"It is not what you think it is." -Everyone who watched Halo 5's campaign trailers after finishing Halo 5's actual campaign

News of Mordekaiser's return spread quickly.

With obvious results.

Many of the dormitories were locked in unique fashions. Some were cast with measly protection spells and others were flat-out barricaded. Certain dorm rooms had an obnoxious amount of mushrooms, shards of stone, and fire blocking the doors. Having set up his room, the lord of undead sat on his throne as he watched over the Institute of War.

"Beautiful…

"…ly pathetic."

Getting up from his iron seat, the Iron Revenant left his dormitory. He went down to the first floor lobby and found nothing but emptiness. Just what he needed; a dead morning.

The bench he found the blue-haired lady on was empty. Perhaps she had finally learned of his might. It would explain why she no longer sat there, after all, as she looked like a person who would roam around quiet places in search of serenity. The woman was not something he wanted to think about, however, as the bench itself interested him.

Bringing his heavy footsteps with him, the Iron Revenant sat on the bench smaller than his own mace.

It was surprisingly sturdy.

The armored Shadow Isles warlord put himself in a comfortable sitting position. He realized why the maven liked the bench; it was pretty good. And for a small bench, its wideness was not a problem. He could even lie down on it.

It was a shame his beloved mace could not enjoy the pleasure he felt from sitting on it.

"Maybe I should chuck this into my room," he muttered.

As he got himself accustomed to the bench, he felt a presence approaching him. At first, he tried to disregard it. He quickly noticed that the presence felt familiar. Pretending to be asleep, the Iron Revenant waited to see who the figure was.

A few seconds after the familiar presence approached him further, his eyes jerked open. He turned and found the Maven of Strings standing next to him.

It was her again.

No wonder she came at a strangely slow pace…

The Iron Revenant sighed as he looked back down at the ground. Sona seemed to be quite nervous, as she shivered whenever the iron man made small sudden movements. He was, after all, a commander of thousands of undead, and his anger could be harnessed into physical violence at any moment. Still, she wanted to get along with all of the champions in the League. If there was a sliver of hope in befriending even the less friendly-looking champions, then she would take it immediately.

So she sat next to him.

An unheard wave of gasps spread throughout the first floor's dormitories.

"Woman."

Sona jumped a little as she turned to face the lord of undead with a small smile. She then decided to try playing her instrument again in an attempt to communicate with the Iron Revenant.

The Shadow Isles general shivered as he twitched erratically. "Whoa-ho-hoa, that feels so freaking intoxicatiiiiiing- no, wait a minute. Woman! Stop plucking those strings to make me feel good!"

The Maven of Strings silently whimpered as she heard the Master of Metal out.

"In case you do not know, I am Lord Mordekaiser. I am the 'Iron Hand of the Shadow Isles.'"

She nodded.

"And due to the fact that I have no… friends…"

Sona noticed the hint of disgust put into a particular term. Mordekaiser really did not know what use "friends" could be put to, especially if they were from outside of the Shadow Isles.

"…I have decided to bring myself closer to- GUARRRRRRGH! DAMN FLIES!"

Mordekaiser summoned Nightfall as he smashed it into the ground in front of him. Despite the heavy protection spell placed on the mace, the portion of the ground was obliterated, leaving marks made by the spiky morning star. At the center of the impact, a fly twitched as it died away. The lord of undead sighed as he sat back down, turning to the Maven of Strings.

The expression on her face implied that she was on the verge of crying. Mordekaiser let his mace disappear with a cute little "poof!"

"…I have decided to bring myself closer to the other champions. Arrogance is something I find highly unappreciative from others, but you have shown little."

Still standing, the lord of undead snapped a finger as he let a metallic letter pop into his hand. He handed it to the Maven of Strings. Looking up at the letter, Sona timidly took the letter with her two hands. She opened a knob on it, allowing the metallic piece of metal to reveal another piece of metal with words engraved on it. The Demacian maiden carefully slid it out as she read its contents.

Dear Woman,

You have been invited to the Dining Room of Pain. There will be pain, food, and pain. There will also be metal. Along with suffering. And more metal. Also, there will be lots, and LOTS of pain if I haven't mentioned that already.

