A/N: I just feel the need to point out that this story will not entirely follow the canon Lore of League. I will be introducing some original elements into it as well to make it less fanfiction-y. Just a warning :D
Zed POV
Chapter One :「 認めない – denial」
They denied me.
.
They rejected me.
.
She rejected me.
.
"So why then", I whisper with a growling, sinister undertone, "why have I saved you…"
Though she does not know it, my intense, piercing bright red eyes, cut right through her soul. My fingers, against my will, trace her round, undefined, almost child-like face.
"…..Akali?"
So fragile; so vulnerable. Like a fragile daisy she rests in my embrace. I hold her close to me, feeling her – still warm – face against my outer, chilly, armor garments, brushing aside her messy bangs.
Thunder, roaring like a lion, illuminates the soon-to-be pitifully ruined abode of Shen's once-proud Kinkou Order. Shen. I narrow my eyes, scowling quietly to myself. The mere mention of his name is enough to make me snap someone's neck in cold fury.
And she – I look down to the fragile young woman in my arms – was his comrade. Part of the infamous Kinkou Triumvirate, striking all over Ionia in the name of 'balance', ruthlessly assassinating anyone the Elders of Ionia deemed an enemy – as well as those whose techniques they deemed 'forbidden'.
Forbidden. I was put on the same level of those abominable Noxians, who would sell their very souls in exchange for more power. And what do Ionians do to abominations such as myself? They kill them.
I look back to the Kinkou Temple. The fall of the Kinkou Order is supposed to be my victory over its foolish ideals. Balance is a fool's master. Balance is weakness. I am supposed to feel vindicated; bringing Shen's order down has been my greatest goal.
So why am I not feeling vindicated?
Why am I not able to relish in my ultimate victory?
And why, above all, has the Kinkou's most fanatic adherent herself turned to the Art of Shadow?
My eyes narrow. From the information that I had gathered through my disciples, Shen had been planning my death by her hands. Poor fool. As if she would stand a chance; she does not have the heart to kill me. She and I – both – know this.
'I should kill her', my mind suggests. It would be so easy, right now, to stain my blades with her blood. To slash her neck – as easy as snapping the stem off a daisy. 'She will be a threat to me', my mind tries to convince me.
'Why did she turn to the Shadow?'
I hesitate. Even though I hate to admit it, I am curious. She, Ionia's most ruthless assassin, she, who would never stop lecturing her foes about balance, turned to the very Art that I used to kill Master. To almost kill Shen. The very Art that made her reject me.
Rejection.
Denial.
Anger courses through my veins. I raise my blades rapidly, staring down at her with cold, furious, murderous, piercing red eyes, preparing myself to end her fragile life. What a hypocrite she was. So long, Akali. Farewell.
'Why did she do it?'
I stop myself just before my blade reaches her throat. Curse my curiosity! After years of walking with the shadows, this is the trait I cannot shake off of myself. Why is my curiosity about this little insignificant fact preventing me from killing her?
She is a hypocrite, like all balance fools. When push came to shove, she turned to the 'forbidden' Art. She merely did so out of sheer desperation, her instinct of self-preservation. Hypocrite. Her ideals were not important enough for her to die with them – like Shen did.
'Is it really curiosity?' I find myself questioning myself. It is. It has to be. It is mere curiosity. I want to know why.
"What was your reason….. Akali?" Her name holds weight, even after all these years.
"RUN, YOU FOOLS!" a booming voice suddenly snaps me out of my interior monologue, causing my predatory instincts to fire up again. Holding Akali close to me, I rise and assume a fighting stance, scanning the darkness. The voice sounds familiar, but I cannot quite pinpoint its owner.
I stare back at Akali. "Fine… I will indulge in you, for now." I say with a voice so sharp that it could cut even the hardest steel. "Do not get in my way, Akali."
"Have you not heard what I have told you? RUN!" There was the booming voice again. Upon closer inspection, I notice it belongs to a woman. A fierce woman. Her voice definitely holds an air of authority. I hear her shallow breaths and footsteps inching closer. Whatever. I am ready to cut through any intruder without remorse, come who may.
