ONE FELL SWOOP
Genres: Drama, Fantasy, Romance, Action
Author's Note: It's been over a month, and I know, I know, I'm so sorry, but I've had both exams and TSoMV on my priorities right now, but my muse suddenly called for a change of direction! I've had sudden inspiration to write another chapter for this story, and will try to update TSoMV and One Fell Swoop with equal effort! It will be tough though, as I'm still not really good at handling two fanfics at once. Thankfully, I've got Miria's help on TSoMV, so credit does go to her for irreplaceable support :D.
Thanks for waiting, I hope you enjoy!
Chapter 14: Call My Name
"Did you say Zachariah?" Rosalyn's jaw dropped.
"Mhmm." Taliyah nodded.
"Zachariah." Rosalyn repeated. "Oh fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, this isn't happening. Please tell me this isn't happening."
"Do you actually know him? I'm surprised." Taliyah sounded slightly impressed. "He's grown quite adept at keeping a low profile."
Rosalyn pinched the skin on her arm. "He took me in when my village was burnt down by a bunch of filthy raiders."
Taliyah raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure we're talking about the same Zachariah? The Zachariah I know—and the Zachariah that was just here a month ago wouldn't just adopt any random girl."
The girl squinted at Rosalyn. "Are you, by any chance, some long lost sister of his?"
Rosalyn gave her a condescending look. "Of course not. He was …" She remembered something and then blushed bright red. "He was like … a temporary caretaker. A very annoying, controlling, helicopter caretaker. B-but—that's not the point! The point is, if this magic signature led us here, and it truly belongs to him, that means—"
"That means Zachariah is the older brother that Karma is looking for … and Kaleb is his younger brother?!" Ekko exclaimed. "I have never been more confused."
Rosalyn froze. Kaleb … is Zachariah's younger brother? Then why would Zachariah steal his body? Does Kaleb have some secret power that continued to survive even after post-mortem that Zachariah needed to harvest? I need to tell Karma about this … that Zachariah is actually one of the hooded figures she mentioned. Did …
"Hold on, did Zachariah create all these black marks on the ground then?"
Taliyah smiled slyly. "Nope. His champion did."
Rosalyn did a double-take. "Zachariah's a Mage now?
"Yeah, he's been a Mage for a while now," replied Taliyah.
That would mean that the second hooded figure was his … Rosalyn stroked her hair—it helped her think.
"What was—what is the name of his champion?"
"Hmm, you're asking for a bit too much information. I've already given you more than I'm allowed to." Taliyah sighed. "But since I'm feeling generous today, I'll give you one last lead. His champion's name, to be honest—even though he's new, you should've heard of it by now. Most people call him the Black Phantom."
"Rose." Ekko rubbed his temples and spoke carefully. "You know what that means right?"
Rosalyn understood but shook her head anyways. She didn't want to understand. She didn't want to know what it meant.
"If the Black Phantom's Mage is Zachariah, that means the Black Phantom is a much bigger threat to our cause than we imagined. And you thought this champion was just another mediocre obstacle."
Rosalyn shook her head again. "So what? Surely we've surpassed him by now. We're practically biting at the tails of the Five Kings already. Soon enough, we'll surpass the Five Kings too and achieve rank #1. He can't stop us."
Ekko grimaced and continued.
"That also reminds me of another issue. You've told me about your suspicions against Zach for being overprotective and his efforts in trying to stop your participation in the League of Legends. Maybe you thought he was just a nuisance, doing all those things, like stealing Kaleb's body, in order to throw you off course, but I read something on the forums a while back talking about the 'Black Phantom'. Apparently, there was a champion from the past that shared the same name, and he was literally, I kid you not, a living legend."
"What's so special about that?" Rosalyn scoffed but it had no force behind it. "It's common for low-tier champions and Mages to take the names of retired high-tier champions or famous Mages to gain attention."
"I'm not saying that this Black Phantom is the same champion as the old Black Phantom. But I think their Mage might be the same person. Two years ago, a champion called the Black Phantom and his Mage climbed to Challenger in a matter of weeks and in no time, defeated Caius Frostguard of the Five Kings. That makes them on par, or even better than the Five Kings. Of course, the Five Kings used everything in their power to cover up this loss in order to maintain the balance of power, which is why it isn't common knowledge. To make matters easier for them, the duo disappeared from the Challenger scene shortly after their victory. However, what strikes me as more than a coincidence is that the Mage's name was Thanatos. The Ancient Ionian God of Death. And you know what Thanatos's spirit animal was?"
Rosalyn closed her eyes and said softly. "His spirit animal was a crow."
Ekko nodded. "If Zachariah truly wanted to stop us, he wouldn't just be any nuisance. He'd be an obstacle greater than even that of the 'Great Wall'.
"Go now." Taliyah hopped back up on her icy boulder. "You have a long journey ahead of you. I'll show you the fastest path back to the outside world."
Rosalyn seemed about to object but Ekko spoke first.
