CHAPTER 6 - The Institute of War
Faint footsteps could be heard echoing through the darks woods of Ionia. But nobody was around to hear them. The predator-turned-prey's movements were concealed under the dark of the night as he half ran-half limped away. Retreating. A foreign concept to the great hunter, who's strength, speed, and dexterity was only matched by the Pridestalker. A battle both sides would never forget.
One they would never forgive.
But currently the creature's pride is the least of it's worries. Suffering from heavy blood loss, loss of a wing, and shame after losing against a lowly peasant, fox, and a monkey, Kha'Zix cursed under his breath, swearing revenge to those that have opposed him and the great Void.
"Cursed creatures…"
He knew he was in no state to fight at the moment. He needed to hide. He needed to heal. After travelling deeper and deeper into the unknown woods, he began to cast his Recall spell, hoping no-one could hear his incantations.
Hating to admit his weakness, he figured that if someone were following him, they would have probably attacked by now.
"Het… zour… Mal-ik-ar…"
"Bere… ou… Mal-ik-ar…"
"Saer… rouz… Mal-ik-ar…"
"Mal-ik-ar…"
"Mal-ik-ar…"
Upon finishing his incantation, the Voidreaver seemed to vanish into thin air, erasing himself from existence, and reappearing in another. He landed on soft, purple soil. The smell of ash and fire filled his nose as the black atmosphere covered over the hole in the sky Kha-Zix had appeared through. Several stones surrounding the pad of soft dirt began lighting up as several runes began to carve themselves onto the rocks.
"Kha….Zix….." said a horrifyingly distorted voice. Alarmed, Kha'Zix immediately turned around and bowed down after recognizing the voice. His purple blood oozed out of his wounds and falling into the rocks and soil beneath him, melting away into the earth.
"Master, I-"
"SILENCE!" hissed the mysterious man who had Kha'Zix under his command.
The Voidreaver kneeled his head closer to the ground, covering his head with his scythe-like claws. He let out a small whimper in absolute fear.
"You… you allowed yourself… to be defeated… so easily… and you come back here… hoping to find safety?"
"Master, he came by surprise… I had no idea they would-"
"I've heard enough your pathetic voice. Now give me one reason why I shouldn't feed you to Kog'Maw."
Kha'Zix only let out more silent whimpers. Stuttering and failing the form words, he silently wept into the ground.
"Master… I just need to defeat Rengar… and I can be strong enough…"
"You need nothing. You are a Voidborn. You have the Void with you, these humans are nothing!"He paused for just a moment to stare at Kha'Zix with absolute disgust while thinking of a worthy punishment.
"I have no use for a weakling like you..."
The masked figure lifted his arm, his hand revealing a small blue light. Kha'Zix closed his eyes and prayed his master would, at the very least, let him live.
The light began twisting and turning, morphing around as Kha'Zix's body began spasming about. Pain filled his every nerve as he felt his body being torn inside out. He thrashed and kicked about, trying to break out of the spell. After several moments of writhing pain, his claws began bending in an upward moving. Kha'Zix screamed out in pain as his very bone structure bent at the will of his master.
The master simply laughs a maniacal laugh, almost as if he were in pleasure of seeing another's pain. The blue light erupting from his eyes grow even brighter as he forces Kha'Zix to stare at his eyes. His hand crawls up his face, stopping at his mask. The master's fingers wrap around the mask, about to pull it down.
Through all the horrific pain, Kha'Zix realises what is about to happen.
"M-...masTeR…. pLeEeEeAsE… i… I wOn'T fAaAaIl YoOoU aGaAiIn…" cries Kha'Zix.
The master simply huffs and bends the bones of Kha'Zix's arms, twisting them in the opposite direction. Blood spews everywhere, and he releases his grip on him.
"And we were going to have so much fun, too…" says the master, disappointed for not getting his fun.
"I suppose I do need you alive for the next step, though…"
Kha'Zix rolls around on the ground, still trying to recover from the immense amount of hellish pain he just endured, whispering 'thank you' over and over again, as if he were insane.
"Vel'Koz…"
The Eye of the Void gently floats over to his master by his calling.
"Master…"
"You are to bring me Caitlyn, Corki, and Zilean, of Piltover."
