Rose accompanied Veigar to a high plateau, from which the two of them overlooked the battleground below. Soldiers; thousands of them; clashing sword against sword with Mordekaiser's army of ghouls and servants. It was a losing battle for the Iron Revenant, however he had absolutely no doubts in his mind; for his ace in the hole had finally arrived on the scene.
The young warlock let his eyelids sink over his beady eyes, waiting for the command of his superior. She stepped in close, waiting for the right moment, until finally, a faint whisper escaped her lush lips; words that were meant specially for her loyal subordinate.
"For your freedom."
And with that, Veigar began his usual routine. A quick, deep breath in, and then a slow, prolonged breath out. He took in his surroundings, feeling the intricate flow of Mana below him; hearing everything from the cries of soldiers marching to their deaths, to their confident, or cowardly footsteps. He could smell blood in the air, but even more than that; steel, ash, fire, and pure chaos. All of this information from his various senses arranged itself within the warlock's head, as he formulated a crystal clear grasp of the whole situation. He raised his open palm into the air, confident of his coming actions. And then, eyes still shut, it started.
A perfectly orchestrated symphony of slaughter and destruction.
The massacre lasted no more than a dozen seconds before it was all over with. Silence ensued. It was only after the deafening lack of noise had reached his ears that Veigar finally opened his eyes again to take in his surroundings. With not a single member of the Noxii enemies still standing, what remained instead was massive piles of broken earth and rubble, spotted left and right around the completely untouched members of Mordekaiser's undead army. Both the yordle and the woman standing behind him had the exact same thought. However, the meaning of their words differed entirely.
He's done it again.
I did it again.
Veigar turned around and dragged his feet away from the devastating scene, uninterested in his own feat of destruction. His job was once again done, and it brought him one step closer to freedom. In fact, freedom happened to be right on his doorstep.
"Why, don't look so gloomy, Veigar."
"Do I seem gloomy?"
"You do."
He slowed his pace to a stop, tilting his head up towards the cloud of gathering smog that filled the surrounding airspace. Raising his hand up into the air once again, he clenched it into a fist, condensing the smoke and debris that clouded the air into a centerpoint. When he let go, the dense ball of matter that had formed collapsed and then exploded, causing a massive shockwave to clear the sky for miles in every direction. Veigar peered into the now visible cosmos, gauging his own reaction. But there was nothing. This power he had acquired, which he had longed for from the day of his birth; it wasn't beautiful at all, he thought.
"I suppose it's time."
The girl looked back towards her sulking pet, excited to put the final stages of her plan in motion.
"Time?"
"Time for you to be free."
Suddenly, Veigar's eyes widened. He hopped up into the air, all previous thoughts of anguish clearing from his disturbed mind.
"R- really?"
"Of course. I wouldn't lie to my sweet little Veigar, would I?"
He held his piqued expression, ignoring her rhetorical question.
"So then, what should I do?"
"Well first, I want you to meet with Mordekaiser when we get back to the bastion."
"Okay, and then?"
"And then you'll ask him to let you go free."
"And then… What?"
"You'll ask him for your freedom."
"That's it?"
"Yes, that's it."
"Will you be going with me?"
"Of course not."
"But-"
"Veigar?"
"You trust me, do you not?"
"I… I do."
"Then do as I say, and everything will turn out alright. Do you understand?"
"Yes, I understand."
"Good."
Step by step, she made her way towards the little yordle, and kneeled down to give his head a soft pat.
"Be sure to report back to me with what happens. Let's do our best together, okay?"
He nodded, and returned a slight grin to her. It was forced.
"So, what is so important that you needed to disturb my studies to discuss it with such haste?"
Veigar could not get the words out.
"I- Well…"
(You can do it, Veigar!)
"R- Rose mentioned to me that we made great progress today in your conquest. She said that I had destroyed the last of the Noxii, and I think that-"
"You want to leave."
Mordekaiser's baritone voice rumbled throughout his throne room, which was deeply submerged beneath the Immortal bastion. Even in a sitting position, he still managed to tower over Veigar, instilling a shivering helplessness that rang through the yordle's brittle bones. He was no more than an insect in the face of this overwhelming being. No, less that that, even. So even though he was already well familiar with the Iron Revenant's confident intuition, it still caused his body to tremble by instinct.
(You do, right? Say you do!)
"I- Yes… I do."
"I see."
There was no immediate denial, which would have been his first expectation. He thought his own intuition to not be too far behind the one before him, but after losing confidence in his understanding of his situation, he suddenly gained a small glint of hope.
"Little warlock, do you know what is taking place inside of these walls at this very moment?"
