Vayna acted swiftly, immediately sending several of his guards' subordinates to take the cultists to the dungeon.
Then, he informed the people that Zirima had returned under the control of the Eagle King, and he himself had become the governor of the empire.
Not only that, Vayna also reiterated the dangers of the Void and verbally issued temporary laws, prohibiting anyone from colluding with the Void cultists.
Those who dared to believe in the Void or harbor cultists would face severe punishment.
And those who reported such acts would receive generous rewards.
Once the matters here were resolved, Li Lin and his group returned to Vayna's mansion.
Vayna had several wizards who were adept at magic, and they had a complete set of magical tools.
He also had someone clear a space for Nasus to perform his magic, and prepared all the materials needed, before leaving with Li Lin and the others.
Inside the room, Nasus held a handful of blue crystal powder, a natural magical conductor widely used in various magical rituals.
Then, he opened his claws and casually sprinkled the crystal powder into the air.
However, instead of dispersing as imagined, the powder emitted a faint blue light, forming a small pentagram magic circle in front of Nasus.
Next, Nasus's fingertips flowed with Celestial magic, similar in color to the blue crystal, lifting up the fresh entrails of various animals prepared in one corner of the room.
Magic ground these flesh and blood into blood and powder, mixing them into the pentagram magic circle.
But the original clear color was not stained with crimson, but turned into faint fluorescent spots dotted in the magic circle, like stars twinkling in the sky.
Nasus uttered cryptic ancient incantations, and a brighter vortex of blue magic emerged from his body, extinguishing the flickering candlelight in the already dim room.
As the incantation of the astrological ritual finished, Nasus threw another Aegis pendant into the center of the pentagram magic circle.
The faint blue light and the star-like dots flowed onto the pendant within a few breaths, turning its originally dull purple color into a blue-white hue.
Nasus's red eyes stared at the momentarily grotesque face in the center of the magic circle, his expression somewhat puzzled.
"Huh? How could this fail?"
He squinted, one hand making complex gestures to continue providing magic to the circle, while the other quickly tapped on the pentagram.
After a few more breaths, the pentagram magic circle quickly transformed into a large map, which was a simple depiction of Shurima's current territory.
A light purple dot appeared in the southeast corner of Nashramae.
However, the situation now was even more serious than before.
In less than a heartbeat, the blue Shurima map drawn by Nasus's star magic was covered by tainted purple light, and even prepared to contaminate his magic supply source.
Fortunately, compared to the magic of the Ascended, this corrupting power seemed insignificant.
Nasus waved his hand, directly dispersing the array in front of him, and the Void power attached to it was purified by even more powerful Celestial magic.
The room fell into silence and darkness, with only Nasus's heavy breathing clearly audible.
"The one sheltered by the Void... if not eliminated early, will become a great trouble."
...
...
Ten minutes ago, in an unnamed ruined town at the foot of the southeastern mountains of Nashramae.
Dense tents were pitched behind various covers, and countless cultists in purple robes knelt before a deep pit, chanting prayers as if they were praying for something.
The last sunlight poured its final rays onto this land, but its color was overwhelmed by the alien purple light emanating from the underground.
As batch after batch of livestock were pushed into the deep pit, the earth faintly trembled, as if some colossal creature was excitedly wriggling underground.
Among the many cultists, a man wrapped in a cloak and hood covered with crude ancient Icathian symbols, with feet bare like dried tree bark, stood beside the shimmering purple light of the deep pit.
What was most eye-catching was his head...
The man's skull had turned into a layer of eerie purple membrane, inside of which pulsated with faint purple light, as vigorous as a beating heart.
The corrupt light expanded and spread, eager to feed and devour.
He was Malzahar, self-proclaimed "Prophet" who claimed to know the future, the spokesperson of the Void in the mortal world.
"My children," he spoke.
The kind of voice that was completely irrational could not be called a voice at all.
It did not spread through the air but directly entered everyone's minds, penetrating deep into their souls.
However, those cultists who showed fanatical colors were not surprised by this.
Every person had more or less non-human characteristics.
Some faces and skin were cracked, crawling with countless purple fissures.
