Arcane: Twin Cities Mechanic

Ascended beings are not immortal; it is the Darkin sealed within weapons that remain eternally unchanging. At least, with the technology available on Runeterra, there is no means to destroy the weapon housing their imprisoned souls.

This was the twisted hobby of the previous host of the Twilight Star, Myisha.

Originally, with the cross-shaped blade Chalicar, forged by the Starforger, she could have easily reversed the Ascended's divine form, turning them back into mere mortals, losing their immortality, and thus making them susceptible to death.

However, she taught humans how to use Chalicar to imprison the souls of Darkin within weapons, condemning them to millennia of torment.

This was especially true for the Darkin swordsman, Aatrox. On the battlefield, he had faced the combined might of the previous Twilight Star and Pantheon without showing any fear. However, just before the battle began, Myisha struck from the shadows, pulling Aatrox into her blade with the gravitational pull of a thousand dying stars. From that moment, he fell into silence.

The reason Li Lin was able to revert Renekton, who was empowered by the Sun Disc, back to his original form was because Renekton had lost his sanity and did not know how to properly wield the power of the Ascended.

Now, the light of the Sun Disc was a burning pain to Renekton's skin and soul, making him suffer endlessly. Otherwise, Renekton, who had spent thousands of years playing the "Battle Royale" game with Xerath in the tomb, would not have been so evenly matched with Nasus.

After severely wounding the Crocodile God Warrior, Renekton's time of sanity was brief. He didn't know how to use the Sun Disc's light to heal his injuries and lacked Nasus' assistance, meaning it would take him months to recover fully.

Li Lin had bound Renekton with nanowire ropes made from Zero-Synthetic material, ensuring he could not break free unless he shifted into his divine form.

Coupled with Nasus' weakening magic, Renekton was now little more than fish on the chopping block.

Nasus was preparing to drag Renekton back to Nashramae. However, due to the destruction of most of Nashramae's library in a battle a year ago, the teleportation portals were still unusable.

Nasus thought of calling Azir to send the Sand Legion for escort, but Li Lin suggested he could simply drag Renekton into the body chamber of the Titan and use its coordinates to teleport them straight back to the Sun City.

But before that, he still had matters to attend to.

Nasus held the unconscious Renekton as they boarded the mech, and Li Lin piloted the Titan, locking on to the desert corridor between Nashramae and Zuretta.

Renekton's followers had gathered here, seemingly planning an assault on Nashramae.

These were a group of vicious desert bandits. After Renekton killed their Vastaya Beastlord, they decided to follow the maddened Ascended God, even though Renekton had no interest in commanding armies.

These were the same people who had once chased down Azir's men searching for the Emperor's Crest.

Without Renekton's control, these bloodthirsty bandits, emboldened by their allegiance to an Ascended, had begun burning, killing, and looting without restraint. They would only remain a source of trouble.

With a series of quantum bombs launched into the sky, they soon rained down, striking the unsuspecting bandits with precision, annihilating their flesh and bones in the sands.

Once the immediate threats to the common people were dealt with, Li Lin activated the Hextech teleportation, crossing a journey that would have normally taken two months through the Great Sand Sea in mere seconds.

To avoid the Behemoth's sudden appearance causing a stir, they teleported to the southwestern part of the Sun City, near the Endless Plains where Sai Faraj was located. It was a short distance from the Imperial City, but there was no cause for concern.

As Nasus dragged Renekton from the containment chamber, they stepped out, only for Nasus to once again be awed by the sight of the Titan transforming and reassembling itself into a three-drill combat vehicle, then going completely invisible with optical camouflage.

Li Lin stepped out of the mech and approached him. "Grand Scholar, are you alright?"

"Your talents are nearly surpassing that of a genius we once had in Shurima," Nasus sighed, shaking his head. "It's a pity he eventually betrayed the empire and assassinated Horock, sparking the Darkin War."

Li Lin was taken aback, surprised that the Darkin War had been initiated by a betrayal from Nezuk, who killed Horlock, but this was not the time to dwell on it.

Horock was dead, and Nezuk's tomb was empty. It would soon be raided by Ezreal, who would find the key artifact for his future adventures—the Bronze Gauntlets.

But would Ezreal still have a chance to enter Nazuk's tomb now that Shurima was on the verge of unification?

Rumors were that an archaeological expedition from Piltover University had just left, and there was a possibility that Ezreal's parents were part of the team.

Li Lin was considering dispatching mechanical engineers and drones to follow them, to prevent them from disappearing as they had in the original timeline, though he suspected that even this might not stop Ezreal's determination to go on his journey.

But this was not the time for such concerns.

Contrary to Li Lin's memories of its cold demeanor, the Sun City had become the largest city on the Shuriman continent. Hundreds of thousands of nomadic tribes now resided near the Dawn Oasis, the source of the Water of Life. Chosen young men were trained and inducted into the Emperor's army.

The best of them could even join the elite Golden Legion, with their families receiving privileges from the Empire.

Li Lin and Nasus walked through the city, escorted by the Sand Warriors, and crossed a grand bridge to the Golden Avenue.

Along the way, the marble buildings gilded with gold were filled with people, most of whom were families of the Golden Legion soldiers, all granted permission to live within the city.

