Chapter 8
Ryze and Walker played chess, Walker was with the black piece while Ryze on the white. Beverages were served, snacks were ever present, the most basic game and cheapest food created a moment of peace between the two. Walker would ask a few questions about Ryze. Ryze would answer them to an extent he favours. Ryze would do the same, asking a few questions about Walker. Walker was rather open for a man so stoic and serious. Just like the chess match that they were playing, the conversation was one move after the other. For the first time in his life, Ryze finally found someone that could be said to be a true equal. For Walker, Ryze was another magical being that was worth his time.
J.J. Walker, a man in his sixties. Blue eyes, dark blonde hair swept back. He was proud to be called a self-made man, coming from the humblest beginning of Demacian peasantry to now an office on the tallest building in Zaun. Regal was the word of his style. Even late evening, the man right in front of him was still wearing a three piece suit. Not that he was lazy but he was constantly working. No sign of fatigue and still enthusiastic. This man was no ordinary man.
With the sound of fire crackling and a vinyl player playing a beautiful violin piece, it was a calm night.
"Nice music you have there… Who's playing it?" Ryze asked.
"An Ionian musician, who roams around the world making new masterpieces." Walker moved a chess piece. "Quite a tragedy for him."
"Really?" Ryze moved his chess piece. "Mind telling me the story?"
"An up and coming artist, handsome, young, talented, who destined to capture the hearts of many. He was handsome, played the violin like a madman but with beautiful execution. He would go around stages in Ionia, people would throw roses to him out of admiration. But then at one point, one of his performances, the stage was caught on fire. The fire eats his whole face and burned most of his skin. Sure enough, he lost his looks and blinded one eye. Now he wears a mask and roams around the world. He still plays but disguises himself, fortunately I know when and where he plays." Walker moves his chest piece and kills Ryze's king. "Check mate."
Ryze leaned on his seat. "Whether you're a genius or you just know how to divert my attention Walker."
"Still 1 to 1, there's still hope for you to beat me." Walker took a sip of his drink. "Reset the table Rune Mage."
"You're the boss." Ryze shrugged.
The Rune Mage leaned forward and arranged the chess pieces. The chess pieces themselves were made exquisitely, just by the weight of it, one could not mistake it. For the pass hour, the conversation between them was mild, nothing important. For what Saalamm had informed, he would learn something from this encounter. Ryze would love to play more games with him but he was interested in the bigger picture. Halfway resetting the board, The Rune Mage asked The Business Magnate.
"Who are you Walker?" Ryze began. "You're not just a normal person who I randomly meet. Off all the years of my life, there's only one person that I could compare you with."
"And who's that person?" Walker massaged his chin.
"Abu Qatil." Ryze looked at Walker seriously. "A king long before your ancestor could even remember. People don't know who he is but I do. He was the most powerful man to ever set in this world."
"I never heard of such a man but I take it as a compliment." Walker stood up straight. "To put it simply, I'm the devil."
Ryze stopped resetting the board. Was the man even serious? And even though he was serious, it was also believable that he was.
"You're serious Walker?" Ryze said with a low tone.
"Of course I am not." Walker took a deep breath and walked to the window to cherish the beautiful view of Zaun at night. "The devil doesn't age Rune Mage. As far as I know, you're more likely to be the devil than me."
"Fair point." Ryze nodded and resumed resetting the board.
"What do you call a man that provides metal to every country, monarchy, democracy, government and civilian?" Walker spoke. "Who are you when every dictator, royalty, tyrant and emperor needs your metal? Who are you when you own half of all metal related companies in the world and co own the rest? Who are you when you can tip global politics, changing the whole scene of the world by writing your signature on a piece of paper? I don't own any land yet anyone who has land needs me, thus indirectly I own it. So tell me Rune Mage? Who am I?"
Ryze finished resetting the chess pieces and leaned on his chair. He was struggling to find a word to describe the man in front. Ryze could only nod in agreement, joining Walker's confusion of a proper title.
Walker looked at his portrait above the fireplace. "My personal painter said to me, I'm the closest man to become a god since I own the world. The irony of it is that I refuse to believe in any god. What do you think Rune Mage? I think you're more suited to be a god than me."
"As a person who meets gods and demigods, trust me, their arrogance makes me want to puke." Ryze reminded Aurelion Sol and his over self-confidence. "I'll eat a Rune before I be a god."
Walker walked back to his chair and gestured to Ryze to make his move. "Well, the problem is Rune Mage, you are, by far, the strongest human in the world with the amount of Rune you have been collecting. I am nothing compared to you. Holding one Rune is already powerful, you have multiple I reckon."
