The pale, cloudless sky was once again dusted with large, feather-like snowflakes.
Due to Piltover's geographic location and climate, it was still possible to venture out in light clothing during winter if the weather was clear.
In the past two years, Li Lin had not seen snow there.
Guided by Zoe, they made their way to the eastern edge of the forest and continued deeper.
Eventually, they reached the serene woods, a place teeming with magical creatures and fierce beasts, a realm perilous to ordinary people.
Fortunately, with Zoe by his side, even the divine aura emanating from her warded off many of the creatures.
Li Lin was not assailed by the bloodthirsty, giant beasts of limited intelligence at every turn.
After about five minutes, they finally arrived at the northwestern corner of the tranquil forest.
Towering trees, imbued with a hint of magic, rose high into the sky, their canopies spreading out like umbrellas, blocking the snowflakes from falling through.
Beneath the trees, colorful, luminescent fruits grew on bushes, adding a fairy-tale charm to the slightly darkened forest.
Ignoring the dangers lurking deeper in the forest, this place truly seemed like an idyllic retreat, a haven for leisurely exploration or secluded living.
Li Lin and Zoe navigated through waist-high bushes, with Li Lin continuously using "Data Mind" to check the attributes of their surroundings.
If something was not in the AI's database, he uploaded the data to the battle suit's system, synchronizing it with Piltover's servers via satellite.
However, Zoe's antics caused him considerable anxiety.
"Don't touch that fruit, Zoe. It's poisonous."
"That's not a squirrel; don't touch it! It's a predator that can swallow prey many times its size!"
"Get down! Those vines are traps; be careful not to get eaten by the treants hidden among the trees."
"Oh my, that's the Mouth of Death, a giant man-eating plant. It's not cute at all."
"Don't bring those Iron Fang bees over here!"
"..."
By the time they reached the so-called "Shattered Altar," Li Lin had been exasperated by this curious and mischievous child.
Though, with her strength, she wasn't afraid of any of these dangers...
After navigating through a particularly hazardous stretch, Li Lin and Zoe finally arrived at a circular clearing in the forest.
In the center of this area stood a moss-covered giant stone that occupied most of the clearing.
"This is the Shattered Altar," Zoe said, floating in mid-air, her pale feet swaying rhythmically with the soft melody she hummed.
"This is... an altar?"
Li Lin raised an eyebrow, closely examining the giant stone in front of him, and could just about discern its faint humanoid shape.
The statue had weathered the ravages of time and was almost unrecognizable.
The clothing carved into the statue had fused with the body, making the style indiscernible. The broken arms were nowhere to be seen, and thick green moss covered its entire surface. Vines as thick as fingers were wrapped around its nearly unrecognizable head.
It had its eyes slightly lowered, looking as if it were either praying or cursing something. The shoulders, facing away from the forest, had two damaged protrusions, decayed and indistinguishable from their original form.
Li Lin circled the statue. Even without using "Data Mind," he could roughly identify that the statue represented Morgana.
But how had her statue come to look like this?
Before he could ponder further, a deep and sorrowful female voice suddenly spoke from behind him: "You must be wondering why it looks this way, am I right?"
Li Lin was startled by the sudden voice, as the suit's AI system hadn't provided any alert.
He turned to see Zoe already eagerly approaching: "Hi~~! You must be Morgana, right? I'm Zoe, oh, also the Twilight Star Spirit, but I prefer people just call me Zoe!"
Li Lin's gaze briefly lingered on Zoe before quickly shifting to the mature and sorrowful-looking woman beside her. Morgana wore a deep purple gown, most of her face hidden by a black veil, with large, ominous wings locked in place by thick iron chains, emitting a sinister purple glow.
Morgana had a pair of eerie, soul-stealing eyes covered in purple light. Her floor-length gown trailed behind her, never touching the ground or collecting any dust.
Her long, flawless legs were occasionally visible through the high slit in her gown, her bare feet, as clean as her gown, touching the damp, cold soil.
Li Lin observed Morgana, the second Star Spirit he had seen in person, with a tinge of nervousness.
"Twilight... Star Spirit?"
Seeing Morgana's gaze turn towards her, Zoe excitedly nodded, "Yes, yes! Can we be friends?"
"..."
Morgana hesitated for a moment, ultimately not answering Zoe's question. She sighed and turned her attention back to Li Lin.
"Ugh, just like those guys from Mount Targon. How boring."
