Arcane: Twin Cities Mechanic

Nasus and Renekton were once close brothers, united by a bond that was hard to break. Nasus was studious, while Renekton was a warrior, often fighting to the point of bloodshed against those who dared to insult him or his elder brother.

Later, Nasus was accepted into the Sun Temple of the City of the Sun, gaining admission to the highest academy of the Shurima Empire. To prevent his increasingly violent younger brother from being locked up for his constant brawls, Nasus secretly arranged for Renekton to join the Shurima military, despite his age not meeting the recruitment standards.

This choice proved to be the right one.

As Nasus rose to the rank of commander, managing operations from the rear while the fearless Renekton fought at the front lines, the two brothers became famous, contributing greatly to the empire's territorial expansion. Their renown rivaled even the celestial warriors of the Ascended.

However, as time passed, Nasus was struck by a sudden, incurable disease, leaving him with little time to live.

At the people's request, and the emperor's earnest plea, Setaka, the leader of the Ascended, deemed Nasus worthy of the Ascension ritual and issued a decree granting him the right to ascend. 

But Nasus, already gravely ill, had neither the strength nor the stamina to climb the ascension steps and reach the divine altar beneath the Sun Disc.

Without hesitation, Renekton rushed forward, carrying his elder brother up the final stretch, awaiting the fiery transformation that would burn him like the sun itself.

The empire could survive without a warrior like him, but not without a learned scholar like Nasus.

When the Star-Forger's magic descended, transforming their bodies with the power of the sun, Nasus and Renekton were remade into powerful Ascended warriors.

Much later, Xerath, believing that Azir was too hesitant to abolish the ancient slavery system, secretly conspired to steal the power of the Ascension and sent the brothers away from the imperial capital.

As Azir ascended the steps of the Ascension altar, about to have his mortal form forged into that of a celestial, Xerath pushed him into a fire hot enough to rival the sun, using forbidden magic to twist the process of Ascension, making him an illegitimate Ascended.

Nasus and Renekton arrived too late. Together, they fought desperately, but they could not defeat the traitor, Xerath, and he almost escaped. In desperation, Renekton sacrificed himself to trap Xerath within the royal tomb beneath the Sun City, allowing Nassus to seal them away.

Time passed, and the world changed. The Ascended were no more, and the once-lush oases turned into barren deserts. The environment deteriorated rapidly.

Though their bodies were transformed into immortal forms, the souls of the Ascended remained mortal, lacking much in terms of spiritual fortitude.

Over the course of a thousand years, Xerath relentlessly filled Renekton's mind with hatred, warping his mind to make him believe that Nasus had abandoned him, jealous of his battle prowess, seeking to corrupt his divine essence.

In the end, Xerath succeeded.

As emerald-colored magic soared into the sky, whipping up dust and debris, Renekton, in his crocodilian form, rolled forward with a deathly charge, narrowly avoiding the dark purple soul fire summoned by Nasus. His jaws, brimming with fangs, clamped onto his brother's shoulder, breaking the enchanted shoulder armor of gold and bronze. Nasus howled in pain, releasing decay magic to weaken Renekton's strength before swinging his battle axe, its sharp end aimed at Renekton's side.

Renekton, now lost to madness, was unable to fight with his usual precision and was struck, his once-impenetrable bronze and emerald armor shattering, revealing a flow of magical particles and blood as bright as rubies.

As they parted ways for a brief moment, with a distance of nearly two kilometers between them, Nasus' gaze shifted, and he sensed a familiar energy signature that Renekton had failed to notice.

Li Lin had arrived!

Nasus felt his tension ease somewhat.

With the might of the Titan Beast and his own power, the now-berserk Renekton was little more than a sitting duck, unable to escape.

Nasus squinted, his voice filled with sorrow as he spoke to his lost brother. "Brother, you have fallen too far."

"Shut up, traitor!" Renekton roared, his wounds healing rapidly as his armor restored itself, its magical properties bringing it back to its pristine state.

Once again, he unleashed a deadly move, spinning and charging forward with his axe, trying to maximize the force of his attack and catch his enemy off guard.

Nasus knew this move all too well—he had been his brother's closest ally. Even now, with the power of the Ascended, he could easily counter it. But in order to coordinate with Li Lin, Nasus deliberately left an opening, lowering his defense on the left side of his chest, offering a perfect opportunity for Renekton to strike.

Renekton, driven by hatred, did not suspect a trap and pressed forward with fury in his eyes. His axe sliced through the air, closing in on Nassus in a matter of moments.

"Now!" Nassus shouted, his body brimming with power.

He summoned sharp shards of sand and stone to obstruct Renekton's path while unleashing decaying magic to slow him down.

"Too weak!" Renekton snarled, using his magic to counteract the decay, but it was too late.

As he staggered back from the devastating fire pillar Nasus summoned beneath his feet, Li Lin arrived at incredible speed, nearly as fast as the battling Ascended gods.

