Chapter 1: Here they lie
Chapter Text
Ionia burns.
Foreign ships flood her coast, the peace has been broken, pyres contaminate its skies and blood pours by rivers in its soil. Her tears come in the form of rain trying to pacify whatever fire it comes in touch with. More than the cries from the land itself are those from its own people. Mothers are forced to bury their own children while others flee to seek shelter in the overrun monasteries.
The word spreads like wildfire, worse than the ongoing massacre is the poisonous waste that is dropped in tons, wiping entire villages and cremating the soil to ash.
It was a complete violation of everything sacred. Its inhabitants had resorted to inaction, they were not prepared for such a calamity.
By its northern coast a noxian boy lies in its green fields, a victim too of the war that had befallen all of them. He had fought for the winning side yet still had lost.
Awoken from a nightmare, Kayn finds himself lying upon the undergrowth, his heart beating like a drum and the heavy feeling that constrains his chest had not left him, so much murder and bloodshed had dulled his emotions, though his heart was constantly heavy from the homesickness, the abandoned.
The recurrent theme of night terrors always seemed so real, every time. He dreamt of the dark room inside the immortal bastion, the one with the heavily sealed door where none of them were allowed to enter. He would crawl amidst a mountain of corpses while his body contorted in unimaginable ways, he could almost feel it. His bones would dislocate from one place to another, his spine broken from the inside out.
He clutches his chest like he clutches his rusted sickle, with a grip that could almost bruise.
He hated falling asleep for that very same reason, feared the nightmares would come back to haunt him once again. Oh, how he wished his mind would just conjure normal torture, instead, his body seemed to be much more creative for that sort of treatment.
As his heart slowed down his thoughts were interrupted by a pang on his stomach, eyes looking down to the wound that had been dealt to him the previous day.
The main reason why he had fallen unconscious in the first place, he had fallen asleep expecting to die. A mortal wound had been delivered to him, his attacker now laying dead beside him a couple meters away. It still hurt, but he was alive
A drop of rain lands atop his forehead, heavy rain clouds watch loom over him.
Ionia.
He tastes the name on his tongue, a foreign word, his vocabulary has trouble pronouncing it.
Over the past week the boy had seen things that no child should ever see. He tried not to think of the dried blood that coated his entire frame, a lot of it Ionian but most of it from his own companions.
If others had survived he did not know, it had been a few days since he'd last seen one of them.
He’d never known them for long, nor did he have any reason to get close to any of them, most of the time they’d find themselves fighting amongst themselves, pulling their hair and knocking off their teeth. But the moment those ships docked, they bonded over their shared experience, their eyes met one another with the same type of fear and that was enough.
They’d told them the Ionians would not fight back, but they did not account for the relentless environment they were placed in. They lit fires and burned houses, blaze homes and fields, but their small victory would not last.
They’d done well, but Noxus would not reward them, they were not here.
He came to learn that the ionian cowards would not fight because they expected the earth to do it for them. He remembered running through the fields as the soil beneath them shook like an earthquake and a monster made of wood and moss emerged from the undergrounds stomping everything that crossed its way. A ‘guardian’, they called it. And at night the beasts would come out, looking like drakehounds with big sharp teeth and long claws, they ripped apart so many of them, Kayn could still see the fear in his comrades eyes as they ran only to end up like common prey in these foreign lands.
The small noxian realized for the first time that he was utterly alone. He hadn’t seen one of his own in days, their numbers had dwindled and if there was anyone left they were already too far apart.
He looks to the side, amber eyes distant and void, stare on to the red river that runs below. Some bodies of both Noxian and Ionian lie upon its shores, having been washed up by the current more upstream.
He tried to stand up but the roots of this strange land had managed to entangle themselves in his feet and fingers, as if the dirt itself was trying to swallow him.
Breaking free and leaving only a few scratches over the litter of scars in his body, the boy picked up the rusted sickle he’d stolen from a farmer and made his way, hoping to find something to eat soon.
With another day to live, Kayn strolled over the now familiar surroundings of the Epool river. The bodies had now started to rot, leaving odd creatures to feast on soft flesh.
It was easier to hunt when the prey was lured on its own.
The locals had also started to fear him, they said a little devil lived in their outskirts. He didn’t approach the villages anymore like he did when Noxus unleashed them upon Ionia, but any who ventured too far into the forest did not make it back in one piece. If his birth country had abandoned him, he would make this his new home. Even if he wanted to cry and scream at the thought of never seeing his home again, that place had never treated him kindly, but it was still the place he was born and raised in.
Finding coverage in the tall grass he crawled over to a small pack of small elongated creatures, like a cat stalking their prey. He held his breathing and steadied the makeshift bow he had picked from the ground earlier. He made use of everything that would come in handy.
Kayn was not new to this sort of activity, this was survival of the fittest. Most in his cast either got around through stealing or begging, thus an open hunting place like this one was a blessing for the small one, he hadn’t eaten something properly in days surviving mostly through berries while praying they were not poisonous.
With his hands impeccably steady and eyes focused on the target, he released , delivering a clean death to the animal, promting the rest of the pack to flee. In another situation he would’ve been overjoyed by the success of catch, but the mental toil from the last few days had damaged him in more ways than one.
He felt simply void.
With the help of the sickle he tried his best to skin the animal properly, a hard task with a weapon that clearly was not meant for it.
The boy relished the meat of the creature; even when raw it did a good job on nourishing his empty stomach. Blood now stained his mouth making him look slightly deranged.
His meal was cut short by the sound of people in the distance, several of them by the looks of it. Kayn peeked over the hill, hiding his small body with the tall grass. He observed a few men, well armed and well stocked. It wasn't the villagers he was used to. He set the animal on a loose rope on his pants to finish it later and set of to get a closer look.
Rain poured down his head, but it did not bother him, if anything it helped clean the stench and blood of his clothes.
In his wrist dangled the dozens of name plates he'd collected from his fallen companions. Kayn didn't know why, they'd never get the chance to know one another. A part of him told him it was added weight and the sound would only help give away his position, but a part of him wanted to remember, because no one else will, a name was the only thing they had for themselves
Kayn was done with his life in Noxus, not just because a literal sea separated him from his birth home, but Kayn took the loss at Epool as a betrayal.
From his position on the trees that these men were not like the others, they wore dark clothes and steel armor. Unlike the farmers and mercenaries that had come to defend the area.
Kayn wondered if he could somehow find a way to loot their belongings, they seemed to carry much more valuable armory and weapons, weapons he thought he could later sell. One of them seemed to be their leader; he wore a steel mask and plated armor, much more similar to the ones in Noxus, if it weren’t for the red accents and the traditional Ionian attire. Meanwhile the other seemed much less armed , easier prey .
He waited until the small group had split to make his move. Stalking one of the lesser men like a shadow, till he could no longer hear any of the other men
He used some of the blood from the animal he had caught earlier to further stain his clothes and got to work. The technique Noxus had sent them for in the first place, had proved its uses.
He laid himself on the soggy ground clutching his stomach for dear life, the other hand hiding the sickle beneath his body.
“Help!”
“Anyone please!” He tried his best to mimic the Ionian tongue with the few words he’d managed to pick up, though it was hard to coat his heavy accent.
It was important that he didn’t cry out loud so as to not alert the others. As a small boy he would not stand a chance against a group of men, he doubted he’d even be able to outrun them.
Heavy tears ran down his face and he hadn't dropped his cries of agonies, when through the tall grass, a man approached him concerned, muttering something in the Ionian language.
Kayn waited patiently, the man clutched him carefully unsure what to do with the dying child, so small and fragile he looked, just another orphaned child who’d met a grim fate. But behind his crying gaze, Kayn hid a darkness.
In this moment of weakness Kayn striked. The air turned cold, he aimed for his achilles heel and watched as the man fell to his knees, but it did not stop there. Kayn jumped onto the man's back and delivered another stab to the man's shoulder, hearing him cry in agony. Pain was such a universal language.
He thought he had him, most people would not be able to keep going after such a blow but while relishing his small victory he was hit by a pang on his chest as an elbow hit him head on and he fell to the ground, scrambling to find his weapon when the crawling man’s arms wrapped around him, Kayn in a state of panic bit him with an intensity that could rival that of dogs, the man let loose immediately.
He wouldn’t run and while still pressing his advantage he crawled on top to deliver a final blow, like he’d done to countless other Ionians before when he felt a chill running up his spine. His eyes widened when he realized the commotion was bound to have drawn some attention.
Kayn felt his heart racing, the chills running up his spine were like those he felt underneath the depths of the immortal bastion, the scent of primordial magic . He was surrounded by a room of shadows, suddenly he was back at the place of his nightmares, but instead of sand and red skies, it was darkness and rain. His instincts were at their peak, Kayn clutched his sickle with a strength he didn’t know he had, his head darting from one place to another at the slightest hint of a sound.
The man now lay completely forgotten, his attention was now solely on the looming threat.
The rain had continued to rage on, now the red river had grown twice its size and its current was a deadly storm.
From the shadows came a man with a steel mask and steel blades for hands.
Soaking in this darkness Kayn dodged them by the skin of his teeth. He used all of his training and abilities to focus on this dance, but he would eventually give out, so small and frail.
The man was toying with him.
Kayn faltered with every strike but he knew the man wasn't fighting to his full capabilities, his strikes were slow and almost graceful.
It made him sick.
Assessing his options, Kayn panted, he looked at the man dead in the eyes, a relentless determination in his eyes.
They went onto a stalemate, it seemed as if the man was deciding what to do with him. From here Kayn could get a better look at his opponent, cold armor adorned with red fabrics. Red was the color of Noxus, but his attire looked like nothing he would’ve seen in the back in the lines of the conflict.
The man carefully stepped a step closer, his blades were not drawn, but suddenly his heart pooled when he didn’t feel the ground beneath him. The unstable soil had crumbled amidst the rain and Kayn felt the cold and beating sensation of water hitting his body.
Water filled his lungs and blocked his eyesight, he desperately tried to find the surface but the river was relentless. He’d survived so much, only to die washed up by the current of this stupid river. Panic flowed through his very being, his blood pumped so fast it beat on his eardrums
His head spinned and he could not even tell which way was up or which way the ground was.
Just when he thought his short lived life had come to an end something brings him to the surface, shadows engulf him gently, like a warm blanket. The world had turned to silence.
He coughs all the water in his lungs till his throat burns. His eyes disoriented managed to see the gray sky over the tree line.
Taking notice of his savior, he pitifully tries to break free. The masked man crouches over to his pinned body and inspects the metal plate that hung from his neck that Noxus gave them for identification along with their serial number.
"Shieda Kayn" it read.
Kayn only hissed at him, bearing his teeth. He tried breaking free from the knee in his chest when a blade was put to his cheek.
"You fought well, are there others like you?" he asked him in his native noxian tongue, his tone hostile.
"There's no one like me." He barked back. He should be grateful, really but he wasn’t about to kiss the feet of a stranger who tried to kill him. He’d survived this long for a reason, those who hadn’t were not worthy of living. He’d earned his freedom and had fought every day tooth and nail to keep himself alive.
The man laughed from the stomach full of mirth, whether it was real or mockery Kayn could not tell.
“You dealt Ren there quite the blow” Kayn merely huffed, Ionians were too trusting. He looked to his side where the man’s comrade lay while another tended to his wounds, he would’ve been proud had it worked.
“Now boy" he looked around at what remained of the battle at Epool, some corpses layed on the ground and pyres had been lit in the distance "what happened here?”
Kayn looked around at the place they were in. Epool had turned into a massacre, the river itself seemed to bleed from it, corpses and burned grass lied about everywhere, he tried his best to not let the tears break out of his eyes, what happened here? He shouldn’t be sad by now, but the mere mention of the event brought an emotional reaction out of him.
This was our way out, in Noxus it's our only way to freedom
In the streets he grew up in strength was everything, everyone knew of the meritocratic state of their country, those with power stood above it all. He felt an immense sense of defeat at the thought that his generals had known they were just cannon fodder, they never stood a chance.
Finally he spoke “They sold us like cattle!" He choked, tears ran down his face, he tried not to think of the man who had bought him for a few coins, forced to fight a war they shouldn't have been part of in the first place.
“They promised us a life back home! So we burned everything, but it was for nothing”
“I-If I got back I could…” could what? There was nothing there waiting for him .
No family, no mentions of heroic victory, Epool was irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. Climbing the ladder through prowess and strength seemed like such a scam by now, his illusions had been shattered. He had not possessed such luck.
The man behind his steel mask analyzed him
"Do you want them to pay?" he looked serious now, not a hint of the initial mockery he'd faced earlier, he fidgeted his name plate with his clawed hands
“Yes” he answered, truthfully , there was a primordial need to murder and mutilate the people who'd wronged him, an entire nation who had turned its back on him, on them .
“I want them to pay too, you will be of great use to us” He told him “or you can stay out here and die to the wilderness” he added.
He looked at him so surely as if I can teach you it said, even in this powerless position he felt a sense of empowerment, of hope . They can pay , here he could be somebody, Ionia had saved him, its roots now lay deep beneath him, this is why .
We were meant to meet
He extended his arm and Kayn took it gracefully, mesmerized by the swirling shades that coated his arms. He looked at him like an actual savior. Something about strength always made him cling onto it.
"We'll make them pay"
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Master Zed took him in his arms, he was exhausted, his small legs would not be able to keep up. In the arms of this stranger he felt safe for some reason, maybe it was the exhaustion and the mental toil he had taken, where he would so willingly open his arms for a stranger.
They regrouped with the others who whispered amongst themselves in their language, confused and bewildered.
They were judging him
Kayn even when helplessly carried would show no vulnerability. His eyes wide open analyzed each and every one of them
“Put the rest of the bodies onto the pyres” Master Zed ordered as the acolytes gathered many of the bodies.
Kayn eyed the man who he'd hurt, those kind eyes that had watched over him with concern now were colder than ice, but he did not relent and his amber eyes stared back at him with just as much intensity.
Chapter 2: Among the living
Notes:
Um helloo, I started writing this story in 2023, I didn't have much of a story back then and publishes for the sake of publishing. But now I have a huge 50 chapter outline and a big chunk of the story already written, so hopefully it goes better this time.
Also I edited a lot of the first chapter and moved like half of it over here, hopefully its not a common occurance
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Death was a fickle thing, they lived in every house, every nook, in the birds and down in the earth. From the corner of the eye, one could sometimes see the white snow tufts or the glimmer of sharp teeth.
They hunted together, the Kindred people called them. Every warrior and crone can recall a memory of a loved one clinging to life and how they either saw one or the other.
But they always hunted together. One was the quick death and the other the brutal one.
That night at Epool river Kayn swore he’d smelt the stench of maws looming over his head.
───────── ౨ৎ ─────────
The warmth of the sun yet the air retained much of its summer heat, as well as sticky with the Ionian humidity, but it was little in comparison to the temperature in the boy’s body.
He’d awoken soaked in sweat, the thin fabric of his attire clinged to his frame uncomfortably. His head was dizzy, some nights he could still feel the gentle cradle of the ship rocking in his mind, despite having been on land for more than a week now.
“I wonder what it’s like” He remembered one of the girls on board whispering under the docks' darkness, careful as to not alert any of the caretakers or to wake any of the sleeping children.
“Wonder what” but no matter how quiet they tried to be, in the end the five of them shared a single hammock and any whisper and movement would be amplified tenfold.
Kayn was tired, all day pumping coal into the engines to keep the ship running did a number on anyone’s muscle. They’d been lucky to be able to secure a hammock instead of the cold floor and they were about to have that privilege revoked if these two didn’t shut the hell up.
“I dunno, I’ve never even left the capital, do you think they can win?” At this point he was getting increasingly annoyed, the place was cramped and he was hugging other two kids on his side and their breathing was loud enough.
“I’ve never killed before Ness”
He felt a elbow jabbing his side
“I mean we don’t have to kill them… we can just beat em’, my brother was in infantry and he said a wounded soldier is better than a dead one” Ness answered.
“But have you?” and the barrack fell dead silent again.
Kayn was about to drift into unconsciousness when a voice broke the silence.
“The swords they gave us are too heavy —”
“Will you two shut up?” He snapped back, his voice raspy but still low.
“Sorry”
“…”
“Maybe they’re not for us?” Gods above.
“So we fight with our fists”
She didn’t get a response but Kayn could feel someone hugging him tighter and he embraced it.
They might be children of Noxus, but many of them were born from the mothers of conquered nations, or slaves who were unlucky enough to be picked by army conscriptors.
Little did they know this would be their final night together.
Now he didn’t have the harsh waves of the ocean to lull him to sleep or the warm bodies of his friends to reassure him, he not only had a foreign roof and unfamiliar clothing to cling to.
He wasn’t naive to the betrayal Noxus did to them but he was terribly homesick, he missed the familiarity of the tall concrete buildings and the petty fights he and the other children would have in its hallways, it wasn’t good but at least they were things he knew.
Now he was trapped in a strange continent with strange people and a language he couldn’t even understand.
He felt so terribly alone, small droplets of tears streamed down his face, surprised he still had them.
Kayn would never trust again, he was an unwanted, cursed child, even the empire had considered him unworthy and thrown him away like all things that do not work
Getting up from the bed he ventured outside the room, his stomach had been bandaged up but the wound still ached.
He’s been at the temple for a total of three days and every time he tried roaming outside the small comfort he’s made in that tiny room, Shieda would be met by a myriad of unending hallways a rooms that seemed to everchanging, the roots twisting oh so slowly to reveal a new room or a tiny treasure. In a different situation he might’ve found it fascinating, but considering he’d seen first hand what the living plants in this country could do, he almost found it cruel.
His body was still healing, he’d received some minor fractures here and there, but the healers at the temple had made sure none of his scratches or the almost lethal blow he had on his stomach had been infected, he’d be grateful if he weren’t so confused.
Master Zed appeared here and there, but the man was still a big mystery to Kayn. He’d loom over his chamber like a shadow, but he preferred it that way.
He’d spent the days becoming a wraith of the temple. Anyone who had the misfortune of being selected as his watcher, would end the day with bite marks on their arms and scratches on their face.
In his midnight wandering he stumbled upon a small room (or as small as you could get in a temple as big as this one) and found a comfortable spot in which to spend the rest of the night.
In the midst of a war the shadow orders leader couldn’t allow himself to spend his time coddling a child. Everyday he begged the spirits to let this conflict draw to a close.
Many did question Zed's decision of housing a foreigner under their roof and Kayn’s unwillingness to be tamed certainty did not help his cause.
Many of the residents of Epool had already called him “Noxus demon child" and that reputation had not faded when he started tormenting the residents of his temple's walls.
They’d moved to another monastery as base for operations (one that they’d taken by force no less), it was closer to the Placidium and its location hidden by a magical barrier put it in a good strategic position.
Zed never thought he’d find himself in this situation. He’d been ready to end the child there and there. It would bring him no pleasure, and that would mean steeping to the level of his enemies, but the boy had already terrorized the province. It angered him how quickly he’d been on grouping a child with the rest of his scum of people.
But despite the perks it had, Zed wished he could’ve taken the boy back to Thanjuul temple, this place was not theirs and none of the followers he’d brought with him were fit to take care of a child as troubled as this one.
Speaking of which, he went on to check up on him, only to find his bed empty.
He wondered for a second if the child had managed to find a way to escape, Zed would not chase him, not this time.
Zed followed the lingering traces of negative energy around the kid and found him lying on one the Kashuri rugs on one the lower floors of the temple. It was slightly faded but it maintained a lot of its original marvel, its condition probably coming from the lack of use it had and the little morning light that penetrated the chamber.
His small body was completely curled, with his head hugging his knees and his hands carefully grasping the softness beneath him
Zed approached carefully, he’d caught on early. The boy was a light sleeper, but that was nothing in comparison to the ninja’s nimbleness. As he sat down on the other side of the intricate weaving, the clicking of his armor alerted the small noxian of his presence, startled he went on the defensive immediately.
“You were dreaming” He told him, seeing the small twitches he noticed on his sleeping form.
Kayn didn't answer, He’d withdrawn himself to the point he never spoke save for a few instances.
“This is quite the artifact you are sitting on” Zed broke the ice, he’d made a note to himself to take the relic back to Thanjuul.
“it tells the story of when the titans descended onto our realm, they killed those who happened on their path but then arose the-”
“I don’t care for your Ionian stories”
Zed fell quiet after that, he kept asking himself what was the point in any of this, Kayn was the child of the enemy, chances are he’d never grow to join their cause.
“What do you want from me?” I don’t know, a weapon perhaps.
“Am I a hostage?”
He scoffed “You are hardly a target of importance” Kayn curled more on himself after that. He didn’t mind being harsh, the boy had to learn that his best options now lied with them. And Zed was hoping he’d make a fine addition to the order. If only he wasn’t noxian.
“When the empire conquers Ionia, we’ll-” here he goes again.
“Your savage friends are losing is what I’ll tell you” He snapped, no one talked of his homeland being destroyed and occupied with such nonchalantly.
They stared at each other for a few long seconds before Zed made a decision. He would show this kid who was in charge. Getting up he walked over to him.
“Why don’t we go pay them a visit, shall we?” Kayn’s head snapped at that, looking directly at him with that piercing amber gaze.
Zed summoned a couple shadows to reprimand the boy and he picked him up by the side like a sack of potatoes.
“They’ll kill me for desertion!” he thrashes, desperation in every wave of his voice. He was somewhat concerned if the empire really had regulations to have soldiers they’d already sent to die, he wouldn’t be surprised nonetheless.
“Calm down, no one is deserting anyone”
“Um master? What are we going to do with him?” An acolyte pointed to the soaked child in the steps, Zed had to pour some cold water on him to calm him down, now he only huffed with resentment and looked like an angry wet dog.
Zed looked between him and his follower, he’d decided to bring Kayn with him on this expedition, the child had caused enough trouble as it is and he didn’t have the time to babysit him while war still raged on.
“He’s coming with us”
They’d go with Ren and another acolyte on the expedition. He’d been unfortunate enough to be on the receiving end of one of Shieda’s outburst and Zed thought he’d keep an eye on the both of them, knowing him he’d probably never let go of that bad first impression and his heel was still healing from Kayn’s blow a few days prior. Ren wasn’t that much older than their new noxian addition, but those few years made a big difference, the teenager hated being grouped with the little scoundrel. They were the only two children the order had. Ren had been part of the original group that overthrew the late Kinkou master on that fateful night he’d practically begged Zed to go with him.
The skies were cloudy but it looked like the sun might shine for the first time in weeks this time around. Zed overlined the plan to his band of acolytes, they would split into groups of five to scout the territory ahead, an eagle had delivered the message to come to the Navori Placidium as fast as possible.
Zed and the rest of his followers quickly packed provisions and spare weapons and mounted on horses and the few Drae’i wolves, the canines were more lithe and furless than regular wolves but they were more fit for domestication and travel distances.
Since he wouldn’t allow himself to be touched, Kayn takes the younger cub, Zed thought the creature would just end up following his mother.
Zed made up his party of Amos, Ren, another acolyte, Kayn and himself.
He said his farewells to the acolyte he’d left in charge and they ran quickly through the countryside, the breeze smelt like flowers instead of burning wood.
“I still don’t understand why he has to come with us” said Ren. They’d been riding in silence till he decided to open his mouth.
But Zed understood his concerns, Ren wasn’t the only one who eyed him differently or questioned his decision. They’d lost so much in the last couple years, Zed himself put all the blame on the noxian invaders, but he’d something in the boy’s amber eyes that he’d be willing to throw out all his prejudices.
“Hey Kayn, is it true that in Noxus they tax your urine to later use it for cleaning?”
Kayn eyed the ionian, his tired eyes could still muster a killer glare, it irked him they only talked to him in his mother tongue to annoy him. Shieda was starting to get used to these types of comments.
“I bet that’s why they threw you out, I heard they tax for everything over there”
“Ren” he’d had enough.
Kayn pulls on the pup's ears earning a high pitched howl from the creature as Kayn throws himself on the bigger man, sending both of them off their rides and tumbling into the yellow grass. Immediately going for the man’s eyes with his uncut nails.
But it wasn’t hard for the taller boy to regain the upper hand, he was both bigger and more experienced. Ren responded by kicking him in the stomach, sending the boy spinning.
The mother of the pup was about to throw herself and her flower shaped head onto Shieda, when Zed intervened, putting himself between Kayn and the angered mother.
“He’s just like the rest of them!” yelled Ren.
“Enough of this” Zed snapped back.
“What's the point of fighting noxians when you're just going to let them join us?” A hint of tears was starting to well up on the corner of his eye, if it was from the scratches on his face or the small betrayal that came with allowing the enemy under their roof Zed did not know.
“Stop it Ren” His tone is harsh and the two watch
“You made a promise to us!”
“And i've held onto my word, i'll allow this disrespect only because you were not at fault , but don't ever question my judgment again”
He could see Ren had more to say, but Zed was going to make sure to live up to his previous statements. He wasn’t above punishing followers who step out of line, Ren as one of his younger acolytes knew this, yet he still had it in him to challenge him.
