"The Ascension ritual?"
Caleb's brows nearly twisted together.
This was a road that could lead straight to T2, or even all the way to T1. He had to admit, the reason Shurima had once been so glorious was precisely because the Sun Disc's Ascension ritual had allowed it to bring almost all the territories of the world under its command.
However, the Ascension ritual was ultimately cruel. It was not as beautiful as everyone imagined. It was not only a test of ability, but even more so, a test of will. Renekton had faced death without hesitation and sent the gravely ill Nasus onto the Ascension dais.
But what Caleb was worried about was far more than that.
"What if you end up huge afterward? Would I have to ask Xolaani to modify me a little too?"
Caleb realized he had somehow grown nervous. When the time came, would he have to make himself extremely tall too just to match Kai'Sa's height?
"Don't worry. I don't necessarily have to take part either."
Kai'Sa comforted him softly.
"No."
Caleb shook his head slightly, his gaze firm.
"After becoming Ascended, you'll also be able to fight the Void better. Your body has coexisted with your Void skin for so long. After this, you'll be able to resist the Void even better too."
Xolaani had only hidden Kai'Sa's Void skin and revealed her original appearance. The fact that that layer of skin was still on Kai'Sa's body had not changed. Being able to coexist with the Void for so long while still maintaining such a normal and calm state of mind, as a mortal, even one at the peak of mortality, Kai'Sa was already quite extraordinary.
"Don't worry about me. Go."
Going to the Ascension dais where the Ascension ritual was held was almost every Icathian's dream.
"Actually, before that happened, the empire had already decided to give Icathia two Ascension slots at once."
Azir had read the records in the library. As the leader of a generation of Ascended, Empress Setaka had also been one of the strongest among them. There was no need for her to lie about this. Perhaps it was just like his relationship with Xerath. If he had told Xerath earlier that all slaves would be freed once the Ascension ritual was over, perhaps the catastrophe that caused Shurima's fall would never have happened.
If Setaka had told the Icathians a few months earlier that one scholar and one warrior had each obtained the right to Ascend, if the Icathians had not been so utilitarian and had instead devoted themselves wholeheartedly to the development of their own nation, rather than blindly seeking glory, perhaps that war against the Void, which gravely wounded Shurima, and the later Darkin War that plunged everything into darkness and chaos, would never have happened.
Ixtal would not have sealed its borders and stopped interacting with other nations. Shurima might have remained powerful to this day.
But there was no now. The newly risen Shurima would have to face the Void of Icathia, which could return at any moment. Besides, after so many years sealed away, the monsters of the Void would only be even hungrier and more insane. From Xolaani's experience, Shurima did not dare underestimate the Void either.
Yet ever since she had been a little girl, Kai'Sa had shouldered the heavy responsibility of fighting the Void.
Azir believed there was no problem with this.
The little girl from that village was now looking up at the tall Ascension dais beneath the Sun Disc.
Kai'Sa kept climbing until she reached directly below the Sun Disc.
Sivir also clenched her fist nervously. As the next heir, she also wanted to become a respected god-warrior, just like the first empress, Setaka. After all, the weapon in her hand was the Chalicar Setaka had once used.
"Who were the slots originally meant for?"
"One was called Zilean, a mage. The other was named Saijax."
Caleb silently raised his head, tears nearly spilling out.
It was so damn bright... He was practically going blind...
But Caleb was still extremely worried. The Sun Disc's power was too strong. Aside from the Ascended, anyone else who remained on the platform would only die. Caleb could only watch her as she went forward alone.
Perhaps if he did not rely on the World Runes, his strength would soon be left far behind by hers.
Compared to Caleb, a transmigrator with a system who knew the plot, Kai'Sa was a native of this world, a girl who had fallen into the Void when she was still young, yet she had actually managed to resist the Void for so long.
And survive this long.
Caleb had fought Rek'Sai before. That creature was even longer than Xolaani's statue. It was an outright colossus. The fact that Kai'Sa had survived that massive mouth, along with the pursuit of the Xer'Sai, was also something rare. For so long, the reason the Void rift's seal between Icathia and Shurima had not expanded was largely because of her.
"Go. This is what you deserve."
Caleb would not question whether she might become a Baccai. Even if she did, she would be a Baccai of unmatched beauty.
Rolling clouds of dust surged in from the distance, and a spiked armordillo stopped beneath the disc.
"Rammus? Is this guy loyal to Shurima too?"
"He is a Baccai. Later, over the long years, he became one of Shurima's demigods."
"Because he contributed to Shurima's history, he became one of the few demigods Shurima has worshiped for so long."
At some point, Renekton and Nasus had also arrived.
Generally speaking, there was no such tradition. It was just that in the early days of the empire's founding, the appearance of every Ascended was a rare event. So the Ascended would gather together as much as possible and jointly witness the birth of a new Ascended. But later, as there were more Ascended, this became a matter where each region sent one representative, making it much simpler.
Now that Shurima had risen again, this tradition had been picked up once more.
Caleb's tears kept streaming down, but he still insisted on watching Kai'Sa's figure. Under the sunlight, that graceful silhouette seemed incomparably small, yet she kept walking until she reached the highest point, only then stopping.
"So there's going to be a new Ascended?"
Aatrox's low voice came from the side. Caleb looked over through his blurred vision, but he could not see the expression on the face of the Darkin demon holding the greatsword.
After such a long time, the Ascension ritual had been activated again. Would it succeed, or would it fail?
Caleb did not know.
"The ritual begins."
Although it was called a ritual, all one needed to do was stand atop the high platform. Whether it succeeded afterward depended not only on contribution, but even more on destiny.
Before Rammus became a Baccai, he had also been a highly respected warrior. Yet in the end, his Ascension failed, turning him into his current form, inferior to that of an Ascended. It was only his identity as a demigod that had added quite a bit of power to him. Otherwise, in front of Yaanogel and Aatrox, the only thing Rammus could resist with would be the hardness of the spikes on his shell.
Qiyana stared in a daze at the woman who had come with Caleb. She had originally thought Kai'Sa was just a pretty face. She had not expected her to be the first person to undergo the Ascension ritual since Shurima's revival.
She secretly made up her mind that she would definitely come to this ritual in the future as well and add a brilliant stroke to Ixtal's history.
Yuumi, on the other hand, was full of excitement. Finally, she could see something different again.
After a blast of intense light descended, Kai'Sa's original appearance vanished.
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