Janna accepted the cake from Luke without thinking, but the next second, she realized something was wrong.
She looked at the cake in her hand, the one she had already taken a bite out of, and felt that in that instant, she had lost all dignity as a goddess.
"Do you think I'm making things up?"
Her brows pinched together, and a trace of displeasure entered her ethereal voice.
Luke shook his head. "Not at all."
Janna looked at him. A breeze coiled faintly around her. "Then could you take this a little more seriously?"
Luke said innocently, "I'm already being very serious. What, do you need me to fall to my knees and swear myself to you?"
Janna waved a hand. "That won't be necessary. I'm personally not that fond of that sort of thing."
Seeing her still acting dignified and reserved, Luke cleared his throat and changed his tone. "Then, great Storm's Fury, Goddess Janna, your manifestation in my humble little home surely wasn't just for one bite of cake, was it?"
Janna floated in the air, and her whole body suddenly stiffened. Guiltily, she looked away, lifted her chin, and put on a lofty, cool air. "Of course not! I have naturally appeared here because I have business."
She absolutely could not admit he had guessed correctly. Otherwise, where would she put her pride?
So Luke followed her lead and asked, "May I ask what matter the great Storm's Fury, Goddess Janna, wishes to discuss?"
Hearing the strange tone in his voice, Janna could not help saying, "You should just talk normally. There's no need to attach that many titles every time."
Luke nodded. "All right. Please get to the point."
Janna sighed softly. "Actually, this is a long story. I'll make it short."
Luke nodded again, even pouring himself a glass of wine and preparing some snacks, clearly settling in for the gossip.
Seeing this, Janna did not say anything. She merely curled a finger, and a cup was lifted by the wind. A bottle of wine followed the same way, and after a glass was poured, she took it in her hand.
Then she unceremoniously took some of Luke's snacks too, apparently planning to eat while she talked.
"I am called Zaun's guardian spirit. But a long, long time ago, before Piltover existed here, when Zaun was still called Oshra Va'Zaun, I had no name. I had probably been asleep all along.
"Until one day, a sailor at sea prayed to the wind, hoping for fair weather. I opened my eyes.
"Gradually, along the coast, upon the sea, more and more travelers, sailors, and other people entrusted all kinds of prayers and hopes to the roaring gales and rushing currents. Influenced by that, many inexplicable senses of duty began to settle upon me. I began to have a form. I began to have awareness. I began to guide the lost.
"Later, I received my first name, Jan'ahrem, which meant guardian in an ancient tongue. I understood my purpose. After that, people shortened it to Janna.
"And that was also the time when I had the most devout believers. Along the coast, at the harbors, on the islands, my statues and shrines could be seen everywhere."
By the time she reached this point, Janna had already finished two glasses of wine, but there was no sign of drunkenness on her face. Only when those eyes recalled the past, a trace of loneliness appeared in them.
Immediately after, that loneliness was replaced by indignation. Her white hair drifted in the wind, and she said angrily, "Until one day! That damned dog emperor of Shurima issued an order banning all 'false worship,' especially worship of me! I watched statue after statue and shrine after shrine get torn down with my own eyes. I watched my believers be whipped, and I was powerless to stop it!
"He was jealous of me! He incited people to worship those so-called Ascended!
"But my believers were not so easily defeated. They began using smaller, more hidden symbols to represent me.
"Oshra Va'Zaun became the gathering place for most of my believers.
"I did not abandon them either. I continued helping the weak who prayed to me. But no one can withstand the erosion of time."
When she reached this point, a deeper loneliness entered her eyes, and her ethereal voice rang out without a trace of emotion.
"Even powerful empires eventually fall. The dog emperor died. And those Ascended who had once been worshiped by countless people wantonly destroyed this land. During that age of turmoil and conflict, I could only protect Va'Zaun and struggle through those years.
"Even so, a hundred years later, even those mighty Ascended would be forgotten, let alone me.
