When the first beams of light touched the ground Shen would start his last step of the journey. For a moment, he enjoyed the warm touch of the sun as he knew that fall was just a few weeks away by now. Soon, everything would start to wilt, change colour and fall asleep for the winter to come.

He had stayed near a river overnight as there were no villages close anymore. His flask was filled with fresh water, he had caught and prepared fish for a quick meal and lastly took half an hour for meditation before wandering towards the grove. Meditation had become an important routine for him since his last meeting with Zed. It helped him stay focused.

Multiple hot springs popped out of the ground here and there, some small as a puddle, some big as lakes. The grove laid between them and Shen did not intend to enter as his destination should be somewhere around it. He circled the place multiple times before continuing north, trying his best to find any opening or drop-down that lead to a cave. It took longer than he wished it would, his clothes already wet and sticking to his skin thanks to the heat and humidity. Shen could complain about the conditions to no one but himself, as usual, so he did so in privacy.

"Why do people travel here, the water is too hot to bathe in any way," Shen mumbled to himself.

Something rustled and got his attention, Shen turned a bit to spot what caused it but found nothing. The sound led him closer to the grove but before he reached it, he found a slope close to a puddle sized hot spring. The water occasionally sloshed over the edge and ran down to the underground cave that was only noticeable by the shadow it casts. Shen entered it.

Most parts were so narrow that he literally had to squeeze through, mostly thanks to his body being far from thin or small. Especially his wide shoulders made climbing down a hassle. After a few minutes, he noticed the sunlight couldn't reach further and he took a torch from his burlap sack, lightning it with magic.

Shen sighed with relief when he saw that the passageway opened up and after just a few more corners he found himself on a cliff above a large underground hall.

Light leaked through cracks, roots of ancient trees hanged just above his head and what laid below were beautiful remains of a temple. The floor was made out of carved tiles, the paint still visible after all these years, some pillars laid and some stood, holding up a structure that was made out of a honey-tinted metal. Shen jumped down and cracked some tiles on the landing.

"Oh, I'm sorry." He spoke to the void if the people who have built this could hear him.

Upon closer inspection, he found that the metal structure depicted parts of the sky, mostly star and planet formations and if you stood right below it, one could see the sky through the cracks of the roof align with some of the symbols on the metal. Truly a fascinating piece of Ionian history, Shen would love to know more but had to cut his thoughts off in order to stay focused. Still, he touched a particularly interesting piece and inspected its carvings.

"I did not know you were a man of science."

Shen turned around and saw a figure up on the edge he had previously stood on. Without a doubt, he could identify the stranger in a mere second and already reached for his blade.

"Have you told Zed that Noxians hate political arrangements?" Jhin chuckled before kneeling down.

He did not reach for his gun even when Shen charged at him, blade drawn and preparing for a spirit leap when the man was cut short by a dissonance. The magic surrounding him disappeared just as the world breathed in and let out a terrible growl the second after, shaking the earth beneath them.

"Afraid of thunder?"

Jhin seemed unimpressed by the earthquake and leaned further down to look at the scene below.

Meanwhile, Shen attempted another leap but noticed how any channelling of magic failed after seconds. He looked up in anger and yelled at his foe.

"Jhin, I do not care for your tricks and traps! Today is the day I catch you again!"

He kept his focus on the foe and ran down the hall, jumped on the pillars to reach some height and reached for a ridge close to Jhin. The latter was still not attempting to flee and it reminded Shen of the time he had fooled him with a puppet but this time he was certain he was real, had he just moved a few seconds ago.

"Interesting."

Just with a few meters between them, Jhin finally moved a few steps back, giving more room for Shen to land.

But he couldn't. As soon as Shen reached close to the edge a force held him back as glimmers of golden light shimmered around him. Helpless in the air he fell down close to where he started and in frustration he punched the wall in front of him, splintering large chunks by sheer force.

"Now, now, Shen! The Eye of Twilight surely can control their emotions." Jhin chuckled again. "This place does not like intruders but as you see, it is a wonderful stage for theatre. So suffer, struggle, play! Play your part!"

