Based on my traffic graphs so far, my story seems to be gaining some readership. This is very motivating! As always, please enjoy this next chapter!
There might not be another one tomorrow, as I will be preparing for something I've planned for this weekend. Look forward to the chapter after this one! Things are getting good, I promise!
They didn't give me long to gather my things. I barely managed to grab the container for that old poster of Riven before the police came in and threw me out. I would have liked to resist, but I'd rather be homeless than murdered. People who are killed by police generally disappear without any repercussions to the damn pigs. After last night, I've had enough of seeing blood for a very long time. Standing out on the curb, I watch as the policemen tear up and throw out my belongings into a nearby dumpster. They seemed to have disposed of them in such a way that I can't recover anything. After a bit, I start to see Riven's exercise equipment being tossed through the 3rd story window. A ball of guilt wells up in my chest. I don't know how they found out I was harboring her, but now I've gotten punished for it and what little possessions Riven had are now all gone. This is my fault. Not that that helps anything. I'm still powerless to stop what's happening in front of me. Riven runs up behind me and stares blankly at the scene in front of us. Just like last night, I can't even look at her.
"Someone probably noticed us walking together into your apartment. Why didn't you let me walk away before moving on your own!?" Riven's anger is like choking pollution to me. I don't dare open my mouth. "Now all my shit's gone! And I have to go back to dancing in that fucking Bunny Suit!" A right hook from her sends me crashing into the ground. My ears are ringing, my eyes are spinning, but I can still hear her yell. "I regret ever coming home with you!" A kick to the groin. "Fuck!" I choke back tears. Riven's using all of her strength to channel her rage and disappointment into my body. "I hope I don't see you again, dumbass." With that, Riven storms off. What points I scored with her are gone. As I lay there at the side of the road, the policemen stride over and give me a few kicks and beat me with their batons for good measure. Eventually they walk away too, and I am left there with just my shame and the poster, not that that sheet of paper matters now. Riven hates me. I'm to be treated as someone lower than Bronze now. Life is hell.
I manage to make my way back to the League's Embassy before I get harassed again. I make my way through slowly, sneaking around corners and hiding behind columns. Finally I'm back inside my plain office. Just the summoner's orb and gray brick walls. I gently place the tube beside my chair. I considered throwing it out, after that scene with Riven, but I decided that I should keep it. It might be a collector's item... at least I tell that to myself. I was probably looking for an excuse not to get rid of it. Despite what happened, my feelings for Riven are about the same. It's not her fault that that happened. Knowing that nothing else awaits me outside of this room, I focus all my energy into the Orb and take on assignment after assignment.
I lost all my games that day.
Meanwhile, at the Members in the High Command sit at a round table. Their attention is completely focused on Jericho Swain, who is presiding over their meeting. From the shadows, a hooded figure appears behind the General, and whispers into his ear. "Riven has once again been thrown out onto the streets. We've distributed pamphlets to every business in NoxDemacia. They know that the summoner who was harboring her is similarly blacklisted like she is." Swain's eyes do not move, but one could tell that a small smirk must have formed under his mask. "Good. Thank you, Talon." The assassin bows and fades back into the shadows, but not without adding, "I'll make sure he suffers." The General chuckles, "Do what you want. That is all."
