When Caleb and the others reached the palace beneath the Sun Temple, the vast hall was empty except for Azir sitting there alone. The sarcophagus had already been opened, and from where they stood, it was completely empty.
"Where's Xerath?" Caleb asked, puzzled.
"I removed all the magic from his body. He only has a few months left to live now," Azir replied calmly.
"Do you need to rest first and tell me about that part of the Void tomorrow?"
Azir's gaze was still as sharp as ever. He had noticed the exhaustion on all three of their faces.
Search, investigate, encounter, then return.
There had been almost no time to rest anywhere in between.
Even though the three of them were far hardier than ordinary people, that kind of nonstop strain was still too much to bear.
Caleb glanced at Kai'Sa.
Compared to him, Kai'Sa, who had actually come from the Void, naturally understood the situation better.
"That's fine."
Kai'Sa gave a calm nod.
The moment the words left her mouth, Caleb's whole body sagged.
After being possessed by Yaanogel, the drain on him had been enormous.
He had only been forcing himself forward just now, though whether that was so he could personally report the situation to Azir was hard to say.
After all, Kai'Sa really didn't look like someone who wanted to do much talking.
"Take our guests to rest," Azir said with a wave of his hand, every movement carrying the full dignity of an emperor.
Seeing that, Caleb could not help but think again that Shurima really had once been the strongest empire on Runeterra.
If not for that catastrophe from the Void, and then Xerath right afterward, what chance would places like Noxus and Demacia ever have had to shine?
...
"Follow me."
Nasus led Caleb out of the great hall.
Sivir and Kai'Sa, meanwhile, took Yuumi in another direction.
"So this is the royal palace?"
Caleb looked around like a country bumpkin seeing a big city for the first time.
"Shurima never encouraged extravagance, so what you see now is already the understated version."
Caleb's left eye suddenly turned blood-red again, and at some point the clump of blood on his shoulder had grown a mouth.
"Oh, come on, so that's why I've been this tired."
Caleb had spent the whole ride back lying on the back of the Skallashi, yet his stamina still had not recovered that quickly.
So this bastard had still been drinking his blood.
"This is understated?" Caleb looked up at the towering ceiling, covered in exquisite relief carvings.
The symbols looked simple at a glance, but every inch was packed with detail.
"At the height of its glory, Shurima had practically taken up all of Runeterra."
Yaanogel's voice carried a trace of nostalgia. That great age had ultimately turned to dust, just like the Shuriman palace of old.
"This palace was created by His Majesty with the power of the Sun Disc."
Caleb's left eye kept shifting, as if Yaanogel wanted to memorize every last bit of it.
While the two of them chatted, Nasus pushed open a door several meters tall.
"Please."
Nasus stepped aside and made room for Caleb to enter.
"That bed is seriously the size of a whole room?"
Caleb was stunned.
The room in front of him was not as ornate as the hallways and grand chambers outside.
But it really was enormous.
"This room was used by the Ascended. Because of Yaanogel, this is how we chose to receive you."
Nasus explained patiently from the side.
Caleb, meanwhile, still had not fully recovered from the shock.
The bed was so high that Caleb felt like he would have to jump just to get onto it.
The Ascended really were built different.
"Thank you." Yaanogel, looking at all of this, sounded calm enough.
"Why are you thanking him already?"
Caleb turned and glared at Yaanogel.
"The emperor's decree is that you are to remain at Caleb's side. When Shurima needs you, it will summon you."
"Of course, when that happens, Mister Caleb, you'll need to take out your spear so he can return to Shurima at once."
"Will that be acceptable?"
That question obviously was not directed at Yaanogel. It was asking Caleb for his answer.
"Of course." Caleb nodded firmly.
What did it mean to have the help of a Darkin?
It was not just a leap in strength. It also meant that when ancient beings or lost history came up, Caleb would finally have someone he could ask.
As the moon rose over the dunes, Caleb lay on the bed wide awake.
He was honestly too excited to sleep. The thing on his shoulder was a Darkin, a being that started at demigod level.
"So, Renekton's animal is a crocodile, Nasus is a jackal, what are you?"
Thinking about it, Caleb grew curious.
"A Hidden Tiger. Even in my era, that beast was already close to extinction."
Yaanogel was surprisingly straightforward and answered at once.
"Why was it called a Hidden Tiger?"
"After one pounce, its skin could rapidly change to match the surrounding colors."
"And as a tiger, it moved lightly. Once it had its eyes on prey, the prey had no way of judging where it was."
"Then why was it almost extinct?"
Caleb was honestly confused.
"Hidden Tigers were extremely demanding when it came to food. They generally only ate fresh prey they had just killed."
"After Shurima grew prosperous, there naturally were not as many wild animals or water sources left."
"And Hidden Tigers were arrogant and untamable by nature, so the royal family could only keep them in enclosed territory."
"Then the Sun Disc fell..."
As he spoke, Yaanogel let out a sigh.
From the fragments of memory he had, Caleb slowly pieced together Yaanogel's fighting style.
Land one strike, then hide your presence.
The overwhelmingly savage aura of that spear made Caleb yearn for it a little too.
"Then... what about Aatrox?"
Caleb asked the question carefully.
After all, he had no idea whether those two had ever fought during the Darkin War.
There was every chance this was a sore subject, but Caleb simply could not suppress his curiosity.
"A weasel."
"What?" Caleb genuinely thought he had heard wrong.
By all logic, Aatrox should have been the strongest among the Ascended, one of the absolute elite among the Darkin.
Yaanogel himself was so fierce, a pure close-combat type who had almost instantly taken care of Xerath.
They were both supposed to be tigers, and yet Aatrox was...
"A horned weasel," Yaanogel continued calmly. "It had a thin membrane stretched between its forelegs and hind legs."
As Yaanogel explained, Caleb stared at him in utter disbelief.
So that was where the wings and the huge horns came from?
By that logic, wasn't he kind of like a poro?
"Don't underestimate how small they are. When they fight in groups, they really aren't afraid of anything in the food chain."
There was even a trace of amusement in Yaanogel's voice.
That old companion of his had probably broken past the weapon's limits long ago by now.
Who knew where he was wandering these days?
"What about Varus and Rhaast?"
Caleb hurriedly asked.
Aatrox's original animal form had really shocked him.
"A blue dart frog and a hamster."
"Pff, cough, cough, cough!"
Caleb had been drinking water, and he nearly choked to death on the spot, coughing nonstop.
A dart frog, sure, that was still understandable. Varus was a bow-user, just like Caleb's current setup.
And dart frog poison really did fit arrows perfectly.
But a hamster? What in the world was that supposed to be?
Was that why Rhaast had still failed to take over Kayn's body?
Was Shadow Step actually some kind of digging skill?
Just as Caleb started wondering whether he had somehow transmigrated into the wrong world, on the other side...
"Stop pulling out my tail fur already!"
Yuumi glared at Kai'Sa in a huff and swatted at her with one paw.
Sadly, she came up short by about two inches.
"My tail fur is not for your fortune-telling!"
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