Forge of worlds - League of legends fanfic

Chapter 35 - Corruption

In a vast and deep darkness there was no one to join him after he had left his home. When he had expected Neeko to pounce at him the second he set foot outside of his own property, but not even the insects chirped at his presence. It was almost ominous for no one to accompany  him when he managed to take on his guardian form after 3 attemps. Ezreal leaped in to the air and flew off in to the direction that had given him a hint of Ahri's whereabout. His eyes followed the ocean that spread beneath him, if it had not been for Yuuto ,who occasionally chirped at every turn, he would have been sure that he were the only one left roaming the planet. It was unusual to not feel his other team members, maybe his charm had not just flicked to summon him but to send out a warning. Only when he stepped out in to the night, he noticed the light in his gem started to flicker. Now that he no longer felt the presence of his other teammates other than Ahri, he feared something had happened in his absence. How was he able to hear Neeko when he did not even feel her any more?
'I don't like this, Yuuto,' The explorer mumbled softly, he usually ran away from trouble as far as he could, not because he was scared, but because he could not be bothered with it. If it were grave or important, maybe the he would have bat an eye, but if his assumptions were right and he arrived at an havocked place, his chances to escape the guardianship were right in front of him. But was it worth it when they had fought so much to save the others? He would have to let go of Xayah, Rakan, Neeko, Sona and-
Gritting his teeth he looked around in every direction, frustrated to how slow he was moving. The explorer flicked his finger and asked his star animal for help, so he could grant him the wings to fly faster. Yuuto chirped happily and swung around the neck of the guardian, evaporating in to a dust of blue sparkles before it nested itself in his spine and sprouted wings. In a different world he might have liked his attire and the abilities that came with it, he would have gladly liked his wings and the chance to explore the galaxy, but did he really have to appear like this? His thought were soon to be cut off at the sight of mount Targon, captivated by the structure of the building that stood on top he finally sensed the presence of his other team mates, but what were they doing there? The explorer halted his flight and hovered in the air as he looked around his area, since it was night the moon supported the celestial tower with it's power. Rumours speak that some stars are gifted for every ray of light the temple receives as a source of energy. Ahri always believed it was the temple's fault they were the way they are. Only now did Ezreal notice a spark reflecting from one of the marble pillars, one that hinted at him as a message that they were there, or could possible be just a remnant of a fight that took place. The guardian flew down, releasing the grip he had on Yuuto so the creature could seek shelter in the gap of his gauntlet. Gently the tip of his toes touched the ground, creating a wind that blew the dust around his feet away. His hand reached for the golden embroidered feather that was pierced deeply in to the structure of the pillar. There was but one person that had daggers sharp enough to cut through anything in the most illogical sense possible.
Xayah.
But why would she leave this here? He wondered to himself. There was not a single moment in his life where he could recall Xayah carelessly leaving her belongings around, more so when it came down to her own feathers. If even a single strand of hair stained the ground the rebel was sure to remember him why leaving hints or tracks would only bring consequences to their future. Who ever was still in there must have had given her a reason time to make her so careless of her own stuff. But even during these times he would not let a chance like this slip through his fingers, with little effort did he manage to pull out the feather from the pillar. His eyes widened at the sight of the long, sharp edged dagger that had given him nightmares the first time they had met each other. There were many attempts in obtaining one of her treasured feathers, mainly because she praised them for their existence. Sadly the Vastaya did not come with a warning or a backlog for him to understand the consequences of him stealing or taking one of her feathers. He almost had to pay her with his blood by just being in the presence of a lost dagger. Barely any archeologist possessed magically enhanced Vastaya weaponary that was made by themselves, let alone known one personally. All Ezreal could ever find of the Vastaya were field logs where the creatures were observed.