"Thank you, Taliyah. We'd really appreciate it." Ekko nodded solemnly, then gave Rosalyn as stern a look a boy could give. Rosalyn avoided his gaze.
"Oh and one more thing, before we head off." Taliyah hopped back down. She spoke in a hushed voice. "A word of advice for you two. There is more than one way to overcome an enemy or rival."
. . .
Taliyah's words struck a chord with Rosalyn. If she had to be honest with herself, honest to Ekko, or honest to the people around her, she had actually known the answer to her obstacles all along. It had been embedded deep within a faint hope residing within her.
More than one way . . .
The jade bangle on her wrist vibrated and a monotonous, almost robotic, female voice announced, "Call Connected."
"Karma?" Rosalyn spoke into the device. "Karma are you there?"
The violent snowstorm surrounding Rosalyn and Ekko made it difficult to discern wind from responding voice. Nevertheless, a clear, strong voice spoke up from the device, followed by a realistic three-dimensional hologram of Karma's head that sprung up from a small crack in the device.
"Rosalyn?! Where have you and Ekko been?" the Karma sounded worried. "You've been missing for a month!"
"Our apologies, we got trapped in a temporal-distortion labyrinth of sorts." Rosalyn apologized.
"A what?!"
"A temporal—never mind that, we have more important news to update you on."
"O-okay . . . what've you got for me?"
"Your older brother, his name was Zachariah right?"
"Yes . . . but how did you find out?" Karma's apprehension was evident even through the disruptive connection.
"If you wanted us to find your older brother, then you shouldn't be surprised if we eventually discovered who he was."
"You sound—this is only my intuition, but you sound like you know him." Karma spoke slowly.
"Coincidentally, and despite how I would hate to admit it, he's quite a . . . significant person in my life. He saved my life four years ago and took me in until last year, when I ran away."
"Oh . . . I was unaware of such circumstances. D-does that mean he's still alive? Wait—is he with you right now?!" Karma said excitedly.
"Unfortunately, we missed him by a month. Thanks to that stupid mountain labyrinth I mentioned. But we do have a lead."
"Tell me."
"We believe it's related to the Thanatos persona you were searching for on the side. We believe that his champion, the Black Phantom is just another pretender but this Thanatos is the same Thanatos from two years ago. He's the real mastermind behind the Black Phantom's strength that you've warned us about."
Karma grew pale. "Thanatos . . . from two years ago? That's not possible. The one who toppled Caius . . . he's back?"
"That's not the only news. The reason we know this is that we've discovered that Zachariah is Thanatos. Zachariah is the Black Phantom's mage."
"They're the same person?" Karma exclaimed with disbelief."
"Yes. And umm . . ." Rosalyn inhaled deeply. This is my chance to tell her. "We also—I also have reason to suspect that Zachariah is the one who stole Kaleb's body."
Ekko whipped around and grabbed Rosalyn's arm with bemusement.
What the hell are you thinking? His eyes scolded her.
Karma's brows furrowed. She replied immediately. "Not possible. If you know Zachariah is my older brother, then you know that he's also Kaleb's older brother. When . . . when we were still together as a family, those two were closer than ever. Why would he steal his brother's corpse?"
"That I-I'm not too sure of—" Rosalyn stuttered.
"Let me tell you, Rosalyn. Zachariah would never commit such an atrocious crime. It would be an insult to Kaleb, worse than murder. In fact, you probably misjudged the situation. From my perspective—though I know not of what reason you have to suspect my brother so I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt—it seems that the mysterious thief is targeting Zachariah as well. Whatever proof you have on hand, whatever you've seen or heard, is probably just false traces to throw you off and frame Zachariah."
Rosalyn sighed. Karma sounded pretty sure of herself.
I guess I'm being too prejudiced towards Zachariah. He's not a bad guy after all.
"Rosalyn, are you sick, perhaps, with a fever?" Karma suddenly changed the topic.
"N-no, why?"
"Your face is a bit flushed."
"I'm not—! I'm not sick." Rosalyn bit her lip and squeezed her eyes shut. Not now. Why do these feelings resurface now, of all times?
"Oh, alright, it must be a problem with the connection." Karma said. "Probably just a glitch in the hologram. Anyways, since we're on the discussion of the Black Phantom, I've also got news for you and Ekko."
"What is it?"
"Recent intel from the League has given us a clue to the Black Phantom's identity. Apparently, the Black Phantom is . . . a girl."
Ekko choked on his own spit. He grabbed Rose's wrist and shoved his face in front of Karma's hologram projection.
"Did you just say the Black Phantom is a girl?"
"Ekko!" Rosalyn pulled back with an irritated expression. "Don't be a nosy pervert."
"That's rude." Ekko gave Rosalyn an annoyed look.
