《Abyss Watcher in the league V2》 1 CH1: New World And... A Fox Girl? Third POV: In a forest lies the leftover of a battle, many dead bodies are scattered around the ground but one. He was a man with robes resting on a cliff, and even if he survived the battle he was now taking his last breaths. Then, a unique fox appears from the forest, it had white fur with nine flowing tails and golden eyes. The fox walked up to the man out of curiosity, but then something happened. The man died, and a glowing orb leaves his body, the fox was drawn to the orb, when it got closer the orb was then absorbed into the fox. Light covered the fox, after a few seconds the light died down and in the fox''s place was a beautiful woman. She had long black hair that reached her waist with fox ears on top of her head, a beautiful figure with nine flowing white tails and a few marks resembling whiskers on her face. She groaned and shook her head "urghh... what happened?" She said but then gasped and covered her mouth with her hands. She removed her hands and saw that she didn''t have paws but fingers, she checked the rest of her body and saw that besides her ears and tails her body completely transformed. "I''m... human?" She said and then immediately jumped in joy "I''m human!" She yelled in celebration. She stopped as she felt a sudden breeze, she realized two things, one is that she had knowledge she didn''t have before, two is that she was naked. "Well" She said as she looked around at the bodies around her "since I''m human now, I think I should get some clothes". After a few minutes of... unsettling search for clothing, she managed to find what''s called a red kimono. It left her shoulders bare and had disconnected sleeves, it reached right above her knees and was slightly revealing. She adjusted her clothes clothes and a few other things she managed to find "good, now what to-". She was stopped by a loud booming sound that made her cover her ears, she looked up and saw a swirling hole of darkness in the sky. She saw a screaming figure fall from the hole, the figure was going to fall near her so she jumped back near the forest and hid in the bushes. The figure hit the ground with a loud smack and sent dust everywhere, when the dust cleared up, the woman peaked out of the bushes and saw someone in a small crater. She came out and got closer to look at them "No one can survive that" She thought to herself. Her thoughts were proven wrong when she heard groaning "ow" the figure said, as they started moving around. They turned around and went on all four, she saw them search for something and then pull out a glass bottle of yellow slightly glowing liquid. They took a drink from the bottle and their body glowed golden for a second. The woman was shocked and took a step back while one thought was on her mind "who in all of Runeterra is that?". ??? POV: As I fell through the darkness and left it, I felt my body aimlessly fall through the air. My body collided with the ground really hard, I felt pain before but this time is definitely one of the top ten. I started groaning in pain as I noticed someone approach but they stopped a little away from me. Seeing as they didn''t attack me, I flipped on all four and started searching my pocket for my Estus Flask hoping it didn''t break in the fall. I found my Estus Flask undamaged "Oh thank the old wolf of Farron" I thought before taking it and having a drink. After my wounds are healed, I stand up and take a look around me, I was in the leftover of a battle. I then took a look at the person in front of me, it was a woman, and if I''m honest a beautiful one, she was wearing red clothing and on her head were a pair of... "Are those fox ears?" I asked myself. Third POV: As the woman and the figure stood in front of each other, the woman took a defensive stance incase they were hostile, she also got a good look at them. It was a tall man, he was wearing dark clothing, a long dark red cape that covered his face, a pointy metal hat, armor on his left shoulder and hand only, he had a great sword strapped to his back and a brutal knife on his waist, all in all, he didn''t look friendly. Their eyes met and silence struck, neither said a thing as the woman looked into his eyes probably the only part of his face that wasn''t covered. The man then cleared his throat "so... do you mind telling me where I am young lady?". His voice was kind but she stayed on the defensive "you''re in Ionia" She answered. The man tilted his head "Uhmm... where? I never heard of that place before". She looked confused and another thought appeared on her head so she asked "Runeterra?". The man shook his head "I have never heard of that place either". She relaxed her stance sensing actual curiosity from him "where are you from?" She asked. "I come from Farron keep" he answered speaking like she should know what he''s talking about. "I never heard of that place before?" She replied. This time, he looked confused "what are you talking about? Everyone heard about it". "Look, I have knowledge that isn''t mine but I can tell you that there''s no place here called Farron keep" the woman said in her defense. There was a hint of fear in the man after she said that but he needed to confirm it "Lothric? Anor londor?" He asked. The woman shook her head which made his heart drop, he then hoped something good came out of this. "The Dark Abyss?" He asked again. The woman shook her head again "never heard of it". She saw him sigh in relief, like he just confirmed that an enemy wasn''t around. "So who are you?" She asked, then she pointed at the sky "and where did that hole come from?". "My name is Grey Ashnex" the man introduced himself while looking around "and apparently..." he then looked at the woman "I''m from another world". (A/N: thank you for reading this, I hope you enjoy it, I decided to rewrite my story because the thought that I can make it better haunts me, I followed the advice of a friend and decided to also add new events and a couple of plot twists, if you think I should stop then please tell me). 2 CH2: New Battles Third POV: "My name is Grey Ashnex" Grey introduced himself "and apparently" he then looked at the woman "I''m from another world". The dark Abyss was known to do unnatural things, it was even said to go through time, so to him it wasn''t strange that it can send people to different worlds. "You''re from a different world... riiiiiiight" She said with sarcasm dripping from her voice, she then started glaring at him "do you think I''m stupid or something?" She said angered. Grey shook his head "listen, lady-". "It''s Ahri" She cut him off but then looked down in uncertainty "I think". "You think?" He said but then dismissed that thought "listen Ahri, I truly believe I''m from another world" he said in defense while Ahri kept glaring at him. Ahri POV: ''Does this guy think I''m some sort of idiot'' I thought as I kept glaring at his eyes, probably the only part of his face that wasn''t covered except a few strands of white hair. Then I started thinking about what happened today, I''m a fox that turned human, a portal showed up out of nowhere, a guy fell from it almost 300 meters, he survived and shrugs the fall off, so why am I not considering that he''s telling the truth? I sighed "look, taking in what happened recently you don''t sound crazy" i said ''well not too crazy''. Grey sighed "good, I didn''t want to hurt the first person I met here" he said and I just noticed that he had his hand on the knife but let it go. Silence struck, neither of us knew what to say about this situation so I decided to break the ice. "Look, let''s start over" I said raising my hand "I''m Ahri". He took my hand and shook it "I''m Grey Ashnex, no ''I Think?'' This time". I chuckled at his little attempt of a joke, I admit I wasn''t sure of my own name but in my defense I just needed it for the first time. "So Grey" I said then pointed at his clothes "what''s with the get up?" I asked before pointing at his hat "and the pointy hat?". "It''s a mark of the undead legion, and being an Abyss watcher" Grey explained. "Wait, undead?" I asked ''is this guy some sort of zombie?'' I thought to myself. "Uhmm excuse me, but what''s with the ears and tails?" Grey asked, he was rubbing his elbow and looking a little embarrassed. I realized he was the shy type around beautiful woman... I''m going to have so much fun teasing him. "Oh that''s because I was a fox a while ago but turned human" I explained with a smile ''sweet revenge, let''s see how you deal with someone telling you a crazy story''. "That''s... interesting, how did it happen?" He asked. ......... Wait, what? "You... believe me?" I asked a little bewildered. "Well yeah" Grey shrugged "I have seen weird stuff in my life and I just discovered I''m from another world, so a fox turning human isn''t so unusual actually". Now he''s making me look like a child for not believing him earlier, and he doesn''t even realize it! Third POV: Ahri sighed and crossed her arms "well let''s just-" She suddenly went silent. Grey noticed her ears twitching at a direction "what''s wrong?" However, instead of answering, Ahri suddenly dashed into the forest. Grey decided to follow her to make sure she''s safe... and also because she''s the only person he knew here. Ahri ran through the forest to the sound she heard, when the sound got closer, she stopped and hid behind a few bushes. She saw a lot of soldiers wearing the same uniform as some of the corpses she saw and they were fighting three... ninjas? One of them was a big man with a sword, he was covered completely in black clothes and armor except a little of his forearms. The second was a woman with green ninja uniform, wearing a little less than the man but still covered well and held a small scythe in her hand. The third was a Yordle, he was wearing a purple uniform and had two metal stars in his hands that were a little covered in sparks. The Yordle dodged a sword swing "Ha! And you''re supposed to be warriors?" He mocked dodging another strike "I swear you Noxian idiots never learn". Ahri was gonna back away, she had nothing to do with this fight but then The guy who was attacking him growled "Hold still you damned rat". "I''m a Yordle!" The Yordle yelled dodging another swing and threw a star at the guy''s throat. The guy jumped in shock holding his throat and threw one of his allies back. The guy who fell back stood and locked eyes with Ahri, the guy stood silent for a second and was about to say something but Ahri immediately threw an orb of magic and killed him. The orb turned green and returned to Ahri who looked satisfied but then realized her actions drew the attention of the other soldiers. Some of them started walking towards her so she took a defensive stance, when the first one swung his axe at her, she immediately jumped away and threw magical fire at him killing him. She started jumping around dodging attacks and striking when she can, she jumped away to make some distance between them. Ahri made a magical orb in her hands ready to throw it as the soldiers started walking towards her, but then Grey jumped in between them. He had his great sword in his right hand and knife in the left, he stood up and pointed his sword at the soldiers while putting his knife across his chest doing some sort of salute. Some soldiers were cautious about the big sword while some didn''t care and Ahri was surprised he can hold it with just one hand. One of the soldiers holding a sword came in and swung at Grey, but Grey rolled under the strike, anchored his knife in the ground and used it to spin and swing his sword, the strike was strong enough to finish off the soldier. Another soldier came in swinging a club, Grey dodged the first strike, when the second strike came he used his knife to parry the soldier''s weapon leaving him open. Grey struck with his sword killing the soldier, he then turned his attention to the rest and started fighting them. Ahri was shocked Grey can fight them without getting scratched, she broke out of her shock and threw a magical orb at one of the soldiers, she began jumping around attacking the ones Grey couldn''t reach. Not long after that, the battle was over and only Grey, Ahri and the three ninjas were left, they all turned to each other taking a defensive stance. The woman was the first to break the silence "I suggest you two surrender peacefully". "Or don''t, we''re just going to beat you up" chuckled the Yordle. Ahri scoffed holding an orb of deception "Yeah like we''ll listen to-" She cut herself off when she saw Grey sheath his weapons and raise his hands "what are you doing?" She whispered in anger. Grey looked at her "I''d rather avoid any unnecessary conflict" he whispered before looking back at the ninjas "we mean you no harm, we were merly caught in the crossfire". "You expect us to believe-" he was cut off when the man in black clothes raised his hand. The man sheathed his sword and walked up to Grey "my name is Shen, and these are Akali" he motioned to the woman "and Kennen" he motioned to the Yordle and then looked at Grey and Ahri "now, who are you two?". Grey and Ahri looked at each other then back at Shen "you''re in for a story" Grey sighed. (A/N: thank you for reading this, I hope you enjoy it, please comment in anyway you like and tell me how you like the story so far.) 3 CH3: To The League Ahri POV: Me and Grey just told the ninjas our story, hopefully this will go well. "So" Kennen said pointing at me "you''re a fox that turned human" he then pointed at Grey "and he fell from a portal that came from another world" he summed up. "That would explain what we felt earlier" Akali said. "So do you believe us?" Grey asked. Kennen shook his head "I can''t believe I''m saying this... but yes". "To be fair that isn''t the weirdest thing we ever heard" Akali said and looked at both of us "so what will you two do now?" She asked which made me and Grey go silent, I don''t think either of us thought this far. "I... don''t know" I said and then looked at Grey "what about you Grey?". "I guess I''ll look for a way home, or help you with whatever you''re going to do" he replied with conflict. I have to admit I didn''t want him to leave yet, he is the first friend I made as a human... Wait, we are friends, right? "Hmm... I think I know a way to help both of you, do either of you know about the Institute of war?" Shen asked us and we both shook our heads "it is a place that uses people like us and you to solve political problems, it has the world''s" he then stopped and looked at Grey "... well, this world''s most powerful magic and summoners, I believe you will find a home there Ahri, and you Grey, I think they might find a way to send you home" he explained. Me and Grey looked at each other "well... that sounds promising, what do you think?" Grey asked. "It''s not like we had a plan to begin with" I shrugged "so let''s give it a shot". Grey nodded and looked back at Shen "looks like we have a plan, do you mind telling us where this Institute is?". "It is in the mother land of Valoron" Shen said. Kennen pointed backwards "head in that direction and you''ll end up in a small village, go south from there and you''ll find a fishing town, take a boat to Piltover and a train from there, but before you go I have to ask" he then pointed at Grey "what''s with the pointy hat?". I snickered remembering that I asked the same question while Grey gave me a look for a second. He then looked at Kennen "It''s a mark of the Abyss watchers and the Undead legion". Shen then looked interested "Undead legion?" He repeated "and what does this Legion do exactly?". "We Watch over the Dark Abyss, fight it, destroy it" Grey said with pride but then his tone turned to a sad one "and everything that''s been corrupted by it" he said looking a little down. "That explains the name Abyss watcher" Akali said "but what is this Dark Abyss?". "A place that can only be described as true horror, where only monsters that wish to destroy life exist" Grey explained. "So in a way you keep peace and balance in your world" Shen hummed in thought "interesting, you might be a good allie to our order in the future". "Thank you" Grey nodded and then looked at Kennen "Excuse me, but what kind of creature are you?" He asked in curiosity. "I''m a Yordle damn it!" Kennen yelled feeling a little insulted. Grey jumped slightly and raised his hands "sorry, it''s just that I never saw your kind before" he apologized. Kennen sighed "I guess I can''t blame you since you''re from another world". "Do you know how that happened anyway? You coming here I mean" Akali asked. I realized that I didn''t know anything about that, all I know is that he fell from a portal. Grey shook his head "I wouldn''t be surprised if it was the Abyss, for it was known to do unnatural things and I was in a battle dangerously close to it" he explained. "Is that why you''re covered so much like that?" I asked. "No, it''s just we Abyss watchers wear our clothes like this for battle" Grey said with a shrug. "Well why are you still wearing it like that?" I asked "we''re not in battle anymore". "Sorry, I sometimes forget I''m still wearing it" he apologized before bringing his hand and uncovering his face. When his face was uncovered, I immediately asked myself why would he ever cover his face, because HE... IS... HOT. he had slightly pale and smooth skin clear of hair and any scars, I can now see steel blue eyes and his snow white hair was a little more visible. Akali was thinking about the same thing apparently because both of us were staring. Third POV: Ahri and Akali were in slight trance and Kennen was snickering realizing what they were thinking. Grey then noticed something on Akali''s shoulder "you''re... injured". Akali got back her senses and saw a small cut on her shoulder, she remembered getting it when she was a little surprised by Grey and Ahri''s arrival. "It''s nothing to worry about" Akali said trying to cover her wound. Grey walked up to her and held her arm "even a small wound can be dangerous if not treated properly" he said checking the wound. Akali was grateful that her face mask was covering the blush on her face while Ahri was scowling ''why does she get all the attention'' Ahri thought. "I agree, you should have it checked" Shen said. "I think I have a better idea" Grey said before pulling out his Estus Flask, Ahri recognized it from when he drank it after the fall, Grey held the Flask to Akali "here". "What is that?" Kennen asked looking at the liquid inside the Flask. "It''s Estus Flask, it''s treasured among undead, think of it as a healing potion" Grey said. Akali took the Flask and eyed it cautiously, she didn''t want to trust him over a pretty face. She looked into his eyes looking for any sign of mischief but found none so she brought down her mask and took a drink. It didn''t have an actual taste but she felt warmth flow through her, Shen, Kennen and Ahri saw Akali''s body glow golden for a second. Akali looked at her shoulder and saw the wound gone, she smiled and gave Grey back his Estus Flask "thanks" She said bringing up her mask. "No problem" Grey said "so, we go to the village then..." he said pointing at the direction Kennen pointed at. "Then go south from there and you''ll find a fishing town, take a boat to Piltover and a train from there" Akali finished replaying the instructions. "Well, we better get going and you guys have to be busy" Ahri said, she was getting a little annoyed about Grey and Akali getting along too much. "You are right, we still have more work" Shen said and then bowed to Grey and Ahri "may we meet again as champions". Grey nodded "Likewise" he said and then Shen, Akali and Kennen left. "Well let''s get going" Ahri said excitedly grabbing Grey''s arm and putting it between her breasts. "W-wait" Grey said but he was ignored, Ahri noticed he was blushing and hugged his arm tighter between her breasts. Grey realized that this... will be a long, long journey. (A/N: thank you for reading this, I hope you enjoy it, please comment in anyway you like and tell me how you like the story so far.) 4 CH4: Guil Grey POV: Ahri finally let go of my arm as we were walking towards the village and i got my blush under control, it didn''t take that long to get to it. When we got there, I saw it was a modern looking village with traditional houses and a few stands selling food and trinkets. While walking through the village we were getting a few looks from the people, being on guard I brought my cloak back to cover my face and got ready just in case. Ahri POV: Me and Grey were walking through the village, I saw Grey pull up his cloak and just noticed the weird looks we were getting. Mostly me from a few men, it''s not that I minded the attention, it''s just that I didn''t like the looks I got, it was a look of lust. I got a little closer to Grey and held his hand tighter "let''s look for a place to stay for the night and tomorrow we''ll continue" he said. I gave him a grateful smile and we started looking for an Inn, we found one and entered. It looked pretty plane, we got to the table where an old man was "hello? Are you the owner?" Grey asked. "Yeah" the old man said "do you want to check in?". "Yes, we just want a room for the night" Grey told him. "Alright, that will be 10 coins" the owner said, I felt Grey tense, I guess he doesn''t have anything to pay with. Luckily when I was looking for clothes I found myself some money so I pulled them out "here you go" I said. The owner took the money "Alright, here" he gave us a key "second floor and third door on the left". "Thanks" I said and we walked to the stairs near the counter, we got the room, opened it with the key and saw the room. It looked pretty normal, a door to the bathroom, a living space and in the other side was something that was definitely to my delight. "Only one bed?!" Me and Grey said at the same time. We looked at each other and Grey walked up to the middle of the room "well I guess I''ll be taking the floor while you take the bed". "But it''s big enough for both of us" I said pointing at the bed. "I''m still going to take the floor" Grey replied. I walked up to him, grabbed his shoulder, turned him around and pointed a finger at his chest "listen, we are going to share that bed like the good friends we are and I won''t take no for an answer" I stated with a smile. Grey looked a little taken back but chuckled and raised his hands in mock surrender "Alright alright, let me just take off my armor". I smirked in victory and sat on the bed while some of my tails got around me, he took off his hat, cloak, armor and weapons and sat them near the bed. When he took off the hat, I now can see his snow white hair clearly, it was chin length and neatly combed. We sat together in bed and talked, mostly Grey asking questions about this world and me answering the best I can and after a while we went to sleep... well Grey did. Third POV: Grey was asleep in his side of the bed and Ahri was on her''s, she then opened her eyes and checked on Grey. She saw him asleep so she got out of bed, tiptoed to the door and opened slowly. She glanced at Grey and then got out before closing the door quietly. She went downstairs and left the Inn, she went to the middle of the village and waited. After a few minutes, a man walked up to her "well hello beautiful" he said "what are you doing here alone?". "Just hanging around" Ahri smiled seductively "but I''m sure you''re more than willing to keep me company" She flirted "let''s find some privacy". The man just nodded and she started guiding him out of town, she reached a place where they were covered in trees. "Well we''re alone now" the man smirked while Ahri had her back turned to him. "Yeah" She said "I guess we... are!" She suddenly turned around and threw an orb of deception at the man. The orb struck the man and he fell backwards, after a few seconds the orb turned green and returned to Ahri who absorbed it. Then came the guilt, the regret and empathy, she didn''t want it, none of it "I... I''m sorry". After a few minutes of mourning and regret, Ahri pulled herself together and slowly walked back to the village away from the lifeless body. When she left... Grey appeared from behind one of the trees fully armored. He walked up to the corpse and looked at where Ahri left, he then knelt down looking at the body. Grey looked it over "No burns, no bruises, no cuts and no physical damage" he inspected "what did she exactly do?" He asked putting a hand on the corpse''s chest "did she take his soul?... no, it''s still there, but very weak" he lifted his hand from the body''s chest and a small white flame was in his palm "She just took the life energy from the body, like stealing moister from a plant" he looked at the flame and put it back in the corpse. He was tempted to take it, but it was the humanity of another person, it wasn''t sovereignless, he had no right to take it. Grey stood up, he glanced at where Ahri left, he then walked into the woods and vanished from where he came from. Meanwhile, Ahri was walking through the streets of the village and making sure she''s not seen. She got inside the Inn, quietly went upstairs, she grabbed the door handle and slowly opened. She looked inside... and sighed in relief seeing Grey right where he was when she left. She tiptoed to the bed and got on her side, she looked at Grey and smiled slightly seeing him sleep peacefully. But that smile vanished when Ahri remembered what she did ''what would you think of me?... if you knew what I did'' she thought looking at Grey. She closed her eyes trying to sleep, but the guilt of what she did was still in her head, all Ahri can do is bring her tails closer and try to ignore it. (A/N: thank you for reading this, I hope you enjoy it, please comment in anyway you like and tell me how you like the story so far.) 5 CH5: Monster? Third POV: Ahri woke up next morning, she stretched and saw Grey still asleep in his side of the bed. She grabs his shoulder and shakes him gently "hey Grey" She shakes him harder "Grey wake up". Grey started groaning and then opened his eyes, he sat up and stretched his back "morning, did you sleep well?" he said. Ahri tensed up for a second but hid it well "yeah" She replied getting up "so do you want to leave now?" She asked fixing her clothes. Grey thought about it before going to his armor "the earlier we leave the sooner we get the fishing town to find a boat" he said as he started putting his armor back. "Alright" Ahri nodded and waited for Grey to finish. When he was done, they left the room and went downstairs where they found the manager "good morning, I hope you enjoyed your stay?". "Yes we did, thank you" Grey replied handing the manager the key back before he and Ahri left. They went south and left the village entering the woods, they kept walking in silence after that. Time skip: After almost two hours of walking, they finally reached the fishing town. It was what anyone would expect, the sea, docks, boats, not many houses but many stands selling all kinds of fish. Ahri and Grey started walking through the streets looking at all the people either selling or buying. "So what should we do?" Ahri asked as she looked back at Grey. "Let''s ask around" Grey replied before walking to one of the fish stands "Excuse me" he said getting the owner''s attention "we''re looking for a boat to Piltover, do you happen to know of any?". The owner hummed In thought "Yeah" he said pointing at a big wooden ship "that ship is going there to bring fish into the market". "Thank you" Grey said before walking back besides Ahri and they both went to the ship. They see a middle aged woman looking over a list while crates were being moved by men. "Excuse me" Grey said making the woman look at him "we''re looking for the captain". "That''s me, what do you want?" The woman replied. "We want to ask you if it''s ok to go to Piltover with you?" Ahri asked. "Yeah sure but it ain''t free" the woman said "if you wanna come than it''ll be 24 coins, both of you, it also includes your meals". Ahri pulled out the money and gave it to the captain "here you go". "Alright" said the woman taking the money and then checking the list "we''ll be leaving in two hours, if you''re not here by then we''ll leave you" She informed them before turning back to looking over the crates. Grey and Ahri nodded and they walked away "so what do you want to do until we have to leave?" Ahri asked. "I''m going to take a look around" he replied "do you want to come with me?". Ahri shook her head "No, I''ll take a look at the ship, I''ll be here when you come back". "Alright" Grey nodded and left, when he vanished between the people, Ahri frowned. She took a deep breath and walked in the other direction, she kept walking until she neared the edge of the town and then sat down at a bench there. She waited for a few minutes before a man sat besides her "well what''s a pretty thing like you doing all on her own" he said. "Just looking for a little company" She smiled seductively. "I''m more than willing to make sure you''re not alone" the man flirted. "I bet you do" She replied then putted a finger on his chin "let''s find some privacy" She said standing up and walking to the woods. The man just stands up and follows her, Ahri made sure that the trees were covering them from the village. "So how are we doing this?" The man asked looking over Ahri. Ahri had her back turned to him "Oh something like... this!" She said and suddenly threw an orb of deception at the man. The orb struck the man and he fell on his back, the orb turned green and returned to Ahri. Ahri absorbed it and she felt it again, the guilt, the regret and empathy, she hated feeling like this. Before, she didn''t feel anything about hunting her prey, but now that she''s human, it didn''t feel right. She took a few deep breaths and calmed down, she was about to walk away and return to the village so she can find- "Ahri?" All colors immediately seemed to leave Ahri as she slowly turned around and looked in horror at who addressed her. "G-Grey?" She said taking a step back "w-what are you doing here?" Fear was obvious in her voice. She was scared and confused, confused because she wasn''t able to know he was there and scared because he saw what she did. What made it worse was that Grey was covering his face, she couldn''t tell how he looked at her. "I was looking for you" Grey replied, he glanced at the lifeless body before looking back at Ahri "Ahri what-" he tried to talk but Ahri then turned around and sprinted towards the jungle in a mad rush "WAIT!". She didn''t listen, she kept running through the forest removing trees and plants on her way. She couldn''t do it, she couldn''t face him after what she did, after what he saw her do, how could she? Ahri kept running for a couple of minutes and looked over her shoulder while running to see if Grey was following her. She didn''t see him, but then Grey suddenly jumped at her from her right side and tackled her to the ground. He pinned her to the ground with her arms behind her back "trying to outrun an Abyss watcher is the stupidest thing anyone can do" he said while Ahri started struggling in his hold. She grunted trying to free her hands "let me go!" She said trying to do anything, she even tried using her tails to pull Grey off her but he didn''t budge. Grey tightened his hold on her hands "I''ll let you go, but I need to make sure you don''t run away" he said which Ahri responded with more struggling "I''m not going to hurt you, I just want to talk". Ahri struggled for a few more seconds before calming down, she realized that even if she runs away then what''s stopping him from capturing her again. After Ahri seemed to calm down, Grey helped her to her feet and let go of her arms, she just rubbed them and looked down not facing him. "Ahri" Grey sighed "I just want to know why you did it?" He asked. Ahri tensed slightly, she turned around to face him but still looking down when she answered "it... it was instinct" She said in a low voice. "Instinct?" Grey said a little confused. Ahri gave a single nod "predator instinct" She explained further "after I turned human, I started having urges to take life essence, it wasn''t as strong as the urge to breath or drink water but it was still there and... I really don''t want to" her ears and tails started dropping "but... I still did it... I''m a monster" She said her voice becoming lower to almost a whimper. Silence struck, Ahri wasn''t going to blame Grey if he thought she was a monster, because in her opinion she was one. After a few seconds of agonizing silence, Grey finally spoke "No... you''re not a monster". Ahri heard what he said and was confused "why?" She asked and then Her confusion turned into anger "why would you say that?" She yelled as she became enraged and looked up glaring at him "I AM A MONSTER! I killed innocent people! I didn''t even need to kill them, I could spend three weeks without taking any life essence but I still did it! So HOW? How can you say that I''m not a monster?". "Because monsters don''t feel guilt" all of Ahri''s anger vanished and she went wide eyed at Grey''s response "monsters don''t feel anything from killing, but you do" Grey continued and tears began building up in Ahri''s eyes "you don''t like it, you hate it, you want to stop, but most importantly, you want to change for the better" Ahri''s tears started going down her cheeks "the fact that you want to change proofs you''re more human then most people I met, and you can, if what Shen said is true then the Institute should find a way to help you, and even if they don''t I promise that I would look for one" Grey said. Ahri couldn''t take it, she walked up to him and hugged him burying her head in his chest. Grey hugged back as she started crying, Ahri''s tails even ended up going around and bringing them closer to each other. "I''m sorry" She said through her cries "I''m so sorry" She hugged him tighter, Ahri was normally a little over Grey''s shoulder from how tall he is but she managed to bring her arms around his chest. They stayed like that for almost thirty minutes, then Ahri calmed down and pulled her tails away. Grey looked at Ahri as she pulled back, her eyes were slightly red from crying "how do you feel?" He asked. "Better" She replied wiping off a few tears "thanks". "No problem" Grey smiled "how about we go back to the town, we don''t want to miss the boat". Ahri smiled and nodded, they started walking back towards the town through the woods so they can get on the boat. Time skip: Ahri and Grey managed to find their way back, they got on the boat as it was about to leave and looked over at the sea from the upper deck. "It''s beautiful" Ahri said looking at the waves and taking a deep breath of the salty air. "Yeah" Grey said doing the same "I never saw so much clean water before". "Really?" Ahri asked. Grey nodded "Yeah, Farron keep was surrounded by swamps, so I didn''t get to see much sights like this". Grey took another deep breath, this world wasn''t like his, it wasn''t corrupted, there was no Abyss, so maybe... he can forgive himself. (A/N: thank you for reading this, I hope you enjoy it, please comment in anyway you like and tell me how you like the story so far.) 6 CH6: A Wounded Hear Third POV: The ship sailed, Ahri and Grey spent the day looking over the ship. when it was nighttime, they had dinner which was bread, some soup and milk, and then they went to their room for the first time since they got on. It was pretty simple, just a room with a small space, a door to the bathroom, a window and something they were familiar with. "Only one bed?!" They said in Union but Ahri was more enthusiastic. "Does this world have a shortage of beds or something?" Grey asked closing the door behind him. "I''m not complaining" Ahri shrugged and sat down on the bed. Grey sighed "you''re not going to let me sleep anywhere else, are you?" Grey asked and Ahri shook her head playfully "great" he sighed and started taking off his armor. When he was done, he sat besides her on the bed and Ahri''s tails went to her other side where she started brushing them. "So you said Piltover is a place where they have something called technology?" Grey asked referring to the night in the village. "Yeah, don''t you have technology in your world?" Ahri asked and Grey shook his head, she didn''t know much about it but she understood what it was "well... did you have devices in your world?". Grey nodded "Yeah, we had lifts, gates and a few crossbow turrets" he didn''t see much about them but he managed to see some. "Well... technology is kind of like that" Ahri tried to explain "but more complicated and uses something called electricity". "Electricity?" Grey repeated when something clicked in his head "Oh you mean like lightning? We used a lot of it back in my world". "Wait, what?" Ahri asked a little taken back. "Lightning was a famous element for sorcery and miracles in my world" Grey explained which made Ahri a little bewildered. She then realized that she doesn''t actually know anything about Grey''s world "you know, I told you about this world so how about you tell me about your''s". Grey smiled "well it''s not the most beautiful but I''m still willing to call it home". Grey started telling her about the places he visited in his world, the snowy lands of the Boreal valley, the woods of the road of sacrifice and the land of Lothric, he then spoke of the different convenients, and what they do. Ahri had to agree that his world wasn''t very pretty, even scary at some points, but she still smiled at how happy he talked about it. Grey finished talking about the many convenients "wow, so what about other Abyss watchers, were you friends with them?" Ahri asked and suddenly Grey''s smile vanished. He stayed quiet for a second before speaking again "l-let''s talk about that later, it''s getting late, so let''s go to bed" Grey said in a shaky voice. He was trying to change the subject and Ahri knew it, but she let it go for now and lied down on the bed with Grey going to his own. Ahri POV: dream. I opened my eyes and saw I was in this embty void filled with fog, I looked around but couldn''t see anything else. "hello" I yelled but all I heard is echo "anyone?" I called out again but ended with the same results. I began walking around trying to find something, anything, but I didn''t... until I heard a voice. "Please help him" an echoed voice said, I turned around and saw a knight in dark silver armor, he had a falcon shaped helmet with a ponytail and a navy blue cloak connected to it for a make shift hood "you must help him" the knight said again. I took a step back "who are you? What are you talking about?" I asked a little panicked. "Grey Is suffering, and you must help him" the knight replied. "How do you know Grey?" I asked but then the fog started getting thicker. "I''m sorry, but I''m out of time, you must help him" the knight said and turned around walking away. "Wait! Who are you?" I asked. The knight stopped and glanced over his shoulder "I am known... as The Abysswalker" and with that the knight walked away and the fog started getting thicker and thicker until I couldn''t see anything. Ahri POV: awake. I woke up a little alarmed, I sat up and looked at Grey who was still sleeping, I then started thinking about that dream. Who was this Abysswalker? How does he know Grey? And what did he mean by he was suffering? I shook my head and decided to forget about it for now, I looked at Grey and was about to wake him up. But then I stopped as a thought came through my head, I can feel an ''almost'' evil smirk appear on my lips. I lied back but this time was facing Grey, I grabbed his head and put it between my breasts while my tails went around him and then closed my eyes pretending to be asleep. Third POV: Ahri stayed still for a few minutes and then felt Grey steer up, he then opened his eyes and it took him a few seconds to realize where he was. Grey blushed finding out that his head was inside Ahri''s busom "Alright, let''s just move away" he whispered and tried to push himself away from Ahri but then her tails tightened their hold on him. Ahri can feel the heat coming from Grey''s blushing face, it took all of her will power to not burst into a fit of laughter. After a little struggle, Grey decided it was better to wake her up "Ahri, Ahri wake up" he said his voice getting louder. Ahri decided it was enough and stirred and opened her eyes making it look like she just woke up. She looked at Grey and smirked "wow, I knew people get comfortable in their sleep but that''s a little too comfortable don''t you think?". "I just woke up like this, honestly, now can you let me go?" Grey asked and Ahri obliged, she let go of his head and removed her tails, Grey quickly got up and moved to the bathroom to take a bath. When the door closed Ahri spoke "Oh yeah! One more thing" She yelled so he can hear her. "What is it?" Grey yelled back from inside the bathroom. "I''ve been awake for thirty minutes!" She yelled again. "Oh for the love of the Great Grey wolf Sif!" Grey yelled angered which made Ahri laugh at his little tantrum. Ahri calmed down and decided to look around until Grey finishes showering, there wasn''t much to look at in the room but then her eyes fell on Grey''s equipment. The shoulder and left arm armor looked like they went through a lot of battle, his cape looked very old and she saw a few black lines at the end, his great sword wasn''t very wide but it was still big and the knife was quite odd and sinister looking as if made just for brutal killing. Then something caught her eyes, she got off the bed, walked up to Grey''s equipment and held it up. It was a medallion, it was green, looked really old and had the picture of a wolf''s head. She heard a door open and looked to see Grey come out drying his head "what''s up?" He got a look at what she was holding "Oh, you''re holding my pledge". "Pledge?" Ahri repeated raising an eyebrow. "Yes" Grey nodded taking it from Ahri''s hands "you see, Abyss watchers aren''t born, their chosen, only those who the old wolf of Farron chooses gets to be one of his Watchdogs". Ahri wanted to ask about more but decided to wait and went to take her shower. Time skip: (brought to you by chibi Ahri poking a sleeping chibi Grey with a stick). The day went on pretty uneventful, Grey and Ahri spent it going around the ship taking in the sights. Ahri however couldn''t get that dream out of her head, questions started haunting her, she decided to ask Grey about his life hoping to get answers. They entered their room coming back from dinner "so Grey, why don''t you tell me how your life was?" Ahri asked sitting down on the bed. Grey raised an eyebrow "why do you ask?" He replied starting to take off his armor. "Just wondering" Ahri shrugged "hey why don''t I tell you about my life and you tell me about your''s?". Grey finished taking off his armor and thought about it "I guess that sounds fair". He sat on the bed facing her, Ahri told him about never seeing a fox like herself and being taken by a herd of them, she told him about secretly watching humans because she was fascinated by how their emotions worked, up until the dying man and turning human "and then you came along" She finished "your turn". "Alright" Grey nodded "like you, I didn''t have a family, I was left a baby at the door of the Abyss watchers, they didn''t know what to do with me actually so they decided to pray to the old wolf of Farron for an answer, and then something happened". "What is it?" Ahri asked getting excited. "The old wolf of Farron... chose me, he chose me as an Abyss watcher" Grey smiled "you can guess that everyone was surprised, after that, they became my family, they raised me telling me all kinds of stories, legends and taught me what I know, I even ended up being adopted... by an old hunter" Grey chuckled "after a few years I came back to finish my training as an Abyss watcher and became a full fledged member, it was great, I had a home, a family, a job and a porpus" Grey''s smile vanished "but then...". "What happened?" Ahri asked but he didn''t respond "Grey?". "I-it''s getting late, we should-" "Grey!" Ahri''s stern voice cuts him off as he saw her look at him with worry "please tell me what happened". Grey looked like he was about to protest but gave in "I... I was sent on a mission one day, it wasn''t anything serious just a few monsters almost leaving the swamps, but when I came back, I saw something that truly scared me". "What is it?" Ahri said giving him her full attention. Grey''s voice started becoming shaky "Dark wraiths, creatures of the Abyss, I knew that men the Abyss had reached the temple, I started killing my way through... but... when I got there" Ahri''s eyes widen seeing Grey''s tears "they were already corrupted, they went mad and started killing each other, when they noticed me they started attacking, I had no choice but to fight back... so I" Grey''s tears were running down his cheeks by this point "I... killed them... people that were my family, that took me as their''s, died at my hands". Ahri was speechless, she knew losing a family was rough, but having to kill them on your own was something else entirely, so she did the only thing she can think of. She hugged him, and all Grey can do is return the hug while crying on her shoulder. "Hey it''s ok" Ahri said trying to sooth him "It''s ok, you''re not alone anymore, you got me, and you don''t need to go back there". "W-what?" Grey asked a little confused. "You heard Shen, the Institute takes in people like both of us, you can join it with me and stay" She gave him a warm smile "plus there''s no Abyss in this world, so you won''t have to go through that ever again". Grey''s eyes widen and he hugged her tight "I... thank you, thank you so much" Ahri just let him cry on her shoulder and on that moment Grey felt something he hasn''t felt in a really long time... safe. (A/N: thank you for reading this, I hope you enjoy it, please comment in anyway you like and tell me how you like the story so far.) 7 CH7: Bank Robbery Third POV: Ahri woke up next morning, she stretched with a yawn while also moving her tails. She looked besides her and saw Grey sleeping, Ahri couldn''t help but smile seeing the peaceful expression on his face. ''he was really hurt last night'' she thought to herself ''I guess that Abysswalker guy was right''. Ahri got off the bed and decided to take a bath, she took her clothes off completely not minding Grey being there and entered the shower. After a few minutes, she came out wearing just a towel around her and saw Grey still sleeping, she decided it was time to wake him up. Ahri walked near the bed and grabbed his shoulder "Grey, Grey wake up". He started groaning and opened his eyes, he rubbed them and looked at Ahri "hey Ahri- what are you wearing?" Grey asked with a blush seeing Ahri in nothing but a towel. "a towel" Ahri answered bluntly. "no, I mean why are you wearing just a towel" Grey tried to avert his gaze. Ahri smirked and leaned on the bed "would you rather I take it off" she teased and used one of her tails to make the towel a little loose showing a lot of cleavage. Grey just looked away and got off the bed "please put some clothes on" he said before going to the bathroom. Ahri couldn''t help but laugh, she picked her clothes up, wore them and sat on the bed waiting for Grey. After Grey finished showering, he came out and was relieved to see Ahri fully clothed. He grabbed his armor and put it on "we''re supposed to reach Piltover today, right?". Ahri nodded "that''s right" she answered and Grey finished putting on his armor, she got off the bed and they both exited the room. They went to the upper deck, they looked and saw a big city in the distance with big shiny buildings, floating blimps and all kinds of lights coming from it. "looks like we''re almost there" Grey said and then looked at Ahri "want to get breakfast before we reach the docks?" he asked. "sure" Ahri nodded and they both went to get breakfast. Time skip: (brought to you by chipi Grey looking for chipi Ahri who is hiding under his cape). An hour later the ship docked, Ahri and Grey thanked the captain before leaving and walking through the streets of Piltover. Ahri looked around at the sights and technology in wonder, Grey was behind her also looking around but he was feeling rather out of place. Ahri noticed him and chuckled "are you OK?". "I''m going to be honest" Grey said looking around "I''m a little overwhelmed". ''he''s like a lost puppy'' Ahri thought with a giggle "well don''t worry, all we got to do is find a train and-" she was cut off by a loud noise and a few cars passing by. "what''s that sound?" Grey asked a little on guard. "they''re police sirens" Ahri said looking at the direction they came from "let''s check that out" she said as she and Gary walked to the sound. When they got to the source, there was a few cars surrounding a big building and police officer looking at it. "what''s going on?" Ahri asked as she and Gary got close to the scene. "robbery" answered one of the officers without looking away from the building. "what exactly happened?" Grey asked. "a few robbers got in and took hostages" the same officer answered still not looking at them. Then a car made it''s way to the scene, when it stopped, two women came out. One was a dark haired woman with hair that went below her shoulders, a dark purple dress, a big top hat and holding a sniper rifle. The other was a pink haired woman with something similar to a Mohawk that went over her shoulder, bronze clothes and had giant fist gauntlets. One of the police officers walked up to them "Sheriff, Enforcer, good timing, we could use the help". The woman with a top hat took binoculars from the officer and used them to look at the building "what''s the situation?" she asked. "we have hostages and robbers threatened to hurt them if we got close" the officer explained. "did they hurt anyone?" the woman with a top hat asked. "no" the officer replied. "any demands?" she asked again. "not yet" the officer shook his head. "so what do we do Cupcake?" the woman with pink hair asked. The woman with a top hat put down the binoculars "we wait for now, see if they''ll make a move". A crowd had gathered around the scene and Ahri moved to the back, thanks to her enhanced hearing she was able to hear the conversation. "well, looks like they have things under control" Ahri said and turned around "let''s go Gre-Grey?" Ahri realized that her companion wasn''t around "great" she sighed "why do I feel like we''ll be telling our story all over again". Behind the bank: Two robbers were guarding the backdoor, they were wearing a face mask and holding guns. One of them suddenly aimed at the left "did you hear that?" he asked. "hear what?" his friend asked. "I can swear I heard something" the first one said and the he started walking towards a bunch of boxes. He got closer slowly and when he reached them, a cat jumped out and made him scream a little in fear. His friend started laughing... But then Grey jumped behind him and used his knife to slit his throat. The one near the boxes barley had time to respond when Grey rolled to him, knocked his weapon out of his hands with the knife and sliced him up with his sword. Grey POV: After I finished off the two guarding the back, I walked to the door and slowly opened it. I immediately rolled behind a table for cover and peaked over it, I saw three robbers guarding the vault with two of others inside it, no one else was around so I assumed the hostages were upstairs. ''first thing first, make sure the hostages are safe'' I thought to myself while sneaking to some stairs. When I reached the top I quickly hid behind a pillar and looked over, there was the hostages and two robbers standing in front of them. "hey go check on how they''re doing" one of the robbers said and his friend nodded. He turned around and started walking toward the stairs that was near the pillar I was hiding behind. When he got close enough, I grabbed him covering his mouth and slit his throat. I hid his body behind the pillar and started sneaking up to the other one who was looking at the hostages with his back turned. When I was behind him, I grabbed him covering his mouth and stabbed my knife in his chest. He struggled for a couple of seconds and then his body went limp and I put it down. I walked up to a man in a suit and cut off his restraints "are you alright?" I asked. He rubbed his wrists and nodded "y-yes, thank you". "it''s alright, untie the others but stay here until I deal with the rest" I told him, he nodded and went to do his job. I turned around and walked to a railing that looked over to the lower floor, I looked and saw the three robbers that were guarding the vault were right under it. Now that the hostages were safe I didn''t need stealth anymore, so I pulled out Farron great sword and jumped over the railing. I drop slashed the one in the middle and before the other two did anything I anchored my knife in the ground and did a full spin with my sword killing both of them. The two inside the vault noticed me, they drew metal objects and pointed at me. My foster father taught me to never take chances with the unknown, so I rolled to the side, hid behind the gate and started hearing bangs and metal clinging. I assumed their weapons shoot something and after a few seconds the sound stopped, that''s when I moved. I quickly moved out of cover and cut down one of them, the other was reloading his weapon but I didn''t give him the chance. I rolled to his direction and thrust my sword stabbing him in the chest, I pulled out my sword after his body went limb and exited the vault. I went upstairs and saw all the hostages freed "it''s alright, it''s over now" I said. All of them sighed in relief, they started thanking me and one by one they started leaving the building. I made sure all of them were out before I left, I couldn''t help but smile seeing all of them run to their families and friends. ''now all I have to do is find-'' my thoughts were interrupted by someone smacking me in the back of my head. I looked and found an angry looking Ahri with her hands on her hips "what were you thinking?" she asked. "about helping people" I replied but she didn''t calm down. "why do you think the police are here for?" she said still angry "you had me worried". "sorry" I apologized looking a little down. Someone cleared their throat and we looked to see two women, one with a top hat and the other with pink hair. "I think you two should come with us" the woman with a top hat said. I looked back at Ahri and found her glaring at me, I started thinking to myself... Should I be more scared of these police, or Ahri? (A/N: thank you for reading this, I hope you enjoy it, please comment in anyway you like and tell me how you like the story so far.) 8 CH8: Police Station Ahri POV: We were inside a police car going to the police station and I was still mad at the idiot beside me. Grey was looking around the car uncomfortably "I... Don''t feel safe in this thing". I moved my tails trying to make them a little comfortable "and whose fault is it that we''re here to begin with?" I said anger in my voice. "you''re going to be mad at me for a while, aren''t you" Grey said. "you think!" I almost yelled. "knock it off back there" the woman with pink hair told us, we both went quiet and I just looked out the window. Time skip: (brought to you by chibi Ahri trying and failing to lift Grey''s sword and chibi Grey helping her). After we reached the station, they took us to a square metal room with a table that had two chairs on each side. They took Grey''s weapons and put them on the other side of the room while me and him sat on one side of the table. The two women from before came in through the door, the one with a top hat sat in front of was while the pink haired leaned on the wall and she didn''t have her gauntlets. "so" the woman with a top hat said crossing her arms over the table "do you two know why you''re here?". "not really" Grey shrugged and I almost smacked him in the head again. "you''re here because you interfered with the law, we were cooking up a plan when you came in" she explained and then narrowed her eyes "I don''t take kindly to vigilantes in my town". Grey tilted his head "what is... A vigilante?" he asked which made both women look at him in confusion. I pretty much guessed he didn''t know what it was, I sighed before speaking "a vigilante is someone who fight crime while also breaking the law, you cover your face so they thought you were one" I explained. "oh, then don''t worry, I''m no vigilante" Grey told the woman "I just saw that you didn''t have anyone that can sneak in and was worried about the hostages". "well then why did hide your identity?" she asked. "that''s how we Abyss watchers wear our clothes for battle" Grey said with a shrug. "why are you still covering your face then?" the pink haired woman asked. "what?" he asked which made me groan. "you''re covering your face again Grey" I sighed. "oh! sorry, it''s a habit" Grey apologized, he took off his hat and sat it on the table before pulling down his cloak. Both women did a double take with their cheeks turning a slight shade of pink, I honestly can''t blame them. The one with a top hat cleared her throat "well, since you made sure the hostages are safe, and since a certain ''someone'' was planning to go in there guns and blazing" she said while looking at the pink haired woman in the last part, she just smirked shrugging her shoulders and the top hat woman looked back at us "I would like to thank you, I''m sheriff Caitlyn, and this is my partner Vi" she introduced herself and the other woman "so, who are you two?". I sighed "why don''t your partner take a seat, it''s gonna be a while" I said before telling her who me and Grey are and where we want to go. After I was done she took in everything I said "so you''re a fox that turned human and he came from another world" Caitlyn summed up, she didn''t look convinced, she was giving us a look that said ''do I look stupid or something?''. "I believe you" Vi said making us look at her. "you do?" Caitlyn asked. "yeah" Vi shrugged "I mean come on cupcake, that story is crazy but it''s also too crazy to be made up". Caitlyn looked down tapping her finger, after a couple of seconds she gave a heavy sigh and looked back at Vi "you know you don''t usually make much sense but when you do I really hate it" she said and Vi just smirked shrugging her shoulders again, Caitlyn then looked at us "so you''re going to the Institute of War, does that mean you want to join the League of Legends?". "is that what it''s usually called?" Grey asked. "yeah, we''re champions too actually" Vi said. "does that mean you were planning to take the train?" Caitlyn asked. "yes we were" I said pointing at Grey "until this idiot decided to play hero" he just looked away. "how did you do that anyway?" Vi asked and then pointed at Grey''s weapons "you have a sword as big as a person". Grey shrugged "we Abyss watchers are trained to move in the dark, and my foster father taught me a lot of things". Caitlyn sighed "well since everything is sorted out we''ll let you go, but next time leave our job to us". "understandable" Grey nodded. "so does that mean we can go?" I asked. "yes, in fact we''ll give you a ride to the train station" Caitlyn offered. "that would be very kind of you" Grey said but then looked a little worried "but... Do we have to go in that metal beast again?". "metal beast?" Caitlyn repeated confused. "he means the car, they don''t exist in his world" I explained. "so the first time you were in a car was being taken to the police station?" Vi said and then smirked "I don''t know whether to feel bad or jealous". "anyway yes, so let''s go" Caitlyn said. "great" Grey sighed putting his hat back on and getting back his weapons. Third POV: Time skip: (brought to you by chibi Ahri, Caitlyn and Vi trying to push chibi Grey inside a car). Caitlyn and Vi just dropped Ahri and Grey at the train station and right now were on their way back to their station. "so" Vi said breaking the silence in the car "I guess we can both agree that Grey was pretty hot". Caitlyn blushed and tried to concentrate on driving "I... guess he wasn''t bad looking". "wasn''t bad?" Vi repeated in a deadpan tone "Cupcake I can tell you were this close to giving him your phone number" Vi brought her thumb and index finger close to each other. Caitlyn blushed heavily and almost lost control of the car "y-you can''t proof that!" she yelled trying to look at the road. Vi kept her deadpan look "I''m not hearing you deny it". Meanwhile in the train station, Grey and Ahri bought their tickets and entered the train. Ahri sat near the window and Grey sat besides her looking around "and I thought that car thing was weird". "well you better get used to it" Ahri said. Grey looked at her "are you still mad at me?". "what do you think?" Ahri huffed and looked out the window. Grey tried to think of a way to make it up to her, he saw Ahri''s ears twitching and thought of something. He raised his right hand and started petting her behind her fox ears. Ahri''s angry expression slowly melted into a pleased one as she started leaning to his touch "oh yeah... A little to the left... That''s the spot" she moaned and started purring. Grey chuckled but still kept petting her, after a few minutes he removed his hand "so are you still mad at me?". Ahri looked at him for a few seconds and sighed "look, I wasn''t mad as much as I was worried, I just thought you might get hurt". Grey smiled fondly "thank you for your concern and don''t worry, I promise that we''ll both get to join the Institute of War, alright". Ahri looked into his eyes and saw nothing but honesty, she smiled and nodded then looked out the window, She couldn''t help but be excited about what the future might hold for them. (A/N: thank you for reading this, I hope you enjoy it, please comment in anyway you like and tell me how you like the story so far). 9 CH9: Death Of A Watcher Third POV: The train has been going for a few hours and it was night time now, Ahri and Grey fell asleep in their seats and a waitress walked up to them. "excuse me, sir, ma''am" she said standing besides their seats. Grey groaned and opened his eyes looking at the waitress "yeah?". "we reached the mother land" the waitress informed them. "thank you" Grey replied, the waitress nodded before leaving and Grey turned to Ahri "Ahri, wake up". Ahri groaned "what?". "we''re here, come on" Grey said. "alright" Ahri replied rubbing her eyes and opening them. After a few minutes, the train slowed down until it stopped completely and they got off. Ahri and Grey walked the streets amazed by the sites, there was culture from every nation and all kinds of people around. Ahri twirled in her place looking around "this place is amazing" she said, she stopped and looked at Grey "so what should we do, ask around?". "we could do that" Grey shrugged and then pointed somewhere "or we could just go to the big building with statues that basically screams Institute of War". Ahri looked at where he was pointing and saw a really big building carved into the side of a mountain. It had big gates with gold trimming, statues of warriors and summoners besides it and floating crystals around them. "or we could try that" Ahri chuckled before she and Grey started walking towards the building. They reached a set of stairs leading to the gate and started climbing them, when they got to the top, two guards in armor were near the gate. "halt!" one of the guards raised his hand "what is your business here?". "is this the Institute of War?" Grey asked. "it is" the same guard nodded. "we want to be champions" Ahri said. The guards looked at each other and then back at Grey and Ahri "very well, go through the gates and ask for the high summoners, but fair warning, becoming a champion will not be easy". "thank you" Grey nodded, the guards turned around and opened the gates for them. Grey and Ahri entered a big hall way that led to a table with a summoner besides a big black door, once they reached it Ahri spoke "excuse me". The summoner looked up "yes, how can I help you?" he didn''t sound enthusiastic but wasn''t rude either. "we want to see the high summoners to join as champions" Ahri told him. The summoner glanced at a few papers before answering "well you''re in luck, they''re free right now, just go through the gates here" he said motioning to the gates beside the table. "thanks" Ahri said before she and Grey walked up to the gates, they opened without anyone touching them and they went in without asking questions. Inside was a big chamber with many high chairs, all of them but one had names above them. "what is your business here" asked a summoner with red robes and the name Noxus above him. Ahri was a little nervous to speak but thankfully Grey was with her "we''re here to become champions". "and who exactly are you?" asked a summoner with yellow robes and the name Demacia above him. Grey and Ahri went and told the high summoners their story, after they were done the high summoners took in what they said. "so you turned human after absorbing the life essence of a sorcerer, making you a Vastayan, and he came from a different world" the Noxian summoner summed up. "to be fair we did sense weird energy from Ionia almost a week ago" said a summoner with light blue robes with the name Ionia above him. "very well, to become a champion you have to go through a trial called judgment, yours will be tomorrow since it is late" the Demacian summoner said. "just one moment" a summoner with green robes with the name Zaun above him said making everyone look at him "I am sure the Vastayan is good enough to be a champion, but it is this person from another world that I worry about". "are you asking for a demonstration of his abilities?" asked the Ionian summoner. "if he allows it" the Zaun summoner replied and the high summoners looked at Grey. Ahri looked back at him in worry but he just gave her a determined nod and looked at the high summoners "what is it that you would like me to do?". "we will put you against one of our current champions, and if your ability is satisfactory, then we''ll give you the judgment like your friend" the Noxian summoner explained. "I accept" Grey nodded. "very well, your duel will be tomorrow after your friend''s judgment for now rest" the Ionian summoner said and the gates behind Ahri and Grey opened. A woman in gold armor and a pair of angel wings came in through them "greetings, I am Kayle, if you would please follow me I will show you where you will be staying tonight" she said. Ahri and Grey nodded and followed the woman out of the chambers and into the hallway. They walked for a few moments and reached a long line of doors with name plates. They reached two doors besides each other without name plates "these are your temporary rooms" Kayle said pointing at them "Grey is right and Ahri is left, you will be given better ones if you pass". "wait, not the same room?" Ahri said a little disappointed. "you didn''t expect us to always share a room did you, did you?" Grey asked her. "well, no but..." Ahri was gonna protest but just sighed "fine" she then looked at Kayle "hey Kayle, is there somewhere we can get some food?". "it is dinner time, so I''ll take you to the dining hall" Kayle replied as she started walking to another hallway with Grey and Ahri following her. They then entered a large hall with many tables that had champions in all shapes and sizes, on one side there were chefs serving all kinds of food. "wow" Ahri said looking around "being a champion has it''s perks". Kayle nodded "it does, but if you don''t pass tomorrow you won''t get to experience the other ones" she said before leaving. Grey and Ahri went where the food is, they grabbed their trays and picked out their food. Ahri had salad and some fried chicken and Grey had some fruit and milk, they found an embty table to sit in. They sat down and started eating in silence until someone addressed them "I see you two made it". They looked and saw Shen, Akali and Kennen with their own food although Shen was just some tea. They sat besides Ahri and Grey "yes and thank you, if it weren''t for you we wouldn''t have even known about this place" Grey said. "think nothing of it" Shen waved it off "seeing that you''re here means your judgment is tomorrow?" he asked. "yes" Ahri nodded but then gained a worried look "well... Mine is anyway". Kennen raised an eyebrow "wait, what about Grey?". "they weren''t sure of my abilities so they set me up for a match with one of the current champions" Grey explained. "do you know who it is?" Akali asked and Grey shook his head "well be careful, some champions aren''t exactly kind people". "don''t worry, if you die in the Rift the summoners can bring you back" Kennen said waving his hand. "I''ll take your word for it" Grey replied with a shrug. "how can you be so calm about this?" Ahri asked worried that Grey might not be taking this so seriously. "I too am wondering, your mind is at balance, how do you keep it that way?" Shen asked wanting to know how Grey keeps a peace of mind about the whole ordeal. To answer them, Grey shrugged "ever been near a drunk giant?" he said which made them a little taken back. "a... Drunk giant?" Kennen repeated making sure he heard it right. "after you spend a night taking care of one everything suddenly becomes less threatening" Grey said and then noticed the looks he was getting from them "what''s wrong? Don''t giants exist in this world?". "not any that I know of" Akali shook her head. "well they exist in my world" Grey said with a smile "and let me tell you, once you get a giant''s loyalty he''s your friend for life" he said remembering the times he was saved by a large arrow. "your world sounds weird" Kennen said. "after I''ve seen this one... I''m going to have to agree with you" Grey replied. Ahri, Akali and Kennen chuckle slightly while Shen shook his head shaming himself that he was actually smiling under his mask. Akali glanced at Shen and looked back at Grey "hey can I ask you something?" she said and Grey nodded "if there is crime in Ionia, don''t you think we should stop hiding in the shadows and start dealing with it?". Grey raised an eyebrow for the odd question but still answered "I guess that makes sense, why do you ask?". "that''s because it''s what I''ve been telling Shen" Akali replied looking at said man "but he refuse that we do it". Shen sighed "Akali I told you, if we started hunting down any criminal out there, it might cause problems with Ionian elders". Akali just huffed and looked away, Ahri and Grey felt awkward at the scene that was like a father scolding his stubborn daughter. "well... We''re finished, we should go to bed, we need to get up early for my judgment and Grey''s duel" Ahri said trying to leave the awkward atmosphere. Shen nodded "very well, see you tomorrow". "likewise" Grey nodded, he and Ahri got up and exited the dining hall going through the hallway Kayle took them through. Once they reached their rooms, Ahri spoke "are you sure you don''t want to share a room?" she asked Grey. Grey sighed "Ahri you can''t expect us to always share a bed" he replied. Ahri groaned "fine" she said in a lazy tone and then pointed a finger at Grey "but you better win tomorrow". Grey smiled and nodded "alright, I promise you to win and join with you, OK?". "you better keep that promise" Ahri threatened playfully before both of them got into their rooms. It was a simple room, bed with a night stand and a lamp, a door to the bathroom and a window. Ahri undressed and went under the covers, while bringing her tails closer she couldn''t help but drift into thought. ''it feels kind of lonely without Grey... What if he loses tomorrow'' Ahri shook that thought out of her head and went to sleep. Time skip: (braught to you by chibi Ahri taking chibi Grey''s hat while he''s asleep and trying it on). Ahri woke up next morning, she went through her morning routine which is taking a bath and putting on her clothes. She opened her room''s door and found both Kayle and Grey waiting for her "good morning Ahri" Grey said seeing her. "morning Grey" Ahri greeted back "you''re up early" she said referring to the fact that she always wakes him up. "actually I didn''t sleep at all" Grey replied. "wait, what?" Ahri asked and then looked at him in anger "why would you do that? You have a duel to attend". "that''s exactly what I told him" Kayle said. Grey rolled his eyes "would you two calm down, my foster father taught me how to spend days hunting without any sleep". Ahri would have protested but she just sighed "alright, but remember your promise" she said and Grey just nodded with a smile before they both started following Kayle, Ahri took a glance at Grey ''he keeps mentioning that foster father of his, maybe I should ask him about it'' Ahri just put that thought in the back of her head for now. They continued walking through the hall until they reached the door to the high summoners. Kayle turned to face them "Ahri is going to have her judgment, so she has to go in alone". Grey looked at Ahri "will you be OK?". Ahri nodded "of course i will, we''re going to join together so what good will it do if I didn''t make it". Grey nodded and Ahri went inside, Grey found a few chairs besides the door and sat down while Kayle just stood besides it. "I see Ahri is taking her judgment" Grey looked and saw it was Shen who spoke, he had Akali and Kennen with him. Grey nodded and they took a seat near him, after a few moments of silence Akali spoke "she''s going to need you after this". Grey raised an eyebrow "what do you mean?". "we can''t speak about details, it''s forbidden" Kennen replied "but just know that the judgment is NOT a pretty thing". "some who took it and failed were left traumatized, it tests the very existence of a person" Akali explained "whether their hearts are good, evil, pure or corrupted, it does not matter" she said which made Grey worried. After a while, the gates opened and Ahri came out, Grey stood up, she saw him and immediately ran up to him. She jumped and wrapped her arms around his neck burying her head in his shoulder "that wasn''t fun... At all" Ahri said with tears in her eyes. Grey returned the hug and patted her back "it''s OK, it''s over now" he said, Ahri calmed down and backed away slightly "so? Did you make it?". "yeah" Ahri nodded whipping a few tears before looking up with a smile "my title is the Nine-tailed fox". "fitting" Grey smirked "no ''I think?'' this time" he said, Ahri laughed slightly remembering that he made the same joke when they met. Kayle walked up to them "congratulations on passing the judgment" she said to Ahri and looked at Grey "your duel will be in 10 minutes, and shall take place in the summoner Rift". Grey nodded "how will I get there". "you will be sent there from wherever you are when the time comes" Kayle said before leaving. Grey, Ahri, Shen, Akali and Kennen then started walking towards the dining hall. "they still didn''t tell you who you''ll be against?" Akali asked which Grey shook his head. "Grey, please be careful" Ahri said. Grey smiled "don''t worry, I have to keep my promise after all". Ahri smiled and nodded, they reached the dinning hall and then Grey''s body was covered in light before vanishing. Ahri, Akali, Shen and Kennen found a table to sit in while a magical orb appeared in the middle of the dining hall. The orb showed Grey in some sort of battle coliseum with stone floor "Grey Ashnex" a voice rang out "you will be tested to see if you are good enough to be a champion, your opponent will be... Zed, Master of Shadows" the announcer said as a man appeared on the other side of the coliseum. The man was wearing a bronze and red armor with two throwing blades on his back, he had a mask with a cage like jaw and red eyes with a red cloak connected to it for a makeshift hood. "oh no" Akali said. "what''s wrong?" Ahri asked. "we know Zed, he can be brutal in battle" Kennen told her which made Ahri look at the screen in worry. Zed stood up and faced Grey "so you''re my opponent" Zed said with an echo in his voice "the summoners told me you claim you''re from a different world". Zed''s statement drew many different reactions from the champions watching, some didn''t believe it, while some wanted to see if it was true. "whether you believe me or not is up to you" Grey replied pulling out his weapons pointing his sword at Zed while putting the knife across his chest "but know that I''m not planning to lose". Zed chuckled "we''ll see" he said and crouched down while blades extended from his forearms. They stood still for a second before the announcer spoke "begin!". Zed moved first jumping towards Grey bringing down his arm blades, Grey rolled away from the strike as Zed landed. Grey anchored his knife on the ground and spun around swinging his sword at Zed who raised his arm blades for guard. Even though he blocked the strike, Zed was still sent skidding back a few feet from the strength of the attack. Zed then created a clone from shadows and the clone dashed forward swinging it''s arm blades at Grey. Grey got up and used his sword to block, while in a lock down with the clone, the real Zed jumped over it''s shoulder and kicked Grey. Instead of steadying himself, Grey rolled with it and ended up in a crouch position while Zed stood besides his clone. Zed then snapped his neck "is that all you got" he said. Grey got back up "not even close" he said before dashing at Zed. Meanwhile, the high summoners were watching the match from their chambers "he''s doing well" said the Ionian summoner. "for now" pointed out the Demacian summoner. "what are your thoughts on him Grand Summoner" the Zaun summoner asked looking at the only chair without a name above it. On the chair was a man wearing black robes with golden trimming and a beard was visible through the hood of the robes, the other high summoners looked at him "the boy has potential, even more then he let''s on" he said. "so he''s holding back?" asked the Zain summoner. The grand summoner slowly shook his head "no, but he has more power than he knows". "so he''s stronger than he believes himself to be?" asked the Noxian summoner which the grand summoner nodded. Back in the battle, Grey and Zed entered a lock down while staring into each other "you''re strong, no wonder you''re a champion" Grey said. Zed huffed "you''re not bad either" he said before pushing Grey away and jumping back, he pulled out the blades on his back and threw them. Grey raised his sword blocking the blades and then jumped at Zed swinging his knife and sword. He struck Zed and then anchored his knife in the ground to spin and swing his sword again dealing another strike. Grey pulled out his knife and jumped swinging his sword, but before he could land a hit, Zed switched with his clone making it the one that was hit. The clone vanished and Grey immediately turned around... Only to be stabbed in the chest by the real Zed. "but you''re still not good enough" Zed said before pulling out his blade and letting Grey fall to his knees before falling completely on the ground. In the crowd, Ahri felt like her heart was just ripped out after what she just saw "Grey?" she mumbled as tears immediately appeared in her eyes "GREY!!!". (A/N: thank you for reading this, I hope you enjoy it, please comment in any way you like and tell me how you like the story so far). 10 CH10: Rise Of A Lord Third POV: The high summoners watched as Grey fell motionless on the ground "well, it appears the match is over" said the Noxian summoner. The other summoners thought the same until the Grand Summoner spoke "the match is yet to be decided". The other summoners looked at him "what do you mean?" asked the Demacian summoner, in response the Grand Summoner simply motioned to the orb showing the match. They looked and nothing seemed off until they noticed something "why is the match still going?" asked the Ionian summoner noticing the problem "I thought we made it so that if either of them were to perish or surrender then they would both respawn outside the Rift completely healed". "as I said, the match is yet to be decided" the Grand Summoner repeated, the other summoners decided to listen to him and looked into the match. Grey POV: I groaned opening my eyes, the last thing I remember is Zed stabbing me, I got up and found myself... In the Abyss Watchers temple? "what am I doing here?" I said looking around. "you''re here because we called you" someone said and I turned around to find... The Abyss Watchers... All of them. "you''re... Here" I said "does that mean I''m finally dead for good". "no" an Abyss Watcher shook his head "but you are close". "oh" I then looked down at the ground "you must hate me for what I''ve done to you" I honestly wouldn''t be surprised if that was the case. "no we don''t" an Abyss watcher said making me look at them in slight shock "in fact, we''re here to thank you". "the curse of the Abyss is quite cruel" continued another Abyss Watcher "when it got to us, we feared we''d never be freed, but you came and freed us". "so we''re here to thank you" finished another Abyss Watcher but then looked down slightly "and also... To ask for forgiveness". I tilted my head getting confused "forgiveness for what?". They looked between each other and I can see guilt in their eyes "Grey, before you left... We Abyss Watchers were chosen to become the next Lord Of Cinder and link the fire". Wait, what? I never heard of anything like that "what are you talking about? If we were chosen then why wasn''t I informed?" I questioned. "the price of lordship is too great" an Abyss Watcher said. "I would have gladly taken it" I replied. "which is why we didn''t tell you" another one said "we wanted you to live on". "you were always worthy to be an Abyss watcher, even more than most of us" another one said "in fact, we at times saw Artorias the Wolf knight in you, you both had a certain balance about yourselves". "so we ask for your forgiveness" another one finished as they all looked down. I couldn''t stay mad even if I wanted to "it''s alright, I hold no grudge nor hatred towards you". The Abyss Watchers looked up to me "thank you, now we believe that you have a match to attend" one of them said. I tensed "but... I lost, I wasn''t strong enough" I replied. "so you give up" another one said which made me start thinking. Zed is strong, and his clones are a problem, can I beat him... Like I promised to... Ahri, I promised to join as well and I plan on keeping my promise. "I can''t surrender" I said looking up at them "I have a promise to keep, but I need power". "power that you already have" an Abyss Watcher said "when we were chosen, all Abyss Watchers became a lord of Cinder, which means you are a Lord yourself". "I''m... A Lord of Cinder" to say I was shocked would be an understatement, being a lord was an honor above all else, but I''ll worry about that later "how can I use the power of a lord". "you simply needed to know about it" an Abyss Watcher said "but you won''t be alone". "we Abyss Watchers are comrades, even after death" another Abyss Watcher said "so go on, fulfill your promise". Fire then appeared and started covering the surroundings, I knew I wasn''t in danger so I just closed my eyes and let the fire cover me. Third POV: "I thought this would happen" Kennen sighed heavily at what happened in the match. "no..." Ahri mumbled as she shook her head "he can''t be dead, he just can''t... He... He... ". "Ahri" Akali addressed but Ahri''s breath became shaky "Ahri calm down, you''re going to have a panic attack" she said grabbing Ahri''s shoulder and shaking her. Back at the coliseum, Zed was looking at Grey''s body, he wasn''t bad, the Abyss Watcher was able to keep up with Zed''s speed which is something not many could do, but he didn''t know about Zed''s ability to switch with his clones which was a fatal mistake. Zed huffed and turned around to walk away, but he then stopped as a sound was heard, it was a wolf''s howling. Ahri manged to calm down and everyone''s attention was brought to the match as the sound kept going. ? Zed turned around looking at Grey... And was shocked to see blood start flowing from the ground. The blood was surrounded by a few sparks of fire, it started floating towards Grey and vanished in him. Grey''s sword then caught fire, he started standing up and coiled his sword in the ground for support, once he was on his feet, he pulled out his sword and took a stance. Zed took a step back shocked at what happened "how?" he asked. Grey didn''t answer, he instead stabbed his sword in the ground and dashed to Zed dragging his sword with him. Zed managed to jump over The sword but then the trail the sword left on the ground exploded in fire striking him. Grey pulled out his sword, he anchored his knife in the ground and swung at Zed who jumped back slightly away from the sword. The sword didn''t hit Zed but then an explosion of fire trailed behind Grey''s sword hitting Zed. Grey jumped in the air swinging down his sword but Zed jumped away, he stood up and summoned another clone. Grey reeled back his sword and thrust it in the direction of the clone, fire shot from the tip destroying the clone. He then charged at the real Zed swinging his sword and knife, Zed dodged making sure he didn''t get caught in the fire explosion this time. But Zed didn''t expect Grey to quickly anchor his knife on the ground and use it to change the direction of his sword. Grey landed a strike on Zed''s chest and the explosion of fire added the damage, he pulled out his knife and jumped swinging his sword downwards. He landed a clear hit with a big explosion and Zed was sent flying, Zed''s body fell on the ground smoking and then vanished in a flash of light. "the match is over" the announcer said "winner, Grey Ashnex". All fell silent, it was the Grand Summoner who spoke first "you have won, you shall take the judgment like your friend". Grey nodded and he''s body then vanished in a flash of light, he found himself back at the dining hall with everyone looking at him. He felt the flames in himself and the sword die down, Grey then saw Ahri running up to him. Grey put his weapons away to greet Ahri... Only for her to slap him directly in the face. He was almost knocked off his feet, Grey looked back to see Ahri''s face full of tears "ow, what did I do-". Ahri cut him off by slapping him again "you big JERK! You almost scared me to death" she yelled. Grey groaned and stood straight "look I''m sorry for-" he was cut off again but not by a slap, by a hug. Ahri jumped and wrapped her arms around his neck hugging him tightly "I thought I lost you" she sniffed over his shoulder. Grey hugged her back and waited for a few seconds until she calmed down and pulled away "look, I''m sorry, let''s sit down and I''ll tell you what happened OK?". Ahri nodded and they went to the table where Shen, Akali and Kennen were sitting. "that was quite the match" Akali said. "I have to admit it''s good to see Zed beaten up like that" Kennen chuckled "but how did you do it?". Ahri crossed her arms and glared at Grey "yeah, I''m also expecting an explanation". "well, how do I put this" Grey sighed "in my world, there''s something called the age of fire, and if the age of fire ends the age or dark will begin, an age of no light where only darkness exists, to make sure the age of fire lasts, someone is chosen to link the flames and keep it going, that person is called a Lord Of Cinder, they can either link the fire or plunge the world into darkness". "so this Lord of Cinder decides the fate of your world" Akali summed up and Grey nodded "but what does this have to do with what happened in the match?". "because the Abyss watchers were chosen to be the next Lord of Cinder" Grey said and started to explain his story and what happened during the match. "so... You killed all of them?" asked Kennen and Grey nodded. "I believe you did the right thing" Shen said "if you left them corrupted, they would have suffered". "thank you" Grey nodded and then felt someone tapping his shoulder, he looked and saw Kayle "is it time?". Kayle nodded "yes, follow me" she replied and Grey stood up. He started following Kayle who was leading him to the high summoners and Ahri was looking at him in worry. Grey reached the high summoners and stood in front of them "you won, now it''s time for your judgment" the Noxian summoner said. Grey nodded and the high summoners started waving their hands, his body then was covered in light. Inside the judgment: The scene changed, Grey was know seeing himself fighting an Abyss watcher before cutting them down with his sword "again..." a voice said. Grey was now fighting another Abyss watcher, he slit his throat and stabbed him with his sword "again..." the same voice rang out. Another Abyss watcher, and Grey killed him "again" another one "again" and another "again, again, again, again and again" the same voice kept repeating and Grey kept seeing himself killing Abyss watchers, the voice then chuckled "there you go, it never gets easier does it? Nothing can scar a warrior''s spirit like cutting down his own comrades, the men you felt cold and warmth with, the men that you shared both your successes and your failures". "did I... Fall into the Abyss?" Grey said as he kept watching himself killing Abyss watchers. "you Abyss Watchers and your brotherhood never fail to amaze me" the voice spoke again "what comradery is there, suffering with men whose names you can''t even remember". "there is one name we remember" Grey replied "Artorias the wolf knight". "but the truth is, your wolf knight, your brave warrior that you emulated yourselves after, was nothing but a failure" the voice said. "the truth was hard to hear, it almost broke us" Grey replied "but we realized something very important, if Artorias fell to the Abyss, where is he know?" he asked "I''m here, yet he''s not, which means nothing will ever stay in the Abyss". "childish delusions!" the voice roared "Artorias was remembered through the ages as a legend, you Abyss Watchers are nothing but pretenders playing dress up, mere mortals living in the shadow of a false idol, who will remember to come save nameless warriors?" it asked. "perhaps another warrior with no name" Grey replied "who knows?... Maybe even an unkindled". "this is lunacy!" the Voice yelled. "that only a mortal can know" Grey said "gods have no hourglasses, their time is not fleeting, but we will rais the inevitable truth, that the end will always come, so go on, we Abyss watchers stand ready, say what you''re going to say". The voice stayed quiet for a few seconds before speaking "... Again". Outside the judgment: Grey fell on one knee and heavily breathing, he shook his head and looked up at the high summoners. "you have passed" the Ionian summoner said "your title shall be-" he stopped when the Grand Summoner raised his hand. The Grand Summoner put down his hand "you shall be known as, Abyss Watchers, Farron''s Undead Legion". The high summoners were confused, this was the first time a champion was referred to as a multiple but Grey knew why. "thank you" Grey nodded "may I leave now?" he asked, The Grand Summoner nodded and Grey turned around and left through the gates. Grey found Ahri sitting on one of the chairs near the door, she stood up when she saw him "so?" she asked. Grey nodded with a smile which Ahri returned, they started walking through the hallway back to the dining hall. "Grey" Ahri said stopping and said man looked at her, she smiled "thanks, for keeping your promise". Grey smiled "don''t worry about it". She then frowned and crossed her arms "I''m still mad at you for scaring me". Grey sighed and raised his hands "OK, what do you want me to do to make it up to you?" he asked. Ahri thought for a few seconds and then a mischievous smile that sent chills down Grey''s spine appeared on her lips "oh I can think of something, but that''s for later, Akali said they have a match and I want to watch it" she said as she started walking again. Grey followed her but in the back of his mind was worried about what Ahri had for him. (A/N: thank you for reading this, I hope you enjoy it, please comment in anyway you like and tell me how you like the story so far). 11 CH11: A Roses Thorns Third POV: Ahri and Grey were in the dining hall watching the match so they could understand how it works, they saw it was made of two teams, and the goal was to destroy the crystal in the enemy base. They saw how good Shen, Akali and Kennen were In teamwork and protecting their allies. The match ended with Ionia''s victory "so that''s a match" Grey said before looking at Ahri "well it''s over, so what do you want to do now?". Ahri thought for a second "oh, Akali mentioned a garden, I wanna see it" she said and Grey nodded. They got up and exited the dining hall, Grey saw a summoner and walked up to them "excuse me, we''re looking for the garden" he said. The summoner tensed slightly "oh, the garden" they replied and shakily pointed backwards "keep going down the hallway, it''s the big green door". "thank you" Grey nodded, he went back to Ahri and they continued their way. They reached the big gates the summoner was talking about and they got in. They were amazed by the garden, many kinds of plants and life was around, even the walls had roots in them and in the middle was a pond full of water. Ahri walked in looking around "it''s... Beautiful" she said as birds started flying around. "yeah" Grey nodded "I''ve never seen so much life before, my foster father had a garden but it was only full of roses". Ahri looked down and saw a white flower, she knelt down and was about to pick it up, but right when she touched it, spiky roots immediately surrounded her pointing at her. Ahri yelped and froze stiff, her voice drew Grey''s attention, he grabbed his sword and was about to help her but someone spoke "you should know that I don''t take kindly to those who try to take my children". Grey and Ahri looked and saw a woman with long red hair, yellow eyes, clothes made of leaves and was apparently part plant looking at them. The woman glared at Ahri "now take your hands off" she said and Ahri slowly pulled her hands back leaving the flower alone and the roots went away "who are you? I''ve never seen you before". "we''re new champions" Grey said while Ahri stood up and got beside him. "and what are you doing here?" she asked. "we just came to see the garden" Ahri replied. "will this is my garden" the woman told them "I am Zyra, the rise of thorns". "I''m Ahri, the Nine-tailed Fox" Ahri introduced herself. "I''m Grey Ashnex, but my champion name is Abyss Watchers, Farron''s Undead Legion" Grey said and then looked over the garden again "I have to say, your garden is very beautiful". "yes I know, I don''t need human flattery" Zyra replied in a bored tone. ''what''s her problem'' Ahri thought to herself even if Grey didn''t seem to mind what Zyra said. Zyra had heard about new champions being around, she also heard that the Abyss Watchers come from another world, but to her people are all the same, other worlds or not, they all wanted to hurt her children. The fox couldn''t be trusted in Zyra''s opinion, but it was the Abyss watcher that caught her interest. The soil under him felt... Warm, he was like a gentle flame that warmed her children without actually harming them, but something was bothering her so she voiced it out "excuse me, but why do you cover your face?" Zyra asked. "what?" Grey looked at her in confusion. "your covering your face again Grey" Ahri pointed out. "oh sorry, it''s a habit" he said before bringing down the collar of his shirt, Zyra had to admit that compared to the other human males he was better looking than most "anyway, sorry to intrude you, we''ll leave to not disturb your children". Grey and Ahri turned around and was about to leave but Grey suddenly stopped. "oh right!" he said, Ahri was about to ask but Grey turned around and walked up to Zyra, he pulled out a small amount of purple flowers and gave them to her "here". Zyra was confused for both what Grey did, and for the fact she didn''t know what the flowers were "I... Never saw these before" she said, usually she would recognize any plant but not these. "that''s because their from my world" Grey told her making her realize why she didn''t know them "their called purple moss, they help us cure poison but since I''m not in the swamps of Farron keep I don''t need them, I don''t want them to rot so I think giving them to you is better". Zyra was dumbfounded, it was rare to see someone truly care about plants like that, she then took them and smiled "thank you... Grey, right?" she asked and Grey nodded "you can come back to the garden if you want" she then narrowed her eyes "as long as you don''t harm my children" she threatened. Grey nodded "thank you" he said before turning around and walking out of the garden, once he was out he found Ahri with her arms crossed scowling at him "what?" he asked. "you never gave me any flowers" she replied. "like I said, we use them to cure poison" Grey repeated "and during our travels you weren''t poisoned". Ahri huffed and looked away "still a lady would like flowers no matter what". Grey sighed "alright, I''ll get you flowers when I can". Ahri smirked in victory "thank you" she said before they started walking towards the dining hall. They were about to go through the entrance when they heard someone "hey... Hey wait?". Ahri and Grey turned around and saw someone running to them, the person stopped and held his knees breathing heavily. It was a young man with messy blonde hair, he had brown traveling clothes, a weird gauntlet on his left hand and blue marks on his face. "uhmm... Can we help you?" Grey asked looking at the young man. "yes... Just a second" he replied before getting his breath back and stood straight looking at them "I saw you in the dining hall earlier and I couldn''t get you off my mind so I just had to meet you". Grey raised an eyebrow while Ahri smirked "wow, I already have fans" she said smugly and started looking at her nails "sorry, but I''m not looking for a relationship". Both Grey and the young man looked at her in slight confusion "uhmm... actually, I was talking about him" the young man said pointing at Grey. Ahri''s eyes widen and Grey snickered but a glare from her immediately silenced his laughter "why are you so popular?" she asked. Grey shrugged "maybe the duel". "great duel by the way" the young man said. "thank you" Grey said "now you said you wanted to meet me?". "oh yeah but let me introduce myself first" he replied raising his hand "I''m Ezreal, the Prodigal Explorer". Grey accepted the handshake "I''m Grey Ashnex, and this is Ahri" he introduced himself and Ahri who just waved her hand a bored expression on her because of what happened earlier. Ezreal pulled back his hand "anyway, I heard you come from a different world and I want to see if you can tell me about it" Grey raised an eyebrow at the request "don''t get me wrong, Runeterra is great and all, but the thought of a new world is way too exciting to pass on". Grey thought for a moment then nodded "alright, but only if you tell me about this world, Ahri told me a little bit but I want to know more". "thanks for the boost of confidence" Ahri said sarcastically and Grey rolled his eyes. "you got a deal" Ezreal said before they all entered the dining hall. They picked up some food and found a table to sit in where Ezreal and Grey started talking. Grey started telling Ezreal about his world, he was especially interested when Grey mentioned giants and wanted to learn about them. When Grey was done, Ezreal started telling him about Runeterra and a little about the nations. Ezreal was just done telling Grey about the Void "so this Void seeks chaos?" Grey asked. "that''s right" Ezreal nodded "we don''t know much about it but there are a few champions from it". "that sounds bad, but thankfully it''s not like the Abyss" Grey replied. "you mentioned the Abyss before" Ezreal said remembering when Grey talked about his world "why do you think it''s worse than the Void?". Grey sighed "the Abyss doesn''t want chaos, it wants to consume and corrupt everything, many people with pure hearts were taken by the Abyss and turned into monsters of absolute horror". Ezreal shuddered "wow that is bad, but how are you supposed to fight it when no one seemed to survive it?" he asked. "that''s because the person we Abyss Watchers idolize is the only person to walk through it and survive" Grey replied "his name is Artorias, Artorias the Abysswalker". Ahri''s eyes went wide and she immediately spat out the drink she was having recognizing the name. Grey immediately puts his hand on her back while she coughed "are you alright?" he asked. "yeah" Ahri said and stopped coughing "I just... Drank too fast" she lied which to her relief Grey bought. Grey turned back to Ezreal "so tell me about Artorias" Ezreal said but Ahri was paying attention this time. "he was a legend" Grey replied "according to legend, he was the only one who traversed through the dark Abyss and slay the wretched Dark Wraiths, he was declared the first Abyss Watcher, we took his legacy and the undead Legion was born after that" he explained. Grey and Ezreal kept talking while Ahri thought about that dream, she put it in the back of her mind for now. She couldn''t help but smile, both her and Grey managed to get here and join, Ahri started thinking about what kind of life she would have here... With Grey. ''wait...'' she thought to herself ''since when do I think of Grey like that?''. (A/N: thank you for reading this, I hope you enjoyed it, please comment in anyway you like and tell me how you like the story so far). 12 CH12: The Little Pyromancer Third POV: Grey, Ahri and Ezreal were still together in the dining hall only now it''s late evening. "hey Ezreal" someone yelled and they looked and saw a blonde haired girl in Ezreal''s age walk up to them, she had silver armor with golden trimming and a staff on her back "there you are, I''ve been looking everywhere for you" she said as she stood near their table. "sorry Lux" Ezreal apolized scratching his head "I was making new friends". "well why didn''t you tell me? I love making new friends" she asked and Ezreal shrugged looking a little embarrassing, The girl called Lux looked at Ahri and Grey, she then looks at the latter more "hey, I know you, you''re the guy that beated Zed, the guy from another world". Grey nodded "that''s right, my name is Grey Ashnex it''s a pleasure to meet you miss..." he trailed off not knowing her name. "oh right, my name is Luxanna Crownguard, the lady of luminasity, just call me Lux" Lux introduced herself and looked at Ahri "and... Sorry, I didn''t get your name". Ahri waved it off "it''s OK, I''m Ahri, the Nine-tailed fox" she said. "well it''s got to meet you" Lux said sitting besides Ezreal and then looked at Grey "so is it real? You being from another world and all" she asked. Grey nodded "yes". "I saw him myself fall from a portal in the sky" Ahri added recalling the day they met "I wouldn''t have believed him if I didn''t". "Grey also told me about his world, it''s almost completely different from ours but still too organized to be made up" Ezreal added. "wow" Lux said "but don''t you get a little homesick?" she asked. Grey thought back to the friends and family he had, a part of him was sad but the other was happy about a new beginning "I didn''t have much to fight for back in my world, so I have more of a reason to do that here" he replied and then looked back at Ezreal "so Ezreal, you were telling us about matches". "oh right" Ezreal said and restarted their previous conversation "you see in a match, there''s two teams that represent a region or a group, they fight over a political problem and the winner gets to decide how they deal with it, that''s the official matches, the normal matches are usually done by summoners for fun, and if you die in a match you''ll just respawn in the base, that part really helps when you fight friends". "that sounds reassuring" Grey said and the looked down slightly "but I still feel a little uneasy about fighting my allies, I have a bad history with that subject". Grey felt someone holding his hand, he looked and saw Ahri with a warm smile "don''t worry, you''ll never go through that again, I promise" she said and Grey returned her smile. "yeah it is hard to fight friends" Lux said "but know that they''ll be safe, plus the summoners make sure we don''t feel any pain". "I''ll take your word for it then" Grey replied then raised an eyebrow "but how do you know when you have matches?". "they have a schedule in your room for that" Lux explains. "oh right!" Ahri then remembered something and got up from her seat "come on Grey". "to where?" the Abyss watcher asked. In response, Ahri smirked "it''s time for you to pay for scaring me" she replied before leaving, Grey realized he forgot that. He sighed and looked back at Ezreal and Lux "sorry, but I do owe her so I got no choice" Grey apologized. "Don''t worry about it" Ezreal waved it off and Lux nodded in agreement "if you want to hang out again just find me, maybe we''ll go on an adventure together". "I''ll take you up on that" Grey got up and started walking towards Ahri who was waiting at the entrance. But then he stopped halfway, he looked around feeling someone watching him, he didn''t feel any actual danger, just being watched, so he shrugged it off and continued towards Ahri. If Grey had looked harder, he would have seen the small figure looking at him "that''s him Tibbers" the figure said looking at something in their arms "that''s the guy who uses fire like me, maybe... We can be friends". Back with Grey, Ahri took him to the table besides the high summoners chambers, the summoner there looked up to them "yes, how can I help you". "Grey why don''t you sit in one of those chairs" Ahri said pointing at chairs a little away from the high summoners and the table "I''ll explain everything". Grey was confused because Ahri was speaking like they made a decision together, but he still owed her so he nodded and went to sit down. He couldn''t hear what they were talking about, but he did see Ahri and the summoner take glances at him. After a few minutes, Ahri came back after the summoner gave her something "alright, let''s go" she said. "what did you talk about" Grey asked standing up and following Ahri. "oh just about our new rooms" she replied. They continued walking and passing by doors until they stopped in front of a door with two nameplates ''the Nine-tailed Fox'' and ''Farron''s Undead Legion''. Grey was a little confused for why both names were on the same door, Ahri pulled out a key and opened it. They got inside and saw the living room, it had a big couch with a coffee table, a flat screen TV in front of it and a big window was behind the couch. They saw an open kitchen besides where the TV is, it had a table with a few seats, a fridge, an oven and the stuff you normally find in a kitchen. They saw another door at one of the room''s walls, they opened it and saw the bedroom. It had a big bed, a door to the bathroom and a big window letting in the moonlight. Grey looked around the room "this is pretty good, but where''s my room?" he asked and found Ahri just leaning on the door frame with a knowing smirk on her, the Grey realized what she did "you... Set us up for the same room didn''t you". "why of course" Ahri answered, surprisingly with a hint of pride. Grey sighed "why?". "like I said this is payback for scaring me during your duel" she replied walking to the bedroom "now come on, I''m tired and in need of my beauty sleep". Grey just sighed knowing there''s no talking out of this, he took off his armor and joined Ahri in bed. Time skip: (brought to you by chibi Ahri taking a nap and chibi Grey petting her as she started purring). The next day, Ahri and Grey went through their morning routines and went to the dining hall to get breakfast. While picking up their food, they saw Ezreal and decided to join him "hey, do you mind if we join you" Grey asked. Ezreal looked at them "oh hey, no problem, the more the merrier" he replied and they all sat on a table. Not long after that, they were joined by Lux and someone accompanying her "hey guys" she greeted sitting down. "good morning Luxanna" Grey said. "good morning Lux" Ahri greeted. "morning Lux, oh good morning to you too Garen" Ezreal greeted both Lux and who was with her. "to you too Ezreal" Garen replied, he was a muscled man with short brown hair, armor with a similar theme to Lux''s, he had a great sword on his and a blue cape, Garen looked at Grey and Ahri "so you''re the new champions Lux mentioned, I''m Lux''s brother, Garen Crownguard, the might of Demacia". "I''m Ahri, the Nine-tailed Fox" Ahri said. "I''m Grey Ashnex, it''s a pleasure to meet you" Grey said "Ezreal mentioned Demacia, it''s a land of Honor, Justice and Duty, correct?". Garen the smiled with pride "yes, we fight for honor and upholding justice is our duty" he then raised an eyebrow "but I have to ask, at the beginning of your duel you did a salute of sorts?". "that''s the legion etiquette" Grey answered "we do it in battle to show honor, respect, or to frighten our enemies". "your ways sound like that of a Demacian" Garen said thinking of how some Demacians have similar traditions. "Grey told me about his world, if I had to guess, Demacia would be the closest place to it" Ezreal added. Garen was interested and was about to ask more but someone beated him to talking "excuse me". They all looked and saw a little girl that only Grey and Ahri didn''t recognize, she had short red hair, a purple dress, a head piece with ears, and was holding a teddy bear in her arms. "oh hey Annie" Lux addressed the girl "do you need something?". The girl, Annie shook her head in denial "I''m here to see him" she said pointing at Grey. Grey turned around in his seat to face Annie "well hello there young lady, how can I help you, and your little friend" he said mentioning the bear to not sound rude. "you''re the guy who uses fire right? I saw you do it" She asked and Grey nodded "so does that mean you''re like me?". "like you?" Grey asked not understanding, to explain, Annie raised her hand and created a small fire ball. Ahri looked in awe not thinking a child like Annie should know sorcery at her age, while Grey looked really shocked. Annie saw his reaction and was scared that he would act like everyone else, shun her off and hate her, While Ezreal, Garen and Lux were also scared of the same reason worried about Annie''s feelings. "you''re a Pyromancer!" Grey said excited making the others surprised "that''s amazing, I didn''t think I would see one in this world". Everyone looked a little taken back by Grey''s excitement "a Pyro- what?" Ahri, Ezreal, Garen and Lux said not understanding what Grey said. "you''re not afraid of me?" Annie asked a little doubtful. "of course not" Grey denied "Pyromancy was quite normal in my world, in fact, I had a couple of friends who were Pyromancers". "r-really?" Annie gained her confidence back and then looked at the bear "see Tibbers, he''s not scared". "why would I be?" Grey replied "in fact, why don''t you join us for breakfast". Grey''s offer gets a smile from Annie "yes thank you" she replied before sitting besides the Abyss watcher and he gave her a fruit to eat which she accepted. "so why don''t you introduce yourself" Ahri said yet to know who the girl is. Annie stopped eating "oh right" she said and gave a small bow "my name is Annie, the Dark Child" she then raised her bear "and this is my friend Tibbers, say hi Tibbers" Annie moved Tibbers''s arm making it look like his waving. Ahri giggled and waved back thinking it was cute, Grey however was looking at Tibbers, he could feel something from it, almost like... A soul. He dismissed that thought for now and waved back "well, it''s a pleasure to meet you Annie, and you too Tibbers" he greeted "so you''re a champion too, you have to be really strong". Annie giggled hugging Tibbers "thank you". "hey Grey, what did you call Annie" Lux asked referring to when he saw her power "you called her a Pyro..." she trailed off not knowing the rest. "a Pyromancer" Grey finished Lux''s sentence "Pyromancy is quite famous in my world, it was created by the Witch of Izelith and expanded afterwards". "so there''s more like me?" Annie asked hopefully. "yes, so don''t ever feel weird about yourself" Grey said already understanding what Annie was worried about. "well I''d like to stay more but me and Lux have a match to attend" Garen said. "yeah, I''m in the match too, sorry" Ezreal apologized. "we''re free actually" Ahri said "our schedule was empty". "yeah, new champions don''t get much right after they joined" Lux told them scratching her head and then perked up "hey, since you''re new here, why don''t we take you into town on a shopping trip after the match". Ahri''s interest was immediately peaked "a shopping trip? I''m in". "that''s very kind of you" Grey added and then looked at Annie "hey Annie, would you like to go to the garden with me?". "really?" Annie then looked hesitant "but... Zyra said I can''t go because of my powers". "it''s alright, Zyra told me I can come back as long as I don''t harm her children" Grey assured her which immediately brightened her mood, Grey then noticed Ezreal, Garen and Lux giving him a look of disbelief "what?". "Zyra said you can come back?" Ezreal asked to make sure since Zyra doesn''t usually let anyone into the garden, Grey nodded in response "what did you exactly do?". Grey shrugged "I just complemented her garden". "and then gave her flowers" Ahri added, she was still a little annoyed about it. "those must have been really pretty flowers because she doesn''t let anyone go to her garden" Lux pointed out. Grey shrugged again before looking back at Annie "so do you wanna go?" he asked again and Annie nodded, he then turned to Ahri "do you want to join us?". Ahri shook her head "no, I think I''ll stay and see the match" she replied and thought to herself ''plus I really don''t want Zyra to use me as food for her children''. Grey nodded "alright" he then looked at Annie and took off his metal hat, he put it on the little girl''s head and then lifted her over his shoulder. Annie couldn''t stop laughing as Grey stood up and started walking to the garden with her on his shoulder. "you know, I don''t think I''ve ever seen Annie smile so much" Lux pointed out when those two left. Ahri looked at where Grey and Annie left before smiling "I guess Grey is one of a kind, huh". (A/N: thank you for reading this, I hope you enjoyed it, please comment in anyway you like and tell me how you like the story so far). 13 CH13: Dragons Agony Third POV: Grey entered the garden with Annie on his shoulder, the Abyss Watcher put the Pyromancer down and she gave him back his metal hat. Grey adjusts his hat while Annie looks around the garden, not long after that and Zyra appears. "good morning Zyra" Grey greeted. "yes, to you too" Zyra replied, she then noticed who was with Grey "I see you brought the Dark Child". Grey nodded "yes, I was wondering if you would let us stay here to play". Zyra raised an eyebrow, she usually would have declined but Annie walked up to her "please can we play here? I promise not to use my powers or hurt your children" the little girl asked. Zyra was in thought, Annie''s request sounded genuine "I''ll take full responsibility for whatever harm comes to your children" Grey added which made Zyra sigh. "alright, but be careful" she replied and Annie immediately perked up. "thank you so much" Annie said and then grabbed Grey''s hand "come on Grey, let''s play hide and seek". "alright, alright" Grey chuckles and goes with Annie while Zyra stays and watches to make sure her children are safe. She saw Annie start counting while Grey hid, Zyra couldn''t help but chuckle seeing how the Abyss Watcher obviously made himself easy to find for Annie. "8... 9... 10! ready or not here I come" Annie said turning around and started looking, she caught a glimpse of a red cape behind a tree and started sneaking to it before jumping "found you!". Grey groaned trying to look upset "oh come on" he then smiled at her "you''re really good". "no, you''re just bad" the Pyromancer giggled "OK, your turn". Grey nodded, he turned around and started counting while Annie started looking for a place to hide. Annie hid behind a big rock and crouched down holding Tibbers, Zyra decided to get in the game and waved her hand making a few bushes appear around the little girl making her less visible. Grey finished counting and started looking for Annie, he then stopped in front of where she was hiding and she jumped to scare him. Grey acted scared and then joined Annie in laughter, for some reason Zyra felt that the Abyss Watcher knew where Annie was but didn''t do anything, she just shrugged it off. Time skip: (brought to you by chibi Annie playing patty cakes with chibi Grey). Grey and Annie left the garden after a while of playing around, Zyra was very pleased that Annie kept her word. They found Ahri sitting in the dining hall in a table watching the match "the match is still going?" Grey asked making his presence known. Ahri saw him and smiled "oh hey, yes but it looks like it''s about done" she replied as the Abyss Watcher sat besides her. The match then ended like Ahri predicted and after a few minutes Lux and Ezreal walked up to them with the latter being a little slump. "good match you two" Ahri complemented while the two blondes sat with them. "not for me it wasn''t" Ezreal added. "oh come on, it wasn''t that bad" Lux said but then looked hesitant "well... Maybe". "so where''s Garen?" Grey asked noticing the absence of one of them. "he had work back in Demacia" Lux answered and then grinned "but enough about that, we have a shopping trip for you guys". "you really don''t have to do that" Grey replied "I mean, I don''t have any money and Ahri barely has any for herself". "nah, it''s okay" Ezreal waved it off "besides about the money, they give champions a decent amount of pay, like allowance". Grey just sighed "alright, let''s go then" he said standing up. "hey can me and Tibbers go with you guys?" Annie asked. "sure" Ahri replied getting up as they all started walking out of the dining hall and going to the table besides the high summoners chamber. Ahri and Grey got their money from there before they all went to the entrance and left the Institute going to the city below it. They walked through the city entering the shopping district, once they got there, Ahri and Lux started making a list of what they need... A long one. "we''ll need clothes, food, shampoo and some decorations" Ahri listed. "oh don''t forget shoes, dresses, makeup and accessories" Lux added. "and some toys" Annie got in the conversation. "you don''t really need all that do you?" Grey asked. "Duh! We''re young women" Lux replied in a matter of fact manner "we have to enjoy being young and beautiful while we can". "well not like I have to worry about that" Ahri stated. "why?" asked Lux. The Vastayan smiled smugly "you see as long as I take life essence I''ll stay young, so age isn''t a problem for me" That drew different reactions, Ezreal was interested on how that worked, Lux was slightly jealous of such an ability and Grey... Just shrugged "guess that''s one thing you and I have in common". The others looked at the Abyss Watcher a little confused "what?" Ahri asked. "I''m undead, remember" Grey reminded them "I don''t age, I haven''t aged since the day I became undead". That was surprising to his friends, Ezreal then noticed something in Grey''s statement "wait, you said since you became?" he asked to make sure and Grey nodded "uhmm... Grey, how old are you?" Ezreal asked hesitantly. Grey shrugged "I don''t know, I stopped counting somewhere between 70 and 80 years". All of them where even more surprised "a-and how long was that?" asked Ezreal with more hesitation. Grey hummed in thought "30 years ago give or take". "you''re over a hundred years old!?!" Lux almost yelled as they were all shocked. "yeah" Grey shrugged "what''s wrong? Surely there''s champions older than me". "well yes, but they look their age, you just... Don''t look your age" Ezreal replied. "believe it or not, I''m quite young for an undead" Grey said. "well anyway, we got shopping to do so come on" Ahri said changing the subject. They started going through a few shops, mainly Ahri''s and Lux''s choosing, and after that they decided to take a break at the food district. Ahri, Annie and Lux sat in a table while Grey and Ezreal walked up to them with bags in their hands. "what is it with this world''s woman and shopping" Grey asked, back in his world, woman only bought a few weapons and maybe some embers. Ezreal shook his head "I don''t know, but women are only mystery I didn''t dare to solve" he replied as he and the Abyss Watcher sat the bags besides the table and sat down. "hey can we have ice-cream?" Annie requested. "sure" Lux agreed. "I could go for some" Ezreal said. "I''ve never had them before, so yeah" Ahri replied and looked at Grey "what about you?". Grey tilted his head "what is... Ice-cream?". That made everyone look at him "you don''t know what Ice-cream is?" Ahri asked and Grey shook his head. "where did you use to live? Hell?" Lux asked "never mind that, now we have to go get Ice-cream, come on Annie". "okay" Annie replied before she and alux got up and left while Grey just looked confused. After a few minutes, Annie and Lux came back, the latter was holding a tray with cups and spoons in them. They gave everyone a cup, Grey looked at his and saw a white frozen liquid in it "trust me, you''ll love it" Ezreal said. Grey decided to trust the explorer''s word, he took a spoonful and ate it, his eyes immediately widen "this is amazing, I''ve never tasted anything like it" he said before going back to eating. Ahri hummed eating hers "I''m so glad I turned human" They kept eating and enjoying the frozen treat, Grey finished and then stood up "where are you going?". "I just saw a store I want to check, you guys finish and I''ll be back in a few seconds" Grey replied and Ahri nodded, he turned and without anyone noticing brought the neck of his shirt up. Grey POV: I made sure I walked away from everyone and entered an alley, I made sure no one was around before speaking. "why don''t you come out, I already know you are there" I spoke to whoever was following me and my friends, all I got was silence and I was honestly expecting that so I pulled out my sword and knife "alright, if you won''t come out in three seconds, I''ll rip you out, 1... 2...". Then someone came out of the dark part of the alley, it was a blue skinned woman, barely covered by some kind of black substance, she had short white blueish hair, two sharp tentacles coming from her back and parts of her body was glowing purple. "so you knew I was there?" she asked. "more or less" I shrugged "now who are you?". The woman chuckled and gave a bow "I''m Evelynn, Agony''s Embrace" she introduced herself, I knew her title means she''s a champion "and you''re the Abyss Watcher correct?". "didn''t know I have a reputation" I replied, it''s my third day here, the only way for her to know me is through the summoners or my duel. "the man from another world that defeated one of the most feared champions after coming back from the dead, how can you not be famous" Evelynn said in a matter of fact manner. "what do you want?" I was getting impatient with her. "I''m just here to give you a little advice, that there are champions you should be afraid of" she replied and smirked "with me on top of the list of course". "and why should I fear you?" I asked, in response Evelynn dashed forward and stopped right in front of me with her tentacles pointing at me trying to look threatening. I wasn''t impressed, because the real reason she stopped was because my knife was at her throat. Evelynn stared at me before smirking "you''re good" she then jumped back "why don''t you ditch those idiots and join me in a night of fun and pain". "not interested" I harshly replied. Evelynn chuckled "you will soon, they always do" she said before turning around and vanishing into the darkness. I didn''t feel her around anymore so I put my weapons away, now I just need an excuse to tell my friends. Third POV: Ahri, Annie, Ezreal and Lux were still in the food district waiting for Grey "didn''t he tell you where he was going?" asked Lux since the Abyss Watcher was gone for a while. Ahri shook her head "no, just that he was going to check one of the stores" she replied, they then saw Grey walk up to them with something in his hands "there you are" Ahri said standing up "where were you?". "I... Was getting these for you" Grey replied giving Ahri what was in his hands, which turned out to be some flowers. Ahri took the flowers and a slight blush appeared on her cheeks "really?". "I did promise to get you some when I could" Grey pointed out and Ahri remembered that he did do that when they came out of the garden. "hey Grey, why are you covering your face" Annie asked. "what?" Grey asked confused. Ahri sighed "you''re covering your face again Grey". "oh, sorry" Grey then pulled down the neck of his shirt "so what are we going to do now". "now, more shopping" Lux replied. "you''re still not done?" Grey asked astonished. "nope, so come on" she said as she, Ahri and Annie walked away. Grey looked at Ezreal "we''re not going to get any rest for a while are we". Ezreal just gave a heavy sigh "not even close". Time skip: (brought to you by chibi Ahri and Grey walking around while Chibi Evelynn was sneaking around and watching them). At sunset, they finally returned to the Institute of War, Ahri, Annie and Lux were in front of Grey and Ezreal who were carrying a lot of bags. They found Garen waiting past the entrance "Ah there you are Lux" he greeted. "hey Garen, how was your work in Demacia?" Lux asked her brother. "it wasn''t anything serious, just some physical check ups for the Vanguard" he replied, Garen then saw the bags in Grey''s and Ezreal''s hands and gave them a look of sympathy "she took you shopping, didn''t she?" he said and they both nodded "well it could have been worse, you should see what she does in a special sale". Lux playfully punched her brother "whatever, how about you put your stuff away and we''ll meet together at the dining hall". "sure, let''s go Grey" Ahri replied as she and the Abyss Watcher then walked up to their room. They sat the bags there and decided to organize them later, they went to the dining hall and found Ezreal, Lux and Garen sitting with two other individuals. One of them was a man with golden armor, a black body suit, a spear on his back and a crown like helmet with some brown hair visible. The other was a woman with dark purple skin, she had orange eyes, red armor and helmet with gold trimming and two braids of dark purple hair was over her shoulders. "hey you two" Lux greeted seeing Ahri and Grey "these are our friends, prince Jarvan and Shyvana" she introduced. The man then stood up and faced Grey and Ahri "any friend of Lux and Garen is a friend of mine, I''m Prince Jarvan Lightshield IV" he introduced himself offering a handshake. Grey accepted the hand shake "I''m Grey Ashnex, and this is Ahri" he introduced himself and Ahri who waved her hand "it''s a pleasure to meet you your majesty". Jarvan waved his hand "please, we''re all champions here, just Jarvan is fine" he said and Grey nodded before sitting down. "so where''s Annie?" Ahri asked noticing the absence of the little Pyromancer. "she went to see a friend" Ezreal replied. Grey looked at Shyvana who was yet to speak "you''re not exactly human, are you?" he said trying his best to not sound rude. "that''s right, I''m half dragon" she answered and then narrowed her eyes "got a problem with that?". Grey shook his head "no, I just didn''t think Dragons exist in this world too". "wait, you have dragons in your world too?" Ezreal asked, Shyvana then became interested. "yes, we do... Or did" Grey replied. "how were the Dragons in your world like?" asked Shyvana taking the chance of possibly learning more about her kind. Grey shook his head "I wouldn''t know, I never met one, they went almost extinct after a war with Gwyn, the first lord, and whatever was left went into hiding" he replied. Shyvana was slightly disappointed that she didn''t get her answer but Ezreal was still interested "what Exactly happened?". "Gwyn and the original lords raged war on the dragons, they were losing until Gwyn discovered the dragons weakness and used it to defeat them" Grey explained. "how did Gwyn discover the dragons weakness?" The Explorer asked, from what he knew, dragons were proud creatures and would never show any weakness. "that story doesn''t trail back to Gwyn, but Seath the scaleless... A dragon" Grey''s response immediately got Shyvana''s interest. "wait, a dragon?" Shyvana said to make sure, why would a dragon has something to do with their weakness being known... Unless "did he... Betray his kind?" she asked getting a little mad. Grey nodded "yes, but he had no choice" Shyvana''s anger seemed to calm slightly "you see, Seath was born a dragon but he was different, instead of scales he had flesh and instead of feet had tendrils, Seath was treated as a freak, the dragons tortured him, insulted him and burned him with the fire that he could never breath, one day Seath ran away, he found a cave full of crystals that shine in all colors without sunlight, when Seath saw the light shine off from his skin he didn''t think of himself as a freak, he was happy, but then the dragons found him, they tortured him again but what truly hurt Seath was seeing the crystals he loves so much gets destroyed, the dragons left promising a return, that''s when he came in... Gwyn the lord of sunlight, like I said Gwyn was losing the war with the dragons so he made a deal with Seath, if Seath told Gwyn the weakness of the dragons Gwyn would give Seath the power to recreate the crystals he loved so much, Seath was left with a choice, either let his kind live so they can come back to torture him again or get back the only thing that brought him happiness, what choice do you think he made? Gwyn used that knowledge to beat the Dragons and then came back to Seath to fulfill his end of the deal, if you ask me, Seath had every right to do what he did and I can''t blame him". Shyvana opened her mouth to protest but no words came out, no matter how she saw the story, Seath was always the victim. They were somewhat alike, both outcasts of dragons, yet also different, she had people in her life but Seath... Had nothing from the beginning. "but you can make sure that doesn''t happen" Grey''s voice broke her train of thoughts "you are both human and dragon, you are living proof that those two can live together". Shyvana was taken back while Jarvan was smiling, he was happy that someone else didn''t think of Shyvana as just a half-breed. Grey then turned to the prince "now Jarvan, I heard Demacia resembles my world, would you be kind enough to tell me about it". Jarvan smiled with pride "of course, I could take you there if you like". "maybe later, I''d rather just listen for now" the Abyss Watcher replied. The prince started telling Grey about Demacia, meanwhile Ahri was thinking about the flowers Grey got for her and how she started feeling recently. (A/N: thank you for reading this, I hope you enjoyed it, please comment in anyway you like and tell me how you like the story so far). 14 CH14: First Match Third POV: The sun rises in the next day, Ahri woke up and found her and Grey in their bed, she sat up and stretched. She saw Grey still sleeping, Ahri decided to leave the Abyss Watcher to rest while she got through her morning routine. She took a shower, dressed up and then went to the living room where she sat on the couch. Yesterday when they came back to their room, they organized their things, mainly Ahri''s, Grey barely got anything, it took Ahri, Lux and Ezreal to convince him to buy clothes because he kept saying his armor is enough. Ahri saw a vase with the flowers Grey got her, she bought it yesterday after the Abyss Watcher got her the flowers. She didn''t take what she told him seriously about the flowers but Grey still got them for her. ''I guess he''s just that nice'' Ahri thought fixing up her tails so she can lay down on the couch. A couple of minutes later and Grey came out of their room drying his hair with a towel "good morning Ahri". "morning Grey" Ahri replied as Grey finished drying his hair "did you see the schedule?". Grey shook his head "not yet, I''ll go check it" he said before walking back to the room and coming back with the schedule "let''s see" Grey looked into the schedule "oh, we both have matches". Ahri stood up "really?". Grey nodded "yes, mine in a while, yours In the afternoon" He replied "to be honest, I''m glad we''re not in the same match". Ahri raised an eyebrow "why? Don''t you want to fight together?". "no I do, it''s just..." Grey then took a deep breath "I still don''t feel comfortable fighting my allies". Ahri walked up to the Abyss Watcher and gave him a hug "it''s OK, you won''t go through that again" she said knowing what he was worried about. Grey smiled in gratitude "thank you". Ahri broke the hug and smiled mischievously "plus if you won''t fight me that just means I can humiliate you more when I beat you". Grey gave a deadpan expression and rolled his eyes "figures" he then turned to their room "I''m going to grab my armor and get ready". Ahri chuckled and sat back on the couch, when Grey came out fully armored, they both exited and went to the dining hall. They entered the hall and found a table to sit on after taking some breakfast, they were soon joined by Annie holding her own food. "hi Ahri, hi Grey, can me and Tibbers sit with you guys" she asked. "sure" Grey replied and made space for Annie to set in "so do you have anything planned today". Annie nodded "uh-huh, I got a match in a little while". "really, me too" The Abyss Watcher replied. "that''s great" the little Pyromancer was excited "now I can show you how strong I am". "aren''t you a little worried?" Grey asked "I mean, what if they put us against each other, I really don''t want to hurt you". Annie shook her head "it''s OK, we don''t feel pain in the match and I know you don''t want to hurt me". Grey sighed with a smile "alright, I''ll take your word for it". Ahri then crossed her arms "so Annie can motivate you but I can''t" she said a little insulted. Grey rolled his eyes "oh please, for the love of the old wolf of Farron tell me you''re joking". "hey everyone" they heard someone greet them, they saw Ezreal, Lux, Garen and Shyvana walk up to them. "morning" Ahri replied with a wave of her hand. "good morning" Grey greeted as they sat down with them "where''s Jarvan" he asked noticing the absence of the Prince. "he had some political stuff to deal with back in Demacia" Lux replied "anyway, do you have anything to do today". "me and Grey got our first matches today" Ahri answered. "really, that''s great" Ezreal said. "yeah, the first match is always exciting" Lux added "you should have seen Ezreal''s first match". Said explorer then blushed "Lux! You promised to never mention that". "oh now I''m interested" Ahri said wanting to know about what''s so embarrassing "come on, tell me". "later!" Ezreal said and then tried to change the subject "anyway, Grey I found the location of an old tomb in Shurima, I wanted to see if you want to join me?". "sure, why not" the Abyss Watcher replied, Ahri didn''t like that, her match was after his which meant he wouldn''t see it, her ears dropped slightly and Grey noticed "but can we wait till after Ahri''s match, I would like to watch it" Ahri then perked up. "yeah, no problem" Ezreal replied much to Ahri''s happiness "so when is your match?" "it should be in minutes" Grey said and then his and Annie''s bodies began glowing "or right now" he corrected. "be careful" Ahri said. "give us a show" Ezreal added. "but don''t show off too much, that never works out for you" Lux warned and then gained a slight blush "I should know". Before Grey can ask what she meant, he and Annie vanished, the orb showed up in the middle of the dining hall. Ahri managed to find Grey''s name on it "there he is, in the blue team, Abyss Watchers, Farron''s undead legion". "they called him a multiple?" Garen asked hearing Grey''s champion name for the first time. "don''t worry about it" Ahri waved it off. Grey POV: I appeared in the summoners rift in our base, there I saw the other four champions, sadly Annie wasn''t one of them. One of them was a very muscled man with an exposed chest, blue tattoos on his arm, a big door in the shape of a sheep''s head with glowing eyes, he was bald and also had a... Unique mustache. Another one was a big man, he had a golden eagle head, a few eagle like features, golden armor and a staff. The third one was Zyra which is good since I know someone here, the fourth... Out of all the champions, is Evelynn, I''ll try to ignore her for now. "good morning Zyra" I greeted. "hello Grey" she replied "is this your first match?". "yes" I nodded "I hope everything goes well". "don''t worry, just follow the summoners and everything should be fine" she replied and I nodded. "ah you''re the new champion" the man with an exposed chest said walking up to me and offering a handshake "welcome to the League, I am Braum, the heart of Freljord". I can tell Braum had a heart of gold, he kind of reminded me of Seigward, "it''s good to meet you" I accepted the hand shake "also nice mustache". Braum chuckled and started twirling his mustache "thank you". The eagle man walked up to me "ah so you are the person the entire Institute has been speaking of, the man from another world" he said "I am Azir, the emperor of the Sands". I don''t think it''s a mere title, Azir had an air of royalty and respect around him so I gave a small bow "it''s a pleasure to meet you". Azir chuckled "you are respectful, that is hard to see in your age". I then felt someone put their hands on my shoulders before Evelynn appeared to my right "hey cutie, I''m Evelynn, and who are you?" she acted like we didn''t meet before. Zyra started scowling, Braum was still trying to be cheerful and Azir didn''t have much of a reaction but it was obvious no one liked Evelynn''s presence, me included. I walked away from her grasp and turned to face her "we are the Abyss Watchers, Farron''s Undead legion" I responded with an emotionless voice "now please don''t touch me like that again". Evelynn pouted "oh come on" she then smirked "I don''t bite... Much". "like I said, don''t touch me like that again" I repeated my emotionless voice making it clear that I wasn''t interested. My response apparently lifted up the mood of the rest of the champions, then I heard a voice in my head "the match is about to begin". "what the?" I started looking around for the source. "relax champion" the voice spoke again "I am the summoner that chose you, I will be guiding you through battle". I then remembered Ezreal saying that the better you work with the summoners is better you fight in battle. We then heard a sound meaning the beginning of the match, Braum went with Azir in the middle, Zyra went to the jungle, Evelynn went to the bottom and I went to the top. After I exited the base I saw little warriors holding weapons walking in front of me "those are the minions, they are supposed to help you in battle" the summoner answered my unasked question. After a while, we encountered the enemy minions, they were similar to ours but with a different color accompanying them was... Annie... Why did it have to be her? She saw me and threw a fire ball in my direction, I rolled out of the way and jumped forward swinging my sword. I dealt some damage and she jumped back, Annie then held Tibbers and threw him in the air. Tibbers exploded in flames and came out as a giant bear of fire ''so he is alive'' I confirmed, I''ve had some suspicion about him but now I''m sure. Annie threw a giant fire ball in my direction while Tibbers tried to smash me, thankfully I''ve managed to roll away. I anchored my knife in the ground and used it to spin so I could hit Tibbers, he recoiled back and I took my chance to finish him by stabbing him through the chest. Tibbers''s flames died down, I pulled out my sword and rolled away dodging a fire ball from Annie. I jumped towards her and brought my sword down dealing a big strike that sent her backwards to the ground. She was still alive but not moving, I was about to walk to her but I stopped in my tracks "I really don''t want to hurt her". "I know it''s hard but please bare with it" the summoner tried to convince me "let''s do this differently then" he said. The summoner made me turn around and swing my sword at a tree making it fall down on Annie. Dust was everywhere and I couldn''t see her anymore "don''t worry, she''ll be fine" the summoner assured me. ''she better be, or their will be a hunt for summoner tonight'' I thought to myself before killing the rest of the enemy minions and reaching a statue like structure. "that''s a turret, it''s a mark of the enemy''s territory" the summoner informed me "you need to destroy them to gain advantage". I nodded and the turret started attacking the minions so I took my chance and started attacking it. After a few minutes I managed to destroy it but the enemy minions showed up with two champions, to my relief Annie was one of them. The other one was a woman with dark brown hair, dark green robes, golden armor plates and green gems on them, she also had a giant four sided throwing blade with her. Annie immediately summoned Tibbers and the woman readied her blade before both of them started attacking me. The woman tried to hit me with her blade but I rolled away, I used my sword to block Tibbers but wasn''t fast enough to dodge the fire ball from Annie. I recoiled slightly and the woman threw her blade at me striking me with a lot of damage, Annie then finished me off with a giant fire ball. After that I just fell down and stayed there, a few seconds later I reappeared in my team''s base. "are you alright champion?" the summoner asked "I know the first time of dying is-". "no it''s alright" I cut him off "believe it or not, I''m used to this" it was honestly like a Bonfire, only more... Gentle I think is the word, dying isn''t so bad when you don''t feel pain actually. "uhmm... Alright, let''s go then" the summoner was probably taken back by the fact that a new champion was used to dying. I just shrugged it off and went to the middle this time. Time skip: (brought to you by chibi Grey running away while chibi Annie was following him laughing and throwing fire balls). The match went on for an hour, our team kept the advantage but we still lost a few turrets. Right now, me and Braum were hiding near the enemy base, Azir managed to destroy their base turret and deal a lot of damage to the Nexus but was defeated. There was two champions guarding the Nexus, one was a woman with dark blue robes and a hood, she was holding a bow made of ice and her white hair was visible through the hood. The other was a man with an exposed chest like Braum, but he had a horned helmet with long hair coming from the back and was holding a great sword with a blue stone in it. "do you have a plan my friend" Braum asked while we were still hiding. I thought for a second before nodding "I do, but you''ll have to be sneaky" I then whispered my plan to him and he nodded. I then jumped out of hiding and pointed my sword at the champions drawing their attention. "is he fighting us on his own?" the woman asked preparing her bow. The man chuckled "he''s either brave or stupid" he then charges at me and We clashed swords. I pushed him off and rolled away before the woman hit me with an arrow, I anchored my knife in the ground and swung my sword at the man. He blocked it and I rolled away again to dodge another arrow, while this was happening, I saw Braum sneak from the side. I had to dodge a strike from the man but I ended up being hit with an arrow from the woman. The arrow seemed to slow down my movement so I wasn''t able to do much when the man delivered a powerful strike to my chest. I fell on the ground motionless, if there was a good time to use the powers of a lord then it was now. "he wasn''t bad" the man said while the woman stood beside him "but I thought the new champion was-" he was cut off by the sound of a wolf''s howling. Blood appeared from the ground, it went towards me and vanished inside me, my sword caught fire and I stood up using it for support. "so the rumors were true" the woman said pulling out another arrow. The man laughed "this just got interesting" he readied his sword. I glanced at Braum who was behind them and gave him a nod, he nodded back. Braum raised his shield and dashed towards them from the back with a war cry. He managed to knock them both away and I ran towards him as he raised his shield making it face upward. I jumped on it and he gave me a push sending me in the air, I spined around swinging my sword striking the Nexus destroying it. "VICTORY, Blue Team" the announcer said, Braum started laughing and I just raised my still flaming sword. We were covered in light and then sent out of the Summoner Rift, I found myself in a room with the rest of the champions that were in the match. There was also a few Summoners, one of them walked up to me "great job Champion" I recognized his voice, it was the one who chose me. I just nodded before going to the gates and exiting as the fire in myself and on my sword died down. I saw Annie and immediately walked up to her "Annie, are you alright?". She looked at me "oh hey Grey, yeah I''m okay, a little sad we didn''t win but okay" Annie replied and I sighed in relief "so did you see how strong I am?" she asked hopefully. "I did, and Tibbers is strong too" I nodded. The Little Pyromancer giggled and held her bear "thanks, as long as I have Tibbers I''m not scared of anything". Someone then slapped me in the back, I knew who it was from the good hearted laughter "that was glorious!" Braum said standing besides me "a little risky but it did it''s job". "thank you" I chuckled "and you had a hand in this victory as well". Braum raised his hands "I didn''t do much, it was your plan". "still you deserve some credit for the victory" I said and he nodded. "that was quite the strategy you pulled" Azir said as he and Zyra walked up to us. "a little risky don''t you believe?" Zyra asked. I just shrugged "it did it''s job" I then looked at the Emperor "also, thank you Azir, if you didn''t clear us a path, we wouldn''t have been able to do it". Azir chuckled "ah it is good to see manners like yours these days" he then gave a tired sigh "if only she can be like you" he mumbled. "are you speaking about me grandfather?" I looked at who spoke and it was the woman who fought me with Annie... Wait, Grandfather? Azir sighed "hello Sivir, and how are you this morning". The woman, Sivir shrugged "not bad" she then looked at me "so you''re the new guy everyone''s talking about" she smirked "just make sure that no one puts a price on your head, otherwise I''ll come for you, and charge you for killing you". "you make it sound like you''ll do anything for money" I said. Sivir kept her smirk "that''s because I''ll do". I looked at her for a second before replying "no you won''t". Sivir''s smirk vanished "what?". "I''ve seen your way of fighting, you might fight for money but you won''t do everything for it" I said and before she replied I continued "for example, you won''t just kill an innocent child because someone paid you, nor will you sell your body now would you?". "well that-... I mean-... You-..." she seemed to struggle with words. "you got her speechless" Azir said looking at Sivir and then at me "do you have any idea how long I''ve been trying to do that" that just earned him a glare from her. I just shrugged and looked at Annie "so Annie, want to go see the others". The Little Pyromancer shook her head "no, I''ll go see one of my friends, I promised to play with them". "alright, just be careful" she nodded and left while I started going to the dining hall to join the others. Ahri POV: during the match. Grey was now in his team''s base with the other champions, I saw this blue woman start flirt with Grey, I of course immediately didn''t like her. Grey just walked away from her, which made me happy, the match began and Grey went Top. He encountered Annie and defeated her, I knew he didn''t feel like he won at all, he then destroyed the turret. Annie showed up again with another champion this time, they worked together and killed him. "why isn''t he getting back up like in his duel?" Lux asked. "maybe he''s saving it for later" Ezreal shrugged. The match went on after that, now Grey and a guy called Braum were hiding near the enemy base. "come on Grey" I said "you can do this". "he''s going to need a plan" Garen pointed out. Grey jumped out and faced the enemy champions, while he was fighting them Braum was sneaking around going behind them. Grey was defeated and then came the wolf''s howling, the blood flowed from the ground and vanished in him. He stood up and then Braum used his shield to push the enemy champions out of the way and Grey ran to him, he jumped on Braum''s shield and then jumped to the Nexus destroying it. "yes!" I jumped from my seat. "pretty good" Ezreal said clapping his hands. I sat back down and started thinking ''alright, when it''s my match I got to make it so impressive, Grey will just think about me''. (A/N: thank you for reading this, I hope you enjoyed it, please comment in anyway you like and tell me how you like the story so far). 15 CH15: Portraits Third POV: Grey entered the dining hall and found where everyone was sitting and went besides them. Ahri was the first to speak "great match Grey". Grey nodded "thanks". "yeah, normally first matches don''t go so well" Lux said and chuckled "like Ezreal''s". "please stop mentioning that" Ezreal groaned. "so my match won''t be for a while, do you guys have anything to do?" Ahri asked wanting something to do before her match. Lux was the first to speak "oh, did you guys see your Portraits yet?". "portraits?" both Ahri and Grey asked. "yeah" Ezreal nodded "they make portraits of champions and give a few words from them to help the summoners get an idea of who they are" he explained "if you haven''t seen yours, then let''s go check them out". "sure" Ahri replied, they all got up and started making their way out of the dining hall. They took a few turns and stood at the entrance of a long hallway with paintings and plates under them. "alright, we''re at the end and both your names start with an A, so we''ll see ours first" Ezreal said. They started walking through the hallway and stopped by Shyvana''s Portrait, it was about her walking through smoke with her hands on fire and a silhouette of wings on her back. "I am of two worlds, yet I belong to neither" Ahri said reading the plate under the picture "kind of a downer don''t you think?". The crossbreed shrugged her shoulders "it''s still true nonetheless" she replied and they continued. This time they reached Lux''s Portrait, she was smiling and creating a bright light around her. "The light inside is what makes me different, and I''m always careful where I shine it" Ahri read and raised an eyebrow "for some reason I can''t picture you careful". Ezreal chuckled "you have no idea, one time in a match, Lux actually-" he was cut off by a punch from Lux. Said woman was blushing "I swear if you tell anyone about that your first match will go puplic" she threatened which made Ezreal go quiet. Garen shook his head with a smile because of his sister''s reaction, they then reached his Portrait, It was about him swinging his great sword while giving a war cry. "This kingdom, and its people, have given me everything. What kind of man would I be if I gave any less in return?" Grey read "that''s very honorable of you". "thank you" Garen replied and they continued walking until they reached Ezreal''s Portrait. The Explorer was sliding down with a smirk on his face and his gauntlet on "If I don''t know the rules, then how can I be breaking them?" Grey read and tilted his head "that''s... One way to look at things". Ezreal shrugged "hey, it''s still true". They reached Ahri''s Portrait next, she was looking over her shoulder with an orb of fox fire in her hands and her tails spread around her. "Human emotions can be more volatile than even the deepest magic" Ahri read the words under her Portrait. "that actually sounds like something you would say" Grey added. Ahri crossed her arms "you make it sound like I''m a mischievous person" she said and the Abyss Watcher responded by giving her a deadpan look, after a couple of seconds Ahri sighed and raised her hands "okay, I might say something like that". "what do you mean ''might''?" Grey asked. Ahri scowled "well if you''re so sure of yourself, let''s go see yours, oh powerful Abyss Watcher" she said sarcasm dripping from her voice. Grey rolled his eyes and the walked a few steps before reaching his Portrait... And he wasn''t alone. Grey''s Portrait was about him doing the Legion etiquette with a few Abyss Watchers doing the same besides him and a giant wolf behind them. ? "well... This is unusual" Ezreal said seeing that Grey wasn''t alone "but then again they did call you a multiple". "let''s see" Ahri said as she started reading the words under the Portrait "the Undead Legion are sworn to fight together by their shared wolf blood. The Legion, will bury a kingdom at the first sign of corruption". "that actually is something we would say" Grey said, Ahri was annoyed he just accepted it. "what''s with the whole wolf blood thing" Lux asked referring to the writing. "well if you were wondering why they referred to me as a multiple, it''s because we Abyss Watchers are sworn to always fight together by the wolf blood" Grey explained "we''re never alone, even after death the Abyss Watchers look out for each other". "that explains that" Ezreal said "but what about burying a kingdom". "they must be talking about the Abyss, and we would bury a kingdom because of it" The Abyss Watcher replied. "isn''t that a little extreme" Garen said, he heard about some people that would destroy castles but a kingdom is a little overboard "it seems a little cruel to destroy a kingdom because of it". Grey shook his head "you don''t understand, the Abyss isn''t something to be taken lightly. It took a kingdom before and it didn''t end well". "well my match should be soon" Ahri reminded them "so let''s go find a place to sit". The others nodded and they went through the hallways towards the dining hall. They were about to sit In a table when they heard someone call out "hey Garen!". They saw a woman walk up to them, She had long red hair, a scar over her left eye, leather clothing and jacket with a pair of big knives strapped to the back of her belt. Garen smiled at seeing the woman "ah Katarina" from his tone it was obvious he was happy seeing her "how have you been". "pretty good" the woman called Katarina replied and then looked at the others "hey Lux, been a while". "hey Kat" Lux replied, she then had a look of realization "oh did you meet the new champions". "not yet" Katarina shook her head and looked at Grey and Ahri "hey there, I''m Katarina, The Sinister Blade" she said offering a hand shake. The dark haired Vastayan accepted the handshake first "hi, I''m Ahri, The Nine-Tailed Fox". Grey was looking at Katarina for a second ''if Tiara has a missing sister, I think I just found her'' he thought before accepting the hand shake "I''m Grey Ashnex, a pleasure to meet you". Katarina raised an eyebrow "so your the guy Swain has his eyes on". "Swain?" Grey asked not recognizing the name. "the Noxian Grand General, he''s sorta my boss" she replied. "you''re Noxian?" Ahri asked to make sure and Katarina nodded. They sat together at the big marble table with Katarina sitting besides Garen and then Lux snickered "she''s also Garen''s girlfriend". Both Grey and Ahri were taken back by the statement while Garen and Katarina blushed "Lux! Stop saying that to everyone" Garen told his sister. Said blonde just shrugged "what, it''s not like it''s a secret". "it was until you found out" Katarina grumbled. "and then the entire Institute knew about it" Ezreal added "bottom line is that Lux would rather share a secret then keep it" Lux then glared at the Explorer. "wow, I''m actually happy for you" Ahri said and then realized something "but wait, don''t Noxus and Demacia hate each other". Katarina scratched her head "well, you''re kind of both right and wrong" she said and both Grey and Ahri were confused "you see Noxus used to be at war with almost everyone. But now with Institute of War around, it can only take lands through matches". "war was stopped, and the nations were now at peace" Garen continued "some people welcomed the peace but some still hold grudges". "guess the Institute is more important than I thought" Ahri said and then her body started glowing "looks like it''s time for my match". "be careful" Grey told her. Ahri smirked "come on, this is me we''re talking about" she said before vanishing. Grey sighed "that''s what I''m worried about" he said before looking at the orb as it appeared in the middle of the dining hall. Ahri POV: I appeared in my team''s base with the other champions, two of them I knew, they were Vi and Caitlyn. The third champion was a guy in a trench coat, a big hat with a card in it, a beard and had a few poker cards in his hands. The fourth was a Yordle, he had a green hat, a blowing stick, a backpack and a few maps strapped to it. "hey Caitlyn, Vi" I called out and they saw me. "oh hey Ahri" Vi greeted "haven''t seen you since the day at the station". "yeah, that wasn''t a good first encounter" I replied remembering that they were arresting us. "well I''m glad you and Grey made it" Caitlyn said. "well hello beautiful" the guy in a trench coat said "what''s your name". I sighed and replied "it''s Ahri". "a beautiful name for a beautiful woman" he said, seriously that line is a little old "why don''t we meet up for drinks after this?". I can''t believe I used to sit around and wait for people like him "sorry but I''m not interested" I said checking my nails making it obvious I''m bored. The guy raised his hands "alright, I know when a lady isn''t interested" he then smirked "or maybe, already has her eyes on someone else?". "I don''t know what you''re talking about" I replied looking away with a slight blush on my cheeks. The guy chuckled "sure you don''t" he said sarcastically. I then looked at the Yordle who was getting ready with a big smile, it made me a little uneasy, there was something... Psychotic about that smile. Vi leaned towards me "that''s Teemo" she whispered "be glad he''s on your side in your first match, outside of matches he''s pretty nice but inside them he gets a little... Carried away". "noted" I said taking a step away from the Yordle. "g-good afternoon champion" I heard a voice in my head, it was feminine and nervous "I''ll be guiding you through battle, but I just want to tell you that this is my first match just as it is yours". I guess that''s why she sounds so nervous "it''s alright, I''m sure you''ll do great". "thanks" she replied in a low voice. We heard a sound meaning the beginning of the match, Caitlyn and Vi went to the middle, The man to the top, Teemo to the jungle and I went to the bottom road. I saw the minions while walking and we passed by our team''s turret, after a few seconds we met the enemy minions and champion. He was a man with a steampunk themed armor, he had comped black hair and was holding a giant mechanical hammer. I made a magical orb and started attacking the champion first, he saw me and dashed towards me swinging his hammer. He hit me in the side and dealt some damage, he was about to hit me again but I jumped away. I brought my hands to my lips and blew him a charm spell, he was covered by pink aura and gained a stupid look. I waved my finger at him and he walked slowly towards me, when he got close enough, I threw an Orb of Deception at him, it passed threw him and came back to me. He was heavily damaged but still alive, I created three fox fires around me and they all shot at his direction killing him. "great work champion!" the summoner told me and I went to the turret attacking it with the minions. after we destroyed it the minions continued the road while I stood in my place. "aren''t you going to follow them?" the summoner asked me. I shook my head "no, I''ll go back and recharge my Mana". "oh, then hold still for a second" she said and then a circle of light appeared under my feet. The circle got smaller each second and then I found myself back at my team''s base "what was that?" I asked knowing it couldn''t be me who did that. "that''s the recall spell" she told me "it''s something we summoners made to help champions". "pretty handy" I chuckled while my Mana replenished and I walked out of the base. Time skip: (brought to you by chibi Ahri sitting on chibi Grey''s shoulders while wearing his hat, pointing forward and screaming ''onwards''). The match went on with our team being in control, right now me and Vi just destroyed the enemy''s base turret. We got in and saw one of the enemy champions guarding the Nexus. It was a big humanoid crocodile, he had a few golden armor plates and was holding a butcher like blade. ''this is my chance to shine'' I thought and looked at Vi "go for the Nexus, I''ll take care of him". "you sure?" she asked and I nodded. She then made her way to the Nexus and the crocodile tried to attack her but was hit with my charm spell. He started walking towards me and before I attack him, he shook his head snapping out of it. The crocodile raised his blade and swung down at me. I used my spirit rush jumping away and firing a bolt of magical energy at him. I created three fox fires and they shot at him while I began firing spells. He jumped towards me ignoring my attacks and brought down his blade trying to cut me down. I used spirit rush again and thew an orb of deception, it passed through him and came back. The crocodile then jumped at me and I had to use spirit rush again to get away. I was about to attack again but I ran out of Mana. The crocodile walked up to me and I took a step back. He raised his blade, but before he brought it down a glowing card hit him in the chest making a magical explosion. I looked at who threw the card and it was the guy with a trench coat and a hat. The crocodile was really hurt, he stood up and somehow grew in size. He was about to attack us, but then Vi finally destroyed the Nexus "VICTORY, Red team" the announcer said. I relaxed and my body was covered in light, I the appeared in a room with the other champions and a few summoners. One of the summoners walked up to me "good job champion" she said and I realized she was the one who summoned me. I can see her face under her hood, she was barley as old as Lux, had shoulder length blonde hair and green eyes. "thanks" I replied "give yourself some credit too, it was your first match like mine" I said. She blushed slightly and started rubbing her elbow "t-thank you champion". "what''s your name?" I asked. She was a little taken back but still answered "my name is Aki". "well Aki, my name is Ahri" I said "champion sounds too formal. I was about to go see a few friends, want to join me?". She seemed really surprised about my offer "a-are you sure?" I nodded in response and she smiled "alright, thanks champ- Ahri" she corrected herself "sorry, I''m shy around new people". "it''s okay" I waved it off and we both got out of the room walking towards the dining hall. While walking, I started thinking about the match and how I used my charm magic. A smirk appeared on my lips ''hmm, I wonder what Grey would do to me if I used it on him while we''re in bed'' I realized what I was thinking and shook my head with a blush ''no! no! no!no! no! What am I thinking!? If I do that to him he''ll never even look at me again''. Ali must have noticed my blush "are you alright?". "y-yeah, I''m fine" I told her and we continued walking. Grey POV: during the match. The match began and I saw Ahri in the red team, apparently Vi and Caitlyn were with her. A guy with a trench coat tried to hit on Ahri but she turned him down which surprisingly made me a little happy. The match started and Ahri went to the bottom lane, she encountered the enemy champion which was a man with a big hammer. She engaged him in battle, I was worried when she was hit but she jumped away and then... Blew him a kiss? "uhmm, did she blow him a kiss?" Lux asked "and did he fall for it?" she added seeing the man drop his guard before Ahri finished him off. "I don''t know what''s more disappointing?" I said shaking my head "what she did? Or the fact it doesn''t surprise me?". "try both" Katarina said, she really reminds me of Tiara. The match continued with Ahri''s team having the advantage, Ahri and Vi just destroyed the base turret and entered. A champion showed up, he was a humanoid crocodile with a butcher blade, Ahri took him on. She started attacking and dodging the crocodile''s blade, she apparently ran out of energy and I got worried when the crocodile got close to her. But then the man with a trench coat attacked him with a magical card and the match was over. I sighed in relief "that was close". Third POV: Ahri accompanied by Aki entered the dining hall, the Dark haired Vastayan saw her friends and walked up to them with the summoner following her. "way to go Ahri" Lux complemented. "thank you" she replied and then remembered the person with her "oh right, this is Aki, my summoner". "I-It''s nice to meet you" Aki said shyly waving her hand. "it''s nice to meet you too" Grey Sai before turning to Ahri "Ahri you got a little risky at the end, didn''t you?". Ahri''s ears dropped in disappointment expecting to be praised but instead judged "that''s what you have to say about my first match?". Grey sighed realizing that what he said wasn''t what she wanted to hear "no, I guess not" he then smiled to her "you did great, you truly amazed me". Ahri perked up and a couple of her tails started wagging "thanks". "well now that the match is over, want to go to that tomb I talked about?" Ezreal asked looking at Grey who nodded. "when will you be back?" Ahri asked. "we should be back by tomorrow" the Explorer said. "are you going to be okay on your own?" the Abyss Watcher asked. Ahri smirked "please, I''m pretty sure I can take care of myself until you get back" she then smiled mischievously "are you going to be okay without me around?" she teased. Grey sighed and nodded "alright, let''s go Ezreal" he said and the explorer nodded before both of them walked away. "well as much as I would like to stay I''m going to go check on a few things back in Demacia" Garen said getting up and leaving. Shyvana stood up next "I''ll be leaving too, I need to see if Jarvan could use any help in his work". With that she left, now it was Ahri, Aki, Lux and Katarina "okay, it''s just us ladies, so let''s have a girls night" Lux said while Ahri and Aki sat besides them. Ahri was currently celebrating in her head ''yes! He was impressed. Now I just have to spend the rest of today... Without Grey... This is going to be hard''. (A/N: thank you for reading this, I hope you enjoyed it, please comment in anyway you like and tell me how you like the story so far). 