Void Beetle Evolution Guide

“This is a fragment of a sorcery rune, which can be used to complete my foundation. I’ll take it without hesitation.” Under everyone’s gaze, Syndra casually waved her hand, and the fragment flew straight into her hand, which she claimed without any politeness.

The group exchanged bewildered glances. The rune that Portyl had fought so hard to obtain was just snatched away by Syndra, so beautifully... Wasn't that a bit...

Seeing the strange expressions on everyone's faces, Syndra added, "Give me this one, and I'll compensate you next time I find runes of other types."

“No need.” Portil, having transformed back into human form, shook his head. “I’m already quite satisfied with having an opponent I can have a good fight with.”

She wasn't particularly eager for runes; a single fragment didn't perform exceptionally well. Only by synthesizing the foundation stone could she touch the power of the laws and interfere with the workings of the world.

Moreover, a living, breathing opposite person had died right under her nose, unnoticed by anyone. She should probably think twice before touching the runes.

"How does it feel? Against the rune holder?" Cassiopeia leaned closer and whispered as she pondered.

Portil replied, "Based on the opponents we've both encountered, this guy's destructive power is almost on par with Xerath's."

"Just a rune fragment can provide such a powerful boost? Turning an ordinary person into someone comparable to an ancient sorcerer!" Cassiopeia covered her mouth in surprise, then playfully nudged her shoulder with a mischievous grin: "But you're not bad either, you actually dominated the enemy the whole time."

"I still have to thank my master. It is thanks to him that I, who was so weak, have been able to get to where I am today."

When she last encountered Xerath, Portyl was almost completely out of the loop, not daring to appear in his sight at all. Now, she wouldn't hesitate to challenge Xerath to his face.

“I feel the same way.” The aloof dragon girl seemed unwilling to communicate, so Cassiopeia ended the conversation.

Ambitious, she had a different idea from Portil. She believed that she belonged to the group closest to the Wild Hunt and had a much greater chance of obtaining runes than others. Therefore, she should work harder to perform and strive for runes so as to do more for her master.

Chapter 563 Meeting Zoe

Having resolved the problem, the group returned to Mount Targon.

Syndra gazed at the towering peaks that pierced the clouds ahead; even riding on the dragon's back, she could not see its back, as if it reached the depths of space.

The air is thin and the cold is biting at high altitudes; you'll be out of breath after just a few steps. If it weren't for the divine intervention of the giants who lowered the altitude, it would be virtually impossible for mortals to reach the summit.

She pondered to herself that arbitrarily modifying such a massive, towering peak, even with runes, would be no easy feat... Just what exactly was this so-called colossus? What level of power had it reached? And what was its attitude towards Runeterra?

That said, Mount Targon doesn't just refer to that one towering, precipitous mountain, but rather to a region as a whole, including the surrounding peaks at its base. The Rakol people are the indigenous inhabitants of these mountains, whose lives have revolved around the giant peak for generations.

They love cliff carvings and pour their faith in the blazing sun into them. They carve circular or arched mountain paths and staircases into the cliffs, and their caves blend into them, looking from a distance like a beehive growing among the mountains.

Portil slowed down, intending to fly into the mountains to ask someone for directions, but unexpectedly, an accident occurred at this moment.

A sense of unease lingered in their hearts. Everyone looked up and saw a meteorite made of arcane energy flying towards them, leaving a trail of shimmering dust behind it, flashing continuously.

"What?!" By the time they reacted, the meteorite was less than a hundred meters away, and it was about to hit them at any moment! If it hit the ice dragon, and then they all fell from the high school—

"Certainly."

Syndra slowly uttered a single word, and with this monotone declaration, the entire world froze, including the arcane comet hanging overhead, its origin unknown.

The screams around her vanished with the sound of the wind high above. In this still world, only Syndra could move freely. She strolled leisurely on the dragon's back, looking left and right, her eyes revealing a growing understanding of everything.

