Chapter 9

When they got to the end of the path, Kalista turned to Lux. The latter stopped, keeping her distances. "Before we more further," the spirit said "you need to know this: we fear that Hecarim and Mordekaiser might be involved in this ritual. If so, we will not be able to kill them for they are already dead. Therefore, we will make sure that their ritual fails, and that it will never be attempted ever again."

"How will you do this?" Lux asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Within this canyon lies an ancient altar. By respect for those who created the Shadow Isles, it has never been touched by the spirits roaming these lands, but it is time to end this. We will destroy the altar to prevent any further ritual from taking place here."

Lux wasn't sure she had understood everything, but she had another question on her mind. "How do you know the ritual has not been finished yet? I mean, they had plenty of time before I got here."

"Creating an immortal being takes time. The body and the power used must suit the spirit or it will not appear. When it enters the body, it must grow up and evolve, like a child. Years may be required before this being reaches its full potential."

Lux felt a bit lighter: as she wasn't too late.

They walked until they reached a column in the center of the canyon. Kalista stopped, and a small and white ghost appeared in her hand. "Be our eyes" she whispered, and the sentinel flew away. After a few minutes, Kalista told Lux "We have found the entrance." While moving, Lux checked her skin to see if the marks had extended. She held back a cry of panic: her upper arms and her whole stomach were now covered with black veins. She remembered Wolf's words. As long as you have light inside you, you have nothing to fear from the darkness, he had said. The young mage focused, trying to seek for the slightest clue of her old power remaining inside of her. She found nothing. All she could feel was the dark energy linked to the curse. She didn't tell Kalista about it, as it wouldn't have stopped the Lady of Vengeance from accomplishing her own goal. Lux was tired, but Kalista didn't seem to pay attention to her. She was entirely focused on her mission, and Lux wondered if the spirit was actually helping her or serving her own desire of vengeance.

They got to a crack in the wall, narrow, but large enough for Lux and Kalista to slip through. As soon as they reached the other end, Lux felt a heavy weight in her chest. Kalista glanced her, as if she had felt it as well. They were now in a cave big enough to hide the Institute and never find it again. A bright light came from crystals covering the walls. Lux looked at the place, astonished that a marvel like this could exists in the Shadow Isles. They were walking on grass, and there were ponds here and there. Birds were flying, and other animals such as does and wild horses were resting by the threes scattered all over the cave. "How can something like this exist?" Lux whispered.

"This is a sacred place, but we do not consider it as part of the Shadow Isles." Kalista said. "It stands as its own land."

Once again, Kindred's speech sprang to Lux's mind. This place was life within death. Still following Kalista, Lux noticed that wherever her bare feet touched the ground, the grass instantly died, only to grow back in a few seconds. A bit later, Lux saw something that looked like a table on the top of a hill. It had to be the altar. They headed towards it, and Lux wondered why they were alone here. She had expected Fiddlesticks to be there, but they were the only ones. They climbed uphill. The altar was small, and a body was lying on its surface. It was that of a young man with long silver hair. When she had heard about a dark ritual, Lux had though that the body would be that of an undead. "How are you going to destroy this altar?" Lux asked Kalista. The spirit put her palm on the stone and replied "First, we will destroy the body, and then we will use our power to break the altar apart." A spear appeared in her hand, and she touched the body with the tip. Lux couldn't stop looking around. Maybe destroying the altar would suit Kalista, but it wouldn't help her recover her power. She needed to find Fiddlesticks.

While Kalista was busy with the body, trying to find a way to get rid of it, Lux walked away to explore the cave. Kalista's sentinel followed her. She went closer to a horse which was eating at the bottom of the hill. Lux stretched her arm and pet the animal's neck. It wasn't afraid of her. She walked further, going towards a pond to splash water on her face. She crouched to look at her reflection. Her eyes were black, and the dark veins had started to reach her chin. She sighed, and put her hands in the water, relaxing a bit. The sentinel suddenly let out an ear-splitting noise, startling the young mage. She turned around and froze: Fiddlesticks was standing right in front of her. "I never thought you'd be stupid enough to come here" he spat. He swung his scythe, but Lux managed to dodge, thanks to the sentinel which had dived right to the scarecrow's eyes.

"Give me my power back!" Lux shouted.

"Why? You have a much more powerful one in you now. Isn't it better?"

"Then why don't you just take this one and give back what's mine?" Lux bent her knees, ready to dodge the next attack. She had her staff in her hand, but it wouldn't be of much help. She risked a glance towards the hill and noticed that Kalista had gone. Fiddlesticks struck again, and Lux rolled aside, trying to find an item on the scarecrow which might contain her power.

