Corrupted Stars

Before Our Last Breath

A thousand cuts is only the beginning.

»»————-　★　————-««
Please read the notes at the end of this chapter.
*Edited 8.1.20*

1.

"Xayah, Ahri, run!" Rakan screams as the little girl floating above them smirks, an evil glint flashing through her eyes. She twirls in the air, thunder blasting around them, and suddenly, time seems to stop.

Rakan was frozen, his hand held out in an attempt to grab his two team members that were so close, yet still so far. Behind him, Sarah had a panicked look on her face as she held onto Rakan's other arm, preventing him from running to their distant teammates and getting closer to the danger. Further back behind them, Neeko stood with a frightened face, and her hand clenched over her gem.

Evil, childish laughter echoes around them, and time suddenly seems to move again. However, the air seemed thin, and there was a sudden silence that was almost unbearable. The sky turned dark, and dozens of small, obscure orbs floated down, shimmering as they drift over the faint stars in the sky. As they get closer, it becomes more and more apparent that they are some sort of.. bubbles?

    One of the bubbles float down, resting on the palm of Zoe's hand for a short second as she smirks, clenching her hand shut and popping the bubble. A deafening, ripping noise pierces the air as the ground begins to rumble, causing everyone to stumble. One by one, the bubbles in the air pop, a dark, purpleish substance raining from the sky from inside of them.

    Sarah and Rakan have to dodge multiple drops of the substance, watching as it burns through the hard rubble on the ground when it makes contact. Rakan glances up at Zoe, glaring at her as she watches the purple acid-rain fall from the sky. Sarah gets her guns out and begins shooting as more of the bubbles appear in the sky, causing the substance from inside to explode and splatter everywhere.

    "Sarah, stop! Doing that is just going to make it spread more!" Ahri calls out to Sarah.

    Behind Ahri, Xayah cries out as a drop of the acid rain lands on her arm, sizzling and smoking as it slowly expands and wraps around it like a sleeve. Ahri quickly grabs Xayah's other arm and tugs her towards her team.

    Zoe floats up slightly higher into the air, watching the show below her. Seeing Ahri and the other one trying to escape again, she hums and snaps her fingers, the ripping noise piercing the air again, causing everyone but Zoe to put their hands over their ears and cower. All she wanted was the fox. She knew taking the leader would weaken the 'poor things', and the power in her was almost mesmerizing to Zoe. It sort of reminded her of how she was with her old team.

Giggling, Zoe forms a portal underneath her, waving as she drops into it.

    A new portal formed a bit higher into the air, a winking Zoe appearing before disappearing again. The portal suddenly expands, almost seemingly tearing the sky open, forming what looked like a giant black hole. Thunder roared through the sky again, and darkness oozed from the portal, dripping onto the ground and forming multiple, ink-like puddles. Deep within the darkness, what looked like a singular star flickered, somehow showing through it all.

The ground begins to crack, causing dozens of fissures to appear. Ahri and Xayah attempt to run, only to trip as the ground breaks beneath them. Breathing heavily, they both glance back towards the rip in the sky. Their eyes widen, and they quickly turn back around attempting to run again as a deep, creaking noise sounds from behind them.