After floating through the Void for what felt like an eternity, just when Marcus was beginning to feel genuinely bored by the endless sameness, a strange fluctuation caught his attention.
The disturbance was incredibly subtle—far more difficult to detect than most dimensional signatures. If the surrounding realities hadn't been as calm as still water, if Marcus hadn't been concentrating intently on his search, he might have missed this world entirely.
Such obscure fluctuations suggested something interesting was happening there. Realities that hid their presence usually did so for a reason—either something inside was deliberately masking the world, or major events were creating unusual dimensional interference.
Either way, it warranted investigation.
"Let's check out this world," Marcus said, turning to address Will, who now maintained a permanent humanoid adjutant form.
At his command, the Dark Aster began accelerating, its massive bulk moving with surprising grace as it oriented toward the target reality. Their next destination was set. Time to discover what different experiences this world would offer.
The moment the Dark Aster made contact with the dimensional boundary, everything changed.
They emerged into a purple void space—a shallow void that existed between normal reality and the deeper cosmic darkness. The color immediately surprised Marcus. He'd encountered countless void spaces across multiple universes, but this was the first time he'd seen one with such a distinctive hue.
As they passed through this purple-tinted dimensional layer, Marcus observed numerous creatures twisted and corrupted by void exposure. Monsters that had once been something else, now transformed into nightmarish versions of their former selves.
But these weren't the void-corrupted beings Marcus knew from other realities. They hadn't transformed into void angels or familiar void-touched variants. Instead, they'd become something uniquely adapted to this particular void's nature—creatures with chitinous purple armor, multiple glowing eyes, and geometries that hurt to observe directly.
"Purple void, plus these specific mutations..." Marcus studied the monsters with growing suspicion, pieces clicking together in his mind. "This can't be the world I'm thinking of, can it?"
He had a theory forming about which reality he'd entered. And if he was right, then many of his prepared resources and technologies would prove extremely useful here.
Perhaps because the Dark Aster was saturated with primordial void energy from Marcus's own power, the violent and twisted void creatures didn't attack the uninvited vessel. Instead, they slowly retreated, acting like prey animals recognizing a natural predator.
The corrupted beings could sense something fundamentally wrong—something that commanded the Void itself rather than being commanded by it.
As the Dark Aster continued through the purple void toward the material realm, a figure suddenly appeared directly in their path, accompanied by a series of distinctive boom-boom-boom sounds.
It was a humanoid void creature with wings extending from her back. Those characteristic sounds came from void missiles launching from wing-mounted launchers—projectiles that arced through the dimensional space toward the Dark Aster.
Seeing the figure's appearance combined with those iconic missile launches, Marcus felt certainty crystallize.
"Alright, I know exactly what world this is now." The woman's presence confirmed everything. "This is Runeterra—specifically the continent of Valoran. Following this trajectory, I might even be able to find Azeroth eventually..."
He laughed at his own joke, though genuine surprise colored his amusement. He hadn't expected to stumble into this particular reality.
Still, after experiencing the StarCraft universe as his previous stop, arriving in the League of Legends world didn't seem quite as shocking. Both were game-based realities that had achieved independent existence. The pattern was becoming familiar.
The Void – Kai'Sa's Perspective
After repelling another group of attacking void creatures, Kai'Sa looked up at the massive dark vessel hanging in the void above her position.
"When did that thing appear here?" she asked aloud, despite being apparently alone. "Do you know what it is?"
A moment after she finished speaking, the living void skin bonded to her body began writhing with agitation. An overwhelming thought flooded into her mind—not words exactly, but pure emotional communication.
ESCAPE! LEAVE HERE! RUN!
The intensity of the fear shocked Kai'Sa into momentary paralysis. She'd been fighting in the Void for years, had faced countless horrors that would drive normal people insane. But this was the first time she'd felt genuine terror from her symbiotic void skin.
The living armor had never shown fear before. No matter what threats they'd encountered, no matter how dangerous the situation, the skin had remained aggressive—sometimes even deliberately luring her toward things that might kill her, testing her limits.
