Disclaimer: All characters except the OCs belong to Riot Games. The cover photo belongs to some random corner on the internet.
Disclaimer 2: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Disclaimer 3: The story I tell here is my own invention, and it is not purported or believed to be part of League of Legends's official story canon.
Author's note:
I originally had no plans of writing any one-shots here (I prefer writing series) but the God Fist Lee Sin skin is too much to handle because it is a very accurate representation of Lee Sin players (i.e. spamming "too ez" in chat despite 0/10/0). Anyway, this is my attempt in portraying Lee Sin, so do enjoy and leave any comments below!
All was calm.
The very peak of Mount Targon was not a place for everyone. In fact, no mortal had ever seen the summit of the epic mountain by themselves. It wasn't that the peak wasn't well-known. In fact, countless adventurers of Runeterra had vowed to climb up to this very spot. Legends stated that at the peak of Mount Targon lied the secrets of the birth of Runeterra and the key to immortality. However, climbing the mighty peak was an impossible task. For centuries no more than 10 mortals had managed to climb to the foot of the titanic mountain—already two thousand miles above sea level—let alone the peak. It was simple to why no one knew the precise location of the peak—no one had ever been there. The men who had successfully reached the foot of the mountain recalled that they still could not see the top of the mountain. It just went higher and higher, spearing through the clouds and into the sky.
To begin with, the possibility of climbing to the foot of Mount Targon was literally close to zero. There was no simple path—avalanches of all sorts had covered up the original path with snow or boulders. One needed magical powers to overcome the obstacles, and they had to be very experienced mages to cope with the extreme temperatures and lack of oxygen as they climb higher and higher. Luckily, hostile creatures would not be a nuisance—nothing could survive in those dire conditions.
The most difficult part, though, was a 300-meter tall steep slope created solely by stone. The original path was cut by an ancient large-scale avalanche, leaving behind a massive pile of rock. In order to continue upwards, climbers must be able to reach the top of the slope by any means necessary. They couldn't just climb the slope—it would be too steep. Men who had overcome the previous challenges would usually find this unforgiving—if they chose to attempt, one misstep would easily cost their lives. Others turn away from the challenge, deeming it impossible. After all, they wouldn't be mortals if they could jump 300 meters.
If one could manage to pass all these tests, then they would reach the foot of the mountain. There resided tribes such as the Rakkor and the Solari. Adventurers who had reached that height had met the Rakkor, who had adapted to living in these harsh conditions. They were the only ones who had civilization dated back to more than a millennia ago. Some of them knew ancient magic as well, and those who returned were enriched with knowledge and had drastically improved magical powers. Coincidently, the adventurers who had successfully climbed there and returned were some of the most powerful mages of all time.
Still, according to history, no one had ever reached the summit. But it must be reminded that history was written by mortals. Humans had foolishly thought that it was beyond the bounds of possibility to reach the peak of Mount Targon.
Unfortunately, they were wrong.
A man stood at the very edge of the peak of Mount Targon, looking down upon the clouds. Technically, he wasn't a man—he was a God of Shurima. His head resembled a jackal's, wore golden Shurima armor and held a millennia-old cane as tall as him. The peak, unbeknownst to anyone other than him, was a completely flat land with nothing other than stone. It was quite large in area but very different from the imagination of mortals, who thought the peak was Heaven itself. They were right about two things, however—one could see the entire vicinity of Mount Targon from the peak. The other was that the secret of immortality could be found in the peak.
The man was once a mortal too until he became the Ascended, another name of a Demigod. Possessing the capabilities of a half-god, he challenged the arduous task of climbing to the foot of the mountain—but found it too easy. Thus, he went for the peak instead—something unattempted in the past. It was rather difficult for he had to find his own way uphill. But it wasn't a major problem with his godlike abilities. Still, it took him an extraordinary four years to reach the peak. After all, the very peak of Mount Targon wasn't the easiest to find. Luckily, he had a lifespan of 5000 years so four years wasn't a big deal.
He enjoyed the rare peace found in the peak. There was no voice whatsoever—an excellent place for him to meditate. The sky was blue and crystal-clear (there couldn't be any more clouds above his height) and the peak was free from the heavy snow—which appeared everywhere in Mount Targon other than the summit. The temperature here, for some reason, was warm just like on land.
The god was about to settle down and meditate when suddenly he sensed movement beneath his legs. It was the only disturbance so far. However, it gave one clear message.
Someone was coming.
How could someone be here?
As far as he knew, no one other than him could reach the peak. Yet his sense couldn't be wrong. Someone was indeed coming.
He pondered the possibilities.
Renekton? It can't be. He doesn't have the capabilities to get here.
Can't think of anyone else.
A god's social circle was very much limited.
"So this is the peak of Mount Targon."
