Days passed by in relative silence. All through the League an eerie silence drifted unbroken by any, and as Talon watched he worried. It was not normal for this place to be so silent. On a daily basis hundreds of summoners and champions alike roamed these halls and no where you went was ever silent, and yet now not a word was spoken. He mulled over the information that the general had relayed to him and as he sat he thought about the monster they called Kassadin. He found it hard to believe that he would even think Kassadin a monster, he'd neither taken life nor hurt anyone. He served to protect the world from a power that they couldn't overcome, and yet the people looked on him in relative fear.
It has always been said that man fears that which it does not understand and as Talon thought he realized it was the truth. On the rare occasion that Kassadin ever came out of his room for business the halls would clear quickly and all around would be the faint whisper of those who could not understand his presence. All sanity lost from his glowing eyes he wandered. The other beings from the void were like wise in manner, and the League found no place for them in their social ranks. Talon thought strongly about how he would approach the creature; always remembering that beneath his hardened exterior there existed a man of the worst misfortune.
He exited the courtyard and stepped into the halls to find them empty, a faint purple glow casting a light all around him. He walked slowly towards the door covered in strange markings. All of the other doors in the League looked identical but this door was something completely different. It was not made of wood but a rock hard black metal, twisted by powers that mortals dare not experiment with. The door was Ice cold to the touch and jagged spikes protruded from it in every direction, it was for all purposes a deterrent to those who would seek passage. As Talon stared at the door silently it opened slightly but no one stood in it's wake.
"Enter" the inhuman voice startled Talon as he stepped into the darkened room.
All around him sat books of mysterious origins, scrolls that were tattered and torn. On the walls the same symbols as on the door and in front of him sat the creature himself. His jet black exterior was turned away from Talon as he seemed focused on the texts in front of him. With each passing second Talon could hear his breathing grow louder until finally he turned, his glowing eyes staring directly at Talon.
"What have you come for mortal?"
Talon did not fear this man that everyone else shunned. He looked upon him with a blank look and spoke sternly.
"I would imagine that you of all people would know of the purpose to my visit. I've not come to chat, I've come for information. Information that you and only you possess."
"And what makes you think I'd be willing to give up such valuable knowledge to a mortal such as you? A man only worried about himself. A man who would seek such knowledge to only strengthen himself." Kassadin's voice became louder and he stood.
"I do not come on my own accord, I come with a much more real threat, something that you're ever aware of. You know what is happening and I need your help, I don't expect you to trust me, but either way what's going on needs to be stopped." Talon said this blankly rising to his feet standing face to face with the behemoth.
"That which happens involving the rift is not your business, nor shall it ever be. It has been proven centuries ago that mere mortals such as yourself and those you're associated with only wish for power, like wise those of the rift only seek power as well, you do not possess the power to overcome the power that lies dormant on the other side."
"I don't wish to control the power that you speak of, I only wish to stop it's growth. Everyday the rift grows larger and if you have any awareness to anything outside of this room than you're aware of the recent events. Every time they gain a human vessel it accelerates that growth even more correct? In the last decade only 3 vessels have been brought upon this world, and now there are another 12 possibly, I don't know much about this stuff, but just how long do you think it will take for it to be large enough that we can't stop it's growth." As Talon said the words he walked silently out of the door leaving Kassadin standing in the center of the room.
Thoughts raced through Kassadin's mind as he calculated the possibilities. He was aware of the disappearances but in one regard Talon was wrong. The rift had not accelerated in growth, and it was the one thing that Kassadin could not understand. Talon was correct in saying that each time a new vessel manifested itself on Runeterra the rift would grow exponentially in size, but by his measurement the rift was growing at it's normal rate.
"Sit and we will speak" the words were harsh and commanding as Talon reached the door. He turned around silently and sat in the chair that sat on the far end of the room.
"Thank you." Talon extended his gratitude.
"You're wrong about what you say, and there have been no more vessels, the rift does not grow faster now. I'm unsure of what fate those archeologists hold, but they are no longer in this world. You wish to stop that which you cannot understand, but far from being a scared human you look upon one of it's vessels without fear in your eyes, and I respect you for that reason. Do not take this information as a sign of trust but if what you believe is to be true then you and your associate are correct to be scared. So I will give you this information and this information alone. What has begun already cannot be stopped, and if the expedition return they will no longer be human. In the past the rift has grown each time a new manifestation has taken form on this world. If those 12 are made to be vessels and are put back on this plane than my rituals will not hold, and rather than grow in size slowly like it has in the past, the rift will tear apart the dimensional plane. There is no stopping what is coming, all that you mortals can do is prepare for your worst nightmare." With his last words Kassadin disappeared into a glowing purple light in front of Talon.
He exited the room slowly shutting the door behind him. For the first time since his fight he felt the familiar sensation of fear rise in his stomach. He could not imagine the horrors that awaited the world, but he knew what had to be done, and as he walked he thought of how he would achieve this. This was not a war that one city-state alone could win, no matter how powerful, and in order to protect their home each would have to collaborate on a frontline basis against the very thing that would tear Runeterra to pieces. So he walked and thought about the future. There wasn't much time remaining, and it would take a monumental effort to get the city-states to agree to this. But what had to be done had to be done, or else there would be no Valoran left to call home.