Chapter 72: A Rare End


Zoh's POV:

"Ya know, I can't quite tell when I stopped having fun. Was it when the knife-lady attacked me, or when I hit the ocean….? Maybe somewhere in-between."

The strange bird didn't respond, unsurprisingly. Just kept sitting there on the floating bit of wreckage next to me. Too small for me, but at least something was getting use out of it.

I, meanwhile, had to float the old-fashioned way. Which is to say, the tiring way.

"I can't tell if you're a good listener or just sticking around so you can rest your wings. Either way it's nice to have company."

As truly enthralling as that conversation was, I didn't really have time to stick around and continue it. Land was, suffice it to say, fucking miles away and my armour was currently scattered in many pieces on the ocean surface or, for the unluckily heavy bits, falling to the depths below. The horrifying, unknowable depths below.

At least the waters were calm which was… a silver lining, I supposed. Made it easier to swim.

The sudden movement made my bird-friend leave, which was my first loss.

My second loss came almost immediately after, when the water started to pick up in energy. Which made no sense.

Like, no sense at all. The wind hadn't changed in the slightest, and I was mostly confident an earthquake hadn't occurred without me noticing. However, the 'why' wasn't really important at that moment in time. The 'how the fuck am I gonna handle this' was taking precedence; I wasn't exactly a weak swimmer, but this was a few difficulty pegs above what I was okay with.

On the bright side, my state of partial nudity helped with reducing drag. So losing my suit wasn't entirely a negative thing, just ninety-nine percent.

My third loss, and the biggest by a considerable margin, came when I noticed the shadow below me. The large shadow.

There's no beating around the bush, really. It was a leviathan. A monstrosity the size of a large island with more tentacles and teeth than any creature could reasonably need was rising to the surface right where I was.

It must have been attracted by the commotion I caused when I hit the ocean.

"If there just so happen to be any gods out there, preferably benevolent ones, I'd just like to say that I'm a big fan and right now would be a good time for- oh shhiiiiiiiiiiiit!" I cried as it broke the surface, with me hanging on to its head. A few metres to the right and I'd have been lunch, though I didn't consider my situation then to be much better.

I glanced down its body at the worst moment, as the colossal yellow eye that stared back focused in on the movement immediately.

"If I survive this… I think I might retire."

"Actually, I'm friendly."

"Eh?"

A tentacle gently approached, allowing me to step onto it. I steadied myself as it floated away from the creature, stopping twenty-odd metres away. I watched in mild shock as the creature's colossal maw began to move again.

"I mean you no harm, little one. Your kind are bad for us; mess with the stomach."

I guess my luck wasn't so bad after all. Maybe Twisted Fortune was twisting chance in my favour.

"Uh… okay. Didn't know you guys could talk, so that's… interesting."

"Indeed, I happen to know every language on Runeterra. Well, every seafaring language, at least."

"Huh. So what brings you here?"

"I live here."

"Shit, sorry for crashing in. Got debris everywhere."

"It's fine. I'm used to humans littering the ocean at this point."

I cringed a little and tried to move the conversation away from that tetchy subject.

"Yeah, sorry about that. But I mean what brings you to this part specifically?"

It appeared to take on some form of facial expression, pondering its potential answers. Even rubbed what I assumed to be its chin with a tentacle, which I guessed it picked up from watching humans. The strange, screechy sound emanating from it definitely wasn't picked up from us, but might have been some form of humming.

"Suppose… I was just interested. Heard that crash from miles away. Then I recognised you; you're one of those 'Champions', right? I can't say I know your name, but I know of you people. When I hear sailors talk of your deeds, it intrigues me. Are all notable humans referred to as 'Champions'?"

"Not really, it's sorta only the ones good at killing things. The term has lost a fair bit of meaning these last few years, but it's meant to encompass a group who perpetually fight each other to settle regional disputes. Prevents wars and such."

"Oh? Not doing a very good job, are you?"

"Hey! That's… mean, but… yeah- I can't deny it. The organisation behind it just… urgh, it fucking sucks sometimes. Feels like making money and accumulating power is more important than their actual job these days."

