"The Bandle City Museum, a place that holds countless records of the past!"
Standing at the museum entrance, Heimerdinger faced Duke, Jayce, and Viktor, speaking with pride under a sign made from the remnants of Ionia's spirit wood.
This was the foundation Bandle City had accumulated through endless exploration and adventure in the past, and it was also their testament!
"Whatever it is, let's just go in quickly!"
Duke, whose face was somewhat green, had a very wandering gaze. The World in his eyes was constantly shifting, sometimes the material World, sometimes the spiritual World.
In his eyes, Heimerdinger was sometimes his original appearance, and sometimes transformed into a sphere floating in mid-air, with two comical small mustaches hanging from it.
Noticing Duke's complexion, Heimerdinger was startled. Duke, who had been full of life earlier, capable of pinning Ziggs down and rubbing him on the ground, now had a dazed look, a green complexion, and somewhat unsteady steps. He looked as if he had pulled an all-nighter for a week straight and then been dragged to run a ten-thousand-meter marathon.
"It seems your magical talent has reached the prelude to its awakening. Bear with it a little longer, Duke!"
Heimerdinger waved to them and walked into the museum. As Duke stepped through the museum's door, he immediately vomited. The magical fluctuations, dozens of times stronger than before, stimulated him, making his stomach churn.
"Are you alright, Duke?"
Viktor quickly helped Duke. As someone from Zaun, like Duke, Viktor had a good impression of him. Jayce stood by, also casting a worried glance.
"I'm fine... Ugh!!"
Duke, who was vomiting again, forced himself to stand, a strained smile on his face, as his body teetered on the verge of collapse.
"Sorry, Professor Heimerdinger, I made a mess here!"
"It's nothing, perhaps it will become an interesting story in the future!"
Heimerdinger clasped his hands behind his back, completely unfazed by Duke's actions. Many Yordles are born mages, and when those guys are stimulated by strong magic, they act even more exaggerated than this.
He was already used to it!
"Let's continue forward!"
"Now, gentlemen, let's look at the first exhibit: a relic left by a mage from ancient Icathia!"
Heimerdinger stood in front of a glass display case, inside which was a broken stopwatch. The stopwatch was completely shattered, and its hands floated in the air, yet it still maintained a state of being connected by a thread.
"This was unearthed by some great Yordle lads from the land that once belonged to Icathia. The ancient Icathians studied magic and explored the domain of time. Although we don't know the results, this broken stopwatch, with its time frozen, is enough to explain everything!"
Jayce leaned closer to the display case, looking at the broken stopwatch inside. The dial was completely shattered, and through the cracks, one could see the torn fragments of parts. The hands had detached from the dial, seemingly about to fly off, but were solidified by time, suspended one centimeter above the dial.
"Can magic do this?"
Jayce and Viktor were greatly shocked, but Duke was leaning on a Beast-headed warrior statue unearthed from Shurima to keep himself from falling. His nerves somewhat blurred, he looked at the Beast-headed warrior he was leaning on and asked with a smile, "Have you met Nasus?"
"I heard he was a scholar, and his brother has a bad temper... Ugh!!"
Duke grabbed a nearby metal can and vomited profusely. Seeing this, Heimerdinger subtly twisted his finger, "That's a can the Ascended used for bathing before the Ascension ritual. It's thousands of years old!"
"Shurima isn't completely extinct yet; this stuff can still be found!"
A very muddled Duke blurted out a secret, "Their last emperor isn't completely dead yet, and there are even Ascended still in the world. When the time comes, I'll get you a few to keep as chamber pots!"
"It seems the awakening of his magic talent is already affecting his sanity!" Heimerdinger covered his face, his head aching, "I suddenly regret bringing him here."
"Is he alright, Professor Heimerdinger?"
Jayce looked at Duke, who was squatting on the ground, hugging the can and giggling foolishly, feeling a little worried. He hoped such a promising scientist wouldn't have his brain burned out by magic.
"It's just the influence of magic; his talent is gradually manifesting. Don't worry, Jayce!"
"And as you can see, mages in their awakening period are all like this. So how dangerous is your desire to control magic?"
"I..." Jayce touched his wristband, recalling the shock of first seeing magic, and the ecstasy of floating in the air with Viktor when their experiment succeeded.
With a look of determination in his eyes, Jayce said, "I still stand by my idea, Professor!"
"Existence is reasonable. If it can be used, then it means it can be controlled!"
"There's no convincing you!"
Heimerdinger shook his head helplessly, "Let's continue forward. I hope the rest of the tour doesn't scare you."
Heimerdinger said meaningfully, leading them onward. Before long, standing before a set of broken armor, Heimerdinger looked at his reflection in the display case and said with lingering fear, "I found this set of armor when I was young in Noxus. It was corroded by the magic of the Shadow, and the magic fluctuations of the Shadow have always clung to it!"
