Nasus IV
The sarcophagus shards that bound Xerath's form shuddered as my axe struck it again, the dark magus reeling backwards from the impact, still disoriented from whatever magic the young heir used against him.
"Your madness ends now, Xerath." I roared at my foe, drowning out the sounds of distant combat. Xerath laughed, a harsh sound filled with madness and cruelty.
"Madness? I will free this world from the shackles that bind it! I will save the people of Shurima from the tyrants that enslave them!" His words were accompanied by bolts of compressed flame. I swung my axe and the bolts vanished, consumed by the flames of my own spirit.
"The only tyrant here is you, Xerath! The only slaves here are the children of Shurima you bound to your will!" I lunged at him, my axe cleaving through the haphazard barrier of flame he erected. He rose into the air, outside my reach.
"You are a relic of the past, Nasus! I will forge this world into something new, a world with no kings, no foolish emperors, no gods. A world where there is only Xerath!"
I braced myself as Xerath unleashed a roiling ball of magic down at me. The Nasus of the past would have crumbled under its malevolent strength, his spirit unable to channel the full power of the Many Flames.
But now, I have a reason to fight.
Now, I have a brother to find. To apologize to. To embrace in memory of the old times.
Now, I have my brother's family to find and protect. I have Azir's heir to teach in the arts of the scholar and the warrior.
Now, I have a city to help rebuild.
The Many Flames answered my call, my axe burned with the ethereal glow of the spirit fire, and as I swung it, it's blade cleaved Xerath's foul magic in two.
"You-" Xerath's shock was palpable and I took the opportunity to unleash a guttural howl, the Many Flames following the swing of my axe and erupting in a torrent of fire towards the airborne Xerath.
The magic that comprised his form billowed, fighting against the constraints that Renekton and I bound him in ages ago. My flames dissipated, blown away by the sheer magic power Xerath unleashed.
"This is impossible! You are nothing but a relic of the past! A shadow of the once legendary Curator of the Sands!" Xerath bellowed, his hands spitting out bolts of magic that I deflected with large swings of my axe. His unrelenting barrage was interrupted when a dozen spears of sand pierced him, the magic of his body quickly incinerating the offending weapons.
"Xerath." Azir stepped up beside me. His voice was calm and regal, but I could hear the anger within, chained by indomitable will.
"Azir." Xerath spat, his eerie voice echoing in the empty streets.
With a barely noticeable gesture of Azir's head, the sand around us rose and merged, forming a dozen lines of sand soldiers awaiting his command.
"I see that death has been good to you, brother."
Azir stared at Xerath, his posture still composed, betraying none of the internal conflict I knew he was having.
"My brother, Xerath, is dead, consumed by greed and hatred. I see only the Sasuke in front of me."
That was the prophecy that Azir clung to. It was better to believe that the boy that Azir spent his childhood in the libraries of Shurima with, the man who defended Azir - his emperor and brother in all but blood - against threats inside and outside the empire with zealous fervor, died ages ago and that the creature we are fighting is merely a dark spirit that pretended to be him.
We both knew otherwise, but it was easier to pretend.
Xerath's form shook in unbridled fury and even I had to take an unconscious step back as the ground around us shattered under the sheer pressure of Xerath's magic.
"That name is nothing! A fantasy created by Renekton in his madness!" Magic writhed under stone and chains as Xerath's rage filled the area.
I matched his wrath with mine, the Many Flames exploding from my body. The sand at my feet whipped around in a frenzy and I could feel my form growing, my strength fueled by sheer rage.
"Your lies end now, Xerath!" I roared. I could see the widening of his eyes as I swung my now massive axe at him, forcing him higher into the sky.
"Lies? Your brother is mad, driven insane by your own actions!" My head was already filled with rage and his latest taunt only served to fuel my righteous anger.
A crossbow bolt planted itself between his eyes, slowly dissolving in the magic that it was embedded in.
"Samir!" I heard a female voice, shaking with fear, somewhere behind me. "We were supposed to be running."
"B-but, he was talking bad about Lord Renekton!"
In a moment of confused levity, Azir, Xerath and I turned towards the group of civilians. They were huddle behind one of the ruined buildings, apparently in the middle of fleeing when our battle suddenly erupted near them.
While one of the girls, a teenager scolded her crossbow wielding companion, the other one glared defiantly at Xerath, a single sand soldier slowly forming in front of her. Behind the sandcrafter was a Vastayan, a rare sight in Shurima.
The ears of a fox, nine tails and a slight bump in her belly. Those, and a very familiar scent.
As I reached the logical conclusion, the rising waves of power that erupted from Xerath told me that he had the same train of thought. Fire and lightning blasted from his hands, aimed straight for the terrified group.
"No!" I bellowed, and in an act of desperation swatted Xerath out of the sky, but it was too late. I stared in helpless terror as Xerath's magic reached its destination, burning through the wall of sand that hastily appeared before it and striking down the figure that placed itself between the roiling mass of destruction and it's helpless targets.
I watched as Azir crumpled to the ground, his life saved only by the sheer durability that his Ascension gave him.
