The Darkin War back then had partly happened because the Darkin were naturally warlike, and after their Ascended bodies vanished, that nature became even more terrifying under the influence of blood magic.
But the greatest reason was still the fall of the Sun Disc.
After that, the Darkin, who had once been loyal to Shurima, completely lost the direction of their lives.
When the royal family still existed, they could still guard that hard-won peace for the empire that had once been glorious.
But with both the royal family and their homeland gone, why should they lower themselves beneath anyone else?
Without the emperor's commands, the conflict between slaves and commoners also grew more and more intense.
After that, the Darkin began fighting over territory and followers, igniting that world-shaking war.
In the end, with humanity's assistance, the Aspects sealed the Darkin inside living weapons.
But after that, the Aspects withdrew and no longer concerned themselves with worldly affairs.
In the years that followed, those weapons were either sealed away or lost.
Aatrox escaped from his greatsword, and even killed the Aspect of War, Pantheon, who was attached to Atreus at the time.
Now, Pantheon's soul was still watching the mortal world from a dark constellation, trying to reclaim his power.
Trying to return to the world.
Caleb had once asked Aatrox about this. Demigods and Aspects both had their own exclusive death gods, responsible for guiding their souls.
After that, whether they faded away or returned again depended on whether they could seize an opportunity during that time.
So in the Freljord back then, the Iron Boar that Aatrox had killed and whose body he had used had, in truth, attached its soul to Tryndamere.
Since Aatrox could kill it once, he naturally had the confidence to kill it a second time.
When the time came, that endlessly regenerating, battle-tempered body could be used to strengthen himself again.
Because of that, Tryndamere's bloodsworn bond had been discarded, and now, he had become an ordinary member of the Avarosan tribe again.
However, he would still stop some of the trouble Ashe faced, as one of her suitors.
Pulling his thoughts back, Caleb finally noticed that the two people in front of him were staring straight at him.
For long-lived beings like the Darkin, time really did not matter that much to them.
Zilean's research showed that time still had an indispensable effect on god-warriors.
But once the stretch of time became long enough, those effects actually became smaller.
Take Aatrox, for example. He had lived from the first Shuriman empire all the way to the present day, from the Void to the Darkin War, then to the recent Black Mist invasion.
What kind of spectacle had he not seen? What species had he not killed?
To them, a human's short few decades truly did not count for much.
At worst, after their current hosts died, they could just find another body and use it to reshape themselves.
So with that kind of mindset, Rhaast and Varus's struggle for control over their bodies was really just something to try out for the experience.
But if Shurima was rising again, and their elder brother Aatrox had already sworn loyalty again, then they would have to bring out the same reckless ferocity they had once used when fighting the Void.
That was why the original hosts' consciousnesses had been suppressed in almost no time at all.
"Xolaani is over there as well. She can help reshape your bodies in a better way."
The moment Caleb finished speaking, he could visibly feel the two Ascended in front of him growing excited.
These two were surprisingly approachable. Their physiques were only the size of ordinary people.
Compared to Yaanogel's huge spear, which even Caleb struggled to hold, or Aatrox's godlike posture that left people feeling nothing but awe, Caleb could not help feeling much less pressure from them.
Of course, he would never say that to their faces.
"The Void of Icathia will soon return to the world. I ask you both to lend me your strength."
After Caleb finished saying this, the two of them fell into a strange atmosphere.
Their past battle records could be called glorious enough. After all, one of the most important conditions for becoming a Darkin was going into the Void realm and slaughtering one's way through it.
If they had not gone deep into the Void, then with the physical strength of the god-warriors, how could their bodies have decayed into that state?
In the end, they could only use a forbidden art like blood magic to reconstruct their bodies and avoid going to the death realm.
Although they were called Darkin, under Shurima's rule, they had actually been quite obedient.
It was only after Xerath stole the power of Ascension, causing the entire Shuriman capital to be destroyed and even the Sun Disc to fall, that these Darkin completely threw off all restraint.
Now that they had heard the empire they once served had risen again, how could they not be excited?
"We have to go back! We have to see the Sun Disc!"
The news Caleb had given them was already inspiring enough. This kid also knew high-ranking Ascended like Yaanogel, Aatrox, and Xolaani.
And he knew a great deal about Shurima, Icathia, and even the Void.
So even if only half of Caleb's words were true, whether it was Shurima's Sun Disc rising again or Icathia's Void about to return and poison the world, they had to return to their homeland!
"Yuumi."
Caleb rubbed the head of the yordle cat beside him, and she tactfully opened a portal.
"It's not directly beneath the Sun Disc, so I'll have to trouble you two to search for it yourselves."
"Of course."
Even Varus, who was not talkative, looked extremely impatient at this moment.
"And…"
Caleb hesitated for a moment, but still continued.
"I hope the two of you can return those bodies to these people with Lady Xolaani's help."
"They didn't do anything wrong."
The battlefield where Aatrox had seized a body was Mount Targon, a place that already had ties to Shurima.
In the Freljord, instead of attacking weak tribes that would have been easy to use, he slaughtered the tribe that worshiped the Iron Boar, the one Tryndamere belonged to.
After that, he wiped out the lair where the trolls had gathered.
So Caleb did hold some respect for Aatrox.
But these two Darkin had not been nearly as particular in their methods.
One had tried to seize the body of a student taken in by the Master of Shadows, while the other had simply accepted anyone who came his way.
Caleb still hoped those innocent people's bodies and consciousnesses could be returned to them.
With a blood magic expert like Xolaani around, and with time no longer so tight, this matter should not be impossible.
At worst, he could just make Yaano suffer a little longer and use his body for a while.
They could lend those two the already constructed body first.
Caleb was still thinking when Yuumi had already opened a portal to Shurima.
"You go first."
Caleb frowned, then without hesitation swept a Gale behind him.
The shadow quietly shattered. The two Darkin had also seen Caleb's comet attack, so they obediently went through the portal to the other side.
"Come borrow me from the arena."
Seeing Yuumi's reluctant expression, Caleb spoke with some irritation.
"I'm not going to die."
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