Section 8 Crystal Prison*

"The passing time tells me that you are gone, and the flying catkins are my sorrows and thoughts. Someone's laughter sent by the breeze resurrected my dead memories, and I wasn't listening to the rain alone at that time......

- [paragraph]

One

Anton Saron didn't know how long he had been gone, maybe five days, maybe a week. Traveling alone is unbearable for many people, let alone a child, and darkness and loneliness are always accompanied by fear and pain. After all, there are very few people in this world who can enjoy solitude. Anton Saron has a unique way of dealing with loneliness and fear, often assuming that Tang and Salammod are right next to him, and then chatting with them, although the person he chats with cannot reply, he seems to be convinced that Tang and Salamud can hear him. Anton Saron occasionally reminisces about the past, especially after seeing something familiar or hearing familiar music, even though those poignant, sad memories are like dark dyes that dissolve into water, no matter how clear the water is, eventually turning into their color. Similar to fighting poison with poison, using memories and fantasies to erode the pain of detention, in the end, you will find that memories themselves are bitter, and utopia is only an extension of pain.

Anton Salon, who finally couldn't walk, sat down on the ground, and there was nothing left in his travel bag to eat or drink. He clearly knew that if he couldn't go to the War College, he might be starved to death or die of thirst, or even worse. "Follow the Shining Gold River to the northwest all the way north, don't take the avenue, and try to avoid the ruins of the royal city of Agaste. He suddenly remembered what Berlito had said to him.

"Is this a great way?" said Anton Salon, muttering to himself. He looked at where he sit, the path was clearly artificially carved out, though it was covered with fine yellow dust. However, the tall artemisia grass on both sides of the road negates this conjecture, and if it was a road, then these withered yellow artemisia grasses should have been cleared long ago. Anton Sharon didn't dwell on the issue anymore, as he noticed the ruins of some buildings 100 feet ahead of him. "The ruins of the royal city" seems to be a sure thing.

Anton Salon, who had heard diners at York's Tavern mention that the War College was a complex built on the ruins of the Royal Palace of Agaste. Although the craftsmen involved in the construction of the War College say that this marvelous obsidian palace is their masterpiece, the folk theory is that the craftsmen actually only remodeled and rebuilt the royal palace of Agaste, even the obsidian and marble were made of local materials. In short, seeing the ruins of the royal city, the War College is close at hand.

Anton Saron came to his senses for a moment, however, just as he was about to stand up, a dozen tall figures in black cloaks appeared in front of him. Some of these guys carried long swords on their backs, some carried long staffs, but their faces were hidden in the shadow of their hoods......

"It seems that we are lucky to have collected enough evidence, and we have also met the person it points to here!" A burly man in black walked in front of the other men in black. Anton Salons felt that this guy should be the leader of the men in black, even though he had no basis for it.

"What shall we do, my lordship, shall we dispose of him here, or shall we bring him back?" another man in black asked the first man to speak. Anton Saron moved back in fear, it seems that his analysis just now is correct, the first man to speak is indeed the leader, but what's the use of knowing this?

"The one who gave him to us!" replied the leader of the men in black.

A man in black with a long sword on his back walked over and stretched out a hand towards Anton Sharon, a powerful magical force condensed in the palm of the man in black. Obviously, what awaits Anton Saron is a powerful magic...... At this moment, a sharp white light flashed in front of Anton Salon's eyes, and he raised his arm to block his eyes, which is this kung fu, and there was a strong figure wearing a purple cloak and a large hood in front of him...... Anton Saron looked at the guy in front of him in surprise, yes! When he was separated from Anrela's father and daughter, this person also appeared!

"Who are you, who dare to get in the way of a summoner?" asked the man in black who was about to cast a spell on Anton Saron.

"Jax!?" said the leader of the men in black, with a tentative tone in his tone.

"I didn't expect to be recognizable dressed like this!" Jax said, his voice as loud as thunder, and Anton Saron had to cover his ears to listen to him.

"Jax, as a hero of the League of Legends, is here to hinder the Inquisitors of the League* from carrying out their official duties. The tone of the leader of the men in black seemed mild, but there was a clear threat.

