"Yeah, this is Void Cult…" Luxanna Crownguard, AKA Agent Spellthief, swiped a gloved finger against residue left on the bark of a nearby tree. "They performed a summoning here…"
"Are there any signs of it being completed successfully?" The voice of Xin Zhao, her handler, came over the earpiece as if he were standing right next to her.
"Not that I can see…" Lux' gaze swept the clearing turned ritual site, her gaze landed on a suspicious object covered in fallen leaves. "Hang on I might have something." Lux crossed the campsite and crouched next to the object. She felt a dark magical presence as she brushed the leaves off of it. Lux' eyes widened and her jaw dropped.
"What do you have?" Xin Zhao asked, miles away.
"It's a book, radiating dark magic." Lux tentatively picked up the book. She studied the edges of the ancient pages and the heavy purple binding. "It's The Morellonomicon." Lux spoke in a hushed whisper, suddenly aware of all the potential watchers that could be waiting in the shadows.
"Hold your position, I'm sending a plane for extraction. Stand by for further orders" Xin Zhao's orders came loud and clear. Lux held firm, but began to feel an intense curiosity to open the book. The Morellonomicon was one of the most powerful artifacts from the Rune Wars. The spells listed in the books pages were so dark and powerful what they did was left to the confines of myth and legend.
Steeling her resolve, Lux did not open the book. Clutching the book tightly, she retrieved her backpack from behind the tree she had stashed earlier. She shoved the book into the backpack and zipped it tightly, the curiosity she earlier felt subsided as the book was sealed away.
"You are wise to leave that book closed." Lux whirled around like a whip and aimed her staff at the source of the voice that took her by surprise.
The owner of the voice was a man. He was tall, and wore purple robes around his waist that extended seemingly below his feet, which made it look as if the man were floating. His upper body was heavily muscled and bare. His skin was a startling shade of blue. On his right arm he wore a spiked, purple gauntlet. On his head he wore an unnerving helmet that covered his entire head that seemed to be linked to a breathing apparatus on his back. Two horns extended from his helmet like a demon's. The mask portion of the helmet was robotic, with two tubes extending from the tanks on his back to where his mouth would be. His eyes were seemed to have an orange glow.
"Hands in the air; who are you?" Lux gripped her staff tightly and bounced on the balls of her feet.
"I am an ally to you. Spellthief." The stranger answered. His voice was heavily processed and distorted. "I am Kassadin, The Voidwalker, Sworn enemy of the Void."
"I've heard about you." Lux lied. She hadn't heard about him directly, but did here about a recent string of Cult safe houses and operations being foiled across the continent.
"Then you know I am no enemy." Kassadin continued. "I'm the one who interrupted the ritual here." Kassadin gestured to the clearing around him.
Lux remained on her guard. "You'll have to forgive me if void magic makes me jumpy." She spoke as she remained still like a serpent waiting to strike.
"You don't need to trust me. But they will be back when they realize they left their book." As if on cue, Lux felt the familiar sensation of a portal opening. At the edge of the clearing directly opposite Lux, a hole in reality seemed to appear. For a brief second Lux could see a world of darkness waiting beyond the portal. The portal closed, leaving a small group of figures currently obscured in darkness.
"SURRENDER THE BOOK!" The group stepped into the light. Five Void Cultists, wearing purple robes and carrying knives and machine guns, aimed their weapons threateningly at Lux and Kassadin, who had stepped back from the cultists.
Accompanying the cultists were three voidlings. By the color of their purple, segmented flesh these voidlings had been around a while. They resembled dogs, except with no neck and no discernable features on their head besides a gaping mouth lined with razor sharp teeth.
"Come take it." Lux answered coldly. Kassadin had retreated from the middle of the clearing to come to her side. "If you try anything, it will be your last." Lux said through the side of her mouth. She couldn't tell if the strange man registered her threat. He was standing focused intently on the voidlings.
"Run. If you know what's good for you." Kassadin retorted.
"FOR THE VOID!" The cultists failed to register the collective threat that Lux and Kassadin sent. Four of the cultists began to open fire with their weapons. The voidlings joined together in a terrible scream before charging forward. Lux responded by holding the staff in front of her and Kassadin. The bullets collided with an invisible barrier which absorbed the energy of each bullet that hit.
Lux began to strafe to the left as the cultists paused to reload from their initial burst. Kassadin clenched his fists, a blade extended from his gauntlet. The blade seemed to be made of crackling void energy. The voidlings approached Kassadin, the first one leapt forward to devour the Voidwalker.
Another tear in existence formed around Kassadin and swallowed him up. In an instant the void opened up again, Kassadin stepped out of it, only now he was several feet to his left. The voidling sailed through the empty air and landed on its feet.