16 CH16: The Outrider Tomb Third POV: Grey and Ezreal just entered the garden when the Explorer spoke "so why did you want to see the garden?" he asked since the Abyss Watcher wanted to see the garden before they left. "I need to speak to Zyra" Grey replied and looked at the garden "Zyra! Are you here?" he yelled which made Ezreal jump slightly from the fact that he just yelled like that. A few seconds later and the Rise of Thorns appeared "hello Grey" she then noticed who was with him "you brought the Explorer this time" she said remembering that last time he was with Annie. "yes, sorry if we''re disturbing you" the Abyss Watcher apologized. The red haired carnivore waved it off "it''s fine, but is there something you need?". Grey nodded "yes, remember those flowers I gave you?" he asked and Zyra smiled pointing somewhere. The Abyss Watcher saw that Zyra did not only take care of the flowers, but also managed to grow more. He originally gave her enough to fill the palm of his hand and now there''s enough to fill a small table. "I see you managed to grow more" Grey said and Zyra nodded "now, i was wondering if you could let me take a few?". Zyra raised an eyebrow "you want to take them?" she said starting to doubt if Grey was different from other people. The Abyss Watcher shook his head "no, all I need is their petals, I won''t actually harm them". Zyra thought about it, as long as Grey only takes the petals, the flowers will not be harmed, she then nodded "alright, but be careful". Grey nodded "thank you" he then walked to the flowers and knelt down picking the petals. Zyra and Ezreal walked up besides the Abyss Watcher "so why do you want these?" the Explorer asked. "they have an ability to cure poison" Grey replied "I want to have them just in case". "how do they work?" Ezreal asked looking at the purple flowers. Grey shrugged "I never figured it out, Zyra is the expert here". "I honestly don''t know" Zyra said "they somehow naturally generate magical energy that cures poison". "seriously!?" Ezreal said excited about the fact of never hearing of such a plant. He looked at Grey "you got to let me study them". "you''ll have to ask Zyra. Their hers now, not mine" the Abyss Watcher replied. Ezreal looked at the Carnivore woman "can I?". "did I ever let you study any of my children?" she asked reminding him of the many times he tried to do that. The Explorer sighed in disappointment "no". "then you already know my answer" Zyra said. Grey stood up after collecting the petals "alright, this should be enough, thank you Zyra" he said and Zyra nodded in response. The Abyss Watcher turned to Ezreal "so shall we leave?". The Explorer nodded and they both left the garden walking through the hallways. Grey had a question bothering him so he voiced his thoughts "so how are we getting to Shurima?" he asked thinking it might take days to travel there. "the summoners have something called a transport station" Ezreal replied "it''s to help the champions go back and forth between their home and here". "makes sense" Grey thought on how useful the transport station would have been when he and Ahri were coming to the Institute of War. They reached a door near the exit of the Institute, once they''re inside, they see a summoner sitting in a table with a map of Runeterra behind him and a circle made of runes besides them. The summoner saw them "ah, hello champions" he said "are you leaving the Institute?". Ezreal nodded "yes, we''d like to go to this place in Shurima" he said pointing at a place on the map. "alright" the summoner nodded and motioned to the rune circle "just stand in the circle". Grey and Ezreal nodded and stood in the middle of the circle. The summoner waved his hands casting a spell. The runes glowed and then the two champions vanished. They found themselves in the middle of a desert. Grey saw a big Boulder near them and he can see a city with a big golden disc in the distance. The Abyss Watcher turned to the Explorer who was inspecting the Boulder "so what now?". "according to the map I got from Nasus" Ezreal said pulling out a scroll and opening it "the entrance should be... Right here" he then pushed a certain spot on the Boulder. The Boulder shook and then split in half revealing a stairway leading to the underground. Grey chuckled "this brings me back, we had something similar to this in Farron keep". "well, what are we waiting for" Ezreal said pulling a torch and igniting it "let''s go". Grey nodded and they started going down the stairs, the Abyss Watcher started thinking about his friend ''I wonder how''s Ahri doing?''. Ahri POV: With the boys gone, it was just me, Aki, Lux and Katarina "so Ahri, how''s life in the Institute?" the red haired woman asked me. "it''s pretty good" I shrugged "nothing bad happened so far, and the room is pretty good". "speaking of your room, how about we go and see it?" Lux said. I didn''t see anything wrong with that, so I nodded "yeah, why not?". We got up from the table and walked out of the dining hall towards the rooms, we passed other rooms before stopping at mine and Grey''s room. "wait, you and Grey live together?" Katarina said seeing both our nameplates on the door. I nodded and opened the door "yeah, it''s a little payback" I said before going in and sitting on the couch. Lux and Aki started looking around the room while Katarina sat with me on the couch "a little plane, don''t you think?" she said. "we just joined a few days ago" I told her "we didn''t have time for decorating". "it looks pretty nice actually" Lux said and then looked at our bedroom "but there''s only one bedroom". "yeah, me and Grey sleep in the same bed" I said which mad them a little taken back. "isn''t that a bad thing since you''re not the same gender?" Aki said and then blushed slightly "u-unless you two are together". Oh I wish it was like that, I just sighed In slight disappointment "no, we''re not together, and don''t worry, Grey wouldn''t do anything like that" I then chuckled remembering how he is when it comes to being around girls "actually, he''s the shy type around beautiful women" if anything, Aki should be worried if I''ll do anything to him. "so what are your plans for today?" Lux asked. I shrugged in response "I don''t know, I usually hang out with Grey". "and what do you do then?" she asked again. "go somewhere or tease him" I replied, of course, it was mostly teasing. "and what-" "hold on Lux" Katarina cut off the blonde while looking at me with a mixture of curiosity and suspicion "Ahri, have you ever... Spent time without Grey". I thought about the question, other than my little problem with taking life essence, I didn''t spend that much time without him. My tails got closer while I started playing with my fingers "well... The first night in the Institute we didn''t stay in the same room". "I''ll take that as a no" Katarina said with a deadpan look. "wait, you''ve always been together?" Lux asked. "it''s not like we were born together, he''s been around ever since I turned human, or Vastayan" I said in defense. "so you''re just not used to being human without him around" Katarina said, I guess she was right. "I have an idea of what to do" Aki said and we looked at her, she looked nervous from the attention but still continued "Ahri, you''re Ionian, right?" she asked and I nodded "well I know something that a lot of people, specially from Ionia, love" I got really interested "have you ever been to a hot spring?". Grey POV: Me and Ezreal were walking through an underground tunnel for a few minutes now. "so what do you hope to find in this place?" I asked wanting to know what we''re looking for. "there''s a crown of a noble from the old Shurima in here, I wanted to find it" Ezreal told me. "seems easy enough" I replied. Ezreal nodded "yeah, now we just have to-" I cut him off by grabbing his shoulder and pulling him back "ow, what''s the big idea?" he asked and I just pointed at where he was going to step a second ago. Over there was a plate from the ground raised above the rest by a small amount "I saw a trap like that before" I told and then pointed at a hole in the wall "it ended with me being shot by flaming arrows". "wow, thanks" he said and we walked around it "sorry I wasn''t more careful". "don''t worry about it" I waved it off. We walked to a gateway that revealed a stairway that was pretty long, the sides were embty, just darkness. At the end of the stairway was another gateway, but it was bigger then the one we were at. "this feels... Familiar" I said a little uneasy as we started walking down the stairs and I still felt troubled "I have a bad feeling about this". Ezreal rolled his eyes "please, what could possibly happe-" he was cut off by a loud thud. We turned around and saw a giant ball of rock had dropped in the beginning of the stairs and started rolling down towards us. "it''s the Catacombs of Carthus all over again. Run!" I said turning around and running down the stairs with Ezreal following me. "got a plan?" he asked, the stairway is long and the gateway was big enough for the ball to keep following us. But then I remembered how I dealt with this problem back in my world "yes, we don''t have to out run it, we just have to avoid it". "got it" Ezreal replied, we reached the gate way and immediately jumped to the sides while the ball passed by us. The ball crashed into a wall at the end of the hall and we came out of hiding "phew, that was close" Ezreal then noticed something "hey, look at that". He was pointing at the right wall and there was a gate "guess that''s where we should go" I said as we opened the gate and walked inside. I then stopped feeling a familiar presence ''is that?... No it can''t be''. "are you coming?" Ezreal yelled and I shook my head to clear it before following him. Surely I''m mistaken... I hope. Ahri POV: How I''ve never been to a hot spring before is beyond me "this is amazing" I moaned lower my body until the water reached my chin. "I knew you would like it" Aki said relaxing besides me. "it''s pretty good to relax once in a while" Katarina said sitting across me. "if I could live here then I would" Lux said taking the same position as me. "well we can''t stay here long, it''s bad for your health" Aki told her and the blonde sighed in disappointment. "hey Aki, I got a question" Katarina said and Aki shyly nodded "well, you look Demacian, but your name is Ionian, what''s with that?". I just realized she was right, Aki is an Ionian name but she looks Demacian like Lux. Aki looked a little hesitant "it''s because my parents" she said and explained further "my father is Demacian but my mother is Ionian, they met during one of the times Ionia and Demacia traded materials, and they fell in love after that". "that sounds sweet" I said before standing, turning around and grabbing some soap, I sat back down, pulled out one of my tails from the water and started cleaning it. I then looked at the red head of the group "hey Kat, how did you and Garen get together?". She blushed slightly and looked away "it''s... An embarrassing story". Lux decided to join in "one full of drama, romance, comedy, action and-". "no, no it isn''t" Katarina deadpanned cutting Lux off "you know what? I''ll just tell you, it''s better than Lux telling you her version" the blonde just glared at her "it was after an official match, Noxus lost to Demacia and I was pretty pissed off. I went to the local bar and took a few drinks, that''s when Garen came in, he started talking about how Demacia is better than Noxus so I started bad mouthing Demacia. It ended in a big argument with a lot of drinks" she then blushed a shade that matched her hair "next thing we knew, we woke up next morning in the same bed... Naked". I almost dropped my soap as Both me and Aki blushed realizing what she meant "oh... Well, that escalated quickly" I said. "yeah, it was super awkward, the fact we remembered most what happened didn''t help" Katarina chuckled "we had two choices. One, kill each other for what we did. Two, talk it over. We took the second one, we spent the whole day talking and found a lot of stuff in common. Two days later we had our first date" she finished with a fond smile and then looked at me while I finished cleaning my fifth tail and started with another one "well, your turn". I raised an eyebrow "my turn in what?". "come on, tell us how you met Grey" Katarina explained. Lux and Aki also looked interested. I guess it wouldn''t hurt "well, like I said it happened right after I turned human, or Vastayan is a better term. I was going to figure out what to do next when this big hole in the sky showed up and he fell from it. He didn''t know what Ionia or Runeterra were, he then told me about places that apparently I was supposed to know but didn''t, we met Shen, Akali and Kennen after that, they''re who told us about the Institute of War. We then started traveling to it together. I admit we had our... Issues" I remembered my problem with taking life essence and Grey blaming himself for the Abyss Watchers, but then smiled remembering how we found comfort in each other''s arms "but we got through them. after a few days of traveling, we finally made it and you know the rest" I finished. The others looked satisfied at my answer "well he definitely knows how to get a reputation" Aki said which made us look at her. "what do you mean?" I asked. "well, Grey has been a hot topic between the summoners. They''ve been asking a lot of stuff about him, how did he get here? What''s his world like? What''s his powers? a-and a few girls who saw his face and talk about how cute he is" she said in a slight blush. I felt my territorial instinct kick in about the last part "but there''s been a few rumors that are rather... Concerning" we then looked at her in confusion "it''s about Grey being Undead". "what''s wrong with that?" Katarina asked "there''s champions like that". "not exactly" Aki shook her head "you see, those champions are brought back with necromancy magic, if it wears off they''ll be dead again, but Grey is... Different, it''s like he''s forced to stay alive, the summoners feel something is bounding him to the mortal realm, like a... Curse". "a curse?" Grey is cursed? That''s the first I''ve heard of this. "I don''t know, there have been requests that we take it into studying" Aki told us "but those have been denied, by the Grand Summoner himself". "wait, why would that old man care?" Katarina said. Aki shrugged "I wouldn''t know, I''m new to the Institute after all, but I did hear rumors that he''s been acting weird since Grey and Ahri showed up". Katarina looked at me "hey Ahri, what do you know about Grey being Undead". I thought about it and didn''t come up with a lot "not much, only that it keeps him from aging and you need to be one to become an Abyss Watcher" wow, if that''s all I know then I really need to connect with Grey more, speaking of Grey "hey, do you think their fine? Grey and Ezreal I mean". "yeah I''m sure they are" Lux said with a nod "Ezreal goes on all kinds of adventures but always comes back, not unharmed but still alive". "I think it''s about time we got out" Aki said standing up and covering herself with a towel. I finished cleaning my last tail and got up doing the same. "oh let''s go to the arcade" Lux suggested as we all got up and left. Grey POV: Me and Ezreal finally reached the end of the damn hallway, it had a few traps in it, a few dangling axes and shooting arrows. I pulled out an arrow from my shoulder armor "and Ahri keeps telling me to wear something other than my armor" honestly this armor isn''t the most protective but it''s still the best in my opinion. We entered a big throne room that was held by pillars and lit by torches, at the end of the room was throne and on it was the crown. "well, looks like we found it" I said as me and Ezreal walked across the room and reached the throne. Ezreal was about to grab it but stopped when we heard a strange noise, we turned around and saw black fog that seems familiar to me in an unsettling way. The fog then vanished and a someone was in it''s place. It was a tall slim man that was wearing a white knight armor. The helmet had a cage visor and you can see glowing blue eyes behind it. It was on all four and in it''s right hand was a long sword. The armor and the sword were also giving off frost. Ezreal activated his gauntlet "uhmm... What is that?". "an Outrider knight!?" I said recognizing the armor "what''s it doing here?". "you know that thing?" Ezreal asked preparing for a fight while I pulled out my sword and knife. "yes it''s- look out!" I didn''t have time to explain as I grabbed Ezreal and jumped away from the knight that jumped and brought it''s sword trying to cut us in half. The sword sliced into the throne, the sword was stuck there and the Outrider knight started trying to pull it out. Me and Ezreal got up and prepared for battle "alright Grey, you know that thing so how do we fight it?". I stood up and thought about it, I didn''t fight many of these but thankfully I was able to get a few pointers "when fighting an Outrider Knight, agility is the key, I''ll fight him in close combat while you back me up from afar". Ezreal nodded while the Outrider Knight finally pulled out it''s sword and turned towards us. Ezreal jumped back slightly and I engaged the Outrider Knight in battle, it swung it''s sword towards me while I rolled under the strike. It made another swing and like the first I rolled under it. I then anchored my knife in the ground and used it to spin around swinging my sword. It was a clean hit and the Outrider Knight lost it''s balance for a moment. Ezreal then started shooting it with magical arrows while I pulled my knife from the ground and jumped swinging down my sword. The Outrider Knight then regained it''s balance and swung at me, I wasn''t fast enough to dodge the strike so it landed a hit on my unprotected right shoulder. Thankfully, it wasn''t enough to cause Frostbite so I jumped back dodging the other swing. Ezreal then appeared in a flash of light and fired a big magical shot at the Outrider Knight. The Outrider Rider was about to attack Ezreal, but I jumped in front of my friend and parried the sword with my knife. The Outrider Knight was left wide open and I skipped in front of it and stabbed it with my sword, I pulled it out and then struck the Outrider Knight with a bigger swing. The Outrider Knight fell on it''s back and tried to move but fell limp, it''s body glowed and vanished but it''s sword remained here. I pulled out my Estus Flask and took a drink to heal my wounds, Ezreal relaxed and walked up besides me "so what exactly was that?". "an Outrider Knight" I answered walking to the sword. I knelt down and picked it up "a creature from my world". "so what was it doing here?" Ezreal asked standing besides me. "I don''t know" I shook my head standing up "those things don''t usually leave their post". Ezreal sighted "well, it''s over now" he then turned to the throne "let''s get the- oh come on!" he cut himself off and started complaining. I looked and saw that the crown was cut in half "that must have happened when it first attacked us" I said remembering that the throne with the crown on it was behind us at the beginning of the fight "sorry Ezreal". "nah, it''s not your fault" he waved it off and walked up to throne before picking up the crown "at least we got it". I nodded and turned to the entrance "now let''s get out of here before anymore traps pop up". Ahri POV: "and... Victory" I yelled as I won against Lux. "no!" she complained as her screen showed the word ''loser''. I found a lot of fun being here in the arcade, I''m a natural apparently. I barely lost a few times while Lux barley won at all. "you''re not really good at this are you?" Katarina said standing besides Lux while smirking. "great job Ahri, you''re really good at this" Aki complemented me, she got to play a few times and she wasn''t bad at all. The other blonde groaned "whatever" she then looked at the exit "how about we got some dinner, I''m starving". We all agreed on that and got out of the arcade, went through the halls of the Institute and entered the Dining hall, We picked up our food and sat down on a table together. It was pretty late so we just made small talk while eating, when we finished Katarina stood up "well, I got to go. I''m supposed to meet Garen after he finishes his business in Demacia". "and I''m supposed to make sure he did his business and not ditch them to go with Katarina" Lux said standing up as well while the red head rolled her eyes. They left and it was just me and Aki now, after a couple of minutes I decided it''s time to go to bed "well, I guess this is goodnight". "yeah, I guess" Aki said as we both got up "hey Ahri, thanks for letting me hang out with you today". "no problem, we are friends right?" I replied. She looked a little surprised "we are?" she asked and I nodded "thanks, I''m not really good at making friends, being shy and all that". "don''t worry about it. in fact, if you want to hang out again just find me" I said and she nodded before we went our separate ways. I went to mine and Grey''s room, got in and entered the bedroom before jumping on the bed. Without Grey around I noticed how big and empty the bed looked. Maybe I can buy a few pillows or stuffed animals. I put that thought in the back of my head for now before lying down on the bed and closing my eyes. Third POV: Grey and Ezreal exited the Tomb a while ago, they traveled slightly towards the big city Grey saw earlier. They stopped halfway to the city and Ezreal said that it was better to continue in the morning. They made a fire and sat around it. Ezreal was sitting crossing his legs while Grey had one foot on the ground with the other bent so he can rest his arm on his knee. They decided to spend a few minutes talking to each other... Well, Grey was talking while Ezreal was laughing. "you''ve got to be joking" the Explorer said between laughs. "I''m serious" Grey told him "he told me people were in danger, when I looked over the cliff, he kicked me in" Ezreal started laughing again "then he started screaming some nonsense about being unbound by worldly wants. Point of the story is never trust a bald man with an accent". Ezreal continued laughing and after a few minutes, he got his breath back in control and sighed "well, we came all this way for nothing" he pulled out the two halfs of the crown "this thing is now half it''s worth" he and the Abyss Watcher chuckled slightly at the pun "sorry if it was a waste of time". "it''s OK" the Abyss Watcher waved it off "I actually had some fun, the deadly traps sort of made it seem like home. And besides, we didn''t get the crown, but we did get this" he pulled out the sword that the Outrider Knight left and threw it at Ezreal who caught it "that''s an Irithyll long sword, only Outrider Knights has these". Ezreal inspected the weapon "it''s amazing, it''s somehow generating some kind of ice magic without any source of power". "weapons from the Boreal Valley are known to do that" Grey told him "Irithyll is a land blessed by the moon and is covered in it''s frost". "so it''s some kind of magical moon weapon" Ezreal summed up. Grey thought about it, Ezreal wasn''t right but he wasn''t wrong either so he nodded "wow, how would Diana feel when she hears about this". Ezreal looked at the sword again and then looked at the Abyss Watcher but his eyes widen because Grey... Wasn''t there. In Grey''s place, sitting in the same position was a knight in a very old and very burned armor. The helmet had a slit for the eyes and it''s back had a crown like shape. The chest area had a few rags connected to it with their tips being on fire. The knight looked at Ezreal and spoke in a very ancient and threatening voice "Ezreal? Are you alright?" the Explorer blinked and found the Abyss Watcher with the knight gone "you spaced out for a second there" he said in his usual voice. Ezreal shook his head "yeah, just tired I guess" he then yawned "well, let''s go to sleep. The earlier we wake up the earlier we get back to the Institute". Grey nodded and they both lied down going to sleep, but Ezreal couldn''t help but wonder about what he saw. (A/N: thank you for reading this, I hope you enjoyed it, please comment in anyway you like and tell me how you like the story so far). 17 CH17: The Curse Third POV: Ahri woke up next morning with her tails coiled around her, she untangled them and stretched with a yawn "that was a good sleep, hey Grey how- oh" Ahri stopped when she looked besides her and realized the Abyss Watcher wasn''t there "right, well he''s going to be back today so let''s get up". She got up and went through her morning routine, showering and wearing clothes. She then left the room and went to the dining hall to get breakfast, she picked her food and found a table to sit in alone. Aki just got her food when she saw Ahri sitting alone, she hesitated to join ''should I? She did say we''re friends'' gathering her courage, the summoner took a deep breath and walked to the dark haired Vastayan "h-hey Ahri, can I join you". Ahri smiled seeing some company and nodded "sure, be my guest". Aki smiled and sat down besides Ahri, it wasn''t long after that, and Lux joined them "hey girls" she greeted sitting besides them. "hey Lux" Ahri greeted back while Aki just waved her hand "where''s Kat and Garen?". "when they spend a night together, they don''t get up early" Lux said with a deadpan expression but her attitude changed quickly "so anyway, what do you guys have planned for today?". "well, I''ll be waiting for Grey since he''s coming back" Ahri replied. "I actually have something I need to ask him, so I''ll wait with Ahri" Aki added which made Ahri a little curious but she shrugged it off. "hey Ahri" the Dark haired Vastayan looked and saw Akali, Shen and Kennen walking to them and sitting with them. "hi Akali, how are you guys?" Ahri asked. The female assassin shrugged "not bad, so where''s Grey?" She asked noticing the absence of the Abyss Watcher. "he''s out with Ezreal in Shurima, they should be back soon" Ahri replied and then raised an eyebrow "do you need something from him?". Akali glared at Shen "I just need him to settle an argument" she answered while the Master just ignored her glare. Ahri sensed the intense air between the two and leaned towards Kennen "what''s up with them?" she whispered. The Yordle sighed "they had another argument about the criminals of Ionia" he whispered back and Ahri remembered that they mentioned the subject before "this one was the worst yet, if this keeps up Akali might leave the order". Ahri knew if that happened then problems would appear. She didn''t know how to help so she just stayed quiet and continued her breakfast. But then a big figure walked up to them "excuse me, Luxanna?" Ahri looked at who spoke and was surprised to see a humanoid, black dog standing near them. It had a golden head piece and a staff with a blade on his back. "oh hey Nasus" Lux greeted unaffected by seeing the dog humanoid "did you need something?". The one known as Nasus shook his head "no, I just wanted to see if Ezreal has returned yet?". "do you need him for something?" the blonde asked. Nasus shook his head again "no, but I have forgotten to tell him about something" he replied "I know who the Tomb belongs to, it was a noble that was very paranoid about his positions. His Tomb should be filled with traps and I was worried since I didn''t tell Ezreal". Lux shrugged "well you know Ezreal. If you told him the Tomb had traps, he would''ve wanted to go even more" she chuckled "anyway, Ezreal and Grey should be back soon if you want to wait". Nasus raised an eyebrow hearing a name he didn''t recognize "Grey?". "he''s the new champion, the guy with the pointy hat" Lux told him. Ahri chuckled thinking how Grey''s hat was already used as something to identify him. "ah the man from another world" Nasus said realizing who Lux was speaking of, while Ahri had to cover her mouth from laughing at the fact that it worked "that''s actually quite pleasing if he is with Ezreal, I would like to speak with him" he then walked to a table near them and sat backwards facing them "can you tell me about that person?". "you''ll have to ask Ahri" Lux replied pointing at said woman "she knew him the longest". Nasus finally noticed Ahri''s presence "ah, apologies, I did not introduce myself" he stood up and made a small bow "I am Nasus, the curator of the sands". "it''s okay" Ahri waved it off. At first she thought he was ignoring her, but apparently he really didn''t notice her "I''m Ahri, the Nine-Tailed Fox". "a pleasure" Nasus nodded and sat back down in the same position as before "now, do you mind telling me about your friend?". Ahri nodded seeing nothing wrong in that "well, his name is Grey, but his champion name is Abyss Watchers, Farron''s Undead legion". "so I assume he''s undead?" Nasus said referring to the champion title and Ahri nodded "what about the name Abyss Watcher?". "well in his world there''s something called the Abyss" Ahri said recalling when Grey talked about it "it''s like the Void but worse, and the Abyss Watchers make sure to watch for it and fight it". Nasus hummed in thought, he was no stranger to the subject of the Void "why does he think it''s worse than the Void?". Ahri remembered what Grey said "because the Abyss doesn''t only destroy, but whoever is corrupted by it turns into a monster, no matter who they are" in her opinion, she agreed that it was worse. Nasus also had the same thoughts, the Void only consumes or bring people into it''s side with promises. But he had to agree that if this Abyss turns people into monsters simply by corrupting them, then it was worse "anything else?". Ahri put a finger on her chin and shook her head "I can''t think of anything". "what about that Lord of Cinder thing?" Kennen said remembering their last talk. "oh right" Ahri recalled the subject "there''s also that". "Lord of Cinder?" Nasus repeated interested in the title. Ahri thought back on how Grey explained it "in Grey''s world, a Lord of Cinder is someone who''s chosen to keep the light in their world". "you can say that a Lord of Cinder gets to control the fate of their world" Akali added helping Ahri explain. "and he''s one?" the ascendant warrior was surprised such a position existed. "uhmm, question" Lux said raising her hand "why didn''t you mention that before?". "I forgot about it" Ahri replied with a shrug. "how can you forget having the fate of an entire world in the hands of your friend?" Kennen asked in a deadpan manner. "because nothing changed" Ahri replied, Grey didn''t act differently after he became a Lord of Cinder, maybe a little more confident but nothing more "we never even brought it up since we talked about it for the first time". "really?" Nasus was now really interested to meet this person. Normally someone with a position like that would treat themselves like a king, or even a God, but not the Abyss Watcher apparently. Ahri was also thinking of Grey, but for a different reason ''what''s taking him so long?''. Grey POV: We woke up earlier this morning and started traveling towards the city with the giant disc, the Sun Disc Ezreal called it. We finally made it and entered the streets of the city. Inside was modern houses of the desert with people selling food and trinkets either in stands or a mat on the ground. I noticed that no matter what people are doing, buying, selling or just walking, they were all smiling. "people seem happy here" I said walking behind Ezreal while he guided us through the streets "I can tell they really love their home". Ezreal nodded "they do, and Azir makes sure to keep them happy and safe". I had my suspicions about Azir being a ruler but now I''m sure. I had another question bothering me "so why are we here?". "there''s a transport station here in the city" Ezreal told me "I''ve been here many times. So we either use it to get to the Institute, or walk 6000 miles to the west". "the Transport station it is" I said and Ezreal chuckled and we walked to building that was different from the rest. It had a design similar to the Institute of War but smaller, we got in and I saw it was almost exactly like the one back in the Institute. There was a summoner there that got up "Ah, Ezreal, good to see you again" he greeted "coming back from another adventure?". They apparently knew each other but then again Ezreal did say he was here many times. "yeah" Ezreal nodded and motioned towards me "but I''m not alone". "so you finally travel with someone" the summoner said and looked at me "the new champion eh? I thought it would have been Lux" he chuckled. Ezreal blushed "why would I travel with Lux?" he shook his head "just send us back" he grumbled looking away. I shook my head smiling while the summoner laughed slightly "alright, just stand in the circle" we did as the summoner told us and he started chanting a spell. A couple seconds later we found ourselves back in the Institute''s transport station. "welcome back champions" the summoner there greeted us. We gave him a nod and exited the room "so what do you want to do?" Ezreal asked me. "let''s go get some food, I''m starving" I said and he nodded. We then started going to the dining hall. Hopefully we''ll find the others. Third POV: Grey and Ezreal entered the dining hall, they got their food and started looking for a place to sit. Then Grey saw familiar tails moving around "hey Ahri!" he addressed their owner. The dark haired Vastayan''s ears twitch at the direction of the voice. She looks and smiles seeing her friend. Ahri got up, walked to Grey and jumped giving him a hug making him almost drop the food he had in his hand "Grey! You''re back!" she let go of him and he got his balance back "so how did it go?". "it was good. We ran into some trouble but nothing we couldn''t handle" the Abyss Watcher replied. "yeah. And boy, do we have a story for you guys" Ezreal added. Grey was then surprised to see a humanoid dog in armor walk up to Ezreal "hello Ezreal, good to see you are alright. Did you get the crown?". Ezreal held his tray in one hand while the other was scratching his neck "yeah, about that" he used his free hand to grab one half of the crown and show it to Nasus "it kinda split in half" he nervously chuckled. The ascendant warrior raised an eyebrow "this isn''t like you to return with damaged objects". "let''s sit down and I''ll tell you what happened" the Explorer replied and then remembered his companion "oh right, have you met Grey?". Nasus shook his head and looked at the Abyss Watcher "Grey, I presume?" he asked and Grey nodded "it''s a pleasure to meet you. I am Nasus, the Curator of the Sands". "it''s a pleasure to meet you too. I''m Grey Ashnex" he said before they sat down With Ahri sitting besides him "Shen, Akali, Kennen, it''s good to see you three again. Oh and you too Aki". "it''s good to see you as well" Shen said as the other two assassins nodded while the summoner waved her hand shyly. "so how did it go you guys?" Lux asked. Ezreal began telling them what happened, how they found the Tomb and walking through it, but Lux cut him off about the part with the giant ball. "seriously? Again?" the blonde gave a tired sigh "how many times were you chased by a giant ball Ezreal?". "hey that doesn''t happen!" the Explorer said in defense but then his voice lost it''s confidence "often". "sure" Lux obviously wasn''t convinced "so what happened next?". "after a few more traps, we got to a throne room that had the crown" Ezreal continued "but before we got to it, a creature from Grey''s world attacked us". "wait, what?!?" Lux was now on alert. "a creature from Grey''s world?" Akali asked to make sure. "yes, it was called an Outrider Knight" Grey told them. "it was so weird. It was like a person made of ice was wearing that armor" Ezreal added and then smiled "and, we might have not gotten the crown, but we did get this". Ezreal pulled out the Irithyll long sword that was still giving off frost. Nasus got a closer look at the weapon "interesting, it gives off both moon and ice magic". "you can actually feel that?" Grey was quite amazed by such an ability "I''m impressed". Nasus just smiled and sat back down, that''s when Aki decided to finally speak "hey Grey, can I ask you something?" the Abyss Watcher nodded "well, how do I put this?" the summoner then took a deep breath "how are you undead?" Grey obviously tensed and looked down for a second "y-you don''t need to-". "no, it''s alright. I was going to tell you sooner or later" the Abyss Watcher cut her off and gave a heavy sigh "it''s... A curse, called the Darksign. The Curse brings back humans as undead and doesn''t allow them to die". "how''s that different from being immortal?" Kennen asked. "it is different" Nasus told them. He didn''t blame them for not knowing the difference between not being able to die and immortality. The ascendant warrior gave Grey a look of sympathy "I truly am sorry to hear about your curse". "it''s fine" Grey shook it off and decided to explain it to the others "you know how in a match a champion dies and comes back in their base but they don''t feel pain?" the champions and summoner nodded "well, the Darksign is like that. Only... You feel it, the pain. You feel how painful dying is and remember every second of it" every champion, even Shen winced. Dying without feeling anything was very weird to them, they couldn''t imagine dying and feeling the pain "you keep dying again, again and again. Until... You go mad. You eventually lose your mind and go hollow. Those who are hollow are just embty shells of what they used to be, walking around waiting for something to come and finally end their suffering". "oh God" Ahri covered her mouth with one hand. "dude... Sorry" Ezreal apologized. The Abyss Watcher shook his head "don''t be. In fact, I think I''m freed from that curse" everyone looked at him in confusion "didn''t you hear me, the Darksign needs a Bonfire to work. They don''t exist in Runeterra so the only thing the curse can do to me is stop me from aging". Nasus chuckled "so coming to Runeterra was like cheating your way out of the curse" the others relaxed and became more cheerful after that. "you can say that. Now let''s eat" Grey was about to dig in when Akali spoke. "Grey, how can you eat with your mouth blocked?" the Assassin asked. Grey tilted his head "what?". Ahri gave a tired sigh "you''re covering your face again Grey". Time skip: (brought to you by chibi Ahri wearing Grey''s hat and holding his knife while pretending to be him). It was now night time. Grey and Ahri just returned to their room to rest for the night. "it''s good to be back" Grey said already feeling at home at their room. "it is" Ahri agreed as she sat on the couch as Grey started taking off his armor. She then remembered something important "oh! Right. Grey, I wanted to tell you... Thanks". Grey looked at her in slight confusion "for what?" he doesn''t remember doing anything worth gratitude. "remember my little problem with life essence?" she asked and he nodded "well you were right. I did find a way to help. During a match, I can take as much life essence as I want and no one gets hurt. So again, thanks". "no problem. I barely did anything" he replied. Grey then raised an eyebrow "I''ve been meaning to ask you, what is life essence that you take exactly. It''s not a soul am I right?". The dark haired Vastayan shook her head "no. What would I even do with a soul?" she said. ''if you only knew'' Grey thought on how many things someone could use a soul to get. "it''s more like... The memories and energy of a soul" she explained. "so we''re sort of alike" Grey said and Ahri tilted her head in confusion "you see, when I kill, I get something called sovereignless souls. They''re like broken souls". "so... You take souls?" Ahri was a little taken back. "I can, but don''t" Grey finished taking off his armor and looked at his roommate "like I said I only take sovereignless souls, their broken souls or a soul''s leftovers. I don''t take actual souls since to us undead it''s like taking the humanity of another person". Ahri smiled. At first she was a little worried but apparently Grey isn''t doing anything bad. Grey stretched now only in his long neck shirt, leggings without knee pads or his gloves "now let''s get some sleep. I rather like being safe enough to sleep whenever I want". (A/N: thank you for reading this, I hope you enjoyed it, please comment in anyway you like and tell me how you like the story so far). 18 CH18: The Pool Third POV: Like usual, Ahri was the first to wake up. She stretched and found Grey still sleeping besides her. "days without sleep, huh?" Ahri said sarcastically recalling what he told her at the day of his duel. She decided to leave him for now and take a bath. Once she finished, she dressed up and decided to wake him up. She grabbed his shoulder and shook slightly "Grey, wake up" the Abyss Watcher groaned in response. Ahri grinned revealing her fangs "if you don''t wake up, I''ll undress you and do whatever I want to your sleeping body" of course, it was an obvious bluff. Grey called her bluff, but decided it was time to get up. He groaned again but sat up and rubbed his eyes "alright, I''m up". "awe, too bad" Ahri playfully complained. "can''t you wake me up normally?" Grey asked getting up and heading to the bathroom. "where''s the fun in that?" Ahri chuckled and Grey rolled his eyes before going to the bathroom. Ahri exited their room and headed to the kitchen, she got a glass of water and left to the living room. She sat on the couch and drank some of the water before giving the rest to the flowers Grey got for her. A few minutes later, Grey came out with his hair slightly wet from the bath "so what do you want to do today?" he asked. The dark haired Vastayan shrugged "let''s go see if the others has anything to do" she suggested and he nodded. The Abyss Watcher put on his armor and they exited the room "did you see the schedule?" Ahri asked. Grey nodded "yes, we''re free today" he replied as they began walking to the dining hall. They entered and found Aki, Ezreal and Lux sitting together. They walked up to them and sat down. "hey everyone" Ahri greeted. "hey guys, how are you today?" Lux asked. "pretty good" Grey replied and looked around "where''s Garen and Katarina?" he asked. "it''s their day off, so they decided to spend it together" Lux told them. Then two figures walked up to them "hi Grey, hi Ahri" the voice belonged to Annie. Grey and Ahri saw someone with Annie, Ahri identified him as a Vastayan. He had features of a monkey, had red face paint, big pieces of armor and was holding a staff in his hands. Grey stood up and knelt towards Annie "hey Annie, and Tibbers" he greeted not forgetting the fact Tibbers was conscious "who''s with you?". "oh, this is-". "I''m Wukong, the monkey King" Wukong cut her off introducing himself "just call me Kong. Nice to meet ya". Ahri just chuckled at Kong''s enthusiasm "hi Kong. I''m Ahri and this is Grey" she motioned to the Abyss Watcher who just stood up. Kong looked at Grey up and down slowly "wow you''re really tall. You''re taller than Shen" he said. "uhmm... Thanks?" Grey replied while Ahri chuckled. She had to agree that Grey was tall. In fact, she can just reach a little over his shoulder and that''s with counting her ears. "now" Kong then twirled his staff in his hand and took a battle stance pointing at Grey "I want to challenge you to a battle". Grey raised an eyebrow "why?". "I saw your match with Zed" Kong replied "I never fought a guy with a fire sword before, so I want to challenge you and see if you can be my rival". Grey then chuckled "sorry Kong, but I already have a rival". "what?!?" Kong groaned and his hands fell to his sides "at least tell me who it is?". "he''s not a champion in the Institute" Grey told Kong who apparently thought it was another champion. The Abyss Watcher decided to give him a little piece of information "but I''ll say something about him. He''s a Sun Praising idiot, but a good hearted Sun Praising idiot" Grey fished with a smile. Kong sighed before sitting at the table besides Annie while Grey sat back besides Ahri. "oh I know. Since we''re all free today, let''s go somewhere together" Lux said making everyone look at her "and I know the perfect place, somewhere everyone loves". "the arcade?" Ahri guessed. "the playground?" Annie guessed. "the Shuriman ruins?" Ezreal guessed. "a banana tree?" Kong guessed. "the Boreal Valley?" Grey guessed. "no, no, no, no and... I don''t know what Grey said but no" Lux replied turning down all the options including Grey''s, which confused her "we''re going... To the pool!" she paused dramatically in the middle. "yeah! We love the pool!" Annie said raising Tibbers. "I would like to go if it''s okay" Aki said. "I''m going if Ahri is" Grey replied looking at his friend. Ahri nodded "yeah, it could be fun". "great, let''s go then" Lux said as they all stood up started walking out of the dining hall. Ahri then realized something "oh wait, me and Grey don''t have anything to wear". "they have a store near the pool" Aki informed them while they walked through the hallways "you can buy something from there". Ahri nodded and they continued walking, they stopped at a store near a big door "okay, let''s get you guys something to wear". They entered and went through the clothes. Ahri picked something with Lux, Aki and Annie, while Grey picked something with Kong and Ezreal. After a few minutes, they came out with bags in their hands. They went to the big door near the store and entered. Ahri and Grey were amazed by the pool. It was really, really big. It didn''t have a roof so the sunlight was shining down on it. It had a lounging chairs on one side with a bar near them and on the other side were changing rooms. There was also a few trees here and there. They started walking to the changing room "alright, let''s meet up after we''re done changing" Lux said as she and the other girls went into the female changing room while the boys went to the male. After a few minutes, the girls came out first. Lux was wearing a sky blue two piece with white lining. Annie was wearing a purple kid''s swim wear with floaties on her arms. Aki was wearing a purple one piece. And Ahri was wearing a red one piece with a diamond shaped cleavage cutout, she of course drew the attention of a few men around. Then came out Kong, he was wearing blue trunks with pictures of bananas in it. Ezreal was next, he was wearing brown trunks with a shark tooth necklace and his goggles on his head. Then Grey came out... Which drew the attention of women around them, especially Ahri. He had dark red trunks and Ahri can see his body for the first time. He was well toned, not too much muscle. The others also noticed a black circle on his chest. Ahri was almost drooling at the sight and two of her tails formed a heart behind her. She broke out of it when she noticed that Grey reached them. "hey Ahri" he greeted and blushed slightly "you look great". "thanks, you too" she replied. "alright, let''s get going" Lux said and they were about to go swimming when Grey spoke. "before that, can one of you teach me how to swim?" he asked making them a little surprised. "you don''t know how to swim?" Aki asked. She thought someone like Grey would be able to swim with sharks at this point after what she saw him do. "my home, Farron keep, was surrounded by poisonous swamps. I don''t know about this world but in mine it isn''t a good idea to swim in those" Grey explained to them. Ahri''s hand shot up "oh! Oh! Let me, I''m an excellent swimmer" she said. Ezreal thought it was better if he did it since their both males "I think I should be the one to-". He stopped however by an intense glare from Ahri, it clearly said ''don''t ruin this for me, OR ELSE''. Ezreal immediately tried to change his words "the one to... Get drinks! Yeah, you can''t stay In the pool without drinks". Lux snickered "nice save" she whispered as she apparently saw the glare as well. Ezreal ignored her and went to the bar while Lux followed him. Aki went to play with Annie while Kong left saying something about a prank which left Grey and Ahri. "well come on Grey, I can''t teach you how to swim outside the water" she said as she went to the pool and the Abyss Watcher followed. They got in the water, they swam from the beginning before Ahri started guiding Grey to the deeper half. "alright" she held his hands and started floating "you got to make sure to keep the water away from your mouth and nose. Breath, and start using your hands and legs to keep yourself floating". Grey started following her instructions and started floating slightly "like this?". "yes but you''re moving your hands wrong" she got besides him and grabbed his arms showing him how to move. Grey blushed a little because of Ahri''s cleavage pressing on his side, Ahri noticed and smirked pushing her breasts on his side harder. Thirty minutes later, and after a lot of teasing, Grey was finally able to swim on his own "there you go" Ahri said swimming besides him. "yeah, I guess it''s not so hard" Grey noted as they began swimming towards the edge before pulling themselves out. Ahri walked to a lounge chair and laid down on it with a sigh "let''s rest a little bit, a little rest doesn''t hurt". "I''ll get us some water" Grey said and she nodded before he left to get something from the bar. He came back with two bottles, but before he reached Ahri, a guy walked up to her "hey cutie. If your lonely why don''t I give you some company?". Ahri rolled her eyes "sorry but I''m already here with someone" she replied and the guy sighed in disappointment before leaving. Grey walked up to her and she gave a tired sigh "that''s like the third guy I turned down". Grey recalled that when they were swimming a couple of guys tried to hit on her "well you can''t exactly blame them, you are quite beautiful". Ahri blushed slightly and looked away "thanks". Normally she would have thought it was a dumb attempt to flirt, but she knew Grey doesn''t flirt. In fact, Ahri doubt he can flirt at all. Ahri''s ears then perked up as an idea popped in her head "hey I know, how about we hang around just the two of us" she said and Grey raised an eyebrow so she decided to explain "if people thought we''re a couple, guys will stop trying to hit on me". "I don''t think that''s a good idea" Grey replied, he didn''t feel comfortable basically lying to everyone. "come on" Ahri kept on and gave him a puppy eyes look "don''t you trust me?". Truth to be told is that Grey didn''t trust Ahri at the subject of ''pretend to be a couple'' but he knew that if he actually said no, then Ahri won''t let him hear the end of it. He sighed in defeat "alright, but nothing serious". Ahri immediately perked up and she jumped up to her feet "great! Let''s go" she grabbed Grey''s hand and started dragging him somewhere. She led him to an ice-cream stand. The waiter looked at them "hello there, can I get you anything?". Ahri looked at the menu and decided to choose for both of them since Grey doesn''t know much about ice-cream "we''ll take two chocolate sundaes". The waiter nodded and started making their order. He finished and gave them the frozen treat. Ahri and Grey took their sundaes and sat at a table, Ahri wasted no time grabbing her spoon and tasting it. The dark haired Vastayan moaned in delight "I think I found my new favorite food". "it is pretty good" Grey added. He still didn''t know what ice-cream exactly was but he wasn''t complaining. Ahri finished her sundae, much to her disappointment. She started eyeing Grey''s ice-cream that was still there since he didn''t eat as fast as her. Grey noticed her stare. He sat his spoon down and passed his sundae to her. Ahri looked at the sundae then at Grey "you''re giving it to me?" she asked and Grey nodded "are you sure?". "I''ve lived over a hundred years without ice-cream, I think I''ll manage not having any this once" he replied. Ahri smiled and took a spoonful to her mouth and enjoying the treat. She still felt kind of bad for taken it from Grey. An idea popped in her head. She took a spoonful and pointed it at Grey "here, say ah". "what are you doing?" he asked. "it''s yours, so let''s share" she replied before bringing it closer "now say ahhh". Grey rolled his eyes and opened his mouth, Ahri gave him the ice-cream that he ate and pulled back the spoon before taken another spoonful and eating it. They finished the ice-cream together, then got up and started walking around. They found Aki, Annie, Ezreal and Lux sitting together near the bar. "hey you two" Lux greeted seeing them "where have you been?". "just hanging around" Ahri replied. "hey, where''s Kong?" Grey asked noticing the absence of the other Vastayan. Before any of them can answer, they heard an enraged voice "get back her you stupid monkey!". They looked and saw an angry Vi running after Kong who was sitting on a yellow cloud and moving around. Vi was wearing a black one piece swimsuit with the letters ''Vi'' on it, she had her gauntlets on and for some reason a banana peel on her head. Kong and Vi passed by them "your gonna need to be faster than that" the trickster yelled moving away from Vi''s fists. Not long after that and Caitlyn came in running and stopped in front of the others. She was wearing a purple two piece swimsuit with the top going around her neck and a golden ring. She also had a white straw hat with sunglasses on it. The sheriff was breathing heavily from running "Vi... Calm down" she said and while panting "it''s just... A banana peel... And we''re at the pool... You can wash it off". Grey walked to the bar and grabbed a water bottle, he walked up to Caitlyn and offered it to her "hi Caitlyn". Caitlyn looked at Grey and her cheeks turned a tad pink seeing him in just swimming trunks "oh, hi Grey" she took the water bottle "thanks". "no problem" he replied and then looked at where Vi and Kong went "so what''s up with them". Caitlyn took a sip from the bottle before answering "Vi fell into one of Kong''s banana peel pranks, it wasn''t so bad until she fell for another one" she then saw Kong come back with her partner following him. The sheriff gave a sigh "if you can do something about that, I would really appreciate it". Grey nodded and waited in his place, when Kong was about to pass him, the Abyss Watcher suddenly grabbed him by the back of his neck. "hey!?!" Kong yelled as his cloud vanished and he started struggling "let me go!". "finally" Vi said as she walked up to them and punched one of her gauntlets into the palm of the other "now it''s my turn to have fun". Kong braised himself for the beating but Grey thought of something that wouldn''t end up with Kong in a hospital bed "hold on Vi. I have a suggestion". He walked up to the enforcer with Kong in his hand. He whispered something in her ear that made her smile. To Kong''s surprise and relief, Vi took off her gauntlets. But then she grabbed him by the legs and Grey grabbed his arms. The started walking to the pool and Kong figured out what they''re planning to do "wait! Wait! Wait!" he yelled "you don''t want to do this, trust me you''re not going to like the smell of a wet monkey". To his disappointment, Vi smirked "well if we won''t like it then you won''t either" she replied before she and Grey started swinging him back and forth and then let him go. Kong was thrown in the water with a big splash. Everyone started laughing while Kong slowly floated to the surface with his fur wet and covering his eyes, he blew the water out of his mouth before he started laughing with everyone else. Time skip: (brought to you by chibi Ahri showing off her swimsuit and chibi Grey blushing and trying not to look). It was now sunset. Ahri, Aki, Annie, Ezreal, Grey, Lux and Kong were back in their normal clothes and walking out of the pool. Aki then recalled something "oh right, Grey do you know anything about the Grand Summoner?" The Abyss Watcher raised an eyebrow "what do you mean?". "well there''s been talk about him acting weird since you and Ahri got here, I was wondering if you knew something" she explained, Aki already asked Ahri when they were at the hot springs. Grey shrugged "I wouldn''t know. I don''t come from Runeterra remember?". "maybe it''s because you''re from a different world?" Ezreal suggested and the others nodded. Somewhere in the Institute: The Grand Summoner entered his quarters after a day of taking care of the Institute. He pulled down his hood to reveal the face of an elderly man with a bald head and a long beard. He walked up to the fireplace and sat on a chair besides it. He then looked at a painting above the fireplace. In the painting were two people. One was the Grand Summoner. The other was a man with a strong frame, he had a big golden crown, a long beard and hair, a golden chain strapped to his waist, shoulder pads with short big sleeves and was holding a big sword that seemed to be on fire. "a Lord of Cinder" the Grand Summoner mumbled and then looked at the other man in the painting "I haven''t heard that title since I last saw you... Brother". (A/N: thank you for reading this, I hope you enjoyed it, please comment in anyway you like and tell me how you like the story so far). 19 CH19: A Doll? Third POV: Ahri woke up next morning, she got up and found Grey sleeping in his side of the bed. She rolled her eyes "seriously. One minute he''s an undead warrior and the other is like he never came back from the dead" sarcasm was obvious in her voice. She left to take a bath, she finished and covered herself with a towel. She walked up to Grey and started shaking him. "Grey, wake up sleepy head" she said shaking his shoulder while still in a towel. He sat up, rubbed his eyes and looked at her. Ahri smirked and stood in her towel waiting for him to get flustered "good morning sleeping beauty". Grey looked at her, he blushed slightly and sighed "good morning" he replied getting up from the bed. Ahri frowned "what? Nothing?" she asked because she didn''t get much of a reaction. "you already did this before Ahri, I''m used to this by now" Grey replied as he started walking towards the bathroom. Ahri sighed in disappointment seeing Grey not getting affected. But then her mischievous smirk reappeared "did I try this before?". Grey looked at her before he entered the bathroom. His face turned red and he used his hand to cover his eyes "Ahri what are you doing?!?". The reason he became like this was because Ahri has taken off her towel. She was only covered by two of her tails, one covering her chest and the other her lower region. Ahri giggled "what? I thought you were used to this" she teased. Grey immediately turned to the bathroom "please put some clothes on" he almost begged before going in to take a shower. Ahri couldn''t stop herself from laughing before picking up her clothes and wearing them. She went to the living room and sat on the couch. Ahri thought about making breakfast but realized she doesn''t know how to cook, she made a mental note to learn at least a couple of things. Grey came out with the schedule in his hand "so do we have anything?" the dark haired Vastayan asked. Grey looked over the schedule and answered "well, you''re free today, while I have an official match fighting for Zaun against Piltover". Ahri crossed her arms "why do you get all the fun?". "I''m actually as surprised as you are. I mean, why would they pick me for Zaun?" Grey asked. He''s never even been at Zaun, he only knew a little about it from Ezreal. Ahri sighed standing up "well, we can ask Aki or Ezreal when we see them. Let''s go get breakfast for now". The Abyss Watcher nodded and proceeded to put on his armor. After he finished, Ahri suddenly grabbed his arm shaking her head and he realized he was about to cover his face. They went to the dining hall and picked up trays with food. They found Aki, Ezreal, Garen, Lux and Katarina sitting together. "morning everyone" Grey greeted as he and Ahri sat down with their food. "good morning" Lux replied back. "hi Ahri, how are you?" Aki asked. "pretty good" Ahri replied looking at the summoner. "hey do any of you know about the match between Zaun and Piltover?" Grey asked. "oh that" Ezreal was the one to answer "a bunch of people from Zaun found a cave full of raw materials on their way home, but it was found on Piltover soil so the people there believe it should be their''s" the Explorer raised an eyebrow "why do you ask?". "I''m in the match, and I''ll be fighting for Zaun" Grey told him "and honestly I think their at the right here". Ezreal shrugged "I don''t argue with you, but the people from Piltover would. Piltover and Zaun aren''t in good terms". "in other words, their like Demacia and Noxus but with more technology" Katarina added. "that explains that" Grey said and then remembered another question "but why was I picked for Zaun?". "well... What region are you registered in?" Aki asked. Grey raised an eyebrow "registered?". "yeah" Aki nodded "Garen and Lux are with Demacia. Katarina is with Noxus. Ezreal is with Piltover. And Ahri is with Ionia" she explained. Grey thought about it before answering "I''m... Not registered with any region I guess". "that would explain it" Aki told him "you see, there are champions who aren''t registered with a region, their called neutral champions. Since you don''t come from Runeterra, they must''ve made you one". That made since to the others. There are neutral champions who simply don''t want a region to command them or didn''t come from the Valoran to begin with. "hi everyone" all further thoughts on the subject were halted when they heard Annie''s voice. The Little Pyromancer walked up to their table and sat between Ahri and Grey "hi Annie" the dark haired Vastayan greeted "how are you today?". "great" Annie replied and then looked at the Abyss Watcher "hey Grey, can we play in the garden?". Grey shook his head with a look of apology "I''m sorry Annie but I have a match to attend". "awe... OK" Annie said looking down which the Abyss Watcher didn''t like. Grey thought of a way to cheer her up "but if you want, we can go into town after my match and I can buy you a new toy". Annie immediately perked up and hugged Grey''s arm "thank you so much! I wanted a new toy lately" she then let go of his arm and looked at her teddy bear "what''s that Tibbers?... No, I''m not trying to replace you... I just want a new toy not a new best friend... Yes, really... OK I forgive you" she smiled. Grey and Ahri chuckled at the little argument between the girl and her teddy bear. "anyway" Ezreal spoke "I''m in the match too, it should begin soon. So you better be ready to have your butt kicked" he said pointing at Grey. The Abyss Watcher scoffed "that''s not going to happen anytime soon. Just don''t think I''ll take it easy on you because you''re several decades younger than me" his answer made Garen, Katarina and Aki, who didn''t know Grey''s age, confused. Ezreal chuckled "oh it''s on now grandpa". Grey and Ezreal were covered in light and then vanished. The orb showed up in the middle of the dining hall with two names, Zaun and Piltover. Annie then recognized one of the names "oh look Tibbers. Grey is going to fight with Ekko". "Ekko?" Ahri raised an eyebrow not recognizing the name. "uh-huh" the Little Pyromancer nodded "Ekko is my friend, he''s really cool". Ahri was now interested, she turned back her attention at the orb. Katarina then decided to speak. "hey, what did Grey mean by what he said?" she asked referring to what the Abyss Watcher said to Ezreal. "oh right, you weren''t with us at the time" Lux remembered that they weren''t around when Grey told them about his age "apparently being undead means he doesn''t age, and Grey''s actually over a hundred years old". "what!?!" yelled Aki, Garen and Katarina after hearing Grey''s age. Grey POV: I appeared in the summoners rift with the other champions, then I got a good look at them. One of them was a dark skinned boy with white hair into a spiky haircut. He had black clothes, a gauntlet on his arm, a weird device on his waist and in his hand was an odd green sword. The third was a big mechanical man with golden metal, he had tubes on his back, a few sparks coming out from his chest and his arms were giant fists. The fourth was a giant mass of green slime. It didn''t look much until it took a humanoid form with a big jaw and yellow eyes. The last one was a wolf humanoid walking on two. He had metallic claws and mechanical tubes with green liquid on his back. The boy with white hair walked up to me "hey, you''re the new guy right? The other world dude?" he asked and I nodded "nice to meet you. I''m Ekko, the boy who shattered time". "nice to meet you too. I''m the Abyss Watchers, Farron''s undead legion, or Grey if you want" I replied. The green slime then walked up to me and gave me a smile "hi, I''m Zac, the secret weapon. Let''s get along, okay?". "alright Zac" I chuckled slightly. The mechanical man then walked up besides me and looked at me up and down "can I help you?". "greetings, I am Blitzcrank, the great Steam golem. I''m just interested" he replied, his voice was more metallic than I thought but it still held some emotions "I''ve never met a person from another world before". "well I can tell you that I never met someone like you before" I told him. Seriously at this point I wouldn''t be surprised if I saw a giant eyeball flying around. Then I heard a weird noise. I looked and saw the wolf walking up to me, he stopped a few feet and started... Sniffing? "you..." he said and then stopped to sniff a couple more times "smell weird". "what?" I asked. He took a few more sniffs "you smell like a wolf, but like a human at the same time". ''well it''s not called the wolf blood for nothing'' I thought to myself "I don''t believe we met, we''re the Abyss Watchers, Farron''s Undead legion". The wolf looked at me for a second before replying "Warwick, the Uncaged wrath of Zaun". I was about to talk again but then heard the summoner''s voice "get ready champion" it was a female this time "the match is about to begin". I pulled out my sword and knife doing the Legion etiquette. We then heard a sound meaning the beginning of the match. Warwick went to the jungle, Blitzcrank went to the top, Zac to the bottom, while me and Ekko went to the middle. We saw the minions walking ahead of us and then we encountered the enemy minions. One of our minions was then smashed by a punch from a big gauntlet. Vi showed up and Caitlyn wasn''t so far behind. Ekko looked at me "I''ll take Caitlyn you take Vi" he said and I nodded. He then smirked "how about I give you a little help". Suddenly, a green silhouette of Ekko appeared behind him. It threw something and used it''s sword to send it to Vi. Vi''s movement was then slowed down. I nodded in gratitude to Ekko before jumping in to battle. Vi got back to normal but before she does anything, I came in and hit her with my sword and knife. Vi then tried to smash me with her gauntlets but I rolled out of the way. She then dashed forward and landed a big hit on my chest that sent me to one of the trees. I groaned standing back up. Vi was about to hit me again but I managed to roll away. I stabbed her side with my sword. She recoiled slightly which gave me the chance to finish her off. I anchored my knife on the ground and used to spin swinging my sword hitting her. Pulling out my knife, I jumped in the air swinging down my sword and finished Vi off. Even after I saw that they come back, I still feel uncomfortable fighting my allies. Ekko just finished Caitlyn off and we both killed the rest of the minions. We were about to head to the turret when Ekko looked at me. "are you going to go back to heal?" he asked. "I don''t need to" I pulled out my Estus Flask and took a drink healing my wounds. I looked at my Estus Flask and saw that I can only use it a couple more times so I need to be careful. "heh, pretty cool" Ekko said and then we continued our way. New minions from both teams appeared and two new champions. Ezreal was one, and the other was someone Ahri fought before, I think his name is Jayce. I fought Jayce while Ekko took on Ezreal. Jayce tried to smash me with his hammer and I just rolled away. I then used my knife to spin and attack him from the side. He the pointed his hammer at me. Sparks came off the top and it shot an electrical blast towards me. I wasn''t fast enough to dodge the blast and it hit me full force. I groaned getting back up. Ezreal just finished Ekko off and was about to attack me. But then Warwick jumped out of the forest and snapped his jaw at Ezreal. He then used his claws to finish Ezreal off. I rolled away from Jayce''s hammer and then used my knife and sword to hit him from the side. Warwick then jumped in from the side and struck Jayce with his claws. We then finished Jayce off. "fighting with a wolf" I chuckled "the dream of every Abyss Watcher". Warwick growled "let''s just get the job done". "you go on ahead, I need to go back and heal" I replied, I need to save my Estus Flask. Warwick just went with the minions when i heard the summoners voice "hold still champion". A circle of light appeared around me, the circle got smaller and smaller. A few seconds later I appeared back in my team''s base. "thank you" I said to the summoner as my wounds healed. Time skip: (brought to you by chibi Warwick trying to scare chibi Grey who just starts petting him). The match was pretty intense afterwards. Both teams obviously wanted to win. Piltover lost more turrets though, it''s middle lane turrets were all destroyed. But it had the two Inhibitor turrets left. I was going for the top one when Ezreal, Vi and Jayce showed up. They of course, started attacking me. I rolled away from Vi and anchored my knife in the ground spinning around so I can attack Jayce. I did hit Jayce but then a big shot from Ezreal struck me making me recoil slightly. Vi took her chance and punched me hard enough to be sent to the air. I landed and tried to get back up but just fell back down. "finally" Jayce said standing besides Vi and Ezreal. Then came the wolf''s howling which made the hammer wielder look around "was that Warwick?". "no" Ezreal said getting ready "it''s just the real battle". The blood then came out of the ground, floated towards me and vanished. My sword caught fire and I stood up using it for support. Vi chuckled "finally, I wanted to fight him like this". Jayce smirked "well with my superior intelligence it shouldn''t-". I cut him off by swinging my sword at the ground sending a trail of fire at him. I then stabbed my sword in the ground and dashed towards Ezreal and Vi. The dodged it and the trail of fire that followed it. But then I anchored my knife and used it to spin swinging my sword at Vi. It was a clean hit and the explosion of fire added the damage. I pulled out my knife and jumped in the air swinging down my sword. I finished Vi off and turned to Ezreal. He shot a few magical shots but I rolled away. I reeled back my sword and thrust forward shooting fire at him. He was hit and recoiled back which gave me the chance to finish him off. I jumped in the air and swung down at Ezreal finishing him off, now only me and Jayce were left. I looked at him, But before we engaged in battle, the announcer spoke "VICTORY, Zaun". We both looked inside their base and saw Blitzcrank and Warwick where the Nexus was. We were covered in light and then appeared in a room with the champions and summoners. The fire inside me and on my sword vanished as one of the summoners walked up to me "great job champion" she complemented. "thank you" I nodded before leaving with the other champions and looked at the two who won for us "Warwick, Blitzcrank, I believe we owe you this victory". "thank you" Blitzcrank replied. "whatever" replied Warwick. "by the way Warwick, we never got a proper introduction" I raised my hand "I''m Grey Ashnex". I can see a few summoners and champions surprised by what I did. While Warwick himself looked a little taken back, he still raised his claws and shook my hand "Warwick... A pleasure". "well Warwick, I was about to go to the dining hall if you''re willing to join me on the way there" I asked. "I... Suppose" he replied with hesitation before we both started walking towards the dining hall. Ezreal was walking behind us but keeping his distance. Ahri POV: during the match. The match just began and Grey went in the middle with Ekko. They fought Caitlyn and Vi but managed to win. Then they encountered Ezreal and that Jayce guy "Grey is going to lose bad" Lux said. "yeah right" I said sarcastically "like Ezreal''s going to beat him". They fought and Ekko lost. But then Warwick showed up and killed Ezreal, then helped Grey kill Jayce. "told you" I said to Lux. "they didn''t even fight" she replied. "she does have a point" Aki added which made me groan and cross my arms. She''s just being a cry baby if you ask me. The match went on with Piltover losing more turrets. Grey then ended up fighting Ezreal, Vi and Jayce. They managed to beat him "ha! See that" Lux said. I raised a finger "wait for it" then came the wolf''s howling and Grey came back beating both Vi and Ezreal "in your face!". "oh come on!" Lux complained and then Zaun won the match. We just waited for them to come back, Grey then entered the dining... With Warwick? Ezreal wasn''t far behind but still keeping his distance. I managed to hear what Grey was saying "so then I said, at least when you talk to a wolf he gives you a response. I''d like to see you have a conversation with your beloved sun that isn''t one sided". Warwick started laughing, it was like listening to a hyena "that was good. But I''ll be leaving now" he said and Grey nodded before leaving. Grey and Ezreal walked up to us and my roommate sat besides me "good match Grey" I said. "thanks" he replied. "dude, you were talking to Warwick like it was nothing" Ezreal said surprised by what Grey did. "so?" Grey asked. "doesn''t he kinda... Scare you" Lux asked. I have to admit, Warwick looked intimidating. "I''m an Abyss Watcher, I pray to a wolf" Grey replied and I remembered he did say that before, it was called... The old wolf of Farron I think "plus I''ve seen scarier stuff. Like Pontiff Sulyvahn" he then started mumbling "that man creeps me out" Grey then smiled and looked at the little girl "now I believe I promised Annie a toy". Said girl perked up "yes, can we go now?". "sure" Grey then looked at everyone else "is anyone going to join us". "I will" I said. "me too" Ezreal said and then sighed "anything to cheer me up after that loss". "me too-" "no!" Garen said in a ferm tone cutting off his sister. "what?" Lux groaned "why?". "you know how you get when you''re shopping" her brother replied. "alright, let''s go then" Grey said getting up. Third POV: Grey, Annie, Ahri and Ezreal left the dining hall and went to the gates of the Institute. They exited and went to the city below. Once they reached it, they headed towards the shopping district and entered a toy store. "alright Annie, go pick a toy and I''ll buy it for you" the Abyss Watcher told the little Pyromancer who nodded and left to look for a toy. Something then caught Ahri''s attention "hey, look" she said and the other two looked at what she was pointing at. It was a poster of Ahri blowing a charm spell at whoever was looking at the picture. "since when are you famous?" Grey asked. "oh right" the Explorer remembered something "you see champions are like celebrities. The Institute has a channel on TV just to watch matches". "wow" Ahri then smiled smugly "I bet I have dozens of fans already" she said and Grey would have rolled his eyes but he heard Annie make a girly scream. The Little girl came running "I want this one! I want this one! I want this one!" she kept on chanting as she grabbed Grey''s hand and started dragging him through the store. The other two looked at each other before going to where the little girl dragged the Abyss Watcher. Annie stopped at the back of the shop. She let go of Grey''s hand and pointed at the toy she wanted. The Abyss Watcher saw the toy and his eyes widen "it''s a..." he couldn''t complete the sentence from the shock. Ahri and Ezreal reached them and stood besides Grey. They saw the toy and had the same reaction. But then Ahri let out her own girly scream "oh my God! It''s so cute! I''m definitely buying one too!". Ezreal started snickering "it... Is cute" he said before he started laughing. "it''s a... Mini me?" Grey was able to say it completely this time. True to his word, the toy was a small Grey doll. It was like him to the last detail, except being small and made of cotton. It even had it''s own sword and knife. Seeing It, Grey had one response "I don''t think I''ll like being a celebrity". Somewhere in Runeterra: Somewhere in a forest, two bull like beasts clash their horns in battle. They jump back and was about to fight again but stopped when they heard a noise. It was loud, metallic thuds. Suddenly, a giant figure walking on all four appeared from the darkness of the jungle. The figure was apparently holding a mace of sorts and frozen air would come off of it. The two beasts roared at the figure and one of them charged at it pointing it''s horns at it. The figure simply reeled back it''s mace and swung at the beast smashing it in one strike. The other beast saw how the first one was killed so easily and decided to run away. It turned around ready to get away with it''s life, but the figure didn''t give it a chance. It jumped forward bringing down it''s mace smashing the beast and killing it like the first one. The figure then stabbed the top of it''s mace on the ground and raised it''s head making a sound that was like the combination of a roar and a screech. (A/N: thank you for reading this, I hope you enjoyed it, please comment in anyway you like and tell me how you like the story so far). 20 CH20: The Jungle Ahri POV: I woke up hugging the Grey doll. He bought one for both me and Annie yesterday while also buying some ingredients on the way back. When we got back to the Institute and the others saw it, Kat and Garen started laughing while Aki and Lux thought it was cute. I got up and stretched with yawn. I looked besides me and saw that the real Grey wasn''t there. He must be already awake, which is strange since I always wake him up. I just shrugged it off and went to take a shower. I came out, put my clothes on, checked the schedule and went to the living room. Grey wasn''t there so I checked the kitchen. I found him there cooking something in a pot. I smiled thinking it was a little romantic that he was cooking breakfast for us. But then I saw what was in the pot. It was a weird, yellow, glowing, bubbly liquid that gave off a weird smell. "uhmm... Hi Grey" I said standing besides him. "oh" he looked at me and smiled "good morning Ahri". "yeah..." I nodded and then looked at the pot "so... Is that breakfast?" even if I like him, if he said yes then I''m telling him an excuse and making a run for it. "no" oh thank God! I let out a breath I was secretly holding and Grey chuckled "I actually don''t know how to cook, if it''s not putting meat above fire". "it''s okay, I don''t know how to cook either" I walked to the table, turned around and leaned back on it "so what is it?". "Estus soup" he replied "I''ve been running low on Estus, and since there''s no Bonfires around, I need to make my own" he took out his Estus Flask and filled it from the pot. "isn''t it a little small?" I asked since the Flask is barely the size of a bottle. "Estus is really strong, you just need a mouthful to heal your wounds, two if you''re heavily injured" he replied and looked at me "do you want to go get breakfast?". I nodded and we both got out of our room and went to the dining hall. We got our food and found Lux, Garen, Katarina, Jarvan and Shyvana sitting together. "good morning everyone" Grey greeted as we sat down with them "Jarvan, Shyvana, it''s good to see you two again". "good morning you two" Lux greeted. "good to see you too Grey" Jarvan replied while Shyvana just nodded. "has anyone seen Aki?" I asked not seeing the summoner around. "she had a match to play" Lux replied, which made sense cause Aki is a summoner and she gets to do matches. "what about Ezreal?" Grey asked. Again, Lux answered "he has business in Piltover". Grey nodded and looked at me "by the way, did you see the schedule?". I nodded "yeah, we''re free today" we then started eating breakfast. We just made some small talk, until we heard a new voice "so this is the man from another world, the Abyss Watcher". We turned around and saw a middle-aged man. He had white hair neatly combed back, a black armor and big black coat over it. Third POV: Grey and Ahri were the only ones to not recognize the man, while Katarina was the first to speak "hey boss, got a job for me?". The man shook his head "no" he then looked at Grey "I''m here to speak with him". Grey stood up, turned around and faced the man with a smile "yes, I am the Abyss Watcher" he offered a handshake "but my name is Grey Ashnex". The man kept a stoic expression while raising his hand and shaking Grey''s "Swain, Jericho Swain, the Noxian Grand General". "so what can I help you with?" Grey asked pulling back his hand. Swain crossed his arms behind his back "you see, in Noxus, we don''t believe in nobility, money or origin, what we believe in is talent. If you have talent, you can quickly move up in military ranks. I worked hard for the title General and I aim to lead Noxus to greatness" he explained. "Noxus sounds like a land of greatness" Grey inspected and raised an eyebrow "but what does it has to do with me?". "you caught my interest" Swain replied "I saw you''re a great fighter, and I heard you''re a Neutral Champion, so I want to see if you''re interested in joining Noxus". That drew different reactions, mainly from Jarvan and Ahri. Jarvan was cautious because Swain might use Grey as a political pawn. Ahri was worried that Grey might accept. She was Ionian, Ionia and Noxus have a really bad history together. If Grey becomes a Noxian then they would be considered enemies if a political problem appears. After a few seconds of silence, Grey replied "I''m sorry Swain, but I''ll have to decline. Being a Neutral Champion let''s me help any region that would need me. But rest assured Noxus has my respect. If it needs help, I''m more than ready to lend a hand". The general hummed in thought for a second before smiling "good enough I suppose. Until we meet again, Abyss Watcher". Swain left and Grey sat back down. Ahri was happy Grey was still on her side, while Jarvan looked in respect seeing that Grey truly wanted to help anyone in need. Katarina was also happy, but because Grey admitted respecting Noxus "I got to admit Grey I''m impressed" the red haired assassin said "this is the first time I saw Swain get declined and leave with a smile". The Abyss Watcher shrugged "call it experience. I knew someone that was like Swain". "someone like Swain. This I got to hear" Katarina was interested in hearing about someone who was like her boss. "his name is Pontiff Sulyvahn" Grey said "Sulyvahn was the leader of a great church in the Boreal Valley. He wanted greatness for his church, up to the point of making a deal with the Deacons of the Deep and their not exactly loved in my world. Sulyvahn worked hard to expand his church and their beliefs. The bigger the church, the more power Sulyvahn got, but he didn''t care about Power. What Sulyvahn truly wanted was greatness for his Church, just like Swain wants greatness for Noxus" the Abyss Watcher said and started mumbling to himself "I wonder?". "what?" Ahri asked hearing him mumble. Grey shook his head "well... Sulyvahn''s second in command was really close to me. I was just wondering how she was doing". Ahri''s tails then stopped moving as she gained a look of annoyance "did you say ''she''?" she asked ''and did he say they were close?''. Before Grey can reply, he heard a familiar "hello Grey". They saw that it was Kayle who spoke "oh hello Kayle" Grey replied "do you need something?". The angel nodded "actually yes. The High Summoners wishes to speak with you". "why?" Grey asked. Kayle shrugged "I don''t know. They just told me to bring you" Grey nodded and stood up. Ahri looked at him in worry as he left with Kayle and exited the dining hall heading to the High Summoners chamber. Grey POV: I followed Kayle through the hallway and she stopped near the gates to the high summoners. "they wanted to speak to you alone" she said motioning to the door. I nodded and entered. Once inside, I walked to the middle and looked up to the chairs where the High Summoners were "you called for me?". "yes" the Noxian summoner said "Abyss Watcher, we would like to send you on a mission". ....... Wait, what? "a... Mission?". The Demacian summoner nodded "we believe there''s a potential champion in the Kumungu jungle. We want you to find them and ask if they''re interested in joining the Institute". "shouldn''t you send someone more familiar with the jungle?" I asked. The jungle wasn''t a problem at all for me, it''s just weird to send someone not from here. "while there are champions that go to the Kumungu jungle from time to time, they''re not the most... Diplomatic of people" the Ionian summoner replied. He was basically telling me that they''re the ''kill first, ask questions never'' type. I thought about it for a moment before I nodded "very well, I accept". "thank you" the Noxian summoner nodded "you will be excused from your matches until you return. You should leave as soon as possible". I nodded before I turned around and exited. I found Kayle waiting near the door "is everything alright?" she asked. "yes. They just wanted to send me on a mission" I replied. Kayle tilted her head "really? They usually send me" she mumbled and looked at me "where are you going?". "the Kumungu jungle" I replied. I still didn''t know where exactly it was. "that would explain it" she then looked down slightly "as much as I hate to admit, but I don''t have much experience with the jungle". "it''s alright" I assured her "everyone has something their not good at. For me, it''s cooking". Kayle chuckled slightly "alright. I''ll be on my way then". "take care" I said before going to the dining hall. Third POV: The others were waiting for Grey in the dining hall and Ahri was still worried "it can''t be anything bad, right? Grey didn''t do anything" the dark haired Vastayan asked. "calm down" Jarvan said "I''m sure it''s nothing". "the Prince is right" Garen added "if it was anything bad, they would have forced Grey into coming with them, but they didn''t" he said. Ahri knew they were right but still couldn''t help but feel a little worried. She saw Grey walking towards them, Ahri stood up to meet him "Grey, is there something wrong?". To her relief, Grey shook his head "no, everything''s fine". "so what did they want you for?" Katarina asked. "a mission, apparently" the answer made them confused and he explained to them what the High Summoners wanted. "so their sending you to bring someone back" Garen summed up. Grey nodded "that''s right". "so, when are you leaving?" Ahri asked. "right now actually" Grey replied. Ahri''s ears dropped slightly "really? Do you have to go now?". "the sooner I leave, the sooner I can return" Grey answered but Ahri still felt down so he thought of a way to cheer her up "but when I return, we''ll spend some time together doing what you want as pay back". Ahri then smirked "promise? I know you keep your promises" she said playfully crossing her arms. The Abyss Watcher chuckled "alright, I promise. Now I should go to the transport station". "I''ll go with you there" Ahri said going besides him. "before you go, fair warning. The Kumungu jungle is quite cruel" Garen said. "thanks for your concern Garen" Grey replied "but if you knew who raised me, you would be more worried for what''s in the Jungle. Also say hi to the others for me" he then turned around and started walking towards the transport station with Ahri, who rolled her eyes, behind him. They kept walking through the hallways. They just walked in silence until they reached the Transport station, where they found someone waiting. It was a big, white tiger like person. He had his hair put into long braids, had a yellow glowing eye batch, bone covered armor, claw blades strapped to his forearm and a dagger mad of bones on his waist. The person looked at them and walked up in front of Grey who stopped with Ahri "so you''re the guy they''re sending instead of me" the tiger person said with a growl. Ahri became a little cautious while Grey was unfazed "I am" he then looked at the the person''s equipment and had one thing to say "you''re a hunter?". "so you can tell" the person the smiled "I am Rengar, the Pridestalker" Rengar knew there was only one way for Grey to figure out he was a hunter this quickly "you''re a hunter too?". Grey nodded "yes, you can say that. I''m Grey Ashnex" he replied. Ahri stayed quiet not completely understanding what they were talking about. "then tell me, why do you hunt?" Rengar asked "for me. I don''t hunt for survival or thrill. I hunt to get the strongest prey". "so you hunt to prove yourself" Grey inspected. Honestly, that was better than most reasons he saw for hunting, which were more selfish or insane "then I''ll tell you this. My foster father had a motto, a motto I live by" Grey then looked at Rengar with the most dedicated look Ahri has ever seen him have "his motto was, I don''t hunt for sport, I don''t hunt for joy, I don''t hunt for profit. I hunt to release my prey from the dreadful curse known as the Darksign". Rengar chuckled "so you hunt out of mercy" he then looked at Grey closely "people like you are usually the worst of hunters, or the best" he turned around and started walking away "we''ll see which one you are, wolf boy". Rengar left and Ahri finally spoke "what was that about? And why did he call you wolf boy?". Grey shrugged "maybe it''s my smell, Warwick said I smell like a wolf". Ahri then paused and sniffed a couple of times before her face showed shock "oh my God, I can''t believe I didn''t notice it but you do smell like one". Grey felt a little weirded out by the fact that Ahri was smelling him but he just shrugged it off "anyway, I should be going now, take care okay". To his surprise, Ahri gave him a hug "you too" she pulled away and poked him in the chest "don''t forget your promise". Grey chuckled and entered the Transport station while Ahri went back to the dining hall. The summoner there stood looking at him "hello champion. Leaving the Institute?". The Abyss Watcher nodded "yes, I would like to go to the Kumungu jungle". The summoner raised an eyebrow under his hood "that''s an unusual place, mind if I ask why?". "a mission from the High Summoners" Grey replied. "ah, say no more" the summoner nodded and motioned to the rune circle "stand in the circle please" he asked and Grey did what he said. The summoner was about to cast the spell but stopped "oh right. They didn''t build a Transport station in the Kumungu jungle yet, so the only ones near it are in Demacia and Noxus". "thank you for the information" Grey nodded and the summoner waved his hands and in a flash of light, Grey vanished. Grey found himself surrounded by trees and plants, he can hear the wild life around him such as birds or beasts. "well, let''s get going" he started walking through the the forest and trees. He walked up to a fallen tree and jumped over it. When he stood up, he saw a weird lizard like creature walking on four with a horn on it''s head. "I don''t think you''re who I''m looking for, right?" Grey sarcastically asked. In response, the creature roared and charged at him "thought so". Grey rolled away from the creature and it ended up bashing into the tree. It shook it''s head, turned to Grey and charged again. Pulling out his sword and knife, Grey took a battle stance. The beast jumped at him and Grey raised his left hand for protection. The beast bite Grey''s arm but it''s fangs couldn''t peirce the forearm armor. Grey raised his right leg and kicked the creature away. The beast landed on it''s back. Before it corrected itself, Grey jumped in swinging his sword at the beast''s neck and sliced it''s head off. Grey pulled his sword and swung it removing the blood "well, let''s keep going" he then started walking through the forest again. However, Grey didn''t notice that on top of one of the trees was a figure hiding in the shadows. The figure looked at Grey with emerald green eyes and smirked "not bad, maybe he can be what I''m looking for". Ahri POV: Its been a while since Grey left, Aki joined us by now. It was early afternoon and I was... Bored. "hey, do you guys have anything to do?" I asked resting my head on the palms of my hands. "wanna go shopping?" Lux suggested. "without Grey or Ezreal to carry our stuff" I deadpanned while Lux just scratched her head. "what about the arcade?" Aki suggested. I perked up "yeah, let''s go there" I guess I was thinking about Grey so much that I forgot about it "who''s coming with us". "sorry, but I''m not an arcade person" Jarvan apologized. Shyvana nodded "yes me too". "I''d like to join" Katarina said and then looked at her boyfriend "want to come with us?". Garen scratched his head "I don''t know...?". "come on" Katarina said nudging his shoulder "you should really relax more". Garen looked a little hesitant but just sighed "alright". "I''ll be going too" Lux said and then pointed at me "this time I''ll win". I just chuckled. We got up, left the dining hall and went to the arcade''s entrance. It was a pretty basic looking but there were all kinds of games. "alright, let''s get playing" I said. Time Skip: (brought to you by a chibi nine-tailed fox and a chibi wolf sleeping and cuddling together). We spent a couple of hours in the arcade, the more I stay here, the more I like it. Garen was actually better than his sister. Speaking of Lux, she still didn''t win. Katarina was pretty good at shooting games. Right now I was playing fighting game against Aki, fighter street, and I was actually losing. "oh come on!" scratch that, I just lost. "wow, I a-actually won?" she said in disbelief. "well you are a summoner" Katarina said standing besides her boyfriend crossing her arms "you should be used to this kind of thing". She was actually right, as a summoner, Aki basically does something like this game for a living. I sighed "alright" I walked away from the game and headed to the exit "we should get lunch, I''m starving". The others nodded and we went to the dining hall. We got in, got some food and sat down in a table together. We sat down and started making some small talk until we heard a familiar voice "hi everyone". I saw Annie walk up to us and sit besides me "hi Annie, how are you?" Annie just made a coughing noise and raised her teddy bear "oh and Tibbers too" I realized Grey always asked about Tibbers. "we''re great" she then started looking around "so where''s Grey?". "he''s out on a mission from the High Summoners" I told her. "awe... Okay" she said a little depressed. I wasn''t exactly in a better state. I was just playing with my salad using my fork. But I know Grey will be alright. I just have to wait for him. Grey POV: I''ve been looking for a few hours by now and still no sign of the potential champion, I ran into a few more forest beasts but they all just ended as corps. One these beasts just tried slice me with it''s claws, but I just rolled away. I stood up, strapped it with my knife and finished it off with my sword. I sheathed my sword and knife "honestly, it''s like being in the road of sacrifice, only you know, less crow hollows" I said to no one in particular. I walked a couple of steps before immediately rolling away as a spear struck where I was. I became on guard but then felt something struck my right shoulder, I pulled it and saw a dart. Then I realized the spear was a distraction so I wouldn''t notice the dart being shot at me. A purple liquid came off the tip "poison" I inspected "not good" I pulled out some purple moss, but before I use it, a robe was pulled from under me making me end up dangling upside down "oh for the love of Sif". Being upside down made the poison reach my head faster. My vision became blurry. A figure then landed from the trees in front of me. I couldn''t make out what they looked like but I can see a pair of emerald green eyes. The figure got closer to me and then... Everything went black. (A/N: thank you for reading this, I hope you enjoyed it, please comment in anyway you like and tell me how you like the story so far). 21 CH21: The Vile Watchdog Ahri POV: The day went by pretty uneventful. After sunset, Garen, Katarina, Jarvan and Shyvana left. It was just me, Aki, Annie and Lux. We''re really starting to get along. Aki doesn''t talk much about herself but there''s nothing wrong with that. Annie yawned "well, I got to go" she said rubbing one of her eyes "it''s my bed time, Tibbers doesn''t want me to miss it". Lux got up with the little girl "I''ll walk you back to your room" she said. "take care" Aki said waving her hand. She then looked like she remembered something "oh right!" the summoner looked at me "Ahri, your first skin is coming out tomorrow". "skin?" I asked. "it''s like a different costume for champions" Aki told me "it changes your hair color, style, clothes and even your skin color". "wow, that sounds pretty exciting" I have to admit that I''m looking forward to it, then I remembered my roommate "what about Grey?". Aki shrugged "I heard their making one for him but I don''t think it''ll be done for a couple of days". "I hope we get ones that match" I said. "I wouldn''t count on it, but there is a chance that they''ll be compatible" Aki replied which gave me a little hope. If we do get ones that match, we can fight together in the rift and look like... A couple. "thanks Aki" I said standing up "see you tomorrow then". "good night" she said before she got up too and we left our separate ways. I went to mine and Grey''s room "alright" I said entering our room "I just got to wait for Grey and-" I was cut off by the sound of my door being knocked. I wasn''t expecting anyone so I raised an eyebrow. Walking to the door, I made an orb of deception and held it between my tails just in case. When I twisted the handle, I didn''t even have time to open the door completely before it was practical kicked open... By Akali? She didn''t look happy, in fact she looked really mad. She marched in ignoring me. "stupid Shen... His dumb balance" she mumbled as she walked to the couch, sat down and crossed her arms. I closed the door and looked at the assassin "hi Akali" she just looked at me. From her mumbling, I didn''t need three guesses to know what''s up with her "another fight with Shen?". "yeah" she nodded "but don''t worry, there''s not going to be another one again" she said and I tilted my head "because I left the order". "what?" I was absolutely taken back. "I can''t take it anymore! I had enough of Shen telling me the same thing over and over again" she then started mocking Shen''s voice while waving her hands "no Akali, that would disturb the balance". That makes sense I guess, I just had one question "why did you come here then?". Akali then took a deep breath to calm down "sorry, I just needed someone to talk to". Guess that''s why "well I don''t know if I can help with ninja problems but-". "I was talking about Grey" Akali deadpanned. If this was some anime, a tick mark would have appeared on my head "where is he?". I sighed "he''s on a mission for the High Summoners" I said walking to the kitchen and getting a glass of water. Akali sighed "great". I got back to the living room "so why do you want to see Grey?" I asked "isn''t there anyone else to talk to?". "who would talk to me?" Akali replied looking down "I just abandoned the most respected order in all of Ionia, I even left the title they gave me, I''m the rougue assassin now". "I would talk to you" I replied sitting down besides her. Akali looked at me and I guess smiled under her mask "thanks Ahri". Grey POV: I groaned as I started to wake up, the first thing that I noticed was that my head hurts... A LOT! I sat up and found myself inside a cave. There was a fire in the middle with meat cooking above it and I can see the forest from the entrance. My weapons and hat were on the other side of the cave. I rubbed my head trying to sooth the pain. "oh, you''re awake" I looked at who spoke and saw a woman in the entrance of the cave. She got in and now I can see her from the fire''s light. She had tan skin and white stripes on parts of her body. She had dark hair tied into a ponytail, green eyes and a small green gem on her forehead. Her clothes were just skin cloths, she had fang ear rings and more fangs around her, she also had a wooden spear on her back. I was about to say something but immediately closed my mouth because my head started aching again. The woman walked to the other side of the cave and grabbed a stone bowel, she put a couple of plants in it, added water and started mixing them. When she was done, she walked up to me and handed me the bowel with an apologic smile "I''m sorry about the poison, this should help with the headache". I nodded in gratitude and took the bowel. If it wasn''t for the headache, I would have spat it out because whatever she gave me tastes like a cooked Hollow. The effects were pretty quick because the pain in my head started vanishing "thanks" I said giving her back the bowel. "you''re welcome" she sat the bowel down and looked at me "I''m Nidalee, and you are?". "I''m Grey" I replied as most of the pain was gone. "well Grey" she then motioned to the meat that was cooking above the fire "are you hungry?". I was actually a little hungry "yes". Nidalee nodded. She took a piece of the meat and gave it to me before taken one herself. We ate in silence for a couple of minutes before Nidalee spoke again "so Grey?" she looked at me "what was someone like you doing in the jungle? Not many travel through the Kumungu jungle" she asked "not anyone who''s sane at least". "I had a job here" I replied honestly. "really?" she raised an eyebrow "what was the job?". "I was looking for someone" someone I apparently found. She looks like a warrior, and now I just need to see if she wants to join. "and who was it?" she asked again. "well, you apparently" I replied. Nidalee frowned "and why were you looking for me?" she slowly started reaching for her spear. Not wanting a fight, I just gave her a straight answer "to give you an invitation to the Institute of War". "the... Institute of War?" she tilted her head "never heard of it". "I didn''t know what it was either" I shrugged "but now I do, so let me tell you" I then started explaining the Institute. Nidalee POV: Grey started telling me about the Institute and what it does. It suppose to be a place people fight in to protect their home. "so if I join, I can protect the jungle from invaders?" I asked to make sure. "yes" Grey nodded. "why do you think I''m who you''re looking for?" I asked since he could be wrong. "well, I''m a champion but you managed to knock me out" he replied. I did use poison and a couple of tricks but I guess he''s right. I have to admit it sounded tempting to join, specially if it keeps away those Noxian idiots. But I can''t leave the jungle now, not with what''s going on... But maybe. "alright, I''ll go with you" I said and before he said anything I pointed a finger at him "but only if you help me with a problem I have". "well I do owe you for not killing me, so why not?" he shrugged "what do you need?". "I''ll tell you tomorrow" I told him "for now you need to sleep off the rest of the poison effects". "I guess you''re right" Grey then massaged his head "and you are the expert here so I''ll listen to you". Does he think I''m an idiot? There''s no way someone who wasn''t experienced with the jungle could have been that good at killing beasts. Before I say anything, he laid down and went to sleep. I just looked at how he slept so quickly, either the poison was stronger than I thought or he spent most of his life not sleeping. I just shrugged it off and laid down on my side of the cave with my spear near me just in case. We''re going to need a lot of energy tomorrow. Third POV: Time skip: (brought to you by chibi Ahri and chibi Akali eating bowels of ramen). Grey woke up from Nidalee who was shaking his shoulder "come on, let''s go". "oh... Right" Grey groaned and stood up noticing that the pain is gone. He grabbed his weapons, hat, brought up the neck of his shirt and checked his Estus Flask before leaving with Nidalee. They walked through the jungle for a while with Nidalee leading them. Grey decided to ask something that''s been bothering him for a while "so what do you need my help with?". Nidalee walked up to a few big leaves and grabbed them "this" she removed the leaves and Grey''s eyes widen. He saw a clearing filled with dead bodies, both animals and beasts, smashed and beaten to death. He walked to the middle and saw signs of battle, like a small war broke in here. "what happened here?" he asked looking at the battlefield. "something is going around the jungle and killing anything in it''s path" Nidalee said walking up to him "at first, I thought it was Noxians, until I found an entire Noxus camp completely destroyed and everyone there slaughtered the same way". That didn''t surprise the Abyss Watcher, Ezreal told him Noxus loved to invade but apparently it was something else. Grey looked again at the corpses around him, the way they were killed looked familiar to Grey, but more monstrous. His thoughts were cut off when he heard a low whimper, a small cry. He looked at the source and saw it came from a leaf covered tree trunk. Grey walked up to it and removed the leaves to find a hole in the trunk. Inside was a pup, a small wolf pup. It was curled up and whimpering. One of it''s ears twitched and it looked at the Abyss Watcher. It started growling and showing it''s fangs trying to look threatening but it was obviously terrified. Grey reached out to it but the wolf snapped it''s jaws at him. Grey pulled back his head "easy, I don''t want to hurt you" he said trying to calm the pup down. Nidalee walked up besides Grey and looked at the pup "it must have survived the attack" she inspected. The huntress looked at Grey and the pup as an idea popped in her head. She turned around and started walking away "well, let''s keep going". "what!" Grey looked at her in shock "we''re not going to help him?". "nope" she replied simply. "we can''t just leave him" Grey said trying to reason with her. "he''ll just slow us down" she replied still walking. "I don''t care" Grey said. Nidalee stopped and looked over her shoulder to see Grey kneeling down to the pup "hey little guy". Grey reached out with his arm again. The pup, knowing it can''t do much, just closed it''s eyes prepared for the pain. But it didn''t feel any, the only thing it felt was a hand soothing it''s head. The pup opened it''s eyes and noticed something about Grey, that he smelled like it''s kind. Grey then brought his hands under the pup and pulled it out of the trunk. He saw one of it''s feet hurt. "you''re hurt" he touched the wounded leg and the pup winced "here, this should help" Grey pulled out his Estus Flask and moved it to the little Pup''s mouth. The pup sniffed it a couple of times before taking a few licks. It did cause Grey some Estus but it was worth it in his opinion. The pup''s body glowed a golden color. It noticed that it''s wound was gone and it''s leg felt fine. The pup smiled and jumped on Grey''s right shoulder, it then started rubbing it''s head on Grey''s. The Abyss Watcher chuckled "I''m glad you''re feeling better" he turned around and found Nidalee leaning on her spear and smirking "why are you-" then he realized what she did "this was a test, wasn''t it?". "yes" she nodded. Grey sighed "why?". "because I wanted to see if I can trust you" Nidalee replied and then shrugged "no offense, but we did meet just yesterday". "that''s fair, I guess" Grey said understanding the reason for Nidalee''s actions. "besides" she walked up to Grey and started scratching under the pup''s chin who was still on Grey''s shoulder "did you really think I would leave such a cute thing" the pup started leaning to the touch and after a couple of seconds Nidalee pulled back her hand "now come on, the tracks lead south. We should get going". The Abyss Watcher nodded and he followed the huntress as she lead him to where the tracks are going. Ahri POV: Today... Is not a good day for me. After last night of talking with Akali, she went to her room and when I woke up I saw I had a match. I was planning to use my skin, but when I met up with Akali and Aki, the Summoner told me it wasn''t done yet. I was kind of sad that Grey wasn''t here to see my match, but now I am very glad he didn''t see it. The match was terrible, we were losing bad and it was embarrassing... I blame the Summoners for being lousy. I was now in the middle fighting a guy Grey fought with before, Azir I think. I just wanted to hit him with one orb of deception but those sand soldiers weren''t making it easy. Dodging another sand soldier, I finally got a good shot when "VICTORY, Red Team" the announcer spoke. I just sighed and waited to be pulled out of the rift. When I was out, I ignored the summoners and other champions and just went to the dining hall. Aki, Akali, Lux and Ezreal were sitting together in a table. I walked up to them, sat down besides Aki and Akali, and planted my head in the table. "hi Ahri" Lux said trying to sound cheerful "that match was-". "if you complete that sentence, I will hurt you" I said which made Lux go quiet. You know what''s the the worst part is? Grey''s still not back! "Lux told me where Grey is" Ezreal said "is that why you''re down?". "that''s part of it" I sighed. "I know, why don''t we see your first skin" Aki suggested. My head shot up "it''s done?". The summoner nodded "yeah, just a few minutes ago actually". "alright" I said standing up "let''s go then". The others got up but Lux then pushed Ezreal back down "not you, this is a girls thing". Ezreal looked confused "what?". "just stay here" she told him and followed me, Aki and Akali to mine and Grey''s room. When we got there, we got in and I looked at Aki "so how does this work?". "just stand still for a second" she replied and I did what she said. She waved her hands and I was covered in light for a second "there you are". "so?" I said turning around "how does it look?". "it looks pretty good" Akali said "it has a cute traditional touch". "yeah, it suits you" Lux added and I decided to get a look myself. I walked to our bedroom and looked at the mirror there. My hair became platinum blonde and was tied into a bun. My usually red kimono was now white with a dark red and puffy skirt that had a jade butterfly clip. "not bad" I said turning around getting a look all over "not as good as I usually look, but still pretty cute". "now you can use it in matches" Aki told me. "do you think Grey''s going to like it?" I asked. "yeah, I bet he''ll love it" Akali said and the other two girls nodded. She is right. And since Grey promised to spend time with me, maybe... I can wear it and go on a date together. Third POV: Grey and Nidalee were walking through the forest with the latter leading them, the wolf Pup was still on the Abyss Watcher''s shoulder. The tracks led them to a big clearing surrounded by trees with the sunlight shining down on them. Nidalee walked up to the middle of the clearing and knelt down while Grey walked besides her. "What''s wrong?" he asked. "the tracks, they stop here" she replied and looked up at the sky "so that means one of either two things. It grew wings and flew away, or-". "it''s here" Grey finished as he pulled out his sword while Nidalee raised her spear. He used his free hand to grab the pup from his shoulder and set him on the ground "go find a place to hide". The pup gave a bark of confirmation and ran away to hide in the jungle. Grey pulled out his knife and got ready with Nidalee. Then they heard a strange noise and saw black fog cover one side of the forest. "I saw this before" Grey said remembering the times of fighting the Abyss "this isn''t good". Suddenly, metallic thuds could be heard from the fog. It vanished as a big figure came out of it. It was big, really big. It was wearing a white knight like armor that gave off frost. The helmet had two slits for the eyes and a pointy chin. It had a giant mace and was walking on four with something falling from it, Grey recognized it as Abyss. The creature sat it''s mace upside down and raised it''s head making a sound that was the combination of a roar and a screech. "Vordt?" Grey said recognizing the creature "what happened to you?". "what is that?" Nidalee asked never seeing such a monster. "the Vile watchdog" Grey said getting ready for battle "but something is definitely wrong, get ready" Nidalee followed his advice and got in stance. Vordt jumped at them swinging it''s mace. Nidalee jumped back while Grey rolled under the strike. The Abyss Watcher anchored his knife and used it to swing at Vordt. He pulled out his knife and rolled away from Vordt''s mace that came crashing down. Nidalee threw her spear and it struck in Vordt''s shoulder between his armor plates. The huntress jumped in and violently ripped out her spear. Grey jumped in swinging both his sword and knife and struck the other shoulder. They both jumped back as the Vile watchdog swung it''s mace at them. Nidalee jumped at him and Grey was surprised to see her transform into a cougar. The huntress landed on Vordt''s head striking him with her claws. Vordt started trying to shake her off. She held on for a few seconds and then let go jumping back. Grey then jumped in her place and swung his sword at Vordt. He landed a clean hit, the Abyss Watcher anchored his knife and spun around swinging his sword again. Vordt recoiled from the strike and went limp for a second. Nidalee, now in human form, walked up besides Grey. "did we kill it?" she asked still holding her spear. "no" Grey replied shaking his head "we just pissed him off". Just as Grey said, Vordt got up again, but his eyes were now glowing blue, it gave a big roar. He started swinging his mace wildly. They managed to jump away in time, and then Vordt set his eyes on Grey who just stood up. The Vile watchdog dashed forward trying to tackle Grey and taking a few trees down. The Abyss Watcher managed to roll away in time. Vordt turned around facing them and started inhaling air. Nidalee saw a chance to attack and was about to, but Grey grabbed her shoulder "no, I know that attack, we need to get far from it now!". Nidalee decided to trust him and they both made distance between them and Vordt. The Vile watchdog then released a giant frost breath. Everything in it''s path was frozen by the breath, but Grey and Nidalee managed to get out of range. Vordt then charged at them trying to tackle them and they both jumped in the same direction. Vordt then turned around swinging his mace. Nidalee didn''t have enough time to get out of the way and all she can do is close her eyes and prepare for the pain. But it didn''t come, the only thing she felt was someone pushing her out of the way. She heard a sickening crack, so she looked and saw that Grey was the one who pushed her and used his left arm as protection. The Abyss Watcher was sent flying and crashed through a tree "Grey!" Nidalee called out as she jumped away from Vordt and hid in the bushes. The Vile watchdog started smashing around wildly with it''s mace looking for them while Nidalee rushed towards Grey. She found him barely standing using his sword for support while his left hand was dangling, he also apparently dropped his knife. "are you alright?" she asked running besides him and checking his arm. "no" he groaned adjusting his stance "he almost completely shattered my arm". "we need to get out of here" she said in alarm hearing Vordt smashing around. "it doesn''t matter" Grey shook his head "now that he''s on a rampage, he''s going to end up destroying half the jungle". "well what do you suggest we do?" she asked. Grey started thinking, he heard the sound of running water, he looked and saw a small stream that leads to a the edge of a cliff "I think I have a plan" he said. "are you crazy!?" Nidalee asked "you can''t fight like this". "I don''t care!" he replied. Nidalee looked at him in disbelief as Grey pulled his sword from the ground and rested it on his shoulder "listen, I need you to lead him to that cliff over there" he motioned with his head. Nidalee looked at him for a second and sighed "your plan better work" Grey just nodded and left to the cliff. Nidalee looked at where he left before smiling "he''s something else, isn''t he?" the huntress took a deep breath and jumped out of her hiding place looking at Vordt "over here you ugly mutt!". Vordt saw Nidalee and tried to smash her with his mace, but she jumped away. She ran towards the cliff with Vordt following. They got close and Vordt was about to jump on Nidalee right there "hey!" but stopped and looked at the cliff. Nidalee saw Vordt distracted and took her chance to jump in the forest. She looked from her hiding spot and saw Grey at the edge of the cliff. His left arm was still limp, Grey pointed his sword at Vordt "this reminds me of the second time we met, I had to beat you in a duel. The only difference between now and then... is that when I win this time, I''m going to do it with my arm broken". Nidalee didn''t understand what he was talking about, but it was obvious that Vordt was enraged. The Vile watchdog have a big road with frost coming out of it''s body, it then started running towards Grey. Grey stood still in his place. Vordt got close to him and jumped forward trying to tackle the Abyss Watcher. But... At the last second, Grey rolled under the tackle resulting in Vordt falling over the cliff. Vordt twisted his body while mid-air and fell on his back heavily damaged. Nidalee was impressed thinking it was Grey''s plan... Until she saw him run to the cliff and jump. The huntress looked horrified, she immediately jumped from her hiding spot and ran to the cliff to see what happened. Vordt was on his back heavily injured, but alive. Grey fell on him stabbing his sword through Vordt''s chest. The Abyss Watcher''s arm was dangling from his shoulder but he paid it no mind. He pulled his sword out half way through and then brought it back down stabbing it deeper. Vordt roared in pain and then fell limp. Grey jumped off him and the Vile watchdog vanished leaving his mace behind. Grey put his sword away and pulled out his Estus Flask. He had to drink all of it to heal his wounds. While he was checking his arm. Nidalee was jumping on the rocks that were on the side of the cliff. She landed with the wolf pup in her hands, she sat him down and ran towards Grey. "what the hell was that!?!" Nidalee yelled angrily. "my plan" he replied to simply. "what kind of plan was that?" she asked dumbfounded "you could have died". "it worked, didn''t it?" the Abyss Watcher shrugged and Nidalee was shocked he didn''t care about dying. Grey saw the wolf pup walk up to him holding his knife in it''s mouth "did you get that for me?" he knelt down, picked his knife and rubbed the pup''s head "good job". The pup barked happily at being praised while Nidalee took a few deep breaths to calm down. "well" the huntress sighed "you helped me deal with my problem, so like I promised, I''ll go with you to the Institute". Grey stood up "yeah, we did it... We... Killed Vordt" Grey suddenly looked scared "when the Dancer finds out, she''s definitely going to kill me". (A/N: thank you for reading this, I hope you enjoyed it, please comment in anyway you like and tell me how you like the story so far). 22 CH22: Demacia Third POV: Ahri was sitting in the dining hall with Aki, Akali, Ezreal and Lux having dinner. But said Vastayan wasn''t very excited. She had a bored expression on her face, she was resting her head on the palm of her hand while playing with her food. "hey Ahri, why are you still in your skin?" Lux asked noticing that Ahri still didn''t change back. "well, I wanted to surprise Grey with it" Ahri sighed "but he''s still not back". "the Kumungu jungle is far bigger than a Tomb" Ezreal said "you can''t expect him to find who''s he looking for in just a day". "not to mention the way back" Akali added. Ahri sighed with her ears slightly dropping "I know". "good evening" someone greeted, they looked and saw that Zyra was the one who spoke. The people who knew her were surprised to see her out of the garden since she barely leaves it at all. "oh, hi Zyra" Ahri greeted and raised an eyebrow "what are you doing here?". Zyra sat down besides them while also setting down a tray of food, it was mostly meat. "even I need food, and I thought of coming here as a little change" she replied taking a bite of chicken, she then looked at Ahri "I see you got a skin?". Ahri nodded "yeah, I got it today actually". "it''s not bad" she looked around "I also see that Grey isn''t around". "thanks" Ahri replied to the complement and looked down "and yeah, Grey is-". "in the Kumungu jungle, I know" the carnivore woman finished surprising the others. "uhmm... How did you know?" Ahri asked. "because I come from the Kumungu jungle" Zyra replied "most of my children are there and they''ve been feeling Grey''s presence for a while". "really?" Ahri questioned how plants can feel someone''s presence, but she put that thought in the back of her head for now "can you contact him?" she asked. To her disappointment, Zyra shook her head "no, but I can tell you that he''s alright". Ahri sighed in relief. She then looked deep in thought "hey, do you think he misses me?". "I''m sure he does" Akali said "you''re a really good friend, why wouldn''t he miss you?". "yeah" Aki nodded "plus you''re really fun to be around, so I''m sure he misses you". "yeah, I guess you''re right" Ahri looked at the others with more confidence "I am a good, and I am fun to be around" she then smiled smugly putting a hand on her chest "in fact, I bet he''s bored out of his mind without me around". Grey POV: Me and Nidalee were back inside her cave resting after the fight with Vordt. The wolf pup was also with us. We were cooking some meat above the fire while me and Nidalee were laughing at one of my old adventures. "and then what?" Nidalee asked chuckling. "after I got in, I heard the door being closed and locked" I continued "I looked and saw it was the onion knight, it was really weird for a knight of Catarina to do, but then he took off the helmet and it turned out to be a guy I know with the name Patches" I started shaking my head "it took me an entire week of killing sludge and skeletons to get out of the Catacombs, when I did, I swore if I ever saw Patches again, I''ll throw him to the leaches in the Irithyll dungeon". We both started laughing. For some reason, whenever Patches is in a story it always sounds funny... Damn bastard never seems to go Hollow. The meat was done, so we split it in half and we both took one. I took a piece of mine and gave it to the pup. "here you go boy" I said giving him his meal. He barked and started digging in. Me and Nidalee just looked at him while he ate "you know, he seems very fond of you" she said and looked at me "maybe you should keep him?". "that''s up to him I guess" I replied and then looked at the pup "do you want to stay with me?". The pup barked with a smile and Nidalee chuckled "I guess that''s a yes, so what we''ll you call him?". "I would call him Sif but that''s taken" I said remembering Artorias''s dear friend, I then noticed the color of the pup''s fur "how about Silver? Do you like that name?" the pup smiled again and I nodded "Silver it is". We continued eating for a while and when we were done, Nidalee spoke "hey Grey, how will we get the Institute? It must take days to get there by foot maybe weeks". "they have something called a transport station" I replied "it should get us to the Institute quickly, and I know the location of the closest two". She raised an eyebrow "really? Where?". "one is in Demacia, the other one is in Noxus" not a second after the name Noxus left my lips and I found Nidalee''s spear stuck in the wall near my head. "I am not going to Noxus" she growled. I just looked at the spear unaffected then back at her "alright, Demacia it is then". "that''s better" she nodded as I pulled out her spear and threw it back at her "I know a way to Demacia, but that''s for tomorrow". "alright" I said and then looked at the other side of the cave "well, at least when I come back I''ll have a souvenir" I motioned to Vordt''s mace that was left after the fight. Any normal person would have had problems lifting it, but thanks to my training to carry Farron Great sword it wasn''t a problem. "I still can''t believe we killed it" Nidalee''s said. "''him'' not ''it''" I corrected "he is a person, or was until he gave himself to become an Outrider Knight". "I have a question" she said looking at me "you seemed to know him, but he didn''t know you, what was that about?". I thought back on when I met Vordt before answering "well... When I met him he was already insane, but more in control, and he certainly wasn''t a giant brute. Something must have happened to him" I wasn''t an idiot, it was obvious what actually happened "poor soul must have been corrupted by the Abyss" I mumbled. "was he a friend of yours?" Nidalee asked. "a little, yeah" I thought on my encounters with the Vile watchdog. I didn''t know Vordt well since he was already insane from Sulyvahn''s eyes. In fact, if it wasn''t for my... Special connection to the Dancer, he would have killed me the first time we met, but he was still someone who did his duty to the end. "so where do you come from Grey?" Nidalee asked gaining my attention "your clothes are a little dark to be Demacian, and your too honorable to be Noxian". "oh" I chuckled thinking on how to answer that "I actually don''t come from Runeterra itself" my answer made Nidalee look at me confused so I explained "you see, I come from another world. I accidentally ended up being sent here. I originally went to the Institute to find a way back home, but decided to stay here instead". "so... You''re really not from Runeterra?" she asked and I shook my head. Nidalee then gained a suspicious look "so does your world have jungles?". I tilted my head "why do you ask?". "I just thought it was weird how well you handled yourself in the jungle before we met" she said her look not changing. "I don''t know what-". "you are a really bad lier, you know?" Nidalee said with a deadpan look "you can''t even look at someone when you''re lying". She''s smarter than I took her for. I chuckled before answering honestly "you got me, in truth, I''m a hunter". "I thought so" she smirked in victory. "my foster father taught me most of what I know" I explained "when it came to hunting he was the best out there, no one was as good as he was, not in my world and not even on Runeterra". Nidalee rolled her eyes "aren''t you exaggerating?". I shook my head "no I''m not" I took a deep breath and looked at the fire remembering my father "what made my father so strong wasn''t just how strong he was as a hunter, but also his morals. His motto was, I don''t hunt for sport, I don''t hunt for joy, I don''t hunt for profit, I hunt to release my prey from the dreadful curse known as the Darksign". "what''s a Darksign?" Nidalee asked, she looked like she understood the beginning but not the final part. I took a deep breath ready to explain what the curse is, hopefully she won''t have nightmares. Third POV: Grey told Nidalee of the Darksign and being an accursed undead. She was horrified to know such a thing existed. "so, you''re undead?" she asked and the Abyss Watcher nodded. Nidalee looked down for a second before asking something she thought she would regret "how many times have you died?". Grey sighed "I honestly don''t know, I lost count a long time ago. But that''s where my father come in" he said changing the subject to what they were originally talking about "you see, there is a way to not come back. It''s for whoever killed you to take your soul, like this" Grey reached into his cape and pulled out a white flame that seemed to be more of a silhouette "this is Vordt''s soul". "wait, that''s his soul?" Nidalee said absolutely surprised. "yes" Grey nodded "but it''s sovereignless, it doesn''t have a conscious, or a mind" he explained and Nidalee relaxed learning that "you see, my father would hunt the undead who went hollow and take their souls to make sure they don''t come back and no longer suffer. But don''t take his actions wrong, he wasn''t a psycho who hunted to get souls. You see, my father truly saw the hunt as a way out of the curse and only hunted those who went hollow or wanted to be set free. He never hunted anyone who was sane or human. The biggest proof that he didn''t hunt for souls, is that he would bury them". "he... Would bury souls?" Nidalee asked as Grey put Vordt''s soul away. The Abyss Watcher nodded "yes, he would bury the souls he gained and put a rose above them to honor the memory of those who were lost to the curse. He would hunt, plant a rose, hunt and plant, again and again, before he knew it, my father had an entire garden full of roses, and even then he kept at it". Nidalee was amazed. from what she understood, Grey''s foster father was truly a selfless person who saw hunting as a duty and a purpose. Grey then decided to change the subject "hey I have a question, you don''t have to answer if you don''t want to" Grey looked at Nidalee "why do you live in the jungle?" Nidalee smiled sadly. The huntress hugged her knees and looked at the fire. Grey was about to apologize but Nidalee beat him to speaking. "when I was a child, my parents wanted to travel through the Kumungu jungle to see it''s magical energy from the rune wars" her smile vanished "but... We didn''t prepare well. They barely lasted a week, I would have been gone too if it weren''t for a cougar tribe to take me in. I stayed with them after that, I learned how to survive and after a few years the magic of the jungle awoke something inside me". The huntress kept looking at the for while hugging her knees as she told the story. Grey moved besides her and put a hang on her shoulder "it''s alright" Nidalee looked at him "I know losing family is hard, but you have to move forward, they wouldn''t have wanted to become depressed over it". Nidalee smiled with a pink shade dusting her cheeks "thanks". They saw Silver jump between them and stretch his legs with a yawn, he then circled himself before laing down. Grey chuckled "well, I guess it is about time we go to bed". Nidalee nodded, the huntress then gained a cat like smile and scooted closer to Grey "or... We could spend the night doing something else. You know, relieve some stress". Grey blushed slightly and scooted a little away from her "don''t take this the wrong way, but I''d like to spend tonight sleeping". "are you sure~?" Nidalee teased. "yes" Grey nodded and laid down on his side of the cave near Silver. Nidalee chuckled "alright" she said before laing down on her side and they both went to sleep. Time skip: (brought to you by chibi Nidalee hiding in the bushes following chibi Grey who is walking around the jungle). Nidalee was the first to wake up next morning, she stretched and found Grey and Silver still sleeping. The huntress chuckled "and I thought his smell is the only thing he has in common with wolves" she said referring to Grey''s smell and he''s sleeping habit that Silver shares "alright you two, get up". Silver was the first to wake up and then Grey followed suit, the Abyss Watcher got up and stretched "morning, so are we leaving now?". Nidalee nodded as he stood up "yes, unless you want to reach Demacia after sunset". "alright" he said as he started putting on his equipment. He also grabbed Vordt''s mace and strapped it to his back. Nidalee was impressed he could lift it while still carrying his great sword. Meanwhile, Silver jumped on Grey''s leg and started crawling on his body. The pup got inside Grey''s cape and popped it''s head out of his right shoulder. Silver looked at Grey and barked happily. Grey chuckled "whatever makes you happy buddy" he said as he and Nidalee exited the cave. Nidalee started leading them through the jungle. She led them to a place where the trees end and there''s only grass left. In the distance, they can see a city with large buildings made of gold and white stone. Nidalee stopped and looked back at the jungle one last time. She took a deep breath, and looked at the Abyss Watcher "alright, let''s go". Grey nodded and they both started walking towards the city through the grass fields. Time skip: (brought to you by chibi Grey and chibi cougar Nidalee taking a nap together). Grey and Nidalee were traveling for half the day, they spent the time talking and getting to know each other. Nidalee told Grey about the forest and the things that live there, while Grey told her about being an Abyss Watcher and what the Abyss is. Like everyone, the huntress compared it to the Void, apparently one of it''s creatures go to the forest. But when Grey explained further she understood that the Abyss was worse. it was already late afternoon when they reached the city and it won''t be long until sunset. When they entered the city, they were greeted with the site of marble streets, golden decorations, giant statues and knights walking around. The Abyss Watcher understood why Ezreal compared it to his home. It reminded him of being in Lothric. "so what do we do now?" Nidalee asked walking the streets with Grey and ignoring the looks they got. "I have an idea" Grey said as he walked up to a man that was standing besides the street "excuse me?". The man looked at Grey and became scared of his attire "y-yes?". "I''m looking for the house of Lightshield" Grey asked. "oh, the royal family?" the man relaxed hearing Grey''s kind tone. He then pointed at the left road "head in that direction, and take the second turn to the right. It''s the big castle with golden gates, you can''t miss it". "thank you" Grey nodded and returned to Nidalee before they both followed the man''s directions. "so what do you want with the royal family?" Nidalee asked hearing the conversation. "I know the prince" Grey replied simply. "and how?" Nidalee asked again, Grey didn''t exactly look that he would know royalty. "he''s a champion in the Institute" Grey answered and Nidalee just shrugged. They reached the castle the man spoke of. There were guards near the wall but only two near the gates. When they got close, the guards near the gates pointed their spears at them "hold it! What is your business here?". "is Prince Jarvan home?" Grey asked not caring about the weapons that are being pointed at him "I wish to speak to him". "why? And where do you come from?" the second guard asked "I would say you''re Noxians" he then motioned to Grey''s hat "but I never saw a Noxian with a hat like that". Grey grumbled while Nidalee snickered, she had to agree that Grey''s hat wasn''t... Usual. Grey took a glance at her and she looked away smirking before looking back at the guards "I''m his friend, and I want to see him". The first guard laughed "yeah right. You''re friends with the prince, and my girlfriend is Fiora Laurent" he said sarcastically. Then he glared at them "get out of here before we hurt you". "or you could leave and the lady can stay" the second guard said as he started walking towards Nidalee "I wouldn''t mind having fun with her". However, when the guard got close, Nidalee grabbed him by the collar, spun around and threw him at one of the walls. The first guard and the ones near the wall stared wide eyed at what she did. Sliver dug himself into Grey''s cape to hide from the fight that is about to break down. While Grey... Just sighed "well, it''s not like this is the first time I''ve broken into a castle" he then put his hand where the neck of his shirt is covering his chin "which reminds me, I wonder how prince Lothric is doing. Last I heard he was going to be crucified. I sure hope Lorian was able to do something about that". (A/N: thank you for reading this, I hope you enjoyed it, please comment in anyway you like and tell me how you like the story so far). 23 CH23: New Roommate Jarvan VI POV: Me and Shyvana were standing with my father in his castle as he dealt with a few problems from the borders. Xin Zhao was at my father''s side as always. He had dark hair tied into a ponytail, white armor, gold trimming and a tri-bladed staff. Although he''s a champion, he doesn''t go to the Institute for anything other than matches since he''s always guarding my father, and I''m honestly thankful to him. My father was wearing the usual golden robes with a few armor plates for decoration. He was always a man of peace, always seeking the best for his people. He was absolutely overjoyed when the Institute was made to ensure the people''s safety, and I wish I can live up to his name one day. Right now, he was speaking to the captain of the guards "and thanks to winning in the Institute, those farms are ours, so just send your men to help without any resort to violence. Am I clear" his voice was kind but still held it''s authority. "yes your majesty" the captain said before turning around and leaving to follow the order. "well I''m glad that''s settled" my father said before turning around facing me "and now, how is you''re life in the Institute my son?". "it''s going well father, thank you for asking" I replied smiling. "you seem happy" my father raised an eyebrow "did something happen?". I nodded "yes, there''s a new champion who seems like a great warrior in both skills and heart. I have spoken to him and he seems to want to help anyone in need". In the corner of my eye, I can see Shyvana smile realizing who I was talking about. "really? I suppose that is something to be happy about. What is this champion''s name?" my father asked. "his name is-". "YOUR MAJESTY!" I was interrupted by a guard kicking the doors open. He ran up to us while the doors closed behind him. "what''s wrong?" my father asked on alert. "there''s people trying to break into the castle" the guard said panting. "what?!?" my father asked as we were all shocked. "are they Noxians?" Xin Zhao asked. It didn''t make sense, why would Noxus attack? "I don''t know" The guard said. "where are they now?" I asked. "they''re-" the guard was cut off by another guard that was sent flying through the door. The beaten guard fell on the floor unconscious. More guards came in and got to battle stance with me, Shyvana and Xin Zhao doing the same in front of my father to protect him. Two figures appeared from the entrance. I got my weapon ready to attack along with Xin Zhao while Shyvana set her hands on fire, but then I saw a familiar pointy hat and cape... Wait, is that... "STOP!" I yelled at the guards before any of them did anything. I looked at the introders and addressed one of them "Grey?". "ah, hello prince Jarvan" he said awkwardly. It really was him, He had his weapons drawn, a big mace on his back, and besides him was a Dark skinned woman. "uhmm... Do you mind helping me with this... Misunderstanding" Grey said motioning to the guards around them "I assure you that there is a reasonable explanation". I sighed heavily and looked at the guards "put down your weapons". One of the guards looked at me "but sir-". "now" I said firmly and the guards followed my order. While Shyvana relaxed recognizing Grey. I walked up to Grey with Shyvana, but Xin Zhao was still a little on guard though. Grey put away his weapons. While the woman, like Xin Zhao, stayed slightly on guard. "what are you doing here?" I asked. "I came to see you" Grey replied plainly. "well why didn''t you just ask instead of breaking in?" Shyvana asked him. "we did ask, but the guards told us to beat it and one of them made my friend feel... Uncomfortable, and she didn''t take it well" he replied. "it''s not my fault he was more bark than bite" the woman besides him said in defense "I wouldn''t be surprised if he never finds a mate". Both me and Shyvana groaned. For some reason I''m pretty sure we both know who''s fault it is. I looked at the captain of the guards "captain". "sir!" he stood attention. "go find Tom and Phil... And fire them in the most humiliating way possible" I told him. The captain nodded and went to follow my order. Grey looked at where the captain went "isn''t that a little harsh?". "no it isn''t" Shyvana said shaking her head. "to be honest I never liked them" I just said naturally. They never took their job seriously, they just joined to gloat "in fact, I''ve been looking for a reason to fire them for a while, and I got to thank you for giving me one". Grey tilted his head "uhmm... you''re welcome?". "do you know this person, my son?" my father asked as he and Xin Zhao walked up towards us. "yes father" I nodded and then motioned to Grey "this is the champion I told you about" I then motioned to my father "Grey, this is my father". "ah, you''re the new champion my son has spoken of" my father said "I am King Jarvan Lightshield III". Grey bowed slightly "it''s an honor to meet you your majesty" he greeted. The woman besides him just looked away bored until Grey nudged her and she bowed too. "now, what are you doing here?" I asked. "I just finished my mission, and wanted to go to the transport station" Grey replied "the closest ones were either here, or in Noxus, and since my friend didn''t want to go there we came here". "makes sense" Shyvana said. I nodded "yes, I assume she''s the person you were sent to bring?". "yes" Grey nodded and motioned to the woman "her name is Nidalee". "well then" I looked at my father "father, can you excuse me for a few moments to help my friend to the transport station. Going with him will assure that another... Misunderstanding doesn''t happen". My father stroked his short beard "very well, I can''t really have him going around beating up my guards now can I?". "I apologize for that" Grey said bowing slightly. My father waved his hand "at least it''s settled out". "alright, follow me" I said while Grey nodded. Me and Shyvana then start leading them to the transport station. While walking through the hallway, we saw unconscious guards on the floor... Lots of of unconscious guards... These are royal guards, how strong is he to almost break into my family''s castle? "you really went all out, didn''t you?" Shyvana asked. "sorry" Grey apologized. "how did you do that anyway?" I asked wanting to know how he easily broke in. "I''ve done worst" Grey replied with a shrug "I once broke into a castle guarded by fat, golden armored, axe throwing angels" he then started mumbling "I really hate those things". "you did what?" me, Shyvana and Nidalee asked. Grey waved his hand "just go with it". We let it go at that, and after a couple of minutes, we reached the transport station. The summoner there stood up after seeing us "ah, prince Jarvan. Are you going back to the Institute?". "no, not me at least" I said shaking my head. "I''ll be the one going" Grey said stepping forward and motioning to Nidalee "and she''ll be coming with me". "ah, the Abyss Watcher" the summoner said using Grey''s title "is she a guest?". Grey shook his head "no, but the High Summoners want to see her". "that''s all I needed to hear" the summoner motioned to the rune circle "stand in the circle please". Grey and Nidalee nodded and they both stood inside the circle. The summoner waved his hands and in a flash of light they both vanished. Me and Shyvana started walking back towards my father. While walking, I decided to start a conversation. "she looked like a good warrior" I said referring to Nidalee. "yes" Shyvana nodded "but Ahri won''t be happy". I sighed "true, I just wish Grey makes it out alive... Or undead, I never know with him". Third POV: In the dining hall of the Institute, Ahri was sitting with Aki, Annie, Ezreal and Lux. Ezreal and Lux were talking together. Annie was playing with Tibbers. Aki however was trying to cheer Ahri up. The dark haired Vastayan had her head on the table with her arms crossed over it. "come on Ahri" Aki said "cheer up". Ahri grumbled "is he back yet?". "no" Aki said knowing Ahri meant Grey. Ahri sighed, a male summoner then walked up to her moving past Aki "hello beautiful" he said leaning besides Ahri "how about we get together for some-". "I''m waiting for someone!" Ahri roared glaring at the summoner who jumped. She pointed her finger at the exit "beat it!". The summoner raised his hands, slowly backed away, turned around and sprinting away. Ahri put her head back on the table "I swear if I see one more fanboy... " this was one of the reasons she hated Grey being away. Without him around, men would try to hit on her. Ezreal and Lux turned their attention to Ahri when they heard her yell, while Annie still didn''t pay attention. "come on, I bet he''ll be back soon" the Explorer said. Ahri raised her head with a worried look "but what if something bad happened to him? What if he got hurt? Or kidnapped? Or-". "calm down" Lux said waving her hands "it''s not necessarily something bad that''s keeping him, maybe he''s just stuck in traffic? Or helping someone? Or bringing down a kitten from a tree? Or... Or" she leand towards Ezreal and started whispering "help me out Ez". Ezreal had a shocked look when he spoke "or he could be with a hot half-naked chick". Ahri glared at him "you''re not helping Ezreal". The Explorer just raised his hand and pointed at the entrance. The others looked and their eyes widen with Ahri''s also twitching. Grey just entered the dining hall and besides him was a Dark skinned woman that fits Ezreal''s description. The Abyss Watcher didn''t seem to notice them as he walked through the dining hall and continued towards the High Summoners. Ahri''s shocked expression turned into one of anger and the others started worrying when a few of her tails started rattling. "uhmm... Ahri? Are you OK?" Aki asked. "I''m fine" Ahri replied through her gritted teeth. "well the table isn''t" Lux said which made Ahri confused. The Dark haired Vastayan looked down and saw that she''s been using her nails to claw into the table. She just pulled back her hand but her expression didn''t change. Grey meanwhile reached the High Summoners and entered with Nidalee. Once inside, the High Summoners turned their attention to them. "welcome back, Abyss Watcher" the Demacian Summoner greeted "I assume your mission is a success?". "yes" Grey nodded and then motioned to Nidalee "this is Nidalee, I believe she''s the one worthy to be a champion". The huntress moved forward and stood in front of the leaders of the Institute "Greetings, I assume you were informed of why you''re here?" the Ionian Summoner asked. "yes" Nidalee nodded. "so are you interested in joining?" the Piltoven Summoner asked. "I am" Nidalee replied and then pointed at them "however, I want you to ensure me that the Kumungu jungle will no longer be invaded by any region". The High Summoners started talking amongst themselves, but all fell silent when the Grand Summoner raised his hand. The Grand Summoner started stroking his beard before answering "very well, no lands from the Kumungu jungle will be invaded. However, if a region wins in an official match against it, we''ll have to give them what they earned". Nidalee thought about it, as long as she makes sure to win matches, the jungle will be safe, and it''s better than someone just going to the jungle and try to take it by force. The Huntress looked back up "alright, I agree". "very well, your judgment will have to wait for a while, we are busy at the moment, you can stay in the Institute until then" the Demacian Summoner said. Nidalee nods. Both her and Grey then turn around and left the High Summoners. When outside, Grey saw a familiar golden armor "hello Kayle". "hello Grey, welcome back" the angel greeted back "was your mission a success?". Grey nodded "yes, and have you seen my friends? I would like to see them". Kayle pointed behind her "I just saw them in the dining hall". "thank you" Grey said and Kayle nodded. He started walking towards the dining hall with Nidalee. "so tell me about those friends of yours" Nidalee asked. "you''re going to like them, trust me" Grey replied as they entered the dining hall. Grey spotted his friends and started walking towards them, and they looked towards him and Nidalee. "hi Grey, welcome back" Ahri greeted with hiding her enthusiasm and her past anger. "hi Ahri, it''s great to see you again, have you been doing well?" the Abyss Watcher said. "yeah" Ahri replied and then looked at Nidalee "so who''s your friend?". "this is Nidalee" Grey motioned to the huntress. "hello" Nidalee waved her hand "nice to meet you". Ahri waved back "yeah, sure". Grey and Nidalee sat down with them, but then Lux and Ezreal noticed two different things. "hey Grey, why do you have that mace?" the Explorer asked. "it''s a souvenir, boy do I have a story for you guys" Grey replied. "OK but what''s that moving in your shoulder?" the light mage asked as she noticed something moving under Grey''s cape. "oh right" Grey reached into his cape and pulled out something. The others, even Annie, leaned to see him set a ball of fur on the table "it''s okay, they''re friends". The others saw a pair of ears pop out of the fur ball, Silver then spread himself and looked at everyone in a wondrous expression. "aw, aren''t you a cute-" Ezreal was cut off when Ahri, Aki, Annie and Lux made a girly yell and moved around Silver, Lux even ended up pushing Grey out of his seat. "oh my God! He''s adorable" Lux said. "where did you find him?" Aki asked. "are you going to keep him?" Ahri asked. "what''s his name?" Annie asked. Ezreal rubbed his ears from the screaming while Nidalee helped Grey standing up. "thanks" Grey thanked Nidalee and turned to the other girls "I found him in the jungle, and yes I''ll keep him, his name is Silver". "if he gets any cuter I think I''ll faint" Lux said with glee. Silver started scratching his nose with his paws, he then made a little sneeze and shook his head. The girls awed... And Lux actually fainted. Nidalee and Grey looked at her in shock while Ezreal sighed and picked her up putting her arm over his shoulder. "is she going to be okay?" Grey asked. "yeah" the Explorer said and shook his head "the worst part, is that this isn''t the first time this happened. I''ll take her to Garen, he''ll know what to do" he started walking away but stopped and looked at Grey "also, I want to hear that story you mentioned". "sure thing" Grey nodded and Ezreal took Lux to her brother. Grey and Nidalee sat down together and just watched as the girls played with Silver. Not long after that, and Kayle showed up "hello, I''m here to take Nidalee to her judgment". "very well" the huntress stood up and started following Kayle to the High Summoners. Grey then stood up "Annie, can you take care of Silver for a while?" he asked and the little girl nodded. "where are you going?" Ahri asked. "I''m going to wait for Nidalee to finish her judgement" he replied. Ahri frowned "why? She doesn''t need you there". "true, but I still want to be there for her when she gets out" Grey replied "would you have liked it if I wasn''t there for you?". "well... No" Ahri sighed. "then I''ll be going" Grey said before he left. When he was gone, Aki remembered something "oh right! Ahri, weren''t you going to show Grey your skin?". Ahri''s face showed shock "oh come on!" she whined and planted her head on the table "I completely forgot". Meanwhile, Nidalee just entered the High Summoners chamber and Grey stood besides the gates waiting. After a while, Nidalee came out with a few tears in her eyes, but she was trying to stay strong. Grey walked up to the huntress and put a hand on her shoulder "how did it go?". "it went well I guess" she replied as she wiped her eyes and smiled "my title is the Beastial Huntress now". "I''m glad to hear that" Grey said as he turned towards the direction of the dining hall "well, let''s go then". Nidalee started following the Abyss Watcher "hey Grey, where will I be staying?". "they have rooms for champions" Grey replied as they walked through the hallway "I''m staying with Ahri". "you stay with her in the same room?" Nidalee asked. "it''s a little payback" Grey replied "I owe her something". Nidalee smiled "really?". Grey didn''t see a reason to smile, but he just shrugged it off. They reached the dining hall and went to the others. Meanwhile, Ahri was whispering to Aki "so I just think about it, and it''ll happen?". The summoner nodded "yeah, the spell I gave you should help" she whispered back, then she noticed Grey and Nidalee walking towards them "oh hi, so did you pass?". "yes" the huntress nodded. "good for you" Ahri said "anyway, Grey, I have something to show you" she then looked at Nidalee "in ''our'' room". Nidalee heard the way Ahri said Our room. The Vastayan was basically telling her to beat it. "really?" Grey raised an eyebrow "but Nidalee needs a-". "no, it''s alright" Nidalee waved it off "I got something to do anyway, so don''t worry about it". "are you sure?" Grey asked. "positive" Nidalee replied "so go on, I''ll see you later". "alright" Grey nodded and looked at Silver "come on boy". Silver turns his attention to Grey. The pup jumps to Grey''s arms and climbed to his shoulder. Ahri got up and left with Grey, but she still looked back at Nidalee ''maybe I misjudged her?'' she thought. When they were gone, the Huntress looked at Aki "you''re a summoner right?". "huh? Oh yeah, do you need something?" Aki asked shyly. "yes" Nidalee nodded "I wanted to know who arranges the rooms". Meanwhile, Grey and Ahri just entered their room. Silver jumped down from Grey''s shoulder and started walking around. "so what did you want to show me?" the Abyss Watcher asked. "well, this" Ahri replied as she was covered in light and then appeared in her skin. Grey looked stunned "what just happened?". "this is my skin, skins are something champions wear in battle like different clothes" Ahri explained "I got mine yesterday, and wanted to see what you think about it". Grey looked at her "it... Looks good, it really suits you". "thanks" Ahri replied with a slight blush ''alright, he already likes it so just ask him out. He already owes me time together so he can''t say no'' she told herself and took a deep breath "Grey, do you want to go on a da-". She was interrupted by their door being knocked as they both looked at it. Ahri was frustrated that her moment was ruined. She marched towards the door and opened it. To her surprise, it was Nidalee. "nice to see you again" The Huntress said waving her hand. "uhmm... Yeah" Ahri replied confused "what are you doing here?". "I''ll be staying here from now on, so this is my room as well" Nidalee replied. "what!?" Ahri asked. Nidalee pointed at the door and Ahri saw another name plate other than hers and Grey''s, it said ''Beastial Huntress''. "this can''t be, you don''t even have a room" Ahri said in hope that she would leave. To her disappointment, Nidalee pointed inside their room. Both Ahri and Grey''s eyes widen seeing a door that wasn''t there before on the wall opposite of their bedroom. "how?" Ahri asked surprised. Nidalee shrugged "I don''t know, the summoners said something about magical amplification, but I wasn''t paying attention" she then smiled "now I would like to get in please". "well you can''t stay here" Ahri said. "and why?" the huntress asked. "because... Because..." Ahri tried to think of something so she turned to the Abyss Watcher "Grey tell her she can''t stay here". "I-". "he can''t" Nidalee cut him off "you see, he owes me". "owes you what?" the Vastayan asked. "for scaring me half-dead by jumping over a cliff with a broken arm" Nidalee said. Ahri immediately glared at Grey "you did WHAT!?!" she was angered that he did such a risky thing. "I-" "well you still can''t stay here" Ahri said looking at the huntress. Nidalee kept her cool "yes I can, if I can''t, that means he doesn''t has to stay with you since he''s doing it out of a debt". Ahri was speechless. She didn''t just have her moment ruined but she also couldn''t kick Nidalee out because she was right. Nidalee walked inside past Ahri and grabbed Grey''s arm "well since you seem frustrated, why don''t you spend the night alone to calm down" she said. Ahri then grabbed Grey''s other arm "that''s not necessary, it''s your first night here, you should have it all to yourself". The two started glaring at each other, but then Grey pulled his arms away "or I could sleep on the couch and you two in your own rooms" he said "that way, everyone sleeps on their own". Ahri and Nidalee glared at each other. They weren''t winning, but they weren''t losing either. "fine!" they growled before they both went to their rooms and slammed the door. Grey sat down on the couch. He removed his hat, sat it on the table and ran a hand through his white hair. Silver then jumped on the table and looked at Grey smiling. The Abyss Watcher rolled his eyes "of course you''re happy, you''re not the one who has to sleep on the couch because he stopped two women from killing each other". The Abyss Watcher started petting Silver who enjoyed the gentle touch... But neither of them noticed the figure that appeared above Grey. The figure was big. It was wearing an armor of human skeletons, had weird substance on it''s back and it''s right arm was replaced by a brutal looking blade. The figure stayed in it''s place, looked down at Grey, and then... Vanished. (A/N: thank you for reading this, I hope you enjoyed it, please comment in anyway you like and tell me how you like the story so far). 