"So this is what it feels like for time to stand still."

"..."

A soft gasp was heard, and Syndra immediately turned her head, looking at the group of people who stood like statues with a puzzled expression. They were all looking up at the sky, their eyes reflecting the glittering comet, some with confusion and others with shock.

Except for one person.

She saw Kasha's lips moving and her eyes struggling to move, as she tried her best to break free from the effects of the time stop.

"Huh, is something wrong? You can actually move."

Syndra looked at Kai'Sa in surprise. As she placed her fingers on Kai'Sa's shoulder, the invisible force exerted on the latter vanished instantly, and the flow of time returned to normal.

Kasha clutched her chest, trying to catch her breath. She felt like a drowning person who had been in a raging river and was pulled ashore at the last moment.

"Is this the power of the foundation of sorcery?" Kasha asked.

“You haven’t answered my question yet,” Syndra said noncommittally.

"I don't know, maybe it's because I also have runes." Kai'Sa made up a casual excuse, without revealing that she knew time magic.

She turned to look at the others who were like statues and realized that in the stillness of time, the most uncomfortable were those like her who could feel the stillness of time but were unable to move.

I can't imagine how desperate Syndra would feel if she used that ability for something like that. The feeling of being able to only watch helplessly and do almost nothing... just thinking about it...

Kasha shook her head, having gone off-topic. Looking at the meteorite overhead, she asked, "Do you know what's going on here?"

"It doesn't look like we triggered any protective formation; it's obvious someone is ambushing us from the shadows."

“But I didn’t see anyone.” Kasha looked around, even checking the blind spots under the ice dragon, but she still couldn’t find the culprit.

Could it be Kyle?

"I don't know, let's deal with the current threat first," Kasa reminded him. As soon as time starts flowing again, the comet will hit Portil before he can even dodge.

"This is simple; it can be done without runes—"

"Hello, ladies riding dragons! Didn't you just mention something about talismans? Or something like that?"

A strange voice suddenly interrupted Syndra's words from behind. Her eyes widened instantly, and a chill ran down her spine and straight to her head.

Even the Wild Hunt couldn't escape the time magic, so it's understandable that Kaisa could mitigate some of its effects. But why could someone else do it? And when did this person get behind her? Why didn't she and Kaisa notice at all?

"Who?!" She turned her head sharply and saw a young girl. She had a key tied around her waist and a heavy, lock-like pendant around her neck. The crystal ball inside seemed to contain a star, emitting a bright light.

The girl looked at them with a bright, smiling eye; one eye was like the deep blue sea, the other like a sky filled with twinkling stars. She was no ordinary person; her long, colorful hair far exceeded her height, winding and floating like a galaxy, shimmering with starlight. In comparison, the few freckles on her face were completely unnoticed.

"Hehe, I'm Zoe! But everyone calls me Twilight Star Spirit... Star Spirit, not Ghost!" She casually pulled, and a rope made of starlight appeared out of thin air. Her hands were busy twirling the rope.

This girl is a Protoss... no wonder she could appear beside them undetected, unaffected by time magic. Syndra suppressed her surprise and exchanged a glance with Kai'Sa beside her.

Kai'Sa, the Twilight Protoss, is a name that has been heard of for a long time. She used cunning and trickery to manipulate the Darkin, ending a dark age. She was also the creator of Darkin weapons, and almost every Darkin hates her to the extreme.

If Zoranny hadn't been affected by time magic, she might now be using Katarina's body to shout out "Twilight Star Spirit" in an unforgivable voice.

However, that Twilight Protoss was named Maisa, which is clearly not the same person as this little girl named Zoe. Could it be that she has changed hosts? In any case, she shouldn't be underestimated just because she is a Protoss.

"Zoe...did you make this arcane comet on your head?" Kai'Sa avoided the topic of runes and asked in as calm a tone as possible.

