Orion took a deep breath of fresh air as he walked alongside Shen through the temple in silence.
The temple was built upon a hill surrounded by steep slopes and towering mountains capped with snow. Dense woods, rough terrain, and narrow paths made the area difficult for outsiders to reach.
Pathways of dirt and gravel wound around the temple, with small huts dotting the trail. Each one was built from fallen wood and the main temple itself was in poor condition. Some sections were cordoned off and parts of the roof were missing entire rows of tiles.
Orion observed the passing faces as they walked. Some were curious, some openly wary, but no one seemed unhappy. Children ran about laughing, teenagers carried bamboo baskets with piles of laundry, and others trained in martial arts and different weapons under the sun.
"I thought shadow demons attacked?" Orion asked, glancing at some bandaged students. "Why is everyone still so happy?"
"No one has died," Shen replied. "While you did bring trouble with you, these occurrences are not uncommon. It is why we are needed."
As they crossed the plateau, the hill narrowed and sloped downward until a shimmer of turquoise caught Orion's eye. To the right lay a beautiful lagoon surrounded by fields of flowers and glowing purple lantern florae. The lights danced off the surface of the water, painting the landscape in flickering colors.
'This place would be worth a fortune,' Orion thought in awe until he noticed something else.
Mayyam was sat beside Faey next to the lagoon, her expression heavy with motherly concern. She spoke softly and offered comfort, but Faey's gaze remained downcast and distant.
Orion then noticed a small shadow further in the woods.
Akali, clutching at her chest, was watching them from behind a tree. Jealousy, guilt, and resentment flickered through her wounded gaze.
"Did Faey lose her leg when I arrived or before?" Orion asked, turning to Shen who was observing the scene with quiet detachment.
"It happened months before your arrival," Shen said. "Faey sought to preserve the balance by driving away the Navori Brotherhood. She would have succeeded, but fortune did not favor her."
"What happened?" Orion pressed as the lagoon disappeared behind the veil of trees.
"A corrupted spirit, one that had caused many anomalies, revealed itself. Faey lost her leg in battle," Shen answered, his tone remorseful.
Frowning, Orion glanced back. The pieces didn't fully fit.
"...Was Akali there?"
"Yes." Shen paused. "The wound was not her fault."
His short, curt reply carried the weight of finality. Orion took the hint not to pry further as they kept walking.
Time passed and the trees thickened until the path opened into a wide clearing. An eerie patch of land where nothing grew, not even a blade of grass, with bale sunlight creeping through the foliage.
"You asked to help," Shen said. "Then you can start by healing the land you damaged and restoring the balance you destroyed. This is the source of the shadow demons' emergence."
He gestured toward the dead patch and the gray leaves curling around its border. "As long as this land remains wounded, corrupted spirits will continue to manifest."
"Kennen told you about my healing magic?" Orion asked slowly.
"Yes. He told me of the sacrifice it demands." Shen's gaze swept over his frail form. "Can you call upon your magic so that I may witness it?"
Nodding, Orion reached inward and immediately felt the difference. In Piltover, it had been like stretching a hand toward a distant thread. Here, in Ionia, he had to look everywhere, feel everywhere, like swimming through a vast ocean of mana just to find it.
'This is more difficult than in Piltover...' he frowned, sweat beading on his brow until he finally found it and began channeling.
The difference was immediate. It strained his body less, the magic didn't feel stretched like a rubber band, but finding and containing it required far more concentration.
Shen watched in silence, forming a hand sign and closing his eyes. Orion eyed him skeptically but continued channeling, waiting.
"Is this enough?" Orion panted after several minutes, still channeling healing magic.
Shen said nothing, his expression tight with focus. The pressure inside Orion's body began to twist uncomfortably.
'Yeah, no. He's not answering, and I don't want to end up in bed again.'
Gritting his teeth, Orion released the flow of mana.
"You did not use your other power," Shen noted, opening his eyes. "Why?"
Panting, Orion blinked before realizing what he meant.
Aurelion Sol's power.
It was faint, a mere ember of what it had once been, but he'd noticed it recovering over the days.
"I don't know how to use it," Orion admitted. "I was only taught how to contain and hide it because of the trouble it would bring if I used it."
Shen nodded grimly. "That is correct. It is powerful magic, but dangerous. When you first arrived, its unrestrained presence disturbed the spirits. It is why we were, and still are, cautious."
"There's nothing I can say about it," Orion earnestly responded, shrugging helplessly. "You probably know more than I do."
Shen's eyes narrowed slightly, studying him. Then his tone shifted to that of a teacher.
"Magic is divided into three paths. Celestial, Spiritual, and Elemental. Healing magic usually falls under spiritual. Yours, however, is an exception."
He stepped closer, his gaze steady. Orion didn't move, though a faint unease stirred in his gut.
"The magic you use for healing is Celestial, the most powerful of the three. But due to your lack of control and experience, it consumes your body to maintain balance. In extreme cases, it consumes the surrounding land as well."
His hand gestured at the barren land.
"So I unconsciously used healing magic to keep myself alive when I arrived?"
"No. The magic you released then was ancient. It disturbed the spirits because it was filled with rage and pain." Shen frowned. "The spell was too precise for someone unconscious. Yet judging from your condition, it was perhaps hastened or interrupted."
"I honestly have no idea what you're talking about," Orion said. "I don't even know how to teleport let alone pulling something like that off."
"Hmph," Shen's eyes narrowed slightly. "Amnesia? Or are you hiding the truth?"
"I'm not! I don't know how I used it!"
Shen's presence grew heavier, his calm replaced by an aura of restrained hostility. "Look, the last thing I remember was trying to escape a cell to save my friends!"
"You are a criminal?" Shen asked, his voice colder now. "What crimes have you committed?"
"I'm not a criminal! Well, by Piltover standards I am but that's because I used magic! That doesn't make me bad though!"
"Why were you arrested then?"
Still under Shen's watchful gaze, Orion explained quickly how he'd tried to stop his friends from committing a crime, how it all went wrong, the explosion, and Pantheon's arrival.
"So you blacked out in defeat," Shen summarized, leaning back against a nearby tree and frowning. "Then woke up here?"
"The Ascended and the Targonians are after you," he continued with a troubled tone. "And the longer you stay in Ionia, the greater the chance that something ancient will sense your mana and awaken."
'What?!'
"You must have had guidance in Piltover," Shen went on. "Otherwise you would have been found long ago. Who helped you?"
"Janna," Orion replied slowly. "A wind spirit goddess who protects the city. She created a barrier around the city until I could learn the basics of magic and how to contain this other magic within me."
Silence followed. Shen's expression tightened as he contemplated.
"I must discuss this with the other Pillars of the Kinkou," he said at last. "For now you will continue refining your control, particularly over your healing magic."
Orion blinked. "How am I supposed to heal the land?"
"As you have always healed," Shen said. "Perhaps others will allow you to use their bodies to help restore balance, and that is acceptable, but this burden rests on you."
Turning away, he gestured for Orion to follow.
"Do not come out here alone. Always have a guide or master beside you. Any neophyte or acolyte will do."