The Aspects' words only made Kai'Sa's tears fall faster.
She knew she would never forget this man for as long as she lived.
He had appeared in her life like a sudden beam of light, bringing the first glimmer of hope she had seen in years.
But why had he done this?
If this was the price, she would rather have remained in the Void with him.
Without him, she never would have escaped the Void or found salvation.
Beside her, the weakened Kassadin had no idea how to comfort his grieving daughter.
He couldn't bring himself to feel happy either.
They had defeated the Void, but the price they had paid seemed even greater.
Leona sighed softly. "Whenever we want to win something, there is always a price to pay. There's no denying how much he helped us. He not only helped us recover the planetary core, he severed the connection to the Void and even left those Darkin trapped inside it."
Taric also sighed. "I did say before that His Highness was actually a pretty good person."
Pantheon gripped his spear in silence, but his respect for Luke rose considerably.
In truth, Pantheon was much like Luke in one respect. Pantheon was the name he bore, but the soul within that body belonged to a human named Atreus.
He couldn't help but admire what Luke had done.
Kayle looked beside her at Morgana, who stood with her head lowered, eyes downcast and lips pressed together, seemingly in low spirits.
For a moment, Kayle didn't know what to say.
Her eyes flickered slightly.
Perhaps she finally understood why her sister had fallen for that man.
And now, the two of them would be separated forever.
"I underestimated him before."
Mihira gazed at the planetary core in her hand with complicated emotions.
The human had teleported it to her at the very last moment.
"I never expected him to possess that kind of resolve."
Looking at Kai'Sa crying in grief and Morgana with her eyes lowered, Mihira continued, "I'm willing to apologize for looking down on him. He is a human worthy of respect. It just seems a little late to say that now…"
Silence fell again.
The Aspects did not leave immediately.
They were not heartless beings of cold steel.
What Luke had accomplished was more than enough to earn their respect.
Helping them recover the planetary core alone had already exceeded what any ordinary mortal should have been capable of, and yet that had only been the beginning.
The Void had always represented an enormous threat to Runeterra.
Long ago, through Icathia, it had established a subtle connection with the material realm and had continuously invaded Runeterra through Void rifts.
But now, that connection had been completely severed.
That meant that in the years to come, unless the Void discovered another means of entering Runeterra, it would no longer be able to invade the material realm through those rifts.
And then there were the Darkin.
Only now did the Aspects seem to understand why Luke had deliberately lured the Darkin into the Void as well.
Perhaps he had planned this from the very beginning.
Yet they had misunderstood his intentions.
The Darkin led by Aatrox had always been a tremendous problem for Runeterra.
Now all of them were trapped within the Void, unable to return to Runeterra through its rifts.
Any one of these three accomplishments would have been considered extraordinarily difficult even by the Aspects.
Yet Luke, a mere human, had accomplished all three.
If someone like him was unworthy of the Aspects' respect, then perhaps no mortal would ever earn it.
Kai'Sa's quiet sobbing made the atmosphere increasingly somber.
Then, suddenly, a voice came from behind them.
"Huh? Why does everyone look so serious? I could've sworn I just heard someone saying they wanted to apologize to me."
Everyone froze.
Kai'Sa spun around immediately.
The moment she saw Luke standing there with a smile on his face, she reacted instinctively, rushing forward and wrapping her arms tightly around him.
The familiar scent of him convinced her this was no illusion.
"Why are you crying? I told you I'd see you around."
Luke reached up and wiped the tears from her cheeks before looking toward the stunned and confused Aspects.
Mihira couldn't help asking, "How did you return from the Void?"
"Obviously, I had my own way."
Luke smiled before looking at Mihira.
"And forget about the apology. I'm a very generous person, so I'll forgive all of you for your previous disrespect."
No matter what, Mihira was Morgana's mother.
Luke couldn't very well make her formally apologize to him.
Mihira's lips twitched.
Looking at Luke's smug expression, she took a deep breath to calm herself.
Give this guy an inch and he'd take a mile!
She had only looked away for a moment, and now he was acting so arrogant that he practically didn't even put the Aspects in his eyes anymore!
