Lux could sense the powerful magic before she had even stepped into the courtyard. It was late at night in the Institute of War, and she had decided to respond to the mysterious invitation.
"12:53 A.M. at the central courtyard. Important news and choices. Utmost secrecy- this meeting will have never happened."
She knew there were clandestine meetings between League champions- sometimes for politics, sometimes for romance- but she had never attended; perhaps it was the complete surprise of the unmarked invitation that had piqued her interest. She looked around the empty hallway before sneaking on through the archways. She blinked, seeing who was present, and at feeling such awe-inspiring magical power outside of the restraints of the Fields of Justice. Her eyes first locked onto her prince, Jarvan the Fourth; not too far away stood the Noxian Triumvirate: Swain, Darius, and LeBlanc; under the shade of a tree sat two members of the Kinkou Order, Shen and Kennen; to her right were Karma, Irelia, Azir, and Teemo; behind the Noxians stood Freljordians, including Ashe and Sejuani; around the courtyard she spotted Caitlyn, Ekko, her compatriot Quinn and her Demacian eagle Valor, and Viktor; lastly, in the midst of all of them stood Ryze, Zilean, and Kassadin.
"That's everyone," Ryze quietly said, looking from Lux to Zilean, who nodded.
"As many of you are aware, because of my condition I drift through time," Zilean began. "I see many possible futures, countless ones; I see distant scenes of the past, and moments from the present in foreign lands. But my condition is not a natural one. It is not even an unavoidable side effect of my craft. Its cause was for one reason only: in my youth and hubris, I beheld the future, and tried to rewind Runeterra in time to a virgin state before all the grave mistakes were made."
"You mean the Rune Wars?" Quinn asked.
"They were the costliest one, but far from the only," Zilean answered. "The magic that shaped our world was meant to operate in the most desolate and harshest chaos and disarray, and their untrained and amateur usage in a stabilized world will only lead to its destruction. No, though they are one of the most dire threats, there is other magic that has endangered all of Runeterra."
"The ascension rituals," Shen said. Lux had thought it was a question, but on seeing Zilean and Ryze nod, her jaw dropped in shock.
"They channeled forces only the world runes could match," Ryze said, looking over his shoulder at Shen, before turning towards the rest of the group. "The Rune Wars did more than just obliterated landscapes and kingdoms: they strained the fabric of reality, and opened up rifts. That same kind of strain was put on Runeterra's system by the extraplanar and solar harvesting of the Sun Disc, which was stable enough, for a while…" Many in the courtyard turned to Azir.
"So you've come here to tell us the world is ending?" Swain said. "Hardly noteworthy. I've been aware of the Void incursions for quite some time."
"It is a hopeless battle that we face," Zilean agreed, sadly, "And the very same one that drove me to attempt to reset Runeterra's course through time. But, recently, I have at last seen the turning point." Zilean paused for dramatic effect. "The League of Legends."
"So we have been making a difference?" Ekko asked. "Me and everyone else, we've… been helping to make this right?"
"We have," Lux affirmed. "There's so much that I've seen the League do to help-"
"The League of Legends will be the downfall of our world and the cosmos at large," Zilean interrupted. "There are fourteen million and six hundred five possible ends I have seen of Runeterra's future, but of all the countless possible courses of action that deter the dangers lurking beyond, there is only one that guarantees its survival: the League of Legends never forming. For all its might and splendor, the League has only reinforced the isolation and xenophobia existing in the world- by the time its champions and those it protects realize the horrors they should have been banding together to face, it will be far too late."
"There is… discontent within and surrounding the League." Swain said. "With a few well-timed acts, I'm confident those of us in the courtyard could undo it."
"In two thousand, three hundred and nineteen futures, that is precisely what we attempted to do after this meeting," Said Zilean, nodding. "And two thousand, three hundred and nineteen times, that course of action failed."
"Then what's the point?" Quinn asked, angry. "We're the greatest heroes this world has known, but if it's too late, why are we even bringing this up?"
