Void Beetle Evolution Guide

The next second, a warm green light suddenly shone from Kai'Sa's chest. She was alive again, but this was only the beginning of her torment. Excruciating pain exploded throughout her body; Kai'Sa felt her will trapped within a pile of broken bones and rotten flesh, unable to feel anything but agony. She wanted to die, she wanted to scream, but her jaw joints were shattered, her jaw muscles torn apart. If not for her Void Armor desperately holding her up, she would no longer be human.

Soon, even her skin armor couldn't withstand the pull of death, tearing apart like a tightly wrung towel. Without the protection of her armor, Kai'Sa's blood and bones continuously scattered, only to grow back again thanks to the repairing power of her resilient foundation. A flickering green light appeared in the black hole, representing Kai'Sa's repeated resurrection.

The black hole's gravity was like a millstone in purgatory, tearing Kai'Sa's body to shreds every second, subjecting her will to constant pain. She couldn't think clearly, but watching her body repeatedly destroyed and reborn, Kai'Sa suddenly wondered: was she still the same person after countless body changes?

Her flesh began to grow faster than it could keep up with the rate at which it was being torn apart, and Kai'Sa's will was gradually sucked into the void deep within the black hole. Then she felt nothing more; faced with this endless destruction, even the runes seemed to have abandoned her. So be it, she was finally free from torment.

Soon, Bervis followed in Kaisa's footsteps. Her powerful physique only allowed her to endure a little longer; it served no purpose other than to subject her to more torment. With both of her sharp wings destroyed, she was practically crippled, unable to escape the powerful gravity, and was ultimately swallowed by the ever-growing black hole. Her journey, which had not yet begun, ended with her dying scream.

……

After an unknown amount of time, when Kasha awoke again, she opened her eyes to an incredibly clear blue sky.

She had never seen such a clear sky, not a cloud in sight, as if it had been thoroughly washed with water. Kasha subconsciously reached out to touch the sky, when suddenly a damp sea breeze blew by, making her feel a chill.

Kasha immediately noticed that she wasn't wearing any clothes. She instinctively tried to activate her skin armor, but received no response, and felt a sudden pang of sadness for no apparent reason.

Only then did her memories finally flood back, and Kai'Sa remembered everything—her armor had long been obliterated by the black hole along with her dead body. It had not received the immortality granted by the Resilience Rune, and naturally, it would not be resurrected with her now.

Kaisa's sadness only lasted a moment, because she knew the Wild Hunt had many lives left. The armored figures were like his clones; destroying a few wasn't a big deal, as long as they reunited when she saw him again, they would be back to normal. [The rest of the text appears to be nonsensical and unrelated to the preceding sentences.]

However, without the armor, she couldn't open the insect hive space, making it difficult to cover herself. Kai'Sa couldn't help but hug herself tightly in fear, but this wasn't the biggest problem she was facing right now. She found herself being supported in mid-air by the power of the runes.

Beneath her feet, the once pale purple sea had vanished, replaced by a newly formed, enormous void, filled with seawater from a day's journey, creating a magnificent circular bay. The color of the seawater varied with depth, from light blue to deep blue, with the deepest blue hue visible at the center of the circle beneath her feet.

A cool sea breeze blew by, but it sent chills down Kasha's spine.

Chapter 720 Resurrection

Syndra and Bervis perished together, and nothing within a hundred miles was spared; everything was swallowed up by the black hole formed from resentment.

The land beneath our feet disappeared, replaced by an ocean that stretched to the horizon, no wonder the sky was so clear at that moment.

Kasha was overcome with grief; they had sacrificed so much to kill Bervis.

Everything swallowed by the doomsday black hole might only be slightly better than directly activating a rune bomb; the affected area is still terrifyingly large.

Perhaps from today onward, the world map will undergo significant changes, much like the rune wars of the past millennia.

But this was much better than letting Bervise bring the whole world under her control. Kasha rallied and looked around.

She found herself trapped, the runes beneath her radiating emerald light, like rootless trees supporting her in mid-air. However, without armor, she could neither tear through the void nor fly, unable to escape this aerial prison.