Veigar shook his head. Inside the bastion's walls? Was he going to go into another lecture about war and domination? His confusion only grew, and he began to understand the situation less and less.
"There are Noxii that have infiltrated, hiding amongst my ghouls."
"But, how is that possible? Did we not eradicate them today?"
"Of course not. Human mortals are no different than insect mortals. If backed into a corner, they will throw away their pride and hide away. They will claw, and bite, and use any means necessary to ensure their survival. There is no such thing as true extinction."
"How long have they been doing this?"
"I do not know. All I know is that they have recently begun to make moves. In line with their desperation, they are prone to making mistakes. And I do not miss mistakes."
"But, why tell me this information? I'm unable to see through elaborate cloaking spells, so such knowledge is wasted on me, is it not?"
There was no face, nor any expression behind that hollow helmet, and yet Veigar could tell at a glance that the being before him was in deep, concentrated thought. He folded the thick fingers of his gauntlets into each other, and leaned in a bit closer to meet the yordle's cat-like pupils with his own.
"Rose thinks you are loyal to her."
He continued in a slow tone, pausing periodically in his speech so that each word sank deep into Veigar's consciousness.
"But I-- know that you are not."
If he wasn't that invested in the conversation before, he was now.
"It seems that she's beginning to make her move. You are returning to report to her after you leave here, are you not?"
(Wow! How'd he know?)
Veigar nodded.
"Then do not speak of what we have discussed today. If I were to have my way, I would not let you leave this place with my dying breath. However, next time we meet, it will certainly be the last."
(Does that mean you'll be free?)
"The… last?"
"That is all. You are dismissed."
Dismissed? What was all of that? Veigar's head was swirling with questions. He had never heard Mordekaiser talk so much, let alone say such cryptic things. He seemed to be a much more straightforward man. His mind was awhirl with questions, but he simply did as Mordekaiser instructed, returning to Rose to report that he was not allowed his freedom. What he did understand very clearly, however, was that he was part of something beyond his understanding, and it was all about to unfold. However, all he needed to do was put his head down and play his part in it. After all, he would be gaining his freedom. He had gone too far and carried too many sins for his efforts not to bear fruit.
The young mage once again returned to Rose, who was in her sleeping quarters preparing for bed. Veigar knocked, and she let him in. He was a bit taken back by her unraveled appearance, clad in a simple sleeping gown with her hair down, which he had never seen before. It was surprising that she was willing to let him see her in such a state, completely unguarded. That was the power of trust, he figured. As she made her way to the lavish bed at the far center of the room, a gesture from her hand signaled for Veigar to join her. He obliged, with his mind set on playing the pawn.
"So, what did Mordekaiser tell you?"
(Hehe, you'd love to know, wouldn't you?)
"He said that he would not let me leave."
"Anything else of importance?"
(Shhhhh!)
"No."
"I see…"
Now holding Veigar in her arms, stroking and cuddling him like a plush toy, she was deep in thought. It was like deja vu for the yordle, just as he had figured. She, too, had plans against the Iron Revenant, just as he had suspicions of her. The pieces were beginning to fall in place. And somehow, though he wasn't sure about the details, he was right at the center of it.
"Veigar."
It began.
"Do you know what this means? For your freedom?"
(I don't like the tone in her voice, Veigar…)
He shook his head.
"You must kill Mordekaiser. Or else you cannot leave."
And there it was.
(What!?)
"You don't look so surprised. You already understood this from the start, didn't you?"
He didn't move. He barely even breathed. Of course he knew. Deep down, he was a thinker; an analyzer. He figured that if he put his head down and let himself be strung along, then everything would be okay. It would all be okay as long as he didn't think. But somebody who is able to be strung around mindlessly wasn't anywhere to be found in his character. It simply wasn't who he was.
"It makes things easier, that you already understand. You'll be able to do it then, right? Do it for me?"
That's right. Veigar was absolutely, and completely terrible at being somebody else's pet. This realization; it made him chuckle to nobody else but himself.
"I can do it."
(You can do it!)
"Of course I can."
(For me!)
"For Lulu."
"Why, you don't mean that sad idealistic imitation of her that you have in your head, do you?"
"What?"
(Hey! I'm no imitation! I'm Lulu!)
"Veigar… That voice, in your head. The one that cheers you on. Dear, that isn't anything but a delusion. The real "Lulu", wherever she may be, isn't waiting for you at all. She left you all by your lonesome, with no intention to return to you."
(She's lying to you!)
"That- that isn't true!"
"Of course it is. Lulu is gone forever, Veigar."
(Don't listen to her!)
"Shut up! Don't feed me lies!"
