Thank you to every single one who's followed the story so far! I am planning to release one chapter a week so far— although this may change in better or worse depending on my free time. This time I tried to picture these two characters in the best way possible according to their history and personality; please do remember, though, that as this fiction progresses, it's very likely characters will 'evolve', not entirely change but at least develop as this keeps going. Also, I have willingly put certain 'Marvel references' in this chapter for a reason in particular: Stan Lee's death.

A great man who has always known how to entertain people for the sake of doing it. I hope he'll rest in peace.

Of course, though, these references are not forced and put within context, so it's very likely for you to barely notice them at all unless you're a fan of Marvel and all of that stuff! Enjoy!

It was late.

Extraordinarily, to say the least. But yet, it did not make it any worse, for the sight at the Placidium of Navori was beautiful, as always. But were they, in times of war? Among the dead, the ones who fought not for their lives but Ionia's peace: such as Irelia, a veteran of the conflict— she led the Ionians in the darkest moments of the war, going as far as winning the battle and besting her desires of vengeance.

But, could revenge satisfy a person's thirst when they had lost everything, already? Just at the beginning of those cycles, she could still remember her gracious home, that was once house to her siblings and the most cunning dancer of them all, that was her mother; the one who taught her how to spin on toes of silk, for all of her arts came from such elderly and loved person.

No longer was she among them, though. The Noxians had stolen her family from her, and yet, even after taking the lives of those who dared to invade her home… after winning their land back, she could still feel the sadness of her lost ones, prying upon her soul. It was not for an undead desire of vengeance, but rather, sadness; for she was no longer the pure and bright child she once used to be— no longer could she keep her blades clean, without a trace of blood, nowadays, even Ionian blood, to taint them.

The Brotherhood and plenty of other kinsmen were now at haste.

This was no longer the Ionia she once lived in, for all had changed.

Atop of the chain of mountains that was the majestic Placidium, Irelia rested on the highest edge that the terrain could provide and sat on a bench made out of what looked like to be fine and old wood, that no matter the age, could still sustain a certain weight. She sat and absently observed until he showed up.

The ninja in blue that walked the last steps until he finally arrived on top of the Placidium and was welcomed by those two, ancient structures that used to hold wide classes and performances of dances and several other arts of Ionia— both for entertainment and self-discipline. Now, it was only about the latter.

However, the man did not seem to quite grasp such nostalgic memories but rather simply walked in the middle of such images as a stranger. He was an entity out of any kind of personal affair— he had nothing to do with any of this, but rather, he was simply doing his duty.

Irelia breathed out, heavily, almost as if she was suppressing her anger, but soon she pushed herself up to her feet and turned around to face the individual with a glare.

"Do you have 'any' idea of how late it is?!"

Shen blinked with no haste and simply looked down, almost as if he tried to tell the difference between the light of the moon and the shadows— and their respective locations.

"Two in the morning, approximately."

Irelia's angry expression didn't seem to be giving the man a break, otherwise, she only puffed her cheeks a little bit at his attitude; he was always so cold and distant, it was honestly annoying to even try and initiate a conversation with him.

"You're as characteristically non-verbal as usual— good job."

Likewise, Shen didn't seem anywhere close to a human reaction as his bright eyes simply fixated at the woman before he nodded his head.

"That means I am doing my duty. Thank you."

Once more, the other part, the former resistance leader was honestly baffled to see just how non-caring the ninja could be at others' comments— people did not just call him 'true neutral' for no reason. He really was like that; but unfortunately, as much, as maybe he would have been a great asset to Ionia, she couldn't help but feel like he was wasted.

He was wasting his powers.

She did not hate him, but did not agree with all on his philosophy: she was plenty sure that if only he had participated in the war in a 'seriously active' role instead of doing his own thing, plenty of Ionian blood would have not been shed. They did have a little bit of story together; she could still remember the day she went to his 'camps', as he was busy re-creating the Kinkou Order— she requested his entire alliance's help.

The images of him standing still, with his arms tied to his back— he inspected her briefly, but with little care in his eyes before he sentenced her to solitude in her cause: 'No.'. That was the only answer she would have gotten if she hadn't only inquired. She was shocked and stared at him in awe, nor was she lonely in this, though, as a young apprentice also glared at her Master, clearly enticing them to join the battle.

Yet, little did the two girls get from insisting other than the ninja's answer: 'When a stream clashes against another, without prevailing in the great sea we swim in— as long as neither side overpowers the other, then all is perfectly balanced. As all things should be. The Kinkou has no reason to fight.'

And with that, ended any kind of hope and regard Irelia could have had for the Ninja Order.