After what felt like minutes he finally answered “Yes master” he said lowering his head.
They continued the journey without many problems, aside from what Ren's gossip with his other acolyte.
Rain had become an even more common sight than the sun ever since the war started and everyday zed thanked the spirit that they had not become as complacent as its inhabitants had.
Ionia keeping the terrain unstable and dangerous, Zed recounted the times the noxian invader found themselves defeated by a flood or by an avalanche of terrain
They fought this war in the shadows, they were down in the thousands and this war would never be won on the open battlefield. The forests were filled with all sorts of dangerous traps and magical arrangements. They’d holded they're on further than what zed could have imagined and he would wear that with the smuggest of smiles
Their victory was almost assured at this point, the noxian empire continued to send their troops east, they were bleeding resources and from what he’d heard even their own people were starting to turn against each other.
Though it did not come at a free cost, every day that passed Zed was still counting bodies, even those dealt by his hand. This victory came with a sacrifice and Zed had sacrificed everything
He mourned the loss of his past self, but in the shadows he’d found a mirror and had cast his soul and body to be born again.
“We won’t make it to the Placidium in time” the voice of Amos had broken his thoughts: He’d been one of his strongest supporters in the coup, a man that despite approaching his later years and more conviction to fight than a lot of these senile elders, someone who despite his age had never treated him as anything less than an equal
“Take east we might be able to catch them from behind” they’d been intercepted
He’d seen on that child the type of darkness he saw on himself, a volition most grown men didn’t have.
This war didn't treat any of its children kindly that was for sure.
The face of the ionian resistance was a fourteen year old girl. It wasn't an experienced elder nor spiritual leader, she had a gift and a conviction to show these tyrants why they can't barge into places where they are not wanted, she’d traded ribbon for blades and plough arms for swords
At their darkest hour she had risen to rally the people, never did he ever think he’d seen an Ionia as unified as this
With Irelia hostage things had changed.
Irelia was everything Ionia needed. Her heart beat as one with the spirit of Ionia, it was good it was her that the people wouldn’t follow a wyrm like him.
She’d been captured a couple weeks prior, severely jeopardizing their position in this war. And Zed would never admit it but he hoped she was alright.
They’d met only a few times, but the girl had a pain and maturity that preceded her age, still though, only a child.
They’d been sent to reinforce a battle that would take place to regain Irelia’s freedom, but what they came upon in the Placidium was a sight he’d longed for in the last three long years.
White flags.
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Had it not been for the heaviness in his muscles and the small fractures in his bones, Kayn would've put on a better face when being dragged around by a bunch of Ionians. He wouldn't allow himself to be touched or carried unless of absolute exhaustion.
He awoke atop the animal, its soft fur beckoned him to stay, but the scuffle in his surroundings was getting hard to ignore.
Walking over to his new master, they were posted on what looked to be a natural formation of a balcony so they could see the celebration below.
Song resounded across the place, drinks were being passed around, people danced, others cried. They were celebrating
“Our deaths really meant nothing” he said in a low tone, observing their joy.
“Death is always meaningless, there's no beauty in it” Said Master Zed, something in voice giving away that maybe he meant something more than that.
Zed watched the celebration from the sidelines, careful not to be seen, while a lot of his followers enjoyed the party, though they operated in the shadows and had and were seen in an unfavorable light by most of the local population, this was still their victory.
That was until Xan Irelia spotted him and greeted Zed with the detached noxian hand, swaying side to side playfully. The party wasn’t just about the end of the war, it was for her as well. After having escaped her imprisonment she’d won them the battle at the Placidium even managing to sever the general’s hand, which was now being passed around as a trophy of war of sorts.
She called him over when he caved on her demands and twirled her once, her swords dancing around her beautifully before he retracted back to the shadows.
Kayn merely watched from a small balcony he’s head lying on his side while his body rested on a few blankets. His eyes devoid of anything, just watching the dance below, this was not his victory, Zed accompanied him though he kept his distance
Kayn watches as the lights flicker, it was beautiful, they had all sorts of weirdly shaped lanterns and strangest foods, for the first time he was truly reconciling that this was going to be his home from now on. No one was going to come pick him up. He was never going back, was he? He’d never see the faces of his short lived friends or the few adults who’d been kind enough to him. He didn’t remember much of his family, but he supposed they must be out there somewhere, right?
“Why do you cry?”
“I want this feeling to go away” he said, scrubbing the wetness out of his eyes. He'd cried so much lately, it was like he couldn’t go an hour without breaking down.
Zed observed the child sympathetically, he could truly be a cold person sometimes, but if the war had hardened him Kayn had made a small crack on his stone heart “Come with me” Zed touched his shoulder and Kayn allowed it. His hands touched the ground engulfing both of them in shadow and phased them through the crowd like a ghost.
They ended up on a small stall lit by a few lanterns, it was clear the store had seen better days. It was run by a burly man of an age Zed couldn’t quite put his finger on. He knew the man personally but their conversations never went too much on the personal.
Zed bought him a speciality of the region, a stick of fruit bathed in sugar. It was a rare thing to see in war days, but with the conflict over, the owner had probably rummaged through the back of the pantry for ingredients
Kayn’s eyes lit up when he bit onto the fruit and Zed could feel those fissures in his heart slowly crack one by one.
After his first treat he’d reluctantly asked for another one, and then another one, and Zed couldn’t just say no.
They left early in the morning before anyone woke and escaped into the early mist as if they’d never been there, making their way back home, back to Thanjuul temple.
He hated this feeling of weakness, to be seen as nothing more than a child in front of the enemy, a helpless one. Though perhaps it was a good thing and his luck has yet to run out, his tutors and generals had told him Ionians were more forgiving towards children, unlike the unforgiving Noxus where Kayn had been considered an adult since the moment he was left to fend for himself.
They traveled in a caravan, Kayn was lying down on one the wagons on his own, it seemed acolytes preferred walking than to have to sit the journey with him.
The men didn't bother tying the child, they didn't know the things he was capable of. But life had left him beaten, he could try his luck with the strangers or out in the Ionian wilderness.
In the silence Kayn observed. Ionia was a place so unlike Noxus. The night seemed to glow , lanterned flowers adorned the roots of trees and the sky was a starry night.
They traversed a few towns and villages here and there, the locals would either watch in disgust or fear as they passed, some kneeled others would seek refuge behind the windows of their homes. Kayn wondered what sort of people he had been involved with, and a sense of pride overtook him at the thought that he was surrounded by a group of people who were feared. Strength and respect was everything in Noxus, its own form of currency.
Kayn muttered his birthplace mantra: kill them until they are family. Maybe some in Ionia thought the same too.
They reached the myriad of stairs encrusted in the roots of the landscape, Kayn looked down the edges of the cliff they were oh so dangerously close to with an acute curiosity. The journey went on till they reached a temple, like everything else he'd seen, despite the intricate architecture it seemed to be part of the mountain itself, above the absurdly tall arches where vines and branches sprouted from.
In a sense it reminded him of the insides of the Immortal Bastion, but if the bastion had been a cold and rigid place, this place was full of life .
"This is Thanjuu temple" Master Zed told him
"From now on this will be your new home"
He got off the wagon to stare at the huge hole in the mountain, it was even bigger than the previous temple they’d been at.
In the light of dusk he stood in the middle of the archway, the sky dark blue but not fully night.
Kayn merely nodded as they furthered into the temple, he noticed blood splattered on the pillars and a few acolytes that brought bodies to the outside, further staining the floors in red. He started to wonder what had happened here. For a moment he debated if he should run or not, but the place seemed almost welcoming, like a warm night, the shadows seemed to almost hug his presence.
"Shadow magic" as if reading his thoughts the man told him.
That might be a reason why they refused to lighten the halls, Kayn looked at the intricate murals woven in stone that decorated the walls.
"It's what you saw back at Epool river, and what saved you, in time you'll learn how to harness it"
The darkness didn't bother him, from a young age he had grown accustomed to it, from afar he could distinguish a lot of the details carved into them, they told stories he was not familiar with.
"It's like blood magic"
That perked the man's attention immediately. Kayn wasn't just a potential fighter, he had information that was foreign to Zed, one which could help in the ongoing war. It was an interesting observation, blood magic was a thing reserved for the upper classes and those that had a talent for it.
"You'll have no need for your country's foul tricks" he said, stopping by a woman who bowed to his presence.
They exchanged some words and Kayn could feel her masked face judging him
“This is Shi La, you respect her like you’ll respect me” he finally introduced them, he didn’t really know what to say and her glare intimidated him.
She led him further into the temple, Kayn guessed it was probably an important place judging by the size of it. Deeper into the temple the more the place seemed to not be crafted by human hands, roots formed arches and let their branches grow. Here the shadows were stronger, not a drop of light could be filtered through. But his eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness, mistress Shi seemed to take notice of this too.
They reached a room poorly lit by a few candles and where there were other women waiting. They spoke in their foreign tongue and giggled amongst themselves, though their tone was not hostile, unlike some of the others he'd met.
They bathed him and dressed him up in clean new clothes, traditional Ionian ones, though were too big for him so they dangled loosely off his frame. Kayn swears he's never touched fabric so soft. One the girls grabs a paint brush and dips it into a bowl of dark paint, he flinches as the acolyte paints two dark circles underneath his eyes.
“Master Zed doesn’t usually train children” Mistress Shi said, Kayn pricked his ears at the sound of the language he was familiar with. “Not even when he was with the Kinkou”
“Kinko?” He wasn’t keen to initiate conversation but he was curious.
“A group who stood aside when your kind invaded us”
“Oh..then what does Master Zed want from me?” He asked her, fidgeting with his number plate that had his name,
She did not answer him. When they finished they seemed almost excited about their handiwork. He didn't understand what was happening at all or what required this level of pampering.
They met up later with master Zed, all the acolytes giving a respectful bow for him, though Kayn stood his ground. He noticed he had also changed into a different set of clothes.
"This is a very important day for people like us" He sounded very pleased at this, as if it was something that brought him great pride.
"To join us, you first have to be initiated"
"What"
"A test" he looked back at him
Kayn didn't like that idea, he was already wary of these people. But they'd carried him all the way here for a reason and he wasn't about to show fear in front of them.
They entered a room lit only by a few torches and an odd blue liquid that flowed through the cracks of the temple's floor, leading to a dark pool at the center of it. He wasn’t scared though, especially not of the dark, to him this would be like any other test, he’d never backed down from a challenge, he would overcome it like everything else.
Kayn wasn't particularly fond of the smell of incense, in Noxus he associated it with the smell of brothels but Ionians apparently had a whole different perception of it.
The group present wasn't as large as to warrant a temple this big and some of them were more injured than others. They stood in the sidelines, all their eyes focused on him.
He walked slowly through the dark pool, it wasn't water, rather a thick substance that seemed to leech of him, staining the clothes they had put on him with something that seemed so dark it would probably never wash off.
In the center stood a box and a woman with a horned headpiece carefully awaiting him.
Shadows clawed their way to the box gently caressing it
It seemed as time slowed down, the acolytes watched him anxiously, some whispering words of encouragement while others scoffed.
His heart raced like it had in his nightmares, like it had with his battle with Master Zed.
It called to him
There might've been drums and chimes being played by the acolytes, but Kayn could not hear them any longer, his senses overwhelmed by the living darkness that surrounded him.
Whispering incomprehensible things right next to his ears, some sang while others promised him things he could not understand
"Shadows take him" he murmured "This boy has proven worthy" he took his hand as he guided him
Zed let him walk on his own, the liquid now reached to his hips, but it no longer felt like the walking through a thickness, it welcomed him, it now was as soft as walking through sheets of silks.
The shadows clinged to his arms gently, inspecting his face, touching his face, getting into his nostrils.
He finally reached the center, the drumming in his ears, the wailing of the shadows how he wished it would all stop. He thought back to all those children at Epool, their faces now starting to blur together, he thought of a spear impaling one of them while another burned to death, he thought of the things he'd endured at the depths of Noxus, all the people that had been stripped away from him, that he'd never get the chance to know, how the generals sent them to battle fully knowing they would all die.
I am a weapon
That's what he thought of himself, something to be tossed and used as one liked.
He felt some much rage and grief, tears rolled down his cheeks, wishing for things he'd never have.
He touched the box.
And Kayn sank to its depths
In the early morning Kayn is sitting on one of the beds at the medical ward of the temple. It was a part of the temple that felt oddly different to the rest of it. It was sitting on what looked to be the roots of a giant tree that had a yellowy kind of liquid flowing through its wood into curated bowls Mistress Shi La collected.
He observed her with precise attention as she plucked the vines hanging from the ceiling to grind them along some seeds.
They are doing what Zed called something like “kinsology” or something.
Kayn is still wary of being touched, he flinched every time she had her hands on him, the shadows helped, he felt closer to these people. But she also wasn’t the epitome of a kind lady. Her voice was hoarse and her nails were too long for comfort. Her tone wasn’t kind either. She made conversation in ionian, fully knowing he could not understand her.
She made him do some small movements with his legs, it hurt but he tried to not show it.
“You’ll live” she told her in noxian with her hoarse tongue and a thick ionian accent.
He raised an eyebrow unamused by her sarcasm and the fact that this was the first time she was speaking directly to him.
Turning his head he could see some acolytes skittish in the entrance, they’d come to spy on the new addition to their order. Some more welcoming than others and Kayn felt oddly self conscious about their gossiping, before mistress Shi shooed them off.
He still wasn’t allowed to roam unsupervised for his or other followers safety
He was starting to grow familiar with the orders routine, but he had one problem.
His head is full of lice, it was practically begging to be cut. He did not need to understand the language to understand what the lady picking up the razor was doing
If Shi hadn’t been a trained assassin that knife would’ve hit her straight in the mask but it flew past her “Stay” her tone harsh. SHe probably had sling of curses to say to him but her vocabulary prevented it
He was trying to find a way to escape this situation when Zed came in. They exchanged a few words before she left them on their own.
“Shi has done a lot for you and this is how you pay her back?”
“She was going to cut me!”
“Cut your hair, your scalp is a mess and you practically have open wound on your head, I promise you’ll feel better after this”
Kayn clutched his ebony hair “It’s all I have left! It’s only thing they did not take away from me” he continued.
“You're not in noxus anymore, you'll have to let go of your past at some point” He grabbed the razor and prepared himself to reprimand the child.
“You don’t get it!” He clutched his braid, tears were streaming down.
Kids, so dramatic.
“When the soldiers took us they’d take our heads so they could weave them later”
Zed did not know who us or any of that meant but he knew better than to pry, he’d open up to him eventually
Zed thought deeply, he didn’t understand why he wanted to gain his trust so badly, not when it was so much easier to assert himself as a figure to be feared and Kayn would just end up following his orders anyway, but he picked his cards carefully instead “Fine” he sighted he’d have to take the day off, “But you’re not going to like this one either"
He came back hours later with a strange mixture in a bowl, it was green and sticky and it smelt foul, but he knew he was in no position to be picky, so he crossed his legs and braced himself for what was about to come.
He flinched when the mans head touched his scalp
“Its this or I’m getting the blade” so he reluctantly stayed still, though the occasional shiver went up his spine. The sensation of the mixture in his hair was uncomfortable, but over time the gentle massaging relaxed him, Though the smell of the paste in his head was absolutely foul.
For the entire day Zed combed through his hair, not an easy task when his locks reached his lower back and each strand was as thick as a thread. When he was done he poured warm water over his head to get rid of the mixture and when he finished he went on to rebraid it. How long had it been since he’d taken proper care of his head? At this point it wasn’t just the little creatures living in his hair, but having gone so long without combing it he’d made some serious knots, knots he’d tried stopping overtime with his fingers, but there was only so much that would fix.
Having his hair down and being able to pass his fingers through the silky threads brought back warmer memories of better times.
“Thank you” in ionian” It been a long time since he’d shown his gratitude to anyone
“Your welcome” that word he did not know.
Notes:
Last part was a bit of a bonus, I didn't really know were to put it so it would fit the vibe. Mistress Shi, is card from Legends of Runaterra, but her full name is Shi La from now on.
Please feel free to point out any inconsistencies.
Chapter 3 should be up in a couple days
Chapter Text
The temple of Thanjuul could be a lonely place, not in the sense that he was lonely, because he was, but it exuded this presence of loss, as if something were missing.
The acolytes wouldn't tell him, partially because of the vast language barrier that separated them, but even those who could, merely brushed him off or told him the blood splattered on the walls would belong to him if he kept asking questions.
He would wake up a the crack of dawn to show up at the courtyard before anyone else showed up, but Zed would not put him to work while he was still healing, but not enough to not run laps around the outskirts of the temple, and he felt better when his body was still in movement, though he couldn’t make those quick sprints he could when he first landed on the continent.
But he spent most of his time on the archive. He’d been forbidden from speaking his native tongue, which was challenge since it practically cut his only way of communication. Instead of hurling insults at other acolytes, he could now only point and hope he got the point across, that and the usual screaming fit he’d throw whenever he was dragged anywhere, that seemed to be a universal language for anyone.
Zed thought through this environment he might learn the language faster, not to mention he would sit him down and expect him to decipher the ionian script.
He was supposed to tutor him, since there was no one who had the patience to deal with him and Kayn could absolutely not be more than two minutes with anyone else in the room without trying to kill them. Now Zed had business to attend to and that left Kayn all alone in the archive and itching to do something more interesting than look at papers he could barely read.
He yawned, he learned some noxian scripture in his time in continent, but everything about ionia’s reading system seemed endlessly more extensive and complex he thought as he traced the ink over an established outline of a character, trying his best to be as careful as possible as to not trace over the outline, maybe too careful because next thing he knew he’d broken his quill and now there was an ink blodge all over the page. Frustrated and a little distressed he tried to clean his mess but only ended up rubbing more of the ink onto the rest of the page.
Anguished he went against his master’s wishes and got up and decided he would explore the library.
In all honesty the place was a mess, it looked like it didn’t see much use and he couldn’t take three steps without stumbling on a pile of papers. If anything it looked like the place had been sacked .
But like most of the temple it seemed nature had woven itself onto the shelves and just as enormous as the rest of it. Examining the shelves proved useless from his lack of literacy, but some of them did have neat drawings of plants and other creatures. He also noticed he’d accidentally stained some of them with his inky fingerprints.
In a room filled only with the sound of his own rummaging he heard the sharp sound of glass hitting the ground. Leaving some of the scrolls he’d been examining he made his way across the labyrinth of halls to find a weird creature hunched over a desk.
It looked like a human sized rat, or well thrice the size of Kayn at least. It wore dark long robes and had odd tattoos, much like the rest of the order. He’d heard of vastayas before but even so they seemed to have a lot more ‘human’ traits than this one.
He approached slowly through the shadows curious by the creature in front of him. He could see the spilled ink on the floor and the flask that caused the sound earlier on the table and could now hear the sound of the quill scratching the parchment.
“You should be studying” the creature broke the silence, the speech in his familiar noxian tongue, unlike most of the residents here he had no accent.
“What are yo-?”
“Speak Ionian” it responded back, but you started first!
This definitely looked like a person who didn’t want to be bothered. Curious, he decided to approach him to see what he was writing.
Looking over the creature's shoulder, he couldn’t understand Ionian that well but this looked to be ten times more complicated, the characters seemed to have way more strokes and the writing was written in a weird calligraphy manner. After a good time of ogling, the rat tries to push him away “I’m busy”.
“You talk not like them” That was as much as he could muster a sentence in ionian, he barely knew if it got his point across. He was determined to start a conversation with this odd rat, in a way he wasn’t keen on talking with anyone else. He was a foreigner in their temple and some seemed to want him out as soon as possible, but hearing someone talk in that familiar dialect perked his interest.
“I’m not from here” he finally answered, not raising his head from his writing.
“Noxi?”
“No” He didn’t know whether to be disappointed or not, part of him was glad to leave that life behind but at least he thought he might have an ally in this temple that was not master Zed.
They left it at that for a while, with Kayn only observing him do calligraphy or whatever he was transcribing, there was something beautiful about the ionian characters when he saw them written like this, he was oddly hypnotized by his work.
“Why Ionia” he broke the silence again, it sounded like he just wanted to start small talk but Kayn had not ended here by his own volition and in his child like mind it was hard to understand someone leaving the place they’d grown up in. The question had perked the creature’s interest, he’d dropped his quill, his ears snapping upwards and his gaze looking into oblivion.
“I was looking for something” He sounded like he wanted to say more and his answer did nothing to sate Kayn’s curiosity.
Deciding he had nothing better to do, he would catch this rat's attention the only way he knew how, he did what he would do with the rest of the order’s followers.
Kayn looked directly into the creature’s dark animal eyes and jumped in his back.
For an instant he saw the surprise in his eyes but in the next his senses were clouded by dark smoke, he tackled onto nothing and was now rolling onto the library’s stone floor, thankfully landing on his back to alleviate the fall.
“What did you?!” He groaned with pain looking up at the rat who now had the remains of small smoke emanating from him
“They’d told me you were hard to deal with” He said as he approached the boy, but Kayn got up before the beast could offer its help. He then proceeded to touch the rat's fuzzy fur to confirm he was real, he flinched but allowed it when he realized Kayn meant no harm.
“It’s shadow’s fifth form, it’s an intermediate technique” he shoved Kayn away from him.
“Can rat teach Kayn?” he asked, his eyes gleaming.
“No, there’s a reason why the order doesn’t allow children”
“Why?”
“It’s dangerous to both its user and the people around them” He said as he cleaned the mess he’s left on the table, picking up scrolls that had drawings of people with odd tattoos. “Less than a few centuries ago shadow users would be persecuted for their potential to summon demons”
Demon’s , that sent a shudder through his spine
“Then why do it?”
“Power, among other things” he clasped his hands to have an inked looking flower blossom in his palms. “But I have more of an interest in preservation, few scrolls from that time remain and if it weren’t for Zed the art would probably be lost to us” Kayn looked over to the papers on his desk and noticed how so many of them looked torn and aged, not to mention the cryptic language that they were written on.
“Kayn. You are supposed to be studying, you will be tested on this” Kayn heard the familiar sound of his master, he resisted the urge to flee, he stood his ground.
“The little scoundrel tried to tackle me” The Rat said nonchalantly. Not lifting an eye from his scrolls.
“Apologies Rahar, I’ll see to him that he is properly disciplined” That sounded the alarms in his head, he’d tormented plenty of the temple’s residents, but the tone in which his master spoke reminded him of his teachers back in Noxus. Zed motioned him to follow him and Kayn complied, glancing back at the figure of Rahar going back to his papers, almost expecting him to save him from his fate.
“It wasn’t my intent master”
“You need to learn respect Kayn, when I tell you to study you do it, when I tell you not to torment the temple’s residents you do it, especially Rahar” Zed spoke slowly so he could understand him, every word perfectly punctuating him.
“And when I say something you answer with ‘yes master’”
“Yes master” He replied with his head down.
“Good” and they continued their walk in silence.
Zed took him to one of the altar rooms where the woman he’d met on his first day was sitting, the one with the horned mask Ysdra he remembered. He never saw her walking around the temple, it looked like she just relegated herself to this room in the depths of the temple, almost as if she didn’t sleep or eat.
There was something off about this woman, either her smile was too long or the way her eyes glowed was unnatural. She sat on an elevated step with the shadowy box sitting carefully in her hands
“Back so soon?” she spoke, her voice deep and hoarse
“Kayn wants to know what’s in the box” demanded Zed. Kayn looked at his master puzzled, he had no idea why he wanted Kayn to know what was in the box and the last thing he wanted was to be alone in the room with that woman.
“Master…” he looked at him pleading. Unsure of what was to come, other than the fact he was being punished.
“Very well, come closer child” Zed pushed him towards her. He’d figured he wasn’t going to be spared by his master so he reluctantly approached her till he was at eye level with the small box in her hands. She lowered her head towards him with a flexibility he didn’t expect from a woman her age. She then extended her hands and signaled him to touch it, he looked at her, her crooked smile inviting as if telling him to trust her , that it was alright . He gulped and his fingers stretched towards the black cube.
The mistress snaps her hands and the box makes a small clicking sound, releasing smokey tendrils that make way towards his mouth and nostrils. Suddenly the room was engulfed in darkness. He shuts his eyes tightly trying to escape what was to come, when he feels moonlight filtering through his eyelids.
Reluctantly he opens them, scared of what was to come, he finds he does not recognize where he is but the eternal noxian architecture is unmistakable. He fears what kind of spell Mistress Ysdra had put upon him, it wasn’t that his master had decided to send him back to Noxus, was it?
He feels his small knees give in and his palms fall planted onto the floor.
“Turn your foot right, chest down” all sound is muffled, he can only taste the iron in his tongue and eyes in his target.
