Void Beetle Evolution Guide

"Then it's even less likely. That raven is a legacy left by Mordekaiser."

The demon Rammer usually appears in the form of a three-eyed raven. It hunts the dying and devours their secrets, so the last thing the dying person sees is often a raven.

When Swain was dying in Presidium, his arm severed by Irelia, it was Rammer who flew from the Well of Souls to his side, wanting to peck at the secret he was about to take to the earth. Swain seized the opportunity; he gazed into the darkness and saw a secret even Rammer couldn't see: a way to manipulate it.

Because of Ramer's betrayal, Swain narrowly escaped death and, as a result, gained Ramer's power, acquiring the ability to know all secrets.

That's why there are so many crows above the Immortal Bastion. They are watching everything, making things difficult for the Black Rose. Perhaps Swain is closely observing what is happening in front of the Dark Portal right now.

However, viewed from a broader perspective, this might also be a move by Mordecais. (The remaining text appears to be nonsensical and unrelated to the preceding sentences.)

He was killed twice and reborn three times. When he was betrayed by LeBlanc and banished back to the Underworld, was it because he was careless? No, he simply went back to lead his army of the dead.

In the dark age ruled by the Ironclad Wraith, he waged endless wars and slaughtered countless people. This was not merely to satisfy his own selfish desires; the souls of those killed did not enter the cycle of reincarnation normally, but were intercepted and absorbed into the underworld by him using necromancy, becoming part of his million-strong army of Ironclad Wraiths.

They will become the bricks and tiles of the underworld empire, building a new empire on the once empty wasteland.

Therefore, Mordekaiser's feigned weakness leading to his death at LeBlanc's hands was entirely a calculated move. LeBlanc knew this, but she had no choice but to do it, which is why she was so afraid of Mordekaiser's return.

Similarly, the Wild Hunt didn't think the ravens left behind by Mordekaiser would be any good.

In the short term, the demon did save Swain's life, but from a broader perspective, the help it provided also allowed Swain to firmly control LeBlanc.

LeBlanc felt this was a sign of Mordekaiser's imminent return. In recent years, she had played every card she could against Swain, and was almost out of options.

Tybak, the fire demon residing inside a teddy bear and obeying the little girl Annie, escaped from the school she ran; of the experimental subjects, Riel and Berea, one defected after learning the truth, and the other's containment failed; seeing the Hextech development in the Twin Cities region flourishing, attempts to intervene also failed...

She originally had Cassiopeia and Elise as her trump cards, but both of them had long been poached by the Wild Hunt. Now, LeBlanc only has the half-hearted confidant Vladimir left. In desperation, she even came up with the idea of ​​combining demons and Darkin, sending the demon Etahan, left behind by Mordekaiser, to the spiritual realm of Ionia, hoping to force a Darkin to possess him and fight for her against the returning tyrant.

Unfortunately, her schemes and tricks were ultimately beneath her dignity, and the sudden arrival of Thresh completely disrupted her plans, catching her off guard.

Returning to the present, facing the Dark Portal, Thresh did not attempt to break it down, but instead prepared to open it step by step.

Thresh arrived at the door, tapped the lampshade with his fingernail to stop the ghosts inside from howling, and adjusted the light to a suitable atmosphere for storytelling, showing great attention to detail.

Wild Hunt looked up and saw only his back, which revealed a cruel resentment.

Thresh recounted his experience at the amphitheater, where he was full of confidence and anticipation but became the only student in his class to fail to be selected. He was then banished to the Vault of Hell for arguing with the elders, becoming a Warden of the Boundaries, or jailer, and was subjected to endless ridicule.

"At first, I was ambitious and wanted to make a name for myself and prove those blind masters to me. But I soon discovered that my colleagues were a bunch of unambitious scum. They were desperate to leave the Vault and their indifferent attitude toward the Dark Relics would get me killed sooner or later."