But now? The skin wasn't just suggesting retreat. It was screaming for escape with every fiber of its existence. If it hadn't been so thoroughly bonded with Kai'Sa's body, it would have abandoned her entirely and fled in blind panic.
"What the hell is that ship that it scares you this badly?" Kai'Sa muttered, her eyes brightening with sudden realization.
If something frightened void creatures this much, it might possess knowledge or power that could be used against them. This could be exactly what Runeterra needed—a way to fight back against the Void's endless invasions.
Kai'Sa took a step toward the Dark Aster, determination overriding caution.
Immediately, the living skin exerted overwhelming resistance. It fought against her control with desperate strength, literally trying to tear itself in opposite directions rather than approach the vessel.
ESCAPE! ESCAPE! ESCAPE!
The single-minded terror paralyzed Kai'Sa's movement. She stood frozen as the skin and her will battled for control of her body.
While they struggled, the Dark Aster drifted closer and stopped directly in front of them.
Then a figure descended from the massive vessel—a man who moved through the Void without any visible protection, walking on nothing as if the impossible space was solid ground.
Marcus landed gracefully before Kai'Sa, studying her with obvious interest.
"Hmm... interesting. A very special symbiotic creature bred in this Void," he said, though he wasn't really talking about Kai'Sa herself.
He was referring to the living skin—the void-born armor that covered most of her body. It reminded him superficially of Mystique Raven's shapeshifting abilities, but this skin's combat applications were far more advanced. Raven could only alter appearance; this armor provided genuine offensive and defensive capabilities.
Kai'Sa stared at Marcus with obvious confusion. She had no idea what he'd just said—the language was completely foreign to her. Marcus's universal translator hadn't recorded this world's linguistic patterns yet, so no automatic translation was occurring.
But despite the language barrier, Kai'Sa felt certain that Marcus harbored no ill intent toward her. She'd developed strong instincts after surviving so long in the Void, and those instincts read him as... not threatening. Not to her, anyway.
Seeing Kai'Sa's puzzled expression, Marcus realized his oversight. His universal translator lacked this world's languages. He couldn't simply reconstruct the linguistic system like he'd done in the StarCraft universe because he had no data foundation to work from.
"Looks like direct consciousness transmission is necessary," Marcus said with mild annoyance.
He raised his hand and gently pressed it against Kai'Sa's forehead. Both their eyes began glowing with faint void energy—Marcus's intentionally, Kai'Sa's in response to his power.
The living skin on Kai'Sa's body went absolutely berserk, writhing and squirming frantically as it tried to escape from Marcus's influence.
"Why are you running? I have zero interest in you," Marcus and Kai'Sa spoke simultaneously, their voices overlapping as his consciousness linked with hers.
Through the transmission connection, Marcus directly accessed Kai'Sa's memories. He wasn't interested in her personal experiences particularly—he just needed to learn Runeterra's languages, understand local customs, acquire basic geographic knowledge.
After several minutes, the void energy faded from Kai'Sa's eyes. Marcus withdrew his hand, the connection severing.
"Do you want to travel to Valoran with me?" he asked, now speaking perfect Shuriman.
Kai'Sa's eyes widened with comprehension and hope. She nodded vigorously.
"Alright then. But do you actually know how to leave the Void? How to find the way back to the material realm?"
"Just... pick a direction and keep going?" Kai'Sa offered uncertainly. "I've been trying to find my way out for years. No real method, just wandering and hoping."
"Well, that's inefficient. Come with me—I know the way."
Marcus gestured toward the Dark Aster. Despite the living skin's increasingly frantic resistance, it couldn't prevent Kai'Sa from approaching the vessel. Whatever power Marcus commanded, the void armor recognized it as absolutely dominant.
Once they'd boarded the Dark Aster, Will reactivated the ship's systems. The massive vessel accelerated through the void-space, moving faster and faster until reality blurred around them.
Then they simply vanished from the Void entirely, transitioning back to material reality.
Shurima – The Kharis Desert Region
An enormous spacecraft suddenly materialized in the middle of a barren desert, its shadow falling across endless dunes of golden sand.
