The Fall: 44. Tempered Fates

Tempered Fates

-He will come, Sona. I have that certainty. -calmly said Taric while his eyes dove deep into the infinity that extended in front of them.

Sona didn't know how the tower worked; they were supposed to have left Runeterra once and for all, yet there laid it in its whole extension. Again and again, when it looked like land should end and the seas would drown it all, a different Runeterra started to lay upon them. "Time is strange. Everything related to time is." Taric had said years ago.

...

-And this tower is not an exception; look at the clocks.- he continued.-Look at the automated calendars.

But she didn't dare; there was something in the hundreds of thousands of clocks that covered the walls of the room that made her feel uneasy. The calendars, cylinders tall as the fiercest Noxian warrior and as thick as wide were a Xer'Sai's tunnels, were constantly spinning. But that was not the strangest thing; they all spinned, yet they did it at different speeds, just like the clocks ticked.

When she stopped to think about it the noise would become unbearable, but the truth was that when you were focused into the beautiful and unexplainable thing that laid upon her eyes you'd lose track of your current location; there were things that looked way more interesting than a constant ticking.

-Have you looked at the clocks? Have you noticed the calendars? -Taric asked, breaking the systematical ticking noise of the clocks. -They mark different dates and times.

Sona didn't understand why it mattered; anyone could use a calendar and modify its date. But she didn't dare express the tiniest bit of what she thought, because she knew that there had to be something more to it.

-They are all different, I know it. But... -Taric's right hand dived into the pocket of the jacket he had been given by the Yordles after their arrival and took something out of it.-The weird thing, Sona, is that my pocket watch, my grandfather's watch, matches all of them. It is always in time with the one clock I'm staring at.

...

-I told you he would come.-said Taric, with his finger pointing at the giant glass window that was in front of them.- There's his trail.

...

It was dark and silent.

He was not sure if that was the right way to describe it, because it wasn't just dark and silent. He could feel nothing. No grass being folded at the weight of his steps, no weapon at his hands. He didn't even really know if he had hands at all, and he couldn't even tell if he was walking or if he was simply thinking about walking.

It was truly dark, and the silence was the only companion that Malcolm had in that bottle.

...

Riven's slash hit nothing but the ground.

Hundred of little yellow beings, which shone as if they were made of gold, dashed away from her, scared by the hit. Darius didn't know what they were, but he somewhat liked the looks of those weird things. At least until they started to surround him; he would have fought against them, but he was powerless. Also, he didn't really care about himself anymore.

...

Shauna saw it all; how the wandering caretaker, character thought to belong to nothing but fairy tales, came down from the sky. With him descended thousands of little golden beings that, if she remembered correctly, her grandmother had called Meeps.

Shauna Vayne sat besides the stone Quinn was lying at.

-Can you see them? -she asked.

-I do.

-Do you think that they took care of Valor as much as they are taking caring of Shyvana now?

No answer came out of Vayne, because she had already fallen asleep to the hug of countless meeps; Quinn shortly followed her.

The Fall: 43. Concussive Blows

Concussive Blows

Sudenly, 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.

- It's all over now, LeBlanc. -said Tahm Kench.- Or should I say... Anyssa?

She didn't dare answer. She was too weak, yet she hadn't been hurt.

No, that was not true. She had been hurt, but in such a fashion that she had never known before. She had lost something she had valued nearly as much as her own life. She had witnessed the one existence that she had considered truly beautiful vanish in front of her.

...

She was the one to blame. If she had done everything right he would surely be alive now. If she had not left so suddenly, if she had dedicated some words to him before departing, only then, maybe the things would have worked out differently. But she hadn't.

Without knowing it, without meaning it in any way, she had killed the one and only man she had loved. Tears were streaming down her face, her heart pounding as fast as it could, her cries being drowned by coughs and her life being drained by grief.

Lux's existence was slowly vanishing from Riven's body, disappearing, turned into nothing but a void in the Noxian woman's mind.

...

Riven pitied the girl, but she was somewhat happy of being back in control of herself. She was clumsy, nearly unable to walk. It was needless to say that she was unable of correctly wielding her blade.

After some seconds of staring at the Piltovian man's corpse, Riven realized that she pitied him. She had never known him, but she blamed the remains of Lux's mind in her body for the mixed feelings.