Though he learned from his mistake not to touch them, he carefully ran his finger over the sharp edge and had instantly cut a wound in his skin. Many would have regret their decisions, but Ezreal saw possibilities. He quickly stored the feather in the mechanic of his gauntlet, hoping that neither his gauntlet or the feather would get damaged. With steady and careful steps he walked in, the outside light and ambience slowly faded the deeper he ventured in. There was no direct sound, but that was to be expected in a temple that stands for the ascended and aspects of the world, every room and chamber was different from the other. Why would they pick a place like this one when there were many more locations to fight someone?
Only now did he realise the atmosphere was getting colder, chilled his warm skin with every step closer to his destination. The sound of his own footsteps echoing from the marble walls was almost menacing, as he wondered why it were so quiet. When beams of lights finally fell in to the next chamber he had entered, reflections of more daggers laying scattered over the floor caught his attention. It was not just one feather, she must have used her entire wing from the look of it. Splashes of blood, fur and hair stained the floor and walls. Ezreal's eyes widened, he had seen a lot of horrors and lived through curses, but now he lived a real nightmare of where his team was possibly slaughtered. His heart jumped in his throat when the sound of weeping sounded from one of the overshadowed corners, a faint light that flickered in fear of his presence. The explorer drew a string of hextech energy from his glistening gauntlet, readying it for a shot in case it were the enemy that tried to lure him in. Instead he faced a nightmare worse than the ones that had haunted him before, in the weak light of her gem shivered Soraka in fear and dread while tears ran down her cheeks. Her gloved hands were drenched in blood, pressuring down on to the throat of another guardian.
Ezreal's breath clung on to his throat, his fingers that let go of the string of energy to kneel down in to the puddle of blood that spread around her head. 'Sarah.'
Sarah, the only one in the team he had somewhat bonded with raised her eyes to him. A wound that could have only been cut open by one of Xayah's feathers seeped out streams of blood. She tried to draw her lips from each other to speak, but it all came out in gurgling sounds. Soraka had her jaws locked tight and looked in his eyes. 'We tried to find Zoe-' Gasping for air she tried to bring out the words, but none of them were clear enough for him to fully understand. '-She said some words and Xayah-'
Ezreal placed his hand on her back, though his intentions were to comfort her the star child shook uncontrollably. Breaking down in tears she leaned her temple against his and held steadily on to Sarah, drawing every bit of power she had left to keep her alive. 'Is Rakan corrupt too?'
Soraka shook her head, a sniff that quickly followed as she grunted one more time to force her healing powers to reach her hands. 'He has always been aware that Zoe tried to control him, she couldn't get to him.'
'Is he just as wounded?' The star child frowned her forehead, lost in thought of what could have possibly happened to him. It gave him all the answer he needed, now it was up to him to decide whether to keep his teammate alive or let her succumb to her wounds. This time it were in his own hands, none of his decisions were influenced by a fate like the maze of truth did. The explorer spread his fingers on the spine of the star child, focusing all of his energy and will in that exact moment. Visualising the threads of his own magic source he spun a cord strong enough to transfer it to her, with just a single breath he pushed through her nerve system and set a link for them to share his power. A glow of aquatic light radiated from both of them. The light that once flickered faintly at the loss of her own strength shone brightly and Soraka had finally the energy to draw on her healing powers once again. Sarah's fingers twitched around the wrist of the star child when the recovery finally took place, granting her the strength to move again. The gushing wound slowly grew shut, but the loss of blood still remained around her. Soraka's drenched hands removed the one that rested on her back, her eyes gazed at him as if she were giving him enough reason to not give her all of his strength. Neither of the girls could speak, both were too startled and dreaded by the horrendous event. It did not take long for Ezreal to understand that they wanted him to continue without them, as much as he wanted to turn around and run away to the exit, he knew a fate terrible than the current one would await him. What more could be behind the next door that would set him off even more. Was Lux's team here too and were they just as wounded? How did Xayah fall to corruption again and was Rakan fine? Too many question, little to no answers. The main question had been where his leader was, it was not Ahri's style to have everyone split up. How could this have happened when their group had increased so rapidly? They were a total of fifteen man, fighting a single girl. Something had to be up for them lose this badly. Ezreal took one last glance at the pair laying on the ground, Sarah who had given one of her rare smiles to wish him the best of luck. Who knew if it would be the last time he would see her, not that he would die. He lifted his nose at the thought of him dying, there was too much for him to lose if he died. In just that simple moment had he gone from almost losing his teammate, to the arrogant guy he was known to be from time to time. Too arrogant to even permit himself to die at the cost of losing valuables that could be his. Strangely enough, it had given him the motivation to look for the others.