"Mmm, a tough situation, to be sure. Can you support a flawed organisation if they still do good? Or do you move on and hope for something better? Hmm, I would say you should reward them when they do well, and give them the cold shoulder when they do poorly. You clearly believe in their core mission, and improving an existing system is usually better than starting over."

"So… you're saying I shouldn't perform corporate espionage against them on a whim?"

"… No… why would that be your go-to reaction?"

I just shrugged at it.

"Weird fella, aren't you? Why don't you tell me more about yourself while I swim you back to shore?"

"I'd be grateful. What should I call you?"

"You can't pronounce it, trust me. Lots of guttural clicks and whines. Tim will do."

"Okay Tim, I'm Zoh. Nice to meet you."

"Pfff, hope you gave your parents hell for that."


Ahri's POV:

"And you're one hundred on him going this way?"

"Yes."

"Hundred…?"

"YES."

Lux put her hands up faux-defensively, clearly unconvinced of my confidence. There are plenty of ways to get to Shurima from the mansion, many of them exceedingly easy, but I knew better. Our murderer came up with a plenty elaborate scheme, but he'd have known that any decent investigator would find him out quickly.

If us two could solve it, it couldn't really be much of a plan. And he'd know that; there's no way we'd find him anywhere the authorities could apprehend him. The only logical way was a winding route that avoided all major settlements and roads, which was exactly the way I was now taking us.

And, considering he was just a normal human, there was no way he could escape me. Even if it meant leaving Lux alone is this… disgusting swamp. Not mean, Lux is from Demacia. Surely, she would know her way home from here, right?

But I had no reason to leave her behind; she was keeping up with me quite happily. Never expected her to be able to keep up a run for multiple miles, but there was plenty I didn't know about Lux.

I was almost distracted by her long enough to lose the tracks, but not quite. The thick, watery mud was doing as great a job at ruining my shoes as it was informing me where to go. The path did a good job avoiding the sickly green water that covered so much of the landscape. Crooked, ominously tall trees covered so much of my vision, but not nearly as badly as the land itself. Like the jaws of a great beast, a hill appeared ready to swallow us all; running beneath it made me worry it'd collapse at any moment. And it wasn't alone: as far as the eye could see, the landscape actively avoiding being flat, and actively attempted to look threatening.

Of all the lands to find contain a place, my last guess would have been Demacia. More ghosts and mist and I could've been convinced we'd ran all the way to the Shadow Isles.

"How have we not caught this fucker yet? Feels like we've been running for hours!"

"I'm still wondering why you haven't called your boyfriend for help yet. I'm ninety-percent on him having some sort of 'find-a-person-and-take-me-straight-to-them' machine."

"Probably; I'm losing track of the bullshit he creates. But I tried to contact him and got nothing."

"Ah. Hope he's okay."

"Doubt it, but I'm sure he'll survive. How's Yas?"

"Don't even go there."

"If you don't start to get along, you'll be stuck as roommates forever. Might even turn out like-"

"GOD NO."

"Okay honey. Well, you're in luck, I hear our guy."

"Oh good, he's close. Getting tired."

I really, really didn't wanna break that bit of news to her. The hope that sparked in her eyes when she thought she was going to be done running in formal wear… it would be heartless to ruin that. But I had to be honest with her.

"I meant I hear him with my ears. He's over a mile away."

She was about to shout something when Shen, characteristically, appeared out of nowhere in front of us. We both skidding to a halt, kicking mud up ourselves and him, though it didn't seem to bother Shen in the slightest. Bothered the hell out of me, though; I'd been doing a good job of keeping the mud off my face until then.

"Odd place to go for a run."

"Shen, we're in the middle of something here. Chasing down a-"

"I know. It was a joke. I shall make them more obvious in the future."

Lux's face mirrored mine in that moment, doubling up on the eye-rolling.

"Why are you here?"

"There has been an unfortunate turn of events at the Institute. Your presence, both of you, would be greatly appreciated. I would say more, but it would be best for you to see it."

