We now return to our regularly scheduled Kayn and Rhaast shenanigans, with some Zed sprinkled in there. Also actually plot-important things happen this time.

Sorry for making you wait, but University isn't kind with free time, and so I decided to write an extra large Christmas chapter. Merry Christmas, and as usual, enjoy!

"You'll break me?" the Darkin asked, regaining his voice. "Isn't that quite optimistic for you to say, considering your… performance in our last little duel?"

The only response the scythe received from its wielder was a deadly glare, filled with determination. Realizing Kayn wasn't messing around, Rhaast closed his eye, letting out an amused chuckle at his master's demeanor.

"Alright, then." The eye snapped open again, shining like a bright red beacon. Around them, the room was bathed in darkness once more, the Darkin's powers swallowing the precious little light present.

"Time for round two."

Almost immediately, the telltale pain of Rhaast attempting to take control manifested in his left arm. Kayn's hands clenched the hilt of the scythe tightly, bracing himself against the power welling up from inside his weapon. The force pushing against his mind was just as strong as last time, suffering and madness rolling at him in burning waves of darkness out of the endless well that was Rhaast's being. But he stayed determined. He'd been caught off guard the first time, against Akali, but he wouldn't be a second time.

After all, there was nothing in the world that ate away at Kayn more than disappointing Zed. Pleasing his master was his life, to a certain extent. He looked up to him like a father, absorbed his teachings like a sponge, and performed insane feats just to make his master proud. So, after he'd swallowed his pride, he'd acted on Zed's advice on self-control, resolving to meditating every night to reinforce his mental fortifications. He would never let himself become vulnerable to Rhaast ever again, and so he prepared for any future attempts by the Darkin to surprise him.

Thankfully, his efforts seemed to have paid off. The scythe was shaking violently in his hands, but Kayn managed to push the rising darkness back down before it could properly take root in his body. Sweat was running down his forehead from the mental exertion already, matting his hair, but other than the burning in his Darkin-infested flesh, his body was still fully under his control.

Just like last time, Kayn soon lost his sense of time. Trapped somewhere in between his mind and body, as if in a trance, every second stretched out to what could've been a small eternity, but he kept pushing through, focused on only one thought: victory. He'd win, and Zed would be proud.

That thought had become his mantra, his point of focus through the waves of darkness hurling itself at him, his purpose being his anchor. He'd defeat the scythe. Zed would make him his successor. Zed would be proud of him!

Slowly but surely, the well of pain in his hands began to give way. Steadily, Kayn pushed the dark influence back into its container, one step at a time. Just as the end drew close however, Rhaast's power flared up one last time, a spike of pure dark shooting straight into Kayn's mind. The ninja's eyes widened, not expecting the last-ditch effort. "No, I was so close!" He screamed in his head. "I can't disappoint Zed again!"

A wave of heavy nausea hit Kayn, who screwed his eyes shut against the pain, until they were forced open to see Zed, Zed lying on the ground, covered in blood, his blood everywhere and shrapnel all over his body. Shen was beside him, covered in blood too, and above them a smoking barrel, a laughing mask. Zed was dead. Zed was dead and he couldn't save him. He'd gone out there without Kayn and now he was dead and there was nothing Kayn could do- No, wait. This isn't real. This can't be real. Zed cannot die like this. This isn't real, this is Rhaast's work. I need wake up. I NEED. TO WAKE. UP!

Kayn's eyes snapped open, and with a final shout of anger, Rhaast was shoved back down into the deep, black abyss that was his prison, ending their bout in the ninja's favor. "You win this time… this time…" He could hear the Darkin's voice faintly threaten in his head, before leaving him alone and in control once more.

The ninja took a few deep breaths to calm his racing heart. The taste of victory was quickly soured by how drained he felt. Shambling over to his wash-basin, he picked up a discarded cloth to wipe the sweat off his brow. Carelessly throwing it off to the side, Kayn stood there, hands resting on the basin, unsure of what to feel. He was more than proud of himself that he'd risen to Rhaast's in such an adequate fashion, and yet, that final vision left him shaky. The thought had been at the back of his mind since Zed had left, but now, as he readied himself for bed and stowed the weapon in the closet once more, it reared its ugly head.