"I was very irritable during that time, dragged down by these idiots, and worried about my safety. Until I found a relic in a corner of the secret vault, a dark artifact that was enough to change my life - the helmet of the Ironclad Wraith."

Chapter 755 Thresh's Secret

“Through this skull, the Iron-Armored Wraith from the underworld made contact with me. I diligently studied the language of Ochen and finally understood the message he was conveying to me. This lord of the dead promised me a chance; when everyone else had given up on me, he alone chose me.”

“His guidance helped me through that unbearable time. I lay in wait in the darkest corner of Blessed Island, like a viper waiting for my chance. When Kamavia’s army attacked, I knew my chance for revenge had come.”

"King Feuergo was desperate to save lives, so I took advantage of that and led him to the heart of the island to gain his trust. But by then the queen was dead, and even the Blessed Spring was powerless to save her. He was heartbroken, so I taught him the Curse of Ruin that Mordekaiser had taught me, telling him that it could bring the dead back to life."

“Foygo did as he was told. The Curse of Ruin can indeed resurrect the dead, but the resurrected become undead driven by shadow and rage. Then the spell reacted with the fountain, triggering a cataclysmic event that swept across the entire island. This was part of our plan: to unleash the Great Ruin to reap all lives, turn Blessed Isle into a stronghold for the Undead Lords in Runeterra, and expand outwards with the help of an undead army.”

"But even Mordekaiser didn't anticipate that our perfect plan would go awry. The heirloom sword that Foygo always carried was a king's sword. In order to save Foygo's life, this holy sword actively absorbed the core power of the Curse of Ruin, allowing it to inadvertently steal the lordship that originally belonged to me..."

"The Holy Sword absorbed the Curse of Ruin and fell into the form of the Blade of the Ruined King. It resisted my touch, leaving us no choice but to shelve our plans, and this shelving has lasted for centuries! For centuries, I could only sigh in despair!"

After saying this, Thresh clenched his fists, the sharp knuckles squeezing and rubbing against each other, making a teeth-grinding crunching sound, which showed just how angry he was.

It turns out the Great Devastation was Mordkaiser's conspiracy, not an accident... The Wild Hunt was completely unaware of this, believing they were unrelated. Heaven knows how many more schemes Mordkaiser has up his sleeve.

Even LeBlanc herself probably didn't expect that the helmet she specifically hid on the Blessed Isles to seal Mordekaiser would become Thresh's tool for contacting him. Later, it became the catalyst for Elise's journey to the Shadow Isles, but by then Thresh already had the helmet with him, and she couldn't find it no matter how hard she looked.

However, Mordekaiser and Thresh, despite their meticulous planning, did not anticipate that the unexpected turn of events would befall the incompetent King Folgo. His sword thwarted Thresh's evil plan, and he slept with it for hundreds of years.

"Foygo took away my power, but he fell into a deep sleep. No one is activating the Black Mist, and the progress of the Soul Eater has become extremely slow, not spreading to Noxus for hundreds of years. I originally planned that after becoming the Undead Lord, it would only take a few decades at most to set foot on Noxus territory, and then return the skull to Mordekaiser. The whole world would tremble under the terrifying rule of the Undead Lord."

"Mord Caesar's plan for rebirth has been delayed for centuries, but it doesn't matter anymore. Centuries have only made us stronger. When the door opens, all the living and the dead will fall under the rule of our Lord."

Thresh's passionate narration caused the Dark Portal to light up completely and slowly open.

But he didn't go in immediately. Instead, he picked up his scythe, turned around, and said leisurely, "Listeners in the shadows, don't hide anymore."

Upon hearing this, Wild Hunt suddenly realized that the necessary condition for opening the door was to reveal one's secret in front of others, and Thresh was using this condition to deduce their existence.

"The person who built this door was truly wicked. They actually wanted to reveal their secret in front of others in order to open it. But once the secret is revealed, even the closest people may develop resentment and even fight to the death."

