The heart of Noxus

Chapter 7

Darkin

For as long as there was life, there would be death. An unattainable thing for Aatrox, the constant reminder of his curse only made his blood run even hotter as he carved more flesh towards a better use, to sustain his form and to grant him time. His was a hatred so powerful that not even the gods themselves could stop him. But something had made him stronger he was no stranger to the will of fate, something had changed in the world and it was pushing the already fragile balance into chaos.

How foolish where the gods to think they could hold the balance forever and now here he was. The World Ender was unbound; free from the hands of fate he now carved a slaughter in all the continents every battlefield his playing field, every conflict a place to further death to all. He grew stronger with each battle and now everyone would soon pay, the aspect of war had already fallen and soon would the rest of the puny gods. And so after he had destroyed the green city he went towards his ancient home, close to the mountain of lies.

"For the emperor!" a golden clad soldier yelled but his body was quickly shattered against the rocks as Aatrox slammed his sword over and over until he had squeezed as much as he could from the now dead body. He stopped his carnage when he felt a presence, an echo that reminded him of a lifelong past "Your methods have fallen from grace just as you have Aatrox, when did you become nothing more than a butcherer?"

Aatrox twisted around and pointed his sword towards the neck of a cloaked figure, small like a human but emanating in power "At the same time you became so weak brother, my fellow Darkin reduced to such a pathetic form you should have stayed in your hole Varus"

Varus took off his hood and gave him a clod glare, it was almost comical how different they were in height "You have lost even your sense, size matters not when power to kill the stars lies in a single shot from my bow". Aatrox laughed as he stared at the puny weapon "A bow and two boys trapped in you, how pathetic is your plan Varus it suits you"

"Charming brother but at least I have a plan" Varus said as he allowed the voices of his prisioners to surface the sound of the duo in suffering a delight to Aatrox, but he did not forget the insult "I have a plan Varus, I will kill all things and then my accursed existence will end"

"I know, that's no plan Aatrox. But luckily for you my plan includes you" Varus commented as Aatrox turned his back to him and started to gather more blood "So your plan finally has something good on it brother, I am flattered you will die too… but I will let the Darkin be my last opponents"

If Varus was offended, he didn't show it "When the day comes I will put you out of your misery Aatrox, I will free you but for now I require your aid. I'm sure that in your endless slaughter you have come across Noxus yes?"

Aatrox nodded as he shattered the ribcage of a dead soldier, exposing his heart. Varus said nothing as Aatrox grinded the organ into paste to get as much blood as possible "Then that means you fought their soldier"

"They die like any other mortal" Aatrox said as he leveled a glare at nothing in particular "Even so, for mortals they are a formidable…"

"Nothing is formidable about the livestock Varus, be sure that those two souls you keep trapped don't give you any ideas"

"… they went to war with the home of this two souls, they reacted to some news that I overhead very strongly. Noxus defiled their land and made quite the massacre, but there was a peculiar memory that I found, some of the soldiers used blood-magic, our magic. I don't need to tell you who this is"

Aatrox stopped his actions for a moment as his tormented mind tried to narrow down information "There was this one darkin that I never cared enough about… he had a pet, a human from this land that I also didn't care about. I remember that he taught him blood-magic as a joke"

Varus nodded along "Indeed, the slave survived it would seem and he made his way to Noxus where he shared our teachings, this simply wont do. It's a weakness for the plans I have laid out for Ionia, so I have come to you brother" The World Ender stood to his full height as the stars he had once loved shined down coldly on his mockery of a body, a crude mix of flesh and bone.

Varus took a step back as the full glare of Aatrox fell down on him "And why would I care for YOUR plan or the fact that they are using blood-magic, neither affect MY plan"

"Aatrox you truly have become blind" Varus didn't flinch when the giant sword fell to his side and cleaved a rock in half "Then enlighten me… brother"

"We Darkin are no strangers to immortality brother, but it would seem that humans are starting to reach our territory, the blood or spirit of mortals has endured and will only increase if we don't stamp out this pests. Imagine a human that can reshape their form and fuels itself on blood now imagine an entire civilization and with how fast they reproduce, then you will never achieve your plan"

Aatrox put the sword on his back intrigued by his brother's comment "And what if I take their blood, they could not reshape their forms if I take the blood and flesh for myself"

Varus gave him a grin "And what of their souls Aatrox, soul protection is a thing remember, to ingrain your soul in your blood when you run out of a form all that would be left would be your prison and the thousand of screams of this blood users"

Aatrox gritted his teeth "Then it would seem that you are not as useless as I thought brother, I will go to Noxus. Test their borders first, then head into the capital and stamp out this remnants of the past with a single blow from my sword but the question remains what do witht heir blood"

"That's where I come in, Ionia is a place of rebirth and nature and I think I have an idea on how to twist it to my needs. A soul can be re-forged into something new there, a tree maybe even a weapon but what I want is to re create my body, the body that was robbed from me"

Aatrox nodded "I see, then I will see you on this Ionia when I have their blood" Varus gave a nod "Indeed, it was fate that brought us here. I knew you would be here, it would seem that once again everything is up for grabs. We darkin have a change at total domination once again" Aatrox grinned a cruel smile as he felt his blood boiling once again "And then when they are all dead, I will finally have peace"

Varus stared at him in silence as Aatrox mighty wings carried him towards Noxus, his flames burning the clouds of the desert. For his part Varus was content in walking back to his destination, Aatrox will get distracted his elder brother much to erratic to do something in an orderly fashion. But it mattered not, he needed to find his other sibling aswel.

Rhaast had survived but he was clocked in shadow, he briefly wondered if the demon seer was still in the place he had left him, after all he would benefit from the carnage that would fall on Ionia, it was almost funny how much the souls inside him twisted in pain as they watched his plan finally kick into motion.

One soul was most curious, it resonated with the word sibling strongly and then the image of a girl with dark hair, dancing in a garden of roses appeared. Varus smiled, not a cruel smile but a smile of wonder.

Fate was shattered, he did not know why but the world itself was free from the usual path. Having to not plan around it was a blessing indeed and for Aatrox it meant that he at last could have his fun. There was no sadness in the heart of a Darkin but Varus would lie if he said that there was not a sense of longing, in a way he envied Aatrox his goal one to end his own existence.

Varus wanted more, he wanted the life that could never be his.

A/N: Darkin are such fascinating characters, I love to write them. Our antagonist make their move towards Noxus, the Grand General is going to have his hands full. See you soon!