I did it! Despite having little time, I managed to make it, even in time, it's still Saturday in my country xD. Enjoy!

Chapter VIII - Doubt and Despair

"I honestly have no idea how you're doing it, but this meat is delicious!" Kha'Zix commented Rengar's ravishing cooking skills. Although it is literally the only food he can make that well, it is so succulent and filling, they probably won't have enough of it for a long time.

Rengar smiled and just waved dismissively. "Oh stop it or I'm gonna blush." he said and gathered their plates from the table.

"What if that's what I wanted?" Kha'Zix asked and smiled. Rengar just laughed quietly and proceeded to wash the dishes. They managed to catch a big boar during their hunting session, so they had meat for the next couple of days.

Kha'Zix sighed suddenly and looked down at his hands, he was thinking about something. Rengar looked at him, "What is it?" he asked.

"Was it really the only choice we had?" he questioned their decisions. "I mean, it didn't turn out bad for us, but she won't ever find peace now…" Kha'Zix added. He shook his head and managed to force a faint smile, "But as I promised, I'll try not to think that hard about it."

Rengar lifted one corner of his lip and frowned, "Maybe it wasn't the best choice, nor the only one, but that's the choice we made and we can't revert it." Rengar said and sighed. "I'm not feeling particularly well with it either, but it shouldn't be our main focus now."

Kha'Zix nodded and got up from the chair. He was feeling kind of gloomy, but tried not to overthink it. Rengar assured him this feeling would go away in time, so he wasn't worrying about it so much.

"I'm glad those weird sounds stopped, they were beginning to get annoying." Kha'Zix said as he came closer to Rengar and stood beside him.

"Yeah. I'm still wondering what was causing them, though." Rengar said and folded his arms, "The ground moving or rocks falling seem to be the only rational explanation, maybe even a small earthquake occurred somewhere." he added and shrugged. "So, any plans for today? We just began the day, so we have plenty of time." Rengar asked as he faced Kha'Zix.

He thought about it and then looked at the bed, "Maybe we could lie down and cuddle...or something like that." Kha'Zix blushed when he realised how cheeky it sounded, but Rengar smiled and kissed him in the cheek.

"I like that idea." he replied and led Kha'Zix to the bed. Rengar lay down and made some space for his beloved one. Kha'Zix joined him a second after, and then placed his head on Rengar's arm, which was serving for a pillow at that moment.

"Honestly, I could stay like that forever…" Kha'Zix whispered and looked at Rengar. He nodded in response and put his other hand over Kha'Zix's chest, hugging him gently.

"Me too. Until I get hungry of course." he joked and laughed. Kha'Zix smirked and kissed him in the lips.

Lucy and Noah's investigation was unfruitful. They've been searching for two hours straight for anything, but found nothing. They were tired, both mentally and physically, so they decided to take a break and rest. Noah built a small campfire and lit it with his magic, and Lucy pulled some meat and water out of her bag.

"Still nothing, dammit." Lucy complained and took a bite of the stringy meat. "Are you sure you don't know any kind of charm spell or forcing them to say more?"

"Sadly, no. I always thought manipulating others with magic against their will is something horrible, so I refused to learn those spells." Noah admitted and took a sip of water.

Lucy sighed and drank some water as well, "I guess you're right, but still, they could just tell us and forget about us." she said and put her back against the tree. Noah frowned, he's never seen Lucy like that. She would always be cheerful and full of energy, even more than him.

"Are you...sure this is a good idea?" Noah asked suddenly. Lucy looked at him puzzled.

"You mean what exactly?" she asked.

Noah coughed nervously, "I mean, I know killing the Void creature would be great, you would avenge Connor and even make the world a little tiny bit safer, but…" he paused for a second. "Are you sure it is worth the risk?"

"Noah, you've seen the scroll, before the encounter I'll give it to you, so you can use it in case something happens." she reminded him.

"I know, but what if we don't manage to defeat it even after using it? It doesn't ensure our victory, it will only ensure that we don't die instantly." Noah questioned her.

"That's why we need to have absolute faith in each other and cooperate flawlessly. I trust your reflexes and magic, so please, have faith in my sword." Lucy said and smiled. "With this scroll we can catch it off guard. The moment he swings for the final blow, you use it and I can just throw myself at him without risk of dying."

