Aatrox and Kayle stared each other down, each holding their blades in anticipation. The flat plains of Targonion soil made for a fine arena. Aatrox's form towered over Kayle's mortal body easily by four times.
Those wings. That blade. It could only be one thing! "Kayle, Aspect of Justice. To what do I owe the pleasure of a failure?" Aatrox scowled. But this was a special scowl, one adorned with pain and hate because he knew the truth behind justice. Justice was a lie, a false hope that fools would believe in. The one thing he relied on while he was entrapped in his prison turned its back on him. It left him and his kin to eternally suffer, while his tormentors lived happily ever after.
"Aatrox, the self proclaimed World Ender and God Killer. You will pay for your transgressions." Kayle stated, emotionless. She ascended into the heavens to get away from it all and live up to her mother. She got away from the pain, the suffering, and her twin sister for centuries, never looking back until the last couple of years. She saw her failures upon Runeterra, how chaotic the world had become, and how her sister did nothing! Well no more! She would rid this world of this abomination of sin and teach justice to Runeterra once more.
Aatrox chuckled in morbid amusement. "While you were off in the heavens, I was down here with these filth. Do you like it?" Aatrox's body flared a dark shade of luminescent red as he took his Deathbringer Stance. "Let me show you true immortality." Aatrox's sword pulsed with excitement.
Kayla's wings shined golden-white as her blade ignited with holy fire. "Your body is simply an amalgamation of sin." Her sword shined as bright as the stars. "It shall be purified by fire like everything else!"
Kayle unleashed a tidal wave of fire at Aatrox with one mighty swing. After all, his entire body was merely flesh and held together by blood magic. This abomination should be no different than a mortal despite his size.
Aatrox cut through the flames with his greatsword, the remaining cinders merely tickling as they crashed into him. Many have tried to kill him before and all have failed. She would be no different.
Kayle distanced herself from Aatrox's greatsword and summoned forth flaming swords in retaliation. Some of the blades pierced Aatrox's form while some immediately dispersed upon hitting Aatrox's greatsword. Aatrox merely yelled in annoyance and thrust at Kayle. She missed the blade and ascended far above Aatrox. The clouds rained down bolts of Starfire. She needed to keep her advantage. One hit and it could all be over.
Aatrox shielded his body with his sword but screamed as the bolts crashed into him. The Starfire laid black spots upon his flesh, but he would not be deterred. Aatrox conjured a chain and threw it into the clouds, directly into Kayle. Aatrox yanked her back down from the clouds. He raised his blade to the skies, smirking in his assured victory.
However, Kalye changed her trajectory and flew past the edge. She ran her blade through Aatrox's arm and slammed upon the ground, feeling soil's embrace after centuries of flight. She kicked off from her spot on the ground, furious.
Aatrox's arm immediately reattached itself and he shifted his blade to flatten Kayle. His swing missed Kayle as she dove straight into his chest. Heat rose from Kayle's blade and fire exploded within him, incinerating some of his precious mass. He raised a fist and punched Kayle, sending her flying some distance, offering a moment of rest and regeneration. His form contorted itself to restore the hole in his chest but shaved off some height in the process.
Kayle's wings wrapped themselves around their owner, cushioning her as she scraped across dirt until she regained her bearings. But when she did, Aatrox was before her with his blade in mid-swing. Kayle split her blade in two and caught Aatrox's greatsword with her own force before it could split her head in two.
They were stuck in a deadlock, neither side giving any ground.
"You claim to bring justice? So then where was my justice when I was imprisoned for centuries, oh great Aspect?" Aatrox snarled, uncaring of the physical damage he'd sustained.
A flare of shame made Kayle's swords falter for a moment, and it was all Aatrox needed to break the freeze. Kayle's blades gave way, allowing Aatrox's sword to sever one of her four wings and embed itself into the ground. Aatrox pushed his blade out of the dirt and swung horizontally at Kayle, "Die, Kayle, knowing your potential will never be reached!"
Kayle grit her teeth as the greatsword slammed into her side, her armor peeling away and ripping the flesh underneath. Aatrox dove after her, pointing his sword forward like a spear. She wouldn't have enough time to get away unscathed again. As reliable as her armor was, she just couldn't take every hit that came her way. She needed more power.
Aatrox's greatsword thrust into Kayle's body again and pierced her armor, but no blood was spilled and his momentum was stopped. Kayle's skin and wings radiated gold, protecting her as Starfire blades blinked into existence and buried themselves into the dirt with Aatrox attached. Aatrox struggled against the blades and nearly tore his way out until dark golden chains wrapped themselves around Aatrox and combined with the swords piercing his form. He was pinned. Aatrox, once four times her height, was now eye-to-eye with his opponent, enchained, again.
Kayle waved an orb of golden magic towards her severed wing and bleeding flesh. Her wounds regenerated themselves, leaving only a scar on her flesh. Kayle conjoined her blades once more and raised them to his artificial neck. "Perhaps once you were deserving of justice, beast. Any last words?" She would allow him a moment of peace. Whether it be a confession or a prayer, his spirit would know less suffering if he did this whilst alive.
Aatrox laughed darkly, "I am Darkin. As much as I wish it were to be, I simply do not die, foolish girl. I am damned to eternal suffering."
"Let's put that to the test, shall we? Allowing redemption to us both." Kayle retorted as she raised her blade. His execution would allow the world to stabilize once more.
If Aatrox's form fell here, who knows how long it would be until another foolish mortal decided to wield him. He would not go back to the silence, the isolation, the emptiness, the lack of senses in his prison. Eternal life, a treasure that mortals wished for, entrapped him eternally in suffering! He would not have it. He would NEVER GO BACK!