24 CH24: Death And Drinks Grey POV: My morning... Was not a happy one. It''s only breakfast and I already had to stop Nidalee and Ahri from fighting twice. We were sitting in the dining hall with Aki, Ezreal, Lux and Garen. The fact that I''m sitting between Ahri and Nidalee is the only reason they didn''t kill each other yet. Silver was besides the table having his own breakfast. We managed to find him a bowl and some meat. "soooo" Ezreal said through the awkward atmosphere "Grey, you said you had a story?". "oh right, the mace" I said recalling the subject. "yes it''s quite the story" Nidalee said and smirked at Ahri "of how me and Grey fought together". Ahri was glaring daggers at the huntress and I think I saw her make an orb of deception between her tails ready to throw it. "Ezreal, remember when we got attacked by that Outrider Knight?" I asked and the Explorer nodded "well, we got attacked by another one, but this one was special". Everyone''s attention was focused on me immediately. I started explaining what happened. How I met Nidalee. Finding Silver, which the girls awed at. Our encounter with Vordt. But when I mentioned jumping over a cliff, it got me a slap on the head from Ahri "didn''t I tell to not take risks like that?". "no you didn''t" I replied "and even if you did, do you think I would''ve listened?" that just earned me another slap. I continued the story, but when I reached the part about Demacia, Garen wasn''t so happy "you broke into the royal castle!? Why didn''t you just ask?". "we did" I replied "but then the guards said no and we got two guards fired because of it" I tried to remember their names "Tom and Phil I think?". Suddenly, all of Garen''s anger was replaced with a smile "oh then all is excused". Wow, apparently no one liked those two, I finished my story and stood up "where are you going?" Ahri asked. "I''m going to see the garden" I replied "I haven''t seen Zyra in a while, plus I could use some fresh air" I looked at Silver "come on boy" he barked, ran towards me and climbed to my shoulder. "that name sounds familiar" Nidalee said and looked at me "mind if I tag along?". "not at all" I replied. Ahri stood up "then I''m coming too" she looked at me "you don''t mind, do you?". I shrugged "sure, now let''s-". "deeeeaaaath~" I stopped as I heard something, i looked around for the source of the sound but I didn''t see anything. "Grey? Is something wrong?" Ahri asked. I looked around for a second before answering "no, it''s nothing". Ezreal also stood up "I''d like some fresh air too". Something isn''t right here "are you saying that to use me as a distraction for Zyra while you study her children?". Ezreal just looked at me for a second and then pointed at me with his finger "you can''t prove anything". "that''s a yes" Lux chuckled while Ezreal glared at her. I just shook my head with a smile "well, let''s just go". Third POV: Grey, Ahri, Ezreal and Nidalee walked out of the dining hall going to the garden. They got to the gates and entered. But something was wrong, the garden was absolutely quiet. There were no sounds of birds or any life. "this is strange" Grey said looking around "Zyra, are you here?". A few seconds later and the Rise of Thorns appeared. She looked tense and was looking around her every now and then. "hello Grey, good to see you again" she said. The Abyss Watcher nodded "yes you too" he then motioned to Nidalee "this is the new champion Nidalee". The Huntress and Carnivore woman looked at each other and both gained a deadpan look "oh, you" they both said. Grey looked between them "do you two know each other?". "we met in the jungle a few times" Nidalee said. "we didn''t have any problems, but we didn''t exactly get along either" Zyra said. Nidalee''s eye twitched remembering that Zyra tried to give her as a snack for her children. Grey looked around the state of the garden and back at Zyra, she was still nervous. "Zyra, is something wrong?" he asked. "yeah, you look like you''ve seen a ghost" Ahri added. She was a master of emotions, she can tell what people feel and sometimes control that, but Zyra right now was terrified. "I might as well have" Zyra mumbled and shook her head "sorry. It''s just that I had some... Unsettling guests". Grey was concerned about her safety "are you alrigh-". "Deeeeaaaath~". Grey cut himself off when he heard the same voice as before, only this time it was more clear. He looked at the source and saw it was coming from deep within the garden. "Grey?" Nidalee asked since he suddenly went silent. "something... Is calling" Grey said before he started running towards the source of the sound. The others looked at each other before they started following him. The Abyss Watcher reached a deep part of the garden and found two figures there. One of the figures was completely white, Covered in slight fur, wearing a black mask and holding an odd bow. The other figure was circling the first one, it had the head of a wolf, a dark phantom body and was wearing a white mask. Silver popped out of Grey''s shoulder, but when he saw the figures he immediately started whimpering. The others caught up with him, Nidalee and Ahri didn''t recognize the two figures, but Ezreal did. When the Explorer saw them he became as nervous, if not more than Zyra "oh, h-hi Kindred" he said with a nervous chuckle. "THAT''S KINDRED!!!" both Nidalee and Ahri yelled recognizing the name as they immediately became frightened. Grey looked at the others "what''s wrong?". "Kindred is the manifestation of death. Lamb and Wolf" Zyra said. "seeing them isn''t usually a good sign, but since they didn''t ask us about choosing between the arrow and the hunt we''re fine" Ezreal added and then swallowed a lump in his throat "mostly". The Abyss Watcher looked back at Kindred as he heard who he assumed was Lamb speaking. "it seems all still know us dear Wolf" she said in a soft feminine voice. "indeed they do little Lamb" Wolf chuckled in a gruff male voice. Grey reached for Silver and picked him up from his shoulder, he sat him on the ground before he started walking towards Kindred while the others looked at him in worry. "are you what''s been calling me?" Grey asked as he got close to the two halfs of death. "so you''re what we''ve been sensing lately" Wolf said as Lamb turned around standing on one leg "the man from another world". "that would explain why we never felt something like him before. Doesn''t it dear Wolf?" Lamb said. Wolf chuckled "indeed it does little Lamb". "why did you call me here?" Grey asked. "because you interest us" Wolf said. "we represent death, yet we feel you are like us but different" Lamb said. "that''s because I''m a Lord of Cinder" Grey said still unfazed "I''m supposed to keep the light of my world". "he''s a what?" Ezreal, Nidalee and Zyra asked referring to Grey''s mantle as Lord. "quiet! I''ll tell you later" Ahri whispered trying to listen to the conversation. Lamb tilted her head "you... Are not entirely correct". "what?" Grey asked confused. "when you are around, we sense Life" "Death" "light" "and Dark" "all at the same time" Lamb and Wolf said respectively. "you might be a being at the same level as Aurelion Sol" Lamb said. Grey was more confused "I... I don''t understand". Lamb tilted her head "hmmm... It seems that his powers are not fully awake yet" she then looked at her other half "should we help him with his powers of death dear Wolf?". "I don''t know" Wolf replied, he sniffed a couple of times and grunted "he reeks of that gross undead smell". ''gross? I bathed this morning'' Grey thought to himself. "true, but it seems to be a curse, not magic" Lamb said. "well, I suppose we can''t really blame him since it''s against his will" Wolf said and looked at Grey "but let me asked you this, Lord of Cinder, what do you think about Death?". "that it''s part of nature, that life cannot exist without it" Grey answered. Wolf chuckled "good answer". "and what of those who return from Death?" Lamb asked. "fools that are only asking for madness" Grey answered. Wolf laughed slightly "this one gets how the world works. Very well, we''ll help you with the power of death" Wolf moved from besides Lamb and started circling Grey "if you seek the power of death, then simply spread it". "see the life in the mortals, and know it''s yours to take" Lamb said. "know that whether they live or die is your choice" Wolf said. "that they can only choose how they die" Lamb said. "that is all we''ll tell you, Lord of Cinder" Wolf added before he moved back besides Lamb and they both started walking away. "wait! I still don''t understand!" Grey said as they walked away. "you will soon" both Lamb and wolf said "until we meet again, Lord of Cinder" with that they left. Grey stood there for a second before turning around and returning to the others. "I swear those two are going to give me a heart attack one day" Ezreal said "which they''re supposed to anyway" he added remembering who they are "I just hope Wolf isn''t hungry then". "he always is" Zyra said which made the Explorer shudder. "Grey, what was that about?" Ahri asked. "I don''t know" Grey said as he knelt down, picked up Silver and sat him on his shoulder. "they were talking like you were all the same species or something" Nidalee said as she referred to the way Kindred acted. The Abyss Watcher stood up "I honestly don''t know". "well, I think we should get back" Ezreal said. The others nodded and left with Zyra joining them. While walking through the hallway, Grey explained what a Lord of Cinder is. "what!?!" Ezreal yelled absolutely surprised by such a position. "what''s wrong?" Grey asked. "what do you mean ''what''s wrong''?" Nidalee asked "you have the fate of an entire world in your hands". "my world, not this one. So it doesn''t mean much" The Abyss Watcher replied which made them look at him in shock. "why didn''t you tell me this before?" the Huntress asked. Ahri smirked "it seems you two aren''t so close after all" she said and Nidalee started glaring at her. Grey was worried they were going to fight, but thankfully they reached the dining hall and found Aki, Garen and Lux sitting together in a table. "hi guys" Lux greeted and noticed their gloomy mood "what''s wrong?". Grey shook his head "as one of my old friends would say, I''m in quite a pickle" he chuckled "but let''s not worry about that for now". They all sat down and then Aki remembered something "oh right! Grey, your first skin is out". The Abyss Watcher then remembered what skins are from Ahri "really? Can we see it?". "yeah. Do you want to see it now or later?" the summoner asked. "now actually" Grey replied. "okay, stand still" Aki said and Grey nodded. He stood up from the table with Silver jumping from his shoulder, and Aki waved her hands. Grey then appeared in his skin. He was wearing a trench coat, leather armor and a gas mask with green eyes. His sword was replaced by a long pipe and his usual knife was replaced by a butcher knife. Ahri was disappointed that it didn''t match her skin, while Grey looked at himself. "so? How does it look?" he asked with his voice muffled by the gas mask. "it''s not bad" Ezreal said with a shrug. "you look like you came out from Zaun" Garen added. "you''re half right" Aki said making everyone look at her "this skin was made by the Zaun summoners because Grey helped them in that match a few days ago". "well, can you change me back?" the Abyss Watcher asked. Aki nodded and waved her hands returning Grey to normal "ah, that''s better" he said as he sat down with them. Time skip: (brought to you by chibi Grey keeping chibi Ahri and chibi Nidalee away from each other). It was now evening, Grey was still feeling a little down trying to understand what Kindred said. It was obvious to the others that he was troubled, and that''s when Garen suggested something "why don''t we go for a few drinks". The Abyss Watcher perked up "that''s not a bad idea" he said as he stood up while motioning for Silver who jumped on his shoulder "I haven''t had a drink since I got to Runeterra". "well you''re in luck" Ezreal said standing up with the others "Because the owner of the bar here is Gragas, a champion, who is the best at making drinks" Ezreal added as they started walking outside the dining hall and through the hallway. After a few minutes, they stopped at a pair of wooden doors. When they got in, they saw it was pretty decent looking. There was a counter with bottles in shelves behind it. There was many wooden tables around with wooden chairs. They picked a table and sat together in it. Not long after that, and a big overweight man walked up to them. He was shirtless, had a few white tattoos, a bald head, and a red beard tied into a braid. "so what will it be?" he asked pulling out a small note book. "give us some ale" Grey said and everyone nodded in agreement. Silver then popped from the Abyss Watcher''s shoulder "oh, and some milk". The man nodded and went to the counter. Ezreal spoke "that was Gragas. Trust me, you''ll love his drinks". Gragas came back with a tray that had mugs on it. He sat the tray on the table and they all took a mug while Silver got the milk. Ahri took a drink and coughed slightly feeling the burning in her throat "first time drinking?" Lux asked and the Vastayan nodded "well, Gragas sells pretty strong stuff, so don''t feel bad". "I have to admit, this is pretty good" Nidalee said after taking a drink and looked at the Abyss Watcher "why don''t you try some?". Grey looked at his mug, shrugged his shoulders and took a drink... Only to immediately spit it out. Ahri put a hand on his back as he coughed while Gragas laughed "what''s wrong? Too strong for-". "what is this? Orange juice?" Grey almost yelled as everyone looked at him surprised. He threw his mug away and looked at Gragas "I said give me ale, not a kids drink". "so... You spat it out because it was weak?" Ezreal asked to make sure. "yes" Grey nodded and then looked at the bar owner again "you know what? Just give me your strongest drink, I''ve had a long day" he said remembering the conflict between Ahri and Nidalee. Gragas looked at him for a couple of seconds before he started laughing "I like you. I''ll be right back". Gragas took his leave while everyone but Grey went back to drinking, even Ahri now that she''s used to the burning sensation. After a few seconds, Gragas returned with a single mug and gave it to the Abyss Watcher. Grey took a drink, looked at his mug then at Gragas "this is your strongest drink?" he asked and the bar owner nodded. Grey sat down his mug and gave a sigh of disappointment "this is just pathetic". "wait, it''s still weak?!" Lux said surprised. "this can''t be right" Gragas said scratching his head "this is from my personal stash". "maybe it''s not the drink, maybe it''s Grey?" Ezreal pointed out. "Maybe" Grey said with a shrug "I used to drink with giants, and their ale was at least five times stronger than this, not to mention they used entire barrels as mugs" he added which made everyone look at him in shook. "you must have kidneys made of steel" Lux said and everyone chuckled. Grey shrugged "well I know one thing for sure, and it''s that I''m not getting drunk any time soon" he said disappointed as he took another drink. Time skip: (brought to you by chibi Grey drinking from a barrel with chibi tower giant). It''s been a couple of hours now. Aki left saying she has job to do in the morning. Nidalee left saying bad things happen when she''s drunk. The huntress also took Silver with her. Meanwhile, Grey made an important discovery... And it''s that Ahri and alcohol are a bad mix. "EVERYONE!" said Vastayan just yelled with a blush on her cheeks "and I mean everyone (hic) wants a piece of this" she said pushing up her chest and moving her butt in her chair "but they''re not getting it. (hic) because not a single one here is in my league" she then leaned towards Grey and started poking his cheek with a flirty smile "well, maybe you are cutie (hic) but you''ll have to ask nice enough". Grey, still not effected by the drinks, just sighed with a bored expression. Lux, Ezreal and Garen weren''t drunk yet since they didn''t drink as much as Ahri. "she doesn''t have a good tolerance, does she?" Lux chuckled feeling bad for Grey. "hey Lux" Ahri said turning to the light mage "why don''t you and Ezreal (hic) just skip the bullshit and start making out already". "WHAT!?!" both blondes yelled with a blush. "don''t you touch my sister Ezreal" Garen threatened glaring at the Explorer. "Garen!" Lux yelled embarrassed. "don''t make me (hic) use my charm magic on you two" Ahri said pointing at them "because if I do (hic) you won''t be able to feel your legs tomorrow" she smirked and the two blondes blushed heavier. "alright, I think you had enough" Grey said pulling Ahri''s mug away from her and standing up "let''s get you back to our room". "I don''t think (hic) I''m able to walk straight right now" Ahri said and smirked "you''ll (hic) have to carry me". Grey just rolled his eyes. He kelt down, put a hand over Ahri''s shoulder and his other hand at the back of her knees. He then held her bridal style, and Ahri leand on his chest "my hero~ (hic)" she teased. The Abyss Watcher ignored her drunk rambling and started walking out of the bar. He walked through the hallway headed towards their room. While walking, he received a few looks of jealousy, but they went away by a simple glare. Grey reached their room and managed to open the door. He walked inside with Ahri in his arms and headed to the bedroom. He laid her on the bed and was about to walk away, but then a hand grabbed the back of his shirt. "come here you~" Ahri said as she pulled Grey to the bed and straddled him "let''s have some real fun~" she said with a seductive smile. Ahri leaned forward, but Grey grabbed her shoulders and pushed her back "Ahri, no". "oh come on" Ahri said and smirked "you have a drunk girl willing to give herself to you, and you say no?". The Abyss Watcher rolled his eyes "that''s the whole point Ahri, you''re drunk" he said as he pushed her off him "now just sleep it off and you''ll wake up tomorrow feeling better". Of course, he was sugar coating it. He knew that she would wake up sober, but also with a big hang over. He got off the bed and walked away a couple of steps when he heard Ahri speak "you think I''m ugly, don''t you?". Grey stopped in his tracks. He turned around and looked at her while she was sitting on the bed "what?". "admit it, you think I''m ugly" Ahri said as she started glaring at him "why wouldn''t you? How can you think someone like me is beautiful when you have a lot of normal human girls like Nidalee". "normal human girls?" Grey asked confused. "I''m a freak, okay?" Ahri almost yelled "even amongst the Vastaya I''m a freak. I have nine tails and two ears" she said pointing at said body parts "I wish I can just rip them off! Maybe then you''d think I''m beautiful". "wait, so you think I''m turning you down because you have ears and tails?" the Abyss Watcher asked and Ahri nodded still looking at him. Grey shook his head "Ahri, I don''t care about that" he looked at her again "the reason I''m turning you down is because I care for you. If I''m going to be with you, I don''t want it to be a meaningless one night stand, and certainly not when you''re drunk". "so, you don''t think I''m ugly?" she asked hope obvious in her voice. "of course not" he replied "in fact, you''re one of the most beautiful sites I have ever seen, and I''ve lived for a hundred years of seeing a lot of things". Ahri then gave him a warm smile "thank you Grey. I... Love..." she couldn''t complete her sentence as the alcohol took effect and she fell down on the bed softly snoring. Grey just shook his head with a smile. He walked up to her and covered her with a blanket before turning around and leaving the room. He sat on the couch and saw Silver sleeping in the table in front of him. The Abyss Watcher smiled before he started taking off his armor. Once he was done, he laid down on the couch and looked at the ceiling. Grey couldn''t help but start to think about what Kindred said. From the old legends, one being came to his mind when he thought of death... Nito, the first of the dead. (A/N: thank you for reading this, I hope you enjoyed it, please comment in anyway you like and tell me how you like the story so far). 25 CH25: Rise Of The Gravelord Third POV: Grey woke up next morning and found Silver sitting on his chest "morning boy" he said as he rubbed the pup''s head. Silver barked and jumped off his chest letting Grey sit up. He stretched and then Ahri came out of their room groaning. "my head" Ahri groaned as she rubbed her temple. "how do you feel?" Grey asked. "like my head is going to explode" she replied still rubbing her head. Her tails were also moving less lively than usual. "yeah, that''s called a hangover" he said looking at her "do you remember last night?". Ahri thought about it "just you complaining about the drinks, and a little bit after that, but nothing else" she said and looked at him in worry "I didn''t do anything embarrassing, did I?" she asked afraid that she made a fool of herself in front of Grey. The Abyss Watcher shook his head "no, just the usual teasing, with the only difference that you were drunk". Ahri sighed in relief, but then started massaging her head again as she walked up to the couch and sat down besides Grey. Grey was also relieved, but because she didn''t remember. He didn''t care if she knew what he said, but he was worried that she would remember doubting herself. Nidalee then came out of her room and yawned "good morning" she greeted and Noticed Ahri''s state "let me guess, a hangover". The Vastayan nodded "yeah, it really hurts" she said still rubbing her head. The Huntress chuckled "well you should avoid loud noises" she then cupped her hands near her mouth "LIKE THIS!" she yelled. Ahri immediately held her head while also covering her ears "ow ow ow! Please stop" she said. Grey shook his head "Nidalee, quit torturing her" he said and the Huntress chuckled. The Abyss Watcher then stood up "I''ll go check the schedule". He left to a room and Ahri immediately began glaring at the huntress who glared back. Grey came back holding the schedule and saw the glaring match. The Abyss Watcher sighed "can you two at least wait until lunch for this?". The two looked at him then back at each other "fine" they grumbled. "thank you" Grey said. "so do we have any matches?" Nidalee asked. "please tell me I don''t have any" Ahri said rubbing her head "I''m really not in the mood for a match". Grey looked at the schedule before answering "well you''re both free" he said which made Ahri sigh in relief "and I have an official match... And a very important one". Ahri and Nidalee raised an eyebrow as Grey sat on the couch besides the Vastayan. "what does it say?" the Huntress asked. "it says that a place called the Shadow Isles is trying to take a big piece of land from Demacia" he replied "thankfully, I''ll be with Demacia". "well, at least you''ll be helping out friends" Ahri said referring to their friends from Demacia. "yes, but it''s this place that''s called the Shadow Isles that I''m wondering about" Grey said "do you know anything about it?" he asked and his two roommates shook their heads "well that''s helpful" he said sarcastically and sighed "let''s go see the others then". Grey stood up and put on his armor and equipment. He left the room with Ahri and Nidalee while Silver walked besides them. After a few moments of walking, they managed to get in the dining hall and found Aki, Ezreal, Garen, Katarina and Lux sitting together, but the Demacian siblings were looking tense. "good morning everyone" Grey greeted before looking at Garen and Lux "I see you two are ready for the match". Lux nodded "yeah, a little" she then realized something "wait, how do you know about the match?". "because I''ll be in the match too, I''ll be fighting for Demacia" Grey replied. "I''m surprised they didn''t pick you for the Shadow Isles" Katarina said. The Abyss Watcher raised an eyebrow "why? And what is this place that''s called the Shadow Isles?". "they used to be called the Blessed Isles" Ezreal said "it was a place where people would go to seek spiritual healing, but one day a magical explosion happened in it that killed everyone and brought them back as monsters". "so they''re undead?" Grey said understanding why Katarina thought he would be picked for their side. "that''s right" Garen nodded and then scowled "Demacia is a land of greatness, and those creatures want to take it. Filthy Undead that reeks of rotten flesh, ugly as leaches and defying the ways of nature. They should all crawl back to their graves and-" he was interrupted by a punch from Lux. Garen looked at his sister and found her looking at him wide eyed, everyone else was looking at him the same way except Nidalee and Ahri. The huntress and Vastayan were looking at him in rage. They looked like they wanted to rip his throat out with their bare hands. Lux then started motioning with her eyes and Garen saw she was motioning to Grey. The Abyss Watcher had an emotionless look on his face, then Garen realized what Lux was motioning about. "u-uh present company excluded of course" Garen chuckled nervously. Grey didn''t respond, he just turned around and went were the food is. Everyone looked at him in sympathy as he walked away before turning to Garen, most being an angry look. "jerk" "ass" Ahri and Nidalee said respectively before turning around and following Grey. Even Silver bared his teeth and growled at Garen before following them. Garen sighed and ran a hand over his face "how bad did it look?" he asked looking at the others. "well..." Aki and Lux said but didn''t continue not wanting to sound rude. "I''m your girlfriend so I''ll be honest" Katarina said looking at him "you looked like a total racist". "seriously dude" Ezreal said shaking his head "I mean, he''s cursed for crying out loud". Garen sighed "well now I just feel like a-". "jerk?" Aki asked. "ass?" Lux asked. "honestly, both" Garen said. Grey returned with a tray of food in one hand and a bowel in the other. Nidalee, Ahri and Silver weren''t too far behind. The Abyss Watcher sat the bowel down near the table for Silver while he sat down in the table with his two roommates. Lux nudged her brother, Garen then cleared his throat "listen, Grey I''d like to apologize for-". "it''s alright" Grey cut him off waving his hand "as an accursed undead, I can tell you that we''re not exactly fond of what we are. Not to mention that I stopped caring what people think about me a long time ago". "still, I would like to apologize" Garen said and Grey nodded. Aki then noticed Ahri''s tails not moving as much as usual and she looked a little troubled "hey Ahri, is something wrong?". The Vastayan put a hand on her head "it''s just a hangover" she then glared at Nidalee remembering the yelling. "oh, then I think I can help with that" Aki said as she started motioning with her hands and Ahri''s head glowed a slight green color. When the color vanished, Ahri smiled feeling a lot better and her tails started moving in their usual lively pace "wow, I feel a lot better. Thanks Aki". "it''s no problem" the summoner replied with a slight blush from being complemented "t-that was just a simple healing spell, it''s too weak to be used in matches but it''s perfect for something like a hangover". "well thanks anyway" Ahri said smiling at the shy summoner and Aki returned the smile. They began eating. While having their meal, Grey asked "so tell me, who''s else is in the match?". "well us three obviously" Lux said motioning towards her, her brother and Grey "there''s also Prince Jarvan and Shyvana. There are other Demacian champions, but they''re busy. Some got work, two are looking for a way to get revenge and the last one has a concert to play". "I''m... Not going to ask" he said not wanting to know the details of the lives of other champions. They finished their meal and just waited for the match. A few minutes later Jarvan and Shyvana walked up to them. "hello everyone" the prince greeted and looked at the Demacian siblings "are you two ready for battle?". "yes your highness" they both replied with a nod. "good" Jarvan nodded back and raised an eyebrow "do you know who will be fighting with us?". "that would be me" Grey said standing up. "Grey?" Jarvan smiled "I''m glad to have you fighting on our side". "it''s definitely better than someone random" Shyvana said and scowled "like that lust demon". "hey!" Ahri said feeling insulted thinking the crossbreed meant the way she uses her charm magic. Shyvana just looked at her confused. "Ahri, she was talking about Evelynn" Grey cleared out and Ahri''s eyes widen. "oh" she said in realization "sorry" Ahri gave a smile of apology. "it''s alright" Shyvana waved it off. The champions of the match were then covered in light and vanished. The orb appeared in the middle of the dining hall with the names Demacia and Shadow Isles in it. They were focusing on the orb that they didn''t notice the two figures that walked up to them "I see the match is about to begin". They looked at who spoke and were surprised to find it to be Kindred "what are you two doing here?" Katarina asked. Lamb was about to answer, but then Wolf moved forward to Ezreal''s face "we''re here to ask Ezreal a question" he said. All colors left Ezreal thinking it was his time to choose between the arrow or the hunt while everyone looked at him in worry. Wolf was silent for a few seconds before speaking "... When was the last time you took a bath?". "THE ARROW-wait, what?" Ezreal yelled and cut himself off realizing what Wolf said. The cruel half of death exploded into laughter and moved besides his other half while everyone looked at him shocked. Lamb sighed shaking her head "sorry, but ever since he came up with that joke he''s been using it on everyone. Two summoners and a champion already fainted". "that''s... Just mean" Ahri said. Wolf snorted "look who''s talking, the fox that plays with people''s emotions before killing them" he said and Nidalee started laughing. Ahri looked at the huntress and then glared at Wolf "says the guy that rips people apart with his mouth like a wild animal". "at least I don''t make them love struck idiots before taking their life essence" Wolf replied and started glaring at her "and stop doing that! It makes their souls too weak to pick the hunt" he said. The souls that Ahri steals the life essence from becomes very weak, and they always choose the arrow. "I''ll kill anyway I want" the Vastayan replied still glaring "who are you to complain". The two of them got into an intense staring match. Aki tugged on Ahri''s sleeve "p-please stop fighting" she pleaded. "yes" Lamb said and looked at her other half "you''re better than this, dear Wolf". "plus the match already started" Ezreal pointed out as everyone''s attention was moved towards the orb with the match in it. Jarvan and Lux went to the middle. Shyvana in the jungle. Garen in the bottom. And Grey in top. Inside the Match: Grey was walking through the top lane with the minions moving in front of him. They passed their team''s turrets and met with the enemy minions and champion. The champion was a Dark haired woman. She had green, slightly glowing skin. Old golden and sleeveless armor. A few spears in her back with another spear in her hands. Grey''s attention was on the spears. Their presence felt familiar to him. The Abyss Watcher''s eyes wide realizing what they were ''those... Are souls''. Grey broke out of his shock in time to dodge a spear from the woman. He stood back up and jumped towards her swinging his sword. The woman created another spear just in time to use it to block Grey''s sword. The Abyss Watcher saw in her eyes that she knew exactly what she had in her hands. He pulled back and she swung her spear at him. Grey rolled away and anchored his knife in the ground making him spin around and strike her with his sword. He pulled out his knife from the ground and jumped swinging down his sword at her. The woman recoiled slightly, she jumped back and threw her spear at him. The spear struck Grey''s shoulder but he ignored the pain and jumped towards her. He swung down his sword striking her before she made another spear. He swung his knife striking her in the chest before bringing it back and slitting her throat. He grabbed her shoulder and stabbed his sword through her chest. He pulled his sword out and let her fall on the ground. He put his knife away to grab the spear in his shoulder and pulled it out. He looked at the spear in his hand. Grey was tempted to take it, all undead have an urge to take souls. However, it wasn''t sovereignless. He has no right to take the humanity of another person. And he doubted that he can keep it with him until the end of the match for Ahri. The Abyss Watcher dropped the spear with it''s owner and drank from his Estus Flask before going to fight the minions. After he was done, he started walking towards the turret and started to attack it. He managed to hit it a few times before the enemy minions arrived with two champions. One of them was the woman from before. The other was a creature that looked like the combination of a man and a horse. He had the upper body of a man with spiky armor. And his lower body was that of a horse. He was holding a spear and his body was giving green flames. Grey jumped away before either of them saw him. He hid in the bushes and peaked to see them battle. "summoner, send me back" he whispered to his summoner. "what''s wrong?" the summoner''s voice asked in his head. "nothing, I just don''t want to take on two champions near their team''s turret" Grey replied remembering that it didn''t work out for him before. The summoner hummed in thought "good point. Hold still then" he said as he activated the recall ability. A few seconds later, and Grey appeared in his team''s base. Surprisingly, Garen has just returned as well. They looked at each other and nodded before they both went to the same lane. Then the most intense match Grey had since joining the Institute began. Time skip: (brought to you by chibi Ahri and chibi Nidalee sleeping and unintentionally start cuddling). It''s been more than an hour already, both teams lost most of their turrets and only has a couple of inhibitor turrets left. Meanwhile, the others were cheering on for them in the dining hall "be careful Lux" Ezreal said. "you can do it Grey" Ahri said. "kick their ass Garen" Katarina yelled. Right now, Jarvan, Shyvana and Lux were fighting off the minions that piled up near their teams base. Garen and Grey just destroyed an Inhibitor turret and entered the enemy base. They found an enemy champion there, the woman from before, Kalista the summoner called her. Grey jumped in and locked weapons with Kalista. Garen was about to join him, but then the half horse champion came in and crashed into him sending him to the ground. Grey looked over his shoulder at his teammate. Only for a chained scythe to strike him in the chest sending him away from Kalista. The owner of that scythe was a creature with a head similar to a skull with green flames, he was holding a green lantern in one hand and the scythe in the other. Then another figure attacked Garen with a star mace. It was a bulky black metal armor with a cape and red eyes behind the helm. The armor then raised his star mace and crashed it down on Garen killing him in the process. "oh come on!" Katarina yelled as she slumped in her seat. "Grey''s on his own now" Ahri pointed out in worry. Grey was struck with a spear from Kalista, and then the half horse came in and strapped him in the back with his spear. "no!" Nidalee said. "don''t worry" Ahri said making the huntress look at her "hopefully, Grey will use his trump card". Inside the match: The half horse, Hecarim, pulled out his spear and let Grey''s body fall on the floor as the other champions surrounded him. Kalista raised her hand and pointed it at Grey. After a few seconds she started grunting "something... Is wrong". "what do you mean?" the black armor, Mordekaiser, asked. "I... Can''t take his soul" Kalista replied before pulling back her arm. The one with a skull head, Thresh, started laughing "amateur. Watch and learn" he said as he pointed his lantern towards Grey... Only for nothing to happen. Thresh grunted and looked at his lamp "what''s wrong with this thing?" he said as he started shaking it. "not so easy, is it?" Kalista said and received a glare. Grey POV: I opened my eyes to see myself inside the Abyss Watchers temple. In front of me was a statue of a wolf with a floating flame in front of it. That was the Soul of the Blood of the Wolf. This is basically how I''ve been activating the power of a Lord. I was about to take the soul, but I stopped as I felt the ground shake slightly. Hearing a cracking noise, I turned around and saw another statue come out from the ground. When the statue was out completely, I saw it was of some creature that had an armor of many human skeletons. His right arm was replaced by a brutal looking blade and his left hand was extending forward, as if offering something. I recognized the statue from paintings about the old Lords... It was Nito, the Gravelord. But what is it doing here. I looked at the hand he was extending forward. Suddenly, a white flame appeared in the palm of the bone hand. My eyes widen realizing what the flame was "this is... Nito''s soul, the soul of Death. But why is it here?". Looking at the soul, I realized that I might be able to activate it like the Wolf blood soul. The match was tough, and the risk was big. If there was a good time to try the soul of death, it would be now. I took a deep breath and reached out to the white flame. It floated towards me and I held it in my hand. I heard a voice in my head, and I knew exactly who it was "spread Death" Nito said. Third POV: Everyone was looking at the match in anticipation, the silence was broken when Wolf spoke "can you feel it, little Lamb?" he chuckled. "indeed I do, Dear Wolf" Lamb replied. "what''s up with you two?" Ezreal asked seeing Kindred expecting something. Before they could answer, a blood freezing screech was heard all over the rif that made them turn back to the orb. Inside the match: The Shadow Isles champions were looking around for the source of the sound. Thresh grunted "what''s that noise?". Black smoke started floating from the ground towards Grey. It vanished inside his body and the Abyss Watcher slowly stood up. He was twitching like his body was made of bones. His red cape turned black and started giving off a glowing substance. He looked at them, and dashed forward bringing down his sword for a slash that they barley dodged. Kalista stood up from jumping away, only for Grey to grab her by the head. He raised her in the air, reeled back his sword, and stabbed her through the chest. Her lifeless body dangled from the tip of the blade before Grey swung his sword sending her away. Mordekaiser, Thresh and Hecarim surrounded Grey in a circle. The Abyss Watcher looked at a disadvantage. But then he started charging for something before raising both his hands and unleashing black smoke to the surrounding area. "you think some smoke is-" Hecarim said but then started coughing. The other two champions joined the horseman. It seemed like their lives were being chocked out of them before they all fell on the ground, dead. The Abyss Watcher turned to the Nexus. He walked towards it and started attacking it with his sword. After a few seconds, he managed to destroy it "VICTORY, Demacia" the announcer said. Grey just stood there twitching before he was covered in light and pulled out of the rift. Everyone was looking at him wide eyed, mostly looks of fear. They all stood quietly as his body returned normal. Meanwhile, many questions were running through Grey''s head. But the most important one... How was he going to explain this to the others. (A/N: thank you for reading this, I hope you enjoyed it, please comment in anyway you like and tell me how you like the story so far). 26 Special Interactions In The Rif (A/N: hi, I would like to apologize for anyone who has been waiting for a new chapter but found this. I mainly made this to add some fun to the story since I don''t want it to be nothing but seriousness without any joy. I do hope you like it.) Grey taunt Akali: Grey: Hey Akali, did you get a new look? Grey taunt Annie: Grey: your fire is something powerful, be careful how you use it. Grey taunt Ezreal: Grey: I''ll go with you on an adventure, as long as you promise that there won''t be any giant balls following us. Grey taunt Pyke: Grey: so you died just once?.... (chuckle) That''s cute. Grey taunt Evelynn: Grey: there is no pain you can inflect that I didn''t already experience. Grey taunt Fiddlesticks: Grey: fear is a joke where I come from. Grey taunt Gragas: Grey: no offense, but your drinks are weak. Grey taunt Jax: Grey: if this is what you can do with a lamp, then I don''t want to see what you can do with a real weapon. Grey taunt Leona/Azir: Grey: sun praisers... Why is it that everywhere I go I meet sun praisers? What''s wrong with praying to wolves? Grey taunt Vayne: Grey: you hunt Demons, just make sure you don''t end up a demon yourself. Grey taunt Jhin: Grey: when I look at you, I see what I could have become if I didn''t meet the Red hood. Grey taunt Ahri: Grey: Ahri, please save the teasing until after the battle. Grey taunt Ahri #2: Grey: being human is a matter of ''who'' not ''what'', and you already achieved humanity. Grey taunt Ahri #3: Grey: you gave me hope to find a home, so I promise to find one for you as well. Grey taunt Lux: Grey: Lux, for the love of the great grey wolf Sif, no more puns. Grey taunt Lucian: Grey: I understand your hatred towards my kind, but rescuing your wife should be more important than killing me. Grey taunt Kha''zix: Grey: you''re a big bug, not that I haven''t seen bigger. Grey taunt Galio: Grey: I''ve killed living statues before, well gargoyles to be exact. Grey taunt Fiora: Grey: there''s no precision or grace in battle, only survival. Grey taunt Kindred: Grey: Death is a part of nature, but I stopped following nature when I came back as Undead. Grey taunt Kindred #2: Grey: Death is a gift, and only fools reject it. Grey taunt Swain: Grey: nations can be destroyed just like men can be killed. Grey taunt Aatrox: Grey: you might sound like a monster, but in truth you''re just another accursed undead. Grey taunt Xayah/Rakan: Grey: I have nothing against the Vastaya, a person is a person no matter what is their form. Grey taunt Nidalee/Rengar: Grey: as my father said, "I don''t hunt for sport, I don''t hunt for joy, I don''t hunt for profit. I hunt to release my prey from the dreadful curse known as the Darksign". Grey taunt Riven: Grey: how a blade look doesn''t define the wielder. It''s how they use the blade. Grey taunt Thresh: Grey: I don''t know what''s more lost, the souls in your lantern? Or you? Grey first move with ally Ahri: Grey: no Ahri you''re not going in front of me, because we both know that you''ll show off your skirt if you do that. Grey first move with ally Ahri #2: Grey: I will protect you, I promise. Grey first move with ally Ahri #3: Grey: I lost my allies once, it won''t happen again... Never again. Grey first move with ally Nidalee: Grey: let the hunt begin. Grey first move with ally Nidalee #2: Grey: and so... The hunt begins once again. Grey attacks Tahm Kench: Grey: we Abyss Watchers are not fans of toothy serpents. Grey attacks Zed: Grey: the shadows are just a cover, what''s inside them can be killed. Grey kills Aatrox: Grey: and now, hopefully you can rest in peace. Grey gets killed by enemy Ahri: Grey: I would rather die in your hands... Then you at mine. Ahri taunt Grey: Ahri: I saw you staring, admit it. Ahri taunt Grey #2: Ahri: you make me feel human, more human than I ever could hope for. Ahri taunt Grey #3: Ahri: I don''t need you to look for a home for me, because I already found it being with you. Ahri first move with ally Grey: Ahri: just try to not admire me so much. Ahri first move with ally Grey #2: Ahri: being together gives me hope, for many things. Ahri first move with ally Grey #3: Ahri: no longer will I rely on stolen memories. Now, I will make my own, with you. Ahri hits Grey with charm: Ahri: (sigh) if you could only feel that way about me without magic. Ahri hits Grey with charm #2: Ahri: I wasn''t aiming that at you Grey... Well, maybe. Ahri hits Grey with charm #3: Ahri: from you, I only get passion? I was hoping for obsession. Ahri (pop star / K/DA) hits Grey with charm: Ahri: you''re the only fan that gets to dance with me personally. Ahri kills Grey: Ahri: you''re gone, and now I''m alone again... With nothing but haunting memories. Ahri kills Grey #2: Ahri: you always said I wasn''t a monster. Do you still believe that... Grey?... Please answer... Grey? Akali kills Ahri: Akali: Grey''s too good for you. Akali kills Grey: Akali: the only hot guy who isn''t crazy, and he had to be taken. Aatrox attack Grey: Aatrox: you might be the only person that knows my suffering. Aurelion Sol attacks Grey: Aurelion Sol: hmmm... Strange, you almost feel like... Me. Garen attacks Grey: Garen: let''s make this an honorable duel! Jhin taunt Grey: Jhin: say what you want, but I know you''re just as much an artist as I am. Kayn attack Grey: Kayn: so you''re the man that defeated Zed? Beating you will proof I''m worthy. Rhaast: and if you lose that means he''s a better host for me. Grey and Ahri talk: Ahri: it''s so romantic. Grey: killing the enemy is romantic? Ahri: with you it is~. (A/N: thank you for reading this, I hope you enjoyed it, please comment in anyway you like and tell me how you like the story so fa 27 CH26: Lost Souls Third POV: the High Summoners chamber. The High Summoners were watching the official match between the Shadow Isles and Demacia. They saw Grey get defeated and stand up again but differently. When Grey unleashed the smoke, the Grand Summoner suddenly stood up from his chair surprisingly the others. "is something wrong Grand Summoner?" the Ionian Summoner asked. The Grand Summoner kept looking at the orb ''that power... Nito?... But how?'' After the match: inside the hallway. Grey was walking through the hallway with the rest of his team following, but keeping their distance. He reached the dining hall and went the table where the others were. He sat down and his teammates followed suit. Everyone was silent, until the Abyss Watcher took a deep breath "I know what you''ll say, so just say it". "what the was that!?!" everyone but Kindred almost yelled. "I... Don''t know" Grey replied looking down. "what do you mean ''you don''t know''?" Ahri asked. "Grey that wasn''t natural" Nidalee said "Ahri said something about blood and fire, not smoke and death". "yeah, that''s something I expect Kindred to do" Ezreal added. "I really don''t know" Grey replied still looking down. "it''s very simple" Wolf said making everyone look at him "you became an aspect of death". "you... Knew this was going to happen?" Grey asked looking at Kindred. "knew? No" Lamb said "suspected it? Yes". "you could''ve given me a little warning that I have Nito''s soul!" Grey almost yelled making everyone surprised. "ummm Grey, who''s Nito? And why did you say you have his soul?" Ezreal asked the questions that everyone was thinking. Grey took a deep breath to calm down and sighed "at the beginning of my world, there wasn''t anything, no light, no dark, no life, and no death. But then there was fire, and with it came opposites. Warmth and cold. Pain and pleasure. Hope and despair. Life and death. And of course... Light and Dark. And from the fire, came four great souls, the souls of the lords. One of those souls was the soul of Death, and it belonged to the first of the dead, Nito, and somehow, I have his soul". "wait, how? And what about your own soul?" Garen asked. "for the first question, I don''t know. For the second one... I''m not sure what happened to it" Grey replied. "what do you mean you don''t know about your own soul?" Ahri asked. "my own soul, the one I was born with, is something I don''t know the state of" Grey said and looked at everyone "when I joined the Abyss Watchers as a full fledged member, I part took the wolf blood and became a part of the Soul of The Blood of the Wolf-" "how did you pronounce that? I don''t think I even heard it correctly" Lux said. "-it is a soul that we Abyss Watchers share, all of us are a part of it" Grey continued ignoring Lux''s statement "the fact that I''m part of that soul is the reason I''m a Lord of Cinder. When the Abyss Watchers became Lords, that also included me" "so you Abyss Watchers share the same soul?" Jarvan summed looking shocked with most of who was on the table. Ezreal whistled "now that''s what I call camaraderie". "but still, what about Nito''s soul?" Nidalee asked. "I honestly don''t know" Grey replied shaking his head "I never took an actual soul in my life, I either took Sovereignless souls or twisted souls". "wait you take souls?" Lux asked hearing this for the first time. "it''s a little complicated. I can take souls but I don''t take actual ones" The Abyss Watcher replied and felt someone put their hand on their shoulder. When he looked, he found Kayle with a serious look on her face "Grey, the Grand Summoner wants to see you. Now" she said. The Abyss Watcher nodded and stood up before looking at the others "I already explained this to Ahri and Nidalee, they''ll tell you about it" he said before going with Kayle and going to the Grand Summoner. Everyone then turned to Ahri and Nidalee while the Vastayan sighed "well, Sovereignless souls are" she said as she started to explain. Grand Summoner POV: This is very disturbing, how the child has Nito''s power? I don''t know but I will find out. Kayle returned with the child and I nodded to her "thank you Judicator. You may leave" I said. Kayle nodded and turned around. The gates closed after she left and everyone was quiet. I suppose the High Summoners are interested because I never called for a champion before. "do you know why you''re here?" I asked and the boy shook his head. I don''t know if he''s playing dumb or really doesn''t know. Nevertheless, I motioned with my hand and an orb with a replay of the match appeared in it. "you''re here because of this" I said as the orb showed him unleashing the smoke. The miasma of death and disease "those are powers of the aspect of death, like the Eternal Hunters. How do you have them?". "well" the child looked down "there''s a being in my world that can be considered the aspect of death, and I somehow have his soul". He... Has Nito''s soul? That''s even more disturbing. I thought of a way that helps me clear things up. "then do you mind a test?" I asked. "a... Test?" he tilted his head. "it will be like the judgement, but you won''t go through anything. I''ll simply study the power you possess" I cleared out. The child looked down for a moment before looking back at me and nodded. I started motioning my hands casting a spell. I then found myself in some old temple. In front of me was the statue of a wolf with a flame in front of it. I looked behind me and found another statue but of Nito. In the palm was a white flame. "this is... Truly Nito''s soul, but how?" I said and tried to reach out to it. But when my hand got close, I suddenly appeared in a black empty void. I turned around and found myself face to face with the First of the dead himself.... And truthfully he''s as creepy as ever. "Nito" I said. "brother of Gwyn" he said in his high and gruff voice. Honestly I''m surprised he recognizes me after so long, especially with my robes on, but I''m not here for a get together. "you do not belong here" he said. "neither do you" I said pointing at him "what is your soul doing inside the child?". "that is for me to know" he said as he started raising his arm blade "and for you to find out" he then brought down his blade. I opened my eyes to find myself in the High Summoners chamber. Nito kicked me out of the boy''s mind. Everyone was quiet waiting for my opinion. If I say something wrong, the High Summoners will consider the child a danger, but if I don''t say anything, questions will haunt the child. "it seems you do have the powers of the aspect of death, but you are not allowed to use them in normal matches, only official ones" I said limiting the boy while giving him some answers. The child nodded "can I leave now?" he asked and I nodded. He turned around and left while I just started massaging my forehead. I knew trying to find answers was going to be a headache. Maybe I should call Gragas and ask for his strongest ale... But even then it''s still weak. Third POV: a few minutes ago. Ahri just finished explaining what sovereignless souls were from what Grey told her. "so they''re like empty shells" Ezreal summed up and shook his head "man. I really need to catch up on this spiritual stuff". "but this doesn''t explain how Grey has... Nato''s soul" Shyvana asked. "I think it was Nito" Lux corrected before looking at the rest "but she''s right. Maybe he had it without realizing?". Ahri shook her head "that''s not Grey. I know he wouldn''t take someone''s soul just for himself" she said and felt slightly ashamed saying that after selfishly doing the same with life essence, but she shook those thoughts out of her head remembering Grey telling to not think like that. "she''s right" Nidalee added making everyone look at the Huntress "Grey told me that he takes after his foster father, and that means he would never take a soul for his own" she said and Ahri remembered never asking Grey about his father "plus if Grey was a bad person, then Silver wouldn''t be here". The mentioned wolf pup jumped on the table and barked, probably happy that he''s being noticed. "hey I have a question" Katarina said "why does Grey even take Sovereignless souls?". Ahri and Nidalee stayed quiet. Neither of them actually knew the reason Grey takes them. "it''s very simple" Wolf said making everyone look at him "he does it to gain strength". "what?" Ahri asked. "in ancient arts, there was a way to gain power through Sovereignless souls" Lamb explained "but those arts are so old and long lost, no person or culture remembers them". "I have to admit, it is impressive that he doesn''t take actual souls since he''s undead" Wolf said which made everyone confused. "why?" Nidalee asked "what does being undead has to do with taking souls?". Wolf groaned "mortals, always need us to explain everything" he said. The cruel half of death moved towards Ahri "you see how the fox has an urge to take life essence?". "yeah, it came to me naturally" Ahri replied. "well undead are like that" Lamb said as her other half moved besides her "all undead have a natural urge to take souls, and I mean real ones". "wait, all of them?" Lux asked "so Grey has that urge too?". "I wouldn''t doubt it" Wolf said. "can''t he just replace normal souls with Sovereignless souls?" Jarvan asked. "Sovereignless souls might work, but only as a temporary substitute" Lamb said "he would still get the urge to take them". "to spend a hundred years without actually taking any" Wolf said with a chuckle "he must have an unbendable will of steel to do that". Everyone was impressed. If what Kindred was saying was true, then Grey was stronger than they thought. Suddenly, Ahri stood up "where are you going?" Lux asked. "I''m going to wait for Grey" the Vastayan replied and Nidalee, Aki and Ezreal stood up "what are you three doing?". "going with you" Nidalee replied "I''d like to make sure that Grey is alright". "I want to go with you if you need anything" Aki added. "I''d like Grey to tell me more about that soul stuff" Ezreal said with a shrug "if Sovereignless souls are as ancient as Kindred said, I''d like to learn more about them". Silver then walked up to Ahri and barked. Ahri chuckled and picked him up "alright, you can come too" she said setting him on her shoulder. They walked out of the dining hall and went to the High Summoners chamber. They found Kayle standing besides the closed doors looking down. "hi Kayle" Ahri called and the angel looked at her "has Grey came out yet?". Kayle shook her head "no, the Grand Summoner wanted to speak to him in private" she said before looking back down. "what''s wrong?" Nidalee asked noticing something with Kayle''s mood. Kayle sighed "in all my time here in the Institute, I have never heard about the Grand Summoner asking for the presence of a champion, and if I''m honest I''m a little worried for Grey". "I know I''m a new Summoner and all, but he never asked for a champion?" Aki asked surprised. "not even once" Kayle said shaking her head "and one time, we even cought Evelynn trying to torment one of the High Summoners, but he still didn''t care". They heard the doors open and saw Grey come out. Ahri was the first to speak "Grey, are you okay?". Grey looked at them "oh, you''re here?" he asked and nodded "yes, everything is fine. The Grand Summoner just wanted to know about what happened in the match and my powers as a Gravelord". "Gravelord?" Ezreal asked. Grey shrugged "I got to call them something" he said. Silver then jumped from Ahri''s shoulder into his arms "hi boy" he said rubbing his head. Kayle sighed in relief "well I''m glad everything worked out in the end" she said. The angel looked at them "I''m sorry to leave you but I have some business to take care of. Take care". "you too" Ahri said as the angel left and they started walking towards the dining hall. They found the others sitting in the same table, but Kindred left apparently "Grey, is everything alright?" Jarvan asked. "yes, thank you for asking" the Abyss Watcher replied before sitting down with the others. "I''m glad it wasn''t anything serious" Garen said. "me too" Grey mumbled and then looked at Aki "hey Aki, what do you know about the Grand Summoner?". Everyone then turned to Aki and said Summoner felt nervous from the attention "w-well, I don''t think anyone knows that much about him". "what do you mean?" Nidalee asked. "he just showed up one day out of nowhere and offered peace to the leaders of Runeterra through the Institute as long as he leads it that is" Aki replied. "so Runeterra owes him for the peace it has" Grey said and looked at her again "what do you already know about him". Aki looked down thinking "well, he''s old, really old. They say he''s the most powerful sorcerer in all of Runeterra, and I wouldn''t doubt it. He''s the one who made the summoners Rift along with most of the spells and runes we use. But that''s about what everyone knows about him, no one even knows what region he''s from". "why do you ask about him?" Katarina asked. "it just seemed like he knew something about my power" Grey said and shook his head "but it must be my imagination". The Grand Summoner room: The Grand Summoner was sitting on a chair in front of the fire place that had a painting above it. The leader of the Institute started stroking his beard "if he has Nito''s soul, does that mean he also has their power too? The witch... And the sorcerer. But that would mean" his eyes widen "that he''s the Embers left by lords long past... But that would also mean... That he''s the sealed child" he then chuckled "dear Ciaran, it seems that I will be able to keep that promise after all". (A/N: thank you for reading this, I hope you enjoyed it, please comment in anyway you like and tell me how you like the story so far). 28 CH27: Ar ??? POV: I thought that I could find someone who shares my talents here. That was one of the reasons I joined. To make beautiful art, and to see the best performance, but I couldn''t find a single one. I saw the battles, yet they lacked an elegant touch. I heard about the band Pentakill, but they were just loud music. The maven of the strings can make touching music, but her performance lacked a certain... Cruelty. I was going to give up on finding another artist... But then... I saw him. A cape as red as blood. A hat that screams for people to see him do his work. And a fighting style that was never seen before. I was able to turn killing into a magnificent performance, but that man, the Abyss Watcher, turned killing into a painting. He would draw the lines with his knife, and then he would paint them with blood using his sword. He might be the only person that shares my talent. A meeting must be placed! Thankfully, I was able to... Convince two summoners to use us for the same match. Now, only introductions is in order. Ahri POV: I woke up hugging the Grey doll next morning. After the whole incident with this death stuff a good sleep was needed. I got off the bed and stretched before showering and putting my clothes on. Getting into the living room, I saw Grey sleeping on the couch with Silver on his chest. I felt a little bad, he doesn''t have to sleep there, he can sleep with me in the same bed if he just asked..... What am I thinking? This is Grey, and I just thought he''ll ask me to sleep in my bed? I have more chances dragging him to it. Nidalee came out of her room and yawned before looking at me "morning". "good morning" I replied and started thinking, maybe we could agree on something. Nidalee looked at Grey "he doesn''t get up early, does he?" she asked sarcastically. I shook my head "not really, usually I wake him up". "hey" Nidalee said and looked at me "how about less fighting? For Grey at least". "I was about to talk to you about that" I said and looked at said man "that soul stuff got him a little on edge, and the last thing he needs is our yelling". "yeah" Nidalee nodded and looked at the two in the couch "so how do we wake them up?". I can feel an ''almost'' fox like smile appear on my lips and I start walking quietly to the couch. I picked up Silver and slowly sat him on the table. I leaned to Grey''s ear and started whispering "hey Grey" I said and he groaned "are you sleepwalking? Because you''re groping my breasts". "WHAT?!" he yelled as he shot up. I started laughing while Nidalee was trying to hold her laughter, but failing miserably. I could''ve used my magic to manipulate his dreams, but that would have been too cruel. Grey gave me and Nidalee a slight glare "so you two get along when it''s about teasing me?" he asked. Me and Nidalee looked at each other before looking back at him and answering at the same time "pretty much, yeah". "great" he sighed and stood up "I''m going to take a bath and look at the schedule" he said before going inside my room. I just sat on the couch with Nidalee. Silver woke up with a yawn and looked at us before looking around, I guess he''s looking for Grey. Silver jumped off the table and started running around. A few minutes later Grey came out with the schedule. "so what does it say?" I asked. "well, surprisingly I have a match in an hour" he said. I guess he was surprised because he thought he wouldn''t be picked for a while after what happened last time. "and what about us?" Nidalee asked. "you have your first match in the evening while Ahri has one after that" he replied as he put the schedule away and started putting on his armor. When he was done, he grabbed Silver and put him on his shoulder before we left our room and went to the dining hall. We got our food and found Aki, Lux and Ezreal sitting together. "good morning" I greeted as Grey gave Silver his food and we sat down. "hi you three" Lux greeted "got anything for today?". "well, I have a match in a little while, while Nidalee got her first in the evening and Ahri has one after that" Grey replied. "really?" Ezreal asked "I thought the summoners would wait a while before choosing you again". "me too" Grey replied, which means I was right. "hey guys" someone said behind us. We turned around and saw a woman in a green sleeveless ninja outfit. She had a messy ponytail. A cloth covering her face. A scythe and kunai strapped to a robe on her waist with a brown bag. It took me a second to recognize her "Akali?". "yeah" she nodded and put her hands on her waist "like the new look?". "it''s good to see you again, and yes" Grey said as she sat down in front of us "I heard you left the Kinkou order" Grey said. I already told him about that. Akali sighed "yeah. Things... Didn''t work out" she said looking a little down. "I believe you did the right thing" Grey said and Akali looked surprised "you decided to follow your own path made by your own hands, plus you''re not enemies with Shen, so don''t feel bad about it". Akali took off her cloth and showed that she was smiling "thanks" she then looked at me with a smug look "this is why I wanted to talk to Grey". I rolled my eyes "yeah, I get it, he''s a good motivater" I said sarcastically, but I actually was being honest. If it wasn''t for Grey, I wouldn''t be a champion right now. We just ate in silence for a couple of minutes until we heard a muffled voice talk in a very dramatic manner "I have finally found you!". We looked at who spoke, and besides Grey and Nidalee, Everyone''s eyes widen including mine. Because even as a Fox In Ionia, I managed to get knowledge on who this man is. He was a man with a robotic arm and leg. He had a black suit with a short white cloak strapped by a green gem and a lump in his right shoulder. But what made us recognize him was the mask. He was wearing a detailed face shaped mask that had a slight smirk on the lips. He was here for Grey apparently. He stood up and faced the man. I was worried about him so I prepared a little magic just in case. It looks like I wasn''t the only one who thought about that. Akali was reaching for her weapons and Ezreal activated his gauntlet under the table. "can I help you with something?" Grey asked. "yes" the man said "I simply wanted to meet you since I saw you in the Rift". "and you are?" Grey asked. "oh where are my manners?" the man said. Manners? What kind of bullshit is he talking about? He doesn''t have manners. He did a small bow like a performer "my name is Khada Jhin, the Virtuoso. And you and I are artists in the same profession". "artists?" Grey asked raising his eyebrow. "yes. At making beautiful art through killing others" he said. Grey and Nidalee looked like they understood that Jhin is a psychopath "and I''m so glad we''re going to fight together in a match soon". This is getting annoying, and I''m getting mad that he was comparing Grey to himself? "and how do you know about my match?" Grey asked. Wait, he''s right, how does Jhin know about the match? Before the psycho can answer, both him and Grey vanish in a flash of light with the viewing orb appearing in the middle of the dining hall. "that... Went a whole lot better than it could have been" Ezreal said with a sigh. "how did Jhin know about Grey''s match?" I repeated the question. "I wouldn''t be surprised if he planned it" Akali said "it wouldn''t be the first time that drama queen threatened the summoners to do something" she said with Venom in her voice. "s-should I be worried?" Aki asked since she''s a summoner. If that guy actually touches my best friend he''s going to suffer. "only if you''re a high ranking summoner" Akali replied. Which made Aki sigh in relief since she''s new. "why would he plan a match?" Lux asked. "and more importantly, why would he say that Grey is like him?" Nidalee asked "I can tell the guy was obviously a psycho". "the match is about to begin" Lux pointed out and our attention was brought to the viewing orb. Third POV: Grey was in the middle going with Jhin. He noticed that his summoner was acting nervous. The Abyss Watcher thought it might have something to do with becoming a Gravelord, but he also thought Jhin might have something to do with it. They encountered the enemy minions with two champions, Wukong and Ekko. Jhin pulled out one of his firearms, a short blue gun with a long handle and gold decorations. "1" he said as he shot Ekko taking him by surprise "2" he shot again "3" and again "4" each shot was done in a pose. Ekko recovered and threw a flying disk at them. They both managed to jump away from being hit while the disk returned to Ekko. Grey stood up and immediately used his sword to block Wukong''s staff. He pushed the trickster away and jumped at him swinging his knife and sword. Wukong was able to stop the first strike but Grey used his knife to quickly make himself swing back at Wukong catching him by surprise. Grey jumped in the air and swung down his sword hitting Wukong. The trickster regained his balance and jumped back. Wukong crouched down and clouds surrounded his feet. He dashed forward and tried to hit Grey with his staff. Grey managed to dodge the staff, but surprisingly, one of the clouds struck him in the back. Wukong started spinning swinging his staff around. When he got close, Grey used his knife to parry the attack. The monkey King was left wide open. Grey took his chance and struck with his sword. He pulled it out, and while Wukong was dazed, he struck again killing the trickster. Grey looked to see Jhin dodge another disc from Ekko before pulling out his gun and another one, it was longer and slimmer, and he shot both at Ekko finishing him off. Jhin turned to Grey and saw his work before putting his guns away and clapping slowly "now that, is what I want to see". Grey just ignored him before turning to the minions. But before he does anything, Jhin threw a tube with smoke coming out of it. The tube bounced between four minions killing them in small explosions before the the bomb was destroyed. "that... Was a unique bomb" Grey pointed out before drinking from his Estus Flask. Jhin chuckled "I knew you would see it''s beauty" he said before they continued through the lane. Time skip: (brought to you by chibi Jhin throwing a bouquet of roses in the air and spreading his arms while rose petals fall on him). The match went on pretty even for an hour. Both teams did fairly well and only inhibitor turrets were left. But there was something that made Grey''s friends a little worried, it was the fact that Grey and Jhin were fighting together, and they were doing it well. "this is... Unsettling" Lux said as Grey and Jhin cleared out the middle lane again. "it... Kind of make sense actually" Ezreal said. "you can''t be serious" Akali said looking at the Explorer. "no think about it" Ezreal shook his head "Jhin specializes in cornering his opponents and slowing them down, while Grey specializes in hunting down his opponents and finishing them quickly". "so Jhin weakens them and Grey comes in to deliver the finishing blow" Nidalee summed up. "I still think Jhin is wrong about Grey" Ahri said remembering how the Golden Demon compared himself to the Abyss Watcher. Inside the Match: Grey and Jhin just entered the enemy base after destroying the last inhibitor turret. They found two champions guarding the Nexus, one was Wukong, and the other was a woman Grey fought in his first match, Ashe. Wukong held his staff while Ashe pulled back an arrow. But before either of them did anything, Jhin jumped on one knee. He pulled out his longer gun and it connected with something on his shoulder. "1 2 3 4" Jhin counted as he shot both champions twice. Grey took his chance and jumped in swing his sword and knife. He struck Wukong. The Abyss Watcher anchored his knife and used it to swing around and attack the Monkey king before he had time to recover. Grey pulled out his knife and swung down his sword finishing off Wukong. Ashe turned to him and pulled back an arrow, but before she let''s it go, she was shot down from the side by Jhin. Jhin put his gun away and gave a bow "thank you. Thank you. I''m here till Thursday". Grey just ignored him and turned to the Nexus. He started attacking it with the minions that gathered around it. Jhin joined in and it wasn''t long before they destroyed the Nexus "VICTORY, Red team" the announcer said. The Minions started celebrating and the champions vanished in a flash of light. Grey found himself in the summoning room with the other champions. Instead of meeting him, his summoner immediately walked out of the room in a hurry. Grey just shrugged it off and walked out with Jhin following suit "that was a magnificent performance" the gunslinger said "I enjoyed making art by your side". Grey just glanced at him over his shoulder "yeah, sure" he replied before he just walked away going to the dining hall. He entered said hall and went to the table where the others were sitting. He sat down between Ahri and Nidalee. "well that was an interesting experience" Grey sighed. "you got off lucky" Ezreal said "not many can get on Jhin''s good side". "Grey, you should know-". "that Jhin planned the match" Grey finished Akali''s statement "I figured that out from the fact that my summoner made sure I stay with Jhin the entire match like his life depended on it". Nidalee put a hand on her chin "still, why would he compare you to himself?" "they''re not like each other" Ahri said getting annoyed of the subject and looked at Grey "Jhin is a psycho who kills for the fun of it. And you''re... Well, you". "no" Grey shook his head "he''s right to do that" he gave a heavy sigh "as much as I hate to admit it, there was a point in my life where I could''ve ended up almost exactly like Jhin". "please tell me you''re joking" Akali almost begged. The Abyss Watcher shook his head "it was after what happened to the Abyss Watchers" he said and everyone looked at him in sympathy already knowing the story. "Grey" Ahri said worried. "after that happened, I went on a rampage" he continued "I started going around killing anything I didn''t consider human, whether they were evil or not, and I did it all with a big smile on my face. It was the closest I ever got to going Hollow" he said. Regret was obvious in every word, but then he smiled "but thankfully, I was saved". All of them looked at him in interest "saved? By who?" Nidalee asked. "a Red hodded Knight" Grey replied. "can you tell us what happened?" Lux asked. Grey chuckled "sure" he said and everyone leaned in to hear the story. Flash Back: Grey is seen on one knee in the middle of a forest. He was heavily wounded, bleeding, and he ran out of Estus. He looked at his attackers, who were three Dark Wraiths "is that all you got" he grunted. Despite his confidence, the blood loss made him fall on his side and lay motionless, but not dead. One of the Dark Wraiths walked up to him and raised his sword. He thought that this was it, that he would go Hollow. ''dad... Tiara... I''m sorry'' he thought as he watched the Dark Wraith ready to kill him. But before the Dark Wraith can deliver the finishing blow, a red blur dashes towards him and sliced it''s head off. Grey looked at his savior. He saw a red hooded cloak floating like a pair of wings and an old looking armor. The red hooded person engaged the Dark Wraiths in battle. Grey''s blood loss coght up and he lost conscious. When Grey woke up, he found himself near a campfire with a pot cooking on top of it. He groaned and sat up "oh, you''re awake" he heard someone say. He looked and saw the person that saved him. It was a man with an old black armor with an old red hood and a great sword with a dull end. He lifted his head and Grey can see his face. He was an elderly man with a long beard and a thin scar over his left eye. "where-" Grey was about to speak but just grunted and held his side. "relax" the man said as he stirred what was in the pot "I''m making some Estus soup, so don''t worry" he said and then looked at Grey as the soup cooked "now, what''s a young man like you doing in the middle of a forest alone?". "killing" Grey answered bluntly. "and why?" the Red hood asked. Grey looked down before he started explaining what happened and why he simply wants to kill Dark Wraiths. After hearing him out, the Red hood stroked his beard and hummed in thought "I am sorry to say this, but to me you are just trying to keep failing". "what?" Grey asked feeling insulted. "after what happened, you simply went on a rampage. What about being an Abyss Watcher?" the red hood asked. "there are no more Abyss Watchers" Grey replied looking away. "then who am I speaking to now?" the Red hood asked. "I''m Grey Ashnex" Grey replied with slight conflict. "and what are you, Grey Ashnex?" the Red hood asked. "I''m... An Abyss Watcher" Grey replied. The Red hood hummed pulling out a bowl and pouring Estus Soup. He stood up and gave it to Grey "your friends might be gone, but their legacy lives inside you. Don''t waste it on petty revenge". Grey took the bowl and looked at it. He knew the knight was right. If he was the last Abyss Watcher, then he should live up to his duty more than ever. He drank the Estus soup and looked at the Red hood "thank you". The elder man chuckled "you''re welcome young man". "what''s your name?" Grey asked still not knowing the name of his savior. The knight looked at him "my name... Is Gael". End of Flash Back: "after that, I went back to the Abyss Watchers temple and I didn''t hear from him since" Grey said finishing his story. "wow, so Gael saved you?" Lux asked. "from both dying and going hollow" Grey said and they heard Nidalee chuckle "why are you laughing?" he asked curiously. "well, now I know why you were so calm when we first met" the huntress replied "it''s because you''ve been in the same situation before". Grey hummed in thought "huh, I didn''t notice that" he said realizing Nidalee. Was correct. "so what do you think happened to Gael?" Aki asked. "I don''t know" The Abyss Watcher shrugged "but whatever happened, I sure hope he found a place to call home" he said and looked at Nidalee "so are you excited about your first match?". The huntress smiled "yes, it should be fun". "don''t get cooky" Ahri said and she noticed Grey giving her a blank look "what?". "nothing" Grey said looking away. Somewhere In Ionia: "HELP!!!" someone yelled running through the forest. They removed the leaves in their way to reveal themselves to be a tiger Vastayan, he had brown fur, and was wearing farming clothes. He ran through the forest removing whatever was in his path and glancing over his shoulder to see if he was followed. He ran into a a clearing with a big Boulder in the middle. He headed towards the Boulder thinking he can hide behind it from whatever is following him. But then a black figure jumps from the trees and dashes towards him. The figure attacks him and the man falls on the ground dead with three big slashes on his chest. The figure stood besides the Boulder covered in a black cloak and hood. The moved something under their cloak and blood splattered on the giant stone. They turned around and looked at the lifeless body before looking back to the forest "now... On to the next Hunt" they said before they jumped back in the forest. (A/N: thank you for reading this, I hope you enjoyed it, please comment in anyway you like and tell me how you like the story so far). 29 CH28: The Vastaya Third POV: Grey, Ahri, Aki, Akali, Ezreal and Lux were watching Nidalee''s match as it began a few minutes ago. The huntress was in the jungle moving through the bushes. Caitlyn showed up and started looking around but didn''t spot the huntress. She moved near a tree, only for a hidden trap to snap at her feet catching her by surprise. The Huntress took her chance and threw her spear at the sheriff. Caitlyn was hit and Nidalee jumped in transforming into a cougar. She struck Caitlyn with her claws and the sheriff jumped back. She aimed her gun and shot at the Huntress. Nidalee jumped away from the shots and turned back human. She took her spear and jumped at Caitlyn knocking her rifel out of her hands. The Huntress stabbed Caitlyn her spear in the chest. She pulled it out and let the sheriff fall on the ground. Nidalee smiled looking at her work. She jumped in the bushes again and threw another trap at where she was. Time skip: (brought to you by chibi nine tailed fox being petted by chibi Grey). The match didn''t last very long, Nidalee completely dominated the jungle area with traps and surprise attacks. She was now fighting a living scarecrow that was holding a scythe and giving off a green glow. The Huntress was in her cougar form jumping from the slashes of the scarecrow. She turned back to her human form and threw her spear at the scarecrow striking it in the chest. She jumped in and violently ripped her spear out adding the damage. The huntress then used the tip of her spear to cut off the scarecrow''s head killing it. "VICTORY, Blue Team" the announcer said and she looked around smiling before she was pulled out of the summoners Rift. The huntress left the summoning chamber and entered the dining hall going to the others. "Great job Nidalee" Ahri complemented as the Huntress sat down. "You were pretty good. The way you used your traps was impressive" Grey added. "Thanks" Nidalee replied "I barely did anything tho, all I did was clear the jungle". "That''s more important than you think" Akali said crossing her arms "if your team has control over the jungle area, then the enemy team is going to have less space to move in". "Y-yeah" Aki nodded "only Rengar is usually that good in the jungle". "Wait, the Vastayan hunter?" Nidalee asked raising an eyebrow. "You know him?" Ahri asked. "Yes we met in the jungle" Nidalee said and clenched her fist with a scowl "he tried to take my arm as a ''trophy'' he called it". "Yeah, he''s known to do that" Aki said shyly. "So my match should start soon" Ahri said and smiled smugly "now I''ll show you how to really give your team an advantage". "What happened to ''don''t get cocky''?" Nidalee asked repeating Ahri''s words. The Vastayan just rested her head on her palm "only if you''re not as good as I am" she said and Grey rolled his eyes. "By the way" Lux said gaining their attention "tomorrow the the League of legends magazine is coming out". "Magazine?" Ahri''s interest was immediately peaked. "Yeah, they have stuff about champions and what people think about them" Lux continued which made Ahri more interested "but I really wouldn''t look up to it. The things written there aren''t exactly... Accurate" Lux added. "Still, I''d like to see what my fans think" Ahri said, and this time both Grey and Nidalee rolled their eyes "where can we get it". "At the entrance table" Ezreal replied. Then Ahri''s body glowed and vanished in a flash of light. Nidalee turned to Grey "is she always that cocky before a match?". Grey shrugged "I''d rather call it being confident". Time skip: (brought to you by chibi Ahri petting a chibi sleeping silver wolf). Grey, Ahri and Nidalee were walking back to their room after Ahri''s match "I told you I''d do great" the Vastayan said. "Your team lost" Nidalee deadpanned crossing her arms. "That was my team''s fault" Ahri defended "what I mean is, that I was the only thing keeping them together" she said placing the blame on her team. Grey would roll his eyes if he didn''t grow tired of doing that. When They turned a corner, Ahri ran into someone and they both fell on the ground "hey! Watch it!". The person who said that was a woman wearing a purple hood above a darker short dress with bird skulls on it. Her red hair was tide to a braid and She had odd ears, a single purple feathered wing on her back and her legs were talons. "Xayah! You OK?" said a man that helped the woman up. He was tall, had an exposed chest with a slight green robes and a bird skull. He had white hair with a red streak. He also had ears, wing and talon similar to the woman. "Ahri, are you alright?" Grey asked helping the Vastayan up while she nodded. The woman looked at them and then started glaring at Ahri "oh, you" she said. "Do I know you?" Ahri asked seeing as the woman recognized her. "No, but I know you" the woman replied "you''re that race traitor". Ahri was beyond confused "race traitor?". "Calm down Xayah" the man said putting a hand on the woman''s shoulder. "Don''t defend her!" Xayah said and glared at Ahri again "she betrayed our kind". "What are you talking about?" Ahri asked. "you''re Vastayan, but you befriend and protect humans" Xayah said. She then glared at Grey and Nidalee "like those two". Nidalee returned the glare feeling insulted, while Grey didn''t care. He wasn''t human, so he wasn''t insulted by what Xayah said. Ahri however, didn''t like it "hey, I can be friends with whoever I want" she said and crossed her arms "and what''s wrong with humans?". "They''re evil, plain and simple" Xayah replied bluntly "humans owe the Vastaya a lot of debts, but they never fulfilled any. Not to mention they treat our kind as freaks". "hey! You know what?" Ahri was about to start yelling, but Grey put a hand on her shoulder. "that''s enough" he said shaking his head "you don''t need to prove anything, let''s just go". Ahri glared at Xayah one last time before she started walking away with Grey and Nidalee. Along the way, Grey decided to ask something that was bothering him "hey, what exactly is the Vastaya? I know it has something to do with Ahri, but I never actually knew what it was". "Vastaya are people with animal characteristics" Ahri said as they entered their room "it can be a few body parts, or looking like a humanoid animal. Example for the Vastaya, me, Wukong, Rengar, or that lady back there. There''s all kinds of Vastayan tribes" she explained. She was about to enter her room but stopped and looked down "maybe there''s even more like me?" she mumbled to herself not wanting the other two to hear her. However, Grey was able to hear her. He hummed in thought before grabbing Silver from his shoulder and sitting him down. he turned around and headed to the door. "Where are you going?" Nidalee asked and Ahri noticed the Abyss Watcher leaving. "I''m going to the Library, there''s something I want to check" he replied. "At this hour?" Nidalee asked. "Don''t bother" Ahri said shaking her head "he''s just going to do it anyway". "Just go to sleep, I''ll be back soon" he said and they both nodded before entering their rooms. Grey exited their room and started walking through the hallways until he reached a pair of big purple doors. He opened them and was met with the sight of many, MANY, shelves and books everywhere. The Abyss Watcher looked around "if this is anything like the Grand Archives, it''s going to take me hours to find what I want". "Grey?" someone said and The Abyss Watcher saw Nasus standing there. "Oh, hello Nasus" Grey greeted. "What are you doing here at this hour?" the ascendant warrior asked "I was about to leave myself". "I''m looking for a specific book" Grey replied "but it seems finding it won''t be easy" he said looking at the library. Nasus chuckled "do not worry, my title as the curator of the sands is not merely for show. I know about all the books here, whatever you''re looking for, I''m sure we''ll find it". Grey smiled at the ascendant warrior "thank you Nasus". Time skip: (brought to you by chibi Grey trying to pet a chibi fox. Only for chibi Ahri to appear behind chibi Grey and glare at the chibi fox making it run away). It was now morning. Grey, Ahri, Aki, Ezreal, Lux, Nidalee and Katarina were sitting together in a table having breakfast with Silver near the table having his own. Ezreal, Lux and Katarina were watching a match that Garen was currently in. Aki was silently eating her breakfast. Grey was reading a book. While Ahri and Nidalee were reading the league''s magazine that they got earlier. Aki decided to start a conversation with Ahri "s-so I see you got the magazine" she said. "Yeah" she replied, but with anger in her voice. "Is something wrong?" the shy summoner asked noticing Ahri''s anger. Ahri closed the magazine and smacked it on the table "It''s absolute bullshit!" she yelled which gained the attention of the others except for Grey "they all keep talking about how I''m obsessed with sex, that I seduce everyone or use my charm magic to make them sleep with me and that I take life essence through sex" she yelled. "I told you that thing isn''t accurate" Lux said with shrug "plus people know you used to trick people to take their life essence, and the way you act in the rift gives off the wrong message". Ahri crossed her arms "well if they know so much about me then they should know something important, I used to be a fox!" she yelled "does that mean that when I was a fox and took life essence for the first time, I found a human messed up enough to sleep with an animal in the forest" she pointed out which was a solid proof of her point. Lux scratched her neck "yeah, that does sound messed up now that you reminded me about that". "You think you got it bad?" Nidalee asked closing her own magazine and Ahri looked at her "at least they don''t say you''re some wild cave woman that sleeps in mud and mates with animals" she said anger in her voice "some of them even say I''m like you, an animal who took a human form". "Who even comes up with this stuff?" Ahri said and then realized Grey was still reading his book "hey, are you paying attention?" she asked. "Yes" the Abyss Watcher replied not looking away from his book. Ahri crossed her arms "then what were we talking about?". "You and Nidalee were complaining about the magazine saying that your obsessed with sex and Nidalee being a wild cave woman" Grey replied repeating what they were talking about. "And you have nothing to say about that?" Ahri asked slightly hurt that Grey didn''t seem to care. "why should I care what they think?" Grey asked which made Ahri and Nidalee feel hurt, but then he continued "I know for a fact that what they''re saying is wrong. I believe that those rumors are just something idiots made up to fulfill their perverted fantasies. So while they stay alone fantasize about fake versions of you that are obviously not like the real thing, I get to know the real you, something far better than any sex obsessed fantasy or wild cave woman". The Vastayan and the huntress looked shocked and then smiled. Grey made them stop worrying about what the magazine says, because their friends know the real them. Ahri then looked at the book in Grey''s hands "what are you reading? You''ve been holding that book before we even woke up". "It''s a book about Vastaya" Grey replied which gained the others attention, specially Ahri. "Why are you reading it?" the Vastayan asked. "To know more about your people" Grey replied "I was hoping to see if I can find anything on a tripe of nine tailed Vastaya". "So did you find anything?" she asked with hope obvious in her voice. The Abyss Watcher closed the book and shook his head "sadly, no. I wasn''t able to find anything. I did find old Ionian stories about a demon fox that takes a human form to trick people, but I realized that has nothing to do with you". "Why? That sounds like Ahri" Katarina said. Ahri would have felt insulted being compared to a demon, but she had to agree with the redhead. "Because that demon fox tricks people, use them as sex toys, and then kills them to eat their flesh" Grey replied. The fact that he said it so normally made everyone shiver "Ahri doesn''t do any of that. Plus there''s a few proofs that she''s Vastayan, not a demon" he said and looked at Ahri "but... I still didn''t find anything about someone like you. I''m sorry". "It''s okay" she said shaking her head "at least you tried" she said in appreciation. The Abyss Watcher nodded and held his book "now back to my book. I didn''t find what I was looking for, but I did find good information" he said and pointed at Nidalee "for example, I found that Nidalee is actually a Vastayan". "She is?" Ahri, Aki, Ezreal, Lux and Katarina said looking at the huntress. "I am?" she asked even more surprised than everyone around her. Grey opened the book "from what I gathered, there are people who has Vastayan blood but don''t have an animal trait. Instead, those people have the ability to take an animal form for a short period of time before turning back human. Isn''t that what you do?". (A/N: this is a true fact, I did research and found out that Nidalee is considered Vastayan). "well, yes, but I always thought it was the magic of the jungle" Nidalee said. "Maybe that was part of it" Ezreal said scratching his chin "maybe the magic of the jungle just awoke the Vastayan blood you have". Nidalee just looked down in shock at this revelation. She knew that this means one of her parents was Vastayan without her knowing. But it also made sense. It was surprising that a cougar tripe would just take a lost little girl as one of their own. Unless they thought she was one of their kind. "Why are you so shocked?" Grey asked. "What do you mean? I just found out that I''m not what I thought I was my entire life" the huntress replied. "So you''re not Nidalee anymore?" Grey asked which caught her by surprise. "Well... Of course I am" Nidalee replied with slight conflict. "Then it doesn''t matter. Vastayan or not, you''re still Nidalee, so don''t worry about it too much" he said. The Huntress just looked at him for a few seconds before smiling and shaking her head. She also recalled an encounter with an old friend, one who was like Grey, that saw people for who they are, not what they are. The huntress started wondering how that colorful shape-shifter is doing. "A-anyway, we know what the magazine... Accuse Ahri and Nidalee of being" Aki said trying to not sound offensive "but what about you Grey?". "I already read it" the Abyss Watcher replied "they say I''m some kind of blood thirsty killer that rips people apart with his bare hands and drinks their blood to get stronger, they even compare me to the Darkin, whatever that is". "They compare you to the Darkin?!" Aki asked completely shocked with the others. Ezreal shook his head "That is... Messed up on every level". Grey shrugged "I don''t really care, like I said I stopped caring what people think about me a long time ago". "how long is a long time?" Lux asked knowing Grey''s age. "well, considering how old I am and how old you guys are" he said putting a hand on his chin "I''d say... Before any of you were born". "You know, I always get freaked out at the fact that you''re old enough to be my great grandfather, but look young enough to be my brother" Katarina said and Grey just shrugged. They heard someone clear their throat and saw Kayle standing besides them "Good morning, I hope I''m not interrupting anything". "Not really" Ahri said with a shrug "so is there something you need?". The angel nodded "yes actually. The High Summoners wants to see you and Grey". "both of us?" the Vastayan asked and Kayle nodded. Ahri looked at Grey and he nodded. They both stood up and followed Kayle through the halls towards the High Summoners chamber. Once there, Kayle just stood by the door while Grey and Ahri entered. They High Summoners noticed their presence. "Ah, Nine-Tails, Abyss Watcher, we''re glad you came in such short notice" the Demacian Summoner said. "Is there something you need?" Grey asked. The Ionian Summoner nodded "yes, we are in need of your assistance. You see, there has been cases of brutal murders in Ionia recently, and we''d like you two to investigate" he said. "Murders?" Ahri repeated "can''t it be Jhin?". "We did suspect that it was the Virtuoso, but we realized something" the Noxian summoner said "none of the victims was killed by firearms, plus they all had a connection... They were all Vastayan" he said and Ahri''s eyes widen. "Why are you sending us specifically?" Grey asked. "You already helped the Institute before, which is why we chose you" the Piltoven Summoner said "since you''re a neutral champion, going to Ionia shouldn''t cause any problem, but we''re still sending three Ionian champions with you for assistance. We picked the nine-tailed fox because you appear to know her the longest". "Who are the other two?" Ahri asked raising an eyebrow. "The other two champions have a strong ambition to protect the Vastaya. They should arrive here any second" the Demacian Summoner said. The doors to the chamber opens and Two people get inside. Ahri and Grey turn around to look at them. Once they see them, Ahri immediately gained a blank look "oh you have got to be kidding me!" both Ahri and Xayah said as they saw each other. (A/N: thank you for reading this, I hope you enjoyed it, please comment in anyway you like and tell me how you like the story so far). 30 CH29: Prey Third POV: Ahri, Grey, Xayah and the man, who is Xayah''s lover Rakan, exited the High Summoners chamber, but both female Vastaya were not happy. "Out of all the Ionian champions, it had to be you" Xayah said shaking her head. "Trust me, I''d rather have anyone else too" Ahri replied with a tired expression. "Look, maybe we got off on the wrong foot" Rakan said raising his hands "I''m Rakan" he then pointed at Xayah "and this beautiful lady, is my lovely girlfriend Xayah". "Aww, you don''t have to show off for me, much" Xayah replied as Rakan winked at her. Ahri rolled her eyes while Grey didn''t care "well, I''m Grey Ashnex, and this is Ahri" he said. "Yeah, we already know who you and the race traitor are" Xayah said and Ahri glared at her "this is Vastaya business, and I really don''t want a human like you to miss it up". "I''m not actually human, I''m undead" Grey replied correcting Xayah. "That''s even worse!" the winged Vastayan said "humans are bad creatures who mess with nature" she then gained an evil smirk "but you? You''re worst than the humans. You''re just some undead leech, something that should''ve never crawled out of it''s grave. So why don''t you do everyone a favor, and find yourself a hole to jump and stay in". Rakan just looked at his lover a little shocked, he had to admit that she went a little far. Meanwhile, Ahri was outraged. She didn''t approve of Xayah saying any of that stuff without knowing about Grey''s curse. She was about to lunge at the winged Vastayan, but stopped when Grey put a hand on her shoulder. Ahri looked at him, and the Abyss Watcher just shook his head before looking at Xayah "are you done?". Xayah smirked "yeah. What are you gonna do about-". "Good, then let''s go" Grey cut her off shocking everyone by just turning around and walking towards the transport station. Xayah got over her shock "what''s wrong? Too scared to say anything back?" she asked with a smug smile. "No, I have two reasons" Grey said raising a finger "one, I genuinely do not care what you think of me" he then raised another finger "two, what you said isn''t even close to the worst thing I''ve ever heard" he said that while remembering a certain dual-wielding Dancer with his eye twitching. He shook his head and looked over his shoulder "now, are you coming or not? Because I was given a job, and I''ll do it with or without you". Grey continued. Ahri enjoyed the look on Xayah''s face before following him. Xayah looked at Rakan who just shrugged and they both followed them. They reached the transport station and the summoner there stood up seeing them "hello champions, leaving the Institute?". "yes, we''re going to Ionia" Grey replied with a nod and looked at the lovers "do either of you know where the attacks happened?". "I do" Rakan said as walked to the summoner who pulled out a map of Ionia "the last attack happened... Right here" he said pointing at a place in the forest. The summoner nodded and motioned to the rune circle "stand in the circle please?". They all did as they were told and the summoner started motioning with his hands. The vanished in a flash of light and appeared in the forest. They looked around and saw the forest around them. Ahri saw a spot where the tree branches were removed by force "I guess we go there?" she said. "Thanks for stating the obvious" Xayah said and the nine tailed Vastayan glared at her. "Calm down ladies" Rakan said standing between them while facing Xayah "let''s not fight each other". "Let''s go" Grey said making them look at him as he walked through the cleared path. The followed him with Ahri being closer than the lovers. While walking through the woods, Rakan looked around "Isn''t it beautiful?" he asked. "Nature?" Xayah asked. "No" her lover replied and smirked at her "I mean you". Xayah blushed "you big tease" she said as she kissed his cheek. Ahri rolled her eyes ''does those two ever stop'' she asked herself and then looked at Grey as he walked in front of her ''if only he can be like that to me''. The four of them walked into a clearing with a big rock in the middle. Half-way to the giant stone was the dead body of a tiger Vastayan laying on his back. They walked up to him and saw his chest had three big slashes. Rakan hissed through his teeth "that had to hurt" he said as Grey knelt to the corpse "poor guy didn''t know what hit him". "What do you think did this?" Ahri asked looking at the Abyss Watcher who was inspecting the body. "Like you actually care about other Vastaya" Xayah said. Ahri glared at her "hey, I do care! Why do you keep saying that I don''t?" she asked. "Because you want to be more human" Xayah said returning the glare while Ahri''s eyes widen "it''s obvious from the way you act and people you hang around with. Instead of trying to follow the creatures that hurt our kind, you should help us" she said. Rakan opened his mouth to say something but he closed it knowing better than to get in an argument between women. "To be a racist jerk like you? No thanks" Ahri replied and crossed her arms "and stop saying all humans are bad. Because you''re wrong". "No I''m not, I''m just stating facts" Xayah replied and both female Vastaya started glaring at each other. They stopped when Grey''s voice broke them out of the glare match "if you two are done trying to kill each other, then I figured out what happened here". The three Vastaya looked at him "so, what happened?" Ahri asked. "He came running from there" Grey said pointing at where they came from "he was heading for the giant rock, but then the attacker jumped from there" he pointed to his left "and killed him in one hit". They all just looked at him confused "that''s it?!" Xayah said frowning "I could''ve told you that just standing here!" she said since what the Abyss Watcher said was obvious. Grey kept his cool when he replied "could you have also told that he was killed by someone, not something?" he said shocking them. "Wait, what?" Rakan said and looked at the body "but the wound, aren''t those claw marks?" he asked since the three slashes were all the same size, same direction, and had the same distance between them. The Abyss Watcher shook his head "no, the cut is too clean. No claws can make a cut like this, it was done by a weapon" he said and walked to the big stone in the middle the clearing "then the killer stood her and cleaned their weapon" he knelt near the stone "there''s a splat of blood here as proof" he said running his hand over some dry blood. He stood up and pointed south "then they jumped back in the forest through there". They all looked stunned at the detailed inspection. Ahri then looked at Xayah with a smug look and her hands on her hips. The winged Vastayan noticed the look and glared at Ahri "beginner''s luck!" she said. Rakan whistled "I got to admit, those are some tracking skills" he said making his lover frown at him while he smirked at Grey "you sure you don''t come from a wolf Vastaya tribe? You do smell like one after all" he pointed out what any other person with enhanced sense of smell had already did. Grey shrugged "I wouldn''t know, I have no idea who my blood parents are, but I do know something" he replied and looked at them over his shoulder "I''m an Ashnex, and there are no better hunters than us". "so what should we do?" Ahri asked looking at Grey "follow the trail? Or-" she stopped when Grey raised his hand. The Abyss Watcher slowly reached for something under his cape. He suddenly sent a throwing knife towards the tree behind the three Vastaya. They all looked on guard as a bird that had the throwing knife in his chest fell on the ground. "Whoever killed the Vastayan is still here" Grey said as they relaxed slightly "I say we split in two teams, we''ll cover more ground like that" he said while they looked at him "one team well check the road that the Vastayan came from, while the other goes to check where the trail leads" he explained. Ahri crossed her arms "well, if we''re splitting up" she said and pointed at the lovers "those two can''t be together". They both glared at Ahri "and why is that?" Xayah asked suspiciously. "Because we don''t want you to end up being distracted by ''each other''s eyes''" Ahri replied in slight sarcasm in the last part. Xayah rolled her eyes "like that''ll happen". "Are you sure?" Rakan asked and smirked at Xayah "because I''m lost in your eyes now". "Well, now I''m lost in yours too" Xayah replied as she and Rakan looked deeply into each other. Ahri groaned "this is what I''m talking about" she said pointing at the lovers "we can''t exactly find anything with you two like this". Xayah glared at her "so what, I go with the undead and you go with Rakan. Not gonna happen!" she said pointing at Grey "first, I don''t want to go with him" she then pointed at Ahri "second, I don''t want to leave Rakan with you. You might use your magic to charm him". Ahri looked at her confused "and why would I do that?". "Because all women wants Rakan" Xayah said in a matter of fact manner with a smirk "like you''d know what to do with him". Ahri rolled her eyes and looked at Xayah with a bored expression "as a woman, I can tell you this fact that not all of us want your boyfriend" she said and pointed at the male Vastayan "mainly because he keeps looking at himself in the mirror". Xayah looked at her lover and saw him fixing his hair while looking at a pocket mirror. Rakan noticed them looking at him and raised an eyebrow "what?" he asked curiously. "Enough" Grey decided to end the argument "I''ll go with Rakan and you two go together" he cut in and they all looked at him surprised. "You want me to go with her!?" both female Vastaya asked pointing at each other. "You do realize that you''re basically asking them to kill each other, right?" Rakan said. "No, they won''t" the Abyss Watcher replied and looked at the two female Vastaya "because this is important to your people, Xayah won''t let her argument with Ahri distract her unless she''s just a racist. And Ahri can prove that she cares about other Vastaya by focusing on the mission other than fighting, and whoever starts arguing is just going to prove that the other one was correct about them all along". They all looked at him with mixed emotions. Rakan was impressed that he found a loophole in their fighting. Xayah was angry because he was right. And Ahri was a little annoyed because she thought she should''ve seen this coming. The nine tailed Vastayan sighed "let''s just go" she said looking at Xayah "I''d rather not get into an argument with him like this, because I''ll never win" she said knowing that if they don''t agree, then Grey will force them to. Xayah glared at her before sighing "fine" she said and started walking to where they came from "we''ll search there, you two search where the trail goes, and we''ll meet here at sunset" she said and Ahri started following her. "Take care baby" Rakan said waving his arm. "You too babe" Xayah replied with a awave of her own. "Be careful Ahri" Grey said walking away. "I will, and try not to miss me so much" Ahri replied in a teasing tone before she and Xayah vanished in the forest. Grey and Rakan turned to where the trail leads and started walking towards it removing the trees. "I got to admit" Rakan said breaking the silence "that was pretty impressive, how you stopped them from fighting". "if you think that was impressive, then you should see Sulyvahn do his work" Grey replied and shivered slightly remembering how the leader of the Pontiff easily manipulated people without them realizing "let''s just go" he said as he started following the trail with Rakan. However, when they left, a cloaked figure landed near the bird that Grey shot down. The figure looked at where Grey and Rakan went before going to where Ahri and Xayah left. Time skip: (brought to you by chibi Rakan and chibi Xayah dancing together. Chibi Ahri looks from the distance and glances at chibi Grey with a sigh). Ahri and Xayah were looking around the forest for a couple of hours, but didn''t find anything. "Do you see something?" Ahri asked removing a few trees from their road. "You mean besides trees, rocks, dirt, and more trees?" Xayah said sarcastically "then no". Ahri sighed. She then decided to ask something that''s been bothering her "hey Xayah, why do you hate humans so much?" she asked and the winged Vastayan looked a little taken back "I''m not stupid enough to believe that there are no bad humans, I met Jhin not two days ago for crying out loud, but you can''t believe that they''re all bad". "Yes, I can" Xayah replied and looked at the sky "humans don''t understand magic, don''t understand us, and humans fear what they don''t understand, so they fear us. They treat us as freaks without giving us a chance, and I''ve seen more than enough proof" she said and Ahri couldn''t argue. She knew that it was human nature to fear what they don''t understand. The nine tailed Vastayan looked at Xayah''s eyes, and she didn''t need her magic to study her emotions. It was obvious that the winged Vastayan had really bad experience with the humans. Ahri was about to say something, but then her ears start twitching as she heard something. "Something is here!" Ahri said as she looked around and prepared an orb of fox fire. Xayah jumped besides her and held three sharp feathers in between her fingers ready to throw them. They just looked around for a few seconds. They didn''t spot anything but then a shadow passed by on their left. Ahri sent her fox fire there, but only to scotch a rock missing her target. The same shadow passed above them and Xayah immediately threw her feathers in it''s direction. They heard something being hit, and a weird object fell on the ground. It was covered in cloth, wasn''t very big, and had Xayah''s feathers stuck in it. They got close to it to inspect "what is that?" Xayah asked. Suddenly, the object exploded into a cloud of purple gas. Ahri managed to get away using spirit rush, but Xayah wasn''t as quick. The winged Vastayan ended up inhaling some of the gas and started coughing, falling to her knees before she fell on the ground unconscious. "Xayah!" Ahri said and was about to rush to help her fellow Vastayan. But then she felt something hit her neck. She reached for it, and pulled it out to see it was a red dart. Ahri fell on her knees as her vision became blurry. The nine tailed Vastayan looked above her to see a cloaked figure land there. She couldn''t see them clearly before she laid on the ground and lost consciousness. Time skip: (brought to you by chibi Ahri shaking while feeling cold and covering herself with her tails, and chibi Grey shows up and covers her with his cape to warm her). Grey and Rakan were back at the clearing with the giant stone. It was sunset, and they''re supposed to meet back the other two. The Charmer was using his pocket mirror as a soccer ball, kicking it and keeping it in the air. Grey was leaning on the rook with his arms crossed waiting for the female Vastaya to return. They tracked the trail, but it just went in circles. Meaning that whoever the killer is, is just going around the jungle. So they returned here. "Hey listen" Rakan said breaking the silence "don''t tell Xayah I said this, but sorry about what she said. It''s nothing personal, she just hates humans in general" he said referring to their conversations in the Institute. Grey shrugged "It''s alright" he replied. He didn''t exactly blame Xayah for thinking humans are bad. In his world, it was common knowledge that humans come from the dark. But he can''t think that all humans are bad. After all, light cannot exist without dark, and dark cannot exist without light. So that means if humans have darkness in them, they also has to have light. They cannot be just pure darkness, that is what the great knight Artorias believed, and that''s what Grey and many Abyss Watchers believe as well. "Hey, I have a question" Rakan said still kicking his mirror "those things you humans cover your feet with, what are they called?". Grey looked at his feet and answered "shoes" he replied. "I want shoes! Red ones! I want them bad!" Rakan said suddenly thinking that the red shoes would match Xayah''s wing. "You can probably have them costume made" Grey said seeing that Rakan''s feet were talons. The Abyss Watcher then looked at where the female Vastaya went "they''re taking too long". The charmer snickered "Yeah, that''s what women do when a man is waiting for them" he joked. "No, something isn''t right" Grey replied shaking their head as he moved from the room and faced the direction of the two missing Vastaya "something must have happened". "Xayah''s in danger?" Rakan said as he stopped kicking his mirror and grabbed it "okay, now I''m worried. Let''s go get her". "And Ahri" Grey reminded the charmer. "Yeah, her too" Rakan said as Grey started leading the way. They started walking, following the trail the two female Vastayan left and making sure they didn''t miss anything. They reached an area were Grey raised his hand and Rakan stopped. They saw a small bag with three red feathers in it. They walked to it slowly and Rakan pulled out one of feathers "those are Xayah''s" he said in worry. Grey saw a rock near them with some burn marks, which means that Ahri used her fox fire. He also noticed that there wasn''t anymore signs of struggling. Rakan clutched the feather in his hand "If whoever did this actually hurt Xayah, I''ll-". "Calm down" Grey said putting a hand on his shoulder "there''s no blood or shredded clothes, whoever did this just captured them, which means they''re fine. We just have to find them" he said. Rakan looked at the Abyss Watcher with a determined look and nodded. Grey looked around and noticed signs of bodies being dragged. "That way" Grey said pointing with his finger "it''s looks like the same direction the victim came from, let''s go" he said before he and Rakan started going there. With Ahri and Xayah: Ahri stirred as she slowly opened her eyes to and her vision started clearing "nice to see you''re awake" she heard Xayah say. The nine tailed Vastayan finally realized where she was. She was tied to Xayah''s back with her arms heavily tied together. She was sitting down with Xayah being in the same position. Her legs and tails were also tied together to make sure she doesn''t move at all. Ahri saw they were in a cave with someone else. It was someone wearing a long, pitch black hooded cloak with their back turned to them sitting in front of a campfire. "What''s going on?" Ahri whispered to Xayah. "I don''t know. I woke up like this a few minutes ago" Xayah replied also whispering. She was tied up just as much as Ahri with her wing tied to her back. She moved around in her robes "hey, can you burn these with your magic?" she asked since they were back to back. Ahri nodded "yeah, just let me..." she trailed off as her eyes widen. She tried again but nothing happened "I... Can''t use my magic". "What?" Xayah asked surprised. "Don''t bother" the cloaked figure said making them look at them with their back still turned. From the voice, it was obviously female "those robes are infused with runes that steal magic away, you can try all day and you won''t be able to create a spark". "Who are you?" Ahri said as she struggled against her robes "why are you doing this?". "It''s pretty obvious" Xayah said struggling against her own bindings "this human enjoys killing our kind, typical humans". To their surprise, the woman chuckled "you know, there are two things wrong with what you said" she said standing up "first, I''m not typical" she said "second..." she trailed off as she turned around and brought down her hood. It revealed a woman with really long black hair tied into a braid and her eyes closed, but what truly drew their attention was the fact that the woman had ears similar to Xayah''s. Her cloak split in half from the back and revealed it was actually a pair of pitch black feathered wings. Her she had a slightly built figure, just enough to make the muscles visible but not too much. She was wearing a black shoulderless and sleeveless black top with a diamond shaped cleavage cut out in the middle. She was wearing black shorts that reached her knees and clung to her body with a bird skull on her waist. She also had talons like Xayah. In her right arm was a gauntlet with three giant claw blades that were almost as long as her arm. She opened her eyes to reveal bright red irises with slits for pupils "who said I was human?" she said with a grin. Both Ahri and Xayah looked in shock as they realized what her features mean "you''re... Vastayan?" Xayah said absolutely stunned. (A/N: thank you for reading this, please leave previews.) 31 CH30: True Hunter Third POV: Ahri and Xayah looked in shock as the person who captured them revealed that she was a Vastayan. The woman stood in front of them with her wings spread. The two captured Vastaya realized that the clawed gauntlet was the weapon Grey mentioned. "Yes" the woman said breaking the silence "I''m Vastayan, and my name is Maia" she said with her grin still present "W-Wait, I don''t understand" Xayah said in confusion "why would you kill other Vastaya?". "Now you ask that?!" Ahri asked since Xayah should have asked that first and Xayah just glared at her. "Because Xayah" Maia said surprising them by knowing the rebel''s name "you''re right about us Vastaya" she said while her wings fluttered once as she started circling Ahri and Xayah "we''re far better than the humans, in fact we''re better than any other creature on Runeterra. We have the skills of animals, the smarts of humans, and natural connection to magic. That''s why we stand on top of the food-chain, which also means that we''re the ultimate hunters and prey, that''s why I want to hunt every other Vastayan out there. To proof I''m the best hunter, that I stand on top of the food-chain, even above the Vastaya" she said. "And your idea to do that is to hunt down our kind into extinction?!" Xayah yelled summing it up. Maia looked at her and blinked a couple of times before smiling "precisely" she answered naturally which surprised both her captives "now you''re getting it" she said before laughing. "You... You''re worse than Jhin!" Xayah yelled and Ahri agreed with her. Jhin didn''t care who he killed, humans, Vastaya, they were all ''art'' in his eyes. But this woman... This psychopath, wanted the extinction of her own kind to proof she''s the best hunter. "Oh please, don''t compare me to the Golden Demon" Maia said waving her right hand that had the clawed gauntlet "after all, I''m proving that we Vastaya are the best" she said as if what she''s doing was a good thing. "Not a good philosophy when it''s used against you, huh?" Ahri said with a deadpan expression looking at Xayah over her shoulder. Xayah pumped the nine tailed Vastaya with her elbow "Shut. Up." she threatened. "And what a catch I have today" Maia said making them look at her "the infamous Raven herself" she said putting one of the claws of her gauntlet under Xayah''s chin. Xayah just moved her head away with a scowl. The last thing she wanted was for her past to catch up to her, but it did explain how Maia knew her name. "And a one-of-a-kind nine tailed Vastayan too" Maia said as she moved the claws to Ahri''s chin "I have to say, I never even heard of your kind before" she said with a smirk. "Yeah, I''ve been told that many times" Ahri replied moving her head away from Maia''s claws. "Both great catches, and should make for a great hunt" Maia said as her wings dropped down looking like a cloak again "and both at the same time. You know, surprisingly, it''s my birthday today" she said with a laugh and spreading her arms "I guess wishes on this day do come true!" she yelled laughing. "You won''t get away with this!" Ahri said as she struggled with her bindings. "Who''s going to stop me?" Maia asked with a grin "the idiot Vastayan who can''t look away from the mirror for five minutes?" she put a finger on her chin "oh! Or better! That weak human with the stupidest hat that I have ever seen" she said referring to the other two champions. To Maia''s surprise, both Ahri and Xayah started chuckling "what''s so funny?" she asked. "You''re an idiot to underestimate Rakan" Xayah replied with a smirk "that''s why you''ll lose" she said in confidence. Maia just rolled her eyes and looked at Ahri "and why are you laughing?" she asked. Ahri gained a wicked smirk "oh, me? I''m just imagining the look on your face when Grey get his hands on you, and rips your wings off with his bare hands" she said it in a matter of fact manner which made a chill run down Xayah''s spine. Maia scoffed "yeah, right. He''s just human" she said and turned to the campfire. "He''s actually undead" Ahri correct. "Same difference" Maia replied waving her hand and sitting in front of the campfire "now get some sleep, because at dawn, I''m going to start my hunt" she said making their eyes widen realizing she was talking about them. With Grey and Rakan: It was a little after midnight. Grey and Rakan were following the trail but it just kept going in circles. The Abyss Watcher stayed calm, The Charmer however, didn''t. "This is leading us nowhere" Rakan said annoyed. "I know" Grey replied with a sigh "but it''s the only lead we have, so be patient" he said, but in truth he was hoping for any other kind of trail. "Patient?" Rakan replied and he started getting angry "Xayah could be in danger, and your telling me to be patient?! I have to help her! I can''t even imagine my life without her!" he yelled feeling that Grey wasn''t taking this seriously. The Abyss Watcher''s patience, had reached it''s end "DON''T YOU THINK I''M WORRIED?!" Grey yelled making Rakan jump in surprise. Grey turned to the Charmer and started glaring "I''m just as worried, if not more than you are!" he said as he started walking towards Rakan who took a step back "I''m scared of what could happen to Ahri! In fact, the only reason I''m not burning down this entire forest to find her, is because she might get hurt in the process!" Grey yelled as he reached the charmer who shrunk in his place. For a second, Rakan can swear he saw Grey''s eyes, the only uncovered part of his face, start glowing red, but it vanished just as it came. The Abyss Watcher took a deep breath to calm down and turned around while Rakan relaxed slightly. "Hey" Rakan said making the Abyss Watcher look at him over his shoulder "do you love her? I mean Ahri". "Why do you ask?" Grey said in genuine curiosity. "Because you just said that you''d burn this entire forest for her" Rakan pointed out knowing that Grey was serious about saying that "so? Do you love her?". Grey sighed and decided to just answer truthfully "I... I don''t know" he replied in conflict. Rakan raised an eyebrow "what do you mean ''you don''t know''?" he asked. "I mean that I don''t know" Grey replied shaking his head "I do feel something for Ahri, that I''m sure of. I know it''s love, but I don''t know what kind of love it is" Grey said and Rakan looked confused "love is a really rare emotion in my world, barely anyone gets to experience it. But me? I only experienced family love, and even then it was just briefly" he said remembering that his father didn''t exactly see him as a son at the beginning "I don''t know how to tell the difference between the different kinds of love. I don''t know if I love Ahri as family, a friend, or someone special. I don''t want to tell her I love her, only to turn out wrong about my feelings and end up breaking her heart". "Ah, confusion love?" Rakan said stroking his goatee "yeah, that one really kicks you where it hurts". Grey sighed, it was sort of relieving to finally talk about this with someone. He raised his head looking at the moon. He just stood there for a second when Rakan walked up beside him. "Something wrong?" the charmer asked. "My father had a saying" Grey replied still looking up "when lost, seek the moon. For the moonlight guides all hunters" he said repeating his foster father''s words. "Well, unless the moon can tell us where Xayah and Ahri are, I don''t think it''ll be much help" Rakan said sarcastically. Grey still looking at the moon, started thinking. The trail keeps going in circles, some old, and some new, he realized that it means one thing. "that''s it!" the Abyss Watcher said making Rakan jump "Rakan, the last attack happened in that clearing, but did the previous attacks happen around this area as well?" he asked. The charmer nodded "yeah, they were spread out, but still none of them was outside the forest" he replied "why do you ask?". "Because we''ve been following more than one trail" Grey replied making Rakan look at him confused "we''ve been following the mixed trails of the past victims, that''s why they keep going in circles" he explained and Rakan''s eyes widen "which means we just have to find were most trails come from, because once we find that, we might find the place that the killer is using as a hideout". "And then find Xayah and Ahri!" Rakan finished pumping his fist in the air "yes! Now we''re talking!" he said and looked at Grey "so where do we go?" he asked. Grey looked at the tracks, he started looking were most tracks get together or become crossed. "That way" the Abyss Watcher said pointing south "that''s where most tracks cross" he said. "Well let''s go" Rakan said as they began following their new lead. With Ahri and Xayah: Maia was in front of the campfire sharpening the claw blades of her gauntlet with a stone. Ahri and Xayah were still tied up back to back in the deeper part of the cave. The rebel was still struggling against her bindings. "Ow!" Ahri yelped as she was hit by Xayah''s elbow "watch it!" she said as she pumped the rebel with her own elbow. "Why are you just sitting there?!" Xayah said looking at the nine tailed Vastayan over her shoulder "shouldn''t you, I don''t know, Try to think of a way out?!" she scolded since Ahri wasn''t even pulling against her robes. "I''m being smart" Ahri replied and Xayah stopped struggling to listen to her "if I''m right, then this maniac is going to try and hunt us for fun. So I''m reserving my energy to have better chances of surviving" she said and Xayah sighed knowing she was right "also, what happened to that confidence you had for your boyfriend?" she asked half teasing, half serious, and Xayah glared at her. "I can''t have him do all the work" Xayah replied and glared at Maia who was at the front of the cave "plus I want a shot at that freak". "Calm down" Ahri said giving a quick glare to the Vastayan that captured them "I don''t know about your boyfriend, but Grey''s definitely coming". Ahri didn''t doubt for a second that the Abyss Watcher was searching for her. Xayah however, was skeptical. "Please" the rebel rolled her eyes "you really think that undead cares about-". "Okay, I''ve had it!" Ahri said and started glaring at Xayah over her shoulder "first off, he''s an accursed undead, and if you knew what his curse was like then you''d stop insulting him about being one. Second, after what Grey did for me, I know for a fact that he does care about me" she said. "oh really? What could he have possibly done for you to trust him so much?" Xayah asked half sarcastic and half serious. Ahri looked down "he saved me from myself" she replied and Xayah looked at her curiously while Ahri remembered that event. Flash back: After a few seconds of agonizing silence, Grey finally spoke "No... you''re not a monster". Ahri heard what he said and was confused "why?" She asked and then Her confusion turned into anger "why would you say that?" She yelled as she became enraged and looked up glaring at him "I AM A MONSTER! I killed innocent people! I didn''t even need to kill them, I could spend three weeks without taking any life essence, but I still did it! So HOW? How can you say that I''m not a monster?". "Because monsters don''t feel guilt" all of Ahri''s anger vanished and she went wide eyed at Grey''s response "monsters don''t feel anything from killing, but you do" Grey continued and tears began building up in Ahri''s eyes "you don''t like it, you hate it, you want to stop, but most importantly, you want to change for the better" Ahri''s tears started going down her cheeks "the fact that you want to change proofs you''re more human then most people I met, and you can, if what Shen said is true then the Institute should find a way to help you, and even if they don''t I promise that I would look for one" Grey said. End of flash back: "If it wasn''t for Grey, I would be in the Ionian mountains hiding in the darkest cave I can find and asking myself why do I bother to exist" Ahri said after remembering the day Grey promised to help her. Xayah stayed silent for a couple of seconds before speaking again "you love him, don''t you?". Ahri looked at Xayah with a raised eyebrow "what makes you say that?". "Because what you said about yourself if you didn''t meet Grey is exactly what I would say about myself if I didn''t meet Rakan" Xayah replied and looked down "I used to think the entire world is against me, that no one would understand me, but then I met Rakan. He was doing a show in a town I visited, and a lot of women, both Vastayan and human, fell for him, but me? I thought he was an idiot" she chuckled "after I left the village, I was ambushed by a bunch of mercenaries, and then he showed up. I told him that I can handle it, but he said that he doesn''t want to miss out on the fun. He kept following me until I agreed we can travel together, and I started falling for him. The world didn''t seem so cruel and lonely anymore, and that''s thanks to Rakan" she said and looked at Ahri over her shoulder "so, do you love him?". Ahri took a deep breath and answered truthfully "yes". "Did you tell him?" Xayah asked. "No" Ahri replied with a sigh of disappointment "I didn''t exactly get the chance". "Well, when you do, don''t hesitate to take it" Xayah said "because if you miss out on it, and someone else wins his heart, you''ll never let yourself live it down". Ahri sighed knowing Xayah was right, she decided to try and make her feelings more noticeable. The nine tailed Vastayan adjusted the way she was sitting "we should get some sleep". "yeah" Xayah nodded and did the same as Ahri "won''t be much, but it''s better than nothing". Time skip: (brought to you by chibi Grey sitting in front of a bonfire, and chibi Ahri sitting besides him cooking marshmallows on a stick). "Hey! Get up!" Maia yelled kicking the two captured Vastaya. "Hey! What gives?" Ahri complained waking up with Xayah. Maia gave them a crazed grin "it''s time for my hunt" she said forcefully pulling them to their feet. Since they had their legs tied up, she had to drag them out of the cave and pushed them in front of the forest with them still being bound back to back. Maia clutched her right hand that had the clawed gauntlet and raised it in the air. The two captured Vastaya closed their eyes preparing for the pain. But they didn''t feel it. They just heard the sound of robes being cut. Ahri and Xayah looked and saw that Maia had cut most of their bindings. However, Ahri''s right arm was still tied to Xayah''s left arm. Ahri stretched her tails with a sigh now that they were finally free. Xayah however, still had her wing tied to her waist. They looked at their hands and then at Maia. "you have twenty seconds for a head-start" Maia said with her grin still on "you better make it count". "How''s this fair?" Ahri complained raising her and Xayah''s bound arms "we can''t move freely, or use magic". "Seventeen seconds" Maia smirked and the two Vastaya''s eyes widen. They both turn around and rush towards the jungle. Ahri and Xayah kept running through the forest trying to gain as much distance between them and Maia as possible. Ahri and Xayah kept moving and removing trees and branches on their way, the twenty seconds were up, and they looked over their shoulder. They didn''t see anything, but then Ahri''s ears started twitching as she heard something. "Look out!" Ahri said as she jumped and pushed Xayah out of the way. Maia then landed where they were swinging her clawed gauntlet. She left marks on the ground and looked at them. They immediately stood up and ran the other way. Maia dashed towards them swinging her gauntlet. Ahri and Xayah managed to dodge a few swings, but then Maia was able to hit the rebel''s leg. "Aah!" Xayah yelled as she fell to her knees. Ahri tried to help her up, but then Maia managed to strike her shoulder "ahh!" she yelled. Maia raised her gauntlet ready to finish them, but while Xayah was on her knees, she picked some dirt and threw it in their attacker''s eyes. "Dammit!" Maia said as she started cleaning her eyes. Ahri, even with her wounded shoulder, helped Xayah up. Then nine tailed Vastayan started helping the Rebel to walk away from Maia. They managed to make some distance before Ahri pulled Xayah under the trunk of a big tree to hide there. "We can''t fight like this" Ahri said looking around for Maia. Xayah grunted holding her wounded leg with her free hand "wow, you think!?" she said sarcastically. "If I can just use my magic, we''d stand a chance of beating her" Ahri said and looked at the robes binding their hands together "hey, can you cut this off?" she asked. "Don''t you think I would have done that already if I could?" Xayah said and started to look around "we need to come up with a plan, or that psycho is taking our heads as her hunting prize". "I don''t take heads" Maia said as she jumped down from the trees landing in front of Ahri and Xayah with some distance between them "but I would probably take her tails. They''d make for an excellent fur-coat" she said motioning to Ahri. The two bound Vastaya glared at Maia as she slow started walking towards them. They looked around trying to find a way out, but they just saw trees, or the road they came from, which was not a good idea since Maia''s hideout was there. Their attacker raised her clawed gauntlet and dashed towards them. Ahri and Xayah closed their eyes expecting pain. But they never felt any, they just heard the sound of metal clinging. The two captured Vastaya opened their eyes to see what happened. Ahri immediately smiled in joy seeing a familiar red cape and pointy metal hat "Grey!". The Abyss Watcher was in a lock down with his sword against Maia''s gauntlet. He kicked her away and she skidded backwards. Maia stood up and was about to attack again, but she was hit by a yellow and green magical attack that made her jump back even more. "Wooho!" Rakan yelled landing near the captured Vastaya. He was covered in a green orb "coming at ya baby!" he said and the orb around him exploded covering the bound Vastaya in a green light. Ahri''s and Xayah''s wounds heald and the Repel hugged her lover with her free arm "oh baby, I''ve never been so glad to see you". "Ahri, are you alright?" Grey asked looking over his shoulder. "I am now" Ahri replied relieved at seeing Grey. The Abyss Watcher nodded and looked at Rakan "I''ll deal with her" he said motioning to Maia "you help them out of those robes". The charmer nodded while Maia scoffed "please. You really think a human can take me on alone?" she said. To everyone''s surprise, Grey chuckled "you see, the question you should be asking isn''t whether I can or can''t take you on" he said with his head lowered and his hat covering his eyes. When he raised his head, everyone was taken back by the fact that Grey''s eyes were now glowing red. Ahri was shocked that the warm blue eyes she got used to were now replaced by red ones that are leaking pure blood-lust. "the real question you should be asking" Grey said getting into stance "is... Who''s going to save you from me?". Grey jumped towards Maia Swinging his sword. Maia was able to jump away from the strike. When Grey stopped, a screeching sound was heard before a tree that was in the way of Grey''s strike started falling. Everyone looked shocked as Grey stood up and looked at Maia "tonight... An Ashnex joins the hunt" he said. He jumped towards Maia swinging down his sword. Maia dodged the strike and tried to hit Grey with her clawed gauntlet. The Abyss Watcher rolled away from the strike before anchoring his knife on the ground and using it to spin around. He swung his sword and Maia used her gauntlet to block, but she still ended skidding a few feet back. Grey pulled out his knife and jumped in the air swinging down his sword and Maia had to jump away to avoid it. Maia grunted and jumped towards the forest. The Abyss Watcher stood up and followed her. Ahri got over her shock "quickly! Get these robes off!" She yelled at the Charmer. "Alright! Alright! Jeez" Rakan said as he started untying the robes. He chuckled and looked at Xayah "usually, I''m the one who ties you up". "Are you serious!? You''re doing this now!?" Ahri asked in disbelief. "Not a good time for a sex joke, sweetie" Xayah said as Rakan started to remove the robes. "There''s always a good time for one" he replied and a glare from both female Vastaya made him immediately look back to the robes. Meanwhile, Maia was running through the forest. She looked over her shoulder and didn''t see anything. But then a shadow passed above her. She immediately jumped to the side avoiding Grey landing with his sword stabbing through the ground. Maia jumped at him swinging her clawed gauntlet. But Grey moved behind his sword that was stuck in the ground and she ended up striking it. Grey started swinging his knife and Maia blocked with her gauntlet before jumping back. The Abyss Watcher moved forward and strongly pulled out his sword swinging it at Maia who barely blocked using her gauntlet. The two of them were in a lock down, and Maia grinned "yes" she said jumping back and swinging her gauntlet again "more". Grey rolled away and used his knife to spin around swinging his sword. Maia blocked the strike and Grey used his knife again to swing in the other direction. Maia blocked the strike again and jumped back making some distance between them. The Vastayan spread her wings and jumped using them to get higher in the air. She came down swinging her gauntlet trying to strike Grey. But he rolled under her entire body while she was in the air. The Abyss Watcher used his knife to spin around and strike Maia in the back. She grunted, and surprisingly grinned "more" she said before jumping away and running into the forest. Grey followed her as she ran through the trees. Maia looked ahead and saw a cliff that leads to a lower part of the forest. Maia jumped over the cliff and spread her wings slowing down her fall. She reached the ground and looked at the top of the cliff with a grin. She saw Grey reach the cliff and stop at the edge, but to her surprise, he took a step forward falling over the cliff. While falling, Grey spun around and stabbed his sword into the side of the cliff slowing himself down. When Grey was close enough, he kicked himself off the side of the cliff and rolled on the ground before stopping. Before either of them did anything, Maia jumped from three feathers that were going to strike her. But then she was then struck by an orb of deception that went through her and came back making her fall to her knees. Grey looked at the top of the cliff and saw Ahri, Xayah and Rakan standing on top of it. The lovers joined hands and jumped down. Each of them spread their wing and they slowly descended to the ground. Ahri grabbed the orb of deception that was coming back. Using her agility, She then jumped to the rocks on side of the cliff, she kept jumping on rocks until she reached the ground and jumped besides Grey with the lovers landing besides them. "Not so fun when your ''Prey'' can fight back, huh?" Ahri said holding an orb of deception. Maia was still on her knees, and to their surprise, she started chuckling before she started laughing like a maniac. "Is... She alright?" Rakan asked starting to question Maia''s sanity. "After I spent last night with her, I can tell you she''s fine" Xayah said recalling her feathers. "Yeah, she was already crazy" Ahri added while still holding an orb of deception. Maia finally stood up "forget the Vastaya!" she yelled and pointed at Grey "you! You''re what I''m looking for! Someone who stands on top of the food-chain. Fast, cunning, adaptive, merciless, a true hunter! I should have hunted undead a long time ago" she said and spread her arms "oh that look in your eyes! The look that doesn''t show sympathy, regret, or hesitation at hunting their prey! The look of a true hunter! I can''t get enough of it!" she yelled grabbing her blushing cheeks with both her hands while making sure her clawed gauntlet doesn''t cut her "oh, I think I''m in love!" she said before laughing again. Ahri, Xayah and Rakan looked at Maia in disgust as she showed her madness, but Grey wasn''t effected. Psychopaths, beasts, corrupted hunters, hollows, monsters, and mad people. He already saw it all. Back in his world, Maia would have been an average citizen. "So, undead" Maia said as she stopped laughing and spread her wings "what do you say we end this? In one big finisher?" she said. Maia then crossed her arms with her wings covering her. She then quickly spread her wings and arms with a small explosion of fire. Her black hair and wings suddenly turned dark red with a fiery glow. The claws of her gauntlet were covered in dark red flames. "woah, woah, woah, hold up!" Rakan yelled raising his hands with a shocked look "she''s a Tengu!? I-I thought those guys were extinct?!". "They... They''re supposed to be" Xayah said with a look of disbelief. Grey then took a step forward "Grey? Are you going to fight her on your own?" Ahri asked in worry while Grey nodded. "Are you crazy?!" Xayah asked looking at the Abyss Watcher "Tengus are basically fire spirits! Not even nine tails here can control fire like they do" she said motioning to Ahri. Grey didn''t give her any attention. He took another step forward, and sheathed his knife. The Abyss Watcher held his Farron great-sword with both hands and started taking a stance. He brought his sword to head-level, pointed it at Maia, bended it downwards slightly, and moved one of his legs forward. Maia crouched down and jumped forward with Dark red flames covering her. She dashed through the air covered in flames towards Grey. The Abyss Watcher kept his stance as Maia came closer. When she was close enough, he reeled his sword forward slightly and pulled it back spinning two times while strongly swinging his sword. The two clashed, and the sound of clinging metal was heard for miles. Maia ended standing behind Grey with her wings spread while the Abyss Watcher was standing with his sword at his side. Grey turned around, and the eyes of the others widen seeing three, steaming slashes on his chest. Ahri looked in shock and worry at Grey, while Rakan and Xayah got ready to fight Maia. But then... Maia fell to her knees "God... Dammit" she said as her hair and wings turned back to their original black color. She fell on the ground and stopped moving. "Is she... Dead?" Xayah asked still on guard. "No" Grey said taking out his Estus Flask and having a drink to heal his wounds "the wound I gave her shouldn''t kill her, just keep her unconscious for a few hours" he said walking up to the Vastayan that was on the floor. He looked at Rakan "Rakan, you still have the robe they were tied with?" Grey asked motioning to Ahri and Xayah. The charmer nodded "yeah". "Wait, you''re not going to kill her!?" Ahri asked in anger. "She''s a freaking maniac!" Xayah yelled "why spare her?" she asked. Grey took the robe from Rakan "Our mission was to investigate, and capture the culprit" Grey replied and both female Vastaya looked at him in disbelief "I''m only doing this so I don''t have to go through the political trouble of explaining why I killed her" he continued as he started tying Maia with the robe "Trust me, if she doesn''t get punishment for what she did, then I''ll make her death at my hands a very long and painful one, then I''ll give her soul to Ahri to take as much life essence as she wants from it, and then take whatever is left of her soul and burn it" he said. His tone made the others realize that he was one-hundred percent serious. Grey finished tying up Maia and lifted her over his shoulder. "Now" the Abyss Watcher said and looked at the others "do any of you know where the closest transport station is?". Time Skip: (brought to you by Chibi Grey and Chibi Ahri splitting a giant cookie in half and start eating each one together). Ahri, Grey, Xayah and Rakan just finished explaining what happened to the High Summoners. Maia was behind them, completely tied up in the robes she used to capture the female Vastaya with. "I see" the Ionian summoner said and looked at them "you have our thanks in completing the mission. Rest assured, you will be rewarded". "you may leave" the Noxian summoner said "we''ll decide what to do with the culprit". The four of them nodded and they all began walking out. Ahri noticed that Maia had a grin on her face when she passed by her. They exited the High Summoners chamber and saw it was night time through one of the windows. It took them quite a long time to find the transport station, and the explanation wasn''t short either. Ahri yawned "I can''t wait to see my bed again" she said and arched her back with her hands "sleeping on the floor while being tied up is not good for me". "Yeah" Xayah nodded and looked at Ahri "hey Nine tails... Not bad work in the mission". Ahri raised an eyebrow "nine tails? What happened to race traitor?" she asked referring to the nickname Xayah used to call her. The Rebel rolled her eyes "if there''s a race traitor, it would be definitely her" she said motioning to the door to the High Summoners "and you" she said and looked at Grey "I guess you''re not so bad, but just because you''re undead and not human!" she said pointing her finger. Ahri rolled her eyes while Grey simply shrugged. He didn''t really care, it just meant less arguments from now on. Xayah looked at her lover and saw him smirking at her "what?". "you''re so cute when you''re in denial" Rakan said shaking his head. Xayah blushed "I swear, if I didn''t like your pretty nose, I''d break it for you" she said as she and her lover walked away. Ahri and Grey walked away and started making their way to their room. When they reached it, they opened the door and something flew towards Grey''s arms from inside. The Abyss Watcher looked at it and saw Silver wagging his tail and barking "hi boy" he said rubbing the pup''s head. "Next time you''re going on a mission, be sure to say something" Nidalee said from inside the room "we had to ask Kayle to find out where you guys were". "Yeah, sorry about that" Grey apologized as he and Ahri entered and they both sat on the couch. Nidalee yawned "well, since you two are back I''ll be going to bed" she said before going into her room. "Goodnight" Ahri said as she relaxed on the couch. She brought her tails around her and started brushing them with her hands. Grey sat besides her and sat Silver down. He took off his hat and placed it on the table before uncovering his face. The Abyss Watcher looked at the nine tailed Vastayan "Hey Ahri" he said and she looked at him "I''m really glad you''re okay" he said and Ahri was a little taken back "when you were captured, I was so worried, but I''m glad you didn''t get hurt, and I''m sorry I didn''t find you sooner" he apologized looking down. Grey felt Ahri''s hand gently grab his cheek and make him look at her "don''t worry about it" she said with a warm smile "I knew you were looking for me, and I was really overjoyed when you showed up to save me. That just proves how much you care, so don''t feel bad about anything, alright?" she said and Grey nodded. Ahri ended up looking into his eyes. She was glad to see the warm blue eyes she loved back where they belong. They were so warm, full of kindness, and a little bit of curiosity. Grey started looking into her eyes. He was amazed by their natural golden color. They held some mischief, but also compassion and wonder. Ahri forgot that she was still holding his cheek. Without realizing it, they started learning towards each other. The just kept getting closer and closer slowly. It was like pure instinct was guiding them. Their noses where almost touching when- (knock) (knock) Someone knocked on their door. They both blushed coming back to their senses and backed off slightly looking a little awkward. Their door was knocked again. Ahri scowled in anger and got up marching towards the door. The nine tailed Vastayan swore to herself that if the world wasn''t ending, then the person behind their door will get killed for ruining their moment. She violently opened the door "WHAT???" she yelled angered, but her expression turned to one of both shock and fear. On the other side of the door, was Maia. She was standing with her hands on her hips and a smirk on her lips. What Maia said next, truly made Ahri think the world was ending "guess who''s the newest champion to the Institute". (A/N: thank you for reading this, I hope you enjoyed it, please leave previews). 32 CH31: Women (A/N: I truly apologize for the late update, I made this chapter long and full of events as a way to make up for it, I hope you enjoy it). Third POV: "THEY LET THAT MANIAC LIVE!?" yelled a very angry Xayah. She was sitting in the dining hall with Rakan, Grey, Ahri and Nidalee. The three roommates just explained that Maia was set free. Grey was petting Silver who was having his breakfast. Ahri was just as annoyed as Xayah, and Nidalee just came to understand what happened during the mission. "You think that''s bad?" Ahri questioned resting her head on the palm of her hand with an angry expression "they also made her a champion". "WHAT!?!" the two lovers yelled absolutely shocked that Maia was not only let go, but also became a champion. "why would they do that?!" Rakan asked angry that the person who tried to kill his lover was given such a position. "So let me get this straight" Nidalee said and pointed at Maia who was sitting in a table not far away "she tried to hunt you for fun, and wants all Vastaya dead to proof that she''s the best hunter?". "Yes" Grey cleared up ignoring the fact that Maia was staring directly at him. Aki then reached their table and Ahri stood up "so, do you know why they let her go?" she asked. The shy summoner nodded "yeah, apparently she was already sentenced for execution". "Then why is she still alive?" Xayah asked. "Well... Before the execution, she asked for something called trial through judgement" Aki replied and everyone looked at her confused. "Is it anything like trial through battle?" Grey asked making the others that were sitting in the table look at him confused. "And what''s that?" Rakan asked what everyone was thinking. "It''s an old costume" Grey replied "it''s when someone asks for their fate to be decided through battle. If they win? They live, if they lose? They die" he explained. "So?" Ahri said looking at Aki "is that it?". "well, sorta" Aki replied scratching the back of her summoner hood "trial through Judgement is like that, but instead of battle, you go through the Judgement, and if you pass you''re let go while also becoming a champion". "Why would something like that exist?" Xayah asked thinking that such a way to deal with people was stupid. "T-That rule was made when the Institute was first created" Aki explained feeling uneasy by the Rebel''s glare "t-they were really low on champions, a-and they made it to give more people the chance to join, there''s a lot of champions that joined like this" she explained what the other summoners had told her. "I did wonder how they allowed someone like Jhin to stay alive, and I guess that''s how" Ahri pointed out while Xayah huffed and sat back besides her lover "So why can''t we just kill her now?". "you can''t" Aki said shaking her head "there''s a lot of champions that hold grudges against each other, so the Institute made a rule that says the Champions can''t attack each other outside the rift while they''re inside the Institute". "I have a question" Grey said making everyone look at him while Aki sat besides Ahri "you said that her kind of Vastaya is supposed to be extinct, so shouldn''t you be glad that they spared what could be the last of her kind?". Xayah rolled her eyes "if it was any other kind of Vastayan, I would be happy, but not a Tengu. I was actually hoping they''d kill her so that her kind can finally go extinct" she said harshly making it clear she doesn''t like that peculiar race. "From what I know, Tengus are a really ancient race of Vastaya, right?" Ahri asked to make sure the information she has from the memories she took was correct. "That''s right" Rakan nodded "and we''re talking REALLY ancient, they trace back STRAIGHT to the Vastayashy''rie" he said shocking Ahri, and surprisingly Nidalee too. "According to my studies, the Vastayashy''rie are a race of spiritual shape-shifters, and are the original ancestors of the Vastaya, right?" he asked referring to the books he was reading and the lovers nodded "so, why do you want Tengus to go extinct?". "Two reasons" Xayah said raising two fingers "one, they''re strong naturally. They have control over two elements, fire and wind, which is why they have two wings, unlike the other winged Vastaya" she said motioning to hers and her lover''s single wing "two, because the other Vastaya holds a grudge against Tengus". "Why?" Nidalee asked. From what she knows, Vastayan tribes are usually really peaceful with each other. "Tengus used to manipulate the other Vastaya tribes, making them fight each other" Rakan continued for his lover "they used to make them think that the other Vastaya were out for them, and that only the Tengus can be trusted. When the other tribes found out they''ve been manipulated, you can guess that they weren''t happy" he explained. "That explains that" Grey said still ignoring the stare Maia was giving him while sharpening her clawed gauntlet. Ahri sighed "well, at least we got a reward for the trouble" she said looking at the bag of gold that was strapped to her waist. The four champions that went on the mission got the reward earlier today from the summoners, and it was a good amount of gold. "Grey, are you sure you want to give me your reward?" Nidalee asked holding her own bag of gold since the Abyss Watcher gave her his. Grey shrugged "It''s alright, I get a good amount from what the Institute already gives me for matches. Besides, think of it as an apology for leaving without saying anything" he replied. Truth to be told, Grey wouldn''t have even known what to do with that much money, he was never a big spender, so he decided to give it to someone else. The Abyss Watcher looked at Ahri "why don''t we get your mind off things by going to the city below and go shopping for a few things?" he asked. Ahri''s ears perked up and she smiled "sure, that could help" she then glanced at the lovers and took a deep breath "do you two want to join us?". "why not?" Rakan shrugged "I''ve been planning to go into town anyway, I need to costume order some shoes" he said looking at his talons. "Shoes?" His lover asked. "Yeah, red ones!" Rakan replied looking at Xayah "come on, it should be fun". "well..." she said and looked at Aki and Nidalee "I might tolerate the summoner since I have to deal with them all the time, but not the ''human'' huntress" she said pointing out the word human. Nidalee scowled, but before she responded, Grey spoke "actually, we found out recently that Nidalee is considered Vastayan". "Well then welcome to the family!" Xayah said smiling and her attitude taking a 180 "you have got to teach me how to make traps that fast" she said standing up and putting a hand over Nidalee''s shoulder "seriously, how do you do that?". Ahri rolled her eyes at Xayah''s personality change. She would have said something but decided against it. They stood up and started walking out of the dinning hall. Grey saw Maia still staring at him but he just went back to ignoring her, so he didn''t notice her look at his other friends. They went through the hallway, and exited through the gates going down the stairs reaching the city below. "So, what do you want to get?" Grey asked his roommates. Ahri put a hand on her chin "well, our room is a little dull, so why don''t we buy something to brighten it up?". "like decorations?" Grey asked. "or a few plants? Seeing nature never hurts" Nidalee added. "Not bad, and maybe a few Video games" Ahri said with a shrug. "well, I''ll just tag along because Rakan is coming" Xayah said and her lover kissed her cheek in appreciation. "I''ll never understand these... Video games your so into" Grey said looking at Ahri and shaking his head "technology is such a weird thing". "you act like you never saw them before" Rakan said raising an eyebrow. "actually, you''re kind of right" Ahri said and the lovers looked at her "from what Grey told me, his world is a little... Premativ, and they don''t have any kind of technology" she said and the lovers chuckled. "let''s just go" said Grey and they all walked through the city towards the shopping district. They entered a big store with all kinds of sections. Ahri took a cart and went to the electronic section with Aki. Nidalee went looking for something to bring some nature to the room, while Grey, Rakan and Xayah just waited at the entrance. A few minutes later, the huntress came back with a painting of the forest and put it on the cashier table. The worker there, an old chubby man, looked at it and then at Nidalee "that will be 30 pieces of gold" he said and the huntress nodded before giving him the money. Then the nine tailed Vastayan came holding her cart with the shy summoner following her. The cart had a new game console and a few video games. When the worker saw Ahri, his smile dropped "what do you want?" he asked rudely. "What''s your problem?" Ahri asked noticing his anger. The worker just groaned "Look, just tell me what you want and leave, I''d rather not have any Vastayan animals in my store" he said. Ahri looked at him in shock and just left leaving her things at the cashier. She headed to her friends at the entrance with Aki following. "Ahri, are you okay?" Aki asked concered for her friend. "Yeah" Ahri replied although a little hurt. They reached them and Xayah shook her head "this is exactly why I hate humans" she said glaring at the cashier with her lover and the huntress doing the same. Grey, while looking calm, was actually pretty angry. He was resisting the urge to walk to the cashier and rip the man''s throat out. He did it before to many people for less reasons. Suddenly, he had a better Idea "hey Ahri? Why don''t you try using your... ''Charming'' personality" Grey said. The nine tailed Vastayan raised an eyebrow at the Abyss Watcher before a Fox-like smile appeared on her lips. Ahri turned around and walked back to the cashier where her stuff was still there. The worker scowled at her. He was about to start talking when Ahri''s eyes glowed pink and the man felt his anger vanish. "Are you sure you want me to leave~?" Ahri asked teasingly. "W-What!? No! Of course not, let me help you" the worker said almost pleading and took Ahri''s things from her cart. Ahri just smirked as the worker started counting for her things ''I didn''t even use that much charm, either his will is weak, or I''m just that good'' she thought to herself boosting her ego. The worker finished counting for Ahri''s things "that will be 100 pieces of gold" he said in the nicest tone he can muster. Ahri can easily afford that, but she decided to keep playing as payback for the man''s earlier comment. The Nine tailed Vastayan put a hand on her cheek "gosh, that sounds a little too expensive for me" she said in a sad tone putting on an innocent girl act with her eyes glowing pink "maybe I should go shop somewhere else?". The charmed worker started panicking "W-What? No! Don''t! D-Did I say 100? I-I meant 50, yeah that''s it!" he said planning to keep Ahri from leaving. Her charm making him believe she was the most valued thing in the world. "Well, in that case" Ahri smirked getting the amount of gold and giving it to the worker "here you go" she said paying and picking up a bag with her things "thank you" she said turning around and whispered with a smirk "Idiot". When Ahri left, her charm lost it''s effect and the worker looked around confused "W-What happened?". Ahri walked up to her friends with her things. Aki was chuckling with a hand covering her mouth. Nidalee looked at her in pride. Rakan was glad to see something similar to his magic was used on the racist worker. Meanwhile, Xayah was shaking her head "that was just mischievous and evil" she said and smirked "and I couldn''t imagine it being better". Grey took Ahri''s bags "thanks" she nodded "for that, and for giving the Idea". "Trust me, it was the most peaceful way that could have gone" Grey said knowing that if it was him that went there, then blood will be everywhere. "Well, where do you want to go next?" Aki asked after she stopped chuckling. "let''s go to a clothes shop, or tailor, I need to get those shoes" Rakan said and they all walked out. They found a big clothes shop with a tailor connected besides it. Rakan and Xayah went to the Tailor, while Grey, Ahri, Aki and Nidalee went to the clothes shop. "Alright Grey, I think it''s about time to get you some new clothes" Ahri said looking over Grey. "What''s wrong with what I''m wearing now?" The Abyss Watcher asked tilting his head. "Well, they look... Kind of old" Ahri replied trying to be nice. "Of course they''ll look old" Grey said with a shrug "they''ve been with me for over 40 years". The three women''s eyes widen hearing that while remembering Grey''s age "Okay, now we''re definitely getting you new ones" Ahri said determined and grabbed Grey''s arm before she started dragging him around. She picked a few clothes with Nidalee and Aki. After a few minutes, they picked up clothes for all of them. The first to try her clothes in the changing room was Nidalee. She picked her own clothes. The huntress opened the curtains to reveal her new look. She was wearing a shirt with tiger themed stripes under a short green jacket with a brown skirt. The others looked at her and Ahri was the first to speak "it''s pretty cute, I like how the shirt looks like it was made for you". "I like the jacket, it brings out your eyes" Grey added and Aki nodded. "Well, I''ll be taking this then" Nidalee replied closing the curtain and changed back. After she came out, Ahri nudged Aki "come on, aren''t you going to try anything?" she asked. "W-What?! But I didn''t even pick-" the Shy summoner was cut off when Ahri handed her clothes she had already picked for Aki. "You''re always wearing your robes" Ahri said motioning to Aki''s clothes "let''s see you out of them for a change". Aki took the clothes and sighed deciding not to argue with the nine tailed Vastayan and went to the changing room. After she changed, she came out wearing a short sleeved green shirt with a long yellow skirt. "S-So, h-how do I look?" the blonde asked nervous about being out of her summoner robes. Ahri chuckled at her friend''s nervousness "don''t worry, you look adorable. You should definitely get it" she said and her roommates nodded. "W-Well, if you say so" she replied closing the curtain and changing back. After Aki came out, Ahri picked her own clothes "my turn" she said and looked at Grey "no peeking~" she teased poking his chest before going in and closing the curtain. The Abyss Watcher rolled his eyes "I should be the one telling her that when I change" he mumbled and the other two chuckled. "I heard that" Ahri said from inside the changing room. "Sorry" Grey apologized scratching his head. Ahri then opened the curtain to reveal her new attire. She was wearing a red shirt, a Jean jacket, and a short firly white skirt with red outlines. Her tails were coming out of the gap between her shirt and skirt. "How do I look?" Ahri asked doing a spin. "Well, it really looks good" Nidalee complemented. "Personally, I think red suits you" Grey added and Ahri made a note to wear more red. The nine tailed Vastayan closed the curtain and changed back. She came out and looked at the Abyss Watcher "alright, your turn". Grey sighed and gave Silver who was resting on his shoulder to Nidalee before picking up the clothes that Ahri and Nidalee picked out for him. He was about to walk into the changing room but Ahri stopped him. "Wait" Ahri said and opened her palm "give me your hat". Grey raised an eyebrow "why?". "Because I know you''ll keep wearing it, so give it" she replied and Grey sighed before giving her his hat. He walked into the changing room mumbling to himself "this is stupid". After he changed, he opened the curtain to show that he was wearing a black short sleeved shirt with dark red pants. "Now that''s what normal clothes looks like, it looks good on you" Ahri said and the other two girls nodded. "I guess" Grey said feeling uncomfortable outside his armor "the shirt is a little small though" he said moving his arms around. "That''s definitely a good thing" Ahri and Nidalee whispered enjoying how the shirt outlined Grey''s muscles. To their disappointment, Grey closed the curtain and changed back to normal clothes. He walked out and picked his hat from Ahri and Silver from Nidalee before they all picked their clothes and a few others before paying for them. After they came out, they saw that Rakan and Xayah were still at the tailor "guess they''re waiting for the shoes to be made" Nidalee said. A store caught Ahri''s attention and she smirked "well, there''s still something we should pick up. How about you come with us there Grey" she said pointing at the store. "Sure, let''s just-" the Abyss Watcher stopped when he saw that Ahri was pointing at a lingerie store "No" he said firmly. "What''s wrong?" Ahri chuckled seeing Grey''s cheeks turn pink. "I... Why would a store like this even exist?!" Grey asked shaking his head. "Let me guess" Nidalee said smirking at Grey''s flustered reaction "you don''t have them in your world?". "Of course not!" Grey replied and sat down on a bench "just go without me". "but we need someone to look and give us opinion" Ahri teased further leaning towards Grey. "Just look at each other" the Abyss Watcher replied and shook his head "I''m not going". "M-Maybe I should stay too" Aki said embarrassed about Ahri''s choice of store. "Oh no, you''re coming with us" Ahri said as she grabbed Aki''s arm and started pulling her to the store with Nidalee. Grey shook his head and sighed getting his blush under control. He tried to look for something to get his mind off the subject when he noticed a flower stand. He stood up and walked towards it "excuse me?" he said looking for the owner. The owner revealed themselves as brown haired teenage girl "Yeah, how can I-" she stopped when she looked Grey and her eyes widen "oh my God! You''re the Abyss Watcher, from the League of Legends" she said. Grey groaned remembering that champions are celebrities "do you have any roses?" he asked trying to avoid the subject. "Y-Yeah, sure" the girl replied and pulled out a vase full of red roses "how many do you need?". "Just one" he replied and the girl nodded before giving him the rose. "That will be one coin of gold" she said and the Abyss Watcher nodded before paying her and turning around "w-wait!" she said and Grey looked at her "uhmm... If it''s not too much trouble, can you sign this?" she asked holding up a poster. The poster was about Grey on one knee, his head down with ashes and fire falling from him. ''''''''from ashes and cinder, I shall rise'''''''' was written on it. Grey sighed "sure" he said taking a pen from the girl and signing his name "this is my real name" he said. "Thank you" she replied and saw his name written on the poster "Grey Ashnex, huh?" she asked and then noticed Silver on Grey''s shoulder "awe~, is this your pet?". "You can say that" Grey replied while Silver barked. The Abyss Watcher found the word ''pet'' a little demeaning, so preferred ''friend''. He turned around, and walked back to the bench he was sitting on before. After he sat down, the lovers finally came out of the tailor. Rakan was wearing red shoes with gold trimming that were a little different than normal. They were wide at the front, and small at the heels. They also made a clicking noise with each step. "I see you finally got those shoes" Grey pointed out. "Yeah" Rakan replied kicking his feet a few times "they''re really comfortable, and they''d make great sound when I dance" he said doing a couple of dancing moves with his shoes clicking. "Now I got to deal with that noise" Xayah sighed and looked around "so where''s the others?". Grey pointed at the lingerie store without looking. The lovers looked at where he was pointing. "Oh" Xayah said raising an eyebrow "guess that''s why you''re alone, they told you to stay here?" she asked. "Well, Ahri did try to make me go with them to take my... Opinion" Grey replied a little embarrassed "but I declined". "Wait" Rakan said raising his hands "they invited you to go and see them, but you said no?" he asked and the Abyss Watcher nodded "you''re either gay, or have the strongest will-power I have ever seen in a man" "I assure you I''m not gay" Grey replied and sighed "and about my will-power, that''s something that Ahri''s really testing whenever she feels like it". The lovers raised an eyebrow in confusion. A few minutes later, the three girls came out with bags in their hands. "Oh! You two are here" Ahri said noticing the presence of the lovers. She then looked at Grey with a smirk "Grey, you should have been there. There was all kinds of things and I got-". "Please don''t tell me" Grey pleaded with a blush on his face. He knew that if Ahri put that image in his head, he''d never get it out. Ahri chuckled at Grey''s reaction "well, the point is there was many kinds" she said and looked at the rebel "they might have had something for you Xayah". Xayah scowled "and what''s that supposed to mean?" she asked suspiciously. Ahri chuckled putting a hand on her mouth "well... How should I put this... You''re a migit" she said ''trying'' to be nice. "what the!?" Xayah said shocked "I am not a migit!" she yelled in anger. Rakan just looked away deciding not to comment on that "first of all, for my type of Vastaya, I''m considered average hight" she said in a matter of fact manner and pointed at Grey "second, compared to the undead, everyone is a migit" she then crossed her arms and looked at Grey "because, and I''m seriously asking, what the hell have they been feeding you as a kid?" she asked. They all understood why she said that. Between them, Ahri and Rakan were the tallest, they were about the same hight, a little taller than average, but even then they just reached about Grey''s chin. "If you think I''m tall, you should see Pontiff Sulyvahn" Grey said and shook his head "he is like a walking tower with swords" he said and shivered "that man seriously scares me" he mumbled. The Abyss Watcher heard Silver bark from his shoulder. He saw the wolf pup excited and looking at a store. "A pet store?" Grey asked and Silver barked "well, I do owe you for just leaving without saying anything, so let''s get you a toy". The wolf pup barked and started wagging his tail while Grey started walking towards the pet store and the others started following. They entered the pet store and Grey sat Silver on the ground "go look for something you like, and I''ll buy it for you" he said and the wolf pup nodded before leaving and searching. "Wow, they have everything here" Nidalee said looking at the animals and equipment "they even have poroos" she said pointing at furry balls that had tiny horns and tongues hanging out. Grey heard a small bark and saw a small kid fox "oh look, a little fox" Grey said and knelt down to pet it. However, when Grey''s hand got close, the fox started whimpering and took a step back. The Abyss Watcher raised an eyebrow while the fox kept whimpering. What he didn''t notice, was that the fox wasn''t even looking at him. The fox was looking at Ahri who was standing behind Grey, and she didn''t look as kind as the Abyss Watcher. Ahri was giving the fox a death glare. She pointed at the fox, then at Grey, and then did a slitting motion on her neck. She was clearly telling him ''touch him, and you''re dead!''