Nasus turned to see another man—a human being, in fact, standing behind him. This man looked quite special—his eyes and naked chest gleamed like gold, and he wore purple monk pants. His most defining feature was his fists, which looked like gold itself. It wasn't clear whether they were gold-coloured fists or fists made of pure gold.
It was quite surprising to the god because he thought the man was still some distance away. He seemingly appeared from nowhere.
Weird. Who is this man?
"Who are you, mortal?"
"One, I am not a mortal. I am an Ascended."
The god was clearly surprised. An Ascended? Only those who were worthy could be an Ascended. But for some reason he couldn't figure out that the man was one of them—the mortality was heavy in him. Besides, the man had a very heavy Ionian accent.
"And two, my name is…Lee Sin."
Lee Sin. Never heard that name before.
"Call me the God Fist. Because in a matter of one minute I will dump your dog-head in this rock and pummel you like no tomorrow, and there will be so much pain that you will plead for mercy like a dog does to his master."
The god raised his eyebrows (yes, even with a jackal head), for no one had ever humiliated him in such a way. Mortals usually worshipped him as the Protector of Valoran, and none of them made fun of his head even if he found it amusing himself.
"What makes you so confident?"
Lee Sin smirked.
"You're Nasus. The most pathetic and puny demi-god in history. How can't I, the most formidable mortal in ages, be able to defeat a false god?"
Wow. That's very boastful of you, human.
Nasus was rather irritated but decided to keep his calm, for he thought the man in front of him was quite amusing. Sure, Lee Sin called him a "puny" god, but he said so when Nasus was double the height of his.
"How long did it take you to climb up Mount Targon?"
"Seven months."
Seven months? That's way shorter than mine!
"How did you get here in less than a year? It took me four years."
"Like I said, Nasus. You're the weakest god around."
While Lee Sin was bragging about himself again, Nasus did not listen to his words. Instead, he concentrated in searching for answers in his mind.
Yes, Nasus had telepathic powers.
It turned out that Lee Sin had far extraordinary abilities than him before he achieved God-status. The man could cease eating and drinking at all—like an Ascended. Furthermore, he was unaffected by extreme temperatures and bruises—even huge boulders did not scratch when it fell on him. He would punch the rock with his golden fists and it would shatter instantly into pieces.
When he encountered avalanches (Nasus himself had encountered at least a hundred of them during his climb) he would stand in front of the approaching heap of rocks or snow and leave unscathed without moving an inch.
Lee Sin did something astonishing at the 300-meter slope—from his fist, he would project a golden energy wave towards the top of the slope. It would fly for hundreds of meters until colliding with its target, which would be destroyed by the energy wave. Then Lee Sin would leap high into the air and dash towards the energy wave in mid-air, flying for a whopping few hundred meters before landing on his desired location. Nasus took one month to figure out how to climb up the slope, for he couldn't fly when he was a demigod—Lee Sin accomplished this in less than 10 minutes.
The god was quite impressed with his feats.
No wonder he dared to boast in front of me.
But the Nasus standing in front of Lee Sin was very different in comparison to his old self—flying wasn't a problem for him anymore. To challenge the god in his current state would be an unwise act.
At least that was what Nasus thought.
"Why do you seek to come here? Climbing to the top of Mount Targon requires too much unnecessary hard work. It will be disappointing for you to know that this isn't Heaven but rather a piece of flat land with nothingness."
Lee Sin smirked.
"You're wrong, dog-head. I know very well that here lies the secret of the birth of Runeterra and the key to immortality."
"But you see, nothing's here at all! A piece of flat land won't do any good."
Deep in his mind, Nasus knew the truth. The two secrets Lee Sin was searching—Nasus included—were under the mountain. When someone managed to reach the peak, a hidden hole would open. The peak would become a volcano opening and deep inside the hole would be the answers that one would seek. However, the hole would refuse to open when a God stood on top of it. Again, not even Nasus knew why.
As long as Nasus stood on top of the peak, Lee Sin would never find the secret—and would leave the peak failing miserably.
Lee Sin glanced around. Nasus was right. There was nothing. The man gave a sign of disappointment on his face but smiled again suddenly.
"If I can't find the secrets, then beating you up will be an excellent alternative."
Nasus chuckled.
"There's a limit of how much a god can tolerate. Do not try my patience."
"I will fight you, Curator of the Sands. And you will fall before me."
Lee Sin gathered his Chi, the inner flow of energy within his body which he had practised during his years in Ionia. In response, Nasus's scepter emitted a purple glow as well.
"You're a monk?"
"Yes."
"There's no turning back from fighting a god," warned Nasus. "The cost of your failure will be painful. If you're wise, turn away and leave this place."
Nasus did not want a simple mortal to become invulnerable, even if Lee Sin was an Ascended. But Lee Sin looked determined. The god could not sense any fear in the man.