The tone shifted to serious in a beat. Few things could be 'unfortunate' enough for Shen to feel he absolutely needed me to be there, and this was definitely not any sort of joke. It was then that I noticed he was wearing his full ensemble of gear, ready for all-out war.

A harsh wind blew by as my mind raced for what it could be, trying and failing to put together any hints or clues I'd noticed recently. Of course, first on my concerns was Zoh. What if him dropping out of communication was more serious than I thought? What if he was hurt, or worse? Shen's mask stopped me from getting anything from his face, but his voice hadn't carried any notable sorrow, so maybe it was okay…

"Do we have time to catch this guy? Ten minutes is all we need."

"I will return in five to bring you back. In the meantime, I shall attempt to return any other Champions I can."

"Zoh included?"

"Wherever he is, it is concealing him from my sight. We shall see, in time."

He made his usual hand-signs and disappeared. Lux and I shared a look.

"Sounds like we've got no time to waste."

She nodded, and resumed the chase.


Zoh's POV:

The ocean breeze is usually calming, but move fast enough and it becomes the opposite. No-one prepared me for just how quickly Leviathans could move, so I was initially caught off guard when Tim accelerated to about fifty miles per hour in about three seconds. Which was certainly a shock to the system, but that shock quickly disappeared when I began to realise just how goddamn far I'd flown. Sure, I knew I'd been in the air for a while, but we'd been hauling ass towards land for ages and all I'd seen were a few islands.

Whatever sort of cartoon-physics had taken me so far from shore, I really did not appreciate them.

Couldn't grumble too much, though, as it gave time for me to talk with a truly fascinating creature.

"So, you're not from Runeterra?"

"Nope. But it's definitely become my home since all that."

"Interesting. And this wife of yours, is she somewhere in the ocean, too?"

"Nah, that fuckup was mine alone. And she's not my wife."

"Why not?"

"That's a bit of a personal subject, buddy."

He slowed to a halt freakishly fast, his body turning towards me slightly.

"I can let you swim if you want to be coy about it."

"That's manipulative."

"I ate an endangered whale earlier; I'm not a paragon of virtue."

He burped up a large bone for proof. I frowned at him, but I didn't fancy swimming much more than I didn't fancy talking about that subject.

"Suppose there's no harm telling you. Just don't speak a word of this to anyone, understand?"

Tim raised a tentacle to what I assume was his chest and motioned a cross. A few moments later, I got the meaning.

"Okay, so… I've been telling everyone it's because of a tradition on my planet, but… honestly… I'm just scared. I really want to, got a ring and everything, but… I don't know, man. Every time I think about doing it I get this pit in my stomach, I start overthinking every detail, I can't figure out the right words and, worst of all, I can never find the perfect time. Everyone I know is gonna be expecting some big show that can be seen around the world, but I fear the expectations are so high that I can never meet them."

A strange burbling noise slipped from his maw, preceding an approximation of a nod.

"Have you considered that taking so long is more disappointing or saddening than a simple proposal ever could be?"

"Well, yeah, but… I don't know for sure. And I don't want to bet on it."

"Lucky for you; I do know for sure. Telepathy has its uses."

"Oh. OH! Not gonna mind control me, are you?"

"Only the Drbrshilhth can do that."

"I… don't want to know what that is, actually."

"You definitely don't. Anyway, no offence, but I'm going to rush you back now. Being so close to the surface this long makes me queasy."

I strengthened my hold on the tentacle, trying and failing to get something solid to brace my feet against. Sadly, the scales faced the wrong way, so I had to settle for wrapping my legs half-way around it. I felt like a bug, and that was one of Tim's smallest tentacles.

When he said rush, he wasn't kidding. We accelerated so fast I almost lost my grip, and we hadn't even gotten up to our original speed yet. I tentatively peeked back, instantly awed by the sheer mass of water being shifted with casual ease. Ships twice the size of the Leviathan had smaller wakes; I dared not guess how fast we were moving. It was enough that I couldn't hear anything over the sound of the wind rushing by my face.