A spear pierced Fiddlesticks' head. He laughed and took it off. He had a hole in the head, but didn't seem to care about it. "Death to all betrayers" Kalista shouted before dashing the scarecrow, a spear in each hand. Lux turned around as a sound of hooves caught her attention. Riders again? Her blood turned into ice when she saw the threatening figure of Hecarim galloping at full speed towards them. She focused and cast a spell that she threw at the armored colossus. He easily dodged, bumping into Lux. "How foolish." he said as the mage fell on her back, stunned. Hecarim tried to stab her with his weapon, but Lux managed to rush towards him. The closer she was, the less he could use his spear. Hecarim leaped backward, snarling. Lux had had enough time to see that he wasn't carrying the item she was looking for. Her heart was beating hard against her chest. What if there were no item? What could she do, unarmed against a fully armored undead which could not be killed? The Shadow of War burst out laughing, drawing the attention of the Spear of Vengeance. When she saw her oldest and worst enemy, she roared in rage, and jumped towards him. Lux wanted to hide underground, away from all this madness. She felt the dark magic inside her call, begging to be unleashed. She turned her gaze towards the altar. Even if she failed to find her light, she could at least stop the ritual. The body was still there, and she would destroy it. She rushed forward, sprinting uphill and stopped by the corpse. Gathering her power, she put her hands on its temples. A dark smoke came out of her fingers, ready to crush the corpse's head and whole body. The skull cracked, and the beautiful and pure face of the man turned into a pile of torn flesh, bones and muscles.

Lux's senses were deadened, and she did not hear Fiddlesticks' scythe fly towards her. The weapon cut her flank, and she lost her balance. She rolled down and only stopped when she fell at the bottom of the hill. She heard a scream come from Fiddlesticks's mouth. The scarecrow was charging at top speed to her. An evil smile spread on the young mage's face. She gathered her power once again and struck the Harbinger of Doom, severing one of his legs. As she walked towards him, she saw his eyes widen and knew she had the power to wipe him out forever. Her power could eliminate all the undead from this world. She stepped on something hard and looked down. It was Fiddlesticks' weapon. This contact triggered something inside of her, like something was about to burst in her chest. Soraka's voice echoed in her head.

The caster sucks up the magical energy of their victims and stores it in an item

She suddenly realized the scythe was the item used by Fiddlesticks to stock her energy. She hesitated: why retrieve her old power when the new one was much more...enjoyable? Her mind slipped to Diana. The Lunari had agreed to come with her and had faced the same hazards. Kindred had said that Lux and Diana were the same as Lamb and Wolf. She felt her power call her from within the scythe. If she broke the curse, Fiddlesticks and Hecarim would be free to go. Could she really allow this? Lux started shaking, utterly uncertain. Fiddlesticks saw this as a sign of weakness and dashed towards his weapon.

His hand reached for it...too late. His scythe was in Lux's hand. "Don't..." he started, but he didn't have time to finish his sentence. Lux had closed her eyes and allowed her body to accept the energy from the weapon. A white halo wrapped her. He eyes turned blue, and the black marks on her skin disappeared. She transferred the dark power to the scythe. When it was done, she felt exhausted, but whole, the way she had always been. The scarecrow did not wait to jump on her, trying to seize his weapon. A spear went through his throat, startling him. Kalista appeared next to Lux and took the scythe. "Get out of here" she yelled at Lux as she ran towards the altar. The mage had guessed that the spirit wanted to use the power in the weapon to destroy the altar, which was going to destroy the whole place as well. Lux sprinted to the crack, looking around for Hecarim, but the Shadow of War had gone. The ground began to shake, and Lux struggled to keep her balance. She slipped through the crack at full speed and crossed the canyon towards the path. Was she safe here? And what about Kalista who was still in the cave? Stumbling in the dark, she could barely see her own hands in front of her. The sentinel flew to her, lightening her way. Lux kept running and only stopped when her breath was too short to continue running. The sentinel led her to the path and she climbed it. She had only one thing in mind: get Diana and leave this nightmarish place.

Without the sentinel to guide her, Lux would have never found the way back to the tree where Diana was. When she finally reached it, she feared that the Lunari had died while she was away. The sentinel let out another scream, and Kalista appeared, walking out of the mist. "Thanks to your help, we have stopped the traitors." she said. "You have our eternal gratitude." She handed something to Lux. It was her staff she had forgotten in the cave. She took it and saw with content that light was coming out of the tip. Kalista put her hand on the tree, and the branches moved away. Lux crouched next to the Lunari. Her breath was regular, and her wound didn't seem infected. The mage sighed in relief.