Arcane: The Gods Want Me to Pick a Route-Chapter 159: Because There’s a Deity Behind Me (EC)

When Logan returned to the classroom, the kids of Bondweave Village were obedient to a fault. Even Link—Jinx's usual troublemaker—looked at Logan with open worship, and the moment Logan stepped back inside, he proactively called out, "Teacher!"

Sett opened his mouth, then shot Link a resentful look. That "Teacher" should've been his to say first!

Sett was shocked too.

His initial goodwill toward Logan had come from Ahri's uncanny abilities, but as he spent more time with Logan, Sett had come to genuinely like him—and even started to rely on him.

Logan was gentle, kind, and compared to Jinx—especially compared to Jinx—his patience was almost unreal. It was hard for a kid like Sett not to gravitate toward someone like that.

Especially when people around him kept looking at Sett with strange eyes, while Logan looked at him with nothing but appreciation. Of course Sett wanted to get closer to Logan.

And now, finding out that this teacher who seemed gentle—so gentle he might not even be able to beat Sett—was actually a reclusive master…

That just made Sett admire him even more.

"Alright. Back to class." Logan walked up to the front.

Akali, who had followed him in, glanced around the room and casually picked an empty seat to sit down.

Her presence naturally drew the students' attention, but when Logan gave a single cough, every pair of eyes snapped back to him.

"Sett," Logan asked, "where did I leave off?"

Sett stood up straight. "Teacher, you were talking about the founding history of Demacia."

"Right. Demacia's founding history."

Akali's brow lifted. Of course she knew Demacia—a place so far from Ionia that even if Kennen pushed himself as hard as he could, it would still take a long time to reach that western nation.

The nation known as the Lion of Valoran. Noxus's greatest enemy.

And this guy was teaching Demacia?

Akali instantly grew interested, propping her chin on her hand as she watched Logan.

"As I said," Logan continued seriously, "if you look back thousands of years, whether you're Demacian, Noxian, Zaunite like me, or Ionian like you… if you trace our roots far enough, we share the same ancestors."

Today's lesson happened to be about the rise of human civilizations on Runeterra—meant to expand the kids' understanding of the outside world and spark curiosity.

"Teacher," a student raised their hand, looking uncertain, "but my mom said Ionians were here in Ionia a really long time ago… and our ancestors were the Vastayashai'rei?"

"No way!" another student blurted out. "Your mom has to be wrong. The Vastayashai'rei's descendants are the Vastaya—what does that have to do with humans? We're not half-beasts."

As they said it, they glanced at Sett.

In the classroom, Sett was the only Vastaya—and the blood of the Vastayashai'rei flowed in his veins.

Logan nodded. "That's right. The Vastayashai'rei were among the earliest beings to appear in Ionia, but they weren't human. They were primeval spirits of this extraordinary land. As for humans, the earliest humans came from the Freljord. After enduring hardship and suffering, they left the Freljord.

"They moved as tribes and spread out—into Valoran, Shurima, Ionia—building human civilization wherever they settled. So if you want to be precise, we all came from the same place originally. Of course, time changes everything. We've long since become people with no real ties to the Freljord at all." Logan smiled.

He wasn't making this up. It was stuff he'd once seen in a YouTube video—made by a creator who specialized in Runeterra lore—explaining the origins of human civilizations.

That video went into detail: humanity began in the Freljord, flourished in the age of the Three Sisters, then spread across the world, taking root in every corner of Runeterra.

"And Demacia and Noxus are a good example of that," Logan went on. "A thousand years ago, Demacia and Noxus were once part of the same whole. When the Rune Wars erupted, a group of refugees fled west. They relied on a petrified petricite forest—one that suppressed magic—to avoid being harmed by magic, and they built a nation there. That's the origin of Demacia."

Logan spoke at length, telling the kids everything he knew about Runeterra.

Some details might not be perfect, but as long as the people in charge didn't decide to rewrite everything overnight, the broad strokes should be close enough.

Akali listened so intently she almost forgot to blink.

