It was a stormy night for the cities of Ontario, as the freezing cold winds blew through the solemn darkness. Having turned eighteen that year, a boy who now must shoulder the responsibilities of a man attempted to find his way through the mess made by society. That boy, who went by the name of Wentao, was me. That night, I sat in front of my desktop, playing League of Legends alone. All my friends were elsewhere, buried under their own separate business as adults. Some had found their glory, while some were stuck in situations similar to myself. I found no way to cope with the cruelty of the current world, so instead I drowned myself in another, the world of Runeterra in League of Legends.
Dejectedly, I started another match. Soon, a glowing blue circle popped up on my screen, indicating that a group of ten players had been successfully gathered to compete in a match on Summoner's Rift, and I was one of them. My team's preparation screen popped up, and I typed in 'top' to indicate the role I wished to fulfill though I still have yet to find my role in life. At times, I wondered if I ever had one. My teammates started to fill in each of their unique roles as well, and after selecting a champion, the final countdown started.
"10! 9! 8!" The announcer said as I swallowed another sip from my cup of soda, thinking about everything else I could have been doing right then and now if I only had a single spark of motivation.
"7! 6! 5!" I laid down my cup beside my computer, wiped my face with my sleeves, before stretching my arms to prepare for the game.
"4! 3!" A distant spark of lightning flashed, followed by the lingering boom of thunder. It shook the house causing me to jerk up, accidentally knocking the cup of soda into my desktop.
"2!"
"Ah shit!" I muttered as I desperately tried to righten the cup, but it was too late. Pink liquid had splashed all across my keyboard.
"1!" The champion screen disappeared just as sparks started flying from my computer, and I desperately yet pointlessly attempted to wipe the liquids off my precious PC. It was one of the only things I had left in the world. Suddenly, an electric joint sprung out from the device, and hit me straight in the chest. My physical form jolted a couple of times, before plunging head first into the laptop. The device exited the League of Legends app, logged out, and reverted to it's Window 10 home screen as though nothing had happened. But I, was nowhere to be seen.
I awoke, dazed, in a strange rural forest whose origin I knew not. Standing up and brushing the dirt from my clothing, I looked around the surrounding area. Visibly shaken, I barely tried to hide my fears of the wild as I attempted to search for any landmarks that could suggest my current location. Finding little information and armed with even less knowledge about the wild, I resorted to setting up a simple camp for the night.
Using survival skills I had seen online, I picked up a few dead branches off the ground and started building a hut between two large trees. After completing a base of operations, I covered it with a few green branches of nearby pine trees. The forest seemed untouched by human influence, meaning that it was unlikely for any civilization to be near. With no idea how I got here, and no other supplies aside from the shirt on my back, I decided to explore for resources. The sound of water drew me to a nearby creek, which I decided would be my source of water. It was only then that I looked down into the murky waters to discover a familiar creature.
The creature had the general appearance of a mix between a crab and a beetle, with green glistening shells and long, skinny legs. I knew its name to be a scuttle crab, which inhabited the rivers of Summoner Rift in League of Legends. It was then that I realized my current predicament, judging by the flash of thunder, the game I had been playing before I was knocked out. I had been teleported to the world of Runeterra in League of Legends.
Running in a wild circle, my mind sprawled in desperation. I had no clue where I was, but I knew for a fact that I would rather observe Runeterra from a fictional point of view. I was fully aware of the dangers of this strange new world, and I was not prepared to fall prey to one of the many monsters that inhabited it. I racked my brains for an explanation, for how this was even possible, but I acquired no answers.
Gathering what little knowledge I had of the world of Runeterra, I decided my best chance for survival would be to locate a city. Piltover would be an excellent choice, as I remembered from the little bits of game lore that suggested it was a lot like modern cities. Demacia wouldn't have been too bad, as I remembered it to be friendly towards anyone who wasn't a mage. I just hoped I wasn't anywhere near places such as Noxus, which was a nation infamous for their violence.
Suddenly, a group of four people, who looked to be perhaps slightly older than myself, ran out of the nearby bushes. The guy in the lead took one look at me, and yelled, "Run! Get out of here! There's a witch behind us! She's killed Henry! Get the hell out of here!"
Now both bewildered and shakened, I raced back towards my fort, before hastily hiding myself in the branches as best I could. I heard the footsteps of the group approaching, and the sound of a body hitting the dirt as one of the runners tripped.
"Nolan!" One of them yelled, "Get up, god damn it!"
But it was too late. A woman shrouded in blue energy suddenly seemingly blinked into existence before the four boys, all of whom gazed up towards her, terrified. Seeing no other options for escape, one of the boys reached for something behind him.
"Now!" The boy yelled, and each of the runners pulled out sticks before charging at the woman with clubs raised.
The woman flashed sideways, effortlessly avoiding the boys' attacks, then spun around to reveal nine large white tails. Three bright flickers of blue fire surrounded her body, and she sent them towards the boys. Two of the flames hit their marks, each giving their targets burns that made them drop to the ground with no more fight left in them. The third splinter of flame was blocked by the stick the third boy had been holding, and although the stick was incinerated, the boy was left unharmed. He desperately attempted to flee but the woman blew a kiss towards him, sending a pink heart shaped projectile that hit him square in the back. The boy turned around, glancing at the woman with a dazed smile, before walking towards her with a lustful expression on his face. The boy hugged the woman with open arms, and attempted to kiss her lips. However, the woman started to exhale, seemingly draining her victim's energy as the boy fell lifelessly onto the ground, dead. She then continued over to the burnt and barely moving bodies of the two boys, before consuming their energy one by one. Finally, she strode over to the last boy, who had been frozen in shock.
