As usual, I have made a few changes to the timeline. In this timeline, instead of being cleared of his false crime after the first invasion by Noxus, Yasuo does not find Riven and instead meets a new person after the second invasion.
Riven remains hidden from the Ionians until a little after the end of the second invasion, which is when this is set in.
I'm currently in my last semester of college. After that, it's off to teach English as a foreign language in either Japan, Korea, or Germany. Few years of that and hopefully I'll have done enough in my spare time to finish up my portfolio and apply to either Riot Games, DONTNOD Entertainment, or Blizzard for a narrative design position. Maybe I'll make my own video game script and have someone program it. Idk.
Anyways, while I still read a lot on this site, I don't write as much lately as I've been busy with my senior thesis paper (got a B on it and enjoyed almost every second of it). I did it on Nathaniel Hawthorne (amazing and brilliant man) and his thoughts on the political, theological, and moral climate of his time (transcendentalism, the fall of "moral structures" due to shaky foundations of intermittent beliefs that arose during this time period, etc). If you want to see what a senior thesis paper for college would look like, DM me or comment and I can just send you a copy of mine in a Google doc.
Don't forget to review, tell someone you love them, and have a banger of a day.
Chapter 1
Never forgotten
Sometimes I wonder if this is what the Wind had in mind for me.
Yasuo looked up at the clouds above, hanging heavy and ominous in the sky. Wiping a bit of sweat from his forehead with the sleeve of his robe, he glanced at his surroundings once more.
The alley was not the greatest place to lay low, but it would do for now. The bounty hunters would not find him here, as the entrance had long crumbled down, blocking the way by conventional manners. He would probably have another hour before he had to run again.
His thoughts wandered once again to his brother. He had not meant for it to end like this, and more than once had he thought about what would have happened if he had not gone out to fight the Noxians. His heart pulsates in his chest every time he recalls his master's final words to him.
His brother would still be here, by his side like the old days. His master would be alive and still praising him for his relentless training. He wouldn't be a falsely accused murderer. So many things would have been different if he had simply soothed his need to fight.
A boot scuffed against stone somewhere directly above him, startling him out of his melancholic thoughts. He drew his sword swiftly, pointing its sharp edge at the throat of the woman above him. She put her hands up swiftly, the green mask covering the lower half of her face both telling him who she was and what she was here for.
"So the Kinkou have finally sent their wayward ward to finish me off, Akali?" Yasuo drawled drunkenly, his eyes tilted to the sky, not seeing the frown pull the eyes on the young woman's face downwards at being called a "ward." He was so tired of running. He remembered her from the fight against Sion. That monster still found ways into his dreams at night. The Kinkou order had helped a lot during the later stages of the Noxian's second invasion. Tch. Ninjas.
She tilted her head in confusion, "No? Do you want me to do that? I'm still pent up after that asshole down the street tried to grope me."
Yasuo lowered his sword from her throat, cut his hand ever so slightly, and resheathed it. He probably looked as pitiful as he felt. He had been on the run constantly for the past two weeks due to a rise in the price on his head by the bounty handlers. More and more hunters have been hunting him down each and every day, and he was getting tired. It was only him now. There were no more students of his master left. He had killed them all as they chased him. His hands trembled.
"I'm here because Mast- Shen needs some…help," Akali said reluctantly, irked that her former master didn't think she could be enough to help. When she asked why not her, he simply chuckled, handed her a sealed parchment, and patted her on the head. She had spent a few hours tearing into some training dummies after that whole situation.
"Shen needs my help? Why in the name of the spirits would he need my help? There are plenty within the Order who have much more expertise than I."
She reached into her pouch—she dared anyone to ever call it a purse— and pulled out the parchment that Shen had given her. "He gave me this to deliver to you."
Yasuo looked at her intently, swapping his gaze between her eyes and the parchment, before finally grasping it and opening the seal. His eyes scanned the page, widening at what the contents entailed. He snatched Akali by the shirt, and pulled her up to his face, a frown marring his features.
"When did you get this?!" He nearly snarled.
"Woah there, cowboy," she warned him, her kunai placed at his jewels, "let me go, dude."