He didn’t understand what was happening, it felt like a dream, his vision was blurry and the colors dimmed, but the soreness and the fear was unmistakably real. Kayn couldn’t bare his nightmares, having many times woken in a cold sweat screaming, the thought that he’d been intentionally entranced into one of them, by master Zed no less
Kayn feels light headed. It's as if he is not in control of his own body,.
Moving like the nimble thing he is, he approaches his target with his blades to his sides, scratching the stone pavement. The sound of metal hitting stone is thrilling
But it’s not like he didn’t deserve it. He’d crossed the line many times , he was looking for it.
He feels the bloodlust coursing through his veins. It all feels so real, ever consuming, this is what noxus felt like, this sensation he’d become addicted to, the one that had left him down in the gutter on a ship to a foreign continent.
He was a blade, a pretty damn good one too. Tossed and spinned to be used as pleased.
It felt good, to be wanted in that way, as long as he was useful he’d have a roof to sleep in and the occasional warm meal.
That was what noxus was all about right?
Fight good, be rewarded.
Then why had things gone south with him? Why didn’t they want him any longer?
He scratched the blood on his finger nails
He was so entranced to notice his surroundings had changed, even in his muffled vision he could see how the light had changed.
It was sunset instead of moonlight.
He was slashing as he’d become one with the blade.
He made a weapon out of convention, if he couldn’t get his hands on something proper, Kayn would always use what he’d have on hand, a stone, a sickle, a scythe , even fear could not escape him. Fear was a tool to be used, he’d seen it first hand and was determined on hone it.
When the vision fades and his knees slowly make way to the floor he is greeted by the face of Mistress Ysdra once again, her face close to his.
“What are you?” her voice had changed to a soft tone
“A weapon” the smoke in his hands fell like small waterfalls
“Yes” she was almost kind in the way she cupped his face.
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Kayn would wake up at the crack of dawn to run laps across the temple, he didn’t get to train with other acolytes. At least not yet.
His flexibility had improved by miles in the few weeks, he understood why Ionians put so much importance into it instead of the rigidness tha noxian training has.
Kayn had noticed how the temple never slept. Most often he would see acolytes training at the latest hours when the shadows were strongest but that's not to say the sunlight hours didn't see as much activity.
As the days went, Kayn was slowly getting more accustomed to life at the temple, his days on Noxus slowly starting to look more and more distant. Zed had burned his previous military clothes and Kayn had very little to latch onto about his former country. He’d also becomed acquainted with a lot of the acolytes and in turn more acquainted with the language
Spending his days in the archive hadn’t been as grueling as before now that Kayn used that time to pester Rahar who’d in turn ended up sharing a lot of his knowledge and ended up becoming a teacher of sorts.
Mistress Shi La, who’d he’d grown accustomed to.
Then there was Ren of course, who’d mostly keep out of his way, if it weren’t for the sneer he’d give him when they met in the hallways, Kayn though he might be embarrassed to have a feud with someone younger than him ( as he should! ).
He’d been sitting alone in the shade of the courtyard sowing one of his boots, when he spotted a trio of acolytes staring at him and snickering between themselves, mocking him, surely. He’d grown wary of people in general and he’d had enough bad experience interacting with the people of the temple to know they usually didn’t have very nice things to say.
He caught them staring, and they stared back, wearing their stupid smiles.
They approached him and he almost thought of bolting out, to save himself the bother “Kayn, you look cute when you aren’t trying to rip someone’s eyes out” her friends let out a little giggle
He hated how condescending she could be. They treated him like a child, all too eager to squish his cheeks or what not.
“Do you want to keep them Ruu Yaneli?!” her skin was as dark as her robes and she had long silky black hair like his.
“Call me Yani, Shieda and I quite like my eyes” he hated that tone of her, the one where one would pitch their voice higher as if he was a child, he didn’t care what he called her. She sat next to him and that smile was so genuine that he wanted it to be fake. He’d seen her be friendly with Ren and that was enough to not trust her.
“So Kayn, me and my friends were wondering if you wanted to accompany us for a walk to the temple’s southern wing,” One her friends added. He didn’t know the other two.
“I already know the temple thanks” he answered sarcastically, continuing to pass the thread through the thick cloth. He still talked with a thick accent but his grammar after a few months of not speaking noxian and he’d started to adopt the tongue as his own. He felt like prey surrounded by these women.
“Not for a tour silly, I bet you don’t know the entire temple, there’s a hall no one is allowed into” She’d turned to lay on the stone ridge he was on.
“Sayee-” Yaneli cut in. Her tone turning serious
“Why?”
“They it’s were master Zed keeps all his-”
“Its haunted”
“Yani! You are ruining everything” Sayee scolded her friend.
“I’m not scared of ghosts” Honestly he’d been itching to get something done and do more than sew and be relegated to cleaning duty
“Of course you’re not, you are a brave boy aren’t you Kayn?” The third one added.
His face turned red at the comment. They knew better than to cross the boundary of physical contact but at that moment it looked like Sayee was really holding back the urge to poke at his nose.
They led him down the myriad of stairs at the temple, almost skipping between themselves as Kayn struggled to keep up with them, it looked as if they were rushing to get their mischief done as soon as possible. He also noticed that Yaneli stayed behind the duo as if she’d been forced to follow them.
“Here we are!” Sayee exclaimed as they stopped by a desolated hallway. Kayn supposed the temple was too big for all of it to be cleaned but the statues that cling to the walls were filled to the brim with dust and cobwebs.
“This is an initiation test”
“But I’ve already been initiated”
“Yeah well this is the real deal, we all go in there once” Kayns wasn’t too sure on how to feel, he’d always be up for the challenge but he did not trust her one bit.
He’d been sure this hallway hadn’t been here before
“Sayee you know we aren’t allowed” Yaneli chipped in
The girl quickly hushed her, turning around to face her, giggling to herself, making light of the situation.
“He’s a kid” She muttered to her thinking that through her dialect he wouldn’t understand her. He wanted to snap back, to tell them directly he was capable. He’d been through enough as it is, it didn’t matter they were trying to mess with him, they’ll see what he was capable of.
“You aren’t coming?” he asked them.
“I thought you weren’t scared” Sayee deflected.
He scoffed, irritated, they would not be able to bully him into submission.
He made his way across the dusty hall, not turning his back as their gaze pierced him. If anything they were cowards, whatever laid behind that door was enough to scare them, but it did nothing to deter him
He took a deep breath and noticed how the air down here changed immediately, it was stagnant and the silence was deafening
He opened the doors staining his hands with a thick coat of dust
Kayn made his way into the chamber. Zed had thought him to distinguish between the older and the newer parts of the temple, for a structure this size, the temple had been built over the span of several decades.
It looked like an old storage room, in it it had mountains od furniture stacked upon each other, thought he couldn't reach the tall ceiling, He’d passed his fingers though dust filled cupboard to try and see the ionian details carved on to it, he wondered what was the reason to have so much stuff tucked away, maybe the same why there’d been blood on the walls when he arrived
The place was dark, and the green lighted glow stick Sayee had provided proved to be utterly useless. He wondered what he was supposed to do in here, the girls certainly wanted him to find something and much to his pride that scared him, at best they were looking to play a prank on him. He snapped around at the smallest hint of a sound. It was dark and he was alone at least presumably, but he did what he always did and swallowed his fear.
With baited breath he made his way around the labyrinth, Kayn almost thought to turn back and tell the girls he’d had his time in here, when suddenly he heard the sound of a familiar giggling.
“You are not funny, Sayee!” He turned around trying to localize where the sound was coming from. Of course they’d find a way to mock him, they were about to find out he would not budge.
Kayn tossed around some chairs, determined to find them before they found a way to spook him. But he turned around when from behind him he heard a mountain of chairs tumble to the ground, he tried to think nothing of it.
“C’mon it’s not funny” He was growing more and more anxious, he could hear the sound of metal rasping the ground and a few faint footsteps
“Sayee!” He called out when he saw the tip of her skirt, he ran up to her before she could disappear from his sight. Kayn ran through chairs and tables trying to catch up to her, thinking he’d finally caught on, he was met with a dead end, his light only scanning old bookshelves and teacups. Had he really mistaked wooden junk for her? He rummaged through the things trying to make sense on where she’d gone, when he heard the sound of a small whimper.
But for a few long seconds his light gave out and he was enthralled in darkness, he snapped the damn thing a few times to make it work again and when it did, he made the mistake of looking up.
He stumbled backwards. Above him was a huge masked skeletal creature, a demon.
Its huge thin clawed hands crawled slowly towards him and Kayn found he could not move, they were about to cup his body when he felt a strong force tackle him.
Snapping from his trance he broke free from the new creature’s grasp, it was a lot closer to the body of a human than the beast who’d tried to catch him. Rolling to his feet he grabbed the small dagger he had on his waist and prepared himself to fight, but abruptly the creature made a
a small gesture with its hand telling him to stop.
“Yaneli?”he asked as the creature removed its mask to reveal the girl behind it.
“What was that?!” he hissed angrily, it was one thing to try and play a prank on him and another to try to get him killed.
“It’s an azakana” she murmured, hiding both of them under a table
“You put me in a room with that?!”
“I’m sorry, it was not supposed to be here. We have to get out” they could hear the azakana harrowing through the mess, screeching its curse of words.
“On the count of three you run over there” She was talking so fast he could barely understand the slurry of words she was saying , but through the desperation he understood her
They ran through one corner of the labyrinth to another when the screeching sound of the demon alerted they’d been spotted. Running as fast as he could he turned back to hear the high pitched scream of Yaneli being dragged away with a pierce to her leg as she called out to him. But he was being dragged again by human hands.
“Let go Sayee!” he yelled, despite her masked appearance he recognized her skirt
“We have to get you out of here” he bit her arm with all his strength and she let out a small grunt, dropping him.
Arming himself with courage and charged on. He ran as fast as he could but could not keep up the azakana draggin Yani away. Things were moving too fast for him to make sense of and he had no idea how they would get away from this one
He tried to reach over to Yaneli when a deafening force threw him backwards, sending him crashing onto the wooden antiques. He stumbled forward, the female acolyte had managed a way to stand up and had brought out the shurikens tucked in her waist, but physical weapons did little to a spiritual being. Nonetheless she was up on her feet now and gracefully dodging with her limited mobility. She summoned some chains with her shadow magic that kept the azakana pinned down screeching. He thought they’d have a chance and she gestured towards him to run. But the moment was short lived, the creature snapped out of its restraints, sending Yaneli to the ground. The azakana was now stalking towards him.
“Ka…ynn co..me baa…ckk” it spoke and his heart plummeted
Cornered, its face almost touching his, a force deep within him mustered every bit of survival instinct and felt the ground beneath him drop. The shadowy feeling he’d grown to be familiar with engulfed him. He phased through the wooden wall as if hadn’t been there and made a run towards Yaneli and begged her to come to her senses, but to no avail. Even if he’d left her for dead he had no idea how to get out of this maze alone.
The azakana was angrily prowling through the top of the piles circling its prey from tower to tower. Kayn tried to take cover in her arm, as he once did as a child and braced himself for the worst.
But nothing came of it. Instead he felt blood splash across his face and back, he raised his head and was met with that familiar red cloak cloaked figure that had already saved him once
Zed summoned a blue circle that shrouded the three of them onto the spirit realm as well as a few shadows that slashed the azakana as if were physical
Cut after cut, the creature screamed in a strange human tone. Almost done with the creature it bled onto the temple’s floors but before his master could deliver the killing blow, it contorted in unnatural ways and shrank till it could fit through the cracks of the mountains of fittings.
“A word Yaneli” She had just regained her senses to hear those words, she muttered an apology before fading out. Zed sighted and leaned down to take the girl in his arms, he scanned Kayn for injuries but most of the blood in his face wasn’t his, he signaled him to follow him with his sister in his arms and they headed outside.
───────── ౨ৎ ─────────
Kayn was not sitting on one of the infirmary beds, he wasn’t injured himself, but he was slowly starting to find out he preferred the company to being alone all the time.
Shi La had heavily scolded Yani, part of it felt good knowing they’d tried to mess with him and gotten punished for it.
“Dumb girl” Shi La said. Yani had apparently been her apprentice and was training in the order’s skill of tattooing, now that he actually got a good look at her, she was covered in them. She was laying on one of the wooden beds, she let out a grunt of pain when Zed readjusted her leg where it was supposed to be.
“Next time think, or I leave you to your devices” he told her.
Zed was fond of Yaneli, he could tell by the way he didn't snap back like he did with the other girls, or maybe it was the fact that she’d been injured and the others had not. Zed continued to bandage her leg till it became a cast.
Her friends also came back to check up on her, though they were quickly ushered outside for reasons he had been not. He’d spent enough time in the infirmary for him to have become more comfortable in it than his own room. While he watched Yani agonizing in her matress, Kayn did his homework in silence pretending not to look at her but they locked eyes awkwardly
“So, are you finally tamed?” the older girl had a smile creeping up on her lips.
He wanted to bear her his teeth, especially after the scuffle she got the both of them into, he would not lose the reputation he’d built just because he’d gone a little soft. After he did not respond she snatched the papers from his hand so she could examine for herself.
“If you don’t talk you’ll never learn. Here, you read this like ‘cold’ not ‘wind’” she pointed out.
“I don’t need your help” he said, taking his exercise from her hand.
“No one else has talked to you in all this?”
“People do talk to me” Kayn started, his eyes dropping to the side “just not willingly”
“Well Shieda Kayn, I’ll be here for a while, care to accompany me?”
Notes:
This chapter was supposed to have a sort of epilogue but I was so stuck writing it I couldn't keep delaying it any further when basically 99% of the chapter was already written. I'm probably going to edit this one, add that last bit and maybe write some more about the part with Ysdra that I thought was too short. Sorry about the mediocre chapter, but I'm super busy and I don't want to keep you guys waiting any longer.
By the way Rahar is the forsaken baccai from LoR if you hadn't noticed. These chapters are kinda slow, just really introducing some characters and establishing a couple things, the plot will kick off soon.
Anyway comments and critiques are always welcome!
13/08/24: Added the epilogue!
Chapter 4: The winds of change
Summary:
Tw for explicit drug use.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
“Tell me a story little lamb”
“Long, long ago, gods roamed the world. Their bodies were made of gold and their spears of divine steel. Thrice cursed, their legions covered even the sun.
“Where they walked, empires would rise and crumble and where they fought, mortals were like dust under their feet. There was no such thing as sacrifice, there was only death.” the lamb sang, her voice like a melody.
“Maybe they were hungry” the wolf howled
“Yes my dear wolf, no one could satiate their hunger”
“God-Warriors they called themselves but mortal men gave them a different name.”
“Darkin” the lamb uttered
“So much was the bloodshed it seemed the world would never recover.
But all who breathe must one day meet us and one day the immortal Darkin were no more.
An assembly had been called, here the God Warriors would finally meet divine judgment.
All but a few, who still elude us to this day”
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The tall grass blades flicking through his face he brushed through the undergrowth with a speed that was hard to match if it weren’t for the trails of shadow magic sticking to his skin, weaving him in and out of this realm. Kayn had grown faster.
He’d grown taller too. His chest had grown broad and his soft features turned into hard lines. His hair had only grown longer now reaching over to his lower back.
Ionia was healing, it took years for the ashes to bloom into flowers. And at the cusp of summer, the heat was permeating, sweat dripped from everywhere on his body.
He jumped over several fallen trees and knocked the thick stems out of his way, it was near impossible to see where one was going, but that was the fun of it, at any moment their chase would come down crashing. But his companion kept the pace, he could hear his heavy breathing over from his position. Looking ahead they both came to a sudden halt overlooking a ridge.
“Beat ya to it” Kayn said panting looking at the man who came running behind him.
“Why is everything a competition with you?” his companion snaps back, following in his footsteps to oversee the docks below.
Kayn just looked over at Nakuri, he already knew the answer. He wasn’t as keen on having competition, anyone who challenged his position would sooner or later end up with a blade up their neck, which is why he liked Nakuri, he was a man of few words and he didn’t seem to mind Kayn’s antics.
Nakuri rolled his eyes to his antics and began descending through the ridge.
He’d come to the temple in the later years, tan brown skin and hair like the sun, but still wore the dark robes that were characteristic of the Yanlei.
They stalked their way through the fishing village to reach the docks. They rarely worked when the sun was still up, but the order had grown comfortable in its recent years. Now having influence and total control over several towns and villages.
The villagers knew what the presence of Yanlei members in their town meant, wherever they went, trouble followed, they bowed and hid their faces nonetheless.
This was what Kayn would consider of the less exciting missions, the ones where no one met his blade and instead they oversaw that their smuggling operations went smoothly, usually weapons, alcohol and other foreign goods, but lately illegal substances.
Though Ionia was wary of strangers, bigger and bigger trading ships manage to fight the relentless ocean that protects it and reach the coastal towns.
The cargo had been discharged in smaller ships and Nakuri did the honors and opened one of the wooden boxes to reveal the purple seeds inside. Something from their patrons over at the Shuriman continent. Shima they called it, a substance with great medicinal use but costly side effects and addiction if taken in big quantities.
“That be three noxian coppers” one of the workers said. He was a thin man with a crooked chin, but he reeked of addiction, that infuriated Kayn. Those who had to rely on the drug to be strong were unworthy in the first place.
“We’re not doing charity”
“Com’on lassie we crossed the ocea-” Kayn delivered a quick blow to his neck killing him instantly. His body collapsed onto one of the crates in front of Nakuri who gave him most unimpressive of looks.
“Let's get this loaded up,” Said Kayn. Turning around to check over the documents to make sure none of it ever saw the light of day.
It was good business, though most knew the order of shadows for the hits they carried out, if they sustained themselves on just the killing there might not be any people in Ionia left. Usually the village would be in charge of taking care of their local temple, but the Yanlei had made themselves many enemies and preferred to have their hand under many dealings than rely on the generosity of the locals, often taking care of the less savory things.
Once they finished loading up the boxes onto the wagon, it was almost sunset. Kayn and Nakuri were starting to make their way back to the temple.
The Shadow Order’s temple was hidden by a dark jungle and the natural mist that constantly permeated the mountain. Its gloomy atmosphere made it so few entered it and those who did were met by sentries and never came back.
These days the forest was a welcoming place for Kayn, it is said that the land of Ionia has a breath of its own and he could feel how this place greeted his return. Making his way up the aged steps that were scattered over the mountain, were they would finally meet the hidden temple of Thanjuul
He sauntered through the halls without acknowledging the eyes that watched him.Their numbers had grown in the past few years, so much they could make up a small army, but Kayn thought not all of them were worthy.
He passed Ren by one of the elevated stone benches, his eyes did not linger.
“I heard you guys were overseeing the new shipments today” Things between him and Ren had gotten slightly better over the years, but that wound from the time they met had never truly healed properly.
“What is it to you?” Kayn kept the pace hoping if he kept walking the man would leave him alone.
“Seriously Kayn you never lose that tongue of yours” A friend of Ren was sniffing around Nakuri, he might’ve gotten a whiff of the shima in his bag. “You wouldn’t happen to be sneaking something that is forbidden onto temple grounds, would you?”
Ren was about to snatch his bag when an acolyte interrupted them, indicating that Zed wanted to see him. Kayn tried but could not hide the smugness from his face.
Zed’s office was a spacious cavern at the heart of the temple; it must’ve been used as a place of worship at some point in time, one would think it was still used as one due to the amount of candles and the smell of incense that permeated the room. He had his guards ushered out when Kayn sauntered inside.
“You’re early” His master said, not lifting his eyes from his papers. Kayn did not envy him in this aspect, he’d rather be out in the field than be glued to a desk
“Is that a bad thing?” his master lifted his gaze to eye him warely.
“Any news?”
“One of the new recruits by the docks thinks they should be owed more” Zed looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to elaborate.
“He got what was coming for him” said Kayn.
“Next time make it two” Master Zed could never be satisfied, part of it fueled Kayn’s feelings that he would never be enough for him.
Finally he set down the quill to walk up to him.
“Let’s spar” he didn't have his mask on, but Kayn could never read him properly even without it. Usually it was the boy who’d come to his master for a spar, this was unprecedented, that excited him, around his master he’d always try to keep a stone facade, but this time he could not help the toothy grin that crept up his face.
They walked together to the practice hall, Kayn a few steps behind him. Above all he loved being seen with his Master, it reminded him how coveted his position was.
The practice hall was a room filled with all sorts of training utilities; bars, weapons, spikes, dummies and whatever would help them practice their technique and in the center the sparring ring.
Students and acolytes had all come to see, not everyone got the privilege of being personally trained by the Master of temple much less personally spar with him.
“Amon, a demonstration is in place” Zed told the master of arms who cleared the ring for him and his student. The word had spread quickly and soon everyone was looking for a spot from where to watch the fight.
Two acolytes had gone to fetch Master’s Zed hand blades and were quick to arm him. Kayn on the other hand had gone over to the rack of weapons to pick his weapon of choice. A simple choice for many, but he was known for being versatile. A few acolytes had gone to him to whisper what would be best against master Zed but he was not listening. Finally deciding on a double edged scythe to the surprise of many. A little ineffective but the shadow acolyte spun it around as if he’d always wield it.
Kayn entered the ring. His master put on his mask and neither of them wore any armor save for their boots. Excitement brittled on the surface.
“Commence”
The circled each other for a few moments before Shieda realized his master was giving him the first move. In the ring fights were not fair, they were used to demonstrate a users ability with their magic and Kayn did just that. Dissolving into ground with a puff of smoke he re-emerged at the other side of the ring to take his master from the back, but he sensed him and sidestepped him easily. Kayn sweeped the ground, careful not to cut himself with his weapon's sharp edge.
Zed had summoned three clones of himself all as shadowy and identical as the rest, he focused his eyes onto Zed using the other edge of his blade to hopefully parry the attacks from the other shades. But quickly he felt scratches cutting his back.
Fighting with Zed was a constant back and forth between him and his shades, he thought this was perfect for his double edged scythe, but with every shadow taken a new one would sprang in its place. While he was busy with them, his master charged at him and Kayn had no choice but to go on the defensive.
His attacks were relentless, he could only use the handle of the blade to parry his attacks. Kayn only managed to gain his advantage again when he shoved Zed off him, but their fight did not stop there, Kayn turned into shadow to press the attack, while in this state his body was less physical and less prone to cuts, he spun his scythe with ferocity, relishing on the fight.
But the feeling was short lived, soon Zed found an opening and Kayn felt the sharpness of a blow being delivered to his arm and soon after he was filled with them. He pressed on, his blade missing Zed’s neck by a mere hair, and that's when things changed between them. Some habits were hard to kill and some part of Kayn was still the boy in that dark place where every fight was a fight to the death, sparring was a novel concept.
Zed doubled the amount of shadows surrounding him, overwhelming his senses. Kayn summoned a shadow of his own but it could not compete with his master’s. One slight misstep and Zed had his arm locked.
The crowd let out a collective gasp when Zed hit Kayn’s back onto the stone pavement with a loud thud, he did not have time to reflect on his pain and put all his energy in his spine on getting up. Zed at least allowed him to.
“Again” said his master, their fight was not over.
The former noxian was now not hitting with the same strength as before and Zed took advantage of that, the man was now toying with him and all of a sudden Kayn felt like the little boy who’d fought Zed the first day he met him. One cut to his knee and one of his legs buckled.
“Again”
Picking himself up, Kayn tried his best to keep his head clear, now he could feel the eyes watching him, judging him. He tried a different move this time ripping shadows from underneath, it must have caught Zed by surprise because he saw his blood dripping down his covered arm. But Kayn had little time to relish his small victory, because in that instant he felt a sharp jab hitting the back of his head and he was on the floor again. The crowd whispered and cheered all, most for their master, but some of them to their fellow acolyte.
“Again” He was exhausted by this point and it was becoming really hard to mask, but he had no choice but to be on his feet, wiping the blood from his mouth and nose he looked at that masked face with determined eyes, his grin was completely gone. Zed underestimated Kayn’s will, the boy he had picked up on the shores of Epool would not stand down till he was dead. Zed removed his blades and went for a different approach, Kayn did the same and threw his scythe.
He went onto a defensive stance but it did little against his master, he was tired and his punches were not as strong, but his master was merciless, Zed soon had him on the ground, face all bloody and bruised. Kayn's body finally relented.
Master Zed contemplated his victory, his students cheered, but Zed did not betray any emotion, he walked out of the ring without a word.
Kayn was sore all over when Nakuri came into his room, he’d been lying on the hard wooden bed for hours. They went up on one of the further pergolas of the temple, somewhere that was only accessible by trailing the temple outside through the narrow walkway beside a cliff. It was well past midnight and they could finally feel the coolness of the Ionian night. From up here they could look at every star in the summer sky and the few lights that could reach from the cities up to the temple.
The wood from the structure was rotting, not the safest of places, but the furthest away from someone walking into them. Nakuri opened the bag he’d brought with him and Kayn put the seeds he’d kept as contraband on the burner. He put his lips onto the silver rimmed bamboo pipe, a little something they’d stolen from some rich merchant. The drug began to burn, its vapors filled his lungs. He felt like he needed this, his body was all cut and bruised, though he would never try to show weakness, the feeling numbed his pain.
