Arcane: The Gods Want Me to Pick a Route-Chapter 170: A Father’s Heart (EC)

"What happened to the big-boobed cow?"

Jinx came to in a daze, her face still warm, but most of the questions she'd been ready to grill Logan with had mysteriously vanished.

She'd been listening to Logan and Janna talk, then lazily joined in, tilting her head as she asked.

"Big-boobed cow?"

"Oh, you mean Sarah. Yeah—she really is in deep trouble right now." Logan nodded.

Jinx also noticed that Karma and Irelia had come back into the treehouse. Irelia and Akali stood behind Karma, accompanying her while she spoke with Logan and Janna.

"I don't know you," Janna said, responding bluntly to Karma's greeting.

The little blue bird stared at Karma with tiny green eyes, thinking hard.

Then Janna realized she really didn't recognize this person. Though when Logan had summoned her to Ionia earlier, Janna had sensed someone—someone who noticed her gaze and even chased after it.

That made Janna wary. Because right now, she wasn't Karma's match.

"It's normal that you don't know me. I've never had dealings with you," Karma said softly. She looked at Janna and continued, "But I know a great deal about you. Many coastal villagers in Ionia once worshiped you."

That might also be why Karma had sensed Janna's presence before, yet hadn't gone looking for her.

Because Janna was a spirit god worshiped by most people in Runeterra who made their living on the sea. She didn't just help Zaunites—if fishermen needed help, she would help them too.

So in truth, Karma respected Janna.

"You've heard stories about me?" the little bird asked cutely, head tilted.

"Of course," Karma replied. "And your eyes are full of stories, god of Zaun."

Off to the side, Logan listened to the exchange with a strange look.

"…."

"So what happened to the big-boobed cow?" Jinx scooted closer and asked Logan again.

"She's getting dogpiled on Bilgewater Isle. Silco said he needs Zaun's help. I refused," Logan said.

"Refused? Why?" Jinx froze and looked up at him.

Jinx didn't hate Sarah. She only hated Sarah's figure.

And as for the first friend she'd made outside Zaun—Jinx cared about her a lot.

Back in Bilgewater, Sarah had looked after her plenty. Jinx hated physical contact with her—because every time they touched, Jinx got depressed—but she was willing to talk with Sarah, to listen to her tell stories about Bilgewater.

The four great horror legends. The rules Bilgewater sailors had to follow before going out to sea. Giant sea monsters lurking beneath the waves.

All of it.

If Sarah died, Jinx would be sad.

"Because right now, Zaun isn't in a position to step out openly. Piltover isn't either," Logan explained. "This is Bilgewater's internal mess. Zaun already backed Sarah with supplies and weapons, and that's made some of the smaller nations in Valoran nervous."

Then Logan looked at Jinx and chuckled. "Wait—are you actually worried about her?"

"I promised her she could come to my wedding," Jinx said seriously. "If she dies, doesn't that mean I broke my promise?"

After saying that, she rubbed her chin, frowned, and muttered, "Wait… then did she break her promise, or did I break mine?"

"Don't worry." Logan smiled and patted her shoulder. "I only said Zaun can't conveniently help Sarah. That doesn't mean we can't help Sarah."

"The two of us aren't Zaunites anymore."

Jinx was sharp. The moment Logan said that, she glanced at Irelia and Akali, then looked back at him, testing the idea.

"So we're Ionians now?"

"We'll be heading to Bilgewater from Ionia. Of course we're Ionians," Logan nodded.

Karma, standing right there: "?"

"You're discussing something like this right in front of me… is that really wise?"

Irelia also wanted to object. Ionia already had enough trouble. Logan doing this would only bring more trouble to Ionia.

But since Karma had spoken first, Irelia kept quiet.

Akali, on the other hand, looked excited. She watched Logan, clearly thinking something through.

"That makes sense." Logan thought for a moment, then said, "Fine. We'll see once we reach Bilgewater. Even if we get recognized, it won't matter. We'll have Renata handle the public messaging. I'm not going to Bilgewater representing Zaun. I'm going as Sarah's friend."