Then, on the horizon, a shape began to emerge. It was untold miles away, but I was sure it wasn't just an island this time. No island was that large and Ionia had a very distinctive shape. All that said, and even at the insane speed we were going, it took a good few minutes to get somewhat closer. We were dealing with distances in the hundreds of miles, after all.

Gave me time to think, at least. There was a whole lot that I'd been wrong about, especially recently. Always good to admit when you're wrong, that is the first step. But doing something about it…

Even just thinking about Ahri, at that moment, made me tense. It was the sort of deep-rooted, uncontrollable discomfort that tried to force you to think of anything else. Of course, it didn't help that Tim could be listening in, but that was a secondary concern. He already knew more than anyone else. Which might have been a bad sign, thinking about it. Being so open with a total stranger is not generally a good thing. But being honest with him had forced me to be honest with myself, which I really needed, much as I hate to admit it.

Why did personal issues have to be so damn difficult?! Why couldn't they be more like maths, where there's a definitive answer and a logical path to find it? Or at least like physics, where you're never more than one step away from a cool explosion?

Urgh.

UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

Acting childish had got me so far. So much of what I'd made and what I'd done was based on how cool it would be, but that way of thinking was beginning to cause more problems than it solved. And the fact that I was constantly wondering who I could ask for help? That ain't right. I'm a grown man, dealing with grown-man problems; why the hell does my mind default to asking someone else? Leaning on others isn't a bad thing, but there are limits. Times when you need to make a decision and stick by it.

It was only when the wind died down and I no longer felt the constant pull of rushing air that I realised we'd arrived. A beautiful sandy beach with an absolutely daunting mountain range just beyond it. Guess I'd be searching for a path, or taking a scenic route around.

"Okay, get off me now."

With a flick, the tentacle launched me to the beach. And sure, the impact was softened a bit, but it still hurt like hell.

"You're lucky I'm a sturdy guy. So, I guess this is goodbye." I groaned, getting to my feet. Just in time to see him slip below the water.

"Indeed. But I have to abide by leviathan policy, so you won't remember any of this. You landed near the beach and swam."

"Wait but you said y- phew, that was a good swim! Quite the explosion, I must say! Took me… actually, I have no idea where I am. How the fuck do I get home from here?"

"Zoh, you're needed."

I spun on my heels, giving Shen a double-shot of finger-guns.

"What I need is some new clothing. This broken mess is, surprisingly, not comfortable at all. Got a little bit of something digging into my thigh, there's a lot of water trapped in various bits, I'm pretty sure the part keeping my decency is one strong breeze from falling off-" I was cut off when he put a hand on my shoulder and, knowing what came next, I braced myself. Then, we outside the League, and I got a full view of how fucked everything had got in my absence.


Ahri's POV:

There were lots of ways that the other champs were reacting to the… situation. Some went inside to ignore the problem, some headed towards it to help, and some just stood around looking disappointed. Me included, because Humans disappointed me often, but this, this was a new level. Sometimes you just see someone, or a group of people, doing something so needlessly self-destructive that it boggles the mind.

Right then, Zoh and Shen appeared next to me. I looked him up and down, then asked: "Looks like you've had a good time."

"Oh yeah, great, sarcasm. So glad to see you, too."

"I'd hug you to make up for it, but I think I'd cut myself on some of that jagged metal."

He really did look like shit, though. I don't think he'd noticed yet, but he was bleeding from a fair few different places, and only about ten percent of his body was actually covered. He was also covered in sand, which just posed even more questions. Nothing looked severe, at least.

"So, what's… going… on…?" He slowly panned his gaze over the scene in front of us, the shock rapidly growing on his face. Didn't take long for it to go to confusion, then acceptance.

"Ahri, just clear this up for me. Is that…?"

"The entire Noxian army, yes."

"And that?"

"The entire Demacian one."

"Oh no."

"That's not the end of it. Other side of the building is surrounded by the Shuriman army, all three Freljordian armies, the Ionian army, and, best of all, a horde of Voidborn."

"Oh no."

"Yeeeeeaaaaah."

