Chapter 500 - 500: The Lavender Sea

If that was really the case, Kai'Sa couldn't shake a growing sense of unease.

What exactly was the Void trying to do?

Why had it specifically gone after Ionia's spirit realm?

Luke proceeded to explain in greater detail everything that had happened at the time. The story he described did not sound fabricated in the slightest.

By the time he finished, Kai'Sa had essentially stopped doubting him.

"If everything happened the way you described, then I suspect the Void's objective was this sword."

Kai'Sa handed the Void Riftblade back to Luke.

She knew she lacked the expertise to identify anything more unusual about the weapon.

But there was no question that the sword was extraordinary. The fact that something like it could be born within the Void was already strange enough.

And if that were the case, everything suddenly made sense.

The reason Luke had been dragged into the Void was probably this weapon.

Luke then asked, "Do you know where that horned monster from earlier came from?"

"That was my first time seeing one too." Kai'Sa shook her head. "I've survived in the Void for ten years and seen plenty of powerful Voidborn. But that horned monster was completely different from every Voidborn I know. It could speak, and it was extremely intelligent. It was almost like..."

"Like us humans."

Luke finished her sentence.

He recalled the details of his fight with the horned creature.

Other than its Voidborn appearance, its behavior had been almost entirely human.

It could even speak fluently.

Kai'Sa was thinking about the same thing.

As far as she knew, Voidborn capable of imitating human speech did exist.

But most could only manage a handful of words or phrases. Only a tiny number of Voidborn whose intelligence had evolved to an extremely high level could learn more complicated languages.

Yet the horned monster had spoken with complete fluency.

It had sounded almost instinctive.

"That was my first time learning something like that exists too."

Luke's gaze flickered as he lowered his head in thought.

From what he knew, highly intelligent beings definitely existed within the Void.

The Watchers, for example.

They could practically be considered the final bosses of the Void.

Aside from them, there were humans whose minds had been corrupted by the Void and who now served it.

But the horned monster did not seem to belong to either category.

When Luke had cut open its body, its internal structure had looked almost like some kind of biological machine.

That discovery gave Luke the distinct feeling that the Void was preparing something major.

And the Void Riftblade in his possession might very well be a crucial part of it.

If that was true, then there was even less reason to give them any opportunity to succeed.

No matter what, they would have to be much more cautious from now on.

Otherwise, the next thing that came after them might not be just one Horn.

Even with Luke's current strength, fighting an entire group of creatures on that level would be difficult.

"I've explained everything I can. Whether you believe me is up to you."

Luke smiled faintly at Kai'Sa and said nothing more.

"I believe you."

Kai'Sa could not think of any reason not to.

Even so, unease still lingered on her face.

Not much had happened today, but none of it had been insignificant.

Luke's identity, traces of the Void appearing in Ionia, the Void Riftblade, and that horned monster...

Everything seemed to point toward something enormous about to happen.

And until today, she had known nothing about any of it.

That was precisely where her anxiety came from.

She had thought that after surviving ten years in the Void, perhaps she had become capable of accomplishing something meaningful.

But the instant Horn appeared, Kai'Sa was forced to realize just how powerless and weak she still was.

What if the Void contained countless monsters like Horn?

For a moment, Kai'Sa felt overwhelmingly exhausted.

"Don't think too much about it. I won't let the Void's plans succeed."

Luke noticed the uncertainty in her eyes and spoke gently.

"For the next few days, I'll still need your help getting familiar with the Void."

Kai'Sa raised her head and looked into his eyes.

Then she lowered her gaze again.

"This is about all I can help you with."

Her fists tightened unconsciously.

At that moment, she made up her mind.

Even if her abilities were limited, she would do everything possible to help Luke.

If it meant stopping the Void, she would willingly pay with her life.

The two were currently resting inside a secluded cave.

A small campfire flickered before them.

As Kai'Sa watched the flames, exhaustion and drowsiness gradually began washing over her.

Her nerves were constantly stretched tight while living in the Void.

Maintaining that state for such a long time was inevitably exhausting.

Without realizing it, her eyelids grew heavier and heavier.

Eventually, she leaned against the cave wall and slowly fell asleep.

