The Fall: Snow Day

Snow Day

Her face was cold.

Syndra had not expected the snowball to hit her. She was just walking around the forest that surrounded the country house they had all been invited to. There was too many people inside for her to feel comfortable. There was too much noise, too much warmth and too much drink; in her opinion, that was a horrible combination.

And it was because of that horrible combination that the snowball fight had started. Shen had noticed that she wasn't in the house and, when he went out in order to look after her, most of the people that had beencomfortably eating and drinking inside the building had followed him out.

I hadn't taken long for the battle to break out; Syndra had been hearing the shouts for more than fifteen minutes. Still, she had not expected that a ball would reach her.

Only later she learnt that it wasn't their intention; Shen had already found her and, while the Ionian ninja was walking towards her, Ekko had thrown one of his special snowballs. It hit Shen, but it didn't stop there; it kept on moving and ended up hitting Syndra.

She had been about to scream back then. She hated being touched, no matter what the thing that made contact was, and she cared even less if it was alive or not. But the cold feel of the snowball had brought her down to Valoran again. It was time for fun and joy. It was a time meant for sharing, for loving and laughing. And that was what she definitely wanted to do.

But then the snowball, the very same snowball that Ekko had thrown seconds ago, hit her again, now in the back of her head.

...

Annie had seen it all; the start of the snow battle, the huge Ice castle that had been build by Trundle and Anivia that was now home to a sieging game, Brand's long face and... that event.

Ekko had not expected such an answer from Syndra. Even Shen, that had been hit by Ekko's snowball, had tried to protect him from the upcoming frozen answer from Syndra. But it was not enough; hundreds of snowballs suddenly appeared in front of Syndra, floating, and only a few seconds later they were all flying towards Ekko's face.

She would have loved to protect him; if she had been able to throw Tibbers there he might have blocked some of the snowballs. But she was out of range. Annie saw Yasuo in the ice fortress, who was also frustrated by the impotence, since he was also too far to create a wall and stop the incoming snowballs.

...

No one had expected Tahm Kench to appear there and save the day when everyone thought that Ekko's face was going to be erased by the pressurized ice that was about to hit him.

No one saw him coming; he suddenly appeared under the Zaunite boy's feet and swallowed him whole. Tahm Kench laughed while the Iron Solari locket that he was keeping on his right hand shone as bright as the sun.

Once the rain of snowballs was over, Tahm Kench spit Ekko out of his belly and bowed, just like an artist waiting for the audience's applause.

And the audience delivered.

Dream Journal: 9. Double edged sword

It was weird. I had gone through sleep paralysis before, and quite a lot of times; it is common to experience it when you're starting to try to get back into lucid dreaming. But this time it was being different.

My right arm was the only thing I could move; my left arm was stuck under the blanket, paralyzed, unable to move. I couldn't even close my fist; it was as if my left arm was now nothing but a stone. This first fear struck right through my heart, accelerating it to levels unknown to me. And then it stopped completely.

I panicked; I desperately tried to feel my heartbeats with my right hand, trying to sense something by touching the part of my chest where the heart was supposed to be, rotating between that and the typical place of the neck they tell you to look at, but I could feel nothing. Was I having a heart attack?

That was the first thought that crossed my mind once I realized what was going on. I tried to get my hands onto my mobile phone with the intention of calling someone, be it the emergency number or my very own mother, but I couldn't, it was too far away and I couldn't wake up.

"Is this how I am going to die?" I asked to myself. "Alone in one of the darkest rooms that mankind can conceive? Would my last thoughts drown in the infinite silence that covered the night?"

No.

And then I wake up. Hours later, talking about this with X, a person that is quite close to me, a lot of information suddenly came up; a lot of horrible information.

I never got to know what would have been the consequences of such secrets coming to light, because that was when I actually woke up.

The Fall: 42. The Tear of the Goddess

The Tear of the Goddess

Quinn saw Syndra and pointed her out to Shauna. She had explained it all to her before heading towards the Ionian woman that had brought legions down with nothing but her bare hands and a power that escaped the limits of human condition. Yes, Syndra was powerful, but only when she knew what was coming up to her. The countless legions that had vanished had done a horrible mistake; facing her straight up. They would not do that mistake.

...

Quinn vaulted onto Syndra, who tried to maintain the equilibrium while holding the huge platforms that she was rising for Darkwill. "I need to hold on for a while..." thought Syndra. "He's so close to bringing him back. I'll be safe when he's back." thought before trying to hit Quinn with a sphere.

...

That was when she had to go in;Shauna Vayne tumbled at Syndra's side and shot a heavy silver bolt that pushed her towards the closest tree, stucking her into it. But the Ionian woman didn't stop; even though they were more unstable, the huge pieces of rock were still hanging up in the air.

...

She was cold. Really cold.

Syndra remembered Darkwill's words. "I feel your pain." he had said. Syndra had seen it in Darkwill's eyes; he had also lost a loved one. That one, the only one. He had also lost the one and only person that had understood what he was and accepted it. And, like Syndra, he would do whatever it took for having such a person back.

But she was cold. Her eyes were starting to surrender to the weight of her eye lids and the world was becoming darker. She wanted to hold on, to give Darkwill a chance of having Senna back. And then, when Zed was back, he would save her. He would bring her back from these cold shadows.

She only had to hold on, and wait for him.

...

-Stop it, Vayne! -shouted Quinn.

-Why? -asked Shauna, clearly nervous.- That man is still up there, Lux is about to blow this whole damned place up, and you want me to stop doing the one thing that can save us.

-There's no point on that... -said Quinn.- She's already dead.

...

LeBlanc was feeling horribly. Why had she done such a thing? Why had she wasted her life this way? She could have enjoyed a lifetime with Ezreal, the only man that had dared give his life for her, but no; she had to stop Darkwill. She had to get into whatever he was doing and stop it, because Darkwill could never do good.

But that wasn't the worst part of it; what terrified LeBlanc the most was another feeling that haunted her heart; doubt. What if Darkwill wasn't doing anything wrong? What if it was right to fight for those you loved, no matter what was at stake?

First, she cried. Only then she fell onto Tahm Kench's open mouth.

...

Darkwill fell onto the ground. He didn't know why everything had suddenly shaken so abruptly, and he wasn't given much time to think about it. The ground shook again, and with that he lost control of Lux's mind.

"It doesn't matter." he thought. In only a matter of seconds, Senna would be back, and nothing else would matter then.

...

Lux had no time to stop it.

When she regained consciousness the Final Spark had already been fired. Accompanied by Riven's Wind Slash, the projectile advanced like an unstoppable force towards the lantern that Thresh had given to Darkwill. She saw the woman that Darkwill had called LeBlanc in the projectile's path until the moment when she should have been hit.

Seconds after, she realized that the one that had been hit was Ezreal.

...

There are times when people are not given time to choose. Times when no one is given the chance to calmly face a situation and think what they can do to solve it.

It is during those times that the commonfolk step aside. "I can't save her." said a doctor, far away from the battle at the Plague Jungles, struggling to keep his best friend's daughter alive, trying to help her survive the hit of a stray Avarosan arrow. "I can't defend my homeland." thought an old, old man, far away in time and space, while trying to look for a way of saving Urtistan. "I can't conquer his heart." thought a maven, far away, in a beautiful watchtower that had been built ages ago in the very middle of Bandle City.

It is during these times that heroes appear. When no one dares to try, they show up. That is the only difference between the commonfolk and the few heroes that have stumbled upon our world. That they decided to show up. They decided to act. They decided to show that they did have the willpower to do something.

Two words are enough to turn a common person into a hero: I can.

The Fall: 41. The Final Spark

The Final Spark

-How does it feel bastard? -asked a familiar voice.

That voice turned Darius mad. That could not be him. He had died at Thresh's hands. His brother had died long ago, he could not be talking now.

-Answer, bastard. -he heard again while a fist hit his back.

Darius turned, trying to grasp the hand that had hit him, but when he turned he saw Malcolm, the Noxian man that was supposed to die at his hands. The Noxian hero that had been depicted as a villain for the sole purpose of calming the rage of the Noxian people. The fool that had let go of Thresh, the one to blame for Draven's death.

