Unsilenced Gray+
Kassadin, the Void Walker. Many who knew of him in the League had an immense respect for his power but nobody ever personally knew him. There were those times when he would fight against Malzahar and then that one instance when Kassadin's alleged daughter was lost to the Void. Any other details about his life, nobody knew.
At this instance, the Void Walker was sitting on a sand dune in the deserts of Shurima, watching the sun dip behind the sands as night crept in. The cool desert breeze caressed Kassadin's face, his robe billowing against the gale. The only sound that could be heard was the hissed breathing beneath the champion's mask.
Finally, the sun went below the horizon, and the stars began showing themselves.
"Syrienne," he whispers.
The wind buffets his face again, as if in reply to his words. Kassadin revels in the feeling and lets out a great sigh. Suddenly, a summoner's voice made itself heard in his mind.
"Champion Kassadin, you have been chosen to fight in today's match. You are to report to the Institute of War immediately," says the summoner.
He detested the League but at the very least they paid him for the inconveniences. He got up from the sand dune and replied to the summoner's call.
"Whenever you're ready summoner."
In the next instant, a bright light encircled itself around Kassadin, growing brighter and brighter until the champion was engulfed in a rising white light. And then the light seemingly gravitated upwards, dissipating into the air.
Kassadin was blinded by the light and the moment he opened his eyes once more, he was already in the Institute. A summoner was waiting for him on top of the stairwell.
"We're only waiting for the rest of the champions to arrive. Please proceed to the purple team gathering chamber," says the summoner. Without any further words, the summoner then leaves for the Institute. Kassadin follows suit but instead heads for the gathering chamber where his allied champions for the upcoming match were waiting.
"Ah, so Kassadin's our mage. Took you awhile."
"I assume you're covering jungle, Vi?" replies Kassadin.
"Yeah, I am. Then there's Nasus up top, cupcake and -"
"For the hundredth time, don't call me by that name!" Caitlyn interrupted.
Vi laughed, "Sure thing cupcake. Sona's your support this time around."
The Maven of Strings struck out a chord of greeting accompanied by a sincere smile.
"Ain't she cute?" said Vi. "I've always been a fan by the way. Especially how you rock out with Pentakill."
Caitlyn followed with her own words of praise, "I'm more of a fan of your soothing works. But Vi's a true fan, she has all of your albums. I can't imagine any fan who doesn't have all your albums though."
"I'm in line with Miss Caitlyn and am a fan of your solo works," adds Nasus. The Keeper then turns to Kassadin, indifferent to the conversation. "How about you Kassadin? A fan of Miss Sona's work?"
Kassadin was still stoic and seemingly couldn't care less. However, he felt like he didn't want to be rude.
"I've not been fortunate enough to be graced by your melodies. I spend most of my time away from civilization you see," he shares.
"Well, you should know that she's holding a concert in Ionia in a few weeks. You should stop by if you've got the time," offers Vi as she clings by the Void Walker, her huge gauntlets atop Kassadin's shoulders.
"I'll... consider it," replies Kassadin, annoyed by Vi's overly friendly demeanor.
Suddenly, an announcement could be heard over the chamber's vox channels.
"Champions, prepare for battle!"
"Alright! Finally!" Vi exclaims.
Beams of light surrounds the champions as they are materialized onto the Summoner's Rift. Before they are completely engulfed by the light, Sona steals a glimpse of the Void Walker, standing with complete confidence. This is the first time she's been this close to him and somehow, she feels attracted to him despite his outworldly appearance.
"Let's go team! Leash me at blue?" starts Vi.
Caitlyn and Sona nods in agreement as they buy their starting items and go to their respective lanes. Sona charges her chords and in doing so engulfs the champions around her with a misty blue energy. She looks at the Void Walker again but Kassadin wordlessly buys his own items and heads down midlane.
The match carries out its first minutes when the 'First Blood' announcement was heard. Then the details were filled in over the map's vox speakers.
"Kassadin slays Twisted Fate!"
"Already?" Caitlyn exclaims as she is last hitting minions for gold. "It's only been a few minutes into the game and he's already gotten first blood? No wonder he's banned from higher ranked matches."
"This is just a low rank match. Why is he giving his all?" Sona wonders.
Everyone in the match wonders the same.
