"A battle, here? Huh, I thought they'd never ask!"~ Jax, Grandmaster at Arms
This chapter marks the start of the mass release! I couldn't get all ten chapters completed in time so enjoy six for the time being. Then you will get double chapter uploads in the coming days or I will upload them as I finish them. I apologize but life is currently a bit heavy on me right now.
Happy New Year Everybody!
Hope you get everything you desire this 2026!
I've also released a couple chapters of another fic alongside this. It is a side project and will not take as much priority as this. It is more like a writing exercise forcing me to think and write better.
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"You are here." A woman said as she watched her child sleep, "Faster than I expected. A little earlier and you could have talked to him before he went to sleep."
Her husband turned the corner and pulled her into a hug, "Not much longer love."
She looked at him, "You know you can rely on me if things are difficult right?"
"Always." The man answered as he stood over his son, taking in every inch of his face. Watching as his child slept peacefully.
"He misses you a lot you know...."
The man chuckled mirthlessly, "And I do too. Both of you."
The woman looked at him, "You can stop at any moment you'd like. They can't say anything to you. You have served them enough."
"I have. But I cannot leave when things unfinished. They already know of my desire to leave, which is why I'm being sent on these things." The man explained. "This is the last time. After which I cut ties. We disappear."
"What about the others?" She asked.
He smiled sadly, "I will inform only two people. They deserve to know. They have seen me at my best and at my worst."
"The apprentice of yours?" She asked.
"She is searching for her own purpose in the world. I do not factor into that. And I believe that she would be better of not knowing about me."
She slid close to him and rested her head on his shoulder, "They will hate you for this." She knew that he had realized that she noticed.
She hadn't questioned him about it. She didn't need to.
"My family has served for hundreds of years. I myself have served for nearly twenty. We can step back. The ones who actually matter don't mind it. And I believe that things will work out in the end. Because if not for me..... who will believe in balance."
"Shen..." His wife whispered.
He hugged her and placed a kiss on her forehead, "What I've done for these lands.... it is good that it is all buried."
"Ionia ignores you."
"And I do not care." Shen replied, "The only ones who need to know..... they know already. You and my baby boy. You know. That is enough for me."
"But if they find out?" She asked, "The spirits might just let it slip."
Shen led her out of the room and onto the balcony overlooking a lake, "Oh the spirits will let it slip. You need not worry about that, it is an eventuality. But we will receive something in return when they do."
"Your balance....."
"You need not believe in it love." Shen leaned on the balcony, "All you need to do is acknowledge it. And it will act accordingly. It is a fundamental rule of this world. Akin to the three principles that control this world, Luck, Death and Belief. Balance is eternal. It led me to you. It gave us the gift of a child. I am more intricately linked to balance itself. I act as its agent. But not for long."
"The new errand." She assumed as she rubbed his back, acknowledging the weight of all that he carried.
Shen nodded, "War is coming to Ionia. And I have recruited an ally. One that should help us change the tides of the impending disaster."
"You cannot stop this war yourself?" She asked, frowning at his words. She knew how strong her husband was. He was the only one who could stop her. He had successful stopped her before. And she was immensely powerful.
It was what brought them together. They both were equally broken. Equally angry at the world. And they had bonded.
He shook his head, reading his wife instantly, "The creatures we will be facing are beyond dangerous. They have existed longer before us and will continue to exist long after us as well. And I'd rather not have you reveal yourself. There is no greater safety for our son than you."
"I will still move to save you if you are in danger." She spoke with assurance.
Resigned, he turned around and walked back inside, pouring himself a cup of water, he sighed, "Lets.... lets see."
She looked unconvinced by his reply and was expecting more but his eyes flashed blue and he downed the glass of water and rose to his feet.
"I'm sorry-" He began.
She raised a hand stopping him, "Its fine. Take care of everything that needs to be taken care of and return home. Safe. Or I will come after you."
He began murmuring.
WHOOOSH
Shen disappeared with the parting words, "I always will, since I'd rather not have you be put in harms way"
A sad expression formed on her face. He didn't do a very good job of hiding his fear for her safety. For their son's safety. His life had been built of lies and deceit, and he was afraid that it would consume them too. She understood his fear and loved his despite it.
Checking back on her sleeping child, she noticed him having shifted a small bit in his sleep. A loving smile formed on her face as she stared at her child sleep.
Their son would be ten soon. Ten years of hiding him from the world. Soon he would be allowed to mingle with the outside world. Soon he would be able to make friends and pave his own way in the world.
Moments later she walked out of their home and sat in front of the lake, staring at the calm waters. The very waters that had once held her. It was ironic. Her prison becoming the gateway to the outside world.
Her eyes began to glow a deep purple as she watched her husband through the images forming in the lake. Ever since he had stopped her rampage, she had seen every single one of his actions for Ionia. She grit her teeth as the entirety of Ionia celebrated a girl for beating back Noxus. All while her husband had been constantly overlooked.
Overlooked as he single handedly stopped more than twenty Noxian warships from landing on Ionia soil. Overlooked as he erased every single member of the attacking forces alone in Ionia's north. Overlooked as he held back hundreds of rampaging spirits throughout the lands.
She sighed.
It was partially his fault too.
Not leaving any survivors to speak of this Ionian force of nature was a result of his actions.
Even the ancient spirit of Ionia, with all of her power, refused to acknowledge him and his actions. All while being nearly omnipotent in the First Lands.
She frowned as her husband appeared in the frost lands. He began moving to pull someone out of the snow and began carrying them in a direction. She had noticed the moment he came home. His arms were covered. The arms that were usually bared. He had received scars. It was why he wore a mask. The scar under his eye. It would raise questions. He didn't want to be the center of attention.
He kept suffering in the darkness, so that everyone else could thrive in the light. One man trying to undo the effects of shadow magic on the very world.
The weight on his shoulders... they were impossibly heavy. And he bared it without complaint.
The burden of purpose he had called it.
Maybe the balance thing her husband revered might be real.
Especially when she was the antithesis to the ancient spirit. To Karma. Or to her current host... Darha. It seemed likely. Her magic had awakened around the same time as when Karma had awakened.
Her husband believed it.
Maybe she might need to as well.
There were certainly forces at play that were bigger than her.
Out of the corner of her eye, an image began to form, an image of a faraway land. Her eyes widened in shock.
"That.... that shouldn't be possible...." The words left her lips without much thought. "Is this.... are these the ones who will be fighting this war?"
For the first time in her life, Syndra looked toward the future in uncertainty and a little bit of fear. Letting out a helpless chuckle, she leaned back, resting on her palms, "This time's festival might be problematic."