Without saying a word, Darius whirled his axe, trying to cut through Malcolm's chest. But he vanished, leaving only a light spplash of blood that tainted his armor with more blood.

-Why are you doing this? -asked Darius.

...

Darkwill was preparing Thresh's lantern while he used a part of his mind to control Lux, all while giving orders to the monstrous army he had gathered.

-Faster Syndra. -said Darkwill with the monotonous voice he had been using since he had taken control of Lux.- Lux will need another platform.

While their own piece of ground kept rising, LeBlanc saw how another chunk was being torn from the woods. That piece, smaller than the one she and Darkwill occupied, was rising faster, as if it tried to reach the height that theirs now was at. During the movement, a few rotten trees were falling back into the forest, silently splintering once they reached the ground.

-Why are you doing this Elliot? -asked LeBlanc.- Where's the point of leaving?

-You are asking the wrong questions. -answered Darkwill.- And using the wrong name.

-What is your plan then, Darkwill? -said LeBlanc in a mocking tone, specially exaggerating the Ziraeth's name. - Are you going to blind us all using this girls' lights and the lantern's glow?

-She'll be back, LeBlanc. -confessed Darkwill, clearly annoyed. Then his tone turned dead serious again.- But that's not something I should have told you.

...

Quinn was still crying when she realized what was happening; the ground was rising.

Syndra, the Ionian woman that had brought down countless legions on her own, was rising two huge rocks that seemed like part of the forest's soil; two huge empty craters nearby confirmed her hypothesis.

On top of one, Darkwill was doing something to the Noxian girl that had marched with Darius and Garen, leading the army while a blonde girl argued with him. The other piece was empty, slowly and relentlessly approaching the first one.

-Shauna! -shouted Quinn, with a heavy grief that made every word difficult for her.- Shauna!There's one more thing we have to do!

...

-You did enjoy spitting at me, didn't you? -said Malcolm while slashing Darius' face with his dagger. That would definitely leave a decent scar.- I should kill you and send you with that foolish brother of yours.

-Shut up! -shouted Darius, whirling his axe again.- Come here if you dare! A shame of a man is what you are! -another move of his axe that hit nothing but trees.-I'll tear you down to pieces!

-You won't, and I am not going to kill you anyways. -said Malcolm, appearing beside Darius and grabbing him by the shoulder.- I want you to suffer as long as you can.

Another dagger slashed through Darius, now through his shoulder and his right arm suddenly was still, hanging there, lifeless. Darius tried to him hit with his head, but there was no way he could hit Malcolm; he was too blinded by rage. And Malcolm did take profit of that.

-You will live a long life of shame and torment Darius. -said Malcolm.- You'll be blamed for what will happen today; the mass extermination of thousands of men. It was under your ruling that Noxus suffered, it was under your ruling the Noxus bent to Demacia's will and marched together as one, and its under your damned ruling that Noxus lost.

...

He had to hit the lantern right at the top for opening it. He had seen Thresh do it before, but the kind of energy needed was one that he could not have access to; at least until he knew of this girl.

The combination of the Demacian girl's light cannon and the Riven's wind slash converged into a kind of missile that could tear down the frontiers between worlds, just like Thresh did with his bare hands. It was overcomplicated, but it was worth the agony he was going through. Nothing was difficult enough if the result was having Senna back.

-You know you shouldn't do this, Elliot.-said LeBlanc.- She died, and she was a great person, but that's it. The dead should not come back, specially those that Thresh took.

-Shut up. -said Darkwill.

-No! No, I won't. -I know you're hurt, Elliot. I am going through what you went through right now!

It couldn't be possible; had LeBlanc truly fallen in love? If that was true, then this blonde appearance of her was her definitive existence. That meant that, like him, she was way weaker now. "But like me, she'll eventually grow stronger than ever..." thought Darkwill. There was nothing that taught as fast as pain and grief did, and when LeBlanc lost her loved one she would definitely be able to take control of the whole world. He had to stop it.

-You don't understand it, LeBlanc. -said Darkwill.- But you certainly would if I gave you the chance.

-Then give it to me.

-I just... can't.

Lux was already on the second platform that Syndra had brought; the final spark was ready. Darkwill tossed Thresh's lantern into the air and pushed LeBlanc off the platform; in matter of seconds, she would be dead.

The Fall: 40. A Call to Arms, pt.2

A Call to Arms

Suddenly, the ground started shaking. Still, only Malcolm was paying some attention to that detail. Aatrox's bloodlust was directing his eyes towards the ongoing battle, while Darkwill and LeBlanc were still talking.

-Here she is, Darkwill. -announced Malcolm, doing a step forward.

-Are you sure she is the one? -asked the Ziraeth- I won't tolerate no mistakes.

-And we will tolerate no complains. -said Aatrox, whose blade's colour was changing constantly from a light red to a bloody purple.

The winged Darkin couldn't let his eyes off the battlefield; if no one had noticed it was because they were too busy minding their own business. Darkwill grabbed Lux's head and looked deep into her eyes. LeBlanc looked at the whole process, disgusted, while the Ziraeth was taking control of the blond girl with apiece of his mind.

-You know you needn't do it this way, Elliot. -said LeBlanc.

-Don't you dare repeat that name again! -shouted Darkwill, clearly angry.- I'll have you killed if you do!

...

The Ziraeths had always been that way. They were supposed to know everything, about everything. Their wasy of thinking was always the right one, and their words had to obviouly be blindly followed.

But the darkin's were tired of that. Once their plan was over, the Ziraeths  would have disappeared, and they would be able to rule the world of men. War, torture, pain, agony... glory. That was the world Aatrox had always been looking for.

-Do you now know how to destroy the lantern? -asked Malcolm to Darkwill.

-Combining the Final Spark and the Wind Slash should be enough. -answered calmly while diving into Lux's mind.

-Do you really need to do it that way? -asked LeBlanc, clearly nervous.

-Kind of. -answered Darkwill with a monotonous voice.- It's easier this way.

-She won't get through it.

-That's none of my concern.

-It should be.

-I am the one who choses if it is or not. -said Darkwill, ending the argument.- And I choose this way. Whatever happens to her after our job is done is none of my concern.

-We will leave, Darkwill. -said Malcolm, while Thresh gave a lantern to Darkwill.

...

Once the Darkins were not with them, LeBlanc started the argument again.

-You needn't control only her body, Elliot. -said LeBlanc.

-I told you not to say that name again, Anyssa. -answered Darkwill, still somewhat absent because of what he was doing with Lux. -And I need it. I want my mind to do it's own thing, whatever she thinks while I choose how her body acts is an unnecessary detail.

-She might die before you finish your job. -replied LeBlanc, trying to convince him of going fully into Lux's mind. If he did that she'd be able to stop him, since his concentration would be somewhere else. 

But Darkwill's ability to separate his mind in two different pieces amazed her. LeBlanc had never seen someone do something that way, and there were several reasons she hadn't. 

The first one was that it was horribly painful for the one being controlled; the fact of seeing your body act independently, ignoring your orders, always devastated the minds of even the strongest warriors.

The second one was that if this thought got to the main vessel the one controlling the two bodies would suffer the very same pain, abruptly breaking the link and mixing up both existences. And being two different beings while being one was not something to rejoice over.

...

-We will hurt him, Aalcox. -said Malcolm.

-I know. -answered the Darkin.- He'll suffer as he has never done before.

-Do you really want to do this? -asked Aalcox.

The voice that answered the Darkin's question was not Malcolm's.

The Fall: 40. A Call to Arms, pt1

A Call to Arms

She could notice the warm embrace of blood running through her face; Vayne was, after such a long time, struggling against an enemy. The plant-woman that called herself Zyra had proven to be a worthy opponent, but she needed to get to Darkwill. "Those are my orders at least." thought Vayne.

With no hesitation, she tumbled out of Zyra's vision range and hid for a little while. Vayne could hear her footsteps through the jungle; it didn't matter how weak the noise was, Vayne's hearing sense was always able to detect it.

