Legends of Runeterra

"I wonder if you are satisfied with these offerings, Ms. Nayafili...?"

"Haha! How interesting. 'Sacrifice', is that how you call your subordinates?"

The buzzing sound emanated from the bodies of the hounds and echoed in the hall, blending with the sound of the hounds feasting, which was both strange and evil.

Nayafil, who once thought herself to be the most powerful Darkin, was confident that she could easily defeat any Darkin, until that despicable bastard with heterochromatic eyes weaved a lie for her.

In the end, the great darkin Nayafili lost his body and his soul was imprisoned in a flying knife, unable to speak or move.

Until...she was dug out by some unlucky guy.

As for why that person was considered unlucky, it was because although he successfully unearthed the throwing knife that imprisoned Nayafil, he was targeted by the Dune Hound.

In the end, the man who successfully dug out the Darkin Throwing Knife and seemed to be aware of the danger of the knife, holding it with pliers and wrapping it with thick lead-lined cloth, and his mount became a delicious meal for the hounds.

It was not until an unknown amount of time had passed that Nayafili once again felt the dry breeze, the iron smell of blood, and... the strange sight that seemed to be shattered into dozens of images.

It took a long time for Nayafili to realize that every dune hound was her, and every hound had a part of her consciousness in its body.

Hatred and disgust burned Nayafili's mind, but as time passed, Nayafili gradually peeled off the shells of inferior creatures and saw the qualities contained in them.

A single hound would be starving, but together they become one of the most formidable predators on this stretch of sand.

The previous failure was because Nayafili was too arrogant and ignored the power of the group, which eventually led to him being deceived by that bastard and imprisoned in a flying knife.

Now Nayafili has realized the power of community and recognised that personal grudges and backstabbing are tearing the Darkin apart from within.

Then he fell from his dominant position and was no longer the legitimate killer in the land of Rune.

It was for this reason that when Nayafili saw Xerath abandoning his followers so casually, he made a sarcastic remark to him.

"Haha~! Subordinates? No, they are just vultures that smell blood.

If someone could give them more power, they could be pointing weapons at me the next moment."

"Ah!"

Nayafili sneered and did not respond to Zeratul's meaningful words.

"Hasn't that stupid creeping lizard attracted his good brother yet?"

“Give him some time, Lady Nayafil. The longer Nasus endures, the harder it will be for him to give up this friendship.”

"Humph! The elder brother is even more useless than the younger brother. He has been hiding in the desert since the collapse of the Shurima Empire until now. His ascended body should not be a jackal, a turtle is more suitable for him!"

“Haha~! As long as we capture the capital of Shurima, we may be able to use the Sun Disc to dissolve Nasus’ ascended body and create a more suitable body for him.”

"No need for that. Let Renekton tear his useless brother to pieces with his own hands!"

Nayafili rejected Xerath's proposal. The Sun Disc might be able to reshape the ascended body, which was exactly the condition Xerath used to win her over.

Even though she understood the power of the group, Nayafili would not refuse the opportunity to shed her current body and gain a stronger power that could approach or even surpass her power as a Darkin.

Nayafili could understand some of the situation of Renekton, but the only problem was that Grand Maester Nasus, this guy was obviously not corrupted by the Void and was still an Ascendant, but he allowed everything to fall into chaos after the collapse of the empire.

Even though they had fallen into the status of Darkborn, most of them were extremely contemptuous and angry about his behavior, and some even tried to hunt down this Grand Secretary.

As to how much of this is because only Nasus maintains his ascended body, perhaps even the darkspawn themselves may not be clear.

Why not go find Azir? This thought has never occurred to Nayafili. Ever since she became a darkin, the glory of Shurima in her heart has turned into endless hatred.

Even Azir's grandfather was just a junior to Nayafili, not to mention Azir himself.

The glory that the Empire bestows on the 'Ascended Gods' is too dazzling. For the Ascended ones, perhaps they will respect the emperors who were in power when they ascended.

But after that, all that remained was respect for the position, not the emperor himself.

Their own injuries and the pollution and erosion of the void left them no time to care about the emperor's orders, and they had to do everything they could to maintain their own stability.

And as alienation becomes more serious, the ascenders try to reduce their outings as much as possible, leading to a situation similar to "obeying orders but not announcements".

This is also the reason why the Shurima Empire has gradually declined since the Battle of Icathia.

Eventually, without the leadership of the Ascended Martial Queen Setaka, and with the erosion of the void constantly tormenting and alienating their bodies and souls.

With the failure of Azir's "Ascension Ceremony", the majesty of the throne turned into ruins in the eyes of the Darkin.

“Woof woof~!”

The hounds roared excitedly, and hundreds of portions of flesh, blood, and broken bones, equivalent to an entire person's weight, went into their stomachs.

If it weren't for the dark marks on the floor tiles and the strong smell of blood in the air, it would seem as if nothing had happened.

"What about the 'Ascension Bloodline'? Have you confirmed her location?"

"Of course, she had been guiding those refugees to Uzeris some time ago, but she has not appeared in the past few days."

"So, where is she?"

"The capital of Shurima."

Xerath's voice was calm and certain, full of confidence.

"Even if the 'Ascending Bloodline' herself did not request it, at this moment, the 'honorable' Eagle King would definitely invite her to the capital!"

"Heh! Maybe. According to the agreement, the guardian beside her is left to me anyway!"

"Of course, thanks for your help."

"Hehe! Okay, this flesh and blood is enough. Call me when the war starts!"

"Yes, Ms. Nayafili."

The sharp blade around his neck, like a lion's mane, turned and walked into the dark passage.

The hounds, whose bellies did not swell at all despite having devoured so much flesh and blood, licked their lips and followed Nayafili into the darkness.

Nayafili did not overemphasize the agreement between them to Zerath. After all, she knew the nature of this "Lord of the Witch Spirits" very well.

As long as she ensures that she gets the 'ascending bloodline', the other party must fulfill the agreement.