"Yeah, I know how this spell works, I've read about it many times, but it still doesn't mean we can win." Noah insisted.

"Well, you can never be sure unless you try, you've said so yourself many times in the past." Lucy said and smirked. Noah just sighed, there is no turning back apparently.

"Okay then, if your mind is set, then I will accompany you." he replied. Then he took his harmonica and started playing on it.

Kha'Zix awoken from a peaceful slumber, still being hugged by Rengar. He was snoring heavily. He smiled and gently, not to wake him up, raised his hand and wiggled out of the bed. He stretched out a little and went outside to breathe some fresh air. It was slightly colder than usual, but he didn't mind that. He decided to go for a walk.

As he was walking through the jungle, he was wondering what future awaits him and Rengar. Would they live there for eternity? Or maybe move somewhere else? Kha'Zix liked living in the jungle, even more with Rengar, but it might get boring eventually. He thought where they could go. Freljord? No, too cold. Shurima? Quite the opposite, too hot.

But then he thought, would he even be welcome anywhere? He could keep claiming he is a vastaya, but his rather unique look would definitely draw attention. When he inherited Rengar's lifestyle, he stopped feeling like an ordinary monster or beast. He washes himself, eats with cutlery, even sleeps in a normal bed. His natural armour stopped looking so rugged and unhealthy, and became somewhat smoother and even shiny in some places. Even his hair-like fur above his wings looked better, but only because they weren't so greasy all the time as they used to be. Rengar said it's because his diet was much better than before. Kha'Zix didn't know much about that stuff, so he believed him.

Suddenly, as he was wandering and talking to himself, he bumped into someone.

"Ouch!" Kha'Zix heard and looked down. He recognised boy's blonde hair, it was Noah. The boy looked up and his face became pale for a second.

"It's me, Kha'Zix!" he quickly replied when he realised that he's never seen him without the robe.

"Kha...Kha'Zix…?" he mumbled as he was analyzing his body. Then he stood up and looked at his face. "You look…" Kha'Zix was ready to hear something not very nice, so he looked aside, but was surprised when he heard him say "Awesome!"

"E-Excuse me?" he asked, confused like never before.

"Is that some kind of exoskeleton? Cool! And shiny!" Noah exclaimed and starter walking around Kha'Zix, thoroughly inspecting him.

"H-Hey! Stop it! Only Rengar is allowed to-" he paused when remembered that bragging about their relationship might not be the best idea.

"What were you saying?" the boy replied, almost as if he didn't hear anything. Apparently he was captivated a little too much by his appearance, which he actually didn't dislike, but it was still kind of strange and uncommon for him.

"Anyway, what are you doing here?" Kha'Zix tried to catch his attention.

Noah then looked at him and opened his mouth, almost as if he just realised what was going on. "Well...Lucy needed some...privacy." he replied.

"Hmm? Why?" Kha'Zix asked curious.

"You know, we've been searching for good five hours and found nothing. Either it doesn't leave any traces behind, or we're looking in the wrong area." Noah explained. Kha'Zix just nodded and looked down. Knowing that they are just wasting their time wasn't a nice feeling, especially because he knew he was the one they were looking for.

"So...where is she right now?" he asked and looked around.

Noah pointed his finger in the direction behind him, "Somewhere there, crying. Oh man, she had high hopes the first two hours, but then every thirty minutes she gradually started losing hope, and now she's somewhere there, weeping alone." Noah replied and sighed. "To be honest, I would like to get the hell away from here as you suggested, but I can't leave her, not when the only thing she sees is vengeance."

Kha'Zix gulped and nodded. Lucy was crying? When he saw her the first time in the town, she looked like a person that never gives in and always marches on, no matter what stands in her way. He wouldn't expect her to cry. He felt guilty, more than ever.

"I understand...and I'm sorry for making it worse…" Kha'Zix apologised.

"Meh, it's okay, I'm much more understanding than Lucy is." he said and smiled. It made Kha'Zix feel slightly better. "But since you're already here, and I'm still waiting for Lucy, would you mind keeping me company?"