It was daunting, to say the least. The camps of each army were massive, with tents and soldiers stretching over the hills as far as the eye could see. The entire surrounding area had been effectively deforested just to make room and, as Aurelion had pointed out a minute ago, this was visible from space. Our saving grace was that none seemed too eager to be the first to fight. We were in the middle of the world's largest standoff, and very much in the most dangerous place on the planet.

"Right, okay… right, I'm gonna go get my armour." Zoh declared, uncertainty evident in the tone of his voice.

"I'll come with, I guess. You coming, Shen?"

"No, Zoh was the last to be returned. I must make haste to the Ionian leadership; sense may yet be talked into them."

I nodded, unconvinced.

"Good luck."

He returned the nod, then marched off, parting the group of Champions. I hurried after Zoh, hoping he had a plan.


A short, tense walk later:

The struggle to get the remains of his old outfit off was much worse than I expected. I don't know what I actually expected, but it was easier than this. Each time we tried to get one bit off, we'd end up with more jagged metal stabbing at him. After a bunch of pain and effort, we managed to get it off one arm.

"So, did you solve that case?"

"Yeah, caught the killer. Turns out decades of isolation made him a bit looney. How'd your thing go?"

"Not well. Very scary lady wanted to chop me to bits, so I blew myself out of a window to escape. Underestimated it badly; ended up in the ocean."

"Oh, so that's how this happened."

"Yep. Still hurts. Everywhere."

I gave him a reassuring pat just as I figured out how to get one of his legs free. A very cautious tug let a whole lot of metal slip to the floor. In a stroke of luck, it dragged the remains covering the other leg down with it.

"That feels so much better, thank you. Could ya grab that bit on my arm? Think I've almost got it free."

"Of course."

As I stood up and did as asked, I noticed where his attention really was. We gazed at each other for a moment, the rest of the world fading away, and I couldn't help but smile. I could read that he wanted to say something, but no words came. There was an almost-imperceptible change in his expression, before it softened and matched mine.

"I don't think I tell you enough how much I appreciate you."

"You don't exactly hide it." I countered as more armour clattered to the floor.

"But I could always emphasise it more, especially at time like this."

I handed him some underwear and promised: "When this is done you can tell me all about it, and I'll respond in kind."

He went to hug me, but I kept him at arms-length.

"Whoa, whoa, hold on there. I like this outfit too much to get your blood all over it."

"Oh, err, right. Armour should be able to handle this; I'm pretty sure they're all surface-level, anyway."

I sighed at him and ran a hand through his hair, staring sadly at the gashes that dotted his body. It hurt to see him injured like that, even if he wanted to pretend he didn't feel it, because I had grown so tired of seeing him suffer. There didn't seem to be any end to what the world would put us through, but I at least got out of it physically unscathed most of the time. So, so unfair.

"You need to take better care of yourself."

"I… I know. I'm not happy that I make you worry like this."

"Don't just do it for my sake. Do it for yours."

"ATTENTION ALL: A SUMMIT HAS BEEN ORGANISED, TO BE HELD IN THE MAIN HALL IN THIRTY MINUTES. ATTENDANCE IS MANDATORY."

He glanced at me: "Since when does this place have loudspeakers?"

"I dunno. Must have installed them recently."

"Fair, I guess we've got a little bit of time to work with."

I nodded, suggesting: "Can you go scout out what we're dealing with while I ask around and find out everything I can?"

"For sure."


Akali's POV:

"Okay, I understand most of this, but why- how did that many Void creatures get here?"

Syndra pondered for a moment before admitting: "No fucking clue. Pretty sure this'd usually constitute an apocalypse, especially with Cho over there, about the size of a small mountain."

"That's just the perspective messing with ya. He's a large mountain, really… dibs not dealing with him."

"Don't worry, apparently Galio is excessively eager to fight him if it does all go down."

"Yeah…" I looked back over the building to see the colossus, asking: "Was he always that big?"

"Well- it's all about the angles, you know? If you look up at the old one… and squint a bit, then… yeah, no, he's way bigger now. Bet I could still lift him, though."

"Fuck off, you could not."

"I lifted an entire island, Akali, I'm sure I could handle this."

