thefictionvixens Page 32
Page 32
After all, aside from places like Ionia where the veil was weakened by the War of the Ancients, the realms of other regions are quite stable. Aside from a very lucky few who can touch and sense—and even that is merely sensing, not mastering—the vast majority of people in Runeterra only learn of the existence of the spiritual realm after death…
This is a delicious dish and must be treated with care.
Thinking this, the Lone Woman also reached out her hand. Her originally pale and weak body had gained some flesh color, and the deep purple scars on her body caused by excessive exposure to dim light had faded somewhat—demons are masters of disguise. And the Lone Woman also knew very well how to disguise herself as a good Zaunite and a weak Zaunite.
Soon, the previously haggard lone woman transformed into a middle-aged woman who, although thin, had a decent complexion and a compassionate air about her.
Dejected and listless, Seraphine huddled under an abandoned shed, large raindrops pelting her. She listlessly wiped herself, but the wind grew stronger, and the rain intensified. Even a child could sense Seraphine's bewilderment, numbness, unease, and despair in her futile, repetitive actions…
Just then, a middle-aged woman wearing a coat ran through the rain. After a moment, as if remembering something, she turned back and looked at Salafine with surprise, saying, "Child, why are you in such heavy rain? Sigh..."
Halfway through her sentence, the middle-aged woman seemed to realize something and sighed with a touch of pity.
After that, the middle-aged woman took off her coat and draped it over Salafine's shoulders. Feeling the woman's gesture, Salafine's face showed a hint of bewilderment and confusion. The middle-aged woman didn't speak, but looked at Salafine with pity and encouraged her:
“Don’t worry, child… There are always good people in this world. Come, come, get up and come home with me. If my daughter hadn’t had that accident, she would be about your age now… Sigh, come with me, child, have some warm soup to warm yourself up, otherwise you’ll definitely get soaked in the rain and hurt yourself.”
Upon hearing the lone woman's words, Salafine raised her head blankly, her voice filled with bewilderment as she said, "Auntie... why am I so desperate?"
She was still hesitant in the previous sentence, but as she was speaking, Salafine suddenly perked up. She blinked in confusion, stared blankly at the lone middle-aged woman in front of her, then slapped her forehead and exclaimed, "Oh! I remember! It's you!"
"Huh? Me?" The lone woman was stunned. Looking at Salafine who had suddenly returned to normal, the lone woman was slightly taken aback. Then, sensing Salafine's cheerful and lively spirit, which was completely different from the previous moment, even though her reaction was slow now, the lone woman had already realized that something was wrong.
A look of seriousness flashed in her eyes. Just as the lone woman was about to strike first and kill the pink-haired woman in front of her with a claw, the torrential rain suddenly stopped.
As a being in the spiritual realm, the Lone Woman can sense even more. Especially now, she can clearly feel that as the storm subsides, the air is filled with undisguised ecstasy and malice.
"Hey hey hey! I'm here!"
With a streak of azure light beneath his feet and a surge of malice in his eyes, he raised his arm, and a wave of water shot up from his side. With a casual flick of his wrist, the azure water transformed into a slender blade, slicing through the air in an arc of light.
Before the sound arrived, the lone woman had already sensed the malice surging within it.
A master's move is swift and decisive. To an ordinary person, it might just be a water blade, but the Lone Woman could clearly sense the compressed spiritual energy within it. Her expression changed instantly, and without even bothering to attack Salafine, the Lone Woman's body transformed into a blurry black shadow, flashing behind her repeatedly.
The instant his figure flashed, the slender water blades landed where he had been standing. Missing his first attack, Fann didn't stop there. Instead, he spread his arms and swung them repeatedly, followed by several more slender water blades—or rather, curtains of water—falling from the sky.
The thin curtain of water appeared delicate, yet upon landing, it left a thin, deep gash on the path strewn with bluestone and scrap iron. However, more than this physical destructive force, what truly unsettled the Lone Woman was the spiritual energy released by Farn during the process. Through the aura of this energy, she could sense a part of Farn's true nature. But it was precisely because of this that her heart grew increasingly filled with apprehension and uncertainty.