"Over the centuries, the name Va'Zaun was simplified into Zaun. I watched the residents here develop grander ambitions and ideals. They also began to turn their attention to other things. Gradually, the prayers I received became fewer. The city changed every day. The excavation of the canals brought prosperous development to Zaun, and my power began to weaken little by little.
"But excessive excavation also made one side of the canal unstable. And so, on that day, an entire district along the River Pilt sank below the sea level to the west. Amid the landslides and tsunamis, I used what little strength I had left to stabilize the situation. Because of that, I fell into slumber.
"Afterward, I would occasionally wake once in a while. On the other side of the sunken district, a new city had been built upon the land. Many inventors who believed in technology came here, and the attention of most people in Zaun was also divided. They saw only one another. Gradually, I was forgotten."
Janna lifted her head and drained the wine in her cup in one gulp, then set it down on the table in frustration. "Now, only a pitiful handful of believers remain. When I lose even those believers, I'm afraid that will be the moment I disappear."
After listening, Luke had roughly understood how Piltover and Zaun had come to be.
He thought for a moment, then said, "Since you can appear, why don't you just show yourself directly and gather believers?"
"If I could, I would have done that long ago!"
Janna admitted that she had indeed had such thoughts. Helplessly, she said, "There is some unseen force restricting me. As a 'divine spirit,' I cannot directly interfere with the mortal world. The moment I try to appear and gather believers, the faith I receive is no longer devout."
Luke came to a realization. "I see. Then why can you appear in front of me?"
"Now that you mention it, I find that strange too."
Janna also sized Luke up. "Your understanding of the wind element is much deeper than that blond girl's. You should already be able to control wind to a small extent now, which is why you can directly see me. I think that must be the reason.
"In truth, not everyone can see me in this state."
She floated in the air, the hem of her dress drifting slightly, and even looked a little proud.
Luke had another moment of realization and thought it was probably because of Wind-Wielding Swordsmanship.
His Wind-Wielding Swordsmanship had now reached LV9, the maximum level. To learn Wind-Wielding Swordsmanship, one had to first know how to comprehend wind intent. Now that his Wind-Wielding Swordsmanship was at LV9, his understanding of wind intent had naturally returned to a state of effortless simplicity.
In other words, if Luke had the talent for wind magic, it probably would not be hard for him to learn it now.
Luke looked at Janna before him and nodded. "So that's why you appeared here."
As he spoke, he pointed at the corner of his own lips.
Janna looked puzzled.
"Cream."
Luke said the single word simply.
Only then did Janna understand. White cream was stuck to the edge of her rosy lips. Thinking of how she had been appearing before Luke this entire time in that state, a blush finally appeared on her face.
Why didn't this guy say so earlier?
Quickly licking the cream from the corner of her lips, Janna cleared her throat and said as if nothing had happened, "That's right. This is why I came to you!"
Luke thought for a moment and said, "For something this big, I don't think I can help much. After all, my faith alone probably isn't enough."
"You can!" Janna floated closer, her eyes fixed on him seriously. "One person's faith obviously isn't enough, but what if you find a way to help me get more believers?"
Luke pondered, then said, "But wouldn't that count as you interfering? After all, using me to gather believers seems equivalent to you getting involved."
"Who did I interfere with? I was just having a normal chat with you. You suddenly had a realization, started worshiping me from the bottom of your heart, and wanted to help me expand the number of my believers. Is there a problem with that?"
Janna floated up and said it as if it were perfectly reasonable.
"Besides, I'm about to die out of this world. Am I not allowed to find a way to survive?"
Her body leaned back slightly, as if she had sat down, and her two small, delicate feet lifted lightly, emitting a faint, soft white glow.
Luke said thoughtfully, "That does sound reasonable."
He could see it now. This wind spirit wanted to exploit a loophole.
"Right? You think it's reasonable too!"