She tried to wake up, but she couldn't; she was exhausted.

She was about to faint, as close as a person can be to surrendering to sleep, when she heard his voice.

Revenge was the only thing that could get such a dead woman back on her feet.

...

-Now that I think of it, you're lacking some scars, don't you? -mockingly asked Darkwill.

-Get lost into the voids, Malcolm. -spitted Darius.

-You could lose a finger or two... -said Malcolm while holding Darius' right hand.

He couldn't move. It didn't matter how hard he tried; there was something holding him, something that he could not see. Something that, even if familiar, was unknown to him.

-You could take a hand too, Malcolm.-added a weird face that had suddenly emerged from Darius' cheek.-Or both, no matter what I'm quite sure that you would not have enough with it.

-You're right in that, Aalcox. -replied Darkwill.-An arm shall suffice for now.

Aalcox; after listening that name he lost all hope that was left. He tried to fight the darkin's powers with a rage that until that day had been unknown to Runeterra, but it wasn't enough.

He was about to give up when she saw a woman walking towards them. Her blade was getting bigger and bigger while she approached; he could feel the air current shaking the ground he was laying upon, making his cloak dance with the wind.

The look on the face Darius was seeing was not the one of the hybrid monster that Malcolm had created years ago; Riven was back.

And she was thirsty; only the sweetest of revenges would bring peace back to her heart.

...

Riven was tired, but it didn't matter. She had been waiting for years, looking, confined in a cell built into her own body, at how that demon strangled all her hopes while he used all the Noxian people Riven had once valued. He had got them all killed; the few that left his grasp alive had died in Zaun's Mental Institute years ago during the final battle with Piltover, when the whole city was razed by Piltovian soldiers and Zaun's madmen themselves.

She dashed once and noticed that Malcolm now knew she was there, but she didn't care; she rushed the distance that divided them and slashed with all her fury, attempting to cut him in two.

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, 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.

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: 27. Denial (Apex)

Denial (Apex)

Lucian heard the chaos while leaving the cave, and Galio's glowing guided him to the skirmish.

-Are you seeking for help gargoyle? -shouted Lucian while culling in.

...

He should not have come. At least not now.

If Lucian entered the spell's area, Durand's enchantments would hurt him as much as they will punish those beasts. Galio had to interrupt it, and so he did.

-Bastard! -roared Rengar- Why did you let him go?! -asked the beast while jumping on Galio.

-Calm down kitten. -said Lucian while taking aim.- You'd better rest, they might be coming.

-WHO?! -shouted Rengar again, annoyed by the presence of foreigners in his woods. If he had not lost the habit of killing the visitors this situation would have never happened.

-Demacia, Noxus... whoever they are now. -answered Lucian, with his guns still pointing at Rengar's head.- We should be leaving.

But they were given no time to abandon the place.

-There's something we need to talk about.- said the Ziraeth.- But first...

With a glance of the Ziraeth, Lucian turned into stone.

-He'll be fine, gargoyle. -said Darkwill while walking toward the beastly trio that laid in front of him.- There's something we need to talk, and I'm not a friend of human ears.

...

-Don't you see it in her, Garen? -asked Darius.

The girl, once known as a Noxian exile, was looking at him in a strange way. There was something familiar in her, but be it the look, the timid smile or the luminous broken sword, it was not enough for him to recognize his very own sister.

-This can't be her.- answered the self-proclaimed Demacian king.- This is not her. OFF WITH IT, THIS WOMAN IS NOT MY SISTER! GET HER OUT NOW!

-You only need time, you will acknowledge your mistake. -said Darius.- You will do it, given the right time... Do it, Lux.

A waving of the sword, as slash in the air and a bright light preceded the luminous prison that held the Demacian king on its spot. No more words from the Noxians were needed; Garen's face was enough for them to know that he believed them now.

-How? -curiously asked Garen to Darius.- And... why? -he whispered, while looking at his sister.

-It was for Valoran.- said Darius. 

"Thanks, Malcolm." thought the ruling Hand of Noxus. He had never liked the man, but it was clear that he had always been doing some things right. Even his disappearance had been a favour.

The Fall: 25. The Conflagration

The Conflagration

LeBlanc's mimicked version was still with the Ionian outcast and Ezreal, but she had separated from them hours ago.

