Chapter 3: Treading Water Amongst the Stars
As they turned in for the night, the temperature had dropped, and the fire was starting to be less effective at keeping them warm. Winter was finally coming, and Yasuo was…content. He had always enjoyed the changing of the seasons as a young adult. It reminded him that time stopped for no one, and it kept him from falling into a rut. After Yone, he had trouble even waking up in the mornings.
The rest of the night was uncomfortably quiet between the two wanderers. Percy was sleeping. Yasuo was unsettled.
The voice that had spoken was something primal. Visceral. Primordial, in a way. It defied nature—he had seen how the plants shrieked their defiance at the windy voice—and was an affront to the spirits. He shivered.
It was inhuman, beyond anything he had encountered before. Sion paled before the voice he had heard.
Yasuo shuddered at the implications. He had known that Percy was a much better fighter, but he thought he had the advantage with experience. He had been wrong. Outrageously, hilariously wrong.
Destroyer of Worlds. The end of time.
Yasuo rolled his sleeves down. As he stared at the fire, he couldn't help but wonder what the actual hell he was doing here. He had wanted to see Yone, sure, but he had only planned on doing so alone.
Now he had a companion who apparently tore multiple worlds asunder. What type of power must one have for that? Yasuo dared not think about it. He had seen enough to keep him up at night, he didn't need anymore nightmare fuel. He didn't know how the man slept at night.
Yasuo closed his eyes, his head tipped back against the rough bark. Images of battles long past flashed through his mind. Brother…I wish I had your guidance, just one last time.
"Umm…Yasuo, sir?" The girl whispered from across the campfire. Apparently she had been woken up by their voices.
"Just Yasuo is fine, Noxian." He didn't care that the wind called to her—more accurately, he didn't want to care. He wanted nothing to do with her outside of bringing her to Irelia.
Whenever she stared at him with those dark, golden eyes—heavenly suns, burning him of his sins—drowning his past in the screams of molten fire and unholy rays, he felt something clench in his gut. He tore his gaze from the girl.
"I'm…I wanted to apologize for what happened to your master. I may not have been the one to kill him, but he died because of me, nonetheless." Riven swallowed thickly as she saw Yasuo tense up. She likened him to a tempest, restraining itself to the ocean's surface before it unleashed its primal rage upon the land.
"For the longest time, I thought I would never find who killed Master Souma. I was resigned to being the indirect murderer of a man who was like a father to me," Yasuo closed his eyes, fists clenched. "So imagine my anger when, upon finding the person most likely involved in his murder, the wind that has been by my side all my life now seeks to stay my blade."
Riven looked away, suffocating on the man's emotions as she tried to shrink away. Yasuo started chuckling, a raw, throaty chuckle that tore at the seams of her world. Two parts insane. One part tired. Too many parts of the whole. She shivered.
"If it was up to just my personal feelings, you would have died right in front of those elders. Your head separated; to be carried to my master's Order—whatever's left of it that is—and my name absolved."
He looked at her, and Riven knew she was alone in this merry band of travelers. "You will find no friends here, and you will be brought to justice for what you've done. Now get out of my sight, your visage sickens me." With his parting words said, Yasuo turned over and woke Percy from his sleep. Thanking the man, he turned in for the rest of the night.
—
"You should be careful with your words, girl."
Riven rolled her eyes, facing away from the man as she tried to go back to sleep.
"I don't wanna hear it from someone who calls themself a world-ender. And I thought my country was fucked." Percy snorted.
"You don't know anything of the depths of fucked. Don't talk about things you know nothing of. I am a world-ender by necessity, not greed. You Noxians trampled through this country, preaching strength and denouncing nobility, yet are run by noble families and use cowardly tactics. Your hypocrisy knows no limits. We are not the same."
She sat there in silence, body shaking in something. Rage? Fear? She couldn't really tell. All she knew was that she wanted to get as far away from the madman who was staring at her. She wasn't stupid. She knew what Noxus had done wasn't right. War often wasn't, but she had believed that their cause was just. Up until that one fucking asshole threw a chemical bomb shaped wrench into her ideas.
Now, lost in lands unknown to her, surrounded by hostility at all sides, she didn't know what she believed anymore. Was Noxus really just a bunch of arrogant, classist assholes? She tried to think of her sisters in battle. The Fury Company were a force she joined of her own power, became captain of in her own way. But even that was only at the grace of her masters. She rose through the hierarchy, proved her mettle, and was rewarded for it. Rank and order was paramount to Noxus.
