//------------------------------// // Chapter 15: The Past, the Future // Story: The Redemption of Jericho Swain // by Ghosted Note //------------------------------// The Redemption of Jericho Swain Chapter 15: The Past, the Future “We... lost?” Rainbow Dash asked incredulously. “But we were winning! We were killing them and winning fights and we messed up once and lost! That’s not fair!” Graves rolled his eyes as he stepped off of the summoning platform that had taken them back to the Institute of War. “Get used to it, kid. Things like that happen all the time. You make a mistake at the wrong moment and you lose. You should be glad that the match went as well as it did. Makin’ a good impression is important if you want to gather any influence. Now, if y’all will excuse me, Ah could use something strong to take the edge off.” Twilight put her hand on Rainbow Dash’s shoulder as Graves walked away. “He’s right. I think we did pretty well for our first time. We have plenty of time until the next General Assembly to get people on our side.” As Rainbow Dash opened her mouth to reply, she was interrupted by Pinkie. “Ah-ah-ah! No pouting! We still have to meet our friends and later on we get to have a ‘We’ll Beat Them Next Time’ party. You think we can pry Ryze away from his dusty old books long enough to party? Because I really think that-” Pinkie carried on incomprehensibly as Rainbow Dash’s hand covered her mouth. “Yeah, I suppose it could have been worse. I mean, I didn’t start off as the most awesome flyer in Equestria.” Rainbow Dash took a deep breath. “Yeah, give it a while. I’ll be the best champion in the League. They’ll be sorry to let me go.” Applejack snorted. “Hopefully not too sorry. C’mon sugarcubes. Let’s go find our friends.” After walking a short while through the opulent halls of the Institute of War, they reunited with Rarity, Fluttershy, Riven, and Ezreal at the girls’ suite. Ezreal was the first to greet them as they walked inside. “Good job out there, girls. Definitely not bad for your first time. Not as good as mine, but hey, that’s a tall order. It’s hard to match this baby.” Ezreal raised his gauntlet up, gently tapping the gemstone amulet that it was built around. “Wish my first glove hadn’t broken though. I mean, this one’s almost as good, but I can’t get it to do that nifty healing spell anymore.” Riven rolled her eyes and shoved Ezreal to the side. “Ignore him, he’s just an idiot. Good job out there, though. I think you made a pretty good first impression, and nobody will blame you for those hiccups at the start. Everyone knows that was a low-profile match with inexperienced Summoners guiding you. We’ll see what you can really do once you get a team of professionals at your back. The best Summoners really know how to bring out the best in their champions. Oh, and we did manage to get Ryze and Nasus to commit to coming. Nasus will be a little late, though.” Fluttershy offered her own congratulations, though the excitement and intensity of the violent sport had left its mark upon her, and her barely audible words were incomprehensible as she shrank to the back of the room to calm down. Rarity was the last to come, offering a hug to each of her friends in turn. “Congratulations, dears. We’re all quite proud of your performance, and I already have offers lining up from Summoners wanting to work with you all. Pinkie in particular has made quite the stir. I do believe you all have earned this celebration. “You heard the mare-oops, I mean woman, LET’S PARTY!” With that final proclamation from Pinkie, the festivities began. - - - - “The travelers have made quite the stir with their first match, brother. They are all, in their own way, quite talented, and possess an enviably adaptable nature. I have no doubts in my mind that they will be able to gather enough support to find their way home,” Nasus said, a sad smile playing upon his muzzle. “In a way, even through all of this, they’ve managed to maintain some semblance of innocence. It is both refreshing and worrying.” Renekton laughed cruelly. “Worry you should, dear brother. As surely as your scent drives me inevitably toward my prey, their scent carries the death of this world and their own with it!” Nasus was surprised, but he did not let it show in his countenance. This level of lucidity was a major breakthrough, and he wished to learn all he could through it. “What do you mean?” “An idiot brother, too blind to see his brother’s blade rising, too blind to see through a purple veil!” Renekton struggled against the chains binding him. “You don’t deserve to live! I swear it, I will rip the flesh from your bones and feast upon your entrails! As everything you ever cared about withers and dies around you, I will be there to end your struggling!” Nasus sighed, knowing the moment had passed as his brother once more descended into incoherent growls and feral cries. It was progress, though, and Nasus would not ignore his brother’s words, knowing the wisdom