(She's lying, Veigar!)
"Veigar, the Lulu in your head was made up by you, to give you hope; to keep you from losing to insanity."
"Made up by me…"
Made up by me.
(I'm not made up!)
"Veigar, repeat my every word. Lulu is a delusion."
"Lulu is…"
(Not a delusion!)
"A delusion…"
(A delusion?)
"There is no Lulu waiting."
"There is…"
(No Lulu...)
Waiting for me…
That's right. There was no Lulu waiting for him behind the walls of the Immortal Bastion. He knew that very well. But the Lulu that was real, the one that left him behind; she wasn't somebody that he could ever trust to wait for him. So he had to create one in his head that would. Because the only person he could trust to love is himself. So, in the end, he really didn't have anybody but himself.
(Nobody but myself.)
Nobody but myself.
The Veigar who was no longer able to put his head down and let others fool him was, by extension, unable to fool himself anymore. He hushed snicker grew into a wide grinned laughter, but it was quickly interrupted by the smooth, softened tone of Rose's voice.
"But, Veigar, you don't need delusions anymore."
He wasn't listening. But Rose needed him to listen. She lightly perked his chin up with her finger, so that their gazes met. Hers, full of care and love; and his, completely blank. He didn't have any motivations anymore; only the devastation of the truth and the now pointless sins weighing upon his shoulders. Like a tree that grew so tall, only to find out that it could not bear fruit nor seeds.
"Because you have me, don't you?"
"I… have you?"
"Give your everything to me, Veigar."
"My… everything?"
"Yes… let me use you, and I will never throw you away. I will never leave you. You will be by my side forever. And I can free you, too. From your suffering, your pain, your sorrow, and your burdens."
"I can be free..."
"From Lulu."
He didn't even think about it. For the first time since he came into the world, Veigar wasn't hiding behind pride, or facades, or background thoughts. He truly and utterly lost his will to think for himself. And so for him, to be used for eternity seemed like a pretty good deal.
He only nodded in agreement.
"Then, I want you to look deep into my eyes, and repeat after me once again."
He did as she told. Rose moved her hand up from his chin to stroke the small, fluffy face before her, which wore such a broken expression. If she didn't know any better, she would have figured that he really was just a lifeless plush. And then, with a clear view of the yordle's eyes, she began to allure him with her spell.
"There is no Lulu."
"There is no Lulu."
"There is no Lulu."
(There is no Lulu.)
"There is no Lulu."
"There is no Lulu."
There is no Lulu.
"There is no Lulu."
"There is no Lulu."
"There is no… could you repeat that?"
Veigar couldn't remember. He couldn't even recall why he was trying to remember something. He felt empty, suddenly. Like there was a big hole inside him. He felt his chest, and even his back, but everything was still there and intact. So what was this uneasy feeling that he had? He was drifting further and further from even feeling the need to remember. Before even minutes had passed, it suddenly didn't matter to him anymore. Because he already had somebody else that did. He let out a childish snicker, finding the whole situation a little bit humorous.
"What were we talking about, Rose?"
Veigar looked up at the girl whom owned his everything as he asked the question. But suddenly, there was an unfamiliar feeling to her. She didn't feel quite like the one who was so important to him. The one that he thought he knew so well. The face was the same, and she wore the same clothes, and the same expression. So then why? Why did she seem so unfamiliar? The only thing he could see was a foreign looking grin.
"Rose…?"
"It always is refreshing when a plan comes together after centuries of preparation."
This wasn't right. It wasn't right at all. Even her speech patterns were different. Every moment he observed her, he began to drift further apart from his surroundings. He pushed away from her, falling to the floor.
"You did well, Veigar. My special little Veigar."
"No… you aren't Rose, are you?"
"Dear, this 'Rose' you speak of, does not exist."
"No…! That isn't right! Don't- don't you lie to me!"
"Nothing in the world is quite right, my dear. My role was simply to show you to that conclusion."
"Then… Who are you?"
"I am nobody in particular. You, on the other hand; you are somebody."
She stood up, and began to move toward Veigar. He crawled away on his back, losing feeling in his limbs. He was looking for his safe corner.
"I have been playing 'Rose' for all this time, so that you would gain my trust, and rely on me over all of your other ambitions. But now that you have surrendered yourself to me, I can finally give up the silly act. You are alone, plain and simple."
Veigar reached the wall. He was trembling, afraid of the girl in front of him whom he did not know. Where was his safe space? Where was something he could rely on? He was desperate to find a corner; a thing; that he could trust. But even as he scurried all the way to the intersecting walls of the warm, cozy room, there was no comfort. And then it dawned upon him. There was no safe corner. Veigar really was truly and utterly--
Alone.