As Talon leaves the room, Swain once again regards the High Command. "How goes our preparations?" he demands. A man speaks up immediately. "We have scouted the Demacian side of the Gate. There are guards there, but no one of caliber to stop us." A woman interjects the man before he speaks any further, "Sion has been successfully transported to the city without altering anyone. There were some casualties, but this is not a thing that matters, of course." Swain's eyes narrow. "What of the League? You say that they will not intervene this time. I will not have that city become another Kalamanda. It is difficult enough to take what is ours without those summoners interfering with their Ancient Magics." The meeting falls silent. A few of them look away to the far corner of the room, expectantly. "I can answer that question for you, Grand General". A set of Glyphs and glitter fill the air as a scantily clad woman breaks her invisibility and makes her presence known. "The Black Rose will make sure that the League will have more important matters to attend to when you make your assault." Swain glares sharply at LeBlanc. "What are the details?" he demands."I will tell you now that I am not the fool that Darkwill was." The mage chuckles and states matter-of-factly, "We will release a couple of the Void's creatures from their restraints in the League's Cells. My organization has plenty of summoners working there. They will not have any time to respond to you while they have to answer to the monsters loose in their halls." Swain leans back and maps out the situation in his head. Eventually the Tactician nods. "That seems to be very effective. What does the Black Rose desire in return?"
LeBlanc struts forward into the middle of the circular table at the center of the room. Leaning over ever so slightly and squeezing her breasts together, she speaks with a seductive purr. "I would like access to some of the dark magics that I hear are hidden in the study of the Grand General." Swain's eyes lock with hers, he is unfazed by her sexual display. "I will accompany you, as will Talon and Katarina. If you try to take or look at more than you are allowed, I guarantee your life will end in that room." LeBlanc chuckles, "Of course. So, do we have a deal?" Swain silently nods to answer her. The deal is set, and the meeting is adjourned.
I'm walking home from my horrible day on the job. My plays were bad, I was bad, everything is bad right now. I almost walk back home but I realize that I don't have a home anymore. Walking into an alleyway, I manage to find a cardboard box. It's not much, but I can pretend it's a bed if I try really, really hard. Eventually I end up in the Bronze slums. Even the places here won't take me in. This blacklist is extremely thorough. There is even a picture of me in several of the businesses so that they know not to allow me in. Finally, the crowds thin on the edge of the city and I find a place to sleep. I lean against the wall and blanket myself with the cardboard box. I shiver. The cold of the night, something that I did not have to worry about for these past few months, coils around me. This would have made me uncomfortable, if I didn't already have the pain of the multiple beatings I suffered today numbing my entire body. Closing my eyes, I try to fend off these sensations and drift into sleep...
I'm awoken by solid kick to my head. Great, someone found me. "Get up, scum", the voice demands. "Sorry, I'll move someplace else if you don't want me here."
"You're right where I want you!" Before I could inquire further, I receive a few more kicks before I hear the familiar sound of knives being sharpened on each other. Forcing myself into action, I jump away from the masked man, a spell at the ready. "What do you want with me!?" I demand. "I'm just a homeless Bronzie, fuck off!"
"Summoner Gin. Recently blacklisted and branded as an Exile to the Noxian government. I'm here to kill you." The man brandishes more knives, holding them between his knuckles. Immediately after declaring his killing intent, my left eye pulses and fills my entire head with pain. I get a vision. I see the masked assassin charge me, and with a deft horizontal slice, my neck is torn open. I'm left there lying on the ground to bleed out as the man walks out of the alleyway laughing. "Shit!" The vision lasted mere seconds before I jump back, narrowly avoiding the lethal attack. I launch the spell I had readied at him, but he dodges it easily.