-Why now? -asked the Ziraeth.

-We just follow the call. -answered Hecarim.- When we're given orders we follow them. When there's war, there's death, and with death the Shadow Isles grow.

-What war? -asked LeBlanc, more curious after every word the Shadow of War pronounced.

-That's none of my concern. -pointed out Hecarim while still rampaging through what was left of the poor side of Bilgewater.- If we're called to war, we go. It's our fate, our duty.

Suddenly, a greenish light hit Hecarim, and his eyes glowed familiarly.

-It's all about Thresh, right? -spitted LeBlanc.

-It's something bigger than you, Ziraeth. -answered a voice through the monster's mouth.- Some things are better kept away from those close to us. At least that's what he said.

-Shut up and answer my question! -shouted LeBlanc.

But there was no answer; Rampaging through what was left, Hecarim had abandoned the place, accompanied by an army of undead spirits that would make sure nothing could stop him. She could still hear Thresh's laugh at the cells he had been confined.

Maybe he had had a reason for trying to kill her. Ans maybe he still had it.

...

Hours had passed since Malcolm had realized that he was alive when he shouldn't and Swain had told him that Aalcox was awaken. It didn't take him long to realize that Aalcox was nervously screaming as he had never heard a Darkin do, and it was taking way longer to shut him up.

-What's wrong with you?! -shouted Malcolm.

-Find the girl and wipe away the risks! -screamed Aalcox in Malcolm's mind.

-Which girl? -whispered Malcolm while struggling to keep his composure.

-KILL THE KING'S SISTER! -screamed Aalcox; now even Swain heard it.

-Which king? -asked Swain with a peremptory voice.

His voice was enough to calm Aalcox down.

-The Demacian king. His sister...

-She died years ago. -pointed out Swain.

-Not really... -said Malcolm with a smile on his face.- She's not dead  at all...

...

-You don't look like a worthy recipient.

-Who are you?! -shouted Astor. He didn't know where the voice came from; he was lying on the ground, covered by plants. Those yellow little beings were still hanging around him, now moving nervously in circles.

-That's none of your concern now. -answered the voice.- Just do as I tell you and I will give you a less painful death than I want to right now.

It had been long since Astor had left words like those unanswered, but that was the first time that he didn't know who he was talking to. For the Void's sake! He didn't even know WHAT he was talking to.

-Just bring me where I want to go. -said the voice, now calmer.- Then I'll make you free of the agony of living.

And it would still be long before he ever let anyone fool him.

-I think you don't realize who you're talking to. -confidently said Astor, before agonizingly screaming and bending in pain.

He was going through such an agony that he didn't even realize that the little yellow fellows were gone. But they weren't leaving for long...

...

-They escaped. -answered Garen from the throne that had once been of his old friend and king Jarvan Lightshield the fourth of his name.

-I guess they are being hunted down like the filthy scum they are... -answered Darius.

-They got into the forest. -replied Garen.

-Oh, and I guess that your scouts can't follow a track when it takes a little effort, right?

-You're not understanding a single word of mine. -said Garen while taking a map that was hanging on the wall and throwing it on the floor in front of Darius.- They got into the Forest.-said Garen again.

-I'll bring you enough men to cut that forest down tree by tree. -said the hand of Noxus.- and then we will raze Bandle City to the ashes.

...

The small yordle-like creature transformed in the blink of an eye; a huge bloodthristy beast was now between them and a voidborn abomination that had suddenly appeared. And some seconds later, another monster was jumping from a bush nearby; the ferocious feline-like beast was on the voidborn beast in a second. Shyvana could see how they fought each other with an innate hate that scared the soul out of her.

-You're leaving. -said Galio, turning towards the 3 huge beasts that were fighting besides them.

-And you're coming with us! -screamed Shyvana.- We won't leave you behind!

-FLY, YOU FOOLS! - roared the white feline beast while holding the Voidborn on the floor.- NOW, OR I SWEAR I'LL CUT YOU DOWN TO PIECES AFTER FINISHING HIM!

-Leave.- said again Galio while walking towards the battle.- I'll catch up to you.

-But...

-Do it. -ordered Galio.- Reach Bandle City, tell them what's about to come and live. I'll catch up to you.

