Forge of worlds - League of legends fanfic

Chapter 13- Terrorized shoma

Walking through the halls of the mansion she looked at every painting she passed by, from images that portrayed the Shuriman sun disk, to the sight over mountains drifting on an island. The Piltover culture was new to her as if she skipped a whole timeline where the only gods that existed were mentioned in a figure of speech, where the threat of the void was unthinkable. With the tech they had they were prepared to fight an army, single handedly even. Looking around once more she stumbled on a painting at the end of the hall, portraying two people looking rather happy than composed when this frame was made. Tilting her head to one side she noticed their features were alike to Ezreal's, assuming that they must be his parents. The more attention she paid to it, the more she saw the strong features in his face back on his father, but more soothing from the skin from his mother, having her blonde hair and the markings on his cheeks.
'Kai'Sa?' Speak of the devil, his voice echoed from afar and she looked at the painting a bit longer, the people she saw that became more and more recognisable. With one more calling of her name she turned away and walked back into the hall, where she encountered the explorer with sheets tucked in his arms.
'These blankets as old as this place, so I took the time to have them dusted out.'
Kai'Sa looked around the hall, still amazed that a building like this was considered a home. It was rather... big. Slightly uncomfortable with how wealthy he actually were she brushed the thought off and took the blankets out of his arms, not wanting him to put more effort into her. 'You sound like there have not been visitors for quite some time.'
Ezreal shrugged and guided her to the staircase, with every step softened by the red, velvet carpet. Just like the rest of the place was it almost unused, no foot prints, no pressed heels, wrapped out of it's protection the day she arrived. 'I don't like staying here, it's more of a memory to my parents. After they disappeared and I were old enough to travel abroad I had already left.'
'It does feel hollow from the inside, almost a decent retreat after months of travel,' She looked from her arms to him and smiled faintly. 'Is that how you are using it?
'Hey it has all the luxury to patch me up and let me go, what else would I use it for.' She agreed with him, though she never had a house of her own she considered all of Shurima her home, wherever she were she knew that she belonged to the desert, even though the other humans did not accept her. Whether she were underground exploring the tunnels and preying on the void or walking the desert to get a glimpse of the sun, all was like so long the sand crisped under her feet. She could not see her settling down in the same building, with the slightest memory she had of her father travelling all the time she blamed his genetic pool for being just like him.
'Alfred took the liberty to put all the clothes you bought at the market on your bed and once you get changed throw me the ones you're wearing right now.'
She already forgot that the clothing that had served as her temporary second skin did not belong to her, if only she could find a way to thank the owner. 'Is she coming over to retrieve them?' She wondered.
Ezreal nodded, leaning against the door frame. 'She promised to kill me if I didn't give it back tomorrow, so I expect that she'll be at my doorstep the moment the sun comes up.'
Kai'Sa chuckled and held with one hand onto the door and the other on the blankets. 'You really did not have to go through the trouble, I should have just accepted the fact I might be calling for attention when wearing my second skin.'
He shook his head and held out the bottle with the voidling. 'You're not seeing the difference I'm seeing.' Holding her hand out she asked for the bottle, but he refused to give it to her. 'I'm not risking to see you all overwhelmed by the voidling again, the promise is to enjoy your time here in Piltover before you're allowed to turn back.'
She signed, dusting her lap off, crossing her legs. 'Fine, but I should not slack off, I at least want to keep my senses sharp.'
Lifting a single brow he walked into her room, the bottle still resting in his hand. 'What did you have in mind?'
Her calm gesture turned into a more daring one, placing her hand on her knee she leaned forward. 'We spar tomorrow,' Before he could ask she shook her head and smiled. 'No rules.'
Ezreal was surprised at her request, considering the possibility. No action had happened in the past three days and he noticed that he too were slacking off not being on the road for this long. 'I'll warn you, I won't hold back.'
'That is what I am looking forward too.' A silence fell in between them when Kai'Sa turned her back and made her own bed in the guest room, an almost inaudible gulp that sounded from out Ezreal's direction. There was nothing said that could be mistaken for underlying tension, nothing that could have remotely triggered anything but the excitement of their battle, yet, with the last words of her sentence, it felt like his mind had taken it out of context. Shaking the thought out of his mind he reminded himself that the girl before him were a dear friend of his, he only knew her for week now and grew fondly of each other, not like he could say the same about Lux, what made her a treasure worth fighting for. That is the spirit that Ezreal was chasing after, the girl of his dreams.
He bit the inside of his cheek and looked away from the girl preparing her bed, maybe he spent too much time with her that his mind and body mistook some signals. Perhaps because he had not seen Lux recently and tried to project those feelings onto another, no way that he would risk his friendship with someone that finally understood how he felt.
Lux was what he were chasing after, no one else.

Wrapped in a cocoon of blankets the girl rested in the serenity of silence, dreaming of a world that had no place in the real one. Where trees grew green and fertility blessed the fruits to hang low, that with a single bite would burst an explosion of sweetness. A dream where her family had not suffered the foul consequences of the existence of the void, talking about the sun and the moon, staring at the clouds drifting by. Playing tag she ran after the shadow of her father, but every step she hit onto the ground echoed like a knock on the surface, echoing a hollow sound. Time slowed down and she noticed her father still running, but this time out of fear.