that had once given Renekton unmatched clarity of judgment was still there, buried deep within. Still, there was a time and a place for such ruminations, and he had a party to attend. Still, his mind could not help but wander back to the portent given to him by his brother. Renekton had as much time to ‘socialize’ on the battlefield as any other champion, and he might have had telling encounters with Malzahar or his Void allies, the creatures known as Kog’Maw, Cho’Gath, and more recently Kha’Zix. The creatures themselves, while all of them were very dangerous in their own right, and for the most part quite intelligent, they were merely a sign of a growing presence. A vanguard of the Void. Still Malzahar was known to freely associate with them, and prefer their company when possible, and even the most basic of the creatures, Kog’Maw, often acted in a manner similar to a guard dog for him. It was entirely possible that one of them, if not Malzahar himself, had spoken to Renekton, possibly offering the bloodthirsty lunatic a chance at his brother in exchange for cooperation. If this was the case, then the mere fact that Renekton had warned him at all was ample cause for hope and rejoicing, as it showed that at the very least a remnant of his brother’s mind remained intact and friendly to Nasus. Nasus ceased his ponderings when he reached the suite that the six aliens were residing in. As he stepped in, he noted that the party was in full swing, and even Ryze appeared at the very least to not be frowning. Pinkie didn’t lose a second in bounding over to Nasus, wrapping her arms around him in a brief hug. “Hey everybody, our favorite immortal anthropomorphic jackal demigod person type thingy just arrived! I’m sorry, but I forgot what you said your species was called, and I don’t really how else to describe you and what kind of punch does your kind prefer? I made a bunch of different kinds and I even learned how to make a new kind of cupcake while I was in Bandle City. It’s supposed to be so good that some people can use it as bait for yordles, and I gotta say that wouldn’t surprise me because it’s absolutely delicious and you should totally try one. There aren’t many left though, since you arrived so late, so you better hurry up and get one before Ezreal eats them all. Where were you, anyway?” Nasus awkwardly patted Pinkie on the back as she hugged him, noting that she didn’t seem to realize that being over twice her size made hugging rather difficult for him. When she finally paused to breathe, he let out a silent sigh of relief. “Thank you for the warm welcome, Pinkie. I’m afraid I had some personal business to attend to that kept me from arriving promptly. My kind are called soul eaters, by the way.” “That’s a kind of scary name,” noted Pinkie. “Doesn’t really fit you at all. I mean, you’re really huge, and pretty intimidating, but you’re not straight up scary like a manticore or hydra.” “Our creators had a lapse of creativity in naming us,” said Nasus flatly, resisting the urge to roll his eyes, despite the fact that his lack of pupils would have made it impossible to notice. Not wishing to offend Pinkie, Nasus picked up and silently took a bite from the cupcake. It was, as she had promised, exquisite, and despite his inability to take any notable nutrition from standard food, he was able to appreciate the effort put into the treat. Sinking into the party, Nasus watched with a soft smile as the humans and former ponies enjoyed themselves. The six aliens were loudly and joyfully celebrating a solid entry into the League of Legends, while the humans, though with significantly less exuberance, were soaking in the disconcertingly innocent atmosphere of the party. Of the three humans, only Ezreal could be considered a regular party-goer, and even he was not quite sure how to react to the simple party games and non-alcoholic punch that stood in place of the pounding music and strong drinks that were more prevalent in Piltover’s celebrations. Riven felt even more out of place, being used to the violent tavern celebrations of her fellow soldiers in Noxus. In truth, she was more used to getting completely plastered with the strongest brew she could find, singing bawdy tavern songs with her comrades that would make a sailor blush, and the inevitable drunken brawls that would eventually follow. Ryze was the least perturbed, as he had been engaged in a debate on magical theory with Twilight since he had arrived. Still, it was fun, and everyone found themselves relaxing and enjoying themselves like they hadn’t since before the battle at Canterlot. - - - - Several hours later, the party had begun to wind down, and most of the guests were gathered around Riven, Ezreal, and Ryze, who in turn were telling tales of their various exploits in the League. Nasus was still in a chair at the corner of the room, silently observing as he was wont to do in most social situations. The festivities were cut short, however, when Rarity