"What is this?!" Renekton gasped in horror, momentarily distracted.

In that split second, Nassus struck with his axe, conjuring a searing pillar of flame that threatened to burn Renekton's very soul.

"Aaargh!" Renekton screamed in agony, his charge faltering as he recoiled from the fiery magic. Desperate to escape, he retreated, but Li Lin was already on his tail.

Because typical kinetic projectiles, even with improvements to electromagnetic technology and ammunition, cause minimal damage to Ascended bodies.

Li Lin had not yet loaded conventional projectiles into the mech, instead opting to fill the chambers with over a thousand quantum bombs produced in recent time.

Although their power was still limited against a godlike being, they at least served to obstruct and deplete Renekton's energy.

[Quantum bombs, open fire.]

With a thought from Li Lin, the AI immediately targeted Renekton, who was retreating, and launched dozens of quantum bombs. The precision explosions forced him into a brief paralysis, freezing him in place.

The next moment, the spikes atop the massive mech's head charged, glowing with energy far hotter than molten lava. The mech, standing over two hundred meters tall, surged forward at lightning speed. Renekton's eyes, ablaze with burning starlight, flickered rapidly.

Unstoppable!

In the blink of an eye, the massive mech slammed into Renekton with an unyielding force, the high-energy spikes piercing his divine body. Renekton howled in agony, swinging his crescent blade and axe in a frenzied assault. He kicked and punched at the mech's armored fists, but his attacks barely left a mark on the thick plating.

Li Lin had already anticipated this outcome, activating the force field shield in advance. Renekton's strikes had no effect on the shield.

Next, Nasus once again cast his weakening magic, further sapping his brother's strength.

With the magic aiding him, the mech's left arm extended, revealing a plasma cutter blade, which then swung violently towards Renekton's right arm.

Though it couldn't sever his arm, the pain inflicted was enough to make Renekton drop his crescent blade and axe.

Devoid of the Ascended power, the once-glowing weapons dimmed, their emerald magic dissipating as they shrank in size.

Taking advantage of the remaining duration of the force field shield, Li Lin retracted the plasma sword and equipped his hands with high-energy piercing drills. He effortlessly pierced through Renekton's bronze-gold armor, which had already been weakened by Nasus' flame magic, driving the drills into his ribs.

"—Roar!"

Fueled by rage, Renekton gripped the mech's topmost spike, desperately trying to pull himself free.

Unfortunately for him, Nasus had already exploited his moment of weakness, continuing to amplify the withering magic, preventing Renekton from gathering any strength.

However, Li Lin granted Renekton the opportunity he longed for to break free from the mech's piercing spires, though in an entirely different way.

The mech's overload charging and overdrive function engaged. Electromagnetic waves erupted from every joint, sending intense shocks through the air. The unfamiliar stimulus of the force made Renekton shiver, his resistance weakening even further.

Seizing this moment, the mech's arms and body's mechanical parts went into overdrive, swiftly lifting the now-miniscule Renekton—half the size of the mech—above its head. With a mighty punch, the mech slammed him violently into the ground.

Then, taking advantage of its massive size and weight, the mech dove downward, using its full mechanical form to pin Renekton beneath it.

The high-energy drill gloves withdrew from Renekton's ribs, and with a furious roar, Li Lin charged up for a "Thunder Strike," focusing all energy into the fist aimed directly at Renekton's face.

The surrounding area erupted with the plasma energy pulse, and even a being of Renekton's Ascended stature was knocked senseless by the blow. His eyes, burning with the fury of a new star, dimmed for a moment.

But that wasn't the end. According to the AI's calculations, Renekton was still at 50% of his full strength and could continue resisting.

If the force field shield was to cool down for its three-minute cooldown period, Renekton's retaliation would likely cause the mech to suffer at least 10%—15% damage. Those were valuable golden coins!

Li Lin wasted no time, alternating punches with incredible speed, his drill fists leaving severe damage to Renekton's face. The punches punctured his eyes, broke his jaws, shattered his fangs, and caused Renekton to scream in agony. His resistance dwindled with each blow, eventually leaving him on the brink of death.

Nearby, Nasus, realizing his brother's life was in danger, immediately stopped his magic and rushed forward to stop Li Lin. "That's enough, Li Lin. It's enough…"

Li Lin paused and, looking at the "Data Mind" system panel, saw Renekton's health drop from a question mark to a specific number—only about 50,000 left, with a slow recovery.

At death's door, he couldn't even maintain his Ascended powers.

The mech rose off Renekton, whose battered form rapidly shrank in size. Within a single breath, the towering figure was reduced from over a hundred meters tall to a mere three meters.

Nasus stared at the tiny black figure on the ground, sighed heavily, and fixed his gaze on the mech's head.

"I sincerely thank you for helping me subdue Renekton."

(End of chapter)

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