'Father?' She mumbled, reaching her hand out to call back on him. A shriek was held down when her glimpse caught onto the scaled armour sunken into her skin. Impossible, how could she have turned when there was no voidling to be seen. 'Father, wait. It's me!' Resuming her pace, her feet hit even harder onto the surface, more swift, as if she were praying onto the man that had raised her. Screaming for his name, begging for him to stay, she could only watch him burn through every muscle his fragile body held, running until he would reach the morning sun rising from the horizon. 'Father, please wait!' Tears burned a crossed her cheeks, leaving marks of flesh and blood. After running on the pace of what her body could grant the voidling took over, the helmet forced onto her head as it drifted towards the man running for his life. The canons were summoned once more, his shadow that became a clear vision of his darkened hair and broad posture. Kai'Sa screamed underneath the mask, begging for the creature to not kill her father, but before the deed could have been done, she woke up from the sound of knocking.
Gasping for air, left breathless her eyes gazed around the room. The guest room in Ezreal's mansion had greeted her warmly with it's colourful interior, soft textures and gentle blankets. With her arms crossed over one another she did not dare to look down to see if the void indeed had returned, a sigh of relief calmed her racing throat when her fingertips stroke over the soft skin of her arm. You're still here Kai'sa, it was just a horrible dream. She said aloud and pressed the back of her hand against her head, drying the drops of sweat, only then to hear the knocks echo louder. Ezreal had not woken up yet and she doubted that the housekeeper would be ready at dawn, it would have been rude of her to wake him up from his slumber if he were sleeping that deeply so she pushed the blankets away, smiling at the sight of her own legs turning to the edge of the bed.
With careful steps she followed the stairs into the great hall, witnessing the mansion at sunrise it did not seem as big as she thought it were during the evening. A clear look granted vision over the carpet rolled out to the wooden door with painted glass hindering the visitor from peeking inside. The silhouettes through the glass were almost menacing, almost void like when the first visitor had long ears and a cloak hanging over it's shoulder, the second having horns peaking out on the sides of it's head with a tail resting on the ground, the third towering above the others holding onto the silhouette with the longer ears, the last had tails, not sure of how many they were unveiled over the ground. This is not the void Kai'sa, these were probably the people that Ezreal lend the clothing off, but why were they with so many. She tightened her muscles, prepared for a firm strike if indeed the void had managed to mutate into human like creatures and invade the city, but to her surprise, when she opened the door, she stared right into golden laid pupils observing her in the same manner as she did.
Blinking flustered her eyes examined every creature that stood before her, the silhouette with the longer ears was a birdlike woman with purple hair resting on her shoulder, her violet wing that shone in the lights, accompanied by an alike species, but male with golden accents and heavenly blue eyes. The youngest looking girl that she mistook for a spiked monster appeared to be a chameleon crossed human species with enormous eyes staring at her as if she did not see the person, but the soul inside and last the woman with the countless tails, her blonde hair was tied up in a knot on top of her head, her eyes still taking Kai'Sa into mind as if she were the weird one among them.
'Are you the girl Ezreal mentioned us about?' The fox lady exclaimed, struck by disbelief.
The female bird rolled her eyes at her and mumbled. 'I already find it hard to believe anyone could spend time with him.' The male smiled in slight disappointment towards the woman and they exchanged a quick chuckle.
The chameleon girl jumped into the building, which had triggered one of Kai'Sa's instinct that she were out for battle. Ignoring the warrior at stance the curious chameleon leaned in closer to Kai'Sa, holding onto a strand of hair to push back. 'You are very beautiful! Like cactus flower in lonesome desert, yes!'
The tall male held onto the chameleon's shoulders and dragged her away from Kai'Sa when he noticed she were disturbed by their... expressive behaviour. 'I'm sorry, she likes to say whatever comes to mind, it's likely negative,' He held onto her upper arm and let the chameleon reach her hand out to Kai'Sa for them to officially meet. 'This is Neeko, probably the only one of her kind that you will meet.'
The only one of her kind, Kai'Sa suddenly felt her guard fall down at the sight of Neeko, someone who was alike to her, yet different in many ways. After the voidling had made her one of them and left it's genetic inside her, she too was a kind of her own. Happily she took Neeko's hand in hers and shook it with a strong hand. 'Hello Neeko, I am Kai'Sa.'
The flower shaped pupils expanded and the chameleon laughed excitedly. 'Your shoma, it burns in many colours!' She sunk through her knees and rested one of her hands on the ground, assuming that it was their way of bowing to one another. 'Neeko is very happy to meet you.'
Kai'Sa smiled with the same kindness as she radiated and now locked eyes with the tall birdlike man, reaching his hand out they too introduced themselves to one another. 'And I am the one and only, superior to all Vastaya, Rrrrakan.'
