It was late night, and both Jax and Irelia felt exhausted once they finally exited the Proving Grounds. Sona helped tend to any vital wounds they had, and took them to a hut where Ahri was planning something special

Jax felt as if he was being watched, so he stayed behind for a small bit. He walked over to a nearby cliff, and looked downward.

"Tomorrow…I want to end it all…"

'War is inevitable. There is no escape.'

Jax heard more things in his head, but he tried to cancel them out with his own thoughts. It was hard for him sometimes to go to sleep at night because it made him feel uncomfortable knowing that he might once again have to confront the demon, Aatrox. Although Jax had not seen him, he feels the drive and spirit of Aatrox inside of him. It was Jax's hope that once this mission was done that Aatrox would disappear forever, both on the outside and on the inside. Jax decided it wasn't worth it to wait any longer, and we went and caught up with the rest.

There to greet him was Jayce, Riven, and Karma.

Karma lent out her hand. "Greetings, grandmaster!"

Jax shook her hand and then instantly started questioning them. "Good to see everyone here, but what is the meaning of this?"

"We're going to help you and Irelia formulate a strategy for your invasion of the Institute of War. This is not a task that should be taken lightly, as all of us at one point have tried to defy the Institute of War and even our combined strength wouldn't be enough to overthrow their forces. There's just too much at stake when considering how fast their Summoner's Rift Project has gotten. Thus, please let us combine our brains even for this one day so that the enemy can be defeated once and for all." Karma bowed slightly, while the others also looked very sincere.

Jax felt a bit disturbed knowing that Karma and Riven in particular were extremely strong and experienced fighters but could still not defeat the Institute. He also felt a bit of compulsion in his heart that this was his duty, along with Irelia.

"Why should I trust you three?"

Jayce answered quickly. "Don't be a fool, Jax. Both of us know how capable you are of fighting, but that does not mean you should go on a suicide mission with no plan of action. We aren't here to babysit you; our mission from the beginning was to wait for a couple of young warriors who had the passion in their heart to join our rebellion."

Jax stared intensely back at Jayce. "So you waited…" Then, he got out his weapon and thrusted it at Jayce's chest. "…You just waited while others continued to die, sitting by until there might be someone to do your dirty work? Are you not all part to blame for the corruption of the council?"

Riven cut him off, and pointed her sword at Jax. "That's enough!" She put her blade down slowly as Jax backed off. "You're right, some of us are complicit in some of the terrible experiments and genocides committed by the Institute of War. However, that does not permit us to go through with a course of action that is more than likely to fail."

Riven looked down at the dirt, and started thinking of herself when she was in Noxus. "I subjected my body to so much suffering in the hopes that I could gain power…I now realize that power isn't something to strive for. I thought that if I was just strong enough, that I could make all wars across the world stop by the swing of my blade. It had only occurred to me once I saw the rise of the Institute of War that the power I wished to maintain was one that actively relied on the suffering of many in order to keep going. Do you think ANY of us felt good about just laying down our weapons temporarily? It's not like any of us to casually accept defeat for even a second; try to imagine how hard it was for all of us to get where we are in the first place, Jax."

Although Jax felt some sympathy, he still felt unsure about having to rely on others for his mission. Jax's whole purpose for living at this point in time was to abolish Aatrox, and deep down he really just did not want to drag everyone else into a problem that was started by Jax to begin with.

Before Jax could give his response, Ahri and Irelia appeared from a hill just beyond where Jax came from, and both of them went to Jax's side. Irelia lent out her hand. "Remember, this is our fight! You are very strong, but our combined forces could take down nations."

Jax felt warmer and more confident when hearing this, and he tugged Irelia towards him and hugged her. "Then, let's do this together."

Ahri could feel how close they had gotten in so few days, and it warmed her heart. She put her hand on both of their backs, and laughed. "Now that we're all acquainted once again, let's settle down and eat while discussion tomorrow's plan!"

Ahri guided them back to the hut they were staying near, and revealed a big table set up with tons of dishes on it. They cooked so much food that it seemed like even the seven of them could not finish all of it.

