(A/N) You see that media art? Yeah, I'm so proud of it. #Blessed Okay, bye. Sorry this chapter took so long! I was stuck on one part.

"Who's Swain?" Astral asked lightly, standing up straight. The arcane energy that coursed through his veins were now simmering into a calmer, solid state. He didn't feel the new energy anymore as his nerves returned to normal. Had his old arcane power overpowered the new one?

Darius smirked, "Swain is... someone that doesn't concern you." he said with a deep laugh. That answer annoyed the boy, he hadn't been told anything since he came to Noxus. "Whatever, I didn't really care." Astral replied, glancing away from the man. He said that, but he really was interested in this Noxian's intentions. "Good." Darius nodded, then turned the brass knob of the double doors.

He opened the doors, the bright lights filling the dim room. He was taken by surprise when chains shot out of the door, binding the large Noxian down. The chains were glowing, and they seemed to have an infinite length. Astral didn't understand what was happening, but the teen made a break for it. He ran out the door, and down the long corridor of the building. His shoes echoed against the stone floor, the teen was now basked in the light, the rays peeking through the windows. Even though the teen was very far from Darius, he felt the immense rage of the Noxian; making his skin crawl. Astral could hear Darius yell in anger, "Damn LeBlanc! How dare you!" he shouted, his voice becoming less audible each step the boy took.

He noticed a figure waiting in the distance, leaning against a wall. The boy came to a halt, preparing to blast his way through him. The assassin was glaring at Astral, when he realized it was Talon. He expected the assassin to challenge him to a battle, but he got up and walked down the hall. His walk was quiet, and the boy could barely hear his footsteps. At this point, Astral was very confused. Was he letting him go? Talon stopped, "Follow me, you brat." he muttered quietly, but sharply. Even though the assassins back was facing him, Astral could tell Talon was rolling his eyes with annoyance.

He followed willingly, Astral assumed Talon was on his side. Why else would he be spared? He'd have to trust him till he could safely get out of Noxus. "Uh... Where are we going..?" Astral asked as the pair quickly walked down the hallways. The noxian was silent, then turned around, "We're going to a secret residence. It should be safer there." he explained, then quickly took off again. The boy followed him down a corridor that was poorly lit, Talon then opened another door leading to a set of stairs heading down. The teen hadn't noticed, but the building he was currently in was far from the ground. It wasn't flying, but it was balanced in the air by a few supports.

Talon walked down the stairs, his boots creating a loud thunk as it hit the metal platforms. There were no railings, and it was a staircase curving around the huge building. Astral wished that he had his hoverboard at this time, the wind was rough and it basically pushed the boy back. Swallowing his nerves, the teen headed down the staircase as he fought the tough winds that pushed in front of him. He noticed Talon was easily cutting through the winds, his hood blew off in the process. Thin strands of brown hair blew through the currents, and his hair was like a girls. Talon's armor blew around too, his red scarf blowing wildly behind him, practically flinging the cloth in the teens face.

They continued to descend the gigantic building, and eventually they reached the foot of the base. The teens feet connected with the ground, and he felt so relieved. It wasn't a light breeze the pair were dealing with, it was a gust strong enough to send someone airborne. Talon smirked at the boy's relieved face, "We use this staircase as a training drill." he commented, flipping his hood back over his head. "That's crazy! No wonder Noxians are strong." he replied, flattening his wrinkled black t-shirt. The boy hadn't showered, or cleaned up in a few days. Astral was becoming conscious of his uncleanliness. Talon shrugged, "If you think those lowlifes were strong, wait till you meet everyone else." the assassin smiled, pushing through a thicket of leaves.

"Everyone else? Who?" the boy asked, also going through the brush. Talon didn't speak as they slid down a steep hill, his boots digging into the dry dirt as they made their way down the hill. "You'll know soon enough." he replied finally, reaching the foot of the mountain. Talon gestured to an opening, and Astral walked forward. He pushed the leaves aside revealing a cozy looking street. It had rows of shops lining the edges, and the boy could smell something sweet coming through the air. It reminded him of the comforts of his own home; Piltover.