. The fox got the massage clearly and backed off. Grey stood up and turned to the nine tailed Vastayan who immediately changed her expression into a smile "that was weird. Do you know what''s up with him?" he asked thinking that Ahri should know. "Some foxes tend to be paranoid" Ahri replied waving her hand "Trust me, it''s normal". The Abyss Watcher nodded deciding that if anyone should know about that subject, then it would be Ahri. The nine tailed Vastayan then noticed Xayah smirking at her "paranoid, huh? You forgot to say that some also get territorial" she said. "Oh, would you look at that cutie" Rakan said noticing a red bird in a cage. The bird started panicking "woah, what''s your deal?". What the charmer didn''t see, was that Xayah was behind him glaring at the bird with three knives in her hand. The rebel put the knives away and saw Ahri smirking at her "what?" she asked. "Nothing" Ahri replied looking away and then started coughing in her fist "jealous much" she said between coughs. Grey then found Silver who already picked a toy, it was a toy small sword that the wolf pup held in his mouth from the handle. "You want that one?" Grey asked and Silver nodded "alright" he said picking Silver and going to pay for it. The worker saw the toy and nodded "that''ll be 3 pieces of gold" he said and Grey paid for it before they left. "So where do you want to go now?" Xayah asked. "Let''s look around, I''m sure there''s something interesting" Ahri replied and the girls walked forward while the only males stayed together. Grey and Rakan looked at each other "let''s hope we survive this" Rakan said as they followed the girls. Time skip: (brought to you by chibi Ahri and chibi Nidalee trying to drag chibi Grey into a lingerie store). It''s nighttime by now. Ahri, Aki, Nidalee and Xayah were walking the stairs to the Institute. Grey and Rakan were behind them, and they had a lot of bags in their hands "I''ll never understand what''s up with the women of this world and shopping" the Abyss Watcher said shaking his head. "You''re over thinking it, just accept how we are" Ahri said waving her hand "It was a lot of fun, and we got a few things we wanted" she added but then sighed "but I''m still mad they let Maia live". "Now you''re the one who''s over thinking things" Grey said and the others looked at him confused "you should just accept what happened and forget about it". "I don''t know if you remember, but that lunatic tried to hunt us for fun!" Xayah said still mad of the subject. "I do remember, I just don''t think much of it" Grey replied and the others looked at him in shock "to you, yesterday was the day we defeated a psychotic killer and turned them in. But to me? It was just another normal Tuesday" he said making them realize he''s been through this before. "I''m starting to get concerned on what kind of life you had in your world" Ahri said in genuine worry. Grey stopped walking for second and everyone looked at him while his face turned grim as flashes of his world and the things that live there appeared in his head. ? "Trust me, for the sake of your sanity, it''s better you don''t know" Grey said as they all decide to drop the subject and entered the Institute. They walked inside, and when they got near the dining hall, they were approached by Ezreal, Lux, Garen and Katarina. "Hey guys, there you are" Lux said noticing them. She then looked at Grey "Grey, why didn''t you tell us you had a girlfriend?". "What?" Grey, Ahri and Nidalee asked, the two females louder. Then to their shock, Maia walked out from behind Lux "yes Grey, why didn''t you tell them about me?" she asked. "You!?" Xayah and Ahri said in anger. "Yes, that''s me. I''m Maia, the claw of extinction" she said introducing herself and her new title. Grey kept his cool "I assure you she is not my girlfriend, if anything, she''s my enemy". "Wait, what?" Ezreal asked confused. "Grey, how could you?" Maia gasped in fake shock with a hand on her chest "yesterday you were looking at me with such intensity, and you said that no one will take me from you" she said in a obviously fake romantic tone. Those who weren''t there looked shocked "wow, I didn''t take you for the type" Katarina said looking at Grey. "Seriously dude, I thought you were better than this" Ezreal added still oblivion to what really happened. "You lying b*tch!" Ahri roared in anger "that is not what happened!... Well, not in the way you said it" she added realizing that Maia described the situation in a different way. The Tengu chuckled "you know fox, you''re a hypocrite. You like to toy with everyone''s emotions, but you don''t like it when someone toys with your''s". Grey immediately grabbed Ahri by the waist as she tried to jump on Maia and choke the life out of her. The Nine tailed Vastayan started struggling against Grey''s hold trying to reach Maia, who was looking at her nails. After Ahri calmed down, Grey let go of her and looked at the Tengu "what do you exactly want from me?" he asked. Maia smirked "simple, after our little battle, I realized something" she said and pointed at him "I proved that I''m a great hunter, but you managed to beat me, and I know that you''ve been holding back. Rengar can say whatever he wants, but the best hunter, is you. Once I defeat you, that title will be mine" she said with a crazed grin. "So you seek the best hunter?" Grey questioned and shook his head "then you''re wasting your time following me. The title ''best hunter'' belongs to someone else" he said turning around and began to walk away. Maia raised an eyebrow "oh, and who is it?". The Abyss Watcher stopped and looked over his shoulder "simple... It belongs to the Moonlight Hunter" he replied and they all looked confused at the unfamiliar title "we''ll explain what happened tomorrow, just know that she isn''t someone to trust" Grey told the ones that don''t know what Maia did before he walked away with Ahri, Aki, Nidalee, Xayah and Rakan. Ahri sighed "I still think we should kill her" she said and then looked at the lovers "anyway, we should get back to our room". "Yeah, us too" Xayah nodded and looked at the bags with Rakan "I don''t think Rakan can hold that stuff for much longer". "For you? I''d do it for eternity" the charmer replied and Xayah blushed. Rakan then put a hand over Grey''s shoulder "besides, it was fun. Maybe next time, I can teach you how to win a woman''s heart" he said wriggling his eyebrows. Grey looked at him in confusion. Ahri''s eyes widen realizing what the charmer was talking about. "Oh no, no, no, no, no!" the nine tailed Vastayan said covering Grey''s ears and pulling him away from Rakan "No! The fact that he doesn''t flirt is part of why he''s so lovable. You are NOT going to taint his innocent and honest soul!" she yelled and started pulling the Abyss Watcher by his cape "we''re leaving, now!". "Hey! Watch the cape" Grey protested as Ahri pulled him. Nidalee and Aki followed suit. Aki went her own way to her own room while the three roommates went to their own. When they got inside, Grey sat the bags down and his two roommates began taking their stuff. Ahri unboxed her new game console and sat it on a table in front of the TV "Okay, let''s try this thing" she said and picked a few of games she bought to choose from "so what will you two do now?" she asked her roommates while plugging in the console. Nidalee was setting up the painting she bought on the wall near her room "I''ll just stay up a while and go to sleep" she replied. Grey sat down Silver, who still had the toy sword in his mouth "I... Have some business to take care of, and I might take a while, so don''t wait for me" the Abyss Watcher said as he started walking towards the door. "Alright, be careful" Ahri said as she grabbed a controller and started the game console "now, let''s start". Grey started walking through the hallway, he made his way to the garden and walked inside. He found it to be quiet with little light, and Zyra wasn''t there, but he expected that since it was nighttime. The Abyss Watcher walked deeper into the garden. He found a clear spot and sat in front of it. Grey dug a small hole before reaching into his cape. He pulled out Vordt''s soul and put it in the hole. The Abyss Watcher then took out the rose that he bought and put it''s roots inside the hole before filling it with dirt. He just sat there, staring at the rose. This is what his father used to do every time he finished a hunt and got a soul. An image of that rose covered garden appeared in his head. He remembered how the moonlight would always shine down on it. He remembered looking at that wheelchair, and the familiar old man in it. "dear oh dear... What was it?" That was one of the last few things that he heard his father say. Sadly, it wasn''t a moment that his father had his sanity. Grey looked up at the moon, the garden didn''t have a roof, so he had a clear view of the moon. "I wonder how Tiara is doing" Grey said "she''s probably- no, definitely mad that I just vanished" he smiled "and that sun praising moron better not have gone Hollow, he still owes me a drink" he chuckled thinking about his rival. Grey sat down in the garden for a while, just sitting in silence and staring at the moon. After some time, he stood up and started walking away. He came out of the garden and made his way back to his room. The Abyss Watcher entered his room, and looked in surprise to find Ahri still playing and Nidalee sitting besides her. "You''re still playing? I''ve been gone for more than an hour" Grey asked, but he didn''t get a response as Ahri was focusing on the game. "I''m afraid we lost her" Nidalee said shaking her head "she''s hooked". "I am not hooked" Ahri said not looking away from the screen, which didn''t help her case "I can quite any time I- hey! I totally jumped over that!" she yelled in anger. "Okay, I think that''s enough" Grey said walking in "plus, I need the couch to sleep in" he said. "Just go to my bed and I''ll join you when I''m done" Ahri replied hoping to finish her game... And to get Grey to sleep with her again. "No, now if you won''t turn it off yourself, then I''ll do it" he said and walked to the console. The nine tailed Vastayan scoffed with a smirk "yeah right. You don''t know how to do it" she said pointing out how Grey doesn''t know about technology. "True, but I do know that if I smashed it with my sword then it would go off" the Abyss Watcher replied. Ahri gasped "you wouldn''t dare" she said and Grey proofed her wrong by pulling his sword and raising it in the air "okay, okay. Just let me save" she said before saving her game and turning it off. Nidalee stood up "well, guess that''s that, see you tomorrow". "yeah, goodnight" Ahri said as the two females entered their rooms. Grey sat on the couch and removed his hat before running his hand through his white hair "women" he mumbled. He looked at Silver who was playing with the toy sword by swinging it around. The wolf pup looked at Grey "am I right?". (A/N: Thank you for reading this, please comment in anyway you like and tell me how you like my story so far). 33 CH32: Old Friends Third POV: Ahri woke up next morning and found the Grey doll in her hands. She got up from the bed, stretched, and went to take a shower. When she came out, she went to get her clothes, while looking through her clothes, a... ''Slightly'' mischievous smile appeared on her face. After Ahri put on what she wanted, she came out to the living room to find Grey sleeping on the couch. Silver was curled up sleeping on the table. The wolf pup had his toy sword in his lab. The nine tailed Vastayan walked to the sleeping Abyss Watcher "Grey, wake up" she said shaking his shoulder. Grey groaned and sat up rubbing his eyes before opening them "Good morn- Ahri!" he yelled covering his eyes "Can you stop doing that!". Ahri was standing in front of him wearing nothing but a red shoulderless bra with matching panties that she bought yesterday. "Doing what?" she asked innocently with her hands on her hips. "That!" Grey replied with a blush. He glanced at her between his fingers before closing his eyes again and standing up "Please put some clothes on" he almost begged and walked into the bedroom to take a shower. Ahri couldn''t stop herself from laughing. She walked into her room and found the bathroom door closed with the sound of water running. She dressed up in her normal clothes and went to the living room before sitting on the couch. "Do you have to keep doing that?" she heard Nidalee ask as she came out of her room "Can''t you wake him up normally?". "Where''s the fun in that?" Ahri responded while creating an orb of deception and bouncing it between her tails. Nidalee looked in though for a moment before shrugging "Okay, fair point, but I have to ask. Do you have a backup plan in case he gives in to your seduction and... Jumps at you?" she asked. The nine tailed Vastayan stopped playing with her magical orb and looked at the huntress. Ahri blinked a couple of times before... "Pfft-HAHAHAHAHA" she exploded into laughter. Nidalee just looked at her confused. The laughing woke up Silver, who just looked at the source of the noise before going back to sleep. "HAHAHAHA Oh spirits of Ionia! That was priceless!" the laughing Vastayan said holding her side and whipping a tear from her face "thanks Nidalee, that was something I needed to start my day with". "What''s so funny?" the Huntress asked in genuine curiosity. "Grey? Jump at me? You should ask if I''m planning to jump at him" Ahri replied still chuckling "While you are right to think that most men would do that, but Grey isn''t like that. He''s too respectful and shy to do it. One of the reasons I keep teasing him, is because I know for a fact that he won''t do it". Nidalee had to agree. Grey is respectful, he''s not too dense to notice their advances, he''s just trying to not make them uncomfortable. Ahri however, was being half honest. The other half of the truth was that she enjoyed how Grey saw her as a beautiful woman. Thanks to the nature of her magic, she can tell what others feel. When she teases Grey, she can feel a tint of lust in him, but it would vanish shortly after. Apparently, Grey would immediately get his feelings under control as soon as they show up, but the fact the Ahri was the one who made him feel lust, even if it was a tint, was a big plus in her book. The Abyss Watcher came out of the room fully dressed. He had the schedule in his hands, and when he saw Ahri fully clothed, he sighed in relief. "So, anything for us today?" The huntress asked sitting besides Ahri on the couch. Grey looked at the schedule "Well, you have your first official match tonight, Nidalee. While Ahri has a match in an hour". "Finally" Ahri sighed dismissing her orb of deception "I was getting a little bored, not to mention low on life essence" she said happy that she has a match to take life essence and ease her bordem. "What''s the match about?" Nidalee asked wanting to know what she was fighting for. "It''s about Noxus wanting to take land from the jungle" Grey replied before setting down the schedule "Well, we should get some breakfast" he said walking up to the still sleeping Silver "Hey, get up" he said and the wolf pup groaned "Come on, the only wolf that sleeps that much is the Old Wolf of Farron, and I''d rather that you don''t take him as a role model" he said and Silver finally woke up. Grey didn''t mean any offense to the old wolf, but he just didn''t want Silver to be sleeping 24/7. The wolf pup stretched before grabbing his toy sword. The Abyss Watcher picked him up and sat him on his shoulder. The three roommates walked out of their room and headed to the dining hall. They entered and picked their food before looking for a table. They found a table with Aki, Lux, Ezreal, Garen and Katarina sitting together. They joined them after giving Silver his own food. "Good morning everyone" Grey greeted as they sat down. "Hey, what''s up" Ezreal replied waving his hand . "Hi you three" Lux greeted while Garen and Katarina just nodded in greeting "Got anything planned for the day?". "I have a match in a while, Nidalee has her first official match tonight" Ahri replied before she began with her food. "Hey Grey, what''s the deal with Maia?" Ezreal asked remembering yesterday''s encounter. Ahri immediately scowled in annoyance at the mention of the Tengu''s name "You said that you''d explain". "You want to know?" Ahri asked with Venom in her voice "She''s a freaking lunatic that should be locked up, and have the key thrown away in the deepest part of the Void". The people that didn''t know the story looked at Ahri shocked as she described a fate that was more fitting for Thresh or Evelynn. The Abyss Watcher sighed "It''s about the mission we got sent to a couple of days ago" he said before he started explaining what happened. When he was done, the others were shocked "So Maia tried to hunt you for fun?" Asked Lux to make sure and Ahri nodded "Oh gods! I had no idea! She just told us that she knows you and that she''s Grey''s girlfriend" she said apologizing for believing the Tengu. "That will happen when I eat my own tails" Ahri said. The fact she put her tails, which she loves, on line meant she was serious. "So changing the subject, what are your plans for the match, Ahri?" Grey asked trying to ease his roommate''s anger. The nine tailed Vastayan shrugged "I''ll just go with what the summoner has in store for me" she said thinking a normal match doesn''t needs a plan since nothing is at risk. Ahri''s body was covered in light before she vanished. The viewing orb appeared in the middle of the hall with the two teams in it. Grey saw Ahri''s name with the blue team, and a few other familiar ones. He then saw another familiar name on the red team. The Abyss Watcher sighed "She is not going to be happy". Ahri POV: I showed up in the summoner rift. I took a look at my team members and recognized most of them. The first one was someone I saw trying to flirt with Grey before. Evelynn, Agony''s embrace. The second one was more friendly. It was Akali, the now rogue assassin that left the kinkou order. The third was another friendly face. Wukong, the bubbly monkey King with his staff. The fourth was little Annie, the Dark Child... And she was wearing the cutest bear costume I have ever seen! "Hey Ahri, nice to see again" Akali said walking up to me. "You too, Akali" I greeted and looked at Annie "Hi Annie, how are you?". "Hi Ahri, I''m great" she said waving her hand "me and Tibbers just got this skin" she said and I just noticed that Tibbers is wearing a dress that made him look like Annie in her normal look "we switched roles" she said and then raised her hands "I am Tibbers, rawr" she acted stomping around. "She needs to stop now or I''m going to have diabetes" I whispered to Akali. Seriously, this is too cute. "No kidding" the assassin said and looked at me "You don''t look too bad yourself". I raised an eyebrow before looking over myself. Apparently I was wearing a new skin. I was wearing a black top with a dark red skirt and on my hands were black gloves. My hair was red and my tails gained a firy orange color making them look like they were on fire. "You look really great Ahri" Annie said and I chuckled. "So, you''re the Nine tailed fox?" I heard Evelynn speak for the first time. "And you''re Agony''s embrace?" I asked back "what do you want?". The demon smirked and looked at me all over "Nothing, I just realized that you and I are alike". "We''re nothing alike" I replied in disgust. The fact Annie was here was the only reason I''m watching my language. "We both seduce people and then kill them for our own pleasure" Evelynn said with a smirk "of course we''re alike". "No, we''re not" I said in anger as I started to lose my tember "You kill people and torture them for your enjoyment, while I simply do what I must, but I don''t like it". "Let''s fight!" our talk was cut off when Wukong started screaming swinging his staff around "seriously, let''s get started" he said impatiently. "The match is about to begin, champion" the summoner told me and I got ready. We heard the sound that signaled the beginning of the match. I went to the Top, Akali in the middle with Annie, Wukong in the jungle, and Evelynn at the bottom. I kept walking while seeing the minions in front of me. Now that I think about it, what are they? Are they some kind of magical creatures that inhabit the rift? Any further thoughts on the subject stopped when we passed my team''s second turret and encountered the enemy team. The minions started battle with each other while I looked at their champion... Are you kidding me?... Her? "Well, good to see you fox" Maia said with her usual crazed grin "No Grey this time to protect you" she laughed raising her clawed gauntlet. "I don''t need him, now that this is a fair fight" I hissed grabbing an orb of deception. "Let''s see then" she said and jumped at me swinging her gauntlet. I jumped away and created some fox fire shooting it at her. She covered herself with her wings, they did protect her, but it''s obvious she got damage. She spread her wings and used them to dashed towards me. I wasn''t fast enough, and the psycho managed to stab me in the shoulder. Maia kicked me off and I fell on my back. I rolled over and Maia stood in front of me "Looks like you do need him after all" she said raising her gauntlet. Before she hit me, I used spirit rush to get away from her while striking her with a magical bolt that caught her by surprise. I stood up and immediately threw an orb of deception at her. The orb went through her and then came back dealing additional damage. She stumbled on the ground before standing up with a look of anger. Her hair and wings turned red with firy glow and the claws of her gauntlet were covered in dark red flames. She crouched down and jumped towards me covered in flames. I got ready to fight, but I didn''t have to. When she got close, Wukong jumped from the forest on a yellow cloud and smacked her away with his staff. "Monkey King to the rescue!" he yelled standing besides me. I didn''t give Maia time to recover. I shot a couple of magical bolts at her from my orb of deception. When I noticed her guard breaking, I created some fox fire, but instead of three small flames, I made single big one. I shot Maia and the orb of magical fire exploded from contact which finished her off. I sighed in bliss "That felt way better than it should have" I winced and grabbed my wounded shoulder "okay, maybe not that good". "Hold still, champion. I''ll send you back to heal" the summoner told me activating the recall spell. A few seconds later, I reappeared in our base and felt my pain vanish. The wound on my shoulder disappeared and the summoner made me go to the same lane. Time skip: (brought to you by chibi Maia setting herself on fire, only for chibi Ahri to come in and splash her with a bucket of iced water turning her fire off). We were winning thankfully, the other team already lost all of it''s turrets and was trying to protect their Nexus. Me, Wukong and Annie were attacking their base. The enemy champions there were Zyra and... Teemo. I never understood why people keep bad-mouthing him... Until now... If my summoner makes me step on one more mushroom, I''m going to murder him! I used spirit rush to get away from a spiky vine that Zyra sent me. Creating fox fire, I shot at the Carnivore woman. The fire attack had the desired effect. I was about to finish her off when I heard the announcer "VICTORY, Blue Team". I looked at where the Nexus used to be, and found Annie celebrating with Tibbers. The champions were covered in light and we were pulled out of the Summoner Rift. I looked over myself and saw that I had my normal clothes on, and I saw Annie in her normal clothes too. Sad really, that bear costume was cute! "Good job, champion" my summoner said. I nodded and was about to leave, but he spoke again "hey, you know, there''s a new restaurant opening in town. Why don''t we meet there tonight?" he said in a flirty tone. I rolled my eyes "Sorry, but I already have plans" I said. Nidalee''s match is tonight, I''m not missing it. "Let me guess, meeting with the Abyss Watcher" the Summoner said. I looked at him surprised "Listen, he''s just some filthy undead. Why don''t you hang out with me? I assure you, I''m better". He said making himself sound superior. ... That does it "So, you don''t like undead" I said as more of a statement than a question. I turned towards him and took a step closer. Turning on my emotional magic, my eyes glowed green and he started shivering in fear. "Trust me, you should be more uncomfortable with me" I told him as everyone looked puzzled at the shivering summoner. I smirked showing my fangs scaring him even more "Boo!". He jumped and immediately ran out of the summoning chamber screaming in fear. A few others in the chamber laughed "That was pretty funny, but what did you do?" Akali asked chuckling. "Yeah, what did you do?" Kong repeated the question and looked at me excitedly "and can you teach me how to do it?". "Sorry, but it''s a trade secret" I said and Kong''s smile vanished. All I did was increase his fear, it''ll wear off... Eventually. I just chuckled before leaving the summoning chamber. I started thinking about that summoner. I knew people like him were around, that thought of undead as some evil force that goes against nature. But Grey is cursed, he doesn''t have a choice. They don''t know what he''s been through, dying many times, and always be brought back. Come to think of it, I don''t know much of what he''s been through. I wish he would tell us more, but he always says it''s for the sake of our sanity that he doesn''t tell us... But... That just makes me more worried. Third POV: Ahri walked into the dining hall and found where everyone was sitting. She got to their table and sat with them. "Good job, Ahri" Grey complemented. "Yeah, you did great" Aki added happy for her friend''s victory. "Thanks" Ahri nodded "I got to admit, it was great to get back at Maia" she said remembering a couple of times she managed to beat the Tengu, even if she lost once to Maia during the match, it was still satisfying. She then looked at Nidalee "now the only thing left is for you to get a victory". "Oh don''t worry" the huntress said with a sly smirk "there''s no way I''d let Noxians beat me". Katarina laughed "Yeah right, like we''ll lose to you" she said in a cocky manner. "Awe~ isn''t that sweet. The Little cat thinks she''s got fangs" Nidalee chuckled "but this is where real warriors fight, so you might want to be careful". The Huntress and assassin started glaring at each other. Both determined to be victorious. Meanwhile, Grey was taking glances between them ''wow, it''s like Tiara was split in two'' Time skip: (brought to you by chibi Silver swinging his toy sword in front of sleeping chibi Grey). It was now evening, the match was going to start soon. The huntress and sinister blade were checking their equipment, Nidalee her spear and traps, and Katarina her knives and how many. "You two ready?" Ahri asked. Katarina sheathed her knife "Ready to kick ass? Then yes" she said with a smirk. Nidalee put her spear away "The only thing you''ll be kicking is the bucket" she taunted. "Now, now. That''s no way for ladies to act" Lux said trying to act civil. "Like you act like that in matches" Ezreal deadpanned remembering how... Exited Lux gets during matches. The light mage rolled her eyes "Okay, that''s no way for ladies to act OUTSIDE of matches" she corrected and looked at the Explorer "Happy?". "Excuse me" someone said. They saw it was Kayle who spoke "sorry, but the High Summoners want to see Grey". "Again?" Ahri asked a little annoyed. The angel nodded "Yes, sorry if it''s troublesome". "No, It''s not a problem, just surprising" The Abyss Watcher said setting Silver on the table from his shoulder before standing up and looking at the others "I''ll be back soon". He followed Kayle outside of the dining hall and through the hallway. They reached the High Summoners chamber and entered. "Ah, good to see you again, Abyss Watcher" the Demacian Summoner greeted as the champions entered. "Is there something you need?" Grey asked trying to sound polite. "Yes" the Noxian Summoner nodded "we sensed a weird energy from the forest near the city below the Institute, and we would like you to investigate". "Why are you sending me?" Grey asked. He didn''t think he had anything to do with this. "Because the energy we sensed, is the same kind of energy that appeared when you got to Runeterra" the Ionian Summoner replied. Grey''s eyes widen "You... Think it''s from my world?". "We are unsure" The Piltoven Summoner said "but it''s better to be safe than sorry". Grey thought for a second. He couldn''t let a creature of his world, or worse the Abyss, to roam around. He looked back at the leaders of the Institute "I''ll see what it is". "Thank you" The Demacian summoner said "you may leave". The Abyss Watcher nodded and left the High Summoners chamber. He went to the dining hall to tell the others of his mission. He reached their table and Ahri was the first to speak "what did they want this time?" she asked. "They think something from my world is around, so they''re sending me to investigate" he replied and Ahri groaned. Nidalee realized something "So, you won''t be here for my match?" she asked. "I''m really sorry, Nidalee" Grey apologized knowing that he should be there "but you saw Vordt, if it''s something like that, then I can''t simply ignore it". The Huntress sighed knowing he was right. But thankfully, Ahri was there to lift her spirit "Hey, don''t worry, I''ll be here to cheer you on" she said and the Huntress gave her a grateful smile. They heard a bark and saw Silver setting in front of the Huntress on the table "And Silver too, can''t forget him" Grey added as the wolf pup barked in confirmation. Nidalee chuckled "No, I can''t" she said petting Silver''s head before looking back at Grey "so where are you going?". "Just the forest outside the city, it shouldn''t be that long" The Abyss Watcher replied "well, good luck on your match" he said. Nidalee nodded and he turned around to leave. He walked through the hallway and went through the gates of the Institute. He went down the stairs to the city below before he started making his way out of it. Time Skip: (brought to you by chibi Ahri and chibi Nidalee throwing chibi Silver between them). Grey''s POV: I''ve been looking in the forest for a while now, but I didn''t find anything that looks like it''s from my world. The means one of two things, either it''s good at hiding, or I''m dealing with a mimic. I really hope not, I hate those things. Clouds covered the moon making the area around me darker as I walked through a few trees. I was about to turn around and go back to the Institute. Hopefully, I''ll be able to make it before Nidalee''s match ends. Suddenly, I heard a twig snap. I immediately rolled away from a staff that was aimed at my head. When I stood up. I saw a few sliced leaves which means that a part of the staff had a blade on it. I looked at my attacker, but because of the darkness around, I could only make out their outline. They raised the staff and brought it down on me. I rolled out of the way before pulling out my sword and knife. I jumped at them swinging both my weapons, but they used their staff to block the attack. I anchored my knife in the ground and spun around swinging my sword again, but they rolled out of the way. When they stood up, I jumped at them swinging my sword and they blocked with their staff''s pole. We were in a lock down, and even then I couldn''t see them clearly. Suddenly, I heard them speak. "How do you expect to beat me" said a proud and familiar voice "when you don''t even praise the sun?". "Wait, praise the sun?" I said recognizing the quote. "That voice!?" they said and we both jumped back creating distance between us. The clouds that were covering the moon parted and the area became more visible. I finally got a good look at my attacker. It was a man almost my hight. He was wearing a shiny silver armor with a short cape on the back. The helmet had two slits that reached the chin area, and on top of it was two wing shaped horns. In his arms was a long pole with a short, slightly wide blade at the end. (A/N: if you couldn''t tell, it''s the sliver knight set with black knight glaive). I was shocked, but mostly because I recognize the person "Brite?". "Grey?" he asked which confirmed his identity. We both lowered our weapons recognizing one another. Next thing I know, I''m in a back-breaking hug. "HAHAHA Grey it is you! I''m so happy to see you!" he yelled before letting me out of the hug and grabbing my shoulders "What happened to you? You''ve been gone for almost months" he asked and looked around "what is this place?" he raised a finger "and the most important question... Did you finally start praising the sun?". "No" I replied. "Well, you will soon" he said slapping my back before looking around "so where are we?". I sighed "This is going to take a while" I said before I explained to him where we are, and about the Institute. Of course, I didn''t mention anything about being a Lord of Cinder. Who knows how he''ll react. When I finished explaining he started scratching the chin of his helmet "So, where in a different world?". "Yeah". "and, This Institute keeps peace through champions?" he asked. "That''s right". "And you joined because you found a purpose?" he asked. "Yes". Brite hummed in thought for a few seconds before speaking again "Well, I have a request". "What is it?" I asked. I think he''ll tell the Institute to send him home. Come to think of it, I didn''t even check if they could. "I would like to join this glorious Institute of War that you spoke of" he said in his usual proud voice. I just stood there for a couple of seconds before responding "... What?". (A/N: Thank you for reading this, please comment in anyway you like and tell me how you like my story so far). 34 CH33: Praise (A/N: I Am truly sorry for the late update. I admit, I have been lazy, you have the right to be mad at me, and I just hope that this chapter makes up for it) Third POV: Ahri, Aki, Ezreal, Lux and Garen were watching the match between Noxus and the jungle. Surprisingly, the jungle was keeping control. Noxus did have a good start, but they started losing when they started trying to get more kills than destroy turrets. Right now, Nidalee and Zyra destroyed an inhibitor turret and entered the team base. Inside was two champions waiting for them. One was Katarina, the other was a man in a black armor that had a short red cape. He had short sleek black hair and was holding a big axe with a skull in it. That was Darius, the Hand of Noxus. Zyra raised two spiked vines from the ground before sending them at Katarina. The red haired assassin wasted no time at dashing away in a red flash. Darius attacked Nidalee by jumping in the air and swinging his axe down in a powerful attack. The huntress jumped away transforming into a cougar. She turned around and jumped at the Noxian warrior. She clawed him in the chest making him stagger back a few steps. Darius regained his balance and smacked Nidalee away with the blunt side of his axe. Nidalee was sent away and fell to her side. Darius raised his weapon and was about to finish her off. But before he could, A bone knife stabbed the Noxian warrior''s back and came out of his chest. Nidalee turned back human and saw Rengar appear out of thin air. The pridestalker growled before throwing the now lifeless Darius away. Nidalee stood up and looked to see Zyra having trouble with Katarina. The assassin dodged another strike of Zyra''s attacks before throwing one of her knives. The knife struck Zyra in the leg, forcing her to drop to her knees. The sinister blade was about to use this as a chance to finish her off. She was about to deliver the finishing blow when Nidalee''s spear struck her in the shoulder. Katarina was distracted by the surprise attack and wasn''t prepared when Zyra stood up and whipped her with a spiked vine. The assassin was almost finished, and Nidalee was the one to end it by jumping on her, transforming to a cougar and killing her with her claws. Nidalee turned back human and picked up her spear before she, Rengar, and Zyra started attacking the Nexus. It wasn''t long before their combined attacks destroyed it "VICTORY, Kumungu" the announcer said. The huntress smirked, Zyra chuckled, and Rengar let out a roar of victory. The champions were then pulled out of the rift. The winners got congratulated by their summoners before they all left with Nidalee and Katarina heading to the dining hall. "Great job Nidalee." Ahri complemented her roommate with Silver, who was on her shoulder, nodding "You were great." "Thanks." the Huntress replied sitting down besides Ahri. "I thought you did wonderful Katarina." Garen said as his girlfriend sat besides him. The assassin snorted while scowling "Yeah, easy for you to say. You''re not the one who''s going to go home and listen to Swain yell about how our strategy was shit and that we should''ve done better." "Grey didn''t come back yet" Nidalee said as more of a statement than a question. "No, not yet" Lux said shaking her head "But I''m sure he''ll be back soon. He said it was near here." "Do you think he''s okay?" asked the nine tailed Vastayan in worry. "Well, this is Grey, so yeah, I think he''s doing good" Ezreal said with a shrug. "I don''t know." Nidalee said with a deadpan look "That idiot doesn''t know how to take care of himself. He jumped over a cliff with a broken arm, so what''s stopping him of doing it again?" "Come on." Ahri said rolling her eyes "He just went on a mission," her voice started losing it''s confidence "alone... Without someone to watch him... Or me to scold him... Okay, maybe we should be a little worried." she sighed "What do you think is taking him so-" she was cut off when someone strongly opened the gates. They all looked and saw a man in a silver armor, with a short cape, and a glaive on his back "Aha! So this is the Institute of War!?" he yelled with a proud voice. They were even more surprised when they saw Grey walk beside the man. "Can you not yell for five minutes?" The Abyss Watcher asked in a tired tone. "Actually, it''s been five minutes since I yelled last time." Brite replied. "You know what I meant." Grey said shaking his head "Just follow me." he said before they started walking through the dining hall. The others just looked at them as they walked through and went to the High Summoners chamber. When they were gone, Ahri broke the silence "What just happened?". "I''m... Not sure." Nidalee said shaking her head "I know Grey came back, but I don''t know about the other guy." Meanwhile, Grey and Brite reached the door of the High Summoners chamber where they stopped. The Abyss Watcher looked at the Silver Knight "Alright, try to make a good first impression." "Got it." Brite nodded. They both entered and the High Summoners noticed their presence "Welcome back, Abyss Watcher. How was your Mission?" the Ionian summoner asked. "Thankfully, nothing dangerous was what came." Grey replied. He was about to say more but Brite walked up in front of him. "Great leaders of the Institute of War," Brite started with his usual proud voice "I am here in hopes to become a champion, fight for honor, and teach some of your warriors to Praise the Sun" he finished while raising his hands diagonally. The High summoners were a little taken back by the loud introduction. Grey, however, was face palming while shaking his head. The Grand Summoner was resisting the urge to chuckle. He was used to the antics of the warriors of Sunlight. He always found it amusing how cheerful and proud they were. Grey walked up besides Brite "If you need proof of his abilities, then I can vouch that he is a good warrior." "Uhmm... Very well." The Noxian summoner said breaking out of hi shock "His judgment will be tomorrow. The Judicator will show you your temporary quarters." When he finished, Kayle walked in through the doors "Greetings, and welcome back Grey." she said and the Abyss Watcher nodded in acknowledgment "Please follow me." They followed Kayle outside the High Summoners Chamber. Kyle, Grey and Brite went through the line of doors before stopping at one. "This is your temporary quarters. You will be given a better one when and If you become a champion." Kayle said motioning to the door. "Thank you, Kayle." Grey nodded before the angel left. He looked at Brite "Come on, let''s go to the dining hall." The Silver Knight nodded and they both went to said hall. After they got inside, Grey immediately went to his friends. "Welcome back, Grey." Ahri greeted with Silver jumping from her shoulder. Grey petted the wolf pup "It''s good to be back." he said before looking at his other roommate "How was your match, Nidalee?" "It was pretty good, we won of course." the Huntress replied and looked at Katarina slyly "So much for their Noxian greatness." she added which earned a glare from the red haired assassin. "I''m glad to hear that." Grey said before motioning to Brite "Anyway, I''d like to introduce you to an old friend of mine." "Good evening." the Silver Knight greeted with a hand on his chest "I am Brite of Astora, a mighty warrior of sunlight. It''s a pleasure to meet you." "Brite is from my world." Grey cleared out. "Wow, now we have two people from a different world" Lux pointed out as Grey and Brite sat down facing each other. "It''s like Leona and Pantheon had a baby." Ezreal whispered. That earned him an elbow in the gut from Lux "Be nice." "Now, would you like to introduce your friends, Grey?" Brite asked. "Sure." Grey replied and looked at the others "This is Ahri, Aki, Ezreal, Lux, Nidalee, Garen, and Katarina." he said motioning to everyone with his name. He heard a small bark and saw Silver on his shoulder "Oh, right. This is Silver." he said raising the wolf pup in his hands. Brite looked at Silver for a few seconds before looking back at Grey "Aren''t you taking that whole following Artorias''s footsteps thing too seriously?" "I found him in the jungle. I didn''t go to a pet store and buy him, idiot" Grey said in a deadpan tone. "Still though..." Brite mumbled. The Abyss Watcher rolled his eyes "Whatever. Listen, there are a few things you need to know," he said taking a serious tone "For starters there are no Bonfires in this world." "No bonfires?" Brite repeated and Grey nodded "So that means if I die-" "You die for good." Grey finished. Brite stroked the chin of his helmet "Well, at least I don''t have to worry about going Hollow anymore." "That''s right." Grey nodded "Also there is no age of fire, or Abyss here." The warrior of sunlight hummed "Well, that''s both relieving, and a tad unsettling." he pointed out before looking at Grey "Anything else?" The Abyss Watcher was about to finish the conversation, but Ahri pointed out something that she remembered "Oh right! Grey also became a Lord of Cinder." "WHAT!?!" Brite yelled taking everyone by surprise, except Grey who expected that reaction. The others were even more surprised when the Silver Knight jumped from his seat and bowed on one knee "M-My lord! I had no Idea-" "Stop! Stop! Stop!" Grey cut him off waving his hands "No formalities. Stand up, now! Being a Lord of Cinder doesn''t change anything!". "What do you mean ''doesn''t change anything!?" Brite yelled standing up. "In this world, a Lord of Cinder is just a title that no one ever heard before. So it doesn''t mean anything." Grey said. "But in our world, it means EVERYTHING!" Brite replied. "But we''re not in our world, so there''s no reason to treat me like a God." Grey said. "You might as well be one" Brite sighed sitting back down. "So, why did bow like that?" Ahri asked. "You... Don''t know?" Brite asked and the others but Grey, who just looked away, shook their heads "You didn''t tell them?" "That wasn''t something necessary for them to know." the Abyss Watcher replied still looking away. "Didn''t tell us what?" Ahri asked wondering what Grey didn''t tell them. Brite was the one to answer "In our world, a Lord of Cinder is the highest honor there is, even higher than royalty." he said making them all look wide eyed "In fact, there are royalty who would kill just to kiss Grey''s boots now that he''s a Lord." "Okay, WHAT!?" Lux yelled absolutely shocked. Her brother was the same. They both lived knowing royalty was at the top, but for someone to be above them was quite new. "Grey! Why didn''t you say anything?" Ahri asked. She knew it was a big position, but she never knew it was that big. "Because it doesn''t change anything." Grey said irritation obvious in his voice "I''m not a God. I''m just an Abyss Watcher, so I don''t want to be treated anything differently." he said before sighing "How about we call it a night. And Brite, there''s a few things I want to talk to you about after your judgment." the Silver Knight nodded and Grey stood up. His two roommates stood up afterwards and they all left the dining hall towards their room. When they got in, Grey immediately went to the couch before putting Silver on the table. He took off some of his armor and immediately went to sleep. His roommates just looked at him before looking at each other. "Well, that was fast." Nidalee said shrugging her shoulders. She looked back at Grey "Why do you think he didn''t tell us about how important being a Lord of Cinder is?" Ahri just looked at Grey before answering "I guess he''s just that modest." she shrugged with a smile. The huntress chuckled "Yeah, I guess you''re right." she then turned to her room "Well, good night." "Good night." Ahri replied before entering her own room. Time skip: (Brought to you by chibi Brite praising the sun while chibi Grey is praying to the old wolf of Farron.) Grey, Ahri, and Nidalee just exited their room and were now walking through the hallway. They found Brite at the entrance of the dining hall. "Morning, Brite." Grey greeted. "Yes, it is a great morning where the sun shines brightly." the Silver Knight said looking at a window at one of the walls. Ahri and Nidalee raised an eyebrow before looking at Grey "He''s usually like that in the morning." the Abyss Watcher said. Kayle then walked up to them "Good morning. I''m here to take Brite to his judgment." Brite nodded "Very well. Let us go so I can enjoy this morning where the glorious sun shines." Kayle raised an eyebrow under her helmet and looked at Grey who sighed "I apologize in advance for any headaches he may give you." he said and looked at Brite "Brite, remember that I need to talk to you." The Silver Knight nodded before following the angel to the High Summoners chamber. Grey, Ahri, and Nidalee entered the dining and got some food. "So what do you want to talk to Brite about?" Ahri asked as they found a table to sit in. "Stuff about our world." Grey replied before hearing a familiar voice. "G-Good morning" said the shy voice of Aki as she sat down besides Ahri. "Morning, Aki." the Nine tailed Vastayan greeted "Do you know where the others are?" she asked. "Well," the shy summoner scratched the back of her summoner hood "from what I know, Ezreal is with Nasus in the library studying the crown and sword that he and Grey got a while back. While Lux and Garen are helping their family with a meeting of nobles." "Hi guys!" the heard the little Pyromancer, Annie, say as she walked up to them and sat with them. "Hi Annie. How are you?" Grey asked. "I''m great, thanks for asking" Annie said before starting to eat the food she brought. "Hey Grey, aren''t you going to wait for Brite?" Ahri asked. To her and Nidalee''s surprise, he shook his head "No. Trust me, if anyone can go through the judgment, it''ll be Brite." The High Summoners chamber: Brite stood in front of the High Summoners as they looked at him "Your judgment will begin, are you ready?" the Ionian summoner asked. "I am." Brite nodded and the High Summoners started chanting a spell before Brite was covered in an orb of light. Inside the judgment: Brite finds himself in long stone brick tunnel with barely any light. Not even a few seconds, and two hollows appear from the darkness. They were both wearing broken armor, and holding old swords. They both charged towards the Silver Knight. Brite pulled out his glaive and dodged a swing from the first hollow before stabbing it in the chest with the blade of his weapon. The other one came in to swing at the Silver Knight, but Brite was faster. He smacked the pole of his glaive at the hollow''s head, sending it to the ground. He stepped on it''s chest and stabbed it in the head finishing it off. Suddenly, more hollows appeared as a voice started speaking "Why do you keep fighting?" it asked as the hollows charged at Brite. Like the ones before, Brite finished off the hollows, only for more to show up. He finished them off as well, but more kept coming. "It never ends, there is no peace, no light at the end of the tunnel, no sun, and no hope" the voice spoke again as Brite kept killing hollows "perhaps you were never meant to win." the voice said. Brite kept killing hollows until they finally stopped. He fell to his knees breathing heavily, but then, something else showed up. From the darkness, crawled out a big bug creature, as big as a head. It had multiple red eyes, and on it''s back were yellow spikes making it look like a sun. "Perhaps, it is time to rest." the voice said again as the bug started walking towards Brite "It''s time... To find your own sun." The spikes on the bug''s back started glowing, creating a yellow light. Brite looked at it as the creature approached. "Well, aren''t you a pretty little thing." Brite said trying to catch his breath "So bright, like the sun." The bug crouched down, ready to jump at the Silver Knight. However, Brite then stabbed it with the tip of his glaive. "But," Brite said as he used his glaive to help himself stand up "You are not the sun I''m searching for." he looked ahead and started walking "No matter what, there''s always a tomorrow, so the sun will rise again." he said walking towards the darkness of the tunnel. Outside the judgment: The orb surrounding Brite vanished as he fell to his knee "Congratulations," the Demacian summoner said breaking the silence "you have passed. Your title, the Warrior of Sunlight." Brite stood up and looked at the High Summoners "Thank you, may I leave now?" he asked they nodded. The Silver Knight turned around and exited the High Summoners chamber. He went through the hallway, and into the dining hall. He found the table that Grey, Ahri, Annie, and Nidalee were sitting in. Brite walked up to the and sat in front of Grey. "So, how did it go?" The Abyss Watcher asked. Brite groaned "Well, I passed, but I''m going to have a headache for a while." he said before taking off his helmet and setting it on the table. Ahri and Nidalee saw his face for the first time. Brite looked like Grey''s age, not the actual one, with spiky short hair like Garen, but it was a bright shade of yellow. He also had green eyes. "Hi, mister, I''m Annie," Annie greeted before raising her bear "and this is Tibbers." The Silver Knight chuckled "Well, good to meet you, young lady. I am Brite, the Warrior of Sunlight" he introduced himself using his new title. He looked at Grey "So, what did you want to talk about?" "I wanted to know the state of our world." The Abyss Watcher replied. Ahri, Aki and Nidalee kept quiet trying to listen, while Annie was playing with Silver "For starters, what''s the state of Farron keep?" Brite rubbed his chin "Well, since you vanished, the number of monsters increased. However, forests started surrounding it, so nothing was able to get out. Add the fact that the executioners were making sure that nothing comes out." "That''s relieving." Grey sighed "What''s in Farron keep should stay there." he mumbled before looking back at Brite "What about Prince Lothric, did Oceiros actually crucify him?" The Silver Knight shook his head "Thankfully, no. I don''t know the details, but Lorian was able to stop that." Again, Grey sighed in relief "Alright, did anything else happen?" Brite rubbed his chin "Nothing worth mentioning, but I did hear that Vordt vanished a while ago." he said. Grey tensed "Oh... About the Vile Watchdog," he said rubbing the back of his neck "you see, he showed up here." Brite raised an eyebrow "Really?" he asked and started looking around "Where is he?" "We... Killed him." Grey hesitantly replied. "You... Killed Vordt?" Brite repeated to make sure of what he heard. "He was corrupted by the Abyss." the Abyss Watcher said. The way he said it made it sound more like an excuse than an explanation. The Silver Knight just looked at him for a couple of seconds before shaking his head "When the Dancer finds out, she''s definitely going to kill you." (A/N: Thank you for reading this, please leave your thoughts and reviews, and I know this sounds selfish, but if anyone is willing, can you please make fan art about my Fan Fic.) 35 CH34: Worry Third POV: Grey, Ahri, Aki, Annie, Brite, and Nidalee were sitting in the dining hall. The Abyss Watcher was telling the Silver Knight how he became a Lord of Cinder. "So, the Abyss Watchers were already chosen, but they never told you, and since you Abyss Watchers share the same soul, you became a Lord yourself." Brite summed up. Grey nodded "That''s right." Brite scratched his chin "Well, that explains why someone like you is a Lord of Cinder." "What''s that supposed to mean?" Grey asked feeling insulted. "Hey, Grey, can we go see the garden?" Annie asked. The Abyss Watcher hummed in thought before shrugging "Why not? It''s been a while since I saw Zyra." "I''d take any chance to see the glorious sun." Brite added standing up with the Abyss Watcher. "I could use some fresh air too." Nidalee said standing up and stretching. "I''ll go." Ahri added also standing up before looking at Aki "Are you coming too?". The Shy summoner shook her head "Sorry, but I have a match in a while." "Oh, well, good luck." Ahri said with Aki nodding back. With that, Grey, Ahri, Annie, Brite, and Nidalee went to the big gates at the entrance of the dining hall and left. They walked through the hallway with the various doors on their right and The wall at their left having windows lined together until they reached the green gates of the garden. Once they entered, they were greeted with the familiar sight of the Garden''s nature covered ground. The Abyss Watcher took a deep breath "I''m always amazed at how Zyra keeps this place so full of life." Ahri and Nidalee also took a big breath of the fresh air. The Huntress started stretching feeling comfortable being surrounded by green life again. "Ah, truly wonderful. Green life, lots of fresh air, and natural light where I can do what I love?" Brite said looking around. "And what''s that?" Nidalee asked feeling a little curious. "Don''t ask him." Grey quietly scolded, but Brite already started answering. "Praising the Sun." the Silver Knight almost yelled as he spread his hands diagonally. The others, but Grey, looked at him in confusion. While The Abyss Watcher just facepalmed "Five minutes, can you not do that for five minutes?" "At least I can still do it." Brite replied before looking at Grey smugly "Where''s your old Wolf of Farron now?" he asked wiggling his eyebrows. Grey groaned while the others turned their looks at him "What''s he talking about?" the dark-skinned huntress asked. "Well, the Warriors of Sunlight praise the sun. I''m a watchdog of Farron, so I pray to the old Wolf of Farron. But since he''s always resting in Farron Keep, I can''t do that anymore." Grey explained. "While even in a different world, I can still praise the glorious sun." he said smugly again. Ahri put a hand on her chin "Hey Grey, why don''t you pray to something else?" she said making Grey look at her with a raised eyebrow "Like a Fox." she suggested which made Nidalee give her a deadpan look. "I will not pray to a Fox." Grey replied shaking his head. The Fox Vastayan scowled at his tone and crossed her arms "And what''s wrong with foxes?" she asked suspiciously. Grey raised an eyebrow before realizing that his answer sounded insulting "No, that''s not what I meant, I-" "I guess you think Foxes aren''t worth worshipping, huh?" the nine tailed Vastayan said in an accusing tone "That they''re not as good as wolves?" "Ahri, that''s not what I meant." Grey tried to explain, but the angry Vastayan crossed her arms and turned her back on him making sure that one of her tails hit his head. "Well then, what did you mean?" she asked with her back turned. Grey adjusted his hat after Ahri''s tail hit him "We Abyss Watchers pledge ourselves to the old Wolf of Farron. That''s why I don''t praise the sun like most of our world. In fact, we Abyss Watchers don''t even worship Gwyn, and he''s the first lord." he explained but Ahri just kept her back turn, so he thought of anything that would make her happy "Would you forgive me if I buy you some ice-cream?" Despite Ahri''s ears twitching in interest, which Grey noticed, she still tried to look mad "What kind of Ice-cream?" she asked with her back still turned. Grey thought back on the times they had ice-cream and tried to think back to the time she enjoyed them the most "Chocolate sundae?" Ahri looked at him over her shoulder "I want an entire bucket." she said as more like a demand than a request. "Wha-" the Abyss Watcher was about to protest but just sighed "Alright." he said which made the emotion-controlling woman smirk in victory. Grey felt someone tugging their cape and saw it was Annie "Can I get ice cream too?" she asked. Grey shrugged "Sure, why not?" he replied but then heard someone clear their throat and saw his other roommate looking at him "I guess I''m buying ice-cream for everyone then." "What in the glorious Sun is ice-cream?" Brite asked unfamiliar with the name. "I''ll get you some later." Grey said. "You just keep getting interesting people, don''t you?" Zyra said as she appeared from the plants of her garden. "Hello, Zyra, I hope we''re not bothering you or your children." Grey said looking at the carnivore woman. Zyra shook her head "Not really, but I see you have a new friend." she said looking at the Silver Knight. "Yes, but an old friend is more correct." he replied before motioning to the Warrior of Sunlight "this is Brite, and he''s from my world." "It''s a pleasure to meet you, ma''am." said man greeted with a small bow. Zyra looked at Brite before replying "Likewise." she said and looked back at the Abyss Watcher "You know the rules: don''t harm my children." "Very well." Grey replied before finding a place to sit with Ahri, Nidalee, and Brite, while Annie went looking around the garden with Silver following her. Meanwhile, Zyra stood where she was and looked between Brite and Grey. She was focusing on their presence. Brite felt like a normal person, or as normal as an undead can be. But that''s what confused her. Grey has a warm presence, like a gentle flame. It''s like he was part of nature, and that was what Zyra noticed about him when they met. She never felt a presence like that before, the closest thing to it was the Green Father. But she thought it had to do something with being from another world. But now, with Brite who is from Grey''s world being here, she was confused. Zyra expected all people, or undead, from Grey''s world to feel like him. She now realized that Grey was special, and that got her more interested in learning how his presence could feel like that. But for now, the Carnivore woman just shrugged it off and left to make sure that Annie doesn''t harm her children. Time skip: (brought to you by chibi wolf Vastayan Grey and chibi normal human Ahri sitting together on a couch). Ahri, Annie, Brite, Grey, and Nidalee were walking back to the dining hall after spending a few hours in the garden. "And after you destroy the Nexus, your team''s declared the winner." Grey finished explaining how matches work to Brite. The Silver Knight scratched his chin "That sounds a little complicated, but it''s still far more peaceful than war." They sat in a table and it wasn''t long before Aki joined, but the summoner was looking down as she sat beside Ahri. "Hey, Aki, how did the match go?" Ahri asked. Aki sighed "Not that good, we lost." "It''s okay. I''m sure you''ll do better next time" the Vastayan said making a smile appear on her friend. "There''s always a tomorrow." Brite said cutting into the conversation "why do you think I praise the sun? Because it stands for new hope, and a new day to fight." he then looked at Grey "Unlike wolves who some people pray to." The Abyss Watcher rolled his eyes while Aki giggled "Thanks, Brite." "We are not doing this again." Grey said crossing his arms "The last time we had this argument, we kept yelling for five days straight." The others were surprised that they had an argument for five days, but before anyone voices their thoughts, the Prodigal Explorer came to the table. "Hey, everyone." Ezreal greeted as he sat down. "Hello, Ezreal, how have you been?" Grey asked. "I''ve been doing pretty good" Ezreal answered "That Irithyll long sword we got is really amazing. I can''t wait to show it to Ashe." Brite raised an eyebrow "Wait, how do you have an Irithyll long sword?" he asked knowing only those chosen by the Pontiff are allowed to have said weapon. "An Outrider Knight showed up a couple of weeks ago." Grey informed him "You know how most of them act, so we had to put it down." The Silver Knight understood what the Abyss Watcher was talking about. Most Outrider Knights were like wild animals because of the gif of Sulyvahn''s eyes, and there was only one person that was an exception. "You know, the Dancer isn''t going to be happy that you gave weapons of the Boreal Valley to strangers." Brite said taking a serious look. The others were confused to who he was talking about, and Ahri was the one to ask the question "The Dancer? Who''s that?" she asked looking at Grey. "She''s Pontiff Sulyvahn''s second-in-command. She and I are¡­ close" Grey said trying to explain their special relationship, but that didn''t stop Ahri and Nidalee from frowning "speaking of which, how is she?" "To be honest, she''s been on edge lately because of your disappearance." The Silver Knight replied, "Last time I saw her, she was being stopped by three Outrider Knights from killing a priest just because he mentioned a pointy metal hat." The Abyss Watcher chuckled "So she''s okay." he said as more of a fact than a question. "Yeah, pretty much." Brite replied. "Hi, everyone." someone greeted and they saw Lux coming towards their table. "Lux, what are you doing here?" Ahri asked. "I thought that there was a meeting for noble families?" Nidalee added as the light mage sat with them. Lux waved her hand "It was over a while ago." Ahri raised an eyebrow "Shouldn''t you be helping your family clean up?" she asked. The light mage waved her hand "Nah, Garen said he had it covered." "You snuck out when he turned his back, didn''t you?" Ezreal deadpanned at her. Lux just looked at him before pointing her finger "You can prove nothing." The Explorer rolled his eyes before looking at the Silver Knight "Anyway, I was going to head to the bar for a drink, how about we go there to celebrate Brite showing up." "I could go for a drink." Brite said. Grey groaned knowing that both he would be wasting his time there seeing as the drinks were too weak. He was about to tell the Warrior of Sunlight, but Ahri spoke "I''m down for a drink." "I''ll go too." Nidalee added. "I guess it could cheer me up after that match." Aki added. "I''m going too." Grey said before looking at the nine tailed Vastayan "I got to make sure you don''t overdo it like last time." Ahri rolled her eyes, but the Abyss Watcher was being serious. He didn''t care about the teasing, he had to deal with that since they met. What he didn''t want to happen was Ahri doubting herself again, saying she''s a freak and all. He really hated seeing her like that. With that, they all stood up and went towards Gragas''s bar. They reached the wooden doors of the said place before going in. It was exactly like the last time they saw it, except for a few customers being different. They all sat together at the same table. Not long after that, and Gragas showed up "Hey, fellas, so what will it be?" "Just ale, Gragas." Lux replied. "And some milk." Grey added petting Silver. The bar owner nodded before going to bring their order. Ahri turned to the young Crownguard "So, Lux, what was the meeting about?" The light mage groaned "Urghh, the usual. Nobles bragging, boring business, proving honor and all that." she said with a tone that made it clear she was bored. "Being a noble sounds hard¡­ and arrogant." Nidalee said noting how Lux mentioned them. "You have no idea." Lux said shaking her head "The only person who gets a break from this stuff is the Peacekeeper house." Aki tensed, but no one seemed to notice. "The Peacekeeper?" Ahri asked not recognizing the name. "There''s this noble family called the Peacekeeper." Lux explained which made Aki tense more "They''re actually as famous as mine. The head of that family is their only child, but they''ve never been seen. No one even knows if they are a boy or a girl. They''re supposedly always away on business." During Lux''s explanation, Aki started pulling down her summoner hood, which hid her face further. Gragas showed up with a tray that had the drinks. He sat it down and everyone took theirs. Grey gave Silver the milk before looking at Brite "Oh, and Brite, a little warning, the drinks in this world are incredibly weak." The Warrior of Sunlight snorted "Please, it can''t be that bad." he said before taking a drink¡­ Only to immediately spit it out "What is this? Orange juice?" he asked. "That''s exactly what I said." Grey said while the others chuckled. Unknown location: In a cliff pointing upwards slightly, a figure starts walking towards the edge. It was¡­ Grey? Grey reaches the top of the cliff. Suddenly, black flames start appearing from the darkness that is over the cliff. A giant mutated black arm suddenly appears from the darkness and grabs the Abyss Watcher before pulling him over the cliff. When Grey wakes up, he finds himself in a place completely covered in darkness with barely any light whatsoever. He stands up when he hears a weird thumping sound and a creature appears from the darkness. It was walking on two, had many glowing red eyes, many antlers, and a really big left arm that was almost bigger than the rest of the body. And on it''s right arm was a staff with an axe-like end. Grey pulled out his weapons while the monster roared. It jumped towards him swinging down it''s giant arm. The Abyss Watcher rolled out of the way and used his knife to redirect himself towards the monster. He swung his sword and knife, but the monster shielded itself with it''s arm making sure that it wasn''t damaged. In a swift move, the monster slammed it''s arm at Grey sending him upwards. Before Grey falls to the ground, the monster swung it''s arm again sending Grey away with more damage. The Abyss Watcher fell on the ground heavily wounded and unable to move, but not quite dead yet. The monster walked towards Grey. It lifted it''s giant arm ready to deliver the finishing blow. But then¡­ It spoke "Humans¡­ Such Vile creatures" it said in a demonic voice before bringing down it''s arm. "Noooo!" a woman yelled as she jolted up from her sleep. The woman was skinny and tall, she was wearing a black bodysuit under a dark silver armor with gold trimming that covered her chest, forearms, legs, and waist. She had a helmet with a cage visor and a wedding veil connected to it. She appeared to be sitting under a dead tree on a cliff that looked over a lake. The tree and the cliff were both covered in snow. The woman grabbed the side of her head and shook it "That damn dream again." she muttered. "Excuse me, Dancer." someone said behind her. She looked over her shoulder and found a priest wearing white robes over black ones and had a small golden crown on his head. "What do you want?" the Dancer asked harshly which made him tense. He was already nervous talking to the most powerful assassin in the land, and her tone did not ease his worries "P-Pontiff Sulyvahn wants to speak with you." The Dancer grunted before standing up. She walked past the priest while making sure to shove him to the ground. She walked over towards the gates of a church that was surrounded by statues of praying priests. Near the gates were two Pontiff guarding the door. Both bowed in respect as she entered. The Dancer passed two rows of wooden seats before reaching the middle of the church was a man was waiting for her. He was a very tall man, wearing a black hooded robe under a white one with golden necklaces going around his neck. He had a mirror-like mask with root patterns, and on top of his head was a golden tree-like crown. In his hands were two unique great-swords. One was golden and had rune patterns while the other was slim and was dark purple. "You called for me, Sulyvahn?" the Dancer asked. "Yes," the leader of the Pontiff answered as he started pacing back and forth in front of her "You''re here so that we could talk about your actions lately." "What actions?" she asked curiously. "You know what I''m talking about." he replied not buying her act "Ever since he vanished, you''ve been getting agitated, easily distracted, and worst of all neglecting your duties." The Dancer kept playing dumb "I don''t know what-" "DO YOU TAKE ME FOR A FOOL?!?" Sulyvahn yelled which made her jump "I know that you''ve been using those scouting missions as an excuse to look for him," he said which made her tense at being caught "and with Vordt now missing too, I can''t allow that anymore." "So what? You''ll throw me out?" the Dancer asked knowing that Sulyvahn doesn''t take failure easily. But to her surprise, he shook his head "No, you are far too valuable for that, so why don''t we, as they say, stop beating around the bush." he said which made her raise an eyebrow under her helmet "I want you to look for them, find them, and bring them back?" "Who are you talking about?" she asked since Sulyvahn mentioned two people by now. "Both" he replied "Vordt¡­ and Grey". (A/N: Thank you for reading this, please leave your thoughts and reviews.) 36 CH35: Suns And Wolves Third POV: A new day dawns as the sun rises. Ahri comes out of her room after waking up. She was especially glad that she didn''t have a hangover like the last time she went drinking with everyone. Grey made sure to limit her drinking. Speaking of the Abyss Watcher, she found him sleeping on the couch with Silver on his chest sleeping as well. Ahri didn''t like the fact that he always has to sleep there, but she knows that she can''t convince him to do otherwise. She gained her usual mischievous smile. The Nine-tailed Vastayan was about to tease him into waking up like every morning, but then someone knocked on their door. Ahri looked at the door with a raised eyebrow. She wasn''t expecting anyone, and she couldn''t think of someone that would come to them this early. To her surprise, Grey woke up and got off the couch with a groan. Normally, she would need to wake him up herself. The Abyss Watcher walked to the door before opening it. Ahri peeked from the side and saw Brite, with his helmet strapped to his waist, in the hallway. "It''s morning," the Silver Knight started before raising his voice "so get up, and Praise the-" he didn''t finish because Grey immediately slammed the door at him. The Lord of Cinder turned around and groaned "For the love of Sif." he said before looking at Ahri "Honestly, I don''t know which is worse, waking up to your teasing, or his Praising." he said before he walked towards her room to take a shower. Ahri just stood there with a look of amusement and slight confusion. Something told her that Grey knew it was Brite behind the door. She was a little sad she didn''t get to tease him, but she just shrugged it off and sat on the couch before she started petting Silver. Nidalee came out of her room "Well, I heard the door being slammed but didn''t hear you laugh, so I assume you didn''t tease him?" she asked knowing that Ahri always uses teasing as entertainment with Grey. "No," the fox Vastayan shook her head "it was Brite. He was here to tell Grey to ''Praise the sun''." she said with a sarcastic tone in the last part. "I have a feeling that they do that a lot to each other." the Huntress chuckled before sitting beside her roommate. Grey came out after a few minutes while holding the schedule "Good morning, Nidalee." he greeted. "Morning." the Huntress replied "Anything for us today?". "Yes," Grey answered before looking at the schedule "I have a match in an hour, while you, Nidalee, are free today, but Ahri has an official Ionian match tonight." The Nine-Tailed Vastayan raised an eyebrow "An official match? What is it about?" she asked. "Demacia wants more materials from Ionia, but the Ionian elders refused, so Demacia demanded a match." Grey explained before tilting his head "Who are the Ionian elders?". "They are the leaders of Ionia." Ahri said "They''re supposed to be the most spiritual and wise people, but honestly, I don''t know if I should trust them." she said which made her roommates look at her in confusion "From what I know, these wise leaders are the reason Jhin isn''t in jail. The memories I got showed me that there are some questionable things about the elders. There is this elder who is also a champion called Karma, and I believe she''s trustworthy, but I don''t know about the rest." "You''re telling me that they''re the ones who let Jhin walk around freely?" Nidalee asked. She couldn''t think of a stupider decision. Why would any kind of leader let that psychopath walk around? The Nine-Tailed Vastayan shrugged "As I said, those are just rumors, there hasn''t been any proof, but there also hasn''t been anything to clear those rumors up." Grey hummed in thought. The only logical explanation he can think of as to why they would let Jhin free is that they want something only he can provide, or that they want to scare whoever opposes them. The Abyss Watcher shrugged it off before going to pick up his armor. If the Ionian elders become a threat¡­ well, this wouldn''t be the first time he killed the leader of a nation. After putting on his armor, he walked towards the door with his two roommates following him. When he opened the door, Brite was still on the other side. "Finally." the Silver Knight groaned "What took you so long? Were you waiting for the sunset?" Grey rolled his eyes "Whatever. Let''s go get breakfast, I''d like to eat something before my match." "Speaking about matches, I have my first one in a couple of hours." Brite said as they started walking through the hallway. "That should make it after mine." Grey concluded. They reached the gates of the dining hall, and Aki was there waiting "G-Good morning, everyone." "Hi, Aki." Ahri greeted as they all entered the hall together. They all sat together at a table. Shortly afterward, they were joined by Ezreal, Lux, Jarvan, and Shyvana. "Good morning, everyone." the Prince of Demacia greeted as they sat down. "Good morning, Prince Jarvan." Grey greeted "It''s good to see you and Shyvana again, it has been a while." "Indeed, but you know how much work I have as a prince." Jarvan said before looking at Brite "So you are that other person that came from Grey''s world? I am Prince Jarvan, and this is Shyvana". "That''s right." Brite replied with a hand on his chest "I am Brite of Astora, and it''s a pleasure to meet you, your majesty." he said with a loud and proud voice. Shyvana winced and rubbed her ear "Do you have to be so loud?" she asked. "Actually, I didn''t expect you, Shyvana, specifically to get along with him." Grey said. The crossbreed raised an eyebrow "Why me?" Grey started explaining "Because, between the four knights of Gwyn, while we Abyss Watchers idolize Artorias the Abysswalker, the Silver Knights idolize-" "The great Ornstien the DragonSlayer." Brite finished before looking at Grey "Who is far better than Artorias." "DragonSlayer?" Shyvana repeated as she narrowed her eyes. Meanwhile, Grey was giving Brite a deadpan look "Wow, now I know you''re corrupted by the Abyss because you''re clearly delusional." he said. "Only in your dreams." The Silver Knight replied. "Uhmm¡­ who''s Ornstien?" Ezreal asked not recognizing the name "And what did you mean by the four Knights of Gwyn?" "Oh, right, I never told you." Grey said realizing that he never brought up this subject "Well, at least I told you about Gwyn." "The guy who hunted the dragons, right?" Ahri said remembering Grey talking about the first lord. "That''s right." Brite nodded "During the first age of fire, there were four great knights that answered only to him." "Those Knights were said to be as strong as an army when they''re together." The Abyss Watcher continued "They were Artorias the Abysswalker, Ornstien the DragonSlayer, Ciaran the Lord''s blade, and Gough Hawkeye." "Well, we know about Artorias, but not the other three." Lux said remembering how Grey told them about the wolf knight. "Ornstien was a knight unmatched with his talent for slaying dragons. Ciaran was a great assassin that would kill all those who would plot against the king. And Gough was a giant archer unmatched with the bow." The Warrior of Sunlight explained. Before anything else could be said, Grey''s body was covered in light. He vanished and the viewing orb appeared in the middle of the dining hall. Ahri narrowed her eyes at the names of Grey''s team "what is up with that team? Thresh, Evelynn, Jhin, and Maia are with Grey. And the other team is made of Kayle, Braum, Azir, Ashe, and Shen." she pointed out since the order of the teams was odd. "That''s because it''s planned." Jarvan said. Ahri, Brite, and Nidalee saw the angry look he was giving the orb. "What?" Nidalee asked. "Sometimes, a group of summoners get together and plan a match with specific champions that stand for something and play to have fun." Ezreal explained also glaring at the orb "This one is supposed to be good guys VS. Bad guys." Ahri raised an eyebrow "Well, then why is Grey with¡­" she trailed off as her and Nidalee''s eyes widen in realization. The summoners¡­ saw Grey as a bad guy, and what''s worse is that they put him in the same league as the other members of his team. The Huntress and fox Vastayan started glaring at the orb. Meanwhile, Brite was calmly watching. It''s not that he didn''t understand what''s going on, but he simply knew how Grey would react. Inside the Match: Grey appeared in the summoner rift and looked at the other champions. He recognized them, and other than Jhin, they all wanted his head. "Oh~ We meet again, cutie." Evelynn said as she looked at Grey and then looked at Thresh "Oh my~ two of the best men a woman could ask for." "Sadly, you aren''t in the other team, Grey." Maia said as she raised her clawed gauntlet "I would have loved to slit your throat." "You." Thresh then pointed at the Abyss Watcher "I remember you, you''re the guy I couldn''t take the soul of." he said as he started sharpening his scythe "Just wait and I''ll have it soon." "Finally, a chance to make art." Jhin started clapping his hands in a commanding way "Places, everyone, places! We got people to kill and art to make." Grey just looked away from them "Let''s get over with this quickly, I''d rather not spend as much time with you as I can." "Oh come on~" Evelynn whined as she got close and held him by the shoulders "I assure you, you''ll like spending time with me." she said as she got closer to his ear "After all, these curves are real." "Which is the more reason as to why I want to stay away from you." Grey said walking out of Evelynn''s grasp "Real or not, anything from you is as filthy as the ground I''m standing on." That caused Evelynn to pout. Meanwhile, Maia snickered while Jhin started laughing. The Virtuoso found the way he turned down Evelynn artistic. Meanwhile, the Tengu found it funny for a different reason. It was obvious that the Abyss Watcher wasn''t someone that could be seduced into doing something. Guilt tripped? Maybe. Seduced? No. Maia believed that it was mainly because he hangs around the Nine-tailed Fox. In fact, If seduction would work, then the Tengu would have used it herself. She was beautiful, and with curves that rivaled Ahri and Evelynn, but she never was one to care for her looks. Which is why she kept her hunting clothes and equipment. Suddenly, they heard the sound of the beginning of the Match. They all went into their own direction. Grey went to the top on his own. After walking and passing the turrets, he encountered the enemy minions and champion. It was Kayle, and apparently, she had a new armor. She was wearing a purple bodysuit underneath a silver armor with golden trimming that covered her shoulders, chest, thighs, and legs. She was carrying a sword made of a green crystal. And, somehow, her face was glowing under her helmet. The angel immediately slashed at the Abyss Watcher who used his own sword to block the strike. Grey swung his knife at Kayle while their blades were in a lock-down. He managed to strike her shoulder, but nothing more as she used her wings to jump away. The angel raised her sword and sent a blast of light energy at him. Normally, Grey would dodge being familiar with this kind of attack, but his summoner wasn''t fast enough and he ended up taking the hit. The Abyss Watcher stumbled back but quickly regained his balance. He dashed at the angel swinging his sword and knife. He landed a hit and used his knife to spin around and land another one. Kayle jumped back and Grey jumped towards her. However, before the Abyss Watcher attacks, a blast of magical energy struck him dealing a lot of damage. Apparently, he walked into the enemy turret''s field of fire. The angel took her chance of the dazed Abyss Watcher. Kayle charged her sword with energy before she dashed forward and made two powerful swings. The Abyss Watcher was left heavily damaged, and he was finished off by another blast from the turret. Grey fell dead on the ground. After a few seconds, he came back in his team''s base "Dammit, come on. I can''t lose the bet." he heard his summoner say. The Abyss Watcher raised an eyebrow at the mention of a bet, but he simply shrugged it off and went were the summoner took him. The personal life of anonymous summoners didn''t interest him. Time skip: (Brought to you by chibi summoners trying to give chibi Ahri presents and love letters, but she just walks away and sits with chibi Grey on a bench.) The match lasted for nearly an hour, Grey''s team was losing badly. Apparently, the other team had a solid plan going from the start, plus Grey noticed that his team''s summoners weren''t working together, but just trying to get kills. Right now, Grey''s team just lost its last inhibitor turret. Grey was guarding the Nexus with Jhin against Shen, Braum, and Kayle. Jhin was shooting from behind the Abyss Watcher, while Grey was battling Kayle. But they couldn''t deal much damage since the heart of Freljord and the eye of twilight were always guarding her. Grey pushed the Angle away and jumped to attack, but his sword was stopped by Shen''s spirit blade. Jhin aimed his gun, whisper, at the kinkou master, but the bullets were stopped by Braum''s enchanted shield. Kayle raised her sword in the air and swung down as a rain of light swords came down on the undead and Virtuoso. The blast was almost enough to finish them off, but it was Azir''s sand soldiers, who came by surprise, that delivered the finishing blow. Grey and Jhin just laid there as the champions attacked the Nexus. With no one to guard it, the champions easily destroyed the crystal. "VICTORY, Blue team." the announcer''s voice boomed through the rift as the champions were all pulled out. The champions of the Match were now in the summoning chamber. One team of summoners were celebrating, while the other was slumping over their defeat. "Come on." one of the losing summoners groaned and pointed at his team''s champions "I lost a lot of gold on you monsters." "Watch it, Human!" Thresh snarled and the summoner jumped in fear "Nothing is stopping me from taking your soul." "Oh~ let me play with him first." Evelynn added as her spikes pointed at summoner. The summoner was now scared for his life. Kayle, Braum, and Shen saw the commotion and was about to intervene. But they didn''t need to because Grey stood in front of the scared summoner "I suggest you back off and leave the summoners alone." Thresh however just glared at him "Or what?" "Or I''ll turn this chamber into a butcher shop with you being on top of the menu." he replied with an even more powerful glare. "Oh, it''s that look again." Maia said as she saw the same look he gave her before. Kayle cleared her throat making them look at her "I suggest you calm down." she said before looking directly at Thresh "After all, hurting a summoner might get you to lose the Institute''s protection as a champion." Thresh growled but did nothing. As much as the chain warden hated to admit it, there were powerful people out for his head, especially a certain champion with a personal grudge, and he only escaped them because of the protection as champion. Thresh just walked away, and the other champions started walking out when the tension went away. "Thank you for taking care of that, Kayle." Grey said to the angel after they got out. "Don''t worry about." Kayle replied. She sighed and looked at Grey "Grey, you should know something about the Match." she said and the Abyss Watcher raised an eyebrow "It was planned. It was supposed to be heroes against villains, and I guess you could know which one you''re considered." "Oh." Grey took a second to think about it. Kayle was expecting many kinds of reactions "Well, I''ll see you later then." except that. "Uhmm¡­ yeah." she mumbled as he walked away. The Abyss Watcher didn''t care. This wasn''t the first time people saw him as the villain, or even a monster sometimes. The Undead Legion were not saviors, not knights, and absolutely not heroes. They were simply undead sworn by the wolf''s blood to fight the Abyss. Anyone who joins immediately gives up on being a hero. Grey reached the table in the dining hall where his friends were. He sat down beside Ahri and Nidalee with Silver jumping towards him. "Hi, Grey, sorry about the Match." Ahri apologized. "Don''t worry about it." Grey shrugged it off "You can''t win them all." "Pfft, yeah, we accursed undead should know after dying the first few times." Brite added and Grey chuckled at the inside joke. "I should get going." Aki suddenly said standing up "I have something to do, see you later." "Bey, Aki." Ahri waved to her friend as she walked away. "Anyway," Ezreal said trying to change the subject into something more interesting "Can you tell us more about the four Knights of Gwyn? Like what happened to them?" he asked referring to their previous conversation. "Simple, they all passed away." The Abyss Watcher replied. "I think he meant as in detail." Ahri cleared out. "Well," Brite started speaking "Ornstien was guarding Gwyn''s daughter, the Princess of Sunlight, but after she left he also left but to look for a dear friend, and they say he died in the journey." "Artorias sacrifice himself to protect Sif from the Abyss and make sure the creature that made it doesn''t reach Gwyn''s kingdom." Grey continued "Gough retired after becoming old and blind, and Ciaran¡­ well¡­" he trailed off. "What happened to her?" Nidalee asked with the others gaining interest. "Nobody knows." Brite told them "After she built a grave for Artorias, she just¡­ vanished." "I think I have an idea." Grey said which gained the attention of the others "You see, we Abyss Watchers kept a few secrets." The Warrior of Sunlight groaned loudly "Again with you Abyss Watchers and your secrets." he said which made everyone confused. "What''s wrong?" Lux asked. "The Abyss Watchers are known to keep all kinds of secrets." Brite informed them before pointing at Grey''s sword "For example, see that Great-sword of his?" everyone looked at said weapon "That sword will never decay or rust." "That''s impossible!" Ezreal yelled. If what Brite said was true, then Grey''s sword is breaking the laws of physics. "No, it isn''t." The Silver Knight shook his head "Farron Great-swords are made of special magic infused coal." "Magic infused coal." Jarvan repeated in disbelief. They all were surprised. They heard of weapons made from magical items, or a weapon purely made of magic, but this is the first time they heard of a weapon made of magical coal. "That''s right." Brite nodded and glared at Grey "And they refuse to tell anyone who makes it for them." The Abyss Watcher rolled his eyes "I already told you when that person joined the Undead Legion and agreed to make sorcery and coal for us we promised to keep their identity a secret." "We are in a different world! What difference does it make?" Brite exclaimed throwing his hands in the air. "Anyway," Ahri cut in trying to avoid an argument beginning between the undead "What about Ciaran?" The Abyss Watcher sighed "Well¡­ she and Artorias were lovers." he said which made everyone eyes widen "My guess is that she was devastated after his passing, and simply left." Everyone just looked in sadness. Ahri, despite partly taking memories for the sake of seeing the drama of people''s lives, still felt sadness for the Lord''s blade. Their sad atmosphere went away when Brite slammed his fist at the table "Who makes your coal, dammit!!!" he yelled angerly. "For the last time, I''m not telling you!!" the Abyss Watcher replied "Besides, didn''t you infuse your glaive with a lighting gem." he said pointing at the said weapon. Brite groaned "I will know one day, I swear by the glorious sun." Before Grey can respond, Brite''s body was covered in light and he was transferred to the summoner rift. The viewing orb appeared in the middle of the dining hall and they saw the teams and their champions. "There he is." Grey said finding Brite''s name "In the blue team. Brite, the Warrior of Sunlight." Inside the Match: Brite appeared in the summoner rift. He looked around before looking at the other champions. There was Vi, Teemo, Ashe, and Ekko. "Good day to you, fellow champions." Brite greeted gaining their attention. The first to speak was Vi "Hey, you''re Grey''s friend, right? I saw you with him." she said. The Silver Knight nodded "That''s right, I''m Brite and it''s a pleasure to meet all of you." "Right back at ya, buddy." Ekko said before grabbing his sword. "Yeah, good to meet you." Teemo said before grabbing one of the maps on his backpack and unfolding it. "Well, you seem friendly enough." Ashe said before checking her bow. "This is way more peaceful than when I met Grey." Vi said before shrugging "Anyway, good to meet you too." "Brite, c-can you hear me?" asked a voice inside said man''s head. Brite recognized the voice "Aki? Is that you?" "Yes." the voice replied confirming that it was indeed the Shy summoner "After what you told me the other day about not giving up, I decided to sign up for a match again, and as a thank you, I decided to use you in this match. I-I hope you don''t mind." The Silver Knight chuckled while taking his helmet from his waist and putting it on "Don''t be ridiculous, I''m actually glad it''s someone I trust." "T-Thanks." Aki replied in her usual shy tone. They heard the sound that signaled the beginning of the Match. Brite and Vi went to the middle, Ekko the top, Ashe the bottom, and Teemo the jungle¡­ while mumbling something about filling it with mushrooms. The Silver Knight and Enforcer walked past their team''s turrets with the minions and encountered the enemy team near the river. There were two enemy champions. One was Wukong. The other was a petite girl with long blue hair tied into two braids. She had a purple and black bra covered in bullets, purple short shorts, and had a plasma gun with a rocket launcher that had a shark face at the tip. That was Jinx, the Loose Canon. "Oh look Fishbones, it''s fat hands." Jinx said spotting Vi and Brite "And¡­ well, I don''t know him." Vi growled in annoyance, but before she attacked, Brite spoke "Wait." he said and she looked at him. Brite pulled out a white and red talisman and raised it in the air. A glowing rune circle appeared around them and they were both covered in faint golden energy. "Now go for it." The Silver Knight said before pulling out his glaive and charging at the monkey king. Vi just shrugged it off and attacked Jinx. The loose Canon jumped away and pulled her rocket launcher. "One cooked dummy, coming right up." Jinx yelled as she fired her rocket launcher and an explosion covered Vi. Jinx laughed like a maniac as the smoke cleared up¡­ to reveal Vi unharmed. The Enforcer looked at herself and noticed that the golden glow that Brite gave her had protected her. Vi smirked "Now we''re talking." she said smacking her fist in her palm. Jinx just stood there before she started moving the Jaws of the rocket launcher "Well, we''re screwed." Vi dashed towards her most hated enemy. Meanwhile, Brite engaged Kong in battle. The two were in a lock-down, Wukong using his staff and Brite his glaive''s pole. They both jumped back. The monkey king''s legs were covered in clouds and he dashed towards Brite. The Warrior of Sunlight rolled out of the way and when he stood up he swung his glaive upwards and struck Wukong''s shoulder. The Vastaya didn''t expect much damage to come from the attack, but the spot that was hit was also struck with a surge of golden electricity. Wukong realized that the glaive isn''t a normal weapon, so he jumped back to make a distance between them. But his efforts were not very useful. The Warrior of Sunlight pulled out the same talisman and raised it in the air. Wukong''s eyes widen as a sparks gather around Brite''s hand before a spear of lightning is created. The Warrior of Sunlight hurled the spear into the monkey king, who didn''t break off his shock fast enough to dodge the attack. The spear hit its mark and Wukong felt electricity run through his body. While he was dazed, the Silver Knight slashed at his chest with his glaive''s blade. The lightning Brite reeled back his weapon before thrusting forward and stabbing Wukong in the chest finishing him off. The Silver Knight pulled back his glaive and looked to see Vi finish off Jinx with a powerful punch from her gauntlet. Vi looked at herself as the golden glow disappeared from her "What was that? I barely got any damage." "That was one of the miracles that we Warriors of Sunlight are good at." Brite explained before snorting "Let''s see the Wolf''s blood do that." he taunted. Vi just shrugged it off and they started attacking what''s left of the enemy minions. After they were done, they went to the enemy turret and started attacking it after letting it target the minions first. The turret managed to kill all the minions and started targeting Brite, but Vi''s surprise, he kept attacking. They managed to destroy the turret before it kills Brite. Said man started breathing heavily from his wounds "Well, that''s one statue that packs a punch." "Hold still Brite, I''ll recall you." Aki told him and he nodded. The recall spell activated under his feet, and after a few seconds, he was teleported back to the base. "Thank you, Aki." he thanked his summoner as he started feeling his wounds heal. "You''re welcome." she replied as he finished healing "We should go back in the same lane, Vi might need some backup." The Warrior of Sunlight nodded and let the Shy summoner lead him towards where the Enforcer currently is. Time skip: (brought to you by chibi Brite using his glaive to draw the crest of the Warriors of Sunlight on the ground.) The match went on for an hour or so, Brite''s team kept the dominance through the match. The Warrior of Sunlight was now running towards the enemy base. He got there and found that his team had already destroyed the inhibitor turret. Inside was Ekko, Vi, and Ashe fighting Jinx, Wukong, and Warwick. The Piltover Enforcer was having trouble fighting the monkey king. Wukong just smacked her away in the gut. Wukong was about to attack her again, but he was struck by a lighting spear that made him jump away. "When there''s danger, a Warrior of Sunlight is there to lend a hand." Brite yelled as he got in the middle of his ally champions. The Silver Knight knelt down holding his talisman and waved it around. A big white rune circle surrounded his allies and when it vanished their wounds were healed. "Hey, no fair!" Wukong yelled as he noticed them heal. "It looks fair to me." Vi replied as she jumped towards him while Brite went to help Ashe with fighting Warwick. The archer shot a powerful ice arrow that landed in its mark striking Warwick. The Silver Knight came in and stabbed the wrath of Zaun in the shoulder. The lightning enhancement added the damage. He pulled out his weapon and jumped away from Warwick''s claws. Warwick was then struck by another of Ashe''s arrows which distracted him long enough for Brite to finish him off by slicing his head off. They saw that the other champions were handling themselves and just finished off their opponents, so they all started attacking the Nexus. With the four of them attacking together, they managed to destroy it before any of the enemy champions respawned. "VICTORY, Blue team." the announcer said. They all cheered in victory with Brite doing the signature sun Praising pose before they were pulled out of the rift. The champions found themselves in the summoning chamber with their summoners. Aki walked up to Brite "Great job, Brite." "Thank you, and you did great too." the Silver Knight replied as they walked out. Aki heard laughing and saw the rest of her team''s summoners walk away together. She sighed and Brite noticed her mood. "What''s wrong?" he asked. "N-Nothing, it''s just¡­" Aki sighed "Because I''m always shy about meeting people, I don''t get along with many summoners. In fact, I''m not a social person at all." Brite looked at her for a second before he responded "That''s stupid." he said which made her surprise. He pointed at the group of summoners "Let me ask you something, do you see any champions with them?" "Well¡­ no." Aki replied. "Exactly." Brite continued "While they only socialize with other summoners, you managed to socialize with champions and even become a friend of a few of them." he shrugged his shoulders "The way I see it, you''re more social than all of them." The summoner just stared at him in shock before smiling with a faint blush "T-Thanks, Brite." "Don''t mention it." he smirked under his helmet "Now let''s go, I got a victory to brag about to a wolf praying idiot." (A/N: Thank you for reading this, please comment in any way you like and tell me how you like my story so far). 37 CH36: Trust. Third POV: It was a little after sunset. Ahri, Aki, Ezreal, Brite, Grey, Nidalee, Lux, Jarvan, and Shyvana were just sitting waiting for the official match. "This is going to be your first Ionian official match. Are you going to be okay?" Grey asked. Ahri rolled her eyes "Yes, Grey. I''m going to be alright." she replied. She was a little tired of him asking that but she still truly appreciated it. "Yeah, don''t worry." Lux said before smirking at Ahri "We''re not going to kick her butt too bad." she taunted. The Fox Vastayan chuckled "Isn''t that cute? You actually think you stand a chance." She taunted with her own smirk. "Arrogance can be the downfall of the greatest warriors." Jarvan said before smirking himself "Which is exactly why you''ll lose." "Is it always like this before a match?" Brite asked witnessing the champions taunt each other. "Kind of, yes." Grey, Ezreal, and Nidalee answered at the same time. "So who else is in the Match?" the Explorer asked trying to change the subject. "Well, Garen would have joined," the Prince of Demacia started before looking at Lux "but someone left him to do all the cleaning on his own." "Yeah, it really sucks that he can''t join." Lux mumbled obviously pretending to look guilty "So what are we going to do after Demacia wins?" she questioned completely changing her attitude. Ahri chuckled "When Ionia wins we''ll probably celebrate with a feast." she said with a cocky smile "But don''t worry Lux, I will let you eat something to make yourself feel better about that loss." "Oh, it''s on now, Ahri." Lux said pushing her hands forward and snapping her fingers "I''m going to enjoy that defeated look on your face." "Speaking of, who is going to be with your team, Ahri?" Grey asked. Ahri was about to answer but stopped with a thoughtful look "I¡­ actually don''t know." She replied while resting her head on her hand "But whoever it is, I just hope it isn''t someone like Jhin, Maia, or Zed." Grey raised an eyebrow "I get the first two, but what about Zed?" he asked. Everyone but Brite and Nidalee look at the Abyss Watcher in shock. For a second, they thought that he forgot what happened during his first day here in the Institute. "I don''t know, maybe the fact that he stabbed you in the heart." Ahri said hoping that Grey would see reason. "So?" Grey asked making them more surprised "I''ve been stabbed in the heart many times. In fact, Brite stabbed me in the heart once." their surprised looks turned to Brite hoping that this was a joke. "Don''t worry everyone." The Silver Knight said making them think it was indeed a joke. But Brite continued "We were already close to a Bonfire when I stabbed him." "Okay, but why would you stab him in the first place?" Ezreal asked. "It was about an argument I think." Grey said with a hand on his chin. The others were shocked that he spoke of it like it was the weather "If you think that''s bad, he once literally ripped my heart out when he was drunk." "Wow." Lux mumbled as she and everyone looked a little uneasy at how lightly the undead talked about dying. The light mage then gained a smirk "I guess you can say that it was pretty¡­ Heartbreaking." she joked wiggling her eyebrows. Their uneasy mood was gone and they all looked at the Crownguard in disappointment "Was¡­ that a pun." Aki asked. Ezreal shook his head "Lux, I don''t know what''s worse. The timing of that pun, or what the pun was about." "Seriously, Lux. That was way too soon." Nidalee added and Ahri nodded in agreement. Lux pouted "Hey, you guys don''t have a sense of humor. I''m hilarious." she said with a hand on her chest. "More like in denial." Ahri said which earned a few chuckles around and a glare from the light mage. The emotion controlling woman than looked at the two undead "Anyway, you two can''t do that stuff anymore. As Grey said, there are no Bonfires in Runeterra." "And we''re glad." Grey said with Brite nodding in agreement "You think dying countless times is fun? We are happy that now when we die, we''ll die for good." "Somehow, you two made dying sound like a good thing." Shyvana said feeling uneasy at how they lightly talked about death. "In our world, a quick death is a blessing." Brite said. Ahri, Lux, Jarvan, and Shyvana started glowing "Well, looks like it''s time." the Prince said. "Be careful." Grey told Ahri. The Nine-Tailed Vastayan giggled "I will." she then blew him a kiss "See ya." she said before vanishing with the Demacians. Grey rolled his eyes while Brite looked at him curiously "Are you and Ahri¡­ together?" the Silver Knight asked. For the first time, Grey was grateful that he forgot to uncover his face so that his blush isn''t seen "No, we''re not together. She blows kisses to everyone in the rift, it''s a part of who she is." Grey explained as he tried to distract himself with Silver. ''Yet somehow your Opinion is the only one she cares about.'' Aki, Ezreal, and Nidalee thought at the same time as the viewing orb appeared. Grey looked at the orb and recognized a few of the names "Looks like Rakan and Xayah are with Ahri, but I don''t know the other two." Inside the Match: Ahri appeared in the summoner rift. She looked at her fellow champions and recognized most of them. "Hey, Nine-Tails." Rakan greeted standing beside his lover "Been a while." "Hi. How are you two doing?" Ahri asked. Xayah shrugged "I''d be happier if I didn''t see Maia alive in the dining hall, but other than that, pretty good." she said and Ahri nodded in agreement. The Fox Vastayan then looked at her other two teammates. From the memories she gained, she immediately recognized one of them. It was a woman with long dark blue hair and eyes. She was wearing a mixture of purple robes and metal pieces over a black bodysuit. Behind her were several floating blades circling each other. This woman was well known in Ionian and Ahri didn''t need many memories to know who she is. It was Xan Irelia, the blade Dancer, Captain of the Ionian guards, and the woman who took most of Ionia back from Noxus. The last champion was¡­ odd. He was wearing dark purple robes that covered his entire body except for his hands. The hood of the robes had a ponytail attached to it and under the hood was a weird visor with six dots for eyes. And for some reason, he was holding a street lamp with a part of the ground still attached to it. "Well, about time I got picked." the man said holding his lamp over his shoulder. He looked at Ahri "Hey, beautiful. I''m Jax, the Grand Master At Arms. You doing anything tonight?" Ahri looked strangely at Jax. From his looks, she thought he would be the wise old hermit type but apparently, she was wrong. "Yes, actually." Ahri replied trying to get out of the conversation "I-" Jax started laughing "I''m just kidding. I already know you have a date with the Abyss Watcher. I saw you blow him a kiss and flirt with him before the Match." he started shaking his head "He is one lucky bastard." Ahri blushed. She does flirt a lot and lately, she decided to be more open about how she feels about Grey but she didn''t expect someone to immediately think they were dating, not that she minded. "No," Ahri denied shaking her head "We are not-" "Finally, you''re making a move." Xayah sighed loudly "I thought you were going to wait for another girl to take him." Ahri, despite her blush, was angry at the scenario that the rebel just described. Their attention was drawn to Irelia, who cleared her throat. The captain of the Ionian guards was giving them an unamused look "If you people are done fooling around, then we have a match to attend." she said before waving her hands and her blades stopped spinning "We better not lose because of you people''s foolishness." "Wow, lighten up." Ahri said crossing her arms with a smirk "We''re talking about love, how is that foolish? I''m pretty sure you have someone like that." Irelia remained unamused "Save the teasing for after the match, we have work to do." They heard the sound that meant the beginning of the Match. Of course, Rakan and Xayah went together in the middle. Jax went to the jungle. Irelia the top. And Ahri the bottom. The Nine-Tailed Vastayan kept walking and passed through their team''s turrets. She then encountered the enemy minions and champion. And it just happened to be Lux. The light mage wasted no time in attacking the fox Vastayan. Lux pulled out a wand with two golden ends and sent a blast of light at Ahri. Ahri was quick enough to dodge the blast but wasn''t quick enough to dodge the second one. She immediately regained her balance and sent an orb of deception at the young Crownguard. Lux was struck with the orb of magic that went through her and came back to deal additional damage. Lux stood back up and waved her hand around before she vanished. Ahri knew about Lux''s magic that controls light, so she already suspected that Lux can go invisible. Ahri was hit with a blast of light again. She created three fox-fires and sent them all at the direction that the attack came from. One of the fox fires struck Lux who turned visible. Ahri struck the light mage with a couple of magical blasts. However, Lux than waved her wand and sent a powerful blast of light that was covered in a rainbow at the Vastayan. Ahri was hit and was sent to the ground. Lux got ready to deliver the finishing blow "Guess your start wasn''t so bright." she joked before sending a ball of light energy at Ahri. But at the last second, Ahri used her spirit rush to jump away from the blast while sending a bolt of magical energy at Lux. The light mage was cough by surprise and before she regained her balance Ahri blew her a kiss sending a charm spell. The spell hit it''s mark and pink aura covered Lux. The young Crownguard started harmlessly walking to the Vastayan with a dreamy look on her face. Ahri took her chance and gathered a powerful orb of fox fire before shooting it Lux. The blast was powerful enough to finish the young Crownguard off. The Fox Vastayan looked at Lux''s lifeless body with a smirk "It looks like you weren''t doing so hot." her smile vanished and she pinched the bridge of her nose "Great, now I''m making puns." she said sarcastically before she went to attack the minions. She finished them off before she moved to the turret. Ahri waited until the magical statue started targeting the minions before she started attacking. She wasn''t able to finish it off before all the minions were gone and it started targeting her. The Fox Vastayan was struck once but managed to move out of range before another one. "I should send you back to heal." her summoner told her before they made Ahri move so that she was hidden in the bushes "Stand still." The recall spell activated under her feet. She saw that Lux appeared again but the light mage didn''t spot Ahri before the recall completely activated. Ahri appeared back in their base. She felt her wounds heal and her mana replenish. After she was done, her summoner made her go back to the same lane. Time skip: (brought to you by chibi Lux doing a stand-up comedy act in front of her chibi friends, only for a crooked cane to show up and pull her from the stage.) The match went on for an hour and a half. It was a pretty intense match. Both sides were pretty much even at the beginning, but slowly, Ionia gained the advantage. Ahri had just destroyed an inhibitor turret before walking inside the enemy base with the minions at her side. She saw two champions guarding the Nexus. It was Jarvan and Shyvana. The crossbreed was sending waves of fire at the minions and the prince was killing anyone who would pass that. Jarvan noticed the Fox Vastayan and immediately charged at her with his spear. Ahri barely just dodged before she sent a charm spell at the Prince. The spell struck it''s mark and the pink aura appeared around Jarvan. He started walking towards Ahri who prepared an orb of deception to attack. However, before Ahri attacks she was hit with a fireball. She saw Shyvana with her hands blazing. The Fox Vastayan barely dodged another blast. Jarvan broke out of the charm spell as he shook his head and raised his spear at Ahri again. He charged at her with an even greater speed than before. Ahri prepared herself for the attack, but before the prince struck her with his spear he was stopped by six floating blades clashing with his weapon. Irelia jumped in front of Ahri and looked at her over her shoulder "Go for the Nexus, I''ll handle this." she said before turning back to Jarvan. The captain of the Ionian guards waved her hands. Her blades pushed Jarvan back before they all swung at a wide arc striking the Prince which forced him to go back. Ahri stood up and went to the Nexus, only for Shyvana to stand in her way. Ahri was about to engage in battle, but a lamp struck the crossbreed making her move back. Jax stood between Ahri and Shyvana while facing the Demacian royal guard "Go for it." he told Ahri before engaging in battle. Shyvana glared at Jax before she was covered in flames. When they vanished she appeared as a giant purple dragon wearing red armor with golden trimming. Despite the angry looking dragon, Jax chuckled "Want a piece of the champ?" he taunted while giving a ''bring it on'' motion. Shyvana roared and breathed fire at Jax, but the Grand Master simply jumped over the flame and smacked her head away. Ahri immediately went to attack the Nexus while Jax dealt with the crossbreed. The Vastayan started attacking the crystal. Jarvan and Shyvana tried to attack Ahri, but Jax and Irelia always stopped them. With the large amount of minions helping, it wasn''t long before Ahri destroyed the Nexus. "VICTORY, Ionia." the announcer said through the entire rift. The champions were pulled out of the rift. The Ionian team celebrated while the Demacian team was looking a little slump. Some of the summoners were even apologizing to Jarvan. "Well, I''m glad everything worked out." Irelia sighed before looking at the rest of her team "While not my first choice, you people did your job right. I''m glad that you were willing to protect Ionia." "Yeah, Ionia. Not the humans in it, so don''t get any ideas." Xayah said making her lover and Ahri roll their eyes. "I just like the sushi and noodles they serve." Jax shrugged adding his own opinion, which earned a few chuckles around. Ahri just crossed her arms "You might have the wrong impression of me. I might flirt and tease people while not taking many things seriously, but Ionia is still my home." she said. Irelia looked at Ahri for a second before speaking "Nine tails, can I talk to you privately?" she asked. Ahri raised a curious eyebrow, but she knew Irelia wouldn''t hurt her since the rule of no hurting champions apply to the blade Dancer as well so she shrugged before nodding. They walked out of the summoning chamber into a secluded hallway where there wasn''t anyone. "So, what is it?" Ahri asked wanting to know what was so important that they needed to be alone. Irelia looked around to make sure they were alone before speaking "I want to ask about your friend, the Abyss Watcher." Ahri''s interest was immediately peaked "I want to know if he''s trustworthy." Ahri was confused "What do you mean?" she asked. "I don''t like to base my opinion of people on mere rumors." Irelia stated crossing her arms "Since you are the closest Ionian to him, I''d like to ask you if he is a friend or foe." The dark-haired woman was serious. While the rumors described Grey as a heartless killer, she saw that he had many friends around. One of them even being the master of the kinkou order, Shen. Irelia wanted to know if he was like the rumors said or he was different. Also, the blade Dancer would rather die than being considered a racist, so she didn''t want to judge him for being undead. Ahri looked deeply at Irelia. Part of her was mad that the Blade Dancer questioned Grey, but another part was glad that she wasn''t willing to make accusations about him. The Nine-Tailed Vastayan finally spoke "Truthfully, I would trust Grey with everything I have instead of trusting anything to anyone else." she answered honestly with a fond smile. Ahri honestly didn''t know who to trust if she couldn''t trust Grey. Irelia took in her answer before nodding "Fine. I''ll take your word for it, but I better not end up regretting that decision." she said before leaving. Ahri kept looking at the captain of the Ionian guards as she left before leaving herself. While walking through the hallway, she smirked seeing Lux near the entrance of the dining hall. "Hi, Lux." the Fox Vastayan greeted before her tone got cocky "Hope the taste of defeat isn''t too bitter." The light mage grumble "My summoner was bad, that''s it!" she yelled which made Ahri roll her eyes. Lux then spoke "But just wait, next time, I''m going to shine so bright that you won''t even see what hit you." she joked. Ahri groaned "Can you please stop it with the puns." Lux put a hand on her chin "Hmmm¡­ No." she answered which made Ahri groan again. The two mages reached the table with everyone else and the first to greet them was Grey "Congratulations on the win, Ahri." "Thanks." Ahri replied sitting beside the Abyss Watcher before petting Silver who jumped to her. "Don''t worry, Lux." Ezreal said putting a hand on the light mage''s shoulder "I''m sure you''ll do better next time." "Yeah, yeah." Lux waved her hand before resting her head on her palm. "Hey, where are Jarvan and Shyvana?" Nidalee asked noticing the absence of the two. "the Prince was called back to Demacia by the king, and Shyvana went with him. Something about diplomatic things with Noxus." Lux cleared before rubbing her stomach "Now how about that feast? I''m starving." "We are in the dining hall." Aki pointed out motioning to the lines of food "Can''t you pick something from here?" "Maybe, but I''d rather go eat outside." Lux replied. "I guess a change of scenery should be good." Ahri added before pointing a finger at Lux "But I''m choosing." Lux rolled her eyes before standing up "Whatever, let''s just go." "Don''t worry, Luxanna." Brite said standing while smirking at Grey "You are not the only one who lost today." "Oh, go kiss a mimic." Grey said. He took Silver from Ahri and sat the wolf pup on his shoulder. They all walked towards the gates of the Institute where Ahri received her reward for winning the official match. Walking down the stairs of the Institute, they started looking for a place to eat for the night. A restaurant caught Ahri''s attention. "Let''s go in there." she said pointing at the one she was interested in. The others saw that it was an Ionian restaurant. They all walked inside where a woman with black hair tied into a pun and was wearing Ionian robes looked at them. "Hello there, how can I help you?" the woman asked. "Yes, do you have any tables available." Ahri asked. The woman nodded "Yes, we do." she said before motioning behind her "Go right in." They walked in and found the inside having Ionian decorations with lanterns on the walls. They were many well made wooden tables and chairs. They all sat at two tables beside each other. Ahri, Grey, Nidalee, and Aki sat in a table while Brite, Ezreal, and Lux sat at the other. A waitress came to their tables with a notebook "Hello, what can I get for you?" Ahri looked at the others "I don''t think any of you know about Ionian food?" she asked. Other than Aki, they all nodded in agreement "Surprisingly, when I showed up for the first time in Runeterra it was in Ionian, but I never tried their food." "Then you missed out on a lot." Someone said. They looked to see the Grand Master at arms walk up to their table "Hi. Mind if I sit here?" "Jax?" Ahri said surprised before realizing his request. She looked at the others and they all shrugged "Sure, why not." "Thanks." Jax replied before sitting down beside Brite. He then looked at Ahri and Grey who were beside each other "So, wanna order? I''ll have the noodles." Ahri nodded and looked at the waitress "We''ll have some ramen and a round of sushi." she said and the waitress nodded before writing it down and leaving. Grey looked at the Grand Master "We haven''t been properly introduced, I''m Grey Ashnex." "I''m Brite of Astora." Brite added to introducing himself. "Hi, I-I''m Aki." the Shy summoner said. "I''m Jax, the Grand Master at arms." Jax said before looking at Grey "And I already knew who you are." he said and the Abyss Watcher raised an eyebrow "Word in the Institute goes around fast. You have no idea how many people see you as either a role model or as a monster." Brite groaned "Grey? A role model? I can''t even imagine the horrible sight of children praying to wolves." Grey glared at the Silver Knight "Hey, I used to do that as a kid." "Exactly, look how you turned out." Brite replied motioning to the Abyss Watcher. "Yeah, I turned out better than you." Grey replied which earned a few snickers. "In your dreams." Brite responded. "Anyway, I got a question." Jax said breaking the building argument between the undead. The Grand Master looked at Ahri and Grey, who were sitting beside each other "I''m pretty sure dates are supposed to be two people alone, so why are you two with everyone else?" Grey looked confused while Ahri remembered what Jax said at the beginning of the Match "Jax, this isn''t a date." she cleared out "And that kiss was something I do to everyone in the rift, I did it to Lux during the match." "Yeah, but you only do that to cast your charm spell. You don''t blow kisses to just anyone outside the rift." Jax countered which made Ahri blush and Grey to start thinking "Plus, I don''t think normal friends hold hands." he said which made Ahri and Grey look at their hands, but they weren''t even touching "Ha Ha, made you look." The two of them glared at the Grand Master. Their food then came to them. Lux, Ezreal, Aki, and Jax took some noodles while Ahri, Grey, Nidalee, and Brite took sushi. "I think you will love this, Nidalee." Ahri said motioning to their food "sushi is mainly made of fish." Nidalee frowned at the fox Vastayan "So just because I turn to a cougar, you think I''ll like fish?" she asked. Ahri just smirked and started pulling away Nidalee''s plate but the Huntress immediately stopped her "Hey, I didn''t say you were wrong." she said before taking her plate back. Ahri just rolled her eyes before Grey spoke "To be perfectly fair, Ahri does love chicken like most foxes do." The Fox Vastayan crossed her arms "Who''s side are you on?" "There are sides?" Grey asked while giving Silver some food. They then looked at Jax, who somehow was eating with his visor still on "How can you eat with your face covered?" the Abyss Watcher asked in genuine curiosity. Jax stopped eating and looked at Grey "You do realize that''s like the pot calling the kettle black." "What?" Grey asked. "You are covering your face again, Grey." Ahri sighed. Time skip: (brought to you by chibi Ahri and chibi Grey taking a nap on the couch and then unconsciously lean on each other.) Everyone got back to the Institute after having dinner. Jax had already left along with Ezreal. "Well, guess this is goodnight." Ahri said before looking at Lux and Aki "See you two tomorrow." "How about we hit the arcade?" Lux suggested before smirking "This time I''ll definitely win." Ahri rolled her eyes "Whatever you say." she said before walking away with her two roommates. They entered their room and Grey sat Silver down before he started taking off his armor "I can''t wait to go to sleep." Ahri looked at the Abyss Watcher before taking a deep breath "Hey Grey, why don''t you join me in bed today." she said. Grey thought it was her usual teasing and was about to decline but she continued "It will be like when we first met, nothing serious." "Well, are you okay with that?" he asked and she nodded. "You should probably do it." Nidalee added catching them by surprise "It''s really not healthy to sleep on a couch every day." While Grey was surprised, he was also glad that this didn''t break into an argument so he sighed "Very well." he said much to Ahri''s happiness. They all went inside their rooms. Grey had already taken off his armor so he just laid on the bed immediately. Ahri joined him in bed after changing her clothes in the bathroom. She was now wearing an overgrown white shirt. The Fox Vastayan laid on her side of the bed and couldn''t help smile. Being in the same bed as Grey gave her a feeling of being safe. "This brings me back." Ahri mumbled making Grey open his eyes and look at her "It reminds me of when we first met." she added. The Abyss Watcher chuckled "I didn''t realize how much time passed since then." he said and Ahri chuckled while nodding "Ahri¡­ thank you for being with me this whole time." Ahri just gave him a fond smile "Well¡­ thank you for showing me that I''m not a monster." she said and he returned that smile. With that, they both closed their eyes and went to sleep, but they unconsciously ended up getting closer with Ahri''s tails going around them. (A/N: Thank you for reading this, comment, review, and tell me how you feel about my story so far.) 38 CH37: The Maven ??? POV: It''s that nightmare again¡­ this horrible dream. Everything is dark, I can''t see anything. Just an empty void. I tried to call for anyone, but¡­ to someone who can''t speak, it''s like trying to breathe without lungs. I just sat there in the dark¡­ when "Hello?" I heard a voice. It had too much echo in it, but it was still a person. I was absolutely shocked. This is the first time that this had happened. Even though I knew no sound would come out, I tried to call for them. "I can hear your voice." They replied surprising me. Then I saw something shine in dark green light in the distance. Even though I didn''t know anything about it, I started walking towards the light. I got closer and closer until I can see the source clearly. The source of the green light was a medallion. It had a deep shade of green and a drawing of a wolf''s head. A hand then appeared offering itself to me "It''s alright, you are not alone." I hesitated for a second. Usually, this is a nightmare where I''m all alone, but someone was here with me. Against my better judgment, I reached forward and held the hand. It gently grabbed mine in a warm yet firm grip. For the first time since I started getting these nightmares, I wasn''t alone. Suddenly, the light of the medallion got brighter before covering everything. Third POV: A woman woke up from her slumber. She sat up on a bed with blue sheets. Dark purple curtains were stopping the sunlight from coming through the window. She threw her legs off the side and let them touch the golden colored carpet. Next to the bed was a nightstand with a board-like, slightly diagonal instrument with strings. The woman came out of the bed and walked towards a mirror. After standing in front of it, the mirror revealed a beautiful young woman with long blue hair wearing a dark blue nightgown. The young woman started massaging the side of her head while looking at her reflection in the mirror. ''That''s¡­ new.'' she thought before looking down in thought. ''Maybe I should see Soraka about those nightmares. But this is the first time that someone was there with me, and more importantly¡­ they heard my voice?'' Somewhere in the Institute: Grey woke up in Ahri''s, or their bed. He sat up and saw that Ahri wasn''t on the other side. The Undead looked around suspecting her to come out and tease him but she didn''t, which was a little suspicious. He just shrugged it off before going to take a shower. When Grey was finished, he dried off and checked the schedule before going to the living room. There he found his two roommates. Ahri was gathering stuff in a purse while Nidalee was getting her spear ready. "Good morning." Grey greeted making his presence known. "Morning." they both replied not looking at him. "So what are you going to do today?" the Abyss Watcher asked. "Well, me, Aki, and Lux are going to the arcade." Ahri replied with a chuckle. "Lux keeps saying that she will win, but I''m still not convinced." "I''m going back to the jungle for a while." Nidalee replied standing up. "The Institute built a transport station there so I should be back by sundown." "Oh." Grey said before looking around. "Where''s Silver?" he asked noticing the absence of the wolf pup. "Annie showed up a while ago and took him for a walk." Ahri answered as she finished preparing her purse before strapping it to her waist. "Well, see you later." "see ya." Nidalee added before they both left. They both left and Grey sighed before he started putting on his armor. When he was finished, he grabbed his medallion and looked at it. The Abyss Watcher sat on the couch while looking at the green wolf crest. Out of everything that he ever had, this was the one thing that stayed with him his entire life. Ever since the old Wolf of Farron chose him as a baby. Grey sighed relaxing in the couch "Maybe I should see what Brite is doing?" he questioned. His face turned deadpan before he shook his head. "What am I saying? He''s probably somewhere telling someone to praise the sun." The Lord of Cinder stood up and exited the room. He started walking through the hallway while wondering what to do today. "Maybe I should see that gym that Ezreal mentioned." Grey wondered with a hand on his chin. "Or I could go to the garden. It''s been a while since I saw Zy-" The Abyss Watcher was cut off when he turned a corner and bumped into someone. He remained standing while that person fell on the ground. The Lord of Cinder opened his eyes and looked at the person he pumped into. It was a woman and, if Grey was being honest, it was the most beautiful woman he ever saw. She had long blue hair tied into pigtails and it ended in a yellow shade. She was wearing a deep blue dress with detached sleeves and a golden musical note in the middle. Besides her was an instrument with strings that she apparently dropped. The woman shook her head and opened her eyes to look at Grey. That''s when he realized that she was still on the ground. The Abyss Watcher knelt down and offered his hand. "I''m sorry, I was absorbed in thought. Are you alright?" The woman smiled and nodded before taking his hand. Grey helped her up to her feet and was about to get her instrument, but the woman waved her hand and it floated beside her. "I''m really sorry again, I hope you are not hurt.", Grey said. The woman just waved it off. "Are you a champion? You don''t look like a summoner." he pointed out and she nodded. The Abyss Watcher noticed something "Excuse me, but why are you not talking?" he asked. The woman smiled sadly and looked down making Grey understand since he saw such cases before. "You¡­ can''t speak, can you?" he asked and the woman nodded. Grey then remembered something that might help "Do you know sign language?" he asked. The woman''s smile turned more cheerful and she nodded before she started making motions with her hands. (A/N: [this means sign language].) [Yes, I do., the woman motioned with her hands. [I have to say, I''m surprised you know it.] "I had a friend that couldn''t speak either, so I learned how to read it to communicate with him." Grey replied remembering a certain prince of Lothric. [That''s really sweet of you.] the woman said. [I''m Sona, the Maven of the strings. And you are¡­ the Abyss Watcher, correct?] "That''s right." Grey nodded. "But my real name is Grey Ashnex." [Well, it''s a pleasure to meet you.] Sona smiled before raising a curious eyebrow. [If you don''t mind me asking, but where are you going?] "Well," Grey started scratching his head while answering, "I was about to go see the garden to pass some time." Sona looked confused. [Doesn''t Zyra keep everyone outside the garden?] "She allows me to come from time to time." the Abyss Watcher replied surprising the Maven "Would you like to join me?" he asked. Sona thought for a second before smiling and nodding, [Sure, I would love to., she replied before she started following him through the hallway. They started walking through the hallway going towards the garden. Meanwhile, Sona started thinking about meeting Grey. She did not expect to meet the Abyss Watcher. He was nice. Sona heard about him from Lux and a few summoners. So far, she realized that some of the things she heard were true. She did question why he covers his face but she didn''t want to be rude. They walked into the garden and were met with its natural beauty. Grey took a deep breath and said, "I''m amazed at how Zyra keeps this place so full of life." "Why thank you." The risk of Thorns said as she walked towards them. "Hello, Grey. I see that you are with the Maven of the strings this time" she said and Grey nodded. "Well, I can''t stay with you, for now, I have a match to attend. But remember, don''t harm my children." she then narrowed her eyes. "Because I''ll know if you do." "Very well, Zyra." Grey replied. Zyra walked towards the entrance and was about to walk away but stopped and looked over her shoulder. "Also, Grey, you are covering your face again." The Abyss Watcher sighed and brought down the neck of his shirt. Sona, who blushed, immediately started staring and asked herself why would he ever cover his face. The Maven can see Zyra smile in the corner of her eye before leaving. Apparently, the Carnivore woman wanted to see how the mute would react. Sona got her blush under control right before Grey looked at her and asked, "So, what would you like to do?" Sona thought for a moment before answering, [Let''s just sit down and talk. I''d like to enjoy the scenery.] The Abyss Watcher nodded and they both sat down at a spot with no plants on it to not anger Zyra. They started making small talk about normal things like the weather, matches, and how they were doing. Sona enjoyed talking to Grey. He didn''t treat her differently because she was mute. Most people would give her kindness out of sympathy or judge her. But the Abyss Watcher did neither of those things. He simply treated normally. Also, unlike most men Sona met, he didn''t stare at her¡­ chest, would be the appropriate word. [So, Grey, why were you alone today?, Sona asked. From what Lux told her, he was usually hanging out with the Nine-Tailed Fox and the Beastial Huntress. "Well, my friends already had plans so they left, and I was wondering what to do when I bumped into you." The Abyss Watcher explained. Sona frowned slightly. She thought that Grey''s friends just ditched him, but he didn''t seem to think like that so she decided to trust his judgment. Their conversation stopped when Garen walked into the garden. The might of Demacia noticed them and said, "Ah, there you are Sona. I was looking for you. And Grey, it''s good to see you again." "It''s good to see you again, Garen." Grey replied and Sona nodded in agreement. He stood up but Sona stayed sitting on the ground. The Abyss Watcher noticed Garen looking tired and had the look of someone who was told to do more work. "Is something wrong, Garen? You seem troubled." The Crownguard sighed and said, "I am my friend. You see, King Jarvan wishes to go to Noxus and discuss peace with Swain. I am supposed to guard him with the prince and Xin Zhao, but the house of Buvelle asked me to guard Sona because of some diplomatic problem with another noble house. Since I''m going with King Jarvan-" "That means you can''t guard Sona." Grey finished and Garen nodded. The might of Demacia scratched his head thinking. He then looked at Grey. "Grey, do you mind doing me a favor?" he asked and the Abyss Watcher raised an eyebrow. "Could you be Sona''s bodyguard for me in my absence?" he asked. The request caught them both off guard. Grey was curious while Sona didn''t know how to feel about it. "Are you sure?" the undead asked. "I mean, would house Buvelle allow it?" he knew that most Nobles don''t take it kindly to strangers, especially if their not a noble. "It''s alright, all I have to do is say that you are a friend of mine and the prince." Garen assured him. Grey looked down in thought before shrugging and saying, "Well, it''s up to Sona I guess." he replied as he and Garen looked at the Maven. Sona thought about, she knew her mother was a little protective, and she honestly appreciated it, which means she''s getting a bodyguard either way. So she decided that it''s better to be Grey than some random arrogant idiot. She actually enjoyed spending time with the Abyss Watcher. Sona looked at Grey and started motioning with her hands, [I would be happy to have you as my bodyguard.] "So¡­ was that a yes or a no?" Garen asked not understanding the hand gestures. "She said yes." Grey cleared up. "Oh." the might of Demacia started scratching his head. "Sorry, but I never had the time to learn sign language." he then cleared his throat. "Anyway, I''ll tell the High Summoners so that you are excused from matches." "Thank you, Garen." The Abyss Watcher said as Garen left. The Abyss Watcher offered his hand to Sona and helped her to stand up. She started floating slightly off the ground and brought her Etwahl beside her. "So what would you like to do now?" The Abyss Watcher asked. Sona started thinking. He was going to be with her for at least a couple of days so they needed something to do. [How about we go to Demacia.] Sona suggested. [I can show you around while being my bodyguard.] "Alright, I wanted to see it for a while." Grey replied as they started walking out of the garden. They walked through the hallway and went towards the transport station. The female summoner there stood attention "Hello champions. Leaving the Institute?" however, her attention was immediately drawn to Grey''s uncovered face. "Yes." Grey nodded. "we''d like to go to Demacia." The summoner nodded and motioned to the rune circle. "S-Stand in the circle please." Both champions nodded and did as the summoner asked. The summoner started motioning with her hands casting a spell and both champions vanished in a flash of light. The female summoner sighed and sat down mumbling, "I guess those rumors about the Abyss Watcher being hot were true." Meanwhile, Grey and Sona just exited the Transport station and entered the streets of Demacia. The Abyss Watcher turned to Sona "So where should we start?" he asked. Then the sound of his stomach rumbling was heard. Grey scratched his head while Sona giggled silently. [How about we get breakfast first?] The Maven signed with her hands. "Sorry." Grey apologized. "I didn''t get any breakfast." Sona smiled and started making signs, [Well, you are in luck. I know the best Caf¨¦ to have breakfast. Follow me.] The Abyss Watcher nodded and they started walking as Sona guided him through the streets of Demacia. During the way, Grey decided to ask something "Hey, Sona, what did Garen mean when he said there was a problem between two noble families?" Sona stopped and she apparently sighed in annoyance before she answered, [It''s nothing. Just Nobles being arrogant, nothing serious.] Grey just shrugged and decided to trust her judgment. He knew that Nobles were always arrogant and cocky, but they almost never backed it up. He met many of them in Lothric and Irithyll. There was a noble family that harmed someone Grey cares about before. The next day¡­ well, that noble family vanished. (A/N: Thank you for reading this, please comment, review, and give me your thoughts on my story. I know this isn''t as long as my usual chapters, but this is just build up for the next ones.) 39 CH38: Melody Third POV: Grey and Sona walked through the streets of Demacia. They were getting many looks from the people around. Some were amazed to see Sona, while most of them were shocked to see her with the Abyss Watcher. Rumors about him had already reached Demacia. Add the official match where he unleashed the Death Soul. Many wanted to approach Sona, but seeing the Abyss Watcher at her side immediately made them reconsider. They walked towards a Caf¨¦. It was decent looking with white tables on the outside with umbrellas connected to the center. They sat down at the same table and they both held a menu. "I still feel bad that you are paying for everything." Grey said. Sona waved it off and began making signs with her hands. [Don''t worry about it. You are being my bodyguard for free, so the least I can do is get you breakfast.] Grey smiled and they both looked at the menu again to choose what they want. Not long after that, and a waiter walked up to them. The waiter held a notebook and a pen before asking, "So, can I get you anything?" The Abyss Watcher nodded and said, "Yes, I''ll have a chicken sandwich with salad and some orange juice." he then looked at the Maven. "What will you get?" Sona put down the menu and began signing, [I will have the same.] "Make that two of the same order." Grey said to the waiter, who nodded before writing it down and leaving. They were left alone and Sona decided to start a conversation, [So, Grey, can you tell me how long have you known Garen?] "I met him on my third day at the Institute. Me and Ahri met Ezreal and Lux the night before that." Grey answered before resting his hands on the table. "So, Sona, why don''t you tell me about yourself?" Sona smiled at his question and answered, [There''s not much to say. I do a concert here and there sometimes. I''ve been getting popular since I was taken by house Buvelle.] Grey raised an eyebrow, "Since you were taken?" he asked. The Maven smiled at how he ignored that she said she was famous. [Yes, I was an orphan before my mother took me in.] "Wow." the Abyss Watcher chuckled. "You and I have more in common than I thought." this time, it was Sona''s turn to raise an eyebrow. "I was an orphan too, I was with the Abyss Watchers before my father took me in." Sona smiled seeing someone she can relate to. Their food then came and they started eating in silence. Mainly because Sona needs her hands to eat and can''t make signs. They finished eating and were about to start talking again, but suddenly, a few people started gathering around them. They all had a few notebooks with pens, recorders, and a few cameras. At first glance, Sona knew they were from the media. "Sona, Sona! Can we ask some questions?" "Your last concert was the biggest yet, are you trying to gain more fame?" "Is that the Abyss Watcher?" "What is your relationship with him?" Too many questions, too quick for her liking. Sona turned towards them and tried to kindly reject them, but they were stubborn. Grey immediately noticed her being uncomfortable, so he stood up and turned to the reporters. His height already seemed threatening to them. And the weapons he had didn''t help ease their worries. "I suggest you leave, now!" Grey said glaring at them. "But we just want-" a reporter started but immediately stopped when Grey drew his sword and had the blade at their neck. "I don''t care." the Abyss Watcher harshly said leaving no room for argument. "Now I''ll give you five seconds to leave before I drag your corpses out myself." Thankfully, they took the threat seriously and they all left. Grey sat down and Sona gained a dust of pink on her cheeks but she still smiled. [You didn''t have to do that.] Sona signed with her hands. "It''s alright, they were bothering you. Plus, I am your bodyguard." Grey replied which made Sona''s smile widen. They stood up after Sona paid for the food. They walked out of the Caf¨¦ and entered the streets again. "So, what would you like to do now?" Grey asked. Sona smiled and answered, [There''s a wonderful park around here, why don''t we go and see it.] The Abyss Watcher nodded and they both started walking towards the park while ignoring the looks from people. Inside the Institute: "Yes!" Ahri cheered as she just beat the high score in an arcade game. "Great job, Ahri!" Aki cheered besides the Vastaya. Those two, along with Lux, were in the arcade in front of one of the fighting games. Aki and Lux already had their turn, with the summoner doing better than the light mage. "It wasn''t bad, I guess."Lux shrugged with a look of boredom. Ahri smirked. "Says the girl that barely beat the first level." she chuckled and the blonde glared at her. "You''re really great at this, Ahri." Aki complemented her friend. "I heard they are planning to make an arcade-themed skin, maybe I can recommend you for it." "Thanks, Aki." Ahri replied as they started walking out of the arcade. "Why am I not recommended?" Lux grumbled as they walked out. The Shy summoner looked a little embarrassed. "I-it''s for people who are really good at video games, and¡­ well..." she struggled with words. "You don''t fit that description, Lux, sorry." Ahri bluntly stated which made the Crownguard growl. However, Lux then smiled. "You just wait, I''ve been just playing with you for now." she joked. Ahri groaned "That was¡­ just terrible." she said shaking her head. "Says the girl that barely makes someone laugh without her magic." Lux teased and Ahri glared at her. They entered the dining hall, where they found Ezreal and Brite sitting together at a table. The three girls joined them. "Oh, hi, girls." Ezreal greeted as he stopped his conversation with Brite. "Hi." Lux greeted as they sat down on the other side of the table. "Morning, Brite." Aki shyly greeted. "And a good morning to you too, Aki." the Silver Knight replied. Ahri looked around before directing her gaze to the two males of the group. "Do you know where Grey is?" Ezreal shook his head, "No." "I thought he was with you." Brite replied. The Vastayan shook her head in denial. "Well, knowing him, he is either in the garden or somewhere training. Since there''s no Abyss here, I doubt he''s out hunting." "Then I''m going to look for him." Ahri stated standing up. "That won''t be necessary." someone said. Ahri turned to the side and saw Kayle, in her new armor, looking at her. "Kayle?" the nine tailed Vastayan raised an eyebrow. "Why? Did Grey get sent on another mission?" The angel shook her head, "No, but Garen met with the High Summoners a few hours ago telling them that Grey was doing him a favor back in Demacia. Something about being a bodyguard." "Oh, right!" Lux said remembering something. "Garen is leaving to Demacia with the King today." "Why would he need Grey as a bodyguard?" Ahri asked sitting back down. "People ask Garen to be a bodyguard the whole time." Lux said with a wave of her hand as if it was nothing. "Mostly Nobles and the king." "Trust me, it happens a lot." Kayle added before she left. Having stayed in Demacia before, she knew how popular Garen was. "I guess now we know where Grey is." Ezreal said before looking at the Silver Knight. "Anyway, Brite, you were about to tell me about miracles." he said bringing up their previous conversation. "Right." Brite said pulling out a red and white talisman. "This is a Talisman, you need them to use miracles. They are not sorcery but they are still in the same category as magic. I know a healing miracle, a weapon enhancement, attack boost, defense increase, and the most common one between the Warriors of Sunlight, the lightning spear." "Grey mentioned that one." Ezreal said remembering when Grey told them about Gwyn. "The way I see it, you''re a perfect support for any team." Aki pointed out after listening to Brite''s list of miracles. "Hi, everyone." someone greeted. They looked and saw Annie skipping towards them with Tibbers in hand and Silver following her. Annie brought herself a chair from another table and sat down while Silver jumped towards Ahri''s lap. "Hi, Annie, Hi, Silver." The nine tailed Vastayan greeted while petting the wolf pup. Silver then started turning his head left and right while sniffing around as if he was looking for someone. Ahri picked up on who the pup was looking for. "Sorry, Silver, but Grey isn''t around." The wolf pup pouted and laid on her lap. Ahri smiled at Silver''s affection towards the Abyss Watcher. However, the nine-tailed Vastayan started feeling guilty. She realized that she and Nidalee left without asking if Grey wanted to join them. ''I guess I''ll apologize when I see him.'' Ahri thought to herself resting her head on her palm. ''Hopefully, he isn''t mad¡­ or worse, on a date with some girl.'' In Demacia: Grey and Sona entered the park and walked up to a fountain that was at the center of the entire place. The fountain was a big circle with statues around, and around it were a few benches for people to sit in. The two champions sat on one of the benches and looked around. "So, do you come here often?" Grey asked breaking the silence. [Yes, I really enjoy the peace this place has.] Sona signed before bringing her Etwahl beside her and started playing some tunes. "I can relate." Grey said before leaning back on the bench. "My world¡­ isn''t this peaceful. Moments like these barely appear." Sona frowned but then started signing with her hands. [Well, you''re in Demacia now, so you can forget about those troubles and relax.] Grey became hesitant. In his world, you can''t relax unless you are near a Bonfire, otherwise, you''re just asking for someone to literally stab you in the back. The Maven saw him struggle in thoughts. She then had an idea and started playing a specific tune. The Abyss Watcher noticed the change in melody. This time, she was playing something smooth and sensual. Like the gentle breeze around the garden. Grey remembered that this was not his world. There was no Abyss, no Hollows, no beasts, and no mad people after him now¡­ yet. He was simply sitting in a peaceful park with a friend. Right now, Grey did what he didn''t have many chances to do in the past. Relax. Time skip: (brought to you by chibi Sona playing on the Etwahl with chibi Grey sitting beside her listening.) The two champions just sat in the park until it was sunset. Grey decided it was enough relaxing and stood up. "We should probably leave before it gets too dark." the Abyss Watcher suggested. The Maven nodded and he offered his hand to her. She accepted and stood up with his help with her instrument floating beside her. They started walking out of the garden and again into the streets. Sona guided them towards her house¡­ or mansion to be precise. The gates were golden and had musical notes decorated on it. When they opened, they walked the path that led to the front door. While walking, Grey noticed that there were many trees cut into different shapes. Birds, cats, dogs, even a life-sized elephant. When they reached the front door that was a big white double door, it was then opened by someone from the inside. It revealed a maid wearing a black button-up shirt under a white apron and a long black skirt. She had short black hair and was wearing glasses. "Good evening, Lady Sona. I''m glad to see you again." the maid said before looking at Grey. "And you must be the Abyss Watcher, we were informed of your arrival." Grey nodded, "It''s a pleasure to meet you." "Likewise." the maid replied before letting them in. Sona then started making motions. [Is my mother home?] she asked. Her maids learned sign language from her mother''s orders for more communication. The maid nodded. "Yes, Lady Lestara is home, but she went to bed early. She spent the day at an auction for paintings and returned a little stressful." Sona rolled her eyes but smiled nonetheless. She knew about her mother''s passion for exploring all kinds of arts. It was one of the reasons she adopted her after all. [Very well. Is dinner ready?] Sona signed. The made nodded, "Yes, right this way." she said as she started leading them through the hallway. Grey looked around. The carpet was a golden color and the walls were white. There were many paintings of all kinds. The reached a hall with a very long table with many chairs in on both sides and ends. The two champions sat beside each other on two chairs. Two other maids showed up and set plates filled with food in front of them. The food was a well-cooked steak with a side of vegetables and some soup. They started eating. Sona then noticed Grey looking a little nervous. [What''s wrong? Don''t you like the food?] she asked after putting down her fork. "No, the food is great." Grey replied before sighing. "It''s just that I''m not used to this luxury." he said feeling out of place. It''s not that he never experienced it before. The Abyss Watcher had something like this when visiting the Twin princes of Luthric, but he still didn''t experience it much. Sona silently chuckled, [Well, I''m glad that you at least like the food.] Their conversation stopped when the maid from before came to them, "Excuse me, Lady Sona?" said woman looked at the maid. "You have a visitor." she said, but she seemed annoyed. Sona raised an eyebrow, she knew fans weren''t allowed to visit at home, so it had to be a noble. [Who is it?] the Maven asked. "It''s lord Ferio." the maid replied. Grey picked up on the fact that Sona''s annoyance immediately picked up at hearing the name. "Sona, my love!" Someone yelled as a young man came in through the door. That person was slightly built, had shoulder length blonde hair that was slightly curled up. He was wearing a black suit with a purple tie and golden rose patterns on the jacket. Sona sighed in annoyance without making a sound. She took out a small board she carries to speak with people who don''t understand sign language. (A/N: ) Sona asked standing up from her seat and showing him the board. "Why, I came to see you of course." Ferio replied with a smug smile. "After all, we have a wedding to plan." The Abyss Watcher raised an eyebrow at the mention of a ''wedding'', but Sona only seemed more annoyed. Sona wrote down. "But you''re mother already approved." Ferio said before his smile widen. "Sounds to me like we ARE getting married." Sona rolled her eyes before she started writing again. "But, Sona dear, why would you refuse?" Ferio asked. ''Maybe because you keep taking looks at my chest.'' Sona thought to herself before she started writing. "Maybe you simply haven''t seen how amazing I am." Ferio then started reaching out towards Sona. "Come with me, and I''ll show you." However, when Ferio''s hand touched Sona''s, an armored hand grabbed his arm. "If you want to keep your hands, you better keep them to yourself." Ferio immediately scowled and pulled his hand away while waving his wrist. "Sona, please keep your undead pet on a leash. He obviously doesn''t know his place." he said glaring at the Abyss Watcher. Before, Sona was annoyed, but now, she was mad. She immediately started writing on her board. "An undead? Your bodyguard? You must be joking." Ferio snarled at the Abyss Watcher. "He should be honored to breathe the same air, so why don''t go to a corner and let the real people speak." Grey didn''t care at all what Ferio thought of him, but Sona obviously did as her glare intensified "But where could you find a better man?" Ferio asked. The way he asked it made it seems like he truly believed that he is the best. The Maven took a quick glance at the Abyss Watcher before turning back at the arrogant noble. "Sona, please listen to reason." Ferio tried to reach out for her again, but Grey stood between them. "Can you leave, you undead filth." "Sorry, but it''s my job to keep her away from danger, and that includes you right now." Grey replied not caring by Ferio''s threats. Sona looked over Grey and glared at Ferio. "Are you mad?!" Ferio asked. He then started glaring at Grey. "Well then, how about we settle this." the Abyss Watcher raised an eyebrow. "I challenge you to a duel! The winner gets Sona''s hand in marriage." If Sona wasn''t mad before, she definitely was now. This guy just used her as a bet like he owns her. Grey simply ignored him and looked over his shoulder at Sona. From that look, he was obviously asking her for her opinion. The Maven had half-a-mind to tell the Abyss Watcher to beat Ferio up and throw him out as painfully as possible. However, Sona knew that he would come back again, so she needed a way to permanently keep him away without any bloodshed¡­ yet at least. She looked at Grey and started making hand signs. [Can you win?] the Abyss Watcher nodded and she smiled trusting him fully. [Well, be my guest.] Grey looked back at Ferio. "Alright, I accept. But if I win, you will leave Sona alone from now on." Ferio smiled smugly. "Very well, and WHEN I win, I''ll show you how to treat your superiors, undead." With that, Ferio turned around and left. When he was gone, Grey looked at Sona. "I guess THAT was the problem that Garen was talking about?" Sona nodded. [Yes, he''s been bugging me for a month now.] she then started pinching the bridge of her nose. "Don''t worry." Grey said making her look at him. "I''m going to make sure he leaves you after tomorrow." Sona smiled in gratitude, [Thanks.] she then looked at the maid. [Do you have the guest room ready?] "Yes," the maid nodded and started walking. "Right this way." she said as they started walking through the hallway. Somewhere in Demacia: Near one of the mountains of Demacia, a portal of swirling darkness appears. Not unlike the one that Grey fell from. Suddenly, a giant roar is heard as two figures emerged from the portal. One looked like a dragon, and the other was a human who was riding it. "Where¡­ are we?" the man asked. He heard the dragon roar, so the man started petting the head. "Easy, old friend. Let us not draw attention to ourselves." The dragon roared in agreement and floated towards the sky where clouds began to gather. Soon, they vanished in the clouds as golden lightning started cracking through the air. Back in the house of Buvelle: Grey was walking through the hallway following the maid and Sona when suddenly. "my firstborn¡­ is here." The Abyss Watcher stopped and started looking around for the source of the voice, but he found nothing. [Is something wrong?] Sona asked seeing Grey suddenly stop. Grey looked at her and shook his head. "No.," he said before looking out the window at a storm that started at the top of a mountain. "It''s nothing." (A/N: Thank you for reading this, please comment, review, and give me your thoughts on my story.) 