Kha'Zix shook his head, "Not at all." he replied and sat on the stone nearby, and Noah sat on the fallen tree next to it.

"So, I was wondering, Rengar seems so mysterious and dangerous, but as we both have seen, he's not so bad." Noah started conversation with a question.

"Yeah, he's actually pretty kind guy, even though he acts tough." Kha'Zix smiled a bit and put one leg on another. "Lucy, too, seems nice, until she decides to kill someone." he said.

Noah chuckled and nodded in agreement, "True, true! You don't even know how mad she was when I stole her diary as a kid! Man, she was chasing half a day without any breaks!" he said and they both laughed, "Back then I had better stamina, but then started relying on my magic a little too much." he added.

"Right! You have magic! What kind of thing you can do?" Kha'Zix asked interested.

"Well, I can't toss fireballs or spew acid like many battle mages can, but I can do many other things like make a flying ball of light, or make someone fall slower, even put someone to magical sleep." Noah replied, happy that someone was actually interested in it.

"Magical sleep?" Kha'Zix asked, "It doesn't sound very useful."

"Oh believe me, it is! I even saved Rengar before when we-" he said, but Kha'Zix interrupted him.

"Wait, you saved Rengar?" he asked worried.

"He didn't tell you? We've encountered a big bear in that cave and I made it go to sleep just in time before it swung its paw at him. It might have shattered his ribs, glad it didn't." he said and sighed.

"Thank you so much for that…" Kha'Zix smiled widely. Noah smiled back and nodded cheerfully.

"That's why I learnt magic, to protect the others." he said. "You see, my parents were killed by bad people because they wouldn't brew potions for a mafia boss. They didn't have problems selling them to him, but he wanted every single potion they had and would ever brew. They couldn't accept it because people who actually needed them would suffer, since we were the only alchemists in the suburbs of Piltover."

Kha'Zix's antennae dropped down as he was listening to his story, "I'm so sorry, it must have been hard."

"It was, but I've been adopted by the sisters from nearby church. I was never really religious, but it didn't matter to them. They were the best! They still are!" Noah replied, but then he sighed and looked down, "Then, after some time, I saw him. The man behind it all. He was just walking through the alley as if everything was fine."

"...and what did you do?" Kha'Zix asked.

He chuckled, "I followed him. I was angry, furious even. As I was following him, I noticed a dark alley connecting to the one we were in. So, I used my magic and made him hear whispers of young and alluring ladies in that alley. I had no doubt that it would work, and it did." he paused for a moment. "When he was there, alone, I pushed everything in that alley, small rocks, bins, boxes, straight at him, pinning him to the wall in the back. He pleaded for mercy, he was scared, but I was the one in control then." he added bitterly.

Kha'Zix didn't know what to say, it didn't sound like Noah. "So...what happened next…?" he asked quietly.

"I took my knife and slit his throat." he replied without blinking. His face was dead serious.

"Wha...you really did that?" Kha'Zix asked in disbelief, but then Noah smiled and started laughing.
"No! Of course not!" Noah replied while holding his stomach, "But I did pull out my knife and placed it on his neck. And I wanted to do it. But then I realised that it wouldn't do anything good. Someone else would take his place, it wouldn't bring my parents back, and it would only make me a murderer." he explained. "Instead, I threatened him. I told him that if he kept doing all those bad things, I would find him. I used some illusion magic to make him see and hear things that weren't there claiming I cursed him, and if he did something bad again, they would haunt his dreams."

Kha'Zix nodded relieved Noah didn't do that. He seemed so nice, too innocent to do something so horrible. "And…?"

"And it kinda worked. Their influence could be still felt, but not as much, and they weren't as malicious. Well...then Camille, very good agent, assassinated him, ending his reign." he added and shrugged. "But hey, I made it better for at least some time."

Kha'Zix was surprised, he must have been very young, and he still let him go. "I don't think I would let it slide-" he said and suddenly remembered the men he killed that night. He looked down with a gloomy face.

"Hmm? What is it?" Noah asked confused.

"It's...nothing. Just thought about something, go on." he replied and forced a smile.

"Then I learnt that vengeance isn't an answer, especially when it comes to violence. Hurting others makes them want to hurt you, too. It's never an option for me." Noah said.

