Mutated Eye

The defenses at the northern barracks were extremely tight. Anyone trying to get through had to undergo a strict inspection, especially when dressed like us:

A scruffy merchant, an Ionian, and a filthy girl.

Darius resorted to his usual trick, slipping a few gold coins to each guard. Just like that, we got in under the pretense of selling furs and met the general stationed there—Rappor.

Rappor was tall and burly, with curly hair and a curly beard. His eyes were so small that they were almost invisible beneath his thick eyebrows.

He came over to us and recognized Darius at a glance. His eyebrows twitched upward, but he immediately pretended not to know him.

"These goods look good. Bring them inside!"

Rappor's barracks were grand, like a small palace. He dismissed everyone who wasn't needed, leaving fewer than ten people behind. They all seemed to be his closest confidants.

"General Darius, what brings you here in person? Is something important happening?"

"Today's business wasn't safe to discuss in a letter, so I thought it best to come myself. Have you heard about the Emperor's condition lately?"

"I heard he dismissed a lot of people again—all of them under you and Lord Swain. And the last time I went back, I noticed he looked very unwell. He was unusually irritable and wouldn't even listen to me."

"Exactly. The War Axe, Black Feather, Flame, and Sandstorm Legions have always been the pillars of the empire. I was dismissed after failing to conquer Demacia, and I have no complaints about that. But he ordered Swain to attack Ionia by force. It was a battle we had no chance of winning. Why strip him of his military authority? Now morale is low, and the army's in disarray!"

"Why would he do that? Surely there's no reason to doubt your loyalty?"

"Our loyalty to Noxus is beyond question, but our loyalty to the Emperor is another matter. He represents Noxus's authority, but he isn't all of Noxus. The empire's expansion over the years has frightened him. He's afraid he can't control so many territories, and even more afraid that we'll each set ourselves up as kings."

"So he came up with excuses to dismiss you?"

"No. He isn't shortsighted. Even if he had those concerns, he'd put Noxus's interests first. So here's the question: why is he so irritable, doing all these reckless things? There's only one answer. He's being controlled!"

"You mean Brawn's being controlled?"

"Yes. Your brother, Emperor Brawn Darkwill, is being controlled. His mind has grown irritable and confused, and emotions he once kept in check have all come to the surface. That's terrible news for Noxus."

"Do you have a plan? Just tell me what you need me to do. You're the person I admire most in the empire, and you always have been!"

"I want to overthrow Darkwill!"

"You want to overthrow him!" Rappor was taken aback, but soon calmed down. "Then who will succeed him?"

"No one. From now on, Noxus will have no emperor. We'll return to the age of the united kingdoms! As for your Flame Legion, it can't leave here. The northern defenses are too important. But I hope you can spare some troops to support me and make your position clear."

Darius's audacity left Rappor stunned. After a long pause, he said, "You always surprise me, my idol. I've decided to follow your lead!"

"Good. I won't keep you any longer. Use the army's portal to send me to the Sandstorm Legion. I need to speak with General Kled about this."

So Darius was planning a coup. Was this what it felt like to be on the eve of one? For the first time, I understood the appeal of having an all-seeing perspective.

I'd read this part of the lore, so I knew he'd succeed and establish the Tri-Force Council with Swain and LeBlanc, representing strength, guile, and cunning. Noxus would reach unprecedented heights.

But that was for later. Right now, we had to find Kled. I couldn't believe the nobody in the lore was actually one of Noxus's Great Generals. What a surprise.

The Noxian army used portals as instruments of invasion. They were convenient, but had their drawbacks. They required a tremendous amount of magic, for one, so they were rarely used outside of major military campaigns or emergencies.

There were only three of us, but Rappor sent ten Battle Mages to activate the portal. They chanted spells I couldn't understand, and soon it was ready.

"Let's go."

Darius called out and stepped through first. Riven and I exchanged a nod, then followed him.

Traveling through the portal was awful. Colors swirled all around us, and some strange force made our bodies spin nonstop. Closing my eyes barely helped.

Fortunately, it didn't last long. After about half a minute, it was over. I struggled to my feet, then felt so nauseated that I nearly threw up. Riven looked just as bad.

Darius had arrived before us. Now he seemed to be enjoying the sight of us.

"Hahaha! You'll get used to it after a few trips. I forgot to tell you: if you hug your knees on the way in, you won't fall so hard when you come out."

"Couldn't you have told us sooner? I'm still dizzy!"

I hadn't asked where Kled was. Now I was sweltering, and the sun overhead was so huge and bright that my mouth felt parched.

Was Kled's Sandstorm Legion stationed in the desert? The only place that came to mind in this kind of climate was Shurima.

The soldiers here wore no armor. They wrapped themselves in white cloth to shield their bodies and heads from the brutal sunlight. Even so, many of them had skin diseases. Noxians clearly weren't used to this climate.

