That was why Luke had so easily uncovered C's true identity.
The mysterious figure who had nearly destroyed Caitlyn's entire family was none other than LeBlanc, the Deceiver.
The more he thought about it, the more it seemed exactly like something LeBlanc would do.
She could infiltrate even the highest levels of Demacia through her disguises, so slipping into little Piltover and Zaun was hardly worth mentioning.
Just as she had said, she possessed countless incarnations throughout the world. They all had one thing in common, however. They absolutely loved stirring up trouble.
"Your Highness seems rather disappointed after seeing my face," C said, her tone still unnaturally calm, as though she felt no fear whatsoever despite her current predicament.
"Not particularly. Whether you're beautiful or ugly has nothing to do with me. One of my friends, however, has been obsessed with finding you for a very long time."
Luke indifferently withdrew his gaze, raised a hand, and dragged C back with him.
Naturally, he had no intention of exposing LeBlanc's disguise here. Doing so would accomplish nothing. On the contrary, it might allow someone as clever as her to deduce the secret behind his advantage.
His True Sight, which could penetrate every disguise, illusion, and false realm in existence, was one of the keys to Luke's continued success.
An irresistible force dragged C's body back onto the ruins.
Everyone looked slightly startled when they saw Luke return with someone in his grasp.
"Who is he?" Lux asked, looking at how roughly Luke was handling C and realizing this person was probably no innocent bystander.
"C," Luke answered simply before looking at Caitlyn. "This is the person you've been searching for."
Caitlyn froze as though she had been struck by lightning. She stood there in shock, staring in disbelief at C, whom Luke had captured with such ease.
Years of hatred and obsession surged through her heart. Her eyes reddened, and her gaze gradually turned cold.
The enemy she had desperately searched for all these years was finally standing before her.
Although her parents had narrowly escaped death back then, every servant in their home had been brutally murdered. Caitlyn had grown up with them and shared deep bonds with every one of them.
The sight that had greeted her when she opened the mansion's front door remained an image she could never forget.
Now that her enemy was before her, Caitlyn felt no disappointment upon seeing that ordinary face.
Over the years, she had imagined countless possible appearances for C. No matter what C looked like, Caitlyn had already prepared herself to accept it.
"I'll leave the decision to you," Luke said calmly, with no intention of interfering.
To everyone's surprise, Caitlyn did not hesitate for even a moment.
She immediately raised her sniper rifle.
Bang!
A burst of flame erupted from the muzzle as the bullet shot forward, mercilessly tearing through C's body just as she opened her mouth to speak.
Blood poured from her chest. She lowered her head and glanced at the wound as the light in her eyes gradually faded, until it disappeared completely.
"Someone like this doesn't deserve my mercy."
Caitlyn coldly lowered her rifle. The moment she pulled the trigger, she felt the obsession that had haunted her for years finally dissolve.
Unless a criminal was utterly irredeemable, she would normally choose to spare their life.
As a young woman born into one of Piltover's great houses, Caitlyn believed such people should be judged by the law.
But if she had not fired that shot, the knot in her heart would never have come undone.
"The right decision." Luke smiled faintly.
Whatever choice Caitlyn made, he would not have interfered.
He released LeBlanc's duplicate, and the lifeless body immediately collapsed onto the ground, limp and motionless.
Everyone around them found the sight immensely satisfying.
After learning what Caitlyn had endured, they could all understand her decision.
"So, are you planning on staying a human lightbulb forever?" Lux suddenly asked Luke, focusing on the most important issue at hand.
Everyone turned toward him. The energy field of the World Rune continued to surge around his body, radiating an amber-gold light that seemed as though it would never dim.
Looking at him now, he truly did resemble a lightbulb that refused to stop glowing.
"I'd love to turn it off too."
Luke closed his eyes, calmed his thoughts, and sent his awareness deep into his body.
When he saw a green rune floating beside the amber-gold one, he could not help sighing internally.
Still, it was barely acceptable.
After all, he had simply gone from carrying one bomb to carrying two. When he thought about it that way, there was hardly any difference.
If either one exploded, Luke would be dead regardless.
Strangely enough, ever since he had activated the rune's power, Luke had barely sensed any sign that it might go out of control. It had remained surprisingly stable.
