Nothing moved, not my opponents who were in mid sprint trying to stop me from what had already been finished, not the gargantuan black widow that was in the middle of tearing my leg apart, not even the air I breathed or failed to breath as everything around me just...stopped.
Yet somehow in that instant of time, I was forced to blink.
The half a second of darkness met my vision before the cover was thrown away and I was no longer in the Summoner's Rift, instead now I was standing in a barren cobblestone chamber that was bathed in a light blue glow.
Immediately I noticed that my vision was no longer damaged and since I was standing back on my own two feet again I could tell Elise's work had been undone.
To my sides were Jinx and Garen, both of which seemed to be impassive to the fact that they were dead just a few seconds ago.
After a few moments of silence and with an exchange of a few words from each other, the Loose Cannon, Chain Warden and Dark Sovereign made their way out of the chamber.
I felt a heavy pat on the shoulder as the Might of Demacia patted me on his way to the chamber exit.
"Valiant work on the battlefield, Inumbris, may we fight together again soon." He commended, before disappearing from the room as well.
Was that it? A simple pat on the back for each other after risking their lives multiple times before heading off in their own directions?
The more time I spent in this Institute, I found, the more things I would eventually have to grow used to.
Taking a breath, I too made my out of the summoning chamber.
Immediately when I had stepped out from the entrance I was greeted by the same halls that navigated throughout the Institute of War, the feeling of familiarity caused me to relax somewhat.
On my way back to my room I had noticed that despite that both my body and robes had been repaired, I myself was stilled doused in grime, blood, and ash, adding yet another question as to why the summoners simply neglected certain parts of their arenas.
Letting out a sigh of disgust I journeyed through the Institute's halls and made a beeline straight for my dorm as soon as it came into sight.
Once I was in the cover of my room I began to strip my armor off of me, pulling the robes over my head and tossing it onto my mattress when something twitched in the back of my mind.
Pausing, I look around the room scanning for anything out of place while internally I tried distinguishing anything inside from the cacophony of lives that surrounded me.
Eventually I found nothing, yet I remained skeptical as I pulled off my boots and headed for the only other door in my room besides the exit.
When I had first settled there I never thought I was going to need a bathroom, but after a few practice matches with Fiora told me that unless I wanted to look like I had ended up on the wrong side of Brand, I was going to definitely need it.
The warm water felt amazing as my body finally began to relax from the match's onslaught.
Resting my forehead against the smooth stone of the shower, allowing the water to pour down the side of my back while the day replayed through my mind.
The images of Syndra being crushed between a boulder and a wall, souls being slowly ripped away by a cackling Thresh and the merciless crimson eyes of Elise flaunted across my thoughts before I quickly shook them away.
Finally, the crumpled face of Azir as I relentlessly caved it in with a stone presented itself in my imagination, a mixture of satisfaction and guilt took a stab at my heart.
I remembered all those curses I threw at him and Xerath, hoping with every fiber of my being that they would suffer as much I had.
But now I felt tired, exasperated even.
Originally I had come before the League for the not-so-simple purpose of finding answers to what had happened as well as revenge, now I wasn't sure as to what to do.
Azir remained the same arrogant man he always had been, trying to assemble the pieces of his fallen kingdom even though I saw no way of that even happening anymore.
What is his plan? How does he even plan to accomplish rebuilding Shurima? Why does he believe he deserves a second chance? I asked myself, the pile of questions I held in the back of my thoughts steadily growing larger.
Putting my back against the wall, I slowly slide down to the floor and wrapped my arms around my knees and brought them to my chest.
Watching the water droplets fall, I again try to clear my head of any thoughts and for once bring myself some internal peace, that's when the face of The Spider Queen clawed itself back into my mind, her eyes locked onto my mine while he lips were still pulled into a deadly smirk.
Again, I felt a twitching in the back of my mind causing me to stiffen my back and reach up to turn the water off.
Wrapping a towel around my waist, I open the door to my bedroom to find it undisturbed, except for a small white envelope sitting neatly in the middle of my bed.
My eye brows furled into a glare as I walked to the foot of my bed and grabbed the letter, the twitch now steadily growing louder and more frantic as if it was anticipating something.