She wasn't much older than the kids in the room. At the end of the day, she was still a teenager.

Akali was curious about the outside world—more than that, she had an adventurous spirit. Back in the Order, Kennen was usually the one who told stories, but Kennen was always busy, wandering across Ionia to collect information.

As for her mother, Mayym—the current Fist of Shadow—Akali had long felt that compared to her, Mayym liked Faey more.

So her relationship with her mother was… not good.

And Shen? Please. He spent all day meditating—Watching the Stars, sinking into quiet contemplation. He wasn't exactly the type to sit down and tell her stories.

So listening to Logan now?

Akali found it genuinely fun.

The class ended quickly. Logan set the wooden ruler on the desk and said, "Dismissed."

But today, the kids didn't immediately bolt out of the treehouse. Instead, they crowded around, wanting to talk to Logan.

In class, Logan was strict. But once class ended, he returned to his gentle self—so a few of the girls especially loved clinging to him and chatting.

Logan pointed toward the back row, where Akali sat with her head lowered as if she was thinking about something, and said to the students, "Go play. Teacher has something to take care of."

The kids nodded—and all looked at Akali.

As they filed out, Wen—waiting outside—stood up, but didn't see Logan or Akali come out.

He sat back down and continued waiting.

Inside the treehouse, Akali and Logan sat facing each other. Akali reached up and pulled off her mask, revealing a youthful face that still carried a kind of unpolished innocence.

Her features were sharp and refined, with a bold, spirited edge that gave her a different kind of charm.

She lazily spun a kunai between her fingers and asked Logan, "What you said earlier—did you make it up, or is it real?"

"Of course it's real," Logan said. "Books record those things."

Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out the food Jinx had packed for him that morning, setting it on the table piece by piece.

Akali didn't bother being polite—she grabbed something and started eating right away. Chewing on fruit, she nodded. "You're impressive. You know a lot."

Logan thought for a moment. "Ionia's too closed off. If you travel around more, you'll see and hear things you never knew existed."

"So you're not Ionian, then?"

"Our hair color might match, but I'm not Ionian," Logan said. "I'm from Zaun."

Akali hesitated. "But… I thought Zaun wasn't a good place. It's chaotic, right?"

Logan smiled and shook his head. "That was the old Zaun. Zaun is a peaceful city now, Akali. Your information's out of date."

"Then why leave Zaun and come to Ionia?" Akali narrowed her eyes.

"Traveling. And I have some business to handle in Ionia." Logan looked at her. "What about you? You don't look that old. Why are you alone in Bondweave Village?"

Akali crouched on her stool, casual as ever, and flicked her hand like it was nothing. "Same as you. Traveling. And I've got some business to handle."

Logan hummed softly, thinking about how to bring Akali to Zaun someday.

Akali had left the Kinkou Order and become a lone wolf, sure—but that didn't mean she'd follow him to Zaun just because he invited her.

Her heart was still with Ionia. The reason she left the Order in the first place was because she wanted to protect Ionia's order in her own way, and maintain balance between realms on her own terms.

Akali was young. She didn't know everything. But that didn't mean she wasn't determined.

It was the opposite—Akali was frighteningly determined. She'd decided early what she wanted to do, and she was willing to pay any price for it.

So if Logan wanted to bring her back to Zaun, he had to follow the thread of what she cared about—and persuade her from there.

Balance and order between realms…

Could Ahri help with that?

If Ahri couldn't, could Twin Cities technology fill the gap?

Logan fell into thought.

Yeah… convincing someone to uproot their life wasn't easy.

No wonder Silco had struggled so hard to gather talent for Zaun.

While Logan was thinking, Akali spoke again.

"There's something I want to ask you." Logan looked up and met Akali's serious gaze.

Her reddish-brown eyes were filled with curiosity as she asked, "Earlier—what you used on the Brotherhood… was that the Wind Technique?"

"You noticed?" Logan didn't deny it. He casually rubbed his cheek.

