(October 10th 2015 – 4:00 PM – Town hall, Zaun, Runeterra)
The crystal was in front of Liz, calling her name. Her hand got closer to the artifact and felt a small surge of power in the tip of her fingers, the smile in her face was brief and it disappeared the moment her hand was able to hold the Void creation.
¨I-I remember… mom… dad… and…¨ The pink haired girl raised her head and stared at the wall ¨And…¨ In just a blink of an eye the earthling lost the control of her body, if not all of her consciousness.
Before she could react, Liz was no longer seeing the room at the town hall, it was a darker place, the walls were dark and on the far end there was some sort of staircase that led to an apparent throne on the top.
¨Where am I?¨ She tried to look anywhere but there was no clue on where she was, it didn't look like Piltover, Demacia or even the white room she was in back at the dream in the zeppelin.
¨Please, come forward, child¨ A male voice, and similar to the one she heard in the last conscious dream was calling her from the throne.
Without knowing where to go or if there were any other options that led her outside of that place, the young sibling had no other choice but to start going up. Every step she took made the torches at each side lit on with a purple flame, it showed how well decorated that place was, despite being mostly in darkness.
Once in the top, the girl saw a shadow sitting in the throne, however none of the torches was able to illuminate the person nor was the area near surrounding that construction. The most curious fact was that the only ´visible´ person was Liz since she appeared to be emanating some sort of light that allowed her to see herself.
¨Ah… finally, I was hoping we could talk once again¨
¨You… you were the one in that white room, right?¨
¨I can see you haven't forgotten me¨ The man slightly leaned, resting his head over his hand and the elbow in the side of the throne ¨I can also see that you changed quite a lot. That pink hair… suits you¨
¨I… uh… thanks…¨ Liz grabbed one of the pigtails almost scared ¨I thought you were going to talk to me sooner¨
¨Well, you see, Elizabeth…¨ The fact that the strange man called the girl by her full name was a little upsetting for her ¨There have been some change of plans, the appearance of your sister and her friends in Zaun…¨ He sighed ¨Let's change the subject, you met Claire, correct?¨
¨Yeah, and just like you said she-¨
¨Nonono, please, let me finish¨ He raised his hand, interrupting Liz ¨I know you ended up being hurt, and I can see it that your leg has recently been bandaged¨ The shadow pointed at the injury caused by Caitlyn's rifle, it was now covered by a white cloth that stopped the bleeding ¨What if I told you that you can take… let's just say some revenge?¨
¨But… isn't that bad?¨
¨It certainly is, but sometimes mortality is weakness¨ That last word ignited a purple flame in the man's eyes that rapidly lit off ¨I will help you take care of your sister, once this is done, we shall be reunited once again as a family¨
¨I don't know… it's just…¨ She turned, not facing the strange person.
¨It's just… what? Are you afraid?¨
¨No, but… Back at that place, where we all met, I talked to my sister and she felt… innocent¨ She looked up, but there was complete darkness ¨There's something in my memory, like… she was trying to rescue me… from something¨
¨Poor girl…¨ The man stood up and placed his hands on the younger sibling's shoulders ¨Claire has been trying to poison your mind for a long time, this is not the time to hesitate¨
¨I know… I know… but there is something off¨
Liz tried to remember everything that happened back at the beginning of the year, most of her memories were just staying at home, doing homework while Claire was being trained by Katarina in order to become a Summoner, she even tried to see if the pink haired was able to be one too, but in the end she didn't have the capabilities.
However one of the big problems was that there was a blank spot, one in which she couldn't remember anything except for the time she woke up in bed and the brunette told her that Katarina was no longer with them; after that their lives continued like normal.
But ever since her return to the Earth, she's been hearing voices that told her to go back, but that also triggered something in her; images that weren't there before. Most of them were her tied to some kind of table while someone was doing cuts over her body; other ones were just her being observed by strange looking creatures while she was being bathed in some kind of energy that affected her body.
Those were images she never told her sister because it would probably mark her as freak for having those ideas.
¨I…¨ Liz shook her head, and stepped forward, releasing herself from the soft hands of the man ¨Sorry, but I can't do that to Claire, I don't think she would ever try to hurt me¨
¨And… why is that sudden change of mind?¨ The shadow crossed his arms, once again the purple glow in his eyes returned but the earthling was unable to see it.
