A Deal with Ryze

Ryze had seen a real Darkin.

The knowledge Tyrus had taught him wasn't comprehensive. Tyrus knew only a little about the Darkin.

The last time Ryze went to Ionia, it was to seal a World Rune. Just as he was about to leave, he accidentally wandered into a temple.

Inside, he saw a longbow radiating a dangerous aura, sealed within a complex formation.

Even so, the longbow could communicate with Ryze through the Spiritual Realm, luring him into helping it break free of its seal and promising him boundless power.

The longbow's mind seemed to be in a strange state. Besides that, it told Ryze many things even Tyrus didn't know.

That was how Ryze learned more secrets about the Ancient Shurima Empire.

After all, Ryze was someone who could resist the temptation of the World Runes. Compared with them, a Darkin Weapon wasn't enough to make him lose himself.

"What exactly are you after with those runes?" Ryze asked in a low voice.

"I'm not interested in the runes," Ato pointed behind him. "He's the one who wants to use the World Runes to kill himself."

Ryze froze. "What do you mean? He wants to kill himself?"

Ato spread his hands. "I mean exactly what I said. We're using the runes without any special purpose. He's a Darkin who wants nothing more than to die."

"The Celestials have already tried. They could only seal him, not truly destroy him. They don't have that power, you know?"

Ryze fell into a conflicted silence. Seeing that Ryze was no longer being so forceful, Ato continued, "Do you think you're stronger than the Celestials without relying on the runes?"

"I know where his power comes from. It's on a level far above the Celestials. Without that kind of power, killing him is impossible."

"The World Runes are the only option we can consider. It's the only way to grant his wish to die."

The usually talkative Aatrox didn't say a word.

"Why should I help you?" Ryze had already begun to waver after learning Ato's true identity.

Darkin Weapons could cloud people's minds. Anyone who craved power would become their puppet. Ryze, who had once been tempted, knew that all too well.

Yet Ato could completely control a Darkin Weapon. Judging by its aura, the Blood-red Greatsword was even more powerful than the longbow he'd seen last time.

That meant Ato had a strong will and an attitude toward power much like his own.

Little did Ryze know that Ato had planned all of this.

It was because he understood Ryze that Ato had revealed his true identity.

Ryze trusted no one. There was only one exception: someone who could resist the temptation of overwhelming power.

"This is a deal. Help me, and I'll tell you where to find a World Rune."

Ryze held his breath. He'd searched for so long without finding any clues. How could Ato know?

Ato began digging into secrets only Ryze knew. "You discovered the Pillar of Magic Suppression beneath Demacia. As it happened, it held a Yellow World Rune—the Precision rune."

"It was secretly built by the Previous Emperor of Demacia to seal the rune. He even took the secret to his grave to ensure it would be kept."

"People in Demacia today don't know that a treasure capable of destroying the world lies underground near the Imperial Capital."

"So you decided to move the rune you'd hidden hundreds of years ago here!"

Ryze's hands began to tremble, and he could barely maintain the Imprisonment Magic.

Everything Ato said was true! How much else did this man know?

But Ato wasn't done. He pressed on. "Before you found the Pillar of Magic Suppression, you'd already sealed the two runes you got from your teacher, Tyrus, one in Ionia and the other in Shurima."

"Later, you took on a disciple. His name was Kigen, and you still haven't given up on him, have you?"

"Kigen... Kigen will come to his senses!" Ryze suddenly shouted, startling Sarah and the others.

"Kigen took a rune from you. You found it while traveling across the continent—a World Rune Fragment."

"The rune turned him into a blaze that wanted to burn the world to ashes. He gravely wounded you, and he kept trying to seize the World Rune you held..."

"Stop!" Ryze waved his hand, dispelling the Imprisonment Magic.

"Give me some time!" Then he turned around and slowly walked toward the cabin below, his back looking forlorn.

Aatrox thought to himself that everyone with a story had secrets that were no longer secrets before the little thing, even if they'd never told anyone.

"Mr. Ato, are you all right?" Sarah hurried over. "Have you resolved your disagreement with Mr. Ryze?"

The two had spoken in low voices until the last couple of lines, so the others hadn't heard what they'd discussed.

"It's nothing serious. Once we've talked it through, it'll be fine." Ato shook his head.

"We're heading to Ionia and Freljord this time. By the time you get back to Bilgewater, it'll probably have been two months. Get the supplies ready, and then we'll set off."

"You're right." Sarah hadn't expected Ato to know so much about sailing.

"For a long voyage, supplies are essential. We have a few good suppliers on Fleet Street."

"Raven, contact them and get the supplies ready as soon as possible. If all goes well, we'll be able to leave this time tomorrow."

Dusk fell, but the "Siren" was still bustling with activity.

Ryze sat in his resting room, head in his hands, lost in memories.

He never would have imagined that a human could completely control a Darkin Weapon, or even know everything about his past.

For a thousand years, he'd lived alone. The few humans he occasionally met were only brief encounters. In the end, their limited lifespans meant they all vanished into the river of history.

Ato was definitely no ordinary human.

Just as Ryze was pondering Ato's true origins, the man in question pushed the door open and walked straight in!

"I've come to honor our deal, Mr. Ryze." Ato casually closed the door behind him.

"If you're still worried, you can cast a soundproofing spell on the room. No one else aboard this ship knows magic."

Ryze instinctively raised a hand. An invisible barrier spread over the entire room, and suspicion filled his eyes.

"Are you sure? Of the Five World Runes, only one is currently sealed in Demacia. As for the other two, even I don't know their present state after all these centuries. I'm going to Ionia this time to move a rune. Telling me where one of them is now seems premature."

He didn't doubt the truth of Ato's information at all. Given that Ato had seen straight through his "underwear," it wasn't strange that he knew the location of a World Rune. Besides, it would be easy to verify.

"This is how I show my sincerity. There's something I forgot to tell you: killing the one behind me requires the power of all Five Runes gathered together."

"If we really go down that road, I'll let you control the power of the runes. That's the real deal."

"What?" Ryze wondered if he'd heard wrong.

The power of a single World Rune was enough to move mountains and fill seas.

From high above the eastern part of Valoran, one could clearly see an unnatural gap in the land.

It was now ocean, but a thousand years ago, it had been land—and Ryze's homeland, Noxus.

"All five runes are necessary, but you don't need to fully unleash them. They only need to reach a level of power sufficient to destroy him."

"What matters is the quality, the level," Ato said helplessly. "Power itself isn't frightening. What's frightening is its master."

Ryze remained silent, consumed by endless conflict.