Would Zed be alright? Kayn had been telling himself that nothing could stop the Master of Shadows, but Jhin was no ordinary foe. The insane artist had gone toe to toe with his master and his former brother turned enemy before... and as much as Kayn tried, he couldn't rid himself of the worry that something could have happened to Zed, and that he wasn't there to help. Had Rhaast shown him… a vision of the future?

No, he decided. Rhaast did not have such a power. He had just been trying to catch him off guard by playing on his fears, hadn't he? It was all a trick to mess with him, to make him weak. Zed was fine, he was with Shen, who Kayn had to admit was also a capable ninja. They could take Jhin together. They were fine.

Yet, as the young ninja fell onto his bedding, entering a deep slumber, the thought still clung to his mind like a parasite.

What if something did happen to Zed?

The next morning, Kayn trudged through the doors of the dojo and out onto the grand stairs, tiredness etched into his features. The culprit for his embarrassing state of consciousness hung in his left hand, lazily staring at his wielder. Rhaast might've been successfully subdued for now, but the ninja felt extremely drained regardless. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Kayn realized that even if his mind was strong enough to resist, his body might fail him eventually.

He felt his mood sour again, so he cut that train of thought short. No need to make a fool of himself by being a moody teenager in front of his students. Stretching himself to get the exhaustion out of his bones, he recalled the events of the prior day. There was no denying it: he'd gone full berserk on his fellow ninjas, probably ruining any sort of respect they had for him in an instant. Curse this scythe and the way it messed with him!

To his surprise, as he entered the training court, he found his little group of ninjas waiting for him in a line. A closer look revealed the uneasy expressions on their faces. Kayn couldn't blame them, he had threatened to murder one of them just yesterday.

"You did what?" Rhaast's voice piped up in his head once more.

"None of your damn business." Kayn snapped back.

The Darkin laughed. "Oh, don't bother. I know already. Our little session yesterday showed me a lot of things spooking around in your head…"

Kayn grit his teeth. It made sense for Rhaast to have picked up on his thoughts, considering he'd attempted to literally invade his mind. That didn't mean Kayn particularly cared for it.

Shaking his head, the master-in-training cleared his throat, alerting the group that their lesson had begun.

"Good morning, everyone."

A tentative "Good morning, master." followed. From their tone and posture, Kayn could see his presence was causing them to be afraid, and for the first time in... forever really, he wasn't happy about instilling fear in someone.

"Guys, look. I'm sorry about yesterday." he began. "I didn't mean to lash out at all of you like that. I… lost control of my temper." Then, swallowing his ego, he added, in a subdued tone "I hope you can forgive me." He'd never apologized to anyone like that before. Something was definately wrong with him.

Once the words had left him, he noticed the change happening in the group. Some of them relaxed, while others were still visibly distrusting. A small commotion erupted amongst his students then, confusing Kayn. Whispers of "Its alright now" and "Go on" came from the line, until Tehr'li wrenched someone forward by his arm. From hiding behind his peers came Sho-Zuo, head lowered and wringing hands. Kayn was petrified, anger rushing up inside him again.

The acolyte opened his mouth to speak. However, before he was able to get out a single word, Kayn's vision went red, and in the blink of an eye, he had Rhaast pointed at his students' neck.

"I told you I'd kill you if you showed your face again." The older ninja hissed out between clenched teeth. Sho-Zuo's eyes widened in terror. The scythe was curved around his throat, leaving him no escape. He was at his master's mercy.

Said master was having an internal struggle. His inner voice of reason pleaded with him: if he murdered a fellow student, surely Zed would cast Kayn out forever, or even kill him in retaliation. On the other hand, he'd warned the other man of the consequences, and yet he'd chosen to return. Kayn wanted to make him pay for daring to defy him like this.

"Kill him. He deserves to die for his actions." Rhaast whispered in his head.