"Ah yes… the Chronokeeper's knowledge will be mine at last…"
"I did not ask you to monologue. Get going. Bring Kha'Zix with you if you must."
The giant armoured eyeball wrapped one of it's burning hot tentacles around the limp mantis as they both began to disappear from the dimension of the Void.
"And as for you, Voidbearer… your time will come soon…"
Time ticked by so slowly. Seconds turned to minutes as the train traveled with an audible 'chug chug chug' through the forest. My eyes clambered around the room, resting at the clock. 1:36. I'm guessing it's AM. The longer hand twitching in a clockwise motion. The times seemed similar with that of Earth. I wasn't quite sure what the time was back home, but everything seems similar.
I looked out the window, kneeling on the edge of the smooth, red seat. Ahri, who was long asleep, laid on the seat across from me in our compartment. It was difficult for me to stop myself from watching her, knowing that it'd be creepy, no matter how adorable she looked while blanketing herself with her tails. The trees whizzed by my vision as the slight spinning sound of the wheels below filled the moon was still high up in the sky, just barely covered by the dusky clouds.
I laid down, using my hands as a makeshift pillow for my head. I winced in pain as my arm stung, and I removed it from it's current position, placing it limply at my side. I let out a sigh and ran my good finger against the bandages Ahri put on me. The gray roof, for some reason, intrigued me. The barely noticeable shift between the darker grays and the lighter grays had my eyes travelling around a bit before my eyelids started getting heavier and heavier.
Darkness began clouding the sides of my eyes and time sped back up. The only sounds were the train's movement and the clock.
'Tick... tick... tick...'
'Tick... tick... tick...'
'Tick... tick... tick...'
A couple of silent muffles began entering my ears as I regained consciousness.
Ugh... just a couple more minutes...
"Jaso... ke... p..."
Shut up already... lemme sleep...
"...e're... re..."
Agh... fine fine... I'm gettin' up...
Just lemme turn off this damn alarm...
*SMACK*
"Ow!"
I got up only to see back of my hand flat against Ahri's face. I was still in my half-asleep state, so it took me a bit to comprehend what just happened.
"..."
"What was that for?!"
"Wha... Oh! Oh god, sorry! I thought you were some sort of alarm clock!" I hastily removed my hand from her face revealing a barely visible red mark.
"...pretty violent way to turn off your clocks..." said Ahri as she rubbed her cheeks, the mark quickly dissipating.
"Are you okay?"
"I've suffered worse..." she stretched out her tails and stood up.
"Anyways, we've arrived at the Institute." The word 'institute' strangely reminded me of a school.
"Is the Institute like a school or academy?"
"Well, kind of. Except a lot bigger with a lot more fighting. Race ya!" With that, she zipped out of the room, leaving a light blue light in her wake. I blinked.
"Hey... wait!" I followed after her quickly, swiftly dodging past the empty train's various rooms and seats before leaping out the entrance. I followed closely behind her blue fire-like light down the path.
After taking several sharp turns down the pathway leading into a forest, the light started to fade away faster then I could run.
Shit, isn't she fast?
I chuckled a bit, taking in slow, deep breaths through my nose. My legs began to ache a bit as I took several more turns, pulling out of the forest and into a clearing. After one final turn, the path went straight and I could see the light just up ahead.
My feet skid to a stop as I a giant building right ahead. With a giant dome-shaped room and several towers hanging around it, I could tell it was massive. And this was just the top of it! I continued down the hill to reveal more of the hidden building. The large stone walls looked nearly impenetrable, even with all the little windows lining the halls.
"Ain't that something." I said with a low whistle.
"I know, right?"
"AGH!" I fell and landed flat on my back.
"What?" Ahri said with an innocent smile.
"Where the hell did you come from?!"
Ahri only let out a giggle and happily skipped down the path.
I shook my head a bit and followed her down the remaining path to the Institute.
For the next couple of minutes, we didn't really talk. Truthfully, there wasn't really anything to talk about. I was still lost in this new world, and I didn't have a clue as to what Ahri was thinking.
I wonder where Earth is compared to this... Runeterra... was it called? I think so. Do they have spaceships here? I saw roads back at the town. They seem fit for cars. Do they have cars? What about planes?
"Halt! Who goes there?"
I looked up to see a pair of angry guards with their spears raised.