Everything there seemed peaceful, when the assassin turned around abrubtly, he grabbed the boy's collar and ran down the sidewalks. Astral struggled as he was dragged down the street, "W-what are you doing!" he shouted at the assassin. Talon glared at the boy that immediately silenced the boy, his glare was much more intimidating than last time. "Shut it, or they'll find us." he said bluntly, then arrived at a wooden door. The boy stood up properly, practically peeling Talon's hand off his shirt collar. The assassin winced at Astral's muscular strength, he hadn't expected the boy to be able to overpower him.

"Wow. Who knew you had muscles." the assassin shrugged, taking out a key. The boy felt his arcane energy react to hostile intent, he turned around quickly. He saw a pair of people quickly approaching him. One of them had a muscular build and purple skin. The boy saw his gaze and it made him feel uncomfortable, "Mundo catch little boy!" he repeated, taking out two cleavers. He whipped the sharp knives at him, and Talon was busy unlocking the door. Astral jumped in the air, deflecting the cleavers, kicking them back at the pair. "Didn't that hurt?" Talon asked, looking at the boys sliced shoes.

Astral smirked, "Nope." he answered then lunged at the pair. He noticed the other person taking out vials of strange smelling liquids. It was a man with strange clothing and a white facemask. "Singed throw potion at little boy! Make sleep!" the mutated man shouted, Astral rolled his eyes. He backed up and created an orb of energy, blasting the enemies with arcane projectiles. One of the blasts smashed into the man with the strange potions. The liquid spread everywhere, creating a thick smoke that surrounded everyone. "Mundo can't see Mundo can't see!" Mundo shouted with a panicked and uneasy tone.

"Get in here, Astral." the assassin shouted, kicking the door open. The teen ran down the cobbled streets and ran in after Talon. He shut the door, and the boy was surprised, he was in a bakery that smelt like delicious baked goods. The boy read a sign at the front counter of the bakery, "Welcome to Sinful Succulence."

Sinful Succulence Bakery

"Why are we here?" Astral asked, looking around the place. It had shelves lined with sweet breads, chocolate rolls and an old-fashioned stove. The fire was still ablaze, boiling a sweet smelling tomato paste. "This is our main base, the others are downstairs." the assassin explained, grabbing a bread roll from a nearby basket.

Astral looked around, he didn't see a stairway leading down or a ladder in the small bakery. "Where exactly is downstairs?" the boy asked, walking around the room. He looked out the windows, the smoke had cleared and it looked normal. He saw Singed and Mundo banging on the doors of each shop, then breaking the doors down.

Astral was worried, in a few minutes the pair would discover their hiding places. He looked at Talon with a worried face, but he just smirked. "Everything is an illusion in here." he said, tapping the heel of his boot on a floorboard. The floorboard seemed to dissolve, revealing a set of stairs leading downwards.

Talon gestured for the boy to get moving, and he slowly went down the stairs. They seemed old and made a creak each time he took a step; like it was going to break if you put even a pound more on it. When he reached the foot of the stairs, Astral saw a light coming from the room.

He walked in nervously to see a girl sprawled against a couch. She had blue, braided pigtails and a ghostly pale complexion. The boy realized who it was immediately and backed up. Piltover's biggest troublemaker, Jinx.

Jinx looked at the boy with excited eyes, her irises were a bright red. That couldn't be natural, yet she appeared human. "Hey Fishbones, isn't that Hat Lady's little pet?" Jinx asked, lifting her gigantic gun above her. "Why yes it is, Jinx. He means no harm so don't hurt him." Jinx mimicked, imitating the voice of her gun. She stared at the little details she had carved onto the gun and giggled as she flung her feet into the air. Astral didn't say a thing, he couldn't believe Jinx was here. The person he had been trying to catch for his a few years was right in front of him.