She actually knew the answer. There was no one else nearby, so Zoe, who appeared out of nowhere, was the prime suspect. Besides, since she claimed to be a Celestial, what was wrong with dropping a "star"?

"Yes, isn't it beautiful!" You Lin Mei are free, but Lin Zaizai isn't...

Chapter 564 Time and Space Played With

Zoe shook her head, completely unaware that there was anything wrong with her behavior; instead, she seemed like a child showing off her collection of beautiful stones.

'That brat!' Syndra's gaze instantly darkened. What else was there to say? She might as well just crush this little brat to death.

In her eyes, Zoe was the embodiment of the Twilight Protoss, trying to beautify her atrocities by wearing the skin of a child. Such a person was more disgusting than someone who was simply evil!

Kai'Sa, standing nearby, gestured for her not to act rashly. The Wild Hunt was unable to provide any information, so Kai'Sa had no idea about Zoe's background.

"Hmm...why did you do that?"

"I remember you can't fly around here," Zoe said, pointing to Mount Targon in the distance and pouting in thought.

"A no-fly zone warning would have been enough, why did you have to send a comet hurtling right at us? What if it hit someone?"

"It'll hurt a lot..." Zoe said sheepishly, stretching her leg across the dragon's back. Then she drew a circle in the air with her hand and said, "Okay, I've already aimed the trajectory at that mountain over there. As long as time is restored, it will 'whoosh' fly away by itself! And then 'bang' explode! Remember to watch the fireworks!"

"If there's nothing else, then let's leave it at that." Kasha looked up at the comet overhead again, still not entirely convinced.

This guy is clearly after the runes. Perhaps due to his childish playfulness and carelessness about his duties, he suddenly forgot what he came here for. I need to get rid of him as soon as possible.

But just as they were about to leave, Zoe shouted to them, "Hey, wait! I think I remember now!"

Kasha's heart skipped a beat. The girl said, "I think I came here to deliver a message or something. By the way, were you guys... talking about those pretty stones?" (The rest of the text appears to be nonsensical and unrelated to the previous sentences.)

"What beautiful stones?" Syndra didn't react for a moment, then realized that what Zoe called beautiful stones were the runes in their hands.

"Never mind if you don't know."

Zoe scratched her head in confusion. Just a minute ago, she was far away from here, silently reciting what she was supposed to do before being teleported here. But when she saw the huge dragon and the beautiful older women sitting on it, she immediately forgot her original purpose.

She quickly forgot about it and blinked her big eyes, asking, "Do you have any good food, like cakes? I wanted to go to the cake shop, but the teleportation magic suddenly stopped working as soon as I got back here."

"Uh... let me look." Kasha pretended to search her body. If giving her some food could avoid a fierce battle, that would be good. She wouldn't mind giving her more.

After searching around, Kasha took out a lot of snacks, including seeds of some unknown plant and white-skinned fruits, but not the cake that Zoe wanted.

"What are all these? Are they tasty?" Zoe looked troubled; the things Kaisa had brought didn't look appetizing at all.

"You'll see once you try it. These are sunflower seeds; you can bite open the shell and eat the kernel inside—it's very fragrant. This fruit is full of sweet gum; you can just put it in your mouth and chew it for a long time."

Kaisa gave Zoe only time-consuming snacks, her goal being to keep Zoe focused on the food and then slip away from her.

Upon hearing this, Zoe, still somewhat skeptical, popped a ginkgo nut into her mouth and chewed it, her eyes widening in surprise.

It did indeed have a refreshing minty aroma, and the taste was quite good. However, what she liked even more than the taste was its unique texture.

She chewed vigorously, her mouth puffing up like a hamster, and then blew a bubble with the sap!

"This is so much fun!" She clapped her hands repeatedly, excited about her ingenious idea.

"You can even blow bubbles? That sounds really fun!" Kai'Sa was amused. Putting aside her Protoss identity, this little girl was quite interesting, but unfortunately, she couldn't let go of that.