stood, clearing her throat to get everyone’s attention. “It truly has been a wonderful soiree, but I’m afraid that while we are all gathered in one place, it would be prudent to share something that happened to me earlier today. During the course of your match, I found myself the recipient of a magically transported message from none other than Swain.” The room fell dead silent. Various expressions of worry, anger, and distaste flashed across the partygoers’ faces, and after pregnant pause, it was Riven to speak. “What did he want?” Rarity recounted the events of her meeting with Swain as accurately as possible, leaving out no detail. As she finished, she offered an apologetic glance to all present. “I truly am sorry to ruin the festivities with... this. However, being together like this isn’t going to consistently happen, and I feel that it is important that we are all here for this.” “It’s okay, sugarcube,” responded Applejack. “You did the right thing by bringing this up. Ah can’t say that Ah trust Swain, though. How can we be sure this isn’t just some lie to butter us up for whatever plan he has?” Riven nodded. “He has a point, but I don’t think that he would want to alienate the few potential allies he has left. If we were to turn against him, I doubt even the Institute could stop Noxus from reclaiming him.” When several expressions turned to horror, she quickly backpedaled. “Not that we’d actually turn him over to Noxus, but he doesn’t know that. He’s riding the dividing line between being the ruler of Noxus and being a political execution. The risks he can take right now are pretty limited.” “Everything we’ve seen about Swain thus far has shown he is definitely not afraid to take risks to achieve his ends,” rebuked Twilight. “If that wasn’t the case, he would not have betrayed us and Discord in sequence.” “That’s true, darling, but those were rather extreme circumstances, even for him. As far as he knew, Discord was the only creature powerful enough to restore his soul’s condition,” said Rarity. “Equestria has already proven comprehensively the negative effects of separating the body from the soul for extended periods of time. It was probably only due to his ability to magically siphon life force that kept his body from simply withering and dying without its anchor to the local ley lines.” Twilight did a double take. “How would you even know what a ley line is, Rarity? For that matter why would you know about the effects of soul damage?” Rarity shrugged. “I got curious about it after reading a most riveting tale of romance involving a stallion who had to rescue his true love’s soul from-” “Yadda, yadda. That’s wonderful Rarity. You can tell everyone else here about your trashy romance novels some other time,” interrupted Rainbow Dash, eliciting a disgruntled huff from Rarity. Rainbow Dash continued, unphased. “See, the problem with everything your saying... is that I don’t understand a Celestia-damned thing you’re saying.” Twilight’s expression flattened. “You raise a very valid point, Rainbow Dash, but if you use my teacher’s name as a swear again I’m going to hurl you through a wall. I don’t care how much you’ve been hanging around the humans here, that’s one thing I am not going to tolerate. Understand?” With an audible gulp, Rainbow Dash nodded. Twilight’s demeanor instantly relaxed as she prepared to engage in one of her favorite activities: lecturing. “Now, as all of you should know, the property commonly known as magic is a representation of the ability to manipulate mana. Mana is an energy field that exists parallel to all of reality, linking the multiverse. Magical ability is a reflection of an individual’s capability of drawing mana from ley lines, places were mana is free to pass into our world, and manipulating it through that individual’s natural channelling points, which are akin to ley lines within our very bodies. Repeated exposure to gradually larger amounts of mana will expand these natural channels, allowing an individual to access more mana in turn. Life itself is an act of magic, as mana is also metabolized by the body in order to enable most of its chemical reactions Mana can also be stored within crystals and gemstones of exceeding purity and proper shape. Without access to mana, a body will eventually die. Overexposure to mana will cause a magical feedback due to buildup, which has the potential to forcibly discharge, potentially damaging the user or anything near the user. “What is commonly known as the soul is actually a colloquial term for the body’s mana channels, and the points at which they intersect and pass through the brain. When a body dies, the soul normally is naturally absorbed back into the ley lines, where it is eventually recycled into new life. When the soul is damaged, the body loses access to its mana supply, and consequently it begins to shut down. It is possible, with highly advanced magic, to constrict or damage the soul in a manner that it cannot naturally heal. My