She did hear he had made a pact with a renowned name in the lands, 'Zed', not to make things worse by fighting during the war— yet, this meant little to her, as the ninja who stood in the light, decided not to assist his people.

"Do you even know what happened here?"

Irelia decided to question Shen before he could even explain his case. The man held very little interest in what happened on the Placidium, honestly, but to be earnest with her, he decided to cope with her and… slowly took gentle steps as his eyes wandered in the whereabouts.

"Physical harm, cries, pain, death. The spirits here still suffer."

The Eye of Twilight was heavily connected to the ethereal realm— one that was not allowed to step into by just every single mortal; in the end, he was a ghost to all mankind. A trait, a power that he had decided to take the moment his father, Kusho, had been killed by the hands of his former brother and left him with no choice but to continue his legacy.

But he did it proudly.

His eyes could see things that not just any human could— there was indeed something beyond the connection to magic that Vastayan had which couldn't even get close to the spiritual focus that Shen possessed.

Although, with great power comes great responsibility… and the latter stripped the man of his humanity.

The woman boasted in anger at this remark, "Then why didn't you help us?!" — with one final sigh, Shen shut his eyes and slowly made his way to stand by Irelia's side, but for her to only face his shoulders. It was indeed painful for one to hear and see the things he could, but, when the Kinkou counted on him, he had very little options but to continue. It was a pain that most men couldn't deal with if they had been entrusted with the responsibility to lead the Order— at times, he did meditate on his leadership and wondered if he was indeed worthy.

But, every time, his greatest solution was to enclose himself in a shell.

Little to say, he was great at doing that.

Irelia had plenty of reasons to be angry at Shen, for it was like to speak at someone who simply ignored the most obvious problems— the very same issues that tormented her every night. She couldn't sleep well, for she remembered all the people she had seen dying… and her family's disappointment. Their thoughts, their concerns, all of them narrowed the woman's focus at times but yet, she had to keep fighting against her will, for her people.

Even if, at times, she wished she could dance one more time for her own enjoyment.

"What? Not throwing out your poetic stuff at me now? Do you think… believe that you're the only person in this world that has ever suffered— that has seen things, that could not act when needed? I 'have seen' the people of my home die," - she commented briefly as a strange beat in her chest began to take place; it was not the rhythm of his dances, but rather, the rumbles of a crying heart. "I… miss my family, every day. I could not even talk— no, let my eyes say goodbye once more because," - her voice began to waver, as if her emotions that she had suppressed so long were finally about to break her, but she resisted, although her orbs were now shiny in the night— they were watering, yet, she continued to fight, even something as minor as this, she didn't want to cry.

"I am sorry, Blade Dancer."

The masked man cut her from speaking any further, in his calmness, he decided to be a stepping stone, at least for the moment. Certainly, though, these were her problems and Shen had no saying in this. All of himself was dedicated to the order and the preservation of balance, and even now, allowing her to quiet down her inner storm would have allowed him to restore balance, even something as minor as this.

"We do not get to choose our time. Future flies by and changes in all shades; light and dark. For either or prevailed, it would be the end. Peace is not possible. Ionia could preserve such strength for so long because of its magic and the Vastayan could keep it together with their diversity. It all began to crumble decades ago when humans settled here. Ever so slightly, connection to magic had begun to weaken until equilibrium restored itself in the great scheme of things. It was inevitable. It is destiny. That is my duty— to ensure our story, already written, is not shattered."

In the middle of his speech, Irelia believed it to be better for her to sit down and mourn, silently, the losses and… for someone else not to see her. She had always kept her sharpness and all, and now, that nobody could see her but the ninja, even there, she wanted not him to see the great Xan Irelia like this.

"But, you do understand me Shen... don't you?"

"I do," - was the only answer he gave, but behind two words, images of his father hid. He was long not a youngling back then, but a young adult who was serving his duty, until he felt a sensation that was no simply goosebump; it crept on him slowly until it began to tighten the grip on his shoulders. It was slowly killing him, but at the same time, it hurried him to run back to his monastery— only to find it destroyed.

Many of his comrades were dead.

But among all of them, was his father. A sight he would never forget for years to come.

The hatred Irelia felt for Noxus, he did for Zed. But, again, Shen let not his emotions take the best of him and instead, accomplished what his father desired and continued his duty. Similarly to how Irelia fought for Ionia, Shen did for the Kinkou; both were more similar than they thought.

"If you could feel what I did, how could you shut me down that time… We are both humans, Shen… and your gifted powers could have made a difference."