40 CH39: King Of The Storm Third POV: Ahri woke up the next morning. She stretched and looked at her bed frowning at where Grey should have been. The Nine-Tailed Vastayan then went through with her morning routine. After she got dressed, she went to the living room where she found Nidalee sitting on the couch petting Silver. "Good morning." the Huntress greeted. "Morning." Ahri replied before taking a seat near her roommate. "So, do you have anything planned today?" "Well, I have a match in the afternoon. And you?" Nidalee asked while still petting Silver. "Nothing much," Ahri shrugged as she relaxed on the couch. "I guess I''ll watch your match and then see if anyone wants to go into town." she said. The Nine-Tailed Vastayan then looked at the Huntress. "I have to admit, I was a little surprised when you agreed that Grey can sleep with me." Ahri admitted. "Oh, I''m definitely not okay with it." Nidalee chuckled. "But it is better than having him sleep on the couch. That doesn''t mean I''m not going to try and make my move." Ahri rolled her eyes "Figures." she then stood up. "Well, we should get some breakfast." The Huntress nodded and stood up after putting Silver on her shoulder. The two of them came out of their room and headed towards the dining hall. When they entered the hall, they were about to get their food when two summoners came towards them. "Hi, Ahri and Nidalee, right?" the first one said. "Listen, we are big fans, and we were planning to have a private party later on tonight. We were wondering if you could be the guests of honor?" the other one continued. Ahri sighed while Nidalee rolled her eyes. The Nine-Tailed Vastayan can see the lust in the summoners, even without her magic. "Sorry, but we''re not interested." Ahri replied trying to walk away, but then the first summoner got in front of her. "Come on, I promise you''ll enjoy it." He argued back. Ahri and Nidalee glared at him, but then the nine tailed Vastayan smirked noticing both summoners have their eyes on her. Ahri''s eyes then glowed as she activated her magic. "You''re right, it might be fun." Ahri said before pointing behind her. "But I don''t think he''ll agree." Both summoners looked confused before looking behind Ahri. Their eyes widen and they took a step back in fear. Standing behind Ahri and Nidalee was Grey. The Abyss Watcher was giving them a cold glare with his eyes glowing red. "A-Abyss Watcher!?" the first summoner said with fear obvious in his voice. "I-I thought you were in Demacia." Nidalee raised an eyebrow and looked behind her¡­ to see nothing but the empty hallway. ''Grey'' then started reaching for his weapons and the summoners got the message. "Look, w-we''ll leave. We don''t want any trouble." The summoners left and Ahri chuckled deviously. Nidalee then understood what happened and smirked. "You used your magic on them, didn''t you." it was more of a statement than a question. "That''s right," Ahri nodded as they continued their way to the food. "Since the summoners fear Grey, we might use that fear for once." "True, but I didn''t know that you can make people see things." Nidalee said as they both started picking their food. "I can do a lot of things that you don''t know about." Ahri said as they finished picking their food. The two roommates walked through the tables looking for either a free one or a table that has someone they know. They found a table that had Ezreal and Lux sitting at it. The two of them were looking at a newspaper¡­ with shocked faces. "Hi, you two, what''s up?" Ahri asked while giving Silver some food before sitting down at the table. The two blondes tensed and started fiddling with the newspaper. "Uh¡­ nothing." Ezreal said suspiciously. "What''s with the newspaper?" Nidalee asked. Lux immediately started trying to hide the paper. "What newspaper?" Ahri raised an eyebrow. "Lux," she then extended her like a scolding parent. "give me the newspaper." she demanded. Lux looked hesitant before bringing the newspaper and giving it to the fox Vastaya. "You''re not going to like what you see." Ahri took the newspaper and held it to look at the front page while Nidalee also took a look from the side. However, when they read it¡­ ''WHAT KIND OF SICK JOKE IS THIS!?!?'' They both thought in anger and disbelief. was written in the front page. And below it was a picture of Grey sitting in the Caf¨¦ with Sona. Ahri can feel the fur on her tails stand from anger, she even set the paper on fire with blue flames. Nidalee wasn''t doing any better. Anyone near her can hear the inhuman growl she made as her eyes turned to slits. "What is this suppose to be?!" Ahri asked as the paper was reduced to ash. "I thought Grey was being a bodyguard?!" "He is," Lux started explaining, "But¡­ he''s apparently Sona''s bodyguard." "Well, tell him to get back here!" Nidalee ordered. "I can''t, Garen isn''t coming back for a day or two." Lux replied. "Well, do something!" Both girls yelled. Lux was obviously nervous and was looking for a way out. "H-How about I go and ask what''s going on? I''m sure it''s a misunderstanding." "What are you waiting for then?!?" The girls asked which made the young Crownguard jump from her seat and go head to the transport station. Ahri and Nidalee turned their glares at Ezreal, who immediately froze from their looks. The Huntress and fox Vastayan wanted answers, fast. Otherwise, someone is going to get hurt¡­ and right now, Ezreal is the only one around them. In Demacia: Sona was walking through the hallway of her home. She had already showered and dressed up, and now she wanted to wake Grey. The Maven entered the guest room and found the Abyss Watcher sleeping on the bed. She walked up to him noticing that his equipment was by the nightstand and started shaking him by the shoulder. After a few moments, Grey woke up. "Ahri, what is¡­?" he stopped when he realized who was shaking him. "Oh, morning, Sona." Sona ignored that he confused her for someone else. [Good morning, Grey. It''s time to wake up.] "Alright, give me a second." the Lord of Cinder said setting up and getting off the bed. He went to the bathroom as Sona sat on the bed to wait for him. The Maven took the chance to Grey''s equipment while he was in the shower. Looking at Grey''s Farron Great-sword, she realized how big it is compared to the ones she saw before. Garen had a Great-sword as well, but it still wasn''t as large as Grey''s, which could be the size of a normal person. However, something then caught her attention. Sona got off the bed and walked to the nightstand picking up what she saw. It was a deep green medallion with the crest of a wolf''s head on it. Sona''s eyes widen recognizing it from her dream. The Abyss Watcher then came out of the bathroom and saw Sona, "Something wrong?" he asked and Sona just gave him the medallion. "Oh, my pledge." [Can I ask what it is?] Sona signed with her hands. "It''s my pledge, it''s a sign of being one of Farron''s Abyss Watchers and his watchdogs. It''s only given to those the Old Wolf of Farron deems worthy, and it was given to me when I was just a baby." Grey explained putting on his armor while talking. Sona smiled finding something else she has in common with Grey. [I have something like that too.] she waved her hand and her instrument floated beside her. [My Etwahl had been with me since I was very young. It''s somehow connected to me.] The Abyss Watcher chuckled. "More in common for us, I guess." he said as he finished putting on his armor. Sona made a silent chuckle and started making signs with her hands, [Anyway, your duel should be today afternoon. But right now my mother wishes to see you first. She heard of what happened last night.] "Alright, lead the way." Grey replied as they came out of the room and started walking through the hallway. While walking, Grey took the chance to look around at the mansion. He noticed that there weren''t only paintings but also a few statues and some walls had their own coloring patterns. "I suppose your mother is a fan of art?" Grey asked breaking the silence. Sona nodded and started making signs, [Yes, but thankfully, she isn''t into the kind of art that Jhin is into.] Grey nodded in agreement. Suddenly, Sona stopped in front of a pair of double doors and looked at Grey. [Also, she might seem a bit¡­ odd.] The Maven then opened the doors to what seems to be a living room. "No, a little to the left." someone said from the inside. Two maids were holding up a painting and moving it around the wall. There was a woman apparently giving them instructions. It was a middle-aged woman with brown shoulder length hair that ended in a yellow shade. She was wearing a white shirt under a blue vest with a dark blue tie. She had black pants with dark blue heels that had golden trimming. She was also wearing sunglasses and a beret. "Yes, a little more¡­ perfect!" the woman said while the maids were adjusting the painting. Sona turned to Grey. [That''s my mother, Lestara Buvelle.] she signed. The two champions walked inside and the woman turned towards them, "Now, let''s see who''s-" Lestara stopped when she saw who her daughter was with. "Oh¡­ YOU''RE fighting for my daughter?" Sona became worried. It was already known that the Abyss Watcher was an undead. She never brought one to her home, add the rumors about Grey being a heartless killer, so she didn''t know how her mother would react. "Wearing THAT?!" Lestara continued motioning to Grey''s clothes making Sona''s face go deadpan. "Oh, no, no, no! Sweetheart, you are not fighting for my daughter wearing THAT atrocity." she then snapped her fingers and two maids walked up beside her. "Get him a new set of clothes, something stylish but not too flashy. We''re not the Crownguard with their suits of armor." The two maids nodded and went to the Abyss Watcher with measuring tape. Sona meanwhile rolled her eyes and sat down at a chair on the side. ''I should''ve known from the beginning that she would worry about his clothes more then what he is.'' Sona thought resting her head on her palm. Lestara moved beside Grey while the maids took his measurement. "First, I want something that isn''t as old as Demacia itself." she said as one of the maids took notes on the clothes Lestara wanted. "Second, that cape has to go. Capes are so last decade. And third, I want something that doesn''t make him look like he came out of a bloodbath-of-a-battle." she said walking around Grey in a circle. The Abyss Watcher decided to not comment on the last one. The Lord of Cinder looked at the mute girl that was sitting on a chair. She gave him a look that said ''Just go with it.'' Grey decided to do that, but he wanted to ask something. "Can I, at least, keep the hat?" "Actually, your hat is the only thing stylish about your clothes, so yes." Lestara replied as the two maids stopped taking notes and measurements. "Now, get him some actual clothes." The maids nodded and started guiding Grey out of the living room to get him something that the owner of house Buvelle would approve of. Meanwhile, another maid offered Sona a cup of tea, one she accepted and needed. She started sipping while her mother walked up to her. "So that was the Abyss Watcher? He''s calmer than I thought," Lestara said standing beside her daughter. "So? Are you going to marry him after the match?" she asked. Sona did a spit-take with her tea. She gave the cup to the maid and started making signs with a blush. [No! He''s just doing it to get Ferio off my back!] she signed so quickly that her mother almost didn''t understand her. Lestara raised an eyebrow and brought down her sunglasses. "But I thought the winner was going to marry you." Sona made a very tired and silent sigh while burying her head in the palms of her hands. Time skip: (Brought to you by chibi Ahri looking at the newspaper. She puffed her cheeks in anger before throwing foxfire at it.) Sona was waiting in the living room for Grey. Her mother already left to where the duel would be, and she just has to wait for him to come out. The Abyss Watcher then came out wearing his new clothes. He was now wearing a black shirt under a dark blue button up, long sleeved jacket with black pants. On his left shoulder and arm was a silver armor with golden trimming, not unlike the one that Garen and Lux wear. Other than that, he was still wearing his signature pointy metal hat and his sword was on his back with his knife on his waist. Grey spread his arms and looked down on himself. "I feel¡­ out of my element. I don''t believe this is my color, as Ahri would say." Sona smiled and stood up. [Don''t worry, you look great in blue.] she assured him. "Thanks," The Abyss Watcher replied. He then started looking out the window and noticed the same storm from last night still in the mountains. The Maven noticed him spacing out so she snapped her fingers to draw his attention. She then started making signs. [Is something wrong?] "Nothing, it''s just¡­" The Abyss Watcher sighed. "That storm," he said making Sona look at the mountains from the window. "Something doesn''t feel right. As if I''m supposed to be there." Sona was looking at the black clouds as golden lightning cracked through them. She had to agree that something didn''t feel¡­ natural about that storm. She then smiled having an idea and started making signs, [Why don''t we go and check on it after your duel? I''m sure we''ll be able to.] The Undead smiled at the mute and nodded, "Thank you. Now let''s not keep your mother waiting." Sona nodded and they walked out of the living room. The two champions went through the hallway and entered an entirely new hall. This hall was specifically made for Sona''s concerts. It was a big hall with hundreds of chairs in rows. In the far back was a circle stage with red curtains at the sides that were open now. Waiting at the stage was Lestara. Sona''s mother was also in the company of a few other people and Ferio. From their clothes, Grey guessed they were Nobles. However, someone amongst them caught Grey''s attention. Because that person was the only one that looked like a real Warrior. It was a woman that had chin-length black hair with a single dark pink streak on the front. She was wearing a black bodysuit under a white shirt with shoulder armor and a short cape on one of her shoulders. On her waist was a rapier in its sheath. That woman was speaking to Sona''s mother, who noticed their presence. "Oh, there you are!" she said making the other woman look at them. "Abyss Watcher, I got to say that you fixed up good." "Thank you, Ms. Buvelle." the undead replied. Looking at the other woman, he noticed that she was looking all over him. "So you are the Abyss Watcher." The woman said with a French accent in her voice. "That is correct, but my name is Grey Ashnex." he replied to the woman. He looked at her weapon and took a wild guess. "You''re a duelist?" The woman smiled at the question. "That is correct. In fact, I''m also a champion of the Institute, but we''ve never met. I''m Fiora Laurent, the Grand Duelist, and the current head of house Laurent." Fiora then raised a curious eyebrow. "May I ask, how did you know I was a duelist?" "Your weapon of choice is a Rapier. Personally, I don''t use it, but I had a friend who had it. He was a sorcerer and only used it for self-defense so he wasn''t a duelist, but still he did share knowledge about the weapon." the Abyss Watcher explained. However, he then noticed something about her name. "Your name is Fiora, are you related to Ferio?" The Grand Duelist sighed and brought a hand to her forehead. "Yes, he is my cousin. He may not be close, but he is still part of house Laurent." Fiora then turned to the Maven of the strings. "Sona, I''d like to apologize for the troubles he caused you." The mute girl simply waved it off before bringing out her board and started writing. Truth is that this wasn''t the first time that the Grand Duelist apologized for her cousin''s behavior, especially to Sona. However, the Maven never held anything against Fiora or her family for what Ferio does. They weren''t as close as Garen and Jarvan as friends, but they were still friends nonetheless. Sona wrote down and showed it to the Duelist. "They are people who Ferio bragged to about winning your hand in marriage. They just came to observe." Fiora replied making the Maven sigh. "So you came." Ferio said walking up to them. "Now I will show you that you should know your place, undead." "Ferio, enough." Fiora said silencing her cousin. She then looked at the Abyss Watcher. "Now, if you are ready, then let us begin." Grey nodded and he stood up on the stage with Ferio standing on the other side. The noble pulled out a sword decorated with gold and jewelry. ''It''s been a while since I''ve been to a duel. The last one I had was against Prince Lorian when the Dancer bragged about my abilities to him... Come to think of it, we never did finish that duel'' the Lord of Cinder thought to himself recalling his past. They were expecting the Abyss Watcher to pull out his Farron Great-sword, but instead, he pulled out his knife. "What are you doing?" Ferio asked. He thought that the Abyss Watcher was doing some trick. "Sorry." Grey shrugged while holding his knife. "But this is the smallest blade I have. So I''ll have to make do." he said making everyone surprised. "Are you mocking me?!" Ferio asked enraged, but the Abyss Watcher paid him no mind. The noble then started the match by swinging his sword at Grey who simply blocked with his knife. Ferio started swinging his sword left and right trying to strike the Abyss Watcher, but he would always dodge or block without a problem. Meanwhile, the Nobles sat in the front row seats to watch the match. "Do you think that your cousin will win, Lady Laurent?" one of the Nobles asked. "No, the Abyss Watcher will win." Fiora replied without a shadow of doubt causing confusion between the Nobles except for Sona and her mother. Fiora wasn''t voicing her thoughts, she was stating facts. First, the head of house Laurent had to agree that Ferio was just a spoiled child. He had no talent in fighting to speak of. Second, Grey was a champion of the Institute, which only takes the best warriors. Not to mention she heard from Jarvan and Shyvana that he managed to break to the royal castle. But what really made Fiora sure that the Abyss Watcher will win, is what she saw in his eyes. She saw battle. The Grand Duelist realized that Grey was a battle veteran. He saw real battle, killed in it, and survived it. Back in the match, Grey was still in the defensive. Not because he couldn''t fight back, but to see Ferio''s fighting abilities. In all honesty¡­ the Abyss Watcher was immensely disappointed. Ferio''s sword-wielding is the general basics, at best. Grey decided it was enough playing around. He blocked downwards strike and moved it to the side making the sword hit the ground. The Abyss Watcher stepped on the blade and then punched Ferio''s stomach with the back of his knife. The noble fell to his knees. Grey moved behind him and grabbed Ferio by the hair lifting his head while putting his knife at Ferio''s throat. Grey was about to paint the stage red, but he was stopped by the Grand Duelist. "Enough!" she yelled which made Grey let go of the noble and walk back. The Nobles were mostly shocked, with the exception of three of them. Sona was happy showing a grateful smile while her mother simply looked impressed. Fiora, who was slowly clapping, stood up from her seat. "Excellent match, Abyss Watcher. The victory goes to you." she said before looking at the Maven. "Sona, as the agreement goes, Ferio will no longer ask for your hand in marriage or bother you again." she said then glared at her Cousin. "Will you now?" Ferio, who felt incredible shame, kept his head down and grumbled. "No." "Good." the Grand Duelist then gave a bow of respect. "Till we meet again, Abyss Watcher." With that, every noble from house Laurent took their leave. The only ones left were Grey, Sona, and her mother. "Well, That was something." Lestara said breaking the silence. "Thank you, Abyss Watcher, for freeing my daughter from that idiot." "I was simply helping out a friend." Grey replied sheathing his knife before looking at Sona. "Now, should we leave?" Lestara smirked. "Oh, is the young couple going on a date?" Sona rolled her eyes not falling for her mother''s teasing. [No, we''re just going to check on something that''s been bugging him.] "Whatever you say." Lestara shrugged and decided to leave. "Uhmm, can I change first?" the Abyss Watcher asked making the Maven look at him with a raised eyebrow. "No offense, but your mother''s taste in clothes doesn''t suit me." Sona silently chuckled while shaking her head before nodding. They both walked out of the concert hall. They went to the guest room where Grey''s clothes were. The Abyss Watcher entered to change his clothes while the Maven waited outside. While waiting, someone was walking towards her. "Hey, Sona!" yelled none other than Luxanna Crownguard. The mute girl smiled at one of her best friends and took out her board. "Pretty good." The light mage replied as she stood beside the Maven. "Hey, have you seen the newspaper this morning?" Sona shook her head at Lux''s question. The young Crownguard then explained what was in the paper which made the mute girl blush. She didn''t mind some people thinking that she and Grey were dating, but what she did mind was that the paper basically announced that they were engaged. Sona wrote down asking. "Well, Ahri and Nidalee aren''t exactly happy, so I wanted to ask what''s this all about?" Lux replied scratching her head. The Maven knew who she was talking about. Grey already told her about them, and she still thinks that they just ditched him yesterday. Sona then smiled innocently at the light mage before she started writing. "Thanks, Sona. You''re the best." Lux said before she turned around to tell her friends what happened. When Lux turned around and started walking away, Sona''s innocent smile turned to a sinister one. However, she immediately regained her innocent look when she heard the door behind her open. Grey came out of the room wearing his Abyss Watcher attire. He noticed someone turning away at the end of the hallway. "Was that Lux?" he asked getting a glimpse of her armor. The Maven nodded, [Yes, she asked me to do an errand for her. I hope you don''t mind.] "Of course not, I''m happy that you''re doing this at all." the Abyss Watcher replied. The two champions then started making their way towards the exit of the Sona''s home. When they reached the front door, they found a maid waiting for them. "Lady Sona, are you going out?" the maid asked. The mute girl nodded before she started signing her hands, [That''s right, and I might be late for dinner. Maybe I won''t even come.] "Very well, I''ll tell Lady Lestara." the maid replied before opening the door for them. "Have a safe trip." With that, the two champions exited the house of Buvelle and entered the streets of Demacia again. Inside the Institute: Ahri, Nidalee, and Ezreal were sitting in the same table with Aki and Brite, who joined them a few minutes ago. Ahri was juggling an orb of deception between her tails looking ready to throw it at anyone. While Nidalee was using a stone to sharpen her spear. Ezreal was playing with the collar of his shirt every chance he got. Brite and Aki didn''t know why, but they knew that disturbing the two roommates was not a good idea. "S-so?" Aki said clearing her throat trying to break the tension. "How are you today, A-Ahri?" "Not good." the fox Vastaya replied. "Aw~ is the fox feeling bad." if Ahri wasn''t mad before, she definitely was after hearing that voice. She looked behind her to see Maia standing there looking at her clawed gauntlet like they were nails. "What do you want?" Ahri asked harshly. The Tengu smirked. "Oh, I''m just here to check on you. I heard the latest news, and it seems Grey finally realized that you are not worth spending his time with." "And you''re supposed to be good enough?" Ahri replied crossing her arms. "Last time I checked, no one was willing to spend their time with you." Maia chuckled. "At least people don''t see me as the sl*t of the Institute alongside Evelynn." she responded making the fox Vastaya, along with a few others to glare at her. The Tengu then looked at the Silver Knight. "So you''re the guy from Grey''s world?" "That''s right, and who are you?" Brite asked in a cold tone surprising some people. The Warrior of Sunlight might have been cheerful, but he wasn''t an idiot. He can tell that Maia was not a good person, but someone to be compared to the people of his world. "Just someone who was curious about the people of Grey''s world." the Tengu replied looking at Brite all over. "And honestly, I was hoping for another hunter, but all I got is an idiot." "A hunter?" Brite asked confused. "This psycho wants to be the best hunter, so she wants to kill Grey to prove she''s better than him." Ahri explained glaring at the winged Vastayan. "You¡­ want to be a better hunter than Grey." Brite concluded. "Pfft-Hahahaha." before he broke into a fit of laughter. Everyone looked at the laughing Silver Knight in confusion, while Maia started glaring at him. "What''s so funny?" the Tengu asked. "Hahaha- You- hahaha--want to beat an Ashnex- hahaha - at hunting!?" Brite said through his laughter. After calming down, he started speaking normally, "Let me tell you something, there are no better hunters than the Ashnex." Ahri remembered Grey saying the same thing. "That was proven by Grey''s father, the Moonlight Hunter, and then Grey proved it himself by beating his father." They all stared shocked at Brite after he told them that Grey fought and defeated his father. They wanted to know what happened to make them fight to begin with. "But wait, Grey says that his father is the best." Nidalee pointed out. "That''s just him being modest." Brite replied waving his arm. "It gets annoying, honestly. I''m starting to think that he doesn''t know how to take credit for himself." Ahri and Nidalee rolled their eyes agreeing with Brite completely. The Fox Vastayan then stood up. "Well, whatever." she said before turning to Maia. "Listen, I am not in a good mood, and the last thing I need is to talk to you psycho. So as Grey would say, Why don''t you go lose whatever shards of your sanity left alone and leave us in peace." she finished before walking away with Silver following her. "I need to play some video games. If I can''t kill a real person, then I''m going for a virtual one." They all just looked at the Vastayan walk away apparently to the arcade. "You know, the funny thing is that I''m sure Grey would have actually said that." Brite said breaking the silence. In Demacia: Grey and Sona were climbing the mountain for a while with the Abyss Watcher helping the Maven most of the way. After they left house Buvelle, they stopped at a building where Sona had to do that errand for Lux before they exited the city and entered the mountain range. They climbed the mountain until they entered through the clouds. They were surrounded by fog and some rain but everything was still visible. Grey raised his hand making Sona stop. "Something¡­ is coming." he said. Suddenly, the heard a loud roar when a figure landed from the sky in front of them. It was a dragon with feathered wings and a beak-like mouth. On the dragon was a man with long wild hair and in his hands was the combination of a sword and a spear. The dragon roared before jumping and flapping its wings making sure it lands behind the two champions. The man swung down his Sword-Spear at Grey and Sona who immediately moved away from the attack. The Abyss Watcher pulled out his weapons while the Maven called for her Etwahl. The Undead jumped towards the person that was riding the dragon. That person used the pole of his weapon to block the attack. The dragon tried to take a bite out of the Abyss Watcher. However, a magical blast covered in musical notes hit the dragon''s head distracting it enough for Grey to jump away. Sona floated beside Grey and played a few strings from her Etwahl. From the front of the instrument, a magical note shot off striking the dragon''s head again. The dragon roared in frustration before it started flapping its wings taking to the sky as it started circling them from above. The person riding the dragon raised it''s hand and, much to Grey''s shock, golden lightning gathered in it before forming a big spear. The person threw the spear at the two champions and the Abyss Watcher tackled the Maven to jump away as the spear struck the ground they were standing on. Grey stood up helping Sona, "That was a lightning spear!? But I didn''t see him holding any Talisman." The dragon passed above them flying through the sky. The person on the dragon jumped from it and landed on the ground in front of the champions. The man waved his Sword-Spear and sent a wave of clouds and wind at Sona and Grey. The Maven moved away while the Abyss Watcher jumped over it. The Lord of Cinder stood up and immediately blocked the downwards strike from the man''s Sword-Spear. The man started putting pressure on his weapon and Grey started skidding back. However, before he moves too far away, he heard a musical note before he was covered in a blue aura. The Abyss Watcher stopped being pushed back. Sona kept supporting him with his magical music. The man jumped back and raised his Sword-Spear in the air pointing at the sky. Lightning struck the blade and it ran through the weapon. The man swung his weapon down striking the ground making lightning explode where the blade hit. The two champions jumped back avoiding the lightning. However, the lightning suddenly spreads around the area of the explosion. Sona was hit by the lightning and it caused the Maven to stop from the pain. The man saw her vulnerable and reeled back his Sword-Spear. The man dashed forward thrusting his weapon at the dazed Maven. Sona would have been stabbed if it weren''t for Grey pushing her away and taking the hit. The Abyss Watcher stabbed and the Sword-Spear went through his chest. The man raised his weapon with Grey on it and lightning exploded striking him. The man threw Grey''s body towards Sona, who could only stare in shock and horror at what happened to her friend. The man stepped forward and was about to start attacking the mute girl. But he stopped as the sound of a wolf''s howling was heard around the area. Blood started floating from the ground and gathered above the Abyss Watcher before vanishing into his body. Grey''s sword caught fire and the Abyss Watcher started standing up and taking a battle stance while the man and Sona looked at him. The Maven was amazed seeing this ability for the first time. She heard about it, but it was the first time witnessing it. Meanwhile, the man stood there absolutely shocked about what he just saw. "You''re¡­" he mumbled. The Lord of Cinder dashed forward swinging his sword along the way. The man dodged the strike but he was struck by the fire explosion that followed afterward. Grey turned around and started swinging his sword with fire exploding after every strike. The man managed to block the sword but the fire would always hit him. The man then jumped back with smoke coming out of him but not much damage was apparent. "So you really are one¡­" he mumbled. The Dragon then landed behind the man while Sona floated beside Grey ready to support him in any way. The dragon reeled back its head ready to breathe fire. "Stop!" but it immediately stopped upon the man''s order. The two champions were confused as the man pointed at them, more specifically, Grey. "You, you are a Lord of Cinder." The Abyss Watcher was surprised that the man knew what a Lord is. As far as he knows, only people that he told know what it is. Grey relaxed and started turning off the flames, but he was still on guard. He may not be able to use the flames of a Lord for a while, but he still has the Soul of Death. The man waved his arm and the storm around them settled down. They finally got a good look at him. He was a man that was slightly taller than Grey. He had long white wild hair, yellow eyes, and on his head was a crown with pointy tips. He was wearing a scale like armor with rags connected to the top for a make-shift scarf and on his wrists and ankles were golden bracelets covered in bandages. When the man got a good look at them, he saw Grey''s attire. "You''re also an Abyss Watcher?" he said before putting a hand on his chin. "I thought they had all vanished." "You know what I am?" the Abyss Watcher asked surprised. "Of course I do. The Abyss Watchers are the followers of Artorias and the only people brave enough to fight the Abyss." the man said. "Does that mean you''re from my world?" Grey asked which shocked Sona. The Man, however, looked confused. "Your world? What does that mean?" The Abyss Watcher and Maven looked at each other before Grey sighed. "This is going to need some explaining." he said to the man. (A/N: Thank you for reading this, please comment, review, and give me your thoughts on my story. A friend of mine (In real life) asked me why don''t I make a ******* account and ask my readers to support me in it. Honestly speaking, I don''t like the idea of writing only when People pay me, I also don''t think my stories are worth paying for. As long as I get to write what I want, and People enjoy, I''m good enough.) 41 CH40: Name for the Nameless Ahri was in the arcade playing a few video games. There were a few men who thought of making a move on her, but seeing her mood immediately made them rethink their decision. "Oh come on!" the fox Vastaya yelled kicking the game. "This is rigged or something!" she yelled frustrated. The Nine-Tailed Vastayan was in the arcade for an hour. She thought that it could help her calm down, but it just made her more frustrated. "Urghh, whatever!" Ahri groaned as she started walking out of the arcade. She went through the hallway and towards the dining. The Vastayan was praying that Lux has her answers, or else. When she reached her friends in the dining hall, she saw that the young Crownguard had returned and immediately went to her, "So?" "Turns out, it was just a misunderstanding." Lux cleared up which lifted up Ahri''s mood. "The date thing was just something she was treating him to breakfast, and the marriage thing was him doing her a favor. And, I heard that the newspapers were being collected already." Ahri sighed in relief before sitting down. ''That''s better. I knew Grey wouldn''t date a girl, certainly not behind my back.'' "So, Ahri, what will you do for now?" Aki asked. "I''ll just wait for Grey." the fox Vastaya replied resting her head on her hand. "Me too." Nidalee added. "I have to admit, it''s boring without him around." "Yeah, trouble always did find Grey." Brite said before doing the signature sun Praising pose. "That''s because he doesn''t praise the sun!" he said which made some people roll their eyes. "Hey, Nine tails." someone said from behind. They looked and saw that it was the charmer and rebel, together like always. "Hi, you two. It''s been a while." Ahri said as the lovers brought two seats from another table and sat down with them. "Yeah." Xayah replied looking like she was going to tell them about a funeral. "So¡­ have you seen the newspaper?" "Oh, that''s what this is about." the nine tailed Vastayan understood why the rebel was trying to sound kind. "Don''t worry, it''s just a big misunderstanding. We already cleared it up." Xayah sighed leaning back on her chair. "Oh, thank the spirits of Ionia! because I did NOT know how to comfort someone who had their heart broken." "See, I told you it wasn''t true." Rakan said wiggling his eyebrows. "I knew that Grey wouldn''t leave her." "Wait, how would you know?" Ahri asked intrigued. "It''s¡­ a guy thing." the charmer replied not wanting to tell them about his talk with the Abyss Watcher about his feelings. The huntress then remembered something, "Hey, Brite, you said that Grey beat his father in battle. Why were they fighting to begin with? Was it a test?" she asked while petting Silver who was on her lap. "Sorry, but that''s up to Grey. I don''t feel comfortable talking about someone else''s life without their permission." Brite replied shrugging. "So you''re the guy from Grey''s world?" Rakan asked looking at him. "Are you like him? You know, undead?" The Silver Knight nodded "Yes, I am." he replied. Aki then looked at him worried. "D-Does that mean that you have it?... The Darksign?" "Yes." Brite answered, but his cheerful attitude didn''t falter. "I have the curse of the undead. Honestly, it''s more common to find an accursed undead in our world than a normal human." "Hey, what is this curse anyway?" Xayah asked with her lover sharing the question in his head. "Nine tails said that the Abyss Watcher is cursed to be an undead, does it have something to do with that?" "Trust me, you are not going to like what you hear." Ahri said before she started explaining what the Darksign is with Brite filling in for what she missed out. When the fox Vastaya was done, both Lovers had a look of horror and disgust. "Something¡­ like that actually exists?" Rakan asked. "Yes." Brite nodded. "I and Grey already died countless times, and that''s only counting the times we saw it happen to each other." "But aren''t you worried?" Aki asked, fear obvious in her voice. "Grey told us what happens. He told us about going Hollow. Aren''t you worried about that?!" Surprisingly, Brite chuckled. "Honestly, now I''m not because there aren''t any Bonfires in Runeterra. Even back in my world, I wasn''t worried, because if I went Hollow, I know Grey will take me down." "Wait, you expect your friend to kill you?" Xayah asked as she and the others looked at him in disbelief. Brite shook his head. "When someone is taken by the Abyss or went Hollow, the only kindness you can give them is a quick end. I was already planning to deal with Grey, should he become Hollow." "Still, to know that your friend is going to kill you one day." Nidalee mumbled. "Like I said, it is nothing but showing mercy." Brite repeated. In Demacia: Grey just finished explaining to the man where they were, and apparently, he was from Grey''s world as well. Sona just in silence but kept her Etwahl ready. The dragon was standing behind the man ready to attack on command. "So, we are in an entirely different world." the man started rubbing his chin and the Abyss Watcher nodded in confirmation. "I see, do you know of a way back?" At that question, Grey shook his head in denial. "Sadly, no. I do not." "I see." the man sighed. The dragon then made a Groan and brought its head to the man''s side. "Easy, old friend." the man stroked the dragon''s head. "We''ll get through this." The Abyss Watcher couldn''t help but think of a way to help the man. He reminded Grey of himself when he came to this world for the first¡­ before he went to the Institute with Ahri. "Wait¡­ why don''t you go with us to the Institute of War?" Grey asked. The man looked at him confused. "The Institute of War? What is it." The Lord of Cinder started explaining what the Institute is and about the League of Legends. The man was very interested in the subject. "So it is a place to solve political issues without the need for bloodshed and to avoid war." the man concluded. "That is correct." Grey nodded. The hummed in thought before nodding. "Very well, I will accompany you to this Institute." Sona then snapped her fingers drawing Grey''s attention. She started making signs, [Grey, I don''t mind helping you and this guy, but the dragon might cause some havoc.] The Abyss Watcher realized she was right while the man recognized the hand gestures as sign language. "Your friend cannot speak?" "No, but that''s not important. How are we going to get your friend there without scaring people?" Grey asked motioning to the dragon. The man looked at his companion before pointing at the sky. "Storm, wait for my signal, and don''t draw attention." The dragon roared before jumping in the air flying to the sky and disappearing in the clouds. "Are you sure it''s wise? To leave him alone, I mean." the Abyss Watcher asked wondering if it was a good Idea to leave the dragon alone. "It''s alright. He won''t attack anyone without a reason, and when we''re in a safe location I''ll call for him." the man assured him. "Very well, let us go¡­ uh." Grey trailed off not knowing the man''s name. "Excuse, but what is your name." Sona didn''t know whether to chuckle or to face-palm at the question or more specifically, it''s timing. Meanwhile, the man was about to answer but stopped looking like he was struggling. "S¡­ So¡­ Sol¡­" hehe shook his head. "I''m sorry, but it''s been so long since I heard my own name by anyone, that I seem to have forgotten about it." "I see." Grey hummed in thought. This wasn''t the first time he met an undead that forgotten their own name, but that means that this man was rather ancient. "Do you at least have a title to go by?" The man nodded, "Yes. I remember my name was erased, so my people call me the Nameless King. But, I remember that I was once the Sun''s First Born." To say Grey was shocked would be an understatement. True, the Abyss Watchers didn''t worship Gwyn or his children, but they still understood their huge roll on history. "You''re¡­ the firstborn." Grey repeated. "That explains how you used a lightning spear without a Talisman." he noted. Since it was the first born, he has a part of the soul of light. "Now, do you mind giving me yours?" the First Born asked not knowing the champions'' name. "Of course, my name is Grey Ashnex and this is Sona." Grey said motioning to the mute girl. Grey''s name caught the man''s attention. ''Ashnex? Where have I heard that before?'' "Now, let''s get going." The First Born''s thoughts were cut off by Grey. The Nameless King nodded and they all started walking out of the storm heading back to Demacia. Time skip: (Brought to you by chibi Sona holding Chibi Grey so she doesn''t get blown away by the storm.) Grey, Sona, and the Sun''s First Born were walking the streets of Demacia and heading to the transport station. They were getting curious glances, but they were ignored as they continued walking towards the familiar building. Once they walked inside, the summoner there stood attention. "Ah, hello, champions. Going back to the Institute?" "Yes." Grey nodded and motioned to the Nameless King. "And this man is coming with us. He is a potential champion." The summoner nodded. "Very well, stand in the circle please." he says motioning to the rune circle. The three of them did what the summoner told them and with a few hand motions, the summoner cast the spell and they were gone. When they appeared inside the Institute, the Nameless King shook his head. "That¡­ was odd." "You get used to it." Grey said as they walked out of the Transport station. Walking through the hallway, the only lights being the ones from magical crystals on the walls since it was pretty late today. They entered the dining hall and Grey noticed his friends. Walking towards them, he called them out. "Hey, everyone." A pair of fox ears immediately perked up recognizing the voice. Ahri was the first to greet back. "Grey!" she jumped from her seat and went for a hug. "Good to see you again, Ahri." The Abyss Watcher replied returned the hug before letting go. He then caught Silver who jumped at him from the table. "It''s good to see you too, Silver." The wolf pup barked as Grey sat it on his shoulder. Lux then went to the Maven. "Hi, Sona. Good to see you." Sona took out her board and started writing. Nidalee raised an eyebrow noticing the board. "What''s with the board?" she asked. "Sona can''t speak." Grey cleared up making his second roommate tense. "Oh, sorry." The Huntress apologized only for the mute girl to wave it off. Brite stood besides Grey pointing at the unknown man. "So who is this?" he asked. "Oh, right." The Abyss Watcher prepared for the introduction and the reaction of the Warrior of Sunlight. "Brite, this is the Sun''s First Born." "Oh." Brite just stood there before raising his hand the Nameless King. "It''s a pleasure to meet you." "Likewise." The Nameless King replied accepting the handshake. While the two were shaking hands, Grey leaned towards Ezreal. "This isn''t the reaction I expected." he said expecting more enthusiasm from Brite meets what could be the leader of all the Warriors of Sunlight. "Well, what did you expect?" The Explorer asked. Before the Abyss Watcher replies, the Nameless King lets go of Brite''s hand¡­ only for him to fall like a statue on his back completely out-cold. "... I expected THAT to happen." Grey said. "Brite!" Aki asked in worry as she began to check on the now unconscious Silver Knight. "Is¡­ he alright?" The Sun''s First Born asked worried that he might have done something. "He''s fine, he''s just a Warrior of Sunlight." Grey cleared out before looking at The Nameless King. "Anyway, we should get you to join, let''s go to the high summoners." The Sun''s First Born nodded and followed Grey after taking a glance at Brite. When they were gone, Sona took a seat besides Grey''s roommates. "So you''re Sona? It''s nice to meet you." Ahri greeted the mute girl. At first, she was angry but when it was revealed that the newspaper was just a misunderstanding she calmed down. ''so this is the nine tailed fox.'' Sona mentally mused before writing on her board. "Thanks. Your hair looks pretty too." Ahri returned the compliment. ''Seriously though, she''s really pretty. I''m actually worried that she might seduce Grey before me.'' Meanwhile, the Abyss Watcher and the Sun''s First Born made it to the High summoners chamber. When they got inside, the High Summoners turned their attention towards them. When the Grand Summoner''s eyes landed on the Nameless King, they began to moisten with tears. "Abyss Watcher, state your business here." the Noxian summoner said. "I believe that I have a potential champion." Grey replied before motioning to the Nameless King. "This man is from my world, he was considered a God of War." "Very well, he''s Judgement will be tom-" "He''s Judgement will be now!" the Grand Summoner cut off the Noxian summoner catching everyone off guard. "Abyss Watcher, you may leave." Grey was still a little shocked of the outburst, but he still turned around and walked out of the chamber. The other High Summoners were curious about the Grand Summoner''s behavior, but they decided to trust the man that created the Institute. When the Lord of Cinder came out of the room, the High Summoners started the Judgement and the Nameless King was surrounded by light. Inside the Judgement: The Sun''s First Born opened his eyes and found himself in a large place the resembled the inside of a tree. In the middle of the place was a sword with a spiral blade stuck in the ground with some flames coming out of it. Besides the sword, was a man as large as the Nameless King. He had a large beard connected to his shoulder-length hair. His skin was as pale as ash his eyes couldn''t be seen. He was wearing a mixture of black robes with golden armor and golden chains were on his waist. In his right hand was a Great-sword that was on fire. It only took the Nameless King a couple of seconds to recognize the man. "... Father." The man was none other than the hollowed Lord of Sunlight, Gwyn, the first Lord of Cinder. Gwyn charged at his son before jumping towards him swinging his sword with the fire extending to increase the range of the attack. The Nameless King used the pole of his weapon to block the attack. The flames would have hurt him, but thanks to his scale-like armor, he was fine. "So is this it?" The Sun''s First Born asked pushing his father away. "You want me to apologize for siding with the dragons against you?" The Nameless King swung his Sword-Spear at his father only for him to jump back and raise his hand creating a giant lightning spear and throwing it at his son. The Nameless King moves away from the shot and glares at his father. "I never wanted to betray my family, but you forced me to!" he yelled swinging his weapon at his father. Gwyn easily blocked the strikes and overpowered his son making him take a step back. "I wanted to stay!" the Nameless King yelled trying to block his father''s strikes. "I wanted to see my family again! I wanted to see Gwynevere be a mother like she always wanted! I wanted to see Gwendolyn be the ruler you never allowed him to be! I wanted to meet my dear friend Ornstien again! BUT IT NEVER HAPPENED BECAUSE OF YOUR PRIDE AT HUNTING DRAGONS!" The Hollowed Lord overpowered his son and knocked the Sword-Spear out of his hands before stabbing in his chest. The Sun''s First Born gasped in pain. "But my greatest regret¡­" he coughed up some blood. "Is that I never got the chance¡­ to tell you¡­ that I forgive you." he said using the last of his energy. Upon saying that, the flames from the spiral sword in the middle intensified before covering the entire place in a blinding blaze of fire. Outside of Judgement: The Nameless King stood in the middle of the High Summoners chamber as the Judgement ended. "You have passed." the Grand Summoner said. He was the only one speaking since his outburst. "Your name shall be¡­ Solas, the Sun''s First Born." "Solas¡­" The Sun''s First Born mumbled. "Now I remember. My name." he said before looking up at the leaders of the Institute. "May I leave now?" They nodded and Solas walked outside the chamber to find the current Lord of Cinder waiting for him. "So, how did it go?" Grey asked. "Better than expected." the Sun''s First Born replied much to Grey''s confusion. "Now, I remember my name. I am Solas, The Sun''s First Born." "I''m glad to hear that." Grey replied. He looked like he was about to say something but shook his head. "Anyway, let''s go back to the dining hall. Brite should be awake by now." Solas nodded and they both walked towards the dining hall. The found the Warrior of Sunlight just getting up with Aki checking his head. "Urghh, what a dream." Brite groaned shaking his head. "I dreamt that I met the Sun''s First Born." "That wasn''t a dream." Grey said making Brite look at him with Solas standing beside him. The Silver Knight immediately tensed. "You¡­ you''re." "Calm down." Solas said waving his hand. "There''s no need for you to be nervous." "R-Right, thank you." Brite said standing up and taking a seat. After they all sat down, some taking seats from other tables, the first one to speak was Solas. "So, Grey told me that you are a Warrior of Sunlight?" he asked Brite and said man nodded. "Do you know about a man named Solaire?" At the mention of the name, Brite smiled with pride. "Of course I do, he is my ancestor. Hearing his legends as I grew up is the whole reason why I became a Warrior of Sunlight to begin with." Solas nodded before asking another question. "Do you know what happened to him?" Brite put a hand on his chin. "Well, from what I know, he is the first person to link the fire after your father and to become a Lord of Cinder." "I see." the Sun''s First Born smiled fondly while looking down. "I''m glad that he was able to achieve his dream." Brite raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me for asking, but did you know my ancestor?" Solas chuckled. "Yes, I do." he then raised his head. "He was the only person to believe in me after my father exiled me." he said as the memory flashed in his head. Flashback: Solas was standing on the edge of a high cliff. There was nothing but mountains and clouds as far as the eye can see. Dragons were flying through the sky. They would either fly around or go to their caves in the mountains. Suddenly, Solas heard the sound of tiny thud behind him. He turned around to find¡­ a kid? It was a young boy, couldn''t be older than 13. He was on his knees and breathing heavily which meant that he exhausted himself to get here. He had blonde spiky hair that was slightly dirty from the journey. He was wearing a simple white shirt with white pants and a small traveling bag was beside him. He looked up with green eyes and they widen at the sight of the first born. "I¡­ finally found you." he mumbled still out of breath. Solas realized that the boy was looking for him. "Foolish Dark Soul, what could you seek in my domain?" he asked surprising the kid. "You would find nothing, but pain and death." The boy stood up taking a deep breath. Gathering his courage, he spoke up. "T-They destroyed your statues and erased your name!" he yelled catching Solas off guard. "They said you were no God!" Solas was absolutely stunned. This boy¡­ still believed in him. As far as he knew, the only people that didn''t hate him for turning against his father were his siblings and his father''s four Knights. But seeing this young boy, who probably went through a lot to get here, still believe in him¡­ it truly stunned him. "I see." Solas rubbed his chin. "They are not untrue." he then knelt down towards the boy. "Tell me, young one. If one achieved true victory and dominance through war, is there truly anymore need for bloodshed?" he asked. The boy looked to struggle at the answer. "No?" "Precisely." Solas then stood up and looked over the hill. "Now that the truth lies bare in front of my eyes, I decided to follow my own path." he then turned back to the boy. "Tell me, young one, what is your name and your desire." "M-My name is Solaire." he then looked at Solas with nothing but determination. "And¡­ I want to be strong, and to guide people to the light." "I see." Solas raised his hand where sparks of lightning gathered before creating a golden medallion with the crest of the Warriors of Sunlight. "Then take this." he said placing the medallion on Solaire''s neck. "As a sign of a Warrior of Sunlight." he put his hand on the boy''s shoulder. "Seek your own patch made by your own hands, seek the sun that is inside your own heart, and never abandon your allies. That is the way to making your own Sun." Solaire grabbed the medallion on him before nodding to Solas. The boy then picked up his traveling bag. Swinging it over his shoulder, Solaire turned around determined to achieve his goal more than ever. Solas then turned back to looking over the cliff, but now he had a new resolve. Even after his father exiled him, there are still people that believe in him, and he would never let them down. End of Flashback: The memory ended flashing through Solas'' mind as he looked at Brite again noticing the resemblance between him and his ancestor. "You can say that your ancestor helped me in more ways than you can imagine." the Sun''s First Born said. "Wow." Brite looked stunned. "I guess there''s more to your ancestor than you originally thought." Grey said. "Grey." Ahri said giving a deadpan look. "You''re covering your face again." "Oh, sorry." The Abyss Watcher apologized before bringing down the neck of his shirt. When Grey''s face was uncovered, Solas looked at him before leaning forward to get a better look at his features. Grey moved back slightly confused. "Is¡­ something wrong?" he asked. Solas took another second to look at Grey before moving back. "No, it''s nothing." He replied shaking his head. "It''s just¡­ you looked a little familiar." he said before thinking to himself. ''other than his eyes, he almost looks exactly like¡­ no, it can''t be. He never had any relatives as far as I know.'' (A/N: Thank you for reading this, please comment, review, and give me your thoughts on my story.) 42 CH41: Visi The next day came as the sun rose. Ahri woke up in the bed and smiled seeing Grey sleeping beside her. Nidalee was still okay with it, much to Ahri''s joy. The Nine-Tailed Vastayan looked at the Abyss Watcher as he slept beside her. Her usual fox grin appeared on her face. Ahri grabbed Grey''s arm and made it go around her waist. She then wrapped her tails around his arm and made it seem like he was holding her. When Ahri got the position right, she spoke. "Grey, wake up." like usual, his response was a groan. "I don''t mind you staying in bed a little longer, but I do need you to let me go so I can take a bath." The Abyss Watcher opened his eyes to see what she was talking about, and he found that he was holding Ahri by the waist and was pulling her onto him. Grey immediately pulled his hand back and moved back to the point where he fell off the bed. Ahri sat up smirking as she heard a tired sigh from the side of the bed. "Just once, can you wake me up normally?" Grey said. "No." Ahri bluntly replied before standing from the bed. "That would be too boring." The Nine-Tailed Vastayan heard another sigh as she saw the Abyss Watcher stand up. "Will you bathe first or will I go first?" he asked. "Me first." Ahri replied walking towards the bathroom while taking her clothes off. Before she got in, she looked over her shoulder. "Or you could join me if you want?" she teased. Grey, who looked away when Ahri started taking off her clothes, Just stood up. "No thanks." Ahri just shrugged. "Your loss." After the fox Vastaya entered the bathroom, Grey stood up and stretched while smiling. Ahri''s teasing might have been tiring, but he honestly enjoyed seeing her happy. The sound of running water could be heard as he started checking the schedule. He saw that they have no matches today. "Good, maybe we''ll get a chance to show Solas around, and Brite too." Grey mumbled as he remembered that neither of them saw the town. He just sat on the bed and waited for Ahri to finish her bath. The sound of water stopped and the nine tailed Vastayan came out wearing just a towel. The Abyss Watcher sighed trying to not look at Ahri''s body, which was barely covered by the towel. "Didn''t you get enough teasing this morning?" he asked. "Not even close." Ahri laughed which made him roll his eyes. The Abyss Watcher just walked to the bathroom to take his own bath. When he got in, Ahri started putting her clothes on. When the fox Vastaya was done, she got to the living room to find it empty. "Guess Nidalee didn''t wake up yet." she said. Ahri then felts something hitting her shoes. She looked down and saw Silver swinging his toy sword at her. "Awwwe." Ahri knelt down and picked up Silver. "Are you trying to be a swordsman like Grey?" the wolf pup gave a muffled bark with his tail wagging. "Well, how about we go and wake Nidalee?" The Nine-Tailed Vastayan put Silver on her shoulder as she walked to the Huntress'' door. Ahri knocked. "Nidalee, wake up." she said but all she got in response was a large growl. "Come on, Nidalee. I know cats aren''t morning people, but we can''t let you sleep till noon." she knocking again. After another growl, the door finally opened. When Ahri saw Nidalee, she immediately covered her mouth trying not to laugh. Nidalee looked like she had a fight with her bed. Her hair was a mess, some of it even puffed up. Her clothes looked like they were put in a grinder. The huntress noticed Ahri''s giggling. "Oh, so when you were a fox, you didn''t have bad fur when you woke up?" she asked irritatingly. Ahri''s laughter calmed down. "Okay, you have a point." she said before walking to the couch and sitting down. "But it never was that bad." Nidalee grunted "Newsflash, cougars are not morning creatures. We''re felines. The only reason that doesn''t happen to you is that foxes are considered canines." Ahri had to agree with her. A thought crossed her mind as she directed her smirk to her room''s door. "Like wolves." she said. "Oh no, you don''t." Nidalee quickly realized what she was saying and Ahri gave her an obviously fake confused look. "If you think that I can''t be with him out of race, or that you should be with him because of that, then you are just a racist." Ahri sighed and rolled her eyes. "Okay, I admit you''re right. Happy?" Nidalee just shrugged her shoulders before going back to her room to take a bath and fix her looks. A couple of minutes later, Grey came out seeing Ahri on her own. "Didn''t Nidalee wake up yet?" he asked. "She did, she''s just getting ready." Ahri replied as Silver jumped from her lap and went to Grey. The Abyss Watcher picked up the wolf pup and put it on his shoulder. "Alright, we''re free today, and I''m planning to take Solas and Brite to town." The fox Vastaya perked up at the mention of the town. "That''s not a bad idea, I''ve wanted to go to town." she then pointed at the game console she bought. "I need new games, I already finished the ones I have." "Honestly, with the amount of time you spend playing, I''m not surprised." Grey said making Ahri give him an angry glare. A couple of seconds later, the Huntress came out of her room fully cleaned up and ready. "So, what do we have today?" "We''re planning to go into town today." Grey informed her as they began exiting their room. "I can use the day outside." Nidalee replied as they started walking through the hallway. "Do you mind if we pick up Sona from her room?" the Abyss Watcher asked. "Garen isn''t back till tonight and I''m still her bodyguard." Last night, the Abyss Watcher asked if Sona was going back to Demacia, but the Maven told him that she had a room in the Institute as a champion. "Sure, I don''t see why not." the fox Vastaya replied as the walked beside the rooms of the champions. When they reached a door that said, Grey knocked. "Sona? It''s me, Grey." the Abyss Watcher said knocking on the door. The door was opened by the mute girl who was already dressed up. [Good morning, Grey. How are you?] Sona signed. "I''m fine, thank you for asking." the Abyss Watcher replied as the Maven came out of her room and walked beside them through the hallway. "We are planning to go to town. Are you interested?" The mute girl thought about it before giving her answer. [Sure, it''s been a while since I''ve seen the city around the Institute.] "Very well." Grey nodded as they continued their way. They made it the dining hall and found Solas with Brite and Aki standing. "Ah, there you are." the Sun''s First Born said noticing them. "Good morning, Solas, Brite." the Abyss Watcher greeted. "How are you today, Ahri?" Aki greeted seeing her friend. "We''re great." the fox Vastaya replied before looking at them all. "We''re planning to go into town today, Grey wants to show Solas and Brite around, wanna join us?" she asked receiving a nod. The Silver Knight raised an eyebrow. "So is that what we''re doing today? I have to admit that I''m curious about the city below the Institute." "Yes. I was also planning to-" Grey stopped talking as he started looking around. The others immediately noticed the sudden silence. "What''s wrong?" Ahri asked. Grey didn''t answer, instead, he immediately pulled out his sword, turned around, and stabbed it in the ground. The others jumped in surprise, except for Brite who pulled out his glaive. He knew that if Grey drew his sword, then something was there. Suddenly, the ground in front of Grey''s sword started rippling like water. Then, to their shock, someone came out of it like they were resurfacing from the sea. The person was a man with pale greenish skin. He had a bald head, green eyes, and a red bandana with teeth drawings on his mouth. He had an exposed chest with spiky bone armor on his shoulder. He had tattered pants and in his right hand was a short green blade that came out of a mouth shaped handle. "So you noticed me." the man stated. His voice was gruff and sounded like he was speaking while drinking at the same time. "Who are you?" Grey asked as the others became on guard. "Pyke, the Blood Harbor Ripper." the man introduced himself. "New champion?" Grey asked and the man nodded. From Pyke''s skin, the Abyss Watcher knew he was undead. "Were you following us?" "No." Pyke replied unaffected that they were ready to attack him. "The fact that I was behind you is purely coincidence. I was going to the dining hall." "Then why were you in the ground?" Grey asked describing what he saw the best he can. "That''s just how I like to move around." the Blood Harbor replied without emotions. "I had no intention of following anyone, who isn''t on my list that is." They were curious about what list he was talking about, but then Ahri realized something. "Wait, you were in the ground. That means¡­" she trailed off as she blushed and grabbed the bottom of her kimono pulling it down. She then glared at the new champion. "You son of a¡­" Nidalee, Aki, and Sona realized that being underground gave anyone a look up their clothes and they did as Ahri did by trying to cover themselves while glaring at Pyke. "Oh please, Fox." Pyke rolled his eyes before pulling out his blade and sharpening it with his thumb. "The only thing that interests me in a woman is seeing her guts splattered all over the floor. I couldn''t care less for what''s under her skirt." he finished with a sinister chuckle. Despite how psychotic that sounded, Grey, Brite, and Solas didn''t sense any actual madness from the man. They just felt a large thirst for revenge. The Abyss Watcher put away his weapon. "Alright, sorry for attacking you." he apologized. Ahri Thought that the roles were reversed on who should apologize. "Whatever." Pyke said as he walked past the group. "Just make sure your name stays out of my list." As he walked, Pyke started sinking into the floor like he was walking down some stairs. When he was completely underground, the tip of his green blade came out and started acting as shark fan. When he walked or swam away, They stayed in silence. Brite was the first to speak. "The people of this world are weird." Grey deadpanned at the Silver Knight. "You noticed that JUST now?" he asked. Ahri punched his side while Nidalee coughed in her hand. "You do realize that includes us, right?" the fox Vastaya asked. "I meant a good kind of weird." Grey replied. Ahri crossed her arms with a smirk. "That''s better." "Morning, people." said an all too familiar voice. They saw Lux walking towards them. "How are you today?" Ezreal was walking beside Lux. However, he wasn''t as energetic as the young Crownguard. The Prodigal Explorer looked like he barely had any sleep. "Morning¡­" he just mumbled before yawning and rubbing his eyes. "What''s wrong with you." Brite asked with his hands on his waist. "How can you not be energetic in such a great morning." Ezreal yawned before answering. "Had a match earlier in the morning, real early." he then started looking at the summoner of the group. "Aki, what kind of summoners plan a match at 5 am?" The others looked at the Shy girl, who immediately raised her hands. "I-I swear I have no idea. There are some summoners like that but I''ve never done it myself." "That''s good." Nidalee sighed messaging her forehead. "If I''m going to be woken up that early by a summoner, then I rather it is someone I don''t know so I can beat them up." "Anyway, we''re planning to go to town." Ahri told the two blondes. "Are you in?" "Sure¡­ let''s just grab some breakfast, please." Ezreal asked and the others nodded before going into the dining hall. Time skip: (brought to you by chibi Nidalee with bed hair going into the bathroom before coming out one second later looking normal.) The group that now consists of Grey, Ahri, Aki, Ezreal, Lux, Nidalee, Sona, Brite, and Solas was now walking down the stairs of the Institute to the city below. "What do you suggest we do first?" Solas asked as they entered the city. "How about we split up?" Lux suggested making the others look at her. "You boys go on your own, and we girls do the same. Let''s meet in the food district after we''re done." "Alright." Grey nodded before looking at Ahri. "Try not to use all your money on video games." The Nine-Tailed Vastayan rolled her eyes. "I''m not dumb, Grey. I can take care of my money." The Abyss Watcher sighed and started to pet her ears. Judging by how she leaned towards his touch, she liked it. "I know, I just wanted to remind you." Grey said before he pulled back his arm, much to Ahri''s annoyance, and walked off with Ezreal, Brite, and Solas. "Alright, girls, let''s go shopping." Lux said as she, Ahri, Aki, Nidalee, and Sona walked off to the other direction. Grey POV: After we split up, we started walking through the streets passing by a few stores that Ezreal called ''electronic stores''. We stopped at a window showing a few screens. "This¡­ technology stuff is¡­ odd." Solas noted. "I say it''s witchcraft." Brite added. But then the screens viewed the sun in clear blue skies, which immediately, unsurprisingly, changed his opinion. "I say it''s a blessing from the gods!" "Sure you do." I rolled my eyes before we continued walking. We passed by another store that showed something called a phone. I knew immediately that Ahri would love that thing. Ezreal suddenly stopped. "Hey, look." he said pointing at a wall. We looked at what he was pointing at and¡­ are you kidding me? It was a poster about Brite. He was wearing his helmet and pointing at whoever was looking at the poster. Under Brite was writing that said "Ah, it''s good to spread the word of the Warriors of Sunlight." Brite said enjoying himself. Seriously, what about praying to wolves? "So champions are celebrities?" Solas said making it sound more like a statement than a question. "I think it''s unnecessary attention." I said crossing my arms. I was being honest. Being a celebrity means you''ll have idiots craving for your attention. If you''re going to spread a name for yourself, then it should be a name your enemies fear. Ezreal shrugged. "I don''t think it''s that bad." he then saw a couple of girls looking at him before he winked at them. "if anything, I like it." I deadpanned at him. Like I need any more women in my life. I already have enough problems as it is. "Whatever." I shook my head before remembering something. "Solas¡­ I need to ask you something." "I think I know what it is, and before you ask, Gwyndolin was a boy." he deadpanned at us, I guess he got asked that a lot. "That wasn''t what I was going to ask, but before I do ask you what I want." I looked at Brite "Pay up." "Lucky guess." Brite grumbled before giving me a small patch of gold. Ezreal looked confused while Solas looked somewhat annoyed. "You¡­ put a bet on my brother''s gender?" he asked. "No offense, your highness, but everyone does it." Brite shrugged. "Even people from the Boreal Valley and they basically worship your brother." Solas sighed pinching his forehead. "Great, now what did you want to ask?" the Firstborn looked at me while I took a deep breath. "Do you detest me?" They were all obviously confused by the question, Solas more than the other two. "What do you mean?" he asked. "I am a Lord of Cinder." I reminded him but he still didn''t understand. "Like your father." Finally, Solas looked like he got what I was meaning. "Oh, you think that I''ll compare you to my father for what he did to me?" he asked and I nodded. "Don''t worry, I never held any actual hatred towards my father, and there were many Lords of Cinder before you." That relieved me a lot. I have to admit that I was worried about that. "Thank you." I sighed before remembering something. "Oh, I should probably buy a few ingredients. I''m running low on Estus." "Can you make me some?" Brite asked. "I didn''t have any since I came here." Seeing that it was Brite who asked, I gave an immediate answer. "No." "Why!?" Brite obviously didn''t like my answer. Good. "You have healing miracles. That should be enough of a replacement." I replied as I can feel him glaring at my back when I started walking. Ahri POV: Me and the girls have been walking around for a while. We haven''t checked on anything yet since nothing caught our interest. Suddenly, I saw a store with a few newspapers and magazines at the front. In the last few days, I thought that I would never read one of those, but since Sona fixed everything, I''m a little curious. I stopped for a second to look at the newspapers, searching for where it says the truth¡­ but I didn''t find anything. Looking over the other papers, I didn''t see anything. "What''s wrong?" I looked and saw Nidalee. "There''s nothing about Grey''s misunderstanding with Sona." I told her. She raised an eyebrow looking confused. "Isn''t that a good thing?" "I mean, there''s nothing to correct it." I told her and she finally understood that without telling the people it was a misunderstanding, then they''ll still think Grey and Sona are a thing. "But didn''t Sona fix this?" she asked. "Let''s go and ask her." I said as we caught up with the others and I grabbed Sona by the shoulder. "Hey, Sona, can we talk." She looked at me confused before nodding and walked with me and Nidalee away from Lux and Aki. When we were alone, I looked at her. "Hey, Sona, didn''t you fix that misunderstanding at the newspaper?" I asked. Sona gave us an innocent smile before writing on her board. "But that''s not enough." Nidalee told her. "You should have told them to say that it was a misunderstanding." Sona''s expression didn''t change as she wrote down. "But people still think you two are a thing." I told her. Sona''s innocent smile was making it hard to be mad at her. she asked. "Yes." I told her. Suddenly, her innocent smile was replaced with a one so sinister, I felt some of the fur on my tails stand. Sona asked making us realize that we don''t have any. I couldn''t believe what I was hearing, well reading, actually. Sona tricked us?! And if try to do anything, she''ll look like the innocent victim! She was giving us a look that said ''I win, and you can''t even complain about it'' before she turned around and walked to Aki and Lux. "That little¡­" I was pretty much trying to kill her with my eyes. Nidalee wasn''t actually doing better. "Can I throw my spear at her?" Tempting, really tempting. But not with all the people around. "Not in public." I said as we walked to the others. We started walking through the streets again and this time, a store caught my attention. "Hey, how about we go there?" The others saw I was pointing at a toy store. "Really?" Lux asked surprised. "I need to buy stuffed animals." I said remembering how empty the bed feels sometimes. "I have a soft spot for furry creatures. Why do you think I like Silver so much?" "I-I''d like to buy some too." Aki said in her usual shy tone. "Well, I need something to scratch if I sleep in my cougar form, so why not." Nidalee added before we got in and started going through the store. After I bought everything I needed, I walked to the cashier and found everyone already finished. Lux didn''t get anything, I''m actually surprised. Nidalee got a cute stuffed mouse, which makes sense as she said she wants to scratch it. Aki got a couple of stuffed animals, a cat, and a dog. And Sona got the same Grey doll me and Annie have. When they saw what I got, they all looked surprised. "Isn''t that a bit much?" Lux asked. "Not really." I replied. After all, I only took a few¡­ okay, maybe more than a few¡­ okay, I MAY have taken half an entire aisle. "I thought Grey said ''don''t waste your money.''" Nidalee said as we started paying for our stuff. "He said ''Don''t waste your money on video games'', he didn''t say anything about stuffed animals." I replied as I picked up the bags and walked out with everyone. "S-so, what do you want to do now?" Aki asked us and I have to admit that''s a good question. Sona took out her board and wrote down before showing all of us. "Yeah, it''s pretty warm today." Lux agreed before looking at us. "What do you think?" "Sure." Aki agreed. ".... Fine." me and Nidalee grumbled still mad at the blue-haired lier. Sona gave us an innocent smile as she continued to walk forward with Lux while Aki looked at us confused. "What''s wrong, Ahri?" Aki asked me. "You don''t seem to like Sona." "It''s not that I don''t like her¡­ it''s just that I hate her." I mumbled but shook my head. "Whatever, let''s get something to drink." We found a juice store that served fresh fruit juice. We got in and I took everyone''s order. Lux and Aki had some strawberry, Nidalee had a fruit cocktail, I had some banana juice and Sona¡­ I honestly almost said poison, but thankfully, I managed to hold myself back and ordered her an apple juice. It was pretty peaceful, other than the worker staring a few times. I know my clothes don''t cover much, but I honestly couldn''t care less how much he stares, the only one who gets to look AND touch is Grey¡­ after I get to touch him first of course. Time skip: (brought to you by chibi Ahri jumping on a mountain of stuffed animals before they started falling on chibi Grey.) Third POV: The boys and girls met up in the food district after they all finished shopping. Ahri was the first to notice the bag in Grey''s hand. "Hi, Grey. Are you making that Estus Soup stuff again?" the nine tailed Vastayan asked. The Abyss Watcher nodded. "Yes, since there are no Bonfires in Runeterra, I have to make my own." Grey then noticed the bags in Ahri''s hands before sighing. "Didn''t I tell you to waste money?" "You said at video games." Ahri countered with a smug smile. "I only bought two, everything else is either stuffed animals or clothes." she then extended the bags to Grey. "By the way, can you carry this stuff for me?" The Lord of Cinder looked at her confused. "Why?" However, Ahri then started giving Grey a puppy eyes look. "Please~." Grey stared at her for a couple of seconds before sighing. "Fine." "Thank you." Ahri said as the Abyss Watcher took her bags. They all started walking towards the Institute and Solas looked at Grey. "I''ve been gone for thousands of years, and men are still weak to women''s tears." he said. "No, that''s just Grey." Brite added chuckling. "Oh, go kiss a mimic." Grey said as they started walking up the stairs of the Institute. The Silver Knight was about to reply but then saw that Aki herself had a few bags. "Here, let me carry that for you, Aki." "O-Oh! Y-You don''t have to-" the summoner was cut off as Brite took the bags from her. "Thanks." she mumbled hiding her blush under her hood. "No problem." the Silver Knight replied. The Abyss Watcher was giving Brite a look. Ahri decided to change the subject. "So, what did you boys do?" she asked. "Nothing much." Grey replied. "We just walked around, looked into a few shops, and bought a few things. But Ezreal kept trying to hit on girls." "Wait, what?!" Lux immediately stopped her tracks and glared at the Explorer. "I was just-Ow!" Ezreal tried to explain, but before he could, Lux kicked him in the shin. "Asshole." Lux mumbled before she started stomping away. "I''m going back to Demacia to see Garen come back." she then looked over her shoulder. "You coming, Sona?" The Maven shook her and the young Crownguard continued her way to the transport station. Meanwhile, Ezreal was tending to his hurt leg. "Ow, what''s wrong with her?" "Are you really that dense?" Grey asked with a raised eyebrow. "Like you''re one to talk." Ahri mumbled without anyone hearing her. Time skip: (brought to you by chibi Grey carrying shopping bags while following chibi Ahri who was still shopping.) Lux was standing in front of the royal castle in Demacia. After a few moments, she saw her brother, along with Prince Jarvan, King Jarvan, Xin Zhao, and Shyvana. "Welcome back, your highness." Lux welcomed the king first with a bow. "I hope the meeting went well." "Better then I expected." King Jarvan replied with the others behind him. "There are many things that needs work with Swain, but I never expect peace to happen overnight." "I''m glad to hear that, your highness." Lux said before walking past the king towards her brother. The guards near the door opened it for the king. However, he didn''t get to enter his castle. Suddenly, Someone fell behind the King and grabbed him. Prince Jarvan, Garen, Xin Zhao, Shyvana, and Lux all jumped into a battle stance. However, before any of them does anything, the person holding the king turned around and showed them a purple glowing sword at the king''s throat. "Anyone moves and his head will be off his shoulders!" the person threatened to make them all stop at their tracks. It was then that the champions got a look at the person. It was a tall woman wearing a black bodysuit under a dark silver armor with golden trimming that covered her shoulders, chest, thighs, and legs. She was wearing a helmet with a cage visor and a wedding veil connected to it. "Who are you?" Garen asked gripping the handle of his sword. "A Noxian assassin?" he asked suspiciously. "I don''t know, or care what a Noxian is!" she answered. "Now YOU listen to ME! He is supposed to be important." she said motioning to the king. "so I assume you don''t want him as a headless corpse." to prove her point, she brought the purple glowing blade closer to the king''s neck. Seeing that the woman was serious about her threat, they all backed off but didn''t drop their stance. "That''s better." the woman said. "Now, I heard you people have a lot of information, and I''m looking for someone. He''s a tall man, wears a red cape and pointy metal hat, and he uses a sword and a knife for weapons." The champions had looks of surprise amongst them. They looked at each other before looking back at the woman. "His name wouldn''t be Grey Ashnex, would it?" Garen asked. "So you do know him." The woman stated confirming that she was indeed looking for the Abyss Watcher. "Where is he?" she barked. "Wait, wait wait! We''re friends with Grey!" Lux yelled trying to calm the woman down. "Prove it!" the woman ordered surprising them. "Tell me something only a friend of Grey should know." The champions looked between each other, not knowing how to answer. That is until Lux spoke. "Uhmm¡­ He always covers his face without realizing it?" The woman''s cage visor turned to the young Crownguard, who thought that she screwed up big time. But then the woman made a sigh audible for everyone around. "That stupid idiot still has that dumb habit of his." she growled before pulling her sword away and pushing the king. King Jarvan immediately walked towards his son who got in front of him with Xin Zhao while the woman strapped her sword to her waist where there was another sword with similar shape but different color. "Who are you?" Prince Jarvan asked after he made sure of his father''s safety. "Just call me the Dancer, for now." the woman replied which gained a few confused looks. "the Dancer?" Lux repeated surprised. She knew it wasn''t the woman''s name, but a nickname to not give her real name. "Yes, now you are friends with Grey. Can you take me to him?" the Dancer asked. "We can." Garen answered but still held his sword in his hands. "But first, who are you to Grey?" he asked wanting to know if it was safe to bring the woman to the Abyss Watcher. The Woman''s answer shocked them to the core. "To put it simply¡­ I''m his sister." (A/N: Thank you for reading this, please comment, review, and give me your thoughts on my story.) 43 CH42: Siblings (A/N: it seems there is a misunderstanding between my readers. Some of you think that I use a computer to write. Sorry, but no. I use my phone to both read and write stories. Everything I''ve written was by using my phone.) Ahri woke up next morning in a bed half-full with stuffed animals. The Nine-Tailed Vastayan stretched setting on her bed looking at the stuffed toys. "Huh, maybe I did buy too much?" she asked herself before waving it off. "Nah." she then gained a fox grin. The Nine-Tailed Vastayan turned to wake up Grey by the usual teasing¡­ only to find the bed empty. Ahri raised a confused eyebrow. Usually, she''s the one who wakes up first. But apparently, Grey woke up before. "That''s odd," Ahri stated before getting off the bed. "Well, better get ready and see where Grey went." The emotion controlling woman got off the bed and went to the bathroom. After finishing her preparations for the day, she got dressed up and looked at the schedule. "Looks like Grey and I got a match." Ahri hummed in thought. "Well, at least we''re in the same team." The Nine-Tailed Vastayan came out of her room to find Nidalee and Silver, but still no sign of the Abyss Watcher. "Good morning," Nidalee greeted while petting Silver. "Is Grey up yet?" "Actually, I don''t know where he is," Ahri replied surprising the Huntress. "He wasn''t there when I woke up." Nidalee looked at her roommate confused. "Well, where is he?" she asked. Suddenly, Silver jumped from Nidalee''s lab and started sniffing the ground. He then walked to the door and started scratching it with his paws. "Are you going to find Grey for us?" Ahri asked receiving a bark in response. "Alright," she opened the door for the wolf pup. "Go for it." Silver walked towards the hallway and started sniffing the ground. He then started running in the direction of the smell he caught. The Nine-Tailed Vastayan and Huntress waisted no time in following the wolf pup as he ran through the hallway. After a few turns, and passing people that gave them a confused look, Silver stopped in front of a pair of green doors. Ahri recognized the gate. "The garden?" she noted before looking at the wolf pup. "Is Grey in there?" she asked. Silver barked in response confirming the fox Vastayan''s thoughts. After opening the gates, they were greeted with the green nature of the garden. Then, however, they saw the plants open up and from between them emerged Zyra. The rise of Thorns stretched and yawned and the two roommates couldn''t help but compare her to a flower opening in the morning. The carnivore woman noticed her guests. "Oh, a little early for a visit, isn''t it?" she asked. "Actually, we''re looking for Grey," Nidalee informed Zyra as the walked in with Silver. Zyra looked a little confused. "Then why are you here? If Grey was here I would have known," she replied. The two roommates then heard Silver bark before he started running deeper into the garden. Ahri and Nidalee immediately started following. Zyra doubted that anyone was here since she couldn''t sense them, but she still decided to follow out of curiosity. When they reached deeper in the garden, they caught sight of the Abyss Watcher, much to Zyra''s surprise. Grey was sitting cross-legged in front of the rose that represented Vordt''s soul. The first to approach him was Silver. The Lord of Cinder noticed the wolf pup as it started rubbing its head on his leg. "Oh, good morning, Silver," Grey greeted as he pats his friend''s head. Ahri and Nidalee started walking towards the Abyss Watcher. Meanwhile, Zyra stood there shocked. Normally, Zyra would immediately know of someone or something enters the garden. The only exception was the Green Father, but even then she would feel something. However, Grey managed to get in, sit down, and go unnoticed until now. Meanwhile, Ahri and Nidalee reached Grey. "Grey, where were you this morning?" the nine tailed Vastayan asked. The Undead picked up Silver and put it on his shoulder while standing up before responding, "I just came for some fresh air." "Give us a little warning next time, okay?" Nidalee said with a hand on her waist. She didn''t mind Grey going out whenever he wanted, but she still hoped he would give them a little heads up. "Sorry," The Abyss Watcher apologized. He didn''t even notice the time pass by. He guessed that it was because he always sat near a Bonfire for who knows how long without moving or keeping track of time. "Anyway, you and I have a match in a couple of hours," Ahri informed him as her voice became excited. "You and I will be fighting in the same team." "Alright," Grey nodded. He then noticed Zyra standing in the distance. "Oh, morning, Zyra. I hope I''m not being a disturbance," he said. The rise of Thorns broke out of her shock and waved it off. "It''s alright," she replied. Truthfully, she was more concerned for her children more than Grey getting in without her notice. And since they were unharmed, she didn''t care. "Thank you," the Abyss Watcher then turned to his roommates. "Let''s go get some breakfast," he suggested. Ahri and Nidalee were completely on board with the idea. After bidding Zyra goodbye, they all exited the garden and started making their way to the dining hall. Along the way, they passed by Sona, who was apparently headed towards their room. The mute received a glare from Ahri and Nidalee since they were still mad at her manipulation, but she ignored them. [Good morning, Grey,] the Maven signed. She was also enjoying the fact that Ahri and Nidalee couldn''t understand her hand signs. [Where were you? I was waiting for you but thought to go to you.] That was another sign that the Abyss Watcher lost track of time. He realized that he needs to be more careful. "Sorry, I went to the garden and lost track of time." His two roommates understood from Grey''s response that the Maven asked where he was. So they continued their way to the dining hall. When they reached the dining hall and picked their food, they looked for a place to sit and found a table with most of their friends. The table had Brite, Ezreal, Solas, and surprisingly Katarina. Grey, Ahri, Nidalee, and Sona sat down in a table next to the one they were sitting on after giving Silver his food. "Morning, everyone," Grey greeted as he sat down before looking at the red-headed assassin. "Katarina, haven''t seen you in a while." "Yeah, this meeting with King Jarvan had Swain on edge, so he had a lot of people stay to protect and spy on suspicious people. But at least we''re finished, and I''m supposed to meet Garen here," Katarina replied before going back to her food. Ahri noticed the absence of the summoner of the group. "Hey, where''s Aki?" she asked. "She left a few moments ago," Brite answered Ahri''s question. "she said that she''s trying to learn more spells in the library." The Nine-Tailed Vastayan was a little sad that her friend wasn''t around but decided to think of how she''ll meet the Shy summoner later. Suddenly, the group fell into silence and it would have stayed that way were it not for Lux''s yelling, "Hey, Grey! We got a surprise for you!" she sang out in excitement. Hearing the young Crownguard yell out his name, the Abyss Watcher turned around and stood up facing them. "What is-" Grey''s words immediately went dry in his throat. The Lord of Cinder saw who was with the Crownguard siblings. The Dancer was standing right in front of him. The others were curious to see a woman in a black bodysuit under a dark silver armor here for Grey. Except for Brite, who was surprised to see the Dancer here. "D-Dancer?" Grey mumbled with surprise evident in his voice. "Grey," the Dancer said in an emotionless voice. Since her face was covered by the shadow of her visor, it was hard to tell what she felt. The others were looking surprised to see the two know each other, except for Brite, Lux, and Garen. Lux was standing at the side with a big grin waiting for the heartwarming family reunion. Meanwhile, Garen was curious at how this would play out. However, much to everyone''s surprise, the only thing that they witnessed was the Dancer sending a punch straight to Grey''s face making him stumble backward. "You freaking IDIOT!" the Dancer yelled with her voice being heard all over the dining hall. "I''ve been worried about you for months and I find you here staying with a bunch of weirdos!?!" Everyone was shocked by the display, more so when Grey didn''t seem like he even wanted to fight back. The only person that wasn''t surprised was Brite, who was chuckling to himself. "Hehe. I love it when she''s mad at him." The Dancer turned her head to look at Brite. Even without seeing her eyes, she was obviously giving a glare. "You''re in no better position, you sun Praising moron!" "Wha-" the Silver Knight was caught off guard and immediately raised his hands. "What did I do?!" "Nothing! And that''s the problem!" the Dancer barked out at him pointing out that he was useless. "I told you that if you heard anything about Grey to tell me immediately!" The Abyss Watcher recovered from the punch and groaned, "Yeah, Brite. Way to go on doing nothing," He said. "Which is exactly why this idiot is just sitting around instead of looking for a way back home!" the Dancer continued this time glaring at Grey. "Yea- oh," Grey stopped realizing that the insult was directed at him this time. "Well, in my defense, I found a home here." Obviously, the Dancer wasn''t going to give him the time to explain himself. "Does it look like I give shit about that!?" "Hey!" Ahri stood up between the Dancer and Grey. She was quiet for now but seeing the Dancer treat Grey like a child made her snap. "Who exactly are you to talk down on Grey?" she asked. "I''m his sister, that''s who!" the Dancer replied shocking those who didn''t know. Everyone just stared shocked before Ahri turned to the Abyss Watcher. "Grey, you have a sister?!?" "Yes, he does," the Dancer answered. She was both annoyed and confused about who the Nine-tailed Vastayan is. At this, Ahri was confused. She knew for a fact that neither of them had seen the other for a long time, and the first thing the Dancer does is punch him? "Well, why are you scolding him?" Ahri asked voicing her thoughts. Her answer, however, wasn''t a kind one. "I''m not going to get lectured on how I treat my brother by some fox dressed as a wh*re," the Dancer replied. The others all looked at the Dancer shocked at her choice of words, but none were shocked more than Ahri. Before the fox Vastayan could think of a response, Grey stood up defensively in front of her. "Dancer, you''re going too far. I''m the one you''re mad at. Not her." "You''re defending her?" the Dancer asked shocked. She didn''t know the Vastayan, but Grey obviously cared for her. "Yes," the Abyss Watcher replied sternly showing no room for argument. "Now, knowing you, you aren''t going to apologize. So at least make sure not to call her something like that again." Both the Dancer and the Abyss Watcher held their ground until the former gave a sigh of defeat. "Fine, but I expect a full explanation on where we are." "Alright," Grey nodded before looking back at the fox Vastaya. "Ahri, I''m sorry for what she said." At first, Ahri wanted to set the Dancer on fire with her magic but seeing Grey stand up and apologize for her lifted her mood, even if a little. "Whatever," Ahri grumbled before going to sit down. Grey sat down beside her, while the Dancer walked to where Brite is and kicked him out of the chair before taking it herself. The Silver Knight stood up shaking his head. "You have issues," he grumbled taking another seat. "Says the guy who can''t go five minutes without talking about the sun," the Dancer replied before looking at her brother. "Now, start talking. What is this place?" she then pointed at the Crownguard siblings. "Those two said something about a different world." The Lord of Cinder sighed and started rubbing his forehead. "This is going to take a while." Time skip: (Brought to you by chibi Ahri looking upset until chibi Grey starts petting her ears to calm her down.) It took about an hour and a half to finish explaining to the Dancer. When Grey was done, she was processing what she heard. After a few moments of silence, the Dancer shook her head. "Five minutes, I leave you for five minutes and I find you in an entirely different world going through this crazy shit." "Call it what you want," Grey replied shrugging his shoulders. He then narrowed his eyes. "But more importantly, Ahri, the one you insulted, was with me the entire time." The Dancer got what her brother was trying to say and rolled her eyes under her helmet. "I get it, I said something wrong. It won''t happen again, happy?" she asked Ahri with sarcasm dripping from her voice. The Fox Vastayan looked over the Dancer, then at Grey who saw she was still mad about something, then at the Dancer again before answering. "Since it''s you who said it¡­ not really." "You little¡­" the Dancer sneered at Ahri who just let out her tongue before checking her nails. "Whatever," the Dancer then looked at her brother. "The only thing I don''t believe is that you became a Lord of Cinder." "I assure you, he is one. I saw it for myself." Solas said giving his own opinion. The Dancer then looked deeply into the Sun''s First Born, or to be exact, his armor. "Who are you? Your armor looks familiar." "I am Solas, The Sun''s First Born," Solas introduced himself to the Dancer. Now the Dancer knew why his armor looked familiar. Irithyll was practically right under Anor Londo, and there were many pictures of the royal family. While there wasn''t anything on the First Born, there was plenty about his father, and their armor looked similar. "So you''re the guy that got himself exiled by his own family?" the Dancer taunted receiving a glare from the firstborn. Before Solas can make a witty response, Grey spoke first. "That''s like the pot calling the kettle black, and you know it," he said making his sister glare at him. The others were confused except for Brite. Solas then understood what Grey was talking about. "Guess you and me are on the same boat," he taunted with a chuckle. "Trust me, if I was in the same boat as you, I would jump overboard and open my mouth so I can drown," The Dancer replied harshly. Everyone was rather surprised and annoyed by the Dancer''s¡­ unique personality. Garen decided to finally speak, "So what is your name? I doubt it''s the Dancer." "Why should I answer you?" the Dancer replied. "Oh, for the love of the old Wolf of Farron," Grey groaned pinching his forehead before looking at the others. "Her name is Tiara Ashnex." The Dancer looked at her brother who just gave her a tired expression. She sighed and removed her helmet for the others to finally see her face. She had pale skin, really pale, almost snow white. Her hair was blue but a lighter shade than Sona''s. It reached her shoulders and was tied into a low ponytail while the front was combed to the side covering her left eye. Despite her attitude, Tiara looked like a beautiful young woman. But they knew being Grey''s sister means she is far older than she looks. "Can I ask something?" Solas requested looking at Grey and Tiara. "I know for a fact that I heard the name Ashnex before, but I can''t remember where." "Ever heard of Ghear?" Tiara asked knowing that Solas was asking about their last name. The surprise was evident on Solas'' face. "You mean Ghear Ashnex? THE Moonlight Hunter?" he asked. Legends of what could be the strongest hunter in history had already reached Dragon''s Peak. Remembering that Grey is adopted, Nidalee realized something. "Does that mean that Grey''s father adopted you, too?" Tiara looked at her brother wondering why did he tell them about their father, but he just shrugged. She shook her head and answered, "Yes, I was adopted by Ghear from the Boreal Valley." Grey remembered something, "Oh right. Tiara, you-" "Grey?" Ahri cut him off getting his attention. "I don''t want to cut your reunion short, but our match is about to begin." "Oh, that''s right," the Abyss Watcher remembered that his match was in seconds. "I''ll talk to you later, Tiara. Just stay out of trouble." "I promise nothing," the Dancer replied as Grey and Ahri vanished in a flash of light after Silver jumped from them to Nidalee. "This will give me a chance to see how a match is done," Solas noted. Since he got to the Institute, he only caught glimpses of matches. Tiara then realized that Katarina was looking at her. "What do you want?" She asked suspiciously. "Nothing, it''s just that you and Grey don''t exactly strike me as siblings, even if adopted," The Noxian assassin replied. No one denied that Grey and Tiara were nothing alike in personality. Lux started chuckling. "Like you''re one to talk, Kat," she said making Katarina give her a glare. "What''s that supposed to mean?" Katarina asked glaring at the young Crownguard. Garen scratched his head nervously before answering, "W-Well¡­ you and Talon aren''t exactly¡­ the model for best siblings." Katarina just looked at her boyfriend before crossing her arms and saying, "You''re sleeping on the couch tonight." Inside the Match: Grey and Ahri appeared in their team''s base. They both saw the other three champions were Jax, Twisted Fate, and the new champion they met yesterday, Pyke. "Oh, hello, Jax," Grey greeted seeing the Grand Master for the first time in a while. "Hey there," Jax greeted and then noted that Ahri and Grey came together and decided to have some fun. "If it isn''t the fox and wolf couple. How have you two been?" Grey sighed in tiredness and was about to deny it when Twisted Fate spoke, "Ah, so you''re the guy that won the beautiful maiden''s heart. You are one lucky fellow," the card player added flipping his cards in his hands. The Abyss Watcher rolled his eyes, but then he noticed that Ahri has been quiet the whole time. Taking a glance at her, she was looking at the ground with a distant look. Before the Abyss Watcher can ask what''s wrong, the sound that signaled the beginning of the Match was heard and they all split up. Twisted Fate went to the middle with Pyke, Jax went to the bottom, Ahri the top, and Grey the jungle. The Lord of Cinder walked through the trees and bushes that covered the rift. And encountered the creatures of the forest. Three lizards like creatures were standing together, one being bigger than the other two. Seeing that none of them seemed to notice him, Grey took a stance of raising his sword, pointing it downwards slightly, and setting his knife on the blade. He then dashed forward at great speed and immediately stabbed one of the two small ones in the head killing it. The other two beasts jumped in surprise and didn''t have time to react as Grey dug his knife in the head of the other small beast leaving only the big one. The last beast jumped at Grey trying to take a bite out of the Abyss Watcher, but Grey then brought his left arm making the beast bite into the armor. The Abyss Watcher kicked the beast away making it fall onto its back. Before it corrects itself, Grey stabbed his sword through its chest killing the beast. Grey was about to continue going through the jungle, but stopped hearing his Summoner''s voice, "Champion, I''m going to recall you. There''s a little problem at the top lane and I''m going to take you there." The Abyss Watcher nodded and stood still as the recall spell activated under his feet. A few seconds later, he was back at his team''s base but didn''t stay long as his summoner made him go to the top. After passing his team''s turrets, Grey saw were the two teams met together. Their minions were being overrun, while Ahri was barely holding her own against Rengar. The Pridestalker was doing a great job at dodging the Nine-Tailed Fox''s spells. after dodging another, he suddenly vanished turning invisible. Ahri started looking around with her ears moving, trying to see or hear any sign of Rengar. But with the Pridestalker being heavily trained on hunting silently, and with the sound of minions fighting beside them, it was almost impossible to find anything. Ahri was then stabbed in the side, it wasn''t anything serious, but still hurtful. Rengar appeared beside her and was ready to deliver the finishing blow. However, he was stopped when Grey''s sword slashed at him in the chest sending him back. Rengar immediately put up his dagger and blocked the second blow from the Abyss Watcher. While the two hunters were in a lock-down, Ahri took her chance and blew a charm spell at Rengar. Grey moved from the Vastayan hunter so the spell came in and struck him. The Pridestalker was covered in purple aura and started walking harmlessly towards Ahri. The Nine-Tailed Vastayan created her Orb of Deception and shot it at Rengar. The orb of magic went through the Pridestalker and came back dealing additional damage. Rengar was still standing, surprisingly. However, before he gets a chance to recover, Grey''s sword was stabbed through his back ending him. The Abyss Watcher pulled out his sword letting Rengar''s body fall on the ground. He then looked at Ahri. "Are you alright?" Grey asked. Ahri checked on the wound in her side, but after using the orb of deception to take life essence from Rengar, it was better than before. "I''m fine," Ahri grumbled as she started attacking the minions. Now Grey was sure that Ahri was mad at something. He started attacking the minions with her. Now wasn''t a good time to ask, so he decided to ask her after the match. Time skip: (brought to you by chibi Ahri blowing a charm spell at chibi Grey, but then it pops after touching the pointy tip of his hat.) The match went on for an hour. Grey and Ahri''s team held a good grip on the battlefield. The Abyss Watcher was at the enemy base trying to destroy the Nexus. Grey was fighting Rengar. He was able to be more than a match for the Pridestalker, but he also had to keep dodging the spears thrown at him by Kalista. The Abyss Watcher entered another lock-down with the Vastayan hunter. Grey saw Kalista create another spear and was ready to throw it at him. However, before she had a chance, Pyke suddenly burst from the ground laughing like a lunatic before throwing a harpoon at the spear of vengeance. The harpoon hit its mark and Pyke pulled on it bringing Kalista closer to him. He then pulled out his green glowing blade and started attacking her. With Kalista occupied, the Abyss Watcher pushed away the Pridestalker and was ready to engage battle again. But then Pyke jumped in the air and dived towards Kalista, making green energy explode around her finishing her off. The Blood Harbor then jumped in the air again and did the same thing to Rengar. Grey decided to not dwell on what Pyke did and move towards the Nexus. The Blood Harbor joined him and with the minions that piled up, they managed to destroy it. After the Nexus was destroyed, the minions started celebrating before the champions were all pulled out of the rift. Outside the Match: The Abyss Watcher appeared in the summoning chamber with the other champions and summoners. They all started walking out of the chamber. Grey and Ahri were now walking towards the dining hall to join with everyone else. During the way, the Abyss Watcher noticed the Fox Vastayan being silent and looking away from him. When they reached the dining hall, Grey stopped before they got in. "Alright, what''s wrong?" he asked thinking he waited long enough. Ahri, however, played stupid looking at the ground. "What do you mean?" she asked. "For someone who can control the emotions of others, you aren''t good at hiding your own," Grey replied looking deeply into her. "Now, please, tell me what''s wrong." The Nine-Tailed Vastayan sighed and finally looked into his eyes before answering with her own question, "Why didn''t you tell me you have a sister?" Grey raised an eyebrow. He didn''t see that as a reason to be mad. "Is that it?" he asked. "No, that''s not it!" Ahri''s patience has reached its limits. "Why do you not tell us ANYTHING about your life? Why is it that something has to happen so that you are FORCED into telling us? Do you not trust us?" her eyes then took a more hurt look. "Do you not trust me?" The Abyss Watcher took a deep sigh before deciding to tell her his reason. "Because, compared to Runeterra, my old life was a never-ending nightmare," Grey replied making Ahri look at him curiously. "My old life hasn''t exactly been a happy one, too, Grey," Ahri told him crossing her arms. "I toyed with people''s emotions and killed them out of hunger for their memories, how is that not bad?" "Ahri, saying my old life was bad would be an understatement. I did and saw things that would make people like Jhin, Thresh, and Evelynn sick to the core." Grey added making Ahri look at him in worry. "THAT is why I don''t share about my old life in my world. It''s not because I don''t trust you, it''s because I want to finally move forward from the past. Right now, I want to concentrate on the present. And it is about my new life in Runeterra¡­ with you." Ahri blushed hearing his reasoning. She had thought that he simply didn''t trust them, but now Grey told her that he simply wants to enjoy his current life with her. The Fox Vastayan chuckled showing Grey that she was satisfied with his answer, she then playfully punched him. "I thought you don''t flirt." The Abyss Watcher looked at her curiously. "Wait, THAT was flirting? Telling the truth?" "Not really," Ahri replied playfully as she walked into the dining hall with a confused Grey following her. When they reached the table, the first one to speak was Tiara, "So that was a match?" she asked. Grey nodded, "That''s right. How well you do in a match depends on how well you work with the summoners." "That explains why it took so long," she mumbled without anyone hearing. She then went into deep thoughts before talking again, "Grey, I decided." The Abyss Watcher looked at his sister in confusion, "On what?" "I''m joining the Institute as well," the Dancer replied shocking her brother. Before he says anything, she looked at Brite. "How do I join?" "You need to see the High Summoners at their chamber," The Silver Knight replied as it was nothing. "Brite!" Grey yelled at the Warrior of Sunlight who just shrugged. "Then that''s where I''m going," Tiara said standing up. She then started walking out of the dining hall looking for the chamber. "No, wait! Tiara!" Grey tried to stop his sister as he started following her. They all looked surprised at the sudden decision and the attempt to stop the Dancer from making it. Brite sighed loudly and stood up. "Well, I better follow them. If Tiara decides to kill someone, then Grey is going to need help to stop her," he said making them worried about leaving the Dancer alone. "Yeah, I''m going, too," Ahri said as she started following the Ashnex siblings. She was mostly worried if Tiara would do something to hurt Grey. Meanwhile, the Abyss Watcher reached his sister, who managed to find the High Summoners chamber. "Tiara, wait!" Grey said and his sister finally listened. He stood beside his sister and took a deep breath. "Just be on your best behavior." Tiara rolled her eyes. "Whatever, let''s get this over with," she said as they both got into the chamber. Once they were inside, the High Summoners acknowledged their presence. "Abyss Watcher, What is your business here?" asked the Ionian summoner. "Well, I''m here to-" Grey was cut off when his sister put a hand on his shoulder. "Let me handle this," Tiara said walking forward. By now, Ahri and Brite had already reached the chamber. "No, wait-" Grey tried to stop his sister, but couldn''t. "Alright, listen to me you hood-wearing, spell-casting, rune-making idiots!" Tiara yelled catching everyone, except Grey and Brite, off guard. The first to get out of their shock was the Noxian summoner. "How dare y-" "Oh, suck a c*ck and let me finish!" Tiara cut him off glaring at him before she started looking at the rest of the High Summoners. "Now listen, I honestly do not care about the peace of Runeterra or whatever this place was meant to reserve, and I already saw at least ten champions that I know for a fact just from their looks that they don''t care either. What I care about is watching over my idiot brother," she said pointing over her shoulder at Grey, who just hung his head in shame. "Now, let''s get whatever test you have over with. I have better things to do than look at your wrinkly faces." Meanwhile, Grey was face-palming while shaking his head. Brite wasn''t surprised but still caught off guard. Ahri, however, was now realizing something. ''If Grey had to put up with her his entire life, then no wonder he never felt insulted by anyone.'' (A/N: Thank you for reading this, please comment, review, and give me your thoughts on my story.) 44 CH43: family ''So my sister is here¡­ and she wants to join¡­ that''s not going to end well for me'' those were the thoughts that Grey was thinking at the moment. ''This just promises headaches upon headaches.'' Right now, the Abyss Watcher was standing near the gates of the High Summoners chamber. Standing beside him was Ahri and Brite. "Worried about your sister?" Ahri asked breaking the silence they had since the high summoners told them to go out. Grey nodded. "Yes, but not because of the Judgment, I know for a fact that Tiara can beat it. It''s just that she can be a little¡­" he trailed off looking for the right word. "Arrogant?" Brite suggested. "Rude?" Ahri suggested. She was still a little bitter about Tiara''s attitude. "I was going to say overconfident, but I guess yours work, too," The Abyss Watcher replied shrugging his shoulders. He knew his sister can do better in the attitude department. The gates to the High Summoners Chamber open and from the inside comes Kayle. The Righteous entered when they came out because the High Summoners weren''t sure that Tiara will behave. The first thing Grey noticed was that she didn''t have her helmet on, the second thing was that she''s mad. "Kayle, what''s wro-" "I truly thought that I would never meet a sibling as black-hearted as my sister, but I was proven wrong," the angel said before looking directly at the Abyss Watcher. "Now I know why you and I got along so well. Grey, with all due respect, your sister might be as cruel, if not more than mine." "You have a sister?" Ahri and Brite asked hearing that information for the first. Grey, while curious about Kayle having a sibling, was more worried about what his own did. "What did she do?" he sighed. "When she saw me, she said ''I thought angels are supposed to be fat, wear golden armor and throw axes around,''" Kayle replied. Grey recognized the description of the guards of Lothric castle. The Righteous then put her hands on her hips. "Then she said that I''m only missing the axes, that I already have the golden armor, wings, AND being fat." The Abyss Watcher sighed at his sister''s actions. He was about to apologize, but Brite spoke before him. "Well, to be honest, you don''t look like you''re following any diet." Not a second after the Silver Knight said that and he was immediately sent to the wall by a blast of golden light. Grey looked at Brite, who started slowly sliding down the wall while groaning in pain. The Lord of Cinder then looked back at Kayle. "I''m really sorry for what my sister said," he apologized and looked again at the Silver Knight. "And Brite¡­ well, he deserved it." Kayle sighed. She knew that Tiara''s attitude shouldn''t make the angel take it out on Grey. "Just keep her in line." The Righteous walked away while Ahri and Grey went to check on the Silver Knight. "Didn''t you learn to never talk to a woman about her weight?" Grey asked. Brite groaned in response, "Oh, merciful sun." "Get up, you know a healing miracle, don''t you? So pray it off," Grey said as he turned his attention back to the Chamber gates. Meanwhile, Ahri was giggling to herself. She found the friendship between the Abyss Watcher and Silver Knight quite humorous. While all this was happening. Tiara was having her Judgment with the High Summoners. The Dancer had already begun her test. Inside the Judgment: Tiara opened her eyes to find herself in a rather fancy looking room. She was sitting on a chair that had red leather with a bright silver structure. There was other furniture in the room with the same design as the chair. On the walls were paintings of people wearing royal clothes. Tiara groaned. "Great, I''m back here," she grumbled as suddenly people came in. Men and women, all wearing royal clothes. "You don''t belong here!" "Such a disgrace!" "Why did you bother being born?!" insults such as these were being yelled. Meanwhile, Tiara just sat where she was, taking in the yelling. Normally, she would have thrashed at them and covered this entire room in blood. However, her attention was on something else. In a table near the chair she was sitting on was a glass vase. In it were bright red roses. ''Roses¡­ like his garden,'' she thought to herself. then turned her attention to the people in front of her. "We should have killed you instead of kicking you out!" the last yelled before they all started glaring at her. "Are you done?" Tiara asked unaffected by the insults. "You expect me to be hurt? Sorry, fools, but you are not my family and you''ve never been. My family is my brother Grey and my father Ghear. And honestly, I don''t care at all what you idiots think, and I stopped caring a long, LONG, time ago," she then gave them a glare of her own. "Now, get out of my sight!" Suddenly, they vanished like dust. Tiara stood up and walked towards the roses looking at them. "I''m like that old man more than I''d like to admit," she mumbled to herself as everything around her started fading away. Outside the Judgment: Tiara opened her eyes to find herself in the High Summoners chamber. She shook her head out of the dizziness that she just experienced. "You have passed¡­ surprisingly," the Noxian summoner grumbled still mad about her¡­ introduction earlier. "Yeah, yeah. I''m leaving," Tiara replied as she turned around and started walking away. "But your title-" "My title is the Dancer of the Boreal Valley," Tiara cut him off. "that''s the title Sulyvahn gave me, and if you idiots think for a second that I''ll replace it with anything you have then you are more delusional than I thought." With that, she took her leave and found her brother along with Brite and Ahri waiting for her outside. The Dancer was now curious about Ahri''s presence. She understood Brite being here, but Ahri had no reason to be. "How did it go?" Grey asked before adding, "You didn''t kill anyone, right?" he asked. Tiara rolled her eyes. Back in their world, it didn''t really matter who she killed, but apparently Grey wanted to preserve the peaceful nature of this. Truthfully, she agreed. "No, I didn''t kill anyone, and I passed," she replied to her brother''s question. She then started massaging her forehead. "Although, I might need a drink," she added remembering the dizziness she felt a second ago. "Don''t bother," Grey said making his sister look at him confused. "All the drinks here are pathetically weak." "Please tell me that there''s at least one good thing to drink," Tiara almost begged but only received shake in the head from her brother. "He''s right, it''s like drinking orange juice," Brite added his own opinion. The Dancer groaned in annoyance. "Great, the people here aren''t just weirdos, they''re also lightweights." "It''s not that bad," Grey said shrugging before they started walking towards the dining hall. "Highly doubtful," his sister remarked as they walked back towards where the others were. They found Solas, Ezreal, Lux, Garen, Katarina, Nidalee, Sona, and Aki who just joined them sitting in two tables beside each other. "Hey, Ahri. Sorry I wasn''t around this morning," The Shy summoner apologized for her earlier absence. "It''s okay, you had your reasons," The Fox Vastayan replied sitting beside her friend. Aki then noticed the new arrival, "Uhmm¡­ w-who are you?" she asked in her usual shy manner. "The newest champion," Tiara replied and glared at the summoner, who started shaking. "Now, who are YOU supposed to be?" Aki was too nervous to answer, Ahri was about to stand up for her but Brite beat her to the punch. "Hey, leave her alone. She didn''t do anything." The Dancer started glaring at the Silver Knight who glared right back. Their staring contest was broken by someone''s shouting, "Hey, Grey, Ahri." The two of them looked back to see Annie walk up to them. The Dark child took a seat from another table and put it between Ahri and Grey before sitting on it. "Hi, Annie. Good to see you," the fox Vastaya greeted accepting a quick hug from the Pyromancer. "How are you doing these days? Is Tibbers taking care of you?" the Abyss Watcher asked receiving a nod. "Yup, as long as I have Tibbers, I''m not afraid of anything," Annie replied raising her bear that glowed slightly in response. "Uhmm¡­ excuse me, Grey, but who is this?" Solas asked never meeting Annie before. Tiara was also wondering who she was, but more importantly, what was a child doing in a place meant for battle. "This is Annie, the Dark Child, a champion," Grey said surprising the two. "She''s also a Pyromancer." If Tiara and Solas didn''t look surprised before, then they definitely did now. "Really? At that age?" the First Born noted. "Yes, and a very powerful one, too," The Abyss Watcher added ruffling Annie''s hair making her giggle. "In fact, I don''t doubt that when Annie gets older, she''ll give the Witch of Izalith herself a run for her money." Solas couldn''t help but show how impressed he was. Meanwhile, Annie had her attention on Tiara. "Who are you, lady?" Annie asked curiously. Meanwhile, everyone but Grey tensed. Ahri created an Orb of deception Deception between her tails. She might have stayed peaceful for now, but if Tiara even as much as tries to insult the young Pyromancer, then Tibbers will be the least of her problems. "I''m Grey''s sister, Tiara. Nice to meet you, Annie," the Dancer replied in a kind tone that forced everyone but Grey to double take. "So you''re a Pyromancer? Can you do this?" Tiara raised her left hand and, to everyone''s surprise, flames started appearing. "Wow! You''re like me," Annie said raising her own hand and creating her own flames. "Kinda, but I only know a few tricks," Tiara said before seeing everyone but Grey giving her a surprised look. "What?" she asked harshly. "Nothing," Solas shook his head his expression not changing. "It''s just¡­ we didn''t expect you to¡­" he trailed off looking for the right word. "Be good with kids?" Tiara guessed. "I was going to say show kindness, in general, but I guess yours work, too," Solas said earning a glare from the Dancer. "How come you can do that?" Nidalee asked motioning to Tiara''s hand. The Dancer waved her wrist turning the flames off before answering, "When we were training with Ghear, we learned that most beasts have a natural fear of fire, so I decided to learn some Pyromancy to help fight them off." The huntress had to hand it to Tiara. She herself had learned after many years in the jungle that most, if not all, beasts have a natural fear of flames. Ezreal then noticed something familiar about the Dancer''s armor. "You know¡­ you kind of look like that Outrider Knight me and Grey fought before." Tiara''s eyes were immediately on Ezreal. "Wait, what?! An Outrider Knight was here?!" she asked shocked. "Yeah, me and Grey beat it and got an Irithyll long sword," Ezreal said. Suddenly Tiara grabbed him by the neck. "The sword, where is it?" she asked threatening while putting pressure on the Explorer''s neck. Ezreal started frantically searching for something behind him before he grabbed a long object covered in cloth and gave it to Tiara. The Dancer took the cloth after letting go of Ezreal. She unwrapped it and found the Irithyll long sword inside. "How did you get this?" Tiara asked glaring at the Explorer. "This weapon is the propriety of the Boreal Valley, how did YOU get it?" Ezreal, fearing to be chocked to death, answered truthfully. "Grey let me keep it after we killed that Outrider Knight." Tiara immediately glared at her brother, who just looked away. She then grabbed the long sword by the blade and swung it striking Grey''s head with the handle. Annie giggled at the display. "What were you thinking giving a weapon from Irithyll to some idiot with the ugliest haircut I have ever seen!?" Tiara asked outraged. "Hey! My haircut is fine!" Ezreal retorted fixing his hair. "Keep telling yourself that," Tiara replied completely unconvinced. "Wait, you''re an Outrider Knight?" Solas asked realizing that now. "Yeah, so?" Tiara asked. "From what I heard, Outrider Knights are supposed to be wild like animals, attacking anything without emotions, so how are you¡­ well, sane?" Solas asked remembering what he heard about Sulyvahn''s gift. Tiara rolled her eyes but decided that there''s no reason not to answer. "Because, unlike the other Outrider Knights, I wasn''t stupid enough to put Sulyvahn''s eyes in my skull." The Dancer then grabbed her right hand and removed the gauntlet there showing two rings. Both rings had a pale black, pupil-like gem. "Instead, I turned his eyes into rings," she continued before showing her rings before putting back her gauntlet. "One helps me heal, and the other helps my strength." "How she is the only Outrider Knight to think of doing that is beyond me," Brite said scratching his head. Sona then turned to Grey and started making signs, [Your sister seems nothing like you, just saying.] Before Grey can say anything, Tiara replied. "And who exactly asked for your opinion, Blueberry?" The Maven looked at Tiara surprised before she gave her a deadpan look, [First, your hair is almost the same color as mine. Second, you can understand sign language?] Tiara scoffed. "Who do you think taught it to Grey?" she asked crossing her arms. "After Prince Lorian lost his voice, practically everyone in Lothric castle had to learn it." "Speaking of, How''s prince Lothric?" Grey asked. He knew that Lorian stopped his brother from being crucified, but he didn''t know how that ended. "Boy, do I have good news for you," Tiara laughed. "Apparently, Lorian and Lothric turned on Oceiros and locked him up in his ''precious'' garden." "Yes!" both Brite and Grey cheered surprising everyone around. "Finally!" the Silver Knight sighed relaxing in his chair. "About time that dragon obsessed fool got locked up," Grey added relaxing in his own chair. "You''re talking about king Oceiros of Lothric, right?" Solas asked earning a nod from the two undead. "Then why are you glad he is locked up?" "Because Oceiros is a dragon obsessed fool," Grey replied before he explained further. "That lunatic tried to restart Seath''s research." "He did WHAT?!?!" Solas asked outraged. He saw what the Pale Drake did in his experiments, and it was not pretty. "Thankfully, he didn''t get far in the research," Brite added, somewhat calming Solas down. "However, he did manage to find the Holy Moonlight Great-sword." Solas sighed and started rubbing his forehead. "Great, one of the strongest magical weapons is in the hands of a fan of Seath''s work." "It could be worse," Grey said shrugging his shoulders. "He could''ve actually completed Seath''s search on the dragons'' immortality." Everyone else just sat silently and watched the four undead talking. They didn''t understand some of what they were talking about, but they were able to understand most of it. Time skip: (Brought to you by chibi Tiara and chibi Grey sitting in a garden full of roses.) It was now evening. Walking through the hallway was Ahri, Aki, Grey, Brite, and Tiara. Everyone else went to their room with Nidalee taking Annie with her. Aki was leading them to Tiara''s room and while walking, the Dancer remembered something. "Oh, right! Grey, did you hear anything about Vordt?" she asked making the Abyss Watcher stop in his tracks. "Since he vanished, I thought he ended up here." They all stopped when they noticed that the Lord of Cinder had stopped walking and started scratching his head nervously. "Yeah¡­ about the Vile Watchdog¡­ you see-" "Grey killed him," Brite bluntly stated earning a glare from the Abyss Watcher. "You son of a-" "You¡­ killed Vordt?" Tiara asked to make sure and Grey nervously nodded. The Dancer then shrugged her shoulders, "Okay." Grey looked at his sister surprised. "You''re¡­ not mad?" "Of course I''m not mad," Tiara chuckled but then grabbed Grey by his throat and glared at him. "I''M F*CKING FURIOUS!" Grey was ready to try and escape, but then his sister smirked and let him go. "But! I know nothing I do to you will be compared to what Pontiff Sulyvahn does when I tell him." That statement alone was enough to drain all colors from Grey''s face. "I¡­ didn''t even think about that," he said scratching his head. "He already doesn''t like me." "That man seriously scares me," Brite mumbled as they returned to looking for Tiara''s room. They reached a door with a plate that says and Aki opened the door. "Here you go," the Shy summoner said as she immediately got out of Tiara''s way when she got in. The Outrider Knight looked around the living room before shrugging her shoulders. "Not bad, could be better, though." "Just be happy with what you have," Grey said as he got inside as well. "Well, I''ll be going then," Brite said as he turned to leave. "Good night." "I-I should probably go, too. Bey," Aki said leaving. She was still a little scared of Tiara. "It is getting a little late," Ahri noted before turning to the door. "Let''s go, Grey." Tiara glared suspiciously at the nine tailed Vastayan. She was about to ask why her brother had to go with her, but before she voices her thoughts, Grey spoke. "Actually, can you go without me. I need to talk a few things with my sister." Ahri looked at Grey curiously before shrugging her shoulders and leaving while closing the door. Tiara rolled her eyes before sitting on the couch and looking at her brother. "So, what exactly happened with Vordt?" "He was corrupted by the Abyss," Grey replied. "That explains why you had to kill him," Tiara mumbled shaking her head. "What stage was he at?" she asked. Grey knew what she meant. The Abyss'' corruption had three stages. 1: the madness, which is what happened to the Abyss Watchers. 2: the Dark Beast, meaning that a creature of the Abyss lives inside a host. And 3: the mutation, which is what happened to Vordt. "Stage three," the Lord of Cinder replied. "He looked like a huge brute, but that''s the only difference," he then looked at his sister. "His rose is in the garden. I can take you there if you want, and I also have his mace if you want it." "I''ll think about going to the garden, and about the mace, you can keep it. It''s too bulky for my taste." his sister replied with a wave of her hand. "Alright," Grey then turned to the door. "See you tomorrow." "Grey?" Tiara said making him stop. "Can I ask, what is Ahri to you?" The Abyss Watcher understood the question and saw no reason to beat around the bush. "She''s someone I care for on levels I don''t understand." Having been Grey''s sister for over a century, her eyes widen understanding what he meant. Grey¡­ loved Ahri, but he didn''t what kind of love it was. She honestly couldn''t blame him. After all, both he and she only experienced a little family love only, no other kind. The Abyss Watcher continued his way and reached the door. "Grey!" he stopped when he heard his sister again. "I''m glad you''re safe." Grey turned to look at his sister and smiled. "And I''m glad you''re here." With that, the Abyss Watcher left and Tiara was on her own. The Dancer started chuckling. "I guess the only way for my brother to fall in love is to end up in a different world." (A/N: Thank you for reading this, please comment, review, and give me your thoughts on my story.) 45 CH44: Stars A new day starts as Grey came out of his room with Ahri and Nidalee following. "Just once, can you wake me up with your clothes on," The Abyss Watcher grumbled. Ahri, who already teased him this morning, just chuckled. "Admit it, you like it." Grey rolled his eyes. Honestly, he thought that he lost sexual interest a long time ago, but with Ahri¡­ he isn''t sure anymore. "Just don''t tell my sister," the Abyss Watcher said. "If you think she''s mean to you now, wait until she knows we''re sharing a bed." Ahri just shrugged. Honestly, she had half-a-mind to gloat to Tiara about how she and Grey have been sharing a bed, but the last thing she wanted was Tiara to be more annoying. They ran into said woman who was just standing outside her door. "Morning, Bro," she greeted before looking at his other roommates. "Fox, Cat," she greeted. The two Vastayan just glared at her while Grey sighed. "Morning, Tiara. So, are you going to join me in the garden?" "Sure, why not," The Dancer replied shrugging her shoulders before they all started heading to the garden. "Is anyone else joining?" "I wish I could get Annie to join, but I don''t know where she is," Grey replied. "I don''t think it''s a good idea for her to spend much time with the fox. What if she takes after her choice of clothing," Tiara said motioning to Ahri''s kimono. "Do you want to know why I dress like this?" Ahri asked crossing her arms. Truthfully, Grey was curious, but he learned that he should never question a woman''s sense of fashion unless he wants to get hurt. "Because you enjoy men staring at you?" Tiara guessed motioning to the few summoners who were doing that. "No," The Fox Vastayan gave a glare at the men making them look away. "It''s because I used to be a Fox," Ahri said making Tiara confused. "I used to walk around naked with just my fur covering me. That''s why I don''t wear many clothes, it''s because I''m not comfortable with them." Nidalee raised her hand. "Take it from someone who turns to an animal. After you spend time walking with just fur on you, you start feeling uncomfortable wearing any kind of clothes." Tiara looked confused, then looked at her brother for him to confirm Ahri''s story of being a Fox. "Grey, explanation?" Tiara asked. "She used to be a Fox but turned human after taking life essence. She''s a one-of-a-kind Vastayan, and we couldn''t find anything on someone like her." The Abyss Watcher replied. Tiara deadpanned before shaking her head, "Like I said. Weirdos," she grumbled. While walking towards the garden, they ran into Solas. "Good morning. Where are you going to?" he asked. "We''re going to the garden," Grey replied. "Then do you mind if I join you? I have some business there," the First Born asked and Grey shrugged as he joined them. When they entered the garden, the first thing that Solas and Tiara did was look around. "Wow, you don''t see this much nature back in our world," the Dancer said. "There were many places like this at the beginning of the age of Fire," Solas sighed sadly. "But now, you can barely see any." Zyra made her appearance as usual. "Good morning," she greeted before looking at the two new appearances. "You just keep bringing interesting people, don''t you, Grey?" The Abyss Watcher nodded. "Yes, these are Solas and Tiara, my sister." The carnivore woman raised an eyebrow. "You have a sister?" she asked. "Don''t worry, we didn''t know either," Ahri informed her. Grey looked at Solas and asked, "So, you said you had business here? Then, you''ll have to discuss it with Zyra, since this is her garden." The First Born nodded. "Very well, I was wondering if you would allow a friend of mine to stay here since I don''t know of any other place." he requested. Zyra looked at him suspiciously. "And who is this friend of yours?" Instead of answering, Solas raised his hand creating a giant lightning spear and hurled it into the sky. Nothing happened for a few moments before a roar could be heard. Suddenly, Storm, Solas'' dragon companion appeared and entered the big garden through the open roof. Zyra, Ahri, and Nidalee all jumped in shock of the Dragon that just showed up. Solas just walked towards it and started rubbing its head. "It''s good to see you again, old friend," The First Born said as the dragon growled. He then turned to the rise of Thorns. "This is Storm. He is the friend I told you about." Zyra understood what he meant and looked at him in disbelief. "You want me to keep a FIRE BREATHING dragon in my garden, near my children, who are very flammable!?" "Zyra, calm down, I don''t think Solas would have suggested that if he didn''t think this through," Grey tried to reassure her. The First Born nodded. "Indeed, because I believe that this will benefit both of us." Zyra just looked at him unconvinced and waited for proof. Solas nodded to Storm and the dragon raised his head spreading his wings. Dark clouds gathered in the sky suddenly, surprising the four onlookers. Then, rain started falling down. "He''s a Storm Drake," Grey noted impressed. "I heard legends about them, but never thought I''d see one." his sister was equally surprised. Silver hid inside Grey''s cape, Nidalee enjoyed the rain, but Ahri didn''t share her opinion. "Great, this will mess up my hair and clothes," the fox Vastaya groaned. Suddenly, the rain stopped falling on her. Ahri looked and saw that Grey was holding his cape above her for protection. "Thank you," Ahri smiled while Grey nodded. Meanwhile, Solas was looking at Zyra. "This can help your children, right? And I assure you that Storm won''t breath fire unless given a reason." Zyra simply looked around. She had to admit that this rain is beneficial for the garden. The rain was far more pure and natural than the water that the Institute provided. The Carnivore woman looked at the Abyss Watcher. "If anything happens to my children, I''m blaming you," she threatened. The Lord of Cinder nodded. "I promise I''ll take full responsibility." With that, Zyra turned back and vanished into the garden. Tiara turned to her brother. "So, where is it?" she asked unaffected by the rain. Grey knew what she was talking about. "This way," he said but stopped remembering Ahri was using his cape for cover. Ahri noticed that and shrugged. "I''ll just walk beside you." The Abyss Watcher nodded and walked towards the garden with Ahri and Tiara. They walked deeper into it and Ahri recognized the place. Grey stopped when he was in front of Vordt''s rose. Tiara and Ahri were standing beside him. The Fox Vastayan was curious about what''s going on, but judging by the expression on Tiara and Grey, she decided to stay quiet. The Dancer looked at the rose for a few seconds and sighed. "That mutt was always too much into his job." The Abyss Watcher nodded. "True, but he was loyal if anything," he said. They stood there for a few moments before Tiara decided it was enough. "Well, I''m done brooding for one day, let''s get something to eat. I''m starving," she said as they turned around and started walking out of the garden. Solas said his goodbyes to Storm before following them, and Nidalee was waiting for them by the gates. They entered the hallway and were heading for the dining hall, but stopped when they crossed Maia. "Well, well, Look at this," The Tengu said standing in front of them. "I heard rumors that Grey''s sibling is here, I suppose it''s you?" she asked looking at Tiara. "What do you want, you lunatic?" Ahri asked harshly. "I''m not here for you, Fox," Maia replied glaring at her. "I lost interest in hunting you, so go charm your way into some random guy''s pants," she smirked. Tiara looked at the glaring match between the two Vastaya before asking, "I guess you two know each other?" "It''s¡­ complicated," Ahri grumbled. "No, it isn''t," Grey said catching Ahri by surprise. He then looked at his sister. "She''s a hunter who lost herself to the hunt. I stopped her before she got Ahri." "And you let this psycho live?" his sister asked surprising Ahri that she understood. "Political reasons," Grey replied making his sister roll her eyes. "Wait, that''s all it took for you to get what happened?" Ahri asked surprised. "I''m an Ashnex," Tiara simply replied. "There are no better hunters than us." "Well, I can''t say you look as strong as your brother," Maia said looking over Tiara''s thin figure. "I don''t remember that I care about your opinion, bird brain," Tiara replied as she walked past Maia. Suddenly, the Tengu turned around swinging her gauntlet at the Dancer. But her attack didn''t succeed. Maia found herself then slammed onto the wall with Tiara''s hand on her neck. Solas, Nidalee, and Ahri were surprised and jumped on guard. Grey didn''t do anything, he knew his sister was more than enough to deal with whatever Maia throws at her. Tiara tightened her grip on the Tengu. "Dealing with your kind is always annoying because they don''t know when they''re outmatched." A cough can be heard and Kayle appeared beside her. "As much as I want her dead, I can''t have you killing another champion, at least not inside the Institute," she said. Tiara chuckled looking at the angel. "How cute. You think you can actually-" "Tiara," Grey said firmly drawing his sister''s attention. "There''s no reason to cover this place in blood." Tiara stared at her brother for a few seconds, but he held his ground. "Fine," she said as she dropped Maia on the floor¡­ harshly. "But if she tries something like that again, I''ll turn her into fried chicken." The Abyss Watcher sighed before looking at the Righteous. "Sorry about that, Kayle," he apologized and the angel nodded before leaving. Maia stood up and chuckled while rubbing her throat. "You might make a good hunt after all," she said. "Ha! Let me tell you something," Tiara the glared at her intensively. "Against an Ashnex, you''re not the hunter¡­ you''re the prey." With that, she turned around and proceeded to enter the dining hall with the others following. They took their food and started looking for a table. They found a table that had Ezreal, Lux, Brite, and Aki sitting together. They all sat in a table beside them with Grey giving Silver his food. "Good morning, everyone," Grey greeted and everyone else said their greetings. They started eating in silence until the First Born remembered something. "Oh, I just remembered, I have my first match in a few moments," Solas informed them while eating his breakfast. "I have a match in an hour," Brite said. "I guess it''s after yours." "I think I''m in that match, too," Ezreal told Brite. Ahri put a hand on her chin. "Come to think of it, I''m pretty sure I''m part of that match as well," she said. "That''s probably because of the new group skin," Aki said getting their attention. "There''s a new group skin that came out a while ago, and it''s gotten pretty popular. It''s mostly girls but Brite and Ezreal were an exception. I think the summoners want to try it out." she started scratching her head. "To be honest, I''m playing in that match as Ahri, and I wanted to see how she looked." "That''s great," the Fox Vastayan said. "It''s been a while since we fought together." Tiara and Solas looked confused. "What are you talking about?" the Dancer asked. "Skins are different costumes that champions wear for Matches. It changes your clothes, hair, eyes, and even the way that your weapons look," Grey explained shrugging his shoulders. "They don''t affect you, however. The only thing they do is change your looks." Solas and Tiara were intrigued by the idea. The thought of wearing different kinds of armor for battle without any kind of negative side effect sounded somewhat amusing. "By the way," Grey noticed that Lux was alone. "Where''s Garen?" "He went back to Demacia," Lux replied before glaring at Tiara. "After your sister held the king hostage, he started giving every guard extra training." Grey his sister a tired look. "Seriously? The first thing you do here is to hold the king hostage?" "So it''s my fault that their guards are lousy?" Tiara chuckled before giving Lux a smug smile. "Seriously, all I did was walk on a few rooftops before jumping behind him. Even the Hollows at Lothric castle are better guards, and that''s saying a lot." The young Crownguard just glared at the Outrider Knight harder, and Tiara simply ignored her. The Abyss Watcher sighed massaging his forehead. "I''ll have to apologize to Prince Jarvan when I see him, and probably king Jarvan, too." "So what? I kidnapped some royal idiot, what''s the big deal?" Tiara asked as if it was nothing. Lux''s glare intensified. "Probably the fact that he''s ROYALTY!" she yelled her voice getting higher. The Dancer just scoffed. "Newsflash, Blondy, I''m royalty, too," she said making everyone look at her surprised. "You expect me to believe that," Lux said unconvinced. "It''s the truth," Grey said making the others look at him. "Tiara comes from a royal bloodline in Irithyll. In fact, Tiara is a direct descendant of the Boreal Valley''s gods." Everyone just looked at the Dancer shocked, then Solas realized something. "Wait, you''re a descendant of the Boreal Valley''s gods? That makes you from Gwyndolin''s bloodline, doesn''t that make me¡­ your great uncle," the First Born guessed. Tiara rolled her eyes. "No, it doesn''t. I guess that makes us¡­ distant cuisines is the correct term." Solas'' body started being covered in light. "I guess it''s time," He said before he vanished. The viewing orb appeared in the middle of the dining hall, and they managed to find Solas'' name in one of the teams. "Well, this should be interesting," Brite said crossing his arms. Inside the Match: Solas appeared in the team''s base along with the other champions. They were Shen, Azir, Kindred, and Nasus. The first to speak was Shen. "Ah, a new champion, I suppose?" He asked. "That''s correct," Solas nodded as he readied his Sword-Spear. "I am Solas, The Sun''s First Born." Wolf groaned. "Great, just what we need. Another aspect of the sun," he said. Lamb hummed. "You have the curse," she said looking at Solas. "Like that Lord of Cinder." "Yes, like Grey, I am not of this world, and I am also cursed," the First Born said as they got ready. Azir stroked the tip of his peak. "Your aura resembles that of Leona, the current Aspect of the sun, however, yours is stronger." Nasus hummed in thought. "Grey said that the Lords of Cinder are the reason the sun shines in your world, do you have a connection to them." Solas chuckled. "More than you can imagine." Before any more can be said, the sound signaling the beginning of the Match was heard over the Rift. Azir and Nasus went to the middle lane, Shen went to the bottom, Kindred the jungle, and Solas the top. The Sun''s First Born kept going and passing the turrets with the minions following him. They then the very top where the two teams met. The enemy minions appeared with the champion. The champion was a red, demonic Warrior that actually matched him in size. He had two horns coming out of his head, his eyes were glowing red, so was his chest, and in his hands was a demonic Greatsword that looks like a combination between flesh and metal. The champion looked at Solas and scoffed. "I wonder, would you be a good challenge or just another disappointment." Solas didn''t answer, instead, he raised his weapon and attacked the enemy champion. The demonic Warrior blocked with his sword and was a little surprised after being pushed back slightly. The demonic Warrior grinned. "Perhaps you would be a worthy opponent," he said as he pushed back. Solas was surprised by the strength the champion had but he didn''t falter. "I was not called a God of War for nothing," the First Born said. Both of them pushed harder making the other one jump back to make some distance. The demonic Warrior started laughing. "Well, God of War," he said as he pointed his sword at Solas. "I am Aatrox, the Darkin Blade. Prepare yourself, for I am the God Slayer." Aatrox raised his sword as it started glowing and swung down sending an energy wave at Solas. The Sun''s First Born used his Sword-Spear to block, but that didn''t stop him from skidding back a few feet. Solas regained his balance and raised his hand creating a giant lightning spear. He threw it at Aatrox who used his Sword to block the attack, but like Solas, he was sent back a few feet. The Darkin Blade stood back up before he and Solas entered battle again. Aatrox''s sword was glowing demonic energy, while Solas'' Sword-Spear was covered in lightning. Each clash gave off a strong Shockwave. Both warriors didn''t let up, but eventually, Solas managed to get the upper hand. The Sun''s First Born pushed the Darkin Blade away from him. He raised his hand creating another lightning spear, but instead of throwing it, he smashed it on the ground. The spear created an explosion of lightning the stun Aatrox. Solas too his chance and reeled back his Sword-Spear before dashing towards the enemy champion. Aatrox was stabbed in the chest. Solas raised his weapon with the Darkin Blade stuck on the tip. Suddenly, an explosion of lightning struck Aatrox''s body finishing him off. The Sun''s First Born swung his weapon, throwing away Aatrox''s now dead body. Solas took a few seconds to catch his breath. He had to admit that the Darkin Blade had power and knew how to use it. Shaking his head, Solas put those thoughts in the back of his mind for now. He had a match to win after all. Time skip: (brought to you by chibi Solas standing in the rain with his hair getting wet and it starts covering his face.) The match has gone for almost an hour. Solas'' team had the advantage most of the time. The Sun''s First Born also kept encountering the Darkin Blade, and it always leads to a fierce battle. Right now, Solas was helping Azir destroy the Nexus. The Sun''s First Born was covering for the Emperor of the Sands as he was attacking the Nexus with his sand soldiers. Solas was clashing weapons with Aatrox again. So far, both of them had won and lost some of their encounters. The Darkin Blade laughed pushing Solas away. "I applaud you, God of War, for you proved to be a truly powerful advisory." Solas gripped his Sword-Spear tightly. "I can say that you are the second-best swordsman that I have met." Before Aatrox can ask what he meant, Solas ran his hand over the blade of his Sword-Spear as lightning covered it. Solas raised his weapon to the sky sending a giant lightning polt upwards. The Darkin Blade was confused by his actions, but he dismissed those thoughts and was about to attack. Suddenly, lightning fell on him from the sky, but far more powerful than the lightning spear. This stunned Aatrox long enough for Solas to make his move. The Sun''s First Born raised his lightning covered weapon, but to his surprise, the Darkin Blade recovered quickly and blocked with his Greatsword. Aatrox pushed Solas away and raised his sword covering it in demonic energy. He smashed it on the ground sending a demonic wave stronger than the ones before to Solas. The energy wave hit Solas, which stunned him. Aatrox dashed to attack, but, like him, Solas recovered quickly and blocked the attack. The First Born the Darkin away and they both regained the stance. They were ready to fight again, but then, "VICTORY, Blue team," the announcer''s voice boomed through the rift. Both Solas and Aatrox look to see that Azir had finally managed to destroy the Nexus. The champions were covered in light before they were all pulled out of the rift. The champions found themselves in the summoning chamber. The winning Summoners were celebrating, while the losers were disappointed. Aatrox scoffed putting his sword on his shoulder. "It seems the battle today is over," he then pointed his sword at Solas. "But make no mistake, we shall fight once again, God of War," he said turning around to leave. But he stopped and looked over his shoulder. "You said that I''m the second strongest swordsman you met. Tell me, who was the strongest?" Solas just stood silently for a second before answering. "It was the man who walked through the Abyss¡­ Artorias the Wolf Knight." With that, Solas took his leave and headed to the dining hall to find the others. He entered and headed to their joined tables. "That was pretty good, Solas," Grey complemented as the First Born reached them. "Yeah, not many can keep with Aatrox like that," Ezreal added remembering that the last time he fought the Darkin Blade he received quite the beating. "I expected nothing less," Brite praised with his usual proud voice. "I''ve seen better," Tiara said shrugging her shoulders. Solas gave her a deadpan look. "Really? Where? In the mirror?" he asked sarcastically. "Exactly," She replied causing Solas to roll his eyes and Grey to sigh. "Hey, there''s been a question that''s bothering me," Ezreal said drawing their attention. He then looked at Grey and Tiara. "Which one of you is the older sibling?" he asked. Truth to be told is that they also were wondering. The Dancer scoffed. "Well, it''s obviously¡­" she trailed off before looking at her brother. "Grey, which one of us is older again?" she asked making everyone look at her in disbelief. The Abyss Watcher shrugged. "I don''t know. I stopped counting my age before you did," he replied. Tiara turned back to Ezreal. "Well, there''s your answer, we don''t know." "That wasn''t actually an answer," the Explorer mumbled but didn''t say out loud scared of what Tiara would do. Ahri thought of a change in subject. "Anyway, our match should begin soon. Aki, you said there''s a group skin, right? Can we see it." The summoner of the group nodded. "Sure. Why don''t I show you Brite''s and Ezreal''s, too," she suggested and the two aforementioned champions nodded. Ahri, Brite, and Ezreal stood up from their seats and stood in a line together. Aki started waving her hands casting a spell. The three champions'' were covered in light before they appeared in the new skin. Ahri wasn''t wearing a kimono this time. She was wearing a white sleeveless uniform with a cleavage cutout and a pink star on her chest. She had a purple skirt, gold heels with white socks that reached her thighs, and long gloves without that connected to her middle finger. Her hair had became blonde and her tails changed color to match her hair. Ezreal was wearing a similar uniform, but with a short jacket that had blue highlights. His gauntlet took a golden look with a blue star on it. And his hair was now combed to the side with blue highlights. Brite, like them, was wearing a similar uniform, only with red highlights, a short golden cape, and shoulder armor. His glaive had a red pole and the blade was gold, and between the blade and the pole, there was a red star. "It''s called the Star Guardians," Aki informed them finishing the spell. She then started walking away. "I better get going to the summoning chamber, see you in a while." Ezreal looked over himself. "Not bad," he said. "Sun themed, just the way I like it," Brite said spinning his glaive around. Ahri looked at herself before shrugging. "Not as good as I usually look, but still good enough I suppose," she said earning a few eye rolls. "Wait," Ahri said noticing something, and it was that her feet weren''t touching the ground. "I can fly?" she asked as she raised from the ground a little before she darted into the air and started going in circles. "I can fly! This is amazing!" "I heard that some skins give abilities like these," Ezreal noted as he also floated around. Tiara just deadpanned at the now flying Ahri, "A flying fox, just what the world needed." "Why don''t I have a flying skin?" Nidalee asked a little envious. Ahri landed on the ground and looked at the Abyss Watcher. "Hey, Grey, what do you think?" she asked doing a little spin. "I think it looks cute on you," Grey replied with an honest smile. Ahri''s cheeks were tainted pink. Suddenly, a small pinkish fox with multiple tails appeared from a small light and started floating around her. The Nine-Tailed Vastayan giggled as the fox started rubbing its head on her cheek. "Who''s this little guy?" she asked. The Fox started chirping and Ahri giggled again. "Well, it''s good to meet you, too, Kiko." "You can understand it?" Grey asked surprised. Ahri shrugged. "A little," she said as Kiko floated towards Silver. The Wolf pup barked and Kiko started making noises. They started going around in circles playing together. "Isn''t that cute, they''re getting along," Ahri said looking over the two. Suddenly, Kiko stopped and floated towards Grey. It looked at Ahri and pointed at the Abyss Watcher with one of its paws while chirping. "Yes, Kiko, he''s a friend of mine. His name is Grey," Ahri said apparently answering Kiko''s question about the Abyss Watcher. Kiko chirps again and Ahri nods. "Yes, a really good friend." Kiko started taking glances between Ahri and Grey before growing a mischievous smile, the one Ahri has right before teasing Grey. Kiko started chirping again, but it was a little longer than the previous times. When it was done, Ahri''s face turned a shade of red that rivaled Grey''s cape. "What!?! No! Bad, Kiko! Bad!" she said like a scolding parent. "Me and Grey never¡­ how do you even know the details of that kind of stuff?!" The Abyss Watcher just looked confused. "Wait, what did he say?" he asked. "Nothing! Nothing at all," Ahri immediately dismissed with her face still red. She started glaring at Kiko. "You and I are going to have a talk about moral decency later." Right after Ahri said that her body, along with Ezreal''s and Brite''s, were covered in light before they were teleported into the Rift. Inside the Match: Ahri, Brite, and Ezreal appeared in the rift with two other champions that had similar uniforms. They didn''t have time for introduction as the match began rather early. Ahri was floating towards the top lane. She couldn''t get that far from the ground since it wasn''t allowed apparently. "You know, this reminds me of the first time we met," the fox Vastayan said to Aki. "It was the first match for both of us." "Yeah, it''s been a while since then," Aki agreed with her remembering that day. "I think we should celebrate with how much has been through since then," Ahri said passing her team''s turret. "What do you suggest?" Aki asked. "How about we go on a double date," Ahri suggested and even if she couldn''t see the Shy summoner, she could tell she was confused. "You know, me and Grey¡­ with you and Brite." Suddenly, Ahri fell on the ground and started bouncing while rolling like a ball. That kept up for a few seconds until she stopped and finally regained her balance. The Nine-Tailed Vastayan groaned while shaking her head. "Ow, what happened?" she asked holding her head. "S-s-s-sorry, I d-d-d-dropped my summoner o-o-o-orb," Aki apologized in a nervous tone. "W-What were you saying?" "Nothing," Ahri dismissed shaking her head afraid of going through that again. ''note to self, from now on, tease Aki outside of matches only.'' (A/N: Thank you for reading this, please comment, review, and give me your thoughts on my story. Also, I know there isn''t much action in this chapter, but that''s because the new arc is going to start soon.) 46 CH45: Pain It was a new day at the Institute of War. Ahri woke up and stretched while wagging her tails. The Nine-Tailed Vastayan felt quite energized this morning. Ahri yawned. "The match yesterday was pretty good," she said remembering the match that she had while wearing her Star Guardian outfit. She noticed that, like usual, the Abyss Watcher was still sleeping, which made her usual fox-like smile appear. After making sure to take off all her clothes, Ahri straddled Grey and started shaking him. "Grey, wake up, sleepyhead," she said. The Abyss Watcher groaned and opened his eyes, but when he realized that Ahri was naked, he closed them again. "Ahri, where are your clothes?" he asked trying to ignore her position. "On the floor," Ahri replied acting like what she was doing was as normal as saying ''good morning.'' "Can you put them on?" Grey asked still covering his eyes. Ahri hummed, pretending that she was thinking. "No," she said as she leaned forward bringing their faces together. "Now, why don''t we have a bath together?" she teased. Grey groaned and tried to think of something that would stop Ahri''s teasing... For now. "I would, but I''m sure Tiara will notice something, and if you think that being hunted by Maia was scary, then you definitely don''t want to be Tiara''s next hunt," he said hoping that bringing up his sister would work, and he was right. Ahri''s face turned deadpan as she half-heartedly glared at him. "Fine," she groaned before getting off him. Grey didn''t open his eyes until he heard the bathroom''s door open and close. He sat up started massaging his forehead. "One of these days, she''s going to take it too far," The Abyss Watcher sighed before looking at the schedule. After a few moments, Ahri came out of the bathroom and Grey immediately went inside to avoid any further teasing, which earned a few chuckles from the Vastayan. After the Abyss Watcher finished his morning routine, he and the fox Vastaya went to the living room. They found Nidalee sitting on the couch petting Silver with a distant look on her face. "Good morning, Nidalee," Ahri greeted before noticing her state. "Are you okay?" The huntress broke out of her daze and looked at her two roommates. "Oh, morning, and yes I''m fine," she said with little emotions. "We''re mostly free today," Grey said remembering the schedule. "Ahri has a match, but that''s later on tonight." "Yeah, sure," Nidalee replied barely noticing what he said. Grey and Ahri looked at each other, concerned for their friend''s sake, but they decided not to pressure the Huntress at the risk of making her mood worse. