Chapter 492 - 492: Suspecting a Demon

Among the ruins of Icathia, a figure wearing a purple hooded cloak and face covering sat silently cross-legged on the ground as though meditating. Purple energy surged around his body.

Suddenly, he opened his eyes and looked into the distance.

"The presence of the key has appeared. No matter what, I must retrieve it."

With that, he closed his eyes again. Whispers beyond human comprehension echoed through his mind, yet he understood the meaning of every word.

They were voices from another world, voices that would one day bring annihilation to this one.

Everything was already prepared.

All that remained was to retrieve the key.

At Marrowmark Market.

After a week of traveling, Luke finally arrived there. Although Icathia was still some distance away, they were considerably closer now.

Marrowmark Market had been built among the skeletal remains of some ancient colossal beast. The settlement itself was about the size of a small town, but the remains of that ancient creature were even more astonishing.

A single bone stood dozens of meters tall. Two rows of massive ribs extended outward, and people had built houses and camps beneath them, selling all manner of goods. Over time, the place had become a fairly well-known trading outpost.

It was difficult to imagine that creatures of such tremendous size had once existed on Runeterra. At the very least, they seemed to have gone extinct in the present age.

Taliyah had been looking forward to visiting the place. Merchants from all over passed through here, and supposedly, if you had enough money, there was nothing you could not buy.

She hoped she might also be able to learn something about her tribe.

By the time the three arrived, it was already afternoon.

For some reason, the sun in this region was brutally hot. It blazed overhead with incredible intensity, leaving people inexplicably drained.

Marrowmark Market itself, however, was bustling with activity. Merchant stalls and tents lined both sides beneath the enormous ravine, stretching all the way into the distance.

Some vendors shouted enthusiastically to attract customers, while every imaginable variety of merchandise was laid out for sale.

People came and went along the road, filling the market with noise and life.

"I'd like to stay here an extra day and ask around about my tribe. Is that okay?"

Taliyah looked toward Luke as she spoke.

"Of course." Luke had no objection. He was not in such a hurry that a single day mattered.

"Great! Then let's find an information broker first."

Taliyah spoke cheerfully.

As they wandered through the market, she began asking around.

Places like this usually had people who made a living selling information. They rarely needed to travel anywhere themselves, yet somehow knew countless things that ordinary people did not.

And they could sell that knowledge for a handsome price.

After asking several merchants, the name Taliyah heard most often was Krol.

So she began asking where Krol lived. Like a detective following one clue after another, she eventually tracked him down to the tent where he lived.

Unfortunately, they had arrived at a bad time.

A woman in her thirties stepped out of the tent. She had dark skin and fairly attractive features.

"Krol is seriously ill right now. I'm afraid he can't receive you. I'll have to ask the three of you to leave."

"Seriously ill?" Taliyah asked in confusion. "Can't he be treated?"

"I don't know. So far, no one has found a way." The woman sighed. "I'm sorry, but please understand."

"All right." Taliyah sighed in disappointment.

Luke thought for a moment before saying, "I happen to be a physician. You could let me take a look at him."

Taliyah looked at him in surprise. She had not known Luke could treat illnesses as well.

The woman also examined Luke for a moment before hesitating.

"Then please take a look at him."

Luke seemed rather young, certainly not like some exceptionally accomplished physician, but at this point, she was willing to try anything.

The three were invited inside the tent.

An overpowering medicinal smell immediately filled their noses.

Before long, they saw Krol lying on a bed.

His breathing was shallow and rapid, while his face had turned a waxy grayish-white, making him look terribly ill.

Hearing people enter, he opened his eyes and weakly looked over.

"Rosa, who are…"

"This is a physician I found for you. He's going to take a look at your condition."

Rosa sat beside him as she spoke.

"It's pointless. No one can cure this disease."

Even Krol himself had almost completely given up hope. His voice was feeble and exhausted.

"Just let him try." Rosa sighed again.

Luke observed Krol for a moment before giving the matter some thought.

"Tell me about his symptoms first."

Rosa explained, "At first, he was just weak, almost like he had a fever. We thought it would pass quickly, but instead, it kept getting worse until he ended up like this. A lot of physicians have examined him, but none could find the cause. They prescribed all kinds of medicine, but nothing helped."