Jayce and Jax ran straight forward to the steaks, while the others sat back and watched them quarrel over how many pieces they were taking. The rest of them sat down and talked for what seems like hours. Even though it was night, none of them fell asleep because Sona's harmonious chords filled them all with enough spirit energy to keep staying up. Jax had ate so much that he nearly fell over onto the table, but Irelia caught him before he fell.

"Hey, you're not allowed to fall asleep if I have to stay awake!"

Jax was so full that he just slightly nodded and went back to the discussion. He looked over to Ahri, who looked so giddy and energetic. "You two are already liked a married couple…hmmm...I was planning on stealing back Irelia after this mission was over but now i'm so conflicted!" Ahri was clearly a bit out of it, since she drank almost all the wine they had stored for the night. She jumped over to where Irelia was sitting and started leaning on her while nagging her. It seemed harmless, but Jax noticed that Ahri was actually crying under that long smile she held out for so long. Before he could be even bothered to point it out, Jayce caught Jax's attention once more.

"Ahem…So, like I said…The Institute is mostly likely storing Aatrox on the third floor. Their first floor will be covered with a bunch of armed guards, which Riven, Ahri, and Karma will take most care of. After that, you will mostly be on your own but I will tap into your comms every now and then with these micro-headsets that you'll place in your ears tomorrow. It's a highly fortified place on the second floor for those who are not affiliated with the Institute, so most of the difficulty will just be in making sure that you can just blast through all of it before they have time to regroup. They won't know you're near the third floor until it's too late, because I will be able to hack into their radio and surveillance deployments fairly easily before we launch the attack."

Irelia, trying to get Ahri off her still, questioned Jayce. "What will we do if plan A fails?"

Jayce pulled out a list of notes he had, and threw it on the table. "We have three more backup plans. The most important thing is that we don't do anything that would ruin any of these plans. Even if I'm not able to communicate with you, the script should play out fairly easily come tomorrow. If the absolute worst case scenario happens, then we'll launch a bunch of diversionary warnings and retreat."

Karma nodded and entered the discussion. "We have to remember that most of these people are common Ionians who might've just had a change of heart due to the corrupt nature of the Institute. Our job isn't to kill off everyone, but rather to liberate the people and make sure that Ionia can be a safe haven for everyone once more."

Jayce put away his notes. "Agreed. We have approximately eight hours until we launch this attack. We'll go over it one last time, then we should all crucially get some sleep and be ready to fight with all our strength when the time comes."

So, they went over their plans and confirmed any other suspicions they might've had before they all decided it would be good to let it go for the night. Jax rested for the first time in a very long while, and instead of dreaming he just felt like something dark was tugging at his heart.

'Let hate consume you

…

You are being lied to

…

Let. It. Burn.'

Jax woke up, and decided to walk around a bit to shake off this feeling.

"As long as I just keep fighting, not even Aatrox can stop me."

Jax walked around a bit more, reinforcing his mind with positive beliefs, but got tired once more and went back to lie down again. This time, he did not sleep; the moment of truth was too close and he did not wish to miss even a second of it.

The morning finally came…Jax was the first one to set his sights onto the Institute of War. Right behind him was Irelia, with the rest of the party staying behind for now. The walk down to the Institute of War was surprisingly quiet, except for the occasional reminders from Jayce about the plan. Even though Jax was focused, he couldn't help but feel nervous. If he failed here, he might not have another chance as good as this to take down the Institute of War and rid Valoran of the blood of Aatrox.

Once Jax and Irelia got to the steps up to the Institute of War, the rest of the gang all ran up to the main floor to take out the troops stationed there.

"Jax, can you hear me?"

Jax replied, "Loud and clear, Jayce. What's it looking like?"

"Exactly as planned. Around 80 armed guards here, and I'm working on hacking into the surveillance on the inside already. It's all going according to plan. I'm to explode a set of bombs in about thirty seconds. On my mark, you and Irelia must run as fast as you can inside the institute before they can call reinforcements. Do you copy?"