Opening the envelope, I take out a small piece of parchment, marked simply with.
"Meet me at the 'Le Kappa' cafe, around 2:15. I trust that you know where it is and that you won't disappoint.
-E"
I immediately tossed the note to the side, there was no chance that I was ever going to amuse that woman's request.
Turning back to the room, I scan the walls again as the chittering didn't even bother trying to conceal itself anymore.
"If you'd like to leave this room alive then I'd suggest you come out, rather than me having to find you." I growled to the darkness.
It stopped now, I could feel its anticipation as something crawled from out of the shadows.
It was one of Elise's spiderlings, bearing the same markings that its kin and Queen wore however this one was noticeably smaller than the rest, no doubt for the use of spying on the champions and summoners of the league.
I took a step closer causing the creature to scuttle backwards slightly while its eight beady eyes were locked onto me.
Sighing, I kneel down and bring my hand to the floor, inviting the spiderling to crawl aboard.
For a few seconds it didn't move, simply keeping its pupiless gaze trained on my eyes before slowly but surely it crawled forward and into the palm of my hand.
The feeling of its legs scuttling across my skin sent a chill down my spine, I never particularly enjoyed spiders, especially if they belong to a psychotic, homicidal woman.
Getting back up to my feet, I make way for the window and open it, allowing the afternoon sunlight to shine through the room.
I turned back to the creature in my hand, feeling a glare creep back into my expression.
"Tell your mistress that the next time I see you or any of your brothers and sisters spying on me, I won't be sending them back."
It did nothing in response except simply stare at me, its gaze getting more unsettling by the second.
I mentally smacked myself as I thought through what I was doing, talking to a spider and expecting the creature to do a cartwheel or something in response and while my life up to this point had been somewhat ridiculous it wasn't that mad.
I gently placed the arachnid onto the ledge of my window, looking at it for a few seconds before reaching over to the pane.
"I'm serious, of all the things I do not want is your mistress peeping on me through your eyes." I warned, closing the window and turning back to my room before the realization that I might have just threatened a perfectly normal spider came across my mind.
Shrugging it off, I look to my travel clothes that didn't look to be too clean at the moment causing me to slip back on my robes.
I found them comfortable and the fact remained that I was going to have to wear them often enough, so I might as well get used to it.
Next I slipped feet back into my boots, only neglecting to strap back on my shin and shoulder guards since I wasn't going to need them...hopefully.
In moments I was dressed and ready for...what exactly?
I had no other plans, Evangeline hadn't contacted me after the match and since she was my only connection to the council I assumed that they had nothing else planned for me.
Then why had I gotten ready to head out?
"No." I said aloud, almost as if I were commanding myself.
I was NOT going to meet her, not by any chance in the deepest parts of hell would I even consider it.
There were no good intentions behind inviting for whatever she had planned and the possibility that it could all go horribly wrong were high in the best of circumstances.
I had much better, safer things to bide my time with like talking to Avilius and Braum... except Avilius had guard duty tonight and even so I wasn't the most talkative out of the three of them.
Turning back to the window, the thought that I could sit out of the rooftops and wait for night came into my mind before being immediately shot down by the fact that it was one in the afternoon and was I truly eager to wait seven hours for sun set?
I could just be interested in "Le Kappa" I thought to myself, it looked decent enough when I had passed by it the few times I traveled through town...except that I no longer ate...or drank, funny how that sort of stuff slipped my mind sometimes.
Letting out a frustrated groan, I kick the foot of my bed while muttering a few curses to myself.
"By the sun be damned." I grumbled before slinging my prison over onto my back and walking out the door.
-Elise-
I sat calmly in my seat, relaxing my body after the match had finally ended with a rather... distasteful conclusion.
I felt somewhat frustrated with myself, if I hadn't decided to enjoy my time taking apart my prey the battle would've concluded in a much more favorable way, well at least for me.
To my side one of my children came forward, chittering in concern, no doubt feeling my emotions.
I patted it in appreciation before carefully stroking its abdomen while I waited for one of its kin to respond back to me.