"Who are you!?" I ask. I clutch my head again as another vision flickers through my mind. This time, I see the back of the man assaulting me, as a sharp, purple claw lashes out, slicing him in half. Before I could process what I saw I shouted "BEHIND YOU!" The man narrowly avoids certain death as a partially transformed human slowly turns into a full Void beast! This is the same thing I saw last night. How, and why is this happening!? The man dashes to my side, blades at the ready. "... I'll spare your life tonight. It seems you just saved mine." I glare at him. "I didn't do it on purpose." Suddenly, the man fades from my vision, as if he willed himself to turn invisible. Once again, I am alone against a monster out in the middle of the night. This time, Riven won't be around to save me. She's probably dancing away at the Debonair right now. Readying another spell, I narrowly dodge two more slashes from the Voidling before retaliating. A ray of frost cleanly hits both of its feet, coagulating and solidifying the filth of the ground around its legs. This is my chance to run! Turning around and running away, I steal several glances of the monster struggling to break free before I manage to get back to the main part of the slums. I sprint until my exhaustion overcomes me, and I almost collapse right there in the middle of the street. Another vision alerts me to an oncoming wagon and I narrowly escape death for what seems like the 3rd or 4th time this night. Hopefully, I managed to escape the monster. Nah, that would be too convenient, huh!? Shrill profanities and blood-curdling screams fill the air as I see the people around me being slaughtered by the oncoming Void creature. Unable to run, I stare it down, mandibles clicking, and grit my teeth as myriad voices once again fill my head. Then they go silent again. Another vision. I see deep purple, and then a greenish black. Buildings and makeshift houses come into view as the image becomes clearer. I'm behind the monster, who is promptly sliced in half with a blade made of eldritch energies. Gripping my eye in pain, the sensation of water falling on me almost escapes my notice. I look up to see my would-be-killer bisected and gushing purple blood and green ooze. Between the two halves stands a familiar person. Kassadin.
Without waiting for me to respond, he takes my hand and commands me to go with him. He pulls me through a Voidwalk. Bright purples and blacks litter what seems to be a tunnel, pulling Kassadin and I through, until we emerge at the neon green end of the tunnel. We're inside the Halls of Justice, in Southern Valoran. A gathering of summoners immediately place an anti-magic set of cuffs on my writs and ankles, binding them together. A nice side effect is that my eye no longer seems to be hurting. The pain quickly subsides. "You need to be contained!" says the leader of the summoners. "You're acting as a conduit for Void energy! Several people have turned into monsters because of your carelessness!" I'm quickly taken away into a holding cell. I'm thrown against the wall and the summoners quickly back away from me and magically seal the door.
Left to my own devices, what they said starts to click in my head. The monsters, the visions, everything starts to snap together, like a puzzle. The Void is somehow using my body to infect others. It's like a disease. Furthermore, the "power" that Kassadin mentioned also becomes clear. I can see glimpses of the future, but they all seem to be images of death. How morbid... fuck! That means Riven is going to die inside of the Debonair soon! I have to get out! I rush to the door and start to shout. "HEY! Is anybody out there! I need to tell you something! Something horrible is going to happen in Noxus! You have to believe me!" No answer. Whoever dropped me off here is long gone. That isn't too unreasonable. However... there might be one person who would still be here. "...Kassadin!" Still no answer. I try a few more times. I have to. What if tonight is the night that Riven is going to die!?
"Kassadin!"
"Kassadin!"
"Dammit!"
"KASSADIN!"
"What do you want, summoner?" Kassadin's voice comes from behind me. I spin around to him. Obviously he riftwalked into my cell. "Kass, my visions, my void power, I figured it all out!" Kassadin nods, "I see." I get on my knees and start pleading to him "But you have to get me out of here! Riven, no, Noxus might be in trouble!" Kassadin shakes his head. "I cannot do what you ask. You are too much of a danger to everyone around you." The Armies of the Void are going to be released in Noxus!" The Voidwalker's eyes widen in surprise. "... Tell me everything."
I tried to be as brief as I could, but explaining my left eye, the transformations, everything took at least half an hour. Kassadin finally speaks after nodding for that entire explanation. "It is good that you realized these things, but releasing you may have more risk than reward. What if you are the reason why the Void emerges in Noxus with such overwhelming power that even Riven is killed?" A fair point. I sit down on my bed and think of a good reason. "...Without me, you have no idea where exactly this is going to happen. My vision of the Debonair is from the middle of this supposed apocalypse. I understand your concerns, but our best bet is to gamble on me having another useful dream or vision. In this cell, I'm blocked from all magic, no visions, no chance of victory." Some minutes pass and eventually Kassadin relents. "What you say makes sense. Take my hand, we're going back to Noxus."
