CHAPTER 524 - The Well of Death

After the other generals had taken their leave, Swain led Li Lin through the Immortal Bastion. 

The footsteps echoed down the empty, shadowed corridors. Compared to Dawnkeep, the fortress of Demacia's royal capital, the inner depths of the Immortal Bastion felt desolate. Even guards were few and far between. 

The air was eerie and barren, devoid of any living presence. 

This was supposed to be the residence of the ruler of Noxus, yet every emperor in history had understood the origins of this place and what lay sealed beneath its depths. As such, they all maintained private estates elsewhere. Consequently, the heart of the Immortal Bastion saw little activity, even from its own guards. 

Thanks to the secrets Swain had unearthed from the depths of the fortress, he became the first leader bold enough to live there. 

While Li Lin curiously surveyed his surroundings, Swain, silent for a long time, finally spoke. 

"The Immortal Bastion houses many artifacts of ancient danger. Even I dare not investigate some of them." 

"Aside from Mordekaiser's power, is there anything else in this world that could strike fear into demons?" 

Swain turned halfway toward him, a faint, ambiguous smile curling on his lips. "Shouldn't you know the answer to that better than I?" 

The faint crimson glow of his left arm flickered beneath the shadows of his cloak. The middle-aged man walking ahead shook his head slightly. 

There were indeed many things capable of instilling fear in demons. As long as it wasn't one of the ten ancient primeval demons, learning a demon's true name could expose their weaknesses in the material realm. 

Of course, sheer strength was another way. If one possessed the kind of formidable magic wielded by someone like Ryze—enough to defeat creatures like Vel'Koz—the battle could be won by power alone. 

After all, among ordinary demons, only Nocturne was truly skilled in combat. 

The Hunger Demon Tahm Kench and the Agony Demon Evelynn posed little real threat to humanity as long as one could suppress their own emotions and resist their temptations. 

The pair continued downwards in silence for a while. Li Lin noticed the air growing heavier, carrying the acrid tang of rusted metal and the putrid stench of decay. A pervasive sense of death, thick and oppressive, filled the space. 

Li Lin began to suspect where Swain was leading him. "Are we going to the Well of Death?" 

"Indeed," Swain replied without turning back. "In my pursuit of buried truths within the Immortal Bastion, I discovered this place." 

The two stepped onto an old, creaky lift. Swain pulled a lever, and the grinding of chains against rusted gears echoed in the chamber. The ancient mechanism began its slow descent. 

Not long after, they arrived at an underground hall. Its center was dominated by a massive circular pit. 

The cavernous room was dim, illuminated only by scattered pillars engraved with faintly glowing runes imbued with a "brightness" property. Chains hung from the shadows of the ceiling, their ends stretching toward the pit. Despite being forged of metals covered in sealing runes, they failed to fully mask the ghastly green glow of death radiating from within. 

The aura bore some resemblance to the Shadow Isles but was fundamentally different. 

One was a curse of undeath, while the other was pure death magic. 

Swain stood at the edge of the circular depression, careful not to step inside. Li Lin, however, showed no such hesitation. 

In an instant, his Infinite Armor transformed, reshaping from its fabric disguise into full metal plating that encased him from head to toe. A translucent blue energy shield flickered to life around him, nullifying the effects of the death magic. 

Li Lin walked closer to one of the massive central support pillars, stopping seven or eight meters from its base. Beyond that point, he would need to activate his anti-gravity module to hover. 

Looking down into the pit, he heard faint, haunting whispers. Thousands of hollow, emotionless voices murmured in unison, enough to drive any ordinary human to madness. 

The language was incomprehensible to the living—a tongue of the dead known as Ochren. 

Some forbidden necromancers once studied this language, drawn to its latent magical power. They prayed to the dead, offering material sacrifices imbued with the essence of death to summon them into the material realm for aid in battle. 

But necromancers had vanished over a thousand years ago, during the Rune Wars. 

This was largely due to a foolish few who dared to summon the soul of Sahn-Uzal after his death, only to find themselves unable to banish him with the true name magic that bound him. By then, he had already adopted a new name in Ochren: Mordekaiser. 

The Iron Revenant had slaughtered nearly an entire generation, and necromancers were his primary targets. 

Protected by anti-demonic mechanisms and the Banshee's Veil, Li Lin was unaffected by the whispers of the dead. His attention remained fixed on the eerie glow at the bottom of the pit. 

Chains from every corner of the hall converged on a massive figure encased in black iron armor, bound with runic seals. Beside it lay a colossal warhammer. 

The armor stood nearly five meters tall, and the hammer rivaled the height of a full-grown man. 

Even with countless chains wrapped around them, covered in densely packed runes of green and blue, they could not contain the oppressive aura of death emanating from within. 

Of course, part of the death magic's intensity was due to the Well of Death itself, which served as a gateway to the realm of the dead. 

"This was where those foolish necromancers connected to the realm of the dead and brought Mordekaiser back," Swain said, his voice low and steady. 

In this deathly silence, even the sound of a pin drop would echo. 

"To this day, no conventional means can destroy that black iron armor or the Nightfall warhammer once wielded by Mordekaiser. But I believe that with your expertise, you might be able to annihilate them." 

Li Lin stepped back from the Well and let out a slow breath. "I could, but are you prepared to face Mordekaiser if I do?" 

His eyes returned to the pit's glowing depths. He didn't need something as extreme as a cosmic gamma-ray beam; a material disintegration ray would be more than sufficient to dismantle the armor housing Mordekaiser's soul. 

Even if he didn't have that, Li Lin could simply take the items into outer space. The realm of the dead was tied to Runeterra. Mordekaiser, no matter how powerful, couldn't use his magic beyond its boundaries. 

However... 

"This enchanted armor isn't the key to Mordekaiser's return, but the Well of Death is a direct link to his domain. 

"If Mordekaiser senses that his weapons and armor—objects that should never be destroyed—have been severed from him, will he march his army of the dead into this world ahead of schedule?" 

Swain fell silent for a moment before responding. "I've considered that possibility. But Raum has shown me Noxus—no, Runeterra's—future. This land will inevitably become a paradise for the dead." 

"Foreseen futures are only fragments of countless timelines," Li Lin replied with a chuckle, lifting his left wrist to reveal a watch formed from a fragment of the Inspiration Rune. 

"Why don't you use Raum abilities again and see if you can glimpse my future?" 

Swain's crimson eyes lingered on Li Lin before he let out a deep laugh. "It seems I've still underestimated you, Li Lin." 

"Mordekaiser's return is inevitable, but we can ensure his plans are crushed before they fully form." 

Li Lin glanced once more at the Well of Death. "There's no need to rush. Let's deal with the Black Rose first. We'll have plenty of time after that." 

(End of Chapter)