The essence of the Void dimension is pure nothingness, devoid of all concepts such as time, space, and matter. As an embodiment of Void's will, the Void Watchers originally had no physical form and thus, no weaknesses.
But this was only true within their own realm. Having crossed into the material dimension, their bodies were distorted, giving them vulnerabilities. With the power granted by demigods and the World Runes, Li Lin could see through the distortions caused by the Void's will interacting with the concepts of time and space.
The core of the Void's will was unable to break free from its restraints. It had transformed into something tangible, and with sufficient energy to pierce through the Watcher's form, it could easily be destroyed.
Li Lin commanded the Titan God Mech, sweeping his hand to amplify all the mechanical combat units with Star Magic. Even the scattered, discarded parts, though corrupted by Void energy, were cleansed by the World Runes and returned to nothingness.
Empowered by magical forces, countless mechanical gears and components reassembled into complete battle mechs, rising once again.
With the World Runes and the blessing of the gods, Li Lin began pushing back against the Void's front line, advancing toward the source of the Void Rift.
The Watchers seemed to have anticipated this moment, but they were stunned by how a mere planet—Runeterra—was able to achieve such a feat. The realization was fleeting, but it registered in their awareness.
They reacted swiftly, drawing on even the smallest amount of magic to unleash infinite power within the Void realm. With the ability to resurrect through the blood sacrifice of living beings, the Void creatures quickly regenerated, their severed tendrils reforming.
The Watchers meant business now. Drawing Void energy from the rifts of the abyss and combining it with the ice magic devoured from the material realm, they launched a barrage of potent, blue-violet Void rifts. The very sky darkened, and the earth of Freljord began to crumble, half of it sinking into the ground, consumed by the insatiable Void.
The people—demigods and ascended beings alike—saw this as inevitable. They believed that Freljord only had so much land, and that it was meant to be devoured by the Void. This land had been erased by nothingness, its very concept now "void," no longer existing in this world, and thus forgotten by all who remained.
With the power of the World Runes once more activated, a dense Star Magic barrier formed around the Titan God Mech. Li Lin pushed forward, charging straight at the Void Watchers despite the destructive Void rift beams.
Time seemed to reverse under the overwhelming power of the World Runes. The material that had been consumed by the Void—a cinematic progression of moments—was pulled backward, slowly filling in the gaps of the land.
Though the Void was not bound by time and space, the material realm was unaffected by this distortion. Outside of the Watchers, demigods, ascended beings, Void monsters, the mecha units, and Li Lin himself, everything else seemed to flow in reverse, enhanced by the power of the World Runes.
The pulses of the earth returned to Li Lin's senses, and the memories erased by the Void resurfaced in his mind. The demigods of Freljord who had been swallowed by the Void's power began to regain their strength, their bodies returning to life. Even the ruptured Void barrier beneath the earth slowly began to close as time rewound.
Lissandra, able to draw on sacrificial magic, began to freeze the Void passage. With five World Runes at his disposal, Li Lin was able to restore the barrier between the Void and the material world. In the span of a heartbeat, the Titan God Mech's rune-crafted magic arm pierced through the core of one Void Watcher.
Its single, blue eye flickered with an expression of disbelief. Even with its infinite knowledge, the Watcher had not anticipated its end on a mere planet.
Its hive-mind awareness sent a pulse of horror and rage through the remaining Watchers. The Void beings had experienced death before, but never in this dimension. This was the true weakness of their existence.
"Must... annihilate... the Blessed!" they all spoke in unison, trembling with energy. Their formless bodies released a wave of sound that could disrupt the minds of millions, an agonizing noise that sought to tear through the sanity of all life.
Before they could respond further, the cores of the Void Watchers were destroyed by the World Runes. All the Watchers who had linked up with Lissandra's forces and attempted to invade the material realm a thousand years ago were now annihilated.