"Last chance, Lee Sin. Either you fight or you leave."
The monk narrowed his eyes.
"I will laugh at your defeat, puny god."
This man sure has some balls. Too bad there will only be one outcome.
"As you wish."
The fight had begun.
Lee Sin had longed for an opponent with the capabilities of dueling him. After all, no matter how puny or weak a god was, he was still a god. The monk had known well that Nasus was an Ascended—and anyone who could reach the peak of Mount Targon must have powers that rivalled his own. To him, the climb wasn't an easy one, especially the journey after reaching the foot of the mountain. But two things made him underestimate this god.
1. Nasus showed nothing extraordinary by appearance.
2. He really couldn't take a dog-headed god seriously.
"Tell me, Nasus. Do you bleed?"
Nasus was obviously taken aback by the question.
"That's very brave of you, mortal, to ask such a question."
Lee Sin clenched his teeth.
"You will!"
The monk channeled Chi to his fist before projecting a golden energy wave at Nasus. It landed successfully on him (either the wave was too fast or Nasus was too slow), dealing no damage but instead leaving an energy mark on him. He then dashed towards him with a thrust of his legs. The jackal-headed man held his cane between him and an approaching Lee Sin, but when the monk's fist collided with Nasus's scepter it was the weapon that gave way, not the fist. The god was knocked back by the resulting shockwave and he went flying out of the peak.
As Nasus disappeared down the horizon, Lee Sin wondered how he had just defeated him so effortlessly.
That would be too easy.
But all of a sudden Nasus reappeared from the horizon, his staff automatically returning to him as he caught it effortlessly while landing on the ground on his feet.
"I can fly easily, mortal, unlike you. It takes a lot more than a single punch to get me off this place."
As Nasus finished he pointed his scepter at Lee and fired five purple missiles.
Two golden fireballs were formed on Lee Sin's palms. He first tossed them at two purple missiles, detonating them in a safe distance. Then he did a swift somersault sideways to dodge the others. One of them went straight towards Lee Sin's initial position, exploding on impact but unable to injure the monk. Though there were two remaining ones that smartly changed directions at the last second, it took Lee only two additional somersaults to safely detonate them one by one.
As the monk stood back up he saw the destruction left by the missiles—huge craters combined with corroded rocks. It looked very, very revolting and Lee was glad he wasn't hit by any of them, even if he was quite confident that his durable body could take all of them without any consequence.
"Not even close, Nasus."
Nasus, on the other hand, looked quite displeased yet at the same time impressed by the result.
"Congratulations. No one has ever dodged all of them at once. Don't worry, that's not what I only have in store for you."
Nasus pointed the scepter at him once again. He unleashed purple missiles similarly, but this time it came in large numbers—a total of 50, as Lee Sin counted.
But how could he dodge 50 missiles if they all went for him at once?
Oh, wait.
Why do I need to dodge when I can destroy them together?
Lee Sin gathered energy to his fist. Then he smashed the ground, sending a shockwave across the whole peak. The shockwave was so strong to the point that Nasus had to summon a magical shield to protect himself. The 50 missiles detonated mid-air harmlessly.
Lee Sin then ran at the god. He leapt just as Nasus's shield faded, allowing him to punch at Nasus' face. He laid on the floor flat.
"You fall easier than a child's toy."
This time, Lee Sin unleashed a flurry of punches at Nasus's face, pummeling him in a terrifyingly rapid speed. His punches were so fast that it couldn't be seen by the naked eye. After that, he grabbed the scepter, which laid nearby, and tried to tear it apart with his bare hands.
"I need no weapon, unlike you. I am the weapon."
But no matter how much he tried the staff refused to break. It was tougher than he thought.
All of a sudden the scepter turned purple again. It freed itself from Lee Sin's grasp, then turned back and bashed Lee Sin's head instead. As Lee Sin protected himself with his arms the scepter knocked him upwards into the sky. The monk ultimately landed near the edge of the peak.
My head hurts…
Lee Sin struggled to stand up at first, but he healed himself with his Chi and managed to ready himself for Nasus's next attack. The god himself stood a distance away, his cane back in his grasp.
"Trying to break my Scepter? No one can destroy an Ancient Weapon. Actually, if I wanted it, you'll be dead already. But I'm curious—how did you do all of that wearing slippers?"
Lee Sin smirked.
"After all, I am a God."
"You perceive yourself as a God? If you have truly surpassed the limits of mortals, then you should be capable of handling this."
Nasus pointed his scepter at him.
"Become dust, mortal."
At first, Lee Sin only felt a small gust of wind. He disregarded it as non-threatening but then he felt his legs losing...Chi. Soon the powerlessness spread through his body, his skin fading to the point that he didn't look golden anymore. His appearance became identical to a mortal's, yet still deteriorating as even wrinkles emerged on his skin. Worse still, there grew white hair on his bald head.
