Warning: this chapter is extremely gloomy and the end has some mature themes. Read at your own risk
Despite the sorrow that was currently infesting the group of champions, the lives that they lived had to continue. Although some of them didn't want to go anywhere, and they would much rather stay and mourn, most of them agreed that they had to do something to get their lives back into control, seeing as they no longer had an institute of war to call home. They all had choices. They would first be moved into public housing in a nearby city until arrangements could be made to move back to their home states. A summoner in a purple robe came to the front of the group who had yet to move from their circle on the ground, despite two days having passed them by.
"Champions of the league of legends, I have come here today to tell you that we have found you all temporary housing, and arrangements are being made to get you back to a city state of your choosing. We are also allowing you to, if you would like, assist us in the search effort to attempt to find the body of the will of blades that has yet to be truly confirmed dead, or to help us find one of the many who were lost in action. If you would like to assist us in the search effort, come to the front. If not, feel free to stay where you are and we will get you to your temporary housing. That is all for the time being, and may today be better than the last."
Most of the champions from the league of legends came up to the front, only several Noxians, Jarvan the fourth, Tristana and Rumble didn't.
"Thank you for your cooperation. We will begin today, and we will not stop until all the bodies have been confirmed. Some of our friends may be under that rubble, and we're going to get them out of there."
The search effort began at the front of the building, immediately coming across the portion where Shyvana and Karma had found the blades. Pointing this out, several champions began to tear the area apart, trying to find her body.
"This is where we found her blades." Karma said as she pointed to the ground beneath her. "We have to assume that her body is nearby, and if it's not. We have to assume that she is still alive somewhere." She announced, trying to shine light on the situation.
"Karma, you yourself said that she was dead. If we don't find her body, the chances are that she is just a small pile of ashes and dust scattered into the wind by now." Suggested Katarina who didn't want to spend her time looking for an enemy. She was met by a saddened face of Lux, and she rephrased what she had said. "She might be a pile of dust in the wind, but I guess we'd better keep looking anyways. Maybe she is alive still. We have to confirm that she is dead before this search finishes anyways."
They began to split up, searching every square millimetre of the rubble, trying to find anything. Lux, Riven, Caitlyn, Jayce, Karma and Shyvana searched through where the blades were found, trying to find anything. They came across what appeared to be a broken pillar, on the ground. They tore the rubble away, coming across nothing but an empty floor beneath. They tore everything in the front of the building apart, trying to find any sign that she had existed. No armour, no bones. The mantle of decorum, which was the highest achievement that any Ionian could ever receive wasn't even found, and it was made with tempered metal which couldn't be melted, no matter what circumstance you put it through.
"She has to be alive, or we would have found her mantle already, wouldn't we?" Lux pointed out, trying to sound like her normal, perky self. "That means that she has to be alive, doesn't it?"
"It's very possible that she died in a place different than this, and her mantle is still buried beneath rubble. We have no way of knowing that she died here, other than this is where her blades were found." Explained Karma, pointing out the facts everyone else knew.
"Irelia wouldn't go far from her blades. They're a part of her. They wouldn't leave her to die in the rubble. She was nearby. If we haven't found her mantle, we can still assume that she is still alive and that we should keep looking. We're not giving up on the search until we find her, that's what we all agreed on right?" Proposed Riven.
"We all want Irelia back just as much as you do Riven, and I know it's hard to admit that someone you know and loved has died, but we cannot keep going on like this. We might just have to come to ends with ourselves and admit that she might not have made it out of the inferno, and offer her a hero's death." Gloomed Shyvana, her voice not retaining the same level of confidence as the others.
"You're willing to give up and admit that she is dead? I'm not giving up until I know that she is still alive."
They continued searching, going so far as to move all the rubble away, sort through it, and then research. Nothing came up of the Ionian until they found a small red gem, surrounded by a light, white powder. The group surrounded it, their hopes collapsing harder than the building had.
"Riven, I believe it's time that we come to terms with what has happened here. The facts are right in front of you. She lived and died a hero, and we shall give her a hero's death."
"No, Shyvana, there's no way that she is dead. This can't be hers. Where is the rest of her armour? Where is her mantle?"
"Riven, we have to conclude that she has perished in the inferno, and that she will not be rejoining us ever again. We, the people of Ionia, shall commemorate her, and we will throw her a proper soldier's funeral. All of you here have been invited to attend and all of your fees shall be paid for by the government of Ionia. It's the least we can do to ease the pain you have all experienced."