best theory is that Swain allowed the Void to redirect his natural mana flow in exchange for the ability to take on his ‘bird’ form, which allows him to temporarily increase his rate of mana discharge while siphoning the energy from other nearby souls. The League of Legends provides Swain with ample opportunity to do this without consequences, as souls can naturally heal all but the most extreme damage. In exchange for his cooperation, Discord repaired the damage done to his soul by the Void without damaging Swain’s new abilities. Now, he is able to metabolize mana normally without relying on his bird form. This also explains why Nasus’ species does not need physical food, as they are able to drain nearby souls without damaging them permanently, and subsequently metabolize mana in the place of physical sustenance” Twilight sat back, looking very pleased with herself. Rainbow Dash’s face was blank as she took several moments to process the information. “So... he needed Discord to be able to live without sucking other people’s life force? Does that mean he was a vampire or something?” “More importantly, how does this change what we know of his motivations?” queried Applejack. “It means that when Discord came along offering to heal him, he had a chance to free himself from the Void’s curse,” said Ezreal. “I’m not sure I would have done much differently in his shoes, though to be fair I wouldn’t be making deals with the Void in the first place. I definitely would have skipped over the torturing Twilight bit too.” “...I appreciate the sentiment, but I’d rather not talk about that,” muttered Twilight. “Anyway, so do you all think we can trust him? Wait, scratch that, I know we can’t. Do you all think it’s a good idea to go along with him for now?” “I just don’t know. It screams fishy to me,” said Rainbow Dash. “How can we be sure he isn’t just making up this whole ambush thing in the first place?” “Because I will go to the meeting instead.” Every head turned to Nasus, who had thus far been silent. “If it truly is a trap, I am one of the most capable of dealing with such danger. If it is not a trap, then we will know Swain is being duplicitous.” “That makes a lot of sense, actually,” replied Riven. “I’d volunteer to go with you, but me and Ezreal both have scheduled matches almost non-stop for the next few months. I know Ezreal’s been seeing a lot more action than usual lately. I’ve seen Ryze’s work schedule. Between the League, being a teacher, AND doing his research on interdimensional portals, I wouldn’t wish that on anyone. Don’t you girls worry, though. I’ve seen Nasus fight, and once he’s fully synched with his Summoner, there are few things as terrifying. Without a Summoner to wait on... well, it won’t be pretty for anyone trying to ambush him. The hardest part of the fight for him would be keeping collateral damage to a minimum if the fight gets too intense. Luckily, Nasus isn’t a citizen of any city-state, so while the law doesn’t protect him, he has a lot more wiggle room.” “It’s settled, then,” said Twilight. “Rarity, can you take our response back to Swain? If he refuses, then we know he’s up to something. If not, it’s safe to cautiously keep moving forward with his assistance.” Rarity nodded, and after a round of goodbyes, the party dispersed, leaving the girls to go to their rooms. As they left, Rarity held Twilight back by the shoulder. “Are you okay, Twilight? It must have been hard to have memories of what they did to you brought up. To be honest, none of us are quite sure what exactly happened there. Do you want to talk about it?” “No!” snapped Twilight, who subsequently flinched as Rarity recoiled. “I-I’m sorry. It’s just hard to think about, and if we do need Swain’s help, I can’t... I can’t let the past get in the way. Princess Celestia says there’s good in everypony, but he makes me wonder if she’s wrong, and that hurts more than what Singed did to me ever could.” Rarity nodded sympathetically as she escorted Twilight back to the latter’s room. “I know you think the world of her, and you’re probably closer to her than her own sister is. I can’t imagine having the one thing you could always rely upon shaken like that.” Twilight’s eyes were downcast, and she was pointedly ignoring the tremors going through her hands. “I have to believe that he isn’t completely evil. If I don’t, then the Princess is wrong. I can understand Singed. He’s obviously damaged, insane. Whatever good is in him is probably trapped by whatever snapped his brain in two. But Swain? Swain is probably one of the most sane creatures I have ever met. Yet, he’s only shown himself to be a complete monster. Even Discord was once a friend to the princesses before he went mad. Swain is perfectly fine killing and hurting and destroying everything around him to get what he wants, and he doesn’t seem to care at all for those who he hurts. If there’s good in everypony, how can he exist, Rarity? He can’t. It goes in the face of one of the