Senna was under immense pressure—far beyond what she could typically handle.
Thresh had been instantly obliterated by a strike from a celestial warrior, and standing beside her was Li Lin, clad in a sealed battlesuit brimming with energy that rivaled the gods themselves. Compared to them, even with her command over the Black Mist, Senna seemed... insignificant.
The Ruined King's power was overwhelming. Initially, Senna had intended to rally nations to unite against Viego. If those stubborn rulers refused, she planned to gather a new cadre of Sentinels of Light to confront the darkness on the Shadow Isles. She could not allow the Black Mist or the Ruined King to devour the entire world.
But now, Senna had changed her mind.
With a fully-restored celestial warrior—untainted by the fall into Darkin—and Li Lin, whose battlesuit emitted energies capable of matching divine power, there was no longer a need to involve mortal nations.
Senna, Li Lin, and Aatrox all had the ability to fly, making her Black Mist transportation unnecessary. The three descended into a massive underground space through a rift Li Lin had created.
"The Well of Ages lies beneath the Tower of Light," Senna explained, gesturing toward the tunnel ahead. "Follow this passage, and we'll find the King's Blade—Viego's blade—though now, it's more fitting to call it the Blade of the Ruined King."
Senna's knowledge stemmed entirely from the souls trapped in Thresh's lantern—those strong-willed enough to avoid being driven mad by his torment. Among them, the soul most familiar with the Ruinous Curse was not just a veteran Sentinel of Light, but also a fragment of Isolde—the woman who had cursed Senna as a child.
Senna's ability to wield the Black Mist came not only from instruction and understanding the Mist's nature but also from Isolde's influence.
Isolde had long been dead, but Viego's twisted love had refused to let her go. Unable to bear her death, he had placed her in the Waters of Life. For a fleeting moment, Isolde had indeed returned, but the unrelenting rage of her unrest consumed her sanity. She had raised the King's Blade and pierced Viego's chest with it.
This perverse love birthed the Ruinous Curse, leading to the tragedy of the Shadow Isles. It also shattered Isolde's soul, scattering fragments across the world, tied to her keepsakes and carried by ocean currents.
Both Senna and Li Lin knew these truths.
But now, Viego no longer had the chance to reclaim Isolde's fragments.
The three followed the winding corridor, eventually reaching a towering stone archway flanked by two triangular rune stones etched with magical sigils. Beyond the arch lay the Forbidden Chamber of the Blessed Isles—a hidden sanctum where the Waters of Life once flowed.
Corrupt sludge hung weightlessly in midair, suspended by magic, while more sludge pooled in the marshy depths below. The thick presence of the Black Mist here was suffocating; an ordinary person would be reduced to bones within moments by the Ruinous Curse.
At the chamber's center, a massive double-edged blade with an eerie green glow was embedded in a stone pedestal. Using his "Data Mind," Li Lin identified its true name: the King's Blade, Sanctity.
But now, it had become the antithesis of "sanctity"—utterly corrupted as the Blade of the Ruined King. What a bitter irony.
"The Ruined King is still dormant," Senna said, clearly relieved but still tense. "But he will wake soon…"
Before she could finish, a voice filled with anguish and longing echoed from the blade:
"Isolde… Isolde! I can feel you… Don't hide from me…"
"Damn it!" Senna's breath hitched as she instinctively dissolved into Black Mist, preparing to flee. "He can sense Isolde's soul in me!"
Li Lin shook his head. "Even if he wakes, he won't be a threat. Stay with us; he won't harm you."
Hesitant, Senna reformed beside them, her expression filled with disbelief. Yet, after a moment of thought, she stayed. The surface was crawling with powerful undead she had no hope of defeating.
Shaking off her chaotic thoughts, Senna suddenly noticed Li Lin descending into the enormous pit below, his actions making her heart leap.
"Hey! Li Lin, wait—"
"Calm yourself, mortal. Leave it to him," Aatrox interrupted, his faith in Li Lin easing some of Senna's tension.
No matter how strong Viego had become with his cursed blade, he was still, at his core, a mortal—albeit one transformed by the Ruinous Curse into an undead.
And standing beside her was a celestial warrior and a man who could converse and earn the respect of gods. Against such companions, Viego was nothing more than a minor obstacle… Senna reassured herself.
With his antigravity system active, Li Lin floated before the Blade of the Ruined King. Viego's spectral form had already begun to separate from the sword. His translucent figure wore a three-pronged crown glowing with ghostly green light. His royal armor was torn, exposing his pale, deathly white chest, while his lower half merged into a billowing mist—evidence that his awakening was still incomplete.
"Isolde… Isolde…" Viego murmured, his vacant eyes gradually sharpening.
Li Lin shook his head, a flicker of pity crossing his face before he pushed it aside.
"Isolde is dead. She longs for peace. She doesn't want to return to you, Viego Santiarul Molach vol Kalah Heigaar."
"No! Impossible!" Viego's head snapped up, his cold eyes blazing with spectral green fire.
He could not tolerate any words that tarnished Isolde's memory—not even from Kalista, his niece, whom he had once loved as a sister.
The provocation ignited a storm of Black Mist that filled the chamber, its energy rivaling that of an ascended celestial warrior. High above, Senna felt the crushing weight of its power, her heart pounding as she was forced to retreat.
Luckily, Aatrox shielded her from being consumed by the Mist.
"Li Lin! Stop provoking him!" Senna's voice faltered as she shouted.
But it was too late. Viego, now fully awakened, bellowed in rage, "Give Isolde back to me!"
His spectral body severed entirely from the cursed blade as he gripped the massive sword and wrenched it free from the pedestal. A horde of wailing spirits erupted from the chamber's ceiling, summoned by Viego's will.
As the interplay of life and death magic from the Waters of Life and the King's Blade reached its peak, Viego became the Black Mist's living vessel, commanding its malevolent power.
Yet…
The armor on Li Lin's chest unfolded, revealing a gray-white object resembling a stone tablet. Pulsating with an overwhelming aura of life magic, it was unmistakably a World Rune.
"What the World Rune gave… it can take away."
(End of Chapter)