It was taking longer than I originally expected, causing me to sigh with boredom before stopping the comfort of my child and plucking my book from its designated place.
Flipping through the pages I once again found where I had last left off and continued reading, returning my hand back to my child.
Half a chapter later, a small click in my head told me that it had finally entered the room.
Closing the book I close my eyes and allowed my child's vision to replace mine.
Immediately I noticed that Inumbris' room looked absolutely barren, save for the bare essentials that all League dorms provided there was nothing that he had done to make the room his.
No books, no objects of personal attachment, nothing.
Didn't he join the League a little more than a week ago?
Taking my time to ponder whether or not the healer was truly that boring or not, my child turned over to the wardrobe and saw a small leather bag sitting inside.
Curiosity got the better of the both of us as it then crawled up the furniture and into the satchel itself.
It was filled with travel supplies, a water skin, bits of wrapped food (that seemed to have long since spoiled) and even a small bag of coins, tucked to the side was a small letter that read: "Thank you again Inumbris, let this just be a small payment for what you have done for us. Best of wishes, Agrass and Theresa."
I quirked an eyebrow as read the note over again, slowly contemplating whether or not I should leave my little message inside the satchel, before I could make up my mind my child then heard the door to the room being opened.
Quickly I commanded it dig itself deeper into the bag as we both saw the healer walk inside, looking rather fatigued from the previous match.
He sluggishly detached the sword from his back and sat it next to his bathroom door before pulling off his robes and heading towards the bathroom.
On his way Inumbris stopped for a second and turned back, his eyes scanning over the room.
I felt myself hold my breath as his eyes slowly resting on the travel bag we were hiding in, a glare forming across his face before moving on and walking into the next room.
The moment I heard the door close and the tell tale sound of the shower being turned on, my child leapt from out of the satchel and onto the bed opposite of the dorm's exit.
It then rested the small present in middle of the sheets, chittering in excitement before scuttling back towards the wardrobe as we heard Eternity's Prisoner open the door.
Resting in the shadows of the furniture, the two of us watch carefully as there was no doubt in Inumbris' expression that he knew that we were here.
With only a towel wrapped around his waist I could see his exposed upper body finding him to be...meh.
He didn't have an ounce of fat on him but he wasn't muscular either, besides the scar that ran down from his chin to collar bone and the smart-ass look behind his eyes there wasn't anything about him that truly stood out, like someone had given life to their first sculpture of the human body.
I could feel my child's excitement as it began to chittering in anticipation.
The Healer slowly walked towards the bed, looking down at the not we had set for him.
Picking it up, he began to tear through the top of the envelope, dropping it to the floor as he read the small sentence that him all he needed to know.
In time the note too was dropped to the floor as Eternity's Prisoner set his gaze back into the room.
"If you'd like to leave this room alive, then I'd suggest you come out, rather than me having to find you." He said out into the dark, his glaring eyes still scrutinizing the dorm.
While I could feel my child's motivation at the thought of presenting itself to the Healer, I quickly smother it.
What are you thinking? I mentally reprimanded them.
Already I was devising a path where the Healer wouldn't notice out exit, however before even another second had passed my child decided to crawl down from its hiding place and right into his field of view.
Inumbris stared at them for a moment, confusion evident across his face until he slowly recognized to whom the spider belonged to.
Part of me believed that he immediately bring his foot down without a second thought, but instead he calmly extended a hand towards my child.
At first my child shifted backwards, our gaze still locked onto Inumbris', silently studying him.
Eternity's Prisoner merely sighed as he dropped onto his knees and placed the palm of his hand only a foot away from us.
Without hesitation I told my child not to trust whatever he was trying to do and back away into the shadows, yet frustratingly enough they again ignored me and cautiously scuttled into the Healer's hand.
He got back up to his feet and directly made for the window.
"Tell your mistress that the next time I see you or any of your brothers and sisters spying on me, I won't be sending them back." Inumbris warned, not realizing at this very moment I could hear everything he was saying.
"I'm serious, of all the things I do not want is your mistress keeping tabs on me through your eyes."