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please clickfor visiting. Nidalee, right now, returned to her thoughts. She was currently thinking about a certain Shape-shifter and wondering how she was doing. Silver jumped from Nidalee''s lab and went to Grey who picked the wolf pup and put it on his shoulder. They all went out of their room and started heading towards the dining hall. Unknown to them, a pair of yellow, lizard-like eyes were following them, more specifically, Nidalee. They entered the dining hall without running into anyone, so they went to get their breakfast. While picking from the various types of food, Ahri noticed something. "Oh, look. They have new desserts," she noted seeing new types of sweets. "And chocolate flavored, too," she added delighted. "Ahri, there are other things to eat than desserts," Grey said looking at the fox Vastayan. "And I''ll get them later," Ahri dismissed his advice and just kept searching through the new sweets. "Why don''t you and Nidalee go get us a table until I''m done," she ordered rather than asked. The Abyss Watcher sighed and just nodded. He and Nidalee were already done picking their food and decided to go look for a table. They found one that was empty and sat down before they were joined by Ezreal, Brite, Tiara, and Solas. "Good morning, everyone," Grey greeted as everyone else greeted back. Tiara noticed the absence of one of Grey''s roommates. "So, where''s the fox?" she asked. The Abyss Watcher sighed. He knew his sister doesn''t judge someone from their race, she was just being mean. "She''s still picking food," Grey replied in a tired tone. "There are new desserts on the menu, and she''s picking up from them." The Dancer started chuckling. "Oh, I can''t wait till she gains weight and starts freaking out about getting fat," she said making her brother sigh again. "Hey, uh, everyone," Someone said behind them. They all looked and saw Ahri looking timid. "How are you doing today?" she asked. "Ahri?" Nidalee noticed the Fox Vastayan missing something. "Where''s your food?" Ahri seemed to get nervous. "Oh, I¡­ you know, I decided to start looking out for my weight and all," she said waving her hand. "There goes my idea," Tiara sighed. The Nine-Tailed Vastayan clapped her hands together. "So, what are we doing tod-" Ahri was cut off¡­ by Grey grabbing her throat and slamming her on the table. The others all jumped in shock. "What the hell?!" Ezreal yelled. "Grey! What is your problem?!" Nidalee asked. She knew that Ahri teases him regularly, but not to the point where he would get violent. "Grey, what''s wrong?" Brite asked knowing the Abyss Watcher wouldn''t do this without a reason. Grey paid them no mind and glared at Ahri. "You have five seconds to tell me where the REAL Ahri is," he said catching others by surprise. "Wait, the ''real'' Ahri?" Solas asked confused. The captive Ahri tried to look confused with bad acting. "W-What are you talking-" "You know, I almost believed your act," Grey cut Ahri off as he continued to glare at her. "If it wasn''t for one detail," he narrowed his eyes. "Ahri has Nine Tails, not Eight." At that statement, everyone looked and counted the tails that the Vastayan had, and noticed that she was missing a tail. "He''s¡­ right," Nidalee noted after counting the tails. "But then who-" "Hey, guys," another Ahri said walking up to them, this time with a tray of food. "What-" she stopped noticing what, or who Grey was holding. "Uhmm¡­ okay, what''s going on?" They all looked at the fake Ahri, and Grey softened his hold to let her speak. "Hehe, Sorry. I just wanted to play a little," she chuckled nervously, but this time, her voice sounded lighter and somewhat childish. The Abyss Watcher pulled her to her feet and let her go. Truthfully, he wasn''t mad, he was just worried that something had happened to the real Ahri, but now that she''s okay, he calmed down. The fake Ahri dusted herself and looked at Grey impressed. "I didn''t think anyone would notice a tail being missing, but I guess I should have done better," she said making them realize that she missed a tail on purpose. "So, who are you?" the real Ahri asked frustrated that someone was copying her. The fake Ahri just smirked and spun around in her place. She was covered in a flurry of colors, and when they were gone, an entirely different person stood in her place. The person was a slightly short girl with short purple hair. She had yellow lizard-like eyes. She also had chameleon-like features. Her hands were covered in dark green scales, she had a lizard tail, and the sides of her body were covered in scales as well. She was wearing rags made of animal skin, much like Nidalee. Said Huntress'' eyes widen at the sight of the chameleon girl. "Neeko!?" "Nidalee!" the now-named Neeko yelled in joy as she jumped towards the Huntress. Nidalee welcomed her with open arms trapping her in a hug as she spun a couple of times while they both laughed. "It''s so good to see you," Neeko said as she looked at Nidalee. "Neeko was afraid that she wouldn''t know anyone here, but then I found you." "It''s great to see you, too. I''ve been so worried about you," Nidalee replied as she hugged the chameleon harder. Ahri cleared her throat drawing their attention. "So, do you mind explaining what''s going on?" she asked. The two separated and Neeko stood in front of everybody. "Sorry about earlier, Neeko just wanted to have some fun, so I decided to look like the fox lady and see if I can trick you," she apologized before giving a small bow. "I am Neeko, the Curious Chameleon, new champion," she introduced herself. "Wait, how did you change into Ahri?" Ezreal asked wondering about that. "That''s because Neeko is Vatayashy''rei, I can change into anything!" the chameleon replied enthusiastically. Ahri''s face turned to one of absolute shock. "You''re a WHAT!?!?" she yelled surprised. To Vastaya, the Vastayashy''rei were a huge deal. "Yeah, what?" Tiara asked, but more confused than shocked. "The Vastayashy''rei are a race of spiritual shape-shifters," the Abyss Watcher explained having already learned that information. The Dancer sighed in annoyance and sat back down. "Great, this world''s own version of a mimic." "She really doesn''t look like that," Solas pointed out seeing differences between Neeko and the mimics. Tiara rolled her eyes. "If you ask me, it''s only a matter of time before she starts kicking people," she said. "How do you know Nidalee?" Grey asked seeing the two act like old friends. Neeko hugged the mentioned huntress. "Neeko met Nidalee when she was in the jungle. Nidalee helped Neeko a lot. I wanted Nidalee to travel with me, but she wanted to stay in the jungle," she said as Nidalee ruffled her hair earning a few giggles. "Uhmm, Neeko, can I ask you something?" Ahri requested with a hopeful, almost disparate, tone in her voice. "As a Vastayashy''rei, your people are old, right?" The chameleon nodded. "That''s right, the Ove''kat has been around since the Vastaya showed up," she replied before pointing at Ahri. "You are Vastaya, Neeko is Vatayashy''rei, that makes us¡­ cousins? Distant cousins!" she cheered. "Yeah, sure," Ahri dismissed it like she didn''t hear it. "I want to ask something," Grey had a hunch of what''s coming next, and he just hoped that Ahri won''t be disappointed. "Have you¡­ ever saw someone like me? A Vastaya like me, that is." Neeko looked at Ahri for a few seconds before, much to Ahri''s disappointment, shaking her head. "Sorry, but Neeko never saw a Fox Vastayan before. You are the first one." Ahri sighed in disappointment as she sat on the table and covered her eyes with her hands. "I should''ve known I wouldn''t find anything." The Nine-Tailed Vastayan was hoping that, since Neeko''s people were around from the beginning of the Vastaya, she would know something, anything, about people like her. "Don''t worry, Ahri," Grey tried to reassure her while patting her head. "We''ll find something one day." "I really hope we do," the fox Vastaya replied. She decided to get her mind off the subject by asking another question. "So where''s Lux and Aki?" "Lux went back to Demacia," Ezreal answered. "She said it was time for the members of the Noble families to send some kind of report to the royal family, telling them what they''re doing, what are their plans for the future, and all that. She also said it was mandatory for ALL Nobles." "Aki said she has business back home," Brite said. "Something about her family, but she didn''t tell us what it is." The Nine-Tailed Vastayan rolled her eyes. "Great, now what are we supposed to do?" "Oh, Oh, Neeko has an idea!" the chameleon said raising her hand. "Let''s go to the garden, Neeko and Nidalee always ran around forests for fun." "I do want to see Storm again," Solas said thinking about his dragon companion. Ahri sighed. "I guess some fresh air might help," she said finishing her breakfast. She stood and looked at the Abyss Watcher. "You coming?" "Sure, why not," Grey agreed. "I just want to see the sun," Brite said making Grey roll his eyes. "Personally, the only thing I care about is seeing green nature again," Tiara said. Ahri looked at her surprised. "I didn''t take you for the nature-loving type," she said bluntly. The Dancer glared at her. "Well, I didn''t take YOU for a chocolate addict," she said referring to the many treats Ahri had with her breakfast. "But I guess we''re both surprised." The Abyss Watcher sighed again as his sister and his roommate started glaring at each other. He just hoped they wouldn''t get physical. As they started walking towards the garden, they ran into someone that they did not expect¡­ Zed. "Abyss Watcher," The master of Shadows said. "Zed, been a while," Grey said. Zed grunted in annoyance. Truthfully, he was still mad about the duel. Grey, however, didn''t really care. Tiara looked at Zed over. "So who''s this guy?" "His name is Zed," Ahri answered, cautious of the Master of Shadows. "He and Grey had a duel when we first got to the Institute." Tiara started laughing. "Oh, I wish I was there. You must have got one hell of a beating." "I would have beaten the Abyss Watcher, if he didn''t suddenly catch on fire," Zed replied while trying to kill Grey with his glare. Tiara and Brite both looked at Zed Confused. "What?" they asked. "Are you here for a reason, Zed?" Someone asked. The master of Shadows turned around and saw the man that he once considered a brother. "Shen." "Are you disturbing the balance?" Shen asked crossing his arms. Zed scoffed. "Like always, you are so blinded by your balance that you cannot see the world around you." "Being blinded by balance is better than being blinded by rage," Shen retorted receiving an annoyed grunt from Zed. "Okay, stop, both of you," Tiara suddenly cuts them off looking at Zed curiously. "What did you say again, about that duel with my brother?" "So you''re his sibling," Zed concluded after hearing rumors about Grey having one. "As I said, your brother would have last after I managed to stab him in the heart of he didn''t suddenly catch fire." Brite and Tiara looked confused like before¡­ before they suddenly exploded into laughter. Everyone looked confused except Grey, who looked uncomfortable. "What are you laughing at?" Zed asked feeling insulted. After calming down, Tiara was the first to speak of the two. "You? Beat my brother? Please," she scoffed. "So far, I haven''t seen a single person here that can go against my brother, other than Solas that is. And, I can tell just from your looks that you aren''t good enough to match Grey''s speed." "Yeah, I have to agree with Tiara," Brite added. "I fought Grey many times, and that was before he became a Lord of Cinder, so I can tell you that he would beat you to a bloody mess," he said as Grey looked more uncomfortable. "In fact, I once saw him beat a Darkwraith to death with his bare hands. He just grabbed it, and started punching it to death." Their eyes widen at that statement, but Tiara just snorted. "That''s it? I once saw Grey kill two Dark Beasts, and that was AFTER his legs were broken." "Wait, both of you, stop," Ahri cut them off as she, and everyone else looked shocked. "I''ve seen that duel, and I can tell you that he didn''t show that kind of strength." Tiara rolled her eyes. "Yeah, let me ask you something, fox. Did my brother look like he was actually giving his best?" she asked as Grey looked more uncomfortable. At that moment, it clicked in their heads as they turned their gaze to the Abyss Watcher, who didn''t make eye contact with anyone. At this moment, two memories had passed through most of their heads. Flashback, Grey''s duel: Zed kicked the Abyss Watcher in the face and he rolled on his feet. "Is that all you got?" he asked. "Not even close," Grey replied, more annoyed than hurt. Flashback, Maia''s talk: "Simple, I proved that I''m a great hunter," Maia said pointing at Grey. "But you beat me, and I can tell you were holding back." Flashback end: Ahri started glaring at the Abyss Watcher. "Grey¡­ were you holding back in your duel against Zed?" she asked in a threatening tone. Grey didn''t look at her as he tried to lie. "... No?" and he failed. The others simply looked at him in disbelief, except Tiara and Brite, who chuckled at Grey''s inability to lie. "You are the worst liar I have ever seen!" Ahri yelled enraged. "I can''t believe you! You promised to enter the Institute with me, and you end up not even trying!" she yelled as Grey didn''t dare to meet her glare. "Do you have any idea how it felt to see you stabbed in the heart?! Do you have any idea how PAINFUL that was!?!" "Pain?..." Grey''s tone turned cold. Something inside him snapped as he gave Ahri a look that she thought she would never see him give her¡­ a glare. "Oh boy, she REALLY should not have said that," Tiara muttered as she and Brite took a step back. Suddenly, the air around all of them got cold and a chill ran through their spines feeling pure rage and killing intent. Silver started whimpering at the change of atmosphere. Neeko even started hiding behind Nidalee. "You think that you know what pain is, Ahri?" Grey asked as his eyes turned red. "You think that just because you saw ONE friend being hurt, you know what pain is?" The Abyss Watcher started walking towards Ahri, who took a few steps back. "Let me tell you what pain is like, Ahri. Pain is being pushed to the brink of insanity every day. Pain is killing your comrades to the point where you bathe in their blood. Pain is fighting the legions of the Abyss and having them kill you countless times. Pain is seeing what the Abyss does to people. Don''t YOU DARE TALK TO ME ABOUT PAIN!?" he yelled. Ahri was scared and shocked. This was the first time that Grey had to raise his voice at her, and it hurt more than she thought. Solas then noticed something, through the windows, he can see the sun slowly turn red as the center slowly started turning black. Meanwhile, Zed was insulted beyond belief. He was defeated by someone who wasn''t even taking him seriously. To reclaim his honor and get payback, Zed jumped at the Abyss Watcher with the blades on his forearms coming out. Shen saw this and was immediately about to interfere, but he didn''t need to. Suddenly, Zed was smashed on the ground so hard that cracks appeared around him with Grey''s foot pushing onto his chest. "If you do something like that again, death is going to be something you beg for," The Abyss Watcher threatened before he returned his glare at Ahri. "Excuse me," However, before any more can be said, Kayle appeared making them look at her. The Righteous froze under Grey''s red glowing eyes. Fear is something that she didn''t experience much, but right now her senses were saying one thing¡­ danger. "What?" Grey asked in a harsh manner, unlike his usual kind and collective tone. "The High Summoners wish to see you," Kayle replied keeping her composer, somehow. The Abyss Watcher spared one last glare at Ahri before he started walking towards the High Summoners chamber. Ahri just looked at where Grey was going before her face turned to one of anger. She huffed and turned around walking away. Meanwhile, the others just stood there with the only noise being the pained grunts of Zed. No one knew what to say. Silver could only whimper looking between the disappearing figures of Ahri and Grey. Nidalee knelt down and started patting the wolf pup to calm him down. Tiara sighed messaging her forehead. "I knew that the fox was bad news." "Can I ask what happened?" Kayle asked looking at them. Grey''s change of attitude concerned her. "The fox f*cked up, that''s what happened," Tiara replied. "It''s weird, though," Brite muttered looking at where Grey went. "I haven''t seen Grey that mad in decades." "Ahri isn''t usually that quick into changing her mood either," Nidalee added. "Can you blame either of them?" Solas asked. He was relieved that the sun returned to normal. "From what I''ve seen in this world, it''s not as rough as ours. Wouldn''t you feel insulted if you found out that a friend didn''t try his all to fulfill a promise? Or that someone claims to know what you''ve been through in your life?" The others, except Zed, know looked at where the two of them went. They were worried of things will go now. Neeko then peeked from behind Nidalee. "So¡­ we''re not going to the garden?" she asked. Grey was already at the High Summoners chamber waiting for what they want from him. "Abyss Watcher, good to see you again," the Piltoven Summoner greeted. "What do you want?" Grey asked his mood not changing for the last few minutes. The High Summoners became confused. The Lord of Cinder seemed different from before, more violent. Deciding not to dwell on the personal life of champions, the Noxian summoner went to business. "We would like to send you on another mission." "What is it?" Grey asked. "There is trouble in Ionia," the Ionian summoner said. "A criminal sorcerer stole an ancient amulet from the Ionian elders. The amulet absorbs souls and turns them to magical energy, somewhat like the Nine-Tailed Fox, but his methods are far more forceful and dangerous. We would like you to go to Ionia and deal with him." Grey''s eyes narrowed at the mention of Ahri, but he kept his thoughts to himself and turned to leave. "It''ll be done." "Be warned, he has a band of mercenaries with him and-" "It does not matter," Grey cut the Ionian summoner off. "They will be all corpses before nightfall." They all looked unsettled at the Abyss Watcher''s declaration. The Grand Summoner became worried about Grey''s mental state. Grey exited the High Summoners chamber and found Kayle near the entrance. "A mission in Ionia," he answered her unasked question. "Will you be alright?" the Righteous asked. "I''ll be fine," Grey replied leaving towards the Transport station. Kayle sighed and looked at the Abyss Watcher in worry. He was one of the very few people that she can relate to, and actually, get along with. Mainly for the fact of having an annoying, somewhat evil, sibling. Meanwhile, Ahri was back in her room on the bed. She buried herself under the many stuffed animals that she has. Only her tails and ears were visible. The door was knocked making her ears twitch, but she wasn''t in the mood for visitors. "Leave me alone," she said. Suddenly, her door was kicked open by Tiara. The Nine-Tailed Vastayan raised her head looking at the Dancer shocked. "You honestly thought I was waiting for permission?" Tiara asked walking in. Following her was Nidalee, Brite, and Solas. The huntress was here to make sure Ahri was alright, and the two Warriors of Sunlight were there to make sure Tiara doesn''t do anything drastic. "You said you wouldn''t do that," Nidalee growled at the Dancer. The Outrider Knight scoffed. "I said that I would let you knock, I didn''t say I wouldn''t kick the door open afterward." "What do you want?" Ahri asked as she sunk back into the stuffed toys. "We''re worried about you," Nidalee said. Silver jumped from her shoulder to the bed and made his way to Ahri, who just sighed seeing the sad face he was giving. "Well, THEY are worried about you. I just came here to see what will you do about my brother," Tiara asked more concerned for her sibling. "The High Summoners sent him on a mission, what do you plan to do when he gets back?" "Nothing," Ahri replied patting Silver. "What?" they asked. The Nine-Tailed fox rolled her eyes. "Please, this is Grey we''re talking about. I''m sure that after he calms down, he''s going to come back and apologize." "Wait, HE is the one who has to apologize?!" Tiara asked in a mixture of shock and anger. In her opinion, Ahri was the wrong one here. "Are you really THAT self-centered?" "I didn''t do anything wrong!" Ahri yelled as she came out of the stuffed animals. "I''m the one who was wronged here! Why wouldn''t he apologize?" "Why you little-" "I think we have more things to worry about," Solas said making them look at him. "Right now, we have a pissed off Abyss Watcher, who also happens to be a Lord of Cinder, roaming around Runeterra freely. Maybe if you go and talk to him-" "I''m not talking to him until he apologizes," Ahri said before sinking back to the stuffed toys. "Now leave me alone," she said. They all looked at each other and just turned around to leave. The only one who stayed was Silver, who laid beside Ahri. In Ionia: To say Grey was mad would be an understatement. A very big understatement. First, he had to deal with Ahri''s teasing, which wasn''t unusual but tiring. Then, he had to run into Zed again. And what''s worse, is that Ahri actually had the audacity to claim she knows what he''s been through. And now, now he has to deal with some mad sorcerer who uses souls as a fuel for his magic. True, Ahri did something similar, but at least she NEEDED to do it. That man just WANTED to do it. There is a very big difference between what a person wants and what they need. The Abyss Watcher was very tempted to just use the Soul of Death now, but he knew that in his current mental state, he might end up killing half of Ionia by accident. Grey finally came out of the forest of Ionia to some sort of camp with tents spread out. In the middle, was a very large tent, at least Grey new where to look. The Abyss Watcher walked towards the campus and mercenaries started coming out of the tents. They all had a variety of weapons, from swords, axes, and spears. They were wearing a mixture of red clothes and leather armor. "Oh look, boys," a mercenary with a big battle ax smirked. "We have a visitor." "Hey, I know that guy. He''s from the League of Legends. What''s his name? Bird Watcher?" another mercenary tried to remember Grey''s name but failed. Grey didn''t even bother noticing them. "I''ll give you one chance. Leave, and you won''t be killed," he threatened. Most mercenaries started laughing. "Yeah, right. What can you do, Bird Watcher," The ax-wielding mercenary asked mistaking Grey''s title on purpose. "Who do you think you are? Khada Jhin?" Some mercenaries laughed while some shuddered at the mention of the Virtuoso. Meanwhile, Grey sighed in annoyance. He hoped he wouldn''t have to deal with grunts since they were just a distraction, just something that wastes his time. "Tell you what, since you gave us a few laughs, I''ll kill you quickly," the ax-wielding mercenary said as he raised his weapon and swung at Grey. However, the Abyss Watcher simply raised his dagger and blocked the strike without even flinching. Before the mercenary had a chance to react, Grey reached forward, grabbed his throat, and ripped it out. The mercenary grabbed what left of his throat failing to stop the bleeding as he fell on the ground died slowly. The mercenaries looked at their falling comrade as Grey looked at them. "You just asked if I was Jhin, but I''m far worse," he said as he pulled his Farron Great-sword. "I suggest you kill yourselves now, that''s far more merciful than what I have planned for you." Inside the tent: Inside the leader''s tent was a sorcerer wearing robes similar to the summoners, but with the difference that it didn''t have a hood revealing a head of messy brown hair. On his neck was a chain that had a cage-like amulet that gave off a white glow. The amulet was currently sucking the life out a few plants that the sorcerer brought to test. Suddenly, he started hearing a ruckus, clinging metal, and screaming coming from out of the tent. The sorcerer sighed. "Those barbarians must be having another party." But much to his surprise, the sound started getting lower and lower until it finally stopped. He then heard ruffling and noticed someone entered his tent. He turned around, planning to scold them for the noises and annoying him, but stopped when he noticed it wasn''t a mercenary. Standing at the entrance of the tent was Grey. His sword and some of his clothes were covered in blood, but other than that he looked unharmed. "Who are you?" the sorcerer demanded. "Where are my men?" "If you mean the corpses that are now rotting outside, then don''t bother calling for them," the Abyss Watcher replied swinging his sword cleaning some of the blood. The sorcerer glared. "You obviously don''t know who you are dealing with," he said creating an orb of magic. The ancient amulet glowed, powering the orb and making it bigger. The sorcerer threw the orb with great speed at the Abyss Watcher. However, Grey rolled out of the way and dashed towards the sorcerer before he could do something else. With a swift swing, Grey''s sword cut off the sorcerer''s arm. The man yelled in pain as he stumbled back and fell clutching where his arm used to be. The Abyss Watcher looked at the pained sorcerer without emotions. "Any last words?" he asked. The sorcerer attempted to raise his remaining arm and cast another spell, only for that armor to be cut off like the first one by Grey''s sword. "I suppose not," the Lord of Cinder mumbled raising his sword before bringing it down and beheading the sorcerer. Grey looked at the lifeless body of the sorcerer before sheathing his weapons and turning around to leave. He had an argument to finish. So lost in thought as he walked away, the Abyss Watcher failed to notice that the Soul Amulet started glowing while cracks appeared in it. The amulet suddenly shattered in a large explosion that knocked everything around, even Grey, away. Where the explosion happened, a portal seemingly made of Souls appeared and started sucking in everything. Being knocked down by the explosion, Grey was unprepared as he was pulled in by the portal. After the Abyss Watcher passed through, the portal closed. And as for Grey, he was only able to notice entering the portal, and then¡­ everything turned white. (A/N: Thank you for reading this. please comment, review, and give me your thoughts on my story. I''d like to point out some things. First: this will be the start of the new arc of my story. It is something I thought of while playing "Sekiro: Shadows die twice." (No, Grey isn''t losing his arm, or going to meet the One-Armed Wolf/Sekiro) Second: About the fight between Ahri and Grey, that was vital for the arc so it had to happen. Also, I realized that no matter how good of a match they are for each other, it''s way too unrealistic for them to completely get along without having at least a single fight, so I had to think about something they would fight for. Again, thank you for reading, and give me your thoughts.) 47 CH46:The Search Begins Ahri was in a VERY bad mood. First, she had a major argument with Grey. Second, she had a match that she must attend. Third, the match didn''t go well for her. She was now fighting Akali, and the Assassin was proving quite annoying. The Nine-Tailed Vastayan threw another orb of deception, only for Akali to dodge it. The rogue assassin threw a smoke bomb at Ahri, covering the area around her in smoke concealing her vision. The Nine-Tailed Vastayan started looking around, but before she spots Akali, a chained sickle struck her from the side. Ahri was left open from the strike and couldn''t protect herself when Akali came out suddenly from the smoke and stabbed her in the chest with her kunai. The assassin pulled out her weapon as the fox Vastaya fell on the ground before dying. After a few moments, she returned to her team''s base. When she came back, Ahri saw that her team''s Nexus was being destroyed by Warwick and Vi. She didn''t even move from her spot before the Nexus was destroyed. "VICTORY, Red Team," the Summoners voice boomed through the rift before the champions were all pulled out. Ahri''s shoulders slumped as the other team celebrated. The only one that wasn''t celebrating was Akali. The assassin walked towards the fox Vastaya. "Ahri, what''s wrong? You were barely focusing at all," Akali asked noticing Ahri''s fighting during the match. "I''m fine," Ahri growled as she started walking away. Akali didn''t buy it for a second, so she started following her. "Did something happen?" she asked. "Nothing happened," Ahri denied as she continued to walk forward. Again, Akali didn''t believe her. There was only one subject that can make Ahri that mad. "Is it about Grey?" she asked. The fact that the fox Vastaya just scowled was answer enough. "Did you two get into a fight?" "It was his fault," Ahri grumbled as they reached the dining hall. "What happened?" Akali asked worried about her two friends. Ahri just ignored her as she reached a table that had Brite, Nidalee, Solas, and Tiara. "That was just pathetic, fox," the Dancer commented. "Screw off," the fox Vastaya growled sitting down. "So, can someone tell me what happened?" Akali asked the others seeing that Ahri isn''t going to answer. "The fox and my brother got into an argument, the fox said something she shouldn''t have, and now Grey is away in a mission while the fox thinks she''s the victim," Tiara summarized glaring at Ahri. "So it''s my fault that he didn''t take my promise seriously?" Ahri asked insulted. Tiara was about to retort in a series of very colorful words but stopped when she heard someone cough nervously. They all looked to see Kayle, looking rather timid. "What do you want now, fatty?" Tiara asked/insulted. Kayle would have been mad if she wasn''t more nervous. "Uhmm¡­ How should I put this?" she asked herself while rubbing the back of her neck. "Grey is¡­ missing," she said nervously. They all just stared at her silently before Tiara spoke. "Oh, I''m sorry, did you just say, ''Please rip my wings off'', because that''s what I heard you say," She said glaring at the angel. "It''s just¡­ why don''t I show you instead," the Righteous said as she started walking towards the Transport station. Deciding to find out what happened, they all started following the angel as she walked through the hallways. Once they were in the Transport station, the Summoner there stood attention. "Greetings, champions. Can I help you?" Kayle nodded. "Yes, can you show us the previous status of the Abyss Watcher?" she asked. The summoner nodded and pulled out a map of Ionia. He started casting a spell before a blue candle flame appeared in the middle. The Righteous pointed at the flame. "This is how we keep track of champions that we sent on missions. That flame is Grey," she explained as the others looked at it. "Now, look at what happened," Kayle nodded to the summoner and he returned the nod. They all saw the flame started moving into a forest at the west of Ionia. The flame stopped there for a few seconds before, suddenly, it went out. It was like watching a candle being blown off. "What happened?" Brite asked confused. "That''s the problem, we don''t know," Kayle replied. "We just¡­ lost Grey." "You don''t think he''s¡­" Akali mumbled but trailed off not wanting to think about the worst. The Righteous picked up on what the rogue assassin was trying to say and shook her head. "No, he''s not dead. If he was dead, the flame should have turned red, but if it went out, That means he''s simply not there anymore," she explained. "Well, where is he?" Solas asked. At that question, Kayle shrugged. "We don''t know. We scanned all of Runeterra''s map, but we couldn''t find him anywhere." "What do you mean that you couldn''t find my brother?" Tiara asked her temper rising. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please clickfor visiting. The Righteous just shook her head. They all started looking at where the flame was concerned for the Abyss Watcher, until- "I don''t care," they all looked with wide eyes as Ahri said those words. Nidalee was the first to speak. "You''re¡­ joking, right?" she chuckled nervously. "No, I''m not," Ahri replied before motioning to Tiara and Brite. "If he''s as good as those two say, then it''s about time I stop worrying about that idiot. He can take care of himself, so why should I care if he went missing?" "Why you little-" Tiara would have jumped at Ahri right then and there if it wasn''t for Solas to hold her back. The Sun''s First Born didn''t approve of what Ahri said. But he knew that right now, the last thing they needed was violence. "Ahri, this is Grey we''re talking about, And you say you don''t care about him?" Nidalee asked dumbfounded. "Why should I care? He''s an all-powerful Lord of Cinder," Ahri replied with sarcasm dripping from her voice. "If he gets killed, then it''s his fault for not taking things seriously." Again, Tiara tried to lunge at the fox Vastaya, but she was held back by the Sun''s First Born. Ahri turned around and started walking away, planning to go to her room. She just ignored anyone else. However, Ahri''s face had a look of worry for a few seconds before she shook it off and returned her angry scowl. With Grey: The Abyss Watcher started regaining his consciousness. He woke up with pained grunts while sitting up. He started looking around trying to recognize his surroundings. But he stopped and started looking in awe. Grey was now sitting in the middle of a large and colorful garden filled with plants that he never saw before. This place would make Zyra greener than she already was with envy. It was full of life of all kinds, but he noted the weird fact of not hearing any birds, animals, or any kind of wildlife. The most notable thing was a giant cherry blossom tree at the side. Cherry blossoms would rain from it making the sky almost look pink. The sky was clear and blue making it seem like morning, which confused Grey. Last he checked, the sun was setting, and he didn''t think he was out that long. He then noted that someone else was there with him. They had their back to the Abyss Watcher, apparently tending to the flowers. "Oh, you''re awake," from the voice, it was a female, and she turned around to look at him. Grey had seen beautiful women in his life. Ahri, Nidalee, Sona, and even Maia if he was honest. But this woman¡­ this woman was in a league of her own when it came to beauty. She had really long pitch-black hair, flawless features, smooth looking skin, ember eyes that seemed to have a fiery glow in them. For clothes, she was wearing a black yukata that had wide sleeves and reached her feet. It had golden sun themed trimming and was tied to her waist with a dark red sash. Most men would stop to stare at the woman''s beauty, but Grey was more concerned about the sun themed trimming on her dress. ''If she tells me to praise the sun, then this is the day I kill myself,'' he thought as he started massaging his forehead to get rid of some of the aching. "I have to say, I''m surprised," the woman said drawing his attention. "No one has come here in a really long time." "And where is ''here'', exactly?" the Abyss Watcher asked as he stood up. The woman smiled and opened her hands motioning to the area around them. "This place¡­ is Takama no Hara," she said. The way she said it made it sound like she was expecting a reaction. The Abyss Watcher, however, simply raised an eyebrow. "Odd name, but I can''t say I haven''t heard weirder," he said remembering ''Anor Londo'', Irithyll, and other places. The woman looked surprised. She was apparently waiting for him to have some kind of reaction or shock, but she still smiled in interest. "Is this place on Runeterra?" Grey asked. He was hoping that he didn''t travel through worlds¡­ again. The name apparently made the woman frown. "No, it''s not part of Runeterra, but it''s still connected to it¡­ in a sense that is," she answered. "So does that mean that there''s a way for me to get there?" Grey asked the woman. "There is¡­ or was," the woman answered before she started walking around the garden, circling Grey. "There is hope that you can go to Runeterra, but I do not recommend it." The Abyss Watcher simply kept looking at the woman as she started going in circles around him. "I would like to take my chances. There are people waiting for me there." The woman stopped and looked directly at Grey''s eyes. She saw nothing but determination, which made her smile. "Very well," the woman said before she returned to circling Grey while explaining. "There is a temple around here, called the Gate of Spirits, where souls flow like water, and you can use it to return to Ionia. However, a long time ago, a shrine priest tried to harness the power there for himself." "It didn''t end well for anyone, did it?" Grey stated as a fact more than a question. "No," the woman shook her head. "The priest was corrupted, and ended up turning into a demon, he covers the area with his dark sorcery, and the temple was hidden so that the dark does not spread." ''That sounds familiar in an unsettling way,'' Grey thought remembering the story of a certain Primeval Sorcerer. "So, after hearing that, do you still want to go there? To a place covered by darkness?" the woman asked. "As I said, there are people waiting for me, so yes," the Lord of Cinder replied without hesitation. The woman frowned. "You wish to traverse in the dark?" she asked as if what he said was impossible. "That is a fairy tale, child. Nothing but mere fabrication." "Even so, That won''t faze me," the Abyss Watcher replied. "How can I find this ''Gate of Spirits''?" he asked. The woman looked into his eyes. She would have considered him foolish, mad even, but she can only see confidence and determination¡­ also, longing for something¡­ or someone. The woman suddenly started chuckling. It has been a long, LONG, time since she met such a person. "Sorry," she apologized seeing Grey''s confused look. "And about the temple, as I said, it was hidden, but not by normal means. To find the temple, you need to get three ancient medallions to find it." "Where can I find them?" he asked. "The first one, is over there," the woman then pointed south. The Abyss Watcher turned around and looked at where she was pointing at. In the distance, he can see a large mountain with clouds covering the top. The plants and green life stops halfway to the mountain and is replaced by rock covered terrains. At the bottom of the mountain, weird purple-ish fog was gathering around. It just covered the bottom. At first glance, it was obvious that the fog was not normal. "Over there, at the top of the mountain, you will find the medallion of the storm," the woman said as she stood beside Grey. "I''m guessing that the fog is a part of that dark you were talking about," the Abyss Watcher stated as a fact. The woman nodded. "Yes, are you still going?" she asked. Her only answer was that Grey started walking forward as he started heading towards the mountain. The woman looked at the Lord of Cinder as he walked away. "He is¡­ odd, in a good way that is. But I do wonder how he got here," she said before turning around and going back to tending the flowers. Meanwhile, Grey was now almost to the mountain terrain. The place wasn''t actually far from the garden he was just in. It was like two places on two edges of the same town. Far, but still reachable by foot. Right now, Grey had already entered the rocky terrains and was closing in on the fog. He stopped at the edge before entering it. He didn''t feel anything. There was no other changes but the awful smell that came from the fog, but he smelled worse. He walked through it and started heading for the mountainside to start climbing, but stopped suddenly. Grey felt something. A shift in the air. Something was moving around him, so he started looking around trying to spot it. Suddenly, dark humanoid figures appeared from the fog holding a verity of weapons. They didn''t have actual features. In fact, they looked like shadows in the fog. The first one came at Grey swinging a sword. The Abyss Watcher immediately pulled out his knife and parried the attack. Grey pulled out his sword and cut down the one that just attacked him. But, no blood came out. Instead, what came out was a weird, white substance that vanished with the body of the attacker as soon as they touched the ground. The Abyss Watcher realized that he wasn''t fighting living creatures, but mere puppets created by the fog around him. Grey rolled away from another fog shadow as it tried to stab him with a spear. It tried to do it again when the Abyss Watcher stood up, but Grey raised his leg and stepped down on the blade of the spear making it wide open for when Grey beheaded it with his sword. Three sword-wielding shadows tried to attack Grey at the same time, but he used his sword to block all of them. He used them back before jumping forward and stabbing his knife in the ground making him swing his sword in a full circle at great speed, cutting down the three shadows at the same time. Another shadow came in swinging a battle-ax, but the Abyss Watcher blocked with his sword before using his knife to cut the shadow''s throat, or where it was supposed to be, and kill it. More shadows appear from around him. The Lord of Cinder just sighed realizing that he was going to have to cut through them. Time skip: (Brought to you by chibi Ahri thinking about chibi Grey before shaking her head to look angry.) It has been almost three hours, and Grey was still fighting the fog shadows. Every time he would cut one down, another would take its place. While they had no actual power, their numbers and constant return were getting exhausting to the Abyss Watcher. He needed a way to either get rid of them for good, or to get out of the fog, but he needed to get to¡­ the mountain. Suddenly, Grey had a thought and looked at the mountainside. He realized the fog doesn''t actually climb the mountain, that it stayed close to the ground. With his objective clear, the Abyss Watcher dodged another swing from a shadow''s sword before cutting it down. Grey then made a dash towards the mountainside while dodging the shadows as they tried to cut him down. After reaching it, the Abyss Watcher started jumping on the rocks that covered the side. He stopped jumping when he was over the fog. He looked down to the shadows inside the fog. They didn''t follow him but just stood there before disappearing. Grey sighed in relief happy that his plan worked before he started climbing the mountainside. The fatigue started catching up to him. The Abyss Watcher didn''t need to get any sleep, he just needed to find a place to rest and restore his stamina. While climbing, Grey found a cave at the side of the mountain and decided to rest there. After climbing towards the cave, the Abyss Watcher sat down on the side to catch his breath. "You made it past the fog," Grey immediately stood up and pulled his weapons pointing them at who spoke. It was the woman he had seen in the garden, the one who told him about the medallions. She was sitting near a campfire, unaffected by Grey''s hostile pose. The Abyss Watcher glared at her. "How did you get here?" he asked remembering what he had to go through. The woman smirked. "Same way you did, I walked," she replied. Grey made an annoyed grunt. He met people like this before, who used semantic sentences to avoid telling the truth. However, despite the many mysteries covering her, the Abyss Watcher didn''t sense any hostility from the woman, so he dropped his battle stance. The Lord of Cinder walked towards the woman and sat at the other side of the campfire. "So, I suppose that, even after seeing those things, you will continue on, Okame?" she asked. Grey looked at her, confused at what she called him. "Okame?" "Just a little nickname I thought of," the woman replied, rather proud of herself. The Abyss Watcher shrugged it off. He was called far worse than that odd nickname, so he didn''t really care. "What is your name?" Grey asked remembering that she never mentioned it. "You have something to call me by, but I don''t have anything to call you." The woman put a hand on her chin and hummed in thought. "You may call me¡­ Ama," she replied. It was obvious that it wasn''t her real name, but again, he didn''t care. "About your previous question? Yes, I will continue on," Grey said answering her. "That is either brave¡­ or foolish," Ama said giving him a skeptical look. "In my life, I learned that there''s not much difference between those two," Grey replied looking at the fire. Ama started laughing lightly. "True, I suppose you''re right," she said getting her laughter under control. She then looked at the Abyss Watcher. "But aren''t you worried for what awaits you at the top? I assure you that getting the storm medallion will not be easy." "I''ll worry about that when I have to deal with it," Grey replied with a shrug. It''s not that he didn''t care, it''s just that he knew that worrying about the future can cloud his judgment. Ama seemed delighted like she was hoping he would say that. "Well, I suppose that''s not my problem, but I do have to ask, how did you get here, Okame?" she asked. "I had just killed an evil sorcerer who was using an ancient amulet that is powered by souls, apparently, the amulet broke and the next thing I knew, I was here," Grey replied. The black-haired woman put a hand on her chin. "A soul amulet¡­ yes, that would explain why you''re here¡­ but for those creatures to seep to such a low," she said the last part with some hatred. Grey noticed her tone but didn''t question it. He had rested enough, so he stood up and started heading towards the entrance of the cave. "Leaving already?" Ama asked seeing him walk away. "Shouldn''t you rest more?" "Like I said, there are people waiting for me," Grey repeated as he almost exited the cave. "And who might those people be?" Ama asked making him stop. "Friends? Family? Or is it¡­ a woman?" The Abyss Watcher stopped for a few seconds before looking over his shoulder. "Honestly¡­ I don''t know anymore," he replied. With that, Grey came out of the cave and went to the side to start climbing again, leaving Ama alone in the cave. The black-haired woman just looked at where the Abyss Watcher used to be before smirking. "He really is interesting," she said before looking back at the fire. With Ahri: Ahri groaned as she slowly opened her eyes. She looked around and was surprised to see that she wasn''t in her room. She was now in the ruins of an ancient-looking city. The area around her was covered in plants and had signs of being centuries old. The only road that was available for her is one that leads to some giant circular building that had a giant entrance. "Hello?" Ahri shouted standing up. "Is anyone here?" she yelled, but like the first time, she didn''t get a response. Seeing no other path, Ahri decided to start walking towards the circular building. When she got through the gate, she saw it was some sort of large coliseum. In the middle appeared to be some sort of demonic creature with long thin limbs and a large head with many red eyes. The creature turned to Ahri who took a step back, but then something fell on the creature, or better yet, someone. Out of nowhere¡­ Grey suddenly dropped on the creature stabbing his sword through it and into the ground. His left arm was dangling at his side, apparently broken. But Grey didn''t seem to care as he pulled his sword halfway out of the ground before stabbing it deeper making the creature bleed more. "Grey, there you are. Everyone was-" Ahri began to speak but stopped seeing something wrong. "... Grey?" The Fox Vastayan noticed a few things out of place. Grey''s armor on his left arm and shoulder looked broken, and his cape looked tainted with some sort of black sludge. The Abyss Watcher slowly raised his head to look at Ahri as darkness appeared around him. "You¡­ left me¡­ alone¡­ in the dark," Grey said with an echoing, but still hurt voice. "You promised¡­ to stay at my side¡­ that I would never¡­ be alone again." Ahri took a few steps back. "No, I¡­ I¡­" she tried to justify her actions but came up with nothing. Suddenly, more darkness started appearing around the Abyss Watcher before they started moving towards him. The Darkness started enveloping Grey''s body, who started letting out growls and pained grunts as the Darkness seemingly entered him. With the darkness inside him, the Abyss Watcher let out a furious roar as he pulled out his sword, spinning in his place before stopping and resting it on his shoulder. The lifeless body of the demonic creature was still on the blade, dangling helplessly. Grey swung his sword, sending the body of the demonic creature hurling towards Ahri as it passed by her. The Abyss Watcher then dashed towards Ahri, leaving a trail of black sludge behind him and swung down his sword at her. "AAAAHHHHHH," Ahri screamed springing up from her bed. She started painting and looking around. She was in her room, covered in sweat from the dream, or nightmare she just had. The Fox Vastayan figured that she wouldn''t be able to sleep after what she saw. She got up and decided to spend some time in the living room. The living room was dark, which was expected, seeing that it was a little after midnight, and the only light was from the moon coming through the window. Ahri decided not to turn the lights on and simply sit on the couch. She ran her hands over her face with a tired sigh. The Nine-Tailed Vastayan then noticed that Silver was sleeping in front of the door as if waiting for someone. Ahri smiled warmly realizing that the wolf pup was waiting for Grey. Her expression fell at the thought of the Abyss Watcher. Her trail of thought went back to the dream she had. It felt too real. Usually, she''s the one giving people dreams of sorrow through her magic, but this time it happened to her instead. She would have chuckled at the irony, but she wasn''t in a humorous mood. Ahri shook her head and smiled. "He''ll be back, this is Grey after all," she said as if to reassure herself. The Fox Vastayan hugged her knees covering her face as her tails coiled around her as a way of comfort. Suddenly, faint sobs can be heard from Ahri. "Grey¡­ please come back," she mumbled as her tails tightened around her. (A/N: Thank you for reading this, please comment, review, and give me your thoughts on my story. First, about the others finding out about Grey being missing, that was meant to happen so Ahri would feel guilty. You can''t expect her anger to go away without reason. Second, I''m pretty sure some of you figured out where Grey is. I came to the conclusion that every region in Runeterra has its own set of deities, like the real world. And when I was playing Sekiro, I thought "Why not include this?". And, for those who didn''t, better for the surprise. Lastly, I''m sure that you noticed Grey''s emotions being more conflicted than ever, but it should help him understand what he feels about Ahri. Thank you again for reading this, remember to comment and preview.) 48 CH47: the Fires of Life. A new day dawns in the Institute of War. Brite, Tiara, and Solas were walking towards the dining hall. "So, what do you think we should do about Ahri and Grey," Solas asked breaking the silence. "I say we skin the fox and make a fur coat out of her tails for Grey for when we find him," Tiara suggested almost immediately. Solas deadpanned at the Dancer while Brite sighed with a hand on his head. Dealing with Tiara was much easier to him with her brother around. "I mean, what are we going to do to help them?" the Sun''s First Born explained. "Help?" Tiara glared at him. "The only one we need to help is my brother. The Fox can rot in hell for all I care. In fact, I''d throw her there myself if you want," she said bitterly. "Hi, everyone," Someone greeted and they saw Aki walk towards them. "Good to see you again, Aki," Brite greeted as the Shy summoner reached them. "How''s your business with your family?" "It went well," the summoner replied before seeing the sour looks of the Dancer and Solas. "W-What''s wrong?" "Your ''friend'' messed up, big time," Tiara replied crossing her arms. It didn''t take long for Aki to know who she was talking about, seeing that she doesn''t have many friends. "Ahri? What did she do?" Before the Dancer answered, they heard another voice. "Hi, guys," Said Luxanna Crownguard. Walking, or floating beside her was Sona. The Maven of the strings had her Etwahl beside her like usual. "What are you all doing?" Lux asked as she and Sona reached them. "We were about to go get breakfast," Solas replied before his tone went a little sad. "And talk about a few things." "Like what?" the light mage asked noticing the change in the tone. Sona noticed the absence of someone. [Where''s Grey?] she signed asking Tiara. "About my brother, that''s what we want to talk about," Tiara replied making the two Demacians look at her. "He''s missing." Both Lux and Sona looked at her confused. "What do you mean ''he''s missing''?" Lux asked. They heard someone groaning behind them and they looked¡­ only for Lux and Sona to jump in shock. "Ahri, what happened to you!?" the light mage asked shocked. The others were sharing the same question as Ahri looked terrible. She had dark circles around her red eyes, making it obvious she didn''t get any sleep, and her hair looked a little messy. Sona took out her board and wrote down before showing it to everyone. was written on the board making others look at her surprised. The Fox Vastayan glared at the mute girl. "Wow, Sona, thanks. I couldn''t tell this morning while looking at the mirror," she said sarcastically while trying to rub the sleep out of her eyes. "Are you okay?" Aki asked worried for her friend''s sake. "Did you even get any sleep last night?" "No," Ahri answered bluntly. She then looked at Tiara. "Did you hear anything from Grey?" The Dancer glared at her. "Well, look who finally grew a conscious," she scoffed. "Even if I did, why would I tell you?" The Fox Vastayan glared at her and was about to make some come back if it wasn''t for some random summoner to stop her. "Hey, Nine-Tailed Fox?" the summoner said standing behind her. "I heard that the Abyss Watcher is finally not around," he said not noticing that Ahri''s tails started rattling in anger. "So, since that undead isn''t around anymore, want to hang out with me and my friends." The Fox Vastayan was gritting her teeth while her eye started twitching making the other champions take a step back. The summoner was behind her so he couldn''t see that. However, Ahri''s angry face was replaced by a calm smile as she turned around to look at the summoner with a hand on her hip. She took a few seductive steps towards the summoner before raising her hand and caressing his face. The summoner smirked and tried to put a hand around her waist¡­ but then Ahri used the hand on his face to tightly grab his throat. The angry look returned on the Fox Vastaya as she activated her magic and her eyes glowed a deep blue color. Being so close while also looking directly into her eyes, the effects were very powerful on the summoner. His head was filled with visions of death, despair, sorrow, and pain as his emotions were turned to utter chaos. Ahri let go of the summoner and smirked deviously as he started crying loudly while screaming like he was being torn apart. The Fox Vastayan turned her gaze towards the other summoners that apparently came with him. "So, anyone else would like to try their luck?" she asked making sure to show off her fangs. "Ahri!" Kayle suddenly appeared floating with her wings. "The rules clearly say that champions cannot harm summoners," she said harshly before looking at the still screaming summoner. "That also includes using your magic to traumatize them!" she scolded. "Then tell these man-wh*res to stay away from me!" Ahri yelled. She was already in a bad mood, and the idiot playboys who wanted to get under her skirt didn''t help. She started glaring at the summoners. "I don''t know who''s the idiot that spread that rumor about me f*cking people in the past, but it''s a lie! And I swear to the Old Wolf of Farron that if I see one more person wanting s*x from me that I''ll completely ruin their sanity!" The summoners all nodded and immediately ran away. Meanwhile, everyone else was looking at Ahri shocked for something specific she just said. The first one to ask was Tiara. "Did you just say, ''I swear to the Old Wolf of Farron''?" she asked. Ahri''s eyes widen realizing that she unconsciously used one of Grey''s quotes. "F*ck!" she cursed loudly as she covered her face and started walking away. They all watched her walk away before Aki, Lux, and Sona turned to the others. "Okay, can someone tell us what was that about?" the young Crownguard asked. [And more importantly, what''s this about Grey being missing?] Sona signed worried about the Abyss Watcher more than Ahri. Solas sighed messaging his forehead. "We should probably sit down. This is going to need some explaining." Meanwhile, Ahri was speed walking through the hallways trying to get back to her room but stopped seeing that going there wasn''t going to help much. The Nine-Tailed Vastayan wanted to clear her head. To just find a place to sit down and relax. Hopefully a quiet place, too. It was then that Ahri had remembered how Zyra keeps everyone from entering the garden. True, she didn''t have Grey with her, but she hoped that the Carnivore woman would still allow her to stay there. With a new destination, Ahri started walking towards the garden with the hope of staying there. Ahri made it to the green gates of the garden and entered. Much to her joy, it was quiet and mostly empty. The only ones there were Zyra and Storm. The Carnivore woman looked at the fox Vastaya. "Ahri? What are you doing here?" she asked. The Nine-Tailed Vastayan sighed. "Listen, Zyra. I know you don''t usually allow anyone in your garden without Grey around, but I really need some peace and quiet, so please, can I stay here for a while?" she asked giving Zyra a pleading look. The Carnivore woman looked in thought. True, she didn''t allow anyone around without Grey being present, mainly because her children enjoyed the warm presence he gave off. But, she knew that Ahri wouldn''t do anything, and the fox Vastaya really looked like she needs some rest. "Alright, you can stay here." "Thank you," Ahri said in gratitude as she walked in the garden and found a place to sit down. Zyra stood at the side and started checking on her children. She was glad to see that Solas kept his word and Storm didn''t breath fire while also providing some rain. The Carnivore woman started also thinking of Why Ahri was alone. She heard rumors about Grey being missing, but this probably means that they''re more than just rumors. Zyra stopped thinking when she heard something¡­ it was light snoring. When she looked, she saw that Ahri had laid down while using her tails as a cushion and fell asleep. Normally, Zyra wouldn''t allow anyone to sleep in her garden, but remembering the state of the Nine-Tailed Vastayan, she decided to make an exception just this once. Meanwhile, Ahri just snuggled into her tails. Some of them being a blanket, while the rest were working as her pillow. Inside Ahri''s dream: Ahri felt her eyes flutter open as she found herself on a couch. The Fox Vastayan immediately stood confused. She''s definitely sure that she was in the garden, yet somehow she was now on a couch in some sort of living room. It was very spacious. The couch she was laying on was brown in color and had a few pillows on it. In front of the couch was a table with two chairs on the other side. Over the table is what seems to be an old-style open kitchen. "Oh, you''re awake?" Someone asked. Ahri looked and saw a woman wearing a mixture of black and green robes. They were obviously meant for stealth. She had light blonde hair that was tied into a braid the fell over her shoulder. She was holding a tray that had a kettle with two teacups. However, what truly draws Ahri''s attention was the woman''s eyes. They were blue. And for some reason, Ahri can swear that she saw those blue eyes before. "I wasn''t expecting any visitors, so I hope you don''t mind just tea," the woman said walking towards the table and putting the tray on it. Ahri lifted herself and sat up on the couch before she started massaging her forehead. "No, tea is fine," she said before she realized something. "Wait, that''s not important. Where am I?" she asked. "You''re in my home," the woman answered as she sat down on one of the chairs and started pouring tea. "And who are you, exactly?" Ahri asked narrowing her eyes at the woman. "Just a woman who saw someone in need of help," the woman replied as she set a cup of tea in front of Ahri before pouring herself one. The Fox Vastayan glared at her. "I don''t need help," she denied. The woman merely took a sip from her tea before saying, "That is not what that hurt look in your eyes is telling me." Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please clickfor visiting. Ahri glared at the woman who just looked at her calmly. The Fox Vastayan didn''t keep her glare though. The Nine-Tailed Vastayan couldn''t tell why. But, the woman''s familiar blue eyes made her feel¡­ safe¡­ trusting¡­ and calm. For a second, Ahri actually thought that this woman was using the same magic she uses to make her calm down, But she would have known if that was the case. Seeing that Ahri wasn''t relaxed yet, the woman continued speaking. "Bottling up your emotions never helps. It only makes it all the more hurtful when they overflow. If someone is offering you to let your emotions out without judgment, then you should take it." Ahri kept glaring at the woman. But, as much as she hated to admit, she knew the woman was right. No one understands emotions as much as she does. And, the Nine-Tailed Vastayan knew that hiding your emotions just makes it painful when they come out. After debating herself for a few seconds, Ahri sighed and spoke. "I¡­ got into a fight with a friend," she started but stopped to see what the woman was doing. She was just sitting, giving her a warm smile without any judgment. So, she continued. "It was pretty bad and ended with us walking away from each other. And now, that friend is missing." The woman nodded, all while keeping her warm smile. "I see, and now you''re worried that you might never get to fix your friendship with that friend," she said as a fact rather than a question. Ahri nodded and the woman asked, "Can you tell me what you two fought about?" Ahri just looked down at with her hands on her lap. The woman in front of her was getting a little personal, but she really needed someone to speak to. "I found out that he didn''t take a promise to me seriously, I said something I shouldn''t have, there was yelling, and we didn''t see each other since," Ahri summarized while keeping the personal details. The woman nodded and asked, "Did that promise involve him fighting for something?" Ahri looked at her shocked before she nodded. The woman hummed in thought. "Alright, I won''t say who is right and who is wrong, but I want to ask you two more questions." "You''re asking a lot of questions for someone I don''t know," Ahri said giving the woman a tired glare. The woman just chuckled. "Well, I am asking questions to get to know you," she replied. Before Ahri can say something, the woman asked. "Tell me, how much did this friend of yours lose in his life?" Ahri opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. The Nine-Tailed Vastayan stayed quiet for a few seconds before finally speaking. "... I think the better question is, ''What did he NOT lose?''," she asked. His home, his family, and his friends. Most of these were gone with barely anything left. In fact, when they first met, Grey had literally lost his entire world. The woman nodded, and the look on her face made it obvious she was expecting that answer. "When someone loses so much in their life, they start losing their reasons to live, and without reason to live, you don''t have reason to fight for." It only took Ahri a couple of seconds to understand what the woman was trying to say, and her face turned to one of horror. The reason Grey didn''t fight seriously¡­ is because he didn''t have many reasons to live. ''If that''s the case¡­ then I just gave Grey LESS reasons to live,'' Ahri thought as tears started building in her eyes. "I''m¡­ a terrible friend," she said as her hands covered her face. The woman took a sip from her tea before nodding. "Here is my last question," she said making Ahri look at her between her fingers with teary eyes. "This friend¡­ do you love him?" "I¡­ Of course I do!" Ahri yelled standing up from the couch. "How can I not love him!" tears started running down her cheeks as she started reflecting on all the time that she and Grey have spent together. "W-when I was a Fox, I had this natural connection to magic. I would hunt without a problem and keep predators away like it was a game. I got arrogant! And when I turned human, that arrogance stayed with my ears and tails. I''ve been acting like a spoiled little princess! But he never complained! He always did his best to make me happy, but I always took it for granted! And now¡­ now I might never get the chance to see him again!" she finished sitting back down and breaking into tears. The woman in front her stayed quiet and listened to everything the fox Vastaya said. After a few seconds, the woman finally spoke. "You know, I experienced this feeling many times," she said making Ahri stop crying for a few seconds to listen. "The fear of never seeing the person you love ever again. It''s haunting. Every time that he went to walk through the dark, I would wonder if it''s the last time I ever see him again. But, he always came back. However, the fear that one day he might not come back was always on my mind, so when I had the chance, I finally told him how I feel, and he accepted. It felt like the weight of the world has been lifted from my back," she put her hands where her heart was. "If you truly love him, then believe that he will come back. And, when you get the chance, tell him how you feel." Ahri just sat quietly and let the woman''s words sink in. She knew that the woman was right. She needed to believe in Grey, and it''s about time she finally tells him how she feels. "You know, you never tasted your tea yet," the woman pointed out. The Nine-Tailed Vastayan looked down and noticed that, somehow, her tea was still warm with steam coming from it. Honestly, Ahri felt a little worn out after that outburst, so tea sounded pretty good for her. She picked up the cup, brought it to her lips, and took a sip. Reality: The Nine-Tailed Vastayan slowly opened her eyes. She sat up and saw that she was in the garden this time. "Took you long enough," Zyra said walking towards her. "When you said a ''while'', I didn''t think you meant hours." Ahri raised an eyebrow before looked at the sky and realized that it was now sunset. She had apparently slept more than she thought. "Sorry," The Fox Vastaya apologized standing. "I didn''t get any sleep last night, and I was more tired than I thought." Zyra nodded, but she wasn''t completely satisfied with the reply. "You know, usually, my children would have eaten you by now since you didn''t move for a while," The Nine-Tailed Vastayan Zyra a deadpan look. "Well, thank you for stopping them," she said. The Carnivore woman shook her head. "I didn''t," she said making Ahri look at her confused. "I honestly was surprised that they didn''t touch you, and when I asked, they said that the Flames Of The World would be mad that they hurt you." Ahri looked more confused. "Flames Of The World?" she asked. "Apparently, that''s what they call Grey," Zyra said before she started walking away. Ahri looked surprised before giving a self deprived chuckle. "Even when he''s not around he''s looking out for me," she said before she started walking to the exit. Ahri''s thoughts went back to the dream she just had. She had no idea who that woman was, but she helped her a lot. And now, Ahri had someone she needs to talk to before Grey comes back. With Grey: The Abyss Watcher has finally reached the top of the mountain. He pulled himself to the top and found that the mountain had a volcano-like structure. There was a landslide that leads to a giant field in the middle of the mountain. The walls of the mountain surrounded that field making it look like a giant bowl. The skies were now dark with clouds and the sound of thunder can be heard. Sliding down towards the field, Grey started looking around for the medallion. But the field seemed empty. However, he then noticed something odd. In the middle of the field was a person sitting on the trunk of a cut-down tree. Walking towards the person, Grey was hoping that he might find a clue on where the medallion is. The person turned out to be a man who looked to be in his thirties. He had black hair tied into a messy ponytail, and goatee connected to his mustache. For clothes, he was wearing what Grey recognized as dark green Ionian robes mixed with some armor for the chest, forearms, shins, and left shoulder. On his waist, was a katana with a green sheath. The man was drinking from a gourd bottle when he heard footsteps. He stopped drinking and saw Grey walking towards him. "Well, this is new," the man said with a raised eyebrow. "You''re not Ama, that''s for sure. Been a while since I was visited by someone else, and it''s been longer since someone visited Takama no Hara itself." "Can''t say I planned to end up here, but it couldn''t be helped," Grey replied with a shrug. The man chuckled. "Well, can''t complain about that then," he said before he started drinking from his gourd bottle again. "Do you know where the storm medallion is?" Grey asked cutting to the chase. The man stopped drinking and looked at Grey. "The storm medallion?" he asked before narrowing his eyes. "I see, you''re planning to get to the Gate of Spirits." "Yes," Grey nodded looking over the man. "And judging by your reaction, you have the medallion with you." "I do," the man sat the gourd bottle down and stood up from the tree trunk. "But, for what reason do you want to reach the Gate of Spirits?" "I wish to go back to Runeterra," Grey replied noticing the man''s change of character. Like Ama, the man frowned upon hearing the name. "Oh, you want to go to THAT place, huh?" he said before slowly grabbing the handle of his katana. "Then we''re at a disagreement. I can''t simply hand it to you." The Abyss Watcher was confused why both the man in front of him and Ama seemed to have some hatred towards Runeterra. But, he decided to shrug it off and grab the handle of his Farron Great-sword. "Sorry, but I''m not leaving this place without the medallion." The man chuckled before slightly crouching down while spreading his feet, getting to a battle stance. "Very well, Okame. Do your best, for now, you face me! Susano!" Grey raised an eyebrow while doing the Legion etiquette. "You''re the second person to call me by that odd nickname." "Trust me, it''s not weird if you know what it means," Susano said grabbing the handle of his katana in one hand and the sheath in the other. "Now, show me what you got!" In one swift move, Susano pulled his katana and dashed towards Grey swinging his sword. The Abyss Watcher immediately blocked pointing his sword downwards. He was shocked by the amount of speed that Susano carried. Susano pushed his blade forward, and a gust of strong wind followed him making Grey skit backward. The Abyss Watcher was surprised. That hit wasn''t natural. He suspected that the man in front of him uses wind magic. His thoughts were cut off when Susano came in swinging his katana downwards for a slash, forcing Grey to dodge by rolling to the side. The Abyss Watcher stood up and swung his sword at the man. Susano bent backward in order to avoid the sword cutting his head off. Grey anchored his knife on the ground and continued swinging his sword making it go in a full circle. Susano guarded using his katana but the hit made him skit back a few feet. The Abyss Watcher pulled out his knife and jumped up swinging down his sword. Again, Susano guarded with his katana and was sent a few more feet back. He swung his blade at Grey who blocked with his knife. Like before, winds followed Susano''s katana making the Abyss Watcher back away from the man. Susano suddenly sheathed his katana. Grey noticed winds gathering around the sheath and immediately put up his guard. In one swift motion, Susano pulled out his blade swing downwards. A current of wind followed the blade cutting through the air. The Abyss Watcher raised his sword to block the strike. The wind current clashed with Grey''s Farron Great-sword creating a loud metal bang through the field. Grey was sent sliding through the ground but managed to stay standing. The Abyss Watcher grunted as he stopped sliding. That attack dealt more damage than he thought. So, taking advantage of the distance the attack made, Grey took the chance to drink from his Estus Flask. After healing, the Abyss Watcher immediately dashed forward to attack Susano. The black-haired man simply blocked with his katana. Both of them started trading swings. The clashing blades creating sparks through the air. But, eventually, they settled for a lock-down. Susano then pushed Grey backward with the winds helping him. The black-haired man jumped back high in the air. Suddenly, much to Grey''s surprise, lightning struck Susano''s blade while he was in the air. Susano swung his sword creating a large arc of lightning. The Abyss Watcher was still shaking from the winds so he couldn''t move. The lightning slashed Grey making electricity run through his body. The Abyss Watcher fell on one knee recovering from the shock. Susano landed on the ground and dashed towards the Abyss Watcher swinging his blade. Grey barely managed to raise his hand and use his own sword to block the hit. But, still hurt from the shock, the Lord of Cinder couldn''t protect himself as the winds pushed him sending him to his back. Before the Abyss Watcher had a chance to recover, Susano drove the blade of his katana into his chest. Grey coughed as he tried to move before his body went limp. Susano pulled out his katana and swung it to remove the blood. "You''ve done well, Okame," Susano said as he turned his back to Grey. "But, it seems victory did not favor you." Inside Grey''s head: Like every time he would reach for the powers of the Lord of Cinder, Grey found himself in the Abyss Watcher temple with two statues. One was a wolf, which contained the wolf''s blood soul. The other was the first of the dead, Nito, which had the soul of Death. Honestly, Grey did not know which to chose. Susano was powerful, either of those two souls could help him, but he needed to be smart. The Abyss Watcher needed something that would help him against Susano''s wind and lightning. While debating on what to choose, the ground shook as a new statue rose from the ground at his side. This statue was that of a woman wearing magician robes equipped with a hood. Her other features were not visible because the robes covered almost her entire body. The statue of the woman had its hands extended forward as if they were offering something. Suddenly, a flame appeared between the woman''s arms. It looked like the Soul of Death, but while the Death soul was pale white, this one was deep red. After a few seconds of confusion, the Abyss Watcher recognized the woman and the flame. "The¡­ Witch of Izalith¡­ and that''s the Soul of Life." Grey was now beyond confused. It was already puzzling why he had the Soul of Death, and now he has the Soul of Life as well. "I really need to ask Solas about this," Grey mumbled thinking that the Sun''s First Born might know something. The Abyss Watcher shook his head deciding not to dwell on it for now. He had to beat Susano. He needed a counter for the man''s wind and lightning. He needed fire, and lots of it. He needed¡­ "Pyromancy," Grey mumbled thinking that the Soul of Life couldn''t have picked a better time. Everyone who even heard of Pyromancy knows about the Witch of Izalith, who is called the mother of Pyromancy. The Soul of Life can give him exactly what he needs. Reaching out towards the statue, the Dark red flame started floating towards Grey''s hand before he brought it and it vanished in his chest. In reality: Susano was walking away from Grey''s lifeless body. But, he suddenly stopped when he felt something. He looked down and was surprised to see flowers suddenly growing from the ground, but not only under him but around the entire field. They were white flowers that were giving off sparks of fire, but, somehow, they were not burning. Susano looked back and his eyes widen seeing Grey stand up again. His sword was on fire, and he sheathed his knife as fire appeared in his left arm. His cape was also covered by fiery, root-like patterns. The Abyss Watcher stood up completely and Susano readied his katana again. Grey immediately dashed forward swinging his now fiery sword. The black-haired man used his katana to block but had to pull back his head slightly from the fire of Grey''s sword. The Abyss Watcher pushed Susano away and raised his left hand before thrusting it forward, throwing a ball of red fire at his opponent. Susano jumped back as the ball of fire struck the ground he was standing on, leaving a small puddle of lava. The black-haired man sheathed his katana as winds gathered around it again. Grey saw this and raised his left hand before slapping the flames in it on his chest resulting in him being covered by a red aura. Susano swung his blade sending a current of wind at the Abyss Watcher who swung his sword at it. Surprisingly, he was able to stop it while only sliding back a few feet. Grey dashed forward and swung his sword at Susano, who was sent back a few feet. The black-haired man noticed Grey''s strength increasing. Susano jumped back high in the air as lightning struck his Katana. He swung his blade creating an arc of lightning that struck the Abyss Watcher. The Lord of Cinder fell to one knee again. Susano took his chance and dashed forward to the Abyss Watcher. But, Grey then put his hand on the ground, and when Susano got closer, pillars of fire erupted from the ground striking the black-haired man. Susano was forced to jump back, falling to one knee as the fire struck him. The Abyss Watcher stood up and was ready to battle again. But suddenly, Susano raised his hand signaling for them to stop. Grey was curious but kept his guard up. Susano started laughing as he stood up. "That was wonderful! I haven''t had a fight this exciting since I battled the Yamata no Orochi," he said laughing. The Abyss Watcher noticed that the man in front of him no longer had the desire for battle. After calming down, the flames in him started going out while the white flowers vanished. "Here," Susano pulled out something from his pocket and threw it at Grey. "You can have it. You''ve earned it." The Abyss Watcher caught what was thrown at him and saw it was a medallion with the crest of a storm. "Thank you," Grey said as he put the medallion away. Susano shook his head. "No, thank YOU. I have been bored out of my mind with lack of activity, and you gave me fun I haven''t had in a long time." Susano then swung his katana at the other side of the field, where a wall of the mountain split apart revealing a set of stairs that leads downwards. "This should help you get down from the mountain while avoiding the fog. I assume you don''t want to climb back down after climbing up," he said in amusement. "Thank you," the Abyss Watcher said in gratitude. He really wasn''t in the mood to climb anything any time soon. "One more thing," Susano said as Grey stopped beside him. "Just because you got my medallion, doesn''t mean your journey will be any easier." "Thinking that life is easy is just a delusional ideal," The Abyss Watcher replied as he continued walking towards the stairs. Susano laughed again. "That''s true, I guess," he said as he walked back to the tree trunk to sit down. Meanwhile, the Abyss Watcher reached the stairs and started walking down them. ''One down, two to go,'' he thought. (A/N: Thank you for reading this. I''m sure you know who Ahri met. You have to admit, that it would be stupid if she just understood what she did wrong without someone guiding her. Also, I''m pretty that some of you(those who read my original story) noticed the difference of how Grey unlocked the Soul of Life. I have to admit, the way he unlocked it the first time was sort of anticlimactic, so I had to think of a better one. Again, thank you for reading this. Remember to comment, review, and to tell me your thoughts.) 49 CH48: Believe (A/N: It seems some of you is mistaken something. Some of you think ''Okame'' means ''Tortoise''. Actually, in Japanese, ''Okame'' means ''Wolf'', and is pronounced ''Okami''. It''s like how ''Kitsune'' means ''Fox''.) Third POV: Ahri has been walking through the halls of the Institute until she reached the dining hall. She started looking around until she found the person she was looking for. She walked towards a table that had Aki, Brite, Solas, Sona, and Tiara. The Nine-Tailed Vastayan hesitantly brought a chair from another table and sat with them. The Dancer groaned, "What do you want now, fox?" she asked. Ahri took a deep breath and prepared herself for what''s next. "Look, I know you are angry, and I''m¡­ sorry," she apologized. Everyone looked at her confused. "Sorry for what?" Tiara asked. "Everything," Ahri replied shaking her head. "I know I''ve been acting like a¡­" she trailed off looking for the word. "B*tch?" Tiara suggested. The Nine-Tailed Vastayan nodded. "Yeah, and despite what you think. I really care about Grey." "I know," Tiara said making the others look at her either deadpan or confused. She rolled her eyes at their looks. "Please, I''m the second-best assassin in history. If I really thought that you didn''t care about my brother, I could have had you killed with, literally, no one knowing what happened." Ahri shivered slightly realizing that Tiara was being serious. Lux noticed something in what she said. "Wait, second-best in history? Why not the best?" the young Crownguard asked. "Because I''m not egotistical enough to believe that I''m better than Ciaran the Lord''s blade," the Dancer replied. She knew full well that Ciaran didn''t become one of the Four Knights of Gwyn for nothing. Tiara looked back at Ahri. "So, what do you want? I don''t think you just came here to say that." Ahri sighed and brought up the question that recently haunted her. "I want to know¡­ what does Grey fight for?" Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. They were all taken back by the question, but they couldn''t help but be curious so they all looked at Tiara. The Dancer just sighed. "Lots of things," she answered. "But, not one of them is selfish. He always, and I mean always, fight for the sake of something or someone else." Ahri looked at her confused. "Always something else? What about himself?" she asked. She knew that Grey can be selfless, but not to this extent. Tiara scoffed. "Himself? To Grey, it''s always been everyone but himself. In fact, I don''t think that I saw Grey fight for himself even once in his life." All of them, but Brite, Look at her shocked. "That can''t be right," Lux said shaking her head. "He''s a person, he has to have at least ONE selfish desire." All of them had to agree. Everyone who is a person had something they wish for themselves in this world. Ahri knew that more than most people. After all, she used to have the selfish desire to steal memories, and now she has the desire to find a way to live peacefully, which is selfish if you think about it. "You''re right, he does have a selfish desire. Although, it doesn''t sound selfish at all." Brite said drawing their attention. "I''ll be honest, after I''ve seen Runeterra, I can safely say that¡­ it''s soft, to the point where it''s not even funny." The others who are from Runeterra looked a little insulted. "What do mean?" Aki asked. "Please," Tiara scoffed crossing her arms. "The thing you people are worried about the most is the Void, and honestly, it''s just a cheap knock-off of the Dark Abyss. In fact, you can''t even compare them." "What does that have to do with Grey''s selfish desire?" Ahri asked. So far, all Tiara and Brite did was compare their worlds. The Outrider Knight sighed. She knew this part was coming. "Because, in our world, no matter how good your intentions or actions are, there is always, and I mean always, an innocent victim that suffers." Everyone but Solas and Brite looked at her surprised. Lux chuckled nervously. "What¡­ do you mean? That can''t be-" "True?" Tiara guessed what the young Crownguard was going to say. "Sorry to tell you this, but that''s just how cruel our world is. And the worst part is that it''s a well-known fact by now." They all just looked at her as their mood went down. Ahri glared at Tiara. "You still haven''t answered my question." The Dancer rolled her eyes. "You see, Grey knows that there is always going to be a victim, and he refuses that it''s anyone else but him," she said making them look at her confused. "In other words, Grey would rather suffer alone than let anyone else suffer. Like Tiara said, it''s selfish but doesn''t sound like that," Brite explained. They all just stared shocked, except Solas. Truthfully, the Sun''s First Born had already expected this when Tiara and Brite brought up their world. The Nine-Tailed Vastayan wasn''t finished with questions. "Alright, one last question. On the off chance that Grey ends up being corrupted by the Abyss, what would you do?" she asked, but she was fearing the answer. Much to Ahri''s sadness, Tiara''s answer was exactly what she feared. "I''d kill him, plain and simple," she said shocking the others. "Okay, you can''t be serious!" Lux yelled standing up. "How can you say that about your own brother!?" she asked. As a sibling herself, she knew that she would never say this about Garen. "Didn''t I already tell you that you can only offer those people a quick end?" Brite asked remembering that he already mentioned this subject. "That''s different!" Lux glared at them. "You and Grey are friends! But Tiara is his sister! How can you say that about your own family!?" "Family?" Tiara glared at the young Crownguard, making her back down. "That word barely has any meaning in our world, and it definitely didn''t stop Grey from killing Ghear." They all stopped and looked at her in disbelief. "Grey¡­ killed his and your father?" Ahri asked. "Why?" Solas asked. "I thought Ghear stopped hunting because he retired." "Oh for the love of¡­" Tiara shook her head before looking at the Sun''s First Born. "Solas, Ghear was an undead. What is the only thing that can make an undead retire?" Solas didn''t need to think much to know the answer. "Because they''re going Hollow." The Dancer nodded. "That''s right," she sighed recalling those days. "Ghear wanted one of us to come back and kill him after he fully turns Hollow, and Grey was the one to do it." Lux sat down as they all let those words sink in. Grey always told them that he doesn''t talk about his world because of how cruel it is, and now they realize to what extent of cruel it was. Ahri just kept looking down before she asked one last question. "How do you deal with it?" she asked. All of them wanted to know. From what Brite and Tiara just revealed, their world was a place of never-ending torture, mentally and physically. "Everyone has their own way," the Dancer replied shrugging her shoulders. "For me? It''s about taking my anger out at everything around me," she said, which honestly explained a little about her to the others. "For me, it''s protecting Dragon''s Peak," Solas replied remembering the home he made for Dragons. "My reason is that as long as the sun shines, there''s always hope," Brite said his own reason. The Fox Vastayan then looked up before asking, "And Grey?" Both Tiara and Brite looked at each other before shrugging. "We don''t know," the Silver Knight replied. Ahri looked at them confused. "What do you mean you don''t know?" "Simply put, we have no idea how Grey handles our world," Tiara said. In all honesty, her brother amazed her when it came to this. "He just does." Again, they fell silent as they let the words sink in. They realized that despite Grey''s attitude, which was carefree, caring, and kind, he had quite the dark life. The Nine-Tailed Vastayan suddenly chuckled making the others look at her shocked. "How can you laugh right now?" Lux asked. "No, it''s just¡­" Ahri shook her head before answering. "I just realized that despite all that, Grey is still as much of a person as the rest of us," she said making the others look at her confused. "Everyone has their faults. For Grey, well, he can''t lie at all." "Ain''t that the truth," Tiara chuckled at her brother''s inability to lie. Sona wrote down, showing it to everyone. "He''s modest to the point where it''s annoying," Ahri added. "He seriously needs to start taking credit for himself," Brite said shaking his head. Lux nodded. "Yeah. Seriously, there''s a difference between modesty and self-doubt." "He also takes unnecessary risks," Ahri said remembering what Nidalee told her about the fight with Vordt. "From what I''ve seen so far, I can say that this is a fact," Solas said remembering some of the stories the others told him about Grey. "And, he honestly has weird sleeping habits," Ahri chuckled remembering each night she spent with the Abyss Watcher. "He either needs someone to wake him up or he doesn''t sleep at all." Tiara shrugged. "Hey, don''t look at me. That''s something he got from the Old Wolf of Farron, not the Ashnex family," she said blaming Grey''s sleeping habits on the Old Wolf. "Doesn''t matter," Ahri shook her head. "The important thing is, he has things he wants to do in this world. And, WHEN he gets back, I''m going to make sure he experience them." They all noticed how the Nine-Tailed Vastayan pointed out the word ''When''. They all smiled seeing her believe Grey will return. With Grey: Meanwhile, the Abyss Watcher had just walked finished walking down the stairs provided to him by Susano. Apparently, the stairs led him to the other side of the mountain, avoiding the fog in the process. Honestly, the Abyss Watcher was grateful. He honestly did not feel like fighting. Even if he gained another of the Lords'' Soul. Back to the subject at hand. The area around him was the complete opposite of the other side of the mountain. Unlike the garden full of life and the blue sky, this place was like a dead forest. Dead trees were everywhere, and the sky was pitch black where the full moon was shining. "Well, Well, that''s interesting," Someone said and Grey looked to see Ama sitting on a fallen tree near the entrance of the forest. "Usually, Susano is far more chaotic. You must have impressed him to gain the Storm Medallion, Okame." The Abyss Watcher wasn''t surprised that she knew Susano since he mentioned her, but he was surprised by something else. "How do you keep showing up wherever I go?" he asked. Ama simply smirked. "Now, now, it''s not nice to ask a lady to give secrets about herself." Grey just narrowed his eyes but kept his comments to himself. He remembered that she might be his only lead to find the other two Medallions. "Where can I find the other two?" he asked deciding to ignore the woman''s sudden appearance. Ama knew what he was talking about and simply pointed to the dead forest beside her. "In there you will find the Medallion of the Moon." The Abyss Watcher looked at the forest before looking back at the black-haired woman. "I suppose you''re going to warn me of what is in there?" Ama chuckled. "You are right about that," she said before narrowing her eyes. "THAT is the Forest of Dead Dreams. In there, what you believe in will be tested." Grey couldn''t help but chuckle thinking of how it sounded like the Judgement¡­ and his daily life. "Been there, done that. Many times." The dark-haired woman chuckled again. "Well, Okame, I wish you luck." The Abyss Watcher barely cared for her words as he walked towards the forest, passing through the dead trees. Ama just smirked at his direction. "He keeps getting interesting," she said before she turned her now angry gaze to the mountain. "I''m just glad that idiot Susano didn''t mess this up." Meanwhile, Grey was walking through the dead trees of the forest. In all honesty, he didn''t know what to expect. First, he was really hoping the incident with Susano wouldn''t happen again. Mainly because he was really leaning towards the Soul of Death. Second, he was experiencing some nostalgia. The dead trees and the pale moon in the sky, all this place was missing was snow and it would look exactly like the Boreal Valley. While walking, Grey couldn''t help but feel that he was being watched. He stopped to look around him. There wasn''t anything, but he wasn''t stupid enough to believe he was alone. He knew that there was definitely something here. The Abyss Watcher slowly reached for the handle of his sword and waited. But, nothing came out. Grey narrowed his eyes. Whatever was out there, it''s obviously waiting for him to go deeper into the forest. Shrugging his shoulders, the Lord of Cinder decided that, if that thing isn''t coming for it, then he''s coming for it. So, Grey started walking through the forest again, ready for whatever is hiding in the shadows. After a few minutes of walking, he walked in towards a small clearing. The Abyss Watcher stopped and looked in confusion at what he found. The clearing itself wasn''t the problem. However, the fact that there were sheets in the middle of the clearing was confusing. Something was obviously under the sheets, and Grey didn''t need to check as it crawled out to reveal¡­ a naked man. The man, however, looked like the life had been drained from him. He was skinny to the point where you can see the bones and his skin had lost color. Grey almost thought it was a Hollow. The man groaned before he stopped moving and died. Suddenly, something else came out of the sheets. It was¡­ Ahri. But, there was some difference. For one thing, she was also naked. Second, she looked more feral than normal. Her slit eyes were thinner than usual. Her hair was slightly messy. The fur on her tails looked dirty. And, her fangs looked longer. Seeing the man naked, along with Ahri, it wasn''t hard for Grey to realize that she had ''fun'' with him as he died. "Oh, there you are," Ahri said grinning deviously, not bothering to cover herself. "I was wondering what happened to my favorite toy." The Abyss Watcher paid her no mind. He didn''t even care that she was naked. "What happened to him?" he asked in an emotionless voice motioning to the dead man. "Him?" Ahri looked at the corpse in front of her. "Oh, you know. I just¡­ ''played'' with him before I took his memories," she said. Grey remained quiet which made her give a sinister chuckle. "What''s wrong? Can''t stand to look at me in my true nature?" "True nature?" Grey asked raising an eyebrow. "You didn''t think I care about you, did you?" the Nine-Tailed Vastayan asked mockingly. "Please," she scoffed motioning to herself. "Like I would waste my time caring someone like you. You were just another toy for me. All this time you thought I was just teasing, but in truth, I just wanted to finally have my fun with you so I can ditch you and look for more toys. But, I got tired of waiting." The Abyss Watcher just stayed quiet. With the neck of his shirt covering his face, it was almost impossible to tell what he felt. "Awe, you usually get so flustered when you see my body," Ahri gave a sinister laugh. "Are you Heart-broken? To know that I never cared for you?" She grinned like a madwoman. "Face it! This is the real me! The only one who can actually care for you is someone who uses you! I will never-" She was cut off¡­ when Grey''s sword pierced her chest as he suddenly appeared in front of her. The Abyss Watcher''s eyes showed no pain, just boredom. "You''re annoying," he said as he pulled out his sword making her fall to her knees. "Also, why would I get flustered over someone who isn''t even half as beautiful as the real Ahri?" ''Ahri'' fell on the ground and laid motionless for a few seconds before she, the man, and the sheets suddenly turned to dust and vanished in the air. The sound of wood creaking was heard as the trees in front of Grey suddenly started moving, creating a path for him. Seeing no other way, the Abyss Watcher started walking through the bent trees, headed towards whatever they led him to. Once he reached another clearing, he noticed the major difference between it and the last one. The first thing he noticed was a house. From his short time in Ionia, Grey recognized it to be the same design as Ionian homes, only looked older. On the entrance to the house sat a man with mid-length pale white hair. He had blue, slightly glowing eyes. He was wearing a green yukata with dark blue moon drawings. The man, who was sitting cross-legged in front of a pot of tea, looked up at Grey. "Well, that was interesting," the man said with a smirk. "The last person to enter my forest had lost his mind in seconds, but you managed to see through it, and reach me." "I guess you''re the one who created the illusion?" the Abyss Watcher asked. The man shook his head. "No, the forest did. Think of it as a defensive mechanism. A way to keep unworthy from reaching me." "And who are you?" Grey asked curiously. The man smiled and did a small bow while still sitting. "My name is Tsukiyomi, it''s a pleasure to meet you." "Am I going to fight you for the Moon Medallion?" Grey asked. He already guessed that he had it. Tsukiyomi scoffed. "Fight? No, thank you. I''m not like that barbarian Susano," he said annoyed. "If you want it, then here." The man took out something from the sleeve of his yukata and threw it at Grey. When the Abyss Watcher caught it, he saw it was a medallion similar to the Storm medallion, but with the crest of the moon. "You''re just giving it to me?" Grey asked suspiciously. Tsukiyomi shrugged. "The Gate of Spirits has to be opened sooner or later. Why delay the inevitable? Also, I got bored of holding on to the Medallion," he then smirked. "Besides, I want to see if you can defeat the demon there." The Abyss Watcher was not amused. "So, I''m just entertainment for you?" "To put it simply, yes," Tsukiyomi replied with harsh honesty. "It has been a really long time since someone came to Takama no Hara, and things get rather dull here. Other than Susano causing trouble like a child, or Ama making sure to give him an earful, nothing much happens." Grey would have questioned it further, but he decided to simply forget about that and focus on finding the last medallion. "Here," Tsukiyomi waved his hand and the trees behind Grey created another path. "This should get you out of the forest without encountering any illusions," the Abyss Watcher turned to leave but stopped as Tsukiyomi spoke again. "Before you go, can I ask, how did you know that what you saw was not real?" Grey looked at Tsukiyomi over his shoulder. Seeing as the man was honest so far, he decided to answer with honesty as well. "Simply put¡­ I saw no humanity in her eyes," the Lord of Cinder said making Tsukiyomi raise an eyebrow. "Ahri is more human than most people I met, and the one I saw was just a beast with no humanity in them," With that, the Abyss Watcher continued walking through the path of trees. When Grey can no longer be seen, Tsukiyomi started laughing. "Ama was right. That guy is interesting." Meanwhile, the Abyss Watcher kept walking until he made it outside the forest. Surprisingly, the moon was no longer in the sky. "My, my," Someone said. Grey looked to see Ama standing a few feet in front of him. "You managed to get the Moon Medallion as well. Well, Tsukiyomi never liked hanging on to it." Grey just looked at her. "You know, showing up out of nowhere just makes you more suspicious." The woman just smirked deviously. "Oh, I think men are drawn to a woman with mysteries surrounding her," she said before leaning forward. "After all, every time we meet you start trying to get to know me." "The attention I''m giving you and the one you THINK I''m giving you are completely different," Grey said making her smirk vanish. "Where''s the last Medallion?" he asked. Ama rolled her eyes. "Very well," she then looked at him with her smirk coming back. "You will find the last Medallion at the end of the beginning," she said. The Abyss Watcher sighed and shook his head. He knew it wasn''t going to be easy, but he really hoped he didn''t have to deal with riddles. He looked at Ama to ask her for something else¡­ only to see that she vanished, making him sigh again. Grey started thinking about what she said. "At the end¡­ of the beginning¡­" he mumbled. After a few minutes of thinking, the answer was obvious. The Lord of Cinder then started walking towards the location of the last Medallion. (A/N: Thank you for reading this. I hope you enjoy it. Now, about the talk with the champions in the Institute. You have to admit, that it''s about time someone finally told the others how the world of Dark Souls is far crueler than Runeterra. And for those who don''t know the world of Dark Souls, then let me tell you that what Tiara and Brite said is true. No matter what you do, there''s always an innocent victim that gets hurt. Ahri also had to talk with the others to show them how sorry she is about what happened. You can''t expect all of them to simply forget it. As for what Grey saw. I know some of you were expecting more, and I''m sorry about that. But, Ama already said that the forest test what people "Believe", not Grey himself. Also, about the fake Ahri that Grey saw. It''s actually based on most Fan Fics that are about Ahri. They all view her as some sl*t for life essence that keeps trying to f*ck people. Like a supernatural prostitute. So I decided Grey should encounter something like this and say how he feels. Again, thank you for reading this. Please comment, review, and give me your thoughts on my story.) 50 CH49: Feel Another day dawns at the Institute of War. Ahri came out of her room yawning. She managed to get some sleep tonight, although not much. She found Silver, again waiting near the door. The Nine-Tailed Vastayan walked to the wolf pup and lifted him up. "Come on, Silver. I know you''re waiting for Grey, but he''ll be back. Let''s just get you some breakfast," Ahri said and the wolf pup nodded. Nidalee came out of her room looking a little tired. "Oh, good morning," she greeted. "Morning, Nidalee," Ahri replied before raising an eyebrow. "Where were you yesterday?" "I was showing Neeko around," The Huntress replied as she walked to the door. "Being new and all, she needed someone to show her the robes." The Nine-Tailed Vastayan nodded and they both came out of the room to get some breakfast at the dining hall. As they walked, they encountered Aki and Tiara. "Morning, Aki, Tiara," Ahri greeted. "Hi, Ahri," the Shy summoner greeted while Tiara just nodded. "Do you know where the others are?" Ahri asked as they walked together towards the dining hall. "Well, Brite and Solas went to the garden to see Storm. Sona has a concert do, so Garen and Lux are there as protection. I don''t know if anyone else is here," Aki explained while they entered the dining hall. "I have my first match in a couple of hours," Tiara said shrugging her shoulders. "About time I got one." "That should be good," Ahri snickered feeling bad for whoever is going against the Dancer. "I don''t think I saw you fight before, so it''s a chance to see what you can do." However, much to their disdain, they ran into someone familiar. "Well, I guess the rumors are true," Maia said as she walked up in front of them. Nidalee and Ahri glared, Tiara rolled her eyes, and Aki went back slightly not wanting to get involved. "What do you want now, Bird brain," Tiara asked annoyed. "I just came to see if Grey really is gone, and it seems it''s true," Maia said smirking at Ahri. "So, how does it feel to know that the only guy you had a chance with is now gone?" "Not as bad as knowing that I''ll never find love because I''m a psycho," Ahri retorted gaining a laugh from the others. Maia didn''t care and just smirked. "Speaking of feeling bad, I heard that you had an ''interesting'' meeting with a summoner yesterday," she said making Ahri flinch. "Is that what you do when Grey isn''t around? Show everyone the scary monster that you are?" "That''s funny, coming from someone who hunts their own kind," the Nine-Tailed Vastayan replied glaring at her. The Tengu scoffed. "Like I care what happens to the Vastaya. But, at least I am honest to myself and what I like. I don''t wait for the guy I love to turn his back so I can show my true colors." Ahri''s glare intensified. "Trust me, no one wants to see your true colors." "Watch it, fox," Maia raised her clawed gauntlet. "There''s no Grey around to save your tail covered ass." The others glared at her, while Ahri¡­ simply chuckled. The others looked at her confused. "Now I get it," Ahri smirked at Maia. "You''re scared." The others just kept looking at her confused while Maia laughed. "Ha! Scared of what? You?" The Nine-Tailed Vastayan shook her head. "No, you''re scared of Grey," she said making Maia''s smile vanish. "And what makes you say that, fox?" Maia growled glaring at the fox Vastaya. "Oh please, Maia," Ahri scoffed waving her hand. "You''re a total psycho who doesn''t care at all about punishments or laws. You couldn''t care less about the rules about not hurting other champions. So, I was wondering why you didn''t try and attack Grey or me again, and now I know the reason." Maia''s glare intensified. "I told you, I''m not interested in hunting you," she growled. "You''re lying," Ahri smirked. She didn''t even need her magic to know. "The real reason you didn''t attack me is that you know if you do, then Grey would stop holding back. You''re scared- no, TERRIFIED of what he''ll do to you when he goes all out. So terrified in fact, that you don''t dare to touch me even when he''s not around," she explained. The others looked at her surprised while Maia scoffed. "Can you prove tha-" she was cut off¡­ when Ahri slapped her across the face. The sound of the slap silenced the entire dining hall as everyone looked at them, more specifically, Ahri. The Nine-Tailed Vastayan slapped the Tengu again with the other side of her hand, doing it all while smiling. Maia glared at Ahri so much, it looked like she was trying to burn her with her eyes¡­ but she didn''t do anything else. "Just what I thought," Ahri scoffed. The fact that Maia didn''t do anything proved she was right. The Tengu''s hair and wings turned red with fire. It looked like she was going to rip Ahri apart, but she just walked away. When Maia wasn''t around, Tiara exploded into a fit of laughter. "Oh! For the love of Gwyndolin! You just earned my respect, fox!" she said laughing. "That¡­ was beautiful," Nidalee said barely containing her laughter. Even Aki was giggling. She had a hand over her mouth trying, and failing not to laugh. "She had it coming," Ahri said shrugging her shoulders. She then grabbed Silver and held him up. "Now, let''s get this little guy some food. I bet you''re starving." The wolf pup barked and wagged his tail. The group of female champions and a summoner went to pick their food. After getting their breakfast, they found a table to sit in and Ahri gave Silver a bowl of meat before she sat down. The Nine-Tailed Vastayan looked at the wolf pup as it started eagerly eating through its food. "When was the last time he ate?" Tiara asked seeing Silver''s appetite. Ahri shrugged her shoulders. "A day or two. He''s been spending time waiting for Grey to come back." "That sounds like the story about Sif," Tiara said drawing their attention. "Hopefully, it won''t end that way." "What do you mean?" Nidalee asked confused. "Grey mentioned Sif before," Ahri pointed out with a hand on her chin. "He called him ''The Great Grey Wolf''." "Sif was Artorias'' closest friend, and his brother in arms," Tiara said before taking a drink. "After Artorias passed away, Sif stayed at his friend''s grave protecting it from anyone. He even died protecting it." "That¡­ sounds like an amazing friendship," Aki said sadly feeling bad for the Great Grey Wolf. "There''s a reason the Abyss Watchers value comradery above all else, it''s because they idolize those two," Tiara explained. "Good morning," Someone said and they looked to see Kayle. Ahri sighed. "Hello, Kayle. Is this about what just happened with Maia?" she asked. The Righteous shook her head. "No, honestly, she had it coming," she said making Ahri chuckle as she said the same thing. Kayle then motioned to a tray of food in her arms. "I just want some breakfast. Usually, I eat alone, but¡­ I guess some company never hurts," she said hesitantly. "Don''t worry about it, come join us," Ahri offered and the angel nodded sitting beside her. Kayle took off her helmet revealing her white, spiky hair. She started eating her breakfast with them. "Watch yourself, fatty," Tiara chuckled earning a glare from Kayle. "You should be careful with your food." The Righteous sighed with a hand on her forehead. "Just HOW exactly are you related to Grey?" she asked in genuine curiosity. "We''re adopted siblings," Tiara replied shrugging her shoulders. "That explains a lot," Kayle mumbled. "So, anything on Grey?" Ahri asked hopefully. The angel shook her head. "No, nothing yet. And we just did a scan of the Void as well," she said sadly. "Grey is either no longer on Runeterra or in place that completely blocks magical energy." "What about the Shadow Isles," Aki suggested drawing their attention. "They''re covered in corrupt magic, shouldn''t that block the scanning spell?" "We already thought of that, and sent a couple of champions there to look for anything," Kayle said. "We can only hope that they find something." Ahri decided to bring a subject she was wondering about. "Hey, Kayle? What is the deal with you having a sister?" The Righteous sighed. This was one subject she didn''t want to open. "Her name is Morgana, the Fallen Angel. She''s a champion. She and I¡­ don''t get along." "So you''re every couple of sisters in history?" Tiara summarized making The angel sigh in annoyance. "Here''s a better question, why do you worry about Grey so much? Aren''t you the cold ''by the book'' type?" "Mainly because he''s one of the very few people I can get along with," Kayle replied. "Grey was never judgemental, he just accepted me for who I am." "Ain''t that the truth," Ahri said before turning her sight at the Dancer. "Hey, Tiara, can you tell me about Grey''s childhood?" The Dancer looked at her confused. "Why so curious all of a sudden?" The Nine-Tailed Vastayan shrugged. "I just want to know him more." Tiara thought about it before shrugging her shoulders. "There''s not much really to tell. We got adopted by Ghear, we trained, we became a family, and that''s pretty much it." "Come on, isn''t there anything you could tell us?" Ahri asked. The Dancer thought again. "Well¡­ I guess I can tell you of a few things, but you didn''t hear it from me. Got it?" "Can''t be that bad," Nidalee said shrugging. "Really?" Tiara smirked. "Did Grey tell you about that nickname we had for him when we were kids?" Ahri immediately leaned forward and her ears turned to Tiara. "Now THAT sounds interesting," she said smirking. "I''m all ears." With Grey: The Abyss Watcher has returned to the garden where he met Ama for the first time. He found said woman near the cherry blossom tree. Ama looked at him over her shoulder. "Oh, you''re back? Did you find the last Medallion?" she asked. "Yes," the Abyss Watcher nodded before raising his opened arm. "The last Medallion, give it to me." Ama smirked. "What makes you think I have it?" she asked. "When we first met, you said the Gate of Spirits was ''Hidden'' here. Which means it''s somewhere in the garden, but I can''t see it," Grey said motioning to the garden around them. "This is where my journey begins, and this is where it ends. The only person I saw here is you. Now, give it to me." Ama chuckled not moving¡­ before she suddenly turned around waving her hand and sent a wave of black fire at Grey. The Abyss Watcher was sent flying by the black flames. After crashing through a few plants, he landed in a large clearing with a stone floor. Grey immediately reached for his Estus Flask and had to completely drink it to recover his wounds. The Abyss Watcher jumped to his feet and pulled out his weapons as Ama walked towards him. "I was hoping it wouldn''t come to this, Okame," Ama said as her arms were covered in black fire. "But, I suppose destiny doesn''t always favor you." "Destiny is just for religious idiots who want to feel greater about themselves," Grey growled getting into stance. "What''s happening right now is of our own choices." The black-haired woman started laughing. "I really wish I had met you before! But this just makes me more determined to make sure you don''t leave." Grey dashed forward swinging his sword at her. Ama simply jumped away and sent another wave of fire at the Abyss Watcher. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. The Lord of Cinder rolled away and jumped in the air swinging down his sword. Ama simply moved slightly to the left avoiding the strike. She waved her hand again and Grey immediately raised his sword to block the black flames. He was sent back a few feet and grunted at the heat of the fire. "That''s quite the powerful sword," Ama noted as the Abyss Watcher regained his stance. "I can''t even remember the last time a sword touched my fire and didn''t turn to a puddle of molten metal." Grey was more than ever grateful for the fact that the Farron Greatswords are made from magically infused coal. Otherwise, what Ama said would have happened by now. That fire was not normal. He put those thoughts in the back of his head as he again tried to attack the black-haired woman. Ama, like before, dodged his attacks easily before she snapped her fingers and the entire area around her exploded in flames sending the Abyss Watcher back. Grey groaned in pain and annoyance as he stood back up. Ama simply chuckled at his persistence. "Why do you even want to go to Runeterra?" she asked, almost disappointed. The Abyss Watcher ignored her as he went back to attacking. He dashed forward, thrusting his sword trying to stab her. However, Ama suddenly vanished in a pillar of fire leaving nothing but embers in her place, which made Grey miss. "That place is full of rotten creatures!" Ama said, her voice echoing around. "Why would someone like you, who can be a God, choose to live there!" "What I am is my choice," Grey yelled back looking around. "And I chose NOT to be a God!" He heard her laugh echoing around before she appeared at the side of the clearing and sent another wave of black fire at him. The Abyss Watcher immediately jumped away before he dashed swinging his sword at her. All she did was bent down to avoid it. Grey anchored his knife and used it to spin the other way swinging his sword back. Ama bent on the other direction to avoid it. The Lord of Cinder pulled out his knife and jumped up swinging down his sword. But, like before, Ama vanished leaving nothing but embers. "And why wouldn''t you want to be a God?" Ama''s echoing voice asked. "Mortal life is nothing but pain and suffering to get to their worldly desires!" "Tell me something I DON''T already know," Grey yelled back as Ama appeared at the other side of the clearing. "Is it because of that Nine-Tailed Fox?" Ama asked, making Grey glare at her. The Abyss Watcher immediately dashed forward swinging his sword again. Ama simply avoided the strike and sent a wave of black fire at Grey. The Lord of Cinder was forced to block with his sword again. When he moved it away, Ama wasn''t there which made him groan in annoyance. "You would throw away everything you have and everything you COULD have for someone who tries so desperately to be human?" Ama asked. "I don''t remember asking for your opinion," Grey replied looking around. "Also, how do you know about Ahri?" Ama didn''t answer, instead, she just appeared on the other side of the clearing again. "Why do you try so hard for her?" she asked in genuine curiosity. The Abyss Watcher ignored her and tried to attack her again. However, unlike before, Ama raised her that was covered in black fire and blocked his sword like it was nothing. "Is it out of lust? Out of desperation for a purpose? Or simply because you have nothing better to do?" she asked. Grey growled and pulled back his sword, swinging it the other way. But, like before, Ama vanished leaving nothing but embers. "No, that''s not it," Ama said as Grey looked around for her. "It''s something else, but what is it?" "What business is it of yours?" Grey asked agitated. "Mere curiosity," Ama replied appearing again. The Abyss Watcher attacked her again. Unsurprisingly, she vanished. Grey was REALLY tempted to just use the Soul of Death. "I don''t really care if you tell me," Ama said as Grey looked around, waiting for her to show again. "I can do this all day, for the rest of eternity. You and I do have the time after all." The Abyss Watcher finally snapped. "BECAUSE SHE MAKES ME FEEL!" he yelled looking around. "I have seen the worst of horrors! I have killed men, women, and children! Yet not once have I felt ANYTHING! But that all changed when I met Ahri! I started feeling! She proved to me that I still have a heart! The least I can do is give it to her!" Ama appeared again. "Then let us see if you can achieve that," she said. The Abyss Watcher dashed at her again, but a wall of black fire made him stop in his tracks. Surprisingly, a wave of black fire came quickly from behind the wall. Grey had no time to protect himself from the fire as it struck him. He was sent on his back and barely had time to roll away as a pillar of fire erupted from where he was. The Lord of Cinder stood up and tried to attack Ama again. The woman simply snapped her fingers, covering the entire area around her in fire. Grey had to stop to not get devoured by the flames. But, the didn''t stop the flames from coming to him. The Abyss Watcher was sent on his back and stayed there. Ama just looked at him. "I know you''re not done, so get up." The sound of a wolf''s howling filled the area as blood flowed from the ground. Ama watched in interest as the blood flowed and vanished into Grey. The Abyss Watcher''s sword caught fire as he stood back up again. Ama simply motioned for him to come forward. Grey dashed forward dragging his sword in the ground. Ama simply moved to the left slightly, but she had to jump away before she was caught by the trail of fire left by the sword that exploded. The Lord of Cinder started swinging his sword at the black-haired woman. Unlike before, when Ama simply bent away to avoid the strikes, she had to completely avoid them because of the fire trailing the sword. Grey then reeled back his sword and thrust forward trying to stab her. However¡­ Ama simply caught his fiery sword with her bare hand without as much as looking uncomfortable. "I believe this is enough," Ama said slowly letting go of the sword. The Abyss Watcher jumped back and kept his stance, but Ama wasn''t fazed. All she did was reach into the sleeve of her yukata and pull out a Medallion with the crest of a sun on it. She threw it at Grey who caught it as the fire died down. "At the foot of the cherry blossom tree, you''ll find the way to the Gate of Spirits," Ama said as she started walking away. "Why?" Ama stopped as she heard Grey ask her. "Why didn''t you win from the beginning?" Ama smirked. "What do you mean?" "I''m no fool," Grey replied still holding his weapons. "You could have defeated me from the beginning, but you didn''t, why?" The Abyss Watcher wasn''t egotistical. He knew when he was outmatched. Which is why he never asked for a rematch from the Sun''s First Born. Ama stayed silent for a few seconds before replying. "You have what I hoped to see in Runeterra¡­ you have a certain¡­ Balance about yourself." "Isn''t Balance Ionia''s fort?" Grey asked remembering what Shen told him. Ama''s face turned to one of anger. "Ionia lost the meaning of balance a LONG time ago," she said with obvious hatred. With that, Ama walked away, vanishing between the plants of the garden. The Abyss Watcher sighed and looked at the Medallion in his hand. Now he has all three medallions. He looked at the giant cherry blossom tree before he started making his way to it. It''s time to finish this. (A/N: Thank you for reading this. Wow, I honestly don''t know how I made this. I have been slightly sleep-deprived lately, so I hope I didn''t mess it up. About the fight with Ama. If you figured out who she is, then you have to admit that it would be absolutely stupid if Grey just beat her for Plot armor. Also, I needed someone to help Grey let his emotions out. Second, I wanted to explain why Maia didn''t try to attack Grey or Ahri yet. Which explains why she showed up. And finally, the reason why Grey didn''t use the Soul of Death when he already showed that he wanted to will be explained in the next chapter. Again, thank you for reading this. Please comment, review, and give me your thoughts on my story.) 51 CH50: The Return Ahri, Aki, Nidalee, and Tiara were just sitting in the dining hall, waiting for Tiara''s match to begin. Kayle had left a while ago, saying she has work to do. Currently, Ahri was telling Tiara about a few things that happened after she met Grey. "So, the next thing I knew, he was already gone and a few minutes later he came out of the bank with the hostages," she said explaining their day at Piltover. "Ha! That does. Sound like my brother," the Dancer commented. "What did you do?" "I slapped his head," Ahri deadpanned making the Dancer laugh. "Hello, everyone," they saw Brite and Solas walking towards them. "Good morning, Brite," Aki greeted as the Silver Knight sat in a chair beside her. After sitting down on his own chair, Solas asked, "So, did you hear anything on Grey?" The Nine-Tailed Vastayan shook her head. "Not yet, but I''m sure he''ll be back." "I hope so," Brite said shrugging his shoulders. "He still owes me a drink." "That''s what you''re worried about?" Nidalee asked as they all deadpan at him. The Warrior of Sunlight just shrugged again. Solas then thought of something. "You don''t think he was sent to another world, do you?" "Knowing Grey''s luck, I wouldn''t be surprised," Tiara replied pointing out that since it happened once, why not happen again. "Yeah, Grey always seemed to have terrible luck," Brite added remembering the trouble his friend get into. Ahri smirked. "Like the time he and you ended up in a cave full of Hollows by accident?" The Silver Knight narrowed his eyes. "How do you know about that?" "Tiara has been telling us stories about Grey''s past, and this is one of them," Nidalee said chuckling. "It was Grey''s fault for not bringing a map like I told him," Brite immediately defended putting the blame on the Abyss Watcher. "Weren''t you the one leading that day, even without the map," Tiara said making the Warrior of Sunlight look away. "I have a question," Solas said gaining their attention. "This might seem personal, but tell me, what was Ghear like?" he asked wanting to know more about the Moonlight Hunter. The Dancer thought about it for a few seconds before answering. "A jackass," she said making them look at her surprised. "At first, he didn''t even adopt us because he wanted children, but because he wanted students. He just wanted someone to pass his knowledge on. So he picked two children, one from Farron Keep, and the other from the Boreal Valley. I''m pretty sure you can guess who they were," she said deadpan. "At the beginning, his training was so harsh, that I wanted to either kill him or myself." "It couldn''t possibly be that bad," Nidalee noted. After all, they were children back then. "On our first day, he threw me and Grey into a hole full of Hollows and told us to kill them all and stack their bodies to use them in order to get out of the hole," Tiara said making the others, except Brite, Look at her in disbelief. "Okay¡­ I take it back," Nidalee said retreating what she said. "Yeah, like I said, a jackass," Tiara chuckled remembering her childhood. "But, he was a selfless one. I guess that rubbed off on Grey. In fact, Ghear was so selfless, he was able to hold the Lunar Harvester." "Wait, Ghear had THE Lunar Harvester!?!" Solas asked shocked, surprising everyone. "Uhmm, what is that, exactly?" Aki asked not knowing what they were talking about, along with the rest. Seeing their confusion, Solas decided to explain. "The Lunar Harvester is a scythe made by my brother, Gwyndolin himself. It was made by pure Moon Magic and Miracles that were solidified into crystal. In terms of magical weapons, the Lunar Harvester is only matched by the Holy Moonlight Great-sword." All of them looked in shock. None of them have ever heard of a weapon made of pure magic turned solid. "The only drawback is that only those who are selfless can use it," Tiara said. "Those who aren''t will have their hands burn the minute they touch it." "I guess that''s good," Ahri mumbled. "We don''t want a weapon like that in the wrong hands." "Didn''t you hear me?" Tiara asked making the others confused. "I said they need to be SELFLESS. Not necessarily in a good way." Now they understood what she meant. That means that anyone selfless can use it in any way they want. Good or evil. Tiara''s body was covered in light. "I guess it''s time to kick ass," she said before looking at Solas. "Now watch how a real Warrior does it." Before the Sun''s First Born can reply, the Dancer vanished and the viewing or appeared in the middle of the dining hall. Solas sighed. "Dealing with her would be easier with Grey around." "Dealing with her is always easier with Grey around," Brite said at Tiara''s attitude. Inside the Match: Tiara appeared in the summoner rift along with the other champions. She got a good look at her teammates. The first was Irelia. The second was Twisted Fate. The third was Vi. And the fourth was Blitzcranck. "Well, Hello there," Twisted Fate said looking at Tiara. "Another beautiful lady joins the league." The Dancer looked at him for a second before saying, "Oh, you''re a man? I couldn''t tell with that get-up." Twisted Fate stiffed as Vi started laughing. "Wow, that was just cold!" the Enforcer said between laughs. "Oh, you''re a woman? What''s up with this place and mixed up clothes," Tiara quickly added. Vi stopped laughing. "Hey!" she yelled while Twisted Fate smirked at her. Tiara then noticed that Blitzcranck was staring at her. "What do you want?" she asked. "Trying to identify you," Blitzcranck replied before nodding. "Identified, you are Tiara, the Dancer of the Boreal Valley. Grey''s sister." Everyone looked surprised at different things, Tiara at Blitzcranck, while Vi, Twisted Fate, and Irelia at Tiara. "And how do you know that?" the Dancer asked not remembering meeting the Steam Golem. "I keep track of new champions, and people around Grey," Blitzcranck explained before adding, "He always seems to meet interesting people." "Interesting is one word for it," Tiara mumbled before they heard the sound that signaled the beginning of the Match. With that, Irelia went to the middle. Twisted Fate to the jungle. Vi and Blitzcranck to the top. And Tiara to the bottom. The Dancer passed through her team''s turrets and walked with the minions to the point where the two teams met together. She saw the enemy minions and champion. It was Wukong. "Oh, a new fighter!" the monkey king yelled excitedly. "Let''s see what you got!" Wukong jumped forward with yellow clouds covering his feet. However, the Dancer leaned back to the point where her head almost reached the floor, making Wukong pass above her. The monkey king was caught off guard by Tiara''s agility, he was even more surprised when the Dancer immediately corrected herself, pulled out her blades, and spun around striking him in the back. Because of the blades being infused with magic, one being fire and the other dark, the damage was more than it looked. Wukong had to jump away as the Dancer faced him. He prepared his staff to attack again, but the Dancer merely stabbed her dark sword in the ground, dragged it in a line, and pulled it out while taking a step back. The monkey king didn''t think much and what she did and jumped again to attack. But, when he was on top of the line made by her sword, it exploded with dark magic. While he was dazed, the Dancer spun around striking him with her swords, she spun a second time doing the same thing, but she stopped before the third time and crossed her blades under the weakened Wukong''s chin, before using them as scissors and cutting his head off. Looking over the now-dead champion, Tiara spun her weapons in her hands. "If that''s all people got around here, then this is going to be far easier than I thought." The Dancer simply turned to the minions and started taking them down. After she was done, she started attacking the turret after it started targeting the minions. Before she got to destroy the turret, the minions were all killed making Tiara jump away in order to avoid getting hit. She jumped into the bushes to hide, noticing that Wukong came back with another champion, who is Ekko. Tiara was sure about her abilities to take them on, but she needed them to move away from the turret. However, before goes with her plan, her summoner spoke. "Champion, I''m sending you back, the middle lane needs help." The Dancer rolled her eyes. "Typical," she mumbled as the recall spell activated, and she was sent back to the base a few seconds later. After that, she went to the middle lane, where her summoner said that there''s trouble. She found that Irelia was having trouble fighting Rengar and Zyra. The captain of the Ionian guards was using her blades to fight the Pridestalker while having to move away from the Carnivore woman''s attacks. Irelia was using her blades to block an attack from Rengar, but that left her open for Zyra to strike. Just as the Rise of Thorns was going to attack her, Tiara jumped between them and raised her hand before smacking her palm on the ground. An explosion of fire happened that caught Zyra off guard. While in a daze, Tiara used her fire sword and stabbed the Carnivore woman in the chest and through the heart. Pulling out her sword, the Dancer turned to the other two champions and saw that, without Zyra''s interference, Irelia was handling Rengar pretty well. However, Tiara wasn''t about to wait for them to finish. So, she jumped at Rengar''s back, stabbing her swords in his shoulders. Leaving his guard down from the sudden pain, the Pridestalker couldn''t protect himself as Irelia swept her hands making her blades cut off his head. The Ionian captain called back her blades making them float behind her and glared at Tiara. "I could have handled that myself." "Whatever helps you sleep at night," Tiara replied completely ignoring the glare she received. Time skip: (brought to you by chibi Tiara using her blades as scissors to cut chibi Solas'' hair.) The match went on for an hour or so, Tiara''s team was pretty dominating. Right now, the Dancer was distracting the enemy champions as Vi attacked the Nexus. The Dancer was fighting Rengar and Wukong. Both Vastaya got to see how agile the Outrider Knight can be. She flipped back to avoid a swing from Rengar''s blade before she bent her body to the left to avoid Wukong''s staff. Tiara then corrected her body while swinging her sword at the Monkey king making him jump back. The two Vastaya stood beside each other and were ready to engage the Dancer again, but the announcer''s voice was heard. "VICTORY, Blue team." The champions looked around and saw that Vi had destroyed the Nexus with the minions around her. After a few seconds, they were pulled out of the rift. The champions found themselves in the summoning chamber with the winning Summoners celebrating. After coming out, Tiara said. "Well, that was lame," she said walking with her team''s champions. "How can you consider that lame?" Vi asked. The matches might not have had the amount of destruction she liked, but they were still fun. "Trust me, I would have had that match done in minutes if I wasn''t restricted by the summoner," Tiara replied taking her helmet off. She had many moves she can use, but she found herself unable to because of being controlled by the summoner. "I honestly can''t see how you are the Abyss Watcher''s sibling," Irelia said shaking her head. She already talked to the Ionian champions that had met Grey after talking with Ahri. They all described him as humble, kind, easy-going, and patient, but Tiara was the opposite. "I get that a lot," The Dancer replied shrugging her shoulders. "Also, your armor looks nothing alike," Irelia noted again. "And somewhat¡­ unsanitary," she added seeing how tight Tiara''s bodysuit was. The Dancer nodded. "True, but I don''t think you''re one to talk." Irelia stopped walking, crossed her arms, and glared at Tiara. "What''s that supposed to mean?" Tiara looked at the Ionian captain with a hand on her hip. "Sweetheart, I can assure you that I''m one hundred percent straight, but even then I couldn''t keep my eyes off your ass in those tight pants," she said smirking. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting. The Ionian captain blushed and covered her backside with her hands while Tiara just walked away smirking. She walked into the dining hall and found the table the others were sitting in. Once she sat down, Tiara looked at Solas saying, "That''s how you really fight." "I''ve seen better," Solas replied shrugging his shoulders. The Dancer glared at him. "Where?" "In the mirror," the Sun''s First Born replied. They all remembered that Tiara said the same thing to him after his own match. The Outrider Knight kept glaring at him before she raised her hand and pointed a certain finger at the ceiling. With Grey: The Abyss Watcher had finally reached the bottom of the cherry blossom tree. In there was a pedestal with three circle-shaped holes. Behind the pedestal was a circle-shaped door with stone gates. The gate itself was on the side of the tree, almost like it was leading to inside it. Grey walked towards the pedestal and took out the three medallions, putting each one in each hole. When the medallions were in place, the ground slightly shook before the stone gates started opening, revealing a white light. "Well," Grey said walking up to the gates. "Here goes nothing," he entered through the gate. The Abyss Watcher was blinded by the surrounding light for a few seconds before his eyes adjusted to it. He was now standing on a large wooden bridge with a red rail on each side. The bridge wasn''t very long but was still big. The bridge seemed to lead to this big temple with a wooden structure. It had three levels, all of them covered in windows, and on the roof was the crest of Ionia, surprisingly. On the other side of the bridge, was a figure, apparently sitting down. "Is that the Demon?" Grey asked as he walked closer. When he was halfway through the bridge, the Demon rose up to reveal its form. It had a humanoid appearance with dark red skin, long and wild white hair, and was wearing a mixture of a white yukata and black robes. In its hands, was a katana with a long blade and handle. The eyes of the Demon were black and empty, but it was obviously glaring at Grey as it let out a loud screech before jumping towards him while swinging its katana in a wide arc. The Abyss Watcher immediately pulled out his sword and blocked the swing, but it still managed to send him a few feet back. The Demon then raised its sword and brought it down to cut Grey in half, but the Lord of Cinder immediately rolled to the left avoiding the hit. The Abyss Watcher swung his sword at the Demon''s side after regaining his stance, stabbing it in the process. The Demon let out a screech that was a mixture of pain and anger as it swung its katana at Grey again. The Lord of Cinder immediately used his sword to block, but the strike had so much strength that it sent him to the side of the bridge and would have fallen if it weren''t for the rail. Grey had to roll away as the Demon brought down its katana on him, cutting through the wooden rail that was supporting the Abyss Watcher. The Lord of Cinder stood back up again as the Demon pulled back its katana and glared at its opponent before charging forward to swing its sword. The Abyss Watcher rolled away again and thought about the movements of the Demon. It had speed and strength, but it was moving purely on instincts, which made its movements rather predictable. With that in mind, Grey was able to know when the next swing from the katana came as he rolled under the blade before standing up and thrusting his sword forward. The Demon was hit in the chest but, surprisingly, the sword didn''t pierce through it. It sent it a few skidding backward before it corrected itself. The Demon was obviously mad, as it screeched again before raising its katana and slamming the back of the handle on the ground. Suddenly, fog covered over the entire bridge, the same kind of fog that covered Susano''s mountain. Shadows appeared around the Abyss Watcher, but those looked like the Demon instead of humans. A shadow tried to cut Grey by swinging down its katana, but he rolled out of the way. Just as he stood up, the Abyss Watcher had to jump away as another shadow swept its katana at his feet. The Abyss Watcher growled in annoyance. Every time he would try to hit a shadow, he had to move out of the way to dodge another, and he couldn''t find the original either. At that moment, Grey had enough and just stood still. One of the shadows came behind him and stabbed its katana through the Abyss Watcher''s back. Grey did nothing and just let the shadow pull out its weapon as he fell on the ground. The shadows gathered around and thought they had attained victory. However a loud, blood-freezing screech was suddenly heard all over the area, and it didn''t belong to the Demon. Even the shadows took a cautious step back as Grey''s cape turned pitch black and he slowly stood back up again with his twitching body letting out black smoke. The Abyss Watcher rose at full height and the shadows got ready to attack. But, before any of them moves, Grey raised his hands and unleashed black smoke all over the area. All the shadows started dying out before they vanished. The fog also started disappearing before the Demon was visible again. It was in the middle of the bridge, and it was obviously affected by the black smoke as it seemed to have problems breathing and standing up. The Lord of Cinder, however, had no intention of letting the Demon stand up. He came towards it swinging his sword upwards. The black smoke covering the blade made it stronger as the strike managed to send the Demon back on its back. Before the Demon could even try to stand up, Grey''s sword was stabbed through its chest making it screech in pain. The black smoke on the sword started sucking the life out of the Demon. Its red skin started losing its color and its movements slowed down. After a few seconds, it stopped moving completely as its skin turned pale white before it suddenly turned to dust. The Abyss Watcher''s body stopped twitching as his cape turned back to its usual red color. He sighed as he pulled his sword from the ground and put away his weapons. Grey walked to the front of the bridge in front of the temple. He looked around but didn''t find an entrance. No doors, no windows, nothing. "I found the medallions, opened the gate, killed the Demon," the Lord of Cinder said before looking at the sky. "I stand at last at the Gate of Spirits," he started laughing hysterically. "But I have no idea what I should do next," he said shaking his head. "It''s not that hard really," Someone said and he looked beside him to see Ama looking at him. Normally, Grey would question how she appeared, but he was too tired for that. "I''m not in the mood for any riddles, Ama." The woman simply chuckled and walked towards the temple and put her hand on the front wall. Suddenly, the wall itself split in half revealing a door made of pure light. "Here, this should take you where you desire," Ama said before looking at him with narrowed eyes. "However, the gate will ONLY take you where you desire, and nowhere else, so choose wisely." The Lord of Cinder understood that Ama was telling him that if he doesn''t want to go to Runeterra and go back to his own world instead, then it will happen. The Abyss Watcher walked forward and stopped in front of the gate taking a deep breath. "I want to go home," he said walking into the gate. In the Institute of War: The sun had already set, Ahri was sitting in the dining hall with Aki, Nidalee, Brite, Solas, and Tiara. The others left saying that they had plans today. The Nine-Tailed Vastayan was patting Silver as he sat on her lap. She was feeling rather depressed. "Calm down, fox," Tiara said gaining Ahri''s attention. "If I know one thing about my brother is that he''s too stubborn to stay dead." Ahri sighed. "I know, I''m just worried." "I don''t know," Brite shrugged gaining shocked looks from around. "I mean, this IS Grey we''re talking about, so I wouldn''t bet that he''s completely okay." "So? He can take care of himself," Solas noted. "That''s what we thought when he went missing, and look at where that got him, into another world," Brite said making the others start thinking. "I''m not saying Grey can''t take care of himself, but he has a habit of getting into messed up troubles. You can''t exactly expect him to come back by falling through the sky." Just as the Silver Knight finished saying that, a large portal appeared at the ceiling of the dining hall. Everyone in the hall looked at the portal, some champions even went on guard. However, only one thing or person came out of the portal. Grey fell from the portal as it closed, heading to the ground before colliding to it with a large thud. Everyone just stared at the Abyss Watcher with a mixture of shock and disbelief as he laid on the ground. "Once, just once I want to WALK through a portal instead of FALL through it," people heard him groan. The first person to walk towards him was Tiara. "Took ya long enough to get back," she chuckled and her brother just groaned in response. "You okay?" The Abyss Watcher flipped to his back. "Well, I''m wounded in several places, I''m pretty sure my legs are broken, and I just fell from a hight that is like 20 meters," he listed out before shrugging the best he can. "So, yeah, just another day being me," he said as Silver ran towards him and started rubbing his head on the Abyss Watcher''s. "I''m more worried that you are being you," Brite said standing beside the still down Abyss Watcher. "Brite, can you heal me with a miracle?" Grey asked. "Sure," the Silver Knight replied before pointing at Grey. "As soon as you start Praising the Sun." "Then I''d rather crawl to my room," the Abyss Watcher replied as he flipped on his stomach and actually started crawling through the floor while leaving a trail of blood. "He''s really going to do it, isn''t he?" Nidalee asked as she walked Grey drag his body with his hands. The Dancer slapped the back of Brite''s head. "Heal him," she ordered. The Warrior of Sunlight grumbled and pulled out his talisman before moving it and a rune circle appeared around him. When the circle vanished, the Abyss Watcher''s wounds had healed enough for him to stand up again. Grey moved his neck around, finally relieved of the pain. He looked at the others¡­ until his eyes landed on Ahri. She was just standing there rubbing her elbows, opening her mouth and closing it, like she wanted to say something but hesitated. Grey himself wanted to say something but didn''t know how to start or how to say it. Before either of them say anything, Kayle came in. "Grey, you''re back!" she said as she stood in front of the Abyss Watcher. "I''m glad you''re alright, but now that you''re back, we should go see the High Summoners." Grey looked at Ahri again and she shrugged her shoulders with a look that said ''we''ll talk later''. The Lord of Cinder looked back at Kayle and nodded. "Sure, let''s go," he said as he started following the Righteous to the High Summoners chamber. Time skip: (Brought to you by chibi Ahri and chibi Grey being too embarrassed to look at each other.) The Abyss Watcher had returned to his, Ahri, and Nidalee''s room after a tiring meeting with the High Summoners. They asked him how the mission went, where he was, and how he returned. Grey, remembering that Ama showed hatred to Runeterra, decided to lie and say he doesn''t remember. Getting into the room, he saw Silver on the couch and he immediately went to the Abyss Watcher as he knelt down to pet him. "It''s good to see you again, too," Grey said before noticing how tired the wolf pup looked. "You should get some sleep," he said picking up Silver and putting him on the couch. The Abyss Watcher sat beside the wolf pup and kept petting him as he started sleeping. When he was sure the Silver was sleeping, Grey stood up taking a deep breath before he went to Ahri''s room. He found the Nine-Tailed Vastayan sitting on her bed. Grey closed the door behind him as she stood up and walked towards him. "Ahri, I-" before he can say anything, she immediately hugged him. Ahri tightened her hold on the Abyss Watcher, even making her tails go around him. It looked like she was scared that he might vanish. "I''m glad you''re alright," Ahri said as Grey returned the hug. They both just stayed like that, hugging each other before Ahri let go and looked at him. "I''m sorry." The Abyss Watcher raised an eyebrow. "For what?" "Everything," Ahri said. "I should have paid more attention. I just focused on what I went through and completely forgot about what you went through." "Ahri, You don''t-" "Yes, I have to," The Nine-Tailed Vastayan looked at his eyes, and Grey saw hesitation. "Grey¡­ what are we? To each other, I mean." Grey was confused. "We''re friends," he replied. "Are we?" she asked making Grey even more confused. "Can you really say we''re JUST friends?" "Of course not, Ahri. I''m not stupid," Grey replied. He knew that ''Friends'' did exactly describe their relationship. "Then¡­ how do you feel about me?" Ahri asked with a hopeful voice and look. A few days ago, the Abyss Watcher didn''t know how to answer that. However, after his fight with Ama, he finally made up his mind on how he feels. "I love you," Grey said shocking Ahri to the core. "I don''t know how you feel about me, and I don''t know if I even deserve you, but I do know how I feel about you. Know that nothing will change if you don''t-" He didn''t get to finish as Ahri jumped forward, wrapped her hands around his neck and started kissing him. Grey was surprised beyond belief, but after a few moments, he started kissing back. They stayed like that for a few moments before they broke their locking lips for the need of air. "I love you, too," Ahri said as her eyes got watery with happy tears. "I-I can''t even tell you how long I wanted to say that, let alone hear YOU say it first." The Abyss Watcher himself felt that his eyes started getting wet. "I''m really sorry that I kept you waiting, but I was just confused on how I felt." "I guess that''s fair," Ahri said before smirking, pulling the Abyss Watcher, and pushing him to the bed. "But now, I guess we can make up for lost time," she added straddling his waist. Before, Grey would have turned her down. But now, he just leaned forward and locked their lips together again. Then, they started a night neither of them will be forgetting. (A/N: Thank you for reading this. First, I apologize for the late update. I had a major writer''s block when it came to this story. I try to write, but then I start seeing the letters in Urdu. Second, I''m sorry, but I don''t do lemons. The reason is that I''m a really shy person when it comes to making stuff like this. In fact, I was blushing while writing the last part of this chapter. Third, I hope you like how Grey and Ahri got together since a lot of you have been telling me to let it happen. Fourth, there is a new experimental version of this story, called "A Fox and her Watcher". That version is purely experimental, I will finish this one before going to it. But, can you go and check on it. It''s a complete remake. Even the way Ahri and Grey meet is different. Lastly, I might not update for a while, not because I''m quitting. I have no plans to quit on any of my stories. However, I decided to start an entirely new story with my own characters, plot, and universe. So I hope you understand. Again, thank you for reading this. Please comment, review, and give me your thoughts on my story.) 52 CH51: a... Date? Another morning dawns on the Institute of War. However, this one wasn''t going to start like the past days usually did. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. The difference being that both Grey and Ahri were currently naked in their bed with the sheets over them. Their clothes were spread across the floor. The Nine-Tailed Vastayan was currently still sleeping with her head on the Abyss Watcher''s chest while he had an arm around her. Grey was awake but didn''t do anything other than stare at Ahri''s peacefully sleeping face. This was definitely a new experience for him. He honestly didn''t know if he deserved it, with all the blood on his hands. But, the woman in his arms is living proof that people can change and seek redemption. And, since she''s happy, so he decided to not dwell on it. Ahri herself started steering before slowly opening her eyes and looking at the Abyss Watcher. "Morning, lover," she said as she rubbed her head on his chest. "Morning," Grey greeted as he pats her ears with his arm, making her purr slightly. "How are you?" "After last night, absolutely happy," Ahri said resting her head on his chest again. "But, I''m still a little tired, so let''s continue sleeping." The Abyss Watcher rolled his eyes. "Come on, Ahri. We need to get up," he said trying to move. Ahri, however, held him in his place. "No~, you owe me." "Owe you what?" Grey asked confused. "Lots of love," Ahri replied making him give her a deadpan look. "You''ve been holding back on telling me how you feel all this time, so you should make it up to me by letting me sleep as much as I want," she said before smiling teasingly. "Plus, I''m sure the others are going to find it weird how I started walking funny." The Abyss Watcher blushed and looked away. He doubted that they were THAT rough. But, he wouldn''t be surprised if Ahri started limping on purpose just to gloat about what happened. "Fine," Grey sighed as he relaxed. "But we might be late for the others." "We can just take a bath together," Ahri said thinking it would save time. Grey was going to say something, but Ahri beat him to speaking. "After what we did last night, do you really think a bath together is going to be a problem?" she asked with a deadpan look. Knowing she was right, Grey just sighed. "Fine," he said resting his head back on the pillow and Ahri rested on his chest again. "I spoil you too much, you know that?" "And I love you for it," Ahri said smirking deviously. "And the more I love you, the more you love me, and the more you love me, the more you spoil me. It''s a never-ending cycle of love and spoiling." Grey chuckled as he held her closer while she cuddled into his chest. Neither of them really cared about being late at this point. Time skip: (Brought to you by chibi Ahri and chibi Grey drinking cups of warm milk together.) Grey and Ahri got out of their room a couple of hours later than usual. Both of them walked into the dining hall with Silver on Grey''s shoulder. After picking their food, they walked to a couple of tables that had Aki, Brite, Lux, Garen, Katarina, Sona, Nidalee, and Solas sitting in them. "What took you so long?" Brite asked as they two sat with them after giving Silver his own food. "We were busy," Grey replied as he and Ahri sat down beside each other. The Nine-Tailed Vastayan noticed that Nidalee looked tired with a little black around her eyes. "What''s wrong, Nidalee. Didn''t sleep well." To Ahri''s surprise, the Huntress glared at her and Grey. "I couldn''t sleep at all," she growled. "Well, why is that?" Ahri asked before taking a sip of water. "Because a wolf and a fox were having mating season in their room last night," Nidalee''s words made Ahri spit her drink and Grey to choke on his food a little. Everyone looked at them with a mixture of surprise and shock with Tiara being more than the others. Grey, after clearing his throat, scratched his head barely looking at Nidalee in the eye. "You¡­ heard?" The huntress just nodded and Ahri sighed saying, "We¡­ should probably make the room soundproof." "Uhmm, Ahri," Aki said with a blush on her cheeks. "The rooms ARE supposed to be soundproof." "Well, it sure didn''t sound like that," the Huntress added. Both Ahri and Grey just blushed looking everywhere but anyone''s eyes as Nidalee crossed her arms glaring at them. "Soundproof or not, from what I was hearing, neither of you should have been able to get up this morning," she said making the two blush harder. Tiara, after breaking out of her shock, immediately glared at Ahri. "Oh, that is it, fox," she said pulling out her blades. "Tiara, don''t you dare as much as touch her," Grey threatened stopping his sister. "Or what?" Tiara asked still holding her blades. "Or I''ll tell everyone here what happens when you get drunk," her brother threatened. Brite immediately had to put a hand over his mouth to stop his laughter remembering what happens while Tiara gasped. "You wouldn''t." "Try me," The Abyss Watcher challenged. After having a staredown, Tiara put her blades away. "Fine," she grumbled sitting back down, but still glared at Ahri. "Wow, congratulations," Katarina said looking at the new couple. "Yeah, you guys are so good for each other," Lux added and her brother nodded in agreement. Sona signed with her hands. [I''m so happy for you.] she signed much to Ahri''s confusion. The Maven then hugged the Abyss Watcher, apparently congratulating him on his new relationship. However, when she looked at Ahri over his shoulder, Sona held a small note that said, The Nine-Tailed Vastayan was honestly taken back by the note, along with the fact that no one seemed to notice it as Sona went back to her previous position after letting go of the Abyss Watcher. "A-Anyway," Aki cleared her throat trying to change the subject while calming down her blush. "It''s a good thing that you came back now, Grey. You have a match soon." "I do?" the Abyss Watcher asked confused. "Yes, you do," Nidalee confirmed with a deadpan look. "You didn''t check the schedule, did you?" "Come to think of it, I''m in that match, too," Garen noted scratching his chin. The Abyss Watcher just looked away embarrassed. Ahri then noticed something. "Wait, how do you know about the Match, Aki?" she asked. "It''s because of the new skin," Aki replied gaining confused looks. "Grey recently got a new skin that went super popular fast, so everyone is talking about the Match since it''s about to be used in it." "Is it really that popular?" Solas asked. The Shy summoner nodded. "Yeah. In fact, it''s almost more popular than all the Star Guardians skin." "Okay, that is something I do not believe," Brite denied how the Abyss Watcher got a Skin that popular. Lux nodded agreeing with the Silver Knight. "Yeah, nothing can beat us Star Guardians," she said. "We''re pretty much the best group," Ahri said before gaining a deadpan look. "Even if the Star Guardians describe me as a stuck up," she added remembering the Biography of the Star Guardians. "You forgot to add ''b*tch'' to that sentence," Tiara added still glaring at the Nine-Tailed Vastayan. Ahri returned the glare while Grey sighed with a hand on his forehead. He thought of something to change the subject. "Can we see it?" he asked. Aki nodded saying, "sure." The Abyss Watcher stood up from his seat and took a few steps back from the table. Aki waved her hands and Grey was covered in light before his new appearance was revealed. Grey was now wearing a dark green space-military suit. It had a helmet with a glass visor that hid his face. The armor on the arms left his biceps visible. His knife was replaced by an army knife. His sword, however, couldn''t be seen anywhere on him. "It''s called the Doom Slayer," Aki said as she finished the spell. The Abyss Watcher looked at himself before looking at the others. "How do I look?" he asked. "You look ready to rip someone apart," Katarina said and the others nodded. "I like it," Tiara said looking over her brother''s new form. "It has a ''don''t mess with me'' vibe." Garen then stood up. "Well, the match should be starting soon, so I hope you put on a good fight, Grey," he said interested in fighting the Abyss Watcher. "Oh, that reminds me," Ahri said as she looked at Grey. "Grey, I want you to go all out on this match." The Abyss Watcher looked at her confused. "Why?" "It''s about time we see you get serious," The Fox Vastaya replied. Grey was about to say something, but she quickly added, "I know you don''t have a reason to, but we should still see it¡­ please?" The Abyss Watcher sighed shaking his head. "You''re not going to like what you see," he tried to reason with her. However, Ahri just waved it off. "We can handle it." "Fine," Grey sighed. He supposed that he couldn''t always be laid back. After all, he has a reason to fight for now. "And Garen, I''m sorry." The older Crownguard looked confused. "For what?" "Trust me, you''ll see," Grey replied before both he and Garen vanished in a flash of light. The viewing orb appeared in the middle of the dining hall drawing their attention. Grey''s current picture was of him standing on a mountain of Demons while holding one in one hand and the other being reeled back ready to deliver a punch. Tiara started chuckling. "Oh, this is going to be a massacre," she said believing she was in for a show. "Sorry, Tiara," Katarina said smirking at the Dancer. "But Garen is going to kick your brother''s ass." The Outrider Knight, however, just waved her off. "Keep telling yourself that." "I just hope Annie isn''t around to see this," Brite mumbled not wanting the little Pyromancer to be traumatized. Inside the Match: The Abyss Watcher appeared in the rift alongside the other champions. They were Ekko, Caitlyn, Braum, and Gragas, which meant that Garen was on the other team. "Wow," Ekko said looking over Grey''s skin. "Who are you?" he asked. "It''s me, Ekko," Grey replied while still looking for where his sword is. Caitlyn recognized the voice and asked, "Grey? Is that you?" The Abyss Watcher nodded and Ekko whistled. "That is one epic skin," he said looking over Grey''s armor. "Thanks," Grey replied as he cracked his knuckles. "Summoner, can you let me in control for this match?" he asked. The summoner, who was listening, was surprised. "Why?" he asked. "Trust me, it''ll be good," Grey replied moving his neck around. They heard the sound that signaled the beginning of the Match. Ekko and Gragas went to the top, Caitlyn and Braum the bottom, and Grey the middle. While passing through his team''s turrets, he realized that he had more free movement than the past Matches, where most of his moves were controlled by the summoner. Making it to the middle of the Summoner rift, he saw the enemy minions with two champions. One was Evelynn and the other was¡­ a pirate. A literal pirate. A muscular man with a captain''s jacket and hat without an undershirt. A golden metal left arm. What appears to be some kind of fiery sword and a gun. A long beard. And brown pants with a large belt buckle equipped with boots. That was Gangplank, The Salt Water Scourge. "Oh, a new toy," Evelynn coed as her lashers pointed at Grey. "Well, let''s just get-" She didn''t get to finish as a green armored fist smashed into her face sending her to the ground. Gangplank immediately swung his sword at the Abyss Watcher, who blocked it with his knife on his left hand. Since he still didn''t know where his sword is, he supposed he''ll have to make do with what he got. Moving Gangplank''s sword away, Grey smashing his helmet on the enemy champion''s head, giving him a headbutt. The pirate took a few steps back shaking his head before aiming his gun at Grey, who smacked it away with his knife. The Abyss Watcher then punched Gangplank in the stomach before grabbing his metallic arm and ripping it off. Kicking Gangplank on his back, Grey then raised the metallic arm and swung it down at its former owner''s head, completely crushing it. Grey saw Evelynn finally getting back up. Seeing Gangplank''s fallen gun, he grabbed it and went to her. The Demon glared at the Abyss Watcher as her usual smile is replaced with a frown. "I am going to rip your throat out and shove it up your-" Again, Grey didn''t give her a chance to finish as he punched her in the stomach this time. When she was caught by surprise, he shoved the barrel of the gun in her mouth and pulled the trigger. The back of Evelynn''s head exploded and her lifeless body fell on the ground. Grey threw the gun away after being done with it. He was honestly glad that worked. He never used a gun before. But, thinking that they were probably like crossbows, and after spending an entire match with Jhin and seeing him use his, he just followed what he learned. Putting those thoughts away, the Abyss Watcher turned towards the turret and grabbed Gangplank''s headless body before going towards it. The turret had locked onto him. But, he used Gangplank''s body as a literal shield as he attacked the turret. Seeing that he wasn''t doing much damage without a weapon, the Abyss Watcher jumped back and out of the turrets firing range. He then raised what''s left of Gangplank''s body, and threw it at the turret as if throwing a giant stone. The body of the pirate collided with the turret at such a force that it actually brought down the magical construct. Seeing his job at this lane finished, the Abyss Watcher entered the river and started heading towards the top lane. Reaching the top-right edge of the Summoner rift, the Abyss Watcher saw Ekko and Gragas fighting against Garen and Akali. The Abyss Watcher immediately rushed towards Garen and caught him by surprise with a punch to the face. Gragas and Ekko concentrated on Evelynn, while Grey took on Garen. However, before the older Crownguard can even stand up, Grey grabbed Garen''s sword that he dropped and raised in the air before stabbing it through its owner''s chest, effectively killing him. The Lord of Cinder then raised the Greatsword, which still had Garen''s lifeless body in it, and threw it like a spear at the enemy''s turret. The Greatsword crashed into the center of the turret. And, like the last one, it crumbled from the force of the strike. The other two champions, who already took care of Akali, just stared in awe as the Abyss Watcher had taken care of the turret easily. Grey paid them no mind and decided to head back to the middle lane. Meanwhile, he was still wondering where his sword is on this skin. Time skip: (brought to you by chibi Ahri changing through her skins one by one.) To say the match was one-sided would be an understatement. Grey kept going through the entire rift while brutally killing anything hostile in his path. "Wow¡­ just, wow," Lux said unable to find words to describe how she felt. "I¡­ is he even allowed to do that?" Katarina asked as she saw Grey ripping a couple of champions apart. "Well, we''re watching him do it, so yeah," Nidalee said watching the brutality in front of her. Tiara laughed as she saw Grey rip Evelynn''s lashers off and use them to kill her. "Oh, it is good to see Grey fight like he used to," she said. Everyone looked at her confused. "What do you mean ''Used to''?" Ahri asked. "Because Grey used to be far colder than he currently is," Brite told them watching the match without any trouble like watching the news. "Honestly speaking, I was honestly glad to see how much more open he is now compared to the past." Ahri then remembered when she first met Grey and realized that he is far more open now than back then. Their attention returned to the match as the Abyss Watcher reached the enemy base after destroying another turret. He found three champions waiting for him. Garen, Gangplank, and Akali were all in battle stance. The first to attack was Gangplank, who immediately aimed his gun at the Abyss Watcher and fired. The shot struck Grey''s shoulder, but he paid it no mind as he stopped Garen''s swinging sword with his knife. A smoke bomb suddenly struck Grey''s helmet, temporarily blinding him as Akali jumped on his back while stabbing her scythe on it. The Abyss Watcher tried to shake the assassin off as Garen took this chance to step back and thrust his sword in the ground. A giant sword fell on Grey just as Akali jumped away, heavily wounding him, but not finish him off yet. Gangplank immediately aimed his Pistol at the wounded Abyss Watcher, and shot at his heart, finally killing him. "Urghh¡­ finally quit kicking," Gangplank groaned out as Garen and Akali sighed in relief. They were about to turn to the minions that had gathered around their Nexus but stopped upon hearing the demonic roar. It was at that moment that Akali and Garen remembered something about Grey and turned around. The saw the Abyss Watcher in a Satanic circle that lit up in flames. Grey slowly stood up again with an odd red rune glowing through the visor of the helmet. "Can''t you stay down as a favor for a friend," Garen pleaded as he got into a battle stance. "I''d appreciate that, too," Akali added doing the same as Garen. The Abyss Watcher, however, simply ignored them as he apparently finally found his sword, much to their visible fear. At first, it looked like a demonic handle of a sword. But, with a flick, a large blade purely made of red energy and covered in runes appeared with a double-edged-scythe-like end. Grey simply twisted his neck slightly, cracking the bones in it before he attacked them with his newly acquired sword. The first victim was Gangplank, who tried to shoot the Abyss Watcher. However, Grey used his sword to stop the bullet before swinging at the pirate''s stomach, cutting him in half. Garen came in swinging his sword, only for Grey to parry it, leaving the older Crownguard open for the Abyss Watcher''s sword that cut his head off. Akali threw a few kunais at the Abyss Watcher, only for him to cut them off with a swing from his sword before rushing in to cut her down. The assassin just barely managed to jump back, but it was meaningless as the Abyss Watcher jumped forward and slit her throat with his knife. Akali fell dead on the ground as Grey turned to the Nexus and went to attack it. With the minions that piled up around it, it wasn''t long before the large crystal was destroyed. "VICTORY, Red Team," the Announcer''s voice was heard over the Rift before the champions were all pulled out of it. The champions were now in the summoning chamber with their summoners. Everyone was pretty much quiet, staring at the Abyss Watcher. The first person to speak was Grey, who was back to his usual look. "Wow!" he said suddenly turning to his summoner. "You must be the best summoner out there." The summoner was caught by surprise as he looked confused. "I¡­ what?" "That entire match I was following your orders, and look at how it ended up. Congratulations," he said patting the Summoner''s shoulder before turning to leave the chamber. The other summoners all immediately thought that Grey''s summoner was the one in control, and all gathered around him either congratulating him or asking him questions. Grey came out of the Summoning chamber with Garen and Akali following. "That summoner had nothing to do with the match, did he?" Akali stated as a fact rather than a question. Grey''s silence was all the answer she needed. Garen sighed with a hand on his forehead. "You were right, now I do understand what that apology was for," he said realizing that the apology was an advanced one for what was going to happen in the match. They all reached the dining hall and went towards the tables that the others were sitting on. The first one to speak was Ahri. "That was¡­" she trailed off looking for the right words. "Brutal, monstrous, merciless, cruel?" Grey suggested sitting down beside her. "I was going to say a little overpowered," Ahri continued. "Seriously, is a champion allowed to be that powerful?" Katarina asked while patting Garen''s back. "I thought the summoners puts limits on overpowered champions." Aki shook her head while saying. "Grey, your new skin is going to get so nerfed, that I''ll be surprised if they don''t downright ban it from being used." Everyone just looked at her confused. "What?" Aki realized what she said and immediately started explaining. "They are just phrases we summoners use in Champions'' powers." "Anyway," Grey turned to Akali who followed them from the summoning chamber. "Do you need something, Akali?" "Oh, right," the rogue assassin seemed to remember something. "I wanted to let Ahri know that the Blood moon festival is tomorrow." Ahri''s ears perked in interest. "The Blood moon!? I love it! I used to always sneak around the villages when I was a Fox," she said but her smile slowly vanished remembering those days. "But¡­ I never got to join." It was pretty understandable. A nine-tailed Fox couldn''t just walk into a village and start playing and celebrating with humans. "Well, now you can," Grey said catching her attention. "We can go there tomorrow. It''ll be nice to go into Ionia without having to kill someone." While that did sound grim, everyone understood his logic and Ahri seemed to immediately perk up. The Nine-Tailed Vastayan immediately hugged the Abyss Watcher. "Yes! Thank you so much!" she let go of him and gave him a small kiss on the lips. "It''s a date then," she said before standing up and leaving to prepare for tomorrow. The Abyss Watcher just chuckled shaking his head. After a few seconds, he finally registered what she said. "Wait¡­ did she say date?" (A/N: Thank you for reading this. First, I know there isn''t many events in this chapter, but rushing to the next event while the previous one just ended would be rushing the story. Second, about Grey''s skin. I wanted to give him a new skin, but couldn''t think of anything. That''s when I remembered the Doom Slayer. If you think about it, it suits him. They''re both the last of their people, granted incredible power, and went on a rampage when their people were killed. Third, the next chapter will be development between Grey''s and Ahri''s relationships. While it did finally happen, you can''t expect them to immediately go with it without anything helping it. Again, thank you for reading this. Please comment, review, and give me your thoughts on my story.) 