"Yes, I caught all of that. Let us know the signal."

The outlook of the mission so far made Jax and Irelia feel a lot more comfortable, but this was just the beginning of the mission and there was no clear assurance that everything would go great once they were on the inside.

Jax breathed in and out while hearing his comms come back online. "3…2…"

Irelia looked at Jax and held her blade over her shoulder. "It's time…"

"1..." Jayce banged on his remote to blast off the bombs, but nothing happened. "W-WHAT?!"

Irelia trembled. "Huh, what's going on Jayce?"

"You can't be serious, my device just got jacked!"

Soon, an explosion came just up the hill, but it wasn't anywhere close to the target destination.

Irelia grabbed Jax's hand. "We can't waste any more time, that has to be the mark!"

Karma grabbed Jayce by his throat and made him explain himself. "What in the world have you just gotten those two into?"

Jayce struggled. "It wasn't me, I had no control over those explosives after I lost the signal to the remote…I can't believe they were able to find them so easily!"

He tried to think of what just happened, but it was so confusing to Jayce still. 'No…It's drastically impossible to find these micro-explosives without doing a full ground scan and they don't have that technology! The only way they could've know…OH FUCK!'

"EVERYONE, DESTROY YOUR COMMS RIGHT NOW! They've hacked into our channel!"

Karma's eyes widened, and she threw Jayce to the ground. "You god damn idiot, Jayce! We have to go clear the ground troops fast before Irelia and Jax get intercepted!"

Jayce got up from the ground and dusted off his pants while running up the hill. Before the rest of them could make it to the top, Jax and Irelia were already fighting the Institute of War troops. Karma ran past both of them, and ordered them to infiltrate the Institute of War with the help of Jayce. Once they found Jayce, they grilled into him hard.

"What the fuck is going on Jayce?" Irelia pointed her blade at Jayce, but he held up his hands calmly.

"Chill out, we're still going to bring down this Institute. We're going into Plan B – Since they know we were originally going to tap into their surveillance, we're going to send diversionary signals around Ionia and make reinforcements a nightmare. In the meantime, I'm going to hack into their backup system so I can take down their power if they try to lock us in. While I'm doing that, go ahead and proceed."

Jax felt his heart pound harder and harder with each step he took. The plan was already taking a big hit, and now it was on him to keep up his act and not fall behind.

Irelia kept encouraging him to calm down and keep going as planned. "We don't need those fools in order to stop this damned Institute – as long as you and I are still breathing, we will crush these autocrats."

Jax nodded. "Yes, you're right. However, don't think I'm going to stop fighting and try to rely on you!"

"Good." Irelia stopped, while looking down a bit. "I want both of us to leave this Institute alive, but in any scenario where either of us dies…can you promise me one thing?"

Jax was outraged. "Stop talking like that! Neither of us are going to die! I've put everything I had on the line my entire life, and I can't let it all got to waste by dying. Also, I can't bear to think of living in this place without you…"

Irelia grunted. "W-What do you mean? I'm just another Ionian to you, aren't I?"

Jax stomped his foot, and got up in front of Irelia. "You know that's bullshit! I really started to get to understand you, and now that I know you have the same kind of emotions that I've carried…I really feel closer to you. Not just that, but you are an embodiment of the promise that I've carried to eradicate the evil of this land, the evil that I helped create to begin with. I can't just live life as if nothing happened after this!"

Irelia put both her arms on Jax's shoulders. "DO YOU EVER SHUT UP?!" Irelia, still stressed out, tried to calm down and dial it back. "Look, it's a thought that ought to be entertained. No one got anywhere in life acting like they were invincible and could do whatever they wanted to; this situation is no different. My mom always told me that sometimes understanding your fear is essential to strength, because you go in knowing that you can die but you will do everything you can to avoid that. So I'm not asking you to just go in and kill yourself or let me die, but rather make a simple promise. Got it?"

"…Fine…What is it?"