Riven bowed her head, knowing that anything she said from this point on would accomplish nothing more.
"Thank you Karma. I'm sure she would have appreciated it." She mumbled as she began to leave the wreckage. "I'm going to go take a walk, try to brighten myself up. Good luck finding everyone else."
"Shouldn't she be forced to help us out? She agreed to search for everyone else didn't she?" asked Jayce, his voice showing signs of distrust. "Shouldn't she help find everyone else? Isn't it a bit selfish for her to leave just because her friend perished?"
Caitlyn's elbow in his gut gave him a hint, but Karma's words made him regret what he had just said.
"The girl who is leaving the rubble right now is no longer Riven of Noxus. The Riven we knew is not with us any more. The person we see leaving this building right now is a husk of what used to be a breathing, caring human. The real Riven has also perished." She gave an eye to Lux, who immediately began to run after the Exile. "The rest of us still have some searching to do." She announced as she pulled the gem from the ground.
With her back turned to the rubble and her blade by her side, the Exile now wandered, her life serving no purpose. She had no home to go back to. She was a self imposed exile, and Irelia was gone, the only home that she really had left. The sun began to set to her right, its orange glow spreading over the hill that she walked up, leaving behind everything she had left. Her feet pressed up the hill, but not on her own action. Her body was moving itself; her soul was merely along for the ride. As she approached the Apex of the hill, her heart began to sink deeper into her chest.
"Irelia's really dead isn't she?" She asked to herself, her words being carried away by the wind.
She got to the top and sat down, looking away from the rubble, balancing her sword on her hands. The broken blade sunk into her palms, a reminder of when she had sworn to never kill again. She would break that promise she made to herself today. Gripping the blade with both hands, she pointed the tip of the blade against her stomach and took several deep breaths.
"Hey Irelia, I guess I'll be seeing you in a few minutes. I never thought that this was how I would die though. I guess all books have to end at some point, don't they?"
Behind her, Lux's voice shot up the hill.
"What are you doing Riven? Are you going to kill yourself just because Irelia is dead?"
Riven let out a sigh of annoyance as the persistent demacian yelled from behind her
"Stay out of this Lux. I don't want you to be a witness to my death. Stay out of this, let me be."
"Is this what Irelia would have wanted to you to do? Do you think that she's proud of you? Looking down at you from above, knowing that you're about to end yourself?"
"It doesn't matter what she thinks anymore. She's gone Lux, and I have nowhere that I can call home. She was all I had left, and I don't want to keep living this life anymore. She… She made me feel like I was a human with feelings, not just a pawn in a never ending game of chess. She made me feel at home when I had none, and she kept me living."
"Riven, we're all hurt by her death, but do you think that killing yourself is going to make anything better? What is that going to accomplish?"
"What do I have left to do Lux! I have nowhere else to go, no one else who cares about me!"
"Riven, you don't want to do that." Her voice approached. She was still getting closer. "Continue on her legacy, do things that would make her proud. You shouldn't be ending your life right now. You should be continuing it on with more passion and intensity that ever before! Do you think that she died on purpose? Do you think that she wanted to leave you in this world? She died to save others, to make a point of her life. She wanted to live for something! She wanted others to live their lives, and she was willing to give her own life up for it! Live your life with a purpose! Make your life mean something!"
But the body at the top of the hill wasn't listening anymore. The tip of the blade pressed into her chest, drawing blood. She felt another had placed upon her blade, pushing it away. Behind her, Lux struggled to get the blade out of the way, to save her life.
"Riven, give me the blade. We'll bring you back to demacia, find you a new home. Don't do it for me, don't do it for yourself. Do it for her!"
"Lux, you left me no other choice." She paused for a second, feeling despair begin to take over. She placed her hands against Lux's neck, pressing in, causing the mage to collapse to the ground unconscious. "I'm sorry Lux."
She grabbed her blade back, pushing the tip into her stomach. The feeling of blood seeping down her stomach began to intensify as she pressured harder. The pain intensified, causing her eyes to begin to lose focus. The trees in the distance began to shake and fade, her mind slipping away. As she pulled her blade back for one final thrust, she was met with intense resistance. Her muscles refused to comply, the blade remaining at a distance.
