18 - The Reese Pantheon Roundtable

Lake's heart churned like a stormy sea.

If the one who came was Kaisa, Leona, or Diana—one of the three goddesses—he felt he might still have a chance to wriggle out of it.

But if all three showed up together?

Let's put it this way.

Lake was already considering whether he should head to Kamar-Taj and beg the Supreme Sorcerer to send him away immediately.

Michaela, listening with curiosity, asked, "Kaisa? Leona? Diana? Are they your wives too? Why do you seem so scared?"

Lake snapped back, "This isn't fear—it's a headache."

Michaela spread her hands, "Is there a difference?"

Lake sighed, gazing at the ceiling, "There's a difference. You'll see what it is when you meet those three someday."

Even after thriving in Valoran for ten thousand years, there was one thing Lake would never do: let those three meet, if he could help it.

Here's the deal.

If Leona and Diana crossed paths, they'd force him to pick a side—either help Leona, the Dawn Goddess, or Diana, the Moon Goddess.

If Leona and Diana met Holy Kaisa, it'd be the same deal afterward—choose between the Sun-Moon faction or the Angel faction.

And if...

If he happened to be there when Leona, Diana, and Holy Kaisa all met at the same time, well, there'd be no choosing sides. The three would seamlessly unite, turning their internal squabbles into an external conflict aimed squarely at him.

There was precedent for this.

And now.

Clearly, that scenario was playing out again.

Just then.

"Sir!"

Agatha's form stabilized, "I briefly connected to Valoran's central database and retrieved a file from the Angel Throne's records. It's unencrypted. Based on algorithmic analysis, Holy Kaisa intentionally left this for you to see."

Lake's eyes flickered.

Michaela's jaw dropped, "Angel Throne? You've got angels over there too?"

"How surprising is that? The current Angel Queen is one of my wives—big deal," Lake snorted with a smirk, then said, "Open it."

Agatha acknowledged the command.

The next second.

The interface shifted instantly. In a flash, the floor beneath Lake transformed into a cosmic nebula. Around him, countless beautiful female angels formed layers—three inside, three outside—guarding the towering Heavenly Blade Seven, the peak throne hovering above the Angel Star.

"Oh my God!"

Michaela let out a startled yelp, instinctively rushing to Lake's side and clutching his sleeve. It wasn't clear if she was shocked by the sight of so many stunning angels or terrified of falling into the cosmic void.

In an instant.

The light reversed, and in the blink of an eye, Lake found himself standing on the mountain platform of Heavenly Blade Seven.

Not far off.

Kaisa sat perched on her throne, wearing a crown and draped in the Angel Queen's cape, her snow-white wings gleaming like jade. Her expression was as cold and regal as ever.

What's going on?

Lake's mind raced with suspicion as he stared at the roundtable before him—right in front of the Angel Throne—where ten goddesses sat. He was utterly dumbfounded.

Michaela covered her mouth, seeming to realize something, "Are these all..."

Lake nodded, his face expressionless, "Yes."

Holy Kaisa, the Angel Queen, presided over the Angel Throne.

Leona, the Dawn Goddess, and Diana, the Moon Goddess, sat at the head of the roundtable.

Behind them.

Akali sat beside Leona, silently polishing her ever-present ancestral blade.

Fiora sat across from Akali, yawning elegantly, perhaps musing about her next fencing opponent.

Soraka, clutching her Staff of the Stars, whispered quietly with Ahri beside her.

Katarina and Vayne were debating their definitions of the art of killing.

Caitlyn, over there, was chatting with Riven about someone in Valoran who might be able to repair her rune broadsword...

At a glance, the scene seemed almost harmonious.

But the next second, as Holy Kaisa spoke from her throne, the atmosphere shifted dramatically.

Lake felt a chill sweep over him, a cold even Sejuani couldn't tame.

Holy Kaisa looked at the women seated around the roundtable, her voice as flat and icy as ever, "Three months ago, I, Leona, and Diana took a trip to the Chaos and found the Star Forger Dragon King. He told us the universe where Lake is currently located."

The expressions of the women around the table changed in an instant.

Clang!

Akali's ancestral blade hummed with energy.

Shing!

Fiora's rapier flashed out of its sheath.

Buzz!

Riven's rune broadsword suddenly became whole again.

...

Lake watched this unfold, his head starting to throb. Wasn't it just leaving without saying goodbye? He'd done it plenty of times before, hopping to other universes for a bit of fun. He always came back—why the fuss? A roundtable meeting?

What was this?

A prelude to a machete showdown?

Michaela, beside him, watched with wide-eyed fascination. She'd thought as much—goddesses were women too, and women got jealous. How could goddesses be any different?

Diana followed up, "We need a plan—a plan to capture Lake and bring him back."

Akali, barely containing the surging energy of her ancestral blade, said, "Can't the three of you just go get him?"

Leona, dressed in dragon robes and resting her chin in her hand, shook her head, "No. Right now, the great clock and Void core are both shattered in half. Forget whether we can even cross over—even if we could, our power levels would draw hostility and suspicion from other universes. Plus, the dark universe next door is eyeing us, and Principal Kieran is still recovering."

Riven spoke up, "We've got the Star Forger Dragon King."

Holy Kaisa, seated on her throne, said calmly, "After we visited him, he retreated deeper into the Chaos. He told us not to disturb his work crafting planets, even if the universe collapses."

Riven opened her mouth, then silently went back to polishing her rune broadsword.

Katarina's dagger gleamed with a cold flash, "I'll go."

Everyone turned to Katarina, who'd just spoken.

Lake's heart tightened, his knees feeling weak. With his divine power gone, if it was Katarina coming for him, he was done—done in the literal sense...

Thankfully.

Leona, who'd been daydreaming about which part of the Sun Star needed more sunlight, snapped back and glanced at Katarina, shaking her head, "You can't."

Katarina didn't respond, just stared at Leona silently. Her daggers could pierce even a supreme god.

Holy Kaisa spoke up too, "Katarina, your abilities are tied to darkness. We don't know what that other universe is like. We're here to find someone, not start a war. We need someone who represents justice."

As Holy Kaisa's words fell.

Caitlyn, who'd been dismantling her sniper rifle over there, paused mid-motion.

Caitlyn looked up.

The next second.