Chapter 322: Annihilation and Void (Extra)

Under the light of Shurima's scorching sun, there will always be those who are born with the ability to foresee the future. As the only child of an elderly grocer, Marzaha discovered his talent at a time when his parents were terminally ill. The young boy lost his soul and fended for himself on the streets of Amaqla. He divined people in the slums for a few change or a few slices of bread.

As the divination became more and more accurate, his fame began to grow louder. He uses his second vision to predict who a camel rider will marry, or where a knife will land in a gambling game at the bazaar. Soon, the clothes of those who came to patronize him changed from stucco-stained straw sandals to jeweled slippers.

Even so, Malzahar never saw his own fate clearly. His future was overshadowed.

His success opened his eyes more and more to the truth, and he observed the uneven distribution of wealth, witnessing the malice and violence of those who were dissatisfied with their lives. In his eyes, humanity is destined for a never-ending cycle of suffering, often self-inflicted, and even the most promising prophecies cannot break this curse. Malzaha soon felt a sense of emptiness, and finally gave up all that he had outside of him, and left Amaqrah, and was gone.

In the years that followed, he roamed the land, covering the roadless wastelands of the Lesser Sai Desert and the ruins of the ancient Shurima. Living in solitude finally allowed him to meditate. He foresaw not only the extent to which human beings could be insensitive, but also the extreme depravity and corruption of the world. Visions of frenzy began to disturb his awake vision, and he heard otherworldly whispers of war, conflict, and untold suffering.

He walked farther and farther until the sand turned to grains of salt, and he did not know that he had come to Acacia, to the city that had fallen to an ancient war. There he gazed into the depths of the rugged abyss and opened his own wavering thoughts, desperately longing for enlightenment.

Then the Void answered him.

If it were another story, it would have ended here, but Marzaha miraculously survived. Something beneath the abyss caressed the soul of the shattered prophet, and for a moment, a strange and unknowable energy filled his mind.

A lone figure finally walked out of Acacia, but he was no longer a mere human, but something more powerful. Marzahar saw in the abyss the end of all earthly suffering he had ever seen. He realizes that the reason why he has never seen his future is because this illusion is his true calling: to bring the world into doomed annihilation. He must return to the crowd and tell the world that the divine nothingness will gladly accept everyone, believe it or deny it. He will be the forerunner of this great redemption.

Among the nomadic tribes deep in the desert, he found his first followers. Under the astonished gaze of the people, he used the new abilities bestowed upon him by the Void to crack the earth, summoning nightmarish creatures that screamed to take away anyone who dared to deny him. Within a few months, the caravans were running around with strange rumors of people gladly offering themselves as living sacrifices to the invisible forces, and that powerful earthquakes had torn apart the bedrock of Shurima, creating a fault that stretched for miles.

Since then, the legend of Kamalzaha has spread to the northernmost ports in just a few years. The number of followers of the Prophet has increased dramatically, and it is said that the nearby settlers have felt the vision of ferociousness and snatched their hearts, fearing that even the strongest villagers in the most remote wastelands would now sacrifice their domestic animals as a sacrifice to satisfy the ethereal spirits underground.

What they don't know is that by doing so, they are only helping Marzahar to usher in the end of the world step by step.

Cassadine was originally a lowly foundling, employed by caravans in the desert of Dasai, protecting their valuable cargo and acting as bait to lure predators away. He had narrowly crossed the desert alive many times, and he was no longer a mere decoy, but gradually became a guide for the caravan.

Whenever a foreign language speaker asked for his help, he would say "Casssadine" which means "who the desert knows", but their Shurima was always vague, so he was affectionately called Cassadine, and became a sign in the alleys and markets of Berguin. He spent years exploring the ancient ruins of his homeland, making his employers a fortune, but it wasn't until he took part in an excavation near Zerimar that he found his own treasure and fell in love with a woman from a desert tribe.

Cassadine, with his wife and infant daughter, made his home in a small village in a rocky valley to the south. He was often on the go, often needing to escort very valuable ancient relics to distant patrons. Yet, no matter where he travels, Cassadine always returns with a story to tell about the other side of the world.

On one of the journeys home from Piltover, Cassadine and his fellow caravan were drinking cattle in an oasis. A group of terrified survivors staggered out of the desert, saying that the disaster had devastated their homeland, like the underground world opening its mouth and swallowing everything. They barely escaped alive.

Worried about the safety of his wife and children, Cassadine left the others behind, and traveled day and night, almost exhausting the mount to the point of exhaustion. When he finally returned to where the village had been, all he found was quicksand and gravel. He dug into the rubble and his hands were bleeding, and he kept screaming the names of his wife and daughter, but there was no response. A few days later, Cassadine's companions caught up with him, by which time he had a complete breakdown, dazed and empty-eyed in tears under the scorching sun.

They dragged him back to Zerema, but Cassadine was reluctant to go any further. In the years that followed, he drank to kill his sorrows and became a homeless homeless man until rumors of a "prophet" began to appear in the town.

The inexplicable horrors lurked deep underground, and the sacrifices made Cassadine feel a bitter fear in their name. He was well aware of the legends of Ancient Acacia, and knew the fate of the Cursed Lands, and if the Void was once again directed to Shurima with ulterior motives, it was likely to consume his village, as well as countless others. He also knew that there were few, if not any, people in the world who could fight against the Void.

At that moment, Cassadine vows to avenge his wife and daughter, and he wants to eliminate this "prophet" who is fighting for the tiger, and at the same time eliminate the source of his dark power in one fell swoop. His ability to make a living was to find a safe path in dangerous places, so he was determined to arm himself fully. He found Valoran's most esoteric weapon, incorporating Zaun's original design and the blessing of the Ionian Soul Healer. He used all his human connections, from archaeologists to roosters and dog thieves, and with their help, he got what he wanted. Many people said he was crazy and thought it would be the last time he would see his old friend alive, but Cassadine just thanked them for their concern and said something precious to them. He will face the void alone.

Eventually, he stole Holocke's Blade of the Underworld, a sword that had killed thousands of tricksters at the end of an empire. He could feel the chill of annihilation on the blade, but he had long since put his life and death on the line, and there was nothing to lose in such a life.

Dressed in robes and dressed as a pilgrim, he had not set foot in this deserted land for more than a decade. Cassadine enters Acacia, where he will travel to the forbidden land of humanity.

He will definitely take revenge, even if it costs with his life.