Time passed. As for how much, who could really say? It was enough for vast improvement, and that was all that mattered. Veigar's celestial magic was groomed, slowly but confidently; moulded into something that words such as "powerful" or "competent" simply would not do justice. Sure, he had already been familiar with the basics, but what he was capable of then would be comparing matchsticks to hellfire. This was of course due to his immense study and practice, as well as daily sprawling with the Iron Revenant himself.

As the flourishing mage became more accustomed to life in the Immortal Bastion, Mordekaiser figured he could be trusted with access to some of the training and study facilities it had to offer. Of course, with Rose's accompaniment. Mordekaiser was disappointed at first, with Veigar showing interest in his personal library. He sought to breed insanity, and no insane man would trust any words and ideas outside of his own head. However, there was a stark contrast between both Veigar's mana aptitude, as well as the variations and precision of his spellcasting before and after he gained these new methods of study. He had met few that were so dedicated to their practice. One such person being himself.

In fact, Mordekaiser began to see a lot of himself in the little creature.

"PATHETIC!"

The two sparring partners were face to face, one hanging by his wrist, which was firmly grasped by the steel gauntlet of the other. This time around, Veigar had come closer than he ever had to besting his opponent on the battlefield. Mordekaiser, on the other hand, was naught but tense.

Veigar had pulled him into stasis at 37 different positions all layered on top of each other, holding them all completely stable while simultaneously pulling the limbs of his armor away from him by condensing the matter around him at other areas. This alone would have taken Mordekaiser's complete focus to unravel before the yordle could prepare a physical attack strong enough to knock him on his feet, but Veigar had instead opted to pull from the skies above to launch mid-sized debris at him from multiple angles. Since he was cloaking his presence, Mordekaiser had only a loose idea of his position, allowing him to be startled at the projectiles being launched at him. Amidst all of this, Veigar appeared from behind him and landed a firm hand on his helmet, moments away from securing a clear kill-shot.

But the yordle paused for only a split second, and suddenly his hold on Mordekaiser's stasis loosened up a bit, allowing the hulking suit of armor to break from it with only brute force. He swung his gauntlet up above him and immediately grabbed Veigar by the wrist, crushing it with all the force he could muster before pulling him forward. Though he didn't want to admit it, Mordekaiser was faced with imminent death the moment that Veigar's hot-blooded palm made contact with his helmet, and only for that moment. He let out a slight sigh, but the only emotion that surfaced when he recovered was pure anger.

"YOU HESITATED!"

Suddenly, a roar that could be heard for miles echoed from the hulking armor that housed Mordekaiser's agitated soul. He swung Veigar up in the air with all of his might, then slammed him down onto the dry ground, dislocating the little creature's arm, and surely breaking several of his ribs. He was furious with the yordle, and not even he fully understood why.

"WHY!? WHY DIDN'T YOU FINISH ME OFF?"

Rose walked to the black, flattened figure amongst broken soil and kicked up dust with a soft sympathy in her step. Veigar, despite his mangled state, managed to force himself to a kneel with the help of his magic. He had gotten used to this tactic of animating himself with spatial manipulation like a puppet on strings when it would no longer do what he told it to. He didn't pay attention to Mordekaiser's words nor rage, or even his own pain and agony. Those long pointy ears waited only for the next words of the girl before him; for her next praise, or instruction.

Their eyes met, and Rose took in a small breath, before speaking in a soft, melancholy tone.

"Veigar, you cannot have freedom unless you are willing to kill for it. Do you understand that?"

"I have to... kill?"

She pulled him into an embrace, careful not to rattle his fragile, broken body, and whispered into his ear.

"Yes, kill."

"Sorry…"

Veigar began to weep in her arms. Rose caressed him softy, and the scene grew silent. But amidst that silence, she could just faintly hear him snicker through his tears. What did he find so funny? Was it his failure to please her? His agonizing pain? His own weakness? Likely all of the above, she thought.