You will accept this invitation and dine with me, unless you are a jerk and want to hurt my feelings.

Sincerely,

Mordekaiser, the Paladin of Pain

P.S. There will be pain.

Sona looked up to Mordekaiser, who stared at her with an idle expression. What could he possibly be thinking? The monster of a man towered over her, fully armored from head to toe. And said monster was waiting to have a dinner invitation accepted or declined. For some reason, she felt as if the metal man was not as bad as he seemed.

Except the entire "pain" ordeal. He seemed to enjoy pain a bit too much.

Should I accept? Sona thought as she felt conflicted emotions. Garen told her to be wary of Mordekaiser's intentions, but she had no clue as to what the iron man was thinking. And so far, the iron man made no attempts to actually hurt her…

It would not hurt to accept his invitation if she wanted to know more about him.

Right…?

Mustering up her courage, the blue-haired Demacian nodded. At her response, the Iron Revenant sighed in relief. Any answer would have made him sigh in relief, really, for he had been holding his breath for a long time.

"Alright. Woman, you shall meet me in two hours! Until then, prepare yourself. But really, the only thing you need to prepare is your body. Ha ha ha!"

Though she did not know what he meant by the last statement, she concluded that all the lord of undead wanted was her presence.

And indeed, she was correct. Because the Iron Revenant really did not care about whatever she brought to the dinner. A burger, a shotgun, and even a table were all good to bring as long as they did not annoy or hurt him.

But perhaps the strange instrument the Demacian lady held would be something he could look forward to.

Mordekaiser bolted towards the elevator, intent on cleaning his room. He would organize it even further and make the dormitory befitting of a metallic lord of undead!

You will see my true colors tonight, maiden! He thought as he snickered. For I have a little request tonight!

THERE WILL BE METAL!

Sona blinked as she watched the Iron Revenant run too quickly and crash into the elevator door a bit too powerfully. The Master of Metal fell on his back, leaving the elevator door in an admittedly frightening condition. As the battered doors opened, he stood right back up and zipped into the elevator as if nothing happened.

Taking a deep breath, Sona sighed with the letter still in her hands. She stood up from the bench as she placed the letter on her instrument. Taking the stairs was not a bad route to take, as she could simply float up the flights of stairs.

As she left, some of the dormitory doors opened. Master Yi, the Wuju Bladesman, emerged with his gear fully intact. Zed, the Master of Shadows, emerged with his gear fully intact as well, but the shadow clone behind him danced like an idiot. Gangplank left his dormitory just to buy more oranges.

And more and more champions left their dormitories.

If something were to happen to the beautiful and kind Maven of Strings…

Well, as the Wuju Bladesman would put it,

"Dunk him!"

…

…

…

Several hours later, the clock hit seven. To kill off the stress she had, Sona went up the stairs.

A multitude of emotions rushed through her. On one hand, she felt like bolting away from the dinner Mordekaiser intended on having with her. But she also felt curious. Why could he not hear her talk? Why did he find little arrogance in her? What made him invite her to dinner? She technically could talk to him through telepathy, but not only did it require focus and concentration, it also served as an unreliable tool in active conversations at the moment. She planned on improving it as soon as possible.

The Maven of Strings did not change into anything special; her blue-yellow clothes of Demacia were like lucky charms to her. She wondered what the lord of undead would say about the bright, vivid colors.

As she neared the highest floor in the Champions' Break, she felt her nervousness growing within herself. Going through the stairs only wore her out and made her more nervous; a bad choice on her part.

When she went up the last stairway, she found herself looking at an ominous looking door at the far end of the hall. She froze at the sounds of screaming behind the door. Death seemed imminent, and things did not look too bright for her.

Though fear swirled within her, she also wondered if people were being tortured right at that moment. If that was the case, she would not let it progress any further. Going towards the door at a fast pace, the Maven of Strings knocked on the metallic door.

The screaming stopped abruptly as the Iron Revenant roared,

"You only need to knock once!"

Sona flinched. He was quite loud, but it was to be expected from a general from the Shadow Isles.

"…Come in," Mordekaiser's voice boomed behind the iron gate of a door.

Sona reluctantly entered Mordekaiser's lair.

Confusion played a key role in Sona's response to the Iron Revenant's dormitory.

