Chapter 16 - The Shadow Isles.
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Ugh...
Wha...
It's cold...It's dark...I feel something beneath me...It's hard...It's smells like soil...I hear nothing...The darkness surrounds me...the smell...something old...where am I...? I can hear a rustle around me...I remember...Ionia...I failed...I was going home...Noxus...Le blanc...she attacked me...my back...it hurts...the crew saved me...but...but Sarah...she...she...
She betrayed me.
She shot me...in my belly...it was wet...my blood...all around me...she then threw me at the ocean...I was drowning...something dark came...the mist...it swallowed me whole...I saw the damned in there...I heard them cry...I tried to escape...but I was weak...my soul...I have a soul...but...but that force...what was that...? the pain...it was gone...and then...it was cold...so cold...could it be...?
I'm dead.
Death...I know what death means, I've seen it happen many times around me, humans are such fragile beings, everything can end their lives, even their life-spam is nothing but a breath, yet, they try so hard to give it a meaning...how peculiar...they choose a path and follow it till the bitter end...I wonder...what did Sarah choose back then...? could I have changed it if I tried harder...? or my destiny was to die at her hands...? What if...?
I should have killed her first.
What...? No, No, that goes against everything I learned in Ionia...maybe I could have survived...but that's not the answer...there must have been another way...
It doesn't matter, I'm dead and she killed me, she deserves it.
No, there's a way...Soraka told me there's always a way...
Now that I think about it, she said something about love, I can't understand it, maybe I should disintegrate her and find out.
No, that would kill her...
So what? We came here looking for answers...maybe we can disintegrate Vi too, I have some feelings for her too.
No, I lo...I...what...?
So you love them both, interesting, they will make fine subjects.
No, I can't kill them...they mean so much to me...
Will you sacrifice your mission for them?
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Don't fool yourself, you know what you have to do, your mission is above everything else, you must...
Who are you?
Me? I'm your inner...
Lies.
I'm not lying, I'm the...
Get out of my mind...
You can't I'm...
Get out...
listen to me...relax...let go...
GET OUT OF MY HEAD...
I opened my eyes, the sky was dark, filled with mist, I could see neither the stars nor the moon...where was I? I looked around, this new land was...death...the trees were in a sorry state...dry and twisted...the mist filled the landscape, there was no wind, yet, I could feel something blowing around me, at the distance I could see the ruins of a castle, I looked at my right and shivered in horror...there was a corpse...a human corpse...wearing blue and golden clothes...it was nothing but bones...where am I?
- So you woke up, amazing, no one has been able to do that...until now...I guess you aren't human - I heard a voice say.
I turned around...The...creature was a skeleton...with green flames all over his head...in his left hand he was wielding a menacing scythe, in his right hand a lantern, shining with a green light, I felt weak looking at it...
- Who are you...? - I asked looking away.
- I am Thresh, The Chain Warden, creature...
- Hello, Thresh, my name is Vel'Koz, the Eye of the Void... - I fidgeted, maybe a shouldn't...but manners are manners - It's a pleasure to meet you - I finished offering him my limb.
- well...this is certainly a first... - he said surprised - you actually want to shake my hand...you sure are interesting - He said grabbing my limb with his bony hand, it was cold despite the flames.
- yes...ehm...could you tell me where am I?
- You are in the Shadow Isles, Vel'Koz.
The Shadow isles...?! But that's on the other side of the map!? Wait...that dark mist, maybe it has something to do with my arrival...
- Thank you very much, Thresh, I guess I'll be leaving now...
- leave...? - he laughed -Y ou can't leave...
- What do you mean...?
- There is a reason why you are here, Vel'Koz, let's just say you are kind of... - he snapped his fingers - ..dead.
Suddenly I felt weak, I winced, it hurts, again I see my blood...right...I was ...I'm dying...
- ..Why? - I managed to say.
- you see...you are such an interesting creature, we have never seen something like you, we kind of want something from you, the usual stuff, your soul...so we can torment you for eternity, your body...so you can be a pawn in our undead army, you can be many things for us.
- We...? Us...? What do you mean...?
Around him I saw several figures appear around him, one was a hulk-ish man in iron clad, there was also a strange creature, his upper half was human-like but his lower half was a horse, his skin was metallic and I could see flames glowing in his eyes, the other was a scrawny man, his skin was a death grey he was wearing some sort of ceremonial robes he was floating over the ground, there was also a hunchback, with a robe covering his face and a lamp in his back, every single one of them had an aura of unlife, It was a real problem here.
- Allow me to introduce them, the one wearing armor is Mordekaiser, The Iron Revenant, The centaur is Hecarim, The Shadow of War, the lich is Karthus, The Deathsinger, and the guy with the shovel is Yorick, The Shepherd of Souls, these are the Lords of the Shadow Isles...and your future masters.
