But I Refuse

As they neared White Harbor, Jia Ruo sent the somewhat tired Neeko back to the ship.

He wanted to take a walk along the coast himself. After all, he'd spent so long aboard the ship and wanted to stay on land a little longer.

It was so reassuring not to be rocking back and forth, Jia Ruo thought.

He didn't get seasick, but this was the first time he'd spent more than twenty days straight aboard a ship, and he still felt a little out of sorts.

In the dusky light of evening, he casually made the plants by the roadside grow taller and twist into different shapes.

It was too slow, not even half as fast as Neeko.

After all, what Neeko was really good at was spirit magic. Controlling plants was just a little trick for her.

When Jia Ruo came back to his senses, he realized he'd wandered into a river inlet.

But even more terrifying was the fact that he couldn't find his way back.

As Jia Ruo panicked, a figure emerged from the river and ambled over to him.

It was a ridiculously fat, enormous catfish with four limbs, a pair of small, dark-yellow eyes, and a wide, grinning mouth. The two rows of sharp teeth inside made Jia Ruo uneasy.

"Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Tahm Kench."

He took off the little bowler hat perched on his enormous bald head. His fat body, squeezed into a formal suit, barely managed a slight bow.

"Don't be nervous, young man."

Tahm looked at Jia Ruo, who was slumped on the ground and trembling.

But that was how everyone acted the first time they met Tahm.

"Slurp."

Tahm stretched out his long tongue and licked Jia Ruo's face.

Jia Ruo hurriedly scooted farther back.

"I can taste your desire for power."

Tahm chuckled, his two whiskers twitching.

"Here's what I'll do, my boy. Let's make a deal: you can go back unharmed, and you'll get a reward... all you have to do is bring me someone to take your place."

"Of course, you can bring me more than one person."

Tahm spat out three objects: a gleaming blade and two gemstones, one red and one blue.

"This is a fine weapon, and these two are a ruby and a Blue Crystal,"

he explained.

"The ruby holds magic that can strengthen your life force, while the Blue Crystal will help you commune with the elements of magic more easily."

"If you bring me one person, you can choose one of them. Bring me two, and they're all yours. And if you need more, I've got plenty of other good things in my belly."

He patted his belly, and his heavy paunch jiggled.

In Runeterra, the essence of every method of attack was the power of magical elements. When people absorbed those elements into their bodies, letting Mana surge through their limbs or coating their weapons and skin with it for battle, ordinary people liked to call them warriors. Those who directly communed with the magical elements and cast spells were Mages.

Of course, many powerful people weren't limited to one path. They were both.

Clearly, the ruby and the Blue Crystal were items that enhanced those two abilities.

Tahm narrowed his eyes until they were nearly invisible.

He loved to satisfy human greed first, then take back everything he'd given—and more besides.

The despair of those he lured in was the perfect nourishment for his endless appetite.

"Come on, make your decision. Use whatever means you like—kidnap them, deceive them, threaten them, bribe them. Just bring someone back."

"If I... if I bring someone back," Jia Ruo asked, trembling and breathing heavily, "and hand them over to you... you'll really let me go?"

"Ah, yes. It's a deal, of course. You can even trade for more. Come on, say yes."

Jia Ruo stood up, as if he were about to decide.

But things didn't go as Tahm expected.

Jia Ruo's gaze suddenly grew firm, and his body stopped trembling.

His voice wasn't loud, but it was steady. "But I refuse."

When sacrificing someone else could save his own life and even get him what he secretly longed for, Jia Ruo was the first person to refuse without hesitation.

Tahm could sense other people's desires. There was no doubt that Jia Ruo longed for power.

"What I, Jia Ruo, love most is telling self-important fools no,"

Jia Ruo added.

Tahm had never actually killed anyone himself. He only confiscated the lives of those who couldn't repay their debts after making deals with him, along with their despair.

But Jia Ruo didn't know that.

The only thing he knew for sure was that when facing this demon who tempted humans, he must never, ever, ever make a deal with it.

Jia Ruo seemed to have no choice.

Tahm was so enraged that he scooped Jia Ruo up with his tongue and raised him until they were eye to eye, fixing him with his small, dark-yellow eyes.

After a long while, Tahm flung Jia Ruo into the river and let the current carry him away.

Interesting. We'll meet again.

Next time, the choice I give you will make you bloom with the most delicious despair.

Tahm slowly sank beneath the water...

Meanwhile, the river carried Jia Ruo to the estuary.

When he looked back, the river inlet had vanished.

Jia Ruo thought that the midsummer night was unusually cold.

It must have been because he was soaked to the skin.

Unfortunately, that was an illusion.

The cold came from the lingering terror, from the shadow left by the feeling of having his life held in someone else's grasp.

He was still too weak. After exchanging only a brief glance with Tahm, Jia Ruo had clearly seen the difference between them—he was like duckweed, powerless against the river's whims.

No duckweed could survive in a river, yet he was still alive...

By the time Jia Ruo found the merchant ship, water dripping from his clothes, the moon was already high in the sky.

The gangplank had long since been pulled up, so Jia Ruo could only wake the sailor on night watch, who had dozed off.

The sailor grumpily lowered a rope. "Would you look at that? Who comes back at this hour after we've already docked?"

Jia Ruo climbed the rope and swung over the rail. He didn't answer, just silently made his way back to his room.

"Jia Ruo, what happened?"

Neeko had been waiting for him to return. She hurriedly sat up and asked.

Jia Ruo sensed Neeko probing his Shuoma.

"Neeko, didn't I tell you not to peek into my memories? I need some privacy."

After being nourished by the energy in the shard for so long, he could now faintly sense when Neeko touched his soul.

Jia Ruo was afraid Neeko would see how frightened he'd been.

"Hmph, you stinky Jia Ruo. I was only worried about you. Fine, I won't look."

"Okay, okay. Don't be upset."

Jia Ruo changed into another set of dry clothes and climbed into bed. Resting his head on Neeko's lap, he continued, "Privacy is a matter of respect. Besides... stories are better with a little suspense, aren't they?"

So Neeko took a towel and dried Jia Ruo's hair as he slowly told her everything that had happened: the catfish-like demon, the deal that tempted people into depravity, that long, slimy tongue...

Neeko was still frightened. She hugged Jia Ruo's head tightly. "I'm just glad you're okay."

"Don't worry. I'm not going to fall for his tricks," Jia Ruo said. "I'm a clever little guy."

That night, though, he dreamed of that huge mouth again...