As the Winds Flowed in the Night

"Finally, after all these years... I found you. You who brought disgrace to my name. You who took everything from me. You who killed our Elder. Riven..."

Yasuo can only look at contempt at her, the exile of Noxus, as his sword points at her heart. After years of searching, he had found the killer of his Elder, the only other to know of the wind technique, a style that they had thought only he mastered in this generation.

Days after being inducted to the League, Yasuo had only seen her once in a League match in a dispute over territorial claims in the Kumungu Jungles. She was a sight to behold.

The way she danced with her blade was as if she flowed with the wind, mind and body being one. At first he was entranced by her skill, until she revealed her strongest attack: the Wind Slash. It was there that he could only look in shock and anger, that not only did she usurp the technique of his people, but that possibly, even used it against them. The Wind Slash cleaved the behemoth of a lizard they call Renekton where he stood, slicing even the mindless minions in its path. For the first time, Yasuo witnessed the power of his style from another practitioner.

That night, Yasuo can't even sleep thinking about her, and how all this time, she had been in the League all along, on how he could have exposed the truth and brought her to Ionian justice. All this time, he could have redeemed himself and stopped running away. All this time, he could have gone back home, back to the family and friends he left behind, even killed, just to survive. 

And his memoirs of hell came back once more.

Living as a wanderer was like hell, a hell he had to endure for many years. Surviving days of hunger and thirst in the deserts of Shurima, hiding in the sewers of Noxus, having to hunt giant animals in the Kumungu Jungles, withstanding the cruel tundras of the Freljord, even having to outrun horrors in the Shadow Isles. No city would let him in, no person would show kindness, with only the wind as his companion. 

And after years of wandering, he finally reached the Institute of War, home of the League of Legends. And it was there he found her, Riven, the Exile, murderer of his Elder.

And now, he has her in the tip of his blade.

"Because of you, I had to run away, killing my friends, my countrymen, even my own flesh and blood. Because of you, I had to live a life I never deserved. Because of what you did, I lost everything. Prepare to face justice, Riven, I will break you like the sword in your hand." 

But rather raising her sword and fighting back, she only dropped her sword, looking at him with tears in her eyes, a serene, painful sadness flowing from within her gaze.

"I know what I did. I know of my guilt, and all these years I only wished to rebuild Noxus anew and face justice for everything. I did it all for my beliefs, my love for my country, but Noxus only betrayed me, used me, and threw me away when they saw me useless. But I cannot run from what I did. Whatever you do to me, I know I deserve it fully for the horrors I have done. I only beg that you do it swiftly. I know I am undeserving of your forgiveness."

As he is about to raise his blade for the final blow, however, Yasuo relented as he saw the butcher of Noxus just accepted her fate like a dog. His hands froze, and his blade can't barely move. His rage just grew all the more. How could he stop now? How could she... surrender?

"Why?! Why are you not fighting back?! Don't you fear for your own life?! Aren't you gonna raise your sword?! Answer me! answer me, dammit!" Yasuo screamed as he shook Riven furiously.

Riven didn't even raise her hand, she just kneeled, there, waiting for Yasuo's blade to strike her down. 

"Why aren't you fighting for your life?! Aren't you the cold-blooded killer who massacred Ionia's people?! Aren't you a Noxian?! Answer me, Riven!"

"Because she is no longer who she once was."

A woman with gray hair was approaching them, wearing red armor, and Ionia's highest honor, the Mantle of Decorum, an ornament worn only by the worthy. A blade floated in her side, mystically held by an invisible force.

It was Irelia, the Will of the Blades, an Ionian Elder.

"I know who you are Yasuo. You are the accused killer of on of Ionia's oldest Elders, the heir to the wind style, and now a League Champion."

"Here to finish me off?" said Yasuo, still not taking his eyes off Riven.

"Under League rule, I cannot kill another League champion beyond the Summoner's Rift. And even if I can, I won't. Slaying you will not repair what has been destroyed.

However, I cannot turn my back on a friend whose past still haunt her to this day. I cannot let you harm Riven, Yasuo, Even if I have to bend League rule to do so." said Irelia.

"You will never understand the pain. The pain of having to kill those you love, having to leave your only home behind, living a life that even the world itself wants you dead. You will NEVER understand what I've been through!" Yasuo said back in anger.

"Maybe not me, but what about her? How many Noxians do you think she killed to live? How many years do you think she suffered? You may have had family but Noxus is all she got left. But unlike you... she swore to reforge her life. To create a new Noxus. A Noxus whose strength is respected and praised. A nation whose name no longer means cruelty and death. But you, all along you have been innocent, but you cling to your guilt. You may have found the killer, but what good would it do? You killed so many, even your own brother. Is her death worth all the lives you took?" Irelia said straight to Yasuo.

Irelia's words hit him straight home. And Yasuo looked at Riven's face. Those golden eyes, that white flowing hair that billows in the night, the scars in her cheek, the tears that rolled...

Her face had marks of pain and strife that she had to endure for many years. The suffering she endured, it was worse than what he had to live through. It was far too maddening. But here she is, alive, determined... and alone.

Her face was sad, yet resolute. Scarred... but beautiful.

Is this really the killer? Is this the one who took everything from me? Is this maiden... really a murderer?

Yasuo's sword dropped, and he fell on his knees.

For the first time in years, he let the tears flow.

But the only one who consoled him in his sadness... was his own enemy.

Irelia could only watch in sadness as Yasuo cried in Riven's arms as the winds flowed in the night sky... letting two broken souls console each other in their bittersweet embrace.