Shurima's weather changed wildly, and because of that, there were only a few hours in the day when people could work or travel across the land, at dawn and for a short while before evening.
At all other times, the locals used the hours to avoid the scorching heat and bitter cold.
But obviously, that rule did not apply to Logan's group.
After three days of travel, with Taliyah's magic carrying them forward, Logan finally arrived at the place he had wanted to see, a river deep in the heart of the desert.
"This is seriously weird, Logan. In a place like this, why would there be a river?" Jinx asked curiously. A huge pair of sunglasses covered her small face, and with a hat on her head and her coat only half on, she reached up to take off the glasses and leaned forward to stare at the great flowing river ahead.
Logan himself was just as stunned. His expression looked no better than Jinx's.
After spending days in the desert, surrounded by nothing but sand, suddenly seeing a river was the kind of feeling that was honestly hard to put into words.
Especially since there were no trees around it. It simply stood there on top of the yellow sands, its branches flowing westward. Even with Logan extending his senses outward, he still could not find where the river ended, so he had no idea where it ultimately led.
Taliyah walked to the riverbank, touched the surface with one finger, then put that finger in her mouth and smacked her lips twice before saying, "It really is fresh water."
She was native to Shurima, sure, but Shurima was far too vast. Taliyah had grown up within her tribe and had not seen many places in her life. To her, this river was magnificent too.
Only Jax, beneath his helmet, showed a trace of nostalgia in his many eyes. Seeing how curious everyone was about where the river came from, he finally explained, "This river comes from Ixtal."
"That jungle?" Taliyah blinked. She had heard her father say that to the east of Shurima there was a wild primeval jungle, a place where three of the four seasons were rainy.
"That's right. This river flows from Ixtal. It branches at Vekaura. The main river runs toward Sai Faraj, while the split forms two great rivers. One is the Renek River where we are now, and the other is the Kahleek River."
"The Renek River..." After hearing Jax, Logan's expression immediately turned strange.
Renek River... Rek'Sai... wait, could that really be a coincidence too?
He turned to Jax and asked, "Jax, when did this river first appear?"
Jax thought for a moment and said, "From the earliest days of Shurima, thousands of years ago. The mountains and forests of Ixtal once blocked the waters, but the Ascended warrior-queen Setaka took action. She severed the ridgeline, destroyed the rainforest, and diverted the waters of that primeval jungle into Shurima, creating countless oases across the land."
"In truth, the first Shuriman Empire was not the dry, impoverished place you imagine. In the era I lived through, Shurima was flourishing and water was incredibly abundant. You could say that in those days, you would see a small oasis every few miles across the empire. Back then, water was not something valuable in Shurima."
Jax's voice carried a trace of emotion as he continued, "The rivers of Ixtal, the springs deep underground in Shurima, and... the oases the Ascended themselves brought forth with divine power."
Honestly, Jax had really started talking a lot more.
Ever since arriving in Shurima, his emotions had been visibly stirred. He was no longer the silent battle fanatic who only cared about fighting. Instead, he seemed like a man full of stories, someone constantly lost in thought.
After hearing Jax's explanation, Logan understood.
In Azir's story, Sivir had been backstabbed by Cassiopeia, and the blood from her grievous wounds became the sacrifice that awakened Azir. But when Azir returned, he saw his descendant Sivir lying there gravely injured, unconscious, and on the brink of death.
At that moment, Azir had not hesitated. He directly chose to give her his chance at life.
He used the last trace of power he had reserved for his own revival to heal Sivir, and in doing so, he earned the Sun Disc's recognition. The Ascension ritual Xerath had ruined in life was restored, and Azir gained the power of an Ascended.
Then springs burst forth across Shurima, forming vast oases. The earth trembled, temples awakened, and a tremendous transformation spread outward from the Sun Disc.
So what Jax said was true.
Thousands of years ago, water had not been a rare resource in Shurima.
As for the connection between Rek'Sai and the Renek River, Logan could only guess that the locals had encountered those Void creatures, noticed that they only moved around the Renek River, and then given the largest one, the queen of the brood, her name that way.
Jax seemed to guess what Logan was thinking and said, "That Void creature you're looking for, Rek'Sai, really was named after this river."
Narrowing his eyes, Jax continued, "Most Void creatures have no intelligence. They're just beasts driven by the instinct to devour. Like the Void creatures of Sai Kahleek, that brood the local sandfolk call the Xer'Sai, they're basically just burrowing worms with no intelligence to speak of. Their queen, Rek'Sai, is nothing more than a burrowing beast with animal instincts and a little bit of cunning."
"Other than a few powerful Void creatures that name themselves, the rest are all named by humans."
Logan nodded at that.
"Let's go, Logan. No more wasting time," Jax said.
Logan nodded, and at the same time, Aatrox's voice rang out in his mind.
"What a poser!"