Luke looked toward Krol. "When did you first realize something was wrong?"

"A week ago," Krol answered through a cough.

"A week?" Taliyah exclaimed.

He had gone from a perfectly normal person to this condition in only one week?

"Describe exactly how you first realized something was wrong," Luke said.

"If I had to pinpoint it, it started when I was moving some things that day." Worried about his own life, Krol carefully explained everything. "I was born stronger than most people. But while I was carrying something heavy that day, I suddenly couldn't summon any strength no matter how hard I tried.

"At first, I thought I was just having a bad day, so I took a break. But after resting for quite a while, I tried again and still couldn't do it. My entire body felt weak, like I couldn't put any strength into it. It stayed like that over the next few days.

"Then there's my memory. I've always had an excellent memory. Normally, I only need to look at something two or three times to remember it. But now, even if I force myself to memorize something over and over again, I can't retain it."

Krol weakly described all the things that had gone wrong with him.

In short, both his memory and physical strength had deteriorated.

Krol had naturally possessed extraordinary strength and memory, but both abilities had inexplicably begun to decline.

He had initially assumed he had a fever, but his symptoms were unlike any ordinary fever, and eventually he had deteriorated into his present state.

"So I started visiting physicians everywhere and taking medicine from anyone who might be able to help, but nothing has worked. Instead, I've gotten worse every single day. They say it's some kind of wasting disease. Everyone in the market who gets it eventually dies."

Krol broke into violent coughing as he finished speaking. He looked like a man in the final stages of a terminal illness, and despair had already begun to creep into his eyes.

He was not the first person in Marrowmark Market to contract this strange illness.

"Give me your hand."

After listening to everything, Luke gestured for Krol to extend his hand.

Krol obeyed and held out his right hand.

Luke stepped forward and carefully checked his pulse. After a moment, he said, "If I told you there's nothing physically wrong with you and that your body is actually perfectly healthy, would you believe me?"

Krol froze for a moment before becoming visibly angry.

"Don't joke about something like this. If you don't know how to treat illnesses, then stop wasting my time…"

"I'm not sure how else to explain it, but there's a good chance your condition is psychological. You believe you've become weaker, and that belief is causing you to grow progressively weaker."

Luke stood up, finding Krol's condition rather strange himself.

It was the first time he had ever encountered such an unusual psychological illness.

With his medical expertise, Luke could confidently determine that there was absolutely nothing physically wrong with Krol.

Yet Krol's weakness was clearly real.

That meant the most likely explanation was some kind of psychological influence.

In the end, the three were thrown out of the tent, and Luke was dismissed as an incompetent quack who knew nothing about medicine.

Taliyah did not believe Luke would deceive anyone about something like this, so she asked in confusion, "Why did you say his body was healthy?"

"His pulse, heartbeat, blood flow, and body temperature were all normal."

Luke gave her a simple explanation. "Those are all signs of a healthy person."

"Then why did he end up like that?" Taliyah could not make sense of it no matter how much she thought about it.

"No idea. Let's ask around nearby and see if there are any other information brokers."

Luke was not particularly interested in the matter. They only needed information about Taliyah's tribe, so another broker would work just as well.

Unfortunately, after searching for quite some time, they discovered that Krol was the only information broker anywhere nearby.

He was sociable and enjoyed making friends, so over time he had accumulated a tremendous amount of information.

He effectively held a monopoly on the local information trade.

Even by the time night fell, they had failed to find another broker.

Taliyah sighed. "Forget it, then. I'll ask again when we reach somewhere else."

Since it was already dark, the three decided to spend the night at Marrowmark Market.

The next day.

As Luke and the others prepared to leave, they passed Krol's tent again.

This time, however, they heard crying from inside.

It sounded like Rosa.

She was crying bitterly, while several other people inside the tent quietly tried to comfort her.

"Try not to dwell on it too much. Maybe this was a release for him."

"No one who gets the wasting disease ever recovers."

"Is that damned disease really so terrifying? What even causes it?"

"I don't know. It didn't exist a few years ago, but over the past several months, cases have suddenly become much more common."

"Could it be contagious?"

"Whatever the case, Rosa, try to stay strong."

Listening to the conversation inside the tent, Taliyah stood there in stunned silence.