"It really was!" Akali's surprise burst out. She slapped both hands on the table, stood up, and leaned in toward Logan.

"But as far as I know, the Wind Technique was supposed to be lost! The only person still known to use it is the dojo's traitor, Yasuo. But you said you're not Ionian—so how did you learn the Wind Technique?"

A Zaunite… using Ionia's secret technique?

Elder Souma was famous enough that even the Kinkou knew his name. Souma had been praised as one of Ionia's greatest sword masters. He was from the same era as Master Kusho, the previous leader of the Kinkou, and he'd been even more renowned—an Ionian legend.

And what made him legendary… was the Wind Technique.

Akali couldn't possibly not be stunned.

If the Wind Technique reached true mastery, could it achieve feats like Shen's?

Logan glanced at his skill menu.

[Wind Technique / Spirit-tier (Blue)]

[Description: A thousand years ago in Ionia, a young man sought vengeance for his fallen family. Deep in the mountains, day after day, he practiced his blade and watched the falling leaves. Seasons turned—spring into winter, summer into autumn. By observing the leaves, he learned the Wind Technique. Within this soulstone lies the power of wind.]

Well…

He couldn't exactly tell Akali he'd learned it from the technique's creator.

At this point, Logan had basically realized the owner of that soulstone was the one who created the Wind Technique—meaning…

Yasuo's ancient ancestor's ancient ancestor's ancient ancestor.

So what did that make Logan to Yasuo now?

"That's a long story," Logan said to Akali. "I can't explain it in one or two sentences. But you only need to know this—I have nothing to do with Elder Souma, and his death has absolutely nothing to do with me. I only arrived in Ionia recently."

First, get that suspicion off his back.

"But you can use the Wind Technique," Akali said. "If Yasuo finds out, he'll definitely come for you."

"As long as you don't tell him, he won't," Logan said.

When Logan used the Wind Technique earlier, he'd been suppressing his strength—but he hadn't accounted for one problem.

There was someone in the crowd who knew exactly what she was looking at.

Akali frowned, clearly not eager to believe him.

Because how could something like that be a coincidence?

Seeing Akali's doubtful little stare, Logan sighed, spread his hands, and said, "Besides… Elder Souma's death was an accident. It's true he died to the Wind Technique, but the real cause of death was a rune weapon.

"A Noxian soldier who no longer wanted to fight for her country tried to destroy her weapon. She asked Souma for help, and… an accident happened."

"What?" Akali looked even more skeptical. "You're saying Elder Souma was killed by a sword?"

A legendary grandmaster… dying because of a sword?

How was that even possible?

Logan felt the same kind of disbelief—but the truth was the truth.

Souma wasn't some nobody in Ionia. He was a legend. And yet, while trying to destroy a runeblade, it went wrong and got him killed. His death shook countless lives.

Riven and Yasuo were both dragged into a tangled chain of events because of Souma's death.

Yasuo ended up killing Yone, then spent years on the run, unable to forgive himself for his mistake.

Riven spent years wishing for death, drowning in guilt over what she'd done and what she'd caused.

And yet Souma was supposed to be a "grandmaster"?

"It happened," Logan said flatly. "That's the truth, Akali."

"Even if it's true—how would you know? Even Kennen doesn't know about something like that!"

"A deity told me."

Akali let out a cold, humorless laugh. "You really think I'm one of the little kids you teach, don't you? You think you can feed me that kind of nonsense?"

A deity told you—seriously?

Akali's eyes narrowed. Her muscles tightened.

She was clearly getting annoyed.

Her hand slid toward her pocket, ready to toss a smoke bomb and vanish at any moment.

Fighting… she might not be able to beat Logan.

But running?

She was confident Logan wouldn't be able to stop her.

"I'm telling you the truth," Logan said, voice steady. "For example—I know why you left the Kinkou Order. I know your mother is the current Fist of Shadow. I also know Shen and Zed—and I know what made them walk separate paths."

He looked Akali in the eye, utterly serious.

"In Ionia, I know everything."

"There really is a deity behind me."

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