Viktor and Jayce exchanged glances and stepped forward together, seeing the broken armor in the display case. Many parts of this full-body armor were damaged, especially the chest, which looked as if it had been torn by a Beast's claws, and other parts also showed wear.
However, the surface of the armor was entwined with frenzied black magic, like long snakes constantly coiling and slithering around the armor.
"Let me see, let me see…" Duke forcefully pushed Jayce and Viktor aside and walked to the display case. His mind was increasingly muddled, and a silly smile played on his face. He pressed his palm against the surface of the display case, then his face against the glass, carefully observing the black magic power within.
"It's truly… too… too… too…"
Staring at the path of the magic, Duke's eyes widened. In his vision, he seemed to see countless wronged souls wailing.
Amidst the ominous magic fluctuations, a massive figure shrouded in black iron plate armor stepped forward. In his hand, a giant spiked mace held countless bound, wailing souls.
Thump!
Thump-thump!
Thump-thump-thump!
Each time the footsteps sounded, they landed on Duke's heart, making his heartbeat stop. At the same time, a pair of ruthless, brutal, and cold eyes looked at him, as if observing him across endless time and space.
The grotesque spiked mace swung towards him, and he felt his soul being forcefully torn by a pair of Apprehend.
"I!"
"See you!"
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Duke's heart pounded, and his body began to tremble. Seized by immense Terrify, he shivered, his eyes wide open. His heart beat faster and faster, and his spirit felt as if it were being tightly pulled, like a taut Jean string.
Heimerdinger noticed Duke's abnormal state and quickly spoke, "Duke, are you alright?"
"He looks very unwell, Professor!"
"Ah!!!!"
Duke screamed towards the sky, and a dense blue light erupted from his eyes. Countless blue lights burst from his body, sweeping outwards.
All the exhibits in the museum were struck by the blue light, and like breathing creatures, they swallowed the blue light into their bodies. Duke's body floated in mid-air, and blue light emanated from his facial features.
Creak!!
A sharp cutting sound reached Heimerdinger's ears. Following the source of the sound, he saw that it came from the armor inside the display case. The armor, which should have been inanimate, now seemed to possess life. Shrouded in black magic, it raised its arm, pressed it against the glass display case, and forcefully rubbed its fingers downwards.
"What's going on, Professor Heimerdinger?"
Jayce saw the withered wood on the display stands sprout new shoots, the eyes of the masks hanging on the wall blinked and let out incomprehensible cries, and the beast-headed warriors displayed in front of the wall moved their bodies, picking up their weapons and looking around.
Ancient sculptures from Ionia yawned, all the armor from Noxus raised their weapons, and the swords from Demacia began to tremble.
"It's like the entire museum has come alive!"
Viktor swallowed, tightening his cane. Heimerdinger constantly looked around, "My mechanical ancestor, it's Duke! Duke's magic has injected life into these exhibits, transforming them from inanimate objects into living beings!"
"How is this possible?" Jayce picked up a long saber, intending to protect himself, but to his surprise, the saber in his hand hummed, "Are you ready for a hearty battle?"
"Ah!"
Jayce dropped the long saber in his hand and jumped back. Viktor tried to find an explanation that wouldn't shatter his worldview.
"These are all creations made of ore, metal, wood, and stone. How could they possess life?"
"I told you, it's magic!"
Heimerdinger looked at the collections closing in on them, speaking rapidly, "magic can ignore any rules. Duke's magical talent is extraordinarily powerful; he probably doesn't even know such a thing could happen!"
"This magic, which imbues inanimate objects with life, is simply a miracle among miracles!"
"But this magic is out of control!"
"I've said it before, magic is dangerous, it's unpredictable!"
"Now do you understand!"
Heimerdinger shouted, while Duke slowly lowered his head, no longer screaming, but instead instinctively began to inhale.
"Suck!"
Blue light emerged from the surface of all the animated collections, being sucked into Duke's mouth and nose. Any collection from which the blue light was drawn returned to its original lifeless state.
The broken armor that had shattered the display case was reaching for Heimerdinger, but as the blue light was drawn away, it fell directly to the ground, once again becoming an inanimate object.
Thud!
Duke fell from the air to the ground, his eyes tightly shut, unconscious.
"It's finally over!"
Heimerdinger collapsed to the ground, looking at everything around him with lingering fear.
"What happened?"
A Yordle girl with a mysterious blue-furred cat beside her, sitting on a magical grimoire, which had carried her to the museum.
Seeing the chaotic scene, her face was filled with anger.
"Well, I can explain!"
"I'm not listening!"
The Yordle girl slapped the grimoire beneath her, and with a burst of magic, colorful lights accompanied by pleasant music surged like waves towards Heimerdinger and his companions, engulfing them.
"This incident teaches us a lesson, gentlemen!"
As the magic approached, Heimerdinger straightened his clothes and said to Jayce and Viktor, "magic is very dangerous!"
"Of course, an angry lady is even more dangerous!"
The next second.
magic, like Water, engulfed them!
...I caught a cold, I had an IV this morning.....