Hey everyone. I'd first like to thank you all for reading this far into the story. I'm going to skip straight to the point just for this chapter, and let you guys read this chapter. This chapter may cause you to feel some rather sad feelings, and it kinda hurt me to write it. I guess I've just grown into this story. Also, thank you so much Eustacchia for your offer. It still remains, so don't get discouraged by the ending of this chapter.
Feedback is highly encouraged, and ask as many questions as you'd like. I'll be more than willing to provide you with answers in the next chapter or perhaps even direct responses. Any questions you have, feel free to ask them, even if you're wondering how I can be so stupid. They're all welcome.
This chapter contains a lot of sadness, so you cannot say you haven't been warned.
Any ways, try to have a nice morning,day,evening,night,you know you shouldn't be up but you are, and once again, thank you for reading.
As Irelia approached the door, a bead of sweat rolled down her eye, the strange feeling causing her to shutter.
"Is anyone out there?" She screamed as her inner fear shone through. "Someone unlock this damn door!"
Suddenly, the door burst open, revealing the petrified figure of Katarina, her body actively trembling before she sprinted away, leaving her knife buried up to the hilt inside of the lock. Leaving her room, she noticed a small gray cloud forming overhead, the fog slowly descending. As she looked around from the railing, she noticed the source of the fear Katarina had just displayed. To her right, a towering inferno paved its way down the middle of the institute of war, destroying all that got in its way. As she turned to her left and away from the blaze rapidly approaching, a supporting pillar collapsed, its vibrant designs now blocking her path. Below her, she heard a yell, a cry of help.
"Help me!" Came the cry of a female, her voice audibly quivering. Irelia considered her options. She could try and make her way out of the situation that she had managed to find herself in, or she could potentially save the life of the person who desperately needed her help. The decision was made instantaneously, and she flung herself off the railing, tucking as she rolled along the ground. The source of the voice came from Caitlyn, the brunette police officer of Piltover.
"Irelia! Have you come here to help?" She asked, the fear still apparent in her voice.
"What have you gotten yourself into?" She questioned as she examined the girls body, her leg twisted at a weird angle, clearly fractured.
"I fell off the railing, and… And no one came back to help me. Jayce was too far ahead, and everyone else, everyone else just ran for their lives." She pointed out, her lips shaking.
"It's nothing against them. They're trying to save themselves. Not everyone is as selfless as us Ionians." She announced with a slight hint of pride in her voice, trying to find a way to get the girl out. "I'm going to carry you out of her, alright?"
"You're going to carry me? Why aren't you getting out of here? We nearly killed you just several weeks ago!"
"That's in the past Caitlyn, right now, we're going to get you out of here." She lifted the brunette up, placing her just below her ribcage on her own shoulder, grabbing her by the back of the thighs. "Hold on to anything you can, and don't you let go."
She beckoned her blades out, the orb appearing in her free hand. She commanded them into a two by two pattern, and they sliced square through the wooden walls in front of them, dust stirring around them. As they approached the entrance, she took a plank of wood, ordered her blades to cut it into a form of crutch, and placed Caitlyn down on her one good leg before taking the crutch from her blades and handing it to her.
"Caitlyn, this was the best I could do in the time that I've been provided." She spoke with great haste. "I'm going to go back, try to find others like you who were unfortunate enough to not make it out."
"Going back in there, that's suicide."
"Then that is the life that I will have lived. If I do not return, I ask of you two favours. I first need you to apologize to both Riven and Lux for my death. I did not intend it, but I cannot leave this area knowing that some people may still be trapped. Second off, I need you to get karma to show Lux around Ionia. She will understand when you ask her." She asked with moistening eyes. "Can you do that for me?"
"Well, yeah, but what do I tell them?"
"Tell them… Tell them I died a proud Ionian, and that I fought until my last breath defending those who could not defend themselves. I died a warrior, a proud citizen of Ionia."
"You'll make it out. Don't give me a reason to say that alright?"
"I'll try not to Caitlyn, and thank you. Now move!" She exclaimed as she headed back towards the inferno, braving her potential fate. In reality, she didn't want to die. She had a life that she still had to live with Riven, thousands of experiences and memories that she would never get to live if she died in here.