I gave a disapproving sigh before conceding: "Yeah, I remember now. Can't keep up with all this new lore, you know? Like, apparently Yasuo's brother isn't even dead anymore?"

She smirked and gave me a light punch to the shoulder, joking: "Of course! I saw him hanging out with that other new guy, Veigo! They're both very… edgy. Get it?"

"Yeah. Swords. I get it."

Syndra let out her usual, distinctive laugh as I shook my head, turning around to be jump-scared by a blue-haired girl with scissors.

"HOLY FUCK you scared the life out of me! Who even are you?"

"I'm Gwen! Nice to meet you."

"Riiiiiggggghhhttt." Turning back to Syndra, I asked: "How do we still have the time to be recruiting new champs right now?"

"Oh, Akali, be nice! Would you like some wine, Gwen?"

"Really? Oh, please!"

Syndra levitated in a glass for each of us, improving the little watch-party considerably.


Zoh's POV:

"Morde! My man, you are looking stunning!"

He turned to me, heaving that colossal mace around on his shoulder, nearly giving a nearby summoner one hell of a concussion, were it not for some quick dodging.

A resounding 'clang' echoed through the room as heavy-metal hands shook.

"Armour-bro. Always a pleasure."

The rework had done wonders to him, notably the increase to his height so that we were finally eye-level with each other.

The wind picked up as I surveyed the surroundings; Mordekaiser had found himself a nice vantage point on an unoccupied hill right nearby to the institute, giving a good view at the arrayed armies. The sun peaked through the clouds, glinting against our metal forms as the summoner gave up on getting Morde's attention. Whatever it was he wanted, it clearly wasn't too important, or he'd have tried harder.

"So, any idea what's going on here?"

"I do. My devoted have told me much. However, I think it best that you learn from Swain."

"Oh? And where's he?"

"Preparing for the summit. He shall deliver a speech that you may find… enlightening."

"In a good way?"

"I shall not spoil the surprise. Suffice it to say, you shall not be needing that." He motioned to my weapon. Stowing it on my back, I nodded at him.

"Seems there's nothing for me to do but wait. If this is the end of the world, save me a good seat in your afterlife, eh?"

"My court shall always have a home for a warrior of your calibre."

I gave him a fist-bump, offering: "Want to accompany me back there?"

"I need not attend, and so I won't. Despite what this miserable little man may say."

The slightest push from Morde was enough to knock the summoner to the ground.

Giving a polite nod of my head, I went to return to the institute, an odd sense of calm filling me. If it was something truly bad, then surely Morde would have said? Maybe there was nothing to worry about, or maybe he just really wasn't concerned about the fate of Runeterra; no-one could say but the man himself, and he wasn't in a talkative mood.

With nothing else I could do, and no last-minute plans I could cook-up, I tried to just think positive and relax. It was a lovely day: the birds were singing, the sun was shining, the flowers were in bloom, and I could still enjoy that new armour smell. And yet, despite all that was going on, there was some part of my brain caught up on… something. I couldn't pin down exactly what, but it was like I had a drive to do something, something that I knew I should've done, but it was skipping around the edges of my consciousness. It was a strange and altogether uncomfortable sensation for someone with what was practically a supercomputer in his dome; I was supposed to be better than forgetting about something so important.

If there was anything life had taught me, though, it was that I was nowhere near as smart as I should've been. The technical knowledge was there, sure, but I'd consistently failed to discover real problems that needed fixing. It's all well and good being able to solve any problem, but if you don't find the real problems, you're not going to do much good.

I needed to tell Ahri something. Or ask her something. Or… who knows? Whatever it was, it was clearly important enough to take my attention away from the horrifying situation at hand.

Hopefully, none of the people who I asked about Ahri's whereabouts noticed how distracted I was. Gotta keep up appearances, after all.

Staring into space for a moment, I tried to put together all the info I had gathered into something worthwhile. Must have looked strange, gazing into the sky, surrounded by a beautiful garden that I clearly wasn't appreciating. Though I hadn't actually looked, I'm pretty sure I was mostly alone out there, so I had that going for me, at least.

"Hey, you were looking for me?"