Kled looked just like he was described in the stories: a typical Yordle, barely as tall as my thigh, with brown fur covering every exposed part of his body. His little eyes glowed red, making him look vicious.

In the stories, he was a beloved folk hero, a fearless and reckless warrior, the embodiment of Noxian spirit, and an idol to the empire's soldiers. To his superiors, he was a ticking time bomb; to the nobility, he was a contemptible expendable grunt. But that didn't seem to be the whole story.

Kled held a high position, and even Darius treated him with great respect, as if he were an elder in his family.

After hearing the whole story, Kled glared at Darius. "You asked me to support little Brawn back then, and now you want me to overthrow him. Is he out of his mind, or are you? So what if you were dismissed? You never liked war anyway."

"It's true that I don't like war now, but my loyalty to Noxus and to humanity drives me to keep fighting. I can't rest yet. There's something more important I need to do."

"Loyalty to humanity? You, Darius, said that? I doubt you've killed fewer souls with your axe than I have."

"Maybe I'll kill even more in the future."

"Then why talk to me about loyalty to humanity? You're loyal while slaughtering people?"

"There's no contradiction. I need people who can stand together. War will never end, hatred will never fade, and differences will always exist. But amid this endless torment, I want to bring about a brief unity to face the disaster that's coming."

Kled and I were both a little bewildered by this. We weren't sure what Darius was trying to say. It sounded grand, but also as though it would require a tremendous sacrifice. His expression grew more serious than I'd ever seen it as he continued:

"I fear nothing, not even in my dreams. But in recent years, I've often been watched by a pair of eyes in my sleep. Every time, I wake drenched in cold sweat. I feel that some kind of change is taking place in Runeterra. The malice stirring in those eyes may well be aimed at all of humanity. To meet this challenge, we'll need everyone working together!"

Had Darius's ambitions shifted from Noxus to all of humanity? No wonder he'd said before that he loved Demacia.

Kled fell silent, lost in thought. He furrowed his nonexistent brow, as if something had come back to him.

"You've always had a keen eye, lad, and your instincts are usually right. I think this time will be no different. A while ago, something happened to my scouts. An entire squad of fifty vanished. When I investigated, I found several mutilated corpses near a temple not far away."

"You found only a few corpses out of fifty? What happened to the rest?"

"A few came stumbling back over time. They were all out of their minds, muttering about gods, demons, and things like that. They died a few days later."

"Gods? Demons? What did they encounter?"

"I suspect they ran into the Ascended of ancient Shurima. They're the only ones with that kind of power, and people might well call them that."

"The Ascended! Didn't they perish in the Rune Wars? Could any of them have survived?" Darius was astonished.

"I'm not sure. It's just a theory. The old folks in my tribe used to say the Ascended looked like ordinary people most of the time, but after transforming, they became incredibly powerful. Fighting an entire human army alone would be no challenge for them. The scouts' frenzied descriptions sound a lot like the Ascended."

"Why would the Ascended kill your scouts?" Riven had been listening intently. Now she interrupted to ask.

"It's just my guess, little one. The Ascended haven't appeared for many years, so I agree with Darius: some kind of change is taking place in Runeterra."

"Then are you willing to support me?"

"Of course! When have I ever turned you down? I was thinking of withdrawing my troops anyway. We'll have to reconsider the plan to conquer Shurima. My soldiers can't stand this climate. Hurry up and contact your former subordinates. Take control of the War Axe Legion, and when I get back, I'll march on the Immortal Fortress. I want to ask little Brawn what's going on myself."

Kled certainly had an imposing air about him, and he spoke with supreme arrogance. He kept calling the Emperor of Noxus "little Brawn." He must have been extremely powerful. In Noxus, a country where strength decided everything, only the strong could afford to be that arrogant.

Based on what I'd heard and the lore of League of Legends, I had a pretty good idea of what was going on:

Shurima had once been mighty, but its strength had been depleted fighting the Void. Most of the Ascended had died in that battle, and those who survived were infected by the Void, becoming creatures beyond human comprehension.

Over countless years, people came to believe the Ascended had perished in that battle. In truth, some had survived—but they had become humanity's enemies: the Vastaya.

Kled's scouts had most likely encountered the Vastaya, not the Ascended.

I didn't tell them any of this. There was no point, and I didn't want more people finding out I came from another world.

We'd been here less than half a day, and now we had to take the portal back. Just thinking about how awful it would feel made me miserable. Riven, on the other hand, seemed eager to go, as if she'd already forgotten how dizzy she'd been.

This time, I did as Darius had told me. I hugged my knees and squeezed my eyes shut as we went in. It did feel much better. But when I came out, it was even more ridiculous—I rolled several times before finally coming to a stop.

Riven did much better. She rolled once, then sprang to her feet, looking excited.

"Looks like you're a lot clumsier than Riven, hahaha..." Darius laughed at me.