"It's a pity you're not on official business!" Jax crossed his arms over his chest, "Actually, I've been looking for you a long time, and it seems that you can't hand over the evidence you have gathered to your lord." ”

"Y-are you?" the man in black pointed at Jax, his words full of surprise.

"Protector, do you mean to say that?" Jax said with some disdain.

"We've learned another big secret, and it's well worth it!" the man in black in the lead chuckled twice.

"I don't want to repeat what I just said. Jax was visibly impatient.

"Valoran has a saying, if a person dares to confront the weapon master head-on, then his brain must be burned" As the leader of the men in black spoke, a dozen or so companions around him quickly dispersed, forming a regular geometric formation, "Today, we are going to verify this statement!"

Jax counted the number of enemies as he pointed his finger in mid-air. "Thirteen, judging from the ornaments on the collars, they are all high-level summoners, I can consider such opponents. He said in a joking tone.

The men in black didn't give Jax a chance to strike first, and four guys attacked from different directions, all with silver swords in their hands, and more importantly, these guys were incredibly fast...... The loud sound of the metal colliding with each other made Anton Saron cover his ears, and his eyes couldn't keep up with the speed of Jax and the four men in black. In fact, there were only a few rapidly shaking shadows in front of him, and he couldn't see what they were doing.

"Get out of the way!" shouted a man in black with a sword, his sword narrowly missing his companion, but he was able to restrain his movement in time. However, Jax didn't give him a chance, only to see him wave his thick arm and hit the man in black on the waist. The blow was so powerful that the guy drew an arc in mid-air like a stone thrown at him, and then fell to the ground with a thud.

"Don't you even need a weapon, Jax?" a man in black attacked from behind, while his companion was in front. Unfortunately, the attack ended in failure.

"With this level of attack, you don't need weapons at all. Jax's words were filled with disdain.

"People who underestimate are thou-" The man in black failed to say the latter words, and Jax slammed him in the neck from behind. Anton Saron opened his mouth in surprise, and it took Jax less than a second to run behind the man in black from 10 feet in front of him to the left and attack. Such an attack does not say that man, no creature in nature has time to reflect.

"It's—it's so fast—" Anton Sharon couldn't help but admire.

"You talk too much nonsense! I hate people like that!" Jax said, launching a quicker attack. This time, Anton Saron really couldn't see Jax's movements, but as a result, the remaining two sword-wielding men in black fell to the ground.

However, what awaits Jax is a new round of offense. There were six people involved in the attack this time, and they slammed the ground with the staff in their hands at the same time, only to see black tentacles stretching out of those staffs and flying towards Jax at a very fast speed......

Jax raised his hands as an eight-foot-long brass lamppost appeared out of thin air in his hand. It's actually a low, roadside streetlight for lighting, but in Jax's hands, it clearly serves other purposes.

"Fight Back Against the Storm!"

The brass lamppost made a circular motion at Jax's hands raised above his head, and the speed became faster and faster, and the air pressure around him was changed by the rapidly rotating lamppost......

"In this state, all attacks are ineffective against Jax!" shouted the leader of the men in black, "and then—" An earth-shattering loud bang interrupted the leader of the men in black, and he and the two remaining companions immediately left where they had been standing with a flash spell. However, those who had just launched the attack were not so lucky, and the force of the counterattack caused several huge cracks to appear in the ground beneath their feet, each large enough for them to fall into.

"Almost swept up in the counter-attacking storm—" one of the men in black whispered, looking at the flying dust not far away.

"Those guys — all — are dead. The other man in black gasped.

"Countering the Storm is much stronger than expected, no wonder the Alliance has repeatedly asked Jax to seal his abilities," the leader of the men in black said, picking up his staff, "Prepare to use teleportation spells, we are really no match for him!"

"Do you want to escape?" Jax's tall figure appeared in the flying dust, and at the same time, the teleportation barrier under the feet of the three men in black was shattered by some powerful force.

"Jax, you can even spell—" The man in black's words conveyed surprise and fear.

"The power of a high-level summoner is nothing more than that!" Jax said, holding up the brass lamppost in his hand, only to see that the lamppost emitted a blinding yellow light, and the inexplicable force began to stir up the air around them, causing them to move in a circular motion around the lamppost. I don't know if it was the dust or the color of the magic itself, but the three men in black saw gray-white mist-like objects in front of their eyes.