Even then, her body remained on alert.

Her brows were tightly furrowed, and the slightest disturbance would have caused her to wake instantly.

After a while, however, her expression became increasingly uneasy.

Her sleep was clearly poor.

Seeing this, Luke raised a hand and gave her a pleasant dream.

Soon, Kai'Sa's furrowed brows relaxed.

Her expression softened, her breathing gradually deepened, and before long she fell into a deep sleep.

When she finally woke, she practically jolted upright.

She could hardly believe she had slept so deeply while inside the Void.

That could easily get her killed.

But the moment she opened her eyes, she saw Luke nearby, cooking a pot of hot porridge while warmth filled the cave.

Then everything from yesterday rushed back into her mind.

So it had not been a dream.

"How long was I asleep?"

She realized that she had even been resting her head on a pillow.

Luke had obviously prepared it for her.

The idea that she had slept so defenselessly in front of him still felt unbelievable.

Even her living Void carapace had not reacted?

She quickly confirmed that nothing had happened to her.

Still, if Luke had wanted to do anything, realizing it now would already be far too late.

"About ten hours."

Luke had not kept particularly precise track of the time. He was not a clock, after all.

He answered casually while continuing to cook the porridge.

"Ten hours?!"

Kai'Sa's eyelid twitched.

She immediately rubbed her temples with a headache.

"How did I sleep that long?"

It had been an incredibly long time since she had slept so comfortably.

But this was the Void.

One moment of carelessness here could leave nothing behind but bones.

She had never experienced anything like this before.

Which meant it had only started happening after Luke appeared...

At this point, she could not help suspecting that Luke had done something.

There was probably no need to even ask.

Luke, however, seemed unwilling to explain.

He simply handed her a bowl of hot porridge.

"There's nothing wrong with sleeping longer. I'm here anyway. You're too exhausted, and your body needs proper rest. Once you finish this, we'll keep moving. It's better not to stay in one place for too long."

He had already used magic to conceal the scent, so there was no concern about it leaking outside.

Kai'Sa looked at the steaming bowl of fragrant porridge in front of her.

In the end, she abandoned the idea of demanding an explanation.

She accepted the bowl and slowly began drinking.

At first, it was admittedly a little too hot, so afterward she made sure to blow on each spoonful before eating it.

Then she discovered just how delicious the porridge was.

As the warm porridge entered her stomach, she could actually feel heat spreading throughout her body, dispelling her exhaustion.

At the same time, her living Void carapace absorbed a portion of the energy within it.

It might have only been porridge, but its energy content was anything but low.

Luke had specifically prepared it that way.

After only two bowls, Kai'Sa already felt full.

Her entire body was warm and extraordinarily comfortable.

Once they had eaten their fill and packed everything away, the two left the cave and continued traveling in one direction.

Along the way, Kai'Sa carefully explained everything she knew about the Void.

For now, their objective was to remain hidden while investigating what the Void was planning as thoroughly as possible.

Several days passed like this.

Luke and Kai'Sa wandered almost aimlessly through the Void.

They had very few leads in a place like this.

Still, their journey was not entirely without results.

At the very least, Luke witnessed the incredible diversity of the Void.

Deserts, oases, forests...

Just as Kai'Sa had described, the Void resembled an inferior imitation of Runeterra.

But while imitating the material world, the Void had completely incorporated its own characteristics into each environment, twisting everything into something unmistakably Void-corrupted.

During those days, Luke sensed powerful presences passing through the surrounding regions more than once.

Every single one was at least as powerful as Horn.

They seemed to be searching for something, constantly moving from one place to another.

Fortunately, Luke could sense them approaching in advance and hide with Kai'Sa before they arrived.

He was now certain.

Those creatures were looking for him.

Over these past few days, Kai'Sa had also witnessed Luke's astonishing perception.

He seemed almost capable of seeing the future.

Every time danger approached, he somehow managed to avoid it before it arrived.

Traveling with him meant not only getting to enjoy different delicious meals every day, but even sleeping better than before.

By now, Kai'Sa could easily fall asleep in front of Luke without remaining guarded at all.

Little by little, she had grown accustomed to his presence.