She had never expected Krol, whom they had only seen yesterday, to die overnight.

What exactly was this wasting disease?

How could it make a physically healthy person die such a miserable death?

"Let's go."

Luke glanced at the tent and decided there was no reason to remain here any longer.

The three soon left Marrowmark Market and continued toward Icathia.

Failing to learn anything about her tribe left Taliyah somewhat discouraged. She had no idea when she would finally be reunited with her family.

Because of that, her mood remained subdued throughout the journey.

She was normally a cheerful girl, yet suddenly she had become much quieter.

Taliyah told herself there was no reason to be this upset. At the very least, she knew that her tribe had simply migrated somewhere else. They had not been attacked by raiders or bandits.

Yet for some reason, she could not bring herself to feel energetic.

No matter what she did, her spirits refused to rise.

The more she thought about it, the sadder and more discouraged she became.

Gradually, those emotions began affecting other parts of her life, starting with her daily training.

Whenever she tried to meditate using the method Yasuo had taught her, she found herself completely unable to concentrate. It was as though her connection to the spirit realm had been severed.

That only discouraged her further.

Later, she discovered that her control over her own magic seemed to have deteriorated slightly as well.

"Taliyah, what's wrong with you?"

That night, after making several excuses to temporarily leave the others, Taliyah quietly muttered to herself.

She forced herself to regain her composure and raised a hand, attempting to summon a slab of stone.

Unexpectedly, she failed.

It had been a very long time since something like that had happened.

Only after trying a second time did she succeed.

But when she continued practicing, one mistake followed another.

Taliyah began doubting herself.

Was she becoming like she had been back then?

Was the magic inside her losing control again?

But she had already learned how to control it.

Why was this happening?

Once that seed of self-doubt took root, its influence only grew stronger.

Over the next two days, no matter how hard Taliyah tried, she could no longer summon and manipulate stone as naturally as before.

Instead, her mistakes became increasingly frequent. Once, a rock she had summoned nearly smashed her in the head.

Her control over her magic was slipping further and further.

Naturally, her strange behavior did not escape Luke and Morgana's notice.

They had already realized something was wrong with Taliyah.

"I'm going to look around nearby."

That night, after the group once again stopped to rest, Taliyah made another excuse and walked away.

Luke waited until her figure disappeared into the distance before looking toward Morgana.

"Have you sensed anything?"

"Taliyah may have been targeted as well." Morgana nodded slightly. She had already noticed something unusual.

"So this so-called wasting disease is probably caused by some kind of evil influence."

Luke fell into thought, his eyes glinting.

Back at Marrowmark Market, he had sensed something strange when he examined Krol, but at the time, he had not thought much of it.

Now that the same symptoms associated with the so-called wasting disease had begun appearing in Taliyah, he finally realized something was seriously wrong.

Over the past two days, he had carefully observed Taliyah and noticed that her condition was clearly abnormal.

She had said nothing about it, but it was difficult not to notice.

This wasting disease was very likely not a disease at all.

Instead, it could be the result of some kind of psychological suggestion.

And if something was deliberately planting such suggestions in people's minds, the most likely culprit was a demon.

Luke had not detected any demonic presence earlier, which meant the creature was extremely skilled at concealing itself. It had most likely targeted Taliyah without any of them realizing it.

Judging from the situation now, however, Luke suspected that the demon lurking in the shadows was none other than Camphor, the Doubt.

Luke had first learned about Camphor through Ryze.

Among the books Ryze carried with him were records of countless secrets, mysteries, and obscure stories from throughout Runeterra.

One of those records mentioned Camphor, the Doubt.

Ryze had once encountered the demon himself.

Camphor was an exceptionally cunning demon. She would first use her power to implant a suggestion of self-doubt into her chosen victim.

In simple terms, it caused thoughts like, "I remember being really good at this, so why am I suddenly so terrible now?"

The more the victim doubted themselves, the weaker their abilities became, until eventually that strength was drained away by Camphor.

Ryze had ultimately discovered Camphor's true name and driven her away.

He had never encountered her again afterward.

Based on everything that had happened, Luke strongly suspected that Camphor was the one now haunting Taliyah.

Most likely, their visit to Marrowmark Market some time ago had exposed Taliyah to the demon, and her unusual magical abilities had made her an especially tempting target.

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