Thanos didn't want to be a villain.

Chapter 179 Runeterra - The Horrifying Truth (4k)

Renekton, the Butcher of the Desert, is Nasus's younger brother; they were once very close brothers.

Renekton was a troublemaker when he was young. He never knew what it meant to be cowardly. Whenever someone provoked him, his fists were his best weapon.

He would come home every night with wounds and bloodstains, and Nasus would always lecture him, telling him not to fight and to read more books. But Renekton never listened; fighting was commonplace for him.

As Renekton grew up, he became even more unruly, and Nasus, feeling this was unacceptable, sent Renekton to the army.

Renekton thrived in the military; he was a natural-born warrior, and within a few years he had made a great name for himself in the army!

During the numerous expansion wars in Nurima, the brothers Nasus and Renekton cooperated perfectly, and their repeated victories brought them great glory. Renekton was also known as the "Gatekeeper of Nurima."

They walked together day after day for decades, supporting each other, until Nasus was diagnosed with an incurable disease.

In order to save Nasus, Renekton pleaded with the three highest leaders of Shurima to allow Nasus to undergo the ascension ritual.

Finally, although the three agreed to Renekton's request, Nasus's illness made it difficult for him to stand up. So, Renekton carried his brother step by step toward the Sun Disc.

Under the watchful eyes of the entire city, the only moment during the ascension ceremony in which two people successfully ascended was thus created.

Nasus and Renekton shared the Ascension energy and became the Celestial Warriors of Shurima!

Nasus is renowned as the symbol of wisdom in ancient Shurima, having guided the Shurima Empire to prosperity with his wisdom and strategic vision.

Nasus demonstrated a thirst for knowledge and exceptional military tactical talent from a young age, becoming one of the youngest generals in Shurima's history.

His tactical foresight and care for his soldiers earned him respect and admiration, leading the Shurima army to countless victories.

But everything changed after Azir ascended the throne.

The two brothers happened to be away that day.

An accident occurred during Azir's ascension ceremony. The imperial city was leveled by the ascension energy, and everyone died on the spot. The new emperor, Azir, also faked his death due to the interrupted ascension ceremony.

Of course, no one knows where Azir is, since he faked his death.

When Nasus and Renekton returned, they only saw Xerath transformed into an energy form.

The three fought for days and nights without a clear victor. When it came to sealing Xerath, Renekton was held back by Xerath and could not leave. So Nasus had no choice but to painfully seal his brother and Xerath together.

Xerath's rhetoric was actually quite ordinary to an Ascended being who was immortal and difficult to kill, but the sealing time was too long, allowing Xerath to gradually become familiar with his magical power, and Renekton gradually turned to the dark side over time.

Years later, after the two were unsealed, Renekton immediately went to find his brother Nasus, while Xerath went into hiding.

“Today, I found Xerath’s trail, but I didn’t expect to run into Renekton on the way here,” Nasus said, sadly stroking Renekton’s crocodile head.

"Thinking about it now, it must have been Xerath who did it on purpose."

Nasus sighed.

He is no longer a celestial warrior of Shurima, but merely a man struggling to survive in this desert.

The firelight reflected off Nasus's face, making him appear incredibly desolate.

It's dark now.

During the day, Dio commanded two of the most powerful fighters in their respective worlds to attack together, and easily took down Renekton.

This made Nasus extremely wary.

It wasn't until Dio appeared and explained the reason that Nasus slowly lowered his guard.

"Did you really cure my brother?" Nasus asked, his expression visibly worried.

"He's been unconscious for several hours!"

After pinning Renekton down, Dio's first action was to treat him.

The reason for Renekton's descent into darkness is both mysterious and scientific.

Renekton's brain was like a computer without a password, completely open to a well-established master of black technology.

Subtle implantation and suggestion have shaped Renekton into who he is today.

Dio's treatment was also very simple; a disinfection was all it took.

As for why he's not awake now, it's probably because he doesn't want to see anyone.

Dio didn't expose Renekton's slight embarrassment. He let Renekton pretend to be asleep; the matter was already settled, and Renekton would wake up sooner or later anyway.

