Five Years Ago, The Morning After That Night

For a moment, everything seemed as normal as the morning before that. Eyes still closed, Zacan stretched out as much of his body as he could, feeling the stiffness in his back loosen. As he laid his arms back on what he thought was his bed, he started to notice something wasn't right. His fingers dragged along what felt like... dirt.

His eyes shot wide open, immediately being blinded by the uncovered sun above him. He squinted hard as he tried to take in his surroundings. He was surrounded by wilderness, patches of grass breaking up the mounds of dirt on all sides, with occasional trees standing tall above the otherwise unoccupied area.

Gathering his thoughts, he scrambled to his feet in a daze. Where was he?

The capital city of Noxus could just barely be seen in the distance, the tallest towers peeking their heads above the horizon line. He'd left the city. He was supposed to be on his way to Demacia right now. What had happened?

Then, he remembered what happened.

The life leaving Kalrok's face, the warmth it had filled him with. The stirring hunger he'd never fed before that moment.

He could still feel the energy of his victims. The seductive warmth of their lifeforce danced throughout his body, making him shudder.

Zacan looked down at his hands, shaking as the memories from the night before crammed their way back to the front of his mind. Their faces, their cries of pain, their bodies crumpling, none of that disturbed him nearly as much as the desire he'd felt to do those things. The lust.

Who was he? What was he?

He shook his head furiously. As disgusted as he was with himself, he had escaped fate. And he needed to make sure he didn't get dragged right back to it.

Zacan turned to the city's figure in the distance, and took a deep breath. He whipped around and kept going in the opposite direction, pushing what he'd done to the back of his mind.

For now.

Five Years Later

"To Khar!" Ezreal and Lux shouted as they slammed their glasses into Khar's. They each shared a huge smile before gulping down their drinks. They were gathered in Khar's apartment, sitting on the couch Caitlin "loaned" him from evidence after clearing out some criminal's apartment, and after cleaning the couch of course.

The champagne had been provided by Ezreal from his personal stash, and they were celebrating Khar's going to the tournament with only a few hours left before his train was to leave.

Ezreal let out a satisfied, if not exaggerated, sigh as he swallowed the champagne. "To Piltover's future champion!" He called out dramatically.

Khar and Lux laughed as they finished their own glasses. "Another glass, Mr. Future Champion?" Lux asked with a grin as she reached for the bottle.

Khar shrugged, returning the grin. "I guess it'd be rude to refuse, General Crownguard." Lux giggled as she filled his glass back to the brim.

The other two filled their glasses as well before crashing their glasses together once again, pouring the drinks down their throats without even a moment to taste them.

"So Khar, you use those gauntlets I gave you yet?" Ezreal inquired with a raised eyebrow.

Khar shook his head as he set his glass down on the table. "I figured I can just try them out whenever I get to the tournament."

Ezreal and Lux shared a knowing look. "You mean when we get to the tournament, right?"

Khar's brain stalled for a moment. "... We?"

"Well since the tournament is in Demacia this year, I figured it's a good excuse to visit home." Lux began to explain.

"And since I don't have anywhere to be for a while, and I'm not a champion anymore, I thought I could tag along too." Ezreal flashed a look of excitement at Khar.

"Of course, we also wanna see you in ring! I don't think we've ever seen you really get into a fight before, I wanna see what you can do." Lux's face showed even more excitement than Ezreal's.

Slowly but surely, the gears in Khar's mind started to move again. "You guys want to come with me?" He asked humbly.

"Of course, man. We're your friends, we wanna be there to support you." Ezreal said with a warm smile sent Khar's way. "We care about you." Lux nodded in agreement.

Friends. Khar hadn't really had friends until he came to Piltover. In Noxus he'd known some people who didn't exactly treat him like dirt, but they had never tried to spend time with him. On top of that, they likely would kill him if they saw him now, as a deserter.

Then there was his master, but he'd been more of a father to him than a friend. He felt a pang of ice across his heart as he thought of him.

But the people he'd met since arriving in Piltover were different. Sometimes he struggled to fully process how they seemed to care for him, Lux and Ezreal especially.

He felt choked up for a moment, clearing his throat and trying to shake his head clear. He smiled back at the two of them, grateful to have them in his life.

"Thanks guys. That means a lot to me, more than I can really say." He murmured meekly.

They stayed in a comfortable silence for a moment before Lux spoke back up.

"Oh right- sorry Khar, I forgot to tell you! I have that thing you wanted me to get from Jayce." She called out excitedly as she reached into her bag beside her. She yanked out a smaller black case and handed it to Khar.

"Oh shit, thank you Lux! I almost forgot too." He grabbed the case and opened it immediately.

Inside the case was what looked like a handgun, but it was made of thick tempered glass with tubes connecting the barrel to the empty chamber in the back of it.

"A gun?" Ezreal asked, confused. "Is that even a gun? What would it shoot?"

Khar picked it up and it slid into place, resting perfectly in his hand. Jayce really was a talented man.