Luke had also avoided unnecessary killing during these days.

The number of Voidborn he had killed could be counted on one hand.

To avoid leaving behind unnecessary clues, he and Kai'Sa tried their best to avoid every Void creature they encountered.

At the same time, Luke continued using the Secret Key to stay in contact with the outside world.

According to Morgana, Shurima had also become increasingly unstable recently.

Several powerful Darkin had appeared.

Pantheon had already fought one particularly powerful Darkin, but because he had been facing multiple enemies alone, he ultimately withdrew.

That was most of what had happened recently.

Luke, however, immediately noticed how abnormal it was for multiple Darkin to suddenly appear in Shurima.

Before this, the Darkin had been individually sealed away in different parts of Runeterra.

Now they were gathering in Shurima as though someone had summoned them there.

Luke thought back to Aatrox and Naafiri, whom he had encountered before being dragged into the Void.

Apparently, the Darkin had become restless as well.

Clearly, Runeterra was entering a turbulent period.

Still, with the Aspects outside, Luke was not particularly worried about the Darkin causing too much trouble.

The issue he needed to handle right now was the Void.

At the moment, he and Kai'Sa were traveling through a forest-like region within the Void.

Twisted purple trees and vegetation grew everywhere.

The forest stretched beyond sight, and there was no telling how many dangerous Voidborn were hidden inside.

Suddenly, Kai'Sa felt a strange wave of energy.

It struck directly against her mind.

Even her living Void carapace trembled.

Then an incomprehensible voice sounded inside her head, almost like some kind of guidance.

"Something's wrong."

Her expression changed as she looked at Luke.

"There's a voice in my head. It keeps calling me toward something."

She could not prevent the strange voice from invading her mind.

She did not understand what it was saying, but somehow, she felt certain that it wanted her to come to it.

And the voice was growing louder.

It felt like countless thin needles piercing into her head, causing a painful pressure inside her skull.

"Calling you where?"

Luke looked at her.

"Somewhere very dangerous."

Kai'Sa raised her head and forced herself to look normal.

"It's already gone."

Her instincts told her that wherever the voice was leading her was unquestionably dangerous.

Even if Luke was powerful, she could not allow him to enter a place like that.

As for the voice and the headache, she could endure them herself.

Luke raised his hand and placed it beside Kai'Sa's temple.

Then he released a stream of magical energy, trying to drive the voice from her mind.

"Stop forcing yourself to endure it. Tell me where it is."

Kai'Sa felt the pain in her head ease somewhat.

She raised her eyes toward Luke and stared at him in a slight daze.

Those calm, gentle eyes had effortlessly seen through her attempt to hide what she was feeling.

At that moment, something inside her heart seemed to shift ever so slightly.

In the end, Luke's method had only limited effect.

Kai'Sa, however, stopped stubbornly pretending everything was fine.

For some reason, she realized she had instinctively chosen to rely on him.

Although she could not understand the voice, she somehow knew where it was coming from.

So she and Luke quickly crossed through the Void forest, moving swiftly while remaining concealed.

Time passed little by little.

Eventually, they stopped.

The environment here was completely different.

Purple coral covered the landscape.

Everything was chaotic, like an enormous crater illuminated by faint light.

Fragments littered the ground, constantly rearranging themselves into bizarre, incomprehensible shapes.

Their structures shifted endlessly, as though desperately trying to reconstruct the forms of living creatures or even human silhouettes.

Thousands upon thousands of Void remora poured from uneven openings along the edges.

Countless other fish-like creatures also roamed through the area.

Together, they made the entire place resemble an ocean.

Among the places where the Void creatures swam past, ruined buildings from a city could faintly be seen.

Some remained exposed.

Others had already been buried beneath traces of the Void.

But it was still obvious that this place had once been the ruins of an entire city.

The Void had swallowed it whole.

And over time, it had transformed into what Luke and Kai'Sa now saw.

"The Lavender Sea?"

The voice inside Kai'Sa's head gradually became clearer.

Some of it transformed into words she could finally understand.

Among them was the name of this region of the Void.

The Lavender Sea.

The name truly suited it.

It looked exactly like an endless sea of pale lavender.