Upon landing, Fain helped Salafine up. He manipulated the flowing water to gently wash away the dirt from the girl's body. Under the warm water, not only the dirt was removed, but even Salafine's disheveled and wrinkled clothes were smoothed out, as if they had been carefully ironed.
"Thank you for your hard work. I'll take care of things here from now on."
"Oh, alright!"
Upon hearing this, Seraphine nodded eagerly. Her sapphire-blue eyes were filled with curiosity—although the feeling of having one's happiness taken away was unpleasant, when Fane returned happiness to her, Seraphine found that as she gained a deeper understanding of what it felt like to lose happiness, her own understanding of happiness had also become more profound!
62. Ceremony
Although she was filled with curiosity, Seraphine was not a reckless girl. Especially since Fane was speaking to her, but his eyes were fixed on the lone woman out of the corner of his eye, which made Seraphine realize that Fane was currently in a fighting state.
Although she plays a support role in the game, Seraphine actually has no combat experience. So she carefully suppressed her thoughts and ran towards Zeli and the others.
As Salafine left, Fann slowly turned and looked at the lone woman.
The wind and rain subsided, and moonlight pierced through the broken clouds. Fain opened his palm, and the flowing water, as if imbued with life, danced gracefully under his control, finally transforming into several slender water blades in the gentle breeze. They weaved and danced within the flowing water, displaying astonishing agility, and finally floated behind Fain like blooming lotus blades.
“To be honest, it’s been a long time since I’ve fought using skills since I came to Zaun,” Fain said with a light laugh. “After all, most of the enemies I’ve encountered here don’t require me to use skills; brute force is all I need to do to solve everything.”
"Who are you? Are you looking for me? What is your purpose?" Staring intently at Faen, watching him manipulate the flowing water with ease, the lone woman's heart filled with vigilance.
The ability to manipulate the composition of the material realm and attach one's own essence to it... this is a unique symbol of a great demon, or rather, a powerful being of the spiritual realm. This symbol does not represent immense power, but rather the ability to anchor one's essence to a part of the material realm, thus freeing it from the veil's influence and allowing for a better release of spiritual power within the material realm.
Fain remained unfazed by the lone woman's questioning.
The Flowing Blade hovered behind him, its thin, cicada-wing-like blade humming in the wind, as if echoing the rhythm flowing through Fain's body.
"Why say so much? You should know better than me about demons devouring each other!"
As he spoke, the Blade Lotus behind Fain bloomed instantly. A dozen or so water blades shot through the air, forming several azure arcs in the bright moonlight after the storm had subsided. Hearing Fain's words, the Lone Woman's heart sank to the bottom. But even so, she did not give up.
Her original human body exploded into black mist, and when the mist reformed, the lone woman revealed her demonic form.
She still possessed the form of a human woman, with a slender figure and skin that appeared as a dull pinkish-purple. Her vital areas were filled with a mottled, dark purple spiritual substance, somewhere between bone and collagen. In terms of physique and appearance, she looked remarkably similar to Evelyn. However, while her figure was alluring, it lacked the allure that Evelyn possessed, failing to stir the heart or evoke any other romantic feelings.
The reason is simple: with the revelation of her true form, the lone woman's head took on a completely inhuman appearance. It was entirely enveloped in a dark purple substance resembling that of a carapace-like creature. A single horn sprouted from one side of her face, while on the other side, two crimson-purple cracks split where her eyes should have been. But more important than the distortion of her face was the fact that her essence as a being in the spiritual realm was utterly beyond precise control.
Almost the instant their true forms were revealed, Caitlin and the others in the distance felt a strong sense of resistance. It's no wonder they had to specifically study disguise magic to transform into humans for deception.
"I serve the demon of torment, Evelyn!! This is my hunting ground! If you know what's good for you, get out of here right now!!"
Despite saying this, the lone woman had no intention of confronting Fane head-on. On the contrary, upon sensing the power emanating from Fane, she immediately began to flash backward, attempting to create distance.