Without looking back, Shyvana carried Poppy, Taric and Sona on her back and left the place. A blazing path showed him where they were going, but Gnar, Rengar and Kha'Zix were way more important now than a path to follor.

...

-Care with Gnar.-shouted Rengar.

It took long for Galio to realize that the beast was talking to him. Shortly after, the so-called Gnar jumped on him.

-Do not hurt him! -roared the white fiery beast.- He'll calm down in a while! Just leave!

-I'll help you.

-YOU WON'T! -said Rengar throwing a bola to Galio's feet.

Only then the hunter realized his mistake. A gust hit both Kha'Zix and him, who ended one on each other's side laying in the floor. Suddenly, Galio shot a blast and both monsters laid on the ground crippled.

-How'd you dare... -angrily whispered Rengar before disappearing.

Without hesitation, Galio started to shine as he had done only in the most dangerous of times. Gnar, now small again, was throwing rocks at him. The voidborn creature woke up and slowly walked towards him, trying to hurt him in a desperate try of getting something out of the fight.

And then he heard his voice.

The Fall: 14. For the night is dark and full of whispers (Demacia)

For the night is dark and full of whispers (Demacia)

-Vayne will lead your squad today. -said Garen.

-May I ask for the reason behind the change? -asked Ezreal without understanding why Quinn would not be leading her squad.

-You may ask that question; that doesn't mean I'll answer it. -replied Garen while inviting Ezreal to leave his tent.

When he was out he understood why he was being dispatched that fast; Quinn had also been cited. Ezreal had only hated two things in his life; Noxians and the lack of a plan. The flash meeting with Garen counted as one of the latter and annoyed him quite a lot, but there was nothing he could do but to accept it and follow the orders he was given.

...

They had left way before the sun had risen; they didn't really feel comfortable scouting so deep, and if we added the lack of trust Ezreal had in his new leader the situation becomes as awkward as it can be. To add on, the rain had not stopped since they left the encampment; it was probably the worst day Ezreal had lived since the war started, and it was only the beginning of it.

The trees felt like torn apart even, the whole forest was empty. Not a soul could be heard, and not a single life showed up around them. The only living being they saw from time to time was Valor, who was scouting for both reconnaissance pairs. Vayne and Ezreal checking the forest and its surroundings, Quinn and the steel legion technician being in charge of the plains.

The day earned a positive point when their scouting finished without a trace of the Noxian army and a message from Quinn that confirmed their presence around the plains. That was the last time they heard about Quinn and the steel legion technician until the night.

...

Ezreal had been waiting long for Lux, but she hadn't arrived. As he was tired, it didn't take long for him to fall asleep in the very same place where he had seen her the day before.

The encampment's chaos woke him up later on; the Noxian army was marching. He went to Garen's tent and found him about to leave.

-Take care of Quinn, Ezreal! -shouted the Might of Demacia.- Jarvan IV shall lead the charge, and I'll be there covering him! I need you to take care of her wounds!

Ezreal had no time to answer; as big as Garen was, he had vanished into the chaotic crowd that was the Trinity army. It didn't take long for him to hear a groan and Quinn's voice calling for him. He ran towards her and prepared some painkilling medicines. After Quinn's pain faded away, she started to talk frantically.

-I'm sorry Ezreal, I'm so sorry, it wasn't meant to be that way.

-Calm down and rest Quinn, you're hallucinating because of the medicines. -answered Ezreal trying to get his squad leader to sleep.

-No I'm not, I wish I was... That wasn't meant to happen Ez, we got caught... -continued Quinn.

-What happened to the steel legion technician that was with you? Couldn't he protect you? -asked Ezreal nervously.

-She won't come back Ezreal... -whispered Quinn before fainting.

Ezreal couldn't believe what he was thinking. He needed to be wrong; she had to come back.

The Fall: 12. Farewell, my friends, pt. 3

Farewell, my Friends, pt. 3

Quinn could not calm down. The execution was something she was clearly against, but she could not disobey Garen. Not now, not during these days.

Also, the weather didn't help at all; the storm was lasting way longer than usual, with lightnings causing several fires around the city. The climatic anomaly had taken more than thirty victims, and that was without counting the casualties of the governments repression system that were hidden behind such an unnatural incident. To add up, Valor was nowhere to be seen.