"My lord—this—what kind of spell is this?" a man in black asked the leader beside him.

"Mystic Summoning: Celestial Executioner!"

The effect of the spell answered for the leader of the men in black, and the three winged dwarfs grabbed the arms of the men in black from behind, making them unable to move.

"It's—Bergelo*?!" a man in black turned his head to look at the dwarf who had trapped him.

"That's right, it's the legendary Bergalo, the horns of the devil, the hooves of horses, and the wings of birds. The leader of the men in black also turned his head, and the monsters known as Bergalo were far more terrifying than his words had described.

As soon as the leader of the men in black finished speaking, three archangels with white wings and golden armor appeared in front of the three of them, and the angels held fiery greatswords, ready to give them a fatal blow.

"You're not Jax!Who the hell are you?There are only a handful of people in Valoran who can cast such a spell!" the leader of the men in black shouted at Jax.

"The appearance of many things is only the tip of the iceberg. Jax said, waving his hand. The three angels who received the command waved the long swords in their hands, and the people in black suddenly looked different......

Anton Salon, who was hiding in the artemisia grass, was dumbfounded, he had probably lost his five senses, so much so that Jax patted him many times before he came back to his senses.

"I'm sorry, kid, I'm going to erase your memories of this battle. Jax raised his large hand as he spoke, and a powerful magical force condensed and swirled in his palm...... Anton Salons felt a wave of vertigo, and although he wanted to say something, the gradual loss of consciousness did not allow him to do so......

Two

Anton Salonon had just had a dream in which he dreamed that he was lying on a purple flying carpet that carried him fast in the air, and in the rain and mist, he seemed to see some black megastructures......

Anton Salon, feeling that he was in a very noisy place, slowly opened his eyes, and was surprised to find that he was leaning against an obsidian pillar, surrounded by people in silk cloaks, in groups of three, pairs, walking on topics he did not understand. The hall is huge, or rather, it can't be described as big. From a visual point of view, 10,000 people is not enough to make it crowded. The walls of the hall are lined with large semicircular obsidian columns, which are presumably originally perfectly circular, except that the other half is buried in the wall. The hall is topped by several metal beams, the ends of which are connected to obsidian columns, and the ingenuity of this architectural structure lies in the fact that it can share the weight of the parts and save a lot of space. A number of multi-prismatic magic crystals with a radius of 10 feet were set side by side on the beams of the hall, and while each crystal could provide a limited amount of light, so many crystals together were enough to brighten up the hall.

"War College, that's right, this must be the War College!" Anton Sharon couldn't suppress the joy in his heart and stood up, his actions attracting strange glances from those around him.

"Who are you? You don't look like a summoner!" asked a boy in a dark blue cloak.

"I- I'm here to sign up, I want to be a summoner!" Anton Saron replied.

"The registration for this phase is over, and tomorrow is the entrance ceremony for the new summoner apprentices, and you can come back next year. The boy turned and left.

Anton Sharon stood there dumbfounded, in a dejected mood, he didn't know what he was going to do, and it was obviously impossible to go back, because Uncle York and Aunt Jane would definitely break his legs. But what's the use of staying here? Looking at the summoners who came and went, his heart was not only envy but jealousy, and he wished that he could walk in such a spacious and gorgeous hall like these people, wearing silk cloaks and holding thick magic books.

"Anton Saron!"

Anton Salon, who couldn't believe his ears, was called by someone, and it was at the War College! "Hey!hello!" He made his tone as light as he could, but it was really difficult, and even the emotion that she should have when she saw Eroni again was hiding somewhere.

"You came on your own?" Asrema asked.

"Oh yes, but I don't remember how I got here. Anton Saron was telling the truth, he only remembered seeing the ruins of the royal city, then falling asleep, and waking up to find himself at the War College.

"Sounds incredible!" Asrema said with a smile, "However, you missed the registration time, and tomorrow is the admission ceremony." ”

"Yes, I've heard that just now" Anton Saron lowered his head, and the frustration quickly overwhelmed him.

Aslema approached Anton Saron and brought her mouth to his ear, "But it's okay, I can steal an apprentice's robe for you! ”

"W-what!?" Anton Saron was a little surprised.