I look up; jumping on a branch, I behold the woman who previously bellowed at me. Ah; now it all makes sense.
"Captain of the Guard, Irelia Lito." I hear my sinister, almost metallic voice call her full name behind my mask. "Why are you alone in the shadows, Will of the Blades?"
I notice her freezing on the spot. "Zed, Master of Shadows…" she breathes out, her voice dazzling with disbelief. "I could ask you the same question." She says, briefly looking down, noticing that I am holding the unconscious Akali in my embrace, to my surprise, not . "Though, I am afraid there is no time for such pettiness right now."
Turning her back to me, she starts jumping from branch to branch at a rapid pace. "Follow me." she beckons loudly after me. As much as I hate doing what I am told, I do need shelter.
My own order is in shambles. These abominable 'Void' creatures consumed all my disciples – and they succumbed like mere rookies. I alone have survived.
I follow the gracious Captain of Ionia's Guard, jumping into the infinite darkness after her.
"We are there."
After a seemingly eternal journey of jumping on branch after branch, I study my surroundings. I can hear the sounds of waves clashing. The ground under my feet feels soft and dry, yet somewhat muddy. Even the sky above has changed; It is nothing like the dead, murky, shadowy sky that I beheld at the ruins. This night sky is clear and dark. A full moon is shining, its light being reflected by the shimmering sea.
"Why have you brought me here?" I chillingly break the silence between the Captain and me. My voice is hostile, alert, my blades ready to snap her neck should she attack me in any way. The Captain does not move an inch. She simply refuses to respond.
"Answer me, Ire-"
"Akali. She needs help, does she not?"
"And why should I care?" I scoff at her.
"Why are you holding her in your arms?" she retorts, turning her face to me, smirking victoriously. Outwitted. I grit my teeth. "You…"
"She needs help." Irelia repeats once more, ignoring my faint loss of composure. She points towards a stony stairway not very far from here, on top of it being a large, scarlet torii gate. "A shrine." I observe.
"Shrine of the star-born, to be exact." Irelia clarifies matter-of-factly, starting to walk towards it. I hesitate for a moment, mustering the area. What would bringing Akali to a shrine possibly accomplish? I shake my head as
"Aahhgh…"
I look down instantly. Akali. Her face contorts into excruciating pain and I feel her fragile fingers latching onto my scarlet garment as she throws her head back in agony, her body shivering and reeling. I grit my teeth. This isn't good. She might actually die at this point.
"Zed, quick!"
I scoff quietly. She does not need to remind me to hasten. What a troublesome woman, that Captain Irelia.
I summon shadows before me, swapping places with every single one of them to reach the stairway faster. Somehow, I did not mind exerting my body in this manner – Akali's survival is of utmost importance right now.
"Zed, wait!" Captain Irelia yells behind me, struggling to keep up with me. I decide to ignore her and continue my way upward, quickly climbing the stairs, fixating my gaze onto the torii gate above. Akali huffs in my arms, clutching me even harder, making me feel uneasy inside – even though I did not show such on the outside.
One thing is undeniably certain: This is not an ordinary fever or even a chill. This must have something to do with her using the Art. I grit my teeth. Foolish Akali; using a power her body is not ready for – or could not even handle.
As I climb the last stair, I behold a rectangular, altar-esque, stony couch. Akali starts to cough harshly, gasping for air. Her face contorts into pain again. She clings to me, whimpering and croaking vulnerably, wailing in agony. I figure speaking would be too painful for her; knowing not what to do, I merely hold her in my arms, staring at her chillingly. Keeping my watchful gaze on her.
"Zed!"
I look behind me and see a rather frustrating-looking Captain Irelia trying to catch her breath, hunching her back and pressing her legs to calm their obvious pain.
"Would it have killed you not to make me climb up so rapidly?" she snapped at me, gritting her teeth in ire.
"It's not my fault that you cannot keep up with me." came my chilling reply.