And so the performance began. The first shot connected with the metal structure, ripping of large chunks that almost buried Shen beneath them. The second shot destroyed two pillars close to him, making any attempt to jump ahead impossible. The third shot was deflected by Shen's blade, even though it hadn't been directly aimed at him.

"How rude. You don't interrupt the show!"

Shen waited for the fourth shot to happen and stared Jhin down. He had no escape route, was already wounded by collisions and could not cast any magic in this area. Jhin on the other hand had a clear view of him and his fourth shot loaded. He aimed, posed and even though he wore a mask Shen swore he could see him smile.

BANG.

He missed. Missed? Shen held his breath just as the bullet strafed him and exploded behind his back. Then he saw Jhin stumble and the edge he stood on crumbling.

After another second he finally realized that the earth was shaking again and threw him to the ground just as Jhin lost balance and almost fell down into the hall.

"Today is not the day, but I won't be held back for long. Your father denied me a performance so you will be his stand-in!"

The killer stood up again and bowed before shooting Shen a look. "Have fun. I heard this place swallows unwanted visitors."

The melodic voice was under control but a good listener would realize the strained anger behind it. Just as Jhin wanted to turn and leave he stopped right in front of a wall of rubble that the earthquake had left behind.

"Seems like we both are getting swallowed. Do you think fighting in a sacred place like this won't disturb the magic around us?" Shen yelled at him.

The metal structure emitted a glow around it, possibly since it was destroyed and the light beams above seemed to be brighter. Within a few glances, one could notice that there were transparent cracks in the magic hull of the temple, leaving some new possibilities open.

Jhin moved on a narrow ledge that had stayed after the earthquake and led him around the hall from a higher standpoint. Each step was slow and calculated, like a dance move that he invented just now. Both men however kept their eyes on each other, Shen not missing a second of where Jhin was going and Jhin observing Shen's next attempt of escaping the hall.

That was an important decision to make and at the moment, Shen struggled to decide. Should he still charge at Jhin now that the magic barrier was failing or should he leave the place as fast as possible as it could collapse any moment? Being buried under heavy stones and rubble would be a terrible death and as Jhin just reloaded his gun he was reminded of an even less honourable death.

However, Jhin seemed to be just as stuck as him, just on the other side of the hall and barrier. Shen had a chance.

"There is no escape for you! The only entrance is blocked and you trapped us both in!" Shen reminded the killer. "Surrender yourself or I will force you to!"

"Ah, so Zed's death will be in vain. How bizarre of you to deny him this victory."

This was a taunt, Shen would not fall for it. "You are wrong, Zed is already preparing your imprisonment. You won't escape again, we made sure of it!"

"Do you trust those boorish Noxians?"

The ledge Jhin walked on ended abruptly so he jumped on the closest edge so effortlessly as if it was a staged play he had done hundreds of times before. He turned on the rock with elegance and tilted his head as he looked back at Shen again.

"I believe they have a bounty on his head. And oh, I almost forgot to tell. The informant Zed is meeting had lost his brother against him."

Jhin leaned forward, only holding his balance on tiptoes. "And ten more waiting on them meet. They smell blood."

Just a taunt, it was impossible that Jhin knew all these facts and it was unlikely that Zed would walk into a trap. Shen hoped, no, knew that Jhin just wanted to get into his mind.

"You have met Noxians before, I can tell."

The chat was nothing more of a distraction. Both needed the other to do a mistake to get an advantage, so Jhin tried to play with his emotions while Shen tried to keep him occupied. There was just one thing he was waiting on and it was all on time.

The earth shook again and Jhin quickly grabbed onto the wall behind to not lose balance. The ledge next to him disappeared into small pieces falling down as more pieces of the former road were crumbling around them. Suddenly the earthquake grew more violent and even the roof started to lose parts of its structure that Shen had to avoid with effort. One large boulder nearly crushed his head, another just missed him by a hairs width. It kept going and Shen quickly tried to find Jhin again as he had lost track just for a second while also evading every collision coming for him.

Not there, the ledge was empty and the nearest overhang was gone. A glimpse of colour moved in the corner of his eye and he finally spotted him, on ground level.

