Four enormous stone statues stood around the hall. They were all warriors clad in armor and wielding greatswords, their capes crossing in pairs to form four towering walls behind them.
At the center of the hall stood a monument on a stone platform, flanked by wings of freedom. It was sacred and solemn. I recognized this place:
Demacia's Hall of Valor.
The Hall of Valor was a place to commemorate soldiers who had fallen in war. Every day, people came to mourn their relatives or friends. Even strangers who came here would be touched by the sorrowful atmosphere.
I had once come here with Fiora to mourn an uncle who had fallen on the northern frontier.
But... how had I ended up here?
Two people stood in front of the monument. They wore white dresses and held flowers in their hands, bowing their heads as they mourned their loved one.
Their backs looked familiar. Out of courtesy, I was about to go over and offer my condolences, but when I heard them talking, I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
The person they were mourning was none other than Leivo Laurent, and the two of them were Fiora and Lux!
Those two fools must have thought I'd died in the war. I'd give them a surprise!
"Ahem. You're both so sad. He must have been very important to you, right?"
They didn't turn around or respond. That struck me as strange. Shouldn't they have been excited to hear my voice? Maybe even burst into tears and hugged me?
"It's me, Leivo! I'm back!"
Still, there was no response. Panic began to rise in me. I tried to go over and take their hands, but I couldn't lift my feet, no matter how hard I tried. It was as if they were stuck to the ground.
What was going on? A flicker of fear stirred in me.
When the two finished mourning and turned to leave, I finally saw their faces. Their eyes were red, and they had clearly been grieving for a long time. But they walked away calmly, as if they couldn't see me. No matter how much I shouted or struggled, it was useless.
"Fiora, Lux... Ah..."
I jolted awake. It had all been a dream, but it had felt so real that I was still shaken long after waking.
I hadn't expected to wake up again. Everything around me was pitch-black, filled with a rotten, moldy stench. Solid stone walls surrounded me, and the only door was made of iron bars as thick as a forearm. A faint light flickered outside.
Hell? It didn't seem like it. How could I be the only one in hell? Was this a prison?
The thought made me a little happy. At least I was still alive. But given what had happened earlier, it seemed impossible that I'd survived. While I was lost in thought, the cell door opened. A dim light spilled in, and they put a hood over my head and took me away...
When they removed the hood, the sunlight was so bright that I couldn't open my eyes. It took a while before I adjusted and realized I was standing in a circular arena.
Tier upon tier of raised seating surrounded the arena, rising like an upside-down funnel. The deafening roar of the crowd made me dizzy.
That's right. It was a gladiatorial arena.
I knew that Noxus was fond of gladiatorial arenas, but I never thought I'd see one in person—much less as a gladiator.
Few people ever left this place alive. Those who did were changed into monsters.
The gladiatorial arenas had been established by Noxus's ancient rulers to keep the people cruel and bloodthirsty. To that end, the Noxian army brought back large numbers of prisoners of war every time it returned from a campaign.
These prisoners were sold as slaves to the arenas or slave owners, where they fought for the crowds' entertainment. After countless years, the arenas had become a defining feature of Noxus.
It seemed I'd been captured by the Noxian army. I wondered how the war had gone. Thinking of Quinn and Valor dying in battle for me sent a sharp pain through my heart.
Was Fiora still grieving? I wanted so badly to write her a letter, but if I wanted to understand what had happened, I first had to get out of here.
I slowly calmed down. Only then did I realize that my body was completely unharmed—and even stronger than before. My hair had turned black, hanging loose down my back.
What was going on? My emotions stirred again, and then a possibility occurred to me:
I hadn't survived the war. I'd become someone else, and, unfortunately, my new circumstances were worlds apart from my old ones.
Before long, my opponent was brought in. He was naked, carried a spear, and had his master's name carved into his face. I didn't know which tribe he belonged to, only that he'd been captured and enslaved.
"For today's match, a slave belonging to Uzi will challenge Zhao Xin of this arena! If Master Uzi wins, he'll receive twenty gold coins! Come on, slaves! Spill your blood for your masters! I declare this match underway!"
At the referee's announcement, the spectators cheered again, but I was stunned.
Did he just say Zhao Xin? Was I the Zhao Xin from the arena?
If the League of Legends lore was right, the Demacians would rescue me!
No wonder I hadn't seen Zhao Xin in the palace. He was still fighting in the arena. This was interesting—two Zhao Xins had merged into one!