"Don't worry, your brother's matter has been settled. I have something to discuss with you." Dio casually tossed a piece of firewood into the fire and looked at Nasus's dog head.

To be honest, looking at Nasus's dog-headed Dio always makes me want to go up and pet it.

“Oh?” Nasus was not surprised at all, and looked down slightly at Dio.

"I'll consider your request, but how about we talk about it tomorrow?"

Nasus and his Celestial Warriors aren't actually that tall; even the armored golden corn cob in the Warhammer world is much taller than them.

Even some original Space Marines could look them in the eye.

"Tomorrow?" Dio was taken aback, then understood.

Afraid that she was lying to him, she wanted to wait until tomorrow morning to see if Renekton would wake up.

Although he was a little apprehensive about whether he could win after watching Thor and Kratos take down the crazed Renekton in one move, he would not hesitate at all to avenge his brother!

Dio pursed his lips and snapped his fingers.

Just then, Renekton, who had been pretending to be half asleep, suddenly jumped up.

"It's so cold!"

The desert night was indeed very cold, but this temperature difference was nothing to ascendants. However, at this moment, Renekton felt as if he had been thrown into a cold cellar, and naked at that!

This feeling only comes from when you are a child.

Renekton rubbed his arms as he jumped, trying to keep them warm.

"younger brother!"

Nasus stared at Renekton in shock. Although Renekton was in a strange state, he didn't seem to have the same confusion and mania he had shown before.

However, Nasus noticed that Renekton did indeed have some ice crystals on his body.

Nasus picked up a piece of ice crystal and examined it, feeling the chill on his fingers. After a moment of contemplation, he looked at Dio, who had a smile on his face, and said, "You are really amazing. There are quite a few people who can condense ice crystals in the desert, and most elementalists can do it, but to be able to make us feel the cold is almost impossible."

Dio shrugged: "Just a little trick."

Nasus's eyes gleamed as he sized up Dio and the other two. After a long pause, he said, "Indeed, the energy within you and your companions indicates that you do not belong to any cultivation method I know."

Then Nasus sat cross-legged and said, "Tell me, what do you need my help with?"

Dio then lowered his hand, and at that moment, Rex slowly stopped shivering from the cold, his powerful physique quickly restoring him to normal.

However, when he saw his brother sitting upright on the ground with three silent men in front of him, even the most clueless Renekton knew who had subdued him in an instant.

He's just gone mad, he hasn't lost his memory.

Dio looked at the serious-looking Nasus and his lips twitched: "Don't make the atmosphere so heavy, what I'm about to say is very simple."

Nasus's eyes flickered as he looked at Dio.

"Does Azir remember?"

Nasus paused for a moment in surprise at Dio's words, then nodded.

“I met Azir when he was a child. Unfortunately, my brother and I had to leave the capital before he ascended the throne, otherwise Xerath wouldn’t have had the chance to entice him to perform the ascension ceremony.”

"After his death, there was no one to inherit the throne, and Renekton and I went to great lengths to seal Xerath. His remains were placed in a coffin by those ambitious people outside the capital."

Then Nasus looked at Dio with an inquisitive gaze, as if asking if Azir still had anything to do with him since he was sleeping in the tomb.

Dio cleared his throat and said, "Ahem, actually Azir is not dead."

"What!"x2

Nasus and Renekton were startled and instantly sprang into action.

Renekton lashed out with his claws in an instant.

"Are you trying to make fun of me, you little brat!"

However, Kratos blocked Renekton's attack and sent Renekton flying with a powerful kick.

“That’s impossible! No one could survive that kind of energy burst unscathed. Xerath failed and became Baka. Azir didn’t even go through the ritual, how could he……”

Nasus spoke incoherently, but as he spoke, he gradually stopped.

The ascension ritual is a process in which a blazing energy descends from the sky using a golden disc to transform the human body.

Success makes you a Celestial Warrior, failure makes you Bakay.

Moreover, there are only these two possibilities.