"It's not going to bother me!" Asrema looked confident.

Three

Anton Saron, Arroni, and Asrema walked through the crowd, surrounded by the new Apprentice Summoners. Anton Saron was a little nervous, and even though the robes Asrema had stolen for him fit well, he was always worried that he would be discovered and caught.

"Don't worry!" Asrema seemed to read Anton Salon's thoughts.

"Is that okay? I still think—" Anton Saron said in a low voice.

"You should trust my Asrema abilities! I'm sure he's never been discovered!" said Arroni and grabbed Asrema by the arm.

Anton Saron pretended not to see it, but he felt very uncomfortable, and in just a month, Asrema became her home. Moreover, even if Asrema hadn't been caught stealing the robes, the owner would have been as anxious as an ant on a hot pot at this moment.

The three of them followed the flow of people through a long corridor to the door of a large auditorium. If anyone doesn't think it's a door, it's 20 feet tall and 50 feet wide, and the edge of the opening is a black metal frame engraved with charms. This door leads to the Great Hall, which has a fan-shaped plan and a clear slope to the floor, so that any seat can have an unobstructed view of the entire auditorium. The auditorium has more than a thousand seats, each of which is an intricately crafted oak chair painted with dark red wood lacquer, which looks like a high cost of construction. The auditorium's dome and walls are curved, without any columns, and the walls have several dark grooves inlaid with glowing citrine, which makes the auditorium feel warm, but that's exactly what happened. The most jaw-dropping of all is the dome of the Great Hall, which has a large purple magic crystal in its center, which often serves as the crystal hub of the Righteous Lands, and is the source of many wars. Due to the presence of the Crystal Hub, all magical affinities such as glass, obsidian, and crystal in the auditorium glow, and this close encounter with magic caused many apprentices to cry out in surprise.

The apprentices were quickly seated by some young summoners, and at the same time, there were also a dozen summoners in red robes sitting on the rostrum of the auditorium, all of whom were old and looked extremely powerful. Anton Sharon wanted to have a good view of the ornate and imposing auditorium, but his pounding heart and uncontrollable nervousness prevented him from doing so. Just then, a group of tall figures in red robes walked into the Great Hall, their faces all hidden in the shadow of the big hoods, and some even wore face masks. Anton Salons shuddered a little, and he thought that these men in red were coming for him.

"He-they-" Anton Sharon felt a little cold, his upper and lower teeth colliding inadvertently against each other as he spoke.

"The Inquisitor of the Alliance, responsible for protecting the security of the Alliance. Asrema explained.

"I've heard these guys are monsters. Eroni put her mouth to Aslema's ear.

"Yes, once they meet someone who can threaten the security of the Alliance, they will do whatever it takes, or they can kill people without blinking. Asrema's explanation made Anton Saron even more nervous.

As they spoke, a man in red with a masked face walked up to the podium and exchanged a few words at a middle-aged man with short brown hair and a full beard, and the two nodded to each other. The masked man in red waved his hand to the audience, and the man in red in the auditorium immediately took action. After a sharp sound, Anton Sharon appeared in the first row of the auditorium, his hands and feet were tied with thick red ropes, and he looked at the group of red-clothed people around him in surprise, and broke out in a cold sweat. It all came so suddenly, a second before he was sitting next to Asrema and Aroni, and by this time, he was already lying on the ground in front of the podium. The auditorium suddenly fell silent, and everyone looked at Anton Salon, who was lying in front of the rostrum with his hands and feet tied.

"That's it, Lord Lariva*! he stole someone else's robe and slipped into the Great Hall!" said a man in red with a mask.

"It looks like a child. It was a middle-aged man with short brown hair and a full beard who spoke, and his voice was thick and soothing. The voice counteracted some of Anton Salon's fear.

"Put him in Crystal Prison and immediately investigate where he came from. This time it was a red-robed summoner sitting next to Lariva, with dragonskin shoulders on his shoulders, curly black hair that reached to his shoulders, a pale face like a woodcut without a trace of expression, and even more terrifying were his dark blue eyes, where there seemed to be a hidden power that could instantly freeze what he saw.

"I don't think it's that serious, Nasilomeyer. Lariva said to the red-clad summoner who had just spoken.