"Helping your friend—how is that wrong?"

"Then when are we going to help Sarah?" Jinx asked.

"After Orianna's situation is handled. In the meantime, Jinx, how about you try building a ship—or a small airship?"

"Just me?" Jinx immediately protested. "There's no way I'll have enough time."

Building a small airship wasn't hard for her. She even had plenty of Hextech gemstones in her pack that could be used as a power source.

The problem was time. If she built it alone, it would take too long—and wasn't Singed arriving soon?

They probably only had a few more days in Ionia.

Logan glanced at Irelia, then back to Jinx. "Have Irelia help you. Didn't she bring a lot of people?"

Jinx turned and blinked at Irelia.

Irelia took a slow breath. She really didn't want to bring trouble to Ionia—but someone chosen by a Spirit Blossom Spirit and acknowledged by Karma… probably wasn't a bad person.

And as for whether Logan had killed people—of course Irelia wasn't going to ask something that stupid.

Among everyone present, who hadn't killed anyone?

Everyone had.

In a chaotic era, blood on your hands wasn't a simple way to judge whether someone was good or evil.

"I won't send the resistance to Bilgewater with you," Irelia said after thinking it through. "But if it's just labor, we can help."

Karma listened without stopping her.

Ionia needed change. And right now, Karma believed that change might be tied to Logan—because the Spirit Blossom Spirit had chosen him.

"Then please find some people and have them follow Jinx's instructions," Logan said to Irelia.

The moment Logan finished speaking, Janna suddenly flew onto his shoulder.

"What's wrong?" Logan asked.

"They've arrived," Janna said.

Logan nodded. "Alright. Then we'll go now."

He looked at Karma and scratched his cheek. "Karma… could you do a small favor?"

"You want me to send you over there, right?" Karma said briskly. "No problem."

"Thanks."

Karma asked Janna for the direction. Then she lifted her hand and gave it a light wave—an ornate fan appeared in her palm. She flicked it gently toward the group.

In the next instant, everyone except Jinx felt their vision darken. Their bodies turned weightless, floating, losing all sense of direction—and along with it, their five senses were shut off.

When Logan opened his eyes again, he realized he was already standing on the coastline.

Karma looked at the beach—scarred by war—and pressed her lips together.

"We're here. The people you're looking for are over there," she said, pushing down the complicated emotion and pointing ahead.

Logan looked—and saw a group emerging from the forest. At the front was someone he recognized: Willa. Behind her was Singed, guarded by Zaun Enforcers.

Logan lifted his hand and called out.

"Singed! Over here!"

The group heard him. When Singed saw Logan, his eyes lit up, and with the Enforcers escorting him, he walked toward Logan.

Logan also led his group forward.

Akali looked dazed.

Why… was she coming along too?

"Logan. Orianna is here," Singed said. The very first thing out of his mouth was about Orianna.

Two Enforcers carrying a massive glass tank stepped forward carefully and set it down on the ground.

Karma only needed one glance. Her brow furrowed instantly.

"Wait," she said sharply. "Logan—what are you planning to do?"

"Save her," Logan answered.

Karma raised the fan between them and looked at Orianna. "Save her? But this body is an empty shell. Her soul is gone. You're saying you're going to save her?"

The moment Karma saw Orianna, she could tell Orianna's soul was no longer there. And Logan could enter the spirit realm at will—so why bring a soulless body to Ionia?

The answer was obvious.

Logan wanted to go into the spirit realm and bring Orianna's soul back. And why would a Zaunite soul end up in Spirit Blossom rather than being taken by death gods?

Because Logan knew a Spirit Blossom Spirit.

With that being's help, Logan could absolutely do something like this.

"Her soul is in Spirit Blossom, isn't it?" Karma stepped forward, blocking Logan with her hand as she spoke with grave seriousness. "Logan, the dead cannot return to life. You can't do this."

"If the dead can come back, it will cause enormous trouble for Runeterra."

"You should know death gods exist," Karma warned. "If you do this, they'll remember you for it."