"Yes, give in. He called you a Noxian, remember? Punish him for his impudence, tear off his head!"

Oh, how he wanted to. It would be so easy. A flick of his wrist, and everyone would know to never cross him again. Suddenly, the man before him began to blubber pathetically.

"P-Please, master. I'm sorry, I really am! I didn't know about what happened to you, and I'm sorry for insulting you like this!" When the scythes blade only pressed closer to his throat, he whimpered. "Please don't kill me."

The wretched display caused Kayn to falter. What was he doing? That was a member of his own order right there. Was he actually about to strike down one of his own allies, an Ionian, and risk everything he'd built up, just because his ego had been hurt? The hand holding the weapon began to tremble traitorously.

"Do it!"

His ego and his scythe both shouted at him to do it, and yet, he hesitated. Would killing Sho-Zuo achieve anything?

Rhaast chuckled darkly. "I knew you couldn't do it. You're weak, just like your pitiful student here. And we all know what Zed thinks of the weak."

"No." Kayn spoke to himself. "Giving in to you now would be weakness. But not killing is strength too. I've been insulted, but am I really so weak, so petty, that I'd take another Ionian's life?"

Sho-Zuo, unaware of his master's conflict, resigned himself to death. It was only fair, having overstepped his boundaries. When Kayn raised his arm to the side, preparing what looked like a lethal swing, he saw his death approaching fast, only to be surprised when his master instead lowered the scythe back to his side.

"That was a warning." Kayn spoke, and his students could hear the strain in his voice.

"Now, I will accept your apology, and believe that it was all a big misunderstanding. Do not cross me like that again however, or you will regret it."

The acolyte in question only nodded fervently, mumbling out a few words of thanks before scrambling back into line, a humbled look on his face. His fellows graced him with looks of sympathy, seemingly happy that their comrade had laid his differences with their master aside.

Kayn sighed. That had been too close even for his liking. He'd always considered himself to be in control, and yet it was only by the smallest of margins that he'd managed to avoid splattering Sho-Zuo all over the ground, all for an insulted pride. He cleared his throat once more, trying to get back on track.

"Now that we have all the apologies out of the way, I'd like to introduce you to someone."

He held Rhaast out, handle placed on the ground, the blade up and turned to the side, allowing everyone to see the Darkin in his full glory. The other ninjas all recoiled subtly, a clammy wave of cold and evil sweeping over the court. Rhaast's glowing eye scanned the acolytes present, before he spoke to Kayn.

"They are scared of me, and they don't even know it."

Kayn just scoffed in response. He shifted his focused to his audience once more.

"This is Rhaast, the living weapon I retrieved from Noxus."

The students, initially petrified by the force the ancient weapon exuded, slowly regained their confidence when they witnessed how casually Kayn was handling it. Looks of curiosity appeared on their faces as their master spun his weapon around, shifting into a battle stance.

"It contains untold power of times long past, leaving me no choice but to try and gain it for our orders benefit. So, let me ask you: if I can manage fighting an ancient demon locked inside for his power, you should be capable of learning a few measly shadow techniques, don't you think?"

His crude attempt at a joke had its desired effect. Smiles appeared on his students faces, and a tentative chuckled came from here and there.

"Now, let's pick up where we left off last time, shall we?"

The rest of the week passed by almost like a breeze. Kayn could finally bring himself to enjoy the following days, and for the time being, he managed to escape the dark visions he'd had about Zed. Time was spent training with his small group of acolytes, furthering their combat and magic skills, while he also came to know them all on a more personal level.

That wasn't to say he'd disregarded them as people entirely the previous day. But Kayn had to admit, he'd always been a little centered on himself. Understandable of course, being the wielder of a Darkin weapon and the potential successor of the Shadow Order of course! At least, that's what he told himself. In comparison to that, his students had seemed… a little insignificant. Now that he had taken time to truly find out about them and the convictions they held, he was pleasantly surprised.

He'd spoken to Pei, the man from Pallas, who resented Ionia's leaders for not fighting back.