“Don’t worry, he can’t see us. As long as we don’t show ourselves, he can’t do anything to us.” Cassiopeia realized she had been tricked and angrily reinforced her cognitive impairment with runic power.

As expected, Thresh swung his scythe haphazardly for a while, but finding no blood, he gave up on finding the pursuers. He was currently in Black Rose's lair, and they could catch up at any moment; he needed to focus on more important matters.

He strode into the darkness inside the door; the stones used to build the walls were so powerful that they seemed to make a sound on their own.

The air was thick with a deathly aura, similar to the black mist of the Shadow Isles, which drained the life force of the living, making them feel as if their limbs were being dragged down by some unseen force. But for Thresh, who was already an undead, it was a welcome experience, as if he had returned home.

Thresh can always make quick choices at complex crossroads, moving without hesitation to the next path that awaits him, as if he has walked this path hundreds of times before.

Ever since entering the Immortal Fortress, a mysterious force has been calling to him from the depths of the underground, which is one of the reasons why he can clearly identify the path in the Dark Labyrinth.

He passed a corridor, a row of alcoves with curtains neatly arranged on one side. Even without drawing the curtains, Thresh could smell the deathly stench of corpses and ashes emanating from them. [The rest of the text appears to be nonsensical and unrelated to the previous sentences.]

As Thresh rounded the final corner, a bluish-green glow illuminated his face. It was a massive vertical shaft; standing on the steps at its edge and looking down, one could see that the shaft plunged deep into the bedrock beneath Noxus, far exceeding the size of the fortress itself.

The stark blue and suspicious green blend into swirling miasma, swirling far below and reflecting the three bridges spanning the gorge above, as if leading to an unknown world of death.

Below the bridge, above the raging vortex, a huge, terrifying humanoid shadow hung in mid-air. It was a lifeless suit of armor, its head missing, severed from its connection to its soul.

That was Mordekaiser's true form. In the old town of the Immortal Bastion, there are at least a thousand similar statues, all with their heads smashed off. They are a terrifying symbol of an era, and also the end of Thresh's journey.

Once he puts the helmet he brought from the Shadow Isles vault back onto the headless armor, he can open the true Dark Portal and welcome the arrival of the Lord of the Underworld.

At that time, Ironclad Wraith will lead a million-strong army of undead steel ghosts to conquer all worlds, and all the living and the dead will tremble under his reign.

Chapter 756 The Pale Lady

As Thresh ventured deeper into the darkness, a figure in a long robe suddenly emerged from the shadows and immediately reached out to touch the scythe that gleamed with an eerie light.

"Where are you going?!" Thresh swung his scythe, which crossed dozens of steps, hooked onto the man in black, and forcibly pulled him over.

The mask slipped off, revealing the true face of the woman in black robes. A pale face, black lips, and flowing blue hair were accentuated by gilded tear stains that added to her noble and mysterious aura. Her amber pupils glowed faintly in the darkness.

Her skin was almost transparent, with fine, blue veins wriggling beneath like worms, nourishing a black rose on the back of her hand. The Wild Hunt also noticed a small black mole on her left lip, and through these features, he immediately recognized her as LeBlanc.

"As expected of the Pale Lady, she has a unique charm." Cassiopeia couldn't help but tease when she saw the Wild Hunt's gaze fixed on LeBlanc.

Wild Hunt ignored her, only frowning slightly. With LeBlanc's strength, she shouldn't be so easily captured by Thresh. She was probably just playing tricks again.

"Ah~ Is this your true face hidden under the mask? The embodiment of deception, I can smell the stench of death on you." Thresh also looked at LeBlanc's face, moving the lantern in front of her, the pale green light illuminating her angular face, as if trying to remember every detail.

"You dare to trespass into the Immortal Fortress without the mistress's permission? Hand over the relics, and perhaps we can still talk." Having her lich identity exposed, LeBlanc didn't even blink as she faced the scythe so close to her: "Our secret society controls the entire empire. I can give you as many souls as you want."