Janna seemed to have found someone who understood her. Her eyes brightened slightly, and she looked at Luke expectantly. "Now it depends on what you want to do. After all, you are currently the only person I can contact in reality."
It was precisely because of his special affinity with wind that she could appear here and communicate with him.
Otherwise, Janna truly would not know what to do.
Watching her believers decrease day after day was a truly awful feeling.
Luke thought for a moment, then said, "I can help, but what can I get out of doing this?"
Janna also thought for a moment, then spoke proudly. "You can become my number one great believer, and I can also bring you an increase in good fortune!"
"The second half of that might work on the little blonde, but becoming your number one great believer doesn't seem to give me anything except an extra label over my head, right?"
Luke chuckled.
Janna also seemed to feel that this offer was a bit too half-baked. Floating in the air, she turned left and right, apparently trying hard to think of an answer that would satisfy Luke.
"I've got it!"
After a while, her eyes suddenly lit up. She looked at Luke. "As my number one great believer, I will grant you a special affinity with wind! Once you possess wind affinity, your control over wind will advance directly! How about that? Pretty amazing, right?"
Hearing this, Luke considered it and felt that it seemed rather good, so he nodded. "All right, then let's do it."
Janna asked in confusion, "Do what?"
"Aren't you going to give me wind affinity? Go ahead. I'm ready!"
Luke spread his hands and said, "As a goddess, you can't just make empty promises, can you? Asking your number one great believer to work hard without giving any concrete benefits would be difficult."
This guy's habit of refusing to move without profit made Janna grind her teeth. She raised a hand, and in an instant, a special wave of energy spread outward and entered Luke's body.
"There!"
She said it irritably, then explained, "Wind affinity can also be understood as affinity with the wind element. Runeterra has all kinds of elements. Having affinity with one of them means you can develop unique insight into that element.
"Although yours was granted after birth, you already had a special understanding of the wind element. With wind affinity, your understanding can advance and improve."
In truth, there was no need for her to explain anymore.
Because at that moment, Luke had already fallen into a wondrous state of comprehension. From that moment on, his understanding of wind seemed to become more thorough, and controlling it also became much easier.
A whirlwind coiled around him, spinning continuously.
Wind affinity, in plain terms, was actually a magical response.
Those born with it would have a special response to the wind element. Usually, people like that would learn wind magic smoothly and with ease.
And now, through the improvement brought by wind affinity, Luke's already maxed-out Wind-Wielding Swordsmanship had advanced another step.
It could be said that it had risen from LV9 to LV9.5.
That mere 0.5 increase was already enormous.
When Luke opened his eyes, the wind gradually calmed down. Janna said, "Well? You felt it, didn't you?"
"I felt it. It's very powerful."
Luke nodded slightly and spoke honestly.
Now, with just a thought, wind intent would come to him effortlessly, and it was far faster, more solid, and stronger than before.
He could even activate the magic within his body and summon wind.
It was a simple form of wind magic created through wind affinity.
It had to be said, the benefit Janna had given him was excellent.
Clearly, in order to return to her peak, she had truly gone all out.
"Now that you've accepted it, you have to do the work, understood?" Janna glanced at him and said, "If I find out you're not being honest, I can take it back at any time."
She did not look as if she were merely trying to scare him.
Luke felt that as the Storm's Fury, it probably would not be difficult for her to do something like that.
"Don't worry. I'll help you come up with something."
Having received the benefit, Luke would naturally put in some effort too. He would not stand Janna up.
However, helping her gather a new wave of believers would not actually be easy.
After all, faith was not something that appeared just because someone said it should.
Even if it did appear, most of it would not be sincere.
"I won't force you either. If there really isn't a way in the end, then forget it."
Janna sighed softly. She knew this matter was far from simple, and the emotions flickering in her eyes were complicated.
It was just that she truly had no other way, and had even reached the point where she had nowhere left to turn.
She did not know what would happen when she truly no longer had even a single believer.
But deep in her heart, she was truly afraid of that feeling.
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