A/N: Turns out I kind of crapped myself in the last one, uploaded a chapter that was already here... So yah, this is the actual chapter 34! I hope you enjoy!
Taric woke up. A slight pain in his head signaled to him that something wasn't right. Slowly, his nose and ears started picking off his surroundings. He was laying on something... A bit hard and sharp, but mostly pleasant. It smelled and felt just like grass. He sniffed once, twice, and his nose picked on the smell of cooked chiken. His ears registered rumbling water and the crackling whispers of fire. His hands twitched and they were tickled by the streaks of grass. His feet lifted up, cracked some bones, and then fell down on the grass. He felt his mouth, and it opened in a pleased inhale. And, at last, his eyes slowly creaked open, revealing to him the beautiful blue sky, with small white clouds. He turned his head and green grass with random flowers surprised him kindly.
Slowly, the Gem Knight stood up, and with a groan, stretched his limbs. He felt quite soar, and it wouldn't hurt him to find the river and splash some cold water over his face. His nose, however, had other plans for him, and, without Taric allowing them, his legs moved in the direction of the chicken, getting cooked on top of a little fireplace. However, someone else was already there.
The man was tall, with black hair, not really long, but enough to reach his shoulders, yet somehow holding it's direction upwards, towards the sky. His broad shoulders represented those of a warrior, which meant that once in his life. However, the chicken looked like it was quite well cooked. That man could've been a cook, but with some nice body build. Taric went as to ignore his past and walked towards the small fire.
"Ah, Taric. I didn't think you'd be the first to appear here. But come on, have a seat." The man turned, and hazel brown eyes looked at Taric.
"Darius?" Taric asked, surprised to see the Noxian. He was supposed to be alive, wreaking havoc on Valoran. The Hand of Noxus nodded.
"Yes. We are in a place one too familiar to you." Answered Darius and patted on the ground next to him. Taric, choosing to sit down, made himself comfy and looked at Darius. So… He was dead? Did they manage do defeat and kill him while he wore the armor? This was amazing, decided the Gem Knight.
"They didn't kill me." He answered the unspoken question. Taric's brow lifted.
"Then what happened? Did… Someone from Noxus kill you? Or… I don't know… Maybe it was –"
"Something else. Much more bothersome than everyone you could think of." Darius interrupted Taric's thoughts, and his eyes narrowed. "I was betrayed, by one who I trusted with all my body and soul." He looked at Taric, and The Gem Knight remembered that day…
"Swain. It was Swain, am I right?" Asked the long haired warrior. Darius nodded.
"He knew I wouldn't join the cause, even thought it would allow Noxus to rise. Then, one day… He sent his assassins…
Darius almost leaped out of his bed. His hair was slashed by a small knife which flew from atop him. His hand wrapped around the handle of the axe, and he didn't hesitate to slam the weapon right there, right now. Wood splinters flew from the wall, but the hooded figure moved out of the way in the last moment. A red haired woman appeared next to the hooded one, and, at last, a shadow moved close to the duo. So… What were they doing here?
Talon appeared behind him, together with Katarina. They were going to attempt to do it swiftly, but he spun even before the blade masters could stab their blades in his back. They had to jump out of the way, but not before they both threw a set of knives at the Hand of Noxus. The shadow was, for now, simply watching. But, a very real blade adorned it's hand. And very real, red blood was leaking downwards.
Darius snapped. Draven. He roared and dashed forwards, completely ignoring the daggers which flew towards his massive frame. The door to his room was shut, of course, and he ignored it as his body collapsed with the wood, breaking it into pieces. The assassins followed suit, but were too late as a wardrobe was placed on the door frame. Darius descended to the lower level and entered Draven's room. Sighing, he smiled. The younger blood brother wasn't there, as he was probably having fun in some brothel. Darius groaned and left the room. He needed more space to fight with his fullest efficiency, so he entered a grand dining room.
Pushing the table to the windows, he looked at the door. Sure enough, the shadow appeared first. This time, however, the blade flew towards him. Deflecting it, Darius extended the claw to pull the assassin towards himself. As expected of the master of shadow though, the axe went through air. Ducking underneath another flying blade, Darius pulled the axe towards himself and spun. This time, the blow was blocked. Well, not really, as a grunt was heard from Zed, and Darius turned, while spinning his axe with the blade extended to meet his opponent. Zed couldn't block this one thought, and had to suppress a scream as the claw of the axe kissed his stomach, digging in through the light armor almost instantly.