He had not heard any seductive whispers attempting to corrupt him either.
The green rune he had absorbed from Singed was equally silent, as though it had fallen into a deep sleep.
"Turn off."
Luke focused his will and attempted to withdraw the rune's power.
If he could not retract it, he would have a very serious problem.
He had no doubt that he would wake up tomorrow to find Thanos standing over him.
More importantly, Luke had no way of knowing whether this state might suddenly spiral out of control someday.
The power of a World Rune fragment was simply too great. He might be capable of controlling it temporarily, but that did not mean he could control it forever.
The instant that thought formed, the amber-gold rune suddenly began to churn.
It blazed like an uncontrollable sun, releasing an astonishing heat.
Luke immediately felt a wave of discomfort, but then he discovered that the rune had transformed into something resembling a vortex. It slowly drew back every trace of energy that had escaped from it.
In an instant, all the rune energy surrounding Luke vanished. Only a faint afterglow remained, and even that gradually disappeared.
The moment the power faded, Luke felt his body become unbearably heavy. He staggered, nearly losing his balance.
Fortunately, Lux reacted quickly and caught him. After studying his face, she exclaimed, "Why are you so pale?"
"I'm a little dizzy. Let's head back first."
Luke's head was spinning, and even his voice sounded weak.
He felt as though every last trace of his stamina had been wrung from his body, leaving absolutely nothing behind. It was almost as if he had also lost a couple pints of blood.
He immediately realized that this was probably the consequence of using the rune.
A human trying to control the power of a World Rune could hardly expect to do so without paying a price.
Luke felt as though that single battle had burned through at least two months' worth of vitality.
Sona, Fiora, and the others might have to endure a rather long dry spell.
Everyone stared at him anxiously. After witnessing him use the rune's power, they could all guess what had caused his condition.
Their glistening eyes were filled with worry.
"It's not time to hold my wake yet, so stop looking at me like that."
Luke's face darkened, then swiftly turned pale again as he spoke helplessly.
They were acting as though he were about to drop dead.
After saying that, Luke could no longer be bothered to think. He unceremoniously rested his head against Lux's shoulder, closed his eyes, and fell asleep.
Lux did not mind in the slightest. This was hardly the time to worry about something like that.
Still, his warm breath brushed against her neck, making the skin there itch.
"We should head back first."
Noticing that more and more people were gathering around them, Lux immediately decided to take Luke home. She lifted him directly onto her back.
Lux might not have been particularly tall, but she was remarkably strong. Carrying Luke was no challenge at all.
All the food she usually put away had not gone to waste.
"You should go ahead. I need to stay and deal with everything here."
Vi was worried about Luke, but Zaun had fallen into complete chaos and needed to be stabilized.
His Highness did not appear to be in any immediate danger, so she decided to remain behind and handle the aftermath.
"All right."
"I'll come to Piltover after I finish here."
"See you then."
There was no time for a proper farewell. The others quickly departed.
Vi remained behind to manage the scene. Before long, she saw Ekko arriving with a group of Firelights on their hoverboards.
"What happened here? The whole of Zaun was flooded with poisonous gas, and then that huge wind suddenly came out of nowhere."
Ekko leaped off his hoverboard and stared at the devastation around them, clearly uncertain about what had happened.
"It's all over now. That werewolf was actually Vander. The ones responsible for everything were two people named Singed and C."
Vi slowly explained what had happened.
"Vander? Singed?"
Ekko was visibly stunned by her words.
Vander was a name from the distant past, but Ekko could never forget it.
Vander had once been the person he admired most, and that remained true even now. He had never expected to hear that name again under circumstances like these.
"That's right. Vander should be right…"
Vi turned around, intending to find the werewolf, but suddenly froze.
The space beside her was empty.
When they had evacuated the laboratory, they had also brought Vander out after he was blasted away by the rune's power.
But now, Vander had vanished without a trace.
"Search the surrounding area," Ekko ordered.
He trusted that Vi was telling the truth, so he immediately sent the Firelights to look for Vander.
Their search produced no results.
It was as though he had disappeared from the face of the world.
"There may be another possibility. Maybe he doesn't want to face us looking the way he does now."
Ekko and Vi both knew Vander extremely well, and they could already guess what he was thinking.
"Vander! Come out!"