"We can't draw any conclusions until we make an investigation, Supreme Councillor. Nasilonmer's tone was surprisingly cold, as if it could freeze boiling water instantly.

Four

"Come, Anton, try this! This is the Debang cuisine I told you!" Salamod cut off a piece of roast meat with a knife and brought it to Anton Salon's mouth.

"Thank you, uncle!" said Anton Saron, eating the roast meat, "yes!

Salamod laughed loudly, and cut some more roast meat and put it on the plate in front of Anton Saron, "I've always wanted to bring you here!"

"Taste the soup!" Anton Sharon threw a piece of roast meat to the soup, and the soup raised his head to catch the roast with his mouth, and swallowed it.

"Hahaha!" Anton Sharon smiled for the first time in a long time, a smile from the bottom of his heart. He touched Tang's head, and at the same time, Salamod touched his head.

"I really want to stay with you like this all the time, Anton!" Salamod suddenly became serious.

"Me too!" Anton Saron picked up another piece of meat and put it in his mouth. Tang suddenly jumped onto the table and licked Anton Saron's face with its rough tongue. "Don't—don't, soup—it's itchy! Anton Sharon said with a smile as he stroked the hair on the back of the soup.

The warm sunlight shone in through the glass window, like a thin layer of white mist, gently covering everything in front of him. Anton Salons felt that everything around him was glowing, not the light refracted by the droplets, but emitted by the object itself, pure white, holy and warm. The silver knives and forks, the fine porcelain bowls, the soft fur of the soup, and the kind smile of Salamud, if this were a painting, it would not have come from a mortal hand...... Many bards say, "The greatest punishment that the God of Creation has imposed on mankind is to give them eternal life." But if Heaven were to give Anton Saron eternal life at this moment, he would gladly accept it.

"Anton, what do you want to do in the future?" Salamod asked.

"I want to live with my uncle, soup, and sister forever like I am now!" said Anton Salon's face with happiness written on it.

Salamod shook his head, and the soup on the side also screamed twice. Anton Salon, looking at them puzzled, he wanted to ask what was wrong, but Salamod spoke first. "There are many times when we don't have the right to choose happiness," Salamod said, sighing, "and over time, we will lose a lot of loved ones or loved ones, and this pain will eventually change us and lead us down a different and difficult path." You will find that things like happiness, joy, are luxuries. ”

"Uncle, I don't understand. Anton Salon's face was gone, replaced by surprise and bewilderment.

"You'll understand, Anton!" As soon as Salamod's words fell, the glass window behind him was shattered by a sharp red light, and the red light continued to fly, piercing his chest and refracting on the table in front of him, an angle that seemed to have been calculated, and hit Tang just right, and Tang's body turned into black ashes the moment it was hit by the red light......

"No——!" Anton Sharon shouted and sat up, only to realize that everything he had just done had turned out to be a dream. He cried in the corner of his cell, hunger, cold, and sorrow, and in the blink of an eye he was swallowed up.

"The weeping will become the prey of the devil, to be cruel - eaten!" a dry, hoarse voice sounded from the side, startling Anton Salon.

Anton Sharon turned his head to see who was talking. Unexpectedly, as soon as he turned around, he saw a face full of pimples and scars. "Help——!" he almost fainted.

"Y-who are you!?" said Anton Ssalon, pausing for a moment.

The ugly-looking fellow held the metal railing of the cell with his bony hands, and two cloudy eyeballs stared at Anton Salon. Anton Salons was so frightened that he retreated again and again, the guy in front of him no longer belonged to humans.

"Mortals, pathetic mortals!" the ugly monster cried sickly, "In the face of fate, the power of mortals is insignificant!"

Anton Salons tried to keep himself as calm as he could, however, it was really hard. The ugly bastard's wrist had grown together with the iron rope that had tied him to it, and every now and then some white worm crawled out of his dry black hair and disappeared into it.

"The descendants of the family of the invokers will die, and so will the one who started the war!" the ugly monster stood up little by little.

Anton Sharon found that the guy's legs were as thin as the iron bars of the prison, and he was a little worried that such legs would break while standing. It seemed that he had overthought it, and the ugly monster stood up safely, and was still dancing there in a disgusting dance.