"It's a gun specifically made to work with my powers, I channel energy into it and use that to shoot it." Khar explained as he rotated the device in his hands, examining the fine craftsmanship. "I thought of it after my tryouts, I suck with long ranged attacks and I figured this could help."

Ezreal's face grew a smug grin. "What was that you said about it being 'basically cheating' to use something like that?"

Khar winced at the dig. "Yeah, I know. I didn't decide to actually get it made until the talk we had, though."

"Is this about those gauntlets you mentioned?" Lux asked with a raised eyebrow. "What are they, anyway?"

Before Khar could answer, Ezreal cut him off. "Some magical gauntlets I found in Shuriman ruins a little while ago, I think Khar should use them in the tournament."

Lux let out a sigh. "Ez, I thought we talked about this. You can't keep trusting every potentially-demonic artifact you find in that desert!"

Ezreal put his hands up defensively. "I did my research this time! You think I'd give Khar something like that if I didn't know it was safe?"

Lux rolled her eyes half-seriously before turning to Khar. "Just be careful alright? I'd hate if you missed your shot at winning because you start relying too much on extra equipment."

Khar gave her a reassuring smile. "Trust me Lux, I'll be careful."

"Alright then," she conceded. "Do we need to leave soon? what time is it?"

"Shit!" Ezreal exclaimed after looking at his watch. "Time for Khar to grab his stuff!"

After Khar gathered some energy to lift both of his bags without slowing him down, the three of them hurried to the train station from Khar's apartment. Luckily, the distance didn't amount to much.

They skidded to a halt right in front of the station, catching their breaths for a moment before walking inside.

"We're good, we still have like 10 minutes to spare!" Khar noted, relieved after glancing at the station's clock.

"A little too close for comfort there, kid." A scratchy voice called from the other side of the station. They turned to see Edmin, who was standing beside Jerin, the other man who had been running tryouts for the tournament.

Khar's face got hot in an instant, laughing sheepishly. He'd expected to see disappointment in Edmin's face, but there was a humor to his eyes. Before he could respond, he was cut off.

"You're alright energy warrior, I didn't expect you to be in a rush to leave home." Edmin said with a reassuring chuckle. He gestured to Ezreal and Lux on either side of Khar. "These two coming with ya? I hope you know that explorer is bad luck." He chuckled.

"We're coming along to offer our support for this future champion." Ezreal grinned at the older man. "It's nice to see you again, Ed. You too, Jer."

"Good to see you, Ez." Jerin greeted warmly. "You too, energy-boy." The comment was accompanied by a smirk.

Edmin nodded his greeting as well. "And this young lady appears to be miss General Crownguard." He gave a mock solute. "I didn't realize the kid had attracted such esteemed company."

Lux giggled at the comment. "What can I say? I'm a sucker for an underdog story." She flashed Khar an affection smile before turning back to Edmin. "Ezreal told me about your training with him, are you gonna be training Khar?"

"I'm sure gonna try." He teased with a deep chuckle.

"Then maybe I'll sit in on a session." Lux offered with a warm smile.

"That'd be swell, general." Edmin nodded politely. "Now, let's get going before the train ditches us here. We've got a tournament to enter." He jerked his head towards the door, leading the rest of the group inside.

The group spilled into the station and quickly made their way through the ticket booth and onto the train. Once they were inside they trotted through a few cars until finding one that was entirely empty. Satisfied with the privacy, they began to settle in.

Edmin and Jerin sat by themselves on one side, discussing the troubles of the tournament to come, and the rest of them sat on the other side. Ezreal took up two seats to himself, sprawling out more than necessary.

After tossing his bags onto the empty seats next to Ezreal, Khar plopped down next to the window, and Lux settled into the seat next to him.

"So Khar, all things considered... how you feeling?" Ezreal asked, seemingly sinking even deeper into his seat.

Khar shrugged, he'd been trying not to think of all the pressure he'd be facing. He had no idea how many people had gotten into the tournament this time, or how strong they might be. He figured thinking about it would probably hurt him more than help.

"Honestly? I think I'm alright. That might change in a couple days though." He admitted.

"You've got this Khar, I've got a good feeling." Lux assured him, giving his leg a squeeze. The contact caught Khar off guard, and his leg suddenly felt warm. As did his face.

"Thanks, Lux. I appreciate you guys." He held her gaze for a moment before looking at Ezreal to flash him a grateful smile as well.

They continued chatting for a while, about the tournament, Demacia, and Lux's most recent league mission. She, unlike Ezreal, still held the title of champion. That said, she wasn't as active a member as many of the other champions. The Institute gave her a bit more wiggle room so she could still do her job as a Demacian ambassador and (somewhat-honorary) general.

If a mission had anything to do with the havoc-wreaking mage Sylas though, she would drop anything to take part in it. Khar had never pried into the details of what went down, but practically everyone in Runeterra knew about what Sylas had done in Demacia. Killing a small battalion of mageseekers will catch that sort of attention.

Eventually though, they began to nod off and the conversation began to die down. The steady rhythm of the train and the touch of alcohol still in their system lulled them each into a peaceful nap.