Overcome with grief, Vi threw her head back and shouted. Tears streamed down her cheeks, but no answer ever came.
She already sensed that after this separation, there was no telling when they might meet again.
Vi had inherited Vander's personality. Both of them were stubborn to the core. Once they made a decision, they almost never turned back.
If Vander had decided to leave, then he had probably already begun his journey.
In truth, their guess was correct.
Vander had swiftly left the scene and returned to the cave where he had first awakened. He sat down wherever he pleased, like an injured old wolf silently licking his wounds.
He was no longer the Vander he had once been.
He could never again live as an ordinary man.
The life he had known was gone forever.
Whenever he thought about his current appearance, he had no idea how he could face Vi and Powder.
Thankfully, he had seen that neither Vi nor Powder needed his protection anymore. They had grown strong, like all the finest children of Zaun, unafraid of wind, rain, or hardship.
The realization filled him with pride and relief.
Now he could leave Zaun without worrying, and embrace a new identity.
His revenge had been fulfilled. From this moment onward, he would no longer be Vander.
He would be Warwick.
A bloodthirsty judge who would endlessly hunt those who had committed terrible crimes, using their deaths to atone for the sins he had accumulated throughout his life.
The great fire on the bridge between the twin cities had torn countless families apart.
Vander had never considered himself a good man. Now, he merely wanted to repay the debt created by his past sins.
Once his wounds had eased, Warwick left the cave.
He cast one final, reluctant glance toward Zaun before disappearing into the darkness of the night.
In the years that followed, stories of "the Howler" became increasingly common throughout eastern Runeterra.
According to the rumors, whenever night fell, the elusive Howler would seek out those steeped in wickedness.
The name gradually became a nightmare for criminals everywhere.
The Howler's story began that night, just as Zaun itself prepared to welcome a new future.
By the time Vi hurried to the cave, Vander was already gone.
Only the smell of blood lingering in the air remained, proof that he had once been there.
When Vi saw the words carved into the wall by his claws, her tears began flowing uncontrollably.
"You have been the greatest pride of my life. Keep going, pride of Zaun."
"Pride of Zaun" was what Vander had once called the children who grew up enduring the city's storms.
He had said that as long as those children remained, Zaun would never be forgotten.
One day, Zaun would become the brightest star in the night sky.
That was the last time Vi allowed herself to cry.
She firmly wiped the tears from her face, then turned and headed back toward Zaun.
"Watch me, Vander. You were also the father I admired more than anyone. I won't let you down."
Back in Piltover, Luke lay sprawled across a sofa as though his blood sugar had crashed. His entire body seemed to radiate the words utterly exhausted.
At the same time, he was clutching the pure white petals of a flower and stuffing them into his mouth.
Lux crouched beside him, watching with sympathy. She reached out and touched his forehead.
"He doesn't have much of a fever. How did he end up like this? The moment we got back, he grabbed a flower and started chewing on it. What are we supposed to do with him?"
She looked around.
None of the other women had any idea either, leaving the entire room shrouded in gloom.
Luke looked as though the heat had cooked his brain. He had returned without saying a word, raised the flower to his mouth, and spent the entire time silently eating it.
"You don't know what you're talking about. This flower is priceless."
Luke had finally recovered a little strength. He gave Lux an irritated sidelong glance.
This was a five-hundred-year-old frost lotus, a life-saving treasure he had received through a system check-in.
When Frey had been shot through the abdomen, this very substance had saved her life.
Luke possessed only three miraculous medicines of this quality. He had saved all of them for situations where his life was truly at risk.
Yet now, he was eating the priceless petals as casually as potato chips.
The frost lotus melted the moment it entered his mouth, transforming into a cool yet sweet stream that flowed into his stomach.
His body swiftly absorbed it, and his utterly drained condition gradually began to improve.
However, once he recovered to a certain point, eating more produced no further effect.
The medicinal power simply dispersed without being absorbed.
Color returned to his face, but he still appeared listless and weak.
Luke understood that excessively using the rune had damaged the very foundation of his body. Devouring more frost lotus could not repair that kind of injury. It would only waste its extraordinary medicinal properties.
He would have to combine it with other restorative ingredients, prepare medicine from them, and drink some every day. Given enough time, he would slowly recover.