He felt the sharp metal dig into his groin. He closed his eyes and took a deep, calming breath. His tenseness disappeared from his body as he slowly released Akali from his grip, bowing his head in apology. She waved him off, dusting off her tunic and readjusting her pouch.
"I got this two days ago. What has you so on edge?" She asked warily, wondering if she even wanted to know what made the Wanderer so tilted.
Yasuo's jaw clenched as he recalled the contents of the parchment. "They found another user of the Wind. My name can be cleared of the sins that were falsely placed upon it."
Akali was silent as she observed the Wanderer. She hadn't spent much time with the man before, only talking to him once after the fight against Sion. She could definitely appreciate what he could do with a blade. Samurai, always so uptight.
This anger felt out of place for the calm and collected Wanderer, at least in her eyes. Sure he was a bit more bloodthirsty than the average Ionian-bar the Order of Shadows-but he was never really prone to have angry outbursts. Except with Yone. She had heard plenty of the stories from Irelia and Shen.
She still didn't quite know how to feel about him killing his own brother, though she had no family to speak of, so she probably couldn't blame the man for fighting back against his injustice. Akali really didn't think Yasuo would kill his own master, though a small part of her recommended to be cautious around him.
"Lead the way." He said firmly, following her as she led him out of the village.
—
"I feel like I will get along with Shen very well," Yasuo said with a smirk as he looked at the tavern's sign. The bright yellow letters shining off the evening sun, casting their glorious rays out into the chilly streets. Winter had been fast approaching, but the snow that would come with the later months had yet to arrive.
Akali rolled her eyes and pushed open the doors, strutting in with Yasuo in tow. She looked around the bar, her eyes glancing over the patrons until they landed on her old master sitting in a corner booth near the back door.
She glanced back at Yasuo, whose eyes were locked on a bottle of sake behind the counter. She punched him in the shoulder and pointed towards Shen, whose glowing cerulean eyes were locked onto the Wanderer.
As Yasuo sat down across from the Eye of Twilight, he couldn't help but feel unnerved at the glowing orbs of light across from him. Shen had access to a reality beyond his own, and while curious, Yasuo knew not to dabble with such arts. He had gotten into enough trouble with just the Wind. He could only guess what Shen could detect off of Yasuo's spirit.
"I hope your trip was uneventful, Yasuo," Shen said softly, his voice as calm and collected as always. Sometimes, Yasuo felt like nothing could disturb Shen's calm demeanor.
"Death is like the wind, always by my side. It was as eventful as always," he murmured, looking around the bar for any hints of an ambush. His shoulders relaxed slightly as he ordered a glass of sake.
"But is the wind in your favor? Only you can know, I guess."
"Enough with the chit chat, Master Shen. I want answers," Yasuo replied. Akali, though she was leaning against the bar, talking to the burly bartender, tensed up at his words. She shot a glare at Yasuo, and he took a calming breath. It wouldn't do any good to get angry here. Kami, he hated ninjas.
"Please," he whispered, looking down at his callused hands. He could still feel the blood on them. He doubted it would ever truly wash away. Betrayer. Kinslayer.
Shen took a sip of his tea, quietly placing the cup back onto its plate as he glanced at Yasuo, "A man appeared within Ionia a few days ago—and by appeared, I mean that he fell from the sky. A long, broad sword came crashing into the ground, and directly after it, came him, slamming into the ground and cratering it."
Yasuo was quiet for a few seconds as Shen took another sip of tea, "how does that help me, exactly? I don't see anything that can correlate with wind techniques here," He glanced back to the bar, watching Akali flirt with the bartender, and snorting when he saw the man fall for her charms and hand her a drink.
Shen smiled underneath his mask, "the man proceeded to take out a dozen of the Order of Shadow's men with a blade that harnessed the wind."
Yasuo's gaze snapped back to the Eye of Twilight, "a dozen?" To kill a single Shadow was impressive enough, but a dozen? Alone? Unheard of.