4 Years Ago, Argent Mountains, Southeast of Demacia

"Have you felt the hunger lately, Khar?" His master asked, sipping tea hot enough to burn Khar's mouth clean of taste buds.

Khar's body stiffened. After he'd told the much older man about that night in Noxus, he'd pried very little into that side of his power. He'd hoped his master had assumed the best of the situation and wouldn't ask again. His training had been going perfectly fine, after all. Save for a few hiccups here and there.

"W-why do you ask, Master?" Khar asked timidly, slowly turning to face the man.

"Does my reasoning matter?" He set his cup of tea down and met Khar's gaze. "Engage with my curiosity for a moment. Does the hunger still prick at your skin? Does it call to be fed when you use your powers?"

Khar made to respond but his throat had gone dry. His mind flashed back to the day the hunger had shown itself. He felt the warmth of the lives he'd taken begin to stir in his stomach. The urge to throw up bubbled in his gut. A couple moments passed, but he couldn't form an answer.

"Khar, my boy." His master stood from his seat, linking his arms behind his back. "The world has given you incredible power, power I intend to help you master." He approached Khar and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, meeting his gaze once again. "But all great power is accompanied by drawbacks."

Khar finally found his voice again. "Drawbacks? Master, I completely lose control when the hunger shows itself. I become a monster lusting for the lifeforce of others, that feels like more than just a drawback." His tone was bitter as he tried to push back the emotions of his last night at home.

"Call it what you will." He replied dismissively. "A weakness, a hinderance, a liability- it does not matter. No power can be perfect in its raw form alone. This hunger as you call it, it's meant to be a great hurdle for you to overcome."

"Master- you don't understand. It's stronger than you know. Its will- its lust is stronger than either of us." He pleaded for understanding.

The old man turned away from Khar, moving back towards his tea. "That only means that by the end of our training, you must become stronger than the both of us. Far stronger." He sat back down and lifted up the cup. "Nothing is impossible if a man's will can meet the challenge. I believe with all of my being that you can accomplish great things, my boy. Learning to overcome this hunger will only be the first trail of many."

Khar's eyes widened. "So you know how I can overcome it?"

The man swallowed his tea thoughtfully. "No. But together we'll figure that out. Once you can maintain the power level we've been practicing, we will begin work on it."

For a moment, Khar felt nothing but anxiety. He'd hoped to try and avoid the hunger all together, pray that it would never again rear its ugly head. But he knew that was a naïve notion at best. The man before him held no fear of the challenges he'd help him face, so what excuse did he have? He would overcome the hunger. He would do whatever it took to become the hero he dreamt of being. He had to.

"Yes Master." Khar conceded as he sat down across from him, taking his own cup into his hands. Then, they remained silent.

Present

Khar woke up with a jolt as his head smacked against the top of his seat. The force of whatever had woken him up then made him lurch forward, barely managing to prevent falling onto his face. He surveyed the area immediately, meeting the gaze of Ezreal and Lux as he scanned for a sign of the disturbance.

"What the hell was that?" Ezreal asked in a panic.

"Something must've hit the train!" Lux called out as she jumped to her feet with Khar and Ezreal quickly following suit.

Their bodies were all lurched forward without warning as the train began quickly skidding to a halt.

As they regained their balance, Edmin yelled out from beside them. "The three of you, go on and check out whatever the hell that was! We might be in hot water 'ere."

The trio nodded in agreement and made their way to the car's door.

Ezreal tugged hard at the door's handle but it refused to move. "It won't budge!"

"Give me a second!" Khar pushed the worry of the situation from his mind and focused on the energy around him, ignoring the warmth radiating from his friends.

He took all the power he could from around him and focused it all into his arms. Making a tight grip around the door handle, he tugged it open with all of his might. The door slowly screeched open and they rushed out of the train and into the open.

They were surrounded by barren plains, with nothing visible aside from grass and the shape of the Argent mountains vaguely in the distance.

"Do you see anything?" Lux called to Khar as she surveyed behind them.

Khar opened his mouth to respond but was startled by a deep laugh bellowing from nearby. He turned to face the sound, and his blood ran cold as he laid eyes on the source.

A rugged figure faced them with a wicked grin spread across its face. He wore a powerful build with dark hair and heavy chains hung from his wrists, with four men in dark robes standing on either side of him.

"Oh my god..." Lux murmured dreadfully.

"Hello, Luxanna." The man sneered, his eyes glowing with hate. "What a delightful coincidence this is."

Ezreal's gauntlet began to glow beside him, and Khar drew in as much energy as he could in anticipation.

The man standing before them was none other than Sylas, the Unshackled.

Hey! Sorry this one took a little while but I hope you're enjoying the story so far.

I know it's taking a while to get to the meat of everything but hopefully it's helping you get more comfortable with our boy Khar.

Leave some reviews! Haven't had any so far and I'd love some feedback, positive or negative.

Next chapter will feature a big ol' action sequence, hope you're looking forward to it :)

- Drew