Even with Luke's private stockpile, a full recovery would require at least a month.
For the entirety of that month, Luke would be stuck with a debuff.
World Runes were among the most dangerous forces in existence. A mortal body could not wield one in such a manner without suffering consequences.
Of course, Luke's physique had helped him considerably. His strength already placed him among the most powerful humans alive.
But ultimately, he was still human.
He possessed a body of ordinary flesh and blood, yet had forced it to contain the power of a World Rune. Escaping with only his current injuries was already an excellent outcome.
Plenty of humans had been completely annihilated by World Runes.
Some had been reduced to ash in an instant. Others had been devoured by the runes and transformed into demons or puppets that wandered the world.
Even Singed had only dared to draw upon the World Rune after sacrificing the vitality of more than a dozen people.
Once Luke became even stronger, the consequences of using a World Rune would probably become less severe.
Even so, he had no intention of touching these things again unless absolutely necessary. Each one was a bomb that could explode at any moment.
If they were willing to sleep, then it was best to let them remain asleep forever.
Using the power once had already left him this feeble. If he used it too often, how would he ever show his face to Sona, Fiora, and Katarina again?
"All right, everyone should get some sleep. There's nothing seriously wrong with me. I'm just completely exhausted."
Having recovered some strength, Luke sat up and addressed everyone.
Seeing that his condition had improved, smiles finally returned to the women's faces.
It was already deep into the night. After confirming once more that Luke was safe, they all went to bed.
Luke himself was barely able to keep his eyes open. He returned to his room, lay down on the bed, and fell asleep instantly.
Luke might have been sleeping, but Piltover's councilors were not so fortunate.
They were awakened from a deep sleep and informed of what had happened in Zaun. When they heard about the poison-gas leak and learned that His Highness had been injured there, they were nearly frightened out of their minds.
Fortunately, neither incident had developed into a catastrophic disaster. They were also told that His Highness had already resolved the crisis.
Even so, they could not relax. One after another, they visited Luke's residence to check on him and demonstrate their concern as quickly as possible.
Their timing could not have been worse.
Luke had only been asleep for a short while before he was awakened again.
Furious at being dragged out of bed, he ordered Yurna to throw every last councilor out.
He had just resolved an enormous crisis threatening both cities, yet they would not even allow him to sleep peacefully. He would hardly greet anyone cheerfully under those circumstances.
The councilors did not dare become angry.
Realizing they had disturbed His Highness's rest, they hurriedly departed and decided to return the next day.
Luke was not the only person who could not sleep that night.
Beside a small river in Zaun stood another cave.
Signs that the cave had once served as a laboratory could still be seen inside.
Viktor sat silently upon a rock, his cane resting beside him. He had already remained there for a very long time.
His mind was in complete turmoil, and he could not calm himself.
That day, he had personally witnessed the insignificance of human power.
The scenes of rune energy colliding repeatedly flashed through his mind. Even now, cold sweat continued to form across his back.
He had no doubt that before such power, he would be destroyed in an instant.
He was beginning to understand why Singed had been so obsessed with obtaining greater strength.
The insecurity gnawing at his heart truly made sleep impossible.
Even so, Viktor still could not agree with Singed's methods.
He had recognized humanity's weakness, but he still possessed boundaries he would never cross.
He would use his own methods to transform the futures of countless weak humans like himself.
In truth, Viktor had formed this idea long ago. His steadily deteriorating body had left him no choice but to struggle against fate.
Now, he finally took the step he had hesitated to take.
He remembered something Singed had once said during one of their discussions.
"Humans are among the most intelligent creatures in this world because we possess the ability to gradually adapt and grow through any adversity. We can resist any disaster that fails to kill us, then, over time, discover a way to overcome that disaster completely. No matter what environment we face, we will always surpass our former selves."
"Like evolution?"
"Evolution? Viktor, that is an appropriate word. Yes, the greatest trait the heavens granted humanity is evolution. Evolution makes us strong. Evolution makes us unstoppable. It is also the glorious mission bestowed upon us. Viktor, the future rests in our hands. The question is how we choose to seize it."
The memory of their conversation in this very cave remained vivid in Viktor's mind.
"Evolution."
Viktor looked down at his hands and slowly clenched them.
"The Glorious Evolution…"
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