Later in the evening, she had him healed, and washed him in the bath, along with herself. It was an important part of their daily routine, and often where they would recollect the day's events together. Veigar, without a doubt, looked forward to this time of day as his favorite. The calming white noise of the showers; the warmth of the bath; the sting of water against his greater wounds. But most of all, the divine hands of Rose, who caressed his fur as she sat behind him, washing it strand by strand. This complex mix of pleasant stimulations distracted Veigar's mind enough for him to peacefully surrender his worries.

Silence and stillness would quickly disassociate him from his environment, causing his mind to wander into more nihilistic territory, while spastic scenes forced his attention, and his senses went into overdrive. But in this one room, with this one woman, he felt just a little bit free. Not from the world, but from himself.

"You've been looking troubled since earlier today. What's wrong, Veigar?"

Rose asked, as she soaped his dirtied, bloodstained fur.

"Will I really be able to do it? To kill?"

"Of course you will… You have before, haven't you?"

"Never."

"Oh Veigar…"

Rose got close to him while softening her voice, as she always did when she needed to tell him something tough.

"You've already killed. I know you have."

Veigar's wide ears twitched, and his chest tightened up."

"N- no… I haven't."

"Of course you have."

She continued to stroke his fur.

"Remember? When you brought those two; your own companions who had nearly escaped; back to Mordekaiser?"

"No! That was…"

His anxiety surged. The sound drowned out around him, and the yordle could only hear one thing. Rose's voice.

"What was it then?"

"Mordekaiser killed them. He did it! I'm… I didn't- I only-"

"Veigar, dear."

She stopped his words. And when she did, his whole world came to a halt. All other voices and sounds were gone, and then there was nothing; nothing except Rose, sharply piercing words directly into his mind.

"Repeat my words, okay?"

He nodded, with tears beginning to wet the hairs on his face.

"They were going to escape, but I brought them back."

"They were going to escape, but I… I brought them."

"Where did you bring them?"

"Back."

"And Mordekaiser took their lives away."

"And Mordekaiser... took their lives away."

"But Mordekaiser does not understand mortality, Does he? To him, death is salvation."

He nodded again, finding it too difficult to disobey his caretaker's commands; too difficult not to answer her questions. It was as if there wasn't anything else in the world but her.

"So the decision of whether they lived or died…"

"So the decision of whether they lived or died-"

"Was mine."

…

"Was mine."

"Good… You're a really good boy, you know that Veigar?"

Another nod. He didn't believe his own gesture, though. As far as he was concerned, he was nothing but rotten.

"So… have you killed somebody before?"

"I have."

"And why did you do it?"

"To survive."

"Do you think you'll be able to do it again? For me? For your freedom?"

As he slowly came back to reality, and the sounds of the bathhouse around him filled his head, he could think a bit more clearly again. And so he pondered, whether or not he'd be able to take a life. For his freedom.

"I can... If- if I don't think about it too hard."

"Good. Then both you nor I have anything to worry about. I talked to Mordekaiser, and he thinks you're ready to begin fighting on the front lines. What do you think about that?"

Veigar perked up a bit at the new opportunity, coming out of his slump.

"Really?"

She lightly kissed him on the cheek, then continued to bathe him thoroughly.

"I'm counting on you."

"I know."

Rose looked at the fragile, unstable mind that she held in her arms as he weeped. She wondered what he was like, before Mordekaiser caught him. He had told her bits and pieces of his past, but not even he fully remembered his old self, after being completely reprogrammed by what seemed like an eternity of torture. He must have been a wonderfully innocent, and likely a kind soul, too. She was curious.

"You know, what's such a small, fluffy creature like you doing wielding such powerful magic? Why did you ever leave your home in that place; what'd you call it; Bandle City?"

Veigar was having trouble grasping the question. Did he leave his home? Did he ever have some place he could call home? What was home to him, anyway? And then it came to him that he did have one. Back in the forest of that place, where he and Lulu used to play. A place where he felt safe and protected. He regained himself, and a childish grin stretched across his face as he remembered.

"My home left one day. So I left too."

"Hmm… So then what about your magic?"

His smile quickly dissolved, leaving a small, hollow frown.

"If you look way up into the skies, past even the peak of Mount Targon, you can see the constellations."

