was taken aback at first, then a mocking smile appeared on her face. "You mean releasing me? You think that releasing me is doing me a favor, and that I won't hurt you?"

"Yes and no. This is only part of it," Chen Ce continued. "I understand your pain, I understand the source of your hatred... I will help you, and the first step is to help you restore your magic."

"You know me?" Syndra's mocking smile deepened. "You look quite young. You weren't even born when I was sealed away. How could you possibly know me? Just hearsay? Besides, my magic doesn't need you to restore it—it's inexhaustible."

As she spoke, she clenched her hand, which was held out in the air, slightly, increasing the pressure on Chen Ce.

You can even hear the sound of bones grinding together.

Even so, Chen Ce did not mobilize the Death Realm power within his body to resist this pressure.

His expression remained calm, as did his tone. "I know everything about you... about your brother Ivard and your mentor Konigen, and that Spirit Willow you once considered your secret base... I can help you."

Syndra was initially dismissive, but when those three names were mentioned, the mockery in her eyes instantly turned into surprise and...

Shameful resentment.

Enraged, she could barely control her power, and each of the Dark Sphere unleashed terrifying magic.

"I don't want to kill you... Leave here...!"

Syndra initially only wanted to teach the Ionia in front of her a lesson and didn't really intend to kill him—after all, he was the one who released her—but now she was losing control of herself.

Just like when she accidentally destroyed the entire Spirit Willow Tree.

"Get away...!"

With a painful scream, the rocks in the cave shattered, and dust and stones fell into the pool, creating ripples that spread in all directions.

And this was exactly what Chen Ce had expected—it was all part of his plan.

He finally began to mobilize the only power of the Death Realm he could rely on to resist the opponent's overwhelming magic, while giving Ahri and Lillia a wink.

The two girls immediately understood—just as Chen Ce had told them before.

As Syndra descended into a state of uncontrollable agony, they immediately unleashed their unique abilities—

Lillia waved the Dreaming Tree, and magical dust imbued with sedative energy instantly spread through the air, all drifting towards Syndra.

Ahri also unleashed her Twin Gemstone, absorbing Syndra's immense magic under the buff of [Spirit Blossom State].

Under normal circumstances, Syndra could take down three people in the blink of an eye, but right now she didn't even notice Lillia and Ahri's little movements—she was trying hard to control herself.

Having just woken up, she had not yet fully mastered her power. In addition, she did not want to kill Chen Ce and was trying her best to suppress herself. For a moment, she was actually made somewhat drowsy by Lillia's [Lilting Lullaby].

Ahri's magic absorption is also accelerating the breakdown of her resistance to the sleep-inducing energy.

Finally, just as Chen Ce's bones were about to be crushed, she couldn't hold on any longer.

The terrifying power vanished abruptly, and Syndra's body, which had been suspended in mid-air, plummeted rapidly.

Fortunately, Chen Ce caught her before she fell into the pool again.

"What terrifying power..."

The girl stared intently at the reflections in the pond, then curiously observed the sugar beetles lining up to climb the wall. She abandoned the chores she was doing halfway through, and her mother's scolding voice came from not far away.

Her Ivard, came to mock her again... with harsh insults and unrestrained ridicule, along with his friends.

The girl felt sad and had no choice but to flee amidst the laughter. Blushing, she ran to her favorite secret hideout—the sacred Spirit Willow tree revered by the villagers. She whispered to the Spirit Willow for hours, pouring out her solace.

Unfortunately, her brother had secretly followed her—with his friends. They snickered at her innocent tears. Ashamed and angry, she tried to ignore their insults, but just then, one of the children threw a clump of mud at her head.

The dormant power awakened at this moment. It shone with a violent power, and orbs of negative energy, like pearls, drew spiritual magic from around her, absorbing it...

Spirit Willow.

The ancient tree's branches were twisted and deformed, and its bark had withered and turned charred black.

Then... then everyone fled in terror. They screamed and cursed.

The girl burst into tears of anger, and then she arrived at an island.

A reclusive priest promised to teach her how to control her power.

However, what increasingly discouraged her was that years of practice had not taught her how to control her power; instead, it had weakened her magic. Her mentor locked her up every morning to Meditation alone and no longer taught her anything new.

So she confronted the teacher directly.

She then felt betrayed like never before—her mentor was intentionally diminishing her power.

And then... and then what was it again...?

It was as if the girl had returned to her hometown.

It was as if I had stumbled upon a strange pool of water.

A shadow appeared before her, like the materialized terror of the night. That shadow obscured her dream.

But that shadow... doesn't seem so bad.

It wanted to...

It said...

He wants to help...

I.

Syndra opened her eyes.

Before my eyes came a familiar face—a man's face. An Ionia.

Syndra instinctively tried to back away, only to find herself lying on the bed, beneath soft blankets—a feeling she hadn't experienced in many years, but one she remembered. She would never forget.

"You're awake? How are you feeling?" The man handed her a glass of water.

Syndra silently surveyed her surroundings, then subconsciously tried to summon her power.

But what followed was a severe headache.

"Don't use your magic yet, you've already exhausted it." The man— Chen Ce —placed the water glass on the table beside him. "It's safe here, no one will do anything to you."

"..." Syndra remained silent, the wariness and unease in her eyes never fading—she was like a frightened kitten brought into an unfamiliar environment, distrusting everything around her.

After a long silence, she finally spoke in a questioning tone—or perhaps to herself, "My magic... impossible... my magic is inexhaustible..."

"But you have been asleep for decades, so recovery will take time." Chen Ce shrugged.

This is not a lie.

If Syndra hadn't just woken up and been severely lacking in magic, Ahri wouldn't have been able to succeed—one percent of her magic power would have been enough to shatter the latter's Twin Gemstone a hundred times over.

As for Lillia's [Lilting Lullaby], it was even less likely to successfully hypnotize her.

"Who exactly are you..." Syndra cautiously moved to the other side of the bed, her right hand, hidden behind her back, still trying to summon the Dark Sphere.

"As I said, I'm just someone who wants to help you," Chen Ce replied with a smile, while silently sizing up the other person.

Syndra, now depleted of mana, doesn't look as formidable—she appears much gentler than her previous terrifying, suspended-in-mid-air posture.

Her current demeanor, combined with those thin black footed socks... makes her look like a beautiful, mature woman. Nothing more.

Hmm... Come to think of it... when she was floating in mid-air before, you could see the soles of her feet, which were wearing footed socks...

It's... no, it's weird...

"Help..." Syndra, whose mind was still that of a young girl and as innocent as a blank sheet of paper, completely failed to notice the strange look in the other person's eyes, and only asked warily, "How can you help me?"

"This is easy." Chen Ce looked away and then turned to pick up a purple bottle from the table.

The liquid inside was also purple and somewhat viscous.