Once she realized that the monster was in range of her crossbow, Shauna swapped her weapons.

-Impure fools. -said Vayne before shooting the first silver bolt.

...

She didn't see it coming. It stuck onto her shoulder, and the forest cried a little when Zyra's blood was spilt onto the ground.

While she was still trying to understand what was happening, a second bolt hit her, right in the middle of the chest, knocking her back and stucking her onto the closest tree.

Only then she noticed.

The Demacian night hunter was tumbling through the jungle, always hiding in the countless shadows that covered the place, plying with light and the lack of it for being nearly invisible. But she was the forest; a human wouldn't stop her.

When Zyra heard a third shot from Shauna's crossbow, her frail human body had already been abandoned.

...

He could still hear the echoes of the madman's laughter.

-Come back, you sick bastard! -roared Darius to the trees, without knowing where to look at.- Come and let me chop off your very existence in two!

Then, Darius' axe fell onto Lucian and Xin Zhao's body once again. With less difficulty than before, Darius unstuck the axe from the corpses and let it fall again onto them. Blood was everywhere, and the corpses, now unrecognizable, had been tore down to countless pieces.

-This is what will be left of you once I find you, you coward!

...

Luckily, she had not found a single Demacian soldier while fighting. "Not yet." thought Shyvana.

All the corpses that laid around her were clearly Noxian soldiers, and the few that fearfully tried to escape from her obviously were too. She could feel it in their weapons, whose edges were not designed to kill, but to hurt and cleave instead. Countless wounds would have covered her if not for the dragon that she had learnt to fully embrace after so long.

With a quick movement of her huge jaw Shyvana caught the last remaining Noxian fighting her. She could feel his fear and the pain that he was going through while tearing his flesh with her very own teeth. "My old friends would find it disgusting." she thought, while witnessing a shooting star."Is that the trailblazer that Taric talked about?" Shyvana asked herself.

But she was given no more time to think about it; a crossbow hit her on the right shoulder and pierced through the thick dragonskin, hurting her for the first time in a long time.

-Is it you, Quinn? -asked Shyvana to the Demacian soldier that was on top of her, pointing to Shyvana's head.- I'm so glad it's you, Quinn.

There are a lot of reasons that explain why this battle was not considered a victory for the Demacian historians and, even though a little one, this event is clearly one of them.

...

He had seen everything but Yasuo's slashes. How the Ionian outcast had walked towards the whole army and faced the king, how he had called for a duel and, finally, how he fell onto the ground. Ezreal couldn't let him die there.

In the blink of an eye, Ezreal teleported besides Yasuo, grabbed him and teleported back into Tahm Kench. The Demacian King was unable to understand what was going on or why his victim had disppeared, but he was too busy looking for his sister to care about such a triviality.

-You can help him, right? -asked Ezreal to Tahm Kench, clearly worried.

-You're asking the wrong questions, dear boy... -answered the River King with a smile that didn't give any hope to Ezreal.

-Why won't you help him? -said Ezreal, starting to realize with what kind of creature he had been dealing with.

-Again, that is not the question we are looking for. -answered Tahm Kench.

Ezreal wanted to reply, but Tahm Kench was nowhere to be seen.  

The Fall: 39. Thrashed and Scattered

Thrashed and Scattered

A duel? That Ionian warrior wanted to fight Lux? What had he thought she was? He was trying to fight with the Demacian king's sister, yet he acted as if it was a normal thing.

-For honor? -asked Garen, clearly outraged.

-I've lived my life in exile for a crime that she commited. I have no doubt of it. -answered the swordsman.

Garen didn't understand it, but it made no sense for him. Okay, maybe the Noxian woman whose body was now Lux's had done some horrible things in the past. But there's no reason for Lux to carry the blame or the shame of it. Garen looked at Lux, only to see a horrifying look in her face; she looked scared. The ionian swordsman scared her.

With a swift move, Garen slashed the Ionian swordsman called Yasuo. But there was nothing but wind around him when he first tried to cut through him.

He could feel the moving of a sweeping blade around him, yet he felt hits or heard any slash at all. He continued the long slash for bringing him the so deserved judgement, and only then he heard him fall.

-I die redeemed, you vicious king. -said the swordsman right before spitting a handful of blood onto his own chest.

Then Garen fell onto his knees, bleeding through his armor. "He was faster than I expected." thought Garen. If not for Lux's scream he may have not raised again for long.

-KILL THEM! -shouted Garen.- MARCH AND BRING JUSTICE TO VALORAN!

...

-Come here you demon! -shouted Lucian while shooting continuously.- You won't escape me this time!

They were getting deeper and deeper into the jungle. He saw creatures that looked even more dangerous than those that he had hunted with Senna. But there was no turning back now. He was so close to end her torment. He was so close to end Thresh's life.

-I will gun you down like the degenerate you are! -screamed Lucian again, while chasing the horrid creature that he had been looking for for years.

He suddenly realized that the ground looked darker than usual. The plants were looking greyish, and the soil reminded him more of Zaun's streets than a jungle. He could see how the Chain Warden was being surrounded by an infinity of small pieces of metal while moving faster with each step. But that would not hold Lucian back.

-I'll have her back monster! No matter how many tricks you throw at me! -roared Lucian, his heart torn apart by anger.- Turn back and fight!

Only then he realized what had happened. Thresh's laugh was not the only one floating in the air; a deeper, heavier sound was also drowning the rest of the jungle's noises. And then he felt the hit of the mace and fell to the ground.

A second hit instantly followed, hitting him way harder than the one before. "This is not Thresh." realized the Demacian gunslinger. He woke up in time to see who the monster that aided such a demon was, and luckily  reacted in time to avoid a third hit that would have devastated him. Instead of his body being torn, the jungle itself suffered the rage of the iron revenant. Hundreds of trees, already as grey as steel beams, were torn apart with that one hit.

-I'm Thresh's number one, you little boy.-said the metallic monster with a deep voice.- You're not annoying him anymore.

And then he disappeared into thin air.

-They will not annoy us anymore. -said Thresh. -It's just you and me now. You, me and the Noxian general that's charging towards here.

...

This was her first time fighting since she lost Valor. She was fighting side by side with those who had killed him. But she needed to leave those feelings aside; if Garen told them to march, they had to, and as used as she was to being the Vanguard, she marched onwards, running as fast as she could, like she hadn't done for quite a long time.

It took her long to realize that her enemies were not only the big creatures that hid into the Jungle; dark spheres suddenly formed into air, killing  warriors that didn't konw what they were facing. But Quinn remembered the battles at Ionia. Syndra was predictable, she was not a problem for her.

She advanced towards the man that her king had called Darkwill with quick feet, realizing when a sphere was being formed and dashing out of that place instantly. But she hadn't expected the meteors that fell from the sky. Suddenly, as if time and space had bent over in a place, a small, closed cell would be formed around a group of soldiers, who were later killed by falling meteorites.

But Quinn was not part of those groups of soldiers. She had always been part of the scouting squads, she had always been part of the vanguard that led the armies into the enemies. She knew how to adapt and face the unexpected.

...

-COME HERE BASTARD! -roared Darius.

His axe was cutting through the rotten trees that had now lost the metal they had contained a while ago. The falling wood was annoying but his bloody rage would not be stopped by such a foolish thing. He wanted to kill the monster that had killed his brother, he wanted to hunt down that creature and make it suffer as long as he could.

There was some Demacian man there too, but he didn't recall his face. Maybe he was not part of the army; when they arrived, a small group was already in the jungles' borders; maybe he was part of them. But Darius didn't really care.

He saw them run, the Demacian gunslinger constantly shooting at Thresh, who was occupying Xin Zhao's body. "That's why he was so interested in him, that's why he took him." realized Darius. But, again, that didn't matter to the hand of Noxus. He wanted nothing but blood. He wanted revenge.

