Chapter 10: Out of my League: Archetype Lusus Naturae

I was hesitant at first, the words of the self proclaimed goddess burned guilt into my heart and my will wavered for that time. However, Sona helped me resolve this inner conflict, without the use of words. Just a simple smile and a soft tender kiss.

In the highest peak of danger, one will find himself with the strongest resolve to fight extinction. In the face of death. one's will to live will be at its fullest. In the deepest of our sorrows did we find the height of our passion in full bloom. In the heat of the moment, we left all our regrets and let go of those hesitations that held us back.

Drenched from the rain, we disrobed and shared a bath. There was but silence and we could only glance at each others' eyes for a moment before averting our gaze. Bare to each other, the heat rises, but slowly like the water heated for our bath. I went in first and leaned against the edge of the metal tub filled with warm water and soap. She followed suit not long after and we were accommodated by the tub. She had her back to me and leaned against my chest. She let out a sigh of relief as the heat washed away the cold. I reached out and placed my arm around her waist. She placed her hands on mine as we let the hot bath soothe away the cold of the rain. But it was not all warmth that was felt. With our bare flesh touching, we could feel each others' breathes, both growing deeper and deeper as our hearts beat faster and faster. She soon turned around, her hands covering her bare chest by instinct or embarrassment. She looked away for a bit and bit her lip before she turned towards me and placed her hands on my chest.

"Please be gentle," she said softly, almost hesitant, in my head. "It's my first."

I placed a gentle hand on her chin and she looked up at me. I leaned closer and kissed her lips softly. I gently stroked her long hair as it hanged freely. I have never seen her hair like this and it felt somewhat more stimulating to see her in such fashion. I twirled my finger on a lock of her hair as I pulled away. I smiled and teased her by licking her cheek.

"This should not be the place for this, if that's the case," I whispered in her ear and placed a hand on her shoulders. It was then that we finished out bath and once again lay in bed together, but this time, we would be spending the night to relieve ourselves of the pent up feelings and emotions that have been aching to break free.

It was a night that has gone and passed, one that felt like forever until it ended. We lay in each others' embrace until the break of dawn, covered in each others' scent. Like the cold grip of the rain on our drenched skin, all out regrets were washed away by each others' warmth. Despite the tragedy that was soon to come, we immersed in the bliss that was fruit of our passion. A moment's reprieve for hearts that will soon break. It was the calm before the storm. A storm that had come earlier than we had anticipated.

I did not expect the signs of my leaving to come so soon. In the middle of my next match on the Fields of Justice, as we had just slain Baron Nashor, the nexus of both teams suddenly exploded in a fiery display of magic fury. Strangely enough, the team assembled with me was exactly the same as the previous one, when I had resolved that squabble with Shyvana. The match was deemed halted and both teams were told to leave as there is an abnormally high amount of unstable magic in the area. While the summoner's of the opposing team whisked away their champions, ours was having difficulty. Rather, it was at that point where this strange occurrence was hindering with the League's own magical prowess. It was something to be feared. I know of its nature and I cursed silently as the magic swirled in Baron's nest.

"Move back, now!" I shouted to my teammates. They complied and hurried towards our base, not bothering to recall just to get as far away from the energy as possible. I followed suit as soon as I saw that everyone was within a safe distance from Baron's nest. When we were near our destroyed nexus the energy exploded and a massive long dragon, made purely of energy burst forth from under the ground. It soon started to crystallize, its texture similar to that of Skarner's. I suddenly felt a sharp pain in my chest and I fell on my knees, my hand gripping my clothing hard enough to tear some of the fabric.

"Reiku!" Sona noticed and tried to approach me. The others did so too and turned around to come my way but I halted them.

"Don't go near me!" I growled, in a voice that was strangely harsh and demonic. "I...do not want any of you to see me like this."

They stopped in their tracks, taken aback by the sudden change in my voice. Not only that, but my eyes grew wider and my teeth curved into a sadistic grin without my own volition. Sona persisted and tried to approach me.

"I said go, now!" I raised my right hand and found that it had turned somewhat a mix of scales and metal. My fingers were now elongated claws. My arm was now long enough to touch the floor if I were to stand up. Each bone on my finger was more than three times longer. It was a grotesque sight. I slammed my claw onto the ground before me and the earth trembled. Soon, a huge wall of an impenetrable glass-like nature separated me from the four of them. Despite their attempts, they could not break it.

I did not want them to see this. My true nature. A monster.