He blew the smoke onto Nakuri’s face who giggled and took the pipe away from his hands.
Kayn laid back his head and enjoyed how the breeze felt on his face.His body had been boiling for hours. Though their silence was usually comfortable, the air was tense this time.
“It was really not that bad-”
“He humiliated me” Kayn snapped.
Nakuri stared at him in silence, he did not need his pity. “At least he did not go easy on you” He finally said, if that's any consolation.
Kayn took the pipe, he wanted to say it was unnecessary for Zed to do it in front of everyone but he would never admit he craved that attention from others.
He pushed Nakuri down with him, blowing the smoke onto his face and putting a good open mouthed kiss on his face. Nakuri knew he was never safe around Kayn.
He’d grown from having a raging fear of being touched to craving it like a desire that could not be sated. He’d made his way around brothels looking for an escape, to look for that yearning to be used.
They later sparred as they always did, light headed with the drug. Not having to mind about eyes staring, judging, of Zed’s commanding tone correcting everything.
Nakuri was a former Kinkou. Zed’d coup had left a deep scar on the spiritual school, to the point even doubted their ways years later, like was the case with Kuri.
Once they were done for the night they made their rounds across the temple’s roofs, with the stealthiness that’d been taught to them. They still had a few hours of sleep before the sun was up.
That was when he noticed light coming through one of the small temple’s openings to the archive, Rahar must still be studying, he thought. It wasn’t uncommon for Yanlei’s to work during the night and sleep through the day, Kayn thought of dropping by to see what the rat was up to when he saw the familiar shadow of Zed facing away from him. Kayn quickly signaled Nakuri to keep it low, where they would both lower their respiration as to not be caught. They couldn’t be caught in this state, nothing got past master Zed. But Kayn also liked to believe he’d taught him too well, he had to listen.
He could make bits of conversation from here.
“,then we cannot allow it to fall into enemy hands” Zed low voice was laden with urgency
“This weapon is no ordinary weapon, it is cursed” From the moment he met him Rahar knew everything about everything.
The rest were only said speaking in mumbles, Kayn thought maybe Zed had realized they were there, once they were done and he heard the big door of the archive shutting, was when the two boys could finally breathe again. There was relief for an instant before he turned around to see the massive vermin had materialized beside him.
“What did you hear?” Rahar's frightened voice whispered in his face.
“Nothing, did Zed know we were here” He was quick to defend himself
“If he did he allowed it”
“What is going on?” Kayn asked his companion kept quiet
“If you keep talking I’ll tell your master you two have been smoking in temple grounds”
Nakuri’s eyes contracted at the thought
“We didn’t even hear anything I promise” said Kayn
“I know you are lying, get out” the rat warned.
Both him and Nakuri got out of there fast, the adrenaline coming down once they reached Nakuri’s room and laughed about the whole situation, but Kayn spent the rest of the short night thinking of Rahar’s words.
A cursed weapon.
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In the morrow Kayn was sitting with Yani, an arm extended while she did her work. Yaneli was probably the only person out there who’d he’d trust with tiny blades in his skin. He had heard her chatter all this time but the words were not filtering through. The needle carefully pierced his skin with every hit of the qua’lo. He focused on the pain in his arm, it didn’t bother him, he never flinched and never asked Yaneli to stop. She’d been the first one to try and help him out of the ring yesterday, if he hadn’t refused her.
“You know how glad I am to have Shi out of my skin? Since you were gone she has been trying to put me on accounting duty” noticed Kayn was less sharper than usual, rolling his head from side to side, latching onto anything his eyes could find.
“Are you listening” her words broke through his thoughts.
“Yes your work is really nice Yane-” Kayn tried to recover
She was looking at him dead in the eyes.
“Right”
Yani avoided talking about the subject concerning yesterday though the evidence was clear on Kayn's face. She leaned in as to whisper a secret to him “You know, I’m not one to pry… but I think I know what has you so distracted” Kayn raised an eyebrow, she couldn’t know, could she?
“Or who” her smile turning into a smug,
“Gods, Yaneli no Nakuri doesn’t have me distracted” he snapped back at her, he had a lot on his mind but this was not one of them, she should know him better by this point. Yani should thank the gods they are alone or he would've snatched her needle and given her a little taste of what he’d been going through for the past hour.
“Oh come on Kayn, you can tell me anything” Kayn could in fact not tell anything to her because all of a sudden the entire temple would have heard word of it. She made sure to pierce the muule further than it should be, but he did not flinch, that was going to bleed out. As if that was going to make him relent. The order of shadow’s wasn’t exactly known for having the cleanest work when it came to tattoos, as long as the ichor entered the skin it was good enough.
She sighted and lowered her eyes back to her work. Despite her nosy nature, Kayn was glad to have her around, there weren't many people Kayn allowed in his company. Over the years Yaneli had stuck around, their closeness with Zed had brought them together.
Once her work was done Kayn had a new stripe in his sleeve. It had to be done slowly over time, otherwise it may cause problems for the user.
Though he technically had the day off, the work in the order never really stopped, they were always training, the sparring rooms were never without use. And Kayn was considering dropping by the armory to check on some of the new shipments. That was when he stumbled onto the archive’s doors wide open, Rahar must have forgotten to close them. Peering through the door he was nowhere to be seen.
Looking inside the place was in more disarray than it usually was, the rat liked his order but complete cleanliness was impossible in a room like this one. He noted none of his assistants were here either. Looking over his desk he saw some of the papers he’d left, all with writing he did not recognize and scribbles that made no sense, rummaging through was a drawing of a sword the ink was relatively fresh, must’ve been the Rat’s doing.
“Kayn!” He jumped when Rahar appeared behind him squishing his arms with his hands (if you could even call them that). Before he could speak the man interrupted him.
“You must go, there is still time” those black animalistic eyes stared right into his soul.
“Well I’m interested now so I’m not leaving” Rahar anxiousness had vexed him for too long. He needed answers now and he wasn’t going to leave this room till he got them.
“To Noxus” He hadn’t stepped onto the Valoran continent since the war started, why was he kicking him out now?
Kayn pulled himself free from his hold, very much offended by his slight
“This is my home now”. He sneered at him.
“Not for- They found him! You have to go looking for him”
“What are you talking about Rahar, who?” he’d never seen him act this way, the rat had always been calm and composed, this looked like the vastaya was about to go on a full breakdown, it made the skin on his back crawl.
“There is no time, On the twenty sixth near the east gate, there will be a caravan that will be transporting a weapon inside, you have to take it”
“A weapon” he repeated, not sure of what to make of his plea. He liked his knifes but not enough to cross the ocean for them.
“It’s not just a weapon, Kayn, it carries an ascended inside” he’d heard a few of the tales Rahar had told him about the ascended, but they were just that, tales. But he remember the conversation he'd listened to and wandered if maybe it was not all talk.
He seemed he’d calmed down a slight bit, taking a deep breath. Kayn looked over the papers on the table and the letters he’d probably intercepted. He had many questions but before he could ask any Rahar interrupted him.
“Look we don’t have much time, if you go now we can still make it” He looked at Kayn again “You want to prove yourself to Zed?”
Kayn wasn’t some random errand boy, but the desperation on his eyes was palpable.
“And if I don’t”
Rahar looked to be looking for an answer for a split second. “Noxus will use the weapon against us” His blood red eyes looked directly to his soul, his words didn’t hold as much weight as the prospect of power, they both knew that and kept it quiet.
“What do I tell Master Zed? I can’t really take a month off without anyone noticing”
“I’ll deal with Zed”
“Why can’t you go? You don’t look like you’re doing much these days” Kayn finally asked him, he’d always jump at the chance to kill noxians, but this was a big mission and it wasn’t being relayed by Zed, it was insubordination if anything.
“Look Kayn, do you want this or not?” A weapon with an ascended inside.
Kayn made his way back to his room, he looked over to his wall of blades all sorts of deadly things.
Nakuri was laying on his bed, quietly fidgeting with one of his knives, he looked as unsurprised to see him rummaging through his things as he was on having corpses laid on his feet. He didn’t ask where he was going or why he was leaving so soon.
He picked out his favorite knives, and packed to be as discreet as possible. As he searched through his things he found the little naming plate with his name and serial number hidden in one of his drawers, he hesitated for a second, something inside of him hurt with a pang of pain, he picked up the cluster of plaques with the names of the other children and throwing it into his bag. Nakuri looked at him like he knew where he was going, his expression changing.
He left his brother in the darkness of his room and headed outside through the window. Kayn went back to see Rahar one last time to pick up some instructions. Excitement coursed through his veins, if what the Rat said was true, this could be his most important mission yet. He passed through the back gardens as to not be seen, the sun was still up and he still had to reach the coast to board a ship.
He was about to leave temple ground when he found a familiar figure sitting on the foundation of a decrepit statue, his mask had been thrown aside and he was staring out into the horizon as if he was expecting him to be here.
There was no getting out of this.
“Master” He bowed and tried to walk past him as if nothing. The bruises he’d given him still stung.
“Who gave you the order to leave?”
“Am I a prisoner?” He turned around to face his master, he was more than bitter about their last fight, he wanted more than anything to have Zed with him like he did as a child.
“No, but you answer to me, not to anyone else”
“This is by my own choice-”
“Do you want to know why it was that Rahar gave you the order and not me?” Kayn kept quiet after that
“That thing kills Shieda. You are playing with powers far beyond your understanding”
“I won’t touch it, I’m just bringing it back to Ionia” He argued
Zed took a deep breath to consider his options. The blade of millenia could not fall on enemy hands. This matter could not go ignored.
“I won't fail you” I never have, Kayn gave him a pleading look.
“You better not”
He descended the stairs. There were no goodbyes between them.
“And you come back Kayn” Zed yelled, it sounded like a warning. Whether he was referring to the possibility of betrayal or death, he did not know. The former soldier just looked at him and smiled .
The assassin hopped onto the back of his horse and made way towards the Ionian sea, he looked over its crystalline waters and thought of what awaited him at the other side. He would make Zed proud.
After nine long years he was going to be stepping in his birth country.
Little did he know the things that had been set in motion.
Notes:
Sorry if the timeskip was a bit abrupt, I wrote the previous chapters at a time were I wasn't really sure were I wanted to take the story, this is the real deal.
Also yeah I'm linking shimmer with opium because why not. As for Kayn's and Nakuri's relationship I was really on the fence about it ( I still am) but everytime I wrote him it was like he was already sucking up to him lol, and I liked Kayn being a little hypersexual. Anyway their thing is really minor, dont expect to see much.
As always any kind of feedback good or bad is super welcome would love to hear what you guys thought of the chapter pleaaasee. I've been raw dogging all my writing and it's killing mee, so I've you're interested in becoming my beta reader you can talk to me through me twitter (@Ruinnan) I also do art if you wanna see that.
And sorryyy for the wait, I promise this time I mean it.
Chapter 5: The Prodigy
Summary:
From three different orders they meet.
Jun is a character present in Legend of Runaterra, she is Master Yi's desciple.
Notes:
Updated the summary, I'm terrible at them so might not be the first time
[EDIT 20/04/25] Ok so I rewrote the entire chapter, like all off it, all 7k words gone (its 14k words now so buckle up), all the major story beats are there but I basically majorly rewrote every scene but like two, honestly I had just come in to edit but I did not think this chapter was that bad, like if you read the original congratulations because I could not. Usually I would just move on with my life but Jun is a super important character and I think this story has a ton of potential but it will all be for nothing if the beggining is ass, it's easier with Kayn because people will read about him regardless but Jun is not a playable character and if her part of the story is not engaging all of this falls to pieces, but dare I say I think I did a pretty good job this time.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
For long in their weapons they simmered
Never dead, but kept at bay
One blade bent on all things demise
One scythe set on shadowed skies
One bow, arrow’s seeking atonement
One howl reaping life’s very moments
And one mandate declared loud in hate
Imprisoned, their harrowing fates.
-Spoken word performance by G.S Heran, Demacian historical society.
Jun’s hand traced carefully lines over her sketchpad. It was a new specimen that was brought over from the south of Vlonqo. Carnivorous and deadly. Her master had given her the task of analyzing its medicinal and poisonous traits. Found in the cliffs sides, its petals were very sought after by tattoo artists for their strong pigment; ebony black and blood red.
Master Yi had walked past her the other morning. Didn’t speak. Didn’t stop.
He looked at her the same way he looked at the old sword rack, thoughtful, maybe even fond, but with no intention of using what he saw.
She hated how warm that made her feel. Hated more the ache it left when he was gone.
She was about to finish when a force pushed her arm sending the line sprawling and dropping the sketchpad onto the stone of the Flower House, then came the flower, crushed to a stump by Ting’s carelessness.
“You did that on purpose”
“Oops,” the vastayan said, not even looking down as the dark pigment burst under his foot like bruised ink. “Was that important?”
Jun stiffened, anger and frustration boiling inside of her, it might’ve not been important but she’d spent the last hour working on it, all while other students got to practice the art of Wuju.
“You should thank me really” he smiled at her “What are you even doing here? Master Yi got you pressing flowers while the rest of us learn Wuju. What are you, a gardener?” He was already walking off, tail flicking lazily behind him like he didn’t have a care in the world. Jun knelt, brushing off the remains of the specimen, her fingers trembling. She wasn’t an artist, and even getting the petal lines right had taken her an hour. It was all ruined now. She ground her teeth, there was truth in his words.
She kept getting beat up during sparring lessons, had a hard time concentrating during meditation and was nowhere near being able to channel wuju.
She remembered a word of advice Lui, the weapon’s master, had given her: you're all big words and no bite girl, grow some teeth, like we vastayas do. She was so sick of being tossed around, Ting had been sent to Bha-li temple to learn some humility, but every day here only seemed to strengthen his ego.
While Ting was busy humming a melody to himself, Jun crushed onto his back, forgetting all her training and sending him slamming into the ground, eliciting a small sound of pain from the smaller vastaya.
“What?!” he said, his tone full of mockery “The prodigy bites back?” slithering out of her hold and scratching her with his claws, but Jun did not relent.
“Careful everyone this might be for the history books”
They giggled, watching her struggle like it was theater. Of course they were there. Of course this was a show. Everything with Ting was a performance.
A horn’s call split the air.
Jun’s head snapped up. The sound echoed through the old trees. Their master had returned.
“Saved by the bell,” Ting said with a grin. “Even when he’s not trying.” He leapt, agile as ever, tail whipping as he vanished into the canopy. His two shadows Mirraw and Shar followed. One sneered. The other didn’t even look.
But both stepped on the ruined flower on their way out. not out of malice, but because it simply didn’t matter to them.
Jun stayed there, scratches stinging on her cheek, knees pressed to the stone, surrounded by crushed petals and spatters of ink.
Finally, she rose. Her legs ached. Her shoulders sagged under a weight that had nothing to do with her satchel or the sketchpad she picked up with trembling fingers. The page was torn, ink bleeding across the lines she’d tried so hard to make perfect.
She said nothing. Didn’t follow them this time. Just stood there a moment longer, bruised, blood-stung, ink-stained, watching them disappear into laughter and branches and sky.
Bha-li temple was built atop a cliff overlooking the Stretch of Bahrl, facing towards Navori. Passageways weaved in and out of the mountain, many having a direct view of the sea and the nice ocean breeze to cool them in the harshest of summers. Some Xon-Xani architect had once called it a marvel in craft, it was fairly new having just been built after the invasion and had all the perks of a modern Ionian style, as well as borrowing many aspects from piltovan building style and weaving it with traditional Ionian techniques.
She placed her arms over the carved limestone, feeling the ocean breeze hit her face and watched the return of her master below. Surprised to find today was not like the others.
A caravan moved along the temple road, heavier than anything she'd seen here before. Iron-shod wheels, horses straining under their reins. The guards surrounding it were silent and faceless, their chainmail glinting darkly even in the overcast light. These weren’t Wuju acolytes. These were soldiers. Foreign ones. Armed, anonymous.
And at the center of it all, a covered wagon, heavy and closed.
Jun squinted. Something about it made her stomach twist. This wasn’t like the other days. Not at all.
Lui’s workshop always smelled like burnt metal and old tea. She had one foot up on the workbench, lazily rocking back and forth on her stool while dabbing something pungent onto Jun’s cheek.
“These blacksmith's hands are not made for healing” said the short yordle, her face completely obscured by her goggles.
“They look at me like I'm made of paper,” she muttered. “I go too often. I heard one call me glass-skinned.”
Lui gave a light shrug, not looking up. “They’re not wrong.”
Jun shot her a look. “Thanks.”
“Don’t pout. Glass breaks sharp. Better than clay, anyway.”
She dipped the cloth again, this time into a bowl of something green and oily, and pressed it to Jun’s jaw. Jun winced, biting back a sound.
“You win, at least?”
“No.”
She was tired of visiting the medic, she was starting to think the woman looked at her with disdain, better opting to visiting the yordle’s workshop even if the high pitched creature was no doctor at all, Jun much preferred her company to pretty much everyone else in the temple, even her own master.
“Should’ve stepped in his tail, that usually does it”
“That’s like trying to catch a fish with my bare hands” she responded, Ting’s tail never sat still, always looking at something to grapple.
Then Jun asked, “You hear anything about the caravan?”
Lui paused, wrung the cloth out without urgency. “Whole temple’s abuzz about it, I know”
Jun raised an eyebrow, it was clear the yordle was hiding something from her.
“Don’t look at me like that, trust me” Lui muttered, voice unusually flat “When Master Yi told me about it he looked like he hadn't slept in weeks”
“It felt…charged”
Lui didn’t answer. Just began reshaping the hilt of a blade that didn’t need fixing.
“Look girlie I’ve seen many weapons over my years but I’d never seen anything like—that” It was true no one knew how old Lui was. Old probably considering most yordles, they only knew she was an apprentice of Doran.
“So it’s a weapon”
She fidgeted with the tools in her pocket “Well yes, but it’s not one for fighting”
“So a Wuju blade? Why did it need an entire caravan?” The entire philosophy of the Wuju revolved around the art of fighting but not for violence. The process of making a Wuju blade involved planting it at Mistfall as a vow to renounce all violence, Master Doran would sometimes wait years for the spirits to bless it. They were rare and of the highest honors granted to any Wuju.
“Sure let's call it that” said the yordle, an obvious lie.
Jun retreated to the quiet solitude of her room, stomach hollow and aching, though she’d long stopped noticing hunger the way others did. She hadn’t gone to dinner. Couldn’t. The thought of walking into that hall, of seeing Ting’s smug grin or, worse, her master’s silence, made her chest tighten to the point of nausea. Sometimes she skipped meals for days, not out of discipline, but because anxiety hollowed her out until she forgot she was a body at all. Some mornings she would wake to the taste of bile and call it breakfast.
This was her only reprieve: the few hours between the shame of today and the dread of tomorrow.
Her room was small, and it was hers. A rare privilege, one she never quite felt she earned. Seashells lined the windowsill, smoothed by tide and time, reminders of the shore below. Beads hung from the low beams, some broken, some mismatched, all things she’d gathered on quiet walks while pretending to be invisible.
She changed into her night clothes and plummeted onto her bed, waiting for the waves to lull her to sleep, wishing for morning to come as late as possible.
That night, Jun slept like a stone dropped into the deep.
She didn’t remember when she drifted off, only that her hunger had blurred into a dull ache, and her shame had settled into her bones like cold. Then everything went quiet. Heavier than sleep. Like drowning.
The world she entered was not the temple. It was older, rougher. A place she knew in the way you know a scar—by the sting.
She was smaller then, her hands were raw and split with callouses, her feet bare against the dirt. The colony fields had never changed, not even in dreams.
She heard the crack of whips in the distance. The sky above dim and bruised with Noxian smoke.
But she wasn’t crying. She hadn’t then either.
She turned, expecting to see the looming Noxtora in the distance, but it was not there.
Instead she saw her mother, She wore the old woven shawl she’d been buried in. Her face, soft. Eyes full of the sky. And she opened her arms without a word.
Jun dropped her basket and ran to her, the woman welcomed her into a tight embrace.
“I thought I’d never see you again not even in my dreams” Tears ran down her cheeks, she’d died early in the war due to an illness, leaving her daughter and her siblings in the care of the noxians
Her mother ran a hand through her hair. It smelled like salt and warm rice. It was too perfect. Jun didn’t want to let go.
But then her mother’s hands stilled.
One traced her jawline, gentle. The other pressed against her ribs, where her heart thudded like a trapped bird.
“They don’t see you,” she whispered.
“But I do.”
The voice was wrong.
Too smooth. Too deep. It came from beneath her mother’s skin, from behind her teeth. Her face tilted, eyes now black with glinting gold beneath.
Jun tried to pull back, but the arms didn’t let her go.
“You are not weak. Just caged.”
“Let me show you what you could be”
Jun dropped to her knees. Struggling out of her hold, but she was too small, too weak.
The figure knelt with her, gently pressing two fingers to Jun’s brow. And with that touch, Jun felt something awaken .
When Jun’s eyes opened, she was no longer in bed.
She stood at the bottom of the temple’s old passage, its carved runes aglow with warding light, her palm outstretched, just inches from the sealed gate that led to the forbidden chamber below.
She couldn’t remember how she got there. Her feet were cold from the stone.
And behind her, a voice cut through the quiet like a blade through silk.
“Jun?”
She turned.
Master Yi stood in the darkness. Concern riddled all over his face. He placed his hands over her shoulders, grinding her back to reality.
“I—I don’t know how I got here” she averted his gaze.
“You were sleep-walking” she’d never done that before, he guided her away from the door, though Jun still glanced at it one last time.
The temple was asleep. No acolytes in the corridors. No fire in the braziers.
Just the two of them and the distant sound of waves crashing against the cliffs
“I didn’t see you at the dining hall” he said
“I was just fasting, master”
“There’s nothing wrong with fasting. Some do it daily to sharpen focus, to train discipline. But intention matters, Jun.”
She kept her eyes on the floor.
“You’ve skipped more meals than you’ve shared,” he continued. “And the body notices what the mind refuses to admit.”
“I wasn’t… it’s not that I’m—” she stumbled over her words, unsure if she even knew the truth of it.
Yi slowed his pace and placed a hand gently on her shoulder.
“Fasting for clarity is one thing. Fasting to disappear is another.”
That one hit too close. She said nothing.
Then, trying to steer the weight off her chest, she glanced back toward the old passage, still sealed behind them. “What’s behind that door?”
Yi didn’t answer right away. When he did, his voice was quiet.
“Something that demands silence. And strength.”
Despite the interruption in the night, Jun felt more refreshed than she had in weeks, she rose earlier than most, slipped into her robes, and ran to the kitchens before even the cooks had fully woken. She snagged a bowl of rice and dried fish and made her way to the lower steps of the temple, choosing to have her breakfast where the waves were closest.
Each bite softened something in her chest. The salt air bit at her face, but she welcomed it. She relished in the fullness, a strange contrast to the emptiness she’d carried for so long. Her thoughts wandered, trailing back to the dream, but it was all blurry, like ink bleeding on wet parchment. Only the voice lingered. A voice like warm hands in the cold.
She had never dreamt of her mother, had never even seen her during the spirit blossoms, this was…new.
She then spent the rest of the morning meditating, the task coming to her strangely more easily than most times. Hours had passed without her even noticing.
By the time mid-morning came, Jun climbed up the steps to reach the main courtyard, she passed a few students who giggled between themselves as she walked past and for once, Jun did not care.
Ting was already there, winding his tail lazily like a banner in the wind, tossing a wooden blade between his hands as if it weighed nothing. Surrounding himself with other students, probably talking about all the stuff he did with Wu-Kong, the Wuju order’s real prodigy.
Jun hesitated at the edge of the courtyard.
Normally she would dread this. A routine match. A lesson that ended with bruises and humiliation. Ting had always been faster, more cunning, and cruel in the smallest ways, small enough to never warrant discipline.
Birds hopped along the rooftop tiles, chirping as the morning sun broke through the mist. A group of younger acolytes practiced footwork drills near the far wall, their sandals slapping against the stone in sync with the barked cadence of an elder’s commands.
But today, her hands didn’t tremble. Her stomach didn’t coil. She stepped forward and bowed like always, and something inside her felt different. Coiled. Watchful. Ready.
“You’ll go crying to master Yi, once I’m done?” he pitched his voice to sound more like that of a baby.
Jun met his eyes, her voice calm. “Not today.”
“Ooho you hear that? The prodigy is talking” Their poles touched in the ceremonial salute. Jun’s grip was steady. No shaking. No cold sweat slicking her spine.
The courtyard buzzed with soft conversation, students watching from the shaded steps, a few pretending not to, they’d seen this spar half a dozen times and the outcome was always the same.
Ting grinned wide, baring his teeth in a mock bow, and then leapt.
