Hey all, I just want to give you guys a heads up, I am using the new lore that Riot released stating the Institute and Summoners are no longer canon, so they won't be featured in this story. This story has its own path and I hope you enjoy the way I interpret it. Enjoy!
The night was late and the candle had burned down to a nub, its dripping wax overflowing the holder and onto the scuffed surface of the library table. In the mess of old scrolls and dusty parchments, a young woman, black hair streaming over the documents, had fallen asleep. She stirred as a wind gusted through the covered terrace of the Placidium and blew a single parchment loose from the stack. As the document floated away, she stirred and, without yet opening her eyes, shot out her hand. She caught the paper before it hit the floor.
Curious as to what she had snagged, she propped an elbow on the table and began to read. Halfway through, she sat up, now fully awake, and read with greater attention from the beginning. When she had finished reading the document for the fourth time, she sat back, stock still. She raised a hand to cover her eyes, and as the tears ran down her face, her body shook with a silent sob. Several minutes passed before she rose to leave the library, her face stricken with anger.
"Akali where are you-"
"I'm taking this file. I'll return it when I'm done with it."
She was sure her ragged breath could be heard through the entire forest as she leapt from tree to tree, but she was not interested in subtlety. All that mattered was that she find him in time. She dropped into a clearing and rushed forward.
"Zed!" She ran to the young man and embraced him from behind. "Zed, don't leave, please!"
"Don't follow me Akali," His voice sounded pained.
"I'm sure the master will reconsider. Just don't leave me, Zed."
"Akali, staying around me will only get you hurt. Goodbye Akali." Zed vanished into a black mist.
"Zed… ZED!"
"Kennen!" Shen yelled to get the attention of his friend.
Kennen stopped short and waited for Shen to join him in the hall of the Kinkou monastery. "Yes, what is it?" .
"Have you seen Akali recently?"
"No, but here she comes now. Akali, where have you—"
Akali slammed Shen against the wall, locking an elbow across his throat. "Shen, you piece of-"
"Akali! Calm down. What's wrong? Why are you so angry."
"You knew I cared for him, didn't you! That's why you kept it a secret!"
"Who are we talking about?"
"You know who! I know why now!"
"Know what?" Shen got his hands under Akali's arm and pushed her away.
"You knew…"Akali's voice sank and she fell to her knees. "And you knew he could be saved. You knew Zed could be saved."
Shen stood above, rigid as a statue. "How did you find out?"
"Does it matter now?"
After a pause: "You should've left him alone, Akali." Shen started to walk away but Kennen, with a surge of electricity, zipped around to block his path.
"What is she talking about, Shen? What does she mean Zed could've been saved?"
There was a long pause before Shen pulled off his mask and rubbed his eyes. "Akali, Kennen, meet me in the high chambers in a hour. It'll be easier to explain it all to you there.
"All right. If that's what you want, I will be there." Kennen left the hall, leaving Shen and Akali alone.
Akali stood up and looked Shen in the eye. "You'd better not be late."
By the time the three joined together in the upper chambers it was already early morning. They sat around a large round table everyone in a separate mood. Kennen's eyes started to droop and Shen looked tense and tried to stretch to remove the aches in his legs. Akali on the other hand sat wide awake waiting for Shen to speak.
"It wasn't until several weeks until Zed would return from his banishment that my father would tell me about the forbidden art that Zed had stolen. He took me down to the lower chambers to the box were it was contained...he told me this..."
"To learn a forbidden art...it does not take years of training...nor a master...it simply requires a mind to latch onto. The forbidden art is an entity, a living being if you will."
"So Zed has this being...in his mind and that allows him to gain such power?"
"It is not as simple as that my dear boy...for the forbidden entity is forbidden for a reason. When it enters your mind and reveals its secrets it also tests the mind. As if it wants to find the subject worthy of its power."
"What happens if you fail the test...what will happen to Zed?"
"The entity will steal the hosts body..."
"When Zed came back and killed my father I knew Zed had lost his mind to the forbidden art. That is all I know."
"So the master banished Zed instead of helping him conquer the entity? That doesn't seem like something the master would do?" Kennen questioned.
"The task of conquering a forbidden art can only be done by oneself and master knew Zed was not strong enough to control the forbidden art. So he sent him away before he would become a threat. Master told me that when the entity takes over it goes on a rampage before draining all of the life energy of the host, killing it. So if Zed was banished alone...he would...die without hurting anyone." Shen carefully eyed Akali as he spoke but she said nothing. Kennen continued.
"As we know that isn't how it ended, what went wrong?"
"Zed had a lot more mental strength than we expected. He held onto his conscious with his own will and returned to the monastery to seek acceptance from the master. It was then when the master sought to help Zed rid himself of the forbidden art that Zed succumbed..."
"But that means Zed should have died by now and yet we still have reports of him in Ionia."
"That's because someone or to be exact something is controlling the entity and keeping Zed alive," Alkali finally spoke.
"Why would someone...or something do that?" Shen sounded skeptical
"Zed is a powerful tool in the wrong hands."
"True, but even more importantly what is controlling Zed? Only the original master would have that power and I know he is long dead."
"It is true he died, however he is still present in this world. He hides in the darkest shadows of your mind." Akali closed her eyes remembering back the the scroll she had read.
"You can't be talking about..."
"Yea...the one who is controlling Zed...is Nocturne."
Another short chapter that I hope you enjoyed, chapters should be longer from now on. - Miggzz