Should she jump directly into the sea? Kai'Sa estimated that she might die if she jumped from that height, only to be resurrected by the runes. But the center of the bay was right beneath her feet, and swimming in either direction would take her hundreds of miles away from the shore—a thankless and arduous task.

"This is so troublesome... I can't do anything without the armor. I might as well just stay here and wait for Wild Hunt to come find me." It felt like she had only been separated from Wild Hunt for a short while, but Kai'Sa was already starting to miss him.

Kasha didn't have to wait long. Suddenly, the sea below began to churn, forming a whirlpool within a few breaths. Then, a dilapidated old steamship emerged from the center of the whirlpool, rocked violently a few times, and came to a steady stop on the sea.

"Come back, we can't live without you."

Seeing Wild Hunt appear before her and reach out her hand, Kai'Sa completely disregarded the fact that her feet were dangling in mid-air and leaped into his arms.

Kai'Sa clung tightly to Wild Hunt's neck, feeling his strong chest, tears streaming down her face. For a moment, Kai'Sa thought she might not make it back, but to ensure the survival of others, she had to sacrifice herself. Fortunately, Lady Luck was on her side, and she ultimately triumphed over death and returned alive.

Wild Hunt, his heart aching, held Kasha close, gently patting her back. The slow, gentle rhythm and pressure soothed her. The smooth, flawless body in his arms appeared to him as a mass of wounds. Entering the black hole meant certain death; Kasha had endured unimaginable torment to reach this point.

The two embraced silently, then kissed passionately. At that moment, body language spoke volumes. If there hadn't been someone waiting below, the two, burning with desire, might have simply merged into one, engaging in a profound exchange of souls.

After a period of tenderness, Wild Hunt transferred a part of himself to Kai'Sa, completing the fusion once again, turning it into a skin armor that clung tightly to her body.

"Let's go down, don't keep them waiting too long," Wild Hunt reminded them, opening a portal to the deck as he spoke.

Kai'Sa nodded, put away the floating runes, and followed Wild Hunt into the doorway.

Upon reaching the deck, Kasha immediately felt a heavy atmosphere envelop her.

The corpses of the ice dragon Portil and Cassiopeia lay on the deck, surrounded by a group of solemn-looking people. They looked down at the deck, and when they saw Kai'Sa return, a glimmer of hope rekindled in their eyes, but confusion and doubt still lingered more in their gaze.

For anyone, being resurrected is an extremely unusual event. Even if one is resurrected, it is often accompanied by a terrible price, just like the undead that once roamed the Shadow Isles; a complete resurrection was a luxury.

Kaisa understands them; after all, they evacuated earlier and didn't witness her rush into the black hole and emerge alive like Wild Hunt did. It's normal that they don't believe her now.

She went straight to the body. Katarina, her eyes bloodshot, knelt beside Cassiopeia. When she saw Kasha, she immediately grabbed her hand and pulled her down.

"Is my sister still alive? Answer me, Kasha!"

"Katarina, don't get agitated. Let Kai'Sa check the situation first."

Wild Hunt soothed Katarina, feeling her effort as if she were leaving red marks on Kassa's skin through her armor.

After learning that Cassiopeia had orchestrated everything through her death, Katarina struggled to control her turbulent emotions. She felt she had wronged her sister; Cassiopeia wasn't just a cunning schemer, and without Cassiopeia's meticulous planning, they could never have achieved such a resounding victory. However, all of this depended on their successful resurrection.

“Okay…” Katarina calmed down a bit, stood up with her arms crossed, and made way for her. Seeing Kaisa crouch down to check her injuries, she clutched her chest and added, recalling, “Belvis stabbed me in the heart, but she didn’t detect my hidden Darkin power, so I survived.”

For the Darkin, breaking the heart only temporarily destroys the physical body; as long as the weapon itself is not destroyed, the person will not truly die. Katarina escaped death by feigning her death.

“But Cassiopeia wasn’t so lucky. The Queen was wary of her abilities, so she went too far and turned her upper body into a bloody pulp…” The scene was so gruesome that Katarina’s voice trembled with pain as she recalled it. She took a deep breath before continuing, “The reason she still looks human is because I used blood magic to piece her body back together. But inside… well, you can see for yourself.”