53 CH52: The Blood Moon Ahri woke up to a new day at the Institute of War. She was considering just rolling over and continuing sleeping but remembering how important the day is, she immediately sat up while stretching her tails. She looked beside her to wake up her newly acquired lover¡­ only to find the bed empty. "Huh, I guess he woke up before me¡­ or he didn''t sleep at all, again," Ahri mused chuckling to herself. After getting up, she went through her morning routine, while also paying close attention to her looks. She went to the living room, expecting to see Grey there¡­ only to find Nidalee and Silver. "Morning," the Huntress greeted. "Morning," Ahri replied but sounded a little confused. "So, where''s Grey?" she asked. "He already left, said something about getting ready," Nidalee replied as she started petting Silver. "He asked me to take care of Silver while you two are out." "Oh, that''s nice of you," Ahri said before raising an eyebrow. "I have to say, you are taking this too well, I expected you to be¡­ feisty." The Huntress shrugged. "I got to admit, I''m not completely okay with it, but after meeting you and seeing how you get along with Grey, it sort of changed my mind. I honestly wouldn''t have liked it otherwise." The Nine-Tailed Vastayan smiled warmly before turning back to her room. "Well, since Grey is getting ready, I might as well get ready myself," she said as she went to check on the things they bought over their time at the Institute. While she was looking for what to wear, Nidalee yelled at her from the living room. "By the way, I''ll have the summoners strength the soundproof walls while you''re out!" Ahri blushed and just kept looking through her clothes while yelling a reply. "Yeah¡­ that''s¡­ a good idea." With Grey: The Abyss Watcher was now pacing back and forth in the dining hall in front of a table that had Brite, Ezreal, Lux, Tiara, and Solas. "So, let me get this straight," Ezreal said with a rather surprised look. "You''re over a century old, but you''ve never been on a date before?" "Not even once," Grey replied still pacing. He was feeling something he didn''t experience much, which was being nervous. "How?" Ezreal asked knowing that Grey was pretty much one of the most wanted men in the Institute. "Fighting the Abyss doesn''t give you much time for any romance in your life," the Abyss Watcher replied still pacing. Lux shook her head in bewilderment. "I don''t know whether to commend you on your loyalty to your job, or feel worried about how much of a workaholic you were." The Lord of Cinder just kept pacing back and forth, making Tiara groan. "For the love of Gwyndolin, would you calm down, Grey!" she practically yelled. "How can I calm down?" Grey asked as he stopped pacing. "I just got into this relationship, and I don''t want to screw it up." "It''s just a date, Grey," his sister reminded him. "When was the last time you were on a date?" the Abyss Watcher asked. "I''ve been on tons of dates," Tiara replied. Her brother stopped pacing. "Let me rephrase what I said when was the last time you were on a date that DIDN''T ends with you slitting the throat of whoever you were on a date with?" Grey asked putting his question in a different way. Tiara just looked at him for a couple of seconds before replying. "I don''t see the difference," she said as if nothing is wrong with it making her brother sigh. "Don''t worry, I''m sure you''ll do fine," Solas tried to reassure him. Grey sighed, turned a chair from another table around and sat down. "I''m just so¡­ confused. I mean, what am I supposed to do." "Well, just make sure she''s happy," Lux began thinking that she would help the Abyss Watcher. "I was already planning to do that," Grey deadpanned at how obvious Lux''s statement was. "Well, what do you two usually do together?" Brite asked, hoping to get an idea on how to help Grey. The Abyss Watcher put a hand on his chin. "Well, we usually go around new places together, see new things, do new things, meet new people, and talk to each other," he replied before noticing that they were giving him weird looks. "What?" "So, basically," Ezreal started looking rather bewildered. "Ever since you two met, you have been on one colossal date?" Now it was Grey''s turn to look confused. "What?" Tiara shook her head while pinching the bridge of the nose. "Urghh. You two are so good for each other that it''s sickening," she groaned. Grey just sighed while messaging his forehead. "Grey, calm down," Ezreal said. "Your clothes are pretty much already themed for The Blood moon, and after what you told us, just act naturally." The Abyss Watcher was silent for a few seconds before standing up. "Well, I might as well go and meet her at the transport station," he said almost sounding defeated before looking at his sister. "Tiara, don''t kill anyone while I''m gone." "I promise nothing," his sister replied earning a deadpan look from her brother. "Fine, as long as they don''t bother me too much, I ain''t going to kill anyone." "So only Brite is in danger, good enough for me," Grey said as he walked away. "What?" the Silver Knight asked looking confused and a little worried. The Abyss Watcher ignored him and kept walking towards the Transport station. After reaching his destination, he simply stood at the side of the door waiting for his newly acquired lover. After waiting for a few minutes, Ahri showed up in new clothes. It looked somewhat like her usual kimono, but with different colors. The main color was black and with dark red edges, a dark red skirt, and black detached sleeves. Her gemstones were tied to her waist, one at each side. "Hey, Ahri," the Abyss Watcher greeted as she reached him. "S-Sorry if I''m not dressed properly," he apologized in an unusual nervous tone. "It''s okay," Ahri replied chuckling at his nervous tone. "Your clothes already suit the Blood moon," Grey''s normal dark clothes did suit the festival. She was also glad that he didn''t cover his face like usual, or even wearing his hat, and was strapped to his waist instead. she grabbed his arm and held his hand. "Let''s go." Walking into the transport station, the summoner there stood attention. "Good day, champions, leaving the Institute?" Ahri nodded. "Yes, we''d like to go to Ionia, please," she requested. The summoner nodded and motioned towards the Rune circle. "Very well, stand in the circle." Both of them nodded and did as the summoner asked. The summoner waved his hands and cast a spell before both of them vanished. Both of them appeared at a different transport station, with a different summoner there. "Welcome to Ionia, champions," the summoner greeted. Ahri and Grey nodded before coming out of the Transport station. They found themselves in a large Ionian village. Traditional houses, stores, and booths made of wood were everywhere, roads of dirt were between them, and lamps were hung from poles at the sides of the street. People were also walking around, all of them wearing traditional Ionian robes with red being the main color. There were also Blood moon decorations. Most stores and booths were selling Blood moon themed products, along with most buildings being painted red. "Well, we''re here," Grey said trying to think about what to do. He then remembered Ahri saying that she always wanted to join the games. "Do you want to play anything?" he asked. "Sure," Ahri agreed with enthusiasm that made Grey sigh in relief knowing he made a good pick. The Nine-Tailed Vastayan looked around and spotted a game that caught her interest. It was the usual game of knocking down the bottles to win a prize. Walking towards the booth, she took Grey with her and looked at the owner, a man with messy hair wearing Ionian robes. "Hey there, want to give it a shot?" he asked offering them a ball. "Why don''t you win a prize for your pretty friend here," he tried to persuade Grey into playing. "Actually, she''s the one who''s playing," The Abyss Watcher replied motioning to Ahri. The owner chuckled. "Sure, whatever you want," he was clearly underestimating her. The Nine-Tailed Vastayan gave the man a gold coin before taking the ball from him and taking a few steps back. "Just so you know, these games are rigged," Ahri whispered to Grey as he walked beside her. "What?" Grey asked confused. Ahri nodded as she prepared her wrist. "Yeah, the bottles are glued to the table." Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. "Then why bother playing?" Grey asked. "Because if you''re going to face a cheater," Ahri raised the ball showing how it started glowing blue light. "Then you might as well cheat yourself." The Abyss Watcher chuckled while the owner smirked thinking that Ahri was going to fail. The Nine-Tailed Vastayan reeled back her arm and threw the ball. The ball hit the bottles. But, much to the owner''s shock, a little fire exploded from the ball, burning the glue and forcing the balls down. "Oh, would you look at that?" Ahri put her hands on her waist with her face full of self-satisfaction. "It looks like I won." "A-Ah, of course," the Owner nervously chuckled. He knew that he couldn''t exactly say anything, or he would be announcing that his game was rigged. "So, pick a prize." Ahri smirked and looked over the prizes, they were mostly kids'' toys. Her eyes then caught sight of a traditional Kitsune mask. "I want that one," she said pointing at the Kitsune mask. The owner looked at the mask and mumbled, "Of course you do," as if he was expecting it. He grabbed it and gave it to her. Ahri took the mask and tied it loosely to the side of her head. "How does it look?" she asked, looking at Grey. Her new lover smiled. "It honestly looks cute on you," he complimented. Ahri smiled with some pink dusting her cheeks as she held his hand again. "Thank you," she said as they began walking away. The Abyss Watcher looked back at the booth they were in just now. "I think you ruined his business," he said about the owner. "This night isn''t about him," his new lover replied without a care. "it''s about us," she added as she squeezed his arm. Grey smiled and squeezed back as they walked through the festival. Looking for something else to do, they spotted a noodle stand. It was a simple place. Made of wood, like most buildings, with chairs in front of the counter so people can eat and watch the cook make their food. The cook, however, wasn''t around, but there was a door at the back which implied that they might be there. "How about we get some food?" Ahri suggested pointing to the stand. "I have to admit that I''m hungry." "Well, I didn''t get a chance to eat either, so I''m up for it," Grey replied remembering that he was too busy being nervous to actually eat breakfast. They both walked into the stand and sat beside each other in front of the counter. There wasn''t anyone there but them. Ahri took it upon herself to call for the owner, "Excuse me?" "Just a second," a feminine voice called from the back. Both Grey and Ahri looked at each other with a raised eyebrow, finding the voice familiar. A moment later, someone came out of the back and they realized why the voice was familiar. It was Akali, but with different clothes. Her chest was covered in bandages under a blue top with ocean-like drawings. A headband was on her head and her hair was now a light red shade. "Akali?" Grey asked confused. "Oh, hey," the rogue assassin greeted as she walked towards the counter where the cooking equipment was. "I''m glad to see you two made it." "You own a ramen stand?" Ahri asked surprised and confused. Akali shrugged. "Well, I got to make a living somehow," she replied. Both of them looked at her in confusion. "Doesn''t the Institute already give you money?" Grey asked. Akali looked away with an embarrassed blush on her cheeks. "I¡­ might not be very good at managing how I spend my money," she admitted making the new lovers chuckle slightly. "Anyway, I see you two are together, and from the way, you were walking together holding each other''s hands, I guess you finally hit it off," she observed, but mainly to get the attention away from herself. "Yes," Ahri confirmed as she held Grey''s hand smiling warmly. "We''re lovers now," she said and the Abyss Watcher mirrored her smile. "Finally!" Akali sighed as she handed them the menu. "I was honestly starting to get concerned." "About what?" Grey asked. "That doesn''t matter," the Rogue assassin waved it off before gesturing to the menu. "So, want to order?" Ahri took the menu and Grey looked at her sheepishly. "Mind ordering for me? I still don''t have much knowledge of Ionian food." The Nine-Tailed Vastayan simply giggled. "Sure, no problem," she said looking over the menu before looking back at Akali. "We''ll have two bowls of spicy ramen." "My favorite," Akali said taking back the menu and started cooking. "So, Grey, I''m glad to see you''re back from being missing," she said trying to start a conversation. "Speaking of, what happened to you during the mission?" Ahri asked. She was wondering that herself¡­ but she supposed that she was busy ''enjoying'' the fact that they became a couple. "It''s¡­ complicated," the Abyss Watcher replied shaking his head. "To be perfectly honest, I don''t know what exactly happened myself," Akali and Ahri just looked at him confused. "Let''s just say that I was lost, but someone helped me find the way back," he didn''t mention Ama because she seemed to hate Runeterra and didn''t want to upset her. He then remembered something. "Hey, do you two know what Okame means?" Both of them looked surprised. "Where did you hear that word?" Ahri asked. "Okame is a word?" Grey was confused since he thought it was a name. "A very old Ionian word," Akali clarified as she kept cooking. "It means Wolf." Now Grey understood what Susano meant when he said that it makes sense if he knew what it meant, and he had to agree honestly. "And done," Akali finished cooking and handed her costumers two bowls of ramen with chopsticks. "Here you go." Both of them took their bowls. Ahri picked up her chopsticks and, thanks to all the memories she took, used them well despite never using them before. Grey, however, simply grabbed them with a look of confusion before asking, "So, how do I use these?" Ahri chuckled finding his confusion rather cute. "Let me help you," she said grabbing his hand. "You hold them like this," she said helping him get the correct hold. "And you eat like this," she went back to her bowel and demonstrated. The Abyss Watcher followed her example and managed to eat the ramen, although a little sloppy. "This is amazing, Akali," Grey complimented as he ate his noodles. "Your welcome," the Rogue assassin chuckled as she started washing her kitchen tools to use them later. Ahri and Grey just ate their ramen in silence. There wasn''t a need to actually say anything. Both of them were simply enjoying being beside each other. It felt¡­ natural. After finishing their bowls, Ahri grabbed her gold patch. "So, Akali, how much was that?" "It''s on the house," Akali replied surprising them. "Consider it a gift for the new couple, you guys deserve it," she finished cleaning and started heading to the back again. "Well, I gotta check on something, see ya," and with that, she went through the door. Once they were left alone, both of them stood up from their seats and took a few steps from the stand. "Well, that was kind of her," Grey noted before looking at Ahri. "What do you want to do now?" he asked. Ahri hummed and in thought while looking around before spotting something. "Oh, I think I see an Ice-cream stand. Let''s get some dessert," Ahri said and immediately went to get her frozen treat without waiting for a reply. Grey chuckled seeing Ahri''s enthusiasm about Ice-cream. It was pretty obvious that it was one of her weaknesses. In the past, he could have rarely smiled in his old world. But now, just seeing Ahri genuinely having fun was enough to make him happy. "Well, you seem to be enjoying yourself," Grey looked beside him¡­ and saw that Ama was the one who spoke. "Oh, you," Grey noted. At this point, Grey was pretty much used to her habits of showing up out of nowhere. "I thought you hate it here?" he asked remembering Ana''s reaction to Runeterra. Ama glared at the people around them, that for some reason didn''t notice her. "I do," she confirmed. The Abyss Watcher looked at her glare and didn''t see any actual hatred, but disappointment. It was a look that a parent would give their child when they choose the wrong life for themselves. "Anyway," Grey attempted to change the subject. "Yes, I am enjoying myself. Wouldn''t you be in my place?" "I suppose that''s right," Ama chuckled as she turned her attention back at the Abyss Watcher. "But, do you think that it will last?" "Nothing is eternal," Grey admitted but without a sign of any depression, having already accepted that fact. "However, that just means you have to enjoy what you have while you have it. The future is not the present, and I''ll deal with it when it happens, but now, I''d like to enjoy these peaceful moments." The black-haired woman chuckled, almost as if she was hoping for him to give that answer, which was confusing. "Grey! Come on!" their conversation was cut off when Ahri called out. "I''m on my way," the Abyss Watcher replied before looking at Ama. "You might not enjoy it here, but consider enjoying yourself." With that, Grey walked away headed towards his lover. Ama, who was left alone, chuckled in amusement for reasons unknown to others around. "Oh, is someone there?" Akali asked from the back, hearing Ama''s laughter and coming out. "I didn''t realize I had any¡­ customers¡­" Akali trailed off as she looked in disbelief at Ama, who was standing at the front of her stand. "You¡­ you''re¡­ I¡­" she couldn''t even form a sentence. Ama simply brought up a finger towards her smirking lips. "Shhhh, no one has to know," she whispered before she vanished in a flurry of embers. Akali just stood there with her jaw hanging. She knew EXACTLY who that woman was, so she did what any rational person would do in her situation¡­ which is fainting on the spot. Meanwhile, Grey reached Ahri and saw that she already had two cones of Ice cream in her hands. "What took you so long?" Ahri asked handing him an Ice-cream cone. Grey took the ice-cream and replied, "I thought I saw someone," he forwent mentioning Ama because he knew she would be gone when he looks back. Ahri was curious but shrugged it off and decided not to worry about it. They started walking through the festival again, looking for something to do. After walking for a few moments and finishing up their Ice-cream, Ahri spotted another game that caught her interest. It was a knife throwing game. The stand had three targets at the back and prizes at the side. It kind of looked like that bottle game they played before. Ahri normally wouldn''t be interested in knives, but she then looked at Grey. "Hey, Grey, why don''t you try out that game there?" she asked. The Abyss Watcher looked at the game before looking at his lover. "Why?" he asked a little confused. "I already played, so it''s your turn to have fun," Ahri chuckled as she pulled him towards the game before he replied. The owner, which was a slightly short woman with a couple of scars on her face, showed up. "Hey, want to give it a shot?" she asked. Ahri pushed Grey forward and he rolled his eyes with a smile. "Yes, I''d like to try," he said giving the woman some gold. The woman took the gold and gave him three knives. "Alright, you get three tries," she informed him taking a step to the side, away from the line of fire. "I''ll only need one," Grey said making her confused. Deciding to use one of the tricks he learned at the Catacombs of Carthus, the Abyss Watcher held the three knives by the tip of the blade before reeling back his arm and throwing them all at the same time. Both Ahri and the owner looked surprised as all three knives struck the center of each target. "Woah, pretty good," the owner complemented before looking back at Grey. "Well, you won, so pick a prize." The Lord of Cinder looked over the prizes before something caught his attention. It was a wolf mask, with the same design as Ahri''s one except looking like a wolf. "I''ll take that one," Grey said motioning to the mask. The owner grabbed the mask and handed it to the Abyss Watcher, who, like Ahri, put it on the side of his head only in the opposite direction. Grey turned around and showed it to Ahri. "Look, now we match," he said jokingly. Ahri chuckled and nodded. "Yeah, it kind of suits us, actually," she replied as she held his hand while walking away. "The Kitsune, and her Okame," she pointed out before smirking at her lover. "Also, were you showing off back there?" she asked teasingly. Grey just smirked. "Showing off is your thing, not mine," he replied in a mixture of serious and joking tone. Ahri put a finger on her chin before shrugging. "That''s true, I guess," she agreed and they both shared a laugh. Time skip: (brought to you by chibi Ahri and chibi Grey walking through the festival with chibi Ama watching over them from the top of a building.) The date has gone on great in Grey''s opinion. So far, he and Ahri have managed to go around the festival and try out different games or see people performing shows on the streets. It was now late at night. The Crimson Moon was now high in the sky shining red light upon all of Ionia. Grey and Ahri were currently sitting on a grass hill, giving them a great view of the moon and the entire village. Besides Ahri was a bag full of all the things she bought. To some people, it would seem childish, but to Grey, it was rather cute how excited his lover was at joining the Blood moon festival for the first time. "So," the Abyss Watcher cleared his throat trying to start a conversation. "Did you have fun?" he asked. Ahri smiled and leaned on his shoulder while looking up at the moon. "I did, it was amazing," she said before looking at him. "Let me guess, you were nervous." Grey sighed and answered truthfully. "Yeah, I was. Was it that obvious?" he asked. "There''s nothing wrong with that," Ahri assured him as she intertwined their fingers. "To be honest, I was nervous, too," she admitted. Grey chuckled and held her hand gently as he also looked at her. "I guess we were both worried for nothing." They both looked into each other''s eyes before leaning forward and sharing a kiss. It lasted for a few seconds before they pulled back. "Thank you," Grey said suddenly. "For what?" Ahri asked. "For giving this chance," Grey explained as he held her hand tighter. "I truly never thought I''d be this happy, but you allowed that to happen, so, again, thank you." The Nine-Tailed Vastayan simply smiled and caressed his face. "Don''t worry about it. If anything, I have to thank you, too, for giving me the same chance." The Abyss Watcher returned her smile as they shared another kiss. They kept sitting there for a few moments before Grey stood up. "We should probably get back now," Grey said as he offered his hand to Ahri. The Nine-Tailed Vastayan whined but still accepted his hand and stood up. "Can''t we stay for a while longer?" The Lord of Cinder shook his head. "Sorry, but no. Besides, we can always come to the next festival." Ahri smiled and nodded. "Yeah, that''s right," agreed as she held his hand and started making their way to the Transport station. Ahri then remembered something. "Oh, right. Nidalee said that the summoners are going to strengthen the soundproofing of our walls." Grey blushed, remembering how the Huntress complained about the noises. "Yeah¡­ that''s¡­ a good idea," he said. His lover chuckled with a hint of embarrassment. "That''s what I said." Grey chuckled and shook his head. "Let''s get back now. Hopefully, we''ll get back home before Tiara kills Brite," he said remembering his sister''s temper. (A/N: Thank you for reading this. First, I''m sure you see that this is better than the first version, which couldn''t even be called a date if I''m honest. So, I decided to give them more personal time together. Second, I''m sure that you noticed Akali''s reaction to Ama. Yes, she will show up again, but I can''t say anymore or that would be spoilers. Third, Ama''s reasons and interests in Grey will be explained later, so don''t worry. Again, thank you for reading this. Please comment, review, and give me your thoughts on my story.) 54 CH53: Music It''s a new day at the Institute of War. Ahri, Grey, and Nidalee came out of their room with Silver on the Abyss Watcher''s shoulder. "So, did you two enjoy your date?" Nidalee asked as they walked through the hallway. "Oh, it was wonderful," Ahri replied remembering the Blood moon festival. "I finally got a chance to play after watching for so long, and with a lover no less. I''ve never had so much fun." The Abyss Watcher smiled seeing Ahri so happy. Her honest smile always managed to brighten up his day. Grey then turned to Nidalee. "Anyway, how were you yesterday?" The huntress shrugged. "It was pretty good, boring but good. I showed Neeko around, which was interesting," she replied recalling what she did while Ahri and Grey were on their date. "Did you sleep well?" Ahri asked suddenly. Nidalee nodded. "Yes, it was very-" she suddenly stopped and gave them a deadpan look. "You two did it last night, didn''t you?" she stated rather than asked. Both Ahri and Grey looked at each other before the Nine-Tailed Vastayan said, "Well, at least we know the new soundproofing works," before she continued walking. The Abyss Watcher just sighed and continued walking forward towards the dining hall. However, along the way, he noticed something. It wasn''t that important, but the summoners around seemed to be excited about something. They were chatting with each other excitedly and were moving a little faster than before. "Is it just me, or do the summoners seem more¡­ excited than normal?" Ahri asked noticing the same thing as Grey. The huntress shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe there''s a new event or something. I heard that Summoners usually have events for special occasions," she informed her roommates who nodded and decided to ignore them for now. They reached the dining hall, picked up their food, and looked for a table to sit in. They found Aki, Brite, Solas, and Tiara sitting together. "Morning, everyone," Ahri greeted as she and her roommates sat down in a close table after giving Silver his food. "Oh, morning, Ahri," Aki was the first to return the greeting. Tiara immediately looked at her brother. "So, how was the date?" she asked while sparing a glare at Ahri. "Did the fox f*ck it up like I was expecting?" The Nine-Tailed Vastayan glared at the Outrider Knight, while Grey was resisting the urge to face-palm. "It went great, and having Ahri there was what made it like that." His sister rolled her eyes and Ahri looked around to see that the summoners are still being excited. "Hey, Aki, what''s up with the Summoners?" she asked. The Shy summoner looked confused for a second before she remembered something. "Oh, right. There are two new group skins coming out today. Their popularity skyrocketed just by announcing them. Apparently, there is this event going to be held by the group skins, so everyone is pumped up about it." "New group skins?" Solas asked raising an eyebrow. "Who are they for?" Aki put a hand on her chin, thinking. "Well, I know Ahri is part of one of the groups, but I don''t know the rest of the group she''s in. As for the other group, it''s made up of you four," she said motioning towards Grey, Brite, Solas, and Tiara. "Us?" Grey asked surprised. "Well, they wanted something to bring the people from another world together, so they made the group skin," Aki explained shyly. Tiara groaned. "Oh, that is just racist," she said referring to how they were put together simply because they are from another world. "Do you even care?" Brite asked knowing that the Dancer never actually cared for racial business. The Outrider Knight chuckled. "F*ck no, but I''ll still use that as an excuse to yell at the summoners." Her brother groaned and started massaging his forehead. He just knew that he was the one who''s going to be cleaning up for his sister''s mess. "Anyway," Ahri started trying to change the subject, seeing Grey''s obvious discomfort. "You said that I''ll also have a new group skin, what do you know about it?" Aki scratched her head in slight embarrassment. "I¡­ actually have been a little busy learning spells lately. So, I don''t know all the details, but I do know it''s related to an old skin of yours." The Nine-Tailed Vastayan raised a confused eyebrow, but her interest was still peaked. "Well, when is it coming out?" she asked. "This afternoon, I believe," Aki replied. "You''re supposed to get it at the stage." "There''s a stage?" Tiara asked rather surprised. The Shy summoner nodded. "Yeah, they made a stage for either performances or music concerts. Thankfully, Jhin is forbidden from performing there." What she said made sense to those who know the Virtuoso. They couldn''t imagine people lining up to see what Jhin would call a ''show''. "Well, I guess now we have something to do today," Grey noted as he finished his breakfast. "What do you guys want to do until the afternoon?" he asked since it was still morning. "Nidalee!" Neeko yelled out as she came in running. "Oh, Neeko," the Huntress noted as she looked at the chameleon. "There you are," Neeko continued as she reached forward. The chameleon then looked at Grey. "Oh, you''re the guy that suddenly got angry at the pretty fox." "Yes, sorry for exploding like that," the Abyss Watcher apologized thinking that he scared her. But, much to his surprise, Neeko shook her head. "No, it''s okay. I can see you really care for her, and I can tell something happened to you that made you this angry," what she said made the others realize that, despite how she acts, Neeko was smarter than she looks. "Anyway, now that your friend is back, can we finally go to the garden?" she asked Nidalee. Nidalee sighed. Ever since the fight between Grey and Ahri, Neeko wanted to see the garden but Nidalee told her to wait until Grey gets back. "I guess some fresh air can''t hurt," Grey said as he stood up. Ahri also stood up. "I''ll go to, it''s been a while since I saw the garden." "I do need to visit storm again," Solas said, also standing up. "I guess there''s your answer," Nidalee chuckled as Neeko did a cheer of victory. "Alright, let''s go." They all stood up and started making their way out of the dining hall and headed towards the garden. After a few turns and hallways, they passed through the garden''s green gates. They saw the green life that covers the garden. Storm was resting under a tree, covering himself from the heat of the sun. The Sun''s First Born immediately went to see his friend, who raised his head at sensing them. Brite followed after him. While Grey, Ahri Tiara, Nidalee, and Neeko just stood near the entrance. The chameleon was looking around with something akin to childish wonder. "Wow, this place is amazing!" she cried out as she immediately started running towards the trees. "Careful, Neeko!" Nidalee called out as she knew Zyra might get angry at her. "She''s quite lively, isn''t she," Grey stated rather than asked. His sister groaned. "A little too loud for my taste, though." "I agree," Zyra added as she appeared from deep within the garden. "Good to see you''re back, Grey." "You as well, Zyra," The Abyss Watcher returned the greeting. "Hey, Nidalee, can I ask you something?" Ahri requested as the Huntress replied with a nod. "How do you know Neeko?" Nidalee smiled crossing her arms. "One day, I noticed that a new cougar of the tribe that adopted me started acting strange, and the next thing I knew, it turned to Neeko who was running away from Noxian hunters. I helped her around the forest and taught her how to survive. But, one day, she wanted to go out and explore the world. She wanted me to join her, but I declined. I haven''t seen her since," she explained with a fond smile before it turned to an awkward one. "Also, you should know that Neeko is¡­ well¡­" She seemed to be struggling with words. "She''s gay, isn''t she?" Tiara asked drawing looks around. Ahri and Zyra were looking at her in disbelief, Grey with a ''Are you serious'' look, and Nidalee looked a little shocked. "Yes¡­" Nidalee admitted but still kept looking at Tiara. "How did you know?" The Outrider Knight started counting by raising her fingers. "Will, for one thing, she''s been staring at my ass the entire way here. Not that I blame her, though. It''s a fine ass," she added gaining deadpan looks. "And two, she''s also been taking looks at Ahri''s revealing outfit. And three, she hasn''t as much as even looked at a man unless she was talking to him." The huntress started scratching her head. "Yeah, there''s that," she said but smiled. "But, other than that, she''s fun to be around. Honestly taking care of Neeko is like taking care of a child," she said before looking to where her friend has gone. "NEEKO!" she yelled in worry. The reason for her worry is that she found the chameleon laughing and dangling on a tree branch¡­ above a large venus trap plant that was slowly going towards her. "Zyra! What the hell!" Nidalee yelled as she immediately went to save her friend. The Carnivore woman immediately raised her hands to show her innocence. "Don''t look at me! I didn''t even know she was there!" Time skip: (brought to you by chibi Ahri hugging chibi Grey. Only for him to turn into chibi Neeko.) It was now the afternoon, the time for the new skin to come out. Grey, Ahri, Brite, Solas, and Tiara were being led by Aki towards the stage. They made it to a pair of doors that were the same design as the garden''s doors but colored blue. Once inside, they took notice of a really large stage that looked like it can be used for both a concert and a play. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. "Your skin should be by the backstage," Aki informed them as she led them through the rows and rows of chairs. After making it to the backstage, they took notice of a few other champions. One being Akali, Sona as well, the other, surprisingly, was Evelynn, and a new champion they haven''t met yet. It was a rather young looking woman. She had black hair that reached her back and purple eyes and markings on her face. She was wearing a purple, flesh looking suit that apparently was fused with her skin. There were a couple of more summoners there. "Ah, there you are, champions," one of the Summoners noted their arrival. Aki moved beside the summoners, although hesitantly. Grey, Ahri, Brite, Solas, and Tiara moved beside the other champions. "Hey, Akali," Ahri greeted. However, the rogue assassin was silently looking at the floor. "Akali, are you okay?" she asked. Akali broke out of her thoughts and looked at them in surprise. "O-Oh, hey," she greeted, although sounding a little shaking. "Did something happen?" Grey asked a little concerned about how their friend was acting. The rogue assassin wanted to say something, but remembering Ama''s words, she shook her head. "Nah, just thinking about the new skin and all." The others were obviously not convinced. However, they decided to drop it for now to not damper the mood. "Good to see you again, Sona," Grey greeted the Maven. "You have a new skin, too?" The mute girl smiled and nodded. [You, too, Grey.] she returned the greeting before shaking her head. [And no, I don''t. The summoner just asked for my help with something.] The Abyss Watcher nodded and then looked at the unknown champion. "I don''t believe we got your name, Ms¡­" he trailed off hoping that she would answer. The unknown champion, who was leaning on a wall crossing her arms, looked at him and answered. "Kai''sa, Daughter of the Void." The summoners, including Aki, nodded together. "Alright, please be ready, champions," he then motioned to Ahri, Akali, Evelynn, and Kai''sa. "First, you four." The four girls nodded and stood together beside each other before the summoners all started casting a spell. After a few seconds, they appeared in the new skin. Ahri now was blonde. One of her fox ears had a Heart-shaped piercing, and her tails looked like they were made of diamonds. She was wearing a black bodysuit that started at her chest and ended at her upper thighs. She was also wearing a short white jacket with the straps falling over her shoulders. And for shoes, she was wearing high heels that reached her above her knees. Akali''s hair was now a dark shade of purple. She was wearing a cap on her head. Her top was white under a baggy jacket. She was wearing skinny jeans with its left leg gone. Her left leg was wearing a thigh-high sock. Evelynn, well, she actually looked human. Her skin was only slightly pale, unlike the usual blue color. Her hair was now a mixture of red and purple. She was wearing a black skin skirt with golden accessories and a black top with a short fur coat. She had claws made of gold and her lashers were now made of silk with arrow-shaped golden and diamond pieces at the end. Kai''sa also looked more human. Gone was her purple organic-looking suit. It was replaced by a pair of skinny jeans with a black top that had a golden chest. Her hair was now light purple and over her shoulders were two canons made of gold and diamond. Ahri looked over herself. "Wow, this is pretty good," she said before she moved her tails and ran her hand through their now crystal look. "Shiny." Evelynn looked at her nails and lashers. "Not usually my style to shine so much, but it''s okay, I guess." Akali looked over herself and shrugged. "Not bad," she said moving her legs around to test her movement. Kai''sa looked at herself and looked like she was having mixed feelings. "It''s¡­ good I guess," she said looking herself over. Now Ahri knew what Aki was talking about when she said its related to an old skin. she remembers having something called pop star skin when she last checked on hers. "This skin is for a new pop star group called K/DA," one of the summoners informed them. "A group? with them?" Evelynn asked looking almost disgusted. "I''d rather choke myself with my lashers." "Yeah, I can''t imagine her being in any group," Ahri said looking displeased of sharing something with the lust demon. Meanwhile, Kai''sa looked rather awkward. "Are you sure you have the right person for this?" she asked not thinking it didn''t suit her. "I don''t know," Akali said as she took out her kunai and found it to be made of gold. "I kind of like this skin," she said as she started flipping her kunai in the air. "I assure you that we made sure of who was chosen for this and it is for you four," a summoner replied which made Kai''sa sigh knowing she wasn''t getting out of this while Ahri and Evelynn huffed and turned from each other. "Now for you four," the summoner then turned to Grey, Brite, Solas, and Tiara. "Please step forward." The summoners including Aki all waved their hands to cast a spell again. the four champions from another world took a step forward with the Abyss Watcher giving Silver to Ahri before they were covered in light and they all appeared in their new skins. Grey was now wearing a black, long-sleeved shirt. His usual blood-red cape was replaced by a bright blue one that seemed to have a shine to it. The armor on his left shoulder was replaced by a new one that was shaped like a wolf''s head. His trousers were also black with silver combat boots that had blue straps. His sword was the same shape, but it looked like it was made from a dark blue crystal. the cross-guard had a speaker on each of its front and back. His dagger was replaced by a mike that had a blade at the bottom. Also, unlike Grey''s usual skins, this one didn''t cover his face but actually left it for anyone to see. Brite was now wearing a pale white shirt that had long pale silver sleeves under with the crest of the Warriors of Sunlight at the chest. Over the shirt was a short bright green vest. His pants were now black with pale silver boots. On his head was a pale silver fedora with a red feather in it. His glaive was replaced with a rather long bass that seemed to be made of a black crystal. Tiara was now wearing a black tank top under a long-sleeved jean jacket. She was wearing a skinny skirt that reached her mid-thighs. she was wearing high heeled boots with fishnet stockings. Her shoulder-length hair, which is usually held in a low ponytail, is now flowing freely with a red shade covering the edges. Her two swords were replaced by two drumming sticks, both of them longer than normal, one was made of a blue crystal while the other was made of a red one. As for Solas, he was now a gold-colored shirt with the sleeves being ripped off. He was also wearing a pair of jeans with scuffed knees along with dark Silver boots. His hair was now out of its usual long and wild look. Instead, it was quite short and spiky. He was now holding a large guitar that was in the shape of his Sword-spear. The guitar was made of a bright golden crystal that seemed to have electricity floating inside it. "This skin is for a new Rock and Rap music band called the Symphony Souls," the Summoner informed them. The Abyss Watcher looked over himself. "I have to admit, this is pretty good," he admitted before looking at his sword. "A little overboard with the blade but still good." "I think it suits you," Ahri said looking him over as Silver barked in agreement. "The wolf head is a nice touch, too," she added looking over his shoulder armor. Sona was also looking over Grey, but she was too busy gawking to give a compliment. This was pretty much her ideal version of the Abyss Watcher, and she''d be lying if she said she hadn''t had fantasies of them doing concerts together before. The Nine-tailed Vastaya noticed the Maven''s look, and she didn''t like it. "Hey, that''s my boyfriend you''re drooling at," she said trying to sound threatening. However, Sona simply continued doing what she was doing and responded by giving Ahri a single hand sign that anyone can understand. Which is pointing a certain finger at the ceiling. What surprised Ahri more was that no one seemed to notice what Sona did. "Not bad," Tiara said as she twirled her drumming sticks between her fingers. "I don''t know what a rock and rap band is, but I like it," Brite said looking over his clothes. "That crest was my idea," Aki admitted making Brite look at her surprised. "I-I knew you would probably want it, so I had them add it for you." The Silver Knight smiled and looked down at the crest of the Warriors of Sunlight on his chest. "Thank you, Aki. That''s sweet of you," he said in gratitude. the shy Summoner nodded and looked away with some pink dusting her cheeks. This short conversation was not missed by Ahri, who smiled mischievously and made a mental note to bring this up later. Solas looked over himself and ran a hand through his now short hair. "While not my usual style, it is pretty good," he said before looking at the summoners. "So, does bringing us here has something to do with the skins we received?" he asked knowing that they couldn''t have brought them here just to give them the skin. One of the Summoners nodded. "Yes, there is, to be allowed to keep the skins, you must do a musical performance. In other words, make a song," he said catching everyone''s attention. "Rest assured, the Institute already prepared the lyrics and roles for each of you." Sona now understood why she was asked to be her. it was to help make the sounds for the music groups. an ability of her Etwahl is that it can make any sound she desires. All of them nodded, except Grey and Kai''sa. "I guess I''m losing this skin," the Abyss Watcher said implying that he won''t be singing. Sona''s neck twitched suddenly as if it was just snapped. "Yeah," Kai''sa seemed to agree with him. But, she seemed more embarrassed than the Abyss Watcher. "I''m telling you, you got the wrong person." "Oh, come on," Akali suddenly threw her arm over Kai''sa''s shoulder. "It could be fun. Plus, I wanted to try out rapping lately." "But-but I-" Kai''sa didn''t get to finish as Akali started dragging her to the stage while following one of the summoners. the Daughter of the Void sighed and just accepted her fate. Evelynn rolled her eyes and followed them deciding to get this over with. Tiara turned to her brother. "Well, that just happened. And what about you?" "Sorry, but I ain''t doing it," Grey repeated and looked at the other two males of the group. "You two agree with me, right?" To his surprise, Brite shook his head. "I honestly think it could be fun." "I believe that it can be a good new experience," Solas agreed with the other two members. the Dancer smirked at her. "Three against one. the vote is in our favor." The Abyss Watcher obviously looked uncomfortable, so Ahri stepped forward. "Alright, if he doesn''t want to do it, then he doesn''t have to," she said much to her lover''s relief. However, Ahri then felt someone tapping her shoulder. She looked and saw Sona holding up a note with written on it. Ahri stared at the paper for a few seconds before looking back at her lover. "Grey, what are you waiting for? go ahead and sing!" she practically ordered. "Wait, what?" the Abyss Watcher looked at her confused. "What happened to what I want?" he asked referring to Ahri''s earlier statement. "Who cares about what you want? it''s not like you wanted to show up on Runeterra in the first place!" Ahri countered as she started pushing him forward. "So go ahead, and sing!" "You heard the lady," Tiara said as she started dragging her brother by the arm. "Let''s go," she said as she, Brite, and Solas followed another summoner while dragging Grey. Ahri looked rather proud of herself, that was until Aki spoke. "Ahri, you do realize that Sona has at least three skins that would look like couples with Grey''s new skin, right?" the Nine-tailed Vastaya looked confused for a second until it finally hit her. She immediately started glaring at the Maven, who couldn''t look more innocent, but Ahri knew better. "Why you little-" "Ahri, come on!" Akali called out. Ahri spared one last glare at Sona before going with her designed group. Time skip: (Brought to you by chibi K/DA Ahri and Chibi Symphony Souls Grey singing together on a stage.) It was now night time, a few hours after sunset. Grey, Ahri, Brite, Solas, and Tiara were now back to their normal clothes. They were sitting in the dining hall with the rest of their friends. Including Aki, Ezreal, Lux, Garen, Katarina, Nidalee, and Sona. Akali, Evelynn, and Kai''sa left to do their own thing. "So, they really picked you to make a music band?" Ezreal asked. The Abyss Watcher nodded with a sigh of annoyance. "Why wasn''t I picked for your group?" Lux asked Ahri, sounding rather envious. Sona would have also asked the same question, but she supposed that she was famous enough already. Add the fact that being mute wouldn''t actually help her as an idol. "Trust me, you''re better off without being in their group," Tiara said holding a paper that had Ahri''s group''s lyrics. "This stuff is ridiculous. ''Wild in my veins'', what does that even mean? ''Wish you luck, but you''re not bringing us down'', why would you wish someone luck and then say they would lose anyway? That''s just mean?" The Nine-Tailed Vastayan rolled her eyes. "It''s Pop music, Tiara. It''s not supposed to make sense, it''s just supposed to sound good," she said. "Well, congratulations, Runeterra!" Tiara exclaimed throwing the paper away. "Once again, you proved to me that your just a pile of idiocy and runes." Grey just sighed with a hand on his forehead. "I''m just glad that it''s over. And I guess it''s a good thing that no one actually listened to the song." "Oh, I probably should have mentioned that it would be broadcasted soon," Aki said making the Abyss Watcher look at her wide-eyed. "S-Sorry." Just as Grey was about to complain, the viewing orb appeared in the middle of the dining hall and started playing. First, it played Pop/Star, by Ahri''s group, K/DA. Then, it played the song by Grey''s group, Symphony Souls, Fading Light. (Aviators, Fading Light.) After the song was over, cheers and clapping erupted around the entire dining hall, all of them directed at the two groups. The Lord of Cinder laid his head on the table. "Being a celebrity is annoying," he groaned. (A/N: Thank you for reading this. I''m pretty sure most of you are glad that the K/DA group showed up. Along with Grey''s group, the Symphony Souls. While K/DA is meant for Pop music, while the Symphony Souls is more of a rock and rap music. Sorry that there isn''t much action in this chapter, but it''ll start in the next one. Hopefully. Also, I hope you noticed where Brite''s costume gained its inspiration from. Again, thank you for reading this. Please comment, review, and give me your thoughts on my story.) 55 Special chapter Valoran city, a place that is always filled with all kinds of new things and events, be they magic or science, where seeing demons, monsters, people with animal traits called Vastaya, and even magicians are as normal as saying hi. The sun rises again in this very lively place. What makes this city truly interesting was the fact that the newest and currently most popular idol group, K/DA, was currently staying within this city. Their presence was enough to gather all kinds of attention to Valoran. They were staying at a two-story house with dark purple glass windows. The house was surrounded by a fence made of white long walls with golden gates at the front with shaped at the center of the gate. It was safe to say that they were not trying to hide where they were. The reason the fence was there is because, as much as they liked and appreciated their fans, they can get a little... Too excited sometimes. Walking through the streets was a rather long male, wearing a pair of jeans and a blue hoody, covering his identity. He walked towards the gates and stopped at the screen doorbell on the side before pushing the button. A few seconds later, the screen of the doorbell turned on to reveal Kai''sa, the head Dancer of the K/DA group. "Yes, can I help you?" she asked sounding polite. The male took down his hood to reveal a rather handsome young man with chin-length white hair. "Yeah, hi, sorry for coming in so early," he started with an apology seeing that it was still morning. "I''m here to see Ahri," he then told her with a friendly smile. Kai''sa looked at him weirdly before smiling in apology. "I''m sorry, but we don''t take fan visits at home," she said thinking that it might be one of Ahri''s many admirers. They tried to visit her before, so why wouldn''t it happen again. The young man looked at her confused. "Fan visits?" he asked before realizing her misunderstanding. "Oh, no, no, no! I''m not a fan, I''m a friend," he tried to clear out but she did not look convinced, so he decided to help her believe him. "Look, just tell Ahri or Evelynn that Grey is here." The Dancer of the K/DA group still didn''t look completely convinced. But then, someone out of the screen frame called out to her. "Kai''sa, who''s at the door?" Someone asked from inside. Kai''sa looked at him before answering the person who asked her. "Some guy who says he''s here for Ahri. He said he was a friend," she explained. The same person then asked another question. "Is he hot?" The newly named Grey rolled his eyes, immediately knowing who was speaking from that question. "Well... Yeah, kinda," Kai''sa replied shyly with some pink dusting her cheeks. "What''s his name?" the person asked a more rational question this time. Kai''sa recalled what he told her to say. "He said to tell you or Ahri that Grey is here, but I don''t-" "Wait, What!?" suddenly, frantic footsteps were heard before Kai''sa was shoved out of the screen frame, and another member of the K/DA group, Evelynn, took her place. "Grey?" Evelynn asked she lowered her signature purple glasses to get a better look at him. "What are you doing out there?" "Waiting for you to open the door," Grey replied motioning around himself, reminding her that he was talking to her through the doorbell. Evelynn seemed to realize that he was still outside the gates. "Oh, right. Hold on a second, sweetie," she said as she pushed a button before a buzzing sound was heard. The golden gates then split open, granting him entrance. Grey walked in and walked the stone path that was surrounded by a large garden. He saw all kinds of flowers in it, even a plant that was cut into the shape of a fox. He smiled knowing who''s idea was that one. After reaching the black, golden trimmed door, he raised his hand and knocked on it three times. The door was opened to reveal a smiling Evelynn wearing a pink shirt and a normal skirt. "Grey, good to see you," she came in for a friendly hug. However, Grey then took a step back raising his hands. "Nope! Hands above the waist," he told her while keeping a safe distance. "Oh, come on," the Diva of the K/DA group whined childishly as Kai''sa, who is wearing a pair of jeans and a plain white shirt, came in beside her. "I grope you once, and you think I''m going to do it every time we meet?" Evelynn asked sounding hurt. Grey was not convinced in the slightest. "So, you''re saying that you weren''t going to do it just now?" he asked with a deadpan look. Evelynn looked at him for a couple of seconds before smiling and clapping her hands together. "Anyway, it''s good to see you again," she said immediately changing the subject causing Grey to roll his eyes and Kai''sa to look at her bandmate in disappointment. "Typical," the young man mumbled before turning to the other member of the K/DA group. "Sorry I haven''t introduced myself, I''m Grey, Grey Ashnex," he raised his hand offering a handshake. The Dancer of the K/DA group smiled accepting the handshake. "I''m Kai''sa, it''s nice to meet you," while Kai''sa was shaking his hand, she couldn''t get over the feeling that she saw him or heard his name before, but she couldn''t remember where. "Nice to meet you, too," Grey said before turning back to Evelynn. "So, is Ahri up yet?" he asked. The Diva nodded. "Yeah, I''ll call her for you. You just make yourself home," she said guiding him inside. She let Grey go into the living room to wait. A part of the Living room''s wall is made of glass, giving view to the backyard while also letting sunlight in. It had a large, L-shaped couch, which Grey sat on, in front of a plasma screen TV. On the right side living room is the counter to a spacious open kitchen with a table that had several chairs for feasting. Evelynn stood at the bottom of the stairs before yelling, "Ahri! Someone''s here to see you!" to those who are upstairs. "I''ll be down in a minute!" Someone, presumably Ahri, replied from upstairs. Grey sat down on the couch with Evelynn doing the same after coming over from the stairs a little away from him and turned on the TV. Kai''sa went to the kitchen to make breakfast since it was her turn to cook today. They all just stayed silent. Evelynn was flipping between TV channels, Grey seemed to be adjusting something in his hood, and Kai''sa just kept cooking some eggs on the stove. Then someone came from upstairs, but it wasn''t Ahri. It was the Rapper of their group, Akali. However, it looks like she just had woken up. Her hair wasn''t in its usual messy ponytail and was just flowing down her shoulders. She was also wearing baggy pants with a white tank top. The pants had pictures of kunai in them. She walked towards the kitchen while yawning along the way, she didn''t seem to notice Grey being there. Akali walked into the kitchen and took out a cup from one of the drawers before going to the fridge and taking out a carton of milk. She set them up on the counter that overlooked the living room and filled the cup with milk. She then looked at Evelynn and Grey on the couch. "Morning," she greeted before drinking her milk. But, once realizing that they never had a male living in their house, Akali did a spit-take with her milk, spreading it all over the counter. "Oh, come on," Kai''sa whined seeing what happened from over her shoulder while standing in front of the stove. "I just cleaned that." Akali ignored her complaining bandmate and kept looking at Grey confused before her eyes widen recognizing him. "Oh my God! You''re Grey Ashnex! The lead singer of the Symphony Souls band!" she practically yelled. Kai''sa almost threw up the pan that she was using to cook the eggs. Now she realized why he looked familiar. She wasn''t THAT big of a fan of Rock music, but she did listen to them from time to time, and the Symphony Souls that came out almost the same time the K/DA band did, while also getting just as many fans. In fact, people already started comparing them to the Pentakill band, and that''s saying a lot. "Yeah, that''s me," Grey chuckled seeing her reaction. Evelynn kept looking at the TV, but she was smirking at what Akali did. Akali was about to say something else, but then someone else came from upstairs. And this time, it was the leader of the group, Ahri. She was wearing pink shorts and a purple shirt. "So, who is here for me, Eve?" Ahri asked using Evelyn''s nickname as she walked down the stairs. "Is it another fashion designer with a new set of clothes?" she asked, expecting one of the many fashion designers that makes her clothes. Then she saw Grey, who stood up from the couch to greet her, and a large smile appeared on her face. "GREY!" was the only thing she said before everyone saw a glowing, crystal blur dash through the living room into Grey''s arms. The young man saw this coming and was already prepared to catch her in the hug that she enveloped him in. The rest of the K/DA group watched as the two laughed while hugging each other. Kai''sa and Akali were confused, while Evelynn was giving them a knowing smirk. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. "It''s great to see you again," Ahri said as she pulled herself from the hug. "How have you been?" she asked. "I''ve been pretty good," Grey replied before reaching into his collar. "But I''m not the only one here for a visit." They all looked at him confused as he pulled out a little fur ball that uncurled to reveal a small wolf pup. Ahri seemed overjoyed at seeing it. "Silver!" she squealed as she grabbed the wolf pup and hugged it. "Did you miss me?" she asked and Silver replied by licking her face as a sign of affection. "I missed you, too," she said as if understanding what it was trying to say. Kai''sa and Akali kept getting confused... Although the former wanted to go and hug the cute little wolf pup, but she just kept it to herself and concentrated on making breakfast to not burn it. She always had a soft spot for furry creatures. "So... I take it you know each other?" Akali stated the obvious as she got a tissue and started cleaning the milk that she spilled on the counter. The two were about to answer when Evelynn spoke. "They''re actually lovers," what she said made Kai''sa and Akali look at them shocked, while Ahri and Grey blushed. "Eve!" Ahri cried out glaring at the Demoness. "You know that''s not true," she protested, although there was a noticeable hint of doubt. The Diva rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on," she said crossing her arms giving them a tired look. "I''m already bored of waiting for you two to hook up, and bang each other. I''m also waiting for you to invite me into a threesome," her usual seductive smile appeared on her face as the blushes on their faces intensified. Even Kai''sa and Akali ended up blushing. Ahri shook her head to get control over her blush, but some pink was still on her cheeks. "Eve, I swear if you don''t stop, I''m going to tell every radio station why you REALLY love sport cars so much," she threatened holding up her phone in one hand and keeping Silver in the other. Evelynn gasped in horror and put a hand on her chest. "You wouldn''t dare!?" "Try me," Ahri challenge turning on her phone and entering the speed dial app, showing that she was serious. Meanwhile, Kai''sa and Akali were looking between the two curiously. Truthfully, they didn''t know the real reason that Evelynn liked sport cars so much. They just passed it off as her being an adrenaline junkie, but it''s apparently more than that. "Alright, alright, I''ll stop," Evelynn gave up raising her hand in surrender while muttering, "Killjoy," under her breath. "That''s better," Ahri wore a satisfied smile as she put away her phone and gave Silver back to Grey. "I''m your leader, and I deserve some respect," she said earning an eye roll from both Grey and Evelynn. Kai''sa, who was finishing setting up the breakfast table, looked over to the living room. "Hey, oh ''great leader''," she called out with sarcasm. "Is our guest joining us for breakfast?" she asked holding an extra plate in case Grey was staying. "Oh, I wouldn''t want to intrude," the White-haired young man declined politely. "Yes, he will," Ahri said firmly leaving no room for argument as she looked at him. "Come on, Grey, I can guess that you haven''t had anything to eat, knowing who you live with," she added. Grey was about to say something, but his stomach betrayed him and started growling. The leader of the K/DA group chuckled seeing his cheeks turn pink. The fact that his skin was somewhat pale made it all the more noticeable. "I''ll take that as a yes," Ahri said. The lead singer of the Symphony Souls group chuckled awkwardly and nodded. "Well, since you''re offering," he said before they all went towards the kitchen. In the middle of the kitchen was a round table with a few chairs around it. Grey sat between Ahri and Evelynn, while Kai''sa was next to Ahri and Akali was next to Evelynn. The breakfast was a simple egg and bacon with some orange juice. Kai''sa got an extra plate, put some bacon on it, and sat it on the ground for Silver. "And this is for you, little guy," she said patting his head as he barked with her tails wagging. "You''re welcome," she chuckled, figuring out that he was trying to thank her for the food. "Thank you for that," Grey gave his own thanks looking over the wolf pup as it began eating. Kai''sa just waved it off. "Don''t worry about it." They all started eating and Ahri decided to start a conversation. "So, Grey, why are you here?" she asked. "I heard about your latest song, POP/STAR, and how famous it got, so I wanted to congratulate you on its success," Grey explained his reason for paying a visit. Ahri smiled in gratitude. "Thank you," she then pointed at Akali and Kai''sa. "But, we couldn''t have done it without those two," she praised making them look away shyly. Truthfully, Eve also thought the same thing. Akali''s Rapping and her glowing spray paint made people go nuts. And as for Kai''sa, well, she''s the one who orchestrated the moves, special effects, and dance. Ahri and Evelynn both knew that if it wasn''t for their band-mates, then they weren''t going to be a song in the first place. "Well, I have to admit, you two did good," Grey also praised the younger members of the K/DA group. "I''m not usually a pop fan, but the song was amazing." "Thanks," Kai''sa and Akali both muttered in gratitude. "Fading Light was pretty good," Akali also complimented on the song that Grey''s group made. "You really like it?" the young man asked not expecting her to listen to their music. The one to answer that question was Evelynn. "Are you kidding? Every morning we hear her singing in the shower, ''Born of Graves and left below, painted ashes painted snow''," she sang out the words of his song. Akali then kicked the Diva under the table. "She''s just kidding," she nervously chuckled avoiding eye contact with Grey while glaring at Evelynn. "Speaking of new songs," Ahri decided to change the subject seeing that the Rapper getting uncomfortable. "I heard that your group is going to be playing one at a concert pretty soon," she said. "Oh, yeah," Grey said as he remembered something. "That''s actually my other reason for being here. I wanted to see if you''re interested in going so I can get you a pass," he offered but then Ahri coughed in her hand as if he was forgetting something. Grey rolled his eyes. "A BACKSTAGE pass, happy?" he asked knowing what she wanted. "That''s better," Ahri replied with a Fox-like smile on her. "And yes, we would love to come over," she said accepting the invitation. After finishing up their most recent concert, which wasn''t a week ago, they had literally nothing to do but check on the reviews, so this will give them something to do. "Great," Grey was pretty happy that they accepted, or mostly Ahri. He then remembered something. "Oh, right, I also Invited a friend of mine called Sona, and she said that she would be coming over with her own group. I''m pretty sure you heard of it, it''s called Pentakill," suddenly, the entire room went quiet as they all stared at Grey slack-jawed. It took him a few seconds to notice their looks. "What?" he asked. "Pentakill?" Kai''sa asked, sounding like she didn''t believe what she was hearing. "THE Pentakill, is going to be there?" Grey just looked at her confused. "Well, yeah. That''s what I said. Yorick, Sona, and Kayle, mostly, and the rest is coming over because, as Kayle told me, they have nothing better to do," he answered. They still looked shocked. "So, you''re friends with the Pentakill band?" Akali asked to make sure of what he was implying. Grey nodded. "Yes," he answered. Truthfully, he was just friends with Sona, and through her, he became friends with Kayle and Yorick. He still didn''t meet the other members yet. "Why didn''t you tell me before?" Ahri asked sounding somewhat hurt. Grey shrugged his shoulders. "You never asked." "So, let me get this straight," Evelynn started raising her hands. "All the time I''ve known you, you could have gotten me to meet the Pentakill band?" she asked. And, when she received a nod from Grey, she grabbed his collar, summoned her golden claws, and put them at his throat. "Exactly, WHY should I not slit your throat for never telling me this?!" she demanded threateningly. Karthus, the lead singer of the Pentakill band, was her source of inspiration, and she could have met him personally through Grey without realizing it. Grey didn''t even look slightly shaken by Evelynn''s claws being near his throat. "Because if you do, then you won''t be able to meet them at my band''s in my band''s coming concert." Evelynn stayed quiet for a few seconds, mentally scolding herself for not realizing that herself, and practically making a fool out of herself. "I will take that fact into consideration," she said, letting Grey go before pointing at him with one of her claws. "But, you''re walking on thin ice from now on," she added trying to still look threatening. The young man rolled his eyes, not convinced by the Diva''s threats. "Anyway, I''m going to get you the tickets and pass pretty soon. The concert is a few days from now," he informed them to get back to their main point of discussion. "Hey, can I ask something?" Akali requested making everyone look at her. She then motioned to Ahri, Grey, and Evelynn. "How do you know each other, exactly?" she asked. Truthfully, Kai''sa was also wondering how the leader and Diva of their group knew the leader of the Symphony Souls group. "Well, I only met Grey through Ahri," Evelynn said before pointing at the two in question. "Those two knew each other for longer than that, from what I know." The Rapper and Dancer of the K/DA group turned their looks to Ahri and Grey, obviously waiting for an explanation. "It''s... A long story," Ahri said recalling the past. "Well, we got time," Kai''sa said before motioning to the clock that was hanged on the wall. "Besides, it''s still pretty early." Ahri looked at the time and noticed that she was right. "Well, okay I guess," she said as Akali and Kai''sa leaned forward slightly, ready to hear their story. Evelynn was also curious, but she kept it well hidden. "It all started after I won that award a few years ago, when I went on some self-renovation," Ahri started. Flashback: Ahri had just moved in into this town. She made sure to get away from Valoran city as much as possible, hoping that people won''t recognize her here. But, even then she didn''t take any chances and made sure to wear a hat and a coat to cover her ears and tails. She just wanted some time to get a rest and think things over. Being an idol¡­ is not what it used to be. Ahri didn''t want to quit any time soon, but she just wanted to think things over. She was currently walking back to the apartment that she managed to rent in this town. Ahri had just came back from buying a few groceries. Through her idol life, she saved enough money to last her quite a long time. Ahri was wearing a dark purple shirt under a long trench coat with a plain Jean skirt. The coat was long enough to hide her tails, as long as she didn''t move them much. On top of her head was a hat that hid her ears, and while it was uncomfortably cramped for them, it did its job. She was also wearing a pair of sunglasses, to make sure no one recognizes her slit pupiled eyes. Walking through the streets while holding a couple of grocery bags, Ahri decided to take a shortcut through an alleyway. While walking through, someone suddenly stood up in her way. He looked like a typical punk. Tattoos, leather jacket, spiky hair, and ripped jeans. "Would you look at that? What''s a nice lady like you doing here all alone?" he asked smirking. Ahri ignored him and tried to pass by, but he just stood in her way again. "Hey, it ain''t nice to leave without answering people''s questions, right boys?" she looked behind her to see that two men like the one in front of her were blocking the path she came from. She immediately started cursing her hat. If her ears weren''t covered by it, then she could have heard them being around. "Leave me alone," Ahri growled trying to pass by again. But, this time, the punk grabbed her shoulder and shoved her towards one of the walls at the side causing her hat and glasses to fall off. "Oh wow, ain''t she a Vastayan beauty, looks familiar though," the punk noted seeing Ahri''s face and ears being revealed and knowing he saw them before, but just shrugged it off. "Maybe you should stick with us for now. It could be quite ''dangerous'' for a pretty girl like you to go alone," he smirked using a suggesting tone as he and the other tone started walking towards her. Ahri growled while moving her shoulder around to get rid of some of the pain in her shoulders from being slammed onto the wall. She was getting ready to let go of her bags and use some of her magic to get these punks away from her¡­ but she didn''t need to. Suddenly, a hand was placed on the firs punk''s shoulder making everyone look at who it was to see a rather handsome young man with chin-length snow-white hair. He was wearing a dark green shirt with a red scarf and some grey pants. "You might want to leave, now," he said threateningly, leaving no room for arguments. "Mind your own business," the punk growled trying to shake off the young man''s arm. But, the young man tightened his hold, making the punk groan in pain. "You better leave, or else I''m going to have to drag your beaten-up bodies to Sett myself." Ahri didn''t know who Sett was, but his name managed to make all three punks look scared. "Screw this!" "Yeah, it ain''t worth getting into trouble with the boss." "I''m out of here," they all said before they all started walking away. They knew that Sett didn''t really care who got hurt in their fighting pits. But, he didn''t exactly approve of getting harmless civilians involved. Especially when it came to women and children since their boss was just a big momma''s boy. Not that they would say it to anyone, let alone near Sett himself. When they were gone, the young man bent down and grabbed Ahri''s hat and glasses before standing straight again and offering them to her. "Are you alright?" he asked. Ahri accepted her hat and glasses back. "Thank you," she said in gratitude. "We should get you out of here because I''m not sure if there''s any more of them," the young man suggested. Ahri nodded and they both started walking towards the exit of the alleyway, but she still kept some distance from the young man. She didn''t know anything about him, and while he did save her, she decided it was better to be safe than sorry. After walking towards the other side of the alleyway and coming out to the streets, he looked at her. "Well, this should be enough, but do you want me to help you get back home?" he asked politely. Normally, she would have thought that it was an attempt to get under her skirt, but Ahri can tell that he asked out of genuine kindness. "No thanks, I live right there, actually," she said pointing at the large apartment building that was right across the street. The young man nodded with a smile. "That''s good, stay safe, okay?" he said and Ahri nodded as a reply before he walked away. Ahri just looked at him as he walked away. It''s been a long time since someone was nice to her just for the sake of being¡­ well, nice. It''s always been people sucking up to her and showering her with gifts to get affection. It was fun at first, but it got boring fast. She decided it was about time to go into her apartment since she has some groceries that need to be in the fridge pretty soon. Time skip: It has been a couple of days since the incident at the alleyway. Ahri has made sure to avoid the area that the punks cornered her in to make sure that something like that doesn''t happen again. Right now, Ahri was in the mall, trying to get some new clothes. When she was an idol, all the newest fashion statements were given to her on a silver plate, but now she has to get her own. But, since she was new in town she was¡­ well, for lack of a better term, lost. She didn''t know where the clothes section was, and she didn''t want to ask someone at the risk of them recognizing her. Ahri had forgotten how big malls can be after so long of not having to go into one. Suddenly, she ended up bumping into someone and dropping her sunglasses. Ahri made a mental note to get new ones since these fall off so easily. "Oh, I''m sorry," a familiar voice apologized from the person she bumped into. "I should have been more careful about where I was going," Ahri looked and saw that it was the same young man who helped her a couple of days ago. He had her sunglasses in her hand and was offering them to her, probably have picked them up already. "Oh, it''s you," he said also recognizing her. "What are the odds, huh?" he asked in a joking matter. Ahri looked at him surprised. "Yeah," she seemingly agreed taking back her sunglasses and putting them on. "Are you alright?" the young man asked catching her off guard. "Yeah, why wouldn''t I be?" she asked trying to sound confident. But, he didn''t buy it, apparently. "Well, it''s just that you look¡­ lost," he noted. Ahri sighed in annoyance. She didn''t think it was THAT obvious. "Yeah, I''m sort of new in town," she admitted seeing no reason to lie now that he already guessed the truth. "So, where exactly do you want to go, I might be able to help," the young man offered with a kind smile. The idol in disguise sighed deciding that she might as well as him since he proved to be a nice guy. "I''m looking for the clothes section," she admitted. For some reason, he looked confused. "Well, I can tell you you won''t find it in the middle of the food section," he said motioning around them. It was at this moment that Ahri realized that they were surrounded by restaurants and people eating at tables. "(Way to go, Ahri,)" she thought sarcastically to herself while resisting the urge to face-palm. "(You just made an idiot out of yourself,)" she mentally scolded. The young man smiled and offered, "I can take you there if you want?" Ahri thought about it for a couple of seconds before nodding. "Yeah, I''d appreciate that," she accepted and he smiled as he began leading them through the mall. While walking and passing through people, the young man decided to start a conversation. "So, we didn''t get a chance for introductions before. My name is Grey, Grey Ashnex," he introduced himself before looking at her. "What''s yours?" he asked. "It''s Ahri," she immediately started scolding herself mentally for the force of habit that made her say her real name. Ahri, for a second, panicked thinking that she''s been discovered remembering that he already saw her without the disguise, and now he heard her name as well. "Well, it''s nice to meet you," Grey''s reply made her stop and look at him in surprise. The young man noticed that she wasn''t following him so he stopped as well. "Is something wrong?" he asked concerned. "You¡­ don''t know who I am?" Ahri asked having a hard time believing it. She wasn''t egotistical, but she still thought that her name should be well-known by now. However, Grey just looked confused. "Should I?" he asked like someone who was afraid that they made a mistake. For a second, Ahri activated her emotional magic to see if he was telling the truth instead of just playing dumb to get her affection. She dealt with crazy fans before, after all. But, she sensed no deception from him. He truly did not know who she was. The idol in disguise then noticed his concern look and immediately came up with an excuse. "O-Oh, no you shouldn''t, I guess. I just thought that I already gave it to you when we last met," she said hoping that he would believe her. Grey looked at her in confusion for a second before, much to her relief, shrugging it off and went back to leading her through the mall with her quickly following. After a few moments, they both reached a part of the mall that was surrounded by clothing stores. "Here we are," Grey said looking back at Ahri. "Is this where you wanted to be?" he asked. "Yes, thank you," Ahri replied in gratitude with a smile. "You''re welcome," Grey replied before turning around. "Well, Take care." "Wait!" Ahri suddenly said making him stop and look at her. "Uhmm¡­ like I said, I''m new in town. So, I was wondering if you could show me around, if you''re free that is?" she asked making him look surprised. Truthfully, the reason Ahri asked this was because she was interested in hanging out with someone that didn''t know her. It honestly felt like the first time she met someone new in a really long time. "Oh, sure," Grey agreed causing her to smile. "Do you want to do it later, since you''ve got shopping to do?" he asked. "Sure, you remember where my apartment is?" she asked and he nodded. "Then let''s meet there tomorrow at noon, okay?" "Alright, I''ll see you then," Grey said before turning around and walking away. Meanwhile, Ahri felt excited. This might be her chance into getting what she came here for. A way out of her idol life and a way to enjoy herself, possibly with a new friend, too. Time skip: It has been a few weeks now since Grey showed Ahri around. Over the course of those weeks, they had met more than a few times, going through town, and doing a few things that Ahri was excited about. Right now, Ahri was coming over to Grey''s house for the first time. He had given her the directions the other day when he said that he had some work at home but she said that she''d wait for him. She made it to Grey''s home, which was a simple two-story house with some lawn on the front in a rather normal neighborhood. The roof was dark brown with a chimney at the left side of the house. Walking forward, she made sure of the address and rang the doorbell. After a few seconds, the Dark green door opened and Ahri was greeted with the sight of a rather beautiful young woman with a rather slim figure that had shoulder-length blue hair with red highlights. She was wearing a dark blue shirt with a skull on it and a pair of jeans. Ahri deducted that it was Grey''s sister that he mentioned before. "Hi, I''m here to see Grey," Ahri said trying to sound as polite as she could. Grey''s sister gave her a mixture of a bored and annoyed look. "And who are you, exactly?" she asked. "I''m Grey''s friend," Ahri replied but the woman in front of her didn''t look convinced in the slightest. "Look, just ask Grey about me," she said. Grey''s sister rolled her eyes and looked over her shoulder. "Grey, there''s some woman here who says she''s here for you!" she yelled out making Ahri jump slightly. "Yeah, I know her," Grey''s voice came back from the back of the house. "I''m in the backyard. Let her in." Tiara looked back at Ahri and made way for her. "You can get in, just follow him and he''ll lead you to Grey," she said pointing at the ground. Ahri looked curiously at the ground¡­ to see a small wolf pup. "Awe, who''s this little guy?" Ahri coed as she knelt down and started petting the wolf pup. "That''s Silver, and like I said, he''s going to lead you to Grey," Grey''s sister repeated as if already tired of talking to Ahri. She then walked towards what appears to be a living room before throwing herself on the couch and turning on the TV. "Are you going to take me to Grey, Silver?" Ahri asked the wolf pup. She thought that the name suited it seeing the color of its fur. Silver barked in response and turned around before he started walking away. Ahri followed him through the house until he led her to a door to the backyard. Silver walked through the small pet door at the bottom while Ahri opened the door and came out to the backyard. What greeted Ahri was the site of a large garden filled with nothing but blood-red roses. She was honestly mesmerized by the sight of the beautiful roses. She then caught sight of Grey, who was apparently tending to the garden. The Idol in disguise heard him singing to himself. "Born of Graves and left below~ Painted Ashes painted Snow~ When the dark awakens fires of our last hope are getting low~," she had to admit that his singing was pretty good. But, not on her level yet, although that might be her ego speaking. "Oh, hey, Ahri," Grey greeted seeing coming over with Silver leading her. "I see you met Silver," he noted seeing the wolf pup. "Good job, boy, I promise you a big treat later," he said making Silver bark in happiness with his tail wagging. Ahri took off her hat making her ears pop out. She had already become comfortable with Grey seeing them after realizing he doesn''t know her. Plus, the hat would get uncomfortable for her ears. "So, this is the job you''re busy with?" she asked looking around. "Yeah, sorry if it''s not what you expected," Grey apologized feeling that this shouldn''t keep him busy from a woman. Ahri, however, shook her head. "Don''t be sorry. It''s actually nice to see a man care for a garden like this," she said as most passionate gardeners are females. She did see some male gardeners, but they treated it as a job more than a passion. "Well, this garden¡­ means a lot to my family, even Tiara takes care of it once in a while," Grey said as he went back to taking care of the roses while having a pair of gloves on his hands. "Is that your sister?" Ahri asked remembering the woman she saw a few moments ago. Grey nodded as a reply. "By the way, what were you singing just now?" she asked not recognizing the lyrics. Grey blushed slightly. "Oh, you heard that?" he chuckled nervously. "It''s nothing special. Just something I came up with." "You wrote a song?" Ahri was quite impressed. From what she just heard, it was pretty good. "I do that, from time to time when I got nothing to do," Grey replied still looking embarrassed. "Ever thought of going famous?" Ahri knew that she was being somewhat of a hypocrite asking this question, but she can tell Grey had what it takes from what she just heard. "That''s¡­ not really for me," Grey replied looking down. However, Ahri can tell that he was simply doubting himself instead of not believing that he''ll fit. "Anyway, why don''t you just wait for me over there, I should be done in a few minutes," he said pointing at an outside wooden table with a couple of chairs around it. Ahri obliged and went to sit on the chair and looked at Grey as he finished his work. Time skip: Grey and Ahri were now in the cinemas, they had just bought tickets for the movie that Ahri wanted. Speaking of Ahri, she was wearing her hat and sunglasses again. Grey, who was wearing a pair of jeans with a blue shirt and a black jacket, was curious why she always covered herself, but he didn''t want to ask at the risk of her being uncomfortable. They were about to go buy some popcorn when a ring tone was heard coming from Ahri''s pocket. Picking up her phone, she gave Grey a smile of apology. "Sorry, I got to take this," Grey nodded and she went to one of the corners of the hall to make sure he couldn''t hear her. Ahri''s smile turned to a frown as she answered, "What do you want?" in a rather harsh tone. "Hello, Ms. Ahri," said one of the many agents of the music industry that would call her sometimes. "I''m here to ask if you''re ready to finally return to the stage?" he asked. Ahri''s frown deepened. "I already told you that I''ll let you know when I decide to return. Until then, don''t bother me," she replied, rather tired of them asking her to come back. However, the agent was obviously not pleased. "Listen, Ms. Ahri, don''t you think that we gave you enough time. You have fans after all, and we''d love to have our most popular idol back. So, just come back and-" "Let me make myself clear," Ahri''s tired tone was replaced with an angry one. "I will come back when I want to, not when anyone else does. And if you or your people ever, EVER, try to order me like that again then your bosses are going to be signing my resignation papers very soon. And I assure you that I''ll be detailed on who''s fault it was that I made that decision," she threatened before hanging up on him knowing that what she said should keep them quiet. Taking a few breaths to calm herself down, Ahri walked back towards Grey who noticed her frustration. "Trouble at work again?" he asked. Ahri had already got a few calls like this, most of them, to her anger, was when she was with Grey. She came up with the excuse that she sometimes has problems with her boss at work, which wasn''t really that far from the truth. "Yeah," she nodded before her mood changed. "But, let''s not worry about that now. The movie''s about to begin." Grey chuckled at her quick change of mood. Over the time they have known each other, he got to learn a few things about her. For one thing, she loves video games. For another thing, she likes trying out all the new clothes. She also has an obsession over ice-cream sundae. Walking towards the counter, the employee, who was a young woman, greeted them. "Well, hello there, can I get you anything?" she asked. They were about to order when someone accidentally bumped into Ahri, causing her hat and glasses to fall off. "Sorry," that person apologized before leaving. Ahri cursed herself for forgetting to get a new hat and sunglasses since these just seem to fall off easily. However, Ahri''s dread only began when the employee gasped seeing her. "Oh my God! You''re Ahri! The pop idol!" she yelled catching the attention of everyone around. Grey looked at Ahri confused, while she immediately started trying to deny it. "N-No, you got the wrong person-" "No way! It''s really her!" one of the crowd that started gathering yelled. Ahri just kept looking uncomfortable while backing away. "Ahri, are you okay?" Grey asked reminding her that he was here. Ahri wanted to say something, but the crowd didn''t give her a chance. "I can''t believe I''m meeting you in person!" "Is this where have you been?" "Please, can I get your autograph!?" "When is your next concert going to be!?" Too many questions, too quick for her liking. Ahri got more and more uncomfortable as the crowd drew closer. But, she then felt someone grab her arm. "Come on," hearing Grey''s voice stopped her from panicking as he started running away, leading her away from the crowd. The people were obviously determined as they immediately started chasing them. Grey let her through a few hallways before stopping at the door of what appears to be a closet. "Here," Grey opened the door and pushed Ahri inside. "Wait until I tell you it''s safe," he ordered her before closing the door. Grey took off his jacket and turned it inside out before wearing it again, making it look brown. The people that were following them came by. "They went that way!" he lied pointing at another hallway. The people, who were excited to see their idol, simply followed blindly hoping to see her. When they were all gone, Grey turned back to the door. "Alright, it''s clear," he said and Ahri came out looking down in guilt, blaming herself for what happened. "Maybe I should help you get home?" he asked and she just nodded, looking anywhere but Grey as he led her through a hallway that was on the other side from the one that the people went. Time skip: It has been a silent hour since the incident at the cinema. Grey and Ahri were walking through the streets at night, heading towards Ahri''s apartment. Reaching the Apartment complex, Grey turned to her. "So, want to explain what happened?" he asked thinking that it was about time they broke the silence. Ahri shook her head. "Look, can you please forget what happened?" she pleaded hoping to not lose the friendship that she managed to form. Grey looked at her for a few seconds before he sighed and scratched his head. "Alright," he agreed much to her surprise and delight. "But, I guess our movie night is over," he sighed a little dejected. "We can still watch a movie at your home," Ahri offered, trying to make up for the mess that she caused. "I have a few DVDs if you have a player that is." Grey nodded smiling. "Sure, see you tomorrow," he said before turning around and started walking away to his home. Ahri just smiled happily, seeing that Grey didn''t question her about what happened. But, she frowned remembering that, sooner or later, she was going to have to reveal the truth. She just hoped that Grey wouldn''t see her differently. Time skip: Ahri and Grey were now at the latter''s home. They were watching a movie sitting on the couch. Grey''s sister, Tiara, was out, saying something about having fun at Sett''s fighting pits. Grey honestly felt sorry for any sucker that would be stupid enough to try his luck against her. They were currently watching the Avengers trilogies and were in the middle of watching Civil War. "You know, I think that General Ross is the only villain in this movie," Grey said breaking the silence. "How so?" Ahri asked hoping for an explanation. "Well, both Iron Man and Captain America are doing what they believe is right, one of them is trying to protect a friend from a crime he didn''t commit and the other is trying to help people while not knowing the truth about that friend," Grey explained as the movie was coming to its end. "But, General Ross was using Tony''s guilt against him to make him sign up, and Captain America simply didn''t want to be Ross'' puppet." Ahri nodded understanding his point. Truthfully, she agreed. If she was in the same position as either of those two heroes, she would have probably done the same thing they were doing. The movie was over and Ahri was ready to pick up the next one. "Hey, Ahri," Grey said making her look at him to see him scratching his head looking down. "About what happened last night," Ahri''s breath was caught in her throat. She got ready to come up with any excuse out there, no matter how stupid. "You see, I looked up your name online," Ahri''s eyes widen in terror. "And, apparently, there''s this famous pop idol that looks like you and has the same name," Ahri''s ears flattened on her head in sadness as she looked down. She was thinking that, now that he knows the truth, he''s going to start treating her like the rest of her fans. That the friend she gained was lost now. "I''m sorry." The idol''s brain stopped working for a few seconds as she processed what he said. "Wait, what?" she asked. "You told me to forget about it, and I just looked into it," Grey said with guilt keeping his head down. Ahri honestly thought she was hearing things, but that wasn''t the case. In the past, she would have used her magic to see if he was hiding anything. But, over the time they spent together, Ahri came to know that Grey was a VERY bad liar, and couldn''t lie to anyone even if he wanted to. Seeing the guilty look on Grey''s face, she immediately shook her head. "N-No, it''s okay. You would have found out one way or another, I just wish I was the one to let you know," she said with her own guilty look. "Aren''t you going to ask why I didn''t tell you?" "I figured you had your reasons," Grey replied as they both finally looked at each other. "Although, I am wondering, what are you doing here?" he asked. Ahri knew he was talking about the town in general, and why she was hiding herself. "I¡­ I just wanted a break from¡­ everything," Ahri didn''t know why she was being so open. Either because she sees a true friend in Grey, or because she finally gets the chance to talk about it with someone. Maybe even both. "I used to love it, going into the stage, singing and dancing to everyone, hearing the fans call my name¡­ but, the music industry started getting more demanding. They started having more and more control over my schedule. It only got worse after I won that stupid award!" she cried out. Grey nodded, understanding what she was trying to say. "So, they made being an idol a job that you HAVE to do, instead of WANT to do?" he summarized and Ahri nodded. Grey looked down in thought before asking, "Why not start a group?" making Ahri looked at him confused. "If you''re in a group, that means that they won''t be able to make any decisions unless all of you agree to it, you''d also have the option of voting on what to do on your schedule with the rest of your team. That way, they won''t be able to get many orders on you," he explained. Ahri looked at him in shock, partially because she was asking herself why she hasn''t thought of that before. It wasn''t that hard to begin a group as long as you have the right people. She already had someone in mind, a fellow idol called Evelynn that she''s been friends with for a few years now. All they needed is at least two more members and it would be done. However, Ahri wasn''t exactly so motivated to go through it. But, then she remembered Grey''s singing. "Alright, I''ll do it," she said before pointing at him. "Only if you tried to make a group of your own." Grey looked at her confused. "What?" "I heard you sing, Grey. You''re really good, and could really make it big in the music world," Ahri told him crossing her arms. "And don''t give me that crap about you not being for it. I can honestly see going famous. I can''t let potential like yours go away," Ahri then stood up from the couch and faced him. "So, let''s make a deal. I''ll go back to being an idol and make my own group if you make your own and give being a musician a shot." Grey looked at her in disbelief. Honestly, this was the first time someone said that he has a shot at being a musician. Creating a group shouldn''t be that hard. Tiara was already amazing with the drums, and a friend of his called Brite was a great bass player. They just needed at least one last member. So, steeling his resolve, Grey stood up and nodded. "Alright, let''s both promise to make our own groups, make it big in this world, but stay friends," he said offering a handshake to seal the deal. Ahri returned his smile and accepted the handshake. "It''s a promise, then," she repeated as they shook hands, both swearing to keep their promise and friendship no matter what. Flashback end: "After that, I contacted Evelynn and told her about the idea of the group and she agreed to join. Then we met you two pretty soon after," Ahri finished recalling how her idol group began when a warm smile graced her lips. "To be honest, he''s the whole reason I got this idea in the first place," she added looking at the now-famous rock star. Grey returned that smile full-heartedly. "Well, you are the one who convinced me to start my own group and become a rock star, so I guess we''re even," he admitted as they started staring into each other''s eyes. Akali and Kai''sa thought that it was sweet and romantic. They were honestly taken by the story and how they got along with each other... But the moment stopped when Evelynn said, "Kiss already," in a teasing tone. Both leaders of the singing groups blushed and looked away. Ahri then started glaring at Evelynn. "Eve! What did I say about teasing?!" she said raising her phone to remind the Diva of her earlier threat. She wasn''t just mad at the teasing, she was also mad that their moment was ruined. "Fine, I get it!" Evelynn groaned raising her hands in surrender again. "Learn to take a joke," she mumbled to herself. "We both know you weren''t joking," Ahri groaned having heard what the Diva said thanks to her ears. "Anyway, that was quite a long time ago, I guess we changed a lot since then," she chuckled remembering how they used to be. "Yeah," Grey nodded in agreement before looking Ahri over. "But, to be honest, you didn''t change much other than your costume," he added. Ahri looked rather offended. "I changed a lot other than just my costume," she argued crossing her arms. Grey gave her a look that obviously told everyone that he wasn''t convinced. He stood up from his seat and went towards the fridge before opening the freezer to reveal it was stocked full of chocolate sundae. The leader of the Symphony Souls group looked at the leader of the K/DA group and pointed at the freezer, knowing who it all belongs to. "That could belong to anyone," Ahri said trying to play innocent. Grey then saw a sticky note on the ice-cream and took it off to see what was written on it before showing it to everyone. (Ahri''s ice-cream OwO. Touch and never be heard of again) was written on the note. However, despite the evidence, Ahri still tried to act innocent. "Clearly, someone is trying to frame me to cause chaos amongst my group," she said before pointing at the Dancer of their group. "Possibly Kai''sa," said woman immediately gave their leader a ''WTF'' look. (A/N: Thank you for reading this. First, I have NEVER made a chapter this long, in any of my stories. This chapter is a solid 9K word (20 pages). I hope you appreciate it because I will not be writing anything for a while. I swear by God that I look at my hands and see the keyboard under my fingers from all the writing I''ve been doing. Second, one of the reasons I made this is because some of you have requested seeing more K/DA and Symphony Souls. There will be a continuing in the future, hopefully. Again, thank you for reading. Please comment, review, and give me your thoughts on my story.) P.S. the next chapter is going to be the 2nd Special Interactions chapter. So, if you have any ideas or suggestions, let me know. 56 Special Interactions #2 Grey taunt Qiyana: Grey: there is a difference between an empress, and a Tyrant¡­ and you are starting to lose sight of it. Tiara taunts Qiyana: Tiara: YOU are supposed to be an empress¡­ with THAT haircut? Grey attacks Qiyana: Grey: we Abyss Watchers bury kingdoms and their rulers. Grey taunt Yorick: Grey: If you think a grave is enough to stop me, you''re welcomed to try. Solas taunt Aatrox: Solas: You call yourself a monster¡­ but all I see is another cursed Undead. Aatrox first encounter Solas: Aatrox: HAHAHA finally! A worthy opponent! A God of War and-... Get a haircut! Solas taunt Jhin: Solas: What are you? Casual? Solas kills Jhin: Solas: Git Gud. Solas taunt Teemo: Solas: I have lived since the first age of fire¡­ yet I''ve only seen evil like you a few times. Solas first encounter Aurelion Sol/Shyvana: Solas: before your kind considered me a friend, they considered me their worst enemy. Solas first encounter LeBlanc: Solas: your illusions have nothing on Gwyndolin. Solas taunt Sejuani: Solas: I ride a dragon, and you challenge me riding a pig? I think we both know how this is going to end. Solas taunt Hecarim: Solas: I''ve slayin thousands of battle obsessed undead, killing one more won''t make a difference. Solas taunt Jarvan IV: Solas: there will be a time for you to choose between your throne and doing what''s right¡­ make sure to choose correctly. Solas taunt Ryze: Solas: you think you saw what the cost of War is? You clearly didn''t see what we did to the Dragons. Solas first encounter Shyvana: Solas: You are of two worlds, and you don''t belong to one of them¡­ you belong to both of them. Solas taunt Camille: Solas: scissors for legs?... I have NEVER saw something that stupid. Solas taunt Vladimir: Solas: blood magic?... That''s so old that even MY world doesn''t use it. Solas taunt Ornn: Solas: I see regret in your eyes. I see the pain of a leader who lost his people. Solas taunt Zoe: Solas: all your actions are going to come back to make you suffer¡­ trust me, I know. Solas taunt Swain: Solas: your ambitions are not bad, just make sure they stay in the right direction. Solas first encounter with Soraka: Solas: we are not so different, you and I. We both protect, one of us with healing, and the other is with lightning. Tiara taunt Varus: Tiara: two boys and a bow?.... That has to be THE weirdest Fetish I have ever seen. Brite attacks Aurelion Sol: Brite: So, you travel between suns, and you don''t Praise any of them?... You don''t deserve to live. Aurelion Sol taunt Solas: Aurelion Sol: You gave up godhood to protect the Dragons? I don''t know whether to make fun of you¡­ or respect you. Brite taunt Hecarim: Brite: shouldn''t ponies be talking about friendship instead of killing? Brite first encounter sun worshippers(Azir, Leona.): Brite: finally, someone with good culture. Brite taunt Dr. Mundo: Brite: if you''re really a doctor, then where''s your Stethoscope? Brite taunt Aphelios: Brite: you expect to beat me¡­ with MOON weapons?! Blasphemy, I say! Brite first encounter Braum: Brite: What is your secret to that amazing mustache? Brite taunt Kled: Brite: wait, which one of you is the pet again? Brite kills Warwick: Brite: Ha! Wolf better than the sun my foot! Brite first encounter Pantheon: Brite: your spear might be strong, but mine shines brightly like the sun. Brite taunt Teemo: Brite: Are you from our world? Because you certainly belong there. Brite taunt Kled: Brite: you have to be THE most annoying thing I have ever heard. Brite taunt Draven: Brite: Oh, look, it''s the guy who keeps yelling his name all the time¡­ what was your name again? Brite taunt Gragas: Brite: I asked for a real drink, and you give me orange juice!? Brite first encounter Lulu: Brite: wait, I don''t understand. Up is down? taste purple? I¡­ stop confusing me! Brite first encounter with Anivia: Brite: a frozen bird? What''s next? A floating eyeball? Grey taunt Tryndamere: Grey: You think seeing your people die is painful? Try being forced into killing them yourself. Tiara First move with allie Annie: Tiara: Be a sweet little girl, make sure to burn them slowly, and I promise you Ice-cream later. Tiara first move with allie Diana: Tiara: let me show you how a REAL moon Warrior fights. Tiara attacks Diana: Tiara: YOU are supposed to be the Aspect of the moon? Pathetic. Tiara attacks Leona: Tiara: sun Praising idiots. Every world''s got them. Tiara kills Neeko: Tiara: that''s for not watching where you were looking¡­ not that I blame you. Tiara taunt Ahri: Tiara: My brother suffered enough in his life¡­ you better give him the happiness he deserves. Tiara taunt Ahri: #2 Tiara: If I as much as even suspect that you''re cheating on my brother, I''ll teach you a whole new meaning to ''Slow death''. Tiara kills Ahri: Tiara: You were never good enough for my brother. Tiara first encounter Renekton/Cassiopia: Tiara: oh good, I needed a new pair of boots. Tiara first encounter Evelynn: Tiara: Ha! And I thought Ahri looked like a skank. You make a prostitute feel ashamed. Tiara taunts Pantheon: Tiara: You want to prove human power, but you use the weapons that the gods gave you? Runeterrans are hypocrites. Tiara kills Swain: Tiara: Sulyvahn rip off. Tiara kills robotic champions(Blitzcranck, Urgot, etc.): Tiara: pile of junk. Tiara kills Syndra: Tiara: You know what was her mistake? She actually thought power can beat skills. Tiara attacks Rengar/Nidalee: Tiara: here kitty, kitty, kitty. Tiara first encounter with Sejuani: Tiara: wow, it''s a pig riding another one. Tiara first encounter with Kayn: Tiara: Oh, look, it''s dumb and dumber¡­ who is who is up to you to decide. Tiara kills Kayn: Tiara: that joke of a weapon was supposed to be some sort of Demon? Please. Tiara taunt Jayce: Tiara: there are two things bigger than that hammer. Your arrogance, and how much of a fool that your hairdresser is taking you for. Tiara first encounter Taric: Tiara: okay¡­ I have to admit, that''s some pretty hair. Tiara taunt Teemo: Tiara: Urghh. I never liked squirrels, and I like them less after meeting you. Tiara taunt LeBlanc: Tiara: I grew up in the Boreal Valley, and YOU are trying to beat me with illusions? That''s cute. Grey taunt Sett: Grey: Trust me, Kid, you don''t want me to use my hands to fight you. Grey kills Sett: Grey: I just separated a child from their mother¡­ sadly, I can not say this is the first time. Grey taunt Senna: Grey: I don''t think someone who died only ONCE has the right to talk about torture. Grey taunt Senna/Lucian: Grey: you think YOU have seen the horrors of undead¡­.. That''s cute. Grey(Doom Slayer skin) taunt Demon champion(Evelynn, Thresh, etc): Grey: I got two words for demons like you, ''Rip'', and ''Tear''. Grey first encounter Kai''sa: Grey: you¡­ would make a very good Abyss Watcher. Grey first encounter Kassadin: Grey: the Voidwalker? Have to admit, that''s a nice title. Grey first encounter Yasou: Grey: drinking your problems away is not an answer. I know that for a fact. Grey first encounter Sona: Grey: you don''t speak words, yet you need none for me to hear you. Grey first move with allie Sona and enemy Ahri: Grey: I just know Ahri won''t let me hear the end of this. Grey with allie Sona first encounter enemy Ahri: Grey: No, Ahri, I didn''t pick her over you. Mainly because you can''t choose who your other teammates are going to be. Sona First encounter Grey: Sona: [I could have offered you anything, and you choose HER over me.] Sona kills Ahri: Sona: [Don''t worry. I''ll make sure to keep Grey happy¡­.. In MY bed of course.] Ahri hits Grey with charm: Ahri: You can''t blame me for wanting a kiss through all this action. Ahri hits Grey with charm: #2 Ahri: we don''t need to pretend that this is love. Star Guardian Ahri hits Grey with charm: Ahri: to fall in love is how a star fall... Oh, who am I kidding? Come here, handsome. Ahri attacks enemy Grey: Ahri: this is for the looks I saw you giving to Sona. Grey conversation with allie Ahri: First move Ahri: With you, I cannot lose. Grey: And with you, I refuse to fall. Grey conversation with allie Ahri: First move #2 Grey: So do we tell the others on the team that we''re dating? Ahri: I think they already knew that even BEFORE we were dating. Grey conversation with allie Ahri: First move #3 Ahri: You gave up plenty for me, didn''t you? How can I repay you? Grey: Stay safe, is all I ask. Grey conversation with allie Ahri: moving through the map Ahri: Make sure to get some souls for me. Grey: I always do. Grey conversation with allie Ahri: moving through the map Grey: what do you think we should have for dinner tonight. Ahri: anything with you is good¡­ as long as Ice-cream is for dessert. Symphony Souls Grey conversation with allie K/DA Ahri: Grey: Is this dou performance official? Ahri: do you care? Grey: no, not really. When allie Grey gets a Pentakill: Ahri: see that? That''s MY boyfriend. When allie Grey gets a Pentakill: #2 Ahri: he killed an entire group of people just because they threatened me?!...... So romantic~. When enemy flashes Mastery to Brite: Brite: that Mastery better be at Praising the sun, or else. When enemy flashes Mastery to Tiara: Tiara: let me guess, that Mastery is for ugliness? Then you''ve won it fair and square. When enemy flashes Mastery to Solas: Solas: Mastery, great job. Now, what was supposed to be impressive about you again? When enemy flashes Mastery to Grey: Grey: That''s a nice shield, hopefully it will be able to protect you for a few seconds. ------------------------------------------------ Grey/Abyss Watchers, Farron''s Undead Legion. Role: ADC/Bottom Lane. Passive: All for one, and one for all. [Grey gets motivation from fighting besides allie champions. Being near allie champions grants him attack and movement speed. The more allie champions around, the more he gets.] (Note: if he is around two or more allie champions, then he gains attack damage as well.) Q: Farron''s Great-sword. [Grey uses the unique swordsmanship of the Abyss Watchers to kill his enemies. First, stunning them, then damaging them, and finally cutting them down.] (Note: This ability is sorta like Aatrox''s and Riven''s Q. A constant attack. If Grey kills a champion with this ability, then he can use it without the need for cool down.) W: Parry. [Grey uses his skills to parry in coming physical attacks, returning 50% of their damage to the attacker while also stunning them.] (Note: if Farron''s Great-sword is used on a champion while stunned by this affect, it deals additional damage.) E: Estus Flask. [Grey drinks from his Estus Flask, healing 30%. The more you upgrade this ability, the more health is healed.] (Note: this ability has no cool down, but it can only be used a limited number of times until Grey returns to the Summoner''s Platform. Every time Grey gets 1 kill or 2 assists, then he gets one more use of this ability.) R: The Wolf''s Blood. [Grey calls upon the power of the Soul of the Blood of The Wolf that is shared by all Abyss Watchers, awakening the fires of the Lord of Cinder, granting him double attack damage and speed.] (Note: this ability can only be used after Grey parishes.) ------------------------------------------------ Brite, the Warrior of Sunlight. Role: Support. Passive: Jolly Co-operation. [Brite gives strength and motivation to his allies. Granting them Ability power, and after level 7, he starts granting them magical shield as well when they are low on health.] (Note: This ability does not power up Brite''s own ability power.) Q: Spear Strike. [Brite dashes forward and strikes an enemy champion before knocking them up in the air.] (Note: after level 6, Brite''s spear gains lightning empowerment, dealing bonus damage.) W: Shield of Faith. [Brite''s uses one of the miracles of the Warriors of Sunlight, giving himself and allie champions magical and physical protection.] (Note: this ability takes time to be performed.) E: Miracle Weapon. [Brite uses a miracle to either empower his, or an allie champion''s attack power.] (Note: this ability can be used on one target at a time.) R: Sunlight''s Rising. [Brite uses a great heal miracle, completely restoring his health and other allies close by.] (Note: This ability needs time to be activated.) ------------------------------------------------ Tiara, Dancer of the Boreal Valley. Role: Middle lane/Jungler. Passive: Twin Blades. [Tiara can switch between which of her blades she uses as a main weapon, either her dark magic blade, or her fire blade.] (Note: each blade has its own effect from abilities.) Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. [Fire Blade: Deals burn damage.] [Dark Magic Blade: slows down movement speed.] Q: Dancer''s Grace. [Tiara uses her ability as a Dancer, spinning her blades and dealing damage to enemies nearby.] [Fire Blade: Deals additional damage.] [Dark Magic Blade: Deal slightly less damage, but dodge incoming attacks.] W: Final Steps. [Tiara uses her blades to draw a line on the ground that works as a trap and explodes either after a short period of time or an enemy steps on it.] [Fire Blade: Deals burn damage after it explodes.] [Dark Magic Blade: Stun enemies and slow down their movement speed.] E: Pyromancy spark. [Tiara uses the Pyromancy she learned to create an explosion of fire to the area around, damaging enemies.] (Note: this ability is not affected by either main blades.) R: Darkness rising. [Tiara stabs her Dark magic blade in the ground, creating a Shockwave stunning enemies nearby, then she stabs it even deeper, creating a bigger Shockwave that deals damage this time.] (Note: the first Shockwave is mainly for stunning, and does not do much damage.) ------------------------------------------------ Solas, the Sun''s First Born. Role: Top Lane. Passive: The God of War. [Solas'' lightning attacks destroy enemy champions'' defenses, lowering their armor for a short period of time.] (Note: if the enemy isn''t attacked by Solas within 3 seconds, then the lightning leaves them.) Q: Lightning Spear. [Solas creates a spear of lightning in his hand, where he uses to attack his enemies.] (Note: If you let go immediately, Solas will throw the lightning spear, and if you hold the button, then he will smash it on the ground in front of him.) W: Sword-Spear Rush. [Solas covers his Sword-Spear in lightning, before thrusting forward to stab enemies.] (Note: Solas will continue on through minions until the spell reaches its limited distance, he crashes into a wall, or he stabs a champion.) E: Thunder Cloud. [Solas swings his Sword-Spear, causing a wave of clouds to go forward and knock enemies back.] (Note: this ability does not cause Lightning damage.) R: Wrath of the Storm. [Solas unleashes the true power of his Sword-Spear, causing a large lightning bolt to strike an area in the map.] (Note: after using this ability, Solas'' basic attack damage will be increased.) ------------------------------------------------ (A/N: Thank you for reading this. Sorry for those who were waiting for a new chapter, but I hope this one has been entertaining enough for you. Some of you have asked for abilities, and so I decided to post them. I hope they''re satisfying for you. I should get back to writing pretty soon, the stress has been getting to me but I''m still doing my best. Again, thank you for reading this. Please comment, review, and give me your thoughts on my story.) 57 CH54: Godhood It''s a brand new day at the Institute of War. Grey, Ahri, Aki, Brite, Ezreal, Lux, Nidalee, Solas, Garen, Katarina, and Tiara were now in the dining hall. Grey, Brite, Ezreal, Garen, and Solas were sitting on one table, while Ahri, Aki, Lux, Katarina, Nidalee, and Tiara were sitting in another one. "So, what do you guys have planned today?" Ahri asked. They haven''t had anything to do since the bands'' creation, which was a day or two ago. "I don''t know," Tiara shrugged her shoulders. "Ever since the band stuff, things have been down. But, I did receive something called fan-mail," she added remembering the letters that were addressed to her. "Oh, I''ve been getting that, too," Ahri noted before her tails shivered. "Some of them were¡­ concerning," The Nine-Tailed Vastayan appreciated her fans, she truly did. But, she wished that some of them would know the difference between being a fan of someone, and being obsessed with them. "I bet it''s pretty good being an idol," Nidalee noted, some envy making it to her voice. Ahri was about to make a remark, probably to gloat, when she noticed that Grey has been keeping himself quiet the whole time and hasn''t even touched his breakfast. "Grey, is something wrong?" she asked. She remembered that he also seemed to space out a lot this morning. The Abyss Watcher broke out of his thoughts and looked at her. "No, it''s just¡­" Grey sighed, deciding to do something he''s been planning on doing for a while before looking at The Sun''s First Born. "Solas, we need to talk." Solas, who was finishing up his breakfast, looked back at Grey and noticed his serious look. "What is it?" he asked. Grey didn''t exactly know how to say it, so he decided to just be blunt. "I have them," the confused looks he got around told him to be more specific. "The Souls of Life and Death, I have them with me right now." Solas immediately glared at the Abyss Watcher. "That''s impossible." "Grey, if this is a joke, it isn''t a funny one," Tiara said, apparently also not believing her brother. "It''s the truth," Grey replied as he started explaining. "They just appeared out of nowhere, and I was able to use them. I assure you, I have them," He tried to convince them, but Solas'' glare told him that he was still not convinced. "Wait, back up," Ahri suddenly said raising her hands and looking at Grey in confusion. "Life and Death? I thought you just had that Death soul?" she asked not remembering the Abyss Watcher use something like that. "I recently acquired the Soul of Life," Grey replied, trying to avoid explaining his fight with Susano. "Solas, I know this seems mad, but I am telling you the truth," he said looking at said man in the eyes. The Sun''s First Born just held a firm gaze against the Abyss Watcher. He knew for a fact that Grey could NOT lie at all. So, he was either telling the truth or has gone mad, and he didn''t look like a Hollow yet. So, accepting that logic, Solas sighed. "Let''s say I believe you, how did you get them?" he asked. Grey looked down in conflict. "I¡­ I don''t know. They just showed up out of nowhere." "What do you mean?" Brite asked looking confused. "Souls don''t just pop out of nowhere, Grey." "That''s why I''m asking you, Solas," Grey turned his look back to the Sun''s First Born. "What is going on? Why do I have those Souls?" Solas put a hand on his chin, thinking of an explanation. He did hear legends about some Souls getting reincarnated, but that has never happened to the Souls of the Lords. Not to mention that Grey having two Souls sent that theory out of the window. Then he remembered something. Something from the early days of Anor Londo. A legend that a firekeeper with certain eyes foretold. "Grey, how old are you?" Solas asked. The Abyss Watcher, and everyone else, seemed to be taken back by the question. But, thinking that it might help, he answered. "Somewhere over a century old. Still haven''t made it to two centuries," he replied. The Sun''s First Born clicked his tongue in agitation. For the theory he had, Grey needed to be as old as he was, or at least born from the time that the primordials were still around. "Then, sorry, but I can''t think of anything," he apologized. Grey sighed and put a hand on his forehead, rather angry that he didn''t get the answers he wanted. "So, what''s this about the Soul of Life thing?" Ahri asked, wanting to know why her lover didn''t bring this up before. The Lord of Cinder took a few breaths before answering. "The Soul of Life belonged to the Witch of Izalith, and she used it to create Pyromancy," he explained. Solas took over the explanation. "The Witch used her powers to burn the homes of the Ancient Dragons," he further explained remembering the days of War. "When the war was over, she went to Izalith with her Daughters, and¡­ well, let''s just say it didn''t end well for them," He said remembering how the Witch failed at recreating the First Flame, which in turn created the Demons of Chaos. Ezreal looked more than thrilled. "So, by the name, Can you actually create life now?" he asked looking ready to jump out of his seat. The others were actually just as excited to learn about that. "I''d rather not try my luck," Grey said. He also heard of what happened to the Witch of Izalith, and he did not want the same results. Solas was still in a thinking position. He was trying to figure out what was happening to the Abyss Watcher and why he has the Souls. Suddenly, an idea popped in Solas'' head. "Why don''t we ask them?" he suggested gaining surprised and confused looks from around. "The Souls, have you tried asking them?" Grey looked at the First Born as if he just grew a second head. "Talk¡­ to souls?" he asked to make sure of what he heard. "Maybe I should''ve explained better," Solas said rubbing his chin. "It''s more like, let the Souls speak through you," he explained. Ahri seemed to understand what he was saying. "So, you want Grey to use one of the Souls, and the let it talk through him?" she guessed and Solas nodded. "Is that even possible?" Grey asked wanting to find out. Solas shrugged. "It''s worth a shot," he said. Grey thought about it for a second, the only soul that he heard a sound from was the Death soul. True, he did meet the Abyss Watchers through the Wolf''s Blood''s soul, but he doubted they would know. "Alright," Grey nodded, agreeing with Solas'' idea. "But, we should probably get to somewhere private," Grey motioned to the dining hall and all the champions and summoners around them. But, it was mostly because he didn''t want anyone to get hurt if something wrong happened while Using the Soul of Death. "Can I come?" Ezreal asked practically shooting out of his seat. He''s been planning to ask Grey or any of those of his world about more knowledge on how Souls work since the only other person he can ask was Kindred, and he did not want to go anywhere near Wolf any time soon. Seeing the Explorer practically begging them with his eyes, Grey nodded. "Fine, but you''ll have to listen to us," he said and Ezreal nodded while fist-bumping himself. "We should get to our room," Grey suggested thinking it would be the best place to do this. There was the garden, but he didn''t want to hurt Zyra''s children because he used the Soul of Death. The Sun''s First Born nodded and stood up alongside the Abyss Watcher, who gave Silver Nidalee to take care of for a while, and the Explorer, only for Tiara and Ahri to stand up with them. "And what are you doing?" Grey asked. "Yeah, there''s no way I''m leaving you in this mess," Tiara said shaking her head. "The last time I left you to something mysterious, it ended up with you in a different world," she added and Grey wanted to say something about it not being his fault, but he knew his sister wouldn''t listen, so he kept it to himself. The Abyss Watcher then turned to his lover, who gave him a smirk. "The last time we got separated, you ended up missing, so I''m not going to make that mistake again," what she said caused him to smile and shake his head. He found it both touching and cute actually. With that, Grey, Ahri, Ezreal, Solas, and Tiara went towards Grey''s room. Hoping to get some answers. "Don''t touch my stuff!" Nidalee cried out to them, reminding them that it was her room as well. "Well, their gone now," Lux pointed out before smirking to the others. "So, who wants to hear about my last match against Ezreal?" she asked, making sure that said boy was out of earshot. After a while of walking, the group of five has reached Grey''s room and got in. Afterward, they all got in and Grey sat on the couch with everyone looking at him. "So¡­ how do I exactly do this?" the Abyss Watcher asked looking at Solas. However, it was Ahri who answered. "Just use the Soul''s power and let it guide you," everyone looked at her curiously, wondering how she knew what to do. "My magic is all about the past of souls, remember?" she reminded them, creating an orb of magic before making it vanish. Everyone accepted the answer and turned back to the Abyss Watcher. Grey sighed and relaxed his body before it seemingly went limb. Everyone stayed quiet and stared at what was happening. Suddenly, a screech was heard throughout the room. Grey''s body started letting out some black smoke. The Abyss Watcher raised his head, his body twitching like his bones were being snapped and opened his eyes to reveal them being completely black. "Son¡­ of Gwyn," what came out from his lips was a cold and dark voice. It only took a total of two seconds for the Sun''s First Born to know who was speaking. "Nito." "The Gravelord?" Tiara asked in shock, Ahri and Ezreal were equally shocked. The Gravelord gave a cruel smile, one the others agreed that it doesn''t belong on Grey''s face. "How¡­ does exile feel?" he asked sarcastically. That question was enough for Solas to realize that, despite thousands of years passing and that his soul was in another body, Nito has not changed a bit. "What are you doing in his body, Nito?" Solas asked getting straight to the point. Nito''s smile didn''t falter as his neck snapped to the side. "You¡­ really don''t know?" he asked, obviously amused at how they didn''t know. The Sun''s First Born narrowed his eyes. From Nito''s reply, the answer should be ridiculously obvious, but he couldn''t figure it out. "Listen here, bonehead!" Tiara, much to Solas'' shock walked in front of the Gravelord. "What the f*ck are you doing inside my brother?" Nito''s responded to Tiara''s threats by laughing. "What''s so funny!?" Nito''s neck snapped in another direction, causing Ahri and Ezreal to cringe at the way it moved. Tiara and Solas weren''t very disturbed, they had seen worse. "How¡­pathetic," he said causing everyone to look at him curiously. "Why¡­ would I¡­ answer the questions¡­ of a reject¡­ from the Gods descendants?" Tiara glared at her currently possessed brother, while Ezreal and Ahri were curious as to why he called her a ''reject''. "I have¡­ existed¡­ from a time before the fires were made¡­ and you think you¡­ can order¡­ me?" he asked, making it known that he doesn''t of anyone as more than insects. "You''re not in your world, you know," Ezreal said, believing that the Gravelord doesn''t know that he is currently in Runeterra. "And we have our own version of Death here," he reminded him of Kindred. However, Nito laughed again. "Please," he sounded somewhat insulted. "Don''t compare me¡­ to those animals," Ahri and Ezreal could not believe that he just called Kindred ''animals'', and they were just hoping that they weren''t around to hear it and blame it on Grey. "They only¡­ let mortals pass through¡­" Nito raised his hand. "But I¡­ rule the dead¡­" when his hand was fully raised, silhouettes of skeletons appeared around the room. Tiara, Ezreal, and Ahri were shocked and took up a battle stance. But, they noticed that the skeletons weren''t doing much. They all looked like they were on their knees, with their hands raised towards Nito, almost like they were praying. Suddenly, Nito clinched his hand, causing the skeletons to suddenly vanish. Solas wasn''t affected by what just happened. He knew that, to the dead, Nito was God. Truthfully, Solas knew that Nito might be the strongest of the original four Lords. The Gravelord didn''t have Knights like his father, or children like the Witch of Izalith, yet he still hunted the Ancient Dragons to extinction. "Nito, right?" Ahri suddenly asked after recovering from what just happened. "I''m not going to ask how you''re inside Grey. But, I will ask you this, HOW are you inside him?" she asked. Truthfully, she did wonder why he was in the Abyss Watcher, but she knew that Grey wanted to find out how he was inside him. The Gravelord looked at his arm, noticing that it was letting out less smoke than it was just a moment ago. "It seems¡­ that the time¡­ is over," he said. The others, upon also noticing the smoke getting less, realized that he was losing control over Grey. However, before he left, Nito looked and Solas'' eyes and smirked. "... Elpis¡­" he mumbled before his body went limp. After a few seconds, the smoke completely vanished, and they heard Grey''s voice groan in pain. "That¡­ was weird," he mumbled, pain and confusion from the experience. Ahri immediately went towards her lover and sat at his side to make sure he was alright. Ezreal had taken out a notebook and a pen from his pocket and started writing down on them, possibly recording what happened. Tiara turned to Solas. "What does Elpis mean?" she asked, thinking that he would know. Everyone turned their looks towards Solas, even Grey, who just recovered from the recent events. The Sun''s First Born put a hand on his chin and started looking through his memories for the familiar word, until he found it. "Elpis¡­ is a word. A very old word from Anor Londo. From the First Age of Fire, to be exact. It means ''Hope''," Solas explained before turning his sights on the Abyss Watcher. "Grey, does ''Elpis'' mean anything to you?" he asked. He couldn''t figure out why Nito would say that word unless it was a clue, the Gravelord wasn''t one for deception. Grey looked down in thought. He didn''t recall hearing that word ever in his life. However, the word definitely felt familiar. There was something about it that gave him a¡­ warm feeling. Like he was being embraced by someone. Shaking those thoughts away, Grey replied, "No, it doesn''t." The Sun''s First Born sighed, tired that this case just seemed to get more confused. Ahri held Grey''s hand in comfort, seeing his troubled face. Everyone in the room currently just wanted answers for the many questions in their heads. Time skip: (Brought to you by chibi Lamb shooting an arrow on chibi Wolf''s head.) It was now near sunset. Ahri, Grey, Ezreal, Solas, and Tiara had returned to the dining hall. When they first showed up, the others teased Ezreal about a banana, for some reason. And he seemed embarrassed by it. Turns out, that in the last match between Ezreal and Lux, the young Crownguard managed to get the first kill of the game because Ezreal slipped on a banana that Wukong had left there. After the Explorer spent a few minutes trying to pin the blame on his summoner for that match, the others asked about what happened during the meeting with Nito, to which Ezreal took out his notebook and started explaining. It was a shock to everyone that they actually talked to Nito himself, mostly because they didn''t believe that Solas'' idea was going to work, which was somewhat insulting but still understandable to the Sun''s First Born since he himself didn''t know if it was going to work. Now, they were simply chatting away, trying to get their mind off recent events and brighten up a little, until someone near their table cleared their throat. "Excuse me," when everyone looked, they saw none other than Xan Irelia, the Blade Dancer, standing near them. "Uhmm, hello, Irelia," Ahri greeted. She can tell that something was off about the woman in front of their table, but couldn''t point out what it was yet. "Is there something you need?" The leader of the Ionian Guards nodded. "Yes. I''m here to take you to a meeting in Ionia, all the Ionian champions were called there," this caused both confusion and shock towards Ahri, especially when Irelia turned to Grey. "And you have been asked to show up as well. Someone ¡­ important wants to see you." Even Grey looked confused at that. He looked at Ahri, who shrugged her shoulders, a sign that she has no idea what''s going on. "Alright," the Abyss Watcher said as he sat Silver on his shoulder and stood up with Ahri from the table¡­ only for Tiara to stand up with them. "What are you doing?" he asked sounding tired. The Dancer of the Boreal Valley shrugged her shoulders. "You first showed up in Runeterra at Ionia, right? I gotta admit, I wanted to see that place for a while," she explained. "I''m sorry, but this meeting is for Ionian champions only. The Abyss Watcher is a special exception," Irelia said, making it clear that she was not into the idea of Tiara going for political reasons¡­ also, the comment Tiara made before about her ''backside'' might have urged her to do this. "I''m a neutral champion," Tiara replied, uncaring of Irelia''s tone. "You can''t deny me from paying a visit to Ionia, unless you have something from the Institute that says that," Truthfully, Tiara wouldn''t care if she did, but she still wanted to rub it in her face. Irelia glared at Tiara for a few seconds, before she sighed and nodded. "Very well," she said in defeat before she turned around and started walking. "Follow me." "Be careful with those hips, your costume doesn''t leave much to the imagination," Tiara teased causing the Captain of the Ionian Guard to blush and get the urge to summon her blades this instant. Ahri actually found this all amusing and seeing the always serious Irelia so flustered was a bonus. Grey meanwhile, sighed and started massaging his forehead. "I''m truly sorry for her behavior," he apologized to Irelia, who nodded, accepting the apology before continuing forward. Irelia led them out of the dining hall and started heading towards the Transport station¡­ however, if one was to look carefully, they would notice that she has been watching the way she was walking carefully. Along the way, Ahri decided to ask. "So, why were the Ionian champions called?" she asked. She was especially surprised that she was involved since she had nothing to do with Ionia''s government. "All Ionian champions were called back to Ionia," Irelia answered causing Ahri to realize that whether she did or didn''t have anything with the government, she still would have been called in. "Of course, there were those who didn''t come," the Blade Dancer added thinking of champions like Jhin, Maia, and Varus. "And why was I called in?" Grey asked. The only time he actually walked in Ionia after he and Ahri joined the Institute was when he went on that mission that led him to meet Ama. There was a small, almost unnoticeable stiff in Irelia''s posture. "Someone important wants to meet you," from her blunt answer, it was obvious that she wasn''t going to say who it was. "Is it the Ionian Elders?" Ahri guessed thinking that they probably should be the only ones who can order Irelia. However, much to her surprise, the Blade Dancer shook her head. "Higher," she said causing shock to Ahri. She couldn''t think of anyone higher than the Ionian Elders since they pretty much governed most, if not all of Ionia. Time skip: (Brought to you by chibi Ahri and chibi Grey sitting on a tree and looking at the stars.) Ahri, Grey, and Tiara have made it to Ionia with Irelia leading them towards the inside of a large temple. The front of the building had a few layers stacked up together, the crest of Ionia on it was in the middle for every to see. The ceiling of each layer was red, and the wood between each ceiling was dark brown. All and all, it looked like a traditional Ionian building, only larger and fancier. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. Walking through a pair of gates that were opened to them by the guards, Irelia led them through a hallway that was lit by weird, blue crystals on the walls. The floor had a black carpet with golden outlines and root-like decorations. After making it to the end of the hallway, they were greeted by another pair of doors, one where Irelia herself has opened, revealing a large chamber. The chamber was apparently at the center of the entire building, you can see the higher levels of the building, up to the ceiling at the very top. Like the hallway, this place was lit by weird blue crystals, only slightly larger than the ones they have seen before. The room was occupied with a few relics spread out near the walls. From ancient-looking swords to very old paintings. There were also a few more odd crystals hanging from the ceiling. Ahri can tell that those were meant to help spiritual energy travel through the room. There were also people occupying the room. There was Shen standing on one side of the room, who had both Akali and Kennen standing beside him. Rakan and Xayah were also there, the latter glaring at the humans around her, while the former was checking his hair on his pocket mirror. Standing on the opposite side of the room was Zed, also with two people beside him. The first one was a young man, barely in his mid-twenties. He has long black hair tied to twin braids and a single blue strand on the front. He wasn''t wearing a shirt and was wearing baggy pants instead. However, what was odd about that young man was that his left side didn''t look human. His entire left arm, a part of his chest, and his left eye were covered by demonic-looking dark skin. In his left arm and slung over his shoulder was a scythe that looked like it was a mixture of flesh and metal, with a big red eye between the blade and the pole. The other person beside Zed was a woman. She had white hair tied into a ponytail under a black and purple crown with a purple gym on it. She was wearing a black and purple leotard with a v-neck and a robe tied around her waist. She had long gloves on her hands and her eyes seemed to be glowing purple. She also had a few orbs made of dark energy floating behind her. Wukong was also in the room. Beside him was a man wearing silver armor and yellow robes. The man''s head was covered in a helmet that had many lenses. From the back of the helmet, the man''s hair can be seen tied in a ponytail. He also had a beard and a sword, which was strapped to his waist. There was also another man, who was apparently keeping it to himself in one of the corners of the room. He wasn''t wearing anything on his chest other than some pointy shoulder armor and a few blue robes on his neck. He had his hair tied into a messy ponytail and was wearing blue pants with a katana strapped to his waist. The man also looked like he hasn''t shaved in a while. The final person in the room was a dark-skinned woman with short dark hair. She had the calmest posture among everyone in the room. She had an odd circle made of crystals floating behind her. She was wearing a mixture of dark purple and white dress that was cut at the sides of her legs. There were a few green drawings on several places on her body, along with a small crown with a glowing green crystal on top of her head. "Ah, you made it," the dark-skinned woman saw them come in, and Irelia walked towards her before standing at her side. "Thank you, Irelia," the Blade Dancer nodded, acknowledging the gratitude before the woman turned back towards Ahri, Grey, and Tiara. "Welcome, I am Karma, a fellow champion and one of the Ionian Elders." "It''s a pleasure to meet you, Lady Karma," Ahri greeted giving a small bow of respect. She wasn''t usually the type to do this, but this woman in front of he has earned the respect of most of Ionia. "Likewise," Karma returned the greeting before turning her gaze to Grey. "Abyss Watcher, I suppose you are wondering why you were brought here?" she guessed and Grey nodded, giving her a confirmation. "Well, I suppose now is a better time to start," she said motioning behind her were another pair of gates was there. Suddenly, those doors opened and two people walked in. Grey immediately recognized them as Ama and Susano. However, what surprised him was the clear shock on the faces of all the Ionians in the room, even Ahri. When Ama and Susano reached the middle of the room to stand in front of the Abyss Watcher, all Ionians, including Ahri, immediately got on one knee bowing their head in respect. To say that the Ashnex siblings were surprised would be an understatement. Grey couldn''t see Shen bowing to anyone, and Zed was pretty much the same. Despite how much they hate each other, they actually had a lot in common. He was also surprised that Ahri bowed as well, which means that Ama was far more important than what she made herself out to be. "Ah, the Abyss Watcher," Ama greeted as she stood in front of him, wearing her usual knowing smile. "What''s going on, Ama?" Grey demanded, wanting to know what was happening. However, what he said was obviously not right in the eyes of those around him, and that was proven when Irelia immediately summoned her blades. "How dare you!?" she yelled thinking that he was showing disrespect. Irelia''s anger seemed to vanish as Ama''s laugh rang through the entire building. Even Susano seemed to be chuckling. "Be calm, Blade Dancer," Irelia seemed to follow Ama''s orders as her blades immediately moved back to harmlessly floating behind her. "I already gave him permission to address me as such." Everyone understood what that meant and immediately looked at the Lord of Cinder in shock. "Grey¡­ you met her before?" Ahri asked, not knowing how to respond. Seeing the way everyone was acting, the Abyss Watcher narrowed his eyes at Ama. "Who are you?" he asked wanting the truth. Ama smiled believing that it was probably enough. "I am Amaterasu, the Ionian goddess of the sun," she introduced herself, giving out her true identity. The only reaction she received from both Grey and Tiara was a simple looks of surprise. "And you didn''t tell me before because¡­?" he trailed off wanting her to finish. The now revealed Amaterasu shrugged her shoulders. "I just didn''t want to," her answer immediately got her deadpan glare from Grey while Tiara and Susano chuckled. However, the goddess of the sun then turned her look towards Ahri, who kept her gaze down. "Nine Tails," Ahri tensed at the flat tone that was used to address her. "I know about your past, Nine Tails, about the lives you have taken, simply out of hunger for their memories," Ahri lowered her head further as her eyes moistened. She knew what she did was wrong. She always did. And she always blamed herself. But, for the goddess of her own nation to say it to her was the equivalent of her own mother kicking her and telling her she doesn''t love her. "I have one thing to say to you," Amaterasu continued and Ahri got ready for any kind of verbal abuse. "I''m proud of you," the Nine-Tailed Vastayan immediately raised her head. A look of pure disbelief on her features. "You did what many can''t, or simply aren''t willing to do. You changed for the better. I am proud of the life you achieved for yourself, and you should be, too," Ahri''s eyes were filled with tears, but those were out of happiness and joy. Grey gave Ahri a few seconds to take in what was said to her before looking at the sun goddess again. "What do you want, Ama?" he asked since she still didn''t explain her reason for having this meeting, or why he was included since she can just show up and vanish like usual. Amaterasu smiled and looked back at Grey. "You see, Abyss Watcher, I am here to give you an offer," she said before motioning to herself and Susano. "To join Ionia''s deities. As Ionia''s new God of Blood," the only thing that happened was the Jaws of everyone around immediately hitting the floor. Not a single one of them could believe their ears. They just heard their gods ask the Abyss Watcher to become a god. They couldn''t even begin to imagine being in Grey''s pla- "No," if the people around weren''t shocked about what Amaterasu said, then they were definitely shocked about Grey''s almost instant answer. (A/N: Thank you for reading this. First, sorry for the late update. I took a break to both relax from the stress I''ve been getting, and get back my inspiration, so I hope you understand. Second, Ama and Susano are back and revealed who they are, that should be interesting. And third, about Amaterasu''s offer, that will be explained in the next chapter. Again, thank you for reading this. Please comment, review, and give me your thoughts on my story.) 58 CH55: Cultists All the Ionian champions in the room were staring at Grey shocked. They can barely keep up with what was happening. First, their goddess shows up, then she offers the Abyss Watcher a chance to Godhood, but then he turns it down almost instantly. Amaterasu, however, seemed amused. "No?" she asked, though it sounded like she was expecting it. "Yes, no," Grey confirmed his previous reply before turning around. "If this is all you came here to ask me, then I''m leaving." "I''m afraid I don''t understand," Karma was one of the first to get over her shock. "Why would you refuse?" she asked Grey, wanting to know why would anyone turn down the position of being a deity. The Abyss Watcher answered her question with another one. "Why WOULD I want to be a God?" he asked causing even more confusion. "Being a God means that I''ll have religious idiots doing nonsense to get my attention. I already have that thanks to being famous from the Institute," he explained. "So, you''re just worried about religious nuts?" the woman beside Zed asked, sounding as if she just heard the stupidest thing in the world. She didn''t think it would be enough to give up Godhood. "That''s not just it," Grey finally stopped, turning back to face everyone. "Simply put, I don''t respect gods, of any kind," he revealed, shocking them. Amaterasu didn''t look shocked, but curious. "Oh, you don''t respect us, and why is that?" she asked. Grey seemed like the respectable kind and didn''t seem like someone to hate someone without a reason. Grey''s look, while looking stoic, managed to make the Ionian champions feel cold to the bones. "Because you gods use the excuse of divinity to abandon us mortals the first chance you get," he said. To everyone''s surprise, Tiara, who was silent until now, barked a laugh. "Ha! He described you gods perfectly," she taunted. However, she wasn''t the only one laughing, as apparently, the scythe that the young man beside Zed was holding started laughing, slightly confusing Grey and Tiara that it can speak. Ahri wasn''t surprised since she already guessed it was a Darkin. "HAHAHA! I like this guy, Kayn," the scythe said to the young man. The scythe can actually remember Aatrox saying something similar when the Darkin turned on the world. Amaterasu ignored Tiara''s taunts and the Darkin''s laughing while she kept looking at Grey. "We have not abandoned mortals. It is mortals that-" "That what? Killed? Cheated? Raped?" Grey asked, and Amaterasu''s silence was proof that he guessed correctly. "You blame the mistakes of a few on everyone. We mortals aren''t born smart. We have to learn everything," he started walking towards Amaterasu. "And you, gods, sit in the heaven expecting the impossible out of us," he stopped when he was looking at Amaterasu in the eyes. "So let me ask you, what do you see us mortals as?" Amaterasu''s eyes turned to a glare. "Simply put, mortals are vile creatures," she responded, insulting the Ionian champions around. Surprisingly, Xayah took this as a chance to speak. "Ha! I always knew humans were filth!" she gloated, thinking that the Ionian gods were backing up her philosophy. However, that was proved wrong when Susano immediately said, "That includes the Vastaya, too," causing Xayah to immediately go back into a shocked state. Amaterasu and Grey kept their staredown. "Now, what do YOU think of mortals?" the sun goddess asked, wanting to see what Grey was getting to. The Abyss Watcher stayed silent for a few seconds before speaking again. "Did you know: in our world, it is common knowledge that humans come from the Dark," he started. "So you admit that mortals are evil?" Amaterasu guessed. However, Grey shook his head. "That''s not it," he said catching everyone''s attention, wanting to know what he was talking about. "Humans come from the Dark... And they walk through the Light... The Dark Soul made humanity... Yet humans proved that they can go against their Dark nature... And reach for the Light inside themselves... Light cannot exist without Dark, and Dark cannot exist without Light... If humans have Darkness in them, doesn''t that mean that they have Light as well?" Grey then looked at Ahri who was still kneeling behind him, over his shoulder. "That is what proves to me that you''re human... It''s because you went against your nature, and changed for the better." Stunned silence filled the entire room. In a few moments, Grey managed to show everyone that humanity is not as bad as it seems. Even Xayah started questioning that there might be good humans. The most stunned person would probably be Ahri. If she used to have any doubts that she was still a monster, they were all gone now. She couldn''t help but let out a few tears of happiness, seeing all the faith and belief that Grey was putting into her. Amaterasu didn''t show any physical response, and simply asked, "So, is no your final answer?" Before Grey can respond, Tiara spoke. "Grey, can we talk for a moment?" she asked. Her brother looked at her for a second before nodding and they both started walking towards one of the sides of the room, making sure that no one can hear them. "I think you should take the offer," she whispered. Grey could not look more confused. "What?" he asked to make sure of what he heard. "From what I understand, Ionia''s government is unstable, at best," Tiara started explaining what she heard and what she saw since getting to Ionia. "They could be thrown into a civil war out of nowhere, and that could cause a lot of problems. Unless you''re planning to kill half of Ionia, then the only way to make sure they don''t kill themselves is to be their God. Plus, it could give you some political power to¡­ protect a certain someone," Tiara finished while motioning her head towards Ahri. Grey looked down in thought. While it didn''t seem like it, Grey knew his sister was quite the tactician. That''s actually a must if you work for Pontiff Sulyvahn since the last person who worked for him and wasn''t a good tactician ended up becoming a chew toy for Sulyvahn''s pets. Truthfully, he hated the thought of becoming a God, far more than being famous. However, looking back at Ahri, Grey realized that Tiara was right. There were no traces of Ahri''s origins other than a pair of gemstones. Legally speaking, Ahri doesn''t even exist in Ionia, and that could cause her to be in a lot of danger because of her past of hunting memories. Even though his sister wouldn''t admit it, Grey knew that she was looking out for his lover. Giving out a tired sigh, the Abyss Watcher nodded, showing his sister that he was agreeing with her. They both turned back towards the Ionians and walked back to the middle of the room. "Alright, I accept," Grey said, which caused some of the people to question why he changed his mind. "Now, what do you want me to do?" he asked. Amaterasu gave her usual knowing smirk. "What makes you think I want you to do something?" she asked innocently. However, Grey was not convinced. "It''s you, Ama, you always want something from me." Susano started laughing as he saw his sister''s smile vanish. "He already knows you that well!" he taunted between laughs. Amaterasu spared a quick glare at her brother before looking back at Grey. "Very well, I suppose you are correct," she admitted causing Grey to cross his arms, waiting for an explanation. "There is a cult devoted into worshipping a Demon called the Blood Demon, and they plan to summon it in Ionia, the Blood Demon is very dangerous and would cause havoc across all of Runeterra, not just this land, so all I ask is that you stop them or kill the Demon." Kill a Blood Demon to be a Blood God, it somewhat made sense but still was kind of confusing at the same time. "Alright, I''ll do it," Grey agreed. Just as he was about to ask for details on the cult''s whereabouts, Amaterasu spoke again. "However, you will not go alone this time," she said causing the Abyss Watcher to raise an eyebrow. "Three representatives from Ionia''s Factions will accompany you," Amaterasu looked at Shen. "One from the Kinkou order," she then looked at Zed. "One from the Order of Shadows," then she looked at Rakan and Xayah. "They will choose someone to accompany you." The first one to speak was Shen. "I would nominate Akali for this," he said. Akali''s eyes widen and she was about to say something back to her master until Shen gave her a look that said, ''now is not the time for arguments'', which made her go quiet. Zed turned his head toward the young man beside him. "Kayn, you''re going from the Order of Shadows," he ordered, almost sounding like a father telling his son to do something. The young man, Kayn, nodded. "Yes, Master Zed," he agreed. The scythe rolled its eye. "Great, more work for us. Well, at least blood is involved," he added with a sinister chuckle. From the Vastaya, Ahri was going to volunteer, but she hesitated for a second as she glanced at Amaterasu. Sadly, that second gave Rakan the chance to speak up. "I''ll go for the Vastaya." "You will?" Xayah asked, surprised that her lover volunteered. "Why?" The Charmer shrugged. "It could be fun. Plus, they''re all heavy hitters. They need someone to protect them," he added reminding everyone that, despite the way Rakan usually acts, he is still a warrior who can understand how battle work. Ahri slumped slightly, regretting her hesitation. She didn''t say anything because she agreed that Rakan was right. If any of them got hurt, Rakan would be more useful than she would be. "Alright," Grey nodded. He wanted Ahri to join them, but he couldn''t let personal preference get in the way of battle. "We will be leaving in an hour, be ready," he told them figuring out that an hour should be enough to get ready and acquire information. "Wait, I want to know something," Irelia suddenly spoke up, finally standing up from kneeling. "How do you know each other?" she asked motioning to Grey and Amaterasu. The Abyss Watcher answered saying, "I met her during the mission last time I was here in Ionia." "Wait! Back up!" this time, it was the Boreal Valley Dancer that spoke raising her hands. "Let me get this straight. You left Ahri after a fight, met a literal goddess, but then left that literal goddess to go back to Ahri?" Tiara asked to make sure of what her brother was implying and he nodded causing her to give him a tired look. "What kind of idiot are you?" Ahri thought that she should have been insulted about Tiara saying that Grey was an idiot for leaving another woman for her. However, Ahri also knew that Amaterasu beats her in both power and beauty. Grey gave his sister a deadpan look. "The kind of idiot that puts up with all your bullshit and still considers you a sibling," he replied causing Ahri, Xayah, and the man with a ponytail in the corner to cover their mouths to stop themselves from laughing. Amaterasu, however, let her laughter out freely. "Someone who understands my suffering," she said looking at her scowling brother. Tiara, however, just shrugged her shoulders. "Can''t argue with that," she said before crossing her arms. "So, do we wait for you to return now?" "I will be here, waiting for your return," Amaterasu said as she waved her hand, and a large black throne with a red crest of the sun at the top appeared behind her. "Bring back the Demon''s soul if you kill it, that should be more than enough proof of the missions being complete," she informed. "I''ll be at the bar," Susano said, causing his sister to almost slap her forehead. "I can go with that," the man with a ponytail in the corner said as he finally stood up and started following Susano out of the room. Tiara shrugged her shoulders. "Well, might as well try out Ionian alcohol," she said as she started following the two. She knew that it might be weak like all the drinks on Runeterra, but it never hurts to try. Everyone stood up and started leaving the chamber through a different exit. While walking through a hallway, Akali turned to Shen. "Shen, why did you say that?" she asked. The Eye of Twilight knew she was talking about volunteering her. "Simply put, you are the best choice. You have spent the time with Grey the most, and would work with him the best from the Kinkou order," he explained most of the reason why he chose her. The rest is because he didn''t know if Zed was going to go himself. As calm as Shen was, he didn''t believe that he would approve of how Zed acts. Akali sighed, agreeing with She''s logic, even though it was bothersome. She supposed that she should feel lucky. She gets to be in a team with three handsome men. However, she didn''t feel lucky at all knowing that two of them were taken, by girls that would kill her if they find out that she attempted to flirt, and the last one being a guy talking to his scythe. Granted, the scythe does talk back, but still. Meanwhile, Zed was walking another hallway with Kayn and the woman who was with them before, but she was floating off the ground rather than walking. "Master Zed, may I ask a question," Kayn requested after a moment of silence. Zed looked at him over his shoulder, which was a sign that he can continue. "Why did we join? I understand dealing with the cult, but why help the Abyss Watcher?" Zed turned his gaze back towards the front before answering. "Obviously, Lady Amaterasu sees the corruption in Ionia. We joined because I want to show her that we are aiming for the same thing. The best for this land. And, if all goes well, then we''d have very powerful allies soon," he explained before hearing the woman clear her throat, causing him to sigh. "I mean MORE powerful allies," although he tried to make himself annoyed, those who knew Zed can notice his amusement at Syndra''s habit of being recognized for her power. Syndra smirked in victory. Truthfully, she agreed with Zed''s reasoning. If Amaterasu does see the Order of Shadows as an ally than they can finally solve the problem with Ionia. Despite popular belief, neither Syndra or Zed hated Ionia or had anything against it. On the contrary, they loved the land so much, which is why Zed created the Order of Shadows and Syndra joined him. It''s because they both agreed that Ionia''s government is not doing things right. Jhin was a prime example. "Do we really need allies that bad?" Kayn asked, believing that the Order of Shadows was more than strong enough. "Afraid of making friends?" Zed asked, somewhat teasing his student. "I don''t need friends," Kayn replied. It was at that moment that the scythe, Rhaast, finally joined in the conversation. "Oh really? What about that girl that keeps talking about the blonde idiot?" he asked. Both Zed and Syndra stopped and looked at Kayn in confusion. However, the Shadow Assassin didn''t confirm anything. "I have no idea what you''re talking about." However, just as he said that a pink portal suddenly appeared beside them and out of it came out a girl with long, wild, orange hair with a rainbow hue on it. She was wearing a blue top and shorts with a few odd necklaces. In her hands was a small cake with purple frosting. "Hey, Kayn! I got some chocolate moon-cake! Wanna share?" the girl said holding up the cake in her hands. Silence filled the hall as Zed and Syndra turned their heads back to Kayn. Zed was giving his student a disappointed look, Syndra was giving him a curious look, and Rhaast was giving his current wielder the most smug look he can as a scythe. As for Kayn himself, he just said one thing. "Not one word, Rhaast. Not. One. Word." Time skip: (Brought to you by chibi Kayn and chibi Rhaast arguing over who gets control.) The hour has passed. Right now, Akali, Grey, Kayn, and Rakan were now out of the building and were walking through one of the darker parts of the city. The place was filled with old houses, shady people, and dangerous stores. "So, you say that people from the cult were spotted here?" Akali asked to make sure of what Kayn had earlier told them while ignoring the looks from the people around. It was expected since it would be strange for a member of the Kinkou order to be in this part of town. The Shadow Assassin nodded. "That''s right. Members of the Order of Shadows spotted the cultists here," he explained before pointing at a bar. "At the place to be exact." The bar was a simple building, barely any noticeable features in it except a sign above a wooden door that said, (Skull''s Poison), which is most likely the name of the bar. "A bar? How original," Rhaast sarcastically remarked. "So, what are we going to do?" Rakan asked knowing they couldn''t just walk in. "People from the Kinkou and the Shadow order are going to cause questions." "Then we shouldn''t bother with being quiet," the Abyss Watcher said as he started walking towards the bar. The others looked between each other before deciding to listen to Grey and follow him. Between all of them, Grey had the most battle experience, so they thought that making him the leader was a good idea. Opening the wooden door of the bar, the Abyss Watcher was greeted with the sight of a rather normal looking Pup. Floors made of wood, round wooden tables with a few chairs, a counter at the back with a middle-aged man as a bartender. There were a few people, along with a waitress moving around the tables with a tray in her hands. However, what the Abyss Watcher was looking for was at a table at the far right corner of the place. The table hosted five men sitting on chairs. All of them wearing the same uniform made of a sleeveless black shirt, red robes around their shoulders with hoods, baggy dark red pants, and black boots. Their clothes basically screamed that they have something to do with blood. The group of champions entered and looked at Grey waiting for a plan, only for him to grab the nearest table and flip it. "Everyone, out!" he ordered while pulling out his sword. The sight of the large weapon, along with the fact that most of them recognized Kayn who was from the Order of Shadows, almost everyone left except for the bartender, the waitress, and the cultists. Kayn, Akali, and Rakan would have been surprised if the Abyss Watcher didn''t already tell them that being quiet was no longer an option. Grey walked towards the table of the cultists, still holding his sword. "You are coming with us," the Lord of Cinder told them, leaving no room for question. The cultists looked amongst each other before nodding. One of them suddenly flipped the table at the Abyss Watcher, who used his sword to cut it in two, causing the two pieces to pass by him. When the cultists were seen again, they had all stood up from their chairs and gotten into a battle stance. Each of them was holding a long, crescent-shaped dagger with a wooden handle. "In the name of our master, we-" the first cultist didn''t have time to finish whatever he was going to say before Grey''s sword cleaved his neck and beheaded him. The other cultists were surprised and took a step back. Kayn and Akali looked at each other before going into the fight, while Rakan stayed back. The first one to move was one of the four remaining cultists, who tried to cut down Akali with his dagger. The rogue assassin used a kunai to block the strike before twisting her arm, forcing the cultist to do the same, leaving him wide open. Akali took that chance and used her sickle to slit the man''s throat, causing him to fall on the ground, clutching his wound in an attempt to stop the bleeding. However, Akali didn''t give him a chance as she drove her kunai into the back of his neck, cutting his spine and effectively killing him. The second cultist moved towards Kayn. The shadow assassin simply waited until the incoming man was close enough before spinning around and using Rhaast''s pole to knock the cultist off his feet and onto his back. Before the cultist can even attempt to stand back up again, Kayn impaled Rhaast''s blade through the man''s chest and into the floor. The Darkin let out a sinister laugh as blood covered his body. Meanwhile, Rakan was sitting at one of the tables on the side with a mug in his hand, watching as the battle happened. The waitress was cowering behind the table poked out her head to look at him. "Aren''t you going to do anything?" she asked. Rakan looked at the battle before shrugging his shoulders and taking a drink from the mug in his hand. The two remaining cultists attacked Grey at the same time, believing that they would have a better chance if it''s two on one. They both came in at the same time swinging down their daggers. The Abyss Watcher used his sword to stop both attacks before using his other hand to punch one of the men away while moving back backward and pulling away his sword, causing the other one, who had his weapon pushing onto Grey''s sword, to stumble forward and almost fall into his knees. Grey took the chance and raised his sword before bringing it downwards, cutting the cultist down. The last remaining cultist, the one that Grey punched earlier, was the only one left. The Abyss Watcher''s punch sent him falling onto his back near the table Rakan is at. When the Demon worshipping man was about to stand up, Rakan raised his wooden mug and smashed it on his head, spilling the rest of the drink on him along with knocking him out. Akali put her weapons away as Kayn walked beside her with Rhaast over his shoulder. "If this is all they got, then this should be easy," she said finding no trouble with the cultists. "Our problem isn''t them, but the Demon they''re trying to summon," Grey pointed out as he went to one of the tables, grabbed one of the full mugs left by the people that ran away, and went to the still alive but knocked out cultist. The Abyss Watcher dumped the content of the mug at the unconscious man''s head, causing him to jolt awake feeling the liquid splash across his face. Upon noticing the champions surround him, he tried to reach for the dagger that he dropped, only for Rakan to kick it away. "Up, Up, Up! Not this time," the charmer denied. "Where are you''re friends staying at?" Akali asked in a nice tone which caused her to be more scared. The cultist spat at their feet. "Screw off! I will NOT say anything!" he yelled out. Kayn looked at the other champions. "Should I try to interrogate him? I know a little bit of torture," he said much to the man''s fear. But, Grey suddenly knelt down near the cultist, forcibly grabbed his arm, and, much to everyone''s surprise, snapped one of the bones in his fingers causing the cultist to cry out in pain. "Wow! Grey?!" Akali cried out in surprise. The Abyss Watcher ignored Akali and the screaming cultist. "Did you know: there are 206 bones in the human body," Grey said before snapping another bone in the man''s finger. "How do I know this? It''s because I once broke every bone in a person''s body and counted them," another bone was broken and the cultist screamed again. "I promise that I will do the same to you if you do not start talking." Despite the threat, the cultist remained quiet, which in turn caused Grey to keep breaking bones in the man''s fingers. Akali, Kayn, and Rakan looked away, trying to ignore the screams. And, as for Rhaast, he was enjoying the show which is implied by his laughter. After Grey had broken nearly 15 more bones, the man decided that it wasn''t worth it to stay quiet. "Fine! Fine! I''ll tell you where they are!" To make sure he doesn''t go back on his word, the Abyss Watcher grabbed his shoulder, threatening to break it should he rethink his decision or try to lie. "Start talking." (A/N: Thank you for reading this. First, about the talk between Grey and Amaterasu, it''s actually expected for someone from the Dark Souls universe to not respect gods at all, since most, if not all gods there are pretty much assholes. Second, about what Tiara said, that''s actually something I realized about Ionia. The traitors in the elders that are keeping Jhin free, along with the Kinkou and the Shadow order basically at each other''s throats, add the people that want revenge on Noxus, it''s to be expected that they would be on the brink of a civil war. Third, about why Ahri hesitated, that will be explained in the next chapter, and it is a very good reason, so don''t worry. