Note: Thank you again, dear beta reader, for your wonderful work!
I've been pretty busy with uni work, but I'll find more time to write the end of the story. Keep hanging around, the end is near!
Chapter 14
When she got back inside, Soraka came down the staircase, carrying her bag and Akali's weapons. "Don't forget them next time." she curtly said as she handed them to the ninja who remained silent. She followed the healer outside and asked where they were going.
"There is a temple, far from the city. I would like to check it out."
"A temple? What for?"
"It is known to increase magic ability, and it might help me create the spell to keep Warwick away."
"Create a spell? You can do that?" Akali asked before remembering the curse Soraka had cast on Warwick: she had probably created the spell as well.
"Creating a spell is a very hard process, but not impossible if given the power to do so."
"How about the effects of this spell? Will it harm Warwick?"
Soraka stopped and turned around, giving Akali a dark look. "Why do you care about this? Do you think Warwick has remorse about harming you?"
Akali hesitated: if she let her anger out and spoke her mind, Soraka might fire her, which was the last thing she wanted. She therefore decided to leave her opinion in a corner of her mind and replied on the same tone: "I was just asking. Sorry."
Soraka's face softened as she said: "It's alright. I shouldn't have said that." For a short moment, Akali felt like Soraka was back to normal, but this impression disappeared as soon as they left the district: the healer's eyes were empty, looking ahead in a threatening way, but her mind was lost elsewhere.
Soraka seemed to know her way: after they left the city, they headed northwards for days until they reached a forest Akali had never been in before. Most of the trees were half-dead, probably burnt during a fire, and a feeling of cold and danger loomed over the whole place.
"What's wrong with this forest?" Akali asked running her fingers on a black trunk.
"This place has been like this for years. Some say a magical explosion caused the trees to burn and turned all the animals to ash. Some trees have survived by drawing energy from the ground, where magical residues are still buried. I read that, wandering here at night, you can see the trunks of these trees covered in blue veins."
"Is your temple here?" A white bird landed on a branch, its immaculate feathers contrasting with the surrounding darkness. The animal curiously stared at Soraka and Akali, but didn't move as they walked by it. Akali noticed with a shiver that its eyes were red and that there was blood around its beck. The healer didn't even seem to notice the bird and answered:
"Yes it is. We'll reach it soon."
"You seem confident. How do you know its exact location?"
Soraka sighed, annoyed and opened her bag, pulling out the book Akali had seen in the room.
"I thought you had found nothing in there." she blinked.
"I might have. I was not sure, and that's why I didn't say anything."
"Why won't you admit you've been lying all this time?" Akali replied. She could barely contain her annoyance and frustration anymore. "I have supported you so far, but I can't carry on if you keep lying and hiding your business like this."
The had stopped next to a small pound surrounded by a curious mist. All the trees around the water were dead and half-collapsed.
"You can leave now if you want." Soraka's reply was a mere whisper, but it turned Akali's blood to lava inside her veins.
"Leave? You're dumping me because you don't need me anymore, right? What the fuck is wrong with you! I followed you instead of Irelia because I thought there was still something worth saving in you. Since we left the Institute, you've been corrupted by the weight of your past that you keep for yourself. It's been dragging you down, and I noticed it. I tried to help, but you have remained stuck in your ideas, determined to achieve your goal. You're convinced you'll be able to keep Warwick away by using dark magic while the true danger comes from yourself."
Soraka was furiously gazing at her, but she kept silent. Akali carried on:
"If you want me to leave, I will, but I'm taking you with me. You've harmed yourself enough already..."
"Giving up now? Are you kidding me? I haven't traveled for weeks to stop right now just because you're telling me to. If you're afraid of what comes next, don't stay here. Maybe you should've gone with Irelia. You don't seem to realize what this place means to me. It's the only..."
Akali snapped her, shouting louder. "Stop bullshitting, Soraka. I know this is the place where you cursed Warwick. This is why the forest is like this. You are the one responsible for the explosion you told me about. I read your record, and I know what you're desperately trying to hide."
A spark ignited in the healer's eyes and her fingers tightened on her staff. Akali moved close and reached for the book, tearing it from her hands. Soraka tried to stop her, bu the ninja was too quick.