The match progresses into the mid-game with kills being given and taken. The ones who stand out the most are Kassadin and blue team's Kog'Maw. Though Caitlyn and Sona aren't falling behind in kills, Kog'Maw's creep score was out of control.
"We're sorry team. It's hard to deny him kills with Janna supporting," Caitlyn apologizes.
"Don't worry cupcake, I'll make sure Kog doesn't - "
"Leave the voidborne to me," Kassadin interrupts. "His spree will end."
Kassadin splits from the team and heads towards the jungle. Blue team gathers in the middle lane in an attempt to push but the purple team's presence becomes a hindrance. The standoff finally reaches the purple team's second tower.
"I'm making a move," says Vi to her teammates. "I'll lock Janna down while Sona moves in to bring out the Crescendo. Hopefully, we'll catch at least three of them by surprise. Cupcake, closest target. Nasus, just get in the middle with your sands and wreak havok. We'll improvise from there."
"What about Kassadin?" Caitlyn asks.
"He knows what he's doing. He'll pop in when we give him the opportunity."
With that, the standoff continues, as purple team looks for an opening. The last thing everyone expected however, was a flash from Sona followed by her Crescendo hitting Janna, Diana, and Twisted Fate. Vi quickly follows up and locks Janna down, as Caitlyn attacks from a safe distance. Nasus summons the sands and ghosts in the middle of the fray, slowing down Diana who was looking to get up close to Caitlyn. Despite the efforts of Kog'Maw and Renekton to save their support, Sona's unexpected move helps take out Janna as planned.
"Nice work Sona!" Vi praises as she charges towards Twisted Fate.
Without the support, blue team has no choice but to retreat though not before Twisted Fate and Diana were slain. While Renekton and Kog'Maw are retreating, they are cut-off by Kassadin who Rift Walks from the jungle. Though Renekton is heavily injured, the Void Walker isn't seemingly interested and goes for the Kog'Maw instead. In almost one single instant, Kassadin slays Kog'Maw with a fluid combo.
The purple team stares in disbelief at how quickly Kassadin dispatched the enemy. Even Renekton didn't have the luxury to be surprised at what happened with his teammate.
Kog'Maw's body goes out of control and charges towards Kassadin with the intent to detonate. Kassadin's team urges him to stay away from the rampaging corpse but Kassadin had other plans. He shouts and charges at the corpse at such a speed and stabs it between its eyes. He then let out an angry bellow and unleashes a wave of void energy, prompting Kog'Maw's head to explode without having the chance activating the Icathian surprise.
The spectacle had left the purple team at a loss for words. Even Vi fell quiet.
"We press on," Kassadin says nonchalantly.
The rest of the purple team wordlessly follows and pushes middle lane for the win. Though the blue team gave one final effort to defend, Kassadin and the rest of purple team were simply too powerful and ultimately, they surrendered.
An announcement blares over the Rift.
"Purple team victory!"
A white light engulfs the champions once more, and they are brought back to their respective gathering chambers. Though purple team won the match, the atmosphere was silent and awkward.
"Well, good job team. A win is a win, even if it's a low rank match," says Vi in an attempt to lighten the mood. It seems to work as Caitlyn and Nasus spoke up of their highlights. Kassadin said nothing and walked out of the chamber. Sona noticed Kassadin's exit and felt worried.
"Hey, Sona! Nice job on that initiate! I think it's safe to say that it was what won the match," said Vi.
Sona briefly struck out a tune of gratitude and then hastily left the chamber.
"Hey!" shouts Vi and attempts to follow but stops short. "I wonder what that was about."
Sona rushes out to the corridor leading out of the Institute to find Kassadin walking in the distance. The Maven continues to run, eventually catching up to the Void Walker. Kassadin notices Sona coming up from behind and stops to meet her. She stops her sprint, silently panting, catching her breath.
Kassadin says nothing and only stares at the Maven, waiting for her to stop panting. She does eventually and before she realized it, Kassadin had already gotten close to her. She jerks backwards in surprise.
"What do you want Sona?" Kassadin asks.
Sona fidgets with her etwahl before striking out a melody which sounded like gratitude. It took a while for Kassadin to get it but when he did, he thanks her in return. Sona's face lights up, like a girl who received a compliment from her admirer. However, Kassadin stops there, turns and walks on. Out of desperation of wanting to talk to Kassadin more, Sona does something she has not done before. Reach out.