fundamental truths that I’ve always believed. There has to be good in him.” Rarity put her arm around Twilight comfortingly. “Darling, I cannot begin to imagine what shaped Swain into what he is today, and for what it’s worth, I do think that somewhere within him is the good he so thoroughly ignores. Just be careful. Even if there is good in him, he might not ever let it out. Don’t get so caught up that you get burned by him again. I will not try to dissuade you from trying to find that good, but I worry for your safety. Remember that we’re always here for you.” “Thanks, Rarity,” said Twilight with a smile. “It means a lot to me.” After a moment, Rarity got up. “Sleep well, Twilight,” she said as she exited the room. “You too,” said Twilight in response, settling down to sleep. Sleep swiftly overtook her, and her dreams that night were calm. - - - - Nasus’ dreams, however, were not. - - - - Four years ago... Nasus let out a smile as the patrons of his library began to shuffle in. For time untold, he and his brother Renekton had watched over this grand collection of knowledge, preserving it and sharing it with the humans of their world. Many came from all corners of the world to browse the library, and hear Nasus teach secrets from times of antiquity. It was his pride and joy to be able to serve his charges in this manner, and he enjoyed every day of his work. His brother was just as diligent, if not more so. Renekton was a judge of character unmatched by any soul, mortal or immortal, on the face of their world. A single glance would tell Renekton enough to fill books, and a few words would make his knowledge of your intentions undisputable. Thus, Renekton had taken on the sacred duty of guarding the doors of the library, expelling those of ill intent and letting the pure of heart pass by. This is the way it had been since the two brothers had been created with the rest of the soul eaters. Despite being wholly and perfectly content with his lot in life, Nasus had been feeling some worry as of late. As word of the library spread, and the brothers became living legends among the mortal population, the amount of people who would come to the library had drastically increased. There was even a monastery built in front of it, dedicated to the teaching of the two brothers. With so many patrons to attend to, the two brothers rarely had time to see each other anymore. On the rare occasions that he had glimpsed his brother in the past one hundred years or so, something had seemed undeniably wrong about him. Disturbing rumors swirled around Renekton like a fog, and their ghostly tendrils had reached Nasus’ ears more and more lately. The nature of the soul eaters was well known, and it had been an accepted and encouraged practice, upon finding a truly blackened heart that had found the audacity to seek entry into the library, for Renekton to simply drain the life completely out of the villain, tossing his empty husk aside to be buried in a traditionally small graveyard that sat beside the library. Lately, though, Nasus had been hearing rumors that the graveyard had been expanding rather rapidly, and that Renekton’s prompt executions of evil men had become brutal and bloody, filled with rage. These rumors had deeply disturbed Nasus. Today, he finally had time set aside before his lectures to speak with his brother, and find out what was troubling his heart. Nasus told his class that he would attend them shortly, and encouraged them to meditate upon what they had already been taught. As Nasus made his way through the ramparts that encircled the building and lead to the many towers that held less commonly used passageways to the ground floor, he looked out over the wide deserts of his home. As he swept his gaze closer to home, though, he found the most disturbing sight his eyes had ever beheld. In the distance, Renekton was stalking forward, malice flowing beside magical energy in equal measure out of his eyes. Behind him was an army, and while the presence of humans following Renekton was not especially surprising, Nasus lost his composure for the first time in centuries when he saw his own kind alongside them, letting out a gasp of surprise. Renekton cried out in rage when he spotted his brother in the distance, doubling his pace. With a grim determination, Nasus hurried back inside the library, activating an alarm system that had not been used in over one thousand years. Within minutes, the soul eaters who had served under Nasus arrived, followed by his students, all in various states of panic. With the greatest solemnity he could muster, he addressed his crowd. “Renekton... my brother... has gone mad. He leads an army of humans and soul eaters alike toward the library. I fear that he has the worst of intentions. To my brothers and sisters, I ask that you stand beside me to defend the library, to the ultimate end if need be. To my dearest students, I ask that you barricade yourselves in the amphitheatre, and wait for me. If I do