"How did it go, Yuumi, did you find anything?"
After coming back yesterday, Yuumi had quietly vanished and did not return until the sun was up this morning. There was no need to guess where she had gone, she had obviously gone looking for clues about Norra.
The cat stepped weakly atop Book and took out a pile of scattered porcelain shards. "This was Norra's favorite cup. Something definitely happened to her."
Yuumi's face was full of worry. She had only just seen the Void's power for herself yesterday. Every Void species had its own unique traits. Like this Rek'Sai, unmatched at burrowing, and also in a league of her own when it came to producing offspring.
After all, Caleb had never heard of Voidborn being able to reproduce.
Then again, looking at Kha'Zix and the way Kai'Sa's Void skin worked, maybe it was not impossible.
Hearing Yuumi say that, Caleb could more or less confirm it, that yordle witch named Norra was somewhere in the Void.
Kai'Sa had been able to keep fighting in the Void under the protection of her Void skin. And as the witch who possessed the Book of Thresholds, there was no way Norra could be weak.
In truth, Caleb was hiding a secret he had not told the others.
The missing pages torn from Yuumi's Book were inside his system inventory.
They were the Lost Chapter.
Caleb was almost certain now that this thing was definitely not some item that just granted ability power and mana and restored resources on level-up.
It was a portal to the Void.
Thankfully, Caleb had not done anything suicidal like "equipping" it.
Otherwise, even with the system, even with Yaanogel's help, he probably would have died in the Void and ended this trip to another world ahead of schedule.
Caleb quietly made up his mind. Until the time was right, he was absolutely never taking the Lost Chapter out.
"What are you planning to do?"
While Caleb was still thinking, Taliyah suddenly leaned her face in close.
"Oh... oh." Caleb flinched a little, then said, "I'll probably head back to the Twin Cities. The Governor has been gone for so long, people are probably starting to worry."
He answered without hesitation.
Shurima was just too fantastical.
This place, probably the hardest place in all Runeterra to survive in, also had the most relics and the most glorious past.
Now that Shurima was rising again, he had already helped quite a bit.
When Azir marched north and saw Noxian war banners, the two sides would probably start going at each other like mad, and Caleb had no interest in getting mixed up in that.
Better to go back, get some rest, and see what kind of mission the system gave him next.
Just dealing with a single burrowing beast had nearly shattered his whole body.
If Azir had not been there, Caleb figured his body would probably belong to Yaanogel by now.
Shurima really was a high-level dungeon...
Caleb could not help sighing at that.
"I just don't know if there's any market around here."
"I can send you there!" Yuumi's voice rang out beside him. "Consider it my way of thanking you for helping me so much."
"We're going to the Sun Disc," Sivir said in a low voice.
"I want to go see the emperor, and then go look for my parents." Taliyah's gaze was equally resolute.
At the moment, there were only a handful of Ascended in Shurima, and Yaanogel still had to be "lent" to Caleb for the time being.
As a newly awakened Darkin, Zuretta obviously had to return to the Sun Disc, continue serving the royal bloodline, and help create more oases.
And so, everyone's eyes fell on Kai'Sa.
Everyone had somewhere to return to. Even Yuumi had Book by her side to keep her company through one short year after another.
"I want to see what a real city is like."
When Kai'Sa said that, there was actually a faint note of pleading in her voice.
"Can I?" she asked, looking at Caleb.
"Of course." Caleb did not quite understand at first, but then it clicked.
All these years, Kai'Sa had fought the Void alone, never caring whether anyone was there beside her.
But after everything she had been through, and after learning that the Shuriman royal line had awakened, the burden on her shoulders had clearly lightened a lot.
Still, if she stopped fighting the Void and started living as an ordinary girl instead, she would probably feel guilty about it.
"Then see you later!" Taliyah wrapped Kai'Sa in a tight hug, then waved. "We'll definitely meet again!"
Kai'Sa, her face a little red, nodded hard.
"Well then, are you two ready?"
Using Caleb's map and relying on memory, Yuumi flipped Book open to a certain page.
"Right here!"
Her voice was full of excitement, but it could not hide the exhaustion from searching all night.
Caleb looked back one last time at the endless yellow sands and the four figures receding into the distance.
Then he dove headfirst into the portal.
The same dizzy feeling hit him again, and Caleb landed face-first, skidding several yards across the dirt.
"Oh, looks like I was a little off," Yuumi said, glancing at the towering Council building in the distance as she curled herself around Caleb. "But I'm tired, so you can walk the rest of the way."
Yuumi slumped over him and promptly dozed off.
At that moment, Caleb heard a burst of hurried footsteps behind him.
He spun around and grabbed Kai'Sa by the shoulders.
"So it really does feel different from Void skin..." Caleb muttered.
Void skin was always hard as a board, and covered in spikes.
Every time before, Caleb had only been able to stay in contact with Kai'Sa because his constitution made his own skin tough enough to handle it.
And Kai'Sa had never really held any genuine hostility toward him, either.
But this time, she looked and felt much more like a normal girl...
She was even a little softer than Jinx.
"Kai'Sa, Kai'Sa?" Caleb called softly a couple of times, but got no response.
She was probably just exhausted from last night's surgery.
Caleb had stuffed both his ears shut tightly, so that morning, Kai'Sa had ended up waking him by hitting him.
"Maybe once she realized we were finally at our destination, she just let herself relax all at once?"
Caleb shifted Kai'Sa onto his back while the cat, still supported by Book, drifted in lazy circles around him.
He sighed, hitched Kai'Sa a little higher, and started walking toward the Twin Cities.
With his sharp eyesight, he could clearly make out the Hexgates and the Council building, but they were still a long way off...
"Whatever, one more day won't matter."
Caleb grumbled and kept his pace slow.
If it had been Yaanogel, he probably would have already made it there by now.
With a spear in hand, that guy could move absurdly fast.
As Caleb watched the city draw closer and closer, his thoughts began to wander.
Before he knew it, he had started to feel like the Twin Cities were his real home.
Once he got back this time, he absolutely had to strengthen the Twin Cities' technology.
Noxus to the north, Shurima to the south, and the Twin Cities wedged in the middle as the throat of the world.
As a vital trade route, the Twin Cities had gained enormous economic benefits, but they also carried plenty of hidden dangers.
...
"Someone saw Caleb coming back!"
Ekko kicked the door open, riding in on his hoverboard.
"Go greet him, now!"
Even Viktor's mechanical voice carried a trace of excitement. Over these past days, there had been plenty of matters he had not been confident deciding on.
Even with Ekko helping him, there were times when he still did not feel sure of himself.
At the end of the day, he was a scientist. He was not comfortable with this sort of thing.
Only Caleb's real return could put everyone at ease.
The people of Zaun probably felt the same way.
"You should've said so sooner."
Ekko slapped the button in his hand, and his whole body vanished in an instant.
He had already gone back to the road seven seconds earlier.
...
Caleb was still leisurely making his way toward Zaun, completely unaware that a whole group of Firelights hoverboard riders was about to come rushing toward him.
Behind him, Kai'Sa quietly opened her eyes, looked around once, then quietly closed them again.
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