- Well, this is certainly a surprise - Karthus said looking at me closely - I wonder how death will welcome you.
- His form is weird, there are no coffins for him - Yorick stated.
- LET ME TASTE HIS FLESH - A female voice called in the distance.
- You call me to see your new pet? you always make me waste my time with your nonsense, Thresh - Hecarim growled.
- You will waste nothing, I can assure you he will be quite useful in war - Thresh said lifting my body.
- What do you mean? - Mordekaiser, who stayed away, asked curiously.
- Ahh...There is a gain in keeping humans alive...at least for a while...the have information, knowledge, the most valuable resource of all...some of my..."guest" told me something happened in Valoran...strange portals opened all over the world...from within, terrible monsters came out, monsters of extreme power only comparable to our own...those were the denizens of a strange world called the Void...and this creature is one of them - Thresh said throwing me at the ground - this vicious creature possesses within him great powers...if we can control him the annoying purifiers will be nothing but flies and even... - He paused and looked at Mordekaiser - ...even the so-called strongest nation, Noxus, will be completely slaughtered.
- are you...sure? - Mordekaiser asked looking at me with greed.
- yes, sadly we are stuck in this isles, we can go out for a short time every "Harrowing"...but the season is over...a few days are not enough to conquer a land...but with him...yes with this creature we can take the world itself...
- Then what are we waiting for...? I SHALL END HIS SORRY LIFE... - Hecarim yelled wielding his halberd.
- No - Thresh stopped him - Killing him right now will be...problematic.
- What do you mean? SPEAK ALREADY! - Hecarim said stomping with his hooves.
- you see, he is...different, his form, his mind, even his...soul... - Thresh said softly - the reason why I summoned all of you is because I can't harvest his soul...I don't know how. I tried flooding it with suffering and regret, I tried with my lantern, he endured everything, if we kill him right now his soul will return to the Void and his body will be useless, we need to bound his soul to one of us...otherwise he will just disappear... - Everyone went quiet - ...so...any idea?
A soul...? I have a soul? impossible, only humans have a soul, I can't possibly have a soul, I'm a voidborn, a monster...a soul...in a monster like me...impossible...I looked at the undead, it seems everyone was thinking about it, Hecarim stomped the ground relentlessly, Karthus was going through his book, speaking in a strange language, Mordekaiser simply stared at the nothingness, deep in thought, Yorick was whispering with a strange shadow behind him as he drew strange symbols on the ground with his shovel.
-Anything...? - Thresh asked - ...Nothing...? I guess this speaks for itself...but I have an idea...although...you may not like it, Hecarim.
- what do you mean? if I can use his powers I'll do any... - he suddenly stopped - ...you couldn't mean...?No...No, no, NO! NO NOT HER! ANYTHING BUT HER!
- We have no other choice, you see...before he was trapped in the mist he was stabbed in the back, shot by a woman he considered his friend and left to his luck in the middle of the sea...I believe he fills every criterion she has...besides, she will only gain his soul, his body will be ours to toy with...so, come forth, Lady of Vengeance - Thresh finished bowing.
Before me a couple of blue dots started to circle, the wind howled around me, I looked around looking for the strange energy, suddenly everything stopped, I was confused, what was that all about? I looked at Thresh but I couldn't, in front of me there was a woman, her skin was of a glowing blue, her eyes were completely white, her hair was black, she wore a helmet and an armor made of the same material, but the most remarkable thing about her was the spears...she was impaled in her chest...she didn't seem to mind...
-OUR ALLY IS HERE - A chorus of voices claimed in the darkness.
- Why have you called us, Chain Warden? - she spoke in a ghastly voice.
- This creature needs your services...I'm sure you will find his story..."interesting" - Thresh muttered.
The woman looked at me again, she kneeled before me and placed a hand on my body, her touch was cold...and I could feel certain jolts over my body...as of she was scanning me...weird...I used to do that in the past, it's kind of...what was the word...?...Ironic.
- We see... - She mumbled - ...you came from a distant land...you were looking for answers...you were...curious...like a puppy...looking at the wonderful things this world has to offer...you saw the bright side of the humans...yes, in your journey you found things you wanted to protect...friends...family...even love...yet...you were betrayed...you trusted them...and they simply threw you out of their lives...
...Sarah...Why? what did I do? was it something I said? or maybe...it was my simple existence?...I learned so many things and yet, I failed to see...why...?
- You are not wrong - The woman continued - this world is cruel, people are cruel, you were just a victim, you didn't deserve any of this...
...I...did not..? I was innocent...? No...that can't be true...I killed several humans before I changed...I'm no different from them...I killed seeking for knowledge...I...
- But we can help you - Her voice told me - You will perish, there's nothing we can do about that...but we can punish them...we can give you Vengeance...
She then took out one of the spears in her chest and threw it in front of me, the light was...intoxicating...I felt it draining me...