If you're worried about me seeing you walking out of the shower, I'm afraid it's a little too late. I thought to myself.
With those final words the Healer closed the window, cutting off any vision of him and his from us.
For a moment I allowed my child to rest there and continue whatever it was doing as I was wondering if Eternity's Prisoner was going to accept my little invitation.
He didn't seem too happy at the thought of my request, but I knew he would come.
Behind the glare that the Healer held was an odd look of curiosity, maybe even he didn't believe that he was going to oblige me, but there was no doubt in my mind that he would be here in a few moments' time, and when he did it would be rather...intriguing.
"Ma'am?" A voice called out to me, bringing my thoughts to a halt and wrenching my vision back to my own eyes.
In front of me was one of the "Le Kappa's" waiters holding out a notebook and pen, an expectant look across his face.
I quickly force a smile to mine, closing the book and taking a glance to my side.
Thankfully my child had managed to make itself scarce by the time it took for the waiter to get to my table.
He was tall, with a moderate build and scraggly dirty blonde hair, his eyes were slightly sunken and shaded like he had gone a few nights without any sleep and even in the way he held himself he looked uninterested, bored even with everything around him.
But no matter how fatigued he looked there was a glint of greed and jealously in his eyes every time he gazed at some of the summoners that visited this place often.
He was perfect.
"My apologies, I was just merely lost in my own thoughts about this." I explained, waving the man's attention to the book I held.
I saw his eyes look over to it before returning back to mine, confused on what I was talking about.
"It does often bring me peace thinking about that one day I will be brought to the shores of my beloved god as his life will flow into mine, and that I will live in harmony with my kin." I cooed, speaking ever so more quietly so that the man would have to lean in closer in order to hear.
He did so until our faces were only a couple of inches apart, his bored expression evaporating away as now his eyes were locked onto mine.
I turn away from him, feigning an apologetic look.
"I'm so sorry again, you clearly don't want to listen to my dribble, I'll just give my order."
The waiter quickly took a step forward, straightening somewhat but keep himself close enough so that the others around us couldn't hear what we were saying.
"N-no ,no, p-please do continue." He stammered, not even bothering to disguise his interest.
I felt myself smile, both inside and out as already the invisible threads were being woven around the man in front of me.
"Have you ever heard of The Spider God?"
-The Healer-
In the early afternoon the town was busy with regular pedestrians and summoners of the league, no doubt some of them seeking a break from sending others in to fight to their death and then some.
Glancing at one of the nearby clocks that stood in some of the more crowded areas, I could tell that it was around 2:16.
Already I was late, but it mattered much less to me when I was still debating whether or not I should go in the first place.
Before I even realized it, the "Le Kappa" cafe stood before me, the descending sun's rays reflecting off of the multitude of windows that covered the building.
Outside were multiple tables, most of them were simple metal tables with only a white cloth serving as a cover while only a few had a small vase of flowers at the center.
I looked over the area, scanning each table for the distinct figure that was the Spider Queen when one of the waiters came up to me.
Physically, he looked like he had just gotten out of bed with his blonde hair ragged and dark circles tracing around his eyes, but there was a spring in his step like a child promised a toy for good behavior.
"Inumbris, I assume?" He spoke, readjusting a tray of multiple cups and saucers.
I nodded as I could already feel a grain of suspicious grown inside me as the man beckoned me to follow him.
"How did you know exactly?" I inquired, making sure to keep in step with him.
"I was told that someone like you is coming, and with that getup you tend to stick out around here, even with the summoners, so I just kinda put two and two together."
Some one like me. The words echoed in my head as I began to piece together what had happened.
So she knew already that I was going to accept her invitation, without a doubt with a little help from the spider she tried planting in my room.
The two of us walked a little farther down the side of the cafe until we had reached the back corner where a single table lay that was considerably more decorated than the rest.
At the opposite end of it sat Elise, calmly looking back at me with a disarming smirk.
Immediately, the waiter then pulled one of the saucers from the tray before setting it in front of her.
"Your second order p..." He mumbled, barely even audible for me just two feet away, however the last word he uttered sounded suspiciously like: Priestess.