She headed back down towards the inferno, listening as boards and pillars burned up, dropping flaming splinters down upon her head. Her blades floated carefully at her side, prepared to take any order that she commanded. Ahead of her lay the bodies of Ashe and Tryndamere, both lying down on the ground, hands locked.
"They gave up. They just, they just locked their hands, accepted their fates, and they died." Came a small voice from rubble, the voice of a yordle.
"Where are you?" Irelia asked, placing her forearm to her forehead, palm facing away trying to shield herself from the heat.
A small yordle emerged from a pile of rubble, her small yordle face covered in soot.
"I… I watched them die… They're… They're really dead now aren't they?"
Irelia walked over and pushed the soot away from her face, revealing the face of the megling gunner, Tristana.
"Tristana, we need to get you out of here. Are you sure they're dead? Are you sure they're not just unconscious?"
"I don't… I don't know. They just emerged from the smoke and collapsed to the ground." Her small yordle eyes shedding tears. "I couldn't do anything. I just curled into a ball and I… I was ready to die."
"Tristana, we need to get you out of here, alright? We're going to get you to safety."
"You get yourself out first, alright? I can… I can make it out."
She grabbed the yordle by the sides and began running her out, tinder falling onto her exposed skin, making searing noises with every one. Once she got to the mostly intact lobby, she placed the small girl on her feat, pointing her towards the door.
"Get out of here Tristana, keep living your life, alright."
"Irelia, I don't. I don't want to live anymore. I've seen so much, I can't un-see it."
"Tristana, I need you to look at me alright?" She said as she knelt down, grabbing the small yordle by her shoulders and forcing her to face her. "Teemo and Rumble are both waiting for you out there, they're both waiting for you to get out there and be safe. I need you to get out there and let them know you're alive alright?"
The small yordle broke down into tears, her stare now filled with unwanted liquid.
"Al… Alright Irelia, but… But you've got to promise me you're going to get out of there before you die alright?"
"I promise. Now go, they're waiting for you." She said with a forced smile, giving the gunner a small push on the back, easing the wall forward, her walk slanted.
She bolted back through the collapsing institute, back to where she had found Ashe and Tryndamere. She grabbed Ashe over her shoulder, ordering her blades to grab tryndamere, and prepared her last trip back. The heat was getting too much to bear, and she would only die if she entered once again. As she arrived at the entrance, a small piece of wood she had placed her foot on splintered away, and Ashe was thrown forward as she collapsed, still supporting Tryndamere on her blade. Above her, a wooden piece of the ceiling collapsed down, its whole massed doused in red flame. In her final sacrifice, she ordered her blades to cradle tryndamere and push the two away, as far as she could. They slid down the final stretch of the way, coming to rest several feet before the foyer, catching the attention of some other survivors. The angle she had shot them down at prevented the survivor from seeing her, ensuring her demise. The wooden log collapsed upon her arm, shattering the bone and dropping her to the ground. Pain shot up in waves, the flame licking its way up her arm, the sound of the water in her skin evaporating into the air. The red orb she held in that hand was now unusable as she desperately tried to save her own life, but to no avail. Her hand was gone, most likely cut square off. She yelled as loud as her body would allow, pleading for someone to save her.
"Somebody help me! My arm is trapped!" She yelled, but no one could hear her plea. She pulled back on her arm, but all she heard was the sound of her liquidizing flesh tearing away, her tough Ionian personality collapsing into shambles. She placed her head against the ground, her eyes freely spouting tears.
"Riven! I'm so sorry! She yelled, her voice dwarfed by the absolute inferno that surrounded her. "I… I tried to get out, I really did! I wanted to see you again! I wanted to tell you that I was sorry for lashing out at you the other day! I wanted to tell you that we could just kiss and make it up! To tell you that I was going to be there for you! To be there one morning, to wake up beside you! To share laughs with you! To share tears with you! I really did! I love you Riven!" She yelled into the ground, threatening to drown herself in her own self pity, her voice smothered by the Inferno around her.
Outside the building, summoners and champions waited outside, waiting for their friends and colleagues to leave the building. First came Caitlyn, who was immediately met by both Vi and Jayce and brought back to the group. Next came Tristana, who was immediately met by Rumble, her body in shambles, her eyes creating rivers. Next came
Tryndamere and Ashe, their bodies being carried out by Karma and Shyvana, both of them displaying sheer sadness as they carried them back, but neither said a word. Soraka began her healing, her face uncertain. All they could do now was watch as the building they had lived in was turned into a pile of ashes and dust.