"This is..." Kai'Sa stared through the viewscreen, stunned into silence.
She recognized this place. The desert. The distant mountains. The way the sunlight fell across familiar landmarks.
She hadn't expected to actually make it back. After years trapped in the Void, she'd almost given up hope of seeing Shurima again. But here she was—home.
"This is your homeland," Marcus observed, studying the landscape through various sensors. "Let's go down and have a look around."
Marcus planned to explore this land thoroughly. He'd thought about this world extensively when it had been just fiction in another life. While he'd never been particularly interested in the game itself, the world's lore and diverse cultures had always fascinated him.
They boarded a smaller shuttle craft that detached from the Dark Aster. Once they'd departed, the massive mother ship engaged its stealth systems and disappeared from normal perception. Will would remain aboard, beginning the process of awakening and training the Kryptonian crew that would soon fill the vessel.
Though technically a small craft, the shuttle Marcus piloted was still remarkably sophisticated. Under his direction, it quickly disguised itself using holographic projection technology, adopting the appearance of a local airship—one of the wind-powered vessels common in Shuriman skies.
"There's a river ahead," Marcus noted, studying the terrain. "You lived along that waterway, correct?"
"Yes!" Kai'Sa nodded enthusiastically, leaning forward to get a better view. "That's our mother river. It's sustained life in this desert for thousands of years, nourishing the land and letting people survive in an otherwise hostile environment."
Then her mood suddenly shifted, joy fading to melancholy.
Marcus, who'd absorbed her memories during their connection, understood immediately. The disaster that had destroyed her home, the void rift that had swallowed her entire community—all of it had happened along that river. She was the only survivor from her village.
"At least your father is still alive," Marcus offered gently. "He wasn't present when the disaster occurred, right? That means you still have family in this world."
Hearing Marcus's attempt at comfort, Kai'Sa nodded firmly. He was right. Her father Kassadin was still out there somewhere. She wasn't alone.
"What are your plans now?" Marcus asked. "Do you want to find your father immediately? Or would you prefer to travel with me for a while, see more of the world?"
"I want to find my father," Kai'Sa said without hesitation. "I haven't seen him in so long. Years. I need to let him know I'm alive, that I survived."
"Fair enough. See you another time, then." Marcus began preparing to land near a settlement where she could start her search.
Then he paused, remembering something important.
"Oh, wait. Put these on before you leave." Marcus produced a set of normal clothing—a hooded robe and other concealing garments. "You don't exactly look human right now. Most people won't react kindly to someone who appears void-touched."
It was practical advice. Kai'Sa's symbiotic void skin covered most of her body, giving her an obviously inhuman appearance. In a world where void creatures were synonymous with apocalyptic threats, walking around looking void-corrupted would attract the wrong kind of attention.
"I understand. Thank you." Kai'Sa took the clothes gratefully. "Goodbye, Marcus. And... thank you. For everything."
She waved as she gathered the garments and walked down the shuttle's boarding ramp, stepping onto Shuriman soil for the first time in years.
After Kai'Sa departed, Marcus accelerated the shuttle and changed course. There were so many things in this world that interested him, so many locations worth investigating.
Piltover's Hextech technology, for instance—the marriage of magic and science that powered that gleaming city. The World Runes carried by the wandering mage Ryze, fragments of reality-warping power. The True Ice of the Freljord, frozen magic that never melted. The Ruination that had transformed the Blessed Isles into the nightmare realm known as the Shadow Isles.
And if he had the opportunity, Marcus very much wanted to meet the Aspects residing on Mount Targon—cosmic entities inhabiting mortal vessels, wielding powers that shaped civilizations.
"Hmm... problem though," Marcus muttered, reviewing the knowledge he'd taken from Kai'Sa's memories. "She doesn't have detailed maps of anywhere outside Shurima. This is going to make navigation difficult."
Kai'Sa had spent years in the Void and her childhood in a relatively isolated Shuriman community. Her geographic knowledge was severely limited to her immediate region.
"Forget it. I'll just fly north," Marcus decided. "Kai'Sa might not have maps, but she knows that most travelers who hired her father came from the north. That's enough to work with."
