Waiting like this wasn't going to accomplish anything.
If she truly wanted to leave, all she had to do was say so. Luke wouldn't have objected in the slightest.
But disappearing without a word? What kind of proper farewell was that?
She had simply flapped her wings and flown away, leaving him with a pile of unanswered questions and no idea who he could ask for answers.
Luke certainly wasn't willing to let things end like this.
The sunlight was unusually gentle today, but Luke had lost all interest in basking in it.
He rose from the rocking chair, stretched, and made up his mind.
If that was how things were, then he would find her and get a proper explanation.
She had broken their agreement without saying a word. There had to be a reason, and Luke wasn't going to simply accept it without one.
There was only one problem.
Even with that decision made, Luke had no idea where she had gone.
Runeterra was enormous. Trying to locate one specific person, especially someone who might deliberately be hiding, was like searching for a needle in a haystack.
Just as Luke was thinking about this, he received an unsigned envelope that afternoon.
Holding the slightly heavy envelope in his hand, Luke could tell something had been placed inside. After a moment of thought, he slowly opened it.
There was no letter.
Instead, he found a diamond-shaped crystal about the size of his thumb. Sunlight struck its surface and refracted into a rainbow of colors.
At the same time, Luke sensed magical energy contained within it.
Apparently, this thing was the message itself.
After thinking for another moment, he allowed his consciousness to make contact with the crystal.
A series of frozen images immediately flashed through his mind.
A towering mountain piercing the clouds.
A black-winged angel spreading her wings.
The moment Luke saw those two images, he had the information he wanted.
There was no doubt that the black-winged angel was Morgana.
And Luke recognized the mountain as well.
Across all of Runeterra, there was only one mountain in Shurima with such absurd proportions.
Mount Targon, the legendary mountain where divine beings dwelled.
"So she went to Mount Targon."
Luke withdrew his consciousness from the crystal and watched as its glow rapidly faded, his expression thoughtful.
He already had a guess as to who had sent it.
And Mount Targon had already been one of his guesses for Morgana's destination.
After all, her sister and mother were there, the very "family" she had always described as being on bad terms with.
Now he could essentially confirm it.
"Looks like I'll have to make the trip after all."
Luke watched the crystal slowly dissolve in his hand, his decision firm.
He didn't have any particularly negative feelings toward Mount Targon. It wasn't exactly some gathering place for villains.
On the contrary, the Aspects of Targon protected the peace of Runeterra in their own ways.
But Luke didn't exactly have a favorable opinion of them either.
Aspects and humans were fundamentally two completely different kinds of beings.
To those entities who came from the celestial realm and regarded themselves as gods, humanity was little more than a collection of adorable pets under their care.
They protected Runeterra, yet at the same time could be utterly indifferent toward individual humans.
A single mortal life meant practically nothing to them.
Countless people who attempted to climb Mount Targon, even those who nearly reached the summit, could simply be cast down from heights of thousands of feet because the celestial gods found them unworthy, dismissing them as those who had "failed" the trial.
Then the faith continued to spread, drawing more god-seeking pilgrims toward the mountain so that among the countless climbers, the celestial beings could search for vessels they considered suitable.
Those chosen would receive their power and carry their will throughout the mortal world.
There was no denying that they had made enormous contributions to Runeterra and humanity.
But Luke had always preferred to stay far away from a place like that.
If he could avoid dealing with it, he would.
Now, however, it looked like a visit was unavoidable.
His maid had run off there, after all. At the very least, he needed to ask whether she had gone willingly.
Luke happened to have nothing urgent to deal with at the moment. After briefly explaining the situation to Lux and the others, he prepared to leave.
Before long, he arrived at a Hexgate station near the capital.
Through Demacia's current cooperation with Piltover, Hexgate stations had been established throughout Demacian territory. One such station had even been constructed across the border on the neighboring continent of Shurima.
Back when Luke sent troops against Noxus, Tianna had led an army into Shurima and severed the Noxian flank.
The territory Noxus had occupied along Shurima's northern frontier consequently ended up incorporated into Demacia's domain.
Shurima's current political situation was even more chaotic than Valoran's.
Countless factions and states, large and small, divided the continent among themselves and fought year-round.
It was also a land overrun with mercenaries.
Of course, none of that had anything to do with Luke at the moment.
Using the Hexgate, he teleported directly to Uzeris, a city on Shurima's northern coast.
That alone saved him an enormous amount of travel time.
Uzeris was a coastal port city. Since coming under Demacian control, its connections with the surrounding regions had increased considerably.
Travelers and merchants from all over could now be found throughout the city.
There were plenty of people around, making it an exceptionally lively place.
Naturally, not just anyone was permitted to use the Hexgates.