She couldn't understand how Lucian was so calm. While she and Vayne shivered nervously, Lucian was nearly falling asleep besides the platform's small stairs; with his gun at his feet, he used Senna's as a pillow by laying it on his knees and his head on it. Meanwhile, countless citizens gathered in the square; they had come to see Poppy's execution.

Dark times bring dark thoughts to people's mind and dark needs to their hearts. They were not mean or evil; they were just scared. Propaganda and missinformation had widely spread a feeling of insecurity that had deeply digged its way through the Demacian hearts and infected every feel with hatred and misstrust; that was the only explanation she could find, the only way to justify their actions. Poppy's death would be a bless for them; the execution's duration was time that they wouldn't be using to try to face their own problems, the execution's reasons were the nonsense that helped them to find someone who blame for their misfortunes and the spitting they were giving to and old friend like Poppy was no more than their desperate wish for something to change.

...

Something woke Lucian up again. ¿A noise? ¿A step? No, it was different this time. People were silent. Even Garen was staring at the skies. They all looked charmed, as if a witch had forced them into an hallucination or something like that. ¿What were they looking at?

It took him a bit longer to realize; the air was glowing lightly. Small lights floating around, as minuscule as you might see the stars, but at the reach of his hand. Time felt slower around him; he could feel more than ever. The air through his lungs, the wind trying to wave his hair. The weight of Senna in his hand, the lack of something deep in his heart. And then the gust came.

Most people fell to the ground. Those who were not lucky elevated to the skies and fell onto those that were besides them seconds ago. Even Garen was lying in the ground, his sword soaked in blood and nailed on the ground, with a small hand laying at its side. Lucian felt his kings anger for short; once he realized Poppy was not there, he smiled to himself and run out of the square. He knew that Garen had seen his face; without a head to chop off, he'd look for someone to blame.

He had to leave the city.

The Fall: 3. The Glorious Executioner

The Glorious Executioner

Three days and three nights passed away, but the king would not open the doors There was no response from the other side; everyone in court but the queen had tried to get in, yet no one's words had been answered.
It took a quarter of a moon cycle to reach an agreement with the guard; they would force the door to check that the king was alright. There was no food in the throne room, and the servants were sure that they had not brought anything into it. When they opened the door, the stink sent most people away from it.

The king's armor was still on the throne, it's gauntlet holding the lance he had used in countless battles. On the floor laid the Demacian standard he used to proudly carry, covered with the very same blood it had when the king arrived, still fresh. But there was no trace of Jarvan's body. Garen was trying to understand what had happened when a guard's shout dragged his attention.

-The king is dead!- desperately screamed the man.- A Noxian sorcery has killed our heirless king!

...

It was impossible to look better, he just couldn't. He had heard some people say that perfection can be considered bad at some circumstances. Even though he knew they were all wrong, he couldn't blame them; how the hell would they know what being perfect fell like if they were not?
He was the ideal man, the role model, the standard pattern followed by beauty itself. His long moustache waving while he walked, spinning axes in hand and ready to work. The arena called for him; he was the protagonist, he was the man everyone wanted, the man every single person wished to be; he was Draven.
The crow cheered him once he got into the yard. The first set of prisoners  were those charged with small crimes; burglars or people that were just being obnoxious when they shouldn't; that meant that they were free to run to the entrance once the glorious executioner entered the arena, earning the right to leave and live that way. There is no point in asking if any of them survived; the glorious executioner handled them all quickly, thirsting for the price he had been promised.
He, the magnificient, the only one, the unvaluable, would be the one to walk around the arena holding Xin Zhao's head with his bare hands.

...

Something woke him up. Something unexpected. He had lost the count of days and nights after the third one. The nightmare that Xin Zhao was living (¿was he really alive?) could not be compared to anything else; the days of the arena looked sweet compared to the hell he was going through.
His cell wass dark as it could be, completely black, filled with a silence that wasn't even interrupted by rats. He knew he was bleeding only because he remembered it; there was no pain to feel, and he was unable to sense any hint of odor at all.
He had been confined to the black cells of the catacombs; completely isolated, the only remain of reality he had were his memories. But Xin Zhao had never liked to remember.