"Tsk tsk, the real owner here is probably someone else, isn't it?" Thresh chuckled. "A sparrow taking over an eagle's nest and daring to claim it as the owner. How ridiculous, truly ridiculous."

"Rather than handing over the power of life and death to others, we should be our own masters." Thresh was taken aback when the second pale lady emerged from behind him. But then a third one appeared from the darkness, followed by a fourth.

They all looked exactly alike, and in unison spoke in the same voice: "I am everywhere. Everyone is me. Join us, and I will give you the greatest power. No one can ride on our heads."

The pale women's black robes suddenly transformed, becoming long, golden robes that seemed to float behind them like magnets. The golden interior was like a shattered mirror, but it reflected faces with completely different expressions, as if reflecting their moods at different times.

Beneath the long robes was a black evening gown with a deep V-neck and a slit that reached her lower abdomen, but the intricate gold ornaments mostly concealed the exposed chest area. In their hands, they held black stone staffs, made of the same monolith used to forge the Immortal Fortress, but the triangular red magic emblem floating at the top of the staffs strangely resembled the Foundation Stone of the Overlord, only it was flat rather than three-dimensional and carved into the shape of a blooming rose.

Cassiopeia's gaze was also drawn to LeBlanc's staff. She didn't think it was a coincidence. The dark magic that LeBlanc possessed might be related to the Overmind. The Wild Hunt keenly caught the murderous intent that flashed in her eyes at that moment.

Seemingly remembering something, Wild Hunt remarked, "I've heard that there isn't just one LeBlanc, but many. They are scattered throughout countless regions and kingdoms of the world, participating in countless conspiracies and schemes every moment, each firmly believing that they are the only one, the true LeBlanc. They call each other sisters, but are filled with contempt for the others, believing that only they can succeed."

“To fool others, you must first fool yourself. This approach is consistent with her identity as a fraudster. Swain thought she had tricked LeBlanc out of her shell, but in reality, only an avatar of hers appeared,” Cassiopeia sincerely praised. She also has avatars, and the biggest problem with these avatars is that if they are stupid, they cannot perfectly follow the original body's will; if they are smart, they begin to usurp the body's authority.

“Besides making it easier to carry out her endless schemes, I think the main reason LeBlanc created so many clones is because she’s afraid of being wiped out by Mordekaiser,” Wild Hunt said.

“That’s really humble. It just goes to show how important it is to find a wise ruler.” Cassiopeia gave Wild Hunt a seductive look, but he just smiled at her flattery and continued to watch the negotiations between LeBlanc and Thresh.

“I admit, for a moment I was tempted. However, I am different from others. I don’t crave power. All I want is to drag the whole world into an endless cycle of reincarnation, with an endless stream of souls for me to torment.” Thresh’s voice was sweet, like someone speaking in water, or like a condemned prisoner’s cry as the noose tightens around his neck. He rejected LeBlanc’s offer, causing the two to frown in unison.

He lit the lantern, as if to take the LeBlanc under his scythe into prison for later interrogation. But the LeBlanc shattered as easily as a mirror, and countless spiked chains emerged from the cracks. The black chains gleamed with red power, looking like the thorns of a rose.

They reached out from all directions, tightly binding Thresh like cocoons. Although LeBlanc has many clones, these clones are not expendable. Each of them possesses mana equivalent to the original, and each can serve as a substitute for the Pale Lady; they cannot simply surrender and be killed by Thresh in vain.

Thresh was caught in the trap, his entire body bound by chains. The rest of LeBlanc seized the opportunity to raise their staffs, unleashing a series of silencing spells aimed directly at his vitals. Like black roses blooming on thorns, they drained Thresh's mana like bloodsuckers, rendering him unable to cast spells and causing him to let out a mournful howl.

However, the screams suddenly turned into loud, gurgling laughter, like the sound of a file scraping.

Thresh was surrounded by a dim halo, completely isolating him from the demonic seal, leaving him unharmed. He chuckled as he pulled out his lantern to retract the halo.

