Between questions and answers, Klein and Lux talked a lot—about labor, about compensation, about a sense of accomplishment, about self-satisfaction, and so on.
Lux gained a lot, but as she began to think carefully and slowly digest it, the fatigue from a day of carrying water finally surged over her.
Her eyelids grew heavy, her thoughts became sluggish, and soon, almost imperceptible snores began, then dissipated into the gentle breeze.
The gentle breeze caressed the two sleeping young girls, while the bluebird, which had been hopping on the table, suddenly spread its wings—it pulled a Petricite slab from Lux's luggage, then meticulously carved a simple magic circuit onto it with its nimble beak, completing it at an astonishing speed.
This bluebird, with its small body, astonishingly managed to grab the Petricite slab and came to Lux's side.
Circling the sleeping Lux several times, it finally placed the slab at the head of the bed, resting it on Lux's sword.
The next moment, as the bluebird spread its wings and vanished into the wind, a Wind Spirit revealed her form.
She summoned a gentle breeze, causing Lux to instinctively pull her covers tighter and Ino to smooth out her furrowed brow; then this breeze blew out the window, through the streets and alleys of Zaun, jingling countless wind chimes, all the way to the Sun Gates, causing the surface of the sea to ripple.
And Janna, having completed all this, gently leaned down and pressed her hand onto that Petricite slab.
Then, in Lux's most familiar simulated training ground, on the dune where Klein was, a graceful figure appeared beside Klein.
"Klein," Janna propped her staff on the dune, looking at the familiar yet unfamiliar figure before her, "Is she your choice after a thousand years of silence? A new Setaka?"
"This is my choice." Without a hint of hesitation, Klein seemed to have known Janna would come, and he quickly gave his answer, "Her name is Lux, not Setaka."
"But they are very similar." Janna let out a low laugh, and the sand grains danced with her laughter, "Both stand before you, listening to you, the dog-headed strategist."
"Nasus is the dog-headed strategist, not me." Klein spread his hands, refuting seriously, "Besides, she doesn't stand before me yet."
"Actually, I've always been puzzled, Klein." Janna didn't dwell on Lux but changed the subject to Klein, "Why do you always refuse eternity? If you were willing to go a step further..."
"As the Wind of Change, you should know very well." Klein replied in a low voice, "Eternity and humanity are inherently conflicting; eternity always means you have enough time, but time is also the most ruthless."
"Is that your realization after becoming an Ascended?" Janna shook her head, noncommittal to Klein's words, "Never mind, let's not talk about the past. For now, what kind of Wind of Change do you plan to stir up in Zaun?"
"It's just starting from scratch." Klein chuckled, "I once thought that once the spark of civilization was lit, it would never extinguish, but I always greedily hoped it could burn more vigorously, more intensely."
"Even if you become kindling yourself?" Janna sighed softly, "When I saw you before, you weren't like this. At that time, you were incredibly confident, seeming to believe that you would never fail, as if everything was in your control."
"I've always been preparing." Klein avoided the topic of his past self, instead murmuring in a deep, firm voice, "As long as the bluebird is willing to bring my voice to more people..."
"Alright, you're still that confident." Janna smiled, "It's just that your confidence seems different from before."
"Those who are high above often find it difficult to see the essence of things, mistakenly believing they can control everything, forcing things to happen quickly, but ultimately everything falls apart, and history repeats itself." Klein casually picked up a handful of sand, letting the fine yellow grains slowly trickle through his fingers, "If I could, I wish I hadn't been so confident in the past... Always thinking everything was planned, always thinking that if the next step succeeded, everything would be resolved, but rarely sitting quietly on the dune, and rarely listening to those ethereal breezes as before."
"It's hard to imagine that one day I would be here listening to Klein confess about his past self." Janna made a not-so-funny witty remark, "Although he's as insincere as ever, clearly regretting it terribly, but only self-pitying with vague language..."
"Alright, that's enough." Klein dropped the sand, "No time for melancholy now; the curtain in Zaun has just opened. We need to focus all our attention on the main business—tell me in detail, how far along are the Noxus's actions?"
"They are probably consciously looking for information related to the World Rune." Janna didn't continue to tease, "I don't know how they found traces of Kallikan's laboratory, but what's certain is that Noxus indeed spent a considerable price, even hiring regular members of the Adventurer's Guild, to search for traces of the laboratory."
"So, they only know a general direction?"
"More or less, but at your current excavation speed, it probably won't be long before they discover the problem."
"By the time they discover it, we'll have already controlled the laboratory." Klein regained his confident demeanor, "I understand that guy Kallikan; his laboratory must have extraordinary defensive measures..."
"Really?" Behind Klein, Janna raised an eyebrow, "Too bad, I have a feeling Kallikan might just give you a surprise... who knows?"
"If that's the case," Klein smiled slightly, "I look forward to it."
"..."
"..."
The two old friends chatted casually for a long time in Kha'Zix, on that small dune, until the Petricite slab ran out of magic.
The Wind Spirit on the dune left Kha'Zix and turned back into the hopping bluebird on the desktop.
Klein, on the other hand, looked at the Lay Waste before him and sighed softly.
Before him, the dancing sand had imperceptibly gathered into a majestic city.
And with that sigh, this city turned into a cloud of dust.
At the same time, the Petricite slab by Lux's bed, along with the city formed by sand, silently turned to ashes and were then carried away by the cool night wind, gathering in the morning haze of Zaun.
Klein's small class · Inner World:
Thanks to the help of Lux, Sona, and Ino, the poor lonely old man Klein finally has a bit of an inner world now—although it's Lay Waste here, at least it's no longer complete chaos, which is a cause for celebration, a cause for celebration.