"Why thank you, Richard." She spoke, her voice was dripping with a sickly sweet tone, which I knew was more of an disarming mechanism rather than an actual praise.
She silently waved for me take a seat, however I merely stood there, looking her over before turning my gaze to 'Richard', thinking over the scenario in front of me.
The Elise that sat across from me almost looked 'normal', there weren't any limb protruding from her back, neither were her eyes a dark crimson with two black slits for pupils, rather now a deep dark hazel.
She was disguised.
I immediately wanted to pull Richard to the side and tell him to run, run away and never-ever consider joining Elise's cult, for obvious reasons.
Yet one sentence, one absurd, unfair sentence held me back from doing so.
Elise has signed the contract of anonymity with the Institute of War, meaning that while the public may know of her somewhat they are excluded from the fact of her 'true form' and what is believed to happen annually with her cult. Both champions and summoners are restricted from ever mentioning her true intentions to the public for this would have direct consequences for her and ultimately the League. Anyone who violates this contract is subject to the punishments that were agreed to once signing into The Institute of War.
The bold faced letters at the bottom of the Spider Queen's bio taunted me from the back of my mind as I slowly sat myself down.
"Is there anything I can get you sir?" The waiter inquired, setting the tray to the side while pulling a note pad from his side pocket.
"Just some green tea if you would please." I replied absentmindedly, not daring to turn my vision away from Elise as if she were some creature ready to pounce (which was true in multiple ways.)
"Righty then. Sir, Ma'am, enjoy yourselves." He nodded before lifting up his tray and walking back to the entrance of Le Kappa.
Soon after his departure silence fell between the two us as he eyed one another in a venomous game of not blinking.
As I was only two feet away from her, I could see that even through her disguise she decided to keep her unusual red hair and the same clothing that she wore on the battle-field that left little to the imagination.
While I'll admit she was beautiful, I wouldn't describe it as the same beauty as a sort of serene figure, but the term "beautiful" someone would use to describe a masterfully crafted weapon, or a leopard hunting down a gazelle in the last few moments before it seized its kill.
Once a few minutes had passed she sighed, breaking eye contact and rested her head on her hand.
"You are such an interesting person to talk to." Elise commented sarcastically, taking her pointer finger and slowly stirring her spoon within the coffee cup, a bored expression apparent.
"What did you want from me Elise?" I said, ignoring her previous statement.
"Straight to point, as always." She now looked at me her usual smirk, to this I sat back in my chair waiting for her to make her point.
"As you might know, I am the leader of a...particular religious group that worships Vilemaw, the Spider God."
"Of course, and I know that with every year you select a handful of your most devout followers to "the Blessed Isles", but nobody seems to come back afterwards except you, just a meaningless coincidence, I'm sure." I barked.
"Oh and I'm sure none of your followers know-" I dropped my voice slight. "Of the little fact that can you transform in a blood thirsty arachnid." With each word my tone spat more and more poison at the woman across from me.
None of what I said seem to phase her as she calmly stirred her coffee before taking a sip, making sure to take as much time as possible to enjoy it.
For a moment her eyes gazed over to my neck where my scar was stretched across, where she had sank her fangs into at the beginning of the match.
I self consciously pull at my scarf, making sure to cover it before continuing my rant.
"And so what if you're a leader of horribly mislead religious cult, how does this have anything to do with me?"
"Because, I know how to solve your little condition." She responded blankly.
"W-what?" A small pebble of dread began forming in my stomach.
"You obviously were given my background, or as much as I had give to the League, and so it's only basic understanding that I was given yours."
"..after today, what happened...who you are will be open to everyone. Once your presence is announced there won't be a single summoner or champion that won't know something about you."
Swallowing down the lump in my throat, I focus my vision back to Elise who knew that she had struck a cord with me internally.
"Yes, so?"
"Meaning that if you side with me and agree to a contract, I can make you feel almost human again. You see, while Vilemaw's venom might not be able to separate your soul from the sword but it can easily bring back the senses you have been missing for so long. Taste, warmth, and other things." The Spider Queen explained, even in her look she silently laughed at me.