My mind returned to the ground as I swung around; Ahri stood there, looking up at me expectantly. Dropping out of my armour, I tried to look composed as I stuttered out: "Oh, uh- hey! I… there was something…"

"Did you find out what's going on?"

"N-no. I found out a little, but…"

Something made me realise I was gripping with one fist. I opened it to have a look and…

"What's… Zoh, what's that?"

"It's… that is the engagement ring… but…"

Shame brought me to my knees and put tears in my eyes. By the gods, how did I let it get this bad?

"I don't deserve to even ask. I've been a damned fool, and you deserve so much better than me."

She got down to my level and wrapped me in her embrace, wiping away my worries and problems. In that moment, all I cared about in the universe was there with me, and nothing else existed. When I felt her take the ring from me… in all honesty, I still can't believe it.

"I love you."

I'll never get tired of hearing that. And I'll never get tired of saying it.

"I love you, too."

We could have stayed there for all time for all I care, but a repeat of the announcement came along to ruin the moment and remind us we had somewhere to be.

Oh well, gotta keep the world going until at least the wedding.

After sharing a quick kiss, we got up and dusted ourselves off. Much as I didn't want to, I jumped back into my armour and headed towards the closest entrance. Some strange urge had me gazing at our surroundings as we went; like a sixth sense was telling me that I had to appreciate it all while still could. So many memories had been made in those halls, many of which were immortalised in ornate carvings, painting, or even just the remnants of damage from countless fights and battles. Even the air smelled different to how it had when I first arrived, as though it was somehow less pristine and perfectly maintained.

Any solemn feelings I may have gathered disappeared when I saw Shen waiting patiently for us. There's something about the man that just makes everything seem like it'll work out when he's around.

"Cutting it close as always, you two. Oh, and nice ring, Ahri."

"Thanks… do we have any idea what's going on, yet?"

"Alas, it seems the few who do find it amusing to keep that knowledge from the rest of us."

Shrugging, I sighed: "Well, looks like we're going in blind again. At least we're all together for it."

Could've sworn he smiled under that mask when he plainly replied: "As it should be."


Years later:

Ahri's POV:

Living outside of Ionia for so long can make you forget how beautiful it is here. The spirits of this land carefully shaped it into a place of serenity and hidden complexity; as long as you don't disturb that, it can be a very welcoming place to call 'home'.

The views alone make it worth living in. From the garden I can see for countless miles; from where the valley below meets the sea, to the distant peaks covered in snow. I especially like watching the village below, only a few minutes' walk away and nestled in a plateau on the mountain. On a clear day, like today, I can watch the people go about their lives in peace, just barely able to make out the more distinctly-shaped people even from such a distance.

Relaxing on a bench, surrounded by nature… that's how life should be.

Right on cue, I hear the rustling of bushes, followed by the happy trotting sound of a friend of mine. I don't know why Patricia the goat originally decided to visit me, but now I could count on seeing her every few days, always eager for some petting. Not that I mind; it probably makes me just as happy as it makes her.

Plus, Lillie likes her.

However…

"By the spirits, you need a wash!"

She bleated in protest at me, but I simply smacked her behind and pointed in the direction of the nearest waterfall.

"No stinking up my garden, young lady! You can visit when you've had a shower."

Grumbling up a storm, she hurried off. I've told her before, but I guess that little brain of hers doesn't have much space for memory.

I had a few minutes of quiet to enjoy after she left, idly plucking things from my tails. It didn't last very long, though.

"Ah, knew we'd find you out here."

"Hey hun, how was your day?"

He took a seat next to me, kissing my cheek before replying: "It was so damn cool. Took her to see a little bit of Shurima, then went on an adventure to a world called 'ExDa', which stands for 'Extremely Dangerous'! Was a short trip, on account of all the giant land-squids and incoming tsunami, but it was still interesting!"

Shaking my head at him, I gently took Lillie, extremely careful to not wake her up.

"If our baby grows up with a phobia of sea creatures, I'm blaming you."

"Ahhh, don't worry! She slept through that second visit; in all honesty, that visit to ExDa was mostly for me."