"Whatever", she shrugs, shaking her head as she pointed towards the stony altar, "Lay her on there."
"What will this accomplish?"
"Do not question me, Zed, we will summon the star-born!"
"Aaaaaahhnghhhhhh.." Akali shrieked sharply, moving her body rapidly.
"Zed, quickly!"
I relinquish her from my embrace, laying her onto the cold, stony altar. Akali is obviously feeling cold; her body is reeling as she struggles to warm it with her hands.
"AaaaaaAAAaaaaghhhh-!"
Irelia and I freeze on the spot. Her eyes spring open, bright red like mine; she arches her back in pain, writhing and thrashing around her as if she was having an inner battle. I narrow my eyes beholding her like this, but they narrow even further when I her sclera turn pitch black. I find myself motionless, only being able to stare at her. What? Why? What has Akali done with the shadows? Or – more importantly – what have the shadows done to Akali?
"Irelia."
She nods and rushes towards the altar, kneeling down and lifting her hands up in the air.
"I, Irelia Lito of Ionia, call for thy presence, o ye star-born, celestial healers of the heavens! Heed my humble call and descend from thy abode into the realm of us mortals and assist us!"
I do not know much about the Cult of Stars – I have only faintly heard of it in one of Master's hour-long lectures on the mysticism of Ionia. The Lito family are strong believers in that cult – it is said that their very art, the Hiten style, descended from the heavens itself. I remain stoic; perhaps vanquishing the shadow within her would be the best course of action for Akali; she does not look like she can handle the forbidden power. Perhaps I would also not have to kill her in the future.
A bright, warm light descended from above, illuminating Akali, whose body instantly calmed at the light's presence. A purple-skinned, white-haired woman with goat legs also descends from above, having a single horn adorning her forehead. She is holding a crescent-shaped sceptre loosely in her hand. Gracefully, she lands on her feet and opens her golden eyes, staring at Irelia, then me.
"How can I be of service?" was the very first thing that came from her lips; her solemn, yet soft-spoken voice holds much weight. I recognized who she was; She is Soraka, the Starchild. Esteemed healer of Ionia.
"Soraka", Irelia begins, still struggling to catch her breath, pointing to Akali whose distress must be unimaginable. "There- please, do something-"
"I understand." Soraka simply says softly, turning to Akali. The Starchild lays a hand on Akali's forehead, trying to feel the energy within her, humming soothing sounds in order to calm her.
"GyaaaaaaAAAHH!" Akali shrieks again, pearls of sweat descending from her forehead. "Shen…. Shen… Shen… don't… die….!"
"Shen?" Irelia repeats in surprise, leaning closer.
"The shadows are calling forth her greatest trauma." Soraka's voice sounds heavy and distressed, somewhat morbid, speaking really slow.
"Heal her, please! You use celestial magic, don't you?"
Soraka shakes her head, meeting Irelia's eyes with a profound sadness. "The deed is done. Akali turned to the forbidden power – what she has done, cannot be undone."
"Forbidden- you mean the Art of Shadow?" Soraka nods.
"Gods, why-" Irelia sinks to her knees, only being able to stare at Akali's distress. "Why, Akali-" Her voice starts to tear up. I do not react to this; I had already known that Akali's current state was due to the shadows.
"However", Soraka pipes in, "there is a way to alleviate the pain Akali is in." Her eyes turn to me, staring into mine very seriously.
"Master of Shadows-" she speaks solemnly, "the fate of Akali, hereby, lies in your hands."
My hands? I am to judge whether Akali will live or die? I curse under my breath. For the first time in my life, I know not what to do.
Do I let her live, and risk having my life ended by her hands – or do I let the shadows claim her life, leaving her reasoning behind turning to them in mystery? I watch her intensely; calling out Shen's name- It angers me. It angers me infinitely to hear that name.
"Zed!"
But Shen is dead. Shen is dead. Perhaps I can erase his dreaded influence from her- erase his flawed teachings from her mind-
"Zed, quick!"
The Kinkou Order is no more. Balance is dead.