Marcus knew what lay north of Shurima. The twin cities of Piltover and Zaun sat directly north across the desert. Beyond them spread the Valoran continent proper, home to Noxus and Demacia and countless other nations.
Since he lacked precise coordinates, he'd just head north until he encountered civilization. Simple, if not particularly elegant.
The disguised shuttle flew rapidly through the air, maintaining its airship illusion perfectly. Below, the desert landscape passed in an endless repetition of sand dunes and occasional rocky outcroppings.
Fortunately, the monotonous scenery didn't last too long. The shuttle soon passed over an area of sparse vegetation, then approached a small town—one of the many trading settlements scattered across Shurima's desert routes.
"This will do. I can ask directions here."
After landing the shuttle on the town's outskirts, Marcus straightened his clothing and retrieved a small pouch of gold. The precious metal was essentially worthless to him personally, but it remained universally valued across most worlds as a medium of exchange.
As Marcus entered the town and began wandering its dusty streets, he attracted considerable attention. His clothing was immaculately clean and well-tailored—clearly expensive, even if the style was unfamiliar to local eyes. That alone marked him as wealthy.
Marcus felt numerous hostile gazes tracking his movement through the crowd. Potential thieves and worse, evaluating him as a target. He ignored them completely. These people weren't even worth his attention, let alone his concern.
"How much for these fruits?" Marcus stopped at a vendor's stall, studying the unfamiliar produce with genuine curiosity.
He'd never seen any of these fruits before—they were unique to Runeterra's ecosystem. He wanted to sample them, and this also provided an opportunity to ask the vendor about directions to Piltover.
Seeing Marcus address him, the stall owner quickly wiped his hands on his apron and stood, his expression shifting to an ingratiating smile.
"Ah, honored customer! These are honey fruits imported from Ionia—ten honey fruits for one gold Serekuri coin!"
Gold Serekuri coin?
Marcus paused, momentarily confused. While he'd absorbed Kai'Sa's language skills, her knowledge of currency was severely limited. She knew that various nations used different money systems, and that exchange rates varied wildly, but specific denominations were outside her experience.
The only Runeterra currency Marcus recognized was the Bilgewater silver serpent, and that was only because Captain Gangplank used them as part of his ultimate ability in the game version of this world.
Though Marcus didn't know the actual value of a gold Serekuri coin, he simply withdrew a small gold bar from his pouch and offered it to the vendor.
"I don't have local currency on me. Can you accept this gold instead?"
Gold?
The word rippled through the nearby crowd like a shockwave. Every head turned toward Marcus, eyes locked on the gleaming bar in his hand. Though not particularly large, the gold's purity was obviously exceptional—higher quality than most people in this region would ever see.
"This..." The vendor visibly struggled with temptation, staring at the gold. His hands actually twitched toward it before he forced them back. "Your gold is too valuable, honored stranger. I cannot accept it—I don't have anywhere near enough fruit to justify such payment."
It wasn't that he didn't consider trying to cheat Marcus. But accepting that gold would paint a target on his back. He'd be dead in an alley within a day, murdered for the small fortune he'd acquired.
Gold that pure, that easily portable, had a value that could be converted to roughly three thousand gold Serekuri coins. Maybe more.
That kind of wealth attracted attention everywhere—not just in lawless desert towns, but even in supposedly civilized places like Demacia or Piltover.
Seeing the vendor's refusal, Marcus simply returned the gold bar to his pouch without concern.
And in that moment, everyone in the market got a clear view of what else the pouch contained—more than a dozen identical bars, each as pure as the first.
"You should leave," the vendor said urgently, his voice dropping to something between warning and plea. "Leave now. This town isn't safe, especially not carrying that much gold."
He swallowed hard, his own greed warring with survival instinct.
If he thought he could actually win a fight, even the vendor would have been tempted to try robbing Marcus. That much gold could make someone wealthy for life.
Anyone who obtained that pouch would instantly become rich beyond most people's wildest dreams.
"Oh? Thank you for the warning," Marcus said with an amused smile, seemingly unconcerned by the danger.