There is no bubblegum in Runeterra, nor are there any fruits like bubblegum. These are things Kai'Sa created specifically with runes to amuse children.

She can make oases grow in the desert, and creating entirely new plants that never existed before is not difficult for her.

However, indiscriminate sowing could lead to invasive species or even ecological disasters, so she generally doesn't do it recklessly.

"I also have something fun to show you." Having had fun, Zoe casually conjured up a bubble.

Inside the bubble was a shimmering butterfly. She accelerated it with half the speed of the planet's rotation, and the crystal butterfly, as if wound up, began to flutter and take the bubble away from her palm.

"Isn't it pretty? Isn't it beautiful?" Zoe said proudly, hands on her hips. This was the inspiration she had just used to blow bubbles.

"Beautiful." As soon as Kai'Sa finished speaking, Syndra suddenly clutched her head. A violent headache attacked her brain, and the frozen torrent of time began to flow again, the wind pounding on her like hammers.

A series of reactions occurred, starting with the comet overhead. Just as Zoe had said, it defied the laws of physics, turned sharply, and crashed into the mountains.

The impact of the meteorite caused a burst of energy, and the small particles it absorbed during its flight triggered a chain reaction, which then caused a second explosion that swept away everything in its path, turning the entire mountaintop into fine dust.

Terrifying power!

Then the rest of the group suddenly woke up, and they were very puzzled by the sudden appearance of the girl and the comet turning around.

Kasha didn't know how to explain all this. There were priorities, so she immediately grabbed Syndra's wrist to prevent her from swaying and falling from the sky.

"You should be careful when using time magic. Don't try to fight against the flow of time!"

"Why didn't you say so earlier?" Syndra scoffed, still feeling a splitting headache.

“I have a way to cure her,” Zoe said.

How to treat it?

Zoe had been waiting for Kai'Sa to say that. She jumped up, grabbed the butterfly bubble, and shoved it toward Syndra.

The strange bubble bounced and flew forward, finally hitting Syndra and popping with a "poof".

In that instant, Syndra's past and her present merged.

The dome of the sky was like night, obscuring the sun; twilight danced like butterflies, sometimes dark, sometimes bright.

Syndra drifted into a languid, tranquil reverie of the old night, her former mental state overriding her present consciousness.

Looking at Syndra, who seemed frozen in time like a sculpture, yet with butterflies fluttering around her, Kai'Sa tentatively asked, "What's wrong with her?"

"I just fell asleep! As long as I take a nap, all my worries will be gone when I wake up!" Seeing the strange looks she was getting from everyone else, Zoe stuck out her tongue and made a big face. "I'm leaving now! I suddenly thought of a fun place."

She grabbed the snacks and leaped into the air, letting gravity pull her down. As she fell, she reached out her hand, focused her mind, and created a path.

A custom-made miniature portal immediately appeared below her, connecting to another location.

She fell into the portal, and the matter that made up her body kept colliding and exploding, traversing through space and time.

Unfortunately, Zoe didn't reach her destination. She emerged from the second portal and found herself only a dozen steps away from where she had been.

The distance of those dozen or so steps was just enough for her to fall off the dragon's back, but she used the momentum from her fall to lift herself into the air, pause briefly, and then dragged herself back into the portal.

Time and space around her warped again, and then she returned to her starting point. The two portals folded, shrank, and disappeared.

Zoe didn't complain about the failure, as if the thing was never going to be 100% successful.

Instinctively, she put her failure behind her and created another portal with her mind. To her surprise, she found that the other end of the portal was exactly where she had envisioned.

"Well done!" Zoe jumped right in and didn't come back until the portal collapsed; this time she was truly gone.

"What's going on?" Amidst everyone's curious gazes, Kai'Sa reached out and touched Syndra.

Immediately afterwards, the spell on the latter was broken, the Crystal Butterfly disappeared, and Syndra lowered her hand and asked in confusion, "I think I just... took a nap."

"Do you still have a headache?"