He chased them, trying to apprehend them, but they always escaped his reach. That was until Thresh fucked up; maybe he wasn't used to Xin Zhao's body. Using his chain, he had tried to tie Lucian down, but he had ended up chaining them together. As they were unable to move, Darius slowed down his pace. He wanted to enjoy it.

...

The vanguard had already stopped some of the most annoying monsters that were defending the jungle; it was their time now to take down the beasts that had been eagerly waiting for them inside of it.

The creatures she was slowly killing were nothing but brutes. Beasts that charged at her only to hurt themselves when being stopped by a tree, animals with such a lack of brain that condemning them into a tree or wall looked like a joke. Vayne saw Shyvana fighting down a bunch of Noxian soldiers, tearing them apart with her bare hands. Not having to face an old friend made her somewhat happy, but the situation was still weird. She was finishing off an enormous haloceros when she realized that her feet were entangled into the ground.

-These jungles are not yours, human. -said a strange being, half plant, half woman.- The Plague jungles don't welcome those who have only looked upon us as a resource.

Without hesitation, Vayne shouted a heavy volt to her, knocing her backwards and wining enough time to get rid of the plants that tied her feet. This was not the enemy she expected. This was a challenge.

...

-Don't worry, brother.-said Lux, whose face had been cut in half.- It's allright. Everything's going to be okay.

But Garen knew it would not be okay. He had failed again. He had failed to protect his king. He had failed to protect his sister. He had failed to protect his people. Time and time again.

-I need her.- said a dark voice.

When Garen turned to see who had talked, he found no one around him. Not even Lux.

...

Darius started to raise his axe. The Noxian guillotine would chop in half their whole bodies together; why trying to aim, when it's easier to cut them both in half. He could see the fear in the Demacian gunslinger's face. He could feel the rage inside Thresh, it could be felt in his laugh, that drowned every other sound in the jungle.

He wanted that noise to stop, so once he reached them, his axe went down swiftly. The sound of cracking bones and painborn screams delighted him.

But Thresh's laugh had not stopped.

The Fall: 38. Pride, Honor and Treason

Pride, Honor and Treason

-Has something happened to us? -replied Darkwill.- I think that this is as it has always been. We constantly fighting each other, constantly taking care of the other.

-You've got to stop this nonsense, Darkwill. -said LeBlanc in a friendly tone.- This will get us nowhere, the lack of magic will kill Runeterra. They can't leave. You can't leave.

-We can. -answered Darkwill, realizing that she had never known why he was doing all of this.

If she kept calling him Elliot it was for a reason, and she was right. The man that now ruled over him was not Darkwill, the Ziraeth, but Elliot, the one man in love that would do anything to get his loved one back from the afterlife. And there he was, doing the impossible.

-And we will.

...

When the last trees of the Kumungu Jungle fell to the will of the Noxian might, the army discovered even bigger trees; the Plague jungles, home to the feared and unknown, laid in front of them. Untouched, unreached by so many men before, the jungles inspired more than fear on the soldiers. But that why generals are there.

-Can you see them, men of Valoran? -shouted Darius.- Those monsters that hide in the jungles are here to ruin our hearths. We have feared them, we had cried their victims and we have avoided them as long as we could; but this is not a day like that.

The immense army that was in front of him was dumbfounded, following his every word and feeling them in their hearts. Most Noxians had lost a relative or a friend in the incident of the arena, and the death of King Jarvan Lightshield the Fourth was still an open wound in the Demacian soldiers' hearts.

-Today we say no to their reign of fear! -continued Darius.- Today we deny them their existence the very same way that they've tried to do with us before. You, heroes of Valoran, are the men that will bring a new dawn to the continent. Blinded by pride and honor, we were nothing but mere traitors when we killed ourselves. Noxus, Demacia, Ionia... that was the mistake. We didn't recognize the real enemy. But now we've learnt, heroes.

The drums sounded stronger with every phrase while most men acclaimed the Noxian general. His words were bringing light to the hearts of men that had been struggling through the jungle for days without really knowing what they were facing. Only now they recognized their enemies; dragons, spirits and beasts that were now leaving their hideouts in the Plague Jungles.

-We shall fight today until the life of those beasts has come to an end. For our children, for our wives and friends. For those who are not here with us today and, why not, for ourselves. For Valoran!

...

The armies were screaming, with the soldier's weapons raised and drums roaring through what was left of the Kumungu Jungle. Their general, a Noxian, talked to what looked like the Demacian king and left towards the Jungle, running towards Lucian.

But there was nothing that Yasuo could have done; the Demacian gunslinkger was too far to hear him shout. Also, other things caught his attention way more than the Noxian general marching enraged.

A soldier able to manipulate the wind. When she raised her sword he felt it.

That must had been the one to kill his master. The one to blame for his whole life; his brother's death, the massacres that he had been forced into and the slashed through the throats of those who had one been his friends.

He had to get her.

...

-Where are those two men? The Noxian and the pale one? Where did they go?-angrily asked Garen.

-They marched with Darius, brother. - said Lux.-They are there, with the hooded man and the blonde woman.

She knew that it was still difficult for him to accept her. She had been missing for years, and now a completely different woman appeared and was called his sister. Yet it was the truth, and hiding that fact, like Malcolm had proposed, would have left her broken-hearted. She had to try to reach him.

-They shouldn't leave without permission.-complained the Demacian king. -They will pay for this lack of obedience once this war is over.

-They are just following their leader, just like these men are here waiting for your words. -said Lux.- Don't think of the two that stood loyal to their lords, think of the whole army that, even though years ago they were fighting against you, now accept Garen, the Demacian king as their leader. Think of the immense quantity of people who were their friends you might have killed. Yet they are here, eager to follow you into battle.

Her brother was nervous, but her words had calmed him down a little bit. She had always been there for relieving Garen's worries; how he had gone through the latest years of life without her, she knew not. But now she was there to calm his rage down. But peace was never long.

-I, Yasuo, the unforgiven, call for a duel with that Noxian swordsman. -said someone who looked like an ionian warrior.- For the honor of my name.

Lux could see how Garen was falling into rage again, and she wouldn't be able to stop him in time.

Marcos

Loco. Sin un tornillo. Demente. Mentalmente inestable. Ido. Me han llamado de muchas maneras desde que llegué aquí, nunca por mi nombre. Hace tanto que no lo oigo que tampoco soy capaz de recordarlo; mi existencia se ve ahora reducida a paseos, ayudar a María a cocinar, a cargar la compra con Antón, a ser llamado Marcos, a ordenar la casa y a dormir. Al principio, cuando no podía dormir (cosa que pasaba muy a menudo) leía. Leía con ansias, deseando encontrar una historia con la que sentirme identificado. Pero con el paso del tiempo me he rendido. Viendo que nadie contaba mi historia, he decidido escribirla aquí.

Para empezar, déjenme decirles que no soy de este lugar. Tampoco recuerdo exactamente de dónde vine, pero sé que éste no es mi lugar. Yo tuve una madre que, aunque murió, no es la madre que María dice que compartimos hasta el dos mil tres. También tuve una hermana, pero no era María; aunque no recuerde ni su cara, estoy seguro de que ella no es la hermana que vagamente recuerdo. Recuerdo también a un padre bondadoso; María describe un monstruo que no se parece en nada a aquello que sé que he vivido. Pero sí que se parece a cosas que he visto en sueños.

Siempre tuve problemas para dormir; hasta los ocho años me la pasé invadiendo la habitación de mis padres casi todas las mañanas. Llorando, yo les contaba mis sueños; aquellos donde yo era un niño cuya única protección ante la bestia que azotaba a su familia era su hermana mayor. Por aquél entonces María era la luz que hacía que mis pesadillas fuesen más llevaderas. Por cada golpe que recibía de la bestia podía contar un abrazo de María. Por cada grito, una sonrisa. Aún así, yo temía a las pesadillas, y cuando entraba en el cuarto de mis padres lo hacía llorando. Entre berridos y mocos les contaba lo que soñaba y, con una sonrisa, ellos me abrazaban. Su calor corporal y sus palabras me consolaban; cuando, al cabo de unas horas, mi hermana traía el desayuno a la cama me sentía estupendamente. Estábamos todos juntos, estábamos todos bien.