"Kassadin!"
The Void Walker stops abruptly and takes a cautious stance.
"Who was that?" Kassadin shouts.
"Turn around," Sona replies.
Kassadin does so with a skeptical look on his face. "You.. You can speak to others?"
"I-I've never done this to anyone before. I mean, talk to anyone like this. How should I put this.."
Kassadin approached Sona and examined her closely. She fidgets again.
"How are you able to convey your thoughts?" Kassadin asks.
"Mental telepathy. The same way the summoners speak to champions during League matches. Theirs is much more powerful though. I would need to see who I am speaking to in order to convey my thoughts like what I'm doing right now," explains Sona.
"Intriguing. But what do you need from me which would prompt you to call out like so?"
Sona didn't know either but she thought that maybe she was developing a deep attraction to the Void Walker. She didn't want him to know that, obviously for fear of rejection.
"I just.. wanted to invite you," she muses.
"Invite me to what?" asks Kassadin.
"To my concert. In three weeks, at the height of the full moon," Sona finally says. "It's not like you absolutely have to go. If you can't come then it's fine," Sona fidgets again.
Kassadin stands back and continues to examine Sona. She looks away from embarrassment but can't help but feel all tingly inside.
"Where in Ionia?" Kassadin finally asks.
"At the Hall of Lucidity. I'll personally vouch for your admission," says Sona excitedly.
Kassadin gives it some thought before finally saying, "Alright."
Sona smiles and seemingly laughs albeit silently. Happy with the outcome of her invitation, she turns around and returns to the Institute. Kassadin takes the opportunity to ogle at Sona, mesmerized by the flow of her twintails and the sway of her hips. And as the moment passed, he turns around and goes on his way. Kassadin still cannot fathom why Sona would reveal such a secret to him. What's more to use it for such a shallow reason. However, he felt comfort in the thought that someone would talk to him so casually. His life of chosen solitude and repentance has probably left him numb to the functions of society. Little did he know that his encounter with the Maven would lead him to his ultimate endgame.
The day of Sona's concert drew closer and stage teams were already busy setting up at the venue. Atop the walls encircling the bustling province, Kassadin watched. Nobody seemed to notice his presence as they were busy making preparations for the Maven's arrival. He had wondered why he took the effort to come a few days before the concert. Of course he hadn't been to any of her concerts and maybe felt it was time to hear her symphonies for the first time.
"So what brings the Void Walker to Ionia?" a voice said.
Kassadin turns to his side and sees Master Yi approaching him.
"Master Yi. It's nice to see you again," greets Kassadin.
"The same to you. And what business do you have here? You seldom visit this place."
"No business. Just.. leisure."
"Ho? Kassadin on vacation? I never thought I'd see the day."
"Believe me, I thought I'd never see that day too. It's just that I've been invited here. Although I guess I arrived too early."
Master Yi was about to ask what he was invited to but immediately thought of the answer.
"I see. So you were invited by Sona I presume? Surprising," says Yi with a big grin on his face.
"Yes, surprising," mumbles Kassadin, thinking back on the day Sona reached out to him.
"Well, I won't probe any more about it and I'm happy you've met the acquaintance of a woman. Either way, welcome back to Ionia. Come, we should have a drink," beckons Yi.
Kassadin says no more and follows the Wushu Master into the province. Later that night, Kassadin and Master Yi were joined by other Ionian champions - Shen, Akali, Kennen, and Soraka. They drank to their heart's content well into the early morning. Eventually, everyone had drunk their fill and began going back home.
"Kassadin, come. I'll let you stay at my home," offers the Wushu Master in a drunken stupor. Kassadin thanks Yi for his offer and the pair goes on their way. Arriving at Yi's home, Kassadin was given a room to rest in and the two said their goodnights. Instead of sleeping on the bed, Kassadin preferred to prop himself up on the corner, covered himself in a blanket and went straight to sleep.
Kassadin stayed with the Wushu Master until the day of Sona's concert. It was to be held at night and for the majority of that day, Kassadin strolled through the market place, tasting all kinds of food, and in general just taking in as much of the culture as he could. At some point, he could hear a ruckus being made behind him.