Irelia walked past Jax. "Help rebuild this land with Ahri and the rest of the innocent people here in Ionia. Do not let corruption and power become the sole source of reason. Most of all…" Irelia blushed and teared up, but held her right arm over her face and sniffed. "Forget it! Just help preserve the integrity of my land!"

Jax felt that Irelia was holding back something, and it made him feel very conflicted. It almost felt as if Irelia was telling Jax something that she was feeling for so long but was unwilling to communicate. What could it be? It was already obvious that both of them had strong feelings for each other, so it most likely wasn't that. Regardless, Jax left it up in the air. "Okay, I promise."

"Good, now let's finish the mission."

Jax ran up the levels of the Institute with Irelia while hearing more sirens go off on the inside now that Jayce was tapping into their backup. On the outside, Riven and Ahri were taking quick care of the Institute troops. Karma couldn't stomach the idea of hurting Ionian civilians, so she was on scouting duty.

Riven, before beating one soldier to death, coerced him into telling her the plans of the Institute. "You have five seconds at most to tell me what the Institute is planning before I snap your neck. Now out with it!"

The soldier shuttered in fear and wallowed to the ground. "I don't know! I swear!"

Riven dropped her sword and cracked her knuckles. "5…4…"

"I SWEAR I HAVE NO CLUE WHAT'S GOING ON!"

Riven picked up the soldier and stared into his tear filled eyes. "I know a dirty liar when I see one; scum like you can't fool me. 3…2…"

"OKAY OKAY, JUST LET ME GO!" Riven threw him into the ground, and the soldier rolled around while grasping for air. "Ahh…hahhhh…Okay, I only know a small bit because the top level schemes are confidential…but the raid for today was forecasted since You and the other relic holders were missing from your usual locations. Thus, the Institute decided to try and pull in anyone courageous enough to fight off Aatrox."

Ahri walked over to where Riven was. She decided to try and take a crack at the questioning. "Where is Aatrox and what is the Institute planning on doing with him?"

The soldier started laughing while still catching his breath. "It's too late…by now, Aatrox will have been unleashed from his storage facility. I know Irelia will be the first to taste his bla-AAAHHHHH!" Ahri had pierced the soldier's chest with her claws.

Ahri rubbed off the blood from her claws on the nearest wall. "You were better off dead, scum bastard."

Riven backed up slightly. "Jesus shit…remind me to never get on your bad side, Ahri…"

Meanwhile, Jax and Irelia had gotten to the third floor. Surprisingly, there were no extra soldiers on the second floors or any signs of presence near them now.

"This is really suspicious; don't you think Jax?"

Jax walked down the hall, scanning for the laboratory room. "I don't care, just let me pound Aatrox into the ground."

Both of them kept walking until they hit a strong scent, and looked to their right to see an open room with chemical fumes pouring out wildly.

"One, two, and a bit of spice should be good! Nyehehaha!" Before both Jax and Irelia was Singed, the Mad Chemist. It seemed as if Singed was just pouring a bunch of liquids into a long vile, but it was connected to what seemed like a large refrigerator.

"UGH…" Before Jax could assess the situation, he fell to the ground and put his hands on his head. "This scent feels so nostalgic…GYAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Jax flipped over and was rolling over on the ground.

'Give him the blood.'

'Are we sure?! That monster almost killed all of humanity last time!'

'Yes…In the rust of our overlord Aatrox, a new phoenix will rise and give us the ultimate weapon. Hahahaha.'

Irelia was trying to help him back up. "Jax, get a hold of yourself!" Jax was still screaming in pain as he sniffed the scent coming out of Singed's chemicals. Then, Singed spoke out directly to Jax.

"Do not fear, grandmaster. I intended to arouse some memories inside of you. Do you remember when you left the League of Legends? You always had long conversations with the shopkeeper about who you really were and your origins. Isn't this true?"

"How…How do you know all of this?!"