Shen let his eyes see once more and looked up at the sky, in wonder, or perhaps, he tried to phrase it as best as he could and observed the stars for inspiration.

"You are. I am not. I gave up on my humanity the day I became the Eye of Twilight. It is not just an honorary title— nor is it a gift. It's a curse, an oath you give to preserve your duty. If I were not to respect it, I would lose myself."

With these last words, Shen exclaimed a reality that was greater than both of them, but not one that was easily realizable, not from Irelia's part at least.

"That's not fair."

"It is not up to us."

Silence followed between the two. Kind of. Irelia proceeded to wipe the tears off her lids with her wrist, grinding her hand against her delicate skin until nothing was left of the tears but a soft redness in her eyes. She breathed, with a quick inhale of her nostrils, before she finally pulled her back up and eyed Shen.

"...What did you call me here for?"

In the meanwhile, the man in armor had initially almost forgotten his intentions behind the meeting; taken by the lines he had just exchanged with the Blade Dancer, his concerns had moved into the background until he was snapped out of the world Irelia had pulled him into and finally moved his gaze off the skies and glanced at her, anew with his mind and with the intent to introduce her to the situation.

"The gem of the Jade Dragon."

Irelia's interest had her perk up once more, her vibrant eyes making their way to face Shen's bright orbs. She blinked, in confusion, not out of amusement. For she would have never expected someone like him not to know about the gem, but rather, a loud and strong 'why' resonated in her mind.

"...What about it?"

"Noxus is looking for it."

The dark-haired woman's hand that had laid to rest on the bench as a lever closed its grip and she finally forced herself up again. "Are you sure?"

Shen nodded his head, "Several scouts have been looking for it— from each cycle passing, it seems they're narrowing down locations and whatnot given how different their maps are as time passes."

The news was worrisome, for this could spark a little more than just another conflict, and in case they would even lay their hands on the gem, who knew what they could have done with its magic. But Irelia looked… confident, almost as if there was about nothing to worry, although it did make her sweat a little.

"I… see. I will deal wi—"

"No."

Irelia widened her eyes and stared at the man in contemplation.

"We will deal with it, together," - said Shen with a quick nod of his head before he turned around and began walking off the top of the Placidium, but of course, he was nowhere about to leave but was simply preparing himself to take off. "It is a matter that interests the Kinkou, therefore, we'll also guard it."

The Blade Dancer was speechless, at first, but a faint smile quickly found its way to what earlier were sobbing lips.

"O-okay then... What is your plan?"

Shen paused for a moment before he glanced at her once more; his shoulders perhaps relieved to see her somewhat in a brighter shade than he was doing a few moments prior to his comment.

"Where is it?"

"It is," - she gulped briefly, almost as if she was sucking all of the emotions she let out at once back in her chest before she sighed. "It's… in a location that is nowhere close to any corner of this island or obvious place. It's located in a cave, behind walls made out of some of our strongest metals. It used to rest here, at the Placidium, but the elders decided to hide it as the war began. They put fire to the knowledge of any magic artifact and in the end, it had apparently gone forgotten, but if what you say it's true… then apparently not."

The man dipped his head, almost as if he was relieved to hear the news, and after that, he decided that this would be it.

"Very well then. I will come to visit you, Blade Dancer. We have plenty to talk about. Please, do make sure you bring along your forces. We will need them."

The woman did not know what to say but one quick… "Yes," - before the man cut short any sort of eye contact and faced only the way ahead of the steps that were the path down the several mountains. He could have teleported away, but Shen felt like taking a moment… meditating on what he heard from the woman.

"Good night."

Those were the ninja's departing words as he left on top of the Placidium of Navori, a tired and concerned Irelia but… somehow, talking with Shen allowed her to see him in higher regard than she did previously and hoped she could continue to do so.

Unfortunately, though, she was clueless as to which 'forces' to bring along, for she had exiled herself from the resistance itself once the war came to an end. And now, those former defenders and the Brotherhood contested the rule of the First Lands.

Yet, would anyone still follow her after her 'betrayal', as some of the Brotherhood described it?

That was to be seen.

On the other end, though, the Kinkou's leader walked down the many steps of the mountain chain; silently, without a sound, but yet, he suddenly halted mid-way, as he was greeted by a wide 'entrance' gate of silvery material. He did not seem tense, yet, there was something in the air that was disturbing… his very spirit could feel it.

"From the shadows..."

Right behind him, as Shen's eyes slowly diverted and his head followed the movement— there, he found the man that donned a shiny, yet, armor that had seen better days, with a bright red shade that flew with the wind that brushed past them… and crimson, glowing eyes.