Pero ahora ya no es así. Para empezar, el sueño ha tomado el control de mi vida. Lo peor es que ahora no hay bestia, y María no me salva de nada. Siento que soy una carga; noto como todos me miran raro, como no les gusta que mi pensamiento se ausente ni que mi mirada vague hasta el infinito. Cuando paseo con María y su marido Antón noto que casi nunca vienen los niños. Además, si nos cruzamos con alguien que sé que ellos conocen no se saludan como de costumbre; se reprimen, y lo hacen por mí. Se avergüenzan, y lo hacen de mí.

Esos momentos, esas situaciones tan crudas y difíciles de tragar, son las que por momentos me hacen creer que no he dejado de soñar. Que la bestia ha tomado el control de todos los personajes de mi sueño. Hasta que empecé a escribir esto, pasaba los días buscando la manera de despertarme. Pero como ya he dicho, nadie contaba una historia como la mía. Nadie había pasado por mi situación, y si alguien lo había hecho se me ocultaba. Es por eso que tampoco le he contado a nadie que estoy escribiendo. Si María o Antón se enterasen se lo dirían a los psiquiatras, y ellos volverían a hacerme preguntas a las que no sé responder.

Y es que el cambio empecé a tenerlo cuando los psiquiatras se inmiscuyeron en mis sueños. Mi edad rondaba la veintena cuando mis pesadillas recuperaron su fuerza; en ellas ya no había bestia alguna que me azotase. En vez de eso, los psicólogos se la pasaban haciéndome preguntas, llamándome Marcos Gómez, preguntándome por lo sucedido con mi padre Enrique, instándome a explicarles qué sentí cuando murió mi madre Eugenia, intentando averiguar por qué fuera del trabajo solo me relacionaba con mi hermana María. Obviamente, yo no lo entendía. Los psicólogos de mis sueños me preguntaban cosas que yo no conocía realmente; recordaba el nombre de María como parte de mis pesadillas del pasado, y tanto Enrique como Eugenia habían formado parte de esos horribles sueños. Pero, como ya he dicho, los recuerdo como eso; eran los restos de mis pesadillas, huellas de una realidad que nunca aceptaría como la mía.

El paso de los años no me ayudaba a dejar atrás aquellos demonios de mi pasado; los psicólogos de mis pesadillas se convertían en psiquiatras, las conversaciones en tratamientos experimentales. Llegó un momento en el que dormía más de lo que vivía, y debido al funcionamiento de la mente durante los procesos oníricos acababa soñando más de lo que dormía.

Llegado cierto punto empecé a ser incapaz de discernir una realidad de otra; llamaba María a mi hermana, en el trabajo me asustaban las preguntas que se me hacían, empecé a temer a todo mucho más... mi vida entera fue cuesta abajo. Acabé recluido en mi cuarto, y lo único que recuerdo de mi anterior vida es que me fui a dormir. Aquella noche empezó como cualquier otra; soñando. El de aquella noche empezó con un psiquiatra diciéndome que estaba curado. "Ya no hay nada que temer, Marcos." decía el Dr. Gil. "Todo estará bien ahora, en unas horas vendrá tu hermana María a buscarte." dijo con una sonrisa mientras se iba. Y aún sigo aquí.

Salí del instituto mental y me instalé junto a mi hermana María y su marido Antón en su casa. Les ayudo con las tareas del hogar y cada tanto paseo con ellos. No me dejan quedarme solo con los niños, pero si ellos están cerca me dejan hablar con ellos e incluso a veces jugar. Cuando llega la hora de dormir les oigo discutir; la mayoría de veces lo hacen sobre mí. Y el principal problema es que todo es muy real. Lo único que se me hace raro en este mundo son mis recuerdos; aquello que considero sueños del pasado tengo que llamarlo "mi vida", y lo que siempre habían sido mis vivencias y experiencias ahora no son más que sueños y sombras de un pasado oscuro.

¿Descubriré algún día cual es la realidad? Si alguien lee esto y se siente identificado, si alguien puede compartir conmigo una historia similar, por favor hágalo. Si no voy a poder escapar de este mundo, ayúdenme a formar parte de él. ¿Cómo lo han hecho? ¿Dónde están? ¿Por qué no se habla de nosotros? Solo busco respuestas.

Firmado,
G.

The Fall: 37. Clash of Fates

Clash of Fates

It took them some time to understand what had happened. The teleportation had reminded LeBlanc of Thresh's lantern and the likes, but those who were more unexperienced with it, Yasuo and Lucian, were clearly disoriented.

-Where are we? -asked Yasuo, clearly unable to believe what he had just gone through.

-At one final frontier, swordsman. -answered Tahm Kench.- This beautiful existence that you're now witnessing is the borderline between the fearful Kumungu Jungle and the misterious and unexplored Plague Jungles.

-I see nothing but a bunch of trees. -said Lucian, mocking the demon.- A lot of trees and...

-Is that what you were looking for, Ziraeth? -interrumped Tahm Kench.

The men that had been with her during the journey stared at her. They did not understand Tahm Kench's words. They had not dared fight her since joining; Ezreal expected a prize from the rich Piltovian girl, Yasuo had nowhere to go and Lucian had followed the demon's orders.

-What does he mean, Anyssa? -asked Ezreal, with a sprout of doubt in his face.

LeBlanc could not stand that look any longer. Luckily for her, Darkwill made his appearance.

-Come. -said what looked like nothing but a masked man for the rest.

-I don't follow orders from you, Elliot. -pretenciously responded LeBlanc.

-You'll be coming anyways. -said Darkwill before vanishing into the air and appearing next to a man that was a hundred meters into the jungles.

And he was right. She went, leaving those who she had secretly wanted to call her friends without an answer.

...

The blonde girl was walking into the jungle, making her way with her bare hands when she needed to move aside plants, roots and the likes. At first he couldn't see where she was going. He was still a little bit dizzy because of the flashy teleport.

-I know who he is. -said Lucian.

-They are two. -pointed out Yasuo, on a serious note.

-We all know who he is, the girl just called him Elliot. -mockingly said Tahm Kench.

-That monster. -said Lucian, while starting to wield his guns.- He has changed his appearance, but it's still him.

They could not stop him, and they didn't really had the will to.

...

-He's coming for you, Aaresh.- said Darkwill.

-And your lady friend is also around.- said Thresh with his ghostly voice.

-The man is annoying.- commented Darkwill.- I want you to take him down.

-I don't follow your orders, you masked clown. -said Thresh before breaking into what sounded like rotten laughter.

Only then Darkwill took the mask off, throwing it into the ground. As frail as it was, thousands of pieces scattered into the ground. Thousands of little shining pieces of a life that he was leaving behind.

-I was already going to do it, unmasked clown.-mocked Thresh.- He's a fun game, there's a woman he's fighting for.

Darkwill's eyes shone like blood-bathed rubies; he understood the pain that the man was going through, all while hating himself for working with the likes of madmen like Thresh. Lucian was not alone in his struggle, but he was not going to help a fellow victim.

...

An ardent blaze was shot from Lucian's gun, illuminating the darkest corners of the jungle. The few animals that were still around escaped while Yasuo was unable to see anything, but he still heard them under the noise of the firing guns.

-This is senseless. -said an astonished Ezreal.- This culling will take him nowhere.

Ezreal was getting a shot ready; aiming at Lucian's weapons, his point was to take them down and calm the man down. Firing at will into the unknown would just get him killed. But Yasuo was trying to talk him out of it.

-He's got the right to do it.-emptylessly said Yasuo.- We shouldn't stop him.

-He's going to get himself killed.-replied the Piltovian explorer.

-If it happens, it will be fighting for what he wants. -pointed out Yasuo.- He'd better die that way than whatever is waiting for us. Can't you feel it in the wind?

-I'm not going to let a man die when I can save him, swordsman.

