Arcane: Twin Cities Mechanic

There weren't many places to visit in Demacia, mostly monuments and a few grand buildings reaching hundreds of meters into the sky. After all, this was the political and economic center of Demacia, the most prosperous region in the western part of Valoran, and home to a significant number of noble families.

For the next part of the day, Sona took Li Lin to visit the grand Hall of the Illuminators Church in the northern part of the city.

This had been one of her favorite spots to visit when she first arrived in Demacia, often accompanied by Lestara and Kahina.

The Church of the Illuminators worshipped the "Judicator," the righteous angel, Kayle, one of the Winged Protectors. 

However, there were still scattered records of Morgana in the Church's grand library, though they had been sealed away by a past king's orders.

Demacia didn't need a "fallen" guardian—just one righteous judge would be enough.

It was thanks to the church's records that King Jarvan III was able to confirm Morgana's true identity, after agents found this information.

Since it was the afternoon prayer time for the church, Li Lin and Sona didn't wish to disturb the proceedings and exited through a side door.

Their last stop was the Monumental War Memorial Road, located outside Demacia's city walls, where a massive humanoid statue stood at the fork in the road.

The Justice Colossus—Galio.

Li Lin was well-acquainted with this war colossus.

Demacia's ancestors had discovered the Forbidden Magic Stone Forest and sought to use it on the battlefield to fend off the attacks of powerful mages.

The head of the Durland family took on this responsibility and used the Forbidden Magic Stone to design a defensive mechanism for the army.

After two years of effort, the majestic, soaring Justice Colossus, Galio, was born.

Along with the Winged Protectors, Galio was once an essential defense to safeguard Demacia, defending the nation from external invaders.

Any magic would lose its power in the presence of Galio, making Demacia a deterrent against both foreign kingdoms and barbarian invaders, inspiring the entire kingdom—especially during the hundred years after the Winged Protectors had disappeared.

Li Lin clearly remembered that Galio had originally been an unconscious giant statue. 

However, after countless magical and elemental forces acted upon him, something unknown triggered the colossus to come to life.

Even then, when not exposed to massive magical energy, Galio would fall back into slumber. Although there were records of Galio participating in battle during the past few centuries, most Demacians still regarded these as mere legends.

After walking for over half an hour, Li Lin and Sona finally arrived at the Monument Road, a quiet place away from the bustling city. 

Li Lin looked up at the towering statue, standing on its base, with its gaze downward, as if observing every "small person" passing beneath its feet.

The statue was crafted entirely from silver-white Forbidden Magic Stone, with bronze metallic decorations on its neck, chest, shoulders, hands, ribs, and knees. The same material adorned its upward-pointing bronze wings and its crown-like headpiece.

From Li Lin's estimate, Galio stood somewhere between 60 to 80 meters tall. Though its size was significantly smaller than Malphite's, its immense fists could easily crush any Demacian house.

Sona stood solemnly, offering a respectful bow toward Galio, and then turned to Li Lin, who followed suit, breaking into a smile.

"Galio can be said to be the symbol of faith for Demacia's soldiers," she conveyed telepathically.

"He has existed for hundreds of years, since the founding of Demacia. Soldiers regard him as the emblem of war, and whenever magic is involved in battle, he is sure to fight alongside them, absorbing all magic aimed at him."

"Not only that, every year during specific holidays, such as the Autumn Equinox or Golden Spring Festival, people come to the Monument Road to pay their respects to the colossus and offer their highest reverence."

"I heard that Galio actually has a consciousness?" Li Lin deliberately asked.

"Hmm... how should I put this?"

Sona glanced up at Galio, and just as their gazes met, something strange caught her attention.

She could have sworn that the statue's head moved slightly.

Quickly rubbing her eyes, she realized the head had remained tilted downward in the bright sunlight, showing no sign of movement.

It must have been a trick of the light.

Noticing Sona's bewildered expression and unusual behavior, Li Lin immediately asked, "What's wrong?"

"No, nothing," she replied, smiling and continuing, "There are indeed many historical accounts of Galio coming to life, especially during his first battle at Green Tooth Peak... but most people believe these are just stories soldiers made up to encourage one another."

Sona gently placed her hand on Galio's massive right foot, "After all, how could a statue made of Forbidden Magic Stone come to life?"

She was also skeptical about the legends of Galio having his own will.

That molten giant Malphite might have something to say about that…

Li Lin stayed silent for a moment, thinking, before saying, "Isn't it possible that Galio can only awaken in places with abundant magic?"

"Eh?" Sona was both puzzled and surprised by his theory. "Why do you think that?"

