Zen’s POV

  We were riding south for the second day.

  Noxus was in an excellent mood — talking nonstop…

  and I was smiling at him.

  I wanted to believe

  that everything was behind us.

  I dreamed of killing demons.

  One after another.

  Without emotion.

  Without thought.

  A storm.

  Lightning.

  Blood on the snow.

  Then…

  The demons were gone.

  And people stood in their place.

  And I continued.

  With the same calm.

  With the same cold power.

  When I woke up, I was drenched in sweat.

  My hands were shaking.

  Haras lifted his head nearby.

  “Bad dream?”

  “…Yeah,” I forced out.

  I fell asleep again.

  But this time —

  afraid to close my eyes.

  The next day we reached a massive lake.

  The water was clear as glass.

  A light mist drifted over the surface.

  Norris said:

  “Break. Fill water. Wash up. Stretch your legs.”

  And we ran to the water.

  I stepped in first —

  and for the first time in a long while, I felt peace.

  Warm water.

  Sun above.

  Laughter.

  Finn splashed around, throwing waves at Reynard.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  Kyren tried to dunk Siren.

  Astra shrieked when Edgar splashed her.

  I was laughing.

  Just laughing.

  Like a child.

  Until—

  “Zen!”

  Elinia suddenly raised her hands.

  A massive wave rushed toward me.

  Stronger than a game.

  Too strong.

  It slammed into my chest.

  I flew backward.

  Water filled my nose. My mouth.

  And something inside me—

  clicked.

  Like a brittle bone snapping.

  My eyes burned slightly.

  I blinked.

  And the world changed.

  The water became… alive.

  Thick.

  Obedient.

  I was filled with icy fury.

  When I looked at Elinia—

  I didn’t see a friend.

  I saw an enemy.

  My mana tore free

  like a beast escaping a cage.

  The lake around me rose, twisted into spirals, coiling around my body.

  I felt every drop listening to me.

  I raised my hand.

  The water rose with it.

  Huge water golems began to rise from the lake floor.

  Meter by meter.

  First arms.

  Then heads.

  Then bodies.

  I looked at Elinia through red eyes—

  and wanted her gone.

  “ZEN, STOP!” Finn screamed.

  I didn’t hear him.

  I only heard my breathing.

  I formed a spear.

  Long.

  Sharp.

  Icy.

  And threw it.

  Elinia tried to dodge—

  but the spear cut her arm.

  Blood mixed with the water.

  And then—

  Elinia raised her hand in response

  and discharged lightning into the lake.

  Electricity exploded across the surface

  like a living monster.

  Pain struck instantly.

  As if a thousand needles pierced me at once.

  I arched.

  The water collapsed.

  The golems fell back into the lake.

  I dropped.

  Consciousness sank—

  like a stone into a whirlpool.

  Zen’s POV

  I opened my eyes.

  Everything was blurred.

  The first thing I felt—

  cold iron on my wrists.

  Chains.

  Thick.

  Heavy.

  Dense.

  Made for monsters.

  I was riding…

  on Noxus.

  “Brother…” he said quietly.

  “Are you okay?”

  “Your eyes…

  they’re red.

  They scare me.”

  I didn’t answer.

  Thinking was hard.

  Norris approached — face gray, exhausted, resolute.

  “For your own good,” he said.

  “We put the chains on you.”

  “Until you come back to yourself.”

  I jerked my arms.

  The chains clinked.

  And immediately—

  they began to heat.

  Warm.

  Hot.

  Then—

  boiling.

  The smell of burned flesh hit my nose.

  “Enough, Zen!” Norris grabbed my shoulders.

  “You’ll melt your own hands!”

  I looked at him—

  and his horse collapsed instantly,

  as if something crushed its legs.

  I breathed heavily.

  Unevenly.

  And poured mana into the chains again.

  They hissed.

  Glowed white-hot.

  And melted.

  Falling to the ground like wax.

  I stood.

  The snow beneath my feet began to melt at once.

  Elinia came up behind me.

  I felt her mana

  before she even raised her hand.

  She struck me with lightning.

  I turned.

  Saw it.

  Felt it.

  Too clearly.

  I raised my hand—

  —and sent it back.

  My lightning hit her so hard

  that her horse dropped dead instantly,

  and she herself was thrown to the ground, unconscious.

  I took a step forward.

  Then another.

  And then—

  Seteya appeared from the side like a shadow.

  No one else could have made it in time.

  She jumped at me—

  and plunged a long syringe filled with thick, dark liquid into my neck.

  I tried to shove her away—

  but my muscles refused.

  The world swam.

  Fog covered my eyes.

  Sound dissolved.

  The last thing I heard—

  her voice:

  “Sorry, kid.”

  And everything disappeared.