His surroundings faded out around him into nothingness. Time seemed to stop flowing like it always did when he fell prey to his intense anxiety. However this time, there was no Rose to focus on. There was nobody to cheer him on. There was no… what else was there nothing of? His head began to split, causing wild pain to surge throughout his body. And then, he realized that he had pain. That's right, he could still feel physical pain. It was refreshing. Like a trigger, forcing him back into reality. He took the opportunity to get a proper grasp of the situation, but it still wasn't enough. What was he forgetting?
Veigar looked around, desperate to find something that would bring him more pain.
Pain. Pain. I need more pain.
He looked down at his claws, dull and filed down, but it would be enough for him. So he grabbed his other arm with them, and ripped back to pull his skin away, tearing several large flesh wounds into his forearm. Pangs and stings quickly reverberated from his arm, spreading throughout his whole body. He could feel it, and see the blood pour too. It was warm. Veigar began to think again, realizing that he was missing something important. It was not that he couldn't remember. It was that he wasn't allowed to remember. This woman, who had tricked him, took away his ability to remember. And because she took it, he felt the presence of a big, gaping hole, like a piece of himself was gone. It was absurd. So absurd that he couldn't help but cry out in a dry, shrill laughter.
"You! What- AHAHAHAHAHA! What did you take from me!? HAHAHAHAHA-"
He couldn't stop it. It was too funny. All of it was too funny. Veigar had absolutely nothing. Nothing except the sins he had committed; the innumerable lives he had stolen; weighing on his back like a brick of pure lead. And he understood that fact completely and thoroughly. He felt refreshed. His mind was both muddled, and clear at the same time. His breaths were heavy, and his heart rate soared. The little yordle truly, for the first time, felt alive. He felt free.
"My, you've become a more stellar pawn than I ever could have imagined."
"Ahahah… I'm no pawn, Rose- no, you are not Rose… But I do not know your name, so I shall call you Rose."
"Veigar, my dear. You should know that you are no longer in your right mind. What you're experiencing is complete and utter insanity. You're broken."
"And? And so what? What do you gain by breaking me like this? I feel... I feel wonderful!"
The woman did not answer him. She simply watched, as he relished in his newfound insanity. Veigar, already losing interest in his own question, stood up and clenched his fists. Analyzing his emotions, he counted and named each one to himself. Out loud, because he could not clearly recognize his silent thoughts.
"Pain. Anguish. Guilt. Sorrow. Overwhelming sorrow… They're taking over completely…"
He looked down at his bony fingers, which in pain, he could not help but clench. He didn't ignore it anymore; he didn't try to lock it away. The feelings and emotions that he, for so long, tried to ignore, invaded his entirety like a virus to the soul. They took over his body, mind, and mana flow completely, moulding and melding themselves into a greater power. Power like nothing Veigar had ever experienced in his life. Amongst the pain, which became pleasure, and in turn more pain, he could feel a power surge rivaling the gods above.
"Ah.. Ahahah. AHAHAHAH! I see! So this is what you wanted! With this, Mordekaiser would barely be an obstacle to kill… What is it? This… power."
"The most rare, and one of the most potent magics out there. Dark magic."
Veigar began to try and focus on his surroundings rather than inside himself, and noticed a new aptitude for sense. He could feel the negative emotions that surrounded him. The malice in the stranger that stood before him, the anguish and confusion of the ghouls that wandered above and below, and the immense desperation of the Noxii infiltrants throughout the bastion. In that very moment, he understood the entire tension of the plot between Rose and Mordekaiser. So who was in the right, and who was in the wrong? Frankly, he didn't care in the slightest.
"I must correct you on one point though, my dear. You will not quite be killing Mordekaiser, but sealing his soul."
"And why shouldn't I?"
Veigar's fears only fueled him now, as he lifted the woman off the ground in a tight grasp of dark matter, crushing her limbs in the process. She did not cry out in pain, however, instead letting the thick curls of blood freely spill from her face and open wounds, holding her malicious smile.
"Death is b- but a mere obstacle for him t-to overcome. If... If he has done it once, he will do it again. You must trap his soul in a seal, so that he is tied to the mortal world forever... Unable to a-act."
"I see. Sealing--"
Veigar looked down again to his hand, feeling very capable.
"--is something that I can do…"
Following an excited giggle, he crushed her body once again, much tighter than before. He could hear her neck snap, and relished in the satisfying sensation of the pop, as well as the warm, blackish crimson that poured onto the floor. His fun was interrupted, however, when the now lifeless body suddenly crumbled to ash and dust. She was not dead.