Shen's gaze turned to the opposite corner of the tavern, landing on a caped figure that was leaning against the wall. The figure was not looking at anything in particular, more like gazing off into the distance. Looking over his shoulder discreetly, Yasuo noticed that the patrons of the bar stayed a safe distance away from them.
Yasuo could not see much from the metal mask that covered the majority of the figure's face, but he could tell that they knew how to fight, and well.
"Is that him?" Yasuo asked, turning back towards Shen. The man seemed almost amused, but it was hard to tell with the mask covering the majority of his face. Damned ninjas.
Shen hummed to himself, glancing up from his tea, his spoon tapping a rhythm against the cup. The soft clinging made Yasuo's right eye twitch. "Do you want it to be him? What will you do if it is?"
Yasuo was silent as he took in Shen's subtle threat. The Kinkou Order was all about balance, to the point that they would let Ionia suffer to maintain it. As good of a fighter as Yasuo knew he was, he did not want to deal with the Kinkou Order as well.
"We shall see," Yasuo trailed off as he watched the figure begin to leave the inn. He stood up, not noticing Shen had already disappeared from his seat, and raced out after them. He burst out from the inn, glancing left and right for the figure, seeing them turn the corner at the end of the cobbled street.
He followed the figure down street after street, until finally coming to what he knew was a dead end. Placing a hand on his sheathed blade, he stepped into the alleyway, and nearly had his head taken off. His sword flew from his sheath without him even realizing it, and blocked the blade that would have parted his head from his body.
The man he had been chasing was young, that he could tell at first glance. The man's lips moved, but all that Yasuo could focus on was the glowing of their eyes and the closeness of the blade.
"You there, man?" Yasuo shook himself from his stupor and pushed the man back with his blade. The tip slightly cut into the man's forearm. Their eyes widened slightly at the move, before they narrowed quickly.
"You're very strong, and I can sense the wind around you. Who are you?" The man's voice was metallic, clearly affected by the mask that covered everything but his eyes, and a section of his right cheek. It was almost like someone had cut out parts of his mask on purpose.
"I'm supposed to ask YOU that, murderer."
"They attacked me first, I'll have you know," He replied sardonically, his voice grating on Yasuo's ears. He noted that the man had a severe lack of formality, which meant he surely wasn't a part of Ionia.
"I don't care for them, I care about Elder Souma! No one else in the land knows the wind techniques but I, and I did not kill him!" Yasuo nearly screamed, anger bubbling forth at the man before him. The wind wanted to crash against this man's blade again. It had shocked Yasuo at first, never feeling this type of sensation before, but he only took it as a sign of confirmation of his suspicions. His eyes were drawn momentarily to the Leaf-shaped blade that the man carried. It was…an odd shape to say the least. Something more akin to what would come from the mythical tales of Targon.
The man tilted his head, before his sword disappeared, "who?" The man remained in a guarded stance, arms tense just in case.
Yasuo started at the man's actions. "The Noxian invasion. Did you not kill my master with your wind techniques?"
"The what invasion?"
Yasuo's blade lowered. He stood there, perplexed at the situation before him, before finally sheathing his blade. A technicality. He had drawn blood from the man, after all. The wind screamed at him in defiance. He silenced it.
It felt like an eternity before the man spoke again, "Look man. I don't know who this Sumo guy is, but if you're looking for his killer, it isn't me."
Yasuo's brow twitched. "Let's say I believe you, why did you come flying from the sky? Where are you from? Who are you?"
The man reached up to grasp at the sides of his mask, slowly unlatching the metal clamps that dug into his skin. As the odd mask slowly came off, Yasuo grimaced at the tanned face beneath it. The harsh, racking breaths, those of which looked about to tear his lungs in two, that came from the man clearly showed the pain he was in.
The skin looked charred to the bone; black and white and splotchy. It was clear that the burn had been there for a while, as the wound had slowly faded into whitish scar tissue over time. His green eyes stood out like glowing orbs of light against his disfigured face. Power barely restrained, like the great sands of Shurima.