"You came!" said a voice into his mind.
Along with the greeting came a multitude of awes and ahs from the people in the market. Kassadin turns around to see Sona with a big smile on her face. Not knowing the proper words to say, he said what any normal person would when greeted.
"Uh.. Hi."
"I didn't think you'd come but you did and you're early!" Sona exclaims.
The bystanders shared equal expressions of confusion and adoration for Sona's reaction upon seeing Kassadin.
"Uhm, I apologize for my behavior. Also, you could imagine that not many people know of my mental telepathy and I would ask you to refrain from replying to me so openly. I will make a tune from my etwahl while we're conversing so it doesn't seem like you're insane talking to a mute person," Sona explains, followed by an equally long tune from her etwahl.
Kassadin pretends to decipher the tune before replying. "Alright I guess?"
Sona smiles at him again and then says something to him. "Would you like to accompany me to the concert venue?"
"I don't see why not," agrees Kassadin and they go on their way. The silence was awkward for a while but then Kassadin starts to ask the questions.
"If you could convey your thoughts to others, why do you still bother communicating using the etwahl?"
"I can understand if I start doing it with other champions but normal people usually freak out when they hear my voice inside their head. Nobody knows what my voice sounds like so it's a discomforting experience for them. As for our fellow champions, I don't think they really mind when I just play tunes to respond," explains Sona.
A somewhat satisfying answer but there was one thing Kassadin didn't understand.
"Why me then?"
The question had taken Sona by surprise but at the top of her head, she could only think of one answer. And it was one answer she was still too embarrassed to share with him. She fidgets once more.
"Well.. You seem like a good enough person. Passionate about the things which matter," she beats. "I was watching you during our League match weeks ago. You seem so confident in the things you do. And there's no way you would be bad when you saved us from that gank."
Kassadin said nothing, seemingly not used to receiving compliments; more so compliments which he could not readily accept. The awkward silence was back but Sona relished in the moment nonetheless.
The couple had cleared the market and the hall was in sight. It was still a pretty busy district and eyes were on the Maven. She was greeted here and there by the Ionian people and she waved back with a sincere smile. It astonished Kassadin how she could ride on with her popularity without growing conceited. Maybe Sona wasn't like most rich aristocrats he had met.
"Come on! She's over he-" said a child running towards the couple before unknowingly crashing into Kassadin. Behind the boy ran his friends, all of them holding posters with Sona's picture on it. The children stopped short and a look of terror washed upon their faces.
"I'm really so-" apologized the boy before realizing who he had just bumped into. From the children's point of view, Kassadin was a dark and fearful entity. Kassadin on the other hand didn't mind the little mishap and motioned to help the child on his feet. The children however did not spare the Void Walker the benefit of the doubt and were about to turn and run but Sona stopped them. Wordlessly, she approached the children and pointed to the posters. She then gestured for the child to hand her the marker. One by one, Sona signed the posters. She then took her etwahl and played a comforting tune while pointing to Kassadin. It took some time but the children seemed to understand Sona's vouch for Kassadin's innocence. Now that the misunderstanding was cleared, Sona leaned in and gave the children a group hug before waving them away.
"Thank you Miss Sona!" the children thanked afterwards.
Before they left, Kassadin called out to the kid. "Be careful when running around a busy district, boy!"
The boy turned his head and nodded, somewhat relieved.
"You really scare children, don't you?" Sona said to Kassadin.
"The void changes a lot of things, but I'm still partly human. It's not my fault I look scary."
Sona sneers silently, as if mocking Kassadin.
"Did I say something funny?" he inquires.
"No, it's nothing. I just thought of something funny."
Sona had a good feeling that she would get along with Kassadin.
The couple were now nearing the Hall of Lucidity and the crowd had thickened once more. The line was insanely long and Kassadin caught a glimpse of Piltover's finest, the Kinkou ninjas, and Nasus waiting among the rest of the townspeople. Kassadin saw a few other Ionian champions and motioned to join them. Sona tugged at his arm, stopping him.
"Where are you going?" she asked.
"Falling in line. Like everyone else."
"Well.. You don't have to fall in line. You could.. join me backstage," she mumbled.
"That wouldn't be fair. People could get the wrong idea that you're giving me special access."