I'd be angry too if someone knocked on my door 2 o'clock in the night...
"Ahri, the Nine-Tailed Fox of Ionia." Everyone's eyes turned to me, expecting me to say something. My face flushed red and I completely blanked out on words.
"Uh... Jason."
The guards looked at each other in confusion before turning back to me.
"Just... Jason?"
"Yep." I shoved my hands into my pockets.
"I've never heard of anyone named Jason before. What an odd name." said the other guard.
"Are you from Noxia?"
"...not to sure what that is, but no. I'm from-"
"Demacia!" Ahri interrupted. Everyone awkwardly stared at her.
"He's from Demacia." she repeated. The guards turned to one another and shrugged.
"If Ahri's bringing him here, it should be fine..."
"Fair enough. If you don't mind, we're going to scan you, sir."
"No problem, go right on ahead." I said, raising my arms.
Again, the guards gave each other a confused look before a small blue light began forming at the base of my feet. The circular ring slowly traveled upwards until it reached the tip of my head. The ring closed in and with a slight pop, it disappeared.
"He's clear." said one of the guards.
The other one raised his hand, and the door slowly swung open. Ahri and I continued into the Institute. The halls were massive, our footsteps echoing down the large tunnel. I looked around, taking note of the marble floors, marble walls, marble pillars, and marble roof.
These guys really like marble...
Once I was sure the guards couldn't hear us anymore, I asked Ahri, "What was that?"
"What was what?"
"Why'd you tell them I was from Demacia?"
"Don't you think they'd freak out if they found out you were from another planet?"
"Well... yeah. I guess."
"It's late at night. They probably won't want to see us right now."
"Am I really that hideous?" I joked. Ahri stifled a giggle before continuing on.
"No, it's just that it's their meditation time."
"They won't let us in, even with the current situation?"
"They won't let us in if the Institute is being torn to shreds by Malzahar, Dragons, AND Baron Nashor during the current situation."
We stopped at a massive gate, in which another pair of guards were standing at. Unlike the other guards, these ones were perfectly still, and emotionless expression on their faces. Before Ahri or I could speak, one of them got to it before us.
"The Head Summoners are not accepting visitors at the moment. They will tomorrow at 5 am."
"Told you. Let's head upstairs. They've got tons of empty dorms!" I turned and looked up the stairs while Ahri playfully skipped up. Turning back to the guards I waved goodbye. "G'night, lads." The guards didn't respond.
Gotta respect their discipline.
My footsteps continued to echo through the halls and I was barely able to hear Ahri's ahead. For some reason, this whole place was really creeping me out. Everything was so dark, and there was barely any light from the lanterns. It would be a lot brighter in the day with all the windows, but at night, it reminded me a lot of a haunted mansion. Just as I finished the first flight of stairs, I looked up to see more.
Many more.
"Well, exercise's a good way to spend the night."
Many steps later, I finally reached the dorm area, out of breath due to the insane amount of steps. Gasping to regain my breath, I saw Ahri leaning against a wall, her arms crossed with a pouty look on her face. "What took you so long?"
"..."
A smile slowly crept onto Ahri's face as she began to laugh.
"...dunno... how you... do this..." I gasped.
"It's easy once you get used to it!"
"Who the hell... puts the dorms... up 30 flights... of goddamn stairs?"
"Hey, it's good to get some exercise. Besides, if you think this is tough, you should see training." I waved my hand in front of my face, dispelling her words.
"Just... show me... my room..." With a cute smile, Ahri pointed towards one of the rooms near the entrance of the hall marked '154' before tossing me a pair of keys. With a silent "goodnight", she turned and left to her own room, leaving me some time to rest.
Taking my sweet time, I finally made it to the door. After twisting the keys in, I gently pushed it open, revealing the most welcoming bed I've ever seen.
"Hello, bed. Goodnight, day."
What's this? A new chapter? I thought this story was abandoned!
Yep! A new chapter! I really don't have an excuse for being so fucking late other then my piano exams, so I'm really sorry for taking such a long-ass time. The next chapter should be coming out soon, hopefully by next week. I'm going to try and be more consistent with chapter releases from now on out. And if I'm not, I'll happily give out my address so you can give me what for. But for now, I'm off to work on the next chapter. See you next time!