With no escape, Jhin had to jump down to avoid the crushing rocks and was standing on the same terrain as Shen now. The latter took all chances and luck into his hands for the last charge and prepared for a spirit leap, this time forcing the magic through the crumbling barrier that denied him before. The distance between them closed to a few meters.

"How unfortunate," Jhin smirked. "You are never prepared to catch me."

The first shot connected with his left leg and Shen stumbled before catching himself on the ground. In a split second, a bright blue shield surrounded him just as he summoned his spirit blade to protect himself. He swung his other blade towards Jhin but sliced stone instead, had he already ran away from the scene. Shen held his shield up as he pressed his hand on the wound. Pink and green light sparked from it that looked like branches of a cherry tree, the effect of Jhin's powerful illusions. He tried to brush them away.

The second shot came late, damaging the roof further as the structure of the cave gave in entirely, raining earth onto Shen on no end. Shen became buried and Jhin was gone.

Darkness engulfed him and each Shadow held the face of fear. It was hard to breathe, hard to think and even harder to hold onto life. Only the light of his shield kept him warm thoughts and safe from shattered bones. Shen kneeled on all fours catching his breath after the encounter. As soon as he let go of his magic he held up his arms to hold back the rubble above and as he made sure that it was somewhat safe to move, he started to dig his way out.

The air got thicker, no light to guide him, just his gut feeling on where to go Shen used all his strength to get through to any side, his hands already hurting as much as his leg. One wrong move collapsed the way he came from and he felt the remaining room closing in on him, pressing all air out of his lungs. No panic, he told himself, just don't panic. Shen pushed a stone to the left, another one to the right and it rolled down out of his sight. The light stung his eyes for a moment but he lost no time to crawl out of the stone prison.

Jhin was right in some sense, this place seemed to swallow people.

Shen crawled to the nearest place he deemed safe and leaned onto it, letting out a gasp.

"Too close."

He always told himself that he wasn't afraid to die, but the few times he had been close, the urge of terror still managed to get a hold of him.

"Too close..." Shen mumbled to himself.

A few more breaths to calm himself down, then he took his flask to irrigate the wound on his leg. The illusion was gone by now and what was left was a large flesh wound. Jhin's weapons were enhanced by magic and instead of leaving a clean hole, they ripped their target apart, each bullet stronger than the one before with the fourth being the most devastating one. Shen was lucky that only the first had hit him.

Somehow he was reminded of Akelei again. The wound on his body had been a round red dot in his chest, a typical bullet wound Shen had only seen a few times before but could recognize by now. Seeing his own wound proved his theory that Jhin had no connections to the murder he had previously witnessed.

Everything had been destroyed, the metal structure had been ripped apart and laid scattered between the other remains of the temple. Shen felt sorrow at the sight, he felt that he had lost something great.

Since he had no bandages Shen tore his burlap sack to wrap around his leg and stop the bleeding after he was sure that it was clean enough. It wasn't the best option and he struggled with the first steps due to the pain, but quickly adapted to it so that he could try to finally escape this place. He passed the temple remains and watched the glow of the metal rise up like steam, Shen wondered what had enchanted it and for what purpose. All of the magic was in a yellow to orange hue, except one faint stream escaping close to the former centre of the hall. Shen stepped closer and found a large hole opened by the fallen stones, the tiles around it completely shattered and he realized that they had been stairs before.

He got closer to the edge and looked down but aside from the faint red glow, he could see nothing more than darkness.

Another decision to make. Jump down and find out what lies beneath? What if he didn't get up anymore? Shen was exhausted and with his wounded leg he couldn't make great jumps anymore, as well as the structure was still dampening his magic. He would need some time before he could attempt another spirit leap.

Or catch up to Zed. Make sure that he wasn't ambushed. No, he didn't believe a word Jhin said, but Shen still wanted to be sure. Zed's life was not important to him other than for the taking but he desperately needed him to cleanse the darkness that had infested the spirit world, so he had to spare his life or worse, protect him.

Shen closed his eyes and sighed. The mystery below had to wait.