"ZED!"
I lunge forward, reaching out for Akali's hand, clutching it firmly, infusing my dark energy into her. Her pain courses through my veins, turning everything pitch black.
.
"Shen, why…"
What is this? Where am I? I look around. I see Akali, clutching Shen's hand firmly as tears stream from her dark-red eyes.
"I'm…. I'm sorry…. Akali.." What? What is happening- Shen is coughing blood. Coughing blood. Is this…? It has to be.
"No, Shen, you can't- you can't!"
"Akali… I… love…"
Love. LOVE. Pitiful fool. I clench my fists. I thought he could show no emotions as the Eye of Twilight.
And then- there it is. Akali's trauma. Her scream pierces my ears, calling forth the very darkness that would torment her.
Ah, the darkness. So familiar to me, and yet, now, not so much.
Why?
.
"Z-Zed…."
My eyes spring wide open. I look at her, my hand still firmly holding hers. I make haste to remove it quickly before she realizes what is going on.
"Z-Zed… What… where…"
Akali's voice sounds shaky and broken – not like her at all. Ionia's most ruthless assassin? Not right now.
"It appears you are in good spirits, Akali, Fist of Shadow."
She flinches, looking behind her with a frightened stare.
"Calm yourself, Fist of Shadow. I mean you no harm."
"S-Soraka…?" she looks further, "and… Irelia-?"
"Thank goodness, Akali, I have been worried to death about you!" The Captain yells out, making haste to hug her.
"Argh, Irelia, my body-"
"Oh, I am sorry…" she says curtly, "You… you owe your life to… this guy over here." She continues even more curtly, pointing at me.
"Zed… saved me…?"
"Yes. What were you thinking, turning to the Art of Shadow?"
Akali looks down, averting her gaze from everyone. "So you know, huh?"
"Soraka told me. By all gods, Akali, I thought you had better judgement than this- turning to a power you cannot possibly control-"
"In her current state, at least." I chime in coldly, feeling the need to defend her as well as the Art of Shadow.
"At the very least, she managed to push back the Void's invasion of Ionia for a while, buying us time." Soraka agreed, "This must be the first time they were met with significant resistance."
"Wait, what?" Irelia breathed out, turning to Akali. "Is this true?"
"I… I have no idea. I only heard my inner voice urging me to fight- and I completely blacked out."
"So it is still not ready to be used…" Soraka murmured, turning back to me. "Zed."
"S-Soraka, what-" Akali tries to pipe in, to no avail.
"Zed, you must take Akali with you and leave Ionia this instant. There is no telling when the Void will strike again." The Starchild's voice holds a deadly serious tone, not knowing of the implications of her statement. Or – she does know, but does not care. "If Akali is triggered again- you both may die."
"Soraka, are you serious?" Akali breathes out shakily in ire, her incredulousness being apparent, "H-he… he's my sworn enemy!" She points at me. "Irelia, say something! You're sharpness personified, common sense!"
"Akali…" Irelia gazes at me briefly, then lowers her gaze back to Akali with painful eyes. "I am sorry… but Soraka may be right." Flashing a deadly glare at me before turning back to Akali again, gripping her shoulders she stares deeply inside her terrified eyes, "Listen… Ionia is not safe, especially not for you. I know you- you disdain Zed, but he did save you." Akali instantly looks down. "He… he may not be the ideal… companion, but he is the only one, bar Shen, who is strong enough to protect you right now. You cannot continue by yourself like this, Akali, so listen to me…"
"Shen…" Akali narrows her eyes, gritting her teeth, and looks down. "Shen… he is dead, isn't he..?" I can feel her energy darken again.
"…..Yes, Akali. Unfortunately." Soraka ultimately answers.
"…Tch-!" She punches the concrete altar harshly, not even caring about the pain it would cause her knuckles. "Damnable creatures…" Her small tears stain the concrete as her voice starts to whimper, even now, desperately trying to keep her composure. I frown at her pitiful attempts at showing strength in front of me – she probably thinks I will use her display of weakness against her. Tsk.