Unfortunately, Farn wasn't going to let the lone woman go.
With a flick of his wrist, the Flowing Blade danced, and with a slight lift of his hand, azure arcs of light burst forth with a buzzing sound under the moonlight, then shattered into several streaks of light that shot towards the lone woman at several times the speed of before.
Sensing the rapidly approaching sharpness, a look of seriousness appeared in the lone woman's eyes. She then opened her palm, and her fingernails began to grow at an astonishing speed, transforming into sharp daggers in an instant. But just as the lone woman swung her palm, attempting to shatter the flowing blades, a muscular figure arrived before the blades.
To the disbelief of the lone woman, Fain's face was cold and stern as he emerged from the howling storm. His tall frame lowered his center of gravity, his left foot pushing off the ground, and using his waist and kidneys as the central axis, the massive dragon of his spine twisted violently. Hundreds of muscles, mobilized by his spine, contorted with immense power, and in the instant of the swing, they all plunged into his right arm—BOOM!!!
With a single punch, accompanied by a deafening air blast, the lone woman's upper body was instantly blasted into a cloud of flying blood mist.
He didn't stop what he was doing. Immediately afterward, the swift water blades flew from behind Fane, spinning and pinning the lone woman's lower limbs to the ground. The flowing water and swirling wind on the blades rapidly stripped energy from the lone woman's body and drained it into Fane's body—in a game, this would be stealing the opponent's maximum health.
Even so, the Lone Woman did not die—life in the spiritual realm does not perish due to damage to the physical body in the material realm. As a concept, they can only be assimilated by another concept. Even so-called death is merely the dissipation of consciousness; as long as similar thoughts exist in the world, new consciousness can be born.
Now, her remaining lower body forcefully broke free from the water blades driven into the ground. Without even attempting to salvage the parts of her being slashed away, she retreated at astonishing speed, her body reforming in the blink of an eye. However, this time was different. Previously, even though she felt fear and unease, the lone woman hadn't experienced any emotions akin to despair.
As a follower of the great demon Evelyn, the Lone Woman's power was above average even among many demons. However, now, she had personally experienced the terrifying power unleashed by Fane, and the strange nature hidden within that power that even made the Lone Woman afraid to try and determine it.
Without even thinking of making any threats, the lone woman immediately turned and fled as fast as she could.
As expected, Fain stomped his leg on the ground, and the water blade that had sunk into the ground was shaken back into the air, turning into water balls of different sizes, which then shot out in a fan shape as his right leg swept across.
Feeling a chill run down her spine, the lone woman instinctively vaporized her body. Although she managed to avoid being pinned to the ground by using the veil, the high-speed water bullet that pierced through her still 'scraped' away a significant amount of her essence. Feeling her power diminished once again, the lone woman realized Fane's purpose—just as he had said, he wanted to devour her!
Despair filled her eyes, but the lone woman did not give up the struggle. She dodged the cold light that pierced her throat by leaning back, but with her essence being cut by many thorns, the already weakened lone woman, although she dodged the first blow, the hilt of the spinning blade then slammed viciously into the ribs of her physical body—unable to vaporize, the lone woman could feel that the veil here had been strengthened, and she could no longer evade by becoming ethereal as before.
Amidst the cracking sound of bones breaking, Fane emerged from the blade barrier and delivered a knee strike to the demon's jaw. With a dull thud, the demon's horny helmet shattered into numerous fragments and cracks.
Despair flickered in her eyes, but then a mad, vicious glint appeared in them. Ignoring her injuries, her crimson fingernails tore through the mist, lunging towards Fane's throat. Unfortunately, before they could even touch Fane's body, three severed fingers were flung into the air in arcs of blue light.
With his left hand wielding a spirit blade to shred the demon, Fane's right hand grabbed the lone woman's ankle and slammed her to the ground. Accompanied by a sickening cracking sound, the demon's body was embedded into the floor tiles by Fane's astonishing violence, its bones shattered, and spiritual energy surging from its mangled remains. As the lone woman, uttering a death cry, tried to rise, four more sharp blades pierced through her limbs and embedded themselves in the earth.
