Ahri hit the water with a mighty splash that sent tremors of pain racing through her battered body. She reflexively cried out in pain, only to inhale a mouthful of water.

She frantically broke the surface, feeling the rain hit her face as she choked and spluttered. She wondered what the point of coming up for air was. She'd be dead soon enough either way.

Looking up, she saw the black outline of the cliff far above her, a white torrent of water spilling over the side in a great sheet, framed by the murky gold rainclouds above.

Akali would know she was still alive, and she would come, and she would kill her. She should be terrified, but instead, she felt only an odd sense of calm. It would appear that she wouldn't have to make the decision about whether or not to keep killing after all.

And it felt as if a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders. And with that thought, she realized that what she had truly been wanting for a long time was an easy way out of this hellish situation in which her head and heart warred with each other, and she seemed to have found that in death.

She wanted to die.

She briefly wondered if she was finally losing her mind. Then she decided she didn't really care either way. It wasn't like sanity had been doing her any favors.

Slowly and painfully, Ahri sidestroked her way to the shore. Every movement sent spikes of agony shooting through her chest.

At long last, she reached the nearest bank and crawled out of the gently flowing water and lay down on her back, wincing with pain as she did so.

Carefully, she lifted up her shirt and looked at the area where she had been kicked. Her groan was more of frustration than pain as she saw several ribs poking at the skin at odd angles. Broken.

She lay her head down in the mud and looked up at the forest canopy.

She could think of worse places to die. In fact, this little place reminded her of the area where she had taken her first steps as a human so long ago.

She thought about everything Akali had said, and decided that she had been right about everything. She preyed upon the weak and innocent, brutally taken their lives. No true human would ever do such a thing, no matter the reason.

For the thousandth time, she wished she had just stayed away from that mage in the clearing so long ago. If she had, she wouldn't be here now, waiting for death to come and take her. But she supposed that wishing she could change the past didn't matter now. She had made her choices, and she would accept the consequences. And besides, she'd lived a much fuller life than she would have ever had as a fox, although she supposed she could do without all the pain and confusion.

She closed her eyes and was just about to drift off into unconsciousness when she sensed a presence nearby.

She lifted her head up to see Akali standing over her.

"I was beginning to wonder when you'd show."Ahri said.

"Yes, I had hoped the fall would kill you, but fate had other plans, it seems."

"Yeah. But I guess my luck's just about run out by now."
"Indeed."

"Well what are you waiting for?" Ahri whispered through bloodied lips, barely audible over the splattering of raindrops. "Finish it."

"If you have any final words, you may speak them now."

"Sorry." Ahri whispered.

Akali lowered her weapon. "What?" She asked. Whatever she had expected the fox girl to say, it wasn't that.
"I said I'm sorry. For killing, for stealing. All of it."

She paused for a few moments, looking the girl over.

"Liar." She hissed, and placed the Kama's blade to the white flesh of her throat.

"Akali! Stop!" A new voice boomed over the din of the storm, halting the blade's advance across Ahri's throat. She felt a single drop of blood drip onto her chest as she watched a figure stepped forward out of the rain. He was completely covered in dark blue armor, and his entire face was obscured by a mask, leaving only his eerily glowing eyes visible. Ahri shuddered. A deadly power radiated from this man, dark and cold and foreboding.

"Shen!" Akali snapped at the newcomer. "Do you know what this girl has done?"

"I am the Eye of Twilight, woman! There is nothing I do not know. And I know you have taken it upon yourself to kill this girl without my order. Do you know what harm you could have done if you had succeeded?"

"Harm? Shen, she's killed dozens of innocents! The world aches to be rid of her!"

"Rid of her as she is now, yes. But death is not always the answer. You were charged with pruning the tree upon your induction of the Order, but when will you understand that that does not always mean that you must act with violence?"

Akali looked as if she were about to speak, but instead hung her head in shame. "I apologize, Shen."

"Remove yourself, before you cause further damage."

"As you wish, Shen. And the girl?"

"She lives."

