People shouted his name and prayed for help. But he ignored it, because there was a more important calling that needed his following. The sun recast his body and mind so that he could serve Shurima for eternity, fighting for its people against all the powerful enemies that came to him. That's exactly what he's doing now, but letting the inhabitants of Vikola fend for themselves has evoked a familiar guilt in his soul.

How many more lives do you have to leave behind?

He shook off such thoughts and chose a path through the dilapidated streets and alleys where the yellow sand was piled up. Most of the buildings have become part of the desert entirely, and most of the rest are only crumbling foundations and sharpened broken column heads. He was getting closer and closer to the thunderous heart, and the scavengers of the desert hurried away as soon as they saw him. The ruins of the city have gradually thinned out under the erosion of yellow sand.

Eventually, he came to the door of a crumbling building, which looked like a former bathhouse, with thicker and harder walls than the others. He walked in hunched over and immediately smelled two different smells of blood and sweat. One was young, the other soul was so old, like an old friend who had walked side by side with him in the same sun.

A girl poked her head out of the hallway, wearing a loose coat, and it seemed that she was from a country beyond the sea to the east. This girl, he had met earlier in the market. He felt her fear, but at the same time he was determined. Her hands arced back and forth in front of her chest, as if weaving some kind of natural magic. The ground began to tremble, and the stones danced beneath her feet, poking their heads out from under the sand. Behind her, Nasus saw a woman struggle to her feet with her hands on the peeling wall. Her blouse was soaked in blood red. It was a terrible wound, but not fatal.

"I am Nasus, the master of the desert." He said, but judging by the reaction in her eyes, she already knew his identity. Taliyah's mouth opened in surprise, but she didn't move.

"Get out of the way." Nasus said.

"No, you can't touch her. I promised. ”

Nasus turned his axe, hung it on his back, and took a step forward. The girl retreated into the ruins, and the ground at her feet rippled in circles. Stones rose from the ground, like pieces of plaster falling from the walls. Terrible cracks were drilled in the walls, and they quickly climbed up the remaining roofs. He had seen similar abilities when he was a mortal, and that time he almost lost his life. The injured woman stared at the girl in shock, apparently completely unaware of the power of her companion.

"Your ability to break Shurima's stone." Nasus said.

She raised an eyebrow, "That's right." So you'd better stay away, or I'll be able to break more than just rocks. ”

Nasus was amused by her bluff, "You have a hero's heart, girl. But you're not the person I'm looking for. Your magic is powerful, so if I were you, I'd run as far away as I could before Zelas blew up here. ”

Her face turned a little pale: "I'm not going anywhere." I promised to protect Sivir, and Mother Weaver hated to break her word. ”

"If you want to protect her, then you have to understand that I don't mean to harm her."

"So what do you want to do?"

"I'm here to save her."

The bandaged woman limped one foot and moved to the girl's side. Although she was visibly in great pain, Nasus was still amazed at her will. However, Gushurima's bloodline has always been like this, but he underestimated it.

"Who is Zelas," she asked.

"An evil witch who knows everything about your origins."

The woman nodded, then turned to Taliyah and held out a calloused hand and placed it on the girl's shoulder.

"I owe you my life, but I never take a debt. So when your promise has been fulfilled, I'll do it myself from now on. ”

The girl's expression was visibly much lighter, but she still hesitated.

"I'm grateful, but you can barely walk. At the very least, let me take you out of town. ”

"Deal." Sivir said with thanksgiving, then turned back to face Nasus. She waved her hand, revealing a golden crossblade that shimmered with cold light, with an emerald green gem in the center. Ordinary mortals couldn't wield the weapon with ease, but she held it firmly in her hand.

"There have been so many people trying to save me lately. But they always want something else in return. So, big man, let's be honest, what the hell do you want"

"I want you to live."

"Then I don't need your help."

"That's not what the wound on your body says, you've been"

"You say this," Sivir interrupted, "some idiots don't like to be rejected, so they left this with a reservation." Believe me, I've had worse experiences but survived. I don't need much protection. God seems to have taken good care of me all the time, no matter what I do. ”

Nasus shook his head. What a superficial understanding of fate a mortal has.

"The future is not a scripture carved on a stone tablet, but a river with many tributaries, the bed of which will change course at any moment. Even those whose fate has long been written among the stars will find that the water of life has flowed into the dry ground of death. ”

He pointed to Sivir's weapon and asked, "Do you know who that knife used to belong to?"