"I was in the middle of a fight with the person who did this to me," the man interrupted Yasuo's thoughts, gesturing to his face, "when I was suddenly hit in the back by something. Next thing I know, I'm falling from the sky. You can call me Lev," Lev put the mask back on, the metal clamps squelching loudly into his skin. A hissing sound emanated from his mask, and he heard Lev take a deep breath. Yasuo grabbed his flask from his sleeves, taking a sip of the burning liquid.
Today was going to be a long day.
——
Akali's form trembled with anger as she came into the Kinkou's temple. She was so sick and tired of all this bullshit. They should be out there protecting the country from Noxus, taking their revenge on the savage dogs who burned down her homeland, not here beating up dummies and listening to boring lectures! She should have left this damned place earlier. Maybe then there would have been less deaths.
As she turned the final corner, she walked into the upperclassmen training grounds. She felt the familiar sense of magic wash over her as she entered her old hallow.
"Shen. Why did you refuse to let me confront that man? It's clear he had no part in the murder of Elder Souma!" Akali's voice rang out across the empty training yard.
Shen hummed to himself, straightening out the training swords that were placed pristinely on the rack, before finally turning towards her. His eyes glanced at her clenched fists and furrowed brow.
"The balance must be maintained. Yasuo has been wronged, and I saw an opportunity to right said wrong. This man will be a crucial key to the process of returning balance to Ionia."
Her nose scrunched. She had seen what "balance" had done for Ionia in the invasion. She had talked to Shen about this before, but all she got was a shake of the head and a firm voice telling her to stand down. Shaking her head, she left the training grounds more frustrated than before.
Shen watched sadly as the Fist of Shadow's daughter walked out of the Order yet again. He turned towards the statue that stood at the edge of the yard.
The wind picked up. Pink petals began to flutter down from the Sakura trees that lined the Kinkou Temple's grounds. Shen caught one of the petals in his hands. Rubbing it between his gloved fingers, he looked up to the sky, and stood there as the rain began to come down.
"I'm sorry Mayym. I could not teach her the lessons of balance we understood as Kinkou."
The wind slowly brushed against his face, leaving him with the scent of salt and regret.
—
A few hours after her argument with Shen, Akali found herself frustrated—yet again—outside of the bar that she had brought Yasuo to. She rubbed the bridge of her nose before taking a calming breath. The nuisance in front of her grinned at the effect he had.
"Kayn," Akali greeted the possessed man with a sigh. If he was here, Zed wasn't far behind. She could only imagine the destruction that would occur if Shen saw him.
"Beautiful," Kayn returned with a smirk, leaning on his scythe as he looked the assassin up and down. His eyes gleamed in the light of the setting sun. Uncomfortable silence sat in the air, smothering it with its intensity.
"…I can't. It's the eyes." Akali finally said, shaking her head in disappointment, "don't get me wrong. You're hot. Really hot. Ripped abs, and the hair? Totally my thing. But those eyes? I can't.."
Kayn's smirk died slightly at her words before he shrugged and leaned up against the wall next to her. He spun his scythe in his hand as he wrapped an arm around her shoulder.
"Well, I guess you're just gonna miss out on the ride." He said, sighing dramatically as he squeezed the tense girl to him. Her buttons were so easy to press.
Her teeth ground against themselves as she tried to reign in her anger.
"Then again, the ride might be too bumpy for your…purse." Kayn grinned at the way she stiffened, flipping over his scythe and dashing into the streets.
He could hear her screaming his name behind him as he took off. His laughs echoed through the city, joining the nighttime noises.
Deep within, the dragon slumbered.
—
The cell was perfect, though only he could understand that. It was a perfect prison. Four feet wide. Four feet tall. Four feet long.
He cared not for how cramped he was in the metal box. Nor did he care how hot the mask on his face made him feel in the Ionian summer heat. Sweat soaked through his mask, filling the box with the putrid smell that came from months of confinement.
None of it mattered to him. All he cared about was the art that he would make in the coming weeks.
"Ahh…the sound of an enthralled audience."
Khada Jhin's eyes gleamed as explosions sounded from just outside the cell. A few men appeared in front of his cell, cutting away at the bars with some type of torch. The metal fell, a glorious climax ringing through the air, joining its accompaniment of explosions.