"Well, think about it," Li Lin began, guiding her to reflect, "In Demacia's historical records, Galio was often transported to the battlefield by soldiers using bullocks and war carts, right?"

Sona nodded, still confused.

"But why is it that Galio only 'comes to life' a few times in the records, and not every time he is deployed?" Li Lin continued, leading her thought process. "And if you think about it, what's the difference between the battles where Galio was able to act freely and those where he couldn't?"

Sona lowered her gaze, a thoughtful expression flickering across her face. Soon, it seemed as though something clicked in her mind, and her eyes widened as she looked back at Li Lin. "You mean... only by facing a mage can Galio be revived?"

"Exactly!" Li Lin smiled and snapped his fingers.

"Every living being requires energy to function. Even us humans, the food we eat and the water we drink are essential to maintain our biological functions."

"As for non-living entities, like my mechanical army, they need special energy cores to power them."

"So I think Galio is similar. He was specifically created to fight mages. On a battlefield filled with magic, those magical forces act as his energy source, allowing him to move according to his will."

"But without magic, he loses that energy source and falls into a dormant state."

Sona seemed to understand, the strange light in her eyes growing brighter as she eagerly continued, "But in Demacia's capital, surrounded by anti-magic stones, where the magic particles in the air are so scarce, Galio can't absorb any energy, and thus, he can't move!"

She pursed her lips, brushing aside a strand of hair, and focused her gaze back on Galio's face. "Do you think there's a chance to restore his vitality... would my magic be enough?"

Li Lin scratched his head, reluctant to disappoint Sona. 

Based on the panel information displayed through his "Data Mind" ability, Galio needed at least 3000 mana points to "come back to life."

Without using Etwahl and with Sona's magic training being minimal, her mana only amounted to a measly thousand points. 

Even if she gave all her magic to Galio, she wouldn't even be able to provide half of the mana needed to power him back up...

In comparison, the power contained within Lux, who could awaken Galio just by touching him, must be extraordinary!

After a moment of contemplation, Li Lin decided to gently convey that it wouldn't be possible: "If you want to be caught by the Mageseekers and exposed as a mage, you could try."

His tone was playful, and anyone could tell he was joking.

Sona gave him an annoyed look over her shoulder but quickly regained her calm, cupping her hands over her chest in a gesture of prayer.

"It would be amazing if I could ever see Galio soaring through space one day..."

Li Lin took a couple of steps forward and gently placed a hand on her shoulder. "What if I can do it?"

Sona inhaled sharply, her nose flaring in surprise. If she could speak, her voice would likely have a questioning tone.

"You can do it? With magic?" Worry spread across her face. "But what if you get caught by the Mageseekers? What if they expel you?"

"Who says I'm going to use magic?" Li Lin and Sona shared a puzzled glance, but he didn't elaborate—after all, she wouldn't understand anyway. "Just watch."

He patted her shoulder twice, took a few steps ahead, and in an instant, he was fully encased in a suit of black-blue steel armor.

Sona gasped silently, her hand covering her mouth in astonishment, and immediately sent him a telepathic message: "What... is this?!"

"Don't worry. This isn't magic, it's Piltover technology, the nanotech I told you about."

Li Lin lifted his helmet and turned to give her a reassuring glance.

From their earlier experience, he realized that the anti-magic stones didn't simply absorb magic—they absorbed any kind of energy, as long as it didn't exceed their storage limit.

If that's the case, then Galio doesn't necessarily need magic to be activated; physical energy might work just as well.

Of course, this was only his hypothesis.

If it worked, maybe one day they could power up Galio with a nuclear fusion engine.

Furthermore, the nano-energy core used in this generation's Nanotech Powered Armor was crafted from Primordial Crystals, meaning its power source still came from magic. 

But to avoid worrying Sona, he intentionally called it something other than magic.

Li Lin then placed his hands on Galio's feet, using the armor's core to overdrive and channel most of its energy into his palms.

Moments later, a stream of blue and white energy flowed from his palms, rapidly being absorbed by Galio, much like dry earth soaking up rain.

In just a little over ten seconds, the armor's energy reserves dropped to around 90%, but the "Data Mind" system displayed that Galio's mana had already exceeded 10,000.

It was then that a deep, rough sound, like pottery scraping against cobblestones, suddenly erupted above their heads.

Sona looked up in astonishment, realizing that the noise was coming from directly above them.

As she lifted her gaze, her eyes widened in shock. She saw that Galio's eyes had begun to move!

At the same time, a deep male voice followed: "Hey, little ones, could you... uh, scratch my feet for me?"

(End of Chapter)