The Fall: 1. And All Things Will End

And All Things Will End

The king entered the throne room alone. No one knew how he had done to go unnoticed through the castle, but there he was, with his golden crown and armor soaked in blood and a dead smile shining bright under his eyes. "This is not my king." thought Garen. A long silence filled the room, and not a soul dared breathe during those seconds that felt like years.

-Xin Zhao is not coming back soon.- selflessly announced Jarvan IV, king of Demacia, last and only living member of the royal line.- No warrior of my escort will be back, as far as I know.

His voice sounded like that of a dead man; not the ones who are already under the grave, but those who while living have no motivation to do so. Jarvan had changed a lot since his battle face to face with Swain years ago; a special squad, filled with the best soldiers of Demacia and led by Garen saved him from a certain death at the hands of Urgot after he fell into the raven's claws. The man that came back from that journey was not the same that had left. But now it was different.

His were not the moves of a man. A dusty mean look that seemed to ignore everything in front of it crossed the hall. "Is it grief?" doubted his lady wife. While the king stumbled through the room on his way to the throne, the crowd kept off his way; not because of respect but fear instead. Jarvan dropped himself on the throne and closed his eyes. This was not the man their friends and sons had died for. This was not even a man.

-Everyone leave the room now. - announced the king after another long and awkward silence. Seeing that people hesitated to follow his order, he talked again. -Your king commands it. I want you all to leave.

One by one, everyone left the room through the main gate. While walking away, Garen noticed a little bit of humanity in Jarvan's eyes. His old friend, now a king. "One ashamed of what he's going to do." heard the old might of Demacia into his head. Unable to turn back and face his former prince, Garen walked away, vanishing within the crowd. Not even the queen stood there; the king told her to leave and stay in her chambers until she had news from him.

Once they were all out, they heard the locks. The last member of the royal family had closed himself alone in the throne room. Again.

...

-They will notice. -said Darkwill.

-Of course they will. That is intended. -answered the shadow with a voice that lost itself into silence. -Didn't you want it to go this way?

-It's too soon.

-You released the prince. Deal with the consequences. -spoke the voice.

-The sorcery didn't go the way you told me, LeBlanc. -shouted Darkwill, alone in the shadows of the Noxian catacombs.

-Don't you remember how Sion worked out? What did you expect Elliot? -talked LeBlanc in a mocking way.

-Elliot died with Senna, Leblanc. Fix this now, I wouldn't like to make you pay for your lies. And don't dare call me that name again.

But there was no one around to listen to those words. "Why had she talked about that?" thought Darkwill to himself. It had been more than decades since anyone called him Elliot. And that person was already dead. As the only remaining male of his species, falling in love with Senna had condemned his existence. The end of our times. For centuries I laughed at LeBlanc, mocking her about how after one of those magic tricks she would end up falling in love with a human. But the first to link the existence of his body to another one was him. Darkwill and Elliot became one, and it all happenned because of Senna. "But ours was an impossible relationship." he recalled.

Elliot was a Noxian spy at that time, a man of the shadows, slave to politics. In contrast, Senna was a mercyless Demacian warrior that brought down every single remain of the Shadow Isles that reached Runeterra; she was a roaming soul that needed no guidance. No matter what was the shadows' victim's banner, she and Lucian would always be there to help. "Noxian or not, you're a good person. If you need help, I'll be there." had been the words that trapped him into that fragile human body.

But then came the marriage; even though he had not been invited, he was present during the cerimony. Lucian and Senna were tied together now, both as warriors and souls. Elliot's soul was left to rot, and what was left of Darkwill took control of him.

He would have loved to be able to completely forget Elliot's existence, but his feelings and memories grew stronger with time. Specially since Senna's death. And now he didn't know if he was one or the other.

A sighing took him out of his thoughts; then he remembered what he and LeBlanc had done with the Demacian king's escort. Fourteen days had passed since they were captured, fourteen of them had been gloriously executed.

-You will be part of the show tomorrow, Xin Zhao. -talked Darkwill to what looked like an empty cell. -Enjoy your last hours of life.

The starving man was unable to answer. He had no will to move. Darkness had choked what was left of the warrior inside him. His pride, his life, his king. They were all lost. They had all succumbed to the will of the dark.