Okay Zoe.. Remember what space doggy said.. Don't let him touch you with his Darkin weapon.. The Aspect thought as Rhaast was waking up from her sleep bubble.
The Darkin quickly dashed towards her twirling his scythe behind his back.
"Your dirty tricks don't work on me Darkin. You have to catch me first!", she yelled as she jumped into a purple portal. She had left it open long enough for him to follow her.
She could hear his desperate growls and exasperated breathing as she took the demon through a maze of portals. They had passed through the Shuriman desert, a dark cave in the void, the great waterfall of Ionia and even the Great City of Demacia among other places. Until they finally landed at the place that Zoe had intended to take him from the beginning: Mount Targon.
"Enough with the games Twilight", the demon said as they landed on the cold snow. "Don't fear the reaper", he chuckled menacingly.
"I agree", Zoe chirped trying to maintain her usual upbeat attitude.
She created a star out of thin air and threw it towards the Darkin. Ultimately she would miss.
Zoe took a few steps backwards. Where is he?
"No escape..", she could clearly hear his voice but she couldn't quite tell where it was coming from.
Rhaast was nowhere to be seen. Out of the blue, she felt her legs giving out as Rhaast broke through the ground making her trip with his scythe's handle.
She saw him leap through the air. His blade was shining under the stars. Zoe jumped into a portal below her and closed it immediately so the demon wouldn't follow her anymore.
Her star was becoming larger and larger the more portals she jumped through. When her feet finally landed on the snow again the star had grown big enough to destroy a big mansion.
"I'm over here!", she yelled at the Darkin who hadn't ever realized her presence at the moment. But it was too late for him. He took the impact of the star at full force. Normal people would have been obliterated. But not him. Because there wasn't anything even remotely normal or human about him.
The Darkin was lying there in the freezing cold for a good moment. But the girl was still too afraid to walk anywhere near him. Rhaast was slowly sitting up. But she had no time to run. Rhaast had moved so fast that she could barely follow him with her eyes. Let alone her feet.
She hadn't even realized that she had fell to the ground. Her palms were buried in the white snow.
"Zoe.. Please"...
His eyes were still red but his voice betrayed something that Rhaast could never mimic.
"Kill me."
Because this was something that Rhaast could have never wanted for himself. He was nothing but a greedy demon. Clinging onto life with everything he had.
Zoe stopped on her tracks as she recognized Kayn's distinctive voice coming from a body that didn't belong to him anymore. He was defeated. Kayn had lost the battle. There was no point in denying it anymore. The Darkin inside of him had come out victorious. And there was nothing they could do about it.
"No", she said in a low voice as Rhaast stood above her. Metal scythe buried in his horrendous claws. Preparing her end. Kayn's remaining conscience being the only thing stopping him from dealing the finishing blow.
"Kayn!", she screamed out his name in pure despair. Her bottom lip was trembling. Her eyes were already welling up in tears. How can he be asking me to do that? There has to be another way.
She prayed silently as she gently touched the handle of the large scythe. The scarlet eye was glaring her making her stomach churn. The demon was taunting her.
"Zoe. I beg you..", Kayn's voice said.
He could barely hold his own anymore. He was using all of his inner strength to stop him from harming the Aspect.
Zoe was staring in awe with a grimace full of pain and confusion on her round face. She slowly stood up and wrapped her tiny arms around him. She wouldn't let go. She started to beg as she stood on her tiptoes.
The harshness of Rhaast's skin and the raw metal felt way too cold and unfamiliar beneath her fingertips. She wanted to touch Kayn's warm skin. Feel his stupid long hair between her fingers while she was braiding it. There were still so many things she wanted to do.
"I can't hold it much longer. Get out of here", he said as his voice started to mix with Rhaast's. "Jump into one of your stupid portals and don't look back".
Zoe took a step back. Her face was red as the tears were rolling uncontrollably down her soft cheeks.
"No", she said with her hands on his shoulders. "No. No. No! There has to be another way"!
Her whining and whimpering made her sound like a spoiled brat, despite the fact that she was probably thousands of years old already.
"Zoe..", he practically pleaded. This could only mean one thing. She couldn't have been mistaken. Mercy. Salvation. That was what he was asking for.
"Rhaast!", Zoe yelled. "I, Zoe, the Aspect of Twilight am calling you out! Come out here you stupid Darkin! Possess me instead"!
"No!", Kayn shouted in an otherwordly voice. It was as if the ground started to vibrate solely by the sound that escaped his lips. "You're too important to this world", he explained as a blue flame shimmered in his eyes. "He's afraid of you. I can feel it".
"I can't do this. You're asking me to kill your soul", she ran her fingers through her long, colourful hair nervously. She then covered her mouth with both of her palms as another round of ugly sobs caused her body to shake violently.
"Forget about me. I don't even exist anymore". Zoe averted her gaze from his face to stare at the ground. "Why do you even care so much about what happens to me"?
"Because someone has to!", she shouted back. Her voice was piercing.
Kayn grabbed her by her thin waist.
"Look at me! Look at what I've become! This is a monster! This isn't me.. So kill it! As fast as you can"..