Realizing that Morgana was ignoring her, Zoe stuck out her tongue at Morgana, then leaned backward as if falling.
Just as she was about to hit the ground, a golden portal appeared behind her and Li Lin, magically transporting her back to his side.
In the next moment, Zoe pulled out a glowing blue-white rope made of star systems, bouncing around cheerfully in mid-air.
Li Lin glanced at Zoe helplessly before locking eyes with Morgana, who stood dozens of steps away.
"Because its owner was later discovered to be a corrupt protector of criminals, all related statues were destroyed."
Before Li Lin could respond, Morgana spoke again, her voice tinged with surprise. "A rather peculiar armor, infused with arcane magic, harboring such immense energy… This is also your creation, isn't it?"
With a casual wave of her hand, an object enveloped in violet light appeared out of thin air and gently landed at Li Lin's feet.
It was the drone he had searched the Noxian camp for but couldn't find.
Li Lin glanced at the drone, now charred and mangled by black flames, then took a step forward, touching its surface with his foot.
What happened next astonished Morgana.
The seemingly useless scrap of metal suddenly came back to life, shrinking as it was quickly absorbed by Li Lin's Infinite Armor.
Being made of nanomaterials and enchanted with rune magic for "self-repair," it had a formidable ability to recover.
Reclaiming the drone, even if it wasn't fully reparable, was better than discarding it. This way, he avoided polluting the environment and wasting resources.
"Is this Hextech?" Morgana asked, her question catching Li Lin by surprise.
Sensing his shift in mood, Morgana brought her black-nailed hand to her veil-covered lips and chuckled softly.
"No need to be so surprised. I may have lived apart from human civilization for a long time, but I'm no relic of the past."
"You… are Morgana, one of the Winged Protectors, aren't you?" Li Lin asked with feigned uncertainty.
"Winged… Protectors?" Morgana repeated, her violet eyes flickering with a hint of melancholy. "It's been so long since anyone recognized my true identity."
Her tone carried a trace of sorrow, as if lamenting being forgotten by the world. She then gave a self-deprecating laugh. "In their eyes, I've already become a new legend—the Masked One of the Dark Forest."
Morgana took a few steps closer to Li Lin, stopping about three or four meters away, and lifted her chin slightly. "Since you know who I am, aren't you afraid of me?"
"Afraid? Why would I be?"
"Because I am corruption, fallen, a protector of the wicked…"
Li Lin retracted his helmet, revealing a serious expression. "Darkness is not always evil."
Hearing this, Morgana's eyes widened slightly, her calm heart suddenly skipping a beat as she gasped.
Finally… someone other than my followers who understands me...
Morgana remained silent for a moment before calming herself.
She could tell that the Ionian before her, despite having a mortal body, possessed a strength that surpassed even the most devout warriors who had once served her.
And clearly, he hadn't used magic to enhance his physique, as there were no traces of it. So it wasn't the aid of the Twilight Star Spirit either.
His physical prowess was just one of the unusual things about him. Another was the wind magic that seemed to protect him, blessing him with the favor of an ancient god.
In other words, this young man was far from ordinary.
Through her observations and assumptions, Morgana had clearly misunderstood something.
Her eyes briefly flicked toward Zoe, and suddenly she realized, laughing softly, "Ah, if you've caught the Twilight Star Spirit's attention and are favored by a deity, you're certainly no ordinary person."
I'm just a regular mechanic… maybe a bit more muscular.
The reason I'm protected by the Wind Goddess is that I helped her regain faith, establish a church, and rebuild her followers, pushing her power to unprecedented heights.
As for Zoe…
Li Lin's mouth twitched slightly, not wanting to comment further.
Just as he was thinking about how to respond, Morgana added, "That dragon ravaging the borders, and that massive steel giant wielding the power of the sun that defeated it… Those are your creations as well, aren't they?"
A key word snapped Zoe's attention back to the conversation. "Dragon? Where? Are you talking about the space puppy?"
"Stop causing trouble."
Li Lin pushed Zoe's head back into the portal, making her pout and grumble in annoyance.
Then, he met Morgana's gaze and replied, "Yes, that's my design—a large mech… The 'power of the sun' you mentioned is a new energy source we developed."
"Impressive."
Li Lin detected a hint of admiration in Morgana's voice.
She took a deep breath before continuing, "If possible… may I ask you to use your weapon to cut off my wings?"
(chapter ends)
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