"Hiss!!!"
With a painful and piercing roar, black mist burst forth from the lone woman's body, attempting to escape into the other side of the veil and transform into black mist to break free. Unfortunately, the veil's strength had been reinforced, and no matter how much the lone woman struggled, her body continued to fade. Especially at her fingertips and toes, the demonic bluish-purple had transformed into human skin.
Similar demons descend upon the material realm, often parasitizing the life forms within it. Humans, beasts, and Vastaya are all examples. The fact that the lone woman's body is now fading signifies the dissipation of her spiritual energy.
"Spare me... I'm willing to be your servant!" Nailed to the ground, the lone woman knew she was powerless to struggle, and said decisively, "The one who enslaved me before was Evelyn! I can sense that you are more noble and greater than Evelyn, but you are very weak now, and you need a servant to find more food for you!"
"I can help you! I can lure other demons here and make them your food!!"
Farn simply shook his head indifferently, not taking the Lone Wolf's suggestion to heart. Instead, he directly mobilized the energy of his mental domain, suppressing the Lone Wolf while simultaneously communicating with Janna in his mind.
"We've captured the target. Let's prepare for the next part of the ceremony."
63. Arguing
Upon hearing Fain's words, Janna also materialized from the wind, her gaze calm as she looked at the girl bound to the ground.
While Fane was finishing his battle, Zerek and the others were already heading this way. Although Zerek and Seraphine already knew of Janna's existence, this was indeed the first time Caitlyn had seen Janna.
Gazing at the spirit that appeared from the invisible wind, Caitlin felt a sense of familiarity and intimacy from the unique aura of spiritual life. This intimacy wasn't the familiarity of mother and child or brothers; it was more like a concrete manifestation of people's feelings for the land beneath their feet.
Caitlin didn't want to admit it, and she would never express it. But Caitlin had to admit that a voice inside her was telling her that the wind spirit before her was the embodiment of the Twin Cities... or at least, a part of the Twin Cities.
"It's just that because of Mrs. Piltover's ingratitude, Janna now has a stronger Zaunian vibe." Jinx wouldn't miss any opportunity to attack Caitlyn.
"So, did you feel it? Miss cop from Piltover in the upper city? That deep-seated calling and resonance~"
Caitlyn glanced at Jinx; in the past, she would have retorted sharply. But the problem was, far too many things were happening at the same time. So many that even Caitlyn's mind was becoming somewhat confused. Therefore, Caitlyn remained silent, quietly observing from the side.
Meanwhile, after staring at the lone woman for a while, Janna's voice also came from the wind.
“Her spiritual energy is more abundant than we imagined; I think it should be enough for us to create two Chosen Ones.” As she spoke, Janna looked at Fain with calm, emotionless eyes: “Do you have any recommendations?”
Upon hearing this, Fane also looked at the girls walking over from the side, and then said frankly, "If that's the case, I hope that one of these two is from Zaun and the other is from Piltover."
Janna nodded, indicating that her thoughts aligned with Fain's. Then, looking at Zephyr, Jinx, Seraphine, and Caitlyn, Fain didn't hesitate much and asked directly, "Zephyr, Seraphine, what are your thoughts?"
Having overheard Janna and Fain's conversation, and now hearing Fain's question, neither Zarya nor Seraphine were fools. They immediately understood Fain's meaning—he wanted them both to become the Chosen Ones. One from Zaun, the other from Piltover.
Although they were curious about what the "chosen one" meant, being suddenly chosen like this, feeling unexpectedly appointed, still made Zeli and Seraphine somewhat flattered. The two women exchanged glances, and then Zeli said somewhat shyly, "Uh... you've chosen me already? Isn't that a bit too obvious? Like, should we avoid suspicion or something..."
“There’s no need for that,” Farn shook his head. “Even setting aside our close relationship, your abilities make you the most suitable person to be chosen by God. Just like Seraphine, your emotions can not only be a source of power, but also a bridge to communicate with others, even allowing them to resonate with you and understand your ideals—those scattered sparks and arcs are the best proof. Besides…”
After smacking his lips a couple of times, Farn said nonchalantly, "Besides... why should we ignore our close relationship?"