The LeBlancs waved their staffs again, firing crimson lasers that instantly engulfed the Warden, but a ring of black light around the lanterns once again neutralized all the attacks.

"Blessed Island is a holy land of magic, and I was the most outstanding student in that class. If I hadn't been bullied because of my humble origins, I would surely be a magic master renowned throughout the ages!"

Thresh and LeBlanc were locked in a magical duel. They lived in roughly the same era, both employing necromancy and dark magic, and were taught by the same master, making their techniques indistinguishable. Their knowledge base was also similar; LeBlanc possessed an ancient heritage and the resources of the entire empire, while Thresh had the legacy of the Blessed Isles. It was difficult to determine a clear winner in the short term.

Seeing that the two were going to fight for a while longer, Wild Hunt called Cassiopeia to go down to the giant well at the bottom of the stone steps.

Chapter 757 The Great Well of Souls

Wild Hunt and Cassiopeia arrived at the edge of the Great Well of Souls, where blue and green miasma were rising, and a headless armor was floating in and out of sight above the mad vortex.

"This giant well connects to the so-called underworld. If Thresh returns the helmet to its rightful owner, Mordekaiser's seal will be broken. At that time, he will return with a million-strong undead army, once again spreading war and death across the land. What's terrifying is that... the dead on the battlefield will be assimilated into the undead army, and the undead army will only grow stronger, bringing catastrophe to the entire empire and even the whole world."

As Cassiopeia recounted the scene, the Wild Hunt seemed to see blood gushing from the wound in the heart of the Empire. Countless steel spirits crawled out of the well, instantly taking over the Immortal Fortress and spreading outwards. Words could not adequately describe the scene; only by witnessing it firsthand could one comprehend its horror.

"So Mordekaiser is your target? It sounds like you're planning to create a Night of Souls within the Immortal Fortress."

“This is far more terrifying than the Night of the Dead, because the undead you kill will immediately return to the underworld and crawl out of the well the next moment. Theoretically, this army of the dead cannot be defeated. They will attack the living endlessly, like an unbreakable vicious cycle, until this world becomes another underworld,” Cassiopeia said.

The Eclipse originated in the Shadow Isles, but it was far removed from the human world and lasted only one night, so it didn't pose a significant threat to the living. Mordekaiser's invasion of the living was different. It started in the overpopulated Immortal Fortress and came completely unprepared, unlike the Eclipse which gave people ample time to escape.

Moreover, those are undead soldiers made of steel, from the Grey Kingdom of the Iron-Armored Wraiths, whose fighting power is many times greater than the wandering ghosts of the Shadow Isles. If Mordekaiser insists on conquering the world, the damage he causes will be far, far greater than that of the Night Erosion.

But Mordekaiser is not invincible; his so-called underworld is not the true afterlife. That gray plain is merely a transit point for souls with similar dark beliefs. If he truly controlled the underworld, his army would number not just a million, but trillions of souls throughout history.

In short, the underworld occupied by Mordekaiser is not the real underworld, but just one of countless afterlife worlds, but this threat should not be underestimated.

The destination of the soul after death is related to one's beliefs during life. Different beliefs will determine where the soul goes, but in the end, they all dissipate in the same way.

From the perspective of energy flow, after death, the soul of a life in the material realm dissipates to fill the void in the spiritual realm, thus maintaining the balance between the two worlds.

But Mordecais's actions tantamount to severing this cycle and channeling the energy stripped from the spiritual world into the material realm, causing the balance to tip.

Once the balance between matter and spirit is lost, the barrier between the two worlds will become weaker, and the underworld will be able to easily penetrate the world of the living.

It was Mordekaiser's rampant killing and soul-stealing during his lifetime that depleted the spirit world, causing the vast lands of Noxus to become barren from the loss of spiritual energy. (The rest of the text appears to be unrelated and possibly machine-generated gibberish.)