¨Maybe you won't believe me¨
¨I'm open minded, feel free to express what you are thinking¨
¨Well…¨ The girl turned, just to see the shadow looking at her, but no glowing eyes ¨There was this memory that I wasn't at my home, it was… something like this place, but someone was there, he made cuts in my body, it hurt a lot. And…¨
¨And…?¨ The man got closer, but his face was still not visible due to the darkness, even if there were purple flaming torches on the lower levels. Liz widened her eyes; another memory of those missing fragments of her life was re-appearing.
It was outside, a nice and calm place. The architecture of the location she was resembled to old ruins, the pink haired was looking at an empty platform but there were four more magic signals close to her; in just mere seconds those were replaced by different monsters, all of them with different mixtures of dark colors, mostly purple ones.
¨Time to feast!¨ The smallest one, a creature made of white but when he opened his maw, another smaller mouth came out and spit acid in the middle of the platform they were all on.
Despite playing some matches with her sister and friends, Liz did remember a few specific Champions from the game; those were Kha'Zix, Cho'Gath, Vel'Koz and Kog'Maw, all of them Voidborns that served under one mind, the Overlord.
The girl tried to follow up whatever was happening but when she blinked, everything changed, the earthling was no longer in the platform, instead she was close to a tower and a lot of minions were walking past her. On the other side there was a woman wearing a weird black outfit with a lot of armor pieces, mostly around the lower parts of the legs, arms and shoulders; in her hands there were two oddly-shaped blades but her most distinctive features were the red hair and the scar over the left eye.
She didn't seem to be eager to fight, especially since she kneeled and extended her hand at the confused child
¨Liz… can you hear me?¨
But the girl couldn't answer; all she did was slowly advance towards the noxian assassin while holding a double-edged sword.
¨KILL HER!¨ That voice was similar to the man that was in the throne room with the pink haired.
¨No…¨ The earthling said but she had no control over her body, it was as if someone else was pulling the strings from her arms that made her swing the sword and cut Katarina's head ¨NO!¨
Back into reality, the girl was still inside of that dark place. As she looked at the shadow, the only thing her mind was thinking was to back away.
¨What is it? You didn't told me what was in your mind¨ He tried to get close but the young sibling was trying to stay away from him until there was no more room for her to step back.
¨You…¨ She shook her head and turned ¨I need to leave this place¨ Without hesitating, the pink haired started to climb down the stairs.
¨Excuse me?¨ The man didn't follow her but instead his eyes glowed a third time ¨What makes you think you can leave my domain ¨ He raised his hand ¨Especially not after we talk for a bit more¨ The hand closed into a fist and Liz was sent into the air, forcing her to float back to the top of the throne.
¨What the f-¨ The earthling looked at the man, the light in the room was still very dim, but now that person was starting to be more visible. He was wearing a purple robe that was similar to the ones the people back at the caravan used; he had a belt with a strange-looking dagger that was hanging from the belt. Above the glowing eyes there was a rune engraved on his hood that shined the same way as his sight ¨It's you… you are the person that hurt me in the past!¨
¨It seems that you now remember what happened… but it wouldn't be wise to let you go¨ Malzahar lowered his hand but the girl was still floating ¨You see, Liz, there is something within you, your heart is not the same one that it used to be¨
¨What?!¨ She struggled to release herself from the invisible strings that held her in the air but it was useless ¨I want to go back!¨
¨You will… in due time. Have you ever wondered how did you survive in this world? Why you went from a 10 year old girl to an adult?¨ Liz looked at the Champion, she was curious but at the same time terrified of what she might be ¨Back when you first stepped into our realm, the Void magic didn't seem to affect you, in fact, your body rejected it. Kind of curious, considering your Summoner Magic was not yet in effect¨
¨Wait, am I… a Summoner?¨
¨Were, that's the key word. Your sister and you share the same blood, therefore both of you are Summoners, however this was an impediment when working on you, so I had to… apply unconventional methods¨ The Overlord moved his hand closer to the dagger ¨In just a few days, the summoning magic that protected your body disappeared and the corrupted one from the Void started to work¨ Liz wasn't able to spew any single word, despite this being new knowledge for her ¨By the time your sister came to Runeterra for the first time, you were ready, every last bit of humanity was out of your body¨
¨Am I a human anymore?¨ She looked at her hands, unable to comprehend most of this, even if she experienced it in the past.