"Not yet," I gritted my teeth as I tried to get up. The right half of my body was already disfigured and transformed while the left remained human. I stood lopsided because of the weight of my right arm. The dragon looked at with reflective eyes and opened its mouth. It started to drain the ambient energy around it. An orb of magic swirled in its mouth before it fired a concussive blast of energy. It was directed at me. I could do nothing else but raise my right hand...err, claw, in defense. It absorbed most of the impact as the very least and I felt my feet being pushed back. I thought I could handle it just now but the massive energy was beyond my limit. Just then, I felt some renewed strength as I heard the familiar music of the maven. Through the glass it went and it empowered me enough to hold my ground against the blast.

My right claw clenched the orb with invigorated fervor and the blast was now being absorbed into the scales. My right arm glowed bright as it absorbed the magical energy. However, it seemed that the beast was soon going to fire another. This may be my only chance to attack. As the dragon started to gather up energy again in its mouth, another orb was swirling above its head. An orb formed on my right claw and I grasped it as it was trying to break free. I was starting to compress it into a smaller orb and as I do so, the orb above the dragon grew larger. When I broke the orb on my claw, it was when I had a vision visit me from the past to aid me in my current endeavor.

Above the dragon, the Castle of the Seventh Order materialized. It was a replica of the castle in the sky that housed my entire guild. It was our home, our sanctuary, our safe haven. And it protected us from the most powerful of enemies, until that fated day. With that lingering protection present, it still held the power to beckon to my side in times of need.

Graviton Hammer, Seventh Order.

Like a meteor, it came crashing down on the dragon, shattering it and almost pulverizing the dragon to dust. As it landed, the castle itself shattered like glass and disappeared as its role was now fulfilled. Before the remnants of the dragon was blown away by a gust of wind, a voice echoed across the Fields of Justice.

"THERE IS NO ESCAPE!"

I fell on my knees, exhausted from using one of my favorite spells. It was a taxing one but if it would delay my inevitable farewell, then it was worth it. I felt the ground tremble and it appears that the barrier I had raised earlier was now crumbling and there was nothing that separated me from the rest of my team. I shuddered and closed my eyes, not knowing what was going to happen next. I heard footsteps behind me. I was too afraid to open my eyes and see the look on their faces. My right half still showed my ugly nature and it was a sight I wish to save them from seeing. The sound of their steps stop and I can feel their presence behind me. There were no words spoken and the silence was utterly deafening. It would be better if they were to tell me to go away or scream and panic and be afraid. This was a reaction I have rarely gotten and until now have no way of replying to it.

"Surprised?" I decided to break the ice as I opened my eyes and looked at my right hand. I examined the intricate pattern of the scaled on my hand, hoping to distract myself and lessen the weight of the heavy atmosphere. I then stood up and turned around. They were looking at me with expressions I could not decipher. Or perhaps because my right eye's vision was somewhat cloudy and faded.

Without warning, Katarina walked up to me and raised her hand. Her hand landed across my face, similar to what I did to her before. "You hypocritical bastard," she muttered angrily. "You tell me to face your weakness and fears and do the exact opposite when it happens to you? You arrogant, selfish, god damn..." She clenched her fist and looked down. I think I saw a tear escape her eye which she wiped off quickly.

"Hey, if Sona doesn't like you now, can I have you instead?" Ahri skipped to my side and wrapped her arms around my deformed right hand. "You know, this actually looks quite impressive."

"I think I speak for all of us when I say that you should not be judged by your appearance," Shyvana smiled as she petted Katarina's head a bit. Katarina reacted a bit violently and tried to shove Shyvana's hand away. The half dragon, however, pushed Katarina towards me before she grabbed hold of my other arm. I feel like I'm about to fall over already. I couldn't help but smile as I realized that while my true nature is an abomination, there are those willing to accept me for who I am and not for what I would look like.

Then suddenly, we heard a foreboding music being played in the background. It was a bit dark and eerie. It felt like there was someone watching with a dark intent upon the four of us. Uh oh.

With a heavy strum of her instrument, Sona pushed the other three away from me. Each of them stumbled and Sona walked up to me with a frustrated look on her face. She raised her hand as if to slap me and I braced myself for impact. But there was none. I felt her hands on my collar as she gripped the torn fabric of my clothing. She started to cry and I placed my left arm around her and held her close.

"Ah, we lost to Sona already," Ahri sighed as she sat up. She seemed genuinely happy though, despite what she had said. She then looked at me with a sly grin on her face, as if telling me that she knew something that the other two might not react well to. I averted my gaze for a bit.

Suddenly, the Kinkou appeared before us. The triumvirate that kept watch over the balance, Shen, Akali and Kennen, appeared in front of our nexus.

"Reiku Tohno," the eye of the twilight called me. "You need to come with us."