"Uh, well... it's for fairness or something, hehe." Although she said this, Zeli still smiled a little shyly, sensing Fan's blatant favoritism. Of course, while she said she was shy, she was actually more satisfied inside. After all, people always hope to receive special favors. Especially favors from their partners, even if it's just a mundane little thing, can bring joy for a long time. Let alone something as important as this.
Although I still don't understand what the Chosen Ones do, just from the literal meaning, I can feel the heavy weight they carry... It just goes to show that Zaun is too backward. If it were Caitlin, she would definitely first determine the responsibilities of the Chosen Ones to prevent them from being read as the Chosen Ones but written as legal entities.
Looking at Zeli and then at Faen, Salafine seemed to want to say something, but hesitated due to some concerns. So Faen asked, "What's wrong? Salafine, is there something you want to say?"
"Ah... I... I'm fine." Upon hearing this, Salafine pursed her lips, then looked at Fan and said cautiously, "But I know what the role of the Chosen One is, but I don't know what I should do, or whether I can fulfill the role... Uh, I'm a little afraid that if I rashly become the Chosen One, I might disappoint Mr. Fan."
Seeing the cautious Seraphine, Fain smiled, then looked at Jinx, whose eyes were also filled with curiosity and confusion, and explained to Zeli and the others:
"The so-called 'chosen by God' literally means those chosen by the gods. Of course, you don't need to be too nervous. This doesn't mean you'll have to endure all sorts of trials to prove your abilities like in fairy tales. All you have to do is let people know about me and Janna, let people know that there are beings in this world who can control happiness and change, and let people actively strive for these things."
As he said this, Fane clicked his tongue and then pointed to the lone woman on the ground, saying, "This guy feeds on pain, so she will constantly create pain and try to push people to the limits of physical and psychological suffering to satisfy her own desires. But I am not like that, nor do I need extreme pleasure, and Janna does not need extreme change. So it is enough to just let people strive towards a happy life, actively change themselves, and fill themselves with hope for the future."
Upon hearing Fan's words, Salafine and Zeli nodded thoughtfully.
Having understood the meaning, Jinx nodded and said, "So you chose Zeli, who can turn her emotions into power and release them, and Seraphine, who can sense and influence the emotions of others? Not bad, these two are indeed the most suitable for this job."
As she said this, Jinx nonchalantly tossed her braid and said, "If it were me... I'd be happy! I can't be happy until I blow up all the Piltover guys!"
Upon hearing Jinx's words, Caitlin merely glanced at the madwoman beside her, sensing the indifference in the woman's eyes. Caitlin didn't believe Jinx was faking it—because based on Caitlin's understanding of Jinx, if Jinx truly harbored any desire for the so-called Chosen One status, she would have already stated it directly, instead of staring at her defiantly like this.
Jinx's hostility left Caitlyn somewhat exasperated. But meeting her gaze calmly, Caitlyn showed no sign of backing down, and simply said:
“I know you harbor resentment towards me because of Wei, but I hope you can calm down, because deep down you are still happy to see Wei again. And as far as I know, the reason you broke up was not because of me, but because of some things that happened between you in the past. Wei didn’t tell me these things, and I didn’t ask. I hope you can at least remain calm, instead of recklessly hating me, the one who brought you back to Wei.”
Upon hearing Caitlyn's words, Jinx fell silent for a moment, then sneered and said, "That's easy for you to say. If I didn't already know that you applied for Violet's release in order to capture me, I might have believed you."
“One thing at a time.” Caitlin shook her head. “Arresting you is my duty, and it’s also my position as Mrs. Piltover. If it’s because of aversion based on position or status, I can understand and accept it. But I absolutely refuse to accept this kind of unfounded hatred.”