Now, Xerath has become Bakay, so what about Azir back then...?

Nasus realized a terrifying truth!

Although Xerath's actions interrupted the ascension ceremony, the immense energy still transformed Xerath into Bakkai. So, what about Azir?

If he were to become like Baka, he wouldn't be able to be safely and peacefully buried in the cemetery.

It's important to know that in the history of Shurima, many people have been granted ascension rites for their outstanding achievements, but very few have succeeded; most have become Bakkai.

The Shurima's approach was to seal them in tombs, waiting for the Shurima to successfully resolve this defect in the future before treating them.

But so far... none have succeeded.

Since there are only two possible outcomes to the ascension ritual, Azir must have been alive at the time!

It was only because the ascension ceremony was interrupted that he fell into a certain state, which is why he was sent to the cemetery!

So many years...

Nasus was shocked; he couldn't believe that anyone would dare to do such a thing at that time.

That is the new king of Shurima!

Nasus was breathing rapidly.

"I never imagined this would happen in all these years..."

Dio, however, remained expressionless.

In Azir's backstory, his tomb contains many traps and even a cursed object that caused Cassiopeia to become a half-human, half-snake.

To be honest, some emperors did indeed add traps and curses to their tombs to make tomb robbers pay with their lives.

However, if you delve deeper into the background story, the truth is actually quite flimsy.

However, it also involves many factors.

For example, the Shurima Empire has always looked down on the people of the places it conquered, most notably Icathia, the homeland of "Master One Lamp" Jax.

After years of submission to Shurima, they wanted someone in the region to qualify as an Ascended, so that the locals would be won over, as it would be considered a blessing.

However, Shurima refused outright and arrogantly stated that they would never be eligible.

Icathia then erupted in rebellion.

But this is just a glimpse into the vast Shurima empire every day.

Especially in the backstories of the various Darkin Ascended who are associated with Shurima, after becoming Ascended, they often went on to wage wars for hundreds or even decades at a time.

Keep in mind that Shurima only ruled over the entire southern part of Runeterra at that time. With so many Ascended beings, it wouldn't have taken much time to conquer it.

More often, however, they were suppressing rebellions!

It's fair to say that even without Azir's ascension to the throne and the Void Corruption Ascendants, Shurima wouldn't have lasted much longer.

They might be able to violently suppress everything, but this will continue indefinitely, wasting national resources. If there's too much unrest in various places, Shurima will become an empty shell.

Ultimately, the backstory of Shurima was clearly plagiarized from the mythology of the Egyptian pyramids, and they didn't bother to explore its deeper meaning.

Dio looked at Nasus, who was kneeling in shock, and comforted him, "Don't think too much. Azir is in the graveyard, but he hasn't woken up yet. He's still sleeping."

"If he were truly awake, you wouldn't even need to look for him; he might come looking for you!"

Nasus's eyes lit up.

As the heir to the throne, Azir will study all subjects, even if he is not the best, he will still have some exposure to them.

Over the years, they would definitely have tried to infiltrate the tomb and find someone to rescue them.

However, his usual residence was not far from the royal cemetery, and if Azir was really awake, he should have met him long ago.

"Then let's hurry up and get His Majesty back to health as soon as possible!" Nasus said, about to set off, but Dio grabbed him.

"Stop joking around, it's so late now. Let's rest for a night before going. We've been locked down for so many years, a little extra time won't make a difference!"

Dio's forceful methods forced Nasus and the other man to lie down and rest, their eyes unconsciously glancing to the side.

Meanwhile, in the distance, Xerath, who thought he was hiding well, overheard Dio and the others' conversation.

As Azir's close friend and companion, he certainly knew where the so-called royal cemetery was.

Actually, it's not far from the Sun Disk. The official explanation is that it's for the former emperors who guard Shurima, and it's also to show them how capable their descendants are. But even Azir doesn't know the specific reason.

Whatever, Xerath chuckled, thinking he had everything under control, and his pure energy body emitted a strange rumbling sound.

Then, a flash of blue light appeared, and it instantly teleported away.