Kasha nodded, lifted the white sheet covering Cassiopeia, and was immediately met with a sight that made her stomach churn.

The corpse was covered with crisscrossing suture scars below the neck. None of the reconstructed flesh looked natural. There was no trace of skin texture; it was all overgrown tissue, uneven fistulas, and wrinkles resembling those of someone who had lost a lot of weight. Even the navel and nipples were gone.

For a woman who loves beauty, this is worse than death. Kasha dared not be negligent and unleashed a life-reversing spell on Cassiopeia.

The process was predictable; Kasha herself returned alive from the black hole, and Cassiopeia did so knowing she could survive.

As emerald energy flowed into her body, reconstructing her vital organs, Cassiopeia's body grew back into its meticulously sculpted form, and she slowly opened her cunning eyes.

"A good beauty sleep really made me feel so much better. I've been racking my brains lately, nobody knows how hard I've been working!"

Amidst the uproar, Cassiopeia sat up, stretched her arms above her head, and intentionally or unintentionally displayed her supple and beautiful figure. She showed no surprise at her resurrection, as if, as she had said, she had simply had a good nap.

Then, Cassiopeia mouthed "thank you" to Kai'Sa in front of her, and then noticed Wild Hunt and Katarina standing to the side. Her eyes lit up and she got up and squeezed between the two.

"Master, have you missed me? I've missed you so much~" Ignoring everyone's gaze, Cassiopeia shamelessly thrust out her exposed, perky breasts and rubbed them against his chest.

A cloying, obsequious scent wafted over, and Kasha and Katarina immediately pinched their noses and looked away, unable to bear it. This was indeed the Cassiopeia they knew.

“I still hate you.” Kasha shook her head and then went to Portil’s side.

Although Portil died in her dragon form, her injuries were much less severe than Cassiopeia's; she only suffered a comminuted fracture of the cervical vertebrae, which Kai'Sa easily revived.

She raised her dragon head, her icy blue pupils sweeping across the deck, and then asked in surprise, "Where's Syndra? Why isn't she here?"

As soon as the question was asked, Kaisa's brows furrowed tightly.

Chapter 721 The Sealed Syndra

“Syndra… she probably won’t be coming back.” Kai’Sa’s eyes fell into a somber mood when Syndra was mentioned.

She believed that Syndra had no chance of surviving. The latter had no ability to come back to life, and her body was torn apart by the black hole, leaving no trace of her corpse. Even if she wanted to save her, she couldn't.

Upon hearing this, everyone's expressions sombered. The thought that even the aloof witch had sacrificed herself filled them with sorrow.

If we were to discuss who deserves the most credit, it would undoubtedly be Syndra, who transformed my remains into a black hole.

Katarina helped everyone conserve their strength to survive the difficult early game, while Kai'Sa delivered the crucial blow. Even Cassiopeia's plan was based on the premise that Syndra could take down Bervis. The victory in this war was truly due to everyone's contributions. But the one who sacrificed the most died, leaving no trace, which is truly heartbreaking.

"That's not right. I clearly calculated that everyone was alive, so how could anyone have died? Kai'Sa, did you not check Syndra carefully?" Cassiopeia suddenly said.

Even the previously confident Kasha hesitated: "I... haven't looked yet."

“We need to see her alive or dead. Even if there’s no body left, we should at least retrieve the runes she left behind, right? Those are world runes; they can be shattered, but they can never be destroyed.”

"You're right, I was too presumptuous. We should at least investigate before drawing conclusions."

Kai'Sa closed her eyes and began to sense the locations of the other runes. She was now the only one who retained a complete rune keystone, and the task of finding Syndra fell to her.

Using the interrelationships between the runes, Kai'Sa discovered the locations of the remaining keystones. The two that Bervis had stolen were carried inland by a school of fish, and the remaining one... was at her feet.

“The Foundation of Sorcery is on the seabed beneath our feet. I’ll go see if Syndra is there too.” Kai’Sa said, then put on her helmet and jumped off the deck, diving straight down.