"For Volibear!" the Life God, Ironboar, representing Freljord's fury, roared as the land shattered, fueling his power. He was the first to charge into the remnants of the Void creatures. Behind him, the demigods and ascended beings followed, their roars shaking the earth as they stormed against these grotesque abominations from another dimension—creatures that had dared to destroy their homeland. The hatred was palpable.
"Fight for the God Emperor!"
"Fight for Shurima!"
"For... Runeterra!"
The deaths of over a dozen Void Watchers caused the Void forces to steadily retreat. As the shattered land of Freljord slowly healed, the sorrowful bridge of the Howling Abyss rose from the depths, reassembling itself between the towering ice cliffs. Li Lin, now alone, shrank his form and descended once again into the abyss, returning to the "sea" of eternal ice.
This time, however, there was no longer a single eye beneath the ice cap. Though the Watchers had come into the material realm and gained the concept of "time," their existence was still largely unaffected by the reversal of time. At least, that was how their minds worked.
From the edge of the ice cap, Li Lin could see into the deeper chasms of the abyss, where the Titan God and the other mass-produced battle mechs continued their crushing assault on the Void creatures that surged from the depths. Li Lin emerged from the Titan God, landing on the ground. His body shimmered with five intertwining colors: yellow, red, blue, green, and deep cyan.
Using the power of five World Runes, his will could resist the whispers and seductive corruption that emanated from the runes, but his physical form could barely endure such overwhelming power. Even though he had undergone gene enhancement to the fourth stage, making him far beyond the reach of most threats, he was still struggling to hold this tremendous force.
To use the World Runes to defend against the Void, Li Lin had first reshaped his own body with the immense power that could create worlds. Now, he was nearly one with the World Runes, as if their fates were bound together.
Aatrox, noticing the changes in Li Lin and his gaze toward the abyss, immediately shrank his form and flew toward him.
"Li Lin..."
Though Aatrox knew Li Lin's will was impervious to the World Runes, having once wielded the powerful runes himself on the Shadow Isles, he was still concerned. After all, these were five nearly complete World Runes—such power could overwhelm even gods. Li Lin was but a mortal, and while his strength far surpassed that of an average human, handling this power was still dangerous.
Fortunately, Aatrox's worries were unfounded.
"The Child of the Stars told me I must make a choice," Li Lin said, his gaze unwavering as he stared into the abyss, as though he were gazing beyond layers of nothingness and the chaotic border between matter and void. On the other side, thousands of Void Watchers were preparing to step into the material world.
He was staring into the abyss, and the abyss was staring back at him.
Aatrox heard the implication in Li Lin's words and immediately became anxious. "We've already won. You don't need to do this!"
"No, Aatrox," Li Lin responded. "Just pushing the Void back into another dimension is not a victory. They are still eyeing this world."
"If we don't completely eradicate these creatures, one day in the future, when they gain more of our knowledge and undergo further mutations, they will return."
"Maybe in ten years, maybe in a few decades, maybe in hundreds of years..." Li Lin looked up, meeting Aatrox's gaze, who stood over five meters tall.
"The Watchers are a ticking time bomb. We must eliminate them completely if we want a brighter tomorrow."
"But..." Aatrox clenched his fist and casually swung his greatsword, slicing through a Void monster that slipped through the cracks, exhaling a deep breath.
"You are humanity's hope, the Blessed of Runeterra. If we can defeat the Void once, we can defeat them countless times."
"While the Watchers may be preparing to consume this world, aren't we also preparing to resist them? You don't need to sacrifice yourself for this..."
At this, Li Lin chuckled with helplessness. "Who says I'm sacrificing myself?"
"Huh?" Aatrox was stunned. "Didn't you say Soraka told you that you must make a choice...?"
"Choice... yes, a choice," Li Lin replied, his eyes lifting to the dim, war-torn sky. With the power of the World Runes amplifying his vision, he gazed straight into the cosmos, laughing aloud.
"Choice doesn't mean sacrifice."
(End of Chapter)