As dawn broke, a thunderous roar shattered the silence of the mountains!
A massive volcano erupted, spewing forth streams of crimson lava, and atop a red stone within the volcano stood an elderly man clad in blue.
If Garen were present at that moment, he would instantly recognize the old man—Kiran, the Guardian of Time!
Kiran gazed at the volcano, which loomed like a cage blocking his path, a bitter smile creeping onto his lips.
"Old friend, you have no way out now," a booming voice echoed. On the northern peak stood a tall figure, clad in resplendent golden armor that gleamed brightly, holding a long spear in his left hand.
Kiran was no stranger to this figure; the golden armor symbolized the highest honor of Demacia, and only a few could wear it. Indeed, it was Prince Jarvan IV!
The friendship between Jarvan IV and Garen was well-known throughout Demacia. Now that Garen had been missing for an entire year, Jarvan IV had searched frantically for him and finally tracked down Kiran.
This was not due to Kiran's deliberate concealment; rather, when he initially revealed the matter of the Cataclysm, no one believed him. Forcing Garen to be transported to the Godeyas Continent had been a last resort.
Just as Kiran was about to explain, the sound of galloping hooves came from the western peak. A man with long hair tied back disdainfully thrust his spear into the ground with a clang!
But that wasn't all; from the southeastern peaks emerged a woman wreathed in flames and a white-haired dwarf wielding a Heavy Hammer!
General Zhao! Dragonblood Champion Shyvana! Holy Hammer of Resolve Poppy!
"It’s been a while since I fought… Shall we kill him?" Shyvana flexed her wrist, revealing an eager smile.
"Rune Power at the pinnacle of time is no simple matter," Zhao Xin pondered for a moment before speaking.
"And Garen is still in his hands," Poppy pointed out the most critical aspect.
Shyvana's expression turned strange. "That guy is as tough as stone; how could he be captured without anyone noticing? It seems the Fearless Vanguard Legion needs a new commander!"
"I'll make sure to mock him thoroughly," Zhao Xin said with a serious tone.
Poppy glanced at the two still joking around and called out, "Javon, are we bringing this guy back?"
"Of course," came the cold laughter from Northern Summit. "But before we take him back, we can let loose a bit. That way... we can mock Garen with a clear conscience."
"Sounds like fun."
"Awesome... my dragon blood is starting to boil!"
"Let's make our move before Vayne and the others arrive."
Just as the four were about to set off, Kiran suddenly burst into laughter, dancing around without a care for his image, even tears of joy glistening in the corners of his eyes.
"Has this guy gone mad?" Shyvana exclaimed.
"Suspicious," Zhao Xin replied seriously.
"Can time go crazy?" Poppy pondered for a moment before suddenly noticing something. He pointed to the sky, "What is that?"
In the dim gray dawn sky, there was a massive dark silver vortex! Jagged bolts of lightning flickered in and out, resembling the legendary black hole of time and space!
"It's starting! It's finally starting!"
Kiran's eyes widened, revealing an indescribable excitement.
"Heroes of Demacia, I know you have many questions after this year, but trust me, all will soon be revealed! Every mystery will be uncovered!"
"As for this moment..."
"Please keep watch!"
...
Three days finally passed. When the final lines of the last magic circle were drawn, the entire Watchtower burst into enchanting brilliance. Each magic circle radiated dazzling fluorescence, colorful like a vertical rainbow.
From several dozen meters away, the crowd gathered around erupted with gasps of awe.
Looking at the completed Watchtower, Garen felt a surge of emotions. When he first emerged from the Aguillon Mountains, even he could not have imagined that within just a year, he would light up this lighthouse.
Of course, the greatest credit goes to Yasthia, and Garen once again expressed his gratitude to her.
Yasthia accepted it with pleasure, saying, "If there are no issues, we can channel the extreme power now."