He fought like no human could, using his vastayan heritage to the fullest of his advantage. He used the courtyard like a jungle canopy, launching off walls, rebounding from columns. His tail lashed as if it had a mind of its own, sometimes striking her, sometimes throwing her off, sometimes just taunting.
Jun had fought him a dozen times before. He always opened with a feint. Then swept her leg. Then caught her stagger with a strike to the ribs. Every time. Every spar. Every bruise.
Not today.
She met his feint with a solid block that stung her wrists. She did not recoil.
When his tail went for her ankle, she jumped, letting it pass under her feet.
But Jun had watched him for so long. Endured him. Studied him. She saw the rhythm in his chaos now, the moment before he coiled for a high strike, the breath he held before a spin. For the first time, she wasn’t guessing. She was reading him. Jun remembered all of his taunts, all of the times he’d bruised her just because he could.
She blocked, turned his momentum with a twist of her wrist, and struck, lightly, but cleanly, against his shoulder.
It stunned him more than hurt him.
Jun did not even think of her small victory, her eyes were wholly and absolutely focused on the match and so was now her opponent.
Ting blinked, surprised. His tail flicked with irritation. He came again, faster. Wilder. He twisted, tail reaching again for her ankle.
She moved on instinct.
And caught it.
For the first time in all their sparring, Jun’s fingers wrapped tight around Ting’s tail, mid-swing. His body jerked in confusion. He snarled, an animal sound.
“You—!”
She yanked.
Ting landed hard on his back with a thud that silenced the courtyard. She didn’t wait. She pinned his arm with her feet and, posing the butt of the yari square onto his arm, slammed down.
A horrible sound followed—a crack and then a cry.
The worst part was she was about to do it again when a deafening command echoed through the courtyard.
“Jun!”
Snapping out of her trance, her blood turned cold when she saw the usual calm demeanor of her master turned into anger.
She looked at the monkey vastaya beneath her sole, he looked so small, she always had a hard time reconciling that he was younger than her. Ting was hurt, really hurt.
“This is not the way of the Wuju!” he sneered.
For the first time Jun felt seen, truly seen, everyone was watching. And it was the worst feeling in the world.
Yi said nothing more in the courtyard. Just gestured.
Jun followed, her legs stiff with dread, each step echoing louder than the last. He led her behind the training hall. Away from the prying eyes of other acolytes, though they would surely know of this.
Then he turned.
“I thought you better than this”
Jun's mouth opened before she could stop herself. “He’s hurt me before.”
Master Yi’s expression didn’t change, but his silence deepened.
“I know what the Wuju way is supposed to mean,” Jun pushed on, breath catching. “That we train against violence, not to become it. But what am I supposed to do when he uses it? When no one sees what he does?”
Yi didn’t raise his voice. He didn’t need to.
“Then you must be the one who sees clearly.”
Jun’s fists trembled at her sides. “So he gets to taunt me? To trip me when you’re not looking? Call me names? Pull my braid when I’m drinking water?”
“Ting is young,” Yi said, quiet. “He knows nothing of cruelty, not the way you do. He copies what he sees, but you—you know where it leads. That is what makes your choice heavier.”
“I didn’t choose this,” she snapped, the words laced with something more feral than she meant. “It just happened.”
“You let it happen,” Yi replied, calm but firm. “And worse, you almost liked it.”
Jun looked away, her throat tightening.
“You must find another path for your anger,” he said. “You carry so much of it. I’ve felt it, growing like a second blade in your shadow.”
“I’ve tried,” Jun whispered.
Her master let out a frustrated sigh. Master Yi’s expression shifted, the sharpness in his eyes dulling to something softer. His shoulders lowered slightly, as if the weight of being disappointed in her had taken its toll, too.“I don’t like raising my voice at you, Jun.”
“I know you have your demons, fight shadows we cannot see. And yet you rise, again and again.”
Jun didn’t know where to look. The stone floor blurred.
“I don’t say this just to ease your doubts, but you have potential. Real potential. But even strength needs guidance. A blade left unchecked only dulls itself.” He placed his hands on her shoulders, she wanted nothing more than to bring pride to the man who’d raised her.
“Take a break, go to Tevasa village, being around regular people will ease your mind”
She felt as if a thousand stones dragged her downward. “Am I being cast out?”
“No,” Yi said at once, stepping forward, his voice firm now, but not unkind. “Of course not. This is your home. Forever and always. ”
Jun did not know what to think of this, she was being punished, but part of her craved real consequence, something that would hurt, physically.
Jun nodded, barely able to keep her face from crumbling. Her master rubbed her back.
“And Jun,” he added, already beginning to turn away, “I saw your fight…you did well”
She blinked. “Just, tone down the bloodthirst” he added.
Jun stood there alone, the morning wind brushing the back of her neck. The weight of what she’d done clung to her like mist, she wanted pride to bloom in her chest, but it did not come.
.
Jun was not chosen.
Not like the others meant when they said it.
They whispered it like a secret, with wide eyes and knowing smiles. As if fate had reached out with a golden thread and tied it around their wrists. But for Jun, the thread always slipped.
She wasn’t chosen, she was kept. Left behind like a favorite stone, interesting once, now collecting dust.
She paused, fingers tightening around the broom handle. The wind shifted, bringing the smell of iron and salt.
“Not chosen,” she whispered, as if saying it aloud might turn it into something solid.
Jun wound her way down its mountain trail, her walking staff tapping against stone. She carried a covered bundle slung over one shoulder and a thin black satchel tucked at her waist. Inside was a sketchbook Yi had given her, blank pages meant to hold memory and discipline. Today, she had come to fill them.
The island of Bahrl had been at the forefront of the invasion ten years ago, to this day the southernmost tip still held a noxian colony. The original Wuju village lay abandoned and destroyed, Jun stayed far away from that place, nature had taken over the huts and wells, most wujus believed the place to be haunted.
Tevasa village was a little farther from the new Bha-li temple, it was well hidden and had not borne the brunt of the invasion, but noxian influence still permeated the island. It wasn’t uncommon to see noxians in Tevasa village looking for a girl to take to bed, even if they were much unwelcomed.
Though the place had been ravaged and the original Wuju order annihilated, Master Yi refused to leave. Bahrl was home, though their school renounced violence, they resisted in other ways.
The villagers remained loyal to the Order. In turn, the Order depended on their kindness. They recognized Jun by her robes, and always made a point to greet her. Today, she carried her master’s sketchbook and a small satchel of trinkets: old maps, dulled kitchen knives, pots no longer needed. She hoped to trade them for food, something warm, something fresh.
She entered the village’s only pawn shop, slipping past a beaded curtain into a narrow hall. A familiar scent of incense clung to the air.
“Jun!” A voice boomed. “Good graces I haven’t seen a Wuju out of that castle in ages.”
“Hello, Mr. Yuan.” She placed her bag on the counter. The man was shirtless, his age showing in his bald crown and wrinkled chest. A thick strand of wooden beads hung around his neck like a monk's blessing.
“What have you brought this time?” He rummaged through the bag. “How’s that old master of yours faring?”
“Oh, he’s… busy.”
A voice cut in.
“Wuju lady!”
Jun turned. A girl no older than eight bounced in the doorway. Mr. Yuan sighed. “Calm down, Hui. She’s just here for supplies.”
Jun offered a reassuring nod.
“Can you see the spirit realm?” Hui asked, wide-eyed.
“Not yet,” Jun answered softly. She hated disappointing children—even with the truth.
“That’s okay! I can’t either!” The girl grinned, her skin sun-kissed, a messy fringe flopping over her brow. “My dad says I can join a temple one day!”
Many fathers dreamed of such things. In Ionian tradition, a child taught by a master was a gift beyond blood.
Mr. Yuan scooped up his daughter and smothered her with kisses. “My little Hui, always eager to leave me behind.”
Jun smiled faintly. Family. It had been a long time since she’d known anything like it. Bahrl was full of orphans like her.
“You know,” she said, “I still have a few stops before heading back. Want to show me around?”
“Yes!” Hui grabbed her hand and darted outside, dragging Jun behind her.
“We’ll be right back!” she called to the shopkeeper.
They visited the village pond, an old tree, even Hui’s grandmother’s house. Jun already knew most of the landmarks, but the girl’s enthusiasm made everything feel new again.
At a street vendor, Jun exchanged a few coins for candy—red and sticky, made from wild berries. Hui devoured hers in one bite.
“What do Wuju students do?” she asked, her face smudged with juice.
“We meditate. A lot.”
“Do you fight?”
“Sometimes,” Jun said. She didn’t mention the bruises from that morning. Hui didn’t need to hear about that.
They sat together by an old stone well. Hui peeked down into the dark.
“Are you thirsty?” she asked, pulling up the rope without waiting.
Jun took a sip. The water tasted strange—metallic, almost sour. Maybe it was the river nearby. She’d have to ask Master Yi if something was wrong.
Soon they were wandering near the village’s edge, where the grass grew taller and thicker, deep green like ink.
“Are you allowed this far out?” Jun asked.
“Yep. Look!”
Hui held up a five-leaf clover.
“Do you think I could join the Wuju someday?”
Jun smiled.
She was about to answer when her knees buckled and she was knocked down her feet.
She didn’t have time to process, pain flared up her side of her face and a whistle rang in her ears.
She looked at her hands and they were burns all across her fingertips and a drop of red falling onto them, she reached up to her face with an agonized scream, she was hot the touch.
The Wuju student regretted lifting her face to see green fire all around her, but worst of all was little Hui laying on the ground just a few feet from her. She crawled over to her with all her strength and what she saw haunted her. The poor girl’s face was filled with sores and burns.
She picked her up and she let out a little pained whine.
“I know, I’m sorry” she muttered, I know it hurts, I know it hurts. She repeated
Looking at the damage around her it was like nothing she could ever imagine, screams could be heard everywhere, she tried to not look but there was nowhere to hide her gaze even with her clouded vision. The melted faces, the missing limbs…
Jun ran through the village with all the strength her limp legs would allow her.The smell of sulfur was thick in her nose, there wasn’t much fire, but there was this misty fog that made it hard to see where one was going. Jun tried to help but she could not drop the child in her arms, she found herself with the egregious choice of helping the Townsfolk or saving Hui. Tears burned her cheeks when she realized it was all the same, everyone was dying, she realized if she stayed the same fate awaited her.
She ran as fast as her feet could take her, every step of the way more painful than the one before, she wasn’t going to make it to the temple in time. Jun could barely see out of her left eye and her face seemed to be collapsing onto itself
Wuju, realization dawned on her
Her knees buckled and she started meditating, but it looked more like a prayer. It was an ancient Wuju poem, she ran through the words like a chant.
With open heart and soul set free, I drift beyond what eyes can see
With open heart and soul set free, I drift beyond what eyes can see
With open heart and soul set free, I drift beyond what eyes can see
With open heart and soul set free, I drift beyond-
Her eyes flew open, a surge of courage propelling her forward. With newfound determination, she raced toward the Wuju temple, fueled by a strength she had never known she possessed.
The wind whipped past her as she charged through the remnants of the shattered Silverwood tree, its broken branches a somber reminder of past battles. Panting heavily, she finally reached the temple’s grand doors. Overwhelmed by exhaustion, she collapsed against them, her breath coming in ragged gasps.
Pain.
It burned in her face, she felt her tears sting her skin. She could not see and Jun thought this is what it must be like to go blind,
She could hear her master’s voice, it sounded so far away… was she going deaf too?
Then there was nothing.
Nothing but the voice of a woman singing her to sleep, it reminded her of her mother. She could feel her hands caressing her face, Jun felt safe
“Rest easy, there is no death here” That voice so foreign, she could not bring the strength to open her eyelids, the voice kept singing, it was slightly deep but oh so wonderful.
The Kindred she thought to herself.
“I am no lamb, child” she drifted into oblivion again.
When Jun awoke her eyes were dry and now that she was conscious it was pain again. Her face burned and she could feel the blisters on her skin. She did not find the waking world pleasant.
The light was hitting her right in the face blinding her, but when her eyes adjusted she felt the relief of knowing she hadn't gone blind
“Thank the gods” she heard her master’s soft voice and wanted to cry.
She gave a small whine, trying to move but everything burned.
“What happened little magpie” her master asked, had he always been this soft with her? She could feel his hands gently stroking her hair.
“Hui?” she remembered the small girl in her arms.
“Wuju saved you Jun, you used wuju” Master Yi was talking but his words were not reaching through.
“Hui?” a horrible feeling was starting to dawn on her
“She’s with the spirit blossoms now” she could now see her master properly. He was sitting on a chair by the bed, he looked as if he hadn’t slept in days.
Jun tried to but tears would not come out. She merely stared at the ceiling
She was bandaged from head to toes with only her left eye peeking through
“Severe burns. Loss of vision and hearing on the right side. But the body's responding—accelerated healing.”
It was supposed to be good news. It only made her feel worse.
The following days blurred together in a haze of agony. Lying still hurt. Moving hurt worse. She meditated when she could, retreating inward, clinging to Wuju not for speed but for sanctuary. Her thoughts gnawed at her like rats in a cellar.
Jun hated the way they looked at her now.
Pity in their eyes, whispered awe in their voices. Even footsteps quieted when they passed her room, like she’d become sacred. Or cursed. If people didn’t like her before her condition didn’t fuel any confidence in her.
She wasn’t a hero, she hadn’t done anything, hadn’t saved anyone, her uselessness gnawed at her. Not chosen, Jun kept repeating to herself.
Even worse than their reverence was their fear. The temple had stirred into motion like a kicked beehive. Reinforcements called. Weapons polished. Scouts sent out. Everyone was thinking they might die next.
That wasn’t strength. That wasn’t pride. That was shame.
“Looks like we’re both out of commission. Want to race each other down the hall? I’ll hop on one leg while you blink dramatically.”
Oh yeah, Ting was here, Jun barely heard him. She gave him a deadpan look with her good eye; why are you here? The monkey vastaya had a cast over his arm, the bandage hung tightly around his chest. She’d done that hadn’t she? Jun did not remember.
“As I was saying we went to Tevasa village,” said Bahari, the order’s medic.
“There was nothing,” Ting added, quieter now. “No corpses, no people. Just burned huts. It’s like it was abandoned.”
Jun’s gaze sharpened. “But I was there.”
She looked to her master, needing him to say something, to ground her in her reality.
“It’s true. I believe you, Jun,” Master Yi said, placing his hand gently on her shoulder. “But that’s not what troubles me.”
There was no doubt who the culprit was. Noxus had a colony not much south and this wasn’t the first time they tried chemical weapons on the island of Bahrl. Master Yi had been witness to that. They were trying to get rid of the evidence.
Once Bahari left, Ting looked as if he would follow, but he sat a little longer on the foot of her bed as if he was thinking of saying something, spit it out, whatever cruel joke you have, she wanted to say.
Master Yi gave him a look and the monkey finally said “That day you broke my arm…”he trailed off as if expecting the sentence to finish itself “I wished something really bad would happen to you, I—I just wanted to say I didn’t really mean it” he jumped off and sprinted towards the door. “I’m sorry”
The room held still for a moment. Her master sighted.
Ting left with a swish of the door, his cast knocking lightly against the frame on the way out. Jun remained silent, her face angled toward the ceiling, but her expression had softened, just a little.
Master Yi stayed beside her.
His hand returned to her temple, fingers moving in slow, steady circles, like he was trying to soothe not just the pain but the silence too. He didn’t speak for a long moment. When he finally did, his voice was quiet, distant.
“You’re not the first student I’ve sat beside like this.”
Jun blinked, surprised. Yi’s tone was usually so measured, so contained. But now… it cracked, faintly.
“When I took my blade ten years ago, I told myself that would be the last of it” he was stroking her hair, not quite meeting her eye. “They didn’t come with swords or steel. They came with canisters—poison in the wind.”
Jun swallowed thickly.
“I rebuilt,” he said, more to himself than to her. “I tried. We tried. New walls. New students. But every footstep on these floors still echoes with memory.”
He looked down at her then, his voice anchoring again.
“And when I found you... like this... I felt it all over again. That same helplessness. That same fear. Watching someone I care for... slip between my fingers.”
“But I didn’t save anyone,” she whispered.
“You survived, Jun. Sometimes, that’s the only victory the world will give you. And that is no small thing.”
A long silence settled between them, heavier but not crushing. Yi stayed beside her. Didn’t rush her grief. Didn't pull her forward.
He simply sat with her in the ashes of both their pasts. He stayed with her for the rest of the night, trying to keep his usual poise in the chair beside her bed. Jun merely listened to the waves crashing, she stared at the ceiling and the sea shells that decorated her room, once she could hear her master’s steady breathing, Jun allowed herself to break.
She turned her face into the pillow and let the sound muffle the first sob.
It came up from somewhere deep, older than her injuries, louder than her pride. A ragged gasp, then another. Her shoulders shook beneath the blankets, careful not to wake Yi, but her pain was louder than she could bear. Silent crying turned to wet, stuttering breaths. She bit down on her knuckles. Still it came.
I’ll never be Wuju.
The thought sliced through her, hot and final.
What good was a disciple who couldn’t see straight, who couldn’t hear her enemies? Who trembled every time she tried to stand?
I’ll never earn the blade. I’ll never be like him. Like any of them.
They’d all whispered behind her back, before. Now they didn’t whisper at all. They bowed their heads when she passed, as if she’d died and was walking among them like a ghost.
She wept until her lungs burned and her good eye stung. She cried for the shame, for the fear, for the terrible gnawing thing that said maybe they’re right . She cried for her master’s pain. For her weakness. For her island, burning.
Only when her body had nothing left did she go still. A shallow, dreamless sleep pulled her down, her breath catching as she sank beneath it like an anchor dropped into the sea.
And in the dark… she was not alone.
She was standing in the cotton fields again, she was back in the colony. The air was heavy, saturated with heat and silence.The wind rippled the white tufts around her ankles like a tide.
In the distance, her mother stood, her hair billowing in the wind, Jun did not run to her like she did last time. She tried to pinch herself, kept telling herself to wake up, wake up , but she felt trapped.
The woman approached her, she moved like mist, Jun felt herself recoiling, but she tripped over a root and felt herself falling to her back, here she realised she wasn’t small like before, her arms and feet were riddled with burns, even in her dreams she felt the pain.
“Careful there” she said, her voice like a melody, different from the one of her mother, as the woman came to kneel before cradling her in her arms, Jun could see the otherness in her eyes.
“Who are you?” Jun told herself this was not real, this was not a nightmare, this was a dream. But it felt so real.
“The echo of every wound that didn’t kill its maker”
“Let me show you” she took Jun’s arm gently into her hands and watched as tendrils of blood erupted from her skin like stems and, seeping onto the wuju’s arm, mending it.
Tendrils of blood unfurled from Jun’s skin, delicate, red as thread. They drifted through the air like steam, then curled back toward her body. They laced into her burns and, slowly, the pain dulled.
“I’m a healer,” the woman murmured. “Though some would rather call me a curse.You think your pain makes you useless,” she said. “But pain changes you. The body remembers. So does the soul. And sometimes, broken things hold more power than whole ones.”
Jun swallowed hard. Her voice came out thin. “Am I dying?”
“No” she laughed, humored. “You child, will live forever.”
Jun awoke with a gasp, she could never tell what hour of the day it was, it might’ve been early morning, it might’ve been deep in the night. Her eyes darted around the room, fixating on the empty chair by her bedside. Her master wasn’t here.
Her gaze dropped to her bandaged arm. Hesitation gripped her, a sick mix of dread and desperate hope swirling in her gut. Without thinking, she ripped the fabric from her skin, her breath quickening.
She stared at her arm.
Nothing.
No burns, no scars, not even a blemish.
She blinked, then rubbed her eyes as if the world would right itself, but it didn’t. Her skin was whole. It wasn’t supposed to be.
She rolled off her bed, surprised to find her legs betrayed her and the burns still stung. She groaned and pushed herself up.
Her legs shook beneath her, but she kept going. She needed answers.
She rushed through the halls as fast as her limping legs could carry her, the hour was early and a few students looked at her with confusion as she passed by them
Panting, her feet took her to the master chambers, pushing the door open with her good arm
“Master—!” She stopped dead in her tracks once she saw the room was occupied
A meeting was taking place. Master Yi, Bahari, Lui, Wu-Kong and the Temple Guardians were there, they all stared at her with shock and confusion in their faces.
“I—I’ll be back later” she blurted out, already turning back towards the door.
“No, wait Jun, what are you doing out of bed?” Her master rushed to her
“I’m really sorry for interrupting” She tried to break away from his grasp, embarrassed to have so brazenly barged into a meeting.
He gently took her arm in his hands, his touch careful but firm. He examined it, his brow furrowing as he traced his fingers over her skin, searching for any sign of injury, any trace of the burns she had endured.
“What is this?” he asked softly, his voice a mix of disbelief and something darker perhaps fear, or concern for her well-being.
Jun swallowed hard, her throat tight as she pulled her arm back slightly, trying to understand this impossible reality herself. “I don’t know, I had this dream, I’m not sure”
Master Yi’s gaze didn’t leave her arm. He exhaled slowly, as if considering something deeper than just the physical, his eyes flicking to her face. “Can you walk?”
She nodded, though her legs still trembled beneath her. “Yes”
“Hiya Jun!” said Wu-Kong, as if the tense air of the room did not matter.
“Hi…” she responded weakly.
“We have called the elders, a council has been called” said Master Yi, addressing her but clearly speaking to the rest of the room as well.
“They're asking for proof” he finished.
Jun's stomach dropped. There was no getting around it. She’d have to stand before them. She’d have to testify.
“They’ll want to see you,” Yi continued. “We can discuss your arm later. For now, they’ll need you to explain what happened.”
Jun nodded numbly, realizing that nothing would be the same after this. She had no choice but to face them, no choice but to speak.
After the meeting ended and everyone filed out of the room, Lui took a moment to approach Jun. "I'm glad you're faring better," she said, her voice warm, though there was a trace of concern in her eyes.
Jun nodded, offering a small, exhausted smile in return. "Thanks, Lui."
As the last of the Guardians departed, leaving Master Yi and Jun alone in the chamber, Yi moved toward the window, his posture tense. The weight of what had just transpired hung heavily in the air.
"Jun," Yi's voice was calm but insistent. "Tell me about your dream."
Jun hesitated for a moment, the memory of the dream still vivid in her mind. Her voice came softly, unsure of how to explain it all. "There was a woman… she healed my arm. I think she was a spirit of sorts, used some sort of magic, and when I woke up… my arm was like this."
Yi's gaze was unwavering as he absorbed her words. "This woman," he said slowly, "what did she look like?"
“Like my mother, but she wasn’t her, I know it, her eyes, her voice, it’s all wrong”
Master Yi frowned, still holding onto her arm, as if deep in thought, moments passed like this till he finally said. “I’ll look into it, for now you need to rest, if it happens again you tell me alright?”
Jun nodded. There was something worrisome about her master’s reaction, she’d thought he’d be exasperated, a miracle had been done, but she’d only received a quiet, guarded concern in return.
The trail to Navori wasn’t a pleasant one. The road twisted through mist-veiled hills and dense groves, and though spring brushed the trees with new green, anxiety clung to the air like damp cloth.
Calling a general council was no trivial matter. It meant every elder and leader from the provinces would gather. If Master Yi had summoned them, it meant he believed war was near. That thought made Jun’s stomach knot.
She’d been young when the last invasion came, barely old enough to remember the early days of fire and smoke, but old enough to remember what came after. The silence. The funerals. The cold weight of losing her parents.
Jun had only stepped on the main island once before, when her father took her to sell woven baskets and lacquerware. She’d ridden beside him then, bright-eyed and full of questions. Now, she was hunched in the back of a creaking cart, wrapped in a borrowed cloak, her legs still aching, the burns not fully healed beneath the skin. Walking the whole way wasn’t an option. Riding a horse wasn’t either.
The cart rocked with every dip in the path. Her fingers gripped the wooden edge as she looked over the trail ahead, pretending not to notice how slow her breath had gotten, how tight her shoulders were.
“Hey,” Ting’s voice cut through the silence, loud and too cheerful, “how does it feel to be the face of the second Noxian invasion? Literally, I mean—your face is all messed up. Hehe.”
Jun rolled her eyes, not even turning to look at him. Of course it wouldn’t be a real trip without Ting’s incessant commentary. She doubted he even remembered the invasion, he’d been what, a baby?
“You know he only brings you along because he made a promise to Wukong,” she muttered.
Ting snorted, resting his chin on his good arm. “Same reason Yi still keeps you around.”
That one stung more than she expected. Jun looked down, jaw tight, unsure if he meant it to land that way. The cart bumped over a stone and rattled louder than before. Jun bit her tongue, letting out a whine. The cart swung once again but this time it was the from the Monkey King landing on the entrance with practiced ease, his staff slung over his back.
“You’re hogging up all the space, Ting, out”
“What?! She’s like thrice my size and I’m injured too”
Wukong raised a brow, unimpressed. “You’ve got one scratch and a bruised ego. Move it.”