Kayle's chains and spectral swords turned blood red. The ground started to quake. The air surrounding Aatrox grew hot. The previous magic binding him down was absorbed into his form. Kayle made to chop off his head, but Aatrox unleashed an ear-piercing scream. Large pulsing wings sprouted from Aatrox's back, throwing Kayle back at the sheer force behind them.
Aatrox flew towards Kalye with his greatsword. Kayle blocked the blade with her own but was thrown into the air. Kayle and Aatrox traded blows as they ascended to the Targonian skies, each landing scratches, and nicks, but never landing a lethal blow.
Kayle split her blade in two again and rushed towards Aatrox. Aatrox swung at her, knowing that she would have to block, lest she is hit or create an opening for him to exploit. Their swords crashed into one another, throwing both fighters back, staggered.
"Your skill as a swordswoman is impressive! What is the name of your blade?" Aatrox asked, taking pleasure in their fight.
"I must commend your skills as well. This sword's name is Virtue." Kayle grunted, retaining her nobility in the heat of battle.
Aatrox admired her for that, not many would resist their primal instincts within their hearts. "My unbreakable sword is my prison. It's known as The Cage. Within it, lies my soul." The blade was blackened, but still strong. But… he noticed the small crack in his pulsating core.
Kayle's helmet had fallen off during their skirmishes, revealing Kayle's face and blonde hair. Aatrox saw the pity in her eyes and shame on her face, and for the first time in his rampage across Runeterra, he wasn't met with fear or hate. Perhaps she would be the one to understand his cause. Perhaps she could undo the trickster's curse...
Aatrox's body and bony armor had been rained down upon by Starfire, steel, lead, and magic, yet his body still stood strong. His eyes, however, were devoid of color, the passion and dreams, and aspirations of all entities. His eyes were ones seeking death, believing their world to be over. Those she passed judgment on centuries ago had the same look, but only now did she recognize it, understand it. Perhaps her sister had a point centuries ago in understanding why mortals did what they did and what caused it. Perhaps she did need her humanity to seek out those who would start sin to end sin...
Aatrox slowly sheathed his weapon and descended to the ground, Kayle followed suit, cautious of what Aatrox's plan was. She refused to put her sword away. Aatrox had only the mass of a couple of men as he touched down on the Targonian plain. Kayle distanced herself from Aatrox, hovering just slightly off of the ground, but they kept eye contact.
Aatrox calmed himself and stood firm. "I wasn't always like... this. I used to be an ascended warrior of Shurima. I stood as light against the darkness. Now... I am an unholy copy of life, a mockery of its freedom, because the Aspect of Twilight saw fit to seal my brothers and I away instead of ending us." Aatrox snarled at the memory.
"What does this have to do with me?" Kayle asked.
"I want you to kill me," Aatrox said solemnly. "In whatever way you see fit. Just don't send me back into my prison."
When she inherited her power from her mother, it destroyed her bond with the world. When she and her sister ruled over Demacia, she destroyed her family. When she soared into the heavens for centuries, she destroyed her pride. She would destroy no longer. She would create justice.
Aatrox didn't flinch or yelp as Kayle cut him down until he had only the mass of a single man. He accepted the pain. He accepted the fate coming to him. At last, it would all be over.
Aatrox closed his eyes for the final time and embraced the silence he had fought against for so long.
Yet the crackling of flames woke him. So had he misplaced his faith in the Aspect of Justice, who once again, failed at her duty? Or perhaps his soul was claimed by the judges of the other dimensions, Gods whom he swore to kill?
He tried to move from whatever he was lying on but found that his body was sore. Wait... sore? He hadn't felt tense muscles or bone structures since before he had become an Ascended! Was this a dream, an illusion meant to torment him? Aatrox reached for a nearby knife and drove it into his arm, and it bled. His wound actually bled! And he could feel every vibration and movement on his skin, the chilly bite of the cold near his toes, the warmth of a hearth, and the fabric covering the lower half of his form.
"Seriously, the first thing you do after I give you a body is jamming a knife into your arm?" Kayle said, sitting in a chair with her wings furled away. Kayle had found an abandoned home some ways away from their battleground, a pond lying nearby and bread inside the cabinets of the home. She would have to understand what it meant to be human again to enact true justice.
Aatrox removed the knife from his arm and placed it where he found it, upon a table with a slice of bread and a canteen of water. He placed a hand on the upper left of his torso. Thuh thump, his hand felt through his ribcage. This was no dream. Aatrox threw his head back in relief and sank into the bed that he woke upon, mouth-watering and throat dry.
For the first time in centuries, Kayle smiled. Not those smiles of pride or a simple gesture, but a genuine, heart-fulfilling motion of the lip muscles. She healed Aatrox's wound with a snap of her fingers while he was digging into the meal she set out for him. Clearing her throat, she spoke firmly, "Aatrox," his eyes focused on her, "I was able to move your soul from The Cage to your broken form. From there, I was able to heal your wounds, mold your flesh, and restore the bodily functions of a normal human. Do you understand me?" He nodded, still having bread in his mouth. Good, his ears work. "Now just because I've made you killable doesn't mean that you should just go get yourself killed, I want you to help me enact justice across Runeterra."
"And why would I do that? You made my dream a reality," Aatrox retorted. She had every right to demand from him, but he would not give in so easily.
"Because together we can restore what nobility we once had." Aatrox's pose straightened. Kayle had his attention. "You would be the first in this world to truly receive justice, not only redemption for your actions, but also the promise of death that I have given you. I get the chance to redeem my wrongdoings and live up to my name."
A pregnant pause filled the room. Aatrox spoke, "If I do this, will you aid me against Zoe? She has committed crimes on a cosmic scale."
Yet another act of injustice that Kayle would have to correct. She sighed, "If that's what it shall take, then so be it."
Kayle offered her hand, and Aatrox took it.