But Yasuo was not going to let a wish be vanished by a fool's pride. Yasuo knew what fighting for an impossible meant; his life had been a struggle of that kind. Someone born and raised in the so called city of progress could not understand what he had been through, what Lucian was going through. That's why he called the wind.

...

His trueshot barrage had disappeared in front of him. He knew it had happened, who had done it and why; the question to be made was how the void had Yasuo done that?

He was about to complain to the swordsman, but the sound of drums drowned the beginning of his words. The sound of marching feet, of military songs. Rough voices piercing through the air, armors ready for the battle and a King leading them through the Kumungu Jungle. The only sound that got over that cacophony was the roar of the millenary trees falling to the hit of axes.

...

Thresh never changed. She could sense him from afar, there was no need to see him. The soil itself crumbled in fear when the Chain Warden stepped on it. That horrible being was one of the few existences that could say that she, LeBlanc, had felt the need of avoiding them.

-A pleasure to meet you, m'lady.- said Thresh when she arrived, while Lucian's piercing shots hit the ground and the trees.- I'm sorry, but I got to leave. Always good to see you, Ziraeth, haha.

Thresh was calmly walking towards Lucian, being hit by every single shot that came out of him while his laughter grew in volume, drowning the war drums' and the falling trees' roars.

-That being is as sick as it has always been. -casually commented LeBlanc.- How can you work with him, Darkwill?

-Sometimes a man's needs go beyond his preferences. -said Darkwill, with a light smile on his face.- this is one of those times.

Unexplainably, they were happy to face each other, to meet, to be able to talk between them. It had almost felt like those days thousands of years ago, when life through most of Valoran was too rudimentary for them to care about it. It made them remember about the days inwhich the Ziraeths walked the continent like any other species did now. A time in which they were not gods among men, but a community driven by its will to create.

-What has happened to us, Elliot?

The Fall: 36. Filling a void

Filling a void

-Can you walk now?- asked Anyssa.

-Yes, it's way better now.- said Ezreal, even though he wasn't sure if it was correct to say that his coal-black arm was "better".

Even though they tried to hide their thoughts, Ezreal knew what was going through everyone's mind. Most people always tried to take a glimpse at every stump they got to see. The lack of something, sometimes even the lack of knowledge, was something that baited most being into things. And having nothing but a dark cloud in the place that had once been his arm definitely called his companions atention.

Except for Tahm Kench. He never looked as someone who cared.

...

Lux was starting to feel fear. A fear that she had not felt for years.

The faces of the marching men were horrible. Noxus and Demacia had allied for nothing but the sake of killing and massacring. Those sick being preferred to call themselves a hunting party, but they were nothing but an army. A huge army marching towards an enemy that they didn't really know, parding just for the sake of blood gold and pride.

She could also see it in their faces they didn't look at her as people would normally do. Darius saw in her nothing but a weapon, Malcolm's look scared her even more than when he had taken her hostage into Riven's body and not even her brother's eyes could make Lux feel more calm. Garen didn't look like the man he had once been.

...

-How is it working Mr. Ezreal? -asked Tahm Kench.

He had not told the rest was was going on, but it was definitely time for some words. It was clear that they wanted an explanation, and Tahm Kench's comment had sparked some curiosity in them.

-Looks great. -answered the Prodigal Explorer.- After some training it's working even better than before.

Not even LeBlanc could believe what they saw afterwards.

They were not getting there late.

...

Everything would bend to their will. Darius wanted Thresh's head, and the Hand of Noxus had made Garen believe that LeBlanc and Darkwill, those who had disappeared after Draven's death, were the ones to blame for what had happened to Jarvan. Malcolm coudln't believe that Darius was letting him live; maybe it was because now he had something to fight for. Darius had always known that Malcolm had nothing to do with his brother's death, even though he knew wrong; that was the only reason that Malcolm could find for Darius to ignore every chance he had for chopping his head of.

How would they react there? How would it all be when they got there? He could feel Thresh's mark on the soil they were stepping on, he could feel the deathhug of the Shadow Isles around the Kumungu Jungle. They were definitely closer to Darkwill than them.

If it all happened as Aalcox and Aatrox expected, Darkwill would leave in front of them, escaping with Thresh, LeBlanc and all those that these two armies blamed. With no one to behead for revenge, they would surely turn onto each other.

-Are you enjoying the ride, Astor? -asked Malcolm to the albino merchant.

...

He could feel it. She was closer. But Thresh was not the only thing he needed to get her free; the chain warden would not handle her to him that easily. He needed Malcolm's girl. And he wanted LeBlanc to see it.

He had been planning it all for years. He had tricked everyone into it, he could not fail now. Another mistake like Galio's death was not a possibility.

The Fall: 35. The Stalker's Pray

The Stalker's Pray

Sona could not understand it. Shyvana's words had left her broken-hearted; she could not believe what the half-dragon was saying. Taric was not mean, he was not being selfish.

As much as she repeated those words to herself, they wouldn't kill the doubt that had sprouted into her heart. Taric, the calm knight that had always been there for her, the sympathetic person that had always been eager to lend a hand when needed, the warrior that had been a fierce leader when time called for it; the one and only man she had trusted enough to fall in love with.

Shyvana had to be wrong.

Those were difficult days at Bandle City. Everyone was hurrying up, trying to get their things ready for the departure. Nervous and noisy, the Yordles were always going from one place to another. "No more scouting lady, but I can still guard." used to say Teem when she found him on Bandle's City's walls. "Heimerdinger asked for some help." usually grunted Rumble "He can't handle all this mess alone, no matter how many machines are helping him.".

She could not answer. In Bandle City, no one was interested in her etwahl; whenever she played it for a while, most Yordles usually asked her to calm the tunes down instead of resting and relaxing with her. That was why she walked and stalked, looking at what everyone was doing, knowing that she could not help. Sometimes she just looked for Taric without him knowing it, just for the sake of seeing him.

He looked calm, he always did. Nothing had changed in his face, not even the day when Shyvana decided to leave Bandle city.

...

A few days of rest and LeBlanc was fine enough to walk by herself. Up until then, Yasuo and Lucian had been taking turns to carry her. While they walked and talked she was absent-minded, on her own world of plans and rules, wanting to focus on her objective, but unable to do so.

The man that she had chosen to follow her had risked his own life to save her. That was something that had not happened once in her whole lifetime before; not even Darkwill, her companion since LeBlanc could remember her own existence, had risked even a bit to save her.

But Ezreal had not doubted. He had jumped in in the blink of an eye, if Tahm Kench's words were to be believed. Without even knowing what he was facing, he received the obsidian's hit right in the arm that usually held his Shuriman artifact.

That was why she could not stop looking at him. Tahm Kench carried him over his shoulders. "Some fresh air will do good." argued the Demacian gunslinger. As usual, both Tahm Kench and Yasuo had supported his idea, so she had let the River King carry him.

In the end, they needed to get there in time.

Darkwill would not wait.

...

He had been working on this for so long.

Aatrox would love the coming years, Malcolm was sure about that. He and Aalcox had been preparing it all for the bloody bastard; still, there were things that escaped to their reach.

The armies would march, Lux would die and Darkwill would tear the world apart in front of them.

At least that was how he thought that everything should work out.

...

He missed her. He wanted to be back with her, to rest in the safety of her arms. To enjoy the comfort that her smile had always blessed with to those who witnessed it.

He had been waiting for so long.

But the wait was about to end. It would all be over soon.

The Fall: 34. The Trailblazer's Path

The Trailblazer's Path

The yordles had prepared a small building for them to live and rest after the long escape they had gone through.

-I told you that we're not the first leaving, Shyvana. -calmly said Taric.

-That's not the point Taric! -answered Shyvana, who was clearly nervous.- You tricked us into this!

-There's a reason for it, Shyvana... -said Taric on his typical tone, trying to fade out the rage that had lighted up in the half-dragon's heart.

-Your loneliness! -shouted Shyvana.- Is it the fact that you were not called? -angrily pointed out the Demacian warrior.- You know you're not one of us, Taric!

-Why won't you trust me? -said Taric, with his voice rising in volume and deepening it's tone while his gems glowed like bloodstone.- The Trailblazer has always been around here! We'll find the way back into those days!