Sona hung her head and fidgeted. She clearly wanted Kassadin to join her backstage where they would be alone. In the dark...
He sensed that he had let her down with the backstage offer. His morality battled inside his head. He would fall in line like everyone else but would disappoint Sona. He would go with Sona but that wouldn't be fair to the other champions, especially the die-hard fans like Vi or Kennen. Only one thing had helped to make his mind up. From afar, Master Yi was looking at him and waved him away as if prompting him to go with Sona. He scoffs and nods at him before turning to Sona again.
"I'll go backstage."
Sona lifted her head and looked at Kassadin.
"You'll really? You will?"
"Yes, I will. I'll take you up on your backstage offer."
Sona beams and explodes with delight. She excitedly takes Kassadin's hand and hurriedly leads him towards to backstage entrance. Inside, stage crews were busy making the final preparations for Sona's show and are too engrossed in their work to notice the couple. The only one to notice them was the stage manager who immediately walks up to Sona.
"Madame Sona, where were you? You've only got 30 minutes for sound check!" says the manager.
Sona rings out a tune, assuring the manager that everything was alright. He had no qualms about Sona's tardiness but was curious as to why Kassadin was with her.
"Madame, why is Kassadin here?"
Sona simply held a hand up to the manager's face and then pointed to herself. She waved her hand dismissively, signaling that it was alright for the Void Walker to be backstage. Again, having utmost confidence with the artist, the manager disregards everything and instead beckons Sona to perform sound checks.
"Well, I should be going now. You can watch me from the side," says Sona to Kassadin while playing something on the etwahl.
"Right. Good luck then," replies Kassadin.
Sona beams again before walking towards the stage. While waiting for the show to start, Kassadin takes a peek at the hall and sees it being filled with people. He had never been to a concert before and the sheer amount of people who have gathered somewhat overwhelmed him.
"I've seen multitudes of men gather in a battlefield but this is ridiculous," Kassadin says. "Just how many are gathered here?"
The throngs of people are already quickly occupying the seats. He could then already hear scattered cheers from the audience from hearing Sona perform her sound checks.
"I'd imagine she was widely popular but I think it's an understatement."
A few more minutes of Sona's sound check when the music abruptly stopped. The lights inside the hall slowly dimmed before shutting out completely. For a moment there was only darkness. And then a single spotlight shone on the stage. Sona shows herself to the audience and steps onto the light. Not being able to speak, she could not give any introductory remarks but instead starts off by playing a short song.
Afterwards, the audience applauded the introduction. Then the real thing started. Sona played one of her most popular piece first, the Song of Celerity. Her skillful hands danced over the instrument, delivering her music to the audience. Kassadin watched from the side, mesmerized by the music as well as the one playing the instrument. When she finished with the piece, the audience roared with applause. Sona bowed curtly before making some adjustments to her instrument. The concert progressed well into the night with her second composition, her third, her fourth, and numerous others from her albums.
Later on, she had played her last song and the audience broke into a standing ovation. As Sona left the stage, the audience began shouting 'Encore!'
Sona entered the backstage where Kassadin awaited her.
"They're asking for more. You should go back out there," says Kassadin.
Sona flustered at the thought that Kassadin sat through the whole concert. It was at some point where she thought he would leave from boredom. She smiled at Kassadin and promptly returned to the stage. Again, the crowd roared as Sona waved back at her fans. She played a solo from one of the Pentakill songs before leaving the stage, putting the night to an end.
After Sona showed her gratitude to the people who made the concert happen, she and Kassadin exited the hall and walked the quiet streets of the province.
"I must say Sona, I found that concert soothing, exciting, and captivating all at the same time. I should thank you for the opportunity. It might have been what I needed," says Kassadin.
"I'm really glad you came," replies Sona, beaming up to Kassadin once more.
Acknowledging her gratitude, he stops walking and sternly looks at her before asking, "Have you taken a liking to me Maven?"
Sona gets flustered and stumbles with with her words. "W-what makes you say that? I didn't invite you because I like you.. I mean, I have my reasons for inviting you. But, I'm not saying I don't like you.. Well.."
"I appreciate your feelings Sona. However, I don't think you should be falling for me."
Sona was confused. "Why? Why shouldn't I? For whatever reason, I will bear with it! You may not look as charming as.. as Jayce or maybe Garen but I like that aspect of you!"