Hope flared in my heart. As long as I didn't die here, I could get out!
→
The slave quickly charged at me. I had no weapon, so I could only keep dodging as I listened to the people in the stands chatter and jeer.
As I dodged, I realized that this body wasn't just strong. It was agile, too. I had nothing to fear, even without a weapon. I waited for an opening, dodged the slave's next attack, seized his spear, and ran it through his throat!
The jeers turned to cheers. They treated me as if I were a hero, not a slave. Noxians worshiped strength above all else.
Before, I'd trembled at the thought of hitting someone, let alone killing. But after experiencing the Demacian-Noxian War, a fight like this didn't stir a ripple in me.
After the match, I was taken back to my stone cell. My reward for winning was a filling dinner that night, along with a silver coin.
I didn't know what use a silver coin had in a place like this, so I casually tossed it on the ground. It clinked against another piece of metal. When I felt around the corner, I found two more.
"You'd better hold on to those. They'll come in handy."
A gruff voice came from across from me. The light was so dim that I couldn't make out his face.
"Come in handy? What can you use coins for around here?"
"Idiot. You can trade coins for food or bribe the guards. You think you'll always get enough to eat in this hellhole?"
While we were talking, the stone cell door opened again, and a fat man entered with two guards.
He was round as a ball, but his clothes were lavish. Gold and silver jewelry covered him from head to toe, and not one of his ten fingers was bare. He wore a ring on each of them.
"He's the owner here, Tahm," the man across from me whispered.
Tahm waddled over to me, gave me an appraising look, then grinned broadly.
"Zhao Xin, you did very well today. Plenty of people bet on you to win, but we still made a tidy profit. You'll have plenty more chances to fight. Make the most of them, and I won't treat you badly."
"Go on, thank Master Tahm!" one of the guards chimed in, eager to curry favor.
"Tahm?"
The name slipped out before I knew it. Looking at his greedy little eyes and round body, I suddenly thought of Tahm Kench. But Tahm was a catfish called a "toad," while the one standing in front of me was clearly human.
"Oh? You know me?" A dangerous glint appeared in Tahm's eyes.
"You're the owner here. Who doesn't know you?" I made up an excuse.
"Oh, ha ha! That's right. My name is Tahm, Tahm Kench. You can call me Boss or Master Tahm."
So it really was him!
That catfish monster had come to Noxus and started running a gladiatorial arena. Impressive. I didn't know what tricks he'd used to look like this, but for the sake of my safety, I had to pretend I didn't know him.
After Tahm left with the guards, I chatted with the man across from me for a while. He was talkative, and thanks to him, I learned quite a bit about the place.
We were in a town called Doco in northeastern Noxus. Its most famous attraction was this arena. People from nearby towns came to watch the matches and take the opportunity to place bets.
The arena took a cut of the spectators' wagers, so the more people who bet, the better. As for the gladiators' lives, those didn't matter. Their purpose was to put on a spectacular fight.
"By the way, we've been talking for a while, and I still don't know your name. I'm Zhao Xin. What's yours?"
"I'm Jeram."
After exchanging names, we each rested.
It was impossible to tell the time in the pitch-black stone cell. Not long after I woke up, while Jeram was still snoring, I was taken out again.
Since I'd won my last fight easily, today I would be challenging three opponents at once. Their master was still Uzi. He had no stronger slaves, so he had to rely on numbers.
It seemed he was determined to win big at the arena. Tahm had told me that my prize money had risen from twenty gold coins to fifty.
The stands were even more crowded than the day before, and the audience was louder. Tahm wore a broad grin. You could tell this was bringing in a tidy sum.
These three challengers were much like the last one, only they worked together a little. They were nothing compared to the Dauntless Vanguard's soldiers. And I'd become Zhao Xin, who was many times stronger than before. Even unarmed, I was still immensely powerful!
Yesterday, my mind had been in a whirl, and I hadn't been able to focus on the fight. Today was different. I kept my eyes fixed on them, and in even less time than the day before, I had knocked all three to the ground.
In the end, they chose to surrender, and I spared them. Everyone cheered for me except Uzi, who was gritting his teeth in anger.
On the way back, I ran into Jeram. He was being led out to fight. As I passed him, I realized just how incredibly tall he was—at least two heads taller than me, and his waist was more than a full round wider!
Good grief, he was practically a giant!
"Good luck, brother."
"I hope so."
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