These spiritual energies were transformed and corrupted by Mordekaiser, who then seized them for his underworld, filling it with dark energy that began to seep outwards through the connection between the two worlds.

This is also why the capital city has barren land, yet the dark energy of the immortal fortress at its center is so abundant.

The dark energy in the Immortal Bastion wasn't initially this concentrated, but after Mordekaiser's millennia of infiltration, it has now overflowed from the Soul Well and will spread throughout the entire city within a century.

This force influences people's minds. Ou Chenyu subtly shapes people in unseen places, and those with weak wills will unknowingly become puppets of tyrants.

Even if LeBlanc tries her best to stop it, even without Thresh's intervention, one day, the dark energy permeating the city center will still control the weak-willed pieces to unleash the Tyrant.

LeBlanc chose to build a city in the Immortal Fortress to personally guard the seal and prevent Mordekaiser from returning to the world of the living, but she never expected to plant a time bomb right under her nose, which became the empire's greatest scourge.

"When do you plan to make your move?" Wild Hunt asked.

“Don’t rush. I also want to sneak into the Underworld now, get the stuff, and then come out and watch them outwit each other for half a day, only to find out that the Tyrant has already been captured.” Cassiopeia changed the subject with a wicked smile: “But right now the Tyrant’s head is still in Thresh’s hands, and I can’t get into the Underworld without the key. So let’s continue watching the show for a while. The best is yet to come.”

As they were speaking, a wail came from above. The two looked up and saw Thresh tumble down the stone steps.

Although he screamed terribly, his mutilated face showed little sign of pain; instead, it was filled with excitement. He swung his scythe in mid-air, and the ghostly light coincidentally grazed past Wild Hunt, hooking onto the edge of the Soul Well, intending to pull himself down with it.

"Sisters, stop him!" LeBlanc thwarted Thresh's plan, creating a barrier that blocked the scythe. The originally transparent barrier instantly cracked with golden fissures, looking as if it had shattered a mirror of space. At the same time, countless spiked chains attacked from all directions, binding Thresh tightly in mid-air once again.

One after another, LeBlancs began to emerge around the Soul Well, unknowingly surrounding the Wild Hunt and his companion. From about an arm's length away, the Wild Hunt could even clearly see LeBlanc's eyelashes, which were covered in gold dust, while Cassiopeia, standing beside her, brazenly made provocative gestures, trying to entice the Wild Hunt to attack.

Wild Hunt resisted the temptation, and then Thresh threw out his lantern, "That's enough for this troublesome guy. I have things to do, so let one of my old friends entertain you."

The lantern suddenly burst open, but what emerged from it was not the tragically deceased souls, but a cold and silent requiem.

The elegy lingered in my ears, singing of lost souls, interspersed with the chilling tolling of a death knell.

The lyricism in the elegy was deeply moving; LeBlanc's tears welled up and streamed down her cheeks, not from fear, but from endless sorrow.

"Let me end your sorrow." The voice in her mind was cold and lifeless; it was the voice of a dead man.

The sound conjures up an image: a cart laden with corpses on wheels edged with sheet metal, and a knife carving yet another mark of death onto a cane.

Chapter 758 The Death Singer

A mournful requiem emanated from the Thresh lantern, echoing throughout the Great Well of Souls.

The dirge playing in her ears inexplicably saddened LeBlanc, bringing her to tears. To her surprise, the lyrics were written in Noxian language, praising the glory of death.

The song made her want to throw herself into a well. To resist the soul-stirring power of the song, she subconsciously covered her ears, which naturally weakened her ability to block Thresh.

The song also affected the Wild Hunt and Cassiopeia. Unaffected by external influences, the Wild Hunt continued watching as if nothing had happened. Cassiopeia, who had also understood the song, somewhat displeased, pulled her helmet over her head to shield herself from its impact.

Thresh broke free of the thorny chains and leaped down from mid-air. He coughed twice, his voice hoarse yet shrill, carrying an unusual passion, but it felt cold, sending chills down one's spine.