"The Void changes many things Maven. I am not the man you think I am. I am not your knight in shining armor or your Prince Charming. I do not possess those kinds of traits."
"But I'm not looking for a Prince Charming. I just want someone who would listen to me and talk to me like I'm a normal person. It's tiring to always be treated like a princess. I just want..."
Sona couldn't finish the sentence given how solemn that atmosphere between her and Kassadin was. Before she could speak again, Kassadin had already started.
"I'm sorry Sona. I truly am. But I don't think I can bring myself to love again. Not after all the things that has happened to me."
"Kassadin..."
"Goodnight, Sona."
Sona didn't shed any tears but was greatly saddened nonethless. She stood on the empty street and watched Kassadin walk away.
"Was I being too direct?" Sona thought to herself. She sighed in defeat and dilly-dallied with her etwahl. She turned around and walked back towards the Hall where her ride home was waiting.
She had walked most of the distance engrossed with playing sober songs, repeatedly thinking about Kassadin's words.
"Is everything alright Mistress Sona?" said her butler Sebastian, who had waited beside the car bound for the Buvelle residence.
Sona was shaken from her thoughts and suddenly she felt tears streaming down her face. She caressed her cheeks, wondering how long she had been crying. Sebastian approached her and offered a handkerchief to wipe her face with.
"Was it because of Kassadin?" Sebastian asked.
Sona simply nodded as she wiped off her tears. She was sobbing now and the tears flowed more freely.
"Ah, don't worry about it Miss. At the very least, he didn't spurn your friendship did he?"
Sona shook her head. The sobbing soon stopped and Sona had finally dried the tears off her face.
"You know Mistress Sona, you shouldn't easily give up. You won't know if Kassadin had opened up to you if you weren't persistent. Now that you two are friends, you could work from there, don't you think?"
Sona looked at Sebastian and saw him smiling at her, in a vouch of confidence. She knew he was right and it was indeed too early to give up. She eagerly nodded and felt pumped up for the coming days. She finally smiled and in doing so relieved Sebastian.
"Shall we go then?" offered Sebastian which prompted Sona to enter the car. As the car drove away, Sona felt a sense of motivation coupled with the determination to win Kassadin's heart.
A few weeks later, another low-rank League match was held. Kassadin was selected once more and was assigned to the purple team. To his surprise later on, Sona was with the enemy team supporting Miss Fortune. He had no problems dispatching the enemy middle and top lane but couldn't feel awkward whenever he went to gank bottom lane. He had the fortune of Sona managing to escape whenever he went there but during a mid-game clash, there was an inevitable encounter.
The clash went well and with the team's help, Kassadin had already secured the Quadra-kill. All that was left, much to his dismay was Sona.
"Alright, Kassadin! Go for the Penta!" shouted Jarvan, his team's jungler.
During League matches, Kassadin struck fear to those who had no resolve to retaliate against him. Though Sona liked Kassadin, she nevertheless feared him in his relentless advance.
Kassadin used his Flash-Rift Walk combo to quickly close the gap. Getting near enough, he unleashed a torrent of void energy which slowed Sona's movement. Sona's own movement buff wasn't enough to let her escape. She knew it was inevitable and as such, faced her aggressor instead but what she saw on Kassadin's face perplexed her. Instead of the murderous rage-induced face he showed during the last League match, he looked like he was facing a difficult dilemma. The fear persisted however and as Kassadin was about to strike, Sona closed her eyes and accepted her fate.
The strike did not come however and she slowly opened her eyes. Kassadin was still holding his hand up to strike but it looked as if he couldn't bring it down. His face showed strain, most probably because of the summoner's orders. Pentakills were rare and summoners would take every opportunity to get one.
"Kassadin?" Sona asked.
"I.. Why can't I.." Kassadin said, with a strain on his voice.
The two stood there, frozen in the moment while Kassadin's remaining teammates looked on in confusion.
"Kassadin! What are you waiting for?" shouted Jarvan.
"Kassadin, do it. It's just a match," exclaimed Sona.
The Void Walker strained even further, against the summoner's orders. Sona was surprised Kassadin could resist this long but she didn't want to be the reason for his disgrace later. She leaned in and took hold his face, which surprised Kassadin.