The girl covered her eyes as if she was trying to hide her face from this world. As if she was trying to escape somewhere far away. Somewhere where Rhaast wouldn't exist.
"I can't kill you Kayn. I.. I-", she stopped talking mid-syllable. "I-"
The blue flame in Kayn's eyes seemed to glow a bit brighter for a short second. But maybe it was just her imagination.
"I..", she started to speak once again.
The tears were still hot on her cheeks. Kayn let his eyelids fall for a moment. His claws looked huge as he placed a hand on her cheek to wipe away one of her tears. Zoe was looking. Feeling helpless. Her different coloured eyes were wide. Her lips slightly parted.
"I..", she began to say once again as Kayn was gently stroking her cheekbone.
"I know", he said.
Zoe felt her heart pounding louder and faster.
"That's why it has to be you".
Her tongue felt like it was stuck in her throat. Suddenly, she jerked away from his arms.
"No!", she shouted stubbornly back at him.
Kayn let out a terrifying shriek then fell to the floor. His body started to tremble and shake, like he was having a seizure. Zoe gasped.
The red glow returned in the Darkin's eyes. The little girl clenched both her fists as her long hair were draping her shoulders.
"No more stalling Kayn..", Rhaast whispered under his breath but the Aspect could hear him loud and clear. The Darkin stood up slowly but steadily regaining all of his body's control.
He reached out to her with his horrendous claws. Zoe let out a deep sigh. She wouldn't resist anymore. This was the only way.
"I'm sorry Kayn..", she whispered softly as Rhaast dissappeared from her sight. She looked above her. The scarlet eye was glowing brightly on the scythe that was now hovering above her small body.
She closed her eyes shut. She could feel the demon inside of her. Ripping her from the inside out. She could feel his presence. His very essence.
But she could also feel Kayn in there with him.
Zoe smiled as she was giving up. The glow on her hair seemed to fade more by the second. She could feel her energy being drained from her. But she didn't mind.
She saw colours. The bright red from Rhaast's aura. And a shimmering blue. She could feel it burning hotter and hotter. Like an unwavering flame.
This should work. This will work. She thought as she gave up on her role as the Aspect of Twilight forever.
The scythe fell upon her. Wounding her severely. But she didn't feel any pain.
She let out a faint smile when she saw him.
The boy was looking at her with bright blue eyes. His long, black hair untamed as the wind was blowing them away from his face gently. She saw his lone blue streak. How much had she missed seeing that.
Kayn held the scythe in both hands. The eye that was always taunting her was no longer red. It had been replaced with a blue one. For some reason she thought that it looked beautiful. Pure.
The boy seemed lost. Until his eyes returned to their usual colour.
"Zoe no! Why did you do that?", he screamed as he took the tiny girl onto his strong arms.
Zoe simply smiled as the boy held her with of his might. The glow on her long hair was now completely gone. She could feel the warmth emanating from his skin. His real skin at last.
"I just.. had to", she managed to reply. Even speaking was a difficult task to her at her state.
There was blood. Zoe had never seen her own blood before.
"Please.. Stay with me. You can't leave me!", Kayn begged her. His mouth was crooked. She could see that the boy was trying too hard to hold back the tears but to no avail.
She placed her palm on his already soaked wet cheek. It felt so nice. To touch.
"It was.. the only way to.. win", she uttered as her body dissolved into a million stars that the wind quickly blew away.
Kayn let out an unearthly growl as the stars were drifting away from him. Like fairy dust.
He stayed there on his knees for what seemed like forever. His tears were rolling down his cheeks without his own volition. But he made no sound. Suddenly, a deep voice broke his mourning.
"Do not weep boy. This is balance".
Kayn quickly wiped his eyes with the back of his hand and stared at the creature that was flying above him. It looked like a dragon. Stars were circling his enormous body.
"Balance?", Kayn asked.
A loud sound made them both turn their heads towards the vast sky. Kayn could a large purple star falling towards Runeterra.
"This.. is balance. This", the dragon pointed towards the star with his claws, "is the new Aspect of Twilight. The one that will be born and protect all of Runeterra. Just like the previous one did".
Kayn slowly stood up and kicked his scythe away from him, leaving trails in the thick snow.
"I don't care about the new Aspect! I care about Zoe!", he grunted in frustration.
"The Aspect- Zoe.. has served her purpose already. It is time for a new one to step in", the dragon spoke in a calm voice.
"No! Bring her back! Now"!
His anger was getting the better of him as much as he wouldn't like to admit that. "I'm afraid I can't. Humans.. they're so frail.. And Zoe.. she was also one of you.. Once. Humans's judgement is always clouded by their emotions.. And hers were too strong to control"..
Kayn looked down at his hands. His head was starting to hurt.
A light was starting to surface through the mountains. Beyond. In the horizon.
"Ahh.. Twilight", the dragon said. "One can only hope. For what's to come".
Hope. The concept seemed entirely foreign to him at the moment. But he didn't take his eyes off the horizon.
I won't fail you Zoe.. Thank you.. For saving my life.
A trail of footsteps was left behind him as the boy started to climb down Mount Targon.