- Pledge yourself to us...Together, you and us, as one, we will seek those who wronged you...they will suffer your fate...
That feeling again...in my insides...before they threw me out of the ship...what is this...?
Fear
what other choice do I have...? I will die in this forsaken land...and all because...
Hate
All because of them...I will die here because of them...maybe...maybe I should...
Wrath
Maybe I should accept...there's nothing left...they will pay...they will pay for what they did to me...
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"You can't avoid pain, it's natural, what makes the difference it's how you deal with it, sometimes icy heart just needs warm smile, be scared, everyone is scared, but don't worry, life it's like this Blizzard"
huh...?
I looked up into the sky...lights...shining stars...the moon...beautiful...dancing lights...I...
"The darker the night, the brighter the stars, Don't be afraid, be curious, this world is filled with wonders, I won't lie to you, you will get hurt, you will cry, but be strong, always remember, The heart it's the strongest muscle."
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"You can always trust Braum."
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...Braum...Please...Give me strength...
- ...No.
- What did you say? - The woman asked, getting closer.
- ...I said...No...
The woman looked at me astonished.
- You will die here...alone in this cursed land...but we can give you a choice...we can...
- Killing them...won't save me...- I interrupted - ...You were right...I was curious...I came to this world looking for answers...I was naive...it's not a sin, but it's punished like one...I was naive...but I did my job...I learned so many things...I met so many wonderful humans, they taught me so many things...and for them and for their creed...I will forgive those who killed me...I will choose my demise...I will choose to be the best humanity has to offer...
The others looked speechless, silence fell around us...ah, I can feel it...the little life I have left...it's leaving me...this time for sure... I...will die...hmph...interesting...I'm not scared...in fact...I'm curious...I've never thought about my end...what's ahead of me now? is there something in the afterlife? heaven? hell? no, that can't be right...those belong to humans...a voidling...I wonder what is there for a voidling like me? now...that is something I would like to research...
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UGH!
WHAT?! IT HURTS! ARGH! SOMETHING...SOMETHING PIERCED ME! IT HURTS! IT BURNS! IS THIS HELL?! AGHH! STOP! STOP! STOOOOOOOP!
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hmm...what...?...where...? where am I...? I can feel the wind blowing...I can smell the soil beneath me...this is...familiar...did Thresh took my soul...? Unlikely...he said it was impossible for him...Then...the woman...
I opened my eyes, the moon, and the stars greeted me, around me I could see the same decaying trees surrounded by the mist...weird...are the Shadow Isles the place Voidlings go when they perish? Ridiculous, the Void and Runterra are two different dimensions...then...What is the meaning of this?
I tried to get up, but I felt a sharp pain in my chest, I rubbed it carefully...there are no wounds...There are no wounds?!...I'm sure Sarah shot me in my belly...and...there's nothing in my back?!...What is going on?
I looked around, the woman was just staring at me, behind him the other undead were...ehm...well...I guess they were surprised since their mouths were wide open...Everyone but Mordekaiser since he was wearing a helmet that covered his face...
-Uhm...Am I dead? - I asked shyly.
- No, you are not - The woman answered...happily? - We are glad it worked.
- ...Worked?...What "Worked"?
- Your soul was leaving your body, the only choice we had was to tie your destiny with ours.
- ...What?
- From now on, Vel'Koz, Our fates are one, you, your terrenal form, your soul, and your essence belong to me, and we...I, My being, my soul and everything is yours.
-...What?
- We...I might be a little cold...unlife is not kind to everyone...But I pledge right here...my spear is yours...my mind is yours...my... - she suddenly fidgeted and blushed - ...My body is yours.
- ...What?.
- In short... - Thresh snarled - ...you are married.
- ...What?
- I TOLD YOU! I FUCKING TOLD YOU! THIS WAS A BAD IDEA! BUT NO...LET'S ASK HER! SHE WILL HELP US! YOU WILL HAVE YOUR WAR MACHINE! I'M DONE! - Hecarim Groaned punching a tree.
- ...What?
- So...i guess you won't be needing this coffin - Yorick said disappointedly.
- A GLIMMER OF HOPE IN THESE FORGOTTEN LANDS! - The voices cheered in the night.
- ...What?
- Let's see, I'm pretty sure it was here... - Karthus muttered looking through his book - ...mmm...AHA! here it is, "how to organize a wedding 101"...mmm...I guess we can do something about the "groom" issue but overall we can do everything...still...what the hell am I supposed to call him?
- ...What?
- Firsts thing first, he doesn't even know her name, introduce yourself, you fool - Mordekaiser pointed.
- Oh, my, We apologize - The woman said kneeling in front of me - We...My name is Kalista, The Spear of Vengeance, We...I may lack many..."womanly" assets...but W...I will forever be by your side...I promise I will be a good wife.
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WHAT?!
You managed to escape...
But...
They never had a chance...
Sadly...
Your soul will always be mine...