"Don't give up on my dreams huh? Can I at least have some confirmation that there are hopes for us? Maybe one day, you'll change your mind?"
"Yeah, there's always a chance. You've just got to promise not to give up hoping, and one day, maybe there will be something between us."
"Well there, Ionian. Not a good way to start off a training section, almost dying after jumping off of a railing."
"I think I should be able to stand on my own, thank you though"
"Irelia, everything in life happens for a purpose. Everything we do and have done has occurred for a reason. I learned that the hard way. Right before I abandoned Noxus. Those reasons are not always the right ones. And you can get mad at the choices that someone else made. That's just in our nature. But If I do die tomorrow, I want to let you know that..."
"Don't you go telling me you're going to die now! I won't let that happen to you alright? I promise you."
"You think that I want to die tomorrow?"
"Yeah, but I've just been thinking. I don't want to live that life anymore. I gave up the life on living on the edge. Waking up everyday and thinking you might die. I don't want to experience that feeling anymore."
Pieces of their previous conversations filled her mind, filling her with sorrow.
"Irelia life does have meaning. I'm looking in the eyes right now."
She began to sob as she thought of the Ionians face, her happy and smile bringing back memories of them. The last time they had talked, Irelia had yelled at Riven to get out of her room before security made her. She was so shocked of seeing Lux half naked in Irelia's room that she brought up things she shouldn't have done. The last time she'd seen her was during the tournament when Irelia had sacrificed herself in order to save her. That was the last thing she had to remember her by. Even in the tournament, her last act was to save Riven, who had managed to get flanked and nearly killed. Irelia lived and breathed selflessness even to her last.
"Why did you have to die Irelia?" She yelled at herself, the unconscious demacian lying on the ground behind her. She tightened her grip on her blade and prepared to thrust the blade through herself. "Why did you have to leave me alone? Why did you have to die just for the chance to save others?"
She poised the blade at her stomach, ready to take the stab that would end her life. Her blade felt sweaty, her palms glistening in the glow of the setting sun
"I'm going to miss you Irelia. It was a short life we had together if you'd even say we lived it together. I finally felt like I had a home somewhere, someone who would miss me if I was gone." She took her last breath, her blade unable to stop its owner. "This is where it all ends."
"You're going to give up that fast? You guys haven't even found my body yet." Came a familiar voice from behind her. "How do you guys know I'm dead?"
Riven turned around, seeing the proud figure of the will of the blades.
"Because whoever said I'm dead needs to have a nice talking to". She said as she walked over to the Noxian.
"Irelia, you died! We saw your blades and a ruby from your armour and…"
Riven was suddenly cut short by a warm feeling against her lips. Her hands gripping the blade shook, her body overtaken by surprise. They sat there for what felt like hours before Irelia backed off.
"I'm not saying that I don't trust you with that sword, but it's really unnerving me here. Do you think that you could put it down for me?"
The blade bounced against the ground several times before coming to a stop.
"I thought you were dead Irelia."
"It'll take more than just a little fire to kill me. Although the first time I see you once I get back was several seconds away from your demise, I really don't feel all too proud right now."
"I'm sorry… I just had no where else to go Irelia. You were all I had left."
"Well, I guess that won't really be a problem anymore. But right now, we really need to get you some medical care. And then you and I are going to have a talk."
Riven nodded slightly, feeling the shame after what she had just done begin to sink in.
"Yeah, I guess we will. Anyways, everyone back down there will be more than excited to see you, especially Trist and Cait. They felt like they were the reasons for your death."
Irelia flicked her wrist, and the sound of sliced wind shot up the hill as the blades returned, floating gracefully beside their master.
"Yeah, I assumed they would. People are always too quick to blame people for other's deaths. Did Ashe and Trynd make it?"
Riven could only respond with a slight shake of her head.
"That's unfortunate. Anyways, let me get Lux quickly. You start heading down, I'll be right after you."
Riven nodded and began her trek down the hill, her mind a flurry of emotions. Sadness, grief, hurt, pain, comfort, relief. Her mind fought a battle of emotions, and she wasn't even sure which one she was feeling. Her blade was snug against her back, out of mind and sight, although she didn't have plans on using it for quite a while. She shot a glance over her shoulder to see Irelia having already placed Lux down, and beginning to walk after her. Riven pointed her head down the hill, her goal in sight.