"Hands up!" Astral shouted, charging an arcane bolt, ready to strike Jinx down. The psycho giggled with excitement, pointing her gun at the boy. The teen was about to fire when a cold hand touched his shoulder, Astral raised his defences and jumped back.

A woman with withered wings and a purple, frilly dress stood before him. She had a dark presence, and her ghostly complexion was probably whiter than Jinx. He thought he had seen her somewhere before.

"Stop this at once, you will not wreak havoc in my bakery." the lady said, her glare fixed on the pair. Jinx smirked, then backed up slowly, "Ayy, ma'am. Another time, little boy." she smirked, twirling her pigtail with one finger. Astral grit his teeth together in annoyance, "My name isn't 'little boy' it's Astral." he said, glaring daggers at the psycho.

"Whatever, Angus." Jinx giggled, then fell back on the couch. Astral rolled his eyes, he wasn't going to bother correcting her. Morgana scoffed, "I saw you on the rift, I apologize for the rudeness of my summoner." she said politely. Her eyes were pitch black, Astral couldn't see anything inside the pupil. It gave him chills just by looking.

Astral observed where he was, and noticed most of the people around him were rumoured as the 'bad guys'. Astral spoke up, "Who are you guys? Why did you save me?" he asked curiously. "Why, let me answer that." a woman's voice spoke from the staircase he had come down from. Jinx looked up and snorted, "She's back!" she cheered, smiling happily. Morgana looked towards the doorway, and Talon who barely had a presence now moved towards the door.

"Welcome back, LeBlanc." Talon greeted formally, but had a hint of friendliness. The woman that had just entered smiled at the boy in the center, still looking confused. She had short purple hair, and fair skin. LeBlanc had black streaks of makeup run down from her lower eyelid to her upper cheekbone. They were painted on with detail and she looked quite proud of them.

Her outfit was purple and golden, and she had a large staff with sparkling jewels gravitating in the center of the wand. "Hello Astral, my name is LeBlanc. I am from the Order of the Black Rose. I have many things to tell you." she laughed, walking closer.

Astral tilted his head to the side as the lady walked to him, "Walk with me will you, dear?" she asked politely. He agreed quickly, hoping he could explain what was going on. They walked down a corridor that seemed to go on forever, and LeBlanc smirked. "An illusion to make this more enjoyable." she stated, as they progressed down the hallway with no end.

Astral turned his head toward the ex-noxian and asked, "So... What did you have to tell me?" he said, watching her purple locks bob up and down. She smiled and spoke up, sharply but calmly, "Astral, do you know why you have black hair?" The teen's eyes widened, Darius had asked the very same question.

"Everyone seems to know why except me." the boy commented, and LeBlanc nodded, "That's a no, I assume?" she asked, trying to spark Astral's curiosity. The boys shoulders tensed, "Are you going to tell me?" he asked, his cyan eyes locked on the woman. She smirked, then nodded lightly. "You aren't a normal teenager, Astral." she said finally, smiling at the boy. "What do you mean?" he replied back. LeBlanc pursed her lips together and twirled a lock of his hair around her finger, "Before you were born... You were cursed with a dark magic. It was ancient Runeterra magic that Ezreal brought back from his voyages accidentally." the magician explained, pausing to take a break then continued, "The energy traveled into Lux and found you, infusing with your arcane powers... and strengthened them. Well, it's more like a blessing than a curse. But... that energy was evil. I don't know why it hasn't affected you at all." she finished, watching the teen absorb all the information she was giving to him.

Getting right to the point, Astral asked, "Why are you telling me this? What role do I play?" the teen asked in serious tone. LeBlanc snickered, "We need that power of yours. To end the upcoming war." she stated, watching for the male's reaction. Astral looked doubtful, "There hasn't been a factions war for hundreds of years." he added informatively.