She knows that!? How much did Evangeline include with that report? I screamed inside my head.
"If you've read my background, then you should realize that I would never side with something like you." I snarled.
This time Elise's smirk disappeared.
"And what does 'something like me' mean exactly?" She hissed.
"It means, your highness, that I would rather go back into my sword and rot away than to side with such a disgusting and vile monster." Whatever calm and collected nature Elise had was quickly cast to the wind as she began to dig her nails into the table, her hazel eyes flashing red just for a second.
"I am above just a simple monster, and certainly above this filth that you call humanity, I am more beautiful than what any of them could ever dream to be, more powerful than their most desperate wishes, and you have no right to even begin talking about whom the monster is." A spider now crawled from a red haze and onto the table, its eyes were furious and its fang poised to strike.
"You GAVE your humanity away, Elise, I had mine stripped away from me. The thousands that you have sacrificed just to keep this-" I motioned towards her features. "Do you not realize how much I would give up of myself just to bring that many people back!?" My voice was growing louder as leaned over the table and kept my face glaring towards Elise's, not even phased in the slightest about her pet.
"Why do you care!? Humans are worthless-no they're below worthless, they corrupt this world and mercilessly kill each other just for another piece of gold, another piece of land, another piece of whatever they want because taking is all that they're good for!"
I let out a dry, bitter laugh to this.
"Then you truly more ignorant than any other person I have met. When I was in Shurima all those who walked the streets, vended the shops, or guarded the walls, I could see all of their emotions, all of their intentions and yes while some were never good, or noble or even the least bit caring, they were drowned out by the compassion, the empathy, the kindness others held for each other. That's why I was a healer, THAT is why I kept the people of Shurima going for as long as I could, and that is the reason why I will always hate the people like you who are willing to destroy it all."
Elise's child let out a small hiss towards me, however instead of attacking it crawled up her arm and onto her shoulder.
"I want to point out something that you just said." She muttered while collecting herself, picking up her drink and taking a sip. "That you said that you were a healer, implying that you are no longer one."
I raised an eyebrow, not seeing where she was going with this.
"Yes, but how-"
"Why do you consider yourself not a healer? Hmmm? It's because you broke your oath and failed to save all those people, such a shame, now who killed them? Were they a monster like me? Or were they someone that no one would ever expect to do such a thing? That's right, it's people like you that happily turn a blind eye to the fact that everyone, and I do mean everyone, is capable of performing such atrocities. In fact, you disgust me, Little Fly, it wasn't just because of Xerath did Shurima fall, it was because of you as well, it's because you put such blind faith in all those worthless creatures that you let your guard down and allowed them to stab you in the back."
"W-wait...what did you just say?" If I just heard what I thought I heard then...no it wasn't impossible...
The Spider Queen shot a glare at me, silently cursing me for my impertinence.
"I said that it's because you put such blind-"
"No, no, no, you said it's not just because of who did Shurima fall." I interrupted.
Clearly, Elise's patience was gone, now I was poking a conscious and very aggravated bear with a stick.
"I said, that it wasn't just because of Xerath did Shu-"
"How. Do You. Know. That. Name?"
She now looked at me as if she were having to explain something to a small child.
"He doesn't exactly keep it a secret, especially not when he's matched against Azir in the Summoner's Rift."
"You're saying that Xerath is a champion!? In THIS league?" I got out of my chair, my heart was racing a million miles an hour.
The Spider Queen rolled her eyes and gave out a sigh.
"Yes, your powers of deduction are unmatched, that is exactly what I'm sayi-"
"LIES! HE CANNOT BE ALIVE, HE JUST CAN'T BE. OUT OF ALL THOSE PEOPLE..." I yelled at the increasingly frustrated Elise.
"Why would I lie over something so trivial? Go look for yourself you blubbering child." She sneered but most of that sentence was lost to me as I was already sprinting past the waiter carrying my tea and heading back to the institute.
Out of everyone, Evangeline would know whether or not this was true, she had to know.
Even so...why would she keep something like from me? For this long?
"Please, please let this all just be a lie." I pleaded as I ran down the familiar path and through the forest.