"Hello Ekko. Nice to see you too." Karma said with a slight smile on her face. "And yes I did say she is a girl. Our deep intelligence suggests that this information is reliable based on certain physical observations of the individual. These observations have been proven to be accurate and not distorted by illusionary spells or anything likewise. The Black Phantom exited the Champion's Chamber without his armor last week. Turns out, she seems to be a young female—though exact age unknown due to the white porcelain mask she wore—with a thin yet lean stature and long, grown-out black hair."
Rosalyn remembered Taliyah's words again. There's more than one way to overcome an enemy or rival.
More than one way, huh. . .
"There's only one way to find out if that's true." Rosalyn tried to say with confidence. She turned to speak her partner. "It's time to make a new ally, Ekko. Let's give Zachariah and his new girlfriend a visit."
. . .
"Look what you've done Kaleb." Zachariah pinched the bridge of his nose in disappointment. "I told you to keep your armor on even after the match ended. The body suit itself is too revealing."
Kaleb buried his face in his hands. "I didn't think people would notice me . . ."
"Well of course, they'd notice you. We climbed up to Diamond IV within a week after we returned to the League."
"Gold V to Diamond IV—that's not too big of a jump, is it?"
Varus put his bowl of rice down on the table and sat with them. "Kaleb, that's a pretty big jump in a week."
"Well that's because we haven't lost a game yet. What else would they expect? It's just a winning streak."
"That's exactly the thing though." Vayne sat down next to Varus with an impressed grin. "Nobody has ever gone on a winning streak that brings them up two full tiers in that short amount of time."
"Actually . . ." Varus raised his chopsticks. "There was one pair that did it a few months ago."
Zachariah and Kaleb looked at each other and both sighed.
"Rosalyn."
"You two know her?" Vayne asked.
Both young men froze and then shifted uncomfortably.
Vayne chuckled and nodded in acknowledgement. "Got it. Sensitive private info. I won't delve further."
"Yeahh . . . it's kind of . . ." Kaleb began.
". . . Complicated." Zachariah finished.
"Speaking of which," Kaleb said, "We still haven't found a clue as to where Shirohime is located right?"
Zachariah hesitated. "Well, the man who I told you held the clue to finding her . . . he was killed last year. I just received the news from my sources two days ago. It was said that he 'died of unknown causes' but when I examined his autopsy report, it gave signs that suggested his soul was forcefully separated from the body."
"Amina." Kaleb immediately knew the perpetrator. "Shit. She's thought significantly ahead of us."
Zachariah exhaled and leaned back on his chair. "I'm sorry Kaleb. We'll have to find another way."
"Are you searching for someone?" Vayne asked with uncharacteristic consideration. "Varus and I don't have much to do as of now so we could help—"
There was a sudden knock at the door. All four of them froze and stared towards the hall leading to the front foyer. The door was within view.
Tap, Tap, Tap. Someone was definitely at the door.
Did someone else find us here? A random stranger? Though, what are the chances of a common person finding us in such an isolated, hidden location? The cogs in Zachariah's brain were already working out a possible answer.
"I'll go answer it." Zachariah volunteered.
"No, I will." Kaleb stopped him. "You're the eldest son of the Grandmaster of the Order. Vayne and Varus are both well-known Champions. I have the least recognizable face and I have my long hair to cover up, in the unlikely case that it is actually someone from the Order."
"You mean your indistinguishably female face?" Varus snickered.
"Ha-ha, very mature of you, Varus of the Arclight." Kaleb rolled his eyes. "I'm going to answer it now."
Kaleb stood up and walked cautiously towards the door, making his footsteps as soft as possible. When he reached the door, he slowly turned the handle, pulled, and peered through the crack the door made with the door frame.
And he was greeted by a young female teenage girl, dressed in a traditional Ionian garb. A strangely familiar kind of Ionian garb. Kaleb was, for some subconscious reason, compelled to let his guard down despite the fact that he didn't know her. He opened the door wide.
"Hi, I think you have the wrong address—oof!"
The girl threw herself at him, burying her face into Kaleb's chest and embracing him tightly.
"I missed you so much." The girl was weeping tears of both happiness and sorrow.
The other three had run from the kitchen and stopped a few steps away from Kaleb and the girl. They were utterly bewildered.
Kaleb turned bright red. "Umm—! I think you also have the wrong person . . ."
"No." the girl whispered. "Mmm . . . you still have the same scent too."
"Who are you—?"
The girl finally detached herself from Kaleb, who stood there awkwardly.
"You know I'm a guy r-right?" he stammered.
The girl tilted her head and gazed at him oddly. "Well of course you are. My master was always one of the most handsome young men out there."
Varus widened his eyes and covered his mouth, stifling his laughter. He couldn't hold back for much longer.
"M-master?" The expression on Kaleb face stole every ounce of laughter from Varus's body. Kaleb leaned closer to get a better look at the girl's face. "Wait . . ."
"My name is Ahri." The girl said. "Ahri Kitsune."
"Yasuo sends his kind regards."
Puzzle pieces just keep coming together!
This story and TSoMV ARE my best works so far, so I hope I'm living up to not only my own standards but also you readers' standards!
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Peace!
~Nightrous