"Let the show…begin."
The dragon stirred.
—
"So your elder died after you ran off to fight the invaders? Did I get the gist?"
Lev sat back in his seat, his arms draping across the back of the booth, as he watched Yasuo's jaw tighten. The story had been vibrant, for sure. It was clear that the man before him had run it through his head hundreds, if not thousands, of times. Lev could relate, no doubt about it.
He lazily reached for his cup, grasping it loosely and tilting it back. The mask hissed as it parted slightly. The liquid went down like fire, burning away the maleficent thoughts.
"Yea…" Yasuo trailed off, his gaze glued to the bottom of his empty cup. His senses warbled as a drop of liquid sat at the bottom of the cup. The drop swirled and twirled, getting bigger and bigger as it stared back at him. It spoke to him of times past. A blade stained with kin. Fire and brimstone upon thatch huts. Screams of agony pulled from punctured lungs.
Before he could fall deeper, a bottle slammed onto the table in front of him, startling him away from the edge. The drop had disappeared.
"Well, I may not be of much help, but I think we can make a deal that is beneficial to the two of us." Lev said, leaning over the table, reminding Yasuo of the sheer size of the man. He understood now why Shen had compared him to a mountain.
The man had to have at least a head or two on him. His armor, which he had stashed away with some sort of magic, didn't do much to exaggerate his features clearly. His muscles that threatened to tear at the robes that had been lent to him showed signs of scars and tattoos. His biceps had to be the size of Yasuo's head at the very least. Despite his inebriated state, he could tell most of the scars on Lev's body weren't ones of combat.
"And what would that deal be?" His voice slurred, the room beginning to be entirely too wobbly for his liking. How much had he consumed?
"We can talk about that later," Lev waved off Yasuo's inquiry with a smile. Now wasn't the time, not with the man drunk off his ass and unable to see clearly, "for now, let's see if I can't talk the innkeeper into lending us a room."
Lev stood up from the table. As he walked towards the innkeeper, who had been watching them out of the corner of her eye for a majority of the night, he put on as friendly a face as he could muster. It was tough with his face looking the way it is.
"Good evening Miss-" his eyes squinted at the tag barely hanging on her shirt, "Darha. I was hoping to acquire a room for my friend and I for the night, if it wouldn't be too much trouble." Lev pulled a coin out of his sleeve, twirling it over and under his fingers, before finally allowing it to rest heads up on the counter. He pushed it towards the innkeeper, a smile plastered onto his face. He watched her gaze flit between the coin pinned under his finger, and Yasuo's snoozing body at the booth.
"You choose dangerous company, Outsider," The woman commented, placing her hand over the coin, and grasping his hand in a vice grip. Lev's hair stood on its end as he stared into her bright, green eyes. He tensed up as her face came to rest beside his and felt her remove another coin from the dimensional space he owned.
"Ionia shall not tolerate any disruptions to the balance, little one. Tread carefully…" She whispered into his ear, and then she was gone. Her presence evaporated from his senses faster than he could process. His eyes scanned the bar for her, but came up empty.
Lev ran a hand through his sweaty hair before finally looking back at where his coin had been originally. The bronze key that sat there felt more like a lock.
As he walked back to Yasuo's sleeping form, he sighed to himself. This wasn't getting any easier, and he didn't know what the Gods expected him to do here, much less where 'here' was.
Plucking the wandering ronin from his seat, Lev quickly made his way up the stairs with his charge and shuffled his way into the room they had been given.
The room was modest, yet elaborate enough to be worth the price. At least that is what he believed. He didn't quite understand the worth of the currency he had in his possession. He laid the snoring Yasuo down under the covers of one bed and sat down at the foot of the other bed. Taking a small box from the borrowed robe's sleeves, he kicked up a stick from the box with his finger and placed it between his mouth. The air shivered as a flame caught the end of the stick.
He sucked in the smoke as he stared into the cracked mirror across from him. The smoke curled from his nose, before traveling upwards and dispersing when it hit the ceiling.
The flames stirred within the dragon's belly.
