Chapter 5.

The familiar red-striped boomerang hurtled towards Elise. She quickly swung her body to one side, flickering with magic as a spike of webbing shot out and ensnared the boomerang.

Gnar smiled. The girl had only been training underneath him for a few weeks, along with his old pupil, but she was already learning extremely fast. As they sparred on the dusty training ground, Gnar leapt to the side to avoid a ball of venom.

Yasuo raised his sword. "It's 11:00. Lunch."

Gnar looked at his own student, now a serious and lean young man. He remembered back when Yasuo was a chubby little boy, toddling around with his little sword. Now, when he looked into Yasuo's eyes, it scared him. Throughout all his years of living in Runeterra, barely anything had unsettled him. Watching Yasuo, who was like a son, lose his heart and humanity was like a knife twisting in his chest.

A short walk later, they were sitting on a small field of grass, eating some of the high-protein grass balls that Gnar had packed. He bit into it and felt the familiar energy move through his body. Beside him, Elise and Yasuo ate theirs seriously. They looked like small adults sitting there, trying purposely not to show a strand of emotion.

As Elise bit into her ball, her face suddenly contorted into one of disgust. Her placid facial expression changed as it twisted.

Yasuo burst out laughing, his own still smile broken. He rolled over onto the ground, laughing, just as if he was that young boy Gnar had taught years ago.

Elise growled, trying to swallow the overripe vegetable, and flung a glob of web at Yasuo's mouth.

He gagged as the spicy liquid entered his mouth, stopping his laughing. They both sat there for a moment, chewing and swallowing while glaring at each other.

As they continued their stare-down, Gnar chuckled to himself. It was obvious that these two were literally made for each other. Yasuo turned his head to glare at his master, then stopped short. Behind him… was his sister.

"What are you doing here?" He demanded pointedly at Akali, his voice barely controlled.

Akali smiled feebly. "It's nice to meet you again, little brother."

Yasuo looked at her with disdain. He still remembered the scars he had bore, the pain of losing his only kin left… He had no time for her bullshit. He stared back at her, refusing to acknowledge her humanity. She was a petite woman, who could've probably qualified as "pretty" in modern standards. Anyone who described her like that would be asking for a beating, though.

"Look.. I'm sorry about all of this. This whole mess, chasing you into the swamp, engaging the Ancients, was my fault. But I need to tell you something very important."

Yasuo growled. Yeah, likely. More like she was going to backstab him in his sleep or something.

He felt a hand on his shoulder, and saw Elise standing next to him, a worried expression on her face. "Yasuo, calm down. Your eyes are glowing."

Yasuo relaxed for a second, and felt his breath drop. Ahead of him, Akali stood, indifferent. "You go talk to her."

Elise walked over to the assassin. "Hi, I'm Elise." She looked at the woman curiously.

Akali smiled politely. "Akali. It is my joy to meet you. Would you like to go somewhere to discuss this privately so my little brother doesn't get in the way?"

Elise giggled. "Sure."

"So you were working for the Master? And he wants… me?" Elise frowned, looking at herself. She wasn't that special, was she?

Akali nodded. "Not you, necessarily, but he wants to rid the world of that monster which controls you. Arachnid."

Elise felt a twang of shock as Arachnid spoke up inside her brain for the first time in months. Lie. Tell her I'm gone already. Do Not tell her anything or offer any clues.

"Nope, I have no clue who you're talking about. Are you claiming that there's a giant spider god living inside of me?"

After much insistence from Elise, Akali dropped the topic. Inside, however, she felt the familiar pangs.

The lies will never stop.

She gasped. She looked around her, and didn't recognize the scene. Was this another nightmare? The mountains around her swirled with a foggy white mist, rising up from within the trees. As the crisp air surrounded her, she felt herself gasping for a breath. And then she appeared.

Her mother, walking out from within the ring of trees surrounding Elise. She looked like the perfect glamour model she had been in life, all perfect and beautiful.

"Darling, I'm home." Her mother's faint voice whispered from the woman walking towards her.

She tried to run, but she was rooted in place as her mother's form shimmered and duplicated. Again.

"Elise, darling, did you buy me my drink today?" Her voice called down as the ghastly ring of figures surrounded Elise.