"Flattering." Ryze was sarcastic yet made his move regardless. "I can destroy empires, you can make them. So I think you're the better powerful man."
"And we are the polar opposite, that's why I'm very much interested in talking to you." Walker moved his chess piece. "For someone to hold so much power, with no one to challenge you, I understand that position. That's why I think you're my equal."
Ryze made his move. "Tell me Walker, what do you think about Power?"
"Power is nothing to me, it is merely a tool." Walker made another move. "Some people obsess about it, I do not."
"Yet you just funded Noxus the means of war against Ionia, possibly killing thousands of innocent lives." Ryze made an aggressive move and ate a chess piece of his opponent. "You say it like it doesn't have any effect."
"If you say that every life is worth living, to me, it means every life is worthless. I pledge myself to move humanity forward; I don't need to care about a few human souls." Walker advanced his chess piece, not countering with another attack; just merely made a move. "There is a reason why you and I have tremendous amounts of power while so many others don't. One of the reasons why because they let themselves be weak for the sake of comfort living."
"But it's their choice and they have the right to do so." Ryze continued his aggressive move that was to eat any chess piece that was available. "Just like you have a choice to gather all the power you can get."
"And also you, who are constantly striving for the next Rune. But also you, your options are much open because of your choice." Walker continued. "The worthless many cannot decide the worthy few what to do."
"But the worthy few can't decide the worthless many. Especially when the worthy few were once of the worthless many."
"Say what you want but in the end, you can't decide where the arrow flies when I'm the one aims it."
"But that doesn't mean we need to affect others. Destruction can be averted had we all known about the consequences. Innocent lives deserve an innocent living."
"Tell that to nature." Walker giggled. "If you count the many cute kittens around the world that die from starvation, why should we be sad for a few human lives that only live to eat, sex and sleep. What I propose to make humanity better is by making them metal."
"How, precisely?"
"Making a war and gathering all the bodies for experimentation. Their already living miserable life, might as well die, hopefully the Ionian Reincarnation Belief serves them well." Walker continued his passive movement. "That's what I called PROJECT HUMANITY. It is time for humanity as a species to be stronger than what they are. To be the best that the species could be. By the tenth generation, we will see humanity stronger and knowledgeable than ever."
"You call it Project Humanity but I don't see the humanity in it. I don't see the humanity in you." Ryze ate another chess piece, Walker's chess pieces were now but halved. "Call me blue but you're not that consistent with the way you name your cause."
"The time of Magic and Monster is ending Rune Mage, you know it. It is time for Man and Machine then Beyond." Walker makes his move regardless of this losing chess match. "You see civilization ends but humanity keeps on growing while species are going extinct by the day. No longer will a certain amount of people wield magic, every single human will have it and no longer people will be divided by mages and men. There shall only be Man."
"Impossible. Only gifted people can wield magic."
"You call it Magic, I call it Radiation. And radiation can be found in stones, not Runes but mere rare stones, that could emit immense amounts of energy unimaginable to you. Those stones can be put in weapons, machines and suits such as PROJECT AZAZEL. My researchers and companies are grasping it secret day by day. Today you may not see it. In a century? It would be a new normality. I may not live to see it but you will Rune Mage." Walker moved his chess piece but this time it was different. "Mark my words."
Ryze king piece was eaten by Walker's pawn.
"Check mate." Walker said. "Nice game Rune Mage."
Ryze looked at the overall board, he was defeated but astonished at the same time. His face showed it all. The whole board had a lot of white pieces courtesy of Ryze. Walker's black piece had only two left, the king piece and the pawn that had won the game. Ryze lost only a few pawns yet Walker won the game. For some reason, with genius strategy and cheeky diversion, Walker won with only two pieces left. Turns out he only needed two to begin with.
Ryze shook his head and leaned on his chair, exhaling a deep breath. Perhaps Walker also won the conversation.
"I see who you really are Rune Mage." Walker clapped his hands and servants arrived to give wine and more edibles. "Perhaps if you are willing to listen, I might help you with your adventure. Whether you trust me or not, that is up to you."
"I live thousands of years." Ryze received a glass of wine and sipped it, the best he had ever tasted. "You think you know me?"
"I don't need to know you to solve a problem. That question you asked is a clear sign of your dilemma." Walker sipped his wine and thanked the servants. The servants then went away and left Ryze and Walker alone. "You're having a hard time dealing with the Runes. I know it. Those whispers are no joke."