Then Aatrox shouted again, "Logan, next time you have questions like that, just ask the great Aatrox directly. Everything he said was learned from other people. I'm different. I personally fought in the Void War. When it comes to the Void, why would you ask him instead of me?"
Jax was not the only one feeling overwhelmed after returning to Shurima. Aatrox was too.
But unlike Jax, who had spent thousands of years unwavering in his mission to restore his homeland and drive back the Void, Aatrox had fallen. He had personally destroyed his own glory. So once he returned to Shurima in a clear state of mind, he had grown quiet.
A couple of days earlier, it wasn't like Logan hadn't tried asking him about Shurima and the Void. Aatrox simply hadn't answered. He had stayed silent the whole time.
After all, now that he was lucid and back on this land again, Aatrox's heart was full of guilt and remorse.
The reason he was suddenly speaking up now was probably because he couldn't stand seeing Jax act cool.
"Then Aatrox, do you have any information on Rek'Sai?" Logan asked with amusement in his thoughts.
Aatrox answered in a voice full of righteous confidence, "No."
"?"
"Then what exactly am I supposed to ask you?" Logan almost laughed in irritation.
"How could I possibly bother learning about a weak little insect like that? Back then I fought the Watchers, vast twisted abominations that blotted out the sky. At best, a thing like that would only be a scrap fallen from the corpse of something I killed."
"A creature like that isn't worth investigating. That would be a waste of my time!" Aatrox said with a snort.
He was not exaggerating. As the grand general of the Ascended host and the strongest warrior beneath Queen Setaka, Aatrox had once stood at the very front of the war against the Void. A creature like Rek'Sai had never been worth his personal attention.
Logan shook his head and ignored Aatrox, instead asking Taliyah to keep using her magic to travel west. Taliyah obediently summoned her power and carried them onward.
But inside Logan's mind, Aatrox kept yelling nonstop.
"Logan, use me to kill the Void bugs. You have to use me. If you don't, I'm going to be mad at you!"
"Did you hear me?!"
"Use me!"
As he traveled, Logan listened helplessly to Aatrox's nonstop shouting in his head.
Damn it, being loud would've been bad enough, but the bastard was a chatterbox too.
For one sudden moment, Logan honestly found himself missing the silent Aatrox from when they had first entered Shurima.
Sai Kahleek was a necessary route leading into southern Shurima, straight toward the trade city of Zirima.
Although Sai Kahleek had been listed as a forbidden zone by Shurima's caravan traders and explorers in recent years, reckless people still passed through it, because danger existed everywhere in Shurima.
And an unfamiliar path through the sands was not necessarily any safer than the monsters of Sai Kahleek.
After all, no one could know what might be waiting on some unknown desert road, man-eating bandits, perhaps, or venomous insects that could strip flesh from bone.
So even though the Xer'Sai of Sai Kahleek had a terrifying reputation, northern sandfolk still took this trade route. They were people with nowhere else to go. Risking their lives to reach Zirima was their only way to survive.
After all, people die for wealth just as birds die for food. That was an eternal truth.
And just like now, in the afternoon, as the desert road cooled, a small caravan stepped onto this dangerous stretch of the Bone Sea.
"Watch your footing. From this point on, all our lives are tied to this sand camel. If any dumb bastard wanders off and draws the Xer'Sai, I swear I'll throw him out there myself and let his stupidity buy the rest of us time!"
Shaar, a scarred man with a headscarf wrapped around his head, spoke in a low voice. As he spoke, he walked at the front of the group. He raised one foot, barefoot, and pressed it into the gravel. Squinting, he felt the hot sting rising through the sole of his foot as his big toe dug deep into the grit.
This was Shaar's experience. As a veteran sandman who had crossed the Bone Sea before, he had wisdom of his own. Taking one step, he continued, "First let your big toe sink into the grit. Then lower the whole foot. After that, shift your weight over from your back foot."
The others in the caravan copied Shaar's movements and carefully stepped onto the Bone Sea.
"Shaar, won't talking bring the Xer'Sai?"
"No need to worry about that." Shaar shook his head and continued, "The Xer'Sai have excellent hearing, but only underground. Sounds above the sand, they can't hear those."
Then he added, "And even if we really do draw them, you all have to stay calm. The Xer'Sai have no sight. They only rely on smell and hearing. Why do you think I've been rubbing cactus sap all over you this whole time? So when that happens, all you have to do is hold your breath. I'll smack the sand camel on the rear and make it run, and the Xer'Sai will blindly chase after it."
Hearing that, the others immediately relaxed, and the younger men in the group grew bolder.
The Xer'Sai didn't seem quite as terrifying as they had imagined. They almost seemed stupid.
But Shaar saw the luck-driven confidence in the young man's eyes and instantly cursed at him, "Get your head straight, you idiot. For years now, arrogant fools like you have all ended up in the Xer'Sai's jaws."
"The Xer'Sai aren't the truly terrifying part. But Rek'Sai..."