"Tch."
But Veigar didn't mind, for he had another, more important target in mind. Somebody who dealt him insurmountable suffering, whom he was more than excited to see.
"You've returned."
Mordekaiser sat atop the same sculpted throne shaped of bones and petrified bodies that the little warlock always seemed to find him in. Perhaps even the Iron Revenant had a safe corner, Veigar thought.
"I can sense it; the dark magic flowing within you. Let's talk for awhile, shall we? Lest your revenge would bring you only a fraction of the satisfaction than it would otherwise."
Veigar curled the corners of his lips into a smile. He thought better of Mordekaiser, who shouldn't have so blatantly misunderstood his violent intention.
"Revenge? I am above such pitiful desires. There is only one thing that drives me now."
"Ah yes, the drive of sin. I understand it all too well…"
This statement didn't sit well with the corrupted mage. He didn't need the empathy of others. In fact, he hardly wanted it.
"What could you possibly understand?!"
"As a leader, there is no greater drive than the weight of the crimes one has committed; the sins he bears. For the heavier they become, the more desperate one is to convince himself that they are not in vain. I placed all my bets on you, little warlock, just as Rose did. And it seems that was the right decision after all…"
"Heheh... Hahaha. HAHAHA! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!"
At the Iron Revenant's response, that shrill laughter, which was unique only to a singular being, rang out once again. It was the first time Mordekaiser had heard it, and suddenly, a realization bore within him. The realization that he had miscalculated.
It ended with a sigh of relief from the broken yordle.
"Ah, what a relief! I was about to lose my temper there, but it seems that you were wrong after all. It takes everything in my body not to laugh at how I could not but tremble before you mere hours ago! How pathetic of me!"
"So then, what is it that drives you, if not your sins? What is the source of your dark magic, of which I could not awaken?"
"That's just it, you worthless hunk of scrap metal. These feelings of anguish, and pain, that you have decided are a burden… To me? They are my everything. What ties me to reality. What grounds me to this world. I can feel your hatred, and it is impure. Mixed in with aspirations, dreams, and goals, it is incomplete. Just like everybody else."
Veigar's breathing was irregular, and he was twitching, scratching, and aching as if he barely held control over his own body. Except that he didn't for a second find himself bothered, or even feeling off. He was perfectly, and wonderfully being controlled by the destructive influence of his own magic. And for him, every moment of it was pure ecstacy.
"And so, I'm not going to trap your soul in eternal damnation as Rose wishes me to, nor will I become your successor, as you wish me to. And most of all, I will not kill either of you, as I wish to. Because that will create the worst possible outcome for everybody, and I will be able to grow my negative emotions evermore."
"I see. So we were never alike to begin with."
"Of course not."
"Then we are done here."
"Indeed."
With Mordekaiser's curiosities satisfied, and his doom imminent, he stood up from his throne and swang his mace down with all of his might, crushing through the stone brick flooring below as if tearing through stationary paper. What lie below, a surprise to neither of the warlocks, was the source of Mordekaiser's power. A fountain of souls, glowing the same ghastly blue radiating from his armor, but several times brighter. Veigar calmly waddled down through the rubble with his impish body, until he was met face to face with the glow of the fountain. He could feel the lost souls in anguish, trapped in an endless cycle of pain and suffering. Raising his right hand out in front of him, he shifted the space around the fountain, condensing the souls into a singular point. It wasn't just space he was manipulating, however. It was the negative aura itself, which he permanently sealed within the altered space. Above him, there was a loud clank of metal against metal, signaling that Mordekaiser's armor had ceased to be possessed.
"Ah, I see. An incomplete seal."
His voice still reverberated within Veigar's head.
"I will break out of here, one day, and reign terror amongst Runeterra once more. You do realize that, don't you?"
"I simply do not care."
"I see. Then farewell, Veigar. I await what destruction lay by your hand upon my return."
Veigar did not respond. He only trotted away, leaving the Immortal Bastion on the brink of an internal uprising. The woman previously called Rose looked upon Veigar with disdain, cursing at his incomplete seal.
Mordekaiser sat in silence at his own failure, already devising a new plan for his return.
The Noxii forces, who had fought their way through the bastion, arrived at the Iron Revenant's throne room only to find emptiness and darkness, unable to hammer the final nail in the coffin.
And Veigar, full of dissatisfaction at such an incomplete ending, basked in his own failed revenge story. His own lack of purpose. His own guilt, piled on from the lives that he took which amounted to nothing. He had a new skip in his step, for he was the only one to walk out of the great Noxii war with a smile on his face.
End of Act One.