The Golden Avenue led straight to the Imperial Palace at the end, though Azir was nowhere to be seen. Since gaining his Ascended form, he had barely spent a night within the palace, having almost entirely abandoned his chambers.

Only occasionally would Sivir, who helped train the armies, reside there, but she preferred to stay with the mercenary corps she had recently recruited.

Li Lin didn't see Sivir in the city. She was likely outside training the troops.

Under the guidance of the Sand Warriors, they reached the Ascension Altar.

Azir was speaking with a young woman dressed in the traditional white robes of royalty.

Her skin was a deep wheat color, her body toned with no excess flesh, yet it still highlighted her graceful curves while exuding a certain sense of strength.

The woman had an upward-curled explosive hairstyle, and behind her head floated a symmetrical ring, resembling a base for the sun's circular disk, clearly enchanted with magical energy.

While Azir was occupied with state affairs, Nasus briefly introduced the woman to Li Lin:

"Her name is Nikita. She is Azir's newly appointed Golden Light Emissary, a figure with the highest authority in the Shurima Empire. Typically, she assists the emperor in resolving disputes between city-states within the empire."

The ambassador who previously held the role of Golden Light Emissary, Daat Paoya, had returned to the military, leading the Golden Legion to assist Nikita in reclaiming lost lands.

Azir didn't take much time; soon, he had Nikita dismissed and approached Li Lin and Nasus, wielding a spear-like scepter in hand.

"Allow me to offer you water and shade, Your Majesty."

Li Lin crossed his arms and slightly bowed, Nasus mirroring his gesture.

"It's been a year since we last met." Azir gazed at Li Lin, who had removed his armor. His golden eyes gleamed with a hint of surprise. "Your transformation has exceeded my expectations."

"It's all thanks to your teachings. Without them, I would have been stuck at a bottleneck for a long time."

Azir waved it off as nothing.

Then, his eyes narrowed as he turned to look at the unconscious Renekton, left behind by Nasus, whose aura had dramatically shifted. The air around him grew heavy with authority.

"Nasus, you actually captured your own brother?"

What surprised Azir more, however, was Nasus's response: "No, Your Majesty."

He lowered his face slightly, glancing at Li Lin. "To be precise, it was Li Lin who helped me defeat Renekton, with him providing most of the strength."

"Mm?!" Azir let out a surprised sound. "You managed to achieve such a feat?"

He could clearly tell that Li Lin had undergone immense changes, especially considering his attire, which was far from ordinary.

Azir knew Renekton well—he was once the right hand of the Shurima Empire's royal family, guarding the grand library and training soldiers outside the Sun City. Even now, though mad, he was known as the "Desert Butcher," and Azir knew that defeating him wasn't a simple task.

His sharp eyes assessed Renekton's deteriorating life force, and his astonishment grew.

This wasn't something Nasus could have done alone, so it meant that...

"How did you manage it?" Azir couldn't help but ask. "Of course, if you prefer not to answer, I won't press."

"There's nothing to hide," Li Lin replied. "I built a large mech modeled after Malphite, called the Titan Beast. It was with his help that I, alongside Grand Scholar Nasus, defeated Renekton."

"To be exact, the Titan Beast is about twice the size of Malphite." Nasus added, offering more context. "It easily subdued Renekton, leaving him no chance to fight back."

A mech even bigger than Malphite, something that could rival a god...

Azir froze for a moment, his magical aura flickering as he pondered the information.

"If not for Grand Scholar Nasus, I wouldn't have been able to defeat Renekton so easily," Li Lin humbly added.

After a brief silence, Azir took a deep breath. "This is your second mech, isn't it?"

Li Lin nodded. "With the Void threat looming, I had no choice but to make sure I had the means to defend myself."

Azir fell into thought again.

"But using it against the Void might not be enough," Nasus interjected.

"Unfortunately, time is running out, and I had to act," Li Lin's expression grew serious, his tone no longer casual. "Piltover and Zaun are already facing the Void threat, and we only have a little over seven months left."

"What do you mean?" Azir asked, clearly confused. "Why is the Void threatening those places?"

As the former borders of Shurima's trade wars, Zaun had never been affected by the Void. Moreover, if the Void were to reach there, it would have to pass through the eastern end of Shurima or the Ixtal and Kumanqo Rainforests, areas Azir should be well aware of.

Realizing Azir's confusion, Li Lin quickly recalled that Malphite hadn't mentioned the Void's tendrils moving underground or the source being the city of Bel'Veth.

He silently cursed Malphite for being too clever, then sighed and swiftly recounted the details to both Azir and Nasus.

He told them about meeting Malphite, who had been clearing out devilfish underground, to helping Kai'Sa remove the Void's living skin, and finally being threatened by the so-called "Void Empress" from Bel'Veth, who left them with a year to end things.

After hearing the full story, both Azir and Nasus were struck not only by the fact that Li Lin had managed to rid the Void threat, but also by the gravity of the situation.

However, they soon faced another dilemma.

From Malphite's description, the Void Empress likely possessed the strength to crush even god-warriors.

Given that only Azir and Nasus, the two ascended beings, were left to support the situation, even with Malphite's molten beast, it seemed they couldn't defeat Bel'Veth.

Li Lin noticed their grim expressions and made a surprising suggestion. "We've already captured Renekton. If we can just capture Xerath, we could focus all our efforts on dealing with the Void."

(End of chapter)

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