Hearing this familiar name, Faen raised an eyebrow and asked: "Syndra... isn't she the darkness of Ionia?"
No League of Legends player would be a stranger to Syndra. As one of the champions with the best original splash arts, the Dark Sovereign Syndra's art was packed with "big sister" energy, though she became more angular and "Western auntie" after her update.
Syndra herself was also incredibly powerful in the lore—she was a girl from the Navori province hundreds of years ago. Because of her slow, naive personality, the young Syndra was often mocked by her brother and bullied by other village children. During this process of continuous isolation, the power in her subconscious exploded, forming heavy spheres of dark magic from massive amounts of negative emotion. The moment these spheres descended, the "Spirit Willow"—the land spirit of that area—withered and twisted on the spot, turning into a hideous shape.
Consequently, her family was exiled. There wasn't much to say about that, as in Ionia, the relationship between people and land spirits is very close. Losing the land spirit meant people couldn't communicate with the spirits of that land for a long time, making effective farming and living impossible.
Later, Syndra was discovered by a reclusive priest. The priest told Syndra he often guided helpless children to master their innate wild magic, so Syndra followed him to cultivate. The training area was at a ruined temple on Fae'lor, where there was nothing but black rock and the sea. Syndra studied hard, longing to tame the power in her body and control her emotions.
However, to Syndra's growing frustration, years of cultivation didn't teach her to control her power; instead, it made her magic grow weak. The priest stopped teaching techniques and knowledge, instead locking her up every morning to meditate alone. Finally, a confused Syndra decided to ask her teacher why. Her teacher tiredly smiled and told her honestly that her gloom energy had accumulated day by day, far exceeding his ability as a mentor; he was intentionally dampening her power to ensure her safety.
But because of her childhood experiences, this made Syndra feel betrayed, and her emotions spiraled out of control. Her priest teacher tried to urge her to stay calm, but unfortunately, it was useless.
Accompanied by the full awakening of Syndra's dark power, the Spirit of Ionia personally acted, dragging her down and sealing her in the Dreaming Pool underground for an eternal sleep.
Syndra's awakening happened during the First Ionian War, when the Noxian pursuit of magical power led to her accidental escape from the seal. The problem was, in what Faen knew, Syndra wielded the power of darkness, not the so-called War Spirit.
Thinking this, Faen looked at Karma, seemingly seeking an answer.
Hearing Faen's words and sensing his gaze, Karma nodded in understanding. Obviously, while Syndra was an unknown legend—a link in an ancient story—to most people of this era, Faen had clearly seen fragments from the past... or even fragments related to the future?
With that thought, Karma said: "The power Syndra possesses—or rather, the reason she was able to master it—is indeed because she resonated with the darkness of Ionia and became its wielder. But the darkness Syndra represents is by no means just simple anger or specific negative emotions. It is the essence of the vast majority—if not all—of Ionia's negative emotions collected together."
Karma explained: "When Syndra was sealed, the essence of these negative emotions was sealed along with her. This was the key to Ionia safely passing through the Rune Wars—even when malice from the other side of the sea reached Ionia, without the essence of these negative emotions, the resulting evil spirits were only insignificant Vastaya, rather than truly troublesome, fierce spirits."
"And within this, while the War Spirit does have a positive meaning..."
Pursing her lips, Karma said with some helplessness: "The impact of the Rune Wars was simply too great. Even if the War Spirit has a positive side, Ionia didn't dare to gamble. The veil here is more fragile and thin compared to other regions of Runeterra, and the boundary between the two realms is more blurred. The Rune Wars spread across the world with unparalleled scope; if the War Spirit lost control even slightly, all of Ionia would face an irreversible crisis."
Hearing this, Faen nodded thoughtfully. "I understand... so, what do you want me to do?"
"Do what you must."
Looking at Faen, Karma said: "In parts of the future I have seen, Syndra has already broken the seal, soaring through the sky with a city engulfed in forbidden power, threatening the future of all Ionia. Since you desire to fill Ionia with hope and let the people here possess the positive emotions represented by the War Spirit, then go ahead and do it—at the very least, it won't be worse than the future I saw."
Faen nodded to show he understood, but then he looked at Karma and said: "It seems, Darha, that you are not the Enlightened One people remember from the past."
"Oh? Why do you say that?" Darha smiled at Faen.
Faen shrugged and said: "At least, from Ionia's past history, the vast majority of Karma incarnations preferred unchanging stability, like reinforcing seals and such."
"Because you spoke very well." Hearing Faen's words, Darha nodded gently and said calmly:
"Trees need to pierce through rocks, rooting downward to absorb nutrients and growing upward to gain sunlight... Ionia has been unchanging for too long. Many ancient souls tell me of the dangers and infinite changes of the future. Compared to the advice of those ancient sages, the current war with Noxus is a more unique, man-made disaster. Although this is destined not to receive the approval of most elders in the Temple, I believe the time for change has come."
"That couldn't be better~" Hearing this, Faen chuckled and said: "It's worth mentioning, in a fragment of the future, I also saw a scene of you blasting the Noxian fleet with magic."
"Are you sure that was me?" Hearing this, Karma's eyes showed surprise, and she couldn't help but chuckle: "That truly is surprising~"