"Well, I am not the shopkeeper…" Singed laughed, and glanced over at Jax. "…But I know the shopkeeper very well because he is my apprentice. In fact, my first task for him was to make a concoction so strong that it would wipe your memories clean. It seems that these fumes he used were so dry that it can also induce memories back into you. Tell me, what else lies deep inside that thick skull of yours, grandmaster?" Singed poured even more, and the fumes rose to higher levels. Jax screamed even louder, and Irelia attempted to run out with Jax but the door was sealed before they could exit.

I was bleeding so much that day…I lost control of all my muscles and could not even stand.

'Hey…HEY! The weapon is heavily damaged; we must secure it to the observation facility so we can stop the bleeding. He still holds the inner flame!'

I was being carried off back to that really dark place. The council member had put me into a heavy gravity chamber to test my resilience, and he tortured me to the brink of death. Although, the pain felt like pleasure. Instead of wallowing, it made me scream in ecstasy and want more blood. I almost destroyed the entire chamber before being chained up and detained back in the dark room. The council member looked me dead in the eye and laughed.

'This experiment will cement our power in the world…'

"The man who told you all of this was the same who created the Summoner's Rift project. He witnessed the destructive power of Aatrox, and wished to replicate it with you. However, it was harder to detain you and make you listen to our commands so we threw you into the virtual Rift to see how you would fare. It was only a matter of time until you became so strong that eventually you would come back to us. Unfortunately for you, we do not need you anymore. Uncooperative trash like you wasn't meant for the kind of project that we were planning."

Irelia dashed towards Singed. "I'll kill you…"

Singed stopped her with a poisonous chemical. "Nah ah ah…not yet, dear. At the very least, let me finish this one last drink."

Irelia fell to the ground. "My body…" The poison that she inhaled blocked off responsiveness from her brain to her body, which paralyzed her.

Singed shook a round, black flask that he took out of his back pocket. "The final ingredient to end it all once more…" Singed poured into the long vile connected to the refrigerator, and a small rumble came from it. "Let's finish off that last memory while we're at it, Jax. That shopkeeper who you used to beg for more and more information – he was the council member who used you."

Jax couldn't get over the pain he was feeling, but now hearing this info only made the pain worse. "NO, NOOOO! STOP!" He looked over to see Irelia, who was on the ground right next to the refrigerator. She was still paralyzed, but struggled furiously to get back up. Everything around Jax started to feel fuzzy and blurry as he looked around more. In the next moment, he heard a banging coming on the backside of the refrigerator. Jax attempted to get up and swing his weapon at Singed, but he fell back over on his back after a bang came from the floor.

"You will be of no more use to us, Jax. BEHOLD, THE TRUE POWER OF THE INSTITUTE OF WAR!"

Irelia started rolling around to get out of the way of the blast, and she went over to where Jax was. She was visibly frightened, and still couldn't move her arms. She whispered to Jax, "Protect me…"

Before Jax could reply, the refrigerator had exploded in a small bang.

Out of the smoke…The demon Aatrox had appeared…

"Gahahaha, the revival has finally finished. With this weapon, we will con-UGHHHHHH!" Singed looked down at his chest to see Aatrox's blade pierce right through him. "W-What?!"

Aatrox slowly flew over to Singed, and threw him on the ground. "No one controls me." Aatrox planted his foot on top of Singed, and watched as he bled to death. "Let the pain consume you, until there is nothing left."

It was hard for Jax to move, but he tried to get Irelia to a safe place. Aatrox looked over to Jax, and stared deep into his eyes. "You…"

"Aatrox, the Darkin Blade. I always wanted to imagine that you were just an urban legend, but undoubtedly you are a true demon. I will send you back to the grave for good this time."

"This time?" Aatrox rushed over and pinned Jax to the wall. "You have the same blood as me, but you are not like me. I can sense that you are a coward and fight to survive instead of to win."

Jax managed to escape Aatrox, but then he revealed Irelia's location. He stood right in front of her, determined to protect her.

"Oh? You fight for that human's sake?" Aatrox walked over to Jax, with his blade growing bigger every second. "But I know you are like me on the inside. You want strength, you want to kill thousands of people and sweep nations under your limitless strength. Your memories have been distorted by this girl, but they also seem ignited by her."