"The sorcerer has polluted his will, he must contend with it, he is fighting against himself, and he is waiting for the one who will stop this war!A boy has appeared, and he has come to the War College, and he has the same blood on his body as Exio!" The ugly bastard danced and chanted his songs. However, Anton Saron did not understand the content of the poem at all.

"It's time for the revelry! Arsnow!" the voice came from outside the cell, soft, but with terrible power in the words.

"Bezold! you're finally here! come and see your old friend!" the ugly bastard named Arsnoe seemed to come to his senses, and he turned his head to look at the red-robed summoner who had come down the stairs outside his cell.

Anton Saron looked at the man named Bezod, and his heart inexplicably revealed a sense of reverence. Bezod must have been nearly fifty years old, but he still had a temperament that could be described as charming, especially his well-trimmed beard and melancholy brown eyes. As Bezod walked into him, Anton Salonon also discovered that the collar of his red cloak had a gold wyvern inlaid with magic crystals.

"You're Anton Salon?" Bezod asked, apparently ignoring the ugly bastard. However......

"That's him, Bezod, it's the boy in the prophecy!" Arsno shouted from the sidelines.

"Shut up, Arsnow!" Bezod looked a little angry, and although his voice was still soft, Arsnoe was so frightened that he retreated. Anton Salon, who was a little surprised, guessed that Bezod must be a big man, otherwise the ugly monster of Arsno would not be so afraid of him.

"Your Excellency!" the two prison guards walked up and bowed to Bezod.

"Get him out!" Bezod commanded.

"I'm sorry, my lord, we can't do that, Lord Nasilon Mair commanded—" The prison guard didn't finish the rest of his sentence as Bezod grabbed him by the collar and lifted him up. Anton Salon's mouth covered in surprise, he didn't expect that Bezod could lift the guard who was a head taller than him so easily.

"Open the door—don't make me repeat!" Bezod's face was filled with anger, and his voice cracked the metal walls of the prison.

The two guards hurriedly took out their keys and opened the cell door tremblingly. Anton Salon, who found that the two guards each had a key on them, each of which could only open half of the lock, and it seemed that he had been treated as a repeat offender.

"Thank you for saving me, Lord Bezord!" Anton Saron bowed to Bezod as he walked out of the cell door.

"You'll be a summoner's apprentice from tomorrow, Anton Salon. Bezod said to Anton Salon, "Since the Crystal Prison is not allowed to enter and leave freely except for the guards, I will teleport you out." ”

"Ah, thank you!" Anton Sharon bowed politely, his words full of joy. In fact, he didn't know how he got in, the men in red blindfolded him with a cloth and knocked him unconscious, and the memories after that began from that dream.

Bezodra grabbed Anton Salon's hand and silently recited a incantation. Anton Saron felt as if he had been pushed down from a great height, and he kept tumbling as he fell, and what was even worse was the sharp loud noise in his ears...... Maybe a second, maybe a decade, Anton Saron knew that his feet were touching solid ground, but his sense of balance seemed to have been lost, and if it hadn't been for Bezod's timely support, he would have fallen to all fours, and he prayed that he would never have had such an experience again.

[Author's Note]

* Crystal Prison: A prison used by League of Legends to hold felons, built with magic crystals and obsidian, the Crystal Prison is a secret place in League of Legends, even the guards cannot enter and leave the prison freely, and magic is not valid here. The prison is full of traps and tunnels, and the only safe way to get in and out is through invisible portals set up inside.

*Inquisitor: The Inquisitor of League of Legends has two powers, one is to act as the arbiter of the land of justice, and the other is to maintain the safety of League of Legends and related personnel. The current Inquisitors of the Alliance are divided into two parts, one is the Red-Cloaked Inquisitor under the direct leadership of Supreme Councillor Lariva, and the other is the Compact Society founded by Nasirommeer, a member of the Just Council.

* Bergelow: Valoran's legendary Titan-cursed humans who were cursed by the Titans to become creatures with demonic horns, horses' hooves, and raven's wings for helping the ancient god Doragudu spread darkness.

* Lariva: Top member of the League of Legends Impartial Parliament. The Impartial Council is the highest authority in League of Legends, consisting of three people, which will be described in more detail later.