Sure, she could say that it was at least better than Demacia's military and policies, but to be better than a Demacian is the same as being better than pigshit.
"If you are done reevaluating your life choices, I have things to discuss with you, girl."
Startled from her thoughts, she sat up and turned towards the man—no, that was not a man, that was a thing that sat before her. A thing in a human's costume. Maybe he even stole the poor person's flesh and bones.
"And what could I possibly discuss with someone who could apparently destroy this entire world. Should I call you Your majesty, or is that too humanlike for you?"
His lips twitched, a small smirk forming its way through his mask. "You have backbone—I like that," he disappeared from her view, and she suddenly felt a blade at her neck. His breath was hot in her ear, "I ended my world to prevent a terror much worse than I from using it against the universe. There is nothing that I will not stoop to to save this world too. I answer to the Gods, and only the Gods…not to a girl playing soldier."
She bristled, hot ice bursting through her veins at his words. "I am not playing soldier, you fat load of horsecock."
"To me, you are but a babe playing with her friends. Do you know how long infinity is?"
Riven didn't answer, focusing on making sure her swallowing doesn't cut her throat against the blade.
"That is what I face, Riven of Noxus. I face the endless torment of all universes. This is my curse, young one. I stand at the brink of infinity, for all eternity. Never pausing, never faltering. Stalwart and solid, I stand guard against all Evil."
"Evil?"
"Monsters, Gods, Demons, Humans, anything and everything that seeks to hurt life."
"And what will you do when all evil has been stopped, if that ever happens?"
"…" Percy looked up to the sky, his eyes glistening slightly as he stared at the stars. He missed seeing the Huntress.
"If a time like that were to come, the only evil that shall remain will be I. Chaos will take me, I'm certain of it." That was what had happened to his world. Consumed for the Void that was the Creator. Like a plug pulled from the tub, reality drained into Chaos at the bottom of Tartarus.
"I don't like you. You're a condescending prick with a savior complex a mile wide, but you are my only chance at getting through this alive, I feel. I did not kill Master Souma, not intentionally."
"Not intentionally? What, did he slip and fall on your blade?"
Riven's lips twitched, "in a way, that is kinda what happened."
"I refuse to believe a man of that supposed caliber tripped and fell on your blade."
"I…I don't remember exactly what happened, it all happened too fast. I just know that I had come to him to ask him a favor, and that he died by accident because of said favor."
"Favor?"
Riven stared out into the darkness. "I asked him to destroy my blade."
"You couldn't do this yourself?"
"It's runic. Magicks."
Percy hummed, "pesky little things. I'm assuming it rejected his interference and lashed out?"
"It exploded, and a shard lodged itself into his throat. He died on impact."
Percy whistled, "it really rejected him. That's some high level magic; who enchanted the sword?"
Riven looked uncomfortable with the topic. He didn't care, imploring her to speak with a wave of his hand, "an enchantress as old as time. I dare not speak her name, for fear of discovery. She has been chasing me for a few months now, wanting the blade back."
Percy's face scrunched up in distaste, "sorceresses, it just had to be a sorceress," He mumbled. He scratched at his left arm, the robe sliding up slightly. Mangled skin.
Riven looked at him for an answer, but was ignored. Deciding to not be perturbed by his reaction, she glanced down at his revealed arms, and swallowed. They looked exactly like the burns on her back and legs. She tried to clear the saliva from her throat.
"What burned you?" She bit her lip as soon as the words came out. Curse this man, he had lulled her into false security.
He looked at her from across the fire, and a flicker crossed his eyes. She was about to apologize to him, but he waved her off.
"I…mouthed off to someone with much more power than I. This is the result of my actions."
Riven stared at him, unable to imagine someone beating the man before her. He seemed so indomitable. Unbreakable and steadfast. Like the shield walls of Noxus.
She shuddered at the thought. If he destroyed universes, what did the other thing do? Percy looked uncomfortable, his fingers mildly scratching at the scar tissue as he stared at a tree.
"He was what you could call God, I guess. The Creator. The Void. The beginning, end, and everything in between. He…they were cold. Callous. 'It's time for a redo' levels of calculative. Not a human aspect to them. I…didn't like that."
"So you fought him?"
Riven watched as a small smirk graced Percy's face, and in the pitch of night, she would vehemently deny that he had nearly made her soil herself. The words stabbed at her.
"I killed him."