not come back, flee out of the delivery entrance in the east wing. Fear not, for this too, shall pass.” As his comrades assembled, a meager one hundred and twenty six of his fellow custodians, Nasus felt strangely at peace. If it were truly Renekton’s intent to attack, there was no way they could win, despite the innate advantage they had in living in a center of knowledge of all things, including combat, for years untold. Renekton was a skilled fighter, perhaps more skilled than Nasus, even if Nasus’ knowledge of the arcane trumped his soundly. Soul eaters could never know true death, as their bodies, no matter how broken, would always be able to absorb nearby energy to restore themselves with eventually, unless their soul was consumed by another of their kind. It was very possible, however, to indefinitely delay that regeneration, which in all aspects was identical to death. Donning armor he had not worn in as long as the alarm had been dormant, he stepped out onto the balcony overlooking the entrance. Renekton was there, a sick grin plastered on his reptilian features. Nasus looked down with a saddened expression to his brother. “What is the meaning of this, brother?” Renekton laughed, a harsh and grating sound. “Brother! For time untold, we have tended to this most grand library. You have taught, and I have stood a vigilant guard against the evil that would seek to gain forbidden knowledge. Sequestered away amidst your books, you have not seen the transformation of man. Evil festers in their hearts from when they are but children! We are GODS, brother! It is within our power and our right to purge the evil from the land! It! Is! Our! Duty! This grand library opened my eyes to the evil within the hearts of man, and its presence burns at my heart like a legion of burning coals! I see more each day that I stand watch, and my restraint weakens each time. This burning must be made to cease. This library will be the nexus and catalyst of a grand new age, my brother. Join us, that we might purge the evil from this world in a blaze of fire and blood the likes the land has never seen and will never see again! We will sit atop the world as its rulers, and the world shall be pure.” “Step away from this course to which you have chosen, brother. We were created as guardians, not rulers. In truth I have failed my duty to you, brother. Too blinded by contentment was I to see your pain, and how this darkness has twisted you so. Leave this path, dear brother, I beseech you, and I will help you fight the evil that has taken root within your own heart,” pleaded Nasus, knowing his pleas would fall on deaf ears. “You have chosen your course, ‘dearest’ brother,” growled Renekton, “and I have chosen my own.” Renekton turned to his followers and cried out, “Leave not one standing! Cut them down!” Nasus quickly departed the balcony to join his followers in the library’s antechamber. The area was a choke point, and would help lessen the advantage of numbers, at least stalling the army long enough to thin it out. If they could hold out long enough, Renekton’s army would be thinned out enough for the human survivors to slip out unnoticed. With a deadly cadence, Renekton’s army began pounding on the library’s grand doors with a battering ram. Thump. Thump. Thum-CRACK. Pieces of wood splintered off of the door as it began to shatter with each blow, and with one last shuddering heave, the door gave way, unleashing a flood onto the waiting defenders. In an instant, bolts of arcane energy flew through the air, and the dead fell in droves as they charged. Nasus waited patiently for the tidal wave to reach the melee defenders that he headed. Despite the best efforts of the wizards behind him, though, this barely took any time at all, and Nasus soon found himself amongst a whirlwind of blood and death. The humans were simple enough to kill, most not even able to withstand one mighty blow from Nasus’ staff as he struck in a rhythm just as steady and just as deadly as the ram that had destroyed the doors. Soul eaters by nature, though physically superior to any human, were peaceful and not extremely knowledgeable in the art of war, and though they took significantly more effort to disable than killing a human, their lack of expertise was a flaw that Nasus and his warriors exploited to the fullest. For a while it seemed as if they might actually turn the tide back, but amidst the tide of destruction another hacked and slashed his way through the combat with the fury of a tornado, and equal discretion. Any who stood in Renekton’s path, friend or foe, were swiftly cut to ribbons as he steadily advanced to his target, becoming more incoherent with every moment of battle as rage began to completely consume him. Renekton became an avatar of war, indiscriminate and merciless, concerned only with sating his insatiable bloodlust. When he finally caught sight of his brother, he found himself overwhelmed by a drive to rip Nasus to pieces, and began to draw