Following Kai’Sa’s guidance, Taliyah’s group set out once again.
Before Zach and Taliyah had appeared, Kai’Sa had already wandered across this land for countless days and nights.
She knew every part of it better than anyone.
Under her lead, the group did not encounter any more Void creatures along the way, and at the same time, they were gradually approaching an area where the storms were very calm.
Because most of the group were civilians, they did not move very quickly.
By the time they approached their destination, the sun overhead had already begun to drift west.
After setting up camp on the flat stretch of sand, everyone finally let out a long sigh of relief.
A bonfire was lit, and Taliyah’s people began taking food and water from their packs, gathering in small groups of two or three as they talked among themselves.
Taliyah warmly pulled Kai’Sa to the edge of the sandy camp and sat down.
From here, they could still hear the people in the group talking.
Zach, meanwhile, had already made himself at home among Taliyah’s people, sitting with them and chatting about who knew what.
“Thank you.”
Taliyah sat cross-legged on the sand and said this to Kai’Sa.
Kai’Sa asked first, “Where are you planning to take them?”
Taliyah looked at the sun gradually sinking into the desert beyond the horizon and said softly, “Xolan.”
“Xolan?”
Kai’Sa’s eyes were full of confusion.
She had wandered along the border between Shurima and Icathia for so long, but she had never heard of this place.
“Do you want a skewer?
Sandsnake skewers!”
Just as Kai’Sa was trying hard to think, a young girl’s somewhat childish voice suddenly sounded behind her.
Kai’Sa turned her head in confusion, just in time to see a little girl holding a sizzling, oil-dripping meat skewer in her hand.
The girl’s small hands were clenched tightly together, and her cute, doll-like face was full of nervousness.
Even so, she still held the skewer out in front of Kai’Sa and asked in a sweet voice.
Looking at the skewer in front of her, then at the little girl before her, Kai’Sa froze for a moment.
After a long silence, Kai’Sa raised her hand and took the skewer from the little girl.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome!”
The little girl smiled sweetly, then quickly ran off to the other side.
Kai’Sa followed the direction she had run in and saw the little girl hopping over to Zach, looking at him as if she were waiting for praise.
Zach raised his hand and patted the little girl’s head.
Ascended power shimmered at his fingertips, turning a stone into a clear, sparkling crystal, which he then handed to the little girl.
At the same moment he handed the crystal to the little girl, Zach’s gaze met Kai’Sa’s.
Kai’Sa saw Zach wink at her.
Kai’Sa knew that Zach had been the one to send the little girl over. Find the original chapter at g.com.
He was sitting there to reduce the people’s prejudice against her.
At that moment, Kai’Sa felt her heart struck hard once again.
She withdrew her gaze and gently took a bite of the skewer.
As she tasted the meat in her mouth, ripples spread through her heart.
While Kai’Sa was lost in thought, Taliyah had already finished speaking with the old men nearby.
“Kai’Sa, let the clan chief tell you about Xolan.”
The old man at the front took a very old roll of parchment from his robes and faced Kai’Sa.
“According to ancient records, on the other side of the Sai Kahleek Desert, there is a place called Xolan.
It is the homeland of the Faceless God, and it has survived for a thousand years under the protection of magic!”
“It is an untouched pure land, with libraries, gardens, and clean water that never runs dry!”
“Sai Kahleek!”
Hearing the old man’s explanation, Kai’Sa frowned tightly.
She did not pay attention to the pure land the old man described.
Instead, she focused on the place where he said Xolan was located.
The Sai Kahleek Desert!
“Kai’Sa?” Just then, Zach came to Kai’Sa’s side as well.
Kai’Sa said in a low voice, “You absolutely cannot go to that place, and you definitely cannot cross the Sai Kahleek Desert!
The danger there is far beyond anything you can imagine!”
The old man gently shook his head.
“We have nowhere else to go.
There is no way back for us.”
As soon as the old man finished, Taliyah also said, “If we go around from the outside, we won’t have enough food.
If we return the way we came, we have nowhere left to go.”
Kai’Sa grew somewhat frustrated.
“You would cross the lair of the Void creatures just for some vague legend?
Do you know what’s in Sai Kahleek?”
“The Xer’Sai?
I’ve heard of them in legends,” Taliyah said softly.
“That isn’t a legend at all!”
Kai’Sa’s tone grew increasingly urgent.
“The Xer’Sai truly exist.
I’ve fought them before!
“I even once saw a Xer’Sai queen from a distance, one far larger than ordinary Xer’Sai!
Just one glance at her, and I felt an overwhelming sense of danger!”
Listening to Kai’Sa, a hint of struggle appeared in Taliyah’s eyes.
But very quickly, that hesitation vanished completely, replaced by resolve.
“Kai’Sa, thank you for telling me this.
But my people truly have no path left.”
Taliyah looked at the bonfire in front of her, hugged her knees with both arms, and said softly, “Compared to a life with no hope at all, maybe that last bit of hope is the only road we have left.”
“We have no way back anymore.
Other than finding Xolan, the only path we have left is death.”
Compared to Kai’Sa, Taliyah did have her own people, but she was the only person in the entire village who had the ability to fight.
If what Kai’Sa faced was rejection from her own kind, then what Taliyah faced was probably the heavy burden of restoring her entire tribe.
Kai’Sa and Zach listened to Taliyah’s words, and both of them looked at each other.
Zach looked at Kai’Sa.
He knew what choice Kai’Sa would make next.
So he smiled softly at her.
“Kai’Sa, do what you want to do.
I’ll help you.”
Kai’Sa looked at Zach with shining eyes, then looked at Taliyah in front of her once again.
“Taliyah, Zach and I also need to cross the Sai Kahleek Desert, so we can travel together.”
“Really?”
Hearing Kai’Sa’s words, Taliyah looked at Kai’Sa and Zach with delight written all over her face.
Zach spread his hands.
“I’m just a healer.
I’m only here to cling to Kai’Sa’s coattails, so she gets the final say.”
Kai’Sa nodded and said with certainty, “Really.
We need to go to the other side of the Sai Kahleek Desert to find an abandoned ferry crossing.”
“That’s wonderful!”
Being able to travel with Kai’Sa and Zach made the joy on Taliyah’s face grow even brighter.
When Zach heard Kai’Sa’s words, however, he could not help raising an eyebrow.
He becomes connected to Silco’s side, gains a Skin Master System, and uses League skin-based weapons, tech, armor, and abilities to change the fate of Zaun.
Instead of letting Arcane’s tragedies play out exactly the same way, Felix tries to protect the people around him, especially Powder/Jinx, and push Zaun toward open rebellion against Piltover.
The story starts with the Piltover-Zaun conflict, then expands into the wider Runeterra setting: Noxus’s invasion of Ionia, Demacia’s internal conflict, the Freljord, Shurima, the Void, and eventually the Ruination/Shadow Isles plotline.