"Ye-" LeBlanc began, but was cut off by a huge crashing sound. "Mundo saw tiny humans go in here! Mundo sure!" a voice shouted. Astral could hear the Noxian's above them smashing everything; looking for an entrance. The magician clicked her tongue in annoyance, "They found us." she said, raising her staff into the air. Magic pulsed through the space around them, and the boy could see a door appear, leading outside. Astral could hear loud footsteps coming down the stairs. Thump, thump, thump. "Oh LeBlanc. I must have my revenge!" a familiar voice shouted. His tone was murderous and sinister. Darius had followed them all the way there. "You can't let them catch you here, Astral. Go out that door and escape." LeBlanc ordered, preparing another line of magic projectiles.

"You're not coming with me?" he asked, with a hint of loneliness. Astral didn't want to abandon anyone, and he didn't want to be left alone either. LeBlanc looked annoyed, "Does it look like I can come with you? Head northeast towards Ionia, alright? It will be safe there." she hissed, using her staff to whack the large man back. Darius grit his teeth together, "You better stay there kid. Or else!" he shouted. Mundo then pushed past LeBlanc, his arms outstretched ready to grab the boy. The magician looked stressed, she couldn't reach Astral and the boy began to run away. Mundo was throwing cleavers that whizzed past the teen; just missing him. When the boy thought he was going to be caught, a figure landed on Mundo making him scream in agony.

Astral saw a huge gash across the monsters chest, but could see the wound already beginning to regenerate. The boy looked up at the assassin with a relieved stare, "Thanks, Talon." he said, taking a deep breath. Talon nodded, then appeared by LeBlanc's side. "Go." the assassin shouted, before lunging at the man. Astral took a deep breath and ran off, out the door and down the cobbled path. "Mundo want to catch boy..." the purple monster murmured before dozing off. His cells were working hard to heal the fatal wound.

The teen could hear the metal swords clashing as he ran down the street. He saw a stack of wooden boards lying against the side of the side of a small shop, "They wouldn't mind if I borrowed one, right?" Astral thought grasping the thin plank of wood. He focused for a second, the familiar blue glow of his energy infusing the board. Astral stood on the board, and he almost fell over. It had been a while since he had flown and he had to familiarize with the feeling. Sure, making the wood float was easy, but manipulating the arcane energy was another story. Too much force and the hoverboard would be sent blasting forward, and too little would make the teen lose his balance and fall flat on his face.

The boy gained his balance and made the board zoom forwards. Astral couldn't see the small square of shops anymore, he began to ascend towards the sky. Astral made sure not to go too high, because he once flew to the clouds and almost froze to death. Bad times. The teen was just above the treetops, the wind whipping against his face.

Before Astral first thought of a hoverboard, he had the idea of making his sneakers float. It worked well in the beginning, and handling his own feet was much more easy than a thin board. The problem was that every time he would want to take them off, the shoes wouldn't stop floating; forcing him to buy a new pair each time. He preferred a cheap board instead of gravity-defying sneakers.

The teen was happily enjoying the cold rush of the breeze and the bright blue skies, he could finally release the tension that had been building up since he was abducted. "I wonder how my mom is feeling..." Astral thought with a hint of worry, but shook it off. He should follow LeBlanc's orders and take a short trip to Ionia.

The teen was approaching the end of the forest, and soon he could see the border lines separating Ionia and Noxus. A grand sea separated the two factions, and Astral wasn't going to fly across the whole thing. "Bless Piltover inventions." the boy mumbled, landing softly
on the grassy plains. He saw a glowing teleportation device and the boy stepped inside. He set the sliders to Ionia's coordinates and watched the scenery morph into a completely different biosphere.

Ionia

The bare plains became sanded walkways and trees that were extremely tall. The island gave off a cultural theme, and the place looked peaceful. No signs of war. The teen was about to go explore when the teleporter hummed again, warping in another figure. It was a figure dressed in metal and wore red cloth for design. Astral inspected the Ionian and it reminded him like someone he knew. "Shen?" he thought, but realized he had said it out loud. The mysterious man cocked his head to the side, and appeared right beside Astral.