Ting groaned but obeyed, flopping out of the cart with the grace of a limp fish. “This is abuse,” he muttered, trudging alongside the wheels. “I’m writing a complaint to Bahari”
“Make sure to spell whining right,” Wukong called after him, then settled into the space Ting left behind, glancing at Jun.
She gave him a tired look. “Thanks.”
“Nah, I should be thanking you, that injury of his knocked him down a peg.” He chewed onto a dry straw nonchalantly. The Monkey King was a bit of a legend inside the order, maybe just as much as Master Yi was, he was a sort of big brother, to everyone really, it was hard to find someone who didn’t look up to the vastaya. She’d met him when she was still a child, when he had still not left to form a pack of students of his own, she’d dreamt of reaching his level. Now look at her.
“I heard he doesn’t treat you too well”
Jun lifted her gaze up, but Ting wasn’t the only one to treat her as lesser “He’s right though…I’ll never be Wuju, specially not like this” she curled onto herself as much as her injuries allowed her.
“Hey don’t say that, you got this” he looked at her earnestly, like he really meant his words. “Some roads are longer than others and hey I heard your arm is looking better, you might have some hidden abilities inside of ya” Jun wanted to smile, but he didn’t know the truth. Though to be fair, neither did she.
The road wound on over the next few days. Forests blurred into fields, and misty mornings bled into long afternoons. At night they camped under low, starlit skies. Wukong would sometimes leap through the trees to scout ahead while Ting complained about bugs, and Jun tried to walk a little farther each day, her legs still sore but growing steadier.
By the sixth morning, Navori rose into view like something from a dream.
Ionia city nestled between the coast and the heart of the mainland, a rare jewel of wood and artistry. Unlike the quiet temples and cliffside shrines she knew, this place was alive, teeming with people, buzzing with motion. It was one of the few true cities in Ionia, not ruled by a single elder but by a central council, high atop the tallest hill. From her spot in the wagon, Jun could see their domed hall glinting in the sun. She had no idea how they were meant to get all the way up there.
Buildings here were built between a mix of the traditional wood weaving techniques and man-made structures. Tents atop houses, atop houses, it looked as if there was not a single corner left unfilled, the amount of wood weaving things made looked as if the city had been nested in the roots of a massive tree. Colorful woven canopied mantles hung above their heads, filled with lanterns and signs. Jun stared outside the cart with wonder in her eyes.
The streets were packed. They had to push through thick crowds and winding stalls, voices rising all around them in different dialects and cadences. Everywhere Jun looked, there was something new: fluttering silks, trays of steaming food, the scent of spices, incense, and roasted chestnuts. A group of children darted past, laughing.
For a moment, Jun forgot why they’d come.
She let herself wonder selfishly, fleetingly, if there’d be time to wander, even just a little, before they were called back to Bahrl.
Ting let out a long, low whistle beside her. “Okay, this place is nuts. Look at that tower—ugh, if my arm wasn’t busted, I’d be halfway up there by now.”
“Do not even try to” said Master Yi, his tone serious “I don’t want any of my students to headline tomorrow’s scandal sheets.”
“With Jun by our side? They’d skip the scandal and toss her in a beauty pageant. But the reverse category—OW” he yelped at Wukong bonked his head with his staff.
“Keep running that mouth, and we’re heading back with one less monkey.” said the older vastaya.
The council’s estate was built in the old Ionian style, elegant, organic, and impossibly ancient. Vines wove their way into the open halls, and the towering wooden pillars bore hand-carved glyphs and flowing depictions of spirits and beasts long faded from memory. But what caught Jun’s eye most was the sprawling sand garden near the entrance; carefully raked into intricate patterns, the sand itself dyed in soft hues of crimson, slate, and gold. It was as if someone had painted with patience alone.
At the gate, they were politely but firmly disarmed. No sharp objects were permitted past the threshold, not even the smallest blade. For most of the Wuju, whose art relied on balance, breath, and intent, it was no inconvenience. But even so, Jun felt strangely exposed without her training blade.
A servant dressed in flowing robes greeted them with a shallow bow and led them through the estate. The building had been grown as much as it had been built; woven into the body of a great, ancient tree, it pulsed with quiet life. Narrow branches peeked through the walls, and sunlight filtered in through living leaves above, dappling the floors in shifting green.
They stopped before a massive door set into the heartwood, framed by a woven arch of wood and goldleaf. The scent of incense clung to the air.
Master Yi turned. “Jun, come with me. The rest of you, wait outside.”
Ting immediately squawked, “Seriously?! What, she gets the private tour?”
Wukong grinned “Don’t touch anything while we’re gone and—DO NOT—even think of climbing anywhere”
The guards opened the door to reveal the council room.
Anxiety gripped her as they approached the council, the weight of her injuries a constant reminder of the horrors she had witnessed.
By the window stood the enlightened one, embodiment of Ionia herself, Karma. Kathkani of origin, her dark skin was decorated with luminescent markings and a . Beside her were elders of the most important tribes, most wrinkled and blind.
In the middle stood a massive table, in it was carved a map of Ionia in all its glory, every hill and river could be seen, magic had been woven onto the table, water flowed where rivers should be and a miniature of The Omikayalan tree grew where it should be. Jun traced her fingers through the table feeling the soft grass beneath her fingertips as she followed her master to greet the council.
It felt real,cool, soft, alive. A small part of her wanted to cry. For all her failures, all her doubts, this place reminded her why she’d tried so hard to be Wuju. Why it still hurt so much to fall short.
How did I end up here? she wondered. And what happens when they realize I don’t belong?
Master Yi stepped forward, bowing low as he spoke his greeting. Jun followed quietly, her gaze cast downward, trying not to shrink beneath the weight of the room. These were people who shaped the fate of Ionia. She was just a broken girl from Bahrl, clinging to borrowed purpose.
Her master introduced her with formal reverence, but Jun kept her gaze low. She had no place among these people—warriors, visionaries, living legends. Her presence felt like a mistake waiting to be acknowledged.
The massive doors flung open with a thunderous boom.
In swept Xan Irelia, The Blade Dancer herself, flanked by a host of silent, watchful attendants.“I will not allow another invasion,” she declared, her voice sharp as a drawn blade, slicing clean through the murmurs of the chamber.
Jun stiffened. Everyone knew Irelia’s name. Her defiance had once saved Ionia. Her elegance in battle was matched only by her fierce resolve and the older she became, the more her legend grew.
“A red herring, I say,” one of the elders muttered dismissively, his voice dry as old leaves.
“Today we decide that,” Irelia replied, cool and resolute. She stood younger than Jun had imagined, but her presence carried the weight of entire histories. When she spoke, the room listened—until, inevitably, they spoke over her too.
The seats were mostly filled now, the rest of the chamber lined with onlookers, masters and watchers alike. Jun stood quietly among them, trying to still her breathing. Her eyes drifted to the few chairs that remained empty.
Her master introduced her with formal reverence, but Jun kept her gaze low. She had no place among these people, warriors, visionaries, living legends. Her presence felt like a mistake waiting to be acknowledged.
The massive doors flung open with a thunderous boom.
In swept Xan Irelia, The Blade Dancer herself, flanked by a host of silent, watchful attendants. “I will not allow another invasion,” she declared, her voice sharp as a drawn blade, slicing clean through the murmurs of the chamber.
Jun stiffened. Everyone knew Irelia’s name. Her defiance had once saved Ionia. Her elegance in battle was matched only by her fierce resolve—and the older she became, the more her legend grew.
“A red herring, I say,” one of the elders muttered dismissively, his voice dry as old leaves.
“Today we decide that,” Irelia replied, cool and resolute. She stood younger than Jun had imagined, but her presence carried the weight of entire histories. When she spoke, the room listened until, inevitably, they spoke over her too.
The seats were mostly filled now, the rest of the chamber lined with onlookers, masters and watchers alike. Jun stood quietly among them, trying to still her breathing. Her eyes drifted to the few chairs that remained empty.
A calm voice carried across the storm.
“Enough,” said Karma, without raising her tone. And yet, the word rang louder than any shout. The Enlightened One stepped forward from her window with the poise of a falling petal. “This is not a marketplace for squabbling merchants. You were summoned for counsel, not chaos.”
Her glowing markings shimmered softly as she turned her gaze to the center of the room. “The land remembers war even when its people forget. Do not be so eager to stain it again.”
A hush fell. Even the arguing elders bowed their heads, chastened.
Then Elder Morina stirred, his voice rough with age. “Master Yi,” he said, addressing him by title alone. “This letter you sent us is… troubling.” His beard trailed over his chest, and the folds of his face shadowed his sightless eyes. “We hoped you came with clarity, not worry.”
“We must act, and act quickly,” someone else chimed in, then another, then several. “We cannot wait for blood to be spilled again—”
The Enlightened One stepped forward from her window, her glowing markings soft and steady as she surveyed the gathering. “This is not a battlefield. Let us not turn it into one.”
Her gaze swept the room like a tide of calm. “Ionia has always stood because it bends where others break. War must not be our first answer, nor our loudest.”
“Balance means nothing if we all burn!”
“I will not have my teachings pilloried by a girl who hasn’t seen her thirtieth summer—”
“Bahrl has always been vulnerable to noxian attacks”
“We have no luxury to wait,” said a younger councilor. “The signs are clear—there is movement beyond the coast.”
“And what if it is nothing?” said a white-robed priestess seated near the back. “We cannot let fear drive us to strike shadows. Bahrl has always been prone to noxian attacks, we must not jump to conclusion”
“Do we send our children to war for the sake of a rumor?” said another, older man with shaking hands. “Peace is not cowardice. It is the truest discipline.”
The chamber dissolved into noise, a tide of voices crashing over one another. Jun tried to follow the threads, but they tangled too fast. She saw her master attempt to speak, only to be interrupted again and again. In the temple, his word was law. Here, it was barely heard.
And then, another interruption, but not one of booming commandment.
Heads turned.
“Sorry for the delay, your guards wouldn’t let me in” a young man strode in, about her age, a long ebony braid cascaded behind him, as he sat himself down in one of the remaining seats. Completely unbothered by the tension in the room.
“He should’ve never had a seat in the first place” Lady Mayym of the Kinkou spoke. It was now clear to her who this man was. The feud between the Order of Shadows and the Kinkou was a recent one, but their animosity made it seem as if the bad blood had been going on for centuries.
“Silence! We came together for a purpose! Lets not waste it meandering about ” her master went straight to the point “Jun com here”
She did as she was told, with small steps she made her way to his side.
“My student was attacked, she saw it with her own eyes” he carefully unbandaged her face.
“One incident does not make a war, we’ve had many of them since the invasion” The spoke person swallowed his words when he saw the extent of Jun’s injuries, gasps filled the room. Jun felt more watched and judged than she felt at any of her sparring practices.
“A whole village was decimated, Jun only escaped with her life because of our practices.” The room had gone silent, his master’s voice was filled with anguish. The wound still looked fresh and undoubtedly noxian. It dug holes onto her skin till it reached bone and her eye had gone completely white. Jun for the first time since she was a child felt ugly.
“What of the town, where are the people?”
“Gone, not a trace found of them”
“Isn’t that convenient”
“I’m sorry Elder Jouma, are you working for the noxians that you are so reluctant?” Irelia’s voice answered and soon the arguing continued
Jun could no longer endure the chaos in the council room. She slipped past Ting and the others, her departure leaving them in questioning silence.
Her feet carried her aimlessly toward the sand gardens, where she made sure to avoid disturbing the delicate patterns. Instead, she carefully stepped over the cut stone tiles. One part of the garden caught her eye; a dragon, intricately formed in earthy tones of red and brown, each grain of sand placed with precision.
She continued until she reached a small wooden bridge that spanned a shallow artificial pond. Staring down at her reflection in the still water, she saw a face she barely recognized, the weight of everything pressing down on her.
“What happened to your face?”
Startled, Jun realized she'd exposed her wound. She quickly turned away, hiding her face in shame.
At first, Jun didn’t recognize the girl standing before her. Her brown hair was tied up in a messy ponytail, and she carried herself with a quiet, steady presence. But something about her was familiar, though it took a moment for Jun to place it.
“Are you... the daughter of Lady Maymm?” Jun asked, her voice soft as the memory surfaced. The Kinkou had once been close allies of the Wuju, and she’d met Maymm at one of the school gatherings. The girl’s eyes were unmistakable, a mirror of her mother’s.
The newcomer flinched at the question. “Akali,” she corrected quietly, her gaze flickering to the ground.
“You’re not with your master?”
“I don’t have a master”
Jun raised her eyebrow at that, unsure what to make of it, master Shen was often called the Kinkou’s true master, but Lady Mayym was a master too, it didn’t make much sense for her daughter not to follow in her footsteps. They stood in silence for a few moments before Jun, remembering her courtesies, finally spoke.
“It’s Jun.”
Akali gave her a small, understanding smile, then moved to stand beside her. Together, they both gazed down at the water, the stillness of the moment settling around them. Jun couldn’t help but notice how distorted her own reflection appeared beside Akali’s, as though the world itself had shifted.
“They’re talking about war, aren’t they?” Akali’s voice was calm, though tinged with a quiet sadness. Jun nodded, feeling the heaviness of the discussion still lingering in the air.
"Old, wrinkled men, sitting around talking like they're still in the past," she muttered, shaking her head. "They’ve been at this for years, and all they do is argue in circles. They’re stuck in their own traditions, too scared to move forward."
She gestured toward the council room, her frustration bubbling over. "They sit in their chairs, all high and mighty, pretending they’re doing something important while the rest of us are out here, fighting for our homes, our lives.” the girl laid her back against the railing of the bridge. Jun barely looked at her. “They are so old they cannot even fight anyways"
“So what are you going to do?” Akali asked, she seemed the type to stir conversation with anyone.
“I can’t really do much” Jun looked at the burns in her hands and arms, fate had already slipped from her.
“I get that” she said, her tone firm, Jun felt she didn’t quite ‘get that’. “It feels like we’re stuck running in circles, but we try anyway. That is why I left the Kinkou” she confessed
Jun blinked, surprised. "You left?" she asked quietly, not expecting such a confession. Being part of the Kinkou was a great honor, a privilege most ionians would never afford and she was the master’s daughter, Jun couldn’t fathom abandoning family.
Akali gave her a sharp nod. "Yeah. Sometimes you just have to make your own way. I’m not gonna sit around waiting for things to change."
There was an edge to Akali’s tone, a frustration that Jun understood too well. But Akali's resolve felt different, bolder. Still, Jun was unsure where that left her. She glanced at the council building. It all seemed so out of her reach.
Jun was referring to the invasion, those who’d fought back would fight back and those who did not would not. She did not blame in all honesty, life had to have balance stripping the life out of someone, went against their teachings, no matter who they were.
Before Jun could respond, the quiet sound of footsteps broke through the tension. Master Yi emerged, his calm presence like a breath of fresh air. “There you are”
“Sorry for running off” She avoided her gaze, but in truth she did not care as much anymore.
“Don’t dwell on it” He reassured her, turning his gaze towards her companion “Akali, look how you’ve grown, you look just like your mother”
“Master Yi” she bowed “I get told as much, though I wish it weren’t true”
“My apologies, how is Shen?”
“More or less the same, too busy with the spirits, haven’t seen him as much, I’ve left the Kinkou”
“A tough decision I’m sure”
Akali shrugged “Being on my own hasn’t been so bad, travelling is more my thing, haven’t been to Bahrl yet”
“Always the danger chaser as always, if you need housing you need just ask, you may not be part of the Kinkou anymore but you are always welcome under my roof”
“Me? No no don’t worry about it” Akali said quickly, waving off the offer “the ground is more my thing”
They went back and forth for a little longer, Jun watched them with a hint of amusement, her master could be so relentless sometimes.
They stayed the night in Ionia city.
Jun had never seen so many lanterns in one place, their golden light flickering across painted wood and carved stone. The city breathed a different rhythm than Bahrl busier, louder, but not unkind. There was music down every narrow path, food stalls tucked under flowering trees, and people laughing without fear. It felt so distant from the looming war.
Master Yi had taken their small caravan out for dinner. They sat at a narrow, low wooden counter beneath a red awning, the scent of sizzling oil and roasted spices thick in the air. A small street restaurant tucked into the edge of the market district.
Jun sat between Akali and Master Yi, chopsticks hovering uncertainly above a bowl of thick noodles and marinated with lemongrass. Across from them, Ting was already on his second plate.
“This is real food,” Akali declared between mouthfuls. “None of that polite temple broth stuff.”
“You never get bored of doing the same plate, do you, Jao? Still using too much garlic” Smiled his master
“It’s not enough unless it stings your nose,” the man shot back, waving a spoon at him. “You still owe me for that pot of dumplings you and Doran demolished, by the way.”
“I brought you students instead,” Yi replied, motioning to the group. “That has to count for something.”
At that, Wukong raised a hand. “Do we get extra dumplings for being part of the deal? Because I’m definitely worth at least two plates.” He pushes Ting away as the small monkey tried to get a taste of his plate.
Jun had barely touched her plate.
The steam curled up from her bowl like incense, catching the lamplight in little golden ribbons. She held her chopsticks in one hand but made no move to eat. Around her, the others laughed, traded jabs, jostled elbows. It was messy and warm and alive in a way that made her chest ache, just a little.
This is what life was meant to be, wasn’t it?
Not aching arms. Not trying to prove herself to walls that never listened. Not slipping between duty and failure like a ghost no one really saw.
Jun finally picked up a dumpling and took a bite.
It was hot, too salty, and clung to the roof of her mouth like it meant to stay there forever.
It was perfect.
And, for the first time in a while, Jun smiled.
The soft sway of the ferry beneath Jun was calming, the sound of the water lapping gently against the sides creating a soothing rhythm. The journey back to Bahrl had taken a turn from the steady ride across land to the peaceful swaying of the ferry over the Stretch of Navori in direction towards the island.
She watched the waves glisten in the daylight, feeling the refreshing salty breeze hitting her face, she’d bandaged it once again. In the distance she observed Akali making conversation with Wukong. She turned her attention back to her master beside her.
“Why did you let her come?” Jun asked earnestly.
“The Kinkou are old friend of the Wuju, in older times we used to exchange students, besides I’ve met her old man”
“So it’s just courtesy?”
“In a way, but I met her when she was a child full of fire, the burden of legacy hanging on her shoulders, we all thought she would inherit the title of fist of the shadow, I should have known Maymm better to not know she would’ve refused her. Akali thinks the the chance to be more has slipped from her fingers”
“I’m not a child that you need to arrange playdates with the daughters of your friends” she said her tone neutral so as to not sound like she was overstepping his authority.
“Is it really that bad I thought you might need the company? You two seemed friendly enough”
Jun looked out across the misty waters, the lanterns from the ferry flickering in the river’s reflection. “I didn’t say it was bad,” she murmured. “Just unexpected.”
Yi didn’t press. He only nodded once, slow and thoughtful. “Sometimes, we don’t know what we need until it sits beside us.”
Jun didn’t answer right away. But for the first time in a long while, she allowed herself to rest her tired arms against the railing, letting the silence stretch in peace.
Once they arrived at the temple, Akali settled in quickly, her presence a soothing balm to Jun’s weary spirit. The girl was only allowed on certain parts of the temple grounds, Wuju was a closed practice after all. She was mostly out exploring Bahrl but sometimes came to see her in the night. They’d been warned against wandering on their own, now that noxian influence in the island was at its height, but she was not one of theirs and was not bound to their rules.
Still, now that she was back, Jun couldn’t help but wonder: would anything be different? Would the stares fade? Would Ting and the others lose interest in reminding her of what she wasn't? Or would it all stay the same, just with Akali beside her now, a guest watching as it happened?
For a moment, she let herself imagine what it would be like if something did shift, if her failure no longer defined every glance. But it felt dangerous to hope for too much. After all, nothing about the mountain had changed.
On her second night she dreamt of the woman again.
“What do you want?” She questioned her
The woman did not answer.
“To be remembered,” she said, voice like wind through a broken temple, soft, dry, full of echoes. “To be used.” She slowly approached her with a grace that looked inhuman, she phased her hands through her face, shedding the visage of her mother like second skin. In her place stood white snake, human in form but otherworldly in every other arspect, gold and white hung over her slim body. Twin bloodletters gleamed in her hands, Shuriman in design, their edges curved like half-moons thirsty for the sun.
“Look,” she whispered.
The world spun sideways. Heat pressed against her chest. They were beneath a tent, but nothing could hide the burning sun above them, heat pressed onto all her sides, specks of sands went passed her face from the entrance. Other bodies were laid inside the tent, all heavily injured or dead, most of them human, though not all of them.
No longer was the tall woman looming above her, instead she was on the ground, cradling a bleeding man in her arms. Pressing her hands onto his chest but it was a futile cause, he was beyond gone, an entire half of his torso was missing, pouring blood and entrails onto the pale sands. Desperation bloomed on the woman's hands as she worked her strange magic, blood trails blooming around him like blades of grass. Jun stared at the scene horrified.
“No please, stay with me” she whispered, Jun tried to reach for her, her hands trembled, telling her it was no use. But with a burst of energy blood spattered over her and the body, once she looked again the man’s wound was no longer there.
The woman had little time to rejoice, the sheets from the entrance flung wide as another animal humanoid entered, tall, with the horned head of a desert ram and a face hidden beneath a snarling bone mask. His fur was caked in blood, not all of it his own. He reeked of war and urgency.
“There you are!” he barked, his voice rough with dust and old scars. “Get him up. We need every blade.”
Xolaani didn’t look up. Her arms stayed locked around the man’s torso, still trembling from the miracle she’d forced into being. “He was dead,” she hissed. “ Dead. I brought him back, he’s not ready—”
“He doesn’t have to be ready,” the beast-man growled, stepping further inside. “He just has to stand.”
“His soul is barely settled in his skin,” she said, finally raising her face. It was streaked with blood and grief. “Another hit and he’ll die again.”
“Then you’ll just have to do it again”
Jun stood paralyzed, a ghost in the corner of the memory, unable to move or speak. The now-healed man limped toward the entrance, as if there were no other choice. The woman clutched at his arm, fingers trembling, but eventually,silently, let him go.
She didn’t look after him. Instead, she stood amid the sea of broken bodies, surrounded by the stink of blood and sand. Her hands, once outstretched in desperate healing, now hung limp at her sides, soaked to the wrists in red.
Jun thought it was over, but then the woman slowly lifted her gaze.
And met hers.
Those eyes, filled to the brim with hate, penetrating her as if she were a guilty spectator.
Jun’s breath caught.
She awoke with a gasp, chest tight, sweat chilling against her skin. The quiet hum of the ferry surrounded her, the gentle rock of water below, and the stars overhead, so far removed from the desert sun and the blood-soaked sand.
But still, she couldn’t shake the feeling of those eyes. Of being seen.
A few mornings later, Jun caught sight of Akali hiking down the mountain trail, a small pack slung over her shoulder and her pace already swift.
“Wait!” Jun called out, her voice cracking.
Her legs ached, but she moved quickly now. The bruises had faded to dull smudges and her steps no longer trembled. Bahari and Lui had called it a miracle, how fast her body had knit itself back together, how the scars had vanished completely from her left arm. Sometimes, in the quiet hours after a dream, she caught herself staring at the smooth skin, wondering what it meant.
Akali stopped and turned, a little surprised to see her.
Jun panted as she caught up. “You’re going to Tevasa, right?”
Akali raised a brow, slightly amused.
Jun gestured down the forked trail. “Let me show you the way. There’s an old footbridge near the cliff that’s faster, if you miss it, you’ll end up circling the whole ridge.”
Akali tilted her head, smiling just slightly. “You sure you’re up for it?”
Jun nodded, brushing a loose strand of hair from her face. “I didn’t limp all the way here just to let you get lost”
They continued down the winding mountain trail, the air crisp and sharp with the scent of pine. As they moved, Jun’s thoughts wandered. She could feel Akali’s quiet energy, always so contained, yet sometimes so charged, like she was on the verge of something, but never letting herself fall over that edge. It was familiar, that need to push forward even when the path wasn’t clear.
“You’ve been healing up pretty fast” Akali remarked after a moment, her voice breaking the comfortable silence between them.
“Yeah everyone’s been saying that, guess it not over for me yet”
“It’s never over” the girl gave her a cheeky smile.
The trail to Tevasa wound down through narrow gullies and overgrown brush, the sharp scent of pine gradually giving way to dry dust and scorched bark. The sun hung high and hot, casting sharp shadows across the mountain rocks. Birds chirped overhead—but not the kind Jun was used to. There was a stillness to the air, the kind that comes after something terrible.
By the time the village came into view, Jun felt sick.
The day was bright and cloudless, yet the wind carried a foul stench, ash, rot, something chemical. It twisted her stomach. She slowed, squinting at the rooftops, and felt her legs grow heavier with each step.