"Who cares about him, it's mine now." Sivir said.

"It was Charikar, its former owner, known as Setaka, the original war queen of the Ascended Lord. You have to know what that meant in the past. I have been with Sertaka for three centuries. Her exploits are legendary, but I don't think you know her name. ”

"The dead are perishable." Sivir shrugged.

Ignoring Sivir's indifferent contempt for his sisters in the war, Nasus continued, "A desert practitioner once told her that one day, there would be a king from Shurima who would rule the world. These words made her think that she was invincible, because we were the ones who conquered the world. However, she was overwhelmed by the monster of the night before Acacia's doom. I held her in my arms and watched her light go out little by little, and finally I sent her to sleep in the sand. Her weapon was on her chest. ”

"If you're here to get this back, we're in big trouble."

Nasus suddenly fell to one knee and saluted with his hands crossed over his chest.

"You are the owner of the Ascension Bloodline. This weapon is also destined to be at your disposal, for the blood of the Emperor flows through you. It has resurrected Azir and Shurima, and it must be of great significance. ”

"No, it doesn't make sense." Sivir said coldly, "I never begged Azir to save me. I don't owe him anything. I don't want to have anything to do with you, or what else Zelas. ”

"It doesn't matter what you think. Whether you accept your fate or not, Zelas will kill you. He came here to cut off Azir's bloodline, and he was a hundred. ”

"What does Azir want her to do" Taliyah couldn't help but ask, "Since he's back, what the hell is he going to do that he will turn us into slaves"

"She has a lot of questions, a lot." Sivir said.

Nasus hesitated.

"Actually, I don't know Azir's plans either. But just knowing that he's going to fight Zelas is enough for me. Now, you can obediently lead the neck and kill you, or consider fighting again later. ”

Sivir lifted his clothes, revealing a blood-oozing bandage, and a wry smile erupted into his face. "In my life, I never knew what it meant to be a good person, but now I don't have the capital to fight. Oh, and there's a pair of fighting eyelids. ”

"You have to live." Nasus stood up: "And always be ready. ”

"What are you going to do?" Sivir asked, as he and Taliyah began to pack up their few things.

"Fight for Shurima. But we have to go now. Zelas' men are slaughtering everyone in Vikola. ”

"What the hell is so special here," Taliyah said, packing her bags.

"They're looking for her." Nasus said.

Sivir's face froze for a moment, then he let out a long breath and asked, "Nasus, right, I heard your story when I was a child. Stories of wars, battles of heroes and the like. The story says that you and your brother are Shurima's protectors, aren't they?"

"Yes, indeed. Renekton and I have fought for thousands of years for Shurima. ”

Sivir took a step forward, her face full of prideful determination, almost the same as the expression on the day Azir had ordered the priests to prepare the solar disc for him to ascend in defiance of millennia of tradition.

"Then fight for Shurima now." Sivir's unquestionable tone was like King's Landing: "While we are idle, the people of the desert are dying. If you're the hero I've heard of since I was a kid, it's your responsibility to go out and save as many people as possible. ”

Nasus had no expectation that the conversation would turn in this direction, but Sivir's stated responsibility ignited the embers that had been dormant in his chest for years. He felt the rage rush through his limbs, rushing back and forth through his body. Only now did he understand what he had lost in his lonely wanderings since the fall of Shurima.

"I swear by this." Nasus tore off the pendant around his neck. "If you leave now, I'll fight to save the people of Vikola."

The pendant is embedded with a piece of jadeite, and the sea-green texture is covered with thin gold threads. A glimmer of light came out of it, slowly undulating like a heavy heart.

He handed it to Sivir and said, "Wear this, and Zelas won't be able to find you." It only lasts for a while, but it should be enough. ”

"What is enough," Sivir asked.

"Enough for me to find you again." With that, Nasus turned and left.

He left Sivir and Taliyah before he could change his mind. Nasus knew in his heart that the key to the two of them surviving was that he could lure Zeroth's men to his side. They watched him go, and he didn't look back once. There was already a blaze in the center of the city, and Nasus followed the screams of the inhabitants of Vikola.

He walked past one corpse after another, both male and female, hacked to death by the soldiers. His anger grew, and his old account with Zelas seemed to have added a lot of entries. Nasus turned his shoulders and moved his muscles. The last time he faced the witch spirit, his brother was standing beside him, and a shudder suddenly struck.

Together, we couldn't beat him. How could it be on my own?