He got to know Zi Huan and Sai Zhin from Navori, two men who wanted to learn how to be strong fighters to protect their hometown.

Meeting with Kishon, from Zhyun, and his sister Luo, he learned they were orphaned by the war, and wanted to repay Zed for taking them in.

He was astonished at Kage, the son of a defected Kinkou, who wanted nothing more but to make his father proud, and at Lao Bai, a boy barely into adulthood who aspired to be the greatest ninja ever.

Akiko revealed to him she was born in the Order, and was devastated at having failed with the shadows for so long, as she felt she brought shame upon her family name.

And finally, Tehr'li and Sho-Zuo from Bahrl, who'd joined the Order a few months ago. Tehr'li had been training to be a fighter for the longest time of her life, explaining her prowess in combat, while Sho-Zuo (who'd taken to a far friendlier, if not slightly forced, manner with Kayn) had taught himself to fight after losing his parents, only stumbling over Zed's order recently by accident.

They may have each had their own special quirks, different preferences in weapons and fighting styles, different attitudes and outlooks on life, but in spite of all this, they shared the same zeal for the Order of the Shadows as Kayn, and the same level of devotion to helping lead Ionia into an era of supremacy. Before, he'd seen the whole ordeal as more of a burden, something forced on him by his master, but now he genuinely began enjoying the others company. Zed had been right in claiming that the training would be beneficial to him, Kayn had to admit somewhat begrudgingly.

This peace couldn't last however. One morning, Kayn found his prior fears to have become dire reality.

It was exactly one month after Zed's departure that day, and dark clouds blanketed the skies over the Kinkou monastery. The threat of rain hung in the air, and strong winds gusted through the treetops surrounding the monastery walls, but the shadow ninjas wouldn't be deterred by bad weather. In fact, spirits were never higher amongst Kayn's students.

Having practiced their shadow techniques all week, Kayn had them pitted against one another in one on one duels, to see how far they'd come. To call the fights all out mayhem would've been an understatement. The acolytes went at each other with extreme vigor, determined to prove themselves, and so the courtyard was filled with the sound of shouts, clashes of steel and various magic noises, mingling together into the familiar symphony of battle that Kayn knew and relished.

The young master-in-training stood over the spectacle, so enraptured in watching them that he missed the commotion erupting at the front doors of the monastery. He was thrown from his reverie rather violently when another ninja came to a stop beside him. Confused, he turned around, becoming aware of the shouts echoing across the courtyard in the process.

"What's going on?" Kayn inquired, bewildered.

"Master Zed has returned, and he's seriously injured."

Kayn's eyes widened, and he let out a shocked "What?!", louder than he'd wanted to. All around, the other ninjas were alerted that something was off by Kayn's demeanor, and when the young shadow ninja took off, sprinting towards the source of commotion, his students were barely able to keep up with him. "This can't be happening." Kayn thought, panicking. Yet, when he arrived at the front gates, his fears were confirmed. Through the large reinforced gates slowly stumbled two figures: one of the master assassins, with Zed propped up on his shoulder. The sight horrified Kayn.

Zed's armor was, for the lack of a more elegant term, peppered with holes. The red cloth adorning him was shredded and soaked with his own blood, which also caked the metal plates that clung to him. His left leg limped noticably, seemingly having taken the most damage. Within seconds, the Orders medics had surrounded their master, placing him on makeshift bedding and beginning to remove his armor. Kayn sprinted over to his side, and upon seeing his student approach, the master of shadows waved for the medics to make way. His mask was off, and while Zed held a face of stoicism as usual, the underlying pain was still visible.

"Master! What… what happened to you?" the younger man inquired, slowly losing his composure as he witnessed the state of his master.

Zed winced as a medic felt his wounds, before responding through grit teeth. "We were… ambushed."

When news had reached the ninjas orders that the Golden Demon, the scourge of Zhyun, had been sighted once more, Shen and Zed had decided they needed to bring their A-game, taking along some of their most skilled warriors to assist them. Unfortunately for them, Jhin had been more than prepared.