Jax leaped towards Aatrox and started slamming against his blade. "THIS FIGHT IS BETWEEN US, YOU BASTARD!"

"Weak." Aatrox kicked Jax in the stomach and slashed at his back. After feeling this pain, Irelia cried out.

"I can't go on like this." Irelia was trembling while trying to pick up her blade, and she managed to finally stand up even though the poison had still been in her bloodstream. "I refuse to let anyone fight for my sake while I do nothing. I will end you myself if I have to, Aatrox."

Aatrox was confused, but he still jumped at Irelia and started thrusting his sword over and over at Irelia's blade. Jax knew that Irelia wouldn't go out easily, but he couldn't believe that this was the epitome of his strength. He came all this way and battled so many strong fighters, only to lay on the ground bleeding to death while watching Aatrox. Meanwhile, Jax was still trying to cope with all the memories that kept striking at his head now that he finally started to remember his past. It made him feel angry, as if all of this was his fault. If Jax had never existed, then this project would not have gotten where it was right now. Jax can't just erase who he was, but he doesn't want to accept it either. It made him feel so conflicted on how to react while also being in the moment.

"Jax…you idiot!" He heard Irelia call out to him. "You promised me that you would help protect this land for me. Don't let the corruption of this demon continue to haunt you for this long! Stand up and end this god damned massacre before it begins!"

Jax found enough strength in him to get back up, but he got up to the sight of Irelia being shoved to the ground. Aatrox turned around to him and started invoking even more memories. "You are being lied to."

"UGH!"

'No, not the god damned dreams too! I can't get this crap out of my head!'

"Let hate consume you."

Jax picked up his weapon and ran over to Irelia. "You won't kill anyone anymore, Aatrox."

Aatrox, feeling angered, turned over back to Jax. "If I cannot unlock your heart through my words, then I will unlock it through blood." Aatrox picked up Irelia, and threw him at Jax. Irelia fell just right in front of Jax, and was shaking on her knees. She couldn't move fast enough, so she gritted her teeth.

"JAX, GET OUT OF THE WAY!"

Jax did as she said, and dodged to the left. Before Jax could even look over, he felt a sharp pain in his stomach and heard Irelia screaming

Aatrox impaled Irelia into the ground.

Jax and over to where Irelia was, but it was too late. "NO! I PROMISED YOU THAT I WOULD REBUILD THIS LAND WITH YOU! I can't let you die here…" Jax started thinking back to the first time he met Irelia, and to when he was talking to Ahri about protecting Irelia. The pain he was feeling just a few moments earlier was not even close to how broken he now felt, but it was harder for him to come to terms with this because it didn't make sense.

"Shut up…" Irelia was coughing up blood, but could just barely speak. "I didn't get so far to this point for you to screw everything up. I have protected this land for so long, and now that we've gotten to this point…you better clean this shit up. The bond I have made with you shall transfer my body and the remainder of my power onto you. I know fully well you could turn into a weapon again by doing this; I trust you will save this land…I…won't let…this…die."

Jax slammed his fists into the ground, and started bleeding from his own knuckles with how much he was tearing into the ground. "WHY?! WHYYYYY?!"

"This pain is only temporary. I will make you reborn in blood and transform you into the ultimate weapon. Let this fire burn inside of you."

Jax did feel a fire inside of him, but it wasn't something that Aatrox made him feel.

'Inside of me, I am starting to understand the complexity of how much I am changing. I do not follow the orders of those who use me. I use this weapon to strike on those who attack the innocent. I lay these fists onto those who wish to do harm to my friends. I can't live through another future knowing that I could've ended this all so easily. This sacrifice by my best friend will extend the Relic of Power onto me, and I will crush the life out of Aatrox.'

"I can't believe it would've taken this much to bring you down." Jax's weapon started burning, and Jax felt Irelia's strength inside of him. "I am not ignited by the blood of my enemies, but the fire of my allies. I will take this strength, and I will stop the bleeding. Moreover, I will end you."