Before he could finish, Shaar's face suddenly stiffened, because the foot he had buried in the grit abruptly felt a prickling itch across the top. Shaar was experienced enough to recognize it immediately, grains of sand had just bounced against the top of his foot.
"Nobody fucking move!"
Shaar bellowed and immediately pinched his nose shut. At the same time, he pulled up the clothes stained with cactus sap around his body, trying to make sure the scent would not attract the Xer'Sai.
The others instantly copied him, standing straight and not daring to move.
Shaar was right.
Because after the group held that posture for half a minute, countless pits of different sizes suddenly appeared beneath the yellow sands of the Bone Sea ahead of them. Those pits connected together, forming a bizarre subterranean world.
Between the sinking streams of quicksand, flashes of purple shapes could be seen darting through the depths.
Panic flickered in Shaar's eyes. He had no idea what was happening. They had only just stepped into the Bone Sea.
By all his prior experience, the Xer'Sai were active in the deeper parts of the Bone Sea. They should not have been roaming this close to the edge.
That was exactly why Shaar had chosen this place to teach the newcomers, because this part was supposed to be safe. But now a mass of purple shadows was racing beneath the ground.
As they moved, the yellow sand collapsed away, and Shaar's foot sank deeper and deeper. The sensation was like being trapped in a swamp.
"If you don't want to die, then hold it together!" Shaar shouted again.
Running was impossible. The Xer'Sai were incredibly fast. Even on horseback, there was no escaping them. Their only hope was to endure it and wait for the Xer'Sai to leave.
After hearing Shaar, the people standing there, including one who had almost lifted his foot in panic, forced themselves to stay still.
But that alone was not enough, because the sand was draining away faster and faster. Soon it had buried them past the knees, and then it kept climbing toward their waists.
At this rate, the Xer'Sai would not even need to eat them. They would suffocate and die here first.
Shaar clenched his teeth and forced himself to endure, but one of the younger boys in the caravan could not. The terror of death shattered his sanity. When one Xer'Sai darted out not far from him, he instantly broke down. With a scream, he shoved both hands into the sand and began struggling desperately.
The Xer'Sai that had rushed past him immediately turned back, and all the others around them changed direction at once and locked onto him.
"No, I don't want the money anymore, I want to go back, I want to go back!"
"I don't want to die, don't eat me!"
Screaming, he clawed his way out of the sand and ran toward the edge of the Bone Sea, trying to flee this horrifying place.
With a violent burst, several enormous creatures lunged out from beneath the sand. Each was around ten to thirteen feet long, thick-headed and tapering at the tail. In outline, they looked almost half-human and half-insect.
They had huge forelimbs with outward-hooking claws, and their entire bodies were covered in hard purple and dark blue armor. The plates were lined with sharp bony spines and cracks, and within those cracks a faint violet glow seemed to flow. Their heads were triangular, with no obvious eyes on their faces. In place of eyes were organs that seemed to sense sound vibrations. Their gigantic jaws were packed with fangs as they sprang toward the terrified young man.
Shaar's heart went cold.
Sure enough, the moment the others saw the youth being swarmed by the Xer'Sai, they panicked too. Fear made their already unstable bodies begin to shake, and in that instant they drew the attention of even more Xer'Sai.
"Run!"
Shaar roared at once. Now, standing like statues was no longer enough to survive. Now... only by running, running, could they seize even the faintest chance of living.
Damn it, rookies really did get people killed!
Just as Shaar yanked his own body free of the quicksand, dropped to all fours, and prepared to spring away, convinced the young man was about to die in the Xer'Sai's jaws, he suddenly saw a flash of red light appear out of nowhere.
In the span of a blink, a massive black-and-red greatsword fell from the sky, dropping straight down and punching clean through one of the Xer'Sai. The creature did not even have time to scream before its body exploded, spraying purple blood across the sand. The surrounding Xer'Sai instantly flew into a frenzy and let out horrifying howls.
Visible strands of blood spread out from the giant sword, seeping across the sand all around it. At the center of the black-and-red blade, a terrifying eye emerged, wild and chaotic.
Shaar froze.
Then something even harder to understand happened.
That black-and-red sword, it... it spoke?
"Logan! Damn you, I told you to use me to kill these bugs, not throw me out here!"
"I am the great Aatrox! How dare you treat me like this!"
A, Aatrox?
For a moment, the name left Shaar blank and confused. He even forgot about the danger.
For some reason, the name sounded strangely familiar.
Then another voice rang out and snapped him back to reality.
It was gentle, carrying a hint of laughter.
"Quit it, Aatrox. They still died, didn't they?"
Shaar looked up and saw a young man flying in the air, black-haired and handsome, one hand clasped behind his back as he looked down at the black-and-red greatsword.
At those words, the black-and-red blade erupted into furious cursing. The drifting blood-red strands vaguely formed into two arms planted on its hips, while the sword's pupil fixed on the black-haired young man in the sky and bellowed,
"Fuck you!"
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