-They won't be back, Taric.- said Shyvana, with a lower voice.- You met Zilean long ago, you know how ill he is. What he said cannot be blindly trusted.

-It's not about him. -clarified Taric, his voice calming a little while his shield glowed like a ruby.- It's not about a twisted legend that's thousands of years old, Shyvana...

-Then what's it about? -asked Shyvana, tired of Taric's words.

-Just trust me. You'll see him before Bandle City leaves. The caretaker always comes when he's really needed.

...

They needed a pause. Both Lucian and Yasuo had been following Tahm Kench's orders for long. He was supposed to know where they were going, but Yasuo didn't trust him enough and Lucian didn't even know about Anyssa and Ezreal.

Also, he didn't know how they were faring with their wounds.

...

Nothing but pain.

His arm was aching as it had never been. Jayce was supposed to have fixed the artifact, such a reaction from a hit was not expected. What had that monster used? What weapon was he wielding? It had shone as nothing Ezreal had seen before. And Ezreal, the prodigal explorer, had seen quite a lot of things.

It reminded him of the stones he had seen at the Shuriman tombs; painted in the walls, it looked like those stones had been used to keep something out. The question is; what?

...

An obsidian blade. LeBlanc had not expected an obsidian blade. She hadn't even expected the attack, but if it had been a normal beast she could have simply dashed out of its range and stop him. But, why was she alive?

Usually, an obsidian blade would have killed her in the instant that it got to pierce her skin. She could feel the pain of it, but she couldn't tell where her wounds were. She was simply aching, her whole body in pain and paralyzed.

Still, if hat was the case, someone had stopped the monster from getting to her.

Someone was foolish enough to try to save her, and she loved every detail of it.

...

Hecarim and his army reached him hours after he had finished with the last remnants of Xin Zhao, and after him came Kalista, Mordekaiser, Karthus and more.

It had been difficult for Thresh to convince them all of joining him; most of them had had some highs and lows between themselves during the last hundreds of years, but when Thresh made a call of this type they were all eager to follow.

-To the Kumungu jungle, Hecarim. -said Thresh.

Without an answer, the Shadow of War marched. He had been needed to guide the rest; now he left, since Hecarim had never liked Thresh's tricks. No one liked to fool around with Thresh's lantern.

...

When LeBlanc started to feel better, Tahm Kench explained it all to her.

Rengar was the name of the beast that had attacked them; he had never lived in a place so close to where they were by then, but someone had invited him to make a stop by her. Darkwill had given the beast the idea.

-Do you really think I don't know how he got the Obsidian blade? -said LeBlanc, still aching a bit but now able to hold herself on her feet.- Answer my question, you demon.

-You may only have a slight hint, but you can never know something you didn't witness. -answered Tahm Kench, clearly mocking LeBlanc.

The Fall: 33. A Skirmisher's Escape

A Skirmisher's Escape

When Sona, Taric, Poppy and Shyvana reached Bandle City, a whole committee was waiting for them. Teemo had been scouting for days, and once he saw them coming he had returned to the city in order to prepare everything that was needed.

-You're not the first to come.- said Tristana.- We've been guarding for long, waiting so that as many yordles as possible could be able of coming back to Bandle City.

-Since when? -asked Taric.

-Can't tell for sure... since the last Zaun-Piltover incident eight years ago? -answered the yordle.- I just know that we've been on duty since then. When Dr. Heimerdinger returned the work became a little easier.

Sona was listening carefully, without knowing what they would do next. What had Taric planned?

...

Tahm Kench and Yasuo found Lucian after days of walking and talking. The forest was getting more dense with every step, and the nights were as silent as Yone's tomb, where not even the wind howled.

The demacian gunslinger followed them without a word after they first met. Tahm Kench's look was enough for him to know that he had to go with them.

-How did you end up here? -asked Yasuo after hours of walking.

-This world is crashing down, I'm just trying to fix a little bit of it. -answered Lucian.

-The world's not going down, it's just your kingdom's problem human. -pointed out Tahm Kench.- Mankind should stop being so self-centered.

-I was just trying to get to know where my friends went.- said Lucian now.- They left because of the chaos that Garen's rage brought to Demacia. But we will need them. I need them.

-You are late, man. -calmly said Tahm Kench.- They are far away now, and it doesn't look like they'll be coming back.

...

-That was my last day out. -happily shouted Teemo.- It's a pity to leave Valoran this way, but I guess that it's our only chance. They say that Lulu will bring us to somewhere safe.

-What do you mean with your last day out? -asked Shyvana. Tristana laughed at her ignorance of the situation and decided that it was best to let Rumble explain it.

-You don't know how Bandle City works, right? -said Rumble.- It's quite simple. If we want someone to get in, we're here. If we don't we just aren't. That is how we stay safe. But it takes years to settle down, or at least it usually does. Hundreds of years passed before we could get to roam around Valoran, and for thousands our species did. One of my ancestors was the yordle that opened the gates into Valoran for the first time, Corbyl. -explained Rumble with a proud look in his face.-But, as I said, that was thousands of years ago. Leaving a place is quite faster, specially with the technology we have bee able to develop. And, if the wise ones are right, Lulu should be able to help us settle way faster than it would usually take.

-What are we supposed to do? -inquired Shyvana.

-That's not something I should answer. -said Rumble, looking at Taric.

...

Lux didn't like where this was leading to. She had never liked to fight, even less when there was no true reason to do so. If she could just explain them...

But she couldn't. There were a lot of things going on in her mind. Firt off, she neede to keep Riven down. It was difficult to use her powers when the Noxian exile was running rampant through her mind. Yes, she was dead, but it was still her body and a little bit of what she had been was still around. Second, she had been cursed by Aalcox. There was only one way of stopping the curse, and she knew well how.

She had always wanted to do it since that last battle. The last day that she had seen Ezreal, the day when she had left Demacia for good. But she didn't wnt these whole armies to suffer the consequences.

The Fall: 32. The Hunter's Night

The Hunter's Night

Rengar didn't understand it.

What had gone wrong? He had done exactly what he had been told. He had followed Darkwill's rules and Tahm Kench's advice, yet he had failed. That's what this had been; an utter failure.

At first he didn't understand where he was; a huge hall, with windows that showed a dark seabed that surrounded him. The room was empty but for a small creature with a trident, inlaid in armor and ready to fight.

Where was he now? It didn't matter anymore. It looked like, again, he had to fight for survival. The white beast let go one last roar before jumping into the fray that the Atlantian palace's room was about to become.

...

Tahm Kench had carried both Ezreal and Anyssa.

At first it had looked like a trap or something, but Yasuo had to trust the River King; he didn't feel like facing such a demon, not after what had just happened some days ago.

Still, the walk was silent, and he had grown used to Ezreal's talking and Anyssa's orders. The lone wanderer was not as comfortable as he had once been while walking in silence. That's how his conversation with Tahm Kench started.

-Mr... Tahm Kench? Is that your name?-asked Yasuo, without exactly knowing how to ask what he wanted to know.

-Call me King, call me Demon... The River forgets the name of the drowned... -said Tahm Kench with a nostalgic touch in his face.- But yes, Tahm Kench is one of my names. What troubles you, outcast?

-The battle at the riverside some days ago. -straightforwardly pointed out Yasuo, ignoring how the monster knew about his past.- What happened there? Why did that beast attack us?

-You're not asking the right questions, Yasuo. -whispered Tahm Kench.- Or should I call you... Yone?

...

He could hear them coming.

Thresh had told him to start marching before they arrived, as if he knew at exactly which point they were meeting without having talked with anyone at all.

-You haven't even whispered to your damned souls. -shouted Xin Zhao.- How are you supposed to know what to do?

-Some of us have plans, Seneschal.- said Thresh.- When you know what's lying ahead of you, it's easier to know what to do. Don't you agree?

-You call everything a plan... -whispered Xin Zhao, clearly annoyed.

...