First things first, there were no signs of ominous red liquids that belonged in human bodies. Metal adorned every single bit of the dormitory. Mordekaiser sat on a silver couch, staring into what appeared to be… a box that had an intense amount of light shining out of it. A white word stated "PAUSE" over what appeared to be an image within the light. Tilting her head in confusion and wonder, she stared at the box a little longer before Mordekaiser called out to her.

"Woman! I'm sorry, really, but the only food I have in here are some sandwiches. I forgot to go get groceries. Habits of living alone caught up to me…"

Still confused, the Maven of Strings carefully approached the kitchen, which was connected right next to the living room. She found four sandwiches fully prepared on a dining table. The Maven of Strings concluded that the Iron Revenant ate three sandwiches every day. Picking up a sandwich, she returned to the living room.

When Mordekaiser saw the sandwich in her hand, his face cringed in curiosity. It was the very expression that had the ability to intimidate absolutely anyone.

"Woman… Why take one sandwich when you can take two?"

Right before Sona was able to come up with an answer, the lord of undead stood from his couch and went to the kitchen. He brought the three sandwiches Sona left on the table and plopped one of them on her free hand.

Despite its poor design, something about the sandwich felt a bit heartwarming. Perhaps it was because it was something she would not expect to come from a Shadow Isles general. The mental image of someone as huge as Mordekaiser making tiny sandwiches was a funny one.

She smiled briefly as she turned to the box the lord of undead had been staring at earlier. Still suspicious at the metal box, the Maven of Strings tapped his shoulder lightly.

"Hm? What do you need, woman?"

Sona pointed at the object as she gave him a questioning look. Mordekaiser stared at the mysterious item before asking in a blunt fashion,

"What about the television?"

…Television?

Now that she thought about it, some of her Demacian friends accustomed themselves to such objects. Xin Zhao in particular used a television, but she did not know what he used it for. Perhaps Xin Zhao was also interested in hearing the voices of tortured men?!

She tilted her head in confusion as her brain overloaded itself with strange controversies involving her own beloved friends. Mordekaiser shook his head as he sat on the metallic couch.

"If you're wondering what this is," he explained, "it's a television. I call it a TV. These things let people watch 'channels.' Each channel has something unique to show: whether it be home-shopping advertisements, entertainments shows, or dramas. For example, on channel might show comedy shows, while another would show tragedy shows. Channels could be diverse, but…"

Sona tilted her head to the other side as she prepared for the worst.

But…?

The Iron Revenant flashed out a steel object, startling the Maven of Strings. She blinked as she took a closer look at what appeared to be a… tiny mace with a wire sticking out of it. It was connected to some sort of device sitting on the ground.

Mordekaiser's eyes glowed momentarily as he told her,

"I like to play games."

Mordekaiser resumed his video game. He went back to playing an FPS game he had been trying out, and so far, it did not disappoint him that much. It just lacked a decent amount of metal in it.

"Video games are another form of entertainment, you see," the lord of undead explained. "Except video games, in most cases, let you do something to have fun. For example, right now, I'm on a rampage against these pathetic soldiers who think they actually stand a chance against a sophisticated lord of legions. I don't care much about stories, but many games have plot in them.

"According to some of my comrades, there are certain games you have to avoid. Those are the bad games. And when I say 'bad games,' I mean bad in both quality and content. Trust me; one of my comrades, Thresh, said he tried out a racing game, and all he got instead were loads of pointless innuendos that had nothing to do with actual racing."

Silence fell over the two. Curious at the sudden lack of activity made by the Maven of Strings, he paused the game and turned around. He found a terrified Sona hiding behind his couch, a small portion of her head allowing her to witness the violence he committed in the game.

"…And for your information, I am not killing things with actual life in them. Right at the moment, at least. Unfortunately, these alien soldiers are fake."

Sona nodded as she slowly straightened herself. Moving over to the couch, she sat next to the Shadow Isles general.

"Actually, why don't you try it a bit?" Mordekaiser suddenly asked.

The blue-haired maiden's eyes widened as she glanced at the television before turning to the controller Mordekaiser had been using earlier. She looked up at him, who shook the controller once. As the Maven of Strings carefully took the controller with her fragile hands, she remained still as she waited for something to happen in the television.