"You're aging, Old Man Lee Sin. Oh, and you look fine with some hair, bald man."
Without the support of his legs, the monk fell to the floor. His Chi was leaving him-indicating that he would become no stronger than a mortal. Meanwhile, Nasus was unaffected, retaining his powers while Lee Sin lost his. How could he fight if he couldn't punch at all?
He had to break the spell.
Lee Sin gathered whatever Chi was left in him. He channeled them to his fists but found his fists too weak to move.
I will...break the spell. At all costs.
The monk's raw willpower took over. As Nasus approached him the Chi fought back against the effects of Nasus's spell gradually, enabling his fists to regain strength and become golden again. Then with a battle cry, Lee Sin smashed his fists together, and as he did so it resulted in another shockwave. Purple energy hidden in his body were driven away, and immediately after they were removed his body reverted to normal, to his Ascended form. Even his white hair broke away from his head, but he wasn't dissatisfied—he was proud of being bald.
The spell was broken. Literally.
Taking advantage of Nasus's astonishment in the meantime, Lee Sin dashed in front of the god in a blink of an eye before delivering a powerful punch to Nasus, knocking him into the air. He then leapt into the air as well, reaching a few hundred meters above ground.
The peak was quite small in the aerial view, he noticed. As he saw Nasus's body speeding upwards below him he charged his fists with huge amounts of energy. They even burned due to the extreme heat produced by the Chi alone.
He grabbed Nasus by the neck when he reached his height.
"Witness the true might of the Heavens, dog-head."
The God Fist then smashed both of his burning fists onto Nasus. As he did so he could feel the air shattering around him. Nasus's armor cracked abruptly. Lee Sin knew well that he wasn't holding back at all this time.
Nasus sped through the air back down to the peak. He landed before Lee Sin started falling himself (he couldn't fly). He could see the stone breaking on Nasus's impact. In fact, the surface of the entire peak cracked on the impact. When Lee Sin landed the whole peak looked like it had been struck by an earthquake. A hole remained at Nasus's landing point, and when he looked into it he couldn't see the end-point. It was at least miles deep in the ground.
For a split second, Lee Sin feared that Nasus had died from the impact.
Or maybe he lived. Guess I'll locate the secrets myself since I can't interrogate him now.
Lee Sin turned away from the hole, settling down some distance away to rest. But before he could rest there came a voice.
"We're not done yet, mortal."
The surface below the monk's feet transformed, the rock breaking apart into very small pieces—sand. Suddenly the entire flatland became a mini-desert. Everything turned into sand, leaving no trace of any stone.
The sky also changed rapidly. Dark clouds formed above the monk's head, followed by bolts of lightning in the clouds. Gone was the blue crystal-clear sky, substituted with a black, stormy, and violent sky. Strong winds from all directions tried to lift Lee Sin from the ground but his legs kept him firm enough. Worst still, winds weren't the biggest obstacle—winds with sand were. Pieces of sand were constantly blown into Lee Sin's eyes, blinding him and damaging his sight.
The hole disappeared, replaced by a sandstorm formed at the spot. Behind the flying sands was a drastically changed Nasus, the growing sandstorm circling him as he himself became larger and larger in body size, 10 times taller than Lee Sin. His scepter was changing as well, coping with its master's increasing height. His body gleamed in purple, fueled with immense ancient magic. The monk could feel the powers Nasus possessed even from a distance—he knew that this Nasus was the true God. The God above all gods.
"You put up a good fight, mortal. And you're right, here in the summit lies the secrets you seek. But it you truly deserve them, then prove it by defeating me."
Nasus had done exactly what a Curator of the Sands would do—terraforming the whole land to sand by will. All conditions here at the highest point of the world were against Lee Sin—the weather, the terrain, the opponent he faced...but it was precisely what he wanted. The Ascended Lee Sin found the mortal world incredibly dull, so he climbed Mount Targon to the peak in curiosity of what was at the top of the world. Instead, he discovered the presence of a God—someone who possessed limitless abilities. Fascinated by this unexpected task, he readied himself for the upcoming showdown, undoubtedly the toughest fight he would have ever encountered in his lifetime.
The God Fist displayed no fear facing the all-powerful Nasus, his eyes shining yellow while gradually becoming immune to the blinding effects of the sands. After all, immortal sight cannot be obscured.
Lee Sin slammed his fists together once again, this time standing in a very aggressive fighting posture while the movement of his fingers suggested that he was deliberately provoking Nasus. It was no longer about the precious secrets hidden beneath the mountain. He was one step away from becoming the most powerful being in the world.
And he would try to his fullest to accomplish the task.
"Finally...a challenge."