"But how do you know she will not-"

"She must be free to follow her path. Rest assured that it will be for the better. Her fate is intertwined with Valoran's own, as much as yours or mine."

"Very well."

Akali stalked off through the forest and out of sight.

Ahri, who had been listening to the whole conversation, eyed Shen with rapt attention.

"Thanks." She said.

He looked at her as if noticing her for the first time. "You heard me, girl," He told her. "You may go. I will take my leave, as well. But know this- the Eye of Twilight rarely takes mercy. Should I find that it was misplaced, I will return myself, and there will be no second chance." He turned to leave.

Ahri was stunned and nearly speechless. "What?" She demanded of the warrior. "What, is that it? You're just going to have your pet over there beat me within an inch of my life, then leave?"

Shen turned his head slightly towards her. "The Eye of Twilight sees many things," he droned. "If I have decided that you should live, it is for a reason. Be grateful that I arrived before Akali took your head." He continued walking away from her.

"You . . . you coward!" She called after him as lightning cracked the sky. She staggered to her feet. She was even more unsteady than when she had taken her first steps as a human. But that seemed like a lifetime ago. "Too afraid to finish what you started, huh? Come back here!" She picked up a stone near her feet and threw at him. It connected solidly with the back of his head.

Shen stopped in his tracks. Lightning split the sky again, and thunder crashed, echoing.

"That's it, isn't it?" Ahri cried. "Can't do it, can you?" A smile that was more like a grimace parted her lips. Shen turned and slowly walked over to her as Ahri flung her arms wide. "Come on! Kill me!"

"You seem very eager to die," He said.

Hot tears sprung to the girl's eyes. "Death is all I deserve." Shen approached until he was mere inches from her battered, desperate face. "I've lied, stolen, and murdered. This is the only path for me." Her head fell to her chest in defeat. "All those people I've killed . . . They didn't deserve to die that way, I know that now. None of them did." Tears were flowing freely now. She knew she was probably wasting her breath telling Shen all this, but it felt good to finally confess it all to someone. "I'm sorry. For everything, truly. I'm so, so sorry." She was sobbing now.

"Yes," Shen said without a trace of emotion. "I know."

Ahri looked back up at him. "What?" she choked out between sobs. "You . . . know?"

"As I said before, I see many things," Shen told her. "I know that you are sincerely penitent for your actions. It is part of the reason I spared you."

"I'm better off dead. I'm an outcast and a murderer. What can I do? Where can I go? You can't just leave me here!"

"It is . . . not our way to tell others anything of their destiny, or what their future holds. As I told Akali, you must be free to follow your own path. But as you say, you are completely lost. And how can one follow her path if she does not know where it starts?" He paused to think for a moment, and then resumed speaking. "When Akali said she was sent to correct the imbalance you were causing, she meant it. But violence to end violence is not always the answer, and so there are other ways of righting the equilibrium. If you are truly sorry, then undo some of the evils you have committed. Restore balance to your heart, and the world."

"But how? How can I make up for all I've done?"

"There are those that have use for talents such as yours" At this, he nodded at a burn mark on Ahri's clothing. "Those that know magic, and may be familiar with your unique . . . situation."

"Please!" She cried through tears. She reached forward and grabbed handfuls of Shen's tunic. "If there's a way I can make this right, tell me!"

Shen glanced down at her, seemingly ignorant to her outburst. "There is a place called the Institute of War. You may be of great use to them."

"Institute of War?" Ahri echoed, releasing Shen. "What is it?"

"Its purpose is too complicated to go into detail now. Suffice to say that its existence is for the good of all of Valoran. Go there, and you may find the redemption you seek."

"I will." Ahri said without hesitation. She took a deep breath to regain her composure, and wiped her tears away with the back of her hand. "I will find this Institute of War, wherever it is, and repair the damage I've done."

Shen nodded. "See that you do. I have taken a chance in sparing you. As I said earlier, if I must return, there will be no mercy."

"Fair enough." Ahri said evenly, tears stopping at last.

And with that, Shen turned and walked off into the torrential rain without a backwards glance.