The next morning, when they all awoke, the institute of war had become nothing more than a pile of ashes and debris, only small pillars of smoke remaining of the once powerful inferno. When the rose, a summoner in a purple garb stood in front of them, holding a sheet of white paper.
"Champions and summoners of the league of legends, I hold before me a list of those we have lost in this catastrophic incident that occurred last night. The following are the names of those who we have not yet confirmed have died, but are either dead, or are missing in action. Included are their titles and location of occupation.
Twitch, the plague rat, Zaun.
Teemo, the swift scout, Bandle City
Urgot, the headsmans Pride, Noxus
Annie, the dark child, The Voodoo Lands
And Maokai, the twisted treant, of the shadow isles.
Champions collapsed as their friends names were announced, but the person who took it the hardest was Tristana after hearing the name of Teemo, collapsed to the ground and audibly wailed, her face buried in her lap.
"Next, I shall announce the names of those who have been confirmed dead, as well as their titles and location of occupation. This list is significantly shorter, so let's get this done.
Ashe, the frost archer of The Freljord. Cause of death: Asphyxiation.
Tryndamere, the barbarian king of The Freljord. Cause of death: Asphyxiation
Cecil B. Heimerdinger, The revered inventor of Piltover. Cause of death: Crushed
Karma gave him a quick tap on the shoulder before whispering something in his ear. He looked at her, and after receiving a nod, looked back to the crowd.
"I regret to inform you that we must add another name to this list." He choked out the words. "I have just been informed that the death of Irelia, the will of the blades from Ionia has been confirmed to be dead. Her cause of death is unknown as of now, but we will update you as we are informed otherwise." He looked at the page again. "That is all. Now, let us take this time to grieve the loss of our loved ones, and continue on to a brighter tomorrow."
Caitlyn, Riven and Lux shot to their feet and ran to the front, before being stopped by a summoner, but after they told them they had to speak with Karma, he wasn't about to hold them back. Karma began answering their questions before they had even been asked, tears forming in the strong Ionian woman's eyes.
"I regret to inform you that I have confirmed the death of Irelia myself." She beckoned to Shyvana, who retrieved her blades from under a sheet and brought them up. "These were found at the entrance yesterday where we found Tryndamere and Ashe. She made the ultimate sacrifice and died to save them, but they were simply too far gone."
"No. That can't be hers. Irelia's blades never leave her side. That can't be hers!" Riven protested, not wanting to believe the facts that were directly in front of her.
"Riven, Irelia is dead. She… She told me to tell you that if she didn't make it out of there alive, that she was sorry. She planned on making it out alive, but if it came down to it, she was willing to sacrifice herself. She wanted Karma to give Lux the tour around Ionia that she had promised to take her on herself." Caitlyn begin to break down. "But she wouldn't be able to do now. She wanted me to tell you that… She wanted me to tell you that she died a proud Ionian, defending those who couldn't defend themselves. She died valiantly in the name of Ionia, defending her and her people, and serving proudly until her last breaths." Caitlyn broke down, salty tears streaming down her beautifully toned face. "I wanted to tell her to stop, to not go back in there. But I was too afraid for my own life. I was too afraid to let myself die that I let her go back in there. I'm so sorry Riven…" She said between sobs. "I'm so sorry!"
Riven placed her hands to her face and let herself go. Tears began to flow down her face like a waterfall, her strong hands trembling as she tried to hide her sorrow. Lux did the same, collapsing to her knees and planting her hands into the ground, burying their faces in them.
"I'm sorry for your losses. She was a brave warrior, who lived and died every breath as a true Ionian. She will be commemorated." Karmas voice trembling and as her diplomatic voice gave in. "We will remember her. She will not be forgotten as the soldier who died in vain. She fought till her last breath, ensuring that as many of her comrades made it out before she had to make the ultimate sacrifice." She began actively crying, the diplomat of all of Ionia breaking down in public. "She will still live on in our memories, her proud posture and selfless personality a reminder to the legacy she leaves behind." Karma had more words to say, more feelings to express, but she too collapsed to the ground, weeping in agony of her dead friend. The four women merely wept together, none of them able to produce enough air to speak another word in between their sobbing.