"What are you gonna do with this?" Akali asked. "Find some new curse? Do you know how much of a toll it takes on you? I have watched the Soraka I knew and admired fade away, her soul getting devoured by fear. She would have never turned to dark magic. You need to stop this."
The white bird reappeared and let out an endless song, as if it was crying for what had happened to its forest. It was the only sound in the heavy silence following Akali's words. A white bolt coming from Soraka's staff struck the animal, silencing it. Akali watched the white shape fall on the blackened ground.
"Akali," Soraka said "this is my last warning: give me back the book and leave this place."
"Like hell I will!" Akali twisted to the pound and threw the book into the water. She then turned back to Soraka, shooting her at sight. The Starchild's face remained expressionless. Akali tried one last time:
"Come with me. We will find another solution. A better one."
An excruciating pain suddenly tore her abdomen apart, as though her wounds had reopened. She doubled up as fresh blood appeared on her tunic. Akali looked up at Soraka who walked closer and said "I already have a better solution. Please don't try to follow me." Confusion appeared in the ninja's eyes: her voice was devoid of anger and sounded like a supplication. Before she could react, Soraka swung her staff, striking her head and knocking her out.
When Akali opened her eyes, the night was growing dark. She tried to move, and the pain came back at full speed. After cursing under her breath, she managed to get up on shaky legs. A noise and a heavy breathing behind her back startled her.
"I warned you about the Starchild, but you decided to remain blind to the obvious."
Akali didn't dare move. The giant wolf was right behind her back, and she could feel his stinky breath on her neck. If he attacked, she couldn't do anything.
"You warned me about someone who's not Soraka. This is not her, but something which took over her mind."
Warwick walked around and stopped in front of her, his red eyes glowing in the fading light. He did not seem to understand, and his overall behavior was not threatening. Akali noticed something different in him: his fur was messy and stuck together by blood. He looked old, like an old wolf that had been neglected by its pack. When he spoke, some teeth were missing inside his mouth.
"You know what she did to this forest. You know what she did to me, and now look what she did to you. How can you still be on her side?"
"Why are you talking to me right now? You could end this easily."
"I wish not to kill you, Fist of Shadows. My prey is Soraka." He had a savage smile. "Besides, what's the point of killing a defenseless being?"
"You did it when you killed all those innocent people."
"They were weak and did not matter. Their deaths served my purpose. I have been tracking Soraka from the capital city. I more or less expected her to come back here, since her chances of defeating me are greater here." The wolf looked around and frowned when he saw the bird. He moved towards it and gently picked it up. When he came back to Akali who hadn't made a move, he showed the animal. "What do you think about this bird?"
The question took Akali by surprise. What was Warwick's game? After a moment of reflexion, she asked him the same thing. The Blood Hunter looked down at the white feathers, petting the dead bird with his claws. Akali was sure about one thing: Warwick was intelligent. He wore the mask of a brainless hunter driven by a thirst for blood and massacre in the Rift, but he was way more. For the first time, Akali wondered what he could have been like as a human.
"This place was once a wonderful forest where thousands of birds like this one used to live in harmony with other creatures. This bird has probably been affected by magic, surviving through unnatural ways." Once again, Warwick looked around, losing his gaze into the darkness of the dead trunks. "When I see this bird, I see myself. A strong will to survive in a hostile world willing to destroy me. It seems that we share the same destiny, as we have both crossed Soraka's path."
"You still want to kill her, right?"
"If you had been turned into a monster like me, wouldn't you want to become human again?"
"Yes, probably. Are you sure there is no other way?"
"I am old, Akali. I've had enough time to roam this earth, and there is no cure but this one. Maybe you can help me and help your friend at the same time."
"What? How?"
"I told you she cursed me in this place, and she plans to do it again. Years ago, she cast a spell which triggers a sharp pain whenever I get too close to her. The effects of the spell are slowly fading, but I cannot wait any longer. I..."
"What did you mean by 'helping her'"? Akali snapped at him. She was getting tired of his sweet words. Even though Warwick was acting nice, she would never trust him. She slowly took a step back.
"There is a way for you to free her from the dark power which has consumed her. All you..."
The wolf's ears twisted, as if he had heard a noise. His chops rolled up as he growled: "Do not trust her, Fist of Shadows." He then darted away, his heavy claws silently lacerating the ground.