He looked upwards, as if the ceiling was non-existent. In his head, he could see the constellations above, as clear as crystal.

"Ah, so you like the stories that surround them?"

Veigar didn't hear her. He continued.

"And they say that each one of those stars houses its own planets, ripe with their own versions of Runeterra. And somewhere out there in the universe, out on one of those planets, orbiting around one of those stars, a part of one of those constellations, there's a special place."

"A place?"

"One where I could belong."

…

Silence ensued. Both were still, giving way for the ambience of the small bathhouse. Eventually, Veigar looked back down to meet Rose's eyes, and smiled again.

"But I don't think I need to find it anymore. Because I do have a home after all."

"Oh?"

"My home is Lulu. And after I'm free from here, she'll come find me."

Lulu. That name, which left the yordle's mouth far too often, always sounded off-key to Rose's ear. Of course it was Lulu. It was always her.

"Do you… ever doubt that she's really waiting for you? She did leave you all alone, after all."

Veigar's expression only grew more gleeful as his eyes thinned to a close, full of confidence and excitement.

"Of course she's waiting."

And that was all he had to say. Rose had no other comments either. She simply continued to lather his fur with shampoo, and then rinsed him off until he was clean and ready for sleep. But as she accompanied him back to his cell, she stopped for a moment, and thought of an idea.

"Veigar, would you like to sleep with me tonight? Instead of in that cold, unkempt cell of yours."

The girl was feeling a little distant from Veigar, and she wanted to close that gap. More so than usual.

"I'll even stroke your fur as you doze off. We don't have to tell Mordekaiser about it, either."

She gave him a little theatrical wink. Veigar was simply surprised at the offer, as the thought of being able to sleep outside of his cell never crossed him. But despite that, his reply was immediately clear in his head.

"Nope!"

"...Ah, well, good night then."

"Good night, Rose!"

And with that, the two parted ways for the night. Rose returned to her own sleeping quarters, but had trouble sleeping soundly. Everytime she was confident that she was beginning to understand the inner workings of the little creature's mind, he managed to catch her off guard completely. He seemed to be so simpleminded, yet somehow he was able to take in information and assess a situation at alarming speed. Sometimes she felt that she had him dancing in the palm of her hand, but others, it was the opposite. He couldn't have possibly been playing with her, could he? The assistant pondered on it, eventually catching rest over her head-aching thoughts.

Veigar, meanwhile, was clueless to the frustrations of his caretaker. He didn't worry about their relationship in the slightest, because he trusted her completely. It wasn't any kind of trust he had known in the past, however. Because he knew from experience that things like "love", or "attachment" were fragile; they relied on emotions, which could change completely at the drop of a hat. No, the sort of trust he had with Rose was an entirely different breed; one which he had come to know as his favorite.

It was the bond of two people who used each other relentlessly to obtain something that they wholeheartedly desired. Veigar couldn't wipe his stupid grin off of his face to save his life, as he relished in the idea that such a perfect form of mutual relationships existed. Because he could see it in her eyes, when they made contact with his own. She needed him, for one reason or another. And he could be at ease with her, because he knew that the girl was using him like a puppet, grooming him into her perfect pet. And as long as he let himself become what she wanted him to be, she wouldn't have a single thought about betraying him. Not until she didn't need him anymore.

He let out a shrill laugh to nobody in particular.

"Hey, Lulu? It's funny, isn't it? That she asked me to sleep next to her. I never figured she would."

...

"It might have been nice though, to be under soft bedding, with the warmth of her body against mine, as she ran her fingers through my hair…"

…

"Of course, such a different environment would be too foreign for me to sleep comfortably in, don't you think? After all, beds have no corners."

…

"Right now, I feel most comfortable amongst the cool stone, huddled in the corner, as usual. And of course, I would never choose to spend time with her over you."

…

"You heard, didn't you? That I'm going to be fighting on the front lines now. It can't be long now, until Rose sets me free. Then I'll come look for you, so keep waiting for me, okay? I'm going to keep working hard, so that we can see each other again."

"...I'll wait for you forever, so hang in there Veigar!"

"I know. Good night, Lulu."

"Goodnight, Veigar."