She rises abruptly, having her back turned to everyone. "I will kill them."
"…Akali?"
"You heard me. I will kill them. I will slash through them and bathe in their blood. I will tear them into shreds. None of them will survive. None!" Akali's voice becomes darker, chillier and louder with each passing word.
"A….kali…" Irelia gasped empathetically, averting her gaze.
"Zed." Ignoring the Captain, Akali turns to me once more, flashing her dark red eyes at me with the murderous gaze of a killer. "I want you to teach me everything about the Shadow."
"You do not have the heart to handle such power." I scoff coolly at her, knowing that she is saying this out of desperation to avenge her weakling friend Shen. The shock must be deep, very deep. "You lost yourself after one use."
"Zed – I have made up my mind." She retorts in a low voice, still deadly. "What I have done – cannot be undone. I will do what I must with this power." She stares at her hands in cold fury. "I will tear the Voidborn into shreds."
"Your resolve is pathetically weak, balance fool."
"Balance is weakness." she snaps back at me, not caring about Irelia's shock as soon as she has uttered those words, inching dangerously close to my face, "My weakness – the Order's weakness – killed Shen. I will not allow more innocent people to die because of that weakness. If I must turn myself over to the very darkness that corrupted you-" she pauses dramatically, intensifying her gaze,"then so be it."
Akali stares defiantly at me – those eyes, those fiery, rage-tainted, bloodthirsty eyes reveal a lot of pain and hurt inside them. But they also reveal another thing…
"Be careful what you ask for, Akali – that very darkness may, one day, be your undoing."
…tenacity.
"There… there is a ferry that will be leaving for Bilgewater soon." Irelia said hesitatingly after Akali and I returned to the shore again, pointing towards an arriving ship.
"Bilgewater?" Akali repeats, furrowing her brows in confusion. "What would we possibly want in Bilge-"
"In case you have forgotten; Kennen is still in Bandle City. He has no idea what's going on here."
"Kennen…" Akali gasps in surprise as her eyes widen. "Of course – he is still alive." She sighs in relief, clutching her chest. "But wait, why do we have to go to Bilgewater?"
"Because going directly to Bandle City by ship would be too dangerous. A furious storm is raging between Bilgewater and Bandle City – it will last for a few days." Irelia moved forward. "So, this is the plan: You and Zed stay in Bilgewater for a few days until the storm blows over. Then you fetch Kennen from Bandle City and get the heck back here."
"And… what about you, Irelia?" Akali asks confused.
"I will stay here in Ionia and try to assemble Yi, Lee Sin, Varus, Wukong and Ahri in order to at least prevent the Void from striking in Ionia again – aaargh, there's no time. Just get back here as soon as possible, okay?"
"Wait, Irelia – I… what about my training?"
"I will take care of this matter, Akali." I say decisively after listening to Akali's petty conversation with Irelia, "As for me, I want to find out who exactly caused this invasion." I stare murderously at my blades, "and when I find the one responsible, I will gruesomely torture him for destroying my order. He will wish to have never been born, that much is guaranteed."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever you two say. Now get on that ship!"
The ferry arrives; "Let us go, Akali." I say emotionlessly as she bids Irelia farewell, making sure Akali follows me. The captain of the ship greets us in an uncomfortably jolly tone.
"Captain." I exclaim sternly.
"Aye?" comes the muffy, somewhat drunken response.
"How long is it from the Ionian coast to Bilgewater?"
"Two days, m'Sir." I roll my eyes. That Bilgewater accent already annoys me.
"Fair enough. Akali." She nods, getting onto the ship after me.
"You better get us to Bilgewater safely, Captain…" I whisper threateningly, having appeared behind him in the blink of an eye, pointing my blades at him, "…if you value your own life."
"Erm… of course… m'Sir.." is all that pitiful Captain could say.
An uncertain, shrouded future awaits us – a future where none may exist at all, overrun by tragedy and bathed in blood – ours, or theirs.
.
A/N: *hides from all Zed mains in case I butchered his character .*