—
Karma had to give it to Shen: the man was powerful. She hasn't felt such raw energy coming off of a mortal in so long that she had nearly forgotten the feeling. She wasn't even sure he was a mortal.
Lev was dangerous, that much she knew for sure.
"What have you gotten us into, old friend…" she sighed, returning to her meditation. Shen glanced at her, but didn't deign to respond. He didn't need to.
"Are you prepared for the tasks ahead, Enlightened One?" He murmurs, staring out at Ionia's decaying landscape. The smell of blood, ice, and steel drifted in on the fall winds. Noxus. The Freljord. So many things were happening behind the scenes. He frowned.
That wasn't even mentioning the hushed whispers of void monsters reappearing for the first time in centuries.
Her eyes opened. The green glow pulsed from within. "Yes."
"Good," he replied, crossing his arms, "We should make contact with our agents in Noxus soon. I refuse to let another Wuju incident happen." Shen's frown deepened.
"The master of the blade is young, but he will be a great asset in the trials to come. Let us just hope that young Yasuo will not antagonize him too much."
"I doubt it will come to that. Master Doran was keen on teaching necessary restraint to his students."
Karma sighed, the loss of Master Doran was worrying. She had talked with the old crafter before, and was left uncharacteristically confused after a short conversation with him. The way he spoke made you feel like you were being talked in circles. She had left with more questions than when she had come to him in the first place.
They hadn't found a body, though that was rather difficult considering the village was burned to the ground and wasted away in the acid. She scowled at the thought of Noxus' newest chemical agent. Disgusting. It was an utter insult to both the ideals of Ionia and the common belief in mortality. No one should die in such a horrid way as the Wuju people did.
Her thoughts on the country ruled by strength were interrupted as a shadow appeared in the tree above her. Knowing who it was, she sighed as a wave of killing intent came from Shen.
"USAN!" Shen snarled, lunging at the Order of Shadow's leader. Sparks flew as his sword slammed into the man's hidden blade. The shadow grunted in exertion as he forced Shen back. The armor clad man would have struck at Zed once more if not for the words that slipped from his mask. The dark, metallic tone slithering its way out from the faceplate.
"Khada Jhin has escaped." Shen froze. Karma stared out at the lands of Ionia. Zed slowly allowed his blade to retract into his gauntlet, making sure that Shen's gaze saw every action he did as he slowly held his hands up in a placating gesture. "Your grudge can be put aside for this, surely."
Shen's hateful gaze burrowed its way into the leader of the Order of Shadows' head. Zed's molars hurt from how much they were grinding right now. His sword stayed motionless before him, its sharp end pointing towards the murderer of his father.
"No need to bring your little apprentice along with you, murderer?" Shen bit out, his senses scanning for the crazed little runt.
"Kayn is…near."
"Always the loyal lap dog, huh?" Shen glanced towards Karma, seeing her roll her eyes at the conversation.
"He understands the way to save Ionia better than you, old friend. Noxus cannot continue to desecrate our lands the way they do. The Demon is loose, and we are the only two who can get close enough to stop him."
"When both of you are done with measuring the size of your tantos, you can meet me at the Shrine so we can plan on Khada Jhin's capture." Karma stood up at last, wiping away the dust from her rear, and walking off down the stone path.
Silence pervaded at the crude remark as the two thoroughly chastised men refused to look at each other. They quietly followed behind Karma as the sun set in the distance. Noxus's war machines lay on the horizon, smoke pluming in the air above them.
Like a dragon challenging the sun.
—
"So. Where are you off to today?" Yasuo heard his new companion ask as he tightened the band in his hair. He channeled the wind through the small piece of ribbon, watching as his hair took its normal stance. He turned his head slightly, staring at the tall man behind him through the cracked mirror.
"Nowhere in particular. I've been searching for Weh'le for a while now, hoping to be there for the Spirit Blossom Festival, but the city is shrouded from everyone unless they will it not to be." Yasuo finished tying his obi around his waist, locking his katana's sheath into place, before turning around and heading towards the door. Lev followed him out, making sure to lock the door behind him.