Shen had brought along only one other Kinkou, and Zed had almost admonished him for daring to bring so little, when he'd remembered the state the Kinkou order was in. He hadn't exactly left many of them alive. So, very reluctantly, he'd decided to pass one of his three shadow assassins on to his former brother, and they decided to split in order to flank the insane artist. The clues they'd found indicated that the next "performance" was to happen during a play in a theater close to the Placidium of Navori, and the audacity of the madman made Zed's blood boil. With their last encounter in mind, the two ninjas masters resolved to searching the entire building. As much as Shen wanted to simply evacuate the building, he agreed with Zed that they needed to take the risk of people dying in order to not alert Jhin. They wouldn't get another chance like this.

Then everything had proverbially gone down the drain. Four minutes into the beginning of the play, the shadow assassin protecting the auditorium found a flower-patterned grenade rolled between his feet. He had no time to react as the explosion launched his body over the railing and into the audience below. He was dead before he touched the ground. Panic immediately errupted amongst the spectators, and while the hall slowly emptied, Zed scanned the room for the culprit. His eyes soon came to rest on the figure standing where his comrade had been a moment ago. The dress-up was different, but there was no doubt on who it was. Jhin let out a haunting laugh, before running off.

Anger coursed through Zed's veins, and he took off after the artist, summoning his shadows to scale the auditorium. He heard Shen calling after him to wait, but he cared little for the Kinkou. That madman had killed one of his, and he'd make him pay.

Through winding corridors, he followed the trail of mad laughter, dodging one, two, three bullets, until their chase ended on the very rooftop of the theater. Huffing angrily, Zed found that he'd indeed cornered the artist. The only way down was the stairs behind him, and Shen was sure to have secured all other escapes.

"You're done, Jhin!" The master of shadows called out. "Now I will finish what Kusho couldn't all those years ago!"

Jhin only chuckled, handling his walking cane. "Oh, poor Zed. You are but a shadow of Kusho's excellence. Do you think you can stop my performance? Come and get me then."

With a cry of anger, Zed charged his arch-enemy, arm blades drawn and ready to tear into the man that had ruined his life. His face distorted in confusion as he saw Jhin ready his cane calmly, until he felt something trigger below his feet. The lotus traps! He'd forgotten about them! Before he could attempt to leave the lethal field of flowers, he felt powerful magic root him in place. The tip of Jhin's cane was smoking, having fired its snaring shot, leaving the Master of Shadows to die

"Now that is what I want to see!" the madman taunted.

Unable to move, Zed cursed himself as the lethal traps began unfolding. What a fool he'd been to charge like this. "Almost like Kayn."

A loud "NO!" sounded, and at the last second, Zed found himself shoved to the side by one of his subordinates. Then the explosion went off, and before his eyes, another shadow assassin was reduced to little more than bloody shreds. While most of the blast was caught by the body now on top of him, pain flared up still as some shrapnel found him as well, rendering his leg useless and penetrating his armor and flesh. Above him, he saw Jhin step up to his side, turning the mangled corpse over with his foot. The artist let out a grunt when he laid eyes on the mans face, and he began trembling in anger.

"No, no, this is wrong. It was supposed to have been the star, the excellent student! It would've been my best production yet! The master mourning his student, the two joined in death..." A boot encased in gold armor found Zed's side, before stepping on his chest. "You've ruined my art, twice now. I hate it when filth tarnishes my stories... ah, but the finale will be all the same, and I'll have my revenge." He spun his gun, and leveled it at Zed's head.

The ninjas eyes widened below his mask. The excellent student? Mourning? Revenge? It had never been about the theater, had it? No, Jhin had come for them. Another chuckle sounded from above. "You're waiting for your precious brother Shen to save you, are you not? I've redecorated the entire building. Your companions are all dead, as you will be."

At the last moment, Zed realized that Jhin had slipped up. The artist had always kept his distance, but having his plan go awry seemed to have ruined his composure. He was in range, and Zed lashed out, toppling the leg keeping him in place. The fourth shot rung out, missing his head by only a handwidth, and before Jhin could recover, a shadowy mass extended from Zed's good leg and struck him back once more. With the madman distracted, a few sloppy hand gestures opened a portal into the shadows, and with the last of his strength, he pulled himself into it.