Kha'Zix looked at him, "Even if the Void creature did that?"

"Well, they lack any kind of morale, so I guess they are equal to beasts in that matter." he replied, making Kha'Zix somewhat sad, "I would be genuinely shocked if I met a good Void creature, or at least one that doesn't kill when it pleases."

"Yeah, I guess it does sound slightly ridiculous…" Kha'Zix said quietly and looked to the side. They remained silent for a moment, but then Noah broke the silence.

"But returning to Rengar, you seem pretty close to each other." he asked. Kha'Zix wasn't expecting that kind of statement.

"Well, do we?" he asked and scratched the back of his head.

"Of course you do! I mean, every time he looked at you he was either smiling or looking worried." he replied. Then he leaned closer and started whispering, "Hey, between you and me, are you guys together?"

Kha'Zix blushed and almost jumped in place when he said that. Should he admit it? He decided to listen to Rengar. "What? Of course not! What kind of question even is this?" he replied and looked to the side.

"Are you blushing? Come on! I saw how he held you when I was trying to catch up to Lucy, it definitely wasn't just a friendly hug." Noah smirked.

Kha'Zix raised his finger to refute it, but he realised it wasn't going to help him. "Alright...we...are a couple." Kha'Zix replied defeated.

Noah stood up and made a victorious pose, "See? There is no point in lying to me! Haha!" he said, but then he frowned. "Wait, lying…" he whispered, but loud enough to be heard by Kha'Zix. It was when he realised his grave mistake. He just made an obvious lie, and Noah didn't feel it. He started feeling nervous.

"Is...something wrong…?" he asked, scared he would start questioning him. Noah was holding his chin and wrinkles appeared on his forehead, he was thinking hard. But then he just smiled.

"Weird, I didn't feel a lie from you, but I guess I just wasn't focusing that much on it." he replied.

"What do you mean?" Kha'Zix asked just to be careful.

"Oh, Rengar didn't say that, too? I have a special ability which makes me know if someone's lying, but I have to make it "active", if you know what I mean." Noah tried to explain.

"So...you have to be actively trying to "feel" a lie?" Kha'Zix asked.

"Precisely! Otherwise I would probably be feeling lies all the time when in public, which would be really annoying." he added. He turned around and looked towards where Lucy were. "I think I should check on her, we've been talking for quite a while, huh?" Noah said and smiled.

"Yeah, we have. Thanks, I needed that." Kha'Zix replied and stood up as well. "So...I hope you find something. See you." he added and went away.

"Yeah, see ya!" he replied and waved. Then, when Kha'Zix was gone, he said to himself, "But I'm sure I was focused…"

"Run! Everyone! This way!" Al-Kadeem shouted to others. The blood was flowing down through the wound on his head, but it wasn't fatal. As he was leading them to safety, another building fell down, crashing a woman holding a baby.

"Oh lord, we're all gonna die!" a younger man cried. Al-Kadeem shook his shoulders and looked him straight on the eyes, "No! We're gonna survive! Al-Kadeem assures you!" he said and looked around. Everyone was screaming and running in chaos, tripping over bodies and sandstones that were once a piece of buildings.

"What should we do then!?" a woman with injured hand asked. He thought for a moment, and then looked towards the jungle.

"There! It might lose our track in there!" he pointed towards the jungle.

"It isn't safe, either!" the man complained while shaking in fear.

"You prefer a certain death, or a death that might not come!?" Al-Kadeem asked him. He hesitated, but then nodded.

"Okay then, I trust you old man." he replied. He found agreement in the eyes of other survivors.

"Let's go, but be quite! It seems to be blind." he said and then they got closer to a corner of the ruin that was once a shop. He saw something under the sand, it looked like a shark fin, but it was sickly purple, and huge. Luckily, it seemed to have found a victim somewhere else because it was getting further away from them. "It's our chance, go!" Al-Kadeem whispered and made a run for it. It appears that they weren't the only ones that made that decision, because other people were running there, too. As they were getting closer to the first trees, Al-Kadeem looked behind one last time. He looked in terror as the creature was destroying his home, screeching horribly.

Dun, dun, dun! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I'm honestly proud of it. The next one should appear without any delays, so stay tuned!