Nasus I
Xerath hovered in the sky, like some demented star covered in stone and chains. Flashes of white fire erupted from his arms, joining the already massive inferno covering the streets of Verauka. Each bolt of flame exploded on impact, searing fire and burning bodies hurled into the air as they struck. His laughter, full of malice and spite, echoed in the air, showing his ageless insanity for all the world to see.
How did we not see the evil in him before?
I could hear the screams of the people who have managed to survive the onslaught thus far, but even they were slowly petering out as more people disintegrated into blackened kindling. The few corpses that remained intact, slain by the blades of Xerath's warriors instead of their master's devastating magic, stared emotionlessly into the sky. It felt like a thousand stares, staring at me in accusation.
How many of them did I leave to die in search of Azir's descendant?
I shook that thought away. The time for guilt and hesitation comes later. Tonight, I fight. I followed the screams in the direction of the city's heart, the anger bubbling inside me as I passed the bodies of Shurima's children cut down by bloodthirsty marauders. Another notch to add to Xerath's ever growing list of sins.
My path was soon blocked by Xerath's warriors. Five, at first count, but who knew how many of them were hidden in the shadows cast by blazing inferno. My axe sat comfortably in my hand as they brandished their already bloody weapons. The prospect of facing an enraged Ascended warrior should have left them trembling in trepidation, if not outright fear, but their eyes blazed with white fire, Xerath's will already subsuming the mind within.
These puppets feared nothing.
I met their charge head on, as a proud Ascended warrior should, a single swing of my axe shattered their bloodied swords and split three of them in half. The remaining two struck with mindless fervor, their blades breaking as I grabbed them midswing. I put my other fist through one man's chest, pulverizing his lungs. He collapsed, his body still trying to obey Xerath's will but unable to support itself.
The last man lunged at me, arms outstretched. The idea of a mortal human trying to wrestle an Ascended made me huff in slight amusement before I caught his head in my jaws. His skull burst open as I bit down, his flailing arms dropping limply at his side. The entire fight took less than a minute.
Stepping over their broken bodies, I entered the plaza and was met by a horrific sight.
The city's inhabitants knelt in forced supplication, bloodied swords and spears pointed at their necks. Above the citizens acting like cowed worshippers, Xerath hung suspended in the air. The screaming figure of one of the city's hierophants screamed as his body was slowly incinerated under Xerath's burning gaze.
"You pitiful mortals. Why would you claim lineage to an emperor as worthless as Azir?"
My rage bubbled from within, erupting from my throat as a bestial roar.
"Xerath!"
Xerath's warriors faced me but remained where they stood. Xerath's blazing eyes turned to me as the hierophant's body crumbled into ash.
"Ah yes, the coward who sealed me beneath the world for millennia."
"And I will put you back there, until I find a way to extinguish you completely!"
The magus merely laughed, his incandescent form burning even brighter.
"You had your beloved brother to help you then. Tell me, have you seen Renekton since our shared prison was broken open?"
I stayed silent. Rumors of my brother's madness spread all across Shurima, of how he defied Azir's rightful reign. How he spoke to the unfortunate souls in the desert, of nonsensical things that left those poor souls corrupted from within. How he despised me and blamed me for his incarceration. I stayed silent as Xerath's cruel laughter echoed in the plaze.
"I don't know what it means but I guess it's some kind of well wishing."
"Rawr, uwu, boop. I see. Nonsensical, but somehow, I feel lighter."
Perhaps it was the mere thought of someone wishing me well after millennia of self exile. Perhaps the words themselves held some form of magic. Perhaps...
The massive conflagration sent me careening backwards, its sheer explosive force causing massive damage even to my Ascended body.
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Xerath II
Those damnable words!
"I'll make a man out of you!"
"Rawr, uwu, boop!"
"Nu är vi här med caramelldansen!"
"Oraoraoraora!"
The unspeakable eons between Renekton's furious assault and his descent into complete silence. I had thought them forgotten, but it appears that in this scenario, my eternal Ascended memory was against me.
The flames of my magic erupted from my body, erasing a few of my bound warriors from existence. Azir can wait. The one who had the temerity to drag those memories from their slumber.
I will annihilate him!