"That madman had the gall to father a child! To spread his madness into my new world!" Xerath raged, his magic forming another mass of fire and lightning in his hands.
The Vastayan - my new sister - glared at Xerath. I could feel her magic - very strong magic - emanating from her body, held back only by fear of harming the child within her. My brother's child.
"Xerath." My voice was cold, colder than I ever thought possible. "You die today."
"Emperor!"
"Lady Ahri!"
The sounds of combat have diminished and the voices of the arriving people, soldiers and citizens alike, were not voices of fear but of worry. They formed up in front of the downed Emperor, staring defiantly at Xerath's floating figure. Xerath bristled with rage as I turned my attention back to him.
"Your army is either dead or routed, Xerath. Surrender and I will give you a quick death." A painful one, I promised myself. Vengeance was never something I held much importance in, but for Xerath, I would make an exception.
"You... I will destroy all of you!" The massive wave of flames that Xerath let loose threatened to incinerate the entire area but the people behind me were under my protection, and the Many Flames that was still whipping the sand around me in a fury pushed the wave back, almost casually.
Spears smashed to the ground in a rhythm, accompanied by the stomping of feet.
"Rawr! Uwu! Boop!"
"Rawr! Uwu! Boop!"
The war chant that originated from Azir's heir wishing me luck. The words that had no decipherable meaning yet had the effect of lightening one's emotions in times of need. I still didn't know if they were true magic words.
"Rawr! Uwu! Boop!"
Perhaps even some remnant of the World Runes of old.
"Rawr! Uwu! Boop!"
I can see the effect the chanting had on Xerath. Perhaps it was some kind of ward against evil, after all? So without hesitation, I leapt into the fray.
"RAWR!" I roared and lunged at Xerath, my axe blazing with fire and fury.
====
Xerath III
"Rawr! Uwu! Boop!"
No.
"Rawr! Uwu! Boop!"
No. No. No no no no no.
"Rawr! Uwu! Boop!"
Centuries in the darkness with nothing but that voice, that voice that degenerated from terrifying growls to this monstrosity!
"Rawr! Uwu! Boop!"
Even now, Renekton's madness haunts me.
"Rawr! Nuzzles pounces on you!" A massive reptilian figure lunging towards me.
"Silence! I demand silence!"
"Rawr! Uwu! Boop!"
"Uwu, you so warm." The grinning face of my archenemy as he shrugged off my flames.
"I will destroy all of you!" My magic, the flames of my rage, were swallowed up by Nasus' accursed sands.
"See me wag my widdle baby tail~" The sheer force of a crocodilian tail as it smashed me into our prison walls.
"Enough!"
"Kisses and lickies you neck~" Glowing red eyes and a massive maw, filled with sharp teeth, emerging from the shadows...
"RAWR!" Nasus leaps at me, the sand blurring his form until all I could see were glowing red eyes and a massive maw, filled with sharp teeth.
I fled into the sky. Nerimazeth's secrets beckon and I vowed that there will be a reckoning.
====
Sivir VI
"Water and shade to you, Lady Sivir."
"Rawr, uwu, boop, Lady Sivir!"
"Lady Sivir, Lady Sivir, tell us a story!"
I sighed as I finally escaped the crowded streets and entered the governor's mansion. The man died in the fighting, his taser-knife willed to his twelve year old son.
"Sivir!" A familiar voice echoed in the main hall and I suppressed the urge to sigh.
"Emperor." I greeted the hawk man. He ignored my tired tone and walked up to me.
"It's good to see you hale and hearty, grandchild!" I had to remind myself that this person saved the lives of my family and I had to be civil.
"Thanks. You look, uh, well too, Emperor." He hummed in agreement and we settled into an uncomfortable silence.
"Your bloodline is valuable beyond measure, Sivir." He spoke up after a while. I frowned, having an inkling as to where this was going.
"I trust Teacher with my life and yours, but he is on a mission that I am sure is important to Shurima, and I am worried for your safety.
I raised an eyebrow and saw him give a minute twitch, a break in his usual regal demeanor. I mentally congratulated myself.
"Perhaps, it would be safer for you and Teacher's wife to accompany me back to the capital?" He offered. It was true that the main bulk of the Shuriman army was defending the capital, and it was true that Lady Ahri, and the rest of our ragtag group, would be safer there, but-
Will you protect our family while I'm gone, Sivir?
"A ruler's blood, huh?" I mused and I could feel Azir's sharp gaze staring holes in my head.
"I've never took care of anyone but myself for most of my life. Tali and the others changed that. Then we came to Kalamanda and I got to know the people, the children that Senpai adored so much and the friends that welcomed us into the city with open arms. Kalamanda needs a protector. A ruler."
I saw it in the eyes of everyone that greeted me when I was outside. They knew me to be Azir's descendant and heir. They did not elect an interim governor because they were waiting for me to step up. All this time, I was afraid of the responsibility that they've been shoving onto me since the battle.
Senpai wouldn't want that. Senpai would want me to take care of Kalamanda in his absence.
"I'm staying."
I chose to ignore the pride in the Emperor's face.