Nearby, Singed's eyes flickered with panic.

Logan understood Karma's meaning.

Just as Kindred had told him, even if the gods of Spirit Blossom had this ability, they couldn't use it freely (aside from Ahri), because it violated the rules of the spirit realm.

And the material world had rules too.

If the dead could be revived at will, who would still worship death gods?

In Runeterra, death gods are spirit-beings created by a higher power. They move through the material world, and there are several—such as the Lamb and the Wolf, the Frog, the Spider, and the Vulture.

Among them, the Vulture is the most special. It isn't a death god that "guides" mortal souls. It's a death god that guides death gods.

Yes—death gods can also face death. And there's only one way they die: they vanish completely once they are forgotten.

In the stories Logan knew, a death god in Shurima faced exactly that situation. It oversaw "Ascended," but because of the Void's invasion and the Ascended's fall into Darkin, its believers dwindled sharply. In the end, only one or two Ascended still remembered it, and it constantly hovered on the edge of fading away—so it feared the Vulture's existence.

Kindred didn't fear the Vulture, because Kindred was Runeterra's most famous death god, and the Vulture couldn't do anything to them.

So if humans could resurrect after death, they would stop worshiping death gods—stop praying for death gods to guide them out of suffering. Death gods would lose believers and face the threat of fading.

Logan being hated by death gods wouldn't be strange at all.

He'd basically be stealing their customers.

But Logan had his reasons too.

First, Kindred in Spirit Blossom had agreed. Second, Ahri had told him not to worry—because Orianna's case was special. She hadn't been taken away by a death god. She'd remained attached to her shell.

And the one holding Orianna's soul right now was Ahri.

Ahri was on their side.

Straight from one hand to the other—no middleman.

Logan didn't need to worry about death gods in the material world learning about it.

So he looked at Karma and said seriously, "I understand what you mean, Karma. But this child's situation is different. She didn't die. Because of an accident, her soul fell into dormancy."

"I asked Ahri to repair her soul. She agreed, and she brought Orianna's soul into Spirit Blossom."

"This isn't resurrection," Logan continued. "It's treatment."

"Or do you think even that isn't allowed?"

Karma narrowed her eyes and stared at Logan. Logan met her gaze.

After a long moment, Karma's green lashes trembled. She lowered her eyes, stepped back, and dropped her hand.

Logan had convinced her—because she couldn't confirm what Orianna's true condition was.

With Karma yielding, Logan crouched and reached toward the tank.

His black eyes turned pink as he used his charm ability to call Ahri.

He opened the tank, reached for Orianna's hand, and said as he did so, "And besides… people have come back after entering the spirit realm before. That didn't ruin Ionia, did it?"

Karma stared at him in shock. "How do you even know about that?"

"Azakana," Logan said with a faint smile. "A kind of demon. Ionia seems to have plenty of them, right?"

Spirit Blossom told Yasuo's story—wasn't Yone proof enough? He'd come back after reviving through the spirit realm.

So Logan felt Karma's worry was unnecessary.

A hum of light bloomed in Orianna's palm.

Logan's vision went white.

The evening sky was burning red—but a bright white glow cut through the firelight. The glow gathered into cloudlike mist, slowly shaping into a fox.

Ahri had arrived.

Singed lifted his head, staring with trembling excitement.

Somewhere in that moment, he thought he heard a voice.

Orianna's voice.

Calling him.

Singed looked around frantically—left, right—yet he couldn't see anything.

"Orianna… you're here, aren't you?"

"Where are you? Tell Dad—Dad's here. I came for you!"

Singed couldn't stop himself from calling out.

Then—

A small hand suddenly caught his palm, holding onto three of his fingers.

Singed's heart lurched. He turned—

And saw the girl sitting up inside the tank.

Skin so pale it seemed to glow. Beautiful blonde hair soaked with the nutrient solution. A wet white princess dress clinging to her as she blinked up at him with wide eyes.

"Dad," she said to Singed.

//Check out my P@tre0n for 10 extra free chapters //[email protected]/Razeil0810.