When they finally stepped into the plaza, Jun’s breath caught in her throat. The sight hit her like a slap.
She had seen it in her dreams before, over and over, the charred outlines of bodies clinging to each other, the blackened beams of homes collapsed inward. But seeing it awake, in the light of day, was worse. The dreams hadn’t carried the smell. The heat.
The Wuju had already combed the ruins, looking for survivors or signs of who did this—but whoever cleaned the place had done so thoroughly. Like someone meant to scrub out not just people, but memory.
They passed empty homes with doors swung wide open. Inside, the heat warped wood and peeled paint. Jun tried not to look at the soot stains too long. Too many of them looked like claw marks.
When they reached the pawnshop, Jun stopped. She stared at it from across the street for a moment, her pulse a quiet thud in her ears. It looked smaller than she remembered.
She laced her fingers through the beaded curtain, and for a second, she saw Hui’s father again, smiling, arms wrapped around his daughter. Just a normal day. Just a father’s love. He hadn’t known it would be the last time.
Inside, the shop was a mess. Things had fallen from shelves, shattered across the floor. It looked worse than the first time she’d seen it. Jun’s chest tightened.
Maybe he’d struggled. Maybe he’d reached for the door, for a bucket, for Hui’s name. Or maybe the smoke took him before he realized anything was wrong.
She crouched low beside a shelf and picked through the spilled contents. Toys, bright and colorful, scattered among shards of ceramic. A tiny painted carving of a jewel protector caught her eye, the tiger's color shimmered in the soft light, little Hui’s. Her fingers curled around it before she could stop herself.
She stood slowly, heart thudding, thumb rubbing the smooth edge of the carving like it was a talisman. Maybe this was a dream. Maybe everyone was under some strange spell. Maybe the village hadn’t burned. Maybe—
The sound of beads rustling behind her froze her blood.
She turned.
By the hallway, shadows had gathered, thick and unnatural. A figure stood half-shrouded in the darkness, tall, still, watching her.
Jun stumbled backward, crashing into a cabinet. Her breath caught, she hadn’t brought a sword. Not even a knife.
The figure took a step forward—
And then Akali was there, bursting through the doorway like lightning. Her kama flashed as she launched herself at the intruder, both of them slamming into the narrow hall. Wood splintered. Jun could barely keep up, Akali grunted as the stranger flung her aside. Everything happened in the span of a couple seconds
Jun clutched the tiny toy to her chest, frozen. The blood drained from her fingers.
The fight came to a sudden stop when Akali hissed:
“You asshole! I thought you were Noxian!”
The man stepped back, panting slightly, one hand raised.
“You’re not too far off on that one,” he muttered. The figure was now visible in the soft light filtering through the entrance.
Jun blinked.
Jun watched perplexed, not a lot of light entered the hallway but now she could see the shadowy figure was just a man. Black ebony hair and a braid that reached his lower back.
“You were at the council” she mouthed breathlessly.
“Yeah, and what about you? Decided to become a Wuju?” He turned his attention to Akali who merely rolled her eyes.
She pushed through the stranger to get to Jun “Was the entrance really necessary, Kayn? She almost died here a month ago. Don’t worry girl, he’s all bark and no bite”
“I bite,” Kayn replied smoothly, voice dropping just enough to make it ambiguous if it was a threat, a joke, or something else entirely.
She helped her up to her feet and Jun will not deny the initial fright she gave her. He still frightened her. She looked up and down to him, she noticed his poorly bandaged hand, it looked broken but she could not see properly in this light, as well as the massive pole he carried in his back, it was completely sheathed, covered in leather and chainmail as well as magical seals. Above all that his allegiances were undeniable.
“I thought you would hate the Yanlei” She whispered to Akali, the long feud between the Kinkou and the shadow order was a well common one, she thought that a member of the offshoot Kinkou would not regard each other so plainly.
“Don’t make this weird” She muttered it quick, like she didn’t trust her own face to stay neutral.
“Too late I already showed up”
“Showed up to take all the credit I’m sure” said Akali.
He huffed “After what I’m about to do you’d be lucky to be included in the footnotes, now move”
“What” She barely had time to respond before the man shoved her aside. He jumped behind the counter and started rummaging through the old pawn keepers' belongings. Jun was about to protest when he pulled out a pouch full of coins and laid them all on the table.
“Noxian coin” she said
“The Pawnkeeper must’ve had dealings with quite a few of them” Jun was shocked, noxian coins had no value here, so why would he have them?
“They come up from the colony down south sometimes” She started to look for explanations.
The suspicions were rising, Akali scanned through the tight mess till her feet hit a particular hollow spot. She removed a rug that had been put in place to reveal a hidden door on the floor.
Notes:
This goes out to the two people who like Jun (One is me)
Actually kinda proud of the latter half of the chapter. Hope you guys enjoy! Even if it's not a Kayn POV. As always feel free to leave any comments/criticism love hearing from you guys!
[Edit 20/04/25] Congrats if you made it this far, because it's a lot. Only major canon change is the fact I'm changin Karma's philosophy, yeah she's not a pacifist in the lore any more and wants to fight, but like to be honest Ionia is supposed to be super divided between those who want to fight and those who don't, but like we barely have any of those "pacifists" represented at all, like even those who are stuck on the old ways like Shen and Kennen still fight, so yeah for the sake of balance, Karma motivations are changed.
As for archival purposes these are the main changes:
-Ting's bullying is more apparent
-Xolaani is way more present
-Jun breaks Ting's arm and wins a spar
-Made here relationship with Ting more nuanced
-Added Lui
-Added Wukong
-Yi does more than just be kind to her
-Jun's accelerated healing is due to Xolaani
-Worked a lot more on Akali's and Jun's interactions rather than just jump to them being friends
-Added the dinner scene
-Eliminated useless bits of Akali just babying Jun
-Tried to bring the temple a Bahrl more to life
-Also worked a ton on Jun's internal conflictI think that it, mainly worked a ton on the dialogue, would love to hear from you guys, I barely get any comments across all my works
Chapter 6: The Infiltrators
Summary:
Kayn, Akali and Jun delve themselves deep into Noxian territory
Notes:
Changed the summary for like the 5th time, i think this one sticks for sure though.
Also warning this chapter is like really dark.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
The trio peered down the hole in the earth, pitch black darkness staring back at them. The smell of wood and earth was now palpable; it was a wonder they hadn’t realized sooner.
“What do you know?” muttered Kayn, crossing his arms.
“It’s a tunnel” Akali confirmed.
Without hesitation, the rogue kunoichi stepped toward the pawnkeeper’s shelf and snatched a lantern. A strike of the match followed, the flame flickering to life before settling into a steady glow, casting warm light across the ruinous hut.
The two of them began descending with a quick jump while Jun stared reluctantly atop the narrow stairs. The wood was rotten and it had a few nails poking out. If the pawnkeeper had used it with frequency it did not show.
“You coming or not?” called Akali. She had passed the lantern onto the shadow assassin as she poked through the hole to check on her friend. Her eyes were not judgemental, just maybe a little disappointed. She felt she was looking through something forbidden, looking through the man’s things, invading his property, she felt if she followed them she would find truths she didn’t want to know.
But Jun thought of all the times she’d been left behind around the temple, she was already seen as weak, she did not want to seem a coward too, not in front of what might be her only friend.
She sighted and jumped after them. A small grin crept on Akali’s lips.
The tunnel was barely beneath the surface, from here they could smell the outside and the little roots that hung from the low ceiling, low enough to make Kayn hunch. But specially, it was narrow, they could not walk shoulder to shoulder and Jun was stuck looking at Akali’s back for most of the way. She could see the intricate tattoo work that had been done from here and the way her muscles flexed with each stride.
Silence clung in the air, only the sound of the dirt under their footsteps
“It must’ve been dug during the war” Jun scanned their surroundings, trying to alleviate the tension in the group, she did not know if it came from her or the other two, despite seeming familiar with one another, Akali and Kayn didn't exactly give off a friendly vibe.
After a long pause she pried“You two seem on good terms despite your feud” she regretted those words as soon as they left her mouth. Jun would’ve rather just stayed silent but she did admit the two did make an odd pair, the Kinkou and the Yanlei were blood sworn enemies, it was not everyday you found them working together. And she was skeptical she did not trust the man even if Akali did.
“We’re not,” Akali answered, looking back at her, not missing a step. Jun raised an eyebrow
“We chased some psycho together around Navori” Kayn interrupted. Akali scoffed. It was the first time he’d addressed her since he showed up. Jun could not look at him from her position in the back of the line.
“A little more than a psycho” Akali mumbled.
The minutes dragged.
They moved in silence, the only sound the shuffle of boots against packed dirt and the occasional creak of old wood. The deeper they went, the more the air changed. Stale. Heavy. It pressed against their lungs like a weight. The smell of outside faded, replaced by something older, mold, dust, the faint coppery scent of rusted metal.
The lantern’s light flickered now and then, threatening to gutter out. Each time it did, Jun’s heart jumped. The thought of being trapped in the dark, with only Kayn’s ragged breathing and Akali’s steady steps to mark the way, sent a cold ripple down her spine.
The tunnel narrowed even more in places. Sometimes they had to go single-file, crouching or squeezing past collapsed supports. There were markings on the walls old ones, mostly worn away
At one point, the ground sloped steeply downward. Akali slowed her pace, boots skidding on loose earth. Jun followed carefully, pressing one hand against the tunnel wall for balance. Her fingers brushed damp stone.
“Is this the gate to hell? How much farther does this damn thing go?” Akali asked, irritation creeping on her voice.
“We’re going south, so unless this plans on opening in the ocean it should not be far” said Jun, south , that thought chilled her more than the air, there was only one thing south, maybe hell wasn’t that far off.
“Good, I’ll lose my mind if I have to stare at Kayn’s back for another hour” she joked with her
“Could always trade places” Kayn said smoothly as he tilted his head back at them, a small grin creeping up his lips.
“Oh yeah? You wanna stare at my back for an hour?” said Akali.
Before he could respond the tunnel shifted, opening slightly as to break their tight formation
They’d stumbled upon a dead end. Only a wall of dirt before them.
The disappointment in the group was palpable.
“There's no way” growled Akali, as she traced her hands through the soil and as she took a step back a few meters away Jun wondered what she was about to do, she got her answer in just a few seconds as her feet met wall, she heard the crack of wood as her foot met splinters as they saw the gentle sun rays hitting their faces.
“Told ya” said Akali exasperated, raising her hand with the signal of a thumb up. Her feet stuck between wood and dirt, trying to recover from the heavy hit.
They removed the barricade over the exit of the tunnel, the light burning their eyes from the heavy strain of having been underground for so long.
They quietly studied their surroundings before stepping out, poking their heads like rabbits out of their burrows.
Jun was the first to fully emerge, heart pounding. She hadn’t been to this part of the island before, but the scent of freshly-cut timber and the distant groan of machinery confirmed her suspicion.
“We’re inside the noxian colony” she said to the other two as they crawled through the hole.
They crouched low in the underbrush. A thick thicket still sheltered them, but just over the ridge, the forest ended in a jagged line, beyond it, the land was stripped raw and the towering Noxtoraa that loomed over the coast, its feet on digging into the shallow ocean.
Jun took everything in, her stomach tight, they never crossed over to the other side for a reason, who knew what awaited them if they were to get caught.
They hadn’t fully emerged from their hiding place when the sound of whistling melody made their heads snap in unison. They held their breath for what seemed an eternity when Kayn made the leap outside as quiet as a spirit, he kept his weapon close to the ground. Akali followed closely behind, signaling Jun stay hidden.
Behind a slurry of leaves and branches was the undeniable red of the noxian millitary uniform, his mask facing away from them, completely oblivious to the two assassins that were trailing him.
Akali sheathed her kama, the sound of steel being drawn was louder than the sound of their breathing, but it mattered not, the noxian did not have time to react when Kayn wrapped his arms around his neck and mouth, choking him out his life line and allowing Akali to deliver the killing blow between his breastplate and jugular. He let out a choke as the figure drowned in his own blood, Kayn slowly laid him in the ground so as to not make a sound and quickly dragged him back to their hiding place.
Jun looked between the two, it had happened so quietly, so fast, she could only hear her accelerated heartbeat through her ribcage.
“How long before any of his friends notice” said Kayn, wiping the blood from his hands with a cloth that was already too stained to help.
“We are deep into their territory, we have to go back” said Jun
Uncertainty bloomed in their faces, they looked over to the Noxtoraa in the distance, Jun thought of the Pawnkeeper and his daughter of all the pain and damage the noxians brought onto them
“We might not have another chance,” said Akali, her eyes locked forward, there was no hesitation, only fire.
They crawled back into the thicket, bellies pressed to the dirt, breath low and shallow. Over the ridge, they had a clear view of the Noxian camp.
Over the ridge they could see the camp that had been set up. Wooden barricades lined the perimeter, with watchtowers standing like sentinels. Smoke curled up from forges and cookfires. The red and black banners of Noxus fluttered like open wounds against the pale sky.
“They’ve made themselves at home,” Kayn muttered.
“You see through that thing” Akali nudged at Jun
“I see fine” Jun snapped a little annoyed, that she was handicapped didn’t mean she’d lost all her abilities.
Jun brought out her telescope, adjusting the lenses and saw as a carriage arrived onto the camp, the lenses were a little blurry but she did not have two eyes to see the line of prisoners that descended chained up, there were not many of them but Jun was sure they must have more. They all looked like farmers, simple folk, some hunched, others barely walking, she guessed they might’ve been captured for the crime of living in the outskirts.
“They’re taking prisoners” She gasped.
Akali grabbed the device so she could see herself, only confirming her sightings
The rogue’s jaw tightened as she scanned the scene. “They’re keeping them near the forge tents, probably using them for labor.”
She handed the scope back to Jun, her tone clipped. “Some of them are injured… I recognize a few” Jun’s hands clenched around the telescope, turning her knuckles white “We can’t just leave them” she begged barely above a whisper.
“We weren’t sent here to start a war,” Kayn said flatly. He hadn’t taken his eyes off the camp.
Jun whipped her head towards him “The war has already started!” her voice cracked, recalling the conversation at the council with the other elders and masters. If we leave now, they’ll find that missing guard, lock the place down, and we’ll never get another chance.”
“I have an idea” said Akali looking between the noxian’s corpse and Kayn.
The Yanlei turned towards her “No” said Kayn, his brows furrowed. But a devious grin curled on Akali’s lips.
“How do i look?” said Kayn, exasperated.
His words were met with complete silence and the perturbed faces of the two girls. Awkardness filled the air and even Jun herself could not pry her eyes away from him. It was not just the armor, through the noxian plate was imposing, it was how natural it fitted him.
“Thats… disturbing” said Akali before Jun could muster any words of encouragement.
“Disturbing? As if this wasn’t your idea” Kayn replied, voice dripping with disdain “you don’t know what you ask of me”
Jun knew this was a good sign, he at least looked the part. Kayn looked like he’d walked straight out of the waters of the Ionian sea onto Bahrlese shores, soaked in blood and sea salt, he looked noxian .
“So concerned” there was edge to his voice, he was afraid “I don’t even meet the army’s height requirement” he put on the steeled mask hiding his features completely, the final part locking away his identity. They’d stripped the unfortunate noxian corpse of his armor and possessions and put on the yanlei acolyte like it had been forged for him.
“I can’t believe we’re doing this” Jun said, her voice low, uneasy
“You don’t have to come” Akali reassured her, but to her the words only stung.
“This is my home and I’m not leaving you” Jun snapped her usually calm demenor was tainted by the idea of what they were about to do and Akali’s instinstance to shield her.
She still thought they should head back and warn the rest of the Wuju, but by the time they’d make it back the noxian invader’s absence might be noticed.
They ran through the plan a few times and Jun and Akali roughed themselves up to make the impression they’d put on some resistance, tore up their clothes and dirtied their faces.
Jun hated every second of it.
The only thing standing out was that dammed pole, wrapped in a mixture of bandaged, chainmail and paper seal all held together by red string, Kayn refused to part with it.
“Leave the stick,” Jun had urged.
“It’s not a stick” he muttered. “And it’s mine . You worry about screaming loud enough when they throw you in a cage.” Akali shrugged knowing there was no arguing with the assassin.
Neither of them knew the truth, that the weapon was more than just steel. More than ritual. More than Kayn even understood sometimes. But Jun didn’t know that, not yet.
The nervousness clinging to every fiber of her made the act more believable as they approached the camp but even Akali was startled when Kayn started to drag them, putting his grip onto their necks, she noticed Akali limping, she didn’t know if it was part of the act or if crashing onto the wall of wood and dirt had taken more of her than she’d noticed.
“Geez Kayn, at least try to pretend you’re not enjoying this” Winced Akali
“You think this is easy for me? We fuck this up and you’ll wish it was just me putting my hands on you” Akali grumbled. The mask obscured his features but even Jun could tell he was nervous
They were in the thick of it now. It wasn’t just soldiers posted around them, there were blacksmiths hammering away at forges, engineers tending to machinery, messengers darting between tents. This wasn’t a military outpost. It was a settlement .
They reached the security checkpoint and Jun thought she might still have time to turn back and make a run for it but Akali gave her a ressuring look. We’ve made it this far, they’ll kill you if you run.
“Number and afiliattion” the inspector barked from behind a rusted iron desk, he was a vastaya of some sort.
Jun froze. She glanced at Akali, her face blank with panic. We’re fucked , she thought
“NAX-693, centinel and scout” said Kayn not missing a beat, whatever anxiousness dripped off him before, it was gone.
Jun tried her best not to look at her fake captor, sweat dripped down her brow and onto her jaw. She kept her lips shut.
There were eyes on them now, cruel, entertained, cruel. The girls didn’t look like farmers, they were all looking to see ionian resistance be crushed under their boot.
With her good eye she could see squadron leader in the distance, he was bigger, broad shouldered and epitome of what a noxian soldier should be, his decorated armor gave away his position. He stood just past the checkpoint, arms crossed, watching them like a hawk.
“Lone rebels by the river bank” said their infiltrator. Jun could understand some noxian from her time in the colony when she was a child, Jun knew the Yanlei trained spies in their ranks, but Kayn’s fluency caught her off guard she would’ve almost forgotten he was on their side, but even that made her doubt, she barely knew the man, and in the back of her mind doubt sowed, she’d really put her life in the hands of a stranger, she was starting to understand why Akali thought he was right for the job.
Kayn threw the two of them harshly onto the sand, Jun went straight for the ground, her ribs meeting the sand. but Akali managed to keep some of her balance, she glared the scuadron leader with venom,
“Rebels are never really alone. I’ve had enough of these pecekeeper farmers” he leaned in onto Jun’s face close enough she could smell the stink of his breath, the panic in her eyes was overshadowed by the hate she felt for the man in that moment.
He unsheathed his weapon and Jun thought this was the end, why did they think this stupid plan would work. A million thoughts run through her head, what should she do ?, should she make a run for it? Would Kayn depose of his disguise? Would Akali defend her?
Paralized, Jun didn’t get a chance to act before any of them could act a voice interrupted
“Ahem” a man in a lab coat emerged from one of the facilities, his voice dry and unimpressed cut through the air. He didn't look as sturdy as the typical noxian, he was thin and pale. He looked at his leader with an accusatory gaze. The bigger man groaned but relented, letting the tension fall off his shoulder, sheathing his sword back onto his hip
“Take this one to building B” the leader said, “But this one stays” gesturing onto Akali, it wasn’t random, the venom in her eyes would go punished, this was the price of their resilience of their stupid plan.
“No!” Jun lurched forward, reaching out for her friend, but rough hands seized her before she could get far. Her wrists were pinned, and her boots dragged across the dirt as she twisted in vain.
Her gaze locked with Akali’s, one last look, desperate and wordless. She didn’t know what it meant, only that she hoped they'd both survive long enough to find out.
Her feet dragged over the tiles as Kayn and another soldier dragged her into the building. His grip was as tight, either to play the part or to protect her, Jun did not know.
They entered the facility. Black concrete walls swallowed the light, and what little there was flickered sickly green from overhead panels. The place stank of sterilization and something coppery underneath. Jun gritted her teeth.
She kept the small blade inside her boot close. Not yet, she thought to herself, Kayn did not spare her even a reassuring glance.
Through the corridors she could faintly hear the sounds of agonized screams, muffled but unmistakable.
They passed through stained white curtains while the sounds grew louder, the sobs, the scraping of metal against the tile.
They finally stopped in a room inhabited by a man in a lab coat and a breathing mask. The walls were covered in plain ceramic with drainage holes in the ground.
The other soldier shoved her into the cold metal bench.
The scientist spoke, forcing a bright light onto her eyes, looking curiously at the scar in her face “Chemical fire survivor. Interesting” he said as if he were commenting on a scratch on a vase, tucking his light back onto his pocket “Alright strip her” he said dryly.
Jun went pale as her blood dropped to her feet, the other soldier moving to grab onto her vest, tugging harshly but in a second a single sweep went over Jun’s head, Kayn’s dagger hit the soft flesh hidden beneath the veil of the noxian soldier. He made a choking sound before falling to the ground. The scientist screamed his voice, shrill and inhuman, unrecognizable amongst the cacophony of screams deeper into the facility.
With the blood in her hands and her heart in her ears she wasted no time reaching onto the small dagger in her boot, lurching onto the masked man, sending them both onto the tile floor, blood sprayed over her face as she stabbed where she could, messy, amateurishly, Jun was no assassin but it got the job done. The body beneath her finally relented after a dozen cuts but it did not ease the beating in her ears.
She looked back at Kayn, who stood there unmoving, the mask obscuring whatever face he might be making at her, finally shrugging and hooking an arm over her, her legs felt weak but pressed on, through the passage of curtains and doors.
As they pushed deeper into the labyrinth of sterile, fluorescent-lit corridors, Jun’s mind swirled with confusion and dread. The blood on her hands felt foreign, cold now, as the realization began to settle over her, there was more going on here than just the invasion. She could hear the faint shuffling of feet up ahead, mixed with incoherent murmurs and moans that echoed off the walls.
What Jun saw made her wish she’d never left the comfort of the temple.
They passed several rooms, no… cages. Each one worse than the last, people broken and battered, many were dead, others what Jun might consider worse than dead, a defiance of anything natural, their skins were grey, their eyes red, they battered against the bars while others sobbed incomprehensible mumbles.
They encountered a scientist passing through the corridors, before the scientist had time to react Kayn harshly beat its head against the concrete wall. “Keys” he said as the woman begged for mercy, confused and with trembling hands she passed him a set of keys, the assassin wasted no time, bashing the noxian’s head onto the grey of the walls with a loud crack, sending the blood on her head sputtering.
Some of the screams on the cells stopped at the display, please, please they said. Kayn threw the keys at her and Jun picked a cell with a woman and a babe on her chest “Don’t worry we’re here to get you out” she reassured her, the woman sobbed, Jun hand’s trembled as she tried to find the correct keys, she whispered a yes as the keyhole finally asserted, she told her to stay close to them but she looked at Kayn with uncertainty and with fear.
Kayn looked back at her and removed the mask on his face, with a loud sigh, his hair messy and his face sweaty “Let’s keep moving” he said in ionian.
Kayn signaled for them to stop as they approached another chamber. Through the narrow window in the door, they could see three figures strapped to tables, their skins grey, wires and tubes sticking out of their bodies, their eyes wide open and pleading, but unable to move or speak. Runes were carved onto the metal tables, this was not just science, this was witchcraft.
Kayn muttered, eyes hard. "They're still alive." as he cut through tubes and restraints. His eyes were hard, his body tense “Jun get the oth—” before he could continue he was tackled onto the ground. Some of the freed ionians screamed and scrambled, begging the two insurgents to get away. They were caught, cornered.
Jun cried out. At the other side of the room through the ground materialized a figure, clad in robes and a mask, roses and thorns unraveling at their feet.
“Not so fast little one” said the figure using its hands to cast chains and roses onto the ground and the ceiling, sealing the room in an unbreakable cage of their making. The air crackled with their power as the sound of metal scraping against stone echoed in the confined space. The once chained ionian launched at them, it’s hands and teeth trying to close onto Kayn’s exposed face, Jun ran to help him but a force tied at her ankles threw her off her feet, dragging her through the tiles and hanging her upside down onto the ceiling.
“What you carry does not belong to you” The mage addressed Kayn as he shoved the mindless ionian to his side, stabbing him repeatedly but it kept going, Jun could barely make out the helpmehelpmehelphelphelp that came out the former villager, before finally relenting and bleeding onto his side.
Jun looked at the both of them confused, Kayn went on to grab onto the bound weapon in his back, but chains restrained him “Does it hurt? We’ll be glad to take it off of you”. Thorns scratched at both their necks. The room was a blur of motion and blood. Jun barely registered the sudden twisting of shadows, the shrill screech of chains snapping, and the suffocating presence of the dark magic that churned around her. Kayn’s voice, twisted with pain and rage, rang in the chaos. with a scream the room turned to smoke and shadows, where once Kayn had stood only darkness lingered.