Rakan, the name called her back upon the stroll she had through the dessert. 'You're Ezreal's friend!' Her finger pointed towards him and the man scratched the back of his head, chuckling flustered as to see her happiness when she remembered it. Now looking at the other birdlike creature she remembered the girl he had referred to as his girlfriend. 'And you are his girlfriend, correct?'
At first sight she had thought that the woman was more drawn back and cold on purpose, but she too now were caught off guard and smiled with a faint blush burning on her cheeks. 'That's me.' Reaching her hand out they too shook hands as introduction. 'I'm Xayah.'
Kai'Sa was so relieved to meet the group, what first seemed like an ambush planned by the void, gave her the feeling that they were the odd ones in the whole gathering who suddenly actually seem to be friendly. So suddenly she did not feel weird for her markings on her face and lavender eyes, because so did all the others do.
The blonde fox brushed her hair back and walked passed Kai'Sa, rubbing one of her white tails right underneath the tip of her nose. Confused by her way of introduction she looked over her shoulder and winked at Kai'Sa as if she were planned to be her next meal, which Kai'Sa did not take kindly. 'And I'm Ahri, but you probably already knew.' With both brows raised she did not think she would ever meet someone more confident than Ezreal, boy were she wrong.
'Did you guys lose your dog?' A snaky comment echoed from above and all attention were on the blonde man leaning against the stair fence. Ahri sighed slightly annoyed at the entrance of Ezreal and reached out her hand for him to give what he had borrowed from her, her hand gracefully resting on her hip.
Tilting her head slightly she tried to get something out of the whole tension that played in between the explorer and the nine tailed fox, but she had no words to make any story up than the hatred they felt for another, not in a way that made humans shed blood, but the one's that were only suitable for siblings.
'So, what did blondie do to you that you're stuck here?' A sarcastic, yet cold voice spoke aside of her, not even five minutes in and she could already tell each personality apart from another.
'I am not held against my will, if that is what you're hinting towards.'
Xayah shook her shoulders and looked bored out of her mind before her. 'No offence, I'm not that close to him to get why you would stick around. Around me he's a pain in the ass.'
'Xayah!' Neeko exclaimed almost furiously at her language, which only resulted into her rolling her eyes.
'What I was trying to say is that he's arrogance himself. Rarely on time, always looking for trouble, has the snakiest comments.'
Never had anyone be as confused as Kai'Sa were, since she did not see any of these sides besides his sudden ego trips. She exchanged looks with Rakan when he shook his head as if he were trying to say that he were nothing like the description and saw the sides that she had seen.
Ezreal had returned from his dorm, Ahri's clothing folded neatly after Kai'Sa had returned them to him. Teleporting from the upper staircase he came down to meet her eye-level, even though he were much taller than her.
At the exchange of her clothing Ahri brushed her hair back and glanced one more time to Kai'Sa, her eyes moving as if she were reading her face. 'She doesn't look very Vastaya to me, Ezreal.'
Xayah and Rakan gave Kai'sa a quick glance and did not really care for the description Ezreal had given them about her, they had accepted her before they even knew who she were. Something had bounded their souls to each other, which made Ezreal only stand out.
'Well, you caught me on a lie, I still got what I wanted so I guess it's me that winning.' He grinned, the corner of his lip raised in a devious manner.
'On the contrary,' Ahri exclaimed with an innocent tone in her voice. 'She is really beautiful, I wouldn't mind making her one of us.' The fox had pulled on one of his sensitive strings, the smile he had before vanishing like snow before the sun and his glimpse fell back on Kai'Sa, the last thing he had wished for her to become was one of them, she was already a guardian to Shurima, he would not saddle her with more troubles.
'What are you doing here any ways, since when do you guys get along with her.' And he looked at the couple, clearly enjoying the show.
'After all the events she wanted us to spend some more quality time with one another to rule out the future of us relapsing to our past.' Xayah mimicked Ahri's voice to every tone which only made the hateful tension between them worse, one friendship that was perhaps beyond redemption, forgiveness was one hard to earn from a Vastaya, especially when they lived long enough to have the time for it.
'That was actually spot on, how many times did you have to practise that?' Rakan asked curiously, missing the point that was happening between them, but it nonetheless caught Xayah off guard and she chuckled at him.
'I'll explain it to you later, honey.' The couple intertwined their hands and looked at each other as if they were about to share more than words, if Ezreal had not cut it out.
'You're really disturbing my vibe here right now, please never come back in a paired group like that any more.' He said while pushing Ahri out of the house, followed by the rest. Neeko stuck a bit longer and crawled towards Kai'Sa, rising from the ground her face was only a single breath away from touching hers. Though the daughter of the void had her boundaries and how close someone were allowed to get, it was as if she were locked in a trance when Neeko observed her closely, would take her soul more in vision. 'Void woman is hurt.'
Kai'Sa blinked quickly and mimicked every movement the chameleon made. 'How did you-'
'Neeko can see your shoma, it is what humans call a soul, but differently. Neeko sees pain and grief, but also a side that Kai'Sa does not allow to be a part of her.'
Before Kai'Sa could ask what she meant by that, she ran on all four out of the building, disappearing around the corner.

A side that she did not allow herself to be a part of?
Could it be... the void?