"Because," Zilean said slowly, "It is not too late." He let his words sink in, and the hair on the back of Lux's neck stood up as she realized what Zilean meant, goosebumps forming.
"You- you've done it?" Stammered Ekko, incredulous. "You've finally found a way to turn back time across all of Runeterra?" Zilean nodded.
"Then how do we do it? What must be done?" Jarvan the Fourth questioned.
"Three beings have to die, and one live," Kassadin spoke. "The first task will fall to me: assassinating the Voidborn known as Vel'Koz. The other two who must be eliminated are Jerrah Delmar, and Zilean. The one who must live is Queen Euphelia."
Lux looked around the courtyard, dismayed. "How? If Zilean has to die, how do we get any of this done?"
"I will be last," Zilean said with a calm smile. "With my magic spent and being anchored to one place in time, I will die of natural causes within a few months."
"I understand Queen Euphelia," Swain said. "Her illness and death were what sank the Blessed Isles into darkness. But Jerrah Delmar? Not even I have ever heard of the woman. How could eliminating someone so insignificant have any impact?"
"I met her once," Ryze said, looking up. "She was a child: thin, scrawny, and with an honestly frightening amount of magical talent. I had been going to pass through on business, but her potential scared me into staying in the village and teaching her control. I never once told her about the world runes, though I had nightmares about her discovering them- I just taught her the basics, enough so that she didn't destroy her village on accident, and then left."
"In the six hundred and ninety-one futures where Ryze's latent paternal feelings for Jerrah overrode his better judgement and he mentored her through her youth and into her teenage years, she became one of the twenty-seven mages I think of as the greatest to have ever lived; in some of those futures, a formidable champion of the League of Legends, and in others, the better half of a power couple that formed and lead the League."
LeBlanc looked at Zilean as he finished speaking, and it only took her a moment to put the pieces in place. "Heywan Relivash."
"Correct," Zilean confirmed. "There was something about the two that always drew them together; the depths of Jerrah's power intrigued and inspired Heywan to study the mystic arts and summoning. Though she was and is a lovely woman, if Runeterra is to have a future, she must not be a part of it."
Lux folded her arms and closed her eyes, sighing. "I'll do it. I'll take care of Jerrah."
"This would not be just another mission," Warned Zilean. "Though I have now perfected my craft, in my old age, I no longer have the power to bring you forwards in time once the deed is done. You would be left a stranger in the past."
"I said I'll do it!" Lux shouted, opening her eyes. "Even if no one ever knows, then for me, I want to prove a Demacian mage can actually do good for the world."
"Are you sure about this, Luxanna?" Asked Jarvan.
"I'm sure," Lux whispered.
"I will handle the safety of Queen Euphelia," Karma volunteered into the silence. "The few surviving texts of the Blessed Isles now reside in Ionia, and I have studied them."
"Fine then. We save the world, and some of us survive but don't return to the present," Sejuani said. "Then what?"
"Then there will be chaos, war and death to put the ancient Rune Wars to shame," Answered Zilean, curiously smiling. "There will be pain, suffering, and extinction, but I have a feeling certain people will be around to safeguard Runeterra's future."
"And that's us, right?" Ekko asked.
"If you've ever wanted to change the past and reshape the world for the better, this is your chance," Ryze said. "You all know now what doomed this planet and what to do to keep it safe. So this is the choice: Zilean can rewind time to before you received the invitations, or he can turn back the clock far enough for us to begin undoing the damage."
"I'm all in," Ekko said.
"As am I," Said Swain.
"Demacia is counting on us," Quinn said, briefly locking eyes with Lux.
"Just as Shurima needs its emperor," Said Azir. "I must admit I have failed my people, and will not hesitate to take action here." Soon after, Shen and Kennen joined in, followed one by one everyone in the courtyard.
"Very well, then," Said Zilean, nodding. Ryze placed his hand on Zilean's shoulder, the runes on his skin beginning to glow as Zilean chanted. He paused to open his eyes and look around the courtyard. "I want to thank you all for humoring this sentimental old man. Now, it is time for the League of Legends to come to an end."
THE END