Lux was engaged in a shootout with the cultists. The four cultists staggered their fire to provide continuous cover whenever one needed to reload. Lux dodged from tree to tree, using her staff to form a shield whenever she needed. She rolled and weaved between the gunfire with ease and a certain practiced quality. Sensing a small gap in the stream of lead, Lux aimed the tip of her staff at the cultists.
An orb of bright light exploded out of the tip of her staff and hurtled to the cultists. Three had the sense to dive out of the way while the fourth stared blankly as the orb exploded in the air in front of him. The cultist was sent flying back into the trees like a ragdoll. His body collided with the trunk of a large Oak and he fell to the ground with a painful CRUNCH.
Kassadin continued to dance around the three ferocious voidlings. The dance was interrupted by the fifth cultist, who seemed to actually be versed in magic. The cultist began to chant, and his hands became engulfed in purple flame. Kassadin held out his hand and sent a ball of void energy flying from it. The ball collided with the cultist, the chanting stopped as the cultist doubled over from the force.
Lux dashed forward while the other three cultists gathered themselves. She dove to the left and shot out another blast of light. This light blast flew in a straight line, aimed so that it passed through two of the recovering cultists. At once the cultists found themselves imprisoned in brilliant cages made of light. They barely had time to scream before Lux concentrated and sent another powerful orb of light. The orb fell between the two and exploded just as the first did. The cultists were thrown against the walls of their cages and collapsed on the ground.
Kassadin went on the attack. He stepped through the void again and appeared right in front of the cultist. Kassadin delivered an incredible uppercut to the cultist's surprised face. The cultist fell with a thump, nose bleeding and broken. Kassadin's attention returned again to the three voidlings. One of them was sailing through the air towards Kassadin's back, jaw wide ready to sink into his flesh. Kassadin stepped to the side and brought his blade through the air. The blade cut through the voidling with the hiss of hot metal cutting through flesh. The voidling fell to the ground in two parts, flesh sizzling where Kassadin severed it.
Lux ducked under a fallen tree as the final cultist opened fire. Once again her shield kept her safe. The loud noise of gunfire fell to the loud clicks as the cultist ran out of ammo. Lux smiled. Spinning her staff in front of her, Lux aimed a small red beam at the cultist's chest. The red beam erupted into brilliant white laser that left only scorch marks where the cultist was standing.
Kassadin dodged backwards as another voidling advanced on him. Kassadin swept his blade in front of him, a ripple of void energy shot through the air in front of him and collided with the voidling. The voidling absorbed the energy and for a moment hung in the air, suspended. As if being shot out of a cannon, the voidling was sent hurtling into a nearby tree where the impact splattered the nearby plants with ooze. The final voidling screamed again as it charged and leapt at Kassadin's head. Kassadin ducked under the incoming voidling and held up his blade. The voidling's momentum carried the beast forward as it cleaved itself in perfect halves that fell, twitching, to the ground.
Kassadin and Lux took a moment to regard each other. Kassadin took note of the scorch marks and the burned vegetation. Lux cringed at the voidling guts that decorated the clearing. Both decided they'd rather not mess with the other. Lux lowered her staff and Kassadin's blade dissipated into purple sparks.
"Stow this away somewhere." Kassadin disappeared and promptly reappered, dropping Lux's backpack, containing The Morellonomicon at her feet. Lux picked up the bag and shouldered it.
"Thanks for the assist, Kassadin." Lux held out her hand. Kassadin slowly shook it.
"I owe you thanks as well." Kassadin responded. "Farewell Spellthief, I wish you luck in future battles." With that Kassadin stepped once more into the Void. Lux did not seem him reappear.
Lux stood silently in the clearing, considering the twitching voidling corpse that quickly began to decompose, leaving only an ugly scent. She waited until the recognizable sound of blades rapidly chopping through the air. Within minutes, a helicopter hung in the air over the clearing, and a rope ladder was lowered to Lux. Lux retracted her staff into a small rod that she tucked in her pocket. Lux stepped onto the ladder, giving it a tug to signal the pilot to take her back.
Lux clung to the bottom of the ladder as the Helicopter flew off into the evening sky.
Back at the clearing, one of the Cultists awoke. Groggily, he came to a stand. He took a moment to take stock of the situation, before a portal appeared beneath his feet. The cultist fell in with a scream.
Meanwhile in a dark room, in a hidden location, the scent of exotic spices wafted in the shadows. A single man occupied the room. He sat cross-legged, floating in the air above the stone floor. Suspended in midair around him were candles, herbs, and small glowing stones. The man wore a purple cloth wrapped around his head, exposing only his eyes. The three glowing eyes seemed to burn into the cloth on the man's forehead. He wore a dark blue tunic on his upperbody that hung onto his shoulders, leaving his heavily muscled torso and abdominals exposed. He wore dark blue pants that were held up with a simple cord belt. The belt also held the scabbard for an ornate dagger, which was clutched in the man's hands. The man's eyes burned with a purple light.