Only people with identities officially certified by the Federation were allowed access.
The Federation referred to the various powers and nations willing to ally themselves with Demacia.
At Luke's suggestion, the Federation had implemented a system of identification cards and travel permits. Anyone traveling from one member's territory into another's required the appropriate visa.
Although these regulations restricted quite a few people, they also prevented a great deal of potential trouble.
At this point, Demacia's position and influence across Runeterra were becoming increasingly significant.
The architecture of Uzeris differed greatly from Demacia's.
The city had previously undergone extensive Noxian reconstruction, but after Demacia took control, the most obvious Noxian structures had been demolished.
The native Shuriman architectural style, however, had been preserved.
Luke walked through the city, taking in its harmonious atmosphere.
Along the streets, he could smell the distinctive dust and sand of the desert continent. The air was exceptionally dry.
Soon, he left the city behind.
Because Uzeris lay near the coast, vegetation could still be seen here.
Greenery stretched along the coastline around Shurima's outer edges, almost like peeling open a brightly colored fruit to show outsiders its attractive surface.
But deeper inside, the fruit had long since rotted.
There had been an old saying for many years that the continent of Shurima was already dead.
But it wasn't.
The continent continued clinging stubbornly to a final breath, almost as though it were waiting for something.
That was also why so many Shurimans could never bring themselves to abandon their homeland.
Once, Shurima had been more fertile than almost anywhere else in the world.
It had possessed lush forests and endless hills covered in greenery.
But when that great empire fell, all of it vanished with it.
Luke continued toward Mount Targon.
It wasn't long before he officially entered Shurima's desert interior.
Yellow sand covered everything.
The color of dust and sand dominated the landscape, and everywhere he looked seemed utterly drained of life.
As far as the eye could see, nothing existed except endless desert stretching beyond the horizon.
Traveling across such a land inevitably produced an indescribable feeling of isolation.
The loneliness was overwhelming, as though the entire world had disappeared and only you remained.
Spend enough time alone out here, and it could genuinely drive someone insane.
No wonder people said anyone traveling across Shurima should find a companion.
Otherwise, if the sands buried you, no one might ever even know you had died.
Footprints left by passing caravans remained on raised stretches of sandy road, though windblown sand would soon erase them.
Luke followed the trail.
Like many travelers, he found a scarf and wrapped it around his mouth and nose to prevent sand from blowing into them.
The desert wind was as moody as a certain little blonde, throwing a tantrum one moment and turning sweet and harmless the next.
Luke was in no hurry.
Before reaching Mount Targon, he still had some preparations to make.
That night, Luke found an abandoned mud-brick house that had clearly been empty for a very long time.
He didn't mind.
After cleaning it up a little, he lit a fire.
Once he had eaten, he sat cross-legged and sank his consciousness into his mental space, slowly reaching toward the three dormant rune fragments.
Throughout this period, Luke had never stopped studying the power of the runes.
As his understanding deepened, his control over their energy improved considerably.
As time passed, Luke slowly guided rune energy into his body, using it to temper his flesh little by little.
Naturally, drawing World Rune energy into oneself was extremely dangerous.
The slightest mistake could cause the energy to become unstable.
If his control over the runes failed, their violent power could rampage through his body and cause unpredictable destruction.
But Luke wasn't particularly concerned.
First, his mental strength was powerful enough to withstand the rune energy.
Second, Mental Barrier could effectively suppress the runes if they showed signs of losing control.
And third, the three rune fragments had always remained perfectly docile within his sea of consciousness.
Even when Luke deliberately interacted with them, they had never shown any signs of running wild.
That was why he had gradually become bold enough to begin using rune energy to temper his body.
At this point, Luke's physical body had essentially reached its current limit.
Unless he obtained another realm advancement card and broke through again, further improvement would be extremely difficult.
But the World Runes had given him another path forward.
By tempering himself with rune energy, Luke could gradually imbue his body with some of the runes' characteristics while making himself even stronger.
It was as though minute amounts of rune energy were being integrated into every cell and every muscle fiber.
Before now, Luke had already completed two rounds of tempering at different intensities.
The changes were clearly noticeable.
This time, however, he intended to completely temper his entire body.
And that would take some time.
Seven days later, at the summit of Mount Targon, Morgana watched as a devout climber fell from a cliff.
His desperate screams echoed through the valley until eventually they disappeared.
Like a passing gust of wind, he left no trace upon the mountain.
Morgana could only remain silent.
That climber had been kindhearted, honest, and sincere.
But he had fallen far short of the standards demanded by the celestial gods.
If he had never climbed this mountain, he should have lived a good life.
Instead, his future had been destroyed here.
Morgana had discovered that she simply did not belong in this place.