upon the ability that had made the mostly peaceful soul eaters unstoppable when they had to fight. Every soul eater could focus what energy they had absorbed and release it at once in a brief but violent storm of magic that enhanced their own form and abilities while wreaking havoc upon their enemies. As the enlarged and enraged Renekton charged through his own forces, those he passed found themselves bombarded by a whirlwind of dark magic fueled by Renekton’s hatred. Seeing his brother, Nasus began to gather his own energies, and soon the two most powerful soul eaters clashed in a whirlwind of sand and darkness as their energies intermingled. Humans and enemy soul eaters caught in Nasus’ sandstorm felt their energy being ripped from their bodies to dissipate while Renekton’s own whirlwind of black magic attempted to simply rip the flesh from friend and foe alike. It wasn’t enough, though. Nasus began to feel himself succumbing to his wounds, and what would have been the final blow was only interrupted by one of his subordinates throwing himself in front of Nasus, crying out for him to save the students. With that final cry, the few remaining defenders charged Renekton as Nasus stumbled away, occasionally stopping to wipe the blood from his eyes that he might see as it slid down from his brow. After an eternity of walking and a brief moment of sadness when he heard the fighting stop, he reached the hiding spot he had directed his students to. “Dear students, it is I,” cried Nasus, leaning against the door. After a few moments, the door opened, sending Nasus stumbling forward as his students tried, unsuccessfully, to catch the behemoth. “Gather around me, students,” said Nasus gently, and his charges complied. “The time has come for you all to flee. My brother will find this place, and I will provide a final delay. Escape with this, and carry news of this tragedy to the others of my kind who have not gone mad.” Some of the students were weeping, while others stood in mute shock. One of them, however, had a strangely calm expression as he began to speak. “The Curator of the Sands has thusly instructed his students in the ways of his kind: the soul eater is both blessed and cursed with the ability to steal the life from any living being around him in times of dire need. Though this is regarded as anathema and abomination, if a soul eater were to devour wholesale all life within his range, he would become empowered for a time taking the strength of those he slays into himself, of which a part will live forever. Any soul eater who feeds in more than a passive manner and allows this abomination is forever changed.” The student smiled at his teacher. “This library has been my home since the day I was admitted. I am glad to give myself so that others might benefit from your teachings. I offer myself and my energies for your consumption, to aid in your fight, Curator Nasus.” As he spoke, others began to nod in assent. Nasus smiled back at his student, and with a fire in his eyes that only one bound to eternity can muster, he spoke. “I understand your gift, and I accept it with humility. Your names will never be forgotten. Death shall never have true victory over you. This I swear. My dearest students, gather around me for one final lesson. You shall become one with me and today both you and our enemy shall understand the fury of the sands. Let those who would bring despair to these halls learn of death.” The change was subtle, at first. Every student was fully willing, and at the start, they only felt a strange wind about them. As the walls of the room began to age, flakes of stone became dust as they broke off and began to whirl around Nasus. Each student fell to their knees as their bodies began to wither like the stone around them, and they began to weaken. To Nasus, the sight was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. His eyes, able to perceive the movement and flow of magical energies in a way no human could, saw a bright light all around him as the life within each of his students was brought forth and ripped from their bodies, flowing into Nasus. One by one, each blazing torch that was a student began to wink out, leaving Nasus bathed only in the light he saw issuing forth from his own body. The door shattered as the last student passed, and Renekton stormed in, flanked by the remaining soul eaters. Renekton blindly charged forward as a sinking realization settled over his followers. There was no contest. The weak souls that followed Renekton were consumed in an instant, and Nasus felt them empower him. The fight that followed was swift and brutal. Around the library, what life survived in the desert began to wither and die as an avatar of death fought and failed to contain his power. Each death flowed into Nasus, and in a matter of minutes, he stood over his brother’s broken body. Nasus prepared for one final consumption. As he raised his staff, a blinding light surrounded him. - - - - Nasus awoke.