As they left the inn, they were greeted by the odd sight of Akali glaring at a tall, handsome looking man with a scythe. He was also mostly shirtless; a scandalous cloth thing wrapped around his torso and shoulders—barely. Despite not being from this land, even he could tell that the clothing would be considered improper. He was an odd one.
"What is going on here?" Lev interrupted their staring contest, frowning at the smirk on the man's face. The gleam in those eyes left him slightly unnerved. He could sense the evil presence within the man's weapon. He tore his eyes from him and looked at the woman who had turned her glare onto him.
"None of your business, Xiiri." Akali nearly spat at him, turning away as to no longer give him any more of her time. Yasuo stiffened at the familiar word. A word spoken in hushed whispers and behind closed doors. Something to be spoken just so ever out of reach of one's tarnished ears.
Outsider. Stranger. Unwanted. A pest.
Lev's eyebrows raised in confusion at the woman's tone. "So much hostility towards someone you don't know, don't you think?"
Kayn patted her on the shoulder, gaining himself a hiss out of the young woman, before turning towards Lev, "Oh don't mind her, my friend. She's just a little…upset. Her ability pales in comparison to me, so it's only natural. No one is like me, unfortunately."
Lev's eyebrows raised to his hairline at the manners of the man-a child really, for he couldn't have been older than twenty-one, in comparison-and the small sense of power that wafted off his lithe form.
Demonic. Lev had dealt with their kind before, not exactly the same kind, but the demons of his world were similar enough in nature he would like to think. Not too much of a threat to someone of his lineage, but a threat nonetheless.
"And who might you be?" Lev asked, glancing between Yasuo, Akali, and the boy. It was getting hard to breathe with all the tension that sat in the air between the two groups.
"My name is Kayn, and I am the one who shall bring Noxus to their knees," he replied, a devilish smirk dancing in his lips. The mirth dancing in his eyes reminded Lev of the winds of a hurricane that was waiting just off the coast.
Having been informed by Yasuo about the most immediate events of the world, he now understood what Noxus was, and it sickened him greatly. The country was just like the Gods of his world: they ruled through fear and power.
Not to mention the Wuju incident, as it had been dubbed. Gassing and burning a city was something that didn't even happen that much in his world, at least not to the extent that Noxus committed. Every last man, woman, and child had been gassed to death by the chemical agents of Noxus. Lev felt a shiver go down his spine. Society had nearly bred savage events like that out of humanity. Nearly.
Oh sure, every few years a new dictator or warlord would look at human rights as suggestions—or maybe a country would utterly fuck another one into the ground simply because they can. The populaces were getting fucked in the ass and didn't even recognize it half of the time. Might is right, in the grand scheme of things.
He had spent a majority of his life trying to change that and, outside of taking away humanity's free will, he had come to realize there wasn't much he could really do.
"Well, that is quite a commitment. Best of luck to you, friend," Lev replied back with a forced smile. If Kayn noticed, he didn't acknowledge it. Akali's scowl redirected itself back towards him, a pondering look visible in her eyes.
"We shall take our leave now," Yasuo cut in, bowing to Akali before addressing both bickering teens, "extend my thanks to Master Shen and the Enlightened One for me, if you would. Till next we meet."
With that said, Yasuo nodded to Lev, and began to walk down the city streets towards the road out to the People's River, which ran its way into the Placidium of Navori.
From there, it would be another two to three week journey before he would reach the areas where Weh'le had appeared in the past. At least, that is what the old Seeker of the village had told him at the inn yesterday.
Lev felt a hand on his shoulder when he turned to follow his new companion, and had to fight the instinct to flip them over his head. He was sure the two teens could hear the creaking of his neck as he slowly turned towards the owner of the hand.
"I…hm," Akali started, removing her hand from his shoulder and looking away angrily, crossing her arms over her chest. Knowing what she was trying to get at, he smiled politely and bowed to her. She nodded tightly before turning away from him to berate Kayn yet again.
Lev decided she wasn't too bad as he pulled his hood back over his head. The few landfishers nodded warily to him on his way out, recognizing the magic within him as not of their own.
This place was interesting.