Over the past several days, she had witnessed similar scenes many times.
She had tried to intervene and save some of them, only to be sternly stopped.
Doing so, they told her, would violate the "rules" Mount Targon had upheld for thousands of years.
Morgana disliked those rules.
She had always hated being constrained by rules, and she disliked places so utterly devoid of human warmth.
Although she possessed power originating from the same extraordinary realm as they did, Morgana had always regarded herself as a person.
That was why she didn't belong here.
And yet, she had no choice but to remain.
Her mother and sister needed her.
And she did not want Mount Targon's rules brought to Demacia.
Over the past few days, her mother and sister had occasionally mentioned Demacia.
Their words revealed some curiosity toward the kingdom, though it was merely curiosity.
After all, no matter how much the kingdom developed, it remained a nation of mortals.
Why would gods pay it any serious attention?
They had far more important duties.
But all of that depended on Morgana not being there.
If Demacia continued developing while she remained within the kingdom, sooner or later her existence would draw their attention.
And then...
Morgana might once again witness winged divinities descending upon Demacian soil and imposing their authority by force.
That was what worried her.
Even if the possibility was small, she didn't want to take that risk.
The summit was rather cold, and it wasn't a particularly good place to bask in the sun.
Strange, considering how close this place was to the heavens, and that the legacy of the Sun itself rested upon this mountain.
Morgana stood inside an enormous, empty temple.
It belonged to her.
The building was magnificent, lavishly decorated in gold, with expensive furnishings throughout.
Yet she was its only occupant.
She quietly walked into a side courtyard.
A pond lay there, filled with clear spring water from Mount Targon's summit. A single drink from it could strengthen an ordinary person's body.
Many small, brightly colored fish swam energetically through the pond.
Ripples spread across the water.
Within them, Morgana saw the image of a man appear.
He was lying leisurely in a rocking chair, as though a warm summer breeze were drifting past him.
Sometimes, when she had been with him, things had been just as quiet as they were now.
Yet the feeling had been completely different.
Here, all she could feel was endless loneliness.
With him, even if she merely watched him nap and an entire afternoon passed, she had only ever felt peaceful and comfortable.
Morgana's eyes flickered slightly.
She had lost count of how many times she had thought about him since coming here.
The time they had spent together hadn't even been particularly long.
Measured against her entire life, it was little more than a brief moment.
So why had it left memories within her that she could never forget?
At that moment, footsteps approached.
Morgana stood up, and the reflection on the water disappeared with her movement.
She turned and saw Kayle approaching.
If anything, Kayle's presence made her look far more like the true owner of this temple than Morgana did.
Once she reached Morgana, Kayle said, "It's been several days. Why is your temple still completely empty?"
Morgana replied, "Is there something wrong with that?"
"Not necessarily. If you don't mind the silence, you can leave it empty forever."
Kayle looked at Morgana.
Neither woman displayed much expression, but Kayle carried an even colder air. Her naturally commanding eyes always possessed a sharpness that made her intimidating even when she wasn't angry.
"Then I'll leave it empty for now."
Morgana didn't particularly care.
Ever since the tragedy all those years ago, she had never wanted to gather followers again.
Giving people hope when she lacked the ability to fulfill that hope would only lead to sorrow in the end.
"I still think you should find a few followers who can at least relay your instructions," Kayle suggested. "Then you wouldn't need to handle everything personally. If you insist on dealing with every trivial matter yourself, you'll waste far too much time."
"There's no need."
Morgana remained firm.
In truth, she had always preferred handling things herself.
"Suit yourself."
Kayle didn't press the issue.
She turned her gaze toward the mountain.
"As for those climbers, there's no need to grieve over them. They made their own choices. Climbing Mount Targon has always been extraordinarily dangerous. Everyone knows that before they begin."
"I know."
Morgana nodded, little emotion appearing in her eyes.
"You simply haven't adjusted to this place yet. Given enough time, you'll get used to it."
Kayle gave her a faint smile before continuing.
"If there is someone among those climbers whom you deem worthy, you may choose to keep them. But don't think about saving everyone. They won't permit it, and you cannot give hope to every person who comes here."
"Mm."
Morgana nodded again.
"Very well. I'll leave you alone."
Kayle didn't stay long and soon departed.
Morgana was left alone in the temple once more.
A soft sigh seemed to escape her lips.
She turned her back on the mountain and decided not to look anymore.
She truly did not belong here.
But she had no idea how long she would have to stay.
If every day was going to be like this, perhaps it would be better if she simply stopped watching the mountain entirely.
She could endure loneliness.
That would have to be enough.
Kayle was right about one thing.
Morgana couldn't give hope to every climber who came here.
Which meant she had very few choices.
Either save none of them...
Or save them all.
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