—
As morning came and went twice, and the moon began to rise once more, the trio had finally come into view of the arches of the Placidium. Percy took in the architecture with a sense of awe. It almost looked Greek, and that made him shudder.
Apparently, there was a village on the other side of those arches, hidden away by magic fog and space time bullshit. Schools of renown and magical gardens galore.
He looked to his companions, and found that only Riven was looking at them with awe. Yasuo must have been here plenty of times.
"Shall we?" Percy asked, gesturing to the long trek up the mountain.
Yasuo shook himself from his memories, nodding his head and heading up the path. When they finally approached the arches, the trees behind them letting their magical grasp over their minds go, Yasuo bowed in reverence to the arches.
"This is one of the First Lands' most sacred places. This is where Ionia pulls its strength from. The magic that is within the gardens grants us clarity and harmony with the land. It is here that I first learned to harness the wind."
Percy hummed to himself, before also bowing to the arches. Riven started, before also bowing hesitantly to them, as well. When Yasuo stood back up, they followed him to the edge of the cliff. Within seconds of his approach, a bridge of what looked to be light shimmered into view, allowing them passage to the small village hidden within the fog.
A woman stood at the end of the bridge, a hail of floating daggers behind her, standing at attention. When they had arrived in front of her, Yasuo bowed deeply to her, "Lady Xin."
The girl, for she couldn't have been older than twenty five, huffed at him before waving off his bow. "We've known each other for years, Yasuo. Call me Irelia, already."
"I owe your father much, Lady Xin, and I wouldn't dare disrespect your family in such a way." Percy raised his eyebrows at the way Irelia scoffed. She caught the movement.
"Are you the man who has been causing a ruckus among Ionia's patrons?"
"Patrons?" Percy asks, confusion on his face.
"The spirits of Ionia call out against you, young man. They are fearful of what your…kind means for our lands." Percy barked out a laugh, causing the girl to tense. He held up his hands placatingly.
"Sorry, but I haven't been a young man in centuries," Irelia's eyes widened briefly, "I meant no disrespect, bladedancer. It is good to meet a fellow user of the blade."
Irelia glanced at Yasuo, clearly confused, before Percy clarified, "this stick in the mud refuses to pull out his sword to spar with me."
Irelia's tinkling laughter rings out, "Ah yes. The way of the ronin. They do not unsheathe their blades except to train in solitude or to shed blood. Do not take it as an insult, sir…" she trailed off expectantly.
"Perseus. Percy. Apollyon. Take your pick." It was subtle, but he caught the twitch of her nose and stamped down on his nonchalance. He really had to get better at these social norms. "I apologize. My world does not have much in the way of such a culture as yours outside of the Eastern countries…though they also leave much to desire when I compare here to there."
Irelia's eyes brightened at the mention of another world, "Would you be willing to talk with me about your world? I'm sure many at the School would love to hear about it."
Percy hesitated, and she must have sensed his apprehension, because she raised a finely manicured hand, "you don't need to answer me just yet, and if you don't want to talk to many, you can just discuss with me."
Percy nodded slowly, taking in the girl's attitude. She reminded him so much of Thalia. He shook his head. He was seeing ghosts in everyone.
Irelia's eyes finally landed on the black sheep of the group. Her eyes frosted over, and Percy felt the air grow tense with magic.
"You must be Riven of Noxus," the hatred in her voice wasn't surprising. Percy knew that if anyone had a problem with Noxus, Irelia would be at the top of that list. She had cut off their dictator's arm after all.
Riven stiffened before nodding. She looked as if she moved a single inch, her head would be parted from her shoulders. With the way Irelia was glaring at her, Percy felt inclined to believe the same.
No more words were spared as Irelia turned on her heel and walked them through the village.
—
"Peace, Shen. It is a good plan."
"I don't like this plan, Darha. I don't like that we have fallen so far as to depend on Usan." The name came out with a snarl, a grimace on the unmasked face of Shen.
Zed had already left, walking off towards Weh'le to start off the plan. They had…came to an agreement, in a way. Shen's part would run parallel to Zed's. Corner and trap. Khada Jhin wouldn't be able to pull his old tricks. They were working together.
And it pissed Shen off. He hated how much sense Zed had made. Still that annoyingly sharp kid that his father had taken pity on. Jhin would expect them to be fighting, so them working together would ruin the psychopath's show.