Shadows twisted and coiled, the assassin materialized behind the mage, but she saw him coming, smoothly dodging a kick that came her way. “The weapon belongs to me!” he snarled as he slammed the pole onto the ground, sending the bandages and seals flying and with a burst of energy around it that sent her back slamming onto the wall and the chains onto the ground.
Blood burst from her nose as the pressure of the blast sent her senses into a tailspin. She could feel her body trying to reorient, but the world had been swallowed by a tidal wave of chaos.
The room was suddenly encased in what Jun could only call unholy energy, she look up as blood dripped from her nose, her eyes locking onto her companion her heart skipped a beat with the realization that what he carried was not a pole but a scythe, the thing uncoiled from its smooth form like unsheathing claws on a tiger, a thing made of metal and flesh the demonic eye in its center opening like a flesh wound.
She felt herself being raised into the arms of some freed villagers; they looked at her for comfort and salvation as she heard the alarms ringing off, putting the sterile lighting into a deadly red. Guards and villagers entered through the curtains and door to see the commotion.
The noxian mage's laugh ripped through the screams “Oh how my master will be so pleased!” she said.
Jun’s blood was in her ears, she could not see through the flashing red lights or the wound in her eye, The screams intensified. Jun’s head rang with the noise, her senses overwhelmed by the chaos. Blood and viscera coated her face, her hands, the very air around her. She could feel the bodies crashing into one another, the panicked stampede of survival. Her eyes barely registered the horrors surrounding her shadows flying past, the blur of struggling villagers, the gnashing teeth of the Noxian soldiers trying to make a last stand. With every flash of the darkness a new scene unfolded.
As the cries calmed down only sobs remained, the bloodshed had settled, but it left only a hollow silence in its wake. Till a bloodied hand finally brought her back to her senses
“Jun! Jun!” Kayn cried out, shaking her violently.
Jun blinked, the flashing red lights mixing with the sticky blood coating everything in sight. The scent of iron filled her lungs, but it was Kayn’s frantic voice that cut through the fog.
“We have to get out” Jun looked at him, through the red lights, making it indistinguishable from the sticky substance that coated his entire face and hair. The eye behind his back looking at her, unblinking, glowed ominously behind his back. It watched her with an eerie, unnatural awareness, as though it saw into her very soul.Jun looked around her slowly, there was an ionian who’d crawled to hug the corpse of someone they once knew but most of the corpses around her came from noxians, lab coats and heavy armor had huge gashes across them, lying on pools of their own blood, the scythe almost hummed from grisly scene.
Jun only nodded her eyes wide with a million emotions, her mouth dry.
The group ran through corridors, Jun carried a small child in her arms while Kayn helped a wounded woman to her feet.
“If we go east we might find an exit that faces away from the encampment” said Jun as she remembered the arrangement of the camp from the top of the ridge, though it was hard to tell where one was in this labyrinth of halls.
They reached a set of steel windows at the far end of the hall. Kayn didn’t hesitate, slamming his shoulder into them with all his might. The window groaned under the force, but they didn’t budge. He stepped back, eyes narrowing. Jun tried to do something about the mechanism at the side but it had a code, she ended up slamming the thing with frustration, how long before the rest of the camp came to reinforce?
“ Stay back” said Kayn, digging the scythe onto the crevice of the door, using its dark, twisted power to pry the heavy metal open. Jun flinched at the unsettling hiss of energy that leaked from the blade as it cracked the metal, its presence seeping into the air like poison.
“Stop talking Rhaast!” Kayn screamed at the force it took to open the reinforced window, finally nudging a small opening where a person could fit through. Adrenaline coursed too heavy through her veins for her to notice his words. Light filtered through the crevice, it was almost sunset. Go, go he yelled at the innocent prisoners as they passed through the crevice, Jun being the last to leave the heavy red lights of the compound.
She jumped onto tall grass, relieved to feel soil beneath her feet. The group ran through the small field, casting heavy shadows onto the setting sun. They were out, but not safe yet.
She could hear the distant yells of noxians in the distance, beginning their pursuit. Jun ran as fast as she could but she could not leave these people behind. She glanced at her companion with ragged breath, the weapon hanging off his arms like dead weight.
“Get them to safety, I’ll hold them off” said Kayn, Jun mumbled a small no, but he was right, they were no match for trained soldiers, they would be outrunned and hunted down like rabbits.
She looked at Kayn with a thousand words left unsaid, finally nodding.
Jun’s chest tightened, her stomach knotting. She shook her head, but the reality of their situation was undeniable. They weren’t strong enough to take on the soldiers head-on, not with the odds stacked so heavily against them. "You’re crazy," she muttered, but her voice was laced with resignation. She knew what had to be done.
Without another word, she turned and ran, urging the prisoners forward. The field stretched out ahead of them, a small patch of freedom in the midst of the chaos, but Jun couldn't shake the feeling of dread that gnawed at her insides. Jun threw a prayer onto the wind for her two friends, she only hoped it would be answered.
Notes:
Sorryy for the wait! I promise this time I'll update faster, I WILL BATTLE THROUGH UNIVERSITY AND MY JOB AND MY OTHER FIC JUST TO BRING YOU GUYS A CHAPTER. I promise I got the hang of it this time, I've been cooking up this story for too long to leave it at that.
I haven't read this fic since last year so if I forgot some things it's because of that, but I got a friend into league recently (terrible I know) and we've been reading through my works, so slowly we'll catch up to this, to properly edit, especially last chapter, theres a lot going on with it but it seemed kinda bare and I wasn't supper satisfied with her interaction with Akali, the trio will become like best friends ok? This is my shonen trio. Also I know Kayn kinda flirts with the two of them but idk if its relevant enough to tag it, this isn't really a shipping fic but there are some minor relationships like the one he has with Nakuri and some future pairing, he's kinda of slut like that.
I think I forgot to mention a lot of the stuff I've written is kinda canon, like Bahrl, and the noxian colony it has in its south, also Zed finding Kayns DAYS later is also in his short story, the fact that Epool river is also in Bahrl is a big coincidence. I know Jun is kinda useless right now, she's going through it, but she will go through her arc, wuju training is no joke. I also wanted her face to kinda reflect Kayn's, he has a scar on his face, she has a scar on her face, you know.
Anyway tell me what you guy think, kudos, comments are much appreciated! And they motivate me to write (I'm serious this time I'm for real)
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Chapter 7: Birds of prey spiral around my head
Summary:
Kayn faces the noxians and Jun pries a little too far.
Notes:
Update 20/04/25, no chapter update sorry, but I did a pretty massive rewrite to Jun's chapter in ch 5, it pretty important that you've read through the new version to continue, also more of my notes on there.
I don't wanna say I'll have a new chapter in a few days and then not deliver, but I'm pretty locked in
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
The salt, the sun, the tall grass even the same shores.
Kayn felt as he felt back then when his ship docked onto Bahrlese shores, Kayn freed his braid from where he’d tied it beneath his plate, sticky with grease and blood. The armor was different though, it was worthy of a warrior, one who’d actually fought through noxian trials to get it, instead of being thrown to another continent with leather jerkins and a sword too big for his size. He’d once dreamed of wearing it, but he only wished he could take it off now.
“You look good in red” said the scythe,
He was coated from head to toe in blood as it was starting to dry in his face. He licked some of it from the edges of his lips, tasting the iron in his tongue, he didn’t give the weapon the satisfaction of answering, let them see me as I am now. He thought as he waited expectantly, for the noxians to catch up, his eyes lidded from the poor light and the tiredness.
You’re crazy he’d repeated Jun’s words in his head. She wasn’t wrong though, but someone had to stay behind and he had to look for Akali. It was so easy to just leave her behind, the plan was her idea and she’d paid for it. But he thought back to the small moments they’d shared and the thought curled a knot in his stomach.
He readied his weapon as they approached, the commander and a few others horsed, a few arrows flew his way but he heard them coming and side stepped accordingly.
They surrounded him, trailing circles around the tall grass, the sun would set soon.
“Deserter” The commander growled at him in noxian “Traitor” said another, Kayn did not care he only readied himself. Cutting the grass at his surroundings with a single sweep, leaping onto the nearest noxian, spraying blood over the yellow pasture. The others wasted no time trying to take him down but a mellow voice cut through before they did.
“Ceace soldiers” the mage commanded, damn her, Kayn though she’d gotten rid of her in the red chambers, he’d cut cleanly through her, splitting her and her laughter in two, but she stood here intact.
“Look how far you’ve come Shieda Kayn” She spread her arms towards him, quiet dread and confusion setting over him, how did she come to know his name ?
“Finally the greatness of my deeds come to the ears of those across the ocean” he responded sarcastically in his mother tongue. Her shadow loomed over him. He could hear the sound of a crow looming overhead.
She laughed at that “My ears hear wide and far” she said “But don’t you remember? The darkness of the Bastion? The smell of home?
“Do you remember,”
“Kataha?” she punctured each and every one of those letters, his eyes narrowed.
“Oh?”
Kayn narrowed his eyes at her; this was not a figure he recognized, but more of a legend; a pale lady who roamed through the halls, one who had many faces and many names.
“I’ll be true, you are of no use to us dead, but I cannot let you go unpunished either” dread was starting to build upon his stomach
“You can’t have the weapon”
“No the darkin is of no use to use without a proper wielder”
The horses parted. From between the armored bodies, two soldiers dragged something towards him. Her hair was matted with blood, one eye swollen shut, arms limp at her sides. Akali.
Kayn’s jaw clenched.
She didn’t speak, couldn’t. Her veil was gone, face bruised and bloodied, lips cracked from dehydration or worse. Her eyes barely flicked open when they tossed her forward into the dirt like refuse. Her body slumped, unmoving.
The commander dismounted, heavy boots sinking into the soil as he walked past Akali and stopped before Kayn, towering. “She cost us too much,” he said, voice low and cold in that gravelly Noxian accent, a long gash crept from his mouth to his ear. He barely noticed as the rose colored chains came to restrain him.
“Come child, home awaits” she bellowed “and the girl is spared” A blade hung over the kunoichi’s neck, its glint catching the last light of the setting sun. Kayn didn’t move. Couldn’t. The scythe in his hand was silent now.
His breathing slowed. All for some stupid villagers he was about to lose his freedom, everything he’d built. Kayn spit at the mage’s feet.
“What are you without me?” Rhaast murmured in his mind.
He locked eyes with his friend, her half lidded eyes looked at him with the same fire they’d always had, this was the person he was trading his freedom for.
That look gutted him more than any blade ever could.
Chasing shadows together through broken temples, the hunt for the Golden Demon blurring day into night. Between blood and breathless near-deaths, there’d been moments, quiet glances when no one was watching, laughter that slipped through the cracks, a touch that lingered too long. But there would always be a great distance between them, she was a better person than him, seen what lived behind his eyes, and that had scared her away.
Now, the world snapped back.
Akali lay in the dirt, that same hand limp and bloodied. She wasn’t supposed to end like this. Not because of him.
He swallowed hard. He hoped his master would understand.
He locked eyes with the mage when a sudden woosh ripped through the air bursting into the woman’s eye piercing through the skull and to the back of her head. She didn’t even scream, just dropped limp and silent.
Their heads snapped towards the assailant and there stood Jun over the yellow grass and the sun looming behind her, her bow already drawn again. She had moved unseen through the tall foliage, Kayn smiled, maybe he’d misjudged her.
He wasted no time, with the spell gone and the chains peeled away, only the guards remained. The moment his legs were free, he moved, a blur of shadow and speed. The tall grass split like water beneath him, his scythe singing as it carved through the air.
One —he passed through the first soldier like a breath of death, Rhaast sinking into the man's side and bursting out his ribs with a crunch of steel and flesh. The body barely had time to fall before Kayn was on the next.
Two —a scream, cut short as Kayn phased, his form briefly dissolving into shadows that slipped beneath the armor. He entered the second soldier like smoke through a crack, giving him a few seconds before rupturing outside, severing him from within in a display of blood and gore.
Rhaast sung through the carnage, his voice low, a gutteral sound hum of delight. The tall grass brushed through his face and the tail of blood left by the scythe painted the surroundings red
Three —another arrow whistled from Jun’s bow, cutting down the archer who’d tried to take aim at Kayn’s back. The man toppled without a sound, a puppet whose strings had been severed.
Till only the commander remained.
He laid with his knees to the ground, the gash on his mouth hidden beneath the rest of the blood in his face, his arms outstreched.
“You think this changes anything?” the commander rasped “You can dress up like a savior, hide in their forests, kiss their dirt, but at the end of the day, you're still one of us. Noxian born. Blood and conquest, that’s what you are. It’s in your marrow. You can’t wash that out.” Kayn’s scythe dripped with blood; he merely looked at him, unfazed; he'd heard those words countless times before, from noxians and ionians alike.
He kneeled beside Akali, she was laying in Jun’s arms, helping her to her feet and putting a knife between her fingers, she opened her eyes and limped towards the commander. Jun held onto the noxian, making it so he could not move his neck.
“Kill me little girl at the end of the day you still lose” he said, barely finishing his sentence before Akali nudged the knife into his jaw and up his face.
“You all die the same.” she said, silencing for good.
Now only darkness and the distant light of the colony remained, corpses littered their surroundings, kissing the soil and coating everything in blood. The ocean wind came to rustle through their hair. Akali slumped in his arms, it was odd, having her like this again, even despite the situation.
“You came back,” he said, addressing the Wuju girl. His voice low and hoarse.
“How could I not” she shrugged
She offered no smile, just turned toward the path ahead. “It’s best if we get out of here” Kayn nodded, Akali mumbled a low and barely audible: carry me . He bound Rhaast to his back and they went on their way.
Disappearing into the grass, leaving blood and silence behind.
Most of the villagers had run, but a vastayan woman had stayed behind with Jun. She’d told the she knew of a hiding place not far from here once they made their way out the colony’s territories.
They weaved their way through the darkness, Kayn was glad to leave the settlement behind, he was tired, more tired than he’d been in years, not since his master had forced him to stay awake for days while enduring his harsh training. His eyes dropped at times and he had many cuts that needed tending to, Rhaast and Akali weighted heavily in his arms, he wanted to just drop dead at this point.
Jun snapped her fingers at him, waking him up as he’d slumped against a tree, she was tired too, her eyes were hollow and the scar in her face looked more pronounced, but they couldn’t stop, the pursuit was not over, at this point, word of their attack would’ve reached Noxus Prime, the camp would be up in arms. They needed to hide for the night at least.
The sound of a river kept him awake, the sound becoming louder and louder, till the river Epool came on full view, he dropped to his knees then, it was too much.
“Do you know what it feels like to truly give in, Kayn?” Rhaast taunted, his voice like a guttural growl. “To let the exhaustion take over and never fight again?”
Kayn’s fingers gripped the wet earth, his hands shaking as he held on to the last shred of awareness. “I’m not... giving in.” he said Jun and the vastaya had walked ahead of them.
“You’ve already given in, boy. Every time you hesitate, you give in.” Rhaast’s voice echoed in his mind, growing louder, sharper. “Every second you waste trying to save them, you lose a piece of yourself. You’ll be weak, just like them.” he looked at Akali in his arms, she hardly looked at peace, her brows furrowed and bruises littered her.
Jun’s voice cut through the haze. “Kayn, we need to move. Now. We can carry her between the two of us” she offered a hand but he did not take it. This was his burden to bear, he would not look weak in front of the two of them. “Shizu says its not far”
“Keep dragging your chains, Kayn. You’ll never escape them. Not me. Not the blood. You’ll drown in it all.”
They continued until they reached a small hut nestled behind a waterfall. The wood was decayed with age, the structure groaning under its own weight, but it served its purpose. They laid the former Kinkou onto the only bed. Thankfully, it wasn't a traditional woven mat like those from the mainland, but a plush, nest-like surface, the kind favored by the Vastaya. It was the closest to comfort they could offer.
Shizu the vastayan woman that had stayed behind, though exhausted, scrambled through the cabinets, searching for something, anything, to ease the pain coursing through her body. Kayn didn’t have the energy to watch her; his mind was consumed by the weight of what had just transpired, and his body, starved for rest, gave out. He slumped into the nearest chair and within moments, his mind plunged into the dark abyss of sleep, oblivious to everything else.
Dreams plagued every corner of his sleep ever since he’d picked up Rhaast, dreams of sand and a swirling abyss. The visions twisted in his mind like a broken mirror, he was no stranger to night terrors but these felt different, it dizzied him, he’d wake up crying and not know the reason why.
With a gasp his eyes snapped open, wiping the wetness out of his face, a hollow ache gnawing at him. How he longed to be home, to be anywhere but here. But it was still dark outside, the silence pressing in on him like an uninvited weight. He scanned the room, Akali rested with the Vastaya on her side, she seemed to be channeling magic of some kind though her breathing was steady and her eyes tight shut, her brow furrowed in concentration even in unconsciousness. Only the light of Rhaast eye lit the room, but he was not looking at him.
At the other side of the room lay Jun, her wide eyes locked onto Rhaast, the scythe's gaze never wavering from her..
“Is he bothering you?” he whispered so as to not wake up the others.
She didn't immediately respond. Instead, she broke her gaze from Rhaast and slowly turned her head to meet his. “He?” she broke her eyes from the scythe to look at him. “What is it, truly?” she asked weakly.
Kayn didn't answer her, but the question lingered in his mind, nagging at him like an itch he couldn’t scratch. He needed air. Without another word, he stood and made his way outside, his boots sinking into the soft earth. Jun followed quietly, her presence like a shadow beside him.
He knelt by the river and splashed cold water onto his face, trying to shake off the weight that seemed to cling to him. The coldness didn’t help. Nothing helped. Jun sat beside him, silent for a moment, the sound of rushing water filling the space between them.
She looked at the corruption in his hand, it was more apparent than before, hardening his nails into metal and claws, popping the veins and replacing them with carapace and metal. He hid it from her view.
“I’ve felt that pull before, my master never told me but now I understand there is one like it beneath my temple as well” Kayn turned his head at her expecting anything from her but that.
Rhaast laughed in his mind.
“Why are you telling me this?” said Kayn, he could tell she was perceptive but revealing such information to him seemed foolish.
“Isn't it obvious? that the lady was looking for it, why would she not come after ours?” She leaned her head onto her knee “My master thinks he can keep it a secret from us, but when the noxians comes after us, we’ll never know what we shielded beneath our feet”
“Your master was right to do so,” he told her. “You’ll turn to ash if you touch him” it was not a threat but a warning, he said referring to Rhaast.
“You’re not ash”
He looked at the metal and red flesh creeping up his arm and wondered the same. Why did I live while others died? Kayn had always told himself it was because he was worthy , worthy of living while others had not, but was that not cruel?
They two grew silent after that, there was a comfortable silence between the two of them, as if they’d known each other for longer. In front of the the waterfall kept falling spraying water lightly on their faces, Jun removed her boots to feel the cool water soak through her scars, Kayn knew she’d kept walking through all of that despite the pain and that made him grow a small kind of respect for her he didn’t really reserve for others.
“Why did you defect?” The question cut through the air like a leaf blade, breaking the silent comfort they’d been sharing and turning the air into a deadly question.
“You have no filter”
“I grew up in the colony, I have suffered much due to your kind, what makes you different from them?” Despite the deadness of her blind eye it looked at him with great intensity, as if it had been his fault she’d been mutilated.
Kayn had answered this question in a million different ways; because they were not worthy of me, because I almost died trying to cross the ocean, because they abandoned me, because I was running, because Zed offered me something they did not.
Because you were weak
“Epool” he said, Jun stared at him with confusion, this was Epool river.
“This is where they dropped us off, I was stationed here when I came to Ionia, ten years ago, you know Nahra village? Yeah we razed it, killed a lot of people who probably didn’t deserve it. The fire reached the trees, the river turned black with ash and blood, most of us died to the wilderness, the animals, the floods, but others were put to the blade when they refused to fight, in the end it isn’t really that hard to desert when no one is looking for you” a half truth, Kayn had deserted because he was being looked after.
“You were a child” her brows furrowed.
“Eh you’re not really a child once your on your own, I signed myself into that bullshit, thought I could rise through the ranks n’ all that, typical noxian story”
“It’s all a farce” he said as he skipped a stone through the slow current, watching it splash three times before sinking.
“Would you join them again if a position was given to you? I heard what the witch said”
“To save out friend ” He said sternly, his voice edging towards hostility. Akali was a touchy subject, Kayn did not want to be reminded of this small moment of vulnerability where he’d almost given it up all.
“She was not offering me a position, she was offering me a chain. I have everything I could possibly want here, Zed has made me his heir, I am set to become the leader of one of Ionias strongest orders and all i need is to not let some half-eyed island girl to remind me of a place I no longer belong to”
Kayn stood up so fast the water splashed around his boots. Walking back into the cabin and leaving Jun and whatever question or comeback she could come up with to herself.
He tried to make himself comfortable in the small place he’d carved for himself on the floor, he had slept hundreds of nights on cold concrete and wasn’t about to be defeated by a nail in the floorboards. He stared up at the ceiling waiting for sleep to take him but it did not come.
“Soft little knife has gotten in you skin,”
“Kataha”
The word landed like a knife in his chest. That name didn’t belong here. It hadn’t in years. Not even Zed dared speak it. Hearing it now, from him , made Kayn’s skin crawl. In the legends if you knew a demon’s real name you could control it and Kayn felt that way, like his skin had been flayed and left exposed, vulnerable.
“Run all you like, you’ll never outrun me”
Notes:
Short chapter sorry, I'm going through the process of editing my previous chapters but it's very hard for me because I find it kinda hard to read through my old writing, theres some scenes that I think need fixing ASAP like the early scenes with Jun and Akali, but if you feel a certain scene feel clunky PLEASE TELL ME AND I'LL GO THROUGH IT RN. Also I kinda completely forgot Jun was like heavely injured but uhhh.
the thing with Kayn is that I want to make the precence of Rhaast more apparent, but also if I put a conversation everytime Kayn thinks of anything It would all look like a mess, I want their dialogue to go a little more onto the playfull side were they can banter, but for now Rhaast is a very new thing in his life so they don't know each other as much.
As for Kataha... that is the birthname i chose for Kayn, I know I introduced him as Shieda Kayn but that's because it would be weird to have the first couple chapters be like; hi my name is Kataha, and people being like who are you. Anyway I like it, I always wanted a name that ended with "a" for Kayn and it sounds similar to Katash-li or Katarina, names that I would assume are very noxian, other names I played with were the Valyrian names that uses a lot of the 'x' like Arrax or Meraxes, but I didn't just want to steal a name that already exist. (though riot should really incorporate more of the x into their noxian names)
Almost forgot, the mage is kinda LeBlanc(??) she's kinda using another body like in arcane with Amara, which is why I don't go too much into descriptions with her, but yeah it wouldn't be Leblanc if she wasn't heavely nerfed (dead in one arrowshot rip), L stands for Leblanc.
Also the darkin glaive is about to rip out all my understanding of darkin lore in Ionia, hopefully we get to know more about it before this story gets too far, I would love to incorporate it without ripping away half of the story.
Ah an sry for what I did to Akali😭 I promise she'll get her chance to shine and Kayn is going to get his ass whopped to balance things out with the girls.
Thank you for reading if you've made it this far, would love to hear your thoughts.
ScorchingSun (Guest) on Chapter 1 Fri 24 Feb 2023 07:25AM UTC
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Seiraan on Chapter 1 Fri 24 Feb 2023 11:10PM UTC
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Donkey_Vastaya on Chapter 1 Sat 25 Feb 2023 01:34AM UTC
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Seiraan on Chapter 1 Sat 25 Feb 2023 07:47PM UTC
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httpsKSM on Chapter 2 Sun 21 Apr 2024 10:16AM UTC
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Seiraan on Chapter 2 Mon 22 Apr 2024 01:53AM UTC
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RoKami_Coffee on Chapter 2 Mon 13 May 2024 12:05AM UTC
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Seiraan on Chapter 2 Tue 14 May 2024 05:40AM UTC
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httpsKSM on Chapter 4 Tue 13 Aug 2024 02:28PM UTC
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Seiraan on Chapter 4 Tue 13 Aug 2024 03:50PM UTC
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SuitablySpicedFrog on Chapter 5 Sun 08 Sep 2024 09:52PM UTC
Last Edited Sun 08 Sep 2024 10:17PM UTC
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Seiraan on Chapter 5 Sun 08 Sep 2024 10:45PM UTC
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Internal_screaming101 on Chapter 5 Sat 30 Nov 2024 11:15PM UTC
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Seiraan on Chapter 5 Sat 05 Apr 2025 08:30PM UTC
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hasebe (Guest) on Chapter 7 Sat 28 Jun 2025 09:57AM UTC
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Seiraan on Chapter 7 Sat 28 Jun 2025 12:26PM UTC
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hasebe (Guest) on Chapter 7 Sat 28 Jun 2025 12:45PM UTC
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