After thinking about it, however, Mihira said nothing further.
Luke really had done them an enormous favor.
He was indeed worthy of being the man her daughter had chosen.
She silently withdrew all her previous doubts about Morgana's judgment.
Kayle glanced at Morgana again.
When she noticed the faint curve at the corner of her sister's mouth, realization suddenly struck her.
So she hadn't been pressing her lips together because she was sad.
She had been holding back laughter.
Morgana had known all along that Luke had a way back?
Still, Luke really had returned.
Kayle was quite curious about how he had managed it.
To understand how Luke had returned, however, one had to go back several minutes.
Inside the Void.
After sending everyone else away, Luke did not hesitate for even a moment.
He swung his sword.
The slash seemed to traverse space itself, even crossing the boundaries of time, before landing between the two worlds.
A razor-sharp flash of sword light swept through the darkness.
The subtle connection between the material realm and the Void was severed on the spot.
At that moment, Luke heard the enraged roars of the Watchers.
They were furious beyond measure, yet completely helpless.
Luke sensed the Void sinking into the depths of the cosmos, rapidly drifting farther and farther away from Runeterra.
Likewise, with the connection between the two worlds severed, he could no longer use the keys to open a gateway from the Void back to Runeterra.
"For the long years ahead, you will remain here as my companion."
Bel'Veth looked at Luke calmly.
"Perhaps you should consider joining the Void. I will grant you authority and status second only to my own. You will become the supreme second ruler of the Void."
Luke was a human she could not understand at all.
At the same time, he possessed the keys to the Void.
In Bel'Veth's eyes, that gave him sufficient qualifications.
She believed the offer was generous enough to tempt anyone.
"I think I'll pass."
Luke's tone remained calm, completely unmoved.
"A pity. Because of our agreement, I will not harm you. That does not mean they will show you the same courtesy."
Bel'Veth did not make the offer a second time.
She kept her promises.
After saying those words, she departed without another glance.
From this point onward, she had to devote all her attention to dealing with the Watchers.
She had no time to concern herself with Luke.
And by "they," she had not meant her own followers.
She was referring to the Void warriors that still served the Watchers…
And the Darkin.
By now, every Darkin had regrouped around Aatrox.
All of them had sensed that the passage back to Runeterra had been severed.
"This battle ends now!"
Aatrox didn't care.
With a furious roar, he charged toward Luke at tremendous speed, his savage sword intent radiating overwhelming pressure.
He knew that as long as he seized the key, they could still find a way back to Runeterra.
Luke had severed the connection, which meant Luke couldn't return either.
In other words, Aatrox now had all the time in the world to kill him.
"You love fighting so much. Isn't the Void pretty much perfect for you?"
Luke watched Aatrox charge toward him without the slightest concern.
At the same time, he sensed the other Darkin flying into position around him, completely surrounding him.
"There are more monsters here than you could ever kill. I hope you and your brothers and sisters enjoy yourselves. I won't interrupt."
The instant Aatrox's attack was about to reach him, Luke vanished.
In a single moment, he used Spatial Shift together with Destiny to appear tens of thousands of meters away.
Then he activated Stealth Arts, completely concealing his presence.
Although the connection between the two worlds had been severed, Luke still had another way back to Runeterra.
His gaze fell upon the system panel.
A special skill had finished its cooldown and was glowing again.
Teleport.
Luke activated it immediately.
This was his trump card.
The description of Teleport was extremely simple.
It allowed him to teleport to any location he had previously visited, without restriction.
Scenes of Runeterra flashed rapidly through Luke's mind.
He soon chose his destination.
In the next instant, a violet pillar of teleportation energy enveloped him and shot toward the sky.
In the distance, the Darkin rushed toward him at incredible speed.
But they were still one step too slow.
Just as their violent attacks were about to fall, Luke disappeared from the Void.
Every attack struck empty space.
All the Darkin could do was unleash their fury upon the vacant landscape.
Aatrox's enraged roar echoed beneath the heavens.
For the endless years to come, they would remain trapped within the Void, fighting an infinite tide of Voidborn.
