Lissandra's sudden roar startled Li Lin. The intelligent system of his mech had failed to detect her presence, and his magical senses were useless in this space.
Turning toward the source of the sound, Li Lin saw Lissandra standing about a hundred meters away. She glowed with an eerie, malevolent purple light. Her body was still unclothed, and pulsating, worm-like veins squirmed under her fragile-looking, paper-thin skin. Her long, white hair writhed like living tendrils, coiling around her body in a nightmarish spectacle.
This was Li Lin's first time seeing Lissandra's true appearance. The last time they met, in the Hall of the Nine Thrones, she had removed her hood but kept her face obscured behind a curtain of hair.
Now, her ghastly, pale-blue face was fully exposed on the magnified screen of the mech. Her eyes, riddled with claw marks and scorched by lightning, were horrifying to behold. These were wounds inflicted during her past challenge against the demigod Volibear, injuries that could never heal.
Yet now, her once-empty eye sockets glowed with a chaotic purple void, a swirling sea of nightmares.
["Lissandra's magic is in chaos. Her life force is gradually fading."]
The AI promptly analyzed her state and reported it.
Li Lin frowned, observing the madness and struggle on her face. "It doesn't seem like she's planning to attack us."
Activating his data mind, Li Lin brought up a detailed analysis of Lissandra's condition:
[Name: Frost Witch, Lissandra]
[Race: Freljordian, Frostguard Tribe]
[Profession: Frost Witch, Iceborn Bloodline]
[Current State: Mental Collapse, Void Corruption, Nightmare of the Voidwatchers, Monitored by the Voidwatchers...]
Carefully examining the descriptions of each condition, Li Lin discovered there was still a chance to save Lissandra—but it would require venturing into her dream to pull her back.
This method was, however, fraught with danger. Lissandra was currently within the dreamscape of the Voidwatchers, entities that were on the verge of waking. Any attempt to intervene could risk awakening them entirely.
To rescue Lissandra, Li Lin would need the ability to "Dreamwalk," a unique magic she possessed, allowing entry into the mental sea of the Voidwatchers to locate her. But Li Lin neither knew how to use Dreamwalk nor had the capacity to withstand the Void's mental corruption.
He had barely endured a fleeting confrontation with the Voidwatchers back in the Hall of the Nine Thrones, their gaze almost breaking him despite his advanced physical and mental fortifications.
Even Lissandra, with all her strength, was being consumed by the Void. Her body, already twisted by Void corruption, was beyond recovery, and she could only hold the Voidwatchers in their slumber for so long.
Li Lin hesitated, uncertain about what to do next. He couldn't kill Lissandra, nor could he simply restrain her with an arcane energy-binding ring and drag her back to the surface—doing so might disrupt her resistance against the Voidwatchers.
As he pondered, Lissandra's body seemed to stabilize momentarily, her grotesque transformation halting, and the purple flames in her eyes dimmed slightly.
"Li Lin…" she rasped, her voice rough and gravelly, as though her throat had been scoured with sandpaper.
She seemed to regain a sliver of clarity. Taking advantage of the moment, Li Lin asked, "Lissandra, what happened?"
A bitter smile crossed her disfigured face as she struggled to speak, "The… Watchers… broke… dream… power… corrupted…"
The Watchers had broken through the dream she had constructed and were using their power to invade her.
Li Lin quickly pieced together her fragmented words.
Lissandra continued, her voice trembling, "They… waking… apocalypse… near…"
They were awakening. The apocalypse was upon them.
A heavy sense of dread sank into Li Lin's chest. Without hesitation, he retrieved his drone and scooped up Lissandra, placing her inside the containment chamber embedded in his mech.
To be cautious, he deployed an arcane-binding device, an anti-demonic mechanism, and combat drones around her. Lissandra, as the person who understood the Void better than anyone else on Runeterra, was too dangerous to leave unchecked. If she succumbed entirely to the Voidwatchers' influence, Li Lin would have no choice but to end her.
With his decision made, the Behemoth Titan activated its thrusters, propelling them toward the beacon he had previously set. The physical laws of the tunnel they were in had been partially distorted; Li Lin needed to escape this area before using his transdimensional teleportation device to return to the surface.
As the mech entered a stable zone of the tunnel, stepping into the uppermost level of the Howling Abyss, a low, mournful horn blared from the Watchtower on the other side of the Bridge of Sorrows.
The sound was like a call to war, signaling an external invasion.
What now?
The mech's energy index spiked dramatically, though not from the Void—it was elemental magic, wild and untamed.
Before Li Lin could ask, the AI reported: [Demigod Volibear detected. He is summoning lightning to attack the Frostguard Fortress.]
"What?!" The news caught Li Lin off guard. "Why is he attacking all of a sudden?"
Looking skyward, he saw storm clouds thick with lightning gathering over the mountain peaks. Jagged bolts struck the ground, tearing the air with deafening cracks.
Piloting the mech at high speed across the chasm, Li Lin hadn't even reached the Bridge of Sorrows when a thunderbolt, far stronger than natural lightning, struck the energy shield of his mech. Sparks and flames scattered in all directions.
"Volibear! What is the meaning of this?!" Li Lin bellowed at the storm-laden sky.
But the only response was another barrage of lightning, each bolt many times more powerful than the last.
Since advancing his profession to Creator of Machines, Li Lin had upgraded his Behemoth Titan. The new model far surpassed its predecessor in strength. While the original could only fight Volibear to a draw at best, the upgraded Behemoth Titan now had overwhelming superiority.
Its micro-star reactor, a fusion of magical and scientific advancements inspired by the Star Forger, provided energy unparalleled in all of Runeterra.
How could a demigod of a mere continent hope to stand against such power?
The energy shield of the Behemoth Titan rippled faintly, effortlessly absorbing the assault.
Then came a furious roar, deep and primal, echoing from an ancient age.
In the distance, lightning rained down like a deluge, coalescing into a towering figure over a hundred meters tall, matching the Behemoth Titan in size.
Within seconds, the storm had formed a massive, humanoid entity. Volibear stood before Li Lin, his body crackling with lightning. His fur, sharp and unyielding, glistened like steel, while his claws, brimming with thunder, looked ready to tear the heavens.
Two rune-etched braids hung down his chest, and his cold, feral eyes glimmered with electricity. Massive fangs, as long as several grown men, protruded from his jaws, radiating primal fury.
"World's chosen one, what have you done?!" Volibear thundered, his voice shaking the very earth.
(End of Chapter)