Minutes had gone by and after each chamber he was almost convinced that he was still trapped in the maze of truth. His thought went out in to a spiral where he imagined a universe where all of the things he had been through had just been a part of the maze and he were still running around in it. If that were true, it would have made him want to leave even more to find Kai'Sa again. How he longed for her to be around, since he had no idea what he would do if he found the others. What would he do if he saw Zoe? Would he just fight her or run for his life since he knew that she had a crush on him. The thought of a woman being stuck in a body that had not aged for more than a thousand years brought shiver up his spine, by the time he would grow old she would drag him to an ice parlour for who knows what. He didn't know what nightmare was worse, losing Kai'Sa or being fated to live with a child that never grew old.
His thoughts were cut off when the sound of clashing blades sounded not so far from his location. There were only a handful of members in their teams to fight back with steel, he hoped for Xayah's opponent to be Poppy, but just as he had feared he ran in to a chamber where the rebel fought the alternative version of the girl he fancies. Ezreal had never seen the guardian in her corrupt form to know what her wrath would look like, but judging by the amount of anger and frustration she displayed at the daggers she aimed at Kaisa, he knew that if he got in between them his head for the first one to roll. Sparks of light flickered from the meeting of their blades, daggers that were tossed with a lethal aim. Both were as skilled to predict their moves, it was only a matter of endurance to see who was the first to fall. From what he could tell they had been fighting for a while, daggers both made from feather and steel rested in the foundation of the chamber.
Xayah summoned another hand full of feathers, rushing at her target she dared Kaisa to let go of her advantage and engage in a close combat. The two danced around each other, leaving a whirlwind of sweat, blood and sparks at every clash. 'Sad that you survived just in time for them to save you,' Taunting her enemy, Xayah grinned ominously to weaken the defence of her opponent. 'If you would have died right there, you would have had a chance to fight for Zoe-' Kaisa gritted her teeth and stepped away, leaving Xayah to drill her feathers in to the ground. The corrupted guardian laughed menacingly and swung her wing in her direction to deal out a lethal strike. '-Who's going to save you now, Kaisa?'
He had to do something, from his view he could see Kaisa slowly falling prey to Xayah's darkness. With each step she made falling back in her position, the rebel's hunger grew even larger. Just when Kaisa wanted to summon another dagger of her own, she tripped and fell over her own feet. There was nothing left of her energy to respond, not to deflect the next attack. Ezreal watched as the feather dagger raced in her direction, a clean cut that would splice her skull in two if it had not been for the mystic shot of the explorer to disarm the weapon and let it miss her by an inch. The pair gasped at the sight of Xayah's dagger changing it's course of direction and cutting through the wall ahead of them. Fire ignited in her eyes as her hunt was to be interrupted yet again. The rebel huffed in anger and gazed in to the direction of the shot, glaring menacing at the sight of Ezreal standing midst them. '-You'
'I hope you don't mind I drop in,' Spewing the words with a devious grin, the explorer enticed her to change her course of focus to him. 'See, my team often complains that I never show up, but who's the last to laugh when I'm not drained by you guys.' He knew exactly that his arrogance would only trigger both the corrupt version of Xayah and the one within.
'Seems like you'll live a moment longer,' The corrupt guardian spouted, summoning a new dagger at her hand. 'As this kid is asking for his face to be rearranged.'

What Ezreal were about to do could end up in two ways, the probability of him dying was greater than him surviving. But it might just be the only way for him to terminate their greatest enemy.