Thresh had brought Xin Zhao down quite fast. The Demacian seneschal had not expected the hit that had brought him down in a second; a death sentence that had been written since they met. As a flayed and tormented soul, Xin Zhao was still alive. Still, he was nothing but a parasite now.

-You understand it now? -asked Thresh, his ghostly voice coming out of Xin Zhao's rotten visage.

...

-Swain is ready to leave with them. -said Aalcox.

-The girl will be there too; the Noxian and the Demacian army will march, and she'll take the lead with those weak kings. This battle might be the greatest of them all, Aalcox...

-Remember what our plan is, Aatrox. -said Malcolm.- This is not only about the greatest battle; this won't be a bloodshed of a week and end; we've got to make the worls sink with Darkwill.

-Is he really leaving?- asked Aatrox.

-You never listen to Thresh, don't you? -pointed out Aalcox.- The female Ziraeth that can still transition gives him the information just as if he was working for her.

-Haven't we fooled enough of them during their existence? -asked Aatrox.- Their whole species is coming down, can't they see it?

-They know it Aatrox.- calmly answered Malcolm.- They just don't care. They're nothing but weird specimens of a weird species.

...

It had taken a long time, but Tahm Kench had narrated Yasuo's life from beginning to end, taking into account details that even the unforgiven Ionian swordsman had forgotten. Now he understood; Tahm Kench was not a being to mock and poke.

-Are you going to ask the real questions now Yasuo?

That is how he learnt who Anyssa was. That is how he learnt what she was and why he and Ezreal had been chosen. He also learnt who they were looking for and where they were marching afterwards.

...

Night had finally reached the hunter's life.

He had craved for a worthy opponent, and Tahm Kench had given him what he asked for even though he had failed. He knew what was coming next.

Rengar was bleeding, his only working eye covered in dry blood. The slippery blue creature had managed to avoid every single trick he had prepared for a fight like this. The little trickster had been a fight that he had been wishing for long.

Even though he hated to recognize another being's strength, facing an opponent like that one before dying had been a dream for long. A daydream that let him awake hour after hour, day after day, both in the search of a prey and taking care of his surroundings.

Now he could finally rest.

...

Meanwhile, all around Valoran, countless little beings wandered through the lands, blessing forests, paths and lives while they crossed a land that was about to change forever. Those who were busy with their own things didn't see them; meanwhile, every single child from Runeterra had noticed that something huge was about to happen.

But adults don't always listen to children, do they?

Adults tend to be busy.

The Fall: 31. The Darkin's Song

The Darkin's Song

-They are marching. -said Astor.

-Where? -asked Darius, grabbing the albin merchant by the neck and rising him thress feet over the ground.

-Far away. -grumbled Astor.- As far as I'm concerned, they are marching forever.

-Answer my question!

-The Kumungu jungle! Deep into the Kumungu jungle!

-How are they supposed to leave?

-Deep into the Plague Jungles. -whispered Astor, clearly suffocating.- I don't konw how or why, I just know that he was going there!

Darius threw the man into the ground. He needed to talk to Garen.

...

-You're a great actor, Astor. -whispered Aatrox into the merchant's mind.

"And you're nothing but a selfish bastard." thought Astor. He needn't say it. He knew that Aatrox was there. He knew that he would only leave when he wanted to.

-The end is coming, paleskin. -whispered Aatrox.- And you'll witness it with the frontline.

...

-The Kumungu jungle? -asked Garen.

-That sick bastard, he'll be there for sure.

-You mean Thresh?

-Of course I mean Thresh. -shouted Darius.- And if he's there... Malcolm might be around too...

-Do you mean the one that did... that... to my sister? -asked the King of Demacia.

-We've got to get them.-said Darius, talking more to himself than to Garen.- We'll murder them! We'll smash their heads into the ground!

...

All of a sudden, Tahm Kench jumped out of the water, spitting Anyssa out of his belly. Not even a minute had passed, but the River King and the Piltovian lady had a strange look in the eyes.

-We're leaving imediately. -said Anyssa, with an imperative voice.- I know you won't like this, but...

Then the beast jumped.

...

If what Darkwill has said was right, she'd be dead in a split second.

If what the catfish had said was true, he'd be the primal hunter of Runeterra.

If what he thought was right, that was the easiest job he had ever been given.

Nothing could go wrong.

...

Yasuo saw it all happen.

He had never seen such reflexes. The Piltovian explorer had touched something on his artifact and suddenly he had appeared between LeBlanc and the white beast that had jumped out of nowhere. The eyes of the monster showed surprise, as he didn't expect such a reaction from Ezreal.

Anyssa fainted before finishing her sentence. Something glowed and suddenly the beast had disappeared. Ezreal's arm was bleeding, and his weapon was nowhere to be found.

Menwhile, Tahm Kench was laughing.

The Fall: 30. Alone in the dark

Alone in the dark

No clammy slobber; Tahm Kench left LeBlanc into what looked like an ancient palace. The room she was in was completely empty; no furniture, no illumination, no life. The only light that dared get into that rotten place was the one that strangely passed through the windows, that showed a world sunk underwater.

-What did you do with them? -asked LeBlanc.

-They asked the wrong questions. -answered the River King. 

The words, followed by an uncomfortable silence, were nothing but a mock, and Tahm Kench's laugh showed that seconds later. A laugh that made the very same walls of that place tremble, a laugh that could be listed with the few things that disgusted LeBlanc.

-Of course, they were greedy. They asked for too much. -explained the ancient monster.- You know how it all goes. I was hungry, they had a debt to pay. Am I right, Fizz?

A door opened, and a yordlish water being entered the room. His mouth was full of pointy teeth that resembled those of a shark; he carried a rusty trident and was wearing an armor that looked hundreds of years old.

-He's just a child. The last atlantean child. -said Tahm Kench.- He wished too much, yet he got it all.

The yordlish being grunted a bit, only to show that his mouth was sewn.

-That was not his fault; you already know that I hate those who can't stop talking and sobbing. But you didn't come here for this. What are you looking for, Ziraeth?

-There are a few things I want.

-Then I guess that there are a few things you're willing to give me...

-You'll have Valoran once I'm over.

-What makes you think I don't have it all for me already?

-Well, you're still here.

Tahm Kench's laugh drowned the room again. It looked as if the windows were about to burst, letting the water in. But she knew that things didn't work that way here.

-You're a funny girl, aren't you? -said the River King.- But jokes aside, what will be the deal?

...

-It's been days since you said they were coming. -said the remnants of Xin Zhao.

-Yes, I told you we would wait.- pointed out the Chain Warden.- History is not always written with battles, races and conquests; patience is an important part of it, Viscero.

Xin Zhao was not worried about it; the only thing that mattered to him was that, without knowing why, he was starting to feel stubbornly alive again. And the first thing he had felt was fear.

...

"And that is why they used to call me the harvester of souls." thought Thresh. He was sure that when he had met that man there was no single sign of a soul or anything similar. It was a body without will, a bunch of meat and bones living just because it had to. Just because it could.

With time, he had grown a soul on the man; one that was both new and old. He could sense the footprints that the past had left in that body, and no newborn soul was immune to its recipient. But the new soul had something different.

This new soul could feel fear.

And Thresh was yet to know if that was a good or a bad thing for him.

Still, only a man that knew fear would be able to inspire a true fear.

...

When Lucian woke up, only Darkwill was still there.

-She will come.

-Who? -asked the Demacian gunslinger.

-You'll know when time's due. What will you do when she does come?

-How should I know? -asked Lucian.- I don't even know who she'll be.

-She'll tell you lies.

-How do I know that it ain't you the one lying?

-It might be both.

-You're not helping me...

-I am, believe me.- said Darkwill.- Once you meet her allies you'll understand me.

-I cannot follow your words.

-You just have to kill them. The three of them. And it will all be over. You'll know who and how in due time.

Lucian had no time to answer; Darkwill was nowhere to be found.

...

Meeting that man always reminded him of Senna. Valoran had once been beautiful, that for sure. But without her, this world made no sense; at least not for him.

He would leave Valoran, just like Senna had done. They'd be together again.