Ryze hissed in bitterness. "You know nothing about the consequences of Runes."
"Perhaps." Walker shrugged. "Yet you've come to me and ask the question how to handle Power. Like I said Rune Mage, power is nothing but a tool. You're the only one that can decide whether you're the Master or you're the Slave. What I see in you Rune Mage is paradoxical. You try to be moral in an amoral position."
"Saving lives is amoral? Making sure that the world doesn't end is amoral? You're a nihilist and a hypocrite. You say that power doesn't matter yet you have all the power to change the world."
"Oh Rune Mage, trying to be a hero of some sort, gathering all the Runes across the world to save mankind from total destruction." Walker said it in a petty way. "I'm a realist. Look at the reality and manoeuvre your way around it. Power is not moral to begin with, it is what you do with it then you question whether it is right or wrong on your terms. You wield it means you have a right to question your decision."
"Ahh!" Ryze put down his glass and got up from his chair. "Why do you talk like that!?!? Why do people with power talk like a puzzle?!? Why can't everything be simpler!"
"See." Walker smiled, as if he had proven something. "You're in denial."
"Elaborate, please." Ryze took a deep breath and moved towards the window, to calm his nerves with the scenery.
"The truth is you can't handle the truth." Walker started to reset the board. "Sure you are capable of resisting the whispers of the Rune, but deep down, you just want to use it just like I did a few days ago. You resist it but you know one day you will succumb to it. I can take a monk and put him in a room of a hundred nude slave girls, let see how virtuous he can be. You're that monk Rune Mage, the place where you kept the Runes is the room and you just want to ravage those slave girls."
"You're right about one thing." Ryze glanced at Walker. "You are a devil."
"I don't take pleasure from it but it is what is." Walker put the entire chess piece back to where it was. "May I be the devil, may I be the evil but there is some good virtue in it."
"Which is?" Ryze turned back towards the chess table and looked at Walker.
"The devil is always patience."
Ryze was speechless again. What Walker has said was evil but each time he said it, his justification made The Rune Mage struggle to find a proper argument. Walker may be right. This man was no typical powerful man. He has wisdom that rarely Ryze has seen in his lifetime as The Rune Mage. Ryze sat down to his chair and slumped down. Saalamm was true to his words, he was learning something new after a few centuries of constant struggle.
"I've seen something…" Ryze started to open up.
Walker saw a different person, Ryze had his guard down. The old man leaned on his chair and crossed his legs; eager to listen.
"I've seen a bleak future…" Ryze began. "The sky burned red. The earth shattered and shook. Ocean filled with blood. Endless suffering for those who survived. The world in oblivion. All of that caused by the Runes that someone had gathered. All of that caused by one man. I intend to put a stop to it in two ways. Killing that man or collecting all the Runes before he does."
"Are you suspecting that man is me?" Walker curiously asked.
"No, you're more powerful than the man. The moment you gave the Rune makes you an exception."
"How about you?" Walker asked. "How are you sure you're an exception?"
"Because if I wasn't, I would've been using the Runes before you were even born. I made an oath to myself to prevent the prophecy. Mark my words Walker. I will prevent it from happening."
"Or maybe you will fulfil it."
Ryze went quiet again. It was a possibility that he cannot deny. Walker was right again and the atmosphere turned sombre. In the end of the day, the ending shall be bleak and chaotic. None can deny it or prevent it. No matter how much effort being put into it. Ryze took his wine glass and drank it empty, numbing the pain of reality. Walker looked at The Rune Mage slowly being drunk in his frustration, such a weird situation Walker was having.
"You know why humanity will thrive in the end?" Walker leaned forward towards the chess table. "Defiance."
Walker moved his chess piece. One pawn forward.
"Ingenuity and innovation can only happen if you're not settled with what you have." Walker leaned back. "Mankind has always been like that ever since we discovered fire. Maybe your skin is blue but there is still humanity within you Mr Ryze. Defiance is still there."
"Don't you ever give in?" Ryze leaned forward and made his move. "You're not afraid of the bleak end?"
"I'm dying Rune Mage but I'm prepared. If the end is so then PROJECT HUMANITY will be there prepared for the worst." Walker made another move. "Be defiant Rune Mage, it will lead you to many fruitful results. Trust me."
"And if you fail?"
"We all fail by default. Might as well try it."
The two old men continued playing chess in silence, a small chat here and there. Turns out they have many more commonalities than they first had thought. Their game ended with Walker winning to Ryze by one game.
Ryze planned to move out by sunrise.