Tariq's understanding of things broadened into new territory, and he gradually began to miss work during combat training, running into the forests in search of rare animals, absent from military parade rehearsals, sitting in taverns listening to bards' catchy ballads, and aborting appointments at regimental meetings, sitting on horseback and watching the silver-gray night gradually fall over the outskirts of the village. Tariq knew in his heart that he was training in his own way, no less engaged and focused than his fellow Demacians, but his superiors couldn't understand it.

Tariq's idleness, lawlessness, and indifference to patriotic education eventually made him an outlier in the eyes of almost everyone in the authority government – his family, his king, and especially his old friend Galen. While ordinary people think of Tariq as a suave prodigal, Galen can see his true self – someone who truly has the potential to become Demacia's greatest hero. But Tariq seems to have a playful and debauched attitude towards both his fate and his own country, much to Galen's annoyance.

Eventually, even an old friend could no longer protect Tariq, and his military career began to rock bottom. Repeated derogations drove Tariq further and further away from the heart of Demacia, and eventually, he became an instructor for a group of recruits tasked with guarding an insignificant and ruined fortress in the middle of nowhere. After standing guard in the torrential rain and mud for weeks without any sign of threat, Tariq decided to let his men sleep while he wandered into a nearby temple to learn its megalithic structure.

The morning sun stained the temple's vine-strewn cloisters, and Tariq finally decided to return to the camp to check on his men. He was greeted by a scene of slaughter. His men were slaughtered in their sleep, their corpses strewn with jagged wounds, a sign of the Void's predatory beasts.

Tariq has failed his men, his homeland, and, most painfully, the oath he made to himself to protect his life.

He returned to Demacia in disgrace, was dismissed from all his duties, and sentenced by Galen to the "Stone Crown", a law that required the undignified to climb the Titan Peak, which everyone knew was the equivalent of a death sentence, as few mortals survived the ascent to the top.

While the punishment of the Stone Crown is usually seen by those who have lost their dignity as a chance to escape from Demacia, self-exile, and regain their lives, Tariq decides to make up for his mistakes with this act and begins to make his way to the Titan Peak.

The journey to the summit of Titan's Peak nearly consumed him, leaving him physically and mentally exhausted, falling and rising again countless times, but Tariq broke through the boundaries of pain, the memories of his own mistakes, the ghosts of his own dead men, and the other trials that the Titan had imposed on him.

As Tariq approaches the summit, he encounters new challenges, and begins to surround himself with a series of seemingly never-ending realities, each of which twists things beyond recognition. He has experienced first-hand countless possible fates, seeing people at the end of their lives hopeless and helpless in times of crisis. He saw the library of Alpaste engulfed in the abyss and flames, but he resolutely rushed into the flames of purgatory, trying to save the poems written by Kiri. He saw the Frost Guard drive the world's last remaining Dream Deer down the bottomless rift, and he roared to save the Dream Deer, and he jumped into the abyss with all his might. In front of the black gate of Noxus, he saw Galen's mangled body tied high in chains as an example, and he could only fall to his knees weakly. All of Noxus's power stood between Tariq and his old friend, but he didn't hesitate to raise his shield and break through all obstacles in his path. He untied Galen from the gate and marched with heavy steps in the direction of Demacia, knowing full well that if he returned, he would be put to death. Tariq walked and looked up—the bloody land of Noxus had turned into a star-studded expanse of deep space at the top of Titan Peak.

Tariq's trial is complete, and all illusions vanish. He found himself at the highest point of the Great Peak, and he was not alone.

In front of him, the curtain of night was torn out of thin air, and something in human form stood there. Its temperament comes from the light of the stars, and its essential properties give Tariq a strange and familiar feeling.

Its voice pierced Tariq's mind like a thousand whispers, like a bitter mountain wind. Although he couldn't make out a single recognizable word, he could fully understand the figure's original meaning.

It calls itself a "protector." ”

Moved by Tariq's resolute fortitude, the otherworldly spirit condemned the fallen hero of Demacia as a qualified incarnation, merging his celestial powers with him. The Protector recounts the truths that Tariq has sought to know all his life, as well as the bonds he does not know, and all the choices he makes in this life, including standing on the summit now, are in preparation for a greater bond.

The Guardian's whispers faded, and Tariq received one final warning: he would be the shield of Valoran, but what he needed to withstand was the raging waves of mad howls, the boundless ocean of megalodons, the endless desire to devour the universe, and the ghosts of the Void race.

Given a new lease of life with divine powers and purpose, Tariq embraced the seemingly impossible challenge and now dedicated himself to his former vow to be a resolute guardian of the world.

"But if you want a true hero, or more than 100 people in general, you can fight with me and be praised by the world forever. ”

~Lord of War

The world's unparalleled warrior Pan Sen is a formidable and unstoppable fighting elite. He was born in Lakoor, a martial nation at the foot of the Giant God Peak, and later he successfully climbed the steep cliff of the Giant God Peak, proved his qualifications, and became the Chosen One, becoming the physical embodiment of the War Star Spirit. Given powers beyond humans, he relentlessly searched for the enemies of the Giant God Peak, strewn with corpses everywhere he went.

The world's unparalleled warrior Pan Sen is a formidable and unstoppable fighting elite. He was born in Lakoor, a martial nation at the foot of the Giant God Peak, and later he successfully climbed the steep cliff of the Giant God Peak, proved his qualifications, and became the Chosen One, becoming the physical embodiment of the War Star Spirit. Given powers beyond humans, he relentlessly searched for the enemies of the Giant God Peak, strewn with corpses everywhere he went.

(End of chapter)