Surprised, the boy attacked the man, his arcane energy eating through the his armour. The man smirked, "You're still alive? You made quite a problem at home, you know." he chuckled, grabbing the teen's neck with one hand; choking the life out of him. Astral tried to pry the Ionian's hands off his neck, but he couldn't. He slowly lifted him into the air, laughing at the sight of the teen.

Astral thought quickly, he used the board of wood that was lying on the ground and used it to hit the man right in the chin. The Ionian looked dazed momentarily as the metal mask he was wearing landing on the ground, the boy was surprised at the person's appearance. It was then that he realized this was Shen's greatest enemy; Zed.

League of Legends Institute

It was nighttime and everyone was taking a break from the plans for war. "Lux, wait!" Ezreal shouted, chasing after the blonde. The female didn't pay any attention to the prodigy and kept on walking. He caught up with Lux, grabbing her wrist tightly, "Where are you going?" he asked, in a concerned tone. She turned around to face Ezreal, "Please don't follow me." she said silently, and seriously.

Ezreal grit his teeth together, "I'm not going to let you go, Lux! Ever since I returned... You haven't been the same!" he shouted at the woman, he noticed he raised his voice to her and immediately regretted it. The lady of luminosity frowned, and looked up Ezreal, "Maybe because our son is dead!" she shouted back angrily, breaking loose of the prodigy's grip.

Ezreal just stood there, his bangs over his eyes as the woman walked away. He couldn't help her, she wouldn't even look at him now. "Astral... Why did you have to die..." he murmured sadly.

Lux paced down the hallways, she regretted hurting her love's feelings. She wiped away a tear and walked towards a door. She was heading to the hospital ward of the institute, as she approached a door with a red crown drawn There was a labeled sign that read, "Garen Crownguard."

She walked inside to see her brother lying in the bed, conscious and healthy. He smiled warmly at his sister, "Hi Lux. How are you?" he asked.

Garen already knew of Astral's passing, but Lux didn't need someone to cry with. Lux needed a smiling face to cheer her up.

The girl immediately teared up, running to his side, "Big brother..." she whined, hugging the man. Garen pat her on the back, with a comforting tone, "It's alright, Lux. He's in a better place." he said with a smile.

The two were in the midst of a hug, when the alarm in the institute began to ring loudly. An announcement came on through the intercom, "Noxians have begun to attack. Prepare for war!" the voice repeated, throughout the rooms. Garen stood up, his wounds had healed considerably and Lux was already in full gear. She grabbed her staff and glared at it with anger, "I will avenge him." she said, the light in the wand sparking the area around her.

Garen had never saw Lux on the battlefield without a positive attitude, but he was filled with feelings of revenge too. They both geared up and ran out to the war grounds.

They ran out to catch up with Akali, Caitlyn and Vi. The ninja was silent as Vi and Caitlyn went over how they would attack the enemy. "Alright, cupcake. I better not see you miss one headshot. We're going to fight them head on, as we have more of an advantage that way." she shouted, banging her metal fists together. Her gauntlets turned on, steam beginning to release from the gears grinding together in the glove. "Alright, lets go!" Lux shouted, casting her first spell. It was a temporary shield that covered her allies.

Vi charged her glove, blasting straight into a group of six Noxian men, sending them flying. She took them down with a single punch, while Caitlyn sniped people at an incredible rate. "Headshot, headshot, headshot..." she repeated, her accuracy was not failing this time. It was Noxus against Demacia, Piltover and Ionia. How would Noxus even last a day with these standings? Akali lunged at her enemies, using her kamas to slice through people's chests. She showed no mercy, and glared at all the corpses she killed.

Garen was covering Lux, when a female with a scar on her right eye engaged on the man. Lux gasped as she sent a snare at the assassin, she dodged the strike by using her shunpo on Lux. She smirked as she sliced the girl with her many blades. The lady of luminosity endured the hits, sending blasts of light at the assassin. Garen ran at the woman and attacked her, their blades meeting. "Hi Garen, lovely weather isn't it?" she smirked, her blood red hair flowing in the wind. "Very nice Katarina, how nice of you to drop by." he responded, tripping the girl over. She recovered, pushing the man back as she got up.

