As Silco had anticipated, Piltover's Enforcers would not let the explosion incident rest.
Grayson, who was in charge of the matter, spoke with Vander again, but unfortunately, they did not reach a consensus—Vander insisted on protecting the four children who caused the explosion, while Grayson was under immense pressure from the Council to hand over the culprits.
After all, Progress Day was considered Piltover's public image; with such an incident occurring at this time, the Council clearly wouldn't back down easily.
Of course, these matters currently had little to do with Lux; she was now with Ino, attempting to conduct an investigation in Zaun.
In addition, she also needed to diligently search for the laboratory Klein had mentioned previously, but Zaun now was Shattered Earth compared to the Zaun Klein remembered; Klein's past understanding of this city was no longer a reliable basis, so Lux needed to explore more regarding the retrieval of the legacy.
However, unlike their experience in Piltover, they were not welcomed in Zaun—Lux's social skills could easily shift relationships from neutral to friendly, but as soon as she put on her filter, the Zaunites' attitude towards her became, at the very least, cold.
Under these circumstances, Lux's investigation was not going smoothly at all.
"Should I try not wearing the filter?" Receiving another glare, Lux sighed helplessly, "Klein, their eyes are filled with disgust when they look at me."
"It seems so for now," Klein's tone was also somewhat helpless, "It looks like your current state isn't really suitable for operating in Zaun..."
"Then what should we do?" Lux said, feeling a headache, "Things seem to be at a standstill."
"Not necessarily," Klein chuckled, "Although you haven't received any meaningful information these past few days, I have discovered traces of an old friend."
"Your old friend is really still here?" Lux asked, somewhat surprised, "When did you see them?"
"Just at the bakery you just went to," Klein replied, "When you pushed open the door—do you remember the wind chime on the door?"
"A wind chime?" Lux blinked, saying somewhat unexpectedly, "It seems there was... Is your old friend a bell-maker?"
"No, no, no," Klein's tone held a touch of nostalgia, "That's her shrine."
"A sh-shrine?!" Lux finally widened her eyes in disbelief, "Is that a deity? Like the Winged Sisters?"
"Objectively speaking, she is indeed a god, but in terms of attributes, she is completely different from the Winged Sisters..."
"So are we going to visit her?" Lux, who grew up listening to the legends of the Winged Sisters, couldn't help but exclaim excitedly, "Visit a true deity?"
"Of course," Klein confirmed Lux's guess, "However, to find her secluded dwelling, we need to make some preparations."
"Preparations?" Lux was a bit confused, "What preparations? A bath and change of clothes?"
"Find a sturdy piece of paper and make a sensitive pinwheel," Klein gave an answer that left Lux dumbfounded, "The wind will guide our way."
Although she didn't quite understand why one needed to make a paper pinwheel to meet a deity, Lux still followed Klein's method and folded a toy pinwheel for herself.
Then, she once again pushed open the door of that bakery.
As the wind chime jingled, a fresh breeze blew in. Under the angry gaze of the bakery owner, Lux raised the pinwheel and, following Klein's instructions, pursued the footsteps of the wind.
The light wind was like a pair of invisible hands, stirring the morning mist of Zaun ahead of Lux, carving out a path through the haze.
Lux held the pinwheel high in her hand, like a playing child, skipping and hopping on the garbage stirred by the wind, and diving into the smog driven away by the wind.
She chased the breath of the wind, passing through streets, weaving through alleys, and before she knew it, she had ventured deep into Lower Zaun.
In Lower Zaun, alchemy factories were everywhere, and crude roads crossed sewage-filled artificial canals, connecting them. Occasionally, rail vehicles resembling trains would whistle past, spewing black smoke along the way, making the already polluted air even more acrid.
And at the ends of these roads and canals were often unshielded mine shafts—some of these semi-open pits were still being mined, others completely abandoned; they crisscrossed the earth, like Zaun's unhealing scars.
Following the wind's footsteps, Lux and Ino walked past one mine pit after another, crossed one canal after another, and soon arrived at a desolate place.
When it was dark ahead, Lux dispelled the darkness with magic; when they encountered a sewage-filled canal, Ino froze the sewage with magic.
With the help of magic, they moved forward, spiraling downward, and when the wind finally stopped, a Void Rift appeared before them.
When the Piltover Grand Canal was first excavated, many Void Rifts appeared underground in Zaun, and many of these rifts leaked toxic gas—it was because of these underground rifts that Lower Zaun became difficult to inhabit.
However, the Void Rift in front of Lux was different; standing before the rift, she distinctly felt a fresh breeze blowing out from within the Void Rift!
Lux took off her filter.
At this moment, she felt as if she were in a forest; this gentle wind not only dried her sweat and made her golden hair, which was stuck to her forehead, soft and fluffy again, but also blew away her fatigue.
"Is this... the dwelling of a deity?" Lux asked, somewhat surprised, "Within this Void Rift?"
"Something like that," Klein replied softly, "Now, hold me up, and together with me, call out the name of Janna Aella!"
Lux nodded, handed the pinwheel to Ino, then drew her broken sword and raised it high.
"Janna Aella!"
A breeze blew.
Lux's solitary call flew with the breeze, echoing through the overlapping mine pits and ravines, like the calls of countless people.
Amidst these countless calls, an astonishing tremor began to stir deep within Zaun—the next moment, from the Void Rift beneath Lux's feet, a small, entirely teal bird, holding a vibrant green, fruit-bearing branch in its beak, flew out, flapping its wings.
The teal bird circled around Lux, as if responding to her call.
The gentle wind also lingered around Lux, as if also responding to her call.
When the wind finally ceased, the teal bird landed on the broken sword, and at the same time, a voice finally sounded in the wind.
"Is that you, Klein?"
"It's him," Lux answered for Klein, "After two millennia, Klein has returned."
Klein's Small Class: Runeterra's Deities:
In Runeterra, deities are a complex and broad concept; some deities appearing in myths and folklore are real, others are mere speculation; yet, paradoxically, those that are real might not be as depicted in stories, and those that are speculative can become reality as more people believe in them.
The Shurima Empire, once under Klein's advice, attempted to research deities and divine authority, hoping to integrate the power of faith, but unfortunately, the effort came to naught due to external influences, even leading to the very famous "Prohibition of False Beliefs" movement.