"That cursed bastard! He'd been expecting us all along. He was probably the one to give us the clue to finding him in the first place!"

Kayn's master groaned, and his uninjured hand lashed out to hit the unfortunate healer who'd removed a piece of shrapnel that had been overlooked. "Be careful! I don't need you to finish what that bastard started!" Kayn took note that his master's usual composure and eloquent way of speech were slipping. He couldn't blame him. Any lesser man would fall apart and die at this point, he was sure.

"You should've let me come with you. I could've hel-"

Against better judgement, Zed sat up, startling the surrounding ninjas, and he latched onto Kayn's arm with a fierce grip. Shadows welled up around him angrily, betraying his emotions.

"Jhin was expecting you to come, you idiot! He'd planned it all! You were supposed to die, and I was to survive long enough to mourn your demise. The only reason I got out was because he was too busy being upset to properly finish me." He let his hand fall down again, too exhausted to keep it up. "I couldn't lose you there, Kayn. Not to him."

The younger ninja stared at his master, eyes wide, finding no words to respond with. His master wasn't a man to form attachments like that. Of course, he'd been close to Zed, having been raised under his hand, but there was always a sort of professional distance between them, keeping him from ever seeing Zed as a true "father". What kind of a monster must Jhin be to elicit such sentimental responses from his master?

"Have you been following the task I set up for you?" Zed spoke up once more, surprising Kayn.

"Yes, of course, master. The students are performing ever so nicely."

His master closed his eyes. "Good. That's good." He sighed, and his limbs relaxed. Panic flooded through Kayn, flashes of his visions in front of his eyes, and he grabbed his master's hand. "Please don't die, master!" he called out, voice almost squeaking.

Zeds eyes opened again, and he shot his student a look of slight annoyance as he extricated his hand. "Do you really think… I'll kick the bucket from something like this? I ought to punish you for your lack of faith."

Kayn realized then the way he'd been acting, like a panicked child instead of a grown adult. What was wrong with him? His master was lying before him, suffering, and all he managed to do was embarrass him further? Yet, if only Zed knew.

He bowed his head. "I'm sorry, master. But things happened and… I had reasons to be afraid." I've seen you die in my head too many times this week to not be scared.

Zed's eyes narrowed. "A warrior of the Shadow Order is not afraid of anything, Kayn. Keep yourself together!"

His master's demeanor was returning to normal, which relieved Kayn immensely, and he gave a nod of understanding. One of the healers decided to speak up then.

"We've tended to the most grievous wounds, but we'd like to move you to the infirmary for proper treatment, master."

Zed nodded in approval, and the medics folded the sheet he was on into a makeshift gurney in order to properly carry him. Before they left, the Master of Shadows addressed his student one more time.

"Don't worry yourself, Kayn. I have survived worse. We'll talk more later."

With that, the group set into motion, leaving the young ninja behind to contemplate the situation. Around him, the returning shadow assassin was crowded by students and companions alike, and with a start, Kayn noticed the extent of the damage Jhin had dealt: of the three ninjas that had left with Zed, only one had returned.

He clenched his fists in anger. He'd been fooling around playing master here, while Zed had almost died, and he couldn't forgive himself, no matter what words of comfort or threat his master offered. Almost out of reflex, thoughts of vengeance welled up inside of him. The scythe at his side, having been eerily silent the entire time, chuckled, and he could feel Rhaast grow excited at his visions of revenge and bloodshed. No, this wasn't the way. He was about to make a rash decision again, which Zed had expressed his disapproval of numerous times now… with a great sigh, Kayn turned away from the gates and headed towards the infirmary.

As much as he wanted to tear the insane artist apart, he'd learned painfully that sometimes, revenge and bloodshed brought you nowhere.

Please rate both the character developement and edginess on a scale of one to ten Pyke ults.