Without opening her mouth, Elise heard a young girl answer from within her. "Mother… There wasn't enough money. I couldn't get in today, and the shopkeeper caught me trying to steal them. Please…"

She was cut off when her mother's eyes changed. Gone was the kind, charitable woman that society knew. Gone was her façade. Her eyes flared up as her demons possessed her.

"Come over here, now."

Elise whimpered, forgetting her age and pretense that this was a dream. It was definitely real, the pain, the memories. She slowly walked over to her mother, who's image multiplied into many different versions of her mother, all staring at her as they cornered her into a circle. And they began to punch

Slowly, methodically. Elise cried out at the first touch, reduced to a blabbering slob. "Sto.. op Ple-"

A swift jab to the mouth stopped her. She gave in to the pain of her childhood, reliving the devil again. She would whimper and cry, but there was no stopping her until she was done. And then the next day, she would have to hide the scars again, say she fell off her bike, crashed down the stairs. The lies will never stop.

"Elise?" "Elise?" She felt heavy hands push on her shoulders and shake her up. Groggily, she blinked her eyes open.

Akali stood over her, a worried look on her face. "You were screaming. Something like 'Don't hit me'?"

Elise shook her head. "Not now."

She stumbled over, out of the room, to where Yasuo was impatiently waiting. He lept to his feet as he saw her struggling over the floor, and rushed to help her up.

"What happened? If my sister did anything to you, she'll regret it. I swear, tell me what the hell happened."

"No, it wasn't.. wasn't that. I need to see something, Yasuo. Can you go get me Gnar?"

He returned with the ancient Yordle a few seconds later, a puzzled expression creeping across both their faces.

"Master, I'm ready for the Trial."

Gnar shook his head. What was that girl thinking? There was no way she could brave through the infamous Trial of the Elements, where so many heroes had lost their lives. Still, he was obliged by ancient law to agree.

He led her to the back of the cave, Akali and Yasuo in tow, glaring at each other. At the end, he quietly removed the rock sheet in front of the tunnel. Elise started forward, but Yasuo grabbed her hand.

'Elise, don't do it. Why do you feel like you need to prove yourself? We all know you're strong enough. Everyone does."

Elise shook her head. "I don't."

She stumbled into the tunnel, and was instantly embraced with darkness. The first element, Fear. She stood quietly as she took in her surroundings. In front of her, a steady dripping came from the tunnel's top. Whispering spread through the tunnel, the voices plaguing into her head. She could taste her solitude, and instantly regretted the decision, slamming back into the door that she came from. But there was nothing. She crashed into a wall of pure obsidian, and as she turned around, the ground beneath her feet seemed to move. It was a test of her. And she would overcome.

Hesitantly, she took a first step, and immediately her footstep echoed through the whole tunnel. The noise bounced off the walls, curving inwards until it rebounded back at her. A fluttering of wings took flight above her, and she gritted her teeth, determined to keep on going forward through the pitch blackness.

As she slowly stepped forward, her inner peace began to form. She was finally safe, finally free from the demon inside. It couldn't reach her now. The darkness was more than a burden, it was freedom. It offered peace, solitude, and undivided love. And she pushed her way through the end of the tunnel.

As she stepped outside of the tunnel, her eyes were suddenly assaulted by a blinding light as her senses tingled. This was the second element, the famous quitting point for most challengers. Beside her, she saw a small door leading out of the Trial, to enter back into the real world. Her fingertips lurked above it, tempted to open the knob and escape. But then she looked back at the tunnel behind her, which now seemed to be at most 10 feet and not even dark, her will tightened. I will do it. I have to.

During her study of the challenges, she had never read this far. There were supposedly 12 trials to test the virtues of a person. Succeed, and eternal glory and power would be bestowed upon the challenger. Fail, and the challenger would be reduced to a simple shell of a person, trapped in madness and insanity within the confines of their own mind. But Elise didn't want either. She just wanted to be clean again.

Ahead of her, a blazing furnace raged. The fires licked up from within the ground, the tormented screams of those who had failed before echoing as gruesome tributes. She understood the basic concept. Walk through it calmly, with no trace of fear, and the fire wouldn't harm you. But show one instance of surprise, one instant of regret, and it would be all over.

She took a deep breath and began walking. The fires engulfed her as her eyes swam with tears of being exposed to light. The heat, however, didn't come. As she walked slowly through, carefully keeping her breathing steady, she saw the end of the path a few feet away. And standing in front of it was Arachnid.