"You're a menace, you know that?"

God, the smug grin he gives me when I tell him that. The only way to wipe it off is with a kiss, so that's what I do. He tastes of desert fruit; slightly sour, but delicious all the same.

"So, what you thinking about?"

"A few things, I suppose… you ever think about the League?"

"Hard not to. Lot of memories from that time, and not all of them are nice."

"Do you miss it?"

He paused, breathing deep and then releasing.

"Sometimes. It's hard to describe, but… I guess I miss seeing everyone, all the time. Got used to life being all hustle and bustle; all my friends never more than a minute away… but I'd still take this life any day of the week. I have you two, and that's all I need."

"I'm happier, too. Plus, I have enough on my hands dealing with you two troublemakers; not sure how I'd have managed if I had to be a Champion, too."

"Speaking of troublemakers, wasn't Shen supposed to visit today?"

"Oh yeah! He sent a message saying he had some Alliance business come up, so he'll be around tomorrow."

"Oooo, Lillie won't be happy having to wait another day. But at least he's doing some good."

He's right, I guess. The cynic in me still distrusts it, but the Alliance does seem to be doing good work. All the League ever did was try to prevent war; the Alliance actually focuses on improving normal people's lives, no matter where they live.

"Hey, look, the sun's about to go down." I pointed, the movement stirring Lillie.

Staring down at my joy, all wrapped up and cosy, we smiled at each other. She made a few baby noises, which definitely translate to 'I love you, mama'.

"She looks more like you every day. With a dash of my rugged charm, of course."

Nodding, I hugged her close, whispering: "She's perfect."

Zoh got up, stretching before holding a hand out to me and sighing: "Come on, let's get some well-deserved rest."

As the sun crept down the mountains in the distance, I took his hand.

The end…


And there we have it, it's finally done. I don't even want to look at how long it has been going on, much less how long it has been since just the last chapter.

Suffice it to say, this has been a long and difficult road. Looking back on much of this makes me cringe, but I understand enough to say that it was still worthwhile. I would never accuse this project of being quality writing, but in creating it I've learned a lot of lessons, which I will not share for anyone else thinking of writing their own story (which I absolutely recommend; it can be really fun).

First and foremost, I strongly recommend against a serialised narrative. They are all sorts of trouble and it gets really hard to keep your passion going. Mainly, though, the problem comes with themes. A story should have a core message and themes that it wants to get across; doing that with a new plot every few chapters is seriously difficult and can very quickly and easily go wrong.

Secondly, put a lot of time and effort into making your characters speak differently, then more effort into sticking to it. Gets hard to follow conversations sometimes. This is something I never quite managed, so do better than me.

Third, write character sheets with important traits, physical characteristics, notable events, etc. Helps more than you'd think.

Now, lightning round! Don't go into too much detail when explaining characters physically, or locations. Just give an overview of the main bits, then let people fill in the rest. In general, trust your audience to figure stuff out, cause most people don't need everything explained to them. Doing so just insults their intelligence. Use colourful language (no, I don't mean swearwords, I mean metaphors and similes and figures of speech and all that good shit).

One final bit of advice that I feel is worth giving: don't make self-inserts, but use parts of yourself or people you know to build characters. For example, I wrote Shen to be as monotone and flat in his speech as me, cause I thought it'd fit.

Now that that's all done, I'll reveal something I've been thinking about for many years. I'm, overall, not ecstatic with how this story turned out, but I still really love the core idea behind it. So, no promises or anything, but I do plan on writing something similar to fit with the new lore. Still someone from space meeting and adventuring with Ahri, but that's about where the similarities are gonna end. This time it's going to be a set story with a beginning, middle, and end that I've thought of already. I've learned better than to make promises about when these things will release, but I'm hoping it won't be too long.

My dearest and most sincere thanks go out to everyone who has read this series. It has been a huge part of my life for so long that I can hardly remember a time when thoughts of Runeterra didn't occupy my mind. I only hope that I have provided some entertainment or inspiration, and not caused too much annoyance with my constant missed deadlines.

I'll see you another time!