Nothing happened.

"Woman," Mordekaiser muttered, "you're supposed to press the Start button…"

Though she was unfamiliar with the controller, the Demacian maiden followed the lord of undead's tip quickly and resumed the game. All of a sudden, the alien soldiers in the background began moving, and the game was no longer paused. She quickly became flustered as the extent of chaos within the video game became unimaginably large.

"Use your left joystick to move and your right joystick to aim!" The Iron Revenant exclaimed. "Aim at one of those, uh, bad alien super soldiers and press the right trigger button! Or use your left trigger button to throw grenades! SHOOT AND THROW GRENADES!"

Nervous at the sudden responsibility shoved onto her, the Maven of Strings randomly mashed the buttons Mordekaiser told her to use. She blew herself up.

But she at least brought the alien soldier down with her.

"Well, that's a first," the Iron Revenant mused as his character's corpse was shown. "Maybe I should try self-destruction more often in those multiplayer games…

"Anyway, for a first timer, that was good!"

Mordekaiser laughed as he lightly pat Sona's back. She flinched at the contact, but something about his iron touch did not feel cold. The Demacian lady turned to him, who took the controller from her hands.

"Now, I shall show you what you can achieve with two joysticks and several buttons. Watch as this Master of Metal sweeps the floor! Gwa ha ha ha!"

The Maven of Strings could not help but think that he did not act like a monster. He seemed… friendly.

Though none of the things he did were remarkable, compared to his reputation, the lord of undead had done plenty of things that contradicted the initial image she had of him. He tried to give her food with the best of his abilities, show her something he liked aside from fighting on the Summoner's Rift, and even let her experience an intriguing activity. The way he treated her seemed far from that of how a monster would treat its prey.

He seemed like a normal human being.

If he showed more of his good traits to those who lived in the Champions' Break, then he would surely fit into the Champions' Break, would he not?

Sona smiled in relief as she relaxed.

As the Iron Revenant mashed his buttons, time flew by. Sona moved around every now and then, sometimes staring at new cutscenes the lord of undead managed to find through the singleplayer mode in the game with awe.

And soon, she fell asleep.

By the time Mordekaiser found out she fell asleep, it had already become nighttime. He turned and witnessed a sleeping Maven of Strings, who let her head rest on the iron man's shoulder. Turning down the volume of his television, Mordekaiser played a bit more before pausing the game.

When did this become a sleepover? The Iron Revenant wondered as he sighed.

Mordekaiser carefully stood up as he carried the Maven of Strings in his arms. He tiptoed his way towards his bedroom before laying her down on the bed. Though the blankets were a bit tough for what they were, he would not have to worry about a place for her to sleep in since he always rested on the couch. After confirming that she was under the blankets, he left the bedroom, hoping that she would not wake up in the middle of dawn.

The lord of undead shut the bedroom door as he snickered.

"Time to hook up Pentakill Legends."

And so, Mordekaiser partied all night without sleeping at all like the boss he was. He chanted something about Lord Neymar training to- one day- overpower his eternal enemies, the Testosterone German Bros.

The Institute of War had gone dark, with night lights and bright stars lighting the world up.

A pink-haired woman from Piltover walked down the streets as she sighed. She followed a path of concrete as she mumbled,

"Geez… I had no idea why Brand set the chocolates on fire. They were my favorites, too…"

Just thinking about a certain man on fire setting the sweets in her favorite store on fire aggravated her.

"GAH! Why would he melt the chocolate in the first place?! Who in their right mind would think about melting chocolate just for fun?"

Still, what was done was done. She could not revert time, and even then, it would be pointless to do so. The woman already punched Brand, the Burning Vengeance, with one of her huge metal gauntlets as punishment for ticking her off. Her initial fire over the incident had died quickly due to being able to punch something with a clean shot.

As she walked down the streets, she looked up at the dark Champions' Break. Much to her own curiosity, the top floor had a bunch of colorful lights- particularly red lights- flickering all over the place.

From what she knew, no one lived at the top floor. The rave lights said otherwise, however.

She gave the flashy floor a hard look as she wondered,

Who could be living up there?

...

...

...

Author's Notes:

Next chapter: "Mordekaiser VS. Thresh!"