Darius grunted. You're mine! He thought and spun again, this time cutting through Zed's knees and causing him to fall down. Time to end this little game… Flying up towards the ceiling, Darius prepared to slam the axe down on Zed, but he was unable to.
He heard the maniacal cackles of a familiar executor, and was frozen in the air. He saw the arrows, and cursed as he appeared in front of Sion. The giant blade of the Noxian general dug into Sion's axe, and the undead fell to his knees. Darius, however, saw the cask with the marking fluid. It exploded on top of him and the zombie, and because of this, Urgot cackled again and started shooting the sharp objects he usually used in the Summoner's Rift.
Darius cursed and slashed on a few vital spots on Sion's body and without hesitation leaped in the air. The undead, being unable to use his hands for Darius had disabled them, was split in two in less than ten seconds. Urgot was next, as Darius' axe flew towards him. A long blade, however, interfered, and his axe was unable to go forth. He pulled the weapon towards himself and felt the small dagger dig into his back. Curse those cowards…
He fell on his face, as his body was rocked by a few of the claws which were shot from Urgot's hand. Darius cursed and stood up, spinning in the process. No one was caught. The Hand of Noxus felt a trio of blades stab his hands and back, and he lost control over his body.
Grunting, Darius cursed the assassin's and… Died.
…They were cowards thought. Unable to take me on without my armor and their element of surprise. I died, before any of this started. I saw that they did something with my body, but… I couldn't understand what it was clearly at first. Then, I realized that it was actually some sort of a necromantic spell, but the effect was different. I was still here… In this dimension of afterlife… Nonsense…So, I looked at my body stand up, and with the probably most sinister expression in the world, it acted just like I would act when I was really angry. Though, I never got angry at anyone or anything." He finished. Taric nodded, but his expression darkened.
"I think they revived only half of your being. The dark half of your being… The evil half of it." Taric deduced, and nodded in Darius' direction. The Hand Of Noxus sighed.
"I knew those bastards would somehow manage to darken my days… But of course, thank you for telling me. So, do you want some Chicken?" Asked Darius, smiling warmly to Taric. The Gem Knight felt really unordinary, seeing Darius act so… Unusually.
"Has Gordoth passed by? I mean, he was supposed to be dead. Goodness knows you were the one who killed him. Or, at least that's what I heard. Soldiers speaking about you killing the last summoner. He was the last summoner, Just so you know." Taric asked, and Darius nodded.
"He was here, as a matter of fact. He spoke with Jebus and left shortly after. Jebus didn't seem interested, so I decided that they just had some talk. But, when you think of it, Jebus is always preparing for something. He is a strange fella." Darius answered, his smile returning to his face. Taric nodded, and started wondering, who cold that Jebus be.
"Well… Can I talk to that Jebus man? I think he could tell me a bit of this which I am looking for…" Taric asked, wondering if he could meet and speak with Jebus. Darius laughed heartily, and then placed a hand on Taric's shoulder.
"You can talk to Jebus, but he will probably keep mumbling about whatever he mumbles about, and will not answer you. But, he isn't crazy, if that's what you think. He is just… Unusual." Darius answered to the Gem Knight's question. Taric nodded, but still didn't really believe the Noxian. How could that man be in… Heaven, or whatever this place was, and be a bit crazy?
"I am interested in meeting him, so I will go and… Search for him." Taric told Darius, and stood up.
"He is just outside the forest. You will easily find him… He is not hard to notice." Darius answered to Taric's unspoken question. The Noxian's hand pointed North. The Gem Knight nodded and started walking in the direction he was pointed to.
After walking for about three hours, Taric noticed the amount of trees was lowering. And, the sky was darker. It seemed as if it was empty at first, but when the trees cleared, the skies were pitch black. Everything was black. Dark. Taric couldn't see almost anything. It reminded him of… The dream world, where the hands kept pulling him towards themselves. His eye twitched.
Suddenly, a pair of hands grabbed his throat and lifted him up in the air. Two, blood red eyes stared at him, digging into his soul. He heard silent whispers, and the hands let go.
"Not guilty. Will be left to live. I have to prepare. Darkness is swallowing the lands. TerraRune needs the Savior." Silent footsteps echoed somewhere in front of Taric. He looked around, and, for the second time in his life, felt scared. Yet, this time, he was truly scared.
Who was this man, Jebus, and what was TerraRune? Taric didn't know, but he hoped to find out soon.