Something shattered, and Shen felt liquid pour down his arm. He looked down at his cup, the shards sticking into his hand and littering the floor. He apologized to Karma, who waved him off.
"Clean it up and get a hold of yourself, Eye of Twilight. We have no time for your squabbles, no matter how justified you are in your hate."
She could never tell him the truth, but then again…neither could Govos. How could they tell the poor man that his father was alive? And was nothing like the man he remembered? Karma's heart ached.
Her hands twitched, torn between providing comfort to the man who could never grieve properly, and smacking him into action. She took a calming breath, her eyes fluttering shut.
Focus. Center oneself in the world. A step on one side, a step on the other. Here and there. Simultaneously. Together. A tug in her head. A tug in her heart. The mind. The soul.
She opened her eyes—her vision tinted in that ethereal blueish purple for a scant second—and the browns and greens of the temple shifted back into place.
"Irelia has called for me to assist her in a council meeting. I must depart for the Placidium, soon. I expect you to bring the criminal to justice without costing innocent lives. Now is not the time for strife, not with what's on the horizon."
Shen nodded slowly, his brow furrowed as he finally grabbed the last shard. Blood seeped from his wound onto the porcelain. Karma nodded back, before grabbing her pack and leaving the temple's prayer room.
Shen looked at the map before them, knowing they only had one shot at this.
—
A few weeks later
Irelia had told them it would take a few months for all of the proper people to arrive for Riven's trial, as they were spread out over the land, so Yasuo had decided to come back for the New Year's celebrations.
With a much lighter step than before, most likely because the bounty had been removed from his head temporarily, they had found themselves outside of a port town along the southern coast.
"Yasuo,"
He kept moving, slipping his way past a few travelers that stood on the road, as he ignored Percy's calls to him.
"Yasuo! Stop for a damn second!"
He stopped, his eyes closing and taking a deep breath in as he turned his head towards his companion, "what, Percy?"
"Tell me about Weh'le. I know you said it has importance to your culture, but how can it stay hidden so well if it's a port city?" The two started walking again.
Yasuo glanced at him, debating on telling the outsider of the magical city's defenses, before finally coming to his decision. "The sea around Weh'le is protected by magic. Powerful, ancient magic that comes from the land. Any unwanted attempt to approach from the sea is met with storms and shipwrecking."
"The sea, hm?" Percy mused to himself, turning to glance at the port city they found themselves in along the coast. Off in the distance was the remains of the Wuju village island, and even from here, Percy could swear he heard the wails of the innocents.
Back on Earth, magic was inherent to individuals or groups of people. The Mist was the only exception, and even then, it was still maintained by the Gods. This planet's magic was inherent to the land. The land was alive and breathing. The spirits lived in some sort of in between. It felt so different to Percy, but he didn't know if he liked this feeling more than that of, say, Hecate.
He fought off a shiver at the thoughts of his home. The talk about Luke had dug up unwanted memories of better times. He really had loved Luke like a pseudo-father figure for the longest time. He was nice, witty, and seemed to care about the kids around him. He was the only one who helped him feel at home in a cabin filled with dozens of strangers and thieves. Even after his betrayal, he never could find it in him to truly hate the Son of Hermes. Percy's throat bobbed. He really missed Luke.
He shook his head. Thoughts for another day. "Come, Yasuo. I have a plan." He called out to his companion, before heading off towards the closest pier in search of a dockmaster.
"Good morning, my friend." Percy greeted a grizzled old man who was standing behind a stall marked with Ionian words and symbols.
"Ya got coin, traveler?" The man grunted out, a finger scratching at the eyepatch that sat over his right eye. Percy smiled, pulling out his sack of currency that he had procured from Yasuo.
"That'll do, youngin. Ya need a ship? Ya came to tha right place! Follow me."
The dockmaster led them down the dock, pushing his way past the sailors that tarried about their work. Boats littered the sides of the wooden pier, some larger than others—merchant ships. He could smell the daily catches being reeled up onto the docks. For once, he wasn't assaulted by the mental callings of sea animals. It was disconcerting, to say the least. Small mercies, he would assume.
As they came to the end of the dock, Percy found himself in front of a hooded individual. A female, he could tell by the slender form hidden underneath the cloak. A warrior, too. The way she shifted underneath it at his approach told of countless wars and strife. Not human. He felt her gaze upon him, and a shiver went down his spine.
"Hey, Lanya. I know you were looking for a bodyguard, and I know these two gentlemen look scary enough to be them so…" he trailed off as he realized the girl hadn't stopped staring at one of the men. Taking that as confirmation, he walked back down the dock.