Some opened their mouths, their yellow teeth wriggling as if they had independent thoughts and lives.
Others' eyes turned into a dozen or so irregular and chaotic fragments, flickering with purple light similar to the Void.
Malzahar's eyes, pulsating with purple flames, swept through the crowd. "Tonight is our annual Night of Confession."
Against the backdrop of the purple light oozing from the abyss behind him, a thin barrier appeared around him, lifting him slowly into the air.
"We have changed because of our experiences, but the memories we leave behind are meaningful."
Malzahar's voice, penetrating into the soul, carried an irresistible seduction.
"I have always warned you that the Void will come to this material world, our sorrows will be washed away by her, and our sins will be forgiven by her.
"The end will come, it's just a matter of time. When that time comes, the entire Runeterra, along with us, will merge into nothingness.
"This is our predetermined fate."
"The Void... the Void..."
The fervent believers began to chant the obscure name in unison.
The purple light in Malzahar's head flickered, emitting a eerie sound akin to laughter.
He waved his hand, and all the prostrate believers on the ground stopped.
"I have witnessed the light and darkness of the whole world being swallowed by nothingness on the ruins of that fallen kingdom.
"I used to think that this power was a kind of evil power... but I was wrong then.
"The Void is great, and it has turned into a new form, leading us towards new possibilities.
"She has enlightened me, and as her most trusted servant, she has sent me to enlighten you, lost lambs!
"The Void yearns for you, for your memories, your experiences, your existence, for everything about you."
Malzahar glanced around again, then raised his hand.
Instantly, a purple cold flame ignited on everyone's bodies, yet they seemed numb to the burning sensation, their faces devoid of any awareness.
The earth trembled more violently, and the abyss crack behind Malzahar tore through the surrounding bedrock, spreading rapidly like a spider web towards the believers.
"Thus, she will take everything."
As Malzahar's words fell, the ground beneath the believers began to collapse and engulf the entire ruined town.
The cultists were swallowed by swirling vortices of purple light, yet their faces were filled with twisted "happiness" smiles.
Malzahar watched everything indifferently, as if what had fallen into the abyss were not people, but a group of insignificant ants.
As the trembling of the earth gradually subsided, the abyssal cracks closed automatically, leaving almost no trace, and were quickly covered by the yellow sand brought by the gusting wind.
Hovering in mid-air, Malzahar slowly descended, his feet hovering about twenty to thirty centimeters above the ground.
"Not enough... not enough, these sacrifices are not enough to engulf those ports along the coast." he muttered with his head down.
But the next moment, a dazzling light burst forth from the faint purple barrier around Malzahar, and the intense magic burned his body, causing him to feel pain long forgotten.
"This is..."
Malzahar widened his eyes, already replaced by eyes without eyeballs, unable to understand what had happened.
Before long, a tearing, flesh-crushing pain swept over his body, "Cough, cough, cough..."
The void barrier around him seemed to be destroyed by some nonexistent force, and Malzahar could not control his body, falling to the ground and coughing up a puddle of corrosive purple liquid.
"Someone is probing me... who could it be?"
Malzahar wiped his face and the hood covering his head, trembling as he stood up.
The next moment, he heard incomprehensible mutterings in his mind, knowing everything.
"This power comes from the transcendent celestial realm... this is the astrology of the Ascended God-Warrior Nasus!"
Malzahar's clenched fists twisted unnaturally as they hung down, and the power of the void quickly converged around him, forming a new barrier, lifting him up in the air again.
"It's too early to confront the Ascended now. She is different from before, and has not yet accumulated the majestic power of thousands of years ago..."
Malzahar muttered like a lunatic.
He raised his eyes, looking south into the distance, where Zirima lay.
"My mission is not yet complete. I must return to the border of Icathia. Only there, the power of the Void will shelter me..."
(This chapter ends)
=========================================================
DROP THEM POWER STONES AND KINDLY LEAVE REVIEWS AS WELL!
SUPPORT ME ON P@TREON IF YOU'D LIKE ACCESS ON ADVANCED CHAPTERS
PAT REON.COM/TurdTranslations (Just remove the space).