"Hey, wait a minute, I'm going too." Sephie jumped into the sea as well, feeling that as a sea dragon, she could play some role in the ocean.

As Sephiroth leaped into the water, she transformed back into a giant dragon, her massive body slamming against the sea and creating enormous waves that nearly capsized the Royal Palace. The others hid inside the blue membrane, and by the time the sea calmed down, they were nowhere to be found; even if they wanted to chase after them, it would be impossible.

It's just a matter of going down to find someone; it won't take many people. The rest of the people who can't keep up can stay on the Royal Palace and wait.

I don't know if it's because it was sucked dry by the black hole, but the seabed looks very empty, so empty that it makes people feel lonely.

Through the lifeless seawater, Kasha could clearly see the round, pit-shaped seabed, which was frighteningly smooth.

She suddenly wondered, if the black hole swallowed everything within a radius of a hundred miles, would the depth of this giant pit also be hundreds of miles deep? If it were that deep, wouldn't the underground magma leak out?

As the sea dragon's massive body chased after her, Kasha swam over and clung to a scale on its head, getting a ride. Instead of racking her brains over these questions, she figured she might as well take a look later.

They had been diving for an unknown amount of time. The seawater grew colder and the light grew dimmer. Only the faint blue light from the decoy above Sefi's head could barely illuminate the path ahead.

Finally, they reached the bottom of the pit.

There was no lava, no life, and even the seawater was almost frozen in place. The only thing that could be found was a huge amethyst crystal, within which Syndra's body was sealed.

"It's her! She's still here! It's a miracle!" Kai'Sa immediately swam to the crystal and placed her hand on it, looking at Syndra inside with surprise through the transparent crystal.

The penetrating wound in the witch's chest was clearly visible, but apart from that, her body was completely intact, without a trace of being torn apart by the black hole.

She hugged her knees, curled up, her eyelashes drooping, like a sleeping beauty in a deep sleep, so quiet that she didn't seem to have just experienced a devastating event.

"Did the runes protect her at the last moment?" Wild Hunt could only think of this possibility. The crystal enveloping Syndra was like a magnified version of the sorcery foundation stone; both were the same purple and the same wedge shape, making it hard not to connect the two.

Kai'Sa couldn't fathom how Syndra could survive in that terrifying black hole, but the black hole blocked out all light, and she couldn't see what was happening inside. Perhaps, as Wild Hunt had said, she was sealed away by the Foundations of Sorcery for protection.

"How do I open this thing? It feels so hard, my claws can't even leave a scratch on it," Kai'Sa asked, impatient to wake Syndra. Only when everyone is here will things truly be perfect.

"Wait, we can't rush it," Wild Hunt stopped her. "The depth here is much greater than the abyss we went to last time. Syndra isn't protected by her armor right now; she's just a mortal. If we release her here, she'll be crushed by the pressure of the seawater."

"Yeah, I really lost my mind." Kasha, seeing herself making a series of foolish mistakes, fell silent. Overjoyed at having avenged her great enemy, she had acted without thinking; she needed to calm down.

"Let's take it up first." As she spoke, Sephie carefully opened her mouth and took the amethyst in her mouth... or rather, she held it in her mouth.

In her gaping maw, large enough to crush an entire warship, Amethyst wasn't even enough to fill a gap between her teeth. She could only suck it into her mouth, then use her tongue to hold it against her oral cavity, carrying it all the way back with it in her mouth.

After the return journey, Sephiroth spat the amethyst along with the seawater onto the deck of the Royal Palace. Then, the group discussed how to open the crystal without harming Syndra inside.

To safely open the crystal, one must simply borrow the jeweler's approach: use tools to cut or drill it open, or polish it little by little. Smashing, smashing, or having a dragon bite through the crystal is absolutely out of the question; otherwise, the resulting pressure and impact could kill the Syndra inside again.

However, despite trying every method imaginable—whether cutting the crystal with divine weapons or corroding it with void energy—they couldn't leave even the slightest mark. It was as hard as a product of a black hole compressing countless substances, possessing unimaginable hardness and density. (The last sentence appears to be a nonsensical string of characters and doesn't translate directly.)