The incident of Jinx bombarding the Piltover Council Tower hasn't happened yet. Although the conflict between the two cities is escalating, it remains generally under control. As the eldest daughter of a prominent family, Caitlyn understands right and wrong. Although they are enemies, it's more due to their respective positions than personal feelings. After all, if you really want to be honest, Caitlyn's opinion of Zaun is mostly one of sympathy.
However, her status prevented her from acting recklessly according to her own thoughts and personality.
But Caitlyn's magnanimity doesn't apply to Jinx—Caitlyn may be calm, but she hasn't experienced Jinx's, or rather, Jinx's, life. Countless times she's longed to possess, only to lose again and again. As a microcosm of the intense friction between two cities, even disregarding Vi's existence, Jinx still harbors an equal loathing for the entirety of Piltover.
“I admit that Vi’s affair annoys me, but you’d better get this straight, Miss Cop.” Jinx sneered dismissively, “I hate you, all I need is for you to be Mrs. Piltover.”
"Uh?!" Upon hearing Jinx's words, Seraphine couldn't help but gasp softly, then instinctively covered her mouth, looking at Jinx with an embarrassed and timid expression.
After a moment of silence, Jinx pursed her lips and said, "Your parents are both from Zaun... and you're the kind of naive girl who thinks she can win over two cities with her singing... okay, I don't hate you."
"Phew...that's good." Salafine patted her chest in relief.
With Seraphine's interruption, Jinx and Caitlyn's bickering came to an end, so they turned their attention to Fain.
Meanwhile, Farn had also completed the preparations for the ceremony.
64. The ceremony was a bit strange.
The spiritual realm is a complex concept. In a sense, it is more like the so-called multiverse, where almost every thought and idea in the material realm has a corresponding counterpart.
In this context, aside from the macroscopic spiritual realm corresponding to global emotions, there also exists a more confined individual spiritual realm—though only a very small number of people can perceive it. And of those who can perceive the spiritual realm, only a very small fraction can understand and manipulate it. Furthermore, those who wish to expand their own 'mind' into a spiritual realm are even fewer.
But this wasn't difficult for Fain—thanks to the generous donation from the top-ranked supporter, Osiris, Fain could now clearly sense the flow of energy in his mental realm. While he needed to maintain focus and concentration when manipulating others' minds, controlling his own mental energy flow was now effortless and effortless for him.
For Faen now, the only challenge is to achieve a deeper bond with Janna and integrate Janna's essence into his own spiritual realm.
Fortunately, Janna cooperated fully. As the ritual was completed, Fain reopened his eyes.
The first thing that came into view for Faen wasn't Fazeli, Jinx, Caitlyn, or the others. Instead, it was an endless expanse of azure—an endless flow of water filling this space. Within it, Faen could feel joy materializing and flowing through this ocean of spirit. A gentle breeze stirred in the sky, and bluebirds sang melodiously.
With focused attention and guided by Fane's will, the water beneath his feet began to surge and recede. Soon, a patch of not-so-firm sand was revealed. Then, slowly, the water receded faster and faster, revealing more and more sand. Under Fane's mental control, the sand gradually transformed into solid soil, and plants grew with each breath. In a short while, a lush forest sprouted, resembling a secluded paradise unknown to outsiders, isolated from the world.
While it might seem that the spiritual realm is now complete, this is not actually the case. In Ionia's philosophy, a spiritual realm can only be considered a spiritual realm if it exists within the spiritual realm and allows people's consciousness to enter. Any large spiritual realm must be able to accommodate the entry of matter.
Just as demons can descend upon the material realm through veils, for something to be recognized and recorded by the Temple of Eternity in Ionia, its spiritual realm must be sufficiently stable. This is because infinite life also possesses infinite thoughts, and the vast majority of these thoughts vanish after a brief existence. In such a case, painstakingly recording those things is counterproductive and utterly worthless.
But just as demons cannot easily enter the material realm—the vast majority of demons entered during the chaos of the Rune Wars.
However, enabling the spiritual realm to accommodate the entry of matter also requires extensive preparation. Fortunately, the spiritual realm can regulate the flow of time, albeit to a limited extent, which still allows Farn to approach this issue with a more relaxed attitude.