But this would only cause the Darkin's hatred to grow without limit.
They would no longer despair.
Amid endless slaughter, the flames of vengeance would continue burning within them as they waited for the day they could finally return to Runeterra.
And on that day, Runeterra would face its apocalypse.
"So he even had a method like that."
From an immense distance, Bel'Veth also sensed Luke's presence disappear.
Clearly, he had already left the Void.
Severing the connection between the two worlds meant that they would drift infinitely farther apart, the distance between them stretching without end.
In theory, no teleportation magic should have been capable of crossing between the two worlds anymore.
And yet Luke had still escaped the Void.
But it didn't matter.
Wherever he went was of no concern to Bel'Veth.
She would honor their agreement.
After Luke and the others were dead, she would bring the Void into the material realm once more.
And when that time came, nothing would be able to save it.
"So that's what happened."
Luke smiled warmly at the Aspects.
"Considering how much I helped Mount Targon, I wouldn't mind if you gave me, say, eight or ten divine artifacts as a reward."
Things like the Zenith Blade, Shield of Daybreak, or Comet Spear…
Those were all pretty nice divine weapons.
Mihira's eyelid twitched as she listened.
"Even if you did help us, asking for eight or ten divine artifacts is completely unreasonable. However, as a prince of Demacia, I can promise you this on behalf of Mount Targon. If Demacia ever faces disaster in the future, Mount Targon will offer its aid."
"With me around, how could Demacia possibly face disaster? That promise has no sincerity whatsoever."
Luke waved dismissively.
"Forget it, forget it. Everyone's busy. We'll leave it here."
He had no intention of arguing over it any longer.
Kassadin was still badly injured.
Treating him came first.
Hearing Luke's words, the irritation Mihira had only recently managed to suppress flared up again, like flames roaring inside her chest.
They were Mount Targon, for heaven's sake!
And this was his attitude toward them?
Whatever.
Considering the few enormous things he had accomplished, Mihira decided not to argue with him.
Every Aspect present committed the name Luke to memory.
Before long, they departed.
They needed to return the planetary core to its proper place as soon as possible.
"We should leave too."
Luke took Kai'Sa, Kassadin, and Morgana to a nearby town.
Kassadin's body had long since reached its limit from using the rune too frequently and surviving within the environment of the Void.
He knew that better than anyone.
That was why, the moment he threw his rune to Luke, he had placed all his hopes on him.
Fortunately, Luke had not disappointed him.
At the end of his life, Kassadin had even managed to reunite with his daughter.
He already felt completely satisfied.
Unfortunately for him, with Luke around, even dying wasn't going to be that easy.
Luke's inventory contained plenty of incredibly rare medicinal ingredients.
On top of that, Morgana's divine power had recovered.
Working together, the two quickly stabilized Kassadin's condition.
His situation had been so severe that recovering at all was already remarkable.
He would probably remain somewhat physically weak from now on.
But Kassadin didn't care.
Simply surviving was already more than he had hoped for.
Kai'Sa was overjoyed by the outcome as well.
That night, Kassadin's condition had improved enough for him to fall into a deep sleep.
Luke and Kai'Sa went to another room.
"If you and your father don't have anywhere else to go from here, why not come back to Demacia with me?"
Luke took a sip of hot tea and smiled at Kai'Sa.
Kai'Sa did not hesitate.
She nodded gently.
"Okay."
She no longer needed to fight against the Void.
In truth, even if Luke had not invited her, she had wanted to visit the place where he lived.
"Oh, right."
Luke looked at the Void armor covering Kai'Sa's body.
"Do you want to take that armor off?"
"The reason I wore it in the first place was to survive in the Void. Now, I don't need it for that anymore."
Kai'Sa lowered her eyes thoughtfully.
"But it and I have been symbiotic for so long that even if I wanted to remove it, there's no way to do so."
"Maybe this can."
Luke drew the Void Riftblade.
Now that the two keys had fused, the weapon possessed the power to sever space itself.
At the same time, as the key to the Void, it possessed an innate suppressive effect over everything born from the Void.
Presumably, it could also sever the connection between Kai'Sa and her Void armor.