"You, old man, do not belong here." Yep, Percy was fucked. This was the third person who had realized he wasn't from this land. This planet. This universe.
He smiled with a confused lilt to it, "I beg your pardon, Ma'am?"
A titter came from beneath the cloak, before she finally pulled it back just enough for her eyes to appear. Her bright blue eyes flickered purple for a scant second. A scant second in which Percy's heart froze as he saw Luke standing before him, sword through his side and bleeding profusely. The vision shifted to Annabeth sitting against a pillar—a sword through her chest as she stared glossily at the world. Thalia hung from a tree, her body bruised and broken as she forced her anger and defiance into the ground beneath her gaze.
Then it was gone, lost among the sea breeze. Percy choked on a single breath, anger stirring within him. She had accessed his mind, sifted through his emotions.
"Do not," he released a slow, shaky breath, "meddle with my mind, sorceress."
Lanya removed her gaze, shame and discomfort on her face, as she began to form the words of an apology, "I beg forgiveness, elder. I am not accustomed to human traditions, yet." She looked to want to say more, but bit down in whatever it was. Her brows furrowed in concern.
Percy's anger began to settle, his chest tight and aching, and he looked away from her entrancing face.
"You were looking for a bodyguard, Madame?" Yasuo broke the tension and Percy was thankful for the change of topic. He didn't know if he could speak without breaking down into tears.
Lanya nodded, pulling out a pouch of coins and offering it to them, "I am heading to Bilgewater in search of a family friend. I know the stories of the town, and was hoping to hire some protection for the trip."
Yasuo looked to Percy, gauging his companions interest in the offer, before turning back to the girl, "We would accompany you to Bilgewater, but we are also on a very tight timeline. My companion and I are heading to Weh'le and the city cannot be approached by se-"
"Yasuo," Percy finally spoke up, interrupting what was soon to be a declination, drawing the man's eyes, "Can we speak, for just a moment?"
Silence rang out, before Yasuo nodded, excused himself from the conversation, and the pair walked a few steps away.
"I can get us to Weh'le by sea, I think."
"Percy, I know you are powerful, but many with powers have attempted to traverse the se-"
"Were any of them the Son of a Sea God?"
Yasuo's eyebrows rose in surprise, before hesitation gripped him again. It was beyond dangerous, reckless, brash. He'd been trying to do less of those types of actions.
"Listen, we are running out of time. In a few months, your name will be cleared. I need to see what's with this girl, Lanya. I can feel something calling me. If we want to help this girl, and make it to the festival, we have to hurry up."
Yasuo's hesitation sat for a few more seconds, before he finally sighed and nodded, "Fine, but, if we run into trouble, we shall land at the coast and continue on foot."
Percy nodded and the two headed back to Lanya, "we shall accompany you to Bilgewater after the Spirit Blossom Festival." She tensed at the mention of the festival. She gave a small smile, trying to hide the apprehension, as she held out her hand. Her hood came down slightly, a pair of fuzzy, purple ears flopping out from the top of her head. They perked up as Percy had to stop his breath from catching.
"That will be fine, travelers. I apologize for the secrecy, but my kind do not mix well with humans. My name is Ahri and I hope our travels go well."
A lot has changed. I know I said I changed the timeline, but now I feel like I've just taken a sledgehammer to the entirety of it. Next thing you know, Belveth will be waiting at Bilgewater or something.
On a serious note, Yasuo's behavior towards Riven is most definitely different from how he treated her in the short stories. He was an older man in those stories, a few years on the run at that point if my understanding of the timeline is proper, and much less angry.
Riven was also a more "tame" and "docile" woman in those stories, taking her punishment head on, renouncing Noxus, etc. This is due to her time spent with her adoptive mother and father on the farm—alongside others in the small community. Instead of a hardened weapon like she is here, she was an old, begotten shield wall.
Even shortly after the war, Riven still believed Noxus was a good country. She believed in their creed and beliefs. It wasn't until she saw, from the other side, what was being done to Ionia that she began to realize that this wasn't the way things should be done.
The Riven arc isn't done, so don't fret if you are also a huge enjoyer of her story. I have some more lines to tie up before we can complete the trial, so bear with me.
Anyways, I love this story and have so much fun writing it. Reviews and follows feed the machine, so please nourish me much.
Tell someone you love them, and have a good day.
-Jay