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. Again, thank you for reading this. Please comment, review, and give me your thoughts on my story.) 59 CH56: Blood Amaterasu was sitting on the throne she created inside the Ionian chambers. Despite how lazy it sounded, that''s all she''s been doing. She figured that waiting for Grey is the only thing she can currently do, along with keeping her brother from burning down the place when he got drunk. The doors to the chamber opened, Ama opened her eyes to see who it was to see it was Irelia. The Blade Dancer seemed a little hesitant to approach, but seeing that the sun goddess didn''t show any sign of being against it, she came in. "Is there something you need, Xan Irelia?" Amaterasu asked as the captain of the Ionian guards stopped in front of her. Irelia nodded in confirmation. "Yes, you see¡­" she trailed off, seemingly still hesitant. "Come now, child, speak up," Amaterasu encouraged, sounding as supportive as possible. Taking a deep breath, the Blade Dancer finally spoke. "Why the Abyss Watcher?" Amaterasu''s raised eyebrow caused Irelia to keep speaking. "Why did you pick him specifically? He is no Ionian, no spiritual Warrior, and no one special to Ionia. So, why did you choose him for Godhood?" Amaterasu seemed amused, judging by the smile on her face. She didn''t blame Irelia for being skeptical. Being from the house of Xan, she was bound to be someone who upholds the traditions. "You are right, he is none of those things," Irelia seems to be taken back by the sun goddess admitting it. "However, he does have something that Ionians search for, and that is Balance," the Blade Dancer seemed more confused. "Tell me, what do you think Balance is?" Irelia seemed to be in thought for a few seconds before answering. "I believe that Balance is the state of being one with your own spirit, being in an equal state of mind all the time." "Of course you do," Amaterasu mumbled rolling her eyes, as if have heard that answer a hundred times already and was tired of it. "This is why we didn''t set foot in Ionia for such a long time. You people have lost the true meaning of Balance," the look Irelia gave her asked for an explanation. "Balance is about accepting yourself as who you are. It is about accepting the past, not worrying yourself with the future, and focusing on the present. That is why I picked Okami, because he has that Balance within himself." The Blade Dancer raised an eyebrow. "By Okami, you mean the Abyss Watcher?" she asked to make sure and the sun goddess nodded. "Well, couldn''t you have at least picked someone Ionian?" "Ionia cannot survive fighting on its own," Amaterasu said and Irelia seemed like she would protest but the sun goddess spoke again. "I am not denying the strength of Ionia, but even you have to admit that, sooner or later, a time will come where it needs help. Tell me, what do you plan to do when Mordekaiser comes for Ionian?" At that question, Irelia remained silent. Truthfully, she was actually downright frightened of the day that Mordekaiser might come for Ionia. After all, Noxus, the land that scarred Ionia, was just the leftovers of Mordekaiser''s old kingdom. It took the entire Noxian army and traitors from Mordekaiser''s own forces to bring him down the first time. And, even then, the tyrant still came back and managed to take back a part of Noxus along with a part of the Shadow Isles all on his own. Not to mention that, to a necromancer as powerful as Mordekaiser, Ionia is like an infinite well of power that he can tap into just by standing on the spiritual land. All and all, Ionia actually had no way to fight Mordekaiser should he set his sights on Ionia, and would really need allies. "I see your point," Irelia admitted, although a little reluctantly. "But, I''m not willing to befriend ourselves with Noxians." Amaterasu smirked at that statement. "Really? Because I remember that you have a soft spot for a certain Noxian exile," as soon as she said that, her mouth was covered by the hands of a red-faced Irelia. The Blade Dancer looked absolutely shocked, whether it was because of what the sun goddess said or because she just did something as disrespectful as covering her goddess'' mouth like that, she herself didn''t know. Looking around to make sure no one was in earshot, Irelia slowly moved her hands away. "You¡­ know?" she asked to make sure. "You''re the captain of the Ionian guards, and I''m the goddess of this nation, so of course I would know what you''re up to," Amaterasu explained, making Irelia realize that her position makes her someone who is watched by their deities. Looking down in shame, the Blade Dancer asked, "And¡­ you don''t mind?" Much to her relief, the sun goddess shook her head. "Why would I? I have seen what happened to her, and I have no doubt that she would choose Ionia over Noxus any day," Irelia sighed at Amaterasu''s words. The captain of the Ionian guards hasn''t felt that relieved since she realized that the dance her grandmother taught her wasn''t just for show. "Alright," Irelia cleared her throat to get her posture back. "That was all. I wish you farewell for now, Lady Amaterasu," she then turned around and left the chamber. While walking through the door, Irelia passed by Ahri, who was just coming into the chamber herself. Both of them took a curious glance at the other one, before continuing on their own way. Amaterasu looked at Ahri as she approached her. "Well, if it isn''t the Nine-Tailed Fox," the sun goddess sounded as if she was expecting her current guest. "Is there something I can help you with?" Ahri nodded. "Yes. I wanted to ask if you¡­" she trailed off, almost scared of the question itself. "You are wondering if I know anything about your people, correct?" Amaterasu asked causing Ahri''s eyes to widen. "It is rather obvious. Is that why you didn''t volunteer to leave with Okami?" the Nine-Tailed Vastayan lowered her head in shame, obviously regretting how selfish it sounded. Truthfully, Amaterasu didn''t blame her. There are a few beings out there that might know, but they''re not exactly the kind that would be willing to share their knowledge. In other words, Amaterasu was Ahri''s only hope at knowing about people like her. "As for your question, yes, I do know." Ahri couldn''t look more shocked if she tried. "Y-You do!?" she asked, almost not believing what she heard. She couldn''t finish her question earlier because of the fear that Amaterasu might not know. "Please, you have to tell me!" the desperation was obvious in her voice. The sun goddess looked at Ahri with a look similar to that of sympathy. "I believe you should wait for Okami to return," the Nine-Tailed Vastayan was beyond confused. Just as she was about to protest, Amaterasu spoke again. "Trust me, child, you will need him to be here for you. I will not tell you until he returns." Ahri''s look morphed into one of anger. She was very tempted to either yell at the goddess or try to use her emotional magic to force her into saying what she knows. But, the Nine-Tailed Vastayan took a deep breath realizing that both choices would end up with her being turned to a bile of ash. She didn''t even believe that her magic can work on someone as powerful as Amaterasu. There were limits to Ahri''s magic. The only reason that it worked on champions who are powerful beings is because the summoners greatly limit their abilities during matches. The Fox Vastayan looked back at the sun goddess. "Do you promise to tell me when he returns?" Amaterasu nodded at Ahri''s request. "Thank you," Ahri said in gratitude before turning around and making her way to the exit. While walking out of the room, Ahri past by Tiara, who was carrying someone over her shoulder. The Fox Vastayan was curious about what the Dancer was up to, but she was already mentally tired from the talk with Amaterasu so she just walked off deciding not to get involved and give herself a headache. The sun goddess sighed as she saw Tiara come in. "Here''s your drunk of a brother," the Outrider Knight said dropping an unconscious Susano and the other man, Yasou, in front of Amaterasu. To say the sun goddess was shocked would be an understatement. "You out-drank him?" she was honestly surprised since the last person to beat her brother in drinking was the Ferljordian God of the forge, Ornn. "If you call that ''Sake'' stuff alcohol, then yes," Tiara replied with a sigh of annoyance. The Ionian drinks did have a good taste to it, but it was still too weak compared to their world''s drinks. The Dancer turned away and was about to head out of the chamber to find something else to do when Amaterasu spoke. "Can I ask you something?" Tiara looked at the goddess over her shoulder and nodded, giving her permission. "How did you end up the way you are?" Tiara raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?" "I can sense your godly blood," Tiara''s eyes narrowed to a glare from Amaterasu''s statement. "So, I ask, how did you end up like this instead of a goddess?" The Dancer held her glare, but the goddess didn''t falter. Amaterasu can tell that Tiara had a rough life, which shouldn''t happen to gods or their descendants, so it got her wondering what could have happened to Tiara that made her what she is. After a few seconds of silence, the Outrider knight finally spoke. "Simply put, I lived like a mortal, and mortals offered me more than the gods ever did." That answer only caused more questions to appear in the goddess'' head. But, before she can voice any of them, the Dancer walked out of the room with obvious intent at avoiding any further conversation on the subject. Amaterasu sighed. She decided to not bring this up again to Tiara since it wasn''t her business. She knew that Grey might know the truth, but that was a family matter¡­ and right now, she had her own to deal with. "What in the name of Aurelion Sol am I going to do with you?" she sighed, looking at her passed out brother. Timeskip: (Brought to you by Chibi Ahri and Chibi Grey sitting under a cherry blossom tree and drinking some sake.) Meanwhile, in another part of Ionia, Grey, Akali, Kayn, and Rakan were walking through a forest that is filled with large trees that had orange and yellow leaves. The sun was setting on the horizon, causing the sky to be covered in an orange glow. "So much for ''I''ll never say anything''," Rakan commented with a chuckle, mocking the cultist that they questioned. "That guy was talking so fast I could hardly keep up." Both assassins smirked while Rhaast chuckled. Grey remained quiet as they kept walking through the forest. "We should be careful. The cultist said that they were close at releasing the Demon," the Abyss Watcher informed them. It was at this moment that Kayn thought of something. "Rhaast, do you know anything about blood demons?" he asked believing that, with how old the Darkin is, he should know something. "Well, demons and gods have always been more of Aatrox''s specialty, but I did pick up a few things," Rhaast replied. Truthfully, he never figured out how Aatrox had so much knowledge on these things. There were rumors that the Darkin Blade used to be a God himself, but they were never confirmed, so all the other Darkin shrugged it off. "From what I know, they''re very tricky to deal with. Blood magic, like what that Vladimir guy uses, is mostly based on their powers but not completely. It would be stupid to fight them without any magical backup, which is why it''s a good thing that bird brain here came with us," the scythe finished motioning to Rakan with his eye. "Hey, that''s MISTER bird brain for you," Rakan retorted jokingly. Akali smirked and rolled her eyes. Despite the situation, she found it amusing how they were arguing. She then looked at Grey and decided to ask something he''s been wondering. "Hey, Grey, I want to ask you something," the Abyss Watcher looked at her. "What are your thoughts now that you''re about to be a God?" Rakan and Kayn turned their looks towards the Lord of Cinder. To say they were curious would be an understatement since the closest people to become Gods were the ascendants from Shurima. Rhaast didn''t seem to care. Mainly because all Darkin had some type of animosity towards deities, Aatrox more than the rest. "To put it simply, I''m beyond annoyed," Grey''s response caused them to look at him in confusion. "As I said, I do not respect gods, and the thought of being one is¡­ irritating to say the least." "That''s something I''ve been wondering, why do you disrespect gods?" Rakan asked. He always saw Grey as the cool-headed, respecting type, and doesn''t do things without a reason. For a moment, they saw a mixture of sadness and anger in Grey''s eyes. "Because, if gods care about us mortals¡­ then why would a baby be left in the middle of a poisonous swamp filled with monsters?" The other males were confused about that statement, while Akali gave out a silent curse. She remembered what Ahri had told her about Grey''s past, and she honestly never heard something so tragic. The rogue assassin also now understood why Grey doesn''t respect gods. It was because of experience. She realized that Grey saw mortal suffering of all shapes and sizes, but never once saw the gods help. Truthfully, she didn''t blame him for disrespecting the gods now. Thinking quickly, Akali immediately went to change the subject. "Anyway, let''s talk about something else. How''s your new love life with Ahri?" while she asked it for Grey''s sake, the rogue assassin couldn''t stop the slightly teasing tone in her voice. The look in Grey''s eyes softened and a smile appeared behind the neck of his shirt. "To be honest with you, I''ve never been so happy," his tone took a 180-degree change from the previous one. "It''s honestly amazing. Waking up to her face every day is enough to make me happy for the rest of it," Rakan almost looked proud, while Akali and Kayn wondered if they''ll ever have someone like that, and Rhaast made some gagging noises, making sure his disgust was evident. "But, I can''t help but feel worried. I''ve never been on a relationship before, and I''m in constant fear that I might mess up." "That''s pretty normal," Rakan said as he started recalling when he met his own lover. "You know, before I met Xayah, I never was in a relationship. I mean, I used to move around a lot and flirt here and there, but I never actually dated anyone. And, when I started dating Xayah, I became worried that I would screw it up. But, I realized something: if I''m so scared of messing up and losing her, that just means I truly love her. So, just live up to your feelings, and you won''t have a problem." Grey truly appreciate the encouraging words. Akali and Kayn stayed quiet, letting the Abyss Watcher and the charmer have their talk. Meanwhile, Rhaast didn''t know what was worse: being stuck in his scythe, or having to listen to their talk. After a few moments of silence, the group came across a church-like building that was hidden by the large trees of the forest. The building was black and looked to be really old, covered in moss and dust. "Remain quiet, and let''s see if we can catch them by surprise," Grey ordered and they all nodded. Walking quietly, they all made their way to the side of the church and looked for a point of entry. "Over there," Akali said pointing up. They all saw her pointing at a broken window near the top. "How are we getting to-" Rakan''s question was answered before he can finish it when he saw Grey go to a nearby tree and start climbing. Akali and Kayn followed his example and went to the same tree before they started climbing. The charmer shrugged his shoulders before following them. Climbing trees wasn''t really his thing, but he supposed now wasn''t the time for personal preference. Making it to the top, Grey tapped on one of the branches with his foot to test how sturdy it is. After confirming that it can hold their weight, the Abyss Watcher walked on the branch until he was close enough to jump into the window, where he ended up standing on the frame. Grey looked around while the other three waited for him to tell them it was okay to go in. The Lord of Cinder spotted one of the rafters of the ceiling close by and jumped on it. Looking out of the window, he motioned to the others with his hand to come in. They all came in, with Kayn struggling a little to get Rhaast through the window frame, and stood beside Grey on the rafters to overlook the inside of the church. They managed to see what is going on. The church was entirely cleared out with nothing inside but a pedestal with a red crystal ball on it. There were 12 people in the room, all of them wearing the same uniform as the cultists in the bar. 6 of the cultists were in a circle around the pedestal, chanting something with a circle of runes glowing under them. The remaining six were standing behind them looking around, apparently being guards. "I''m no expert on demonology, but it looks like they''re pretty close to summoning that Demon," Akali pointed out, seeing that the crystal ball was getting brighter by the second. "Then we move in now," Grey said right before jumping off the rafters. The Abyss Watcher pulled out his sword mid-fall and stabbed it into a cultist as he landed on him. The other Demon worshipers barely had time to register what happened before Grey pulled out his dagger and jumped towards two of them. Grey anchored his knife on the ground and used it to spin around, using the length of his sword to cut down two cultists without getting close to give them a chance to use their daggers. Seeing the Abyss Watcher fight, Akali decided to join. "Well, you heard the man," she said right before jumping in her herself. The rogue assassin pulled out her sickle and used to cut the head off a cultist that she landed beside. Seeing two others getting close, she immediately pulled out two kunais and threw them at the Demon worshipers, both being killed with a blade to the heart. Kayn was the second to jump in, landing right between two cultists. Both of them raised their daggers, but the shadow assassin was faster and swung Rhaast in a full circle, cutting both Demon worshipers in half. There were only five cultists left, all of which went on guard in a group, only for Rakan to suddenly land right in the middle of their group. The charmer spun around, his wing glowing yellow and covering the ground in yellow dust. When he finished going around in a full circle, the Vastaya jumped in the air, and the cultists were also thrown in the air because of his magic. Seeing their enemies vulnerable, the others attacked. Akali attacked first by throwing kunais at the still floating men, striking three of them. Kayn came in to attack when they began falling on the ground, swinging Rhaast upwards on one of the falling cultists and sliced him up. The last two cultists fell on the ground. They were halfway at getting up to attempt running away when Grey''s sword cleaved their necks, cutting both their heads off and killing them. "Well, that was easy," Akali commented as she leaned on one leg while flipping her weapons in her hands. "And we didn''t even get to see that so-called ''demon''." "You just had to say it, didn''t you?" Rhaast''s sarcasm was not lost in his tone. Just as the rogue assassin was about to ask what the Darkin was talking, they all heard a sudden ''crack''. Looking around, they saw that the crystal ball had a gash in it and that it started breaking. When the cracks had spread all over the orb, it completely shattered and the pieces floated in the air, forming a perfect circle. From the circle of shards, a large portal of swirling energy formed itself. They all got ready for battle, Grey more than the rest. The Abyss Watcher swore that if the portal as much as looked like it was trying to suck him in, he would activate the Soul of Death, no questions asked. He had enough portals for a few centuries. From the portal came out a clawed, skinny, large arm that gripped the edge. Another clawed arm came out of the portal and grabbed the other edge before something started pulling itself out. What came out of the portal was the Demon that they were sent to deal with. The Demon had a large yet skinny body. Its skin was dark red, the same color as blood. It mostly had a humanoid figure. The head had a single red glowing eye with a mouth that was full of black, razor-sharp teeth. The back of the head and body was covered in tentacles that aimlessly floated in the air. When the Demon was fully out of the portal, it closed as the creature''s legs landed on the ground gently. It started aimlessly looking around with its one eye, almost looking like a newborn child. "Typical," Rhaast groaned giving Akali a quick glare, believing that she jinxed them. "Get ready," Grey said preparing his weapons, knowing that the Demon wouldn''t look so peaceful for long. When he said that, the Demon took a deep breath before letting out a blood-curdling roar and covering the entire church in red aura. For some reason, none of the champions could move as the aura reached them. "W-What''s going on?" Akali struggled to ask, wishing that she can at least cover her ears. "R-Rhaast¡­ what is this?" Kayn asked, wanting to know why he can''t move. "It''s Blood Screech!" the Darkin replied, unaffected because he was stuck inside his weapon. "It''s a spell that freezes the victims in their place!" Before any of the champions can ask why he didn''t mention this before, the Demon started crawling towards them and grabbed hold of Grey with its large claws before bringing him closer while opening its jaws. The others tried to move to assist the Lord of Cinder, but they can only watch as the Demon brought him closer to take a bite out of him¡­ but it never did. Just as the Demon was mere inches from sinking its fangs into the Abyss Watcher, Grey''s body was suddenly covered in green mist before an explosion of green aura erupted from his body, knocking the Demon back while freeing Grey from its grip. Whatever happened the Demon seemed to free the champions from its magic. "What was-" Akali stopped herself from asking about what happened when she saw Grey''s medallion hanging from his waist while glowing green color. Looking at it, the rogue assassin can almost hear the growling of a wolf. The Demon seemed to regain its senses back and looked to be rather angry. Screeching in rage, the Demon swung its arm, hitting the Abyss Watcher with a powerful strike from the back of its hand. Grey was sent crashing through the doors of the church, rolling on the ground and stopping on his front. "Grey!" Akali was about to go and check on the Lord of Cinder, were it not for the fact that she had to jump to her side in order to avoid being smashed under the Demons incoming arm. Kayn moved in on the arm, taking advantage of how close it was and managed to land a cut with Rhaast. But, he didn''t get the chance to do more damage as one of the Demon''s tentacles lashed at him and sent him crashing into one of the Church''s walls. "Pathetic!" Rhaast growled at his host as he stood back up. "Just let me in control so I can kill it already!" "I didn''t hit my head hard enough to do that," Kayn replied, knowing that the Darkin was just taking his chance to control his host. Meanwhile, a smoke bomb had struck the Demon''s head, covering its eye. Akali jumped in and used the short distraction to throw a kunais at the creature. While they did hit their mark, the thrown blades didn''t go deep in the Demon''s body because of its strong skin. The rogue assassin immediately rolled out of the way as one of the tentacles tried to whip her. A glowing magical feather suddenly struck the Demon''s head, causing it to turn its attention towards Rakan. The creature was obviously annoyed rather than harmed, which is proven by the fact that it simply tried to swat away Rakan like he was a bug. The charmer barely managed to jump over the arm and get to Kayn''s side to heal him from the earlier hit. Meanwhile, outside, Grey lay motionless on the ground. The sun had long set and the moon was high in the sky. The moonlight was shining down and its glow reflected off Grey''s medallion as a wolf''s howling was heard in the distance. Flashback: In a large, stone chamber was a child, rather long for his age, which was around ten years old. The child had short, pure white hair, and blue eyes. He was wearing a tattered brown shirt and trousers. Dark boots and gloves. Around his neck was a red scarf. The child was standing in front of a large, undead looking wolf that seemed to be sleeping in front of a gravestone with blades of various sizes around it. In the boy''s hands, was a green medallion with the crest of a wolf''s head in it. "Ah, there you are, Grey," the child, who is a young Grey, turned around and saw one of the Abyss Watchers entering the chamber through a stone doorframe. "You should really let someone know that you would leave to see the Old Wolf of Farron," he instructed. The young boy nodded. "Sorry. I just have a lot on my mind," he apologized looking back to the Old Wolf. "Are you thinking about how Ghear is coming to take you tomorrow?" the Abyss Watcher''s question was answered by a simple nod. He moved in to stand beside the boy. "You shouldn''t really worry. You might be young, but we all believe that you would return here with your training complete." Grey nodded again, but something still seemed to be troubling him. "Is it wrong?" the man looked down on him in confusion. "Our oath¡­ I do not completely know what it means, so is that wrong?" To his surprise, the Abyss Watcher started chuckling. "Of course not. You''re still young, and you cannot know everything on you''re own," Grey looked at the Abyss Watcher with a look that clearly asked for an explanation. "Let me ask you something, have you ever heard about a wolf abandoning its pack?" the young boy shook his head, showing that his answer was ''no''. "Well, let me ask you something else, have you ever heard of a wolf pack abandoning one of their own?" another shake from Grey''s head was the answer. The Abyss Watcher then knelt down, turned Grey, and held him by the shoulder. "That is what our oath stands for. It does not stand for our strength alone. It also stands for our powers united. We Abyss Watchers stand together, even after the end. You part-took the Wolf''s Blood, so whenever you pick up your sword, know that every other Abyss Watcher is holding it with you." Grey looked deeply in thought before glancing at the medallion in his hands. Clutching it tightly, the boy looked at the Abyss Watcher with a determined look and nodded, fully understanding what their oath stands for. Flashback End: Back to the present, Grey''s arm started getting closer to the handle of his sword, before tightly grabbing it. Feeling his firm hold on his weapon, the now full-fledged Abyss Watcher opened his now red eyes. "Fear the Wolf''s Blood," he mumbled their oath as he stood back up. Back inside the church, the others weren''t doing very well. Their attacks barely manage to cut through the Demon''s skin, and Rakan''s magic seemed to only irritate it more than anything. Kayn slashed at one of its legs with Rhaast before jumping back to avoid getting whipped with a tentacle again. Akali threw a star that managed to land on its shoulder, but a quick move from the Demon''s arm and the blade fell on the ground. Suddenly, the Demon stopped and slowly turned its look towards the entrance of the church. The others looked and saw Grey walking in. They were relieved to see him alright, but also a little concerned because they were hoping he''d come with a flaming sword. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting. The Demon growled at the Abyss Watcher before it tried to whip him with one of its tentacles. Grey sidestepped at the very last second and then cut the extended tentacle off before it can go back into its owner. The Blood Demon let out a pained growl as it raised its arm and tried to bring it down on Grey. The Lord of Cinder, like before, waited for the last second before rolling forward, avoiding being crushed under the Demon''s large limb. Ending up near the Demon''s body, Grey swiftly stood back up and positioned his sword right under the armpit of the arm that the Demon just tried to crush him with. With a strong push of his blade, Grey managed to cut the arm completely off, causing it to fall on the ground. The Blood Demon screeched in pain as blood started gushing from the now-empty arm socket. It immediately tried to use its other arm to back-hand the Abyss Watcher away from itself. Grey rolled away from the Demon''s incoming hit. Standing on his feet again, the Lord of Cinder strapped his sword forward at the Demon''s side. The length of the blade allowed the tip to pierce its target, even though the Abyss Watcher rolled away from it. The Demon jumped away, making it to the back of the church while clutching where it''s arm used to be. It obviously viewed Grey as a threat judging by the cautious look in its eye as it viewed him. The creature started taking in air, making the others realize what it''s about to do. "Oh, no, not again," Akali almost pleaded, not wanting to be frozen by the beast again. The Demon let out another Blood Screech. Kayn and Akali were protected by Rakan, who jumped between them and created a magical shield around them. However, the shield wasn''t far enough to reach Grey. But much to their surprise, the Abyss Watcher seemed to be unaffected by the Blood Screech as he simply continued walking forward towards the Demon. The other three champions can swear they see silhouettes of Abyss Watchers, all of them putting their hands on Grey''s back and pushing him forward. Meanwhile, the Demon seemed to start panicking. It definitely saw Grey as a danger, not just because of the damage he did, but also because his spell seemed to be useless to stop him. Desperate, the Demon simply opted to attack the Lord of Cinder, hoping that it would take him down. It raised its arm and brought it down, attempting to smash the Abyss Watcher under its large limb. However, that proved to be a grave mistake. Grey simply jumped back from the arm, before jumping on it when it smashed on the ground and using it as a footstool to jump towards the Demon. The Abyss Watcher spun in the air and landed on the back of the Demon''s neck. Grey grabbed onto the Demon while stabbing his dagger in its throat for a stronger hold on its body. Panicking, the Demon started thrashing around the church. Its tentacles swinging around in a wild fashion. It started moving and jumping through the church, in an attempt to get the Abyss Watcher off its back. Akali, Kayn, and Rakan could only stare in shock as the Demon tried to shake Grey off. To them, it was like watching a wolf jump on its prey and sink its fangs in their neck. They all knew one thing, when a wolf does that, he''s not letting go until his prey drops. The Blood Demon kept on thrashing, smashing its back on a few walls before hitting one a little too hard and ending up breaking right through it, landing outside of the church. Rakan dropped the magical shield and they all walked outside to see what happened. They found the Demon laying on the ground, obviously exhausted from all the earlier thrashing. It tried to raise its head off the ground, only for a boot to step on the side of its head and pushed it back down. The Demon''s one eye looked up at Grey who was looking at it with his own red eyes. The Abyss Watcher put his knife away and held his sword in reverse grip before raising it in the air, the moonlight gleaming over the blade. Unable to do anything, the Demon can only watch helplessly as the Lord of Cinder brought down his sword and stabbed it right through its head before its life ended, its last memory was Grey looking it straight in the eye. The other champions can only watch in shock as the Abyss Watcher had just finished the Demon. It was at this moment that they realized that, if anyone is worthy of being a God of Blood¡­ then it''s definitely Grey. (A/N: Thank you for reading this. First, not a lot of people liked the previous chapter. They kept saying that Grey is a Lord of Cinder and he doesn''t need Godhood. I''d like to say that Grey is merely going to be a God mainly by name, and nothing else. He only accepted to make sure that Ahri is safe from political abuse. With her past and the fact that no records of her exist, you can''t deny that it gives people a good excuse to pick on her. Second, no Lord soul this time, mainly because he didn''t need it. The Blood Demon was strong, but Grey fought the Abyss on a daily basis, and that''s is much tougher. Third, Yes, the Blood Demon is based on the Nameless Moon Presence. I just thought I''d include Bloodborne a little. Also, what protected Grey from the Demon will be explained in the next chapter. Fourth, about Amaterasu knowing about what happened to Ahri''s people, that is purely my idea. It won''t change Ahri''s past or lore, this is just my idea on why there''s nothing about her people, so don''t worry. And lastly, more of Tiara''s past is shown a little. For those who want to know what happened to her, it won''t be long. Again, thank you for reading this. Please comment, review, and give me your thoughts on my story.) 60 CH57: Truth The sun rises in Ionia. It has been a day since the hunt for the blood Demon began. Those who were waiting are inside the Ionian chambers where Amaterasu was sitting on her throne. The chamber was filled with those who were in it yesterday. Shen and Zed were meditating, each in one side of the room. Kennen was meditating with the leader of the Kinkou Order, while Syndra was floating beside the leader of the order of Shadows while reading a book. Karma was discussing some of Ionia''s politics with Irelia. The Blade Dancer didn''t exactly like politics very much, preferring battle, but she still knew about their importance. Thankfully for her, the Ionian Elder did her best to keep the topic as interesting as possible. Meanwhile, Ahri and Xayah were watching Wukong and Yi while they played a game of chess. Silver was on the former''s lap, being petted by the Nine-Tailed Vastayan. Yi would make movements as soon as Wukong finishes his, while the monkey king would take a while to think about what to do. Tiara was standing behind Ahri with her arms crossed, leaning on a wall. She was wearing her helmet, and her face was hidden by the shadow of her visor, so no one can tell if she was either paying attention to the game or sleeping. Amaterasu was still sitting on her throne, tapping her fingers on the armrest. Susano sitting on the ground beside her, suffering from a hangover, along with the man he was drinking with yesterday, Yasou. "When do you think they''ll be back?" Xayah asked her fellow female Vastayan. Ahri shrugged her shoulders. "It''s hard to say," she replied. "If it was Grey alone, then a few days. But, since he took those two guys and Akali with him, I''m not sure." They went back to seeing the chess match between the master and the student. Wukong had a fist on his chin in a thinking pose, trying to figure out what to do next. From what the female Vastaya understood, he was losing. "Move your bishop to the edge," Tiara suddenly spoke, causing Ahri and Xayah to jump slightly, believing that she was asleep. Wukong, desperate for a move, simply followed the Dancer''s instructions. Looking over the board, Yi raised an eyebrow under his helmet. "Wukong¡­ I believe that this is checkmate." "It is!?" the monkey king looked shocked as he looked over the board before realizing that his master was right. A large grin appeared on Wukong''s face as he jumped from his sitting position and did a fist bump in the air. "Yes! I finally beat Master in chess!" his excited laughter drew attention from those around. Yi simply shook his head while chuckling. Of course, he knew that Tiara helped his student, but that didn''t stop the proud smile that was evident on his features. Meanwhile, Xayah and Ahri looked curiously at Tiara. They were confused about why she helped Wukong, and surprised that she managed to give accurate instructions. However, before they can voice any questions, the doors were swung open. "We have returned victorious!" Rakan sang out dramatically. "Why did you do it like that?" Akali asked curiously as she entered after the Vastaya. "What? Have a little showmanship," Rakan replied innocently. Grey and Kayn came inside after those two. Both assassins went towards their respective masters, who stopped their meditation. Rakan went towards his lover, who greeted him with a kiss. Ahri wanted to greet Grey the same way that the Vastayan lovers did, but she had to hold it in for now as he approached Amaterasu. "I see your mission was a success. Did you stop the Demon from being summoned or did you kill it?" the sun goddess asked. The Abyss Watcher raised his left hand and opened his palm. A small, pure red flame appeared in his hand and everyone can guess that it was the Demon''s soul. "Well done, Okami," Amaterasu complimented looking upon the soul. "Is that all you needed me to do?" Grey asked knowing that he just couldn''t be declared a God for that. Just as he expected, the sun goddess shook her head. "No, there is one final thing." Just as she said that, the doors opened as someone new entered the chamber. That person was obviously not human, which was evident by their looks. They were quite large in size, covered in dark red, almost black fur with some of it being tied to braids. They had a few horns covered in runes and a pair of red glowing eyes. They were wearing a pair of large trousers that were held by straps that went over their shoulders. In his hand was a mixture of a large hammer and an anvil. The first one to recognize the newest arrival was Akali. "Ornn?" she asked, rather confused to see him here. Ahri was rather confused, so she asked those around her, "Who is he?" "That is Ornn, the Ferljordian God of the forge," Yi answered, having already met the forge God in a match. "He is also a champion in the Institute." "Ornn, good to see you again," Amaterasu greeted. The Ferljordian God simply replied with a grunt. "How have you been?" she asked and she received a shrug from his shoulders. "Wait, back up," Tiara stepped forward to stand beside her brother, looking at both deities. "Why is the God of another nation here?" she asked what was on everyone''s mind. "I owe her a favor," Ornn simply replied while pointing at Amaterasu. "What does he have to do with what''s going on?" Grey asked, still not seeing why Ornn was here. "We still need one last thing, proof of your new Godhood," Amaterasu replied as everyone gave her a look that asked for further explanation. "Ornn will make you a weapon made from the soul of the Demon, and that weapon shall mark your new Godhood." "I didn''t know Runeterra has the knowledge on how to make weapons from souls," Grey commented, thinking that he should have noticed something so similar to his world. "They don''t, only I do," Ornn said, comforting Grey and Tiara to some extent. They didn''t want Runeterra to start doing the same things their world did. "You sure that''s a good idea?" he asked Amaterasu, referring to making the weapon. Truthfully, Ornn knew how dangerous weapons made from souls can be. They were more dangerous than any normal or magical weapon. And, that''s the reason why Ornn himself has made sure that no records on how to make weapons from souls exist, keeping that knowledge himself should he need it one day. "I believe he is worthy, and I trust in him to not use it for anything dangerous," Amaterasu said, answering the forge God''s question. "Besides, you owe me a lot, so you''re making it anyway," she added, knowing that Ornn always pays his debts, making him grunt in annoyance. "So, I just have this new weapon made?" Grey asked to make sure and Amaterasu nodded. "Can it be a sword?" he requested. hoping to get a weapon he''s at least familiar with. "Yep." Ornn nodded his head, but then he started sniffing the air, confusing the people around. While sniffing, his face got closer to Grey, or specifically, the Farron Greatsword on his back. "Your sword, show it to me," he requested. Seeing nothing wrong with giving the forge God a look, the Abyss Watcher pulled out his sword and held it forward. Ornn looked closely at the blade. He tapped it a couple of times with his finger and, much to everyone''s further confusion, sniffed it a couple of times. "Magic infused coal," Ornn mumbled, making Grey surprised that he can just tell like that. "Who made this for you?" "A Forger in the swamps of Farron," Grey replied. "And the coal?" Ornn added. "A sorcerer makes the coal specifically for the Undead Legion," Grey answered. "What''s so special about magic-infused coal?" Irelia asked, still not understanding why it seemed so important. "We have great mages here in Ionia and at the Institute, can''t they just make it?" "Impossible," Ornn replied shaking his head. "The coal''s physical structure is too fragile to accept magic without falling apart. You need to be a very talented and careful sorcerer to actually infused coal with magic. Otherwise, you''d just make useless dust." "Back to our previous subject," Amaterasu cut them off, realizing that they were getting off track. "Can you make that weapon, Ornn?" "Sure, it would be done by tomorrow," the forge God replied, reaching forward to the Abyss Watcher, who gave him the Demon''s soul. "Very well," the Sun goddess nodded, pleased with the news. "We will leave you so you can do your work come back when the blade is ready." Ornn sighed in annoyance. "Sure. Leave Ornn to do all the work, like usual," he grumbled, like this wasn''t the first time this happened. However, Amaterasu apparently had a way to change his mood. "I''ll leave ten barrels of our best sake for you while you work," she informed. "What are you waiting for? Get out so I can work!" Ornn ordered as he set his large hammer on the ground and used it as an anvil before pulled out another hammer. True, sake wasn''t as strong as the drinks from the Ferljord, but it did have a particular taste to it, which the forge God liked about the Ionian drink. Ornn started pushing everyone out until he was alone in the chamber before closing the doors. That didn''t surprise Amaterasu or Susano since they knew that the forge God liked working alone. "So, we just wait until he''s finished?" Tiara asked to make sure and Amaterasu nodded. The sun goddess then looked at the Lord of Cinder. "By the way, Okami, we''ll get you a better armor, one suited for one of Ionia''s deities," she informed him. "Can''t I just go home?" Grey asked with a tired sigh. "I already hunted the Demon for you, and now you''re telling me that I have to get some weird set of clothes?" Ahri suddenly raised an eyebrow. "Wait, is your problem with that much work or having to wear new clothes?" she asked. "My problems began when I actually agreed to become a god," the Abyss Watcher groaned, still annoyed with the whole ordeal. The Nine-Tailed Vastayan chuckled, thinking on how she should have expected that response from the Abyss Watcher. "Welcome back, Grey," she decided it was finally time to greet him, pulling down the neck of his shirt to uncover his face in order to give him a kiss. The Lord of Cinder returned the kiss. "It''s good to be back," he replied with a smile. "Urghh, get a room," Rhaast grumbled as he was being held by Kayn. "One which is preferably very soundproof," Tiara added much to her brother and his lover''s embarrassment. Amaterasu chuckled. "Your life sounds quite lively," she commented. "And fun," Susano added with a smirk. The Abyss Watcher rolled his eyes. "Is there something we can do until Ornn is finished?" he asked, wanting to change the subject. "There is are some private hot springs for this temple. I''m sure that the mission has left you tired, and I believe they can help you relax," Karma suggested, believing it would be good. "What''s hot springs?" Tiara and Grey asked at the same time. Some looked confused, while Ahri remembered that neither siblings saw them before. "Oh, right, you never been to one. It''s basically one large warm bath that helps you relax," she explained. The Abyss Watcher honestly thought he needed that right now. "Okay, I guess that would help," he agreed to the idea before picking up Silver from the ground. "Come on, boy," the wolf pup barked and he started walking with Karma guiding him through the hallway. Time skip: (Brought to you by chibi Ornn creating weapons in his forge.) Most decided to go to the hot springs with the Abyss Watcher. Obviously, the men and women were in separate springs. The hot springs'' floor was made of smooth, black stone. The spring itself was a large wide circle filled with steaming water. There were a few wooden buckets on the side to help those who would wash themselves. Grey sighed as he sunk in the water, letting its warmth relax his muscles. This whole ''being a god'' thing was stressing him too much, but he supposed it was a must. Also, something told him that Amaterasu wouldn''t stop bugging him if he had actually refused now that he thought about it. Silver was also inside the spring, floating on a bucket, using it as a small ship, which drew a chuckle from the Lord of Cinder. "Oh, that''s the good stuff," Rakan sighed as he sat beside the Abyss Watcher. He would have preferred having Xayah with him, but he supposed this will do for now. "I suppose letting your body relax once in a while is good," Kayn commented as he was also sitting beside them. The Abyss Watcher noticed something missing. "Hey, where''s Rhaast?" he asked looking at his wielder. "I left him in the laundry room," the shadow assassin replied with a sinister chuckle. "KAYN! I WILL KILL YOU FOR THIS! GET ME OUT OF HERE! KAYN!" Rhaast''s angry yelling was heard from their changing room. After a few more moments, and listening to Rhaast''s colorful language, they managed to simply ignore the Darkin scythe, despite him still yelling. "Between all the regrets of gods, the Darkin is one of the biggest," Susano, who was also in the spring, sighed as he took a drink from his gourd bottle. He hasn''t personally taken a part with the Darkin war, but that didn''t make the regret any less haunting. "Hey, Grey," Wukong called out while removing his wet fur from his eyes so he can see. "What''s with that black circle on your chest?" he said pointing at the Abyss Watcher''s chest. Grey''s pale skin made the black circle impossible to miss. It''s as if there was a hole in his chest. "This is the Darksign," the Lord of Cinder replied. "Wait, that''s your curse?" Rakan asked, surprised that something so simple as a circle on the chest can cause so much suffering. "So, you are cursed," Susano said as a fact rather than a question. He had already sensed that the Abyss Watcher was cursed when they first met. However, he had never felt a curse that was so¡­ ancient and powerful. Not even Amumu''s curse from Shurima. "Does it hurt?" Wukong asked as he poked the Darksign with his finger. "No, it''s nothing but a harmless circle now," Grey replied before looking annoyed. "And, please, stop poking me." Meanwhile, the ladies were relaxing in a similar hotspring. "Ah," Akali sighed as she lowered herself until the water reached her chin. "I needed this so much. Fighting demons is agonizing," she moaned as she felt the warm water on her skin. "I got to admit, this ain''t half bad," Tiara commented as she relaxed in the water with her hands over the edge. "Was it really that hard?" Ahri asked Akali as she relaxed beside the assassin while cleaning one of her tails. "I mean, you left just yesterday," she added, believing that a mission that short shouldn''t be that tiring. "The priests were no problem. The Demon itself was the problem," Akali cleared up as she stretched her arms above her head. "That thing was strong and annoying. I honestly am grateful that Grey was with us, or we would have been in trouble." The Nine-Tailed Vastayan smiled, remembering that this wasn''t the first time Grey seemed to save the day. "Yeah, he seems to do that every mission. You should have been there when we caught Maia," Ahri said. "Can we not talk about that lunatic?" Xayah requested, not wanting to remember the day she almost lost her life to a deranged maniac. Amaterasu, who joined them in the spring, chuckled. "There are too many lunatics in the world, you have to be specific nowadays," she commented. Xayah wanted to make some retort. But, remembering some champions in the Institute, she realized that the sun goddess was correct and that the word ''Lunatic'' is thrown around a lot nowadays. "So, Lady Amaterasu, what are you planning to do after you let the Abyss Watcher become a god?" Irelia asked as she relaxed near the sun goddess. Amaterasu seemed to be in thought before she shrugged her shoulders. "I suppose I''ll go back to Takama no Hara. However, I''ll be coming down from time to time to help Ionia help itself," she answered before chuckling, drawing confused looks. "You know, when Soraka told us Gods to not give up on humanity, we didn''t listen to her. But, after what Okami said, I suppose she was right all along. I owe her an apology." "You know Soraka?" Akali asked curiously. Ahri knew who that was mostly from the memories she stole. But, even without the memories, she''d be stupid to not know a healer that is renowned as a goddess throughout Runeterra. The sun goddess nodded. "Yes, she is well known amongst deities. As I said, I owe her an apology for not believing her when she said that humans were not all evil." "I still believe that''s true," Xayah commented, getting a few eye rolls from those around. "I have to admit, the Abyss Watcher caught me by surprise with what he said," Karma commented as she used a small towel to clean her arms. "He seems rather mature for someone his age." "He''s actually older than he looks," Tiara said catching their attention. "Both me and Grey are pretty much over a century old." Most of those around were surprised, except for Ahri and Akali, who already knew of Grey''s age. "That explains his mature attitude," Irelia commented. "I am interested though," Amaterasu gave the Outrider Knight a curious look. "Tell me, what was your world like?" she asked. "How do you know that we''re not from this world?" Tiara asked suspiciously and the others realized that no one mentioned this to Amaterasu. The sun goddess looked at Ahri. "You and Okami met in Ionia, correct?" the Nine-Tailed Vastayan nodded. "Do you really think I wouldn''t notice a portal from another world suddenly appearing in the middle of my land?" she asked rhetorically. They realized that it makes sense for Amaterasu to know that Grey wasn''t from Runeterra since he suddenly appeared in Ionia. Tiara decided to answer the goddess. "To put it simply, Runeterra is rather pathetic compared to our world," Akali, Xayah, and Irelia looked a little insulted, while Karma, Ahri, and Amaterasu waited for her to explain. "I can tell you right now that most champions in the Institute wouldn''t even last a year in our world without losing their sanity, and that''s if they were lucky and didn''t encounter any creatures of the Abyss." "Is that what brought you and Okami to our world? This¡­ Abyss?" Amaterasu asked and received a nod of confirmation. Honestly, when Grey first appeared, Amaterasu felt something just¡­ wrong in her nation. Something even more messed up than the Void. As if nature itself suddenly turned upside down and became twisted and dark in a single instant. However, just as it appeared, that feeling vanished, and Amaterasu can see Grey in her land, meeting Ahri. Amaterasu wasn''t very sure what the Abyss is, but she definitely didn''t want to have that feeling again and would rather the Void comes to her land than the Abyss. Deciding to change the subject, the sun goddess turned back towards the Nine-Tailed Vastayan. "Well, let us speak of something else. How is your relationship with Okami?" she asked. A warm smile graced Ahri''s lips. "It''s wonderful. I''m having the time of my life," she replied as she finished cleaning the last of her tails. "Those two are so well with each other, it''s sickening," Tiara commented, remembering how her brother and his lover acts. "Honestly, I think it''s great," Akali said. "I can''t really imagine you two ending up with someone else. It just feels¡­ not right," she added getting a grateful smile from Ahri. Time Skip: (Brought to you by chibi Ahri and chibi Grey enjoying the hot springs together.) It was late at night now and most champions were escorted towards a guest room. The room was pretty simple. A bed, a window, and a bathroom. Grey and Ahri were sharing a room, Silver was sleeping near the bed while the Abyss Watcher was lying down on the bed when he saw Ahri still awake with a distant look. "Ahri, is something wrong?" he asked. The Nine-Tailed Vastayan looked at him for a couple of seconds before she sighed. "I¡­ talked to Amaterasu¡­ and she said she knows about people like me," she said causing his eyes to widen. "She said that she would tell me about them when you come back. I guess we''ll talk to her when your weapon is ready tomorrow." However, Grey then noticed that she seemed hesitant. "Why do you look like you''re sad?" he asked. Ahri shook her head. "I''m not sad. It''s just¡­" "After so long of being in the dark, you''re a little scared of knowing the truth since it might be something you don''t like?" Grey guessed and Ahri nodded. The fact that Amaterasu said that she needed him to be there for her didn''t help her paranoia. "Ahri," Grey put a hand on her cheek and made her look at him. "No matter what she tells you, it won''t change who you are. And, if you need anything, you know that I''m here for you." Tears of happiness appeared in Ahri''s eyes as she brought her head into her lover''s chest. "Thank you." Grey simply held Ahri, giving her a feeling of safety. Her tails coiled around him, almost like she was making sure he doesn''t move away. He certainly didn''t seem to mind as he simply closed his eyes and went to sleep with her. Time skip: (Brought to you by chibi Ahri and chibi Grey playing volleyball with chibi Ahri''s orb of deception.) It was the next day. The champions except for Grey were inside the chamber, waiting for the Abyss Watcher to finish wearing his new clothes. Ornn was also there, with something covered in cloth between his hands. The gates were opened and Grey entered in his new look. Grey was now wearing a black and red Ionian styled armor made of robes that covered his chest and legs, thin gauntlets and armor on his hands, feet, and shoulders. His head was covered in a white and red helmet that was shaped like the face of a growling wolf. Hanging from his waist was his medallion. Walking towards the three deities, Amaterasu smiled. "Now this is what I expect of a blood God, Okami," she complimented. "Is the weapon ready?" Grey asked. He didn''t mean to be rude, but he still wanted to get this over with. Ornn stepped forward and handed the cloth-covered object towards the Abyss Watcher, who unwrapped it soon after. What was inside was a Katana with a pitch-black handle and a pure silver arm guard shaped like a wolf''s head. Katana was long, almost as long as Grey''s Farron Great-sword. "Wait," Ornn suddenly said as Grey grabbed the handle, stopping the Abyss Watcher from pulling out the blade. "You should know that the Demon''s soul is still conscious, even after I forged a weapon out of it, so it might try to take over you." The Abyss Watcher sighed. "I''ll take my chances," much to everyone''s shock, Grey just grabbed the handle and pulled out the blade slightly. From the small opening, red mist started coming out and crawling up the Abyss Watcher''s arms. Everyone started getting worried. However, much to their surprise, dark green aura appeared around Grey before exploding, repelling the mist and causing it to vanish. "It''s that glow again," Akali commented, remembering that this same aura protected Grey from the Blood Demon. Amaterasu hummed in thought while putting a hand on her chin. "Something is protecting him," she said. At that moment, Ahri noticed Grey''s medallion glowing. "Grey, your pledge," she pointed out. Seeing the pledge, Tiara came to a conclusion. "The Wolf''s Blood," she said drawing everyone''s attention. "It''s protecting you from the Demon." The Lord of Cinder was both surprised and relieved beyond belief. In all honesty, he had been suspicious that the Old Wolf of Farron was no longer watching over him after he came to Runeterra, but it appears that it isn''t true. Looking back at the sword, Grey fully pulled it out of its sheath, revealing its form. It was a long and straight Katana. The blade was pitch black with a glowing, crimson edge. "There are a few things you should know," Ornn said catching the Abyss Watcher''s attention. "This weapon, because of the Demon''s soul, can destroy magic and kill spirits." The newly named Blood God raised an eyebrow under his helmet. "What do you mean?" he asked. "Perhaps a demonstration is in order," the Forge God looked at Syndra. "You, with the floating orbs, throw one of them at him." Syndra, while irked at the name, still waved her hand and sent one of her floating orbs of dark magic towards the Abyss Watcher. Grey, knowing that he is supposed to use the sword, swung it at the orb. Upon making contact, the magical orb shattered like glass before the pieces vanished in a red glow, causing Syndra''s eyes to widen that her magic was destroyed so easily. Bringing back the sword to look at the blade again, Grey asked, "You said it kills spirits, what would happen if I used this weapon on Vastaya or Vastayashy''rei?" to Ornn. The question was understandable. Vastaya were half spirits, despite popular belief that they''re half animals. And Vastayashy''rei were completely shape-shifting spirits. The forge God put a hand on his chin. "Well, I guess if you used it on a Vastaya, they''d feel weakened and temporarily lose their ability to use magic, for how long depends on the wound. And as for a Vastayashy''rei, if you wound them, they''d also temporarily lose their magic and start feeling really sick. If the wound isn''t minor, it might end up killing them." "So, in other words, the Abyss Watcher has one of, if not the most powerful weapons in Ionia," Irelia commented. Ionia was a land built on magic and spirits, and the weapon that the new Blood God was holding is able to destroy both. The Blade Dancer didn''t feel right leaving such a weapon in the hands of someone she didn''t fully trust, but she couldn''t go against her goddess'' orders. The Lord of Cinder sheathed the weapon again and strapped it to his back. "Alright, there''s one last thing," Susano stepped forward. "What do you want to stand for?" Grey tilted his head curiously. "For example, Ornn here might be a God of the forge, but he also stands for fire and hard work." Grey seemed in thought for a moment. He didn''t really have a good idea on what to be. However, he then remembered the most valued thing between Abyss Watchers and their most common lesson. "Comradery and brotherhood in battle," Grey said, hoping to stand up for the same thing that the Old Wolf of Farron did. Amaterasu smiled, rather pleased with that aspect. "Well then, Okami, let me be the first to welcome you as one of Ionia''s deities," she said spreading her arms. "If anyone bows, I''ll cut their head off," the Abyss Watcher said coldly catching everyone off guard. "Just because I became a God doesn''t mean I want any followers." Ornn snorted while Susano had to put his hand over his mouth to stop his laughter. "Very well, Okami, that is all," Amaterasu said. Grey sighed in relief, glad that this very long day is over with. "Thank you. Can I go change now?" he asked. Time skip: (Brought to you by chibi blood God Grey, swinging his katana around¡­ and ending up cutting the fourth wall in half by accident.) With the meeting over, most champions left to either go back home or to the Institute. Grey, who was back in his usual attire, stayed with Ahri. The Abyss Watcher entered the chambers with Silver on his shoulder and the blood Demon sword strapped to his back with his Farron Great-sword. Inside were just Ahri and Amaterasu, simply waiting for him. The Nine-Tailed Vastayan looked at her lover who walked up beside her. "So, you''re here now," the sun goddess said before looking at Ahri. "Do you really want to know the truth? That story¡­ is a sad one, child." That statement seemed to only make Ahri''s fears rise. However, when she felt Grey''s reassuring arm in her shoulder, she took a deep breath and nodded. "Yes." Seeing nothing but determination in Ahri''s eyes, Amaterasu sighed. "Very well," she agreed as she started explaining. "You''re people were a tribe of Vastaya called the Kumiho. One of the most spiritual tribes of the Vastaya, only rivaled by the Tengu. They would help guide lost souls along with healing their memories and emotions." "Well, where are they now?" Ahri could not stop herself from asking that question. "They aren''t around anymore," Amaterasu shook her head, a regretful look upon her features. "You see, like you, your people started having a hunger for memories. However, unlike you, they did not stop, or see anything wrong with it," Ahri''s face turned to one of shock at hearing what her people did. "They would devour many souls and their memories without remorse, forgetting about helping lost souls and deciding to feast on them instead. That kept on, until¡­" "U-Until what?" the Nine-Tailed Vastayan can hear her own voice cracking up. "... Kindred," Ahri can feel the blood in her veins turn cold as Amaterasu said that name. She can almost hear Wolf''s laughter and Lamb''s humming in the distance. "They didn''t appreciate that many souls being devoured or their memories toyed with and so¡­ they erased all traces of your people." Raising her hand, Amaterasu snapped her fingers. Ahri and Grey saw the scene around them change. They were no longer inside the chamber. They were inside a rather old looking village¡­ that looked like it was in the middle of a war zone. Male, female, and child Vastaya with fox ears and tails were running around in, screaming in fear. It wasn''t long until they saw why. Wolf was moving around the streets, his phantom body leaving a dark trail behind him as he was hunting down Vastaya left and right. Some Vastaya would stop and try to throw magic at him, but their attacks would simply pass through him before he dashed towards them and ripped them apart with his jaws. As for Lamb, she was jumping from rooftop to rooftop, shooting arrows at anyone who either tried to run or simply stood still accepting their fate. A group of Kumiho tried to launch some Fox-fire at the merciful half of Death, but she simply jumped high in the air while firing multiple arrows at them with great accuracy, managing to strike all of them right in the heart. The scene changed again. This time, it revealed two Kumihos, a man and a woman. What was truly surprising is that, in the woman''s arms, was a crying baby covered in cloth. The man and woman were running in the middle of the forest. The sound of screams and people dying from the village could be heard in the distance. Suddenly, the men tripped on a tree root that was coming out of the ground. The woman stopped and knelt down to the man. However, the man simply pulled out something from around his neck, which appeared to be a gemstone, and gave it to the woman. "Go!" The woman looked reluctant before she turned around and started running away. Drops of tears would fall from her face as she ran. After a while, the woman simply couldn''t run anymore and fell on her knees while tightly clutching the baby, making sure that nothing happened to it. The woman was trying to catch her breath when she gasped in horror as she saw a glowing mark on the ground below her feat of two lines going around each other. It was the mark of the Kindred. The woman panicked, she looked around before spotting a tree trunk. Crawling towards it, the woman put the baby in, not caring to see if she could hide as long as the newborn can. The woman pulled out the gemstone that the man gave her before reaching around her neck and pulling out a similar gemstone. Slowly, the woman put those gemstones around the baby''s neck, acting as necklaces. The woman gave a sad and reluctant smile to the baby, one that someone would give when saying goodbye for good. Suddenly, the woman''s arms started glowing before she covered the baby in an orb of magic. When the orb vanished, the baby looked like a newborn fox that was covered in white fur. The woman saw that the mark under her feet got brighter. Realizing she doesn''t have time, she used some fallen leaves to cover the trunk, effectively hiding the baby. Getting up, the woman immediately started running away again in a different direction, hoping to get those who are after her away from the baby. As she ran away, the woman''s form was covered with the darkness of the forest. However, Ahri and Grey didn''t need to see her to know what happened because a splat of blood immediately covered the ground where the woman left to. "That was fun!" Wolf''s voice was heard laughing was heard through the darkness of the forest. "Who''s next?" "Everyone," Lamb replied before the sound of hooves and sadistic chuckling started getting further and further. The scene around them changed again, but this time, they all came back to the Ionian chambers. Ahri looked devastated as tears covered her face. She knew exactly who the man and woman were, and why her gemstones always felt so valuable to her. With shaky hands, the Nine-Tailed Vastayan slowly took out the gemstones that belonged to her parents before they were hunted down. Ahri could not look at the gemstones for long before she fell on her knees and started crying. Grey immediately knelt in front of his lover and put hugged her for support. Amaterasu simply walked back, believing that she should give them this moment of grief. True, she didn''t approve of Kindred committing mass genocide in her nation, but even gods can''t say much against the eternal hunters. Ahri simply returned the hug that Grey was offering her and cried, mourning the truth of her family, of her people. The Abyss Watcher simply let Ahri take her emotions out. Silver jumped from his shoulder and started rubbing his head on Ahri''s leg as a sign of comfort. The Nine-Tailed Vastayan has been afraid of the truth, but she never realized it can be so devastating. One thing for sure, she definitely understood why Amaterasu waited until Grey came back because Ahri definitely needed him right now. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.webnovel.com for visiting. (A/N: Thank you for reading this. First, about Ornn making the weapon. Well, if you''re going to make a weapon for a God, you might as well be a God yourself. Second, about Amaterasu knowing Soraka, I think you all suspected this at one point. Third, about what happened to the Kumiho, as I said in the previous chapter, this is my own idea and is not in the League of Legends lore. As you can see, it doesn''t actually change anything about Ahri''s lore herself. And lastly, some of you might not agree that Kindred would commit mass genocide, but it''s already been shown that they have great animosity to those who tamper with souls, which is why they spend most of their time in the Shadow Isles. That is further proven by the fact that Mordekaiser died twice. That isn''t a coincidence, that''s just Kindred telling him to leave souls alone. But, he didn''t listen. Again, thank you for reading this. Please comment, review, and give me your thoughts on my story.) 61 CH58: Mourning Ahri got off her and Grey''s bed in the Institute. They have gotten back last night, and she honestly didn''t get any sleep at all after finally finding out the truth about her people and what happened to them. Grey tried to comfort her, which somewhat worked by showing her she wasn''t alone. But, she still couldn''t get over the depression she was feeling. Seeing her lover sleeping, Ahri decided to take a bath, hoping it would wake her up slightly from her sleepless night. After finishing and wearing her signature red Kimono, she went to wake up the Abyss Watcher. "Grey, wake up, it''s morning," Ahri''s tone was blank. None of her usual teasing found in her voice. The Lord of Cinder woke up rather easily compared to usual. Ahri guessed that he was worried about her. "Good morning," he greeted as he got off the bed. "Good morning," the Nine-Tailed Vastayan half-heartedly responded before getting off the bed. "I''ll see if Nidalee is awake. Can you check on the schedule when you come out?" she asked, but didn''t wait for a response before getting out. Grey sighed as he saw his lover leave their room. He had seen many people realize that their entire family or home was destroyed, but this was the first time he actually had to comfort one of them. Going through a shower before wearing his clothes, he checked the schedule and narrowed his eyes slightly. He really hoped they were free today for Ahri''s sake, but that wasn''t the case apparently. Meanwhile, Ahri had just woke up Nidalee and was waiting on the couch in the living room. She saw Silver come to her side after he woke up and jump to the couch. Ahri had to admit, it was cute seeing the tiny wolf pup hold on to the edge of the couch before pulling himself on to it. Silver walked to her side and rubbed his head on the side of her leg as a sign of comfort. Ahri gave him a small smile of appreciation before petting his head in gratitude. "Good morning," Nidalee greeted as she came out of her room. "Hey," Ahri simply replied with a wave of her hand. The huntress raised an eyebrow at the way that the Nine-Tailed Vastayan was acting. She saw Grey come out of their room, fully dressed with a second sword on his back. "Well, me and Nidalee have nothing, but¡­ Ahri has a match in a couple of hours," the Abyss Watcher explained causing his lover to sigh. "You know, I can talk to the summoners or maybe Aki can-" "No, it''s okay," Ahri cut him off as she stood up while lifting Silver. "I''ll be fine, so don''t worry," she tried to reassure them, but the depressed look on her face was anything but reassuring. "Let''s just get some breakfast." Nidalee looked at Grey with a questionable look and he simply shook his head, implying that they shouldn''t speak about this now. she decided to listen and they both followed the nine-tailed Vastaya out of the room. They headed to the dining hall and encountered Aki, Brite, and Solas along the way. "Good morning," the summoner greeted. "Hey," Ahri greeted half-heartedly, gaining confused looks. "What''s with the sword, Grey?" Brite asked, noticing the blood Demon sword beside the Farron Great-sword. "Apparently, I''m the new blood God of Ionia," that statement gained looks of bewilderment from those around. "What?" Brite asked, more confused than shocked. "The Ionian gods made me one of them, the God of blood to be exact," Grey explained further. "Are you certain that you made the right choice?" Solas asked. He knew what Godhood was like, and it doesn''t usually end well. "There were too many reasons for me to do it," the Abyss Watcher replied. Along with protecting Ahri, a new God of brotherhood would undoubtedly stop the Ionian people from being divided as Tiara said. "Why would they choose you over someone who praises the sun?" Brite asked as if it was the stupidest decision ever. While Grey was annoyed, he didn''t want to start an argument with Ahri''s current mode, afraid that it would only get worse. "Hey, everyone!" They all saw Neeko coming towards them, running on all four before standing on her two feet as she started slowing down when she reached them. "It''s great to see you again," she greeted just as she stopped in front of them. "Neeko, how are you doing," Nidalee asked, the shape-shifter''s presence seemed to lift the mood a little. Neeko was about to answer when she suddenly stopped. Her gaze turned towards the blood Demon sword on Grey''s back. "W-What is that?" she asked hesitantly. Everyone was surprised by the sudden change of character. Grey decided to test something, so he reached for the handle of his new sword and pulled it slightly, showing a little of the dark blade with the Crimson edge. Neeko took a fearful step back before running to hide behind Nidalee. "Please keep that away from Neeko, it''s scary!" the chameleon asked as she looked over the Huntress'' shoulder. Nidalee was surprised. She had never seen Neeko look so¡­ scared. Meanwhile, Grey finally understood what was going on with Neeko. Vastayashy''rei were shape-shifting spirits, and Ornn told him that the Blood Demon sword kills spirit. So, naturally, Neeko would be instinctively afraid of it. He wondered why it doesn''t do that to Vastaya, but he guessed it was because they were only half spirits. Grey sheathed the sword, causing the glow of the edge to vanish. "I''m sorry about that. I''ll make sure to keep it away from you." Neeko gave a hesitant nod. "It''s okay, just please keep it away," she requested, really not liking how the blade made her feel. "Can we get breakfast, please?" Ahri requested, not really feeling like waiting for the meal. The others simply nodded and finally entered the dining hall. After gathering breakfast, they all sat down at two tables near each other. Grey sat down beside Ahri, with Silver close by. However, they didn''t have peace for long as a loud, demonic screech echoed through the entire hall, drawing everyone''s attention and making them look at the source. The source of the sound seemed to be two individuals. One of them looked like a metal skeleton with a cage for a chest and was covered in cloth, making it look like a Scarecrow. The arms had claws for fingers and it had an extra arm that was made of darkness, and one of the arms was holding a rusty scythe. The head had a single red eye along with razor-sharp teeth. The other figure looked like its body was completely made of pitch-black shadows. It had a humanoid torso, but it didn''t have legs and was floating in the air. It had gauntlets made of red metal with extending blades that were currently out in the open and some shoulder armor. The head didn''t have a mouth, but there were two white slits where the eyes are supposed to be. Both of the figures were being held back by summoners, all of whom were behind them using chains made of magic to pull the two away from each other. It was mostly working, but the summoners were obviously struggling. "What''s going on?" Brite asked raising an eyebrow. "Didn''t I see that scarecrow before?" Nidalee noted, recognizing it from her first match. "Oh, Uhmm," everyone turned their sights to Aki as they heard her speak. "Those two are Fiddlesticks and Nocturne," she said pointing at the Scarecrow and the shadow respectively. "You see, Fiddlesticks is the Demon of fear, and Nocturne is the Demon of nightmares. They basically feed off the same thing. This isn''t the first time this happened. They probably had problems with who gets to feed in a certain territory," she explained to them. "Back off, you pile of scrap metal!" Nocturne yelled in a phantom voice that seemed to echo in the area. "I''ve already started haunting these people''s dreams!" he attempted to attack the other Demon with the blades on his arms. "Fi~ddle~sticks, end of men. Fi~ddle~sticks, first of ten!" Fiddlesticks replied with a deep, demonic voice that echoed just like Nocturne''s. Most were confused by what he said, but the other Demon understood that he was saying, ''I was here first''. "Isn''t Kayle supposed to be stopping this?" Ahri asked, getting annoyed of the constant yelling. "Kayle isn''t currently in the Institute," the others gave Aki questionable looks, so she continued. "Apparently, there some kind of rebellion in Demacia, and Kayle was sent there to calm things down as a representative of the Institute." "A rebellion?" Brite asked getting concerned. "Are Lux and Garen alright?" he asked, knowing that those two were probably there fighting. "They''re fine, from what I was told. But, Lux seems to be in trouble with her family for some reason," Aki explained what she was told as a summoner and as¡­ someone else. "What about Sona?" Grey asked, not wanting the Maven to be hurt. Before Aki can reply, someone tapped Grey''s shoulder and he looked to see the very person he just asked about. [I''m fine, Grey. Thank you for asking,] Sona signed as she sat at the other side of the Abyss Watcher. [Most of my concerts were canceled, so my mother told me to stay in the Institute for now since it''s safe.] "I''m glad to see you''re alright," the Lord of Cinder said, earning a smile of gratitude from the mute girl. Their attention turned back to the demons when Nocturne suddenly created a magical field around himself that broke the summoners'' chains and knocked them back. "I''ve had enough of you, Fiddlesticks!" Fiddlesticks roared at the ceiling, unleashing red aura that covered the summoners who were holding him. Each of them gained looks of terror, dropped the chains they were holding Fiddlesticks with, and ran away screaming for their lives. "Reap and sow. REAP AND SOW!" the fear Demon yelled readying his scythe. "Do you two have to be so noisy?" Evelynn asked as she walked towards the two putting a finger on her chin. "I''m all for seeing you two rip each other apart, but can you be less¡­ annoying?" "Don''t test me, Evelynn!" Nocturne threatened, turning his glare to her. "On the contrary, good sit," a rather well-mannered voice said with an accent said. "Our good agony Demon was just telling you to take your scuffle in a place that we don''t eat in." The owner of the voice was an obese amphibian looking humanoid creature. It had green skin and two tentacles on its face working as a mustache. Its mouth was wide and filled with nothing but sharp fangs. It was wearing a black jacket over a dark shirt and a pair of rugged jeans. It was also wearing a few pieces of jewelry, even a ring on one of the tentacles on its face. "Tahm¡­ Kench," Fiddlesticks groaned out, introducing the Demon. "Now, this is quite the fine gathering we have here," Kench started sounding rather polite. "But, as much as I like to see my fellow demons kill each other, I''d really like it to be somewhere far from where I eat," he added, his voice taking a dangerous tone. Ahri''s ears flattened on her head and she covered them with her arms. "Can someone shut them up?" she practically begged. Grey, seeing his lover''s discomfort, and remembering that she was already in a bad mood, decided that he should fill in for Kayle. So, he stood up from his seat and started walking towards the four demons. "Why don''t you try and make us, Kench?" Nocturne challenged, sharpening his blades on each other. The River king raised his hands in a seemingly peaceful manner. "Now, I''m not one to go for violence. Just kill each other¡­ and I''d be more than happy to take care of the loser''s belongings." Evelynn immediately glared at Tahm Kench. "Look, I like your style, Kench, but stay out of my territory," she threatened, her lashers glowing and pointing at the obese Demon. "You really think you''re one to talk, Evelynn?" Nocturne taunted narrowing his eyes at her. "Between us, you are the weakest." The Demon of agony immediately raised her hand and let out her claws. "Want to test that theory?" she asked. She might be the youngest one between these four demons, but she didn''t believe she was the weakest for a second. Nocturne readied his blades, Fiddlesticks raised his scythe, and Tahm Kench started running his tongue across his lips, most likely thinking of eating the first one of the three others to lose. However, before any of them moved, a slash made of red energy struck the ground in the middle of their gathering, causing them all to jump back slightly and look at who stopped them. Grey was standing near them, holding the Blood Demon sword as the blade was pointing at the ground between them, implying that it was the cause for the attack. While the demons were taken back by what happened, their attention was on the sword itself, not the wielder. The first one to break the silence was Fiddlesticks. "Blood¡­ Demon," he groaned out. "You killed it?" Nocturne asked, though everyone can tell it was rhetorical. "Awe, I liked that thing," Evelynn complained crossing her arms. Though, everyone can tell there was no sadness in her voice. "Now, I know mortals in Runeterra have no idea how to make weapons from souls," Tahm Kench commented before narrowing his eyes. "Which means¡­ Ornn made that for you." "I''ll give you one chance to step back before I force you to," Grey threatened, glaring at them. "Just because you defeated one Demon, you think you can beat more?" Nocturne questioned, glaring back. "Hopefully, he doesn''t have to," a new voice spoke up. Looking at the owner, Grey saw what can only be described as an exact, opposite copy of Kayle standing beside him. The woman had wings, but they were dark purple. She had chin-length, somewhat spiky hair, which was styled like Kayle, only in the other direction. She had pale, purple-ish skin with glowing purple eyes and dark lipstick. She was wearing a strapless dark purple dress with some fur on the chest area and a slit on the side of her leg for movement. "Normally, I wouldn''t really care if you demons hunt each other to extinction. But, I really don''t want my morning to be ruined by you, especially without Kayle around. So, settle down, or I''ll make you," the woman said with her hands on her hips. "You can try!" Evelynn said as she pointed her lashers on the woman. Fiddlesticks and Nocturne looked like they were ready to attack as well. As for Tahm Kench, he just smirked at the other demons before taking a few steps back. The woman didn''t look intimidated. She simply raised her hands in the air and brought them down. Suddenly, all three demons who were ready to attack were wrapped up with black chains covered in purple energy. "So, did you calm down yet?" the woman asked, smirking at the chained demons. "I''ll haunt your nightmares, fallen!" Nocturne threatened as he struggled against his restraints. "Sister¡­ please, help me," Fiddlesticks groaned. However, much to Grey''s confusion, it was Kayle''s voice that came out. What the fear Demon did seemed to have only angered the woman. She raised her hand and brought it down again, causing the ground around the demons to turn dark, which caused them to start groaning in pain. "Nice try, Fiddlesticks. But, you can''t break what''s already broken," the woman sneered. "I''ll say this one last time; settle down, now!" The three restrained demons struggled one last time before they simply stopped. They all glared at the woman but still nodded one by one. "Good," the woman raised her hand again and the chains vanished. "Now, off you go," her tone was that of an adult scolding a child. The three demons spared one last glance at the woman before walking away, each in their own direction. Tahm Kench, who was standing back this whole time, laughed before walking away himself. Apparently, he expected this to happen, which is why he stepped back. "The Institute should make a dungeon for these freaks," the woman sighed while shaking her head. Grey sheathed the Blood Demon sword and looked at the woman. "You''re Kayle''s sister, I presume?" he asked, remembering the Righteous mentioning a sibling. The woman raised an eyebrow. "Oh, Kayle actually bothered to tell you about me?" she seemed skeptical about that statement. "She only mentioned you, but never spoke about you in person," Grey replied. The woman rolled her eyes. "Figured as much," she mumbled before putting her hands on her waist. "As for your question, yes, I am. I''m Morgana, the Fallen Angel," she introduced herself before tapping her chin with one of her fingers. "And you''re¡­ Grey? or is it the Abyss Watcher?" "You know who I am?" the Lord of Cinder asked confused. "Rumors spread quickly, especially about someone who is from another world. Plus, Kayle has also mentioned you a few times," Morgana replied. She might not speak to her sister as much as she used to, but they still spoke whenever they could. "Well, I''ll be leaving then," she said before turning around and walking away. Grey noticed that she held herself high when she walked. He can tell it wasn''t arrogance. It was as if Morgana was proud of her ability to walk in the first place. The Abyss Watcher simply shrugged his shoulders before going back to the table where he used to be. "Thank you," Ahri said in gratitude, knowing that Grey interfered for her sake. "Don''t worry, but are you still sure about that match?" Grey asked, concerned that Ahri might not be ready. "Yes, don''t worry about it," Ahri replied. Ahri felt something on her leg and found Silver rubbing his head on her. The Nine-Tailed Vastayan smiled warmly and bent down to scratch the wolf pup on his head. When Ahri straightened her back, her body began to glow. "Looks like it''s time," she sighed before giving her lover the most reassuring smile she can muster. "Wish me luck." Ahri vanished in a flash of light, causing Grey to sigh. "Okay, what''s wrong with Ahri?" Nidalee asked, noticing the very different attitude. "She¡­ heard some bad news, on our last visit to Ionia," Grey summarized. He couldn''t exactly tell them about what he and Ahri learned since it was her business. True, she did tell some people about his origin, but she had his permission at the time. "Hey, where''s Tiara?" Solas asked, noticing the absence of the Dancer. "Knowing her, she''s either trying to get drunk at the bar or still sleeping," Grey replied, very used to his sister''s behavior. Inside the Match: Ahri has appeared in the summoners rift. She didn''t really bother meeting her other teammates. But, she did see that Wukong was with her. He was probably trying to talk to her, but she wasn''t in the mood. The Nine-Tailed Vastayan was currently in the middle lane. She was shooting down minions for now, since she still didn''t see the enemy champion. The enemy champion finally appeared, who turned out to be Syndra. The Dark sovereign threw one of her orbs of magic at the fox Vastaya, who immediately jumped out of the way. Using some Foxfire, Ahri attacked the enemy champion. To her surprise, Syndra caught one of her team''s minions with her magic and used it as a shield, making the foxfire destroy it. Now, Ahri might not know what the minions were exactly, or even if they were sentient. But, she definitely knew that what Syndra did was still cruel. Syndra apparently didn''t seem to care as she grabbed another minion with her magic and threw it at Ahri, who flipped backward to avoid getting hit. Ahri blew a kiss at Syndra, using her charm spell, which struck the Ionian sorceress. The spell did its work as Syndra started harmlessly floating towards Ahri, and right into the firing range of the turret. The turret started attacking Syndra, who woke up from the spell after the first strike of the turret. She immediately tried to move back, but the not before the turret shot at her again. Syndra immediately pulled one of the close minions to use as a shield against the turret''s attack. While it did stop it, it didn''t manage to stop Ahri''s Orb of Deception that simply passes through the minion and Syndra herself before coming back, dealing additional damage and killing Syndra in the process. Ahri grabbed her Orb of Deception as it came back. Even taking life essence in the rift didn''t seem to cheer her up. "Champion, the jungler needs help. I''m taking you to him," her summoner said inside her head. Ahri simply nodded and let her summoner guide her out of her lane into the jungle. Moving through the trees and passing the beasts that paid her no mind, Ahri finally came across what seems to be the problem. Limping across the river, Wukong came out of the enemy side of the jungle and was currently holding his side, wounded. "Oh, Ahri! Thanks for coming to my rescue!" even with his wounds, the Monkey king kept his cheerful attitude. "Wukong, what happened to you?" Ahri asked as she began making her way across the river and onto her teammate. "It was-" Wukong didn''t finish his answer as an arrow made of blue energy pierced his back and came out of his chest. When Ahri saw who just killed the trickster she gasped before her expression turned to pure rage. "YOU!" Standing on the other side of the river was Lamb, floating beside her was Wolf. Kindred both glanced at Ahri before turning around and going back to her team''s side of the jungle. Ahri immediately went to follow them, but her body suddenly stopped halfway through. "You can''t go there. That''s their team''s jungle, if you go there alone you would-" "No! I have to get them now!" Ahri cut off her summoner, and their surprise was enough to free Ahri and let her run towards the jungle. Looking for any trails, Ahri heard Wolf''s chuckling beyond a few bushes. She walked through them and began looking around for any sign of the Eternal Hunters. Normally, it would be nothing short of madness to actually look for Kindred. However, Ahri knew that champions like them have their powers greatly limited inside matches. If Ahri was ever going to get a chance to actually go toe to toe with them, it would be now. Ahri''s ears twitched as she heard something, making her jump to the side to avoid Wolf biting her head off. However, that was apparently a distraction as one of Lamb''s arrows struck one of Ahri''s legs, causing her to fall on one knee. Wolf laughed at Ahri''s state. "How stupid are you? Didn''t your summoner know better than to move into enemy territory?" he mocked as Lamb walked beside him. The Nine-Tailed Vastayan simply pulled the arrow from her leg and glared at the manifestation of Death. "How¡­ how could you? All those people? Men, women, and children. How could you!?" she yelled out. Wolf seemed to tilt his head. "What is it talking about, little Lamb?" "I believe it is speaking about the Kumiho extinction," Lamb replied. The cruel half of Death laughed loudly. "Yes, now I remember. That was a fun hunt!" At this point, Ahri was seeing red. These two hunted her people and family down. Wolf was speaking of it like it was a game, and Lamb didn''t even seem to care in the slightest. The Nine-Tailed Vastayan ignored the pain in her leg and stood up again. Creating a large ball of Fox-fire between her hands, she hurled it at Kindred. The Eternal Hunters split apart into two sides, avoiding the ball of flames. Lamb flipped in the air, sending several arrows at Ahri''s direction. Ahri had to use her spirit rush to dodge and was about to throw another attack at the merciful half of Death, only for Wolf to jump at her from the side, bite her left arm, and rip it off. Ahri screamed in pain as blood started falling from where her arm used to be. However, she still attempted to attack Wolf by creating an Orb of Deception in her remaining arm and throwing it at him. Wolf simply evaded the attack, his phantom body easily moving out of the way. Before the orb can even come back to Ahri, two arrows from Lamb struck her, one in the shoulder and one on the thigh of her uninjured leg, causing her to fall on her back. Ahri simply laid still. Unable to move from the various injuries across her body. All she can do is listen to Lamb''s hooves come closer and closer, until she saw both halves of death above her, one at each side. Just as Lamb pulled another arrow to finish her, Ahri spoke. "Why?" Kindred seemed confused as tears started falling from Ahri''s eyes and down the side of her head. "Why didn''t you take me with them?" Ahri wasn''t stupid. Despite her childish attitude sometimes, she was very smart. She knew for a fact that her parents could have never hidden her from Kindred no matter what. Once the Eternal Hunters start a hunt, they always find their mark. Those who run only end up finding them faster. This means that Ahri lived that day because Kindred let her live, nothing else. "Simply put, it wasn''t your time yet," Wolf replied. "The Kumiho made a mistake, which caused their time to come faster than it should have," Lamb explained, still holding her arrow. "However, you were just born and didn''t make the mistake they did. Your life didn''t even begin for it to end," Wolf continued. "We would have came for you, should you have made the same mistake as your people. But, there was one factor we didn''t account for," Lamb said before pulling the string of her bow. Thinking back on what even Kindred couldn''t predict, Ahri came with one conclusion. "... Grey," that was the last thing Ahri said before Lamb''s arrow struck her chest. After a few seconds, Ahri respawned on the summoners platform, looking even more gloomy than before. Her body started moving towards the middle lane, probably being guided by the summoner. The Nine-Tailed Vastayan simply went along with it, not even bothering to focus on this point. Time skip: (Brought to you by chibi Lamb shooting an apple from chibi Wolf''s head.) The rest of the Match went quickly for Ahri. She didn''t encounter Kindred after the first time. She just stayed in the middle lane. Her team won when their top lane managed to break into their base and destroy their Nexus. When Ahri was pulled out of the rift, she immediately left without waiting for anything. She found Grey waiting for her outside the summoning chambers. Ahri knew that he probably saw her meeting with Kindred, and was concerned for her. "Are you alright?" he asked, confirming her thoughts. "Yes, thank you for worrying," Ahri replied, looking down. "Can you¡­ leave me alone? I need some time," she requested. The Abyss Watcher wanted to say something, but decided not to and nodded his head. The Nine-Tailed Vastayan simply turned around and walked away. Grey simply went back to the dining hall where everyone was waiting. "Where''s Ahri?" Nidalee asked. "She needed some time alone," Grey replied, taking his seat again. "I think I should go talk to her," Aki said standing up. She was seriously worried about what could be her best friend. Surprisingly, Sona stood up as well. [I''ll go as well. I have something I want to talk to her about,] she signed to the Abyss Watcher. The Lord of Cinder was somewhat concerned, but he also knew that being alone is the last thing Ahri needs. "Alright, please take care," he said. Both girls nodded and started walking out of the dining hall and started looking for Ahri. After asking a few summoners, they were told that Ahri was seen going into the garden. After walking inside, they saw Zyra tapping her foot with an impatient look on her face. "Are you here for the fox?" she asked and they nodded. "Then please get her out of here. She just came in and walked into the middle without saying a word." They both can understand that Ahri angered Zyra by not asking for permission to be here. They walked deeper into the garden and found the Nine-Tailed Vastayan sitting near a bond of water. "Ahri, are you okay?" Aki asked. The Fox Vastayan looked at her. "Oh, you two. Yes?¡­ no? I don''t even know anymore," she replied with obvious conflict. "Look, I just want some alone time. Can you leave?" Aki simply looked more worried while Sona rolled her eyes. The mute girl took out her board and wrote something before showing it to Aki. The Shy summoner read what was written before looking back at the Maven. "Are you sure?" Sona nodded at that question. "Alright, stand still for a second." Aki held up her hand and created her summoner''s orb. She casted a spell that made Sona''s head glow for a second before returning to normal. Ahri noticed what they were doing but simply ignored it and kept looking at the water. That is until a beautiful voice spoke in her head. "Can you hear me?" The Nine-Tailed Vastayan immediately started looking around for the source of the voice, before spotting Sona waving her hand. "It''s me, over here." "Sona?" Ahri was honestly stunned. "How are you-" "This is a telepathy spell. It''s how I communicate with the summoners during matches," Sona''s voice replied inside her head. Ahri had to admit, Sona''s voice was heavenly. It was truly a curse that she couldn''t speak with such a voice. It was also weird to talk to someone who wasn''t even moving their lips, but that wasn''t the weirdest thing she had ever seen. "So, do you want to tell us why you''ve been acting like you''re at a funeral all day?" Sona asked crossing her arms. "Don''t pretend you care," Ahri said standing up from her position and facing the mute girl. Sona rolled her eyes again. "I DON''T care. Not even a little. But, your mode is effecting Grey, otherwise, I wouldn''t bother being here," the Maven gave Ahri a hard stare. "So, grow up, and tell us what''s wrong with you." The Nine-Tailed Vastayan glared at the Maven. "Fine, you want to know what happened? Very well," Ahri then started telling them about the trip to Ionia, about finally learning about her people and what happened to them. Sona simply kept a passive look throughout the story, while Aki''s look turned to one of sympathy. "Oh, Ahri¡­ I''m¡­ I''m so sorry," the shy summoner apologized. "You don''t have anything to apologize for," Ahri replied to her friend. "That''s it?" Ahri immediately glared at Sona while Aki looked shocked at what she said. "So, your people messed up, they paid for it, and your moping because Kindred did their job?" Ahri was heavily resisting the urge to strangle Sona right then and there. "You do realize that Grey has been doing his best to help you, and you''re turning him away for such a stupid reason?" "Don''t talk to me like you understand," Ahri threatened, her eyes glowing with magic. "And what about Grey?" Sona asked, much to Ahri''s confusion. "Don''t you dare tell me he doesn''t know how to feel like to lose everyone he cared about." "THAT''S EXACTLY WHY I''M AVOIDING HIM!" the Nine-Tailed Vastayan yelled out. "Grey already had enough tragedy in his life. I don''t want to burden HIM with MY problems!" "Then you''re truly an idiot," the Maven replied, causing the other two girls to look confused. "Right now, you ignoring Grey is far worse than anything else you could do to him. You said it yourself, Grey experienced enough tragedy. Being with you truly brings Grey happiness, but you''re slowly taking that away. So, if you really care about Grey, then talk to him about it, because helping you is the only thing he wants right now." Ahri let that sink in as she lowered her gaze to the ground. She was thinking that she was actually helping Grey by keeping some distance, but it seemed to only make things worse. However, one thing confused the fox Vastaya. "Why are you telling me this?" she asked, not seeing a reason for the Maven to help her. Sona looked at her before looking up at the sky. "Do you know how it feels like to be alone in the dark, but have no ability to actually call for help?" she asked all of sudden. "It hurts, and it''s lonely. Honestly, I never met someone who can relate to how I feel. To be so lonely, yet never have the ability to call for someone, for anyone to help. Until I met Grey. For the first time, I actually met someone who knows how it feels like to be left alone in the dark without anyone to call for. But we''re also different. I don''t call for anyone because I can''t. Grey doesn''t call for anyone because he''s afraid to drag someone else into the darkness with him. He''s just that selfless," Ahri thought that what the Maven said was actually a good description of her lover. "Let me make myself clear, Ahri. I want Grey to be happy, which is why the minute- no, the very second you mess up, I will be there to take him from you, so watch out," with that, Sona turned and started walking away. The Nine-Tailed Vastayan couldn''t help but look at the mute girl in a new light. She had always thought that Sona simply didn''t care for anyone else but herself. But, that was apparently not true. "Aki," the shy summoner tensed hearing Ahri call out her name. "Thank you." Aki was relieved to see an actual smile on Ahri''s face again. "Oh, it''s alright, I was just worried about you." "Can you tell Grey that I''ll be in our room. I want to try something," the shy summoner nodded and they both started walking out of the garden. After a quick apology to Zyra for intruding, the Nine-Tailed Vastayan headed towards their shared room. Once inside, she went to the kitchen and opened the fridge which was full of ingredients. "Alright, this shouldn''t be hard," Ahri said as she grabbed a few things from the fridge. Time skip: (Brought to you by chibi Sona playing on the stage and chibi champions cheering for her.) Grey was coming back to his an Ahri''s room at sunset. Nidalee would have been with him, but Neeko took her to show the Huntress her new room. Opening the door, Grey was immediately concerned over the smell of something burning, only to be greeted with a sight he definitely wasn''t expecting. Ahri was standing in front of him, holding a tray that had a few cookies that were burned. She had some flower on her right cheek and a sheepish smile on her face. "I¡­ tried to make you something," Ahri said holding up the tray. "But, apparently, I don''t really know how to cook, at all." She was mostly going on the memories she had stolen. But, cooking was for more complex than it appeared to be. She supposed that it could have gone worse. Grey just blinked a few times before smiling and walking up to her. Much to Ahri''s surprise, he took one of the cookies and ate it. "Trust me, I''ve had much worse than a few burnt cookies." Ahri couldn''t stop herself from laughing. "I don''t want to know," she commented, not desiring to know what he ate that could be worse than the burnt cookies. In all honesty, Ahri presented them in the hopes that they would share a laugh at her failed attempt. But, she guessed that she should have known better than to think that Grey would laugh at someone''s attempt at doing something, failure or otherwise¡­ well, maybe he''d laugh at Brite, but she can never know when those two are together. They both sat down on the couch, the tray of burnt cookies on the table in front of them along with Grey''s hat. They gave one to Silver, which he ate without a problem. "I''m sorry," Ahri suddenly said making him look at her. "I know you''ve been trying to help me handle what happened to the Kumiho¡­ and I''ve been just pushing you away. I thought I was making sure you don''t get caught in my bad mood, but I was doing the opposite. So, I''m sorry," she apologized again before looking at him with wet eyes. "Can you forgive me?" Grey simply shook his head. "Ahri, everyone handles loss in their own way. I almost lost my sanity because of what happened to the Abyss Watchers. I didn''t expect you to be completely fine. I''m just glad you''re taking this better than I did." The Nine-Tailed Vastayan gave her lover a grateful smile before kissing him. She ignored the taste of burnt cookies and simply enjoyed the moment before pulling back and looking at his blue eyes. "Thank you." The Lord of Cinder simply smiled back before looking at the TV. "Now, why don''t you show me why these ''video games'' are so fun for you? maybe I can enjoy it?" he requested. Ahri immediately smiled "Are you sure. It can be quite hard for new players," she said teasingly. "It can''t possibly be that hard," Grey replied before grabbing one of Ahri''s controllers. "Now, how do I¡­ start this?" Ahri chuckled. "Well, first, you got to turn it on¡­ and also make sure you''re not holding the controller upside down like you''re doing right now." (A/N: Thank you for reading this. First, about the demons'' appearance. I wanted to give them a chance to show up. Raum didn''t because he''s inside Swain, and he has no reason to. Plus, it was a good chance to introduce Morgana. Second, about the conversation between Ahri and Kindred. I''m surprised no one pointed this out. I was already planning to explain that Kindred spared Ahri, not missed her, but didn''t get the chance until now. Third, about what Sona said to Ahri about relating to Grey. I didn''t realize it until now, but Grey''s background is just as matching for Sona as it is to Ahri. I''m not planning to make this a Harem Fic, but if I was to ship Grey with someone other than Ahri, it would be Sona. Again, thank you for reading this. Please comment, review, and give me your thoughts on my story.) 62 Special Chapter 2 The sun rises on Valoran city. Today was the day of the Symphony Souls concert, which brought even more people to the city alongside the presence of the K/DA group. Speaking of the famous idol group, inside their home, three of their members were sitting together in the living room. Kai''sa - who was wearing a white shirt and some plain jeans - was watching TV, Evelynn - who was wearing a sleeveless black shirt and skirt - was on her phone, and Akali - who was wearing a blue shirt with a dragon drawing on it and some baggy pants - was eating a cup of instant spicy ramen. "Alright, girls," their attention was drawn to Ahri, who came down the stairs wearing a white shirt under a yellow jacket and a light blue skirt. "I''m going out, so see you later," she informed them as she held her purse. "Wait, where are you going?" Kai''sa asked confused. The Symphony Souls'' concert wasn''t until tonight, and it was still noon. "I''m going to visit Grey," their leader answered as she checked herself on a mirror near the front door. "I just want to make sure he''s doing okay before a big concert." The other members understood that. Despite seeming confident, none of them can deny that they get a little nervous and uncertain during the days where they had such a big task with them. It was one of the cons of being so famous. "Can we go with you?" Evelynn suddenly requested, surprising the others. "I have nothing better to do, and all the media is talking about the concert today, so I might as well see Grey''s home for once." Ahri gave a strained smile. "I really don''t¡­ know," she replied hesitantly. Suddenly, Evelynn gained her usual teasing smile. "Oh, I get it," Ahri didn''t like her tone for a second. "You want to give him some¡­ ''stress relief'', don''t you?" "What! No!" Ahri yelled, her cheeks glowing red. "Then there shouldn''t be a problem with us joining, right?" Evelynn asked, a smug smile on her lips. The Nine-Tailed Vastaya glared at the demoness. She couldn''t really say no since she would give the Diva even more teasing material while also proving that she might be telling the truth. While Ahri did want to spend some quality time with Grey, it wasn''t anything like Evelynn suggested. "Fine," Ahri gave in as she kept glaring at her bandmate. "Hey, can we come, too?" Kai''sa suddenly asked, much to Ahri''s annoyance. "Yeah, Eve''s right, we have nothing to do until the concert," Akali commented as she finished her ramen. Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, Ahri sighed. "Fine, let''s go," she said, giving up on the idea of going alone. "I''m driving," Evelynn called out as she got up from the couch and went to her room to get one of her many car keys. The other three members rolled their eyes. It was pretty normal for Evelynn to take every chance to show off her cars. "Just make sure you don''t break ALL the speed limits this time!" Ahri called out, remembering the last time Evelynn drove them somewhere. ¡­ After a short ride, courtesy of Evelynn''s (rather reckless) driving, the K/DA group found themselves in front of the humble home of the Ashnex family. Evelynn, Kai''sa, and Akali were pretty surprised by the rather plain-looking house. It was pretty normal, and you wouldn''t figure out that a family of Rockstars live here. "Are you sure this is the place?" Evelynn asked she took off her glasses that she put on when she started driving. This place looked homey, but it wasn''t like their home. "Yes, it is," Ahri replied as she got out of the car. "Grey isn''t really the type of guy to buy expensive stuff that he doesn''t actually need, and his sister just roles with what he chooses to do with their home because she trusts his decisions," she explained. The other members of K/DA knew that she was most likely talking about Tiara, Grey''s sister, and the drummer of the Symphony Souls group. They walked through the path on the front lawn before they heard a girly scream. They looked at the source and saw a teenage girl from the front yard of the neighbors looking at them in shock. The girl immediately ran inside her home while yelling, "Mom! You won''t believe who''s visiting our neighbors'' house!" at the top of her lungs. The idols simply shrugged their shoulders, already used to this kind of reaction whenever they were out, so they simply kept heading towards The front door of the Ashnex family. After getting, their leader rang the doorbell and it only took a few seconds before the door opened to reveal Tiara, wearing some shorts and a plain shirt. She looked at them¡­ and smacked the door on their face. Akali, Evelynn, and Kai''sa were caught off guard by what just happened, while Ahri just rolled her eyes. She raised her fist and banged on the door a few times before it was opened again by the same person. "Oh, it''s you? I just thought that some kids left trash on our doorstep," Tiara said, uncaring by the glare she received. "Ha, ha, very funny," Ahri replied sarcastically, unamused by the drummer''s sense of humor. "Can we come in now?" Tiara sighed. "Fine, get in," she said letting them inside. The members of the K/DA group entered the house. It was quite the comfortable looking place. The living room - which is where Tiara went to sit on the couch - was spacious, with a large couch, a coffee table, and a large TV. The walls were dark blue and the carpet was a lighter shade of blue. The couch itself was black in color. "So, what are you doing here, you dumb fox?" Tiara asked as she grabbed the remote and activated the TV. The three other members obviously didn''t appreciate the insult to their leader, but Ahri seemed to not care. "I''m here to see Grey, where is he?" she asked. "He went out to get groceries, so he should be back any minute now," Tiara replied with a bored tone. "So, just sit down and do whatever foxes do when they wait." "Hey, stop being racist!" Kai''sa exclaimed, fed up with the insults for her leader, which is something shared by the other two members if their glares are any indication. However, the blue-haired woman just looked confused. "Racist?" Ahri sighed. "Girls, calm down. She''s not being racist. She just doesn''t like me," she cleared up, seeing the misunderstanding. "Oh, so she''s just being a b*tch," Evelynn summed up in her own words. "Says the Diva wh*re with more ex-boyfriends than fans," Tiara retorted smirking at Evelynn. The demoness looked at Tiara before turning her sight towards the rest of her group. "I like her," she admitted with a smirk. The other members rolled their eyes, expecting such a thing from the Diva. They heard barking and saw Silver running towards them from another room. The wolf pup made it to Ahri, who picked him up. "How have you been, Silver?" the fox Vastaya asked, receiving a bark and a wagging tail. "Oh, hey there, little guy," Kai''sa greeted as she came forward and started scratching behind his ears. "Do you wanna hold him?" Ahri questioned, knowing that their Dancer loved cute animals. Kai''sa looked surprised. "Can I?" she asked, uncertain if it was okay. She got her response when Ahri offered her Silver, who she picked up. "Awe, you''re just adorable," she said hugging him closer as he rubbed his head on her cheek. Their attention was drawn to the front door as it opened again. "Hey, Tiara, I''m back," Grey called out while holding a few bags. He then noticed the guests in his home. "Oh, Ahri, you''re here," he noted as the fox Vastaya immediately came in to give him a hug, which he returned the best he could. "I''m guessing the car outside is Evelynn''s?" he asked. He didn''t remember all of Evelynn''s cars since she kept many of them. "Yeah, and don''t worry, we didn''t bring any cops here," Ahri said as she let go of him, causing him to sigh in relief. He didn''t want the entire police station to come to his home because they were chasing the Diva for her reckless(in his opinion, crazy) driving. "Your concert is today, so I just came to check on you before we go there," the lead singer of the K/DA explained their reason for being here. "Well, you''re always welcomed at my home," Grey replied, much to Ahri''s joy. "Just go to your room and f*ck already," Tiara said smirking at her now blushing brother and Ahri who had the same reaction. "Tiara, we have guests!" Grey scolded his sister. "Oh, we don''t mind," Evelynn decided to join in on the teasing. "Just make sure to clean up. You have a concert after all." "Eve!" Ahri scolded but just received a smirk. "I''m going to the kitchen to prepare something," Grey said, wanting to get out of the awkward(at least to him) atmosphere that his sister and Evelynn created. After a few moments, they were all seated in the garden at the back except Tiara. They were sitting on a rectangle wooden table that was both wide and long. Evelynn, Kai''sa, and Akali were all amazed at the garden and the roses covering it. Akali then noticed something. "So, where''s the rest of your band?" she asked noticing that she saw no sign of the other two remaining members. "They''re at their home," Grey replied. "We don''t all live together. Solas lives with his family, and Brite has an apartment close by. We hang around together most of the time, but we don''t live under the same roof," he explained. "Why don''t you just buy a house big enough for all of you?" Kai''sa asked, believing that it was the reason. She doubted that they couldn''t afford it, seeing how popular their band is. Grey shrugged his shoulders. "Well, why would we? We don''t actually need to. Plus, if we are all in the same place, that just means that more people are going to be at our doorstep," he explained. He was basically telling them that his group liked their current lives, and would only change it if necessary. "Well, when are you leaving for the concert?" Akali asked. "An hour or two, we need to be there pretty early to get ready and all that," the lead singer of the Symphony Souls replied. They pretty much had to so the same thing during their own concerts, so they didn''t really question it. "Well, don''t you have anything else to offer than tea and biscuits?" Evelynn asked looking at the treats Grey brought. "Eve," Ahri said in a threatening tone. They might be close friends with the Ashnex, but that''s no reason to be a rude guest. "Just asking," Evelynn replied innocently. Ahri then smirked. She poured a cup of tea and offered it to the Diva. "You never tried Grey''s tea, did you?" she asked. The demoness rolled her eyes. "It''s just tea," she commented before grabbing the cup and taking a sip. Her eyes suddenly widen. "Holy f*ck, this is amazing!" she exclaimed before she started chugging down the warm beverage. "Eve, you''ll burn your tongue!" Akali warned as she tried to stop her bandmate, only for her to start slapping her hand away every time she tried. After she was done, Evelynn moved the cup away from her lips while taking deep breaths. "That wath amathing(that was amazing)," she complimented with a burned tongue. "I told you," Akali and Ahri both said at the same time. The Diva rolled her eyes. "Oh, pleathe, jutht look,(oh, please, just look)," she said taking her tongue out and showing it to others. They all saw that her tongue was beginning to be covered in shadows, implying that it started healing because of her demonic nature. Kai''sa, curious if the tea was as good as her two older bandmates made it out to be, poured herself a cup and took a sip. "Wow, this IS pretty amazing," she exclaimed tasting the beverage. "I try my best," Grey replied bashfully as they started drinking tea while chatting. Time skip: (Brought to you by chibi K/DA Ahri and chibi Symphony Souls Grey singing together on the stage.) It had been nearly two hours and the Symphony Souls group now had to go to the stage to prepare. Evelynn offered to drive Grey and Tiara to the stage, but they both declined, saying that Solas was going to pick them up. Solas showed up driving a large Humvee with the crest of the Symphony Souls group on the side. It was two ''S''s with a burning circle between them. He already had Brite with him, so the two Ashnex siblings just got in his car and they drove towards the stadium with the K/DA group following behind. They all reached their destination, a large circle stadium with a dome-like top, and packed at the back. They already got a glimpse of the many people gathering to see the concert. When they got there, they went through security - who were surprised at seeing the K/DA group alongside them - and entered the backstage. "Well, I have a good feeling about today!" Brite said in his usual cheerful tone. Both groups were now wearing their stage clothes, which was understandable for the Symphony Souls group, but not much for K/DA. When Grey asked, they just replied by saying that they want to look professional. "I just hope everything goes well," Solas commented as he was testing the strings of his guitar. "From what we were told, this might be our biggest concert yet, so whether we do good or not will affect we get or lose fans," he explained. "We should be fine," Tiara dismissed their worries. "After all, it''s not them playing, so we should be amazing," she commented pointing at K/DA. "Tiara," Grey scolded his sister while checking his mic and the speaker on his sword. "Uhmm, Sir," a worker came in. "There are guests here, they say that you invited them," he said. "Oh, that must be Sona and her group," Grey realized, reminding the idol group that K/DA was coming over. "Sure, let them in," he said and the worker nodded before walking back. The K/DA group couldn''t help but feel a little nervous. They were the most popular pop group, but none of them would deny that they were inspired by the Pentakill band, which was a legend in the music world. The group came in through the door. Mordekaiser, Karthus, Olaf, Sona, Kayle, and Yorick, all wearing their signature clothes came into the room. "Sona, glad you can make it," Grey greeted the red-haired musician. Sona returned the greeting with a smile as she approached the rock singer and gave him a friendly hug, which got a raised eyebrow from Ahri. "So, these girls are K/DA?" Olaf asked as he looked over the idol group. "Hmm, they don''t look so bad," Kayle commented. She had to admit, the costumes that the idol group were wearing looked pretty stylish, even if a little too flashy. "Oh my God. I can''t believe I''m actually meeting you guys," Akali exclaimed as she got closer to the heavy metal group with an excited sprint on her steps. "I''m such a fan of Pentakill. I heard all your music," she said before suddenly taking off her jacket and presenting it to Kayle. "Can you please sign my jacket?" Meanwhile, Evelynn finally got to meet her source of inspiration. "Karthus, I''ve been a long fan of your work," she admitted, trying not to stutter like a schoolgirl. "I have to admit, you know how to sing rock in a good way," she admitted. "Of course," Karthus replied raising his hands. "Heavy metal music is the perfect combination of pain and pleasure! Spreading them is my dream!" Evelynn stared at him for a couple of seconds before sniffing her nose and wiping a tear from her eye. "Can you be my dad?" Meanwhile, Ahri was meeting with Yorick and Mordekaiser. "It''s really nice for us to meet up like this," she commented seeing their groups get together. "Yeah," Yorick nodded. "Also, we like your music, too. Especially you, Ahri. Mind signing this?" he asked while pulling out an album. On the album cover was Ahri wearing her old costume while giving a peace sign and a wink to the camera. She recognized it as her old album. "Oh, I haven''t seen this in a while. Sure," she agreed, taking the album and pulling out a pen. As for Kai''sa, she was meeting up with Sona. "Oh my God! I''m such a big fan," the Dancer started. "Most of my dances are something I came up while listening to your music," she admitted while Sona kept looking at her with a bored look. "I have really been looking up to meeting you. Can we be friends?" she requested. However, Sona still didn''t respond and kept her bored look, which started to make the Dancer feel anxious. Grey saw that and realized something. "Uhmm¡­ you do know she''s mute, right?" he asked. "Wait, what!?" Kai''sa yelled in disbelief. "I thought that she was just really quiet," she said, admitting her must mistake. Sona rolled her eyes as she looked at Grey and started making motions with her hands. [Tell these idiots to start acting their age or go home,] she signed to him. Kai''sa looked at Grey with eyes full of anticipation, expecting him to translate for her. "She said that you shouldn''t worry about it, and that it was nice to meet you, too," he lied, not wanting to crush her dreams. "Oh, thank you. I''m glad you''re not angry at me," Kai''sa thanked the mute musician. Sona simply smiled and nodded. However, when Kai''sa turned around, she immediately gave Grey a ''WTF?'' look, which he replied with one that said ''did you really want me to say that?'', causing her to roll her eyes. "Alright, the show will start pretty soon, so get ready!" a worker called out. "Well, I guess it''s showtime," Tiara said as she stood up and cracked her knuckles. "This is going to be glorious," Brite commented as he grabbed his bass. "Just do your best, and make sure to not mess this up," Solas instructed. "Well, I''ll see you later," Grey said to his guests as they all walked out towards the stage to make sure all their gear was working. When they were gone, the two groups were left together and the kept on talking with one and another. But, Sona suddenly walked towards Ahri and pulled out a small board. (You''re Ahri, right? The girl that met Grey and told him to be famous?) was written on the board. Ahri was somewhat surprised. If Sona knows about that, then she was definitely close friends with Grey. "Yes, that''s me. And, it''s nice to meet you, Sona," she greeted. Sona wrote something one the board before showing it to the idol. (Are you going to ask Grey out or not?) The Nine-Tailed Vastaya was caught off guard by the question. "W-What? What does that have to do with anything?" she asked. Sona rolled her eyes before writing again and showing it to Ahri. (Because I''m tired of waiting. I gave you a chance because Grey seemed to really like you. But, tonight we''re holding a celebration, and that''s obviously going to include alcohol, especially with Tiara involved, so I''m definitely going to try and make sure me and Grey wake up tomorrow naked in the same bed.) Ahri was surprised that Sona was able to write all that on the small board. However, the surprise was quickly gone as she realized what Sona was telling her. But, before she says anything, Sona turned around and walked away. "Wow, she really doesn''t like you," Evelynn suddenly appeared beside Ahri with a hand on her chin. "Eve, what did I tell you about sneaking up on people like that," Ahri scolded after getting over the Diva''s sudden appearance. "To not do it in public," the demoness said. "Anyway, she''s right though, you should ask Grey out," Ahri seemed to be about to say something, but Evelynn started before her. "Don''t start with that ''There''s nothing between us'' crap. If you two aren''t into each other, then me and Akali are actually as into each other as the media makes us out to be." The Nine-Tailed Vastaya sighed, knowing that excuse was no longer valid. "What if it doesn''t go as planned?" she asked in understandable hesitation. "Ahri you don''t go through life asking ''what if''. I mean, there was the chance that our band wasn''t going to have any success, but did we stop?" she asked and Ahri just smiled. "That''s right, so just ask him out already." Ahri took a deep breath and put her hands on her waist. "Okay. But, only if YOU promise to finally ask Tobias out." For the first time, it was Evelynn''s turn to look surprised and blush. "What? No! Me and Tobias are just friends! That''s it!" she cleared out with obvious panic. "You do realize you''re trying to trick a girl that can control emotions, right?" Ahri asked with a raised eyebrow. "That is such a broken teasing ability," Evelynn sighed, not believing that Ahri was being fair. "Okay, fine. I''ll ask him out, but only if you ask Grey out. Deal?" "Deal," the two bandmates shook hands to show their seriousness before both walking towards the side of the stage with everyone else following to see the show begin. First, the Symphony Souls started with a couple of their already known songs. Incandescent, and Let There Be Fire Again. Then, they started with their new song, a song called ''Song of the Abyss''. It was obviously about a story, but they didn''t know what the story was. However, judging by how the fans were screaming, they didn''t care as long as the song was amazing, something shared by the two other music groups that were watching. When they got back into the stage, all the workers there began cheering for them. Some already celebrating with bottles of alcohol. "Great job, guys, oh and girl," Kai''sa complimented as they met backstage. "That was pretty awesome," Kayle gave her own praises. "You got to tell me what the song is about. It sounded pretty amazing," Yorick requested, wanting to hear the story that the song was about. "It''s about some old story Grey listened to when he was a kid," Tiara explained as she started twirling her drumsticks in her hands. "Would have preferred something more cheerful, but it was still a pretty good song," Brite commented as he took off his hat. "Well, now that this is over, who''s up for a party?" Tiara asked. "Is there going to be booze?" Olaf asked. "I''d be stupid to not include booze," Tiara joked before she started heading towards the exit. "Let''s party!" she called out. Meanwhile, Evelynn nudged Ahri''s shoulder and motioned to Grey. The Nine-Tailed Vastaya took a deep breath and walked towards the white-haired man. "Grey, can we talk?" she asked. The leader of the rock music group raised a curious eyebrow, but he still nodded. "Sure," he said as they walked away from the others, who headed outside to wait for them. "Is there something you need?" he asked. "Well¡­ I was wondering¡­ are you free this Friday?" she asked, feeling a little hesitant. "Well, yes. I don''t really have anything planned," he replied, which gave her a little more confidence. "I was wondering¡­ do you want to spend the day together? Like what we used to do when we first met? And then have dinner somewhere," she requested, still feeling nervous. Grey''s cheeks turned a little pink. "Oh uh¡­ like a date?" he asked, wanting to make sure that there wasn''t a misunderstanding. "If you want, that is," Ahri cleared out. "Sure, I would love to," Grey replied, much to Ahri''s joy. In fact, Ahri was feeling so happy at that moment that her tails joined together and started wagging. "Thank you," she said before suddenly giving him a hug and then let him go. "So, we meet at my place on Friday?" "I think we should work out the details later," Grey said causing her to look at him curiously. "We should probably go and stop Evelynn and Tiara from getting a little too much alcohol." Realizing that leaving those two to get drunk together was probably the worst decision anyone could make, Ahri nodded. "Oh, yeah, we should definitely stop that from happening." (A/N: Thank you for reading this. First, there''s really not much to say about this chapter. I just hope it''s to your liking. Second, if you''re wondering who ''Tobias'' is, he''s Twisted Fate, but that''s his real name. That ship is mainly because of their tango skin. Again, thank you for reading this. Please comment, review, and give me your thoughts on my story.) 63 Blood God Looks: Blood God Grey wears a black and red Ionian styled armor made of robes that covered his chest and legs, thin gauntlets and armor on his hands, feet, and shoulders. His head was covered in a white and red helmet that was shaped like the face of a growling wolf. The helmet had a third eye on the forehead that was glowing a pale yellow color. Hanging from his waist was his medallion. His sword is a long, pitch-black Katana with a Crimson glowing edge. His dagger is replaced by a Nodachi(short katana.) Skin Bio: With so much innocent blood being shed from the war, one of the Ionian Gods can no longer stay silent. The Ionian God of blood and brotherhood - known as Okami - has descended into the mortal realm to help Ionians fight together to protect the land from danger... Both from outside and inside it. Splash Art description: Blood God Grey is sitting in a field full of white flowers cross-legged. Swords of all kinds were stabbed into the field spreading everywhere. In the distance, a large, golden tree could be seen at the edge of the field with a white fox under the tree, seemingly staring directly at Grey. Joke: A wolf pup appears near Grey''s leg. He sheaths his sword and pulls out a dog treat, making the pup start wagging its tail excitedly before he threw it for the dog to catch between its teeth and run away. Taunt: Grey uses his sword to draw an ''X'' in the air. "Blood is not something to be taken lightly, but I''ll still spill yours," he says before slicing the ''X'' in half. Dance: Grey stabs his sword on the ground and sits in front of it, taking a meditating pose as several, red, phantom wolves appear around him and start howling in a specific tune. Recall: Blood God Grey spins his sword a couple of times before spinning around and slashing the air, creating a large cut in reality that he slowly walks into. First encounter, Aatrox: Blood God Grey: once, a mighty Warrior with golden wings led his brothers proudly into battle... How far have you fallen, Aatrox? First encounter, Ahri: Blood God Grey: run along, little fox. Your guardian wolf is searching for you. First encounter, Spirit Blossom Ahri: Blood God Grey: you wear a mask of arrogance and confidence... To hide how tearfully lonely and sad you are. First encounter, Akali: Blood God Grey: you seek to fix this land by abandoning traditions?.... *sigh* Children these days. Always rebellious. First encounter, Braum: First encounter, Darius: Blood God Grey: you are a brave brother and spills blood honorably. A shame you die here. First encounter, Blood Moon Evelynn: Blood God Grey: You hunt those who are alone, Evelynn, because you know you cannot take the people together. First encounter, Fiora: Blood God Grey: you spill the blood of your own family, claiming honor. Today, you shall see how much your honor means when it''s spilled over dirt. First Encounter, Garen: Blood God Grey: magic does not make your sibling evil... And deep down, you know that. First encounter, normal Grey: Blood God Grey: nothing can scar a Warrior''s spirit... Like cutting down his own comrades. First encounter, Illaoi/Nautilus: Blood God Grey: that smell... It has been a long time, Kraken. First encounter, Irelia: Blood God Grey: you are a true symbol of Ionian strength. But, remember to not be blinded by Vengeance and forget your brothers and sisters that fight besides you. First encounter, Jarvan IV: Blood God Grey: you know what strength can standing together bring to your people. Always remember that there''s no particular race needed. First encounter, Jax: Blood God Grey: even someone as skilled as you are knows that fighting together is more powerful than fighting alone. First encounter, Jhin: Blood God Grey: you spilled so much blood, all for yourself. That is why people don''t see what you do as art. First encounter, Blood Moon Jhin: Blood God Grey: what Demon shall you summon for me to kill, Jhin? First encounter, Karma: Blood God Grey: ah, and what host have you "chose" this time, old spirit. First encounter, Katarina: Blood God Grey: a daughter who wants to beat her father''s reputation by staying in the shadows of his teachings. First encounter, Kayle and Morgana: Blood God Grey: I can see that neither of you holds true hatred towards the other... Even if you yourself cannot see it. First encounter, Kayn: Blood God Grey: tell me, young child, when you looked at your brother''s eyes as he died, Did you see a worthy Warrior? Or a murderer? First encounter, Kindred: Blood God Grey: ah, it seems you finally found a friend within yourself, Pale Man. First encounter, Lee Sin: Blood God Grey: the dragon did not blind you because of rage, but because you tried to use it alone. First encounter, Lillia: Blood God Grey: dare to dream, young one. Dreams and hopes are two rights no one can take from you. First encounter, Lissandra: Blood God Grey: you betrayed your sisters, and stained their name. Now, look at you. No different than the monsters you try to fight. First encounter, Lux: Blood God Grey: having someone to call a brother is a wonderful thing, isn''t it? First encounter, Master Yi: Blood God Grey: you let your blade down, thinking there''s no reason to carry it. But the trust of your students are reason enough. First encounter, Mordekaiser: Blood God Grey: you left fear in your reign, Mordekaiser, and it drove many people into doing horrible things. First encounter, Nasus: Blood God Grey: never let go of your belief in your brother, for brotherhood is far stronger than you think. First encounter, Neeko: Blood God Grey: travel along, young spirit. Your dream of bringing people together is far more plausible than you think. First encounter, Nocturne: Blood God Grey: you separated many people, nightmare Demon, and here is where you stop. First encounter, Nunu \u0026 Willump: Blood God Grey: ah, seeing such wonderful friendship warms my heart. First encounter, Ornn: Blood God Grey: Solitude does not help your wounded heart, Ornn. Opening yourself to the potential of mortals again will do. First encounter, Pantheon: Blood God Grey: Atreus... You carry your brother''s will in that spear. Do not waste it on petty hatred for what ONE God did. First encounter, Qiyana: Blood God Grey: You spill blood only for yourself, and no ruler can ever come from that. First encounter, Renekton: Blood God Grey: such wonderful brotherhood, wasted upon lies and whispers. First encounter, Riven: Blood God Grey: you want forgiveness, child? Than stand up with the people of Ionia, and fight together! First encounter, Shen: Blood God Grey: Eye of Twilight, you are one of the very few who still know how Ionians truly fight. First encounter, Sion: Blood God Grey: a soul, being kept by blood and torture... Come, Sion, let me end your suffering. First encounter, Swain: Blood God Grey: we gods did not notice you for how dangerous you are, but for how close the REAL master for your Demon is to coming back. First encounter, Taric: Blood God Grey: a fine example of a true companion. First encounter, Teemo: Blood God Grey: for someone so small and soft, you spill a lot of blood. First encounter, Tiara: Blood God Grey: when I look at you... I feel a headache coming over. First encounter, Spirit Blossom Thresh: Blood God Grey: you confuse your madness for wisdom, Collector. First encounter, Varus: Blood God Grey: I can still hear their voices... You did not get rid of them on purpose. First encounter, Vladimir: Blood God Grey: you think you know the power of blood?... You haven''t even scratched the surface. First encounter, Volibear: Blood God Grey: you call us cowards, Valhire, because we care of our people, yet you yourself would gladly give your life to protect your own people. First encounter, Warwick: Blood God Grey: follow the blood, metallic wolf, for it always guides those who gave themselves for others. First encounter, Xerath: Blood God Grey: you betrayed your brother, for misplaced hatred and greed. Now, face judgement! First encounter, Yasuo: Blood God Grey: the blood of your brother still haunts you... Don''t worry. You''ll get a chance to ask for forgiveness. First encounter, Yone: Blood God Grey: I gave you a chance, Yone. Do. Not. Waste. It. First encounter, Zed: Blood God Grey: so much spilled blood... All to protect this land... Even from itself. Kill, Aatrox: Blood God Grey: perhaps now you can finally rest in peace. Kill, Spirit Blossom Ahri: Blood God Grey: a sad ending... For your sad tale. Kill, Akali: Blood God Grey: you fought alone, deluded with the idea that you can make a difference to this entire land. Kill, Darius: Blood God Grey: an honorable death is all I can offer you. Kill, Blood Moon Evelynn: Blood God Grey: how does pain feel, now that it''s inflicted on you. Kill, Fiddlesticks: Blood God Grey: one down, nine to go. Kill, Fiora: Blood God Grey: hmm... No, you don''t bleed gold. Just red like everyone else. Kill, Normal Grey: Blood God Grey: always fight together... Even after the end. Kill, Irelia: Blood God Grey: you lost the moment you forgot that you fight with others, not that they fight for you or anyone else. Kill, Jhin: Blood God Grey: blood can be beautiful... When spilled for a reason. Kill, Blood Moon Jhin: Blood God Grey: Draw, artist. Draw in your own blood. Kill, Karma: Blood God Grey: I wonder who will be "Chosen" next time, old spirit. Kill, Katarina: Blood God Grey: her blade dulled as she kept comparing herself to her father... While her brother''s kept growing sharper. Kill, Kayn: Blood God Grey: neither you, nor your brother could have handled that weapon alone... It was only a matter of who would die first. Kill, Kindred: Blood God Grey: It is not my time yet, Pale man. Kill, Lee Sin: Blood God Grey: even in your blindness, you could not understand that the dragon should not be called alone. Kill, Lillia: Blood God Grey: rest in peace, young bloom. You shall grow again one day. Kill, Lissandra: Blood God Grey: perhaps you would be reincarnated, and maybe not make the same mistakes of using others for your selfishness. Kill, Mordekaiser: Blood God Grey: leave my land, Iron Revenant! Kill, Nasus: Blood God Grey: in your honor, I swear to save your brother''s soul. Kill, Nocturne: Blood God Grey: demons hardly know when they''re outmatched. Kill, Ornn: Blood God Grey: you grew soft in your solitude. Kill, Qiyana: Blood God Grey: people had already forgotten your name, child. Kill, Renekton: Blood God Grey: perhaps now you shall know peace... And the truth. Kill, Sion: Blood God Grey: Rest now, brave soul, you have already went through too much. Kill, Swain: Blood God Grey: tell your Master to find a better puppet next time, Raum. Kill, Spirit Blossom Thresh: Blood God Grey: Let us see if you enjoy being inside that lamp, Collector. Kill, Vladimir: Blood God Grey: so arrogant in your name, Vladimir, yet not a spark of power to back it up. Kill, Volibear: Blood God Grey: you had always thought that fighting alone makes you stronger, Valhire... Did it work? Kill, Xerath: Blood God Grey: you sacrificed brotherhood, for power you could not even comprehend. Kill, Yasuo: Blood God Grey: perhaps you will pass the test that your brother went through. Kill, Yone: Blood God Grey: I warned you, and you wasted that chance. Kill, Zed: Blood God Grey: I shall carry on your mission, Zed, for it was a noble one. First move: Blood God Grey: fighting alone can only get you so far. Fighting with others nearly has no limits. First move #2: Blood God Grey: this is a bloody path we walk, but not necessarily alone. First move #3: Blood God Grey: hunting in packs is a habit of wolves. First move #4: Blood God Grey: wolves never run away, and they get old for a reason. Moving in to gank: Blood God Grey: Fight together, or die alone! Moving in to gank #2: Blood God Grey: Wolves always hunt in packs! Moving in to gank #3: Blood God Grey: brotherhood requires blood! Dies: Blood God Grey: killing me will not severe the bonds of the people. Dies #2: Blood God Grey: We meet again... Gate Keeper. Dies #3: Blood God Grey: Dear fox... Do you still hear my howling tune? Dies #4: Blood God Grey: I see it''s my time... Pale man. 64 CH59: The Reckoning Another day in the Institute of War. Nidalee was the first to wake up today. She got to the living room... and saw her roommates sleeping on the couch. Both Grey and Ahri were leaning on each other. The Nine-Tailed Vastaya was leaning on Grey''s shoulder with her ears twitching at every sound Nidalee made, while the Abyss Watcher was leaning back and letting his lover lean on him. Nidalee couldn''t help but think that the sight was sweet. "Alright, you two, time to wake up," the huntress called out to them. Ahri''s ears twitched before she woke up first. She yawned while stretching. "Morning," she greeted. "Good morning," Nidalee returned the greeting before her look softened. "How are you feeling?" Ahri knew that the huntress was most likely worried about her state from yesterday. "Better, at least. Sorry for the way I acted," she apologized. She hasn''t completely got over it, and she didn''t want to see Kindred any time soon, but spending last night playing and teaching Grey was pretty fun. Nidalee shook her head. "Don''t worry about it. I''m just glad you''re back to your usual self," she replied before looking at the still sleeping Abyss Watcher. "Are you going to wake him up?" the nine-tailed Vastaya nodded and grabbed her lover''s shoulder. "Grey, wake up," she said shaking him gently. After a few moments, Grey''s eyes opened. "Morning," he greeted with a yawn. "Good morning," Ahri greeted back as she stood up from the couch. "Did you enjoy the games last night?" she asked. "Yeah, they were fun," Grey admitted as he also stood up. "Though I have to admit, I didn''t know what was going on most of the time." "Don''t worry, you did better than I thought, especially considering you never had to deal with technology before," Ahri said as she and Grey walked into their room to get ready Nidalee couldn''t help but smile. Obviously, Ahri didn''t get over why she was upset yet, but she was at least starting to act more cheerful. The Huntress didn''t think it would be too long before she''s back to her old self. Time Skip: (Brought to you by chibi Ahri and chibi Grey playing Mario Carts, only to end up smacking into each other''s heads after getting too much into the game.) Grey, Ahri, and Nidalee were walking to the dining hall to have breakfast. On their way, they saw Tiara. "Hey, Tiara," Grey called out. The Dancer turned around when she heard her brother, and the three roommates saw the bored look on her face. "Oh, hey," she greeted in a tone that matched her features. "Is something wrong?" Grey asked. Tiara shook her head. "No, just bored out of my mind," she answered before she joined them in walking to the dining hall. "I haven''t had any matches yet. Plus, there''s nothing to do here, so I''m pretty bored." "You call them interesting, I call them weaklings and weirdos," Tiara retorted, causing Ahri and Nidalee to roll their eyes. They all got into the dining hall before taking food and finding a table to sit in. They just ate in silence, which caused Tiara to be even more bored. The only entertainment she found was watching matches that were already going. "Hey, Tiara," Katarina appeared, walking towards them with someone beside her. That person was a man wearing a blue, hooded cloak with the edges being covered in blades. They had tight, dark blue clothes under the cloak. Their right arm had a gauntlet with a long blade on it. Not much of his facial features were visible because of the hood. "Oh, hey, Kat," Tiara greeted before looking at the person beside her. "Who''s this?" Katarina motioned to the man beside her. "Oh yeah. You people never met him, right?" she asked, also looking at Grey, Ahri, and Nidalee, who all shook their heads. "Well, let me introduce you. This is my brother, Talon." "You have a brother?" Ahri asked, rather surprised that she never heard about this, despite knowing Katarina for so long. Katarina nodded. "Yeah. He doesn''t talk much, and he doesn''t like to stand out. So, I never really brought him up," she explained. "So, you''re Katarina''s brother?" Grey asked and Talon nodded. "Trust me, I know what you''re going through," Grey said looking at Tiara. "Huh, someone who actually understands my suffering," Talon said in a quiet voice as he looked at Katarina. "Hey!" both sisters said, feeling rather insulted. "Anyway, what''s up," Tiara asked, wanting to know why the redhead came here since Garen wasn''t around. "I was just passing by when I saw you, thought I''d say hi before leaving back to Noxus for some business," Katarina explained. "What about you?" "Nothing and I''m bored out of my mind because of it," Tiara replied as she rested her head on the table. She moved it so she was looking at Katarina. "Hey, is there anything interesting in Noxus for me to see?" Katarina raised an eyebrow. "You want to go to Noxus?" She didn''t sound like she minded, but was just surprised and confused. "I''m just bored, and there''s nothing here for me to do. I still don''t have any matches. So, I ask again, is there anything for me to do in Noxus?" Tiara explained before asking her question again. Katarina looked at Talon, seeing if it''s okay since they were going on business,s and Tiara''s presence would cause any problems. Talon just shrugged his shoulders, showing his sister that he either doesn''t care or that Tiara wouldn''t be interfering with their business. Seeing his response, Katarina looked back at Tiara. "Well, there IS this battle arena that Draven runs. It was for executing prisoners until the Institute was made. Now, while we still execute Noxian prisoners there, it''s mainly to show off and people fight in it every day. If you want, I can get you in there to have a few good fights." "Sold!" Tiara suddenly yelled as she stood up from her chair. "I guess I''ll be getting a look at what Noxus looks like," she commented before looking at her brother. "Grey, if anyone goes into my room or touches my stuff, crucify them." With those parting words - at least that''s what they were to Tiara - she followed Talon and Katarina as they started heading out of the dining hall. When they weren''t around anymore, Ahri turned to Grey. "Was she serious about that last part?" she asked. The Abyss Watcher sighed and hung his head. "Sadly, yes," he replied. "You''re... Not really gonna do it, right?" Ahri asked, unsure if it was right to ask that question. Grey shrugged his shoulders. "Depends on who touches her stuff," he replied. Ahri considered that response to be fair, considering that Tiara was his sister after all. Meanwhile, Talon, Katarina, and Tiara reached the transport station. The summoner there immediately stood attention. "Good day, champions," the summoner greeted. "Leaving the Institute?" "Yeah, straight to Noxus," Katarina replied. The summoner nodded and motioned to the Rune circle. "Very well, stand in the circle, please," he requested and they did what they were told. The summoner started waving his hands and the Rune began to shine. It wasn''t long before the scenery around the champions began changing. They arrived in a transport station similar to the one they were just in, except that this one had darker colors and there was the crest of Noxus above the exit. "Welcome to Noxus, champions," the summoner there greeted them. The three champions simply nodded in response and came out through the exit. When they did that, Tiara finally got to see Noxus in its full glory. The first thing that came to her mind was metal, a lot of metal. Most buildings were made of it. The only things that were not completely made of metal were a few houses, the streets, and a few wooden stalls for people selling stuff. The second thing she noticed was the people, there were a lot of them. All of them moving around and minding their own business while pushing others out of their way. "Come on, we got to see Swain first to give you permission," Katarina said as she and Talon started walking through the people. Tiara just shrugged her shoulders and followed close by. She noticed that people were making way for Katarina and Talon, almost afraid to just face their direction. She wasn''t surprised. The Dancer experienced what it feels like to be popular - and feared - assassin. However, this was the first time she was in such a populated area. Tiara noticed that they were headed to an odd building... A very big odd building. It seemed to be completely made of metal, several layers of it, most likely to ensure the endurance of the structure. She also noticed something very out of place. At the side of the building, at the very bottom, there was a giant hole, looking like something had burst from inside the building. "What happened there?" Tiara asked, motioning to the hole, unable to hide her curiosity. Katarina noticed what Tiara was motioning to and answered. "THAT is what happens when a giant, iron revenant decides to wake up." That answer only further confused Tiara. "What?" "Mordekaiser," Talon suddenly spoke. "He''s a champion, an Undead one. He was the original ruler of Noxus, and people rebelled against him. They thought he was gone for good. But, apparently, he wasn''t." "His armor was buried deep inside the Immortal Bastion," Katarina took over the explanation. "No one actually knew where it exactly was. Until he decided to return. He broke through and killed his way across Noxus. Alone, he managed to take one-third of Noxus to himself. I also heard he managed to take over half the Shadow Isles. Swain was actually about to ask Demacia and Ionia for help to deal with him. But, the Institute was made, and the Grand Summoner was able to convince Mordekaiser to join, believe it or not. I guess you can say Noxus agreed to join the Institute for protection against Mordekaiser." Tiara raised an eyebrow, actually interested in the subject. From what she heard, Noxus isn''t exactly liked by either Demacia or Ionia and that was sugar-coating it to the point where it wasn''t even funny. Yet, Mordekaiser still managed to scare Noxus enough to consider asking them for help. Before any more can be said on the subject, Talon and Katarina continued walking towards the Immortal Bastion, so Tiara decided to ask for more info later and just follow them. After going through one of the large gates - which was guarded by men in black metal armor - the three champions walked one of the many halls that were covered in metal. There were many soldiers and all of them stood attention when they saw Talon and Katarina. Tiara just ignored them all as she kept following the two. They reached a pair of gates with the crest of Noxus in the middle of them. Katarina just opened the door and walked right in without knocking. Talon sighed at his sister''s actions before following her alongside Tiara. Inside the room were two people. One was Swain - who was sitting in a large chair looking over a map of Runeterra with every region marked - the other was someone Tiara saw in the Institute but was never introduced to. He was a man in his thirties. He had short, spiked hair combed back. He was wearing black armor with spiky shoulder plates and a few thin short capes connected to the armor''s back. He also had a large ax in his hand. "Hey, boss," Katarina greeted before looking at the other man. "Didn''t expect to see you here, Darius?" The man with the ax - Darius - ignored her and just looked at Tiara with a scowl. "Who is she?" he demanded rather than asked. "This is Tiara, a champion. She''s the sister of the Abyss Watcher," Talon answered. Swain raised an eyebrow. "And for what reason did you bring her?" he would have questioned if the Abyss Watcher actually has a sister, but he didn''t really care. "I just came to see what the ''great nation of Noxus has to offer," Tiara was the one to answer that question. "I heard there''s some kind of battle arena here. So, I decided to see what your nation''s warriors can do." "You''d be wise to not underestimate Noxian strength," Darius said, gripping his ax tightly. "I haven''t seen anything worth to be impressed about yet," Tiara retorted, giving Darius an uncaring look. Swain sighed in annoyance before reaching under the table and pressing a button. Seeing that he didn''t try to hide his actions, Tiara just waited to see what would happen. After what could be only two seconds, a soldier came into the room. "Sir," he said standing attention. Swain took out a piece of paper and wrote on it before getting up from the chair, walking around the table, and giving the paper to the soldier. "Take her to the Reckoning, and give this to Draven." "Sir, yes, sir!" the Soldier gave a solute as he took the paper and turned around to leave the room. Tiara just shrugged her shoulders and started following the soldier. When she was gone, Darius glared at Katarina. "Why did you bring her here? Didn''t you know we have business?" he asked, obviously not pleased. Katarina rolled her eyes, mostly because she noticed that Darius didn''t as much as glance at Talon. "Relax. She just came along for a few fights in The Reckoning. What does it matter if she came in?" she asked. Darius didn''t actually seem pleased. "Calm down, Darius," Swain said as he sat back down. "She has no interference with the job I''m going to give these two. It doesn''t matter what she does in the Reckoning." Darius grunted in annoyance but did nothing more. "So, why did you call for both me and Talon?" Katarina finally asked. While Swain started explaining, Tiara walked out of the Immortal Bastion following the soldier. They walked through the streets and kept going until a large, circular building. Tiara noticed that a lot of people were coming in and out of the building, mostly the former. They entered through a gate that didn''t have people in it. Most likely because of the pair of guards near it. They reached a crossroads where the soldier pointed at the left hall. "Head over there and wait until your name is called. I''ll explain the situation to Draven." "Whatever you say," Tiara shrugged her shoulders as she went to the isle that the soldier pointed at. She kept walking until she passed through a gate that led her into a large room at the side of the arena. Looking over the side, which didn''t have a wall, she looked over the arena to see how it looked. It was mostly covered in dirt and sand. There were a few fallen weapons on the ground, such as shields, swords, spears, axes, and so on. Suddenly, a guy wearing an all-black uniform with a weird blond haircut walked into the middle of the arena with a microphone in hand. "Ladies and Gentlemen!" he called out into the microphone, causing his voice to echo into the arena. "I hope you''re all pretty excited because we have some pretty great fights planned out! Now, give it up to our host! The one, the only, Draaaaaven!" he said pointing at a private booth behind him. Inside the booth was a man with black, long, wild hair. He had a thin mustache and a smug grin on his face as he waved at the people. He was wearing a sleeveless fur coat over his exposed chest which had a few tattoos. He had leather gloves, and a pair of oddly shaped axes strapped to his waist. One look at the man - Draven - and Tiara can tell he loved attention more than his own life. "Now, for our first fight, we got a special surprise for everyone!" the arena announcer said. "Today, we have a champion straight the Institute of War!" he revealed, causing the crowd to go wild. Tiara figured that what he said was her cue. After putting on her helmet, she walked into the arena and the people must have figured out that she was the champion because they started cheering. "And, facing her, the monster of a man, Manta!" the announcer introduced her opponent as he walked into the arena. It was a man wearing a fur cape and a pair of fur pants. But, that was all he wore. His body was covered in animal tattoos and he was holding a pair of axes. He swung them around before screaming to the crowd. Tiara just rolled her eyes and looked at the announcer, waiting for him to begin the battle. "Let''s not wait any longer, and begin this battle! Just remember: do whatever you have to in order to win!" The announcer walked back quickly to get out of the fighting range. Manta immediately charged towards Tiara, axes in hand, ready to cut down his opponent. The Dancer didn''t move, mainly because she was unimpressed. Manta obviously had strength and speed... But he was as predictable as a normal Hollow. Tiara saw a circle shield on the ground near her foot. Deciding to just end the battle quickly, she kicked the shield up with her foot and grabbed it before throwing it at her opponent''s feet. The shield hit its mark causing Manta to fall on the ground and slide until he was right in front of Tiara. Before he even had the chance to stand up, the Dancer put her foot on his back and stabbed one of her swords right where she knew his spine was. If that didn''t kill him, it would surely cripple him. After making sure that her opponent isn''t moving anymore - dead, since she can''t see any movement that implies he''s breathing - Tiara pulled out her sword and looked at the announcer. "Next," was the only thing she said. The arena was mostly in silence, the only sound was a burst of sudden laughter that came from the booth Draven was in. Time Skip: (Brought to you by chibi Ahri and chibi Grey, drinking milkshake before chibi Ahri suddenly holds her head in pain as she got a brain freeze.) The sun started setting. Tiara spent the day killing opponent after opponent and finished today''s competition in record time. Tiara left the arena with a bag full of gold strapped to her waist. While she did deal with her boredom, it was quickly returning as she found nothing to do. She decided to go back to the Immortal Bastion and hope to ask Katarina for something else to do. Either that, or she''ll go back to the Institute. She went inside - after dealing with the guards that tried to stop her because she had no permit or was with anyone important - she headed towards Swain''s office, hoping to find Katarina. "I''m back," Katarina announced as she simply walked in. Inside was only Darius and Swain, the former got his ax ready. "What are you doing here?" the Hand of Noxus asked. "Well, I finished my fights in the arena, so I came looking for something else to do," Tiara replied, uncaring of Darius'' threatening stance. "Already?" Swain raised an eyebrow, sounding impressed. The Dancer shrugged. "I went through worse when I was a kid training with Ghear." Suddenly, someone else entered the room. It was Katarina, followed by Talon, both looking agitated. "What did you find?" Darius asked, quickly ignoring Tiara and getting to business. "Nothing," Katarina replied. "What?" Darius was obviously not pleased. "We didn''t find anything. We can''t even find the bodies. There are definitely signs that those people are killed, we just can''t find traces of where they went," Katarina explained, crossing her arms. "So, what''s going on?" Tiara asked, cutting in. "None of your business. Now get out," Darius said raising his ax. Tiara just chuckled and put her hands on her waist. "Well, let''s see, I heard rumors during the Reckoning that a few Nobles have vanished. Judging by what Katarina just said, you probably sent her and Talon to investigate and find the killer. The fact they''re both champions also means this is pretty important and you want to solve this as soon as possible. You most likely don''t want the Institute to know, so that''s why you complied with my request so easily, since you were basically sent me away as soon as you started discussing the situation," Tiara deducted, gaining surprised looks from around the room. Darius immediately stood up, ready to attack Tiara and kill her now that she knows too valuable of information. "Wait," but he stopped as Swain told him so. "From the way you''re speaking, you seem to desire to get involved." "If I said yes, would you let me help?" Tiara asked, smirking under her helmet. Swain narrowed his eyes. "Why would you do that?" he asked. "Pure boredom," Tiara replied with a shrug. "I''m honestly just bored out of my mind. Solving a mystery like this seems the most fun thing to do around here, so why not?" Swain kept his eyes on Tiara. She didn''t appear to be lying. Plus, Raum, the Demon of Secrets, didn''t reveal to Swain that Tiara was keeping any, so she was telling the truth. "Very well," the Grand General agreed, surprising Darius. "Katarina, take her to where the latest kills happened." Katarina was pretty surprised that Swain agreed. However, she would actually take any help at getting this annoying job done with, so she just shrugged it off and motioned for Tiara to follow her as they both exited the office, leaving Talon, Swain, and Darius. "Why accept?" Darius finally asked, wondering why Swain involved outsiders. "Simply put, if she can deduct the entire situation through mere rumors and a few sentences, then she has the skills to help us," Swain replied before smirking. "Besides, free help, when not having a drawback, should always be taken advantage of." (A/N: Thank you for reading this. Second, a special thanks to RoguetheUndying for helping me come up with the plot for these mini-arcs. Again, thank you for reading this. Please comment, review, and give me your thoughts on my story.)