"Yo."
Caleb greeted everyone without the slightest bit of restraint.
The only real difference from the first time he had come here was that the Ferros family's council seat was now occupied by Lucide, while Jayce had been replaced by Heimerdinger.
Every single person here was among the best of the best, and they were all so polite when they spoke.
Every time Caleb came back, it almost felt like coming home. He really did love this place.
He gave a casual wave as a greeting.
"You two go sit over there for a bit."
Caleb lowered his voice as he spoke to Kai'Sa and Yuumi.
Yuumi's scratching board was practically on its last legs, and Caleb had only just dragged Kai'Sa out of the shop.
Naturally, he had not paid.
They could go ask the big families for money.
He was an unemployed drifter from Piltover, what money was he supposed to have?
"Okay," Kai'Sa said softly.
The leather pants and thin-strapped top Kai'Sa was wearing showed off a nearly perfect figure.
In just that brief moment when she had walked in, Salo had already been unable to look away.
It was not until Caleb casually flicked the skewer onto the floor with a metallic clatter that he finally snapped back to himself.
"Ahem!"
As the oldest and most senior person present, Heimerdinger was the first to speak.
"Let us first welcome the return of Zaun's Governor."
That was followed by a round of sparse applause.
Caleb had not even lifted a hand himself, which made the whole thing feel a little awkward.
"So then, what exactly have you been doing all this time?"
Mel frowned, her eyes fixed tightly on Caleb.
"Well... no need to rush..."
Caleb shrugged. He really was going to have to make some of this up.
What he did not understand was why the system reward still had not shown up yet.
Still, that could wait. The system had never stood him up before.
It was better to deal with the Council first.
"In southern Shurima, I encountered the Void."
That very first sentence left some people confused, while cold sweat broke out on others.
"The Void... what is that?"
Lucide looked around at the others, then decided that question was probably best coming from her.
"It's a..." Caleb tried hard to think of a good description, but nothing came.
"Kai'Sa, you say it." Caleb gave up on trying to explain the Void himself.
"It's a terrifying disaster that endlessly devours everything around it."
As Kai'Sa spoke, that layer of purple skin covered her body once more.
"Oh!" Sanders nearly knocked over his teacup and almost fell out of his chair.
"So this is the Void?" Morey the robot sounded just as shocked.
"Yes. This skin comes from the Void."
Kai'Sa's clothes had already been torn to shreds by the spikes of her Void skin, so she simply stayed in that form.
"So now we're going to have to invent a fabric specifically for you too?"
Caleb sounded a little helpless.
So what exactly had all that time in the shop been for?
"Did the Council chamber get renovated?"
Caleb's eyes swept across the room as he asked the question.
"No. Why do you ask?" Caroline, the woman with the golden gear around her neck, looked puzzled.
Caleb pointed toward the corner of the room, and Kai'Sa immediately fired a Void Seeker at it.
A loud blast rang out, and even with the heavy doors closed, everyone at the table could hear the commotion outside.
"Was that really necessary?" Ekko complained as he pushed open the chamber doors.
Behind him came Jinx, looking a little more lively than before.
"If you want to listen, then come listen. It's not like I said you couldn't."
Caleb pointed to the seats beside Yuumi.
Kai'Sa's heart was beating a little fast, and the flush on her face was hard to make out in the dim light.
She quietly let out a breath of relief.
Good thing she had understood what Caleb meant just now. Otherwise it would have been painfully embarrassing.
"There's one more thing."
Before the Council could fully react, Caleb continued.
"Shurima's emperor, Azir, has awakened. He's returned."
Every Piltovan councilor present changed expression at those words. Only Ekko and Jinx still looked completely lost.
"You mean that Azir from the prophecy? I thought that was just a fairy tale."
Mel had heard the legend before and naturally knew the old story.
Shurima was known for being barren precisely because the empire it once had had fallen.
To the east, Ixtal had once been one of the lands under the Shuriman Empire.
Now that Shurima had awakened, it was enough to count as an event that could shake the entire world.
"Are you sure this information is accurate?"
Heimerdinger's tone turned grave. After hearing that, he had no mood left for jokes or light banter.
If the subject had been the Void, back when he was still in Bandle City, he could at least claim not to know enough.
But if they were talking about ancient Shurima awakening, then he absolutely could not stay calm.
Even its tombs contained that much wealth and so many miraculous magical artifacts.
So how powerful must it have been in its prime?
"It's accurate. I've seen him myself."
"And there are probably three or four Ascended at his side."
To make sure the Council and his own people understood what an Ascended was, Caleb added,
"Weaker than Janna, but not by much."
Possibly stronger than Janna, even.
Caleb kept that part to himself. After all, Yaanogel was literally behind him, and Janna was literally above him.
He had no desire to see those two test that question in person.
Still, if he really had to say it, Caleb would probably put the Yaanogel who had once resided in him slightly higher.
That spear was just too overwhelming.
But even Renekton, Nasus, and Zuretta were forces that absolutely could not be ignored.
"Three or four?" Mel's mouth fell open.
She had heard about Janna's feat during the Harrowing.
And this empire had only just awakened, right? And it already had three or four Ascended?
At this rate, the full restoration of the empire might only be a matter of weeks or months.
"The Void was once sealed by ancient Shurima. Back then, the Ascended host was far stronger than any army of any nation alive today."
Caleb's voice turned heavy.
Whenever that history of war against the Void came up, anyone would feel a measure of awe.
The glory of that age, its brutality, the sacrifice of the Ascended, and the greed of the Void,
Caleb almost felt like setting up a stand somewhere and giving the whole story the full epic documentary treatment.
"So in other words, a powerful empire is about to awaken to our south."
Mel frowned, lightly tapping the table.
"Exactly. You caught on," Caleb replied.
As a Noxian, Mel naturally understood what that meant.
The Shuriman cities and ports that had thrown in with Noxus in order to resist raiders were going to turn on them sooner or later anyway.
Compared to fierce, conquest-loving Noxus, their homeland and the great Sun Disc would obviously be far more convincing.
That meant part of Noxus's food supply and economic base was probably about to get cut away.
"Councilor Mel, allow me to ask you something. Are you considering this from Noxus's point of view, or from Piltover's?"
Caleb's question was direct and blunt.
After all, Mel and Jayce were already engaged, and with the wedding still ahead of them, the two of them might end up handling it while traveling.
"Piltover's point of view, of course," Mel said firmly.
Leaving aside the fact that she had worked in Piltover for so many years and long since treated it as her true base,
after setting down that ring and painting over the mural, Mel no longer had any intention of relying on her family.
So what if I'm the poorest one in the family?
My city controls the most advanced Hexgates in the world, isn't that enough to be proud of?
"Then I'll say it."
Seeing that, Caleb stopped holding back. He laced his fingers together beneath his chin.
The gaze of every councilor turned toward the newly returned Governor of Zaun.
"The Twin Cities need to declare independence, and stand apart from every nation!"
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