Lux aimed her laser towards Katarina, grazing her arm with the blast. She smirked, "That tickled. You may think you can beat me, but you're out of time." Katarina laughed evilly, only to receive confused looks from the demacian pair. The assassin smiled, pointing to the air. Lux looked up to see a purple dust float through the air, her eyes immediately widened. She recognized the smell, "Don't breath it in!" Lux shouted, and everyone immediately held their breath. Garen looked at the woman, as they held their breath.

The purple dust that was being released all over the battlefield was Teemo spores; dust from his mushrooms. She then realized it wasn't Noxus against the three factions. It was a completely even war. Except Noxus had the element of surprise. It was Noxus, The Void, and Bandle City against Demacia, Piltover and Ionia.

People dropped to the ground, their lungs filled with poison. Lux didn't know what to do. If she breathed, she would be intoxicated with poison. Katarina giggled to herself, the shrooms not affecting her. Maybe she has the antidote on her? Everyone was thinking the same thing.
Garen took the first move and grabbed the woman. She smirked, "Nice try." And teleported away. "You're all going to die here, alright?" she laughed. Many Noxians were now marching into the fields, they had otherworldly creatures at their side as well.

Lux couldn't give up, if Noxus won the war, the peace in Runeterra would seize to exist. It would become a land that hungers for power and the balance would be unrepairable. Suddenly Caitlyn dropped the ground, "I can't hold my breath any longer..." she murmured, falling to the ground. Vi immediately grabbed the woman, cupping her gauntlet over her face. This would slow down the poisoning process by a little bit.

Slowly one by one, the group all ran out of breath. The whole battlefield was completely silent, as no one was conscious anymore. Lux could barely stay conscious, she saw a blade pointed to her neck. She couldn't move. "At least... I'll see my dear Astral..." the woman murmured, as the blade came lunging down.

Lux was surprised, she felt no pain. Slowly, she forced her eyes open. A figure was standing above her, he was wearing a black coat and had two twin blades in his hands. The mysterious person was wearing a mask, that covered his face except his chin and lips. "Who..." she began, but he did not answer..

Katarina glared at the newcomer, "Who the hell are you?" she spat, looking at the man that interrupted the her. "Shut up." he said, his voice was low and dark. Katarina laughed loudly, echoing throughout the battlegrounds, "This kid-" and she was cut off mid sentence. The masked man immediately appeared next to the woman, creating a huge gash in her armour. Katarina was confused as she fell to the ground, a pool of blood surrounding her. "How..?" she managed to say before collapsing to the ground. Noxians rushed to her aid, but the man stopped them by slicing them all into bits.

"I was talking, so shut up will you?" he smirked, with an evil tone. He placed his hands in his pockets, "Surrender now, or I will kill you all." he threatened, glaring at the hundreds of assassins and voidlings. They didn't accept his order and all lunged at him, their fangs bared. "Tch." the masked man smiled, before appearing in the air. A huge red sickle appeared in his hands and came blasting down on the plains. The red glowed in the night skies as the attack hit the ground. The impact blew everyone away, a rainfall of blood spraying all over.

The man had an insane laugh as he landed on top of the mountain of corpses. He was their saviour, yet he was a terrifying psychopath. Lux looked at the man with terrified eyes and he caught her look. He appeared next to her, lifting her up by the hair. His gloves were covered in a red liquid, staining the woman's blonde strands of hair, "I saved you, so why are you looking at me like that?" he smirked, his mask had blood splashed all over the side and his eyes had a strange pattern in his pupil. It looked like a magic circle, that gave off a bright red glow.

Lux didn't say anything, but just kept staring at him. The man was silent then dropped her, "Well, whatever. I'll see you around... Lux." he said finally, before disappearing with the wind. He was a terrifying person, yet he spared them. Was he on their side or was this for his own personal gain? Lux didn't know, but she felt a connection with that man. It was brief, but she felt a spark when they first met.