"Now I know how Syndra survived the black hole. I guess even the black hole's gravity couldn't affect this crystal." Kai'Sa was at a loss and gave up for the time being.

“It seems this crystal can’t be opened from the outside.” Katarina placed her hands on the surface of the crystal and carefully felt it for a long time before offering a suggestion: “We have to find a way to get Syndra to open it from the inside.”

Chapter 722 The Witch Who Lost All Her Magic

Katarina possessed the Precision Rune for a period of time, and although the rune is no longer in her possession, she has retained some of her understanding of creation.

Now, she can analyze the basic properties of objects through observation and touch, such as elemental composition, hardness, and density, and this information will be directly stored in her brain.

She could tell the quality of a sword just by feeling it through the scabbard. She could tell exactly how much carbon it contained, whether it was flexible or rigid.

She knew the amethyst was indestructible from the outside by any means, just by touching it; it was a special product created by runes. Its hardness far surpassed that of any known material, even dwarfing the astral meteorite used to forge Darkin weapons.

“You said you wanted to open it from the inside, but…” Kai’Sa looked at Syndra inside, whose life or death was unknown, and felt completely helpless.

To open the crystal from the inside, they must first awaken Syndra inside. But if the crystal can't be opened, how can they contact the person inside?

Is this an unsolvable deadlock? Is Syndra really going to be sealed inside the crystal forever?

“If physical methods don’t work, you can try magic. This crystal was created from runes, so the power of the runes should be able to pass through the crystal walls,” Katarina explained.

"Alright, you don't need to say anything more, I know what to do."

Kai'Sa let out a somewhat helpless sigh; things had come full circle back to the matter of runes. And since she was currently the only one who possessed runes, she had to do everything herself.

As Kai'Sa infused the amethyst with her life energy, the others could see through the translucent crystal that the hole in Syndra's chest was healing. Moments after the wound was completely closed, the witch sealed within the crystal opened her eyes.

Unable to move, Syndra first rolled her eyes to observe her situation, then looked at the people who were isolated outside, and then activated the sorcery rune that she had been holding tightly in her hand.

The seemingly indestructible crystal cage gradually turned into light and disappeared in a flash. Syndra, also completely naked, slowly landed on the deck and sat down, still curled up with her knees drawn up, her long white hair covering her private parts completely.

Having experienced the sea breeze once before, Kai'Sa knew how cool it was. She took out a robe she had prepared in advance, went up and draped it over Syndra, then smiled and extended a hand of friendship to her.

"Welcome back, Black Hole Spirit."

"What did you just call me?" Syndra didn't immediately reach out her hand, and asked again as if she hadn't heard clearly.

"Black Hole Spirit, is there a problem?" Kai'Sa feigned innocence, then revealed a sly smile.

The apocalyptic black hole created by Syndra's death left a very deep impression on Kai'Sa, as if that was her true form, making it impossible for Kai'Sa to look at her directly again.

Syndra recalled for a moment, neither admitting nor denying, it was unclear whether she was speechless or too weak to argue with Kai'Sa. Then she took Kai'Sa's hand and, with a shaky effort, stood up.

Syndra, while possessing a Keystone rune, doesn't replenish her life force like Kai'Sa. The depletion from her resurrection leaves her like a patient recovering from a serious illness, and her century-long slumber has left her physically weak due to lack of exercise, ultimately resulting in her being unable to even stand steadily. Not only does she need assistance to stand, but her knees are also pressed together, resulting in an inward-pointing stance.

“I’ll help you too.” Cassiopeia stepped forward to support Syndra’s other arm, but Syndra reacted as if she had seen an enemy, and instead burst out with strength to pounce on her.

"Look what you've done! Thanks to you, all the magic I've accumulated over a hundred years has vanished in an instant! How are you going to compensate me for this loss?!" Syndra grabbed Cassiopeia by the neck and shook her violently. This woman had completely ripped her off, leaving her with nothing but ruin. Winning felt worse than losing. Putting yourself in Syndra's shoes would reveal just how furious she was.