¨For the most part… your beating heart however, it does not belong to a human being, but a Voidborn¨ The girl moved a hand towards her chest and felt the pulsating energy from the vital organ ¨Without that, you wouldn't be here in the new world, you wouldn't be transformed into the woman you are now... your new heart allows you to react to any kind of magic, making you vulnerable, even to the slightest influence of the arcana¨
¨I… I don't understand¨
¨Let me show you¨ Malzahar raised his hand once again, only this time he poked the pink haired's chest, pushing her against the wall on the other side of the room. She was painful because of the impact ¨I gave you power… but for what? Walking around with your golden haired boyfriend?¨
¨Ezreal… he… he's not my boyfriend¨ It took some effort for her words to come out of her mouth, her back was hurting a lot ¨He's a friend!¨
¨Oh he sure is… after his fight with that demacian girl, I noticed that your interest towards him changed a bit¨
¨You're lying, you weren't there!¨
¨Maybe it's true, my body wasn't there, but I was able to follow you and you followed me this entire time¨
¨Wait, no… Meeseeks, he… that can't be possible¨ Liz yelled, tears started to form in her eyes, all this time she's been going through a big lie ¨You killed my parents too?!¨
¨What?¨ He laughed, the echoing voice was getting more and more creepy by the time ¨I'm afraid I lied to you, but not everything is just as dark as you can imagine¨ The man started to float and got closer to the earthling ¨Your parents are alive, but your sister was right, none of them have interest in you¨
¨So that means…¨ She looked away for a second before looking at the Overlord's covered face ¨Claire… and her friends, were actually trying to rescue me?!¨
¨I'm afraid yes… and you just ran away, thinking they were the bad ones…¨ Malzahar turned and moved a bit away from the injured girl ¨But I guess this is enough talking, all I needed was a body that could easily be… manipulated, either you, or your sister¨
¨Why do you want her? She doesn't have a weird heart! … Right?¨ Liz was completely unsure, but after all the lies she was told, anything could be possible.
¨You are correct, she has a human heart, but unlike you, your sister is no longer… magic-proof as some might say. You see, after she stepped into the Rift for the first time, her mind and soul fused with Katarina's allowing Claire to control the assassin's body in order to fight my creatures. The Summoner's Rift was chosen as one of the Fields of Justice because that place has a large concentration of magic, and while it cannot kill anybody, chances are the barrier between humanity and the arcane get destroyed¨
¨So why me? My sister is stronger¨
¨Indeed she is, but I couldn't get to her without proper bait. Dead or alive, it won't matter once I'm free!¨
But Liz chuckled ¨Good luck; it seems that you and I are trapped in this dark place¨
But the man turned, with a frowning expression, the little girl could feel an evil grin under that scarf ¨Sweet and innocent Elizabeth, I don't need to physically appear in Runeterra in order to get out of here… after all, you are a good conduit of magic, remember?¨
¨No… please, don't¨
But the pink haired's pleads weren't enough; the mage channeled all of his energy and didn't seem to focus anymore on the girl that was floating, instead he was in a different room alongside the Deceiver and the Master Tactician.
Malzahar was now seeing everything through Liz's body; all of the actions were controlled by him. He grinned at the white haired woman that was standing near the door, an old rival, one that defeated the Overlord in the past, but this time she didn't have the advantage or the tools to win.
¨Ah… Summoner, long time no see…¨
Even though Claire, LB and Swain were looking at Liz for a few seconds, what happened inside of the little girl's head took a lot more time.
So, I'm back and this is getting interesting the more chapters are getting released, sorry if I'm not being too consistent on releasing new content for Heroes & Legends but I'm having quite the Writer's Block for this story and in the meantime I'm either studying, playing games or writing chapters on the spanish fic.
Anyway, next chapter will focus mostly on what happens after Malzahar took control of Liz's body.
Alban217: Marie... a lesbian... ok why not
Originally my idea was to make Marie bi-sexual, but as things went on and some ideas were scrapped, she ended up being a lesbian, although quite shy about it.
Back to the planning board for the next chapters, I'm busy with the university but I hope I can release the next chapter sooner instead of every 2 weeks or so.
As always, have a nice day and remember:
See you in the next chapter ;)