Aatrox scoffed. "Come, fight me, blood brother." Jax leaped onto him, and this time slammed Aatrox into the ground. The blast was so powerful that it shook the floor and collapsed right underneath Aatrox. "I've won." Now that they were in the air, Aatrox spead his wings and flew around Jax.

'Every part of my life is nothing but a lie. I was born in blood, but I will end this life in flames.'

'Yes, grandmaster, let's end Aatrox together. The Institute of War will fall, and we shall rebuild this land. We shall protect this land, side by side.'

Aatrox swooped in to drive his blade into Jax, but Jax had barely dodged it and caught onto Aatrox's wings. He smashed both of his wings into submission and sent him flying downwards. Jax jumped, and gripped his weapon with his right hand.

"I shall end this here." A spiritual figure of Irelia was right beside Jax, and he nodded to the figure and looked down where Aatrox was. Both Jax and the figure of Irelia put a hand on Jax's weapon, and shouted together, "SPIRIT CRUSH!"

The slam had engulfed Aatrox in flames, and crushed his blade in the process. Everything around Aatrox had been bleeding severely, but Jax had kept attacking to make sure Aatrox would not revive. Slowly, the figure of Aatrox was melting.

"You have only delayed this war, blood brother. I will reap you for eternity and turn this land back into a warzone…you will…see…"

Jax, noticing that the institute was collapsing, rushed out of the building and met back up with Jayce. He informed Jayce of everything that happened, and they were able to get in contact with officials.

"What happened to the Summoner's Rift Project that the Institute was establishing?"

Jayce laughed. "I was able to hack into their database so easily, so I managed to start a backup on their restoration program and close it. In addition, the Police have information that is vital to putting the creators of this program behind bars for a very long time."

Jax kept running, thinking about what Aatrox said. "I see…This may not be the end of this battle, but I am glad we have achieved a temporary victory."

Once Jayce and Jax had gotten back to where they all planned to meet, they fell over on the ground from exhaustion.

Riven and Ahri came to Jax's side with worried looks, but Jayce was a tad salty no one was paying attention to him. "Hmph, a lady's man like me doesn't need temporary attention anyway!"

Karma slapped Jayce. "Now is not the time to joke. Jax's life could be in danger from the broken bond he just suffered, you fool!"

Jayce scratched his head. "Huh? I thought he was stronger than that."

"Shut up!" Ahri held Jax's head up and leaned in to talk to him. "Can you still talk?"

"Y-Yeah…Barely. I need a while to recover from all of this pain. I'm not sure if I'll be able to fight for a couple more days."

Ahri felt glad. "That's fine, we'll protect you in the time being. I'll talk to you in a little bit about…Irelia…" Ahri sniffed, but she didn't seem totally upset. Instead, she just kept talking. "Now that you're in possession of the three relics, you're going to have lots of constraints on your body. The reason they were separated is because the side effects are dangerous. On top of that, you have excess spirit energy which will make it hard for you to sleep. I'll make sure we do what we can so that you can recover. For now…well, we have to leave this place while Jayce talks to authorities. In a week, Karma and I plan on making a large announcement to our people on what has been going on for the past few years."

Jax coughed up blood, and put his arm over his head. "Are you okay? I mean, Irelia is…"

"Hmm? I'm fine. You should be more concerned about how you're going to get through this."

'I have to get to the bottom of this…It feels so odd that Ahri, who was so close to Irelia, can be affected so little by the loss of Irelia. She isn't even mad that I wasn't able to keep her promise and protect her. What is going on?'

"It appears that Jax has some parts of Irelia inside of his spirit. She transferred all of herself to him…that's unprecedented. It really says a lot about her love for Ionia. I won't take her sacrifice lightly."

Jax still felt very conflicted, but for now…

The war against the Institute of War was over…

'I sincerely miss Irelia already. Having to even visit this land every once and while is going to give me worse headaches than Aatrox could ever think of. This is the first thing I've been attached to in the memory I have of my life. If I start my story here, then I hope I keep it by my side forever.'