"It's fine Kassadin. It's just a match. I'll be alright," she whispers into his mind.
The Void Walker had relaxed from hearing her voice.
"Kassadin!" Jarvan shouted again.
Almost immediately after, Kassadin slew Sona.
PENTAKILL!
Later on, Kassadin's team won the match and the champions were returned to their respective gathering halls.
"Good work today Kassadin!" Jarvan greeted. "But what was with that clash during the mid-game? Took you an awful long time to slay Sona for the Pentakill."
"I apologize. Rather, I should apologize to the summoner. A little longer and the pentakill would have been denied," Kassadin mused.
"Well, there's that but Sona held your face."
Kassadin was silent, not knowing what he could tell the Prince.
"Do you like Sona?" Jarvan asked openly.
The rest of the champions who were just about to leave were suddenly curious.
"Wait, wait. So the reason the Pentakill took so long was because you like Sona?" Varus theorized.
"That's sooooo cute!" Lulu giggled.
"Now hold on, let's not jump to conclusions," defends Kassasin.
"Who the hell cares what the reason is, we all know you like her because of her breasts. I mean, who doesn't?" taunts Darius.
Kassadin was aggravated by Darius' comment and began to be frustrated. "Don't you dare speak rudely of the Maven. She has a wonderful personality if you took the time to-" he said before cutting himself off.
"See? You do like her! You wouldn't be that frustrated if you didn't," Lulu jeers.
"Kassadin and Sona. Who would have known?" Jarvan adds.
The champions continue to tease Kassadin, like children in a playground. Kassadin continues to deny it but it turns out to be inevitably futile. It wasn't long before Kassadin finally breaks.
"Alright, fine! I do like her! It's been a long time since I've liked a woman and I'm glad it was her! There, I said it!" Kassadin shouts.
His confession seemingly hushed the champions but they now had a funny look on their faces.
"What?" Kassadin asks. "Not good enough of a confession for you?"
"Don't ask us," says Jarvan. "Ask her."
He points behind Kassadin when a jolly tune rang. Kassadin's eyes widened as he realized what he had just done. He turns around and sees Sona beaming at him again. He doesn't say anything and this time, he fidgets out of embarrassment, something he has not felt in a very long time. Jarvan and the others approached the exit of the gathering hall, leaving the couple alone. The corridor outside the hall had erupted with the giggling of Kassadin's teammates and it peeved him.
Now they were left alone in the hall and there was an awkward silence. Sona seemed to be waiting for Kassadin to say something. The latter didn't know how to start but thought that he had already said what was on his mind.
"So, you heard the whole thing huh?" he started.
Sona giggled and approached Kassadin. "I heard every word. It's surprising but I'm happy that you feel the same way."
The Void Walker was silent, not used to having such conversations. Awkward silence again. Kassadin fidgets and scratches his head, not knowing what to do with his hands.
"Why did you stop your hand during the match today?" Sona finally asked.
"The look of terror on your face. You looked so vulnerable. I couldn't.. do it at that time," explains Kassadin. "The night of the concert, I couldn't accept your feelings because I wasn't sure if I wanted it. It's been so long since I've been with a woman that it felt alien. Foreign. After that, I couldn't stop thinking about you. I felt like I wanted to know you better."
Sona was still silent but felt a fluttery sensation rise from her stomach. She smiles instinctively and silently giggles.
"I know for sure that we will get along together, Void Walker."
Kassadin still felt awkward but welcomed the feeling. He went closer to Sona and smiled. Though he wore a mask, his eyes showed his smile and Sona beamed back.
"Would you be interested in going out on a date with me?" Kassadin suddenly asked.
Sona was caught off guard as she blushed while averting her gaze downwards. Kassadin laughed at her reaction.
"What's so funny?" Sona asks.
Kassadin shook his head and waved it off. "Come on, we should be going."
"Go where?"
"I heard that Pantheon opened a pastry shop somewhere in Demacia. They say his Sans rival is delicious."
"So this is our first date then?" inquired Sona.
Kassadin simply nodded. He was still unsure why he opened up to someone he had befriended for a couple of months but readily accepted the change of pace. Deep down, he was thankful that Sona had approached him. The couple walked out from the Institute with eager smiles on their faces, signaling a new chapter in their lives.