CHAPTER 464 - Aatrox's Whereabouts

Ezreal was born in the wealthy district of the North Side. His parents were renowned archaeologists, and his uncle was a historian and professor at Piltover University's Archaeology Department.

Due to work, Ezreal's parents frequently traveled far from home and were often gone for months at a time.

The young boy had long grown accustomed to life without his parents around, but whenever they returned, he would follow them incessantly, asking about all the strange tales they had encountered.

Concerned for their child's well-being while they were away, Ezreal's parents entrusted him to the care of his uncle, Lymere. However, the professor did not take a liking to his unruly nephew.

Lymere arranged for strict teachers in various fields of history to discipline Ezreal.

What Lymere did not anticipate was Ezreal's brilliance. He was a genius who mastered everything with ease and disliked repetitive lessons on so-called "difficult topics."

Ezreal became Lymere's "bane," much to his uncle's frustration—especially because the troublemaking boy enjoyed wandering around the campus, causing mischief like climbing onto rooftops.

In the original timeline, Ezreal's parents had told him tales of the Tomb of the Ascended Warrior Nezuk. Later, during an archaeological expedition, they went missing.

However, due to the butterfly effect, Kassadin had saved Ezreal's parents several weeks earlier.

After their harrowing tomb adventure, the academy had temporarily halted archaeological expeditions to Shurima.

These days, Ezreal's parents were mostly at home, and his uncle's strict supervision made it unlikely he could attend such Hextech exhibitions on his own.

Li Lin scanned the room and, as expected, didn't see the familiar figure he had once encountered at Camille's brother Stevan's funeral.

Ezreal had evidently sneaked out again.

"I recognize you," Heimerdinger said, puffing his white mustache. "You're Ezreal, the son of Karosid and Heisili. Professor Lymere is your—"

Ezreal sighed, holding his forehead. "Oh, heavens, Professor Heimerdinger, please don't bring up my old-fashioned uncle again!"

With that, and to the astonishment of onlookers, he vaulted over the second-floor railing, landing on the ground with a roll to absorb the impact. He then adjusted his slightly disheveled hair and struck a pose he thought was dashing.

Li Lin couldn't help but chuckle. Ezreal, now about 15 years old, was the quintessential edgy teenager.

However, his system interface revealed that Ezreal, like Cithria, possessed a "protagonist halo," granting boosts in "luck" and "affinity."

This indirectly explained why, in the original timeline, the blonde kid could always escape danger and peril unscathed.

"You're quite an interesting one," Li Lin remarked.

Hearing Li Lin's comment, Ezreal raised an eyebrow and looked away, sizing him up. His expression overflowed with excitement and surprise.

"I've always heard of the renowned Pioneer of the Future, Li Lin. To meet you in person is just so cool!" Ezreal exclaimed, clenching his fists in excitement.

Realizing he hadn't introduced himself, Ezreal quickly gave a confident smile, showing off eight teeth.

"My name's Ezreal—EZ-RE-AL. In novels, characters as handsome as me are usually the protagonists~~"

Ezreal deliberately enunciated each syllable of his name to avoid mispronunciations.

However, his final remark elicited chuckles from everyone around him.

This kid was a true social butterfly...

"Alright, Ezreal," Li Lin beckoned with interest. "Earlier, you mentioned wanting to see if this machine could locate the Darkin. How familiar are you with them?"

"Of course! My parents and that old-fashioned uncle of mine are all historians! They've told me plenty of Shuriman legends!"

Ezreal confidently recounted various Darkin legends, even naming several well-known Darkin. He detailed the intertwined fates of Ascended brothers Nasus, Renekton, and Xerath, leaving Li Lin impressed.

For Li Lin, even with his enhanced mind capable of clarifying fuzzy memories, he could barely recall a few Darkin by name. Many others he had only skimmed over in the background lore.

When it came to the intricate details of Darkin legends, Ezreal clearly outmatched him.

The sealed Darkin would eventually awaken—it was merely a matter of time.

"A few days ago," Ezreal continued, "I heard that a giant crimson monster slaughtered several villages near Nochmirch Plains in central Valoran, even alarming Demacia's dragon reconnaissance squad.

"I suspect that's a Darkin breaking its seal and responding to the Sun Disc's call. To replenish its strength, it likely resorted to blood magic and flesh consumption, a classic behavior of the Darkin War era."

Ezreal's speculation astonished Li Lin, not to mention Heimerdinger and the others.

The Darkin he described was most likely Aatrox, the Sword of the Darkin, returning to Shurima from the Freljord.

Li Lin had heard of this incident before and even dispatched drones and mechanical engineers to investigate.

However, Aatrox had avoided lingering in any one place for long, deliberately concealing his presence for unknown reasons, rendering detection by AI impossible.

Valoran was vast, and tracking down a three-to-four-meter-tall Darkin was like searching for a needle in a haystack.

Drones and mechanical engineers combed the paths Aatrox might have taken but failed to locate him.

Today, Li Lin had planned to use the miniaturized Runeterra machine to search for Aatrox. He hadn't expected Ezreal to propose the idea first.

Not just Li Lin, but even Jayce, Viktor, the other staff, and the surrounding onlookers in nearby buildings held their breath, waiting quietly for the results from the Miniature Runeterra.

As the five-minute mark approached and everyone began to feel a twinge of disappointment, a faint red dot suddenly appeared at the location of Mount Targon. However, unlike when they searched for Jarvan IV earlier, the display did not zoom into ground level—only a general location was shown.

Valentina quickly jogged to the control panel and tapped a few buttons. Noticing something unusual, she exclaimed, "Due to the magical interference surrounding Mount Targon, the Miniature Runeterra cannot penetrate the magic barrier there. It cannot zoom in to reveal a precise location."

"A Darkin has really awakened?!"

"My heavens, a Darkin has gone to Mount Targon..."

"Could the legendary Darkin War be on the verge of breaking out again?"

"Fallen gods... Could they be trying to return to the Shuriman Empire and pledge loyalty to Azir?"

"Stop dreaming. If the Darkin really wanted to serve Shurima again, why would Aatrox go to Mount Targon?"

"I heard it was the Celestial Aspect of War and the Aspect of Twilight who joined forces with humans to seal the Darkin back then. Could he be going there for revenge?"

"Hey, now that you mention it, that does sound plausible."

"But can that guy even take on beings empowered by celestial forces?"

"..."

The crowd's discussions weren't loud, but Li Lin could hear them clearly.

Most of those present were wealthy and well-educated elites, some of whom had knowledge of the legends.

A few of their speculations even came remarkably close to the truth.

After contemplating for a moment, Li Lin lowered his gaze, focusing on Heimerdinger, who barely reached his knee height. "Professor, may I borrow Gaboga again?"

"As the current Council Chair of Piltover, it's within your authority to requisition Gaboga... Wait, what are you planning now?"

In the blink of an eye, the Infinite Battle Armor enveloped Li Lin entirely. "I'm going to meet the Darkin myself."

(End of Chapter)

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