"Get away from me! You… you monster!" He roared with a panicked cry while attempting to bring down his stick onto the woman's head. The woman easily caught the stick in mid air, ripping it from the boy's grasp before hurtling it to the side.
"It's too late for mercy." She told him, before summoning a large blue orb with her right hand. Wordlessly, she hurled the orb into the boy's chest, who dropped onto the ground, dead. At last, she turned towards my direction, and I recognized her in detail. A set of revealing red clothing covered her perfect curves, which was nothing compared to the perfection of her face. A pair of fox ears protruded from her glistening dark hair, and three pairs of dark blue streaks showed on her face. Her name came to my mind, as I remembered laning against her in League of Legends. She was Ahri, the Nine Tailed Fox.
Now consumed by panic and dread, I sprinted out of my hiding spot in an attempt to race as far away from the alluring predator behind me as humanly possible. Although part of me knew it was pointless, as I had just witnessed her blinking into existence, my fight or flight response had grasped control of me. I sprinted like I had never before, even though I knew the fact Ahri hadn't caught up yet simply meant she was toying with me.
Breaking through the tree lines out into a clearing, I stumbled upon a crystal blue lake, with a large wooden structure built in it's far left corner. The structure looked to be a mix between a cabin and a house, it's size just around half of the latter. In a panic, I sprinted to the house and banged on it's wooden doors.
"Please! Let me in!" I screamed, but no one answered. I tried the handle to the door, and to my surprise, the door swung open to reveal a tidy, somewhat cozy looking interior.
I rushed into the house, locking the door behind me, and took inventory of my surroundings. Noticing a set of stairs in the corner, I raced up the steps as fast as my feet would carry me. On the second floor of the house, there appeared to be a row of bedrooms, and I sprinted into the first one I came across. Bolting the door shut, I leapt into a bed and hid under the covers while hugging the pillow, terrified of being caught and eaten. Shaking with fear, I tried to calm myself and attempted to listen for the sounds of footsteps or other signs of Ahri approaching.
Suddenly, my blood froze as I heard a low giggle to my left, and the blanket in my arms started to move. It was at that moment I realized that I had stumbled right into the Nine Tailed Fox's trap. The blanket separated themselves into nine fluffy tails, and Ahri emerged from my left. I tried to get up and run, but Ahri grabbed both my hands faster than I could react and pinned them to the bed with her tails, before sitting on top of me to leave me completely immobile and vulnerable.
"Where do you think you're going?" Ahri stared me right in the face, an amused, predatory smile on her own.
"I…umm…er-" I stammered, unable to fully comprehend the fact that I was most likely going to die.
"Awww. Fox got your tongue?" Ahri simpered, using the tails that weren't holding my arms down to completely cover me as I struggled despairingly to break free.
"Calm down little one." She breathed into my ears as she gently ran her fingers along my exposed neck. "There's a good little fox. It's fun to watch you struggle, but it's quite pointless."
"Please don't hurt me!" I yelped desperately, "Please don't take my soul Ahri!"
"Awww. Is the little boy scared?" Ahri teased as she playfully tickled my chin. "Should I make your pulse rise…or stop?"
"Please have mercy!" I begged, "Please don't charm me or hurt me in any shape or form. Please don't kill me! I'll do anything!"
I watched with dread as she bared her fangs, a wild predatory look in her eyes. She was the predator, I was the prey. Pressing my head deep into the pillow, I winced as I prepared for her to drain my soul, inevitably killing me.
Yet the attack never came. Ahri slid off me while loosening her tails from my arm, letting me free.
"Alright." She sighed. "I've already indulged myself with enough life essence today. Letting you go won't hurt."
She gently patted my head, before standing up to her full height.
"Consider yourself lucky Wentao." She continued. "Cross my forests again and you just might not leave with your life."
"How did you know my name?" I stammered.
"I have my ways." Ahri answered, before walking me downstairs to open the door.
I stood up, and slowly slouched to the doorway, looking outside.
"Well." Ahri encouraged, as she lay one of her hands on my shoulders. "Go on then. Usually when I let people go they leave as fast as they can. And I don't let people go often."
"Well." I muttered, staring down at the ground, trying not to look at Ahri so I could think straight. "I don't really know where I am. I've no place left to go."
I thought of my homeworld, my familiar room, and my comfortable bed. Suddenly, I missed each of the people I had overlooked in my life. I might never get the chance to see them again. Just thinking about it brought me to tears, and I started to cry.
Ahri stared long and hard at me, her golden eyes piercing through me as if searching through my soul. Then, I felt one of Ahri's soft white tails wrap around me. She pulled me over, and gave me a hug. She made me look up into her eyes, before rubbing her nose against mine affectionately.
"You can stay with me if you want." Ahri offered. "I could use some company to be honest."
"Really?" I looked up in disbelief.
"Of course." She smiled, as she gently patted my head.
"Don't worry." She breathed into my ears. "Calm down. Everything is going to be okay."
Ahri led me back into her cabin, which now bore obvious signs of her residence that I had previously overlooked in my hurry. She gave me a few pieces of dried fish, which I gulped down while watching the sun slowly set. At last, as night set on this alien world, Ahri took my hand and led me into the very bedroom she had trapped me in earlier.
Wrapping her tails around me, providing me with warmth like a flame would in the dead of winter, I sighed deeply as I snuggled deep into Ahri's tails, and fell asleep.