"Let's begin," Garen nodded. The Fourth Phase project of the Watchtower primarily focused on overcoming the balance and stability of the magic circle, and channeling the three extremes was not in conflict with that; they could proceed simultaneously. In other words, once the three extremes were balanced, the Watchtower would be truly completed.
The dog noticed Yasthia's gesture and then carried a wooden box to the base of the lighthouse. There lay three pre-prepared magical stone tablets, used for transmitting extreme power to the energy source of the tower itself. When the wooden box opened, the dog carefully took out the Holy Eye and placed it at the center of the stone tablet.
"Boom!" The stone tablet slowly sank a few inches, and intricate lines began to appear on its smooth surface, forming some kind of special pattern. At that moment, the Holy Eye emitted a pure white light and began to float gently!
Between the Holy Eye and the stone tablet, fine magical lines flowed like a gentle stream, tracing along the tablet towards the base of the Watchtower, then rising up to illuminate various magic circles... hissing sounds echoed!
The pure white light surged like lightning, continuously shooting from the bottom to the top of the tower!
"Boom!"
Moments later, the three core magic circles at the top of the Watchtower were successively lit up, radiating colorful energy from three different directions into the sky. Suddenly, the blue sky darkened; dark clouds gathered, forming a swirling mass of pure white!
Rays of holy white light poured down from the gaps in the vortex, shining upon the land of Southern Suburbs as if under divine watch. It dispelled all worries and restlessness, bringing an unprecedented sense of tranquility and peace!
The treasure of the Celestial Race!
The extreme Holy!
"Let's continue," Yasthia said to Garen.
Garen nodded and took out the Undead Staff, placing it flat in the center of the second stone tablet.
At the same time, the three Holy Mages of the Deer Lion Dog moved into position, standing at the diagonal corners of the three stone tablets. They each drew their holy magic weapons, ready to unleash a magic circle to balance the friction between the two extreme forces.
However, the Undead Staff remained completely still!
The black-purple staff lay there like a lifeless object, with the lines on the stone tablet flickering faintly, as if lacking some crucial power that prevented them from connecting to the staff itself.
"What’s going on?" Yasthia asked anxiously, but when she turned to look, she found Garen's expression remarkably calm.
The reason the Undead Staff represented extreme death power was due to the presence of undead. If the greatest undead was absent, then it could only be considered as a gray death force, not true death.
Garen turned his head and noticed in a corner of the playground, Huxiu Neier, cloaked in a robe, slowly rising. Under Rody's bewildered gaze, he walked toward the Watchtower.
Watching that dark figure, Rody felt an unexplainable sense of confusion.
Despite having engaged in casual conversation earlier without revealing his identity—merely presenting himself as an outsider passing through town—now, gazing at that gradually fading silhouette that seemed somewhat desolate, Rody felt as if he had lost something important.
He suddenly felt an impulse to call out to that person.
Yet when the words reached his lips, he swallowed them back… Yes, that guy was just a stranger; why should he call out to him? Or rather, what right did he have to call out to him?
Huxiu Neier's steps were heavy, and his hands, hidden beneath the cloak, trembled continuously.
After a moment of casual conversation, he realized that Rody had grown a lot and matured significantly. He possessed excellent qualities, becoming the kind of person Huxiu Neier had always hoped Rody would be. Yet, in Rody's eyes, he also saw a hint of sadness. Clearly, during the days Huxiu Neier was absent, Rody had endured many hardships, which were the price of his growth.
Humans are such contradictory beings.
They wish for others to grow but feel pained by the cost of that growth—the scars that accumulate.
In short, life is filled with too many regrets.
Just as Huxiu Neier took another heavy step forward, a deep voice suddenly rang out.
"This person is Huxiu Neier."
The speaker was Garen.
As the words echoed around them, incredulous gasps erupted from the crowd!
Huxiu Neier? Wasn't he already dead? How could this possibly be Huxiu Neier?
Amidst countless voices of doubt, Garen slowly approached and removed Huxiu Neier's cloak.
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