He can't be here.. I left him behind. Instantly, a burning sensation started to curl up from her body, and she forced herself to stay calm.

The monster in front of her grinned, taunting her with his wicked finger to come closer. "Don't you remember me, mi amor?" His silky voice poured out, still as despicable as years ago.

She forced herself to take a deep breath, sucking in the essence of her existence. "You aren't with me anymore. Be gone." She waved her hand, and a wave of fire crashed over the unsuspecting devil. As he washed away in the wave of fire, the flames around her flickered out. She was… free. Her shoulders lifted as the weight of sin had pushed them down for so many years. Behind her, a voice sounded. Sweet, melodic, painful. "Good job, young one. I knew you would make it this far, for we have much to discuss." She turned her face and jumped back. The lady in white from her encounter on the ship stood there, staring at her.

"Why are you here? How can you even access this tunnel?"

The lady merely tilted her head in acknowledgement. "I can do things you can't even comprehend, child. May I?" She pointed to Elise's hand. Elise faintly blushed. "Go ahead."

She grabbed her hand. It was ice cold, and Elise could swear she felt something tickle her palm. The lady frowned.

"That's not at all what my studies told me. This isn't how it's supposed to end." She mumbled to herself, a jumble of numbers whirling through her head.

Elise suddenly felt faint. "What are you talking about? What's going on?"

The woman paused for a second before answering. "You may want to sit down for a few minutes."

"So I'm somehow the key to this whole ancient legends thing?"

The woman, now known as Janna, nodded. "It's more than you. You and that boy, the one you're accustomed to traveling with?"

Yasuo. He was important to this as well? She felt a small surge of blood rush to her face as she remembered the last time he held her inside the swamp. "And?"

She took a deep breath. "The legends say your blood must mix beneath the feet of the Greatness."

She paused, knowing there was a catch, but not daring to ask. "So we just swirl our blood together underneath this Greatness thing?"

"No. That's the difficult part. The blood it's referring to isn't literal. It means your lives. And the killer must be you."

She couldn't do it. Finally, after years of wandering around and killing, she had finally found peace, a friend, a home. And now she had to give it all away. Herself, she herself would atone for her sins. She had always done so. But Yasuo, she couldn't condemn him. He had his own right to life, just as the previous.

"How can I trust you?" She spoke, bitterness creeping into her voice. Here was this random woman, telling her what she could and couldn't do.

Janna smiled, as if she knew that she would eventually come to this conclusion. "Elise, my darling, don't you remember me?" Janna looked at her with twinkling eyes.

She stared at the woman, realization coming to her face as it flooded back to her. The familiarity, the faint scent behind her voice. "Mom…"

Janna stared at Elise, and now she could see the struggles of the years reflected on the scholar. Her beautiful face, placid as a lake, shone with cruelty and malice. "It was for the best. I trained you to be tough."

Tough? Was that it. Was that how she would confront her demons, by absorbing them? Did that one word, tough, answer all of her childhood struggles? How could it stand in for the nights of pain, of tears flooding down her face?

She stared up defiantly against her mother, not afraid of the woman before her anymore. They were equals. They were both-

'Umfphh let go of me," Elise shrieked, but the cyclone wrapped itself harder around Elise's body. It squeezed, and the caverns within her stomach began to crumble. She screamed, but nothing came out but wisps of air. And slowly, Arachnid came out.

The wisps of black smoke exited from her body, until it formed a body of a man. Her father. "Don't you remember me, mi amor?"

The demon… the demon was her father all along. The burden of her lineage, staying with her the whole time. She stared at Janna and her father, her face contorting with rage. What happened to the broken vows of love? The humanity within them?

Janna pointed at Elise. "Take her back to the cave. I want you inside of her again."

A small wind spirit zipped forward and forced itself down Elise's throat. She gagged and coughed, but the small bubble of air quickly slid inside of her. She felt her hand move without her command, and she felt a sense of dread awaken within her.

"It's time we end the Master once and for all."

Heyyy! Please review :/ It's really helpful for brainstorming/inspiration/etc. Also, I will be putting out a quick interlude (2 chapters) focusing on the backstory and stuff so it doesn't get too confusing. Thanks :D