"The great seneschal has made his way to Ionia..... All is as planned." ~ *&^*#)!, The #&@*#^$%
This chapter and the following few ones will be based off the minigame that was there a year ago.
Also, Demons in Ionia aren't the actual demons but rather evil spirits. There is a difference.
Watched Project Hail Mary. It was really good. Not as good as the book but still good. I preferred the movie to the book in The Martian but yeah (The two have the same author btw). There is always that one scene in space movies that just take your breath away, (The docking scene in Interstellar, The space walk scene in Gravity, The final scene in Armageddon etc.) the Adrian fishing scene, the entire thing. It was so beautiful.
Also fuck this dogshit website man, how do you save a draft 6 times and it still gets rid of 500 words?
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A couple days had passed since their initial meeting and in that time Kennen had often disappeared to go talk to this young master Shen.
Xin Zhao had later learned that his was the current Eye of Twilight, here to let Kennen know of his actions.
Ionia was vast. Incredibly diverse too. This meant the land had its own leaders. All with their own views on how Ionia should progress. He hadn't considered this when he was a child and had grown up thinking the land of his origin was different from Noxus and Demacia but it was just as flawed as them. Various political factions existed here too and like everywhere else they were prone to fight for their causes.
The Kinkou was among them.
An order meant to maintain the balance among this world and the spiritual world. They desired for a self sufficient land that needed to be isolated in order to maintain this balance. They weren't against the inclusion of more cultures but against the troubles that may bring to this careful balance that they had maintained over these years. This desire for balance was created in order to maintain the spirit realm from spilling forth.
At its core, the Kinkou had one leader.
The Eye of Twilight.
These were men and women who carried on the duty to communicate with the spirit realm and conform to their desires while also keeping their chaos at bay, both malevolent and benevolent. Without this role, the spirits would not be appeased and would threaten to spill forth. This position was passed on from parent to child of a single family. With the Spirit Blade in hand, the Eye of Twilight is the only one who could harm a spirit enough for them to actually retreat in fear.
Beside them stood the Fist of Shadow. A role that focused on eliminating those who stood against the balance. The current Fist of Shadow was a woman by the name of Mayyim.
Xin had not met either one of them as of yet.
And finally, to control both the Eye of Twilight's singular belief of balance and the Fist of Shadow's aggression, was the third and arguably most important role. The Heart of the Tempest. A role created for and only ever held by Kennen.
The other groups and their leaders weren't of consequence of Xin Zhao. The inner politics of Ionia was not something he cared for.
"-and so expect not the petal to float alone across the meadow, for we must be the wind that carries it." Kennen calmly spoke as the two meditated on the cliff atop the mountain overseeing the lands below.
Xin frowned with his eyes closed before asking, "But does the wind not also-"
WHOOOSH
Both of their eyes shot open as a fluctuation of magic rushed through them.
"What was that?" Xin asked as he looked around, his fingers slowly reaching for his spear.
CRAAACKK
A large fissure opened up a distance away from them, magic swirling into and out of it.
"Hmm..." Kennen raised a hand to his chin, "Maybe your 'magic rising'? A bloom of another kind."
He frowned as he sensed the magic coming out of the rift, "Demonkin." He looked up at Xin Zhao, "I must confer with Masters Shen and Mayyim at once."
Gripping his spear, Xin slowly rose to his feet, his eyes on the rift, "Then I will journey on my own. Do what I can against the threat."
Kennen looked at the man beside him and then to his spear, "Your Demacian steel would serve you well, but not against them." Pointing to the steps behind him, he instructed, "Descend these steps and I will guide you. Call upon the shrine spirits to your aid and they will respond. Only then your weapon will harm them."
"Master Kennen." Xin Zhao finally looked away from the rift, "I will not fail."
Kennen smiled, "Be like the wind."
Xin Zhao nodded and began his descent.
Turning around, Kennen sighed, "One can only hope that this isn't a bad omen."
But no one could be sure if he had meant the rift or Xin Zhao.
-x-
Xin Zhao sprinted down the steps while silently calling out the names of the shrine spirits.
The Ready Hand.
The Branch Warden.
The First Spirit.
The Burning Shade.
With each time he recited, he could feel something building inside him. A sort of energy that began to ebb and flow.
The energy slowly penetrated every inch of his body, boosting his speed, strength and mind with every recital. He felt his mind and body attain a sense of unity. The very instant his mind thought..... his body did. As if there was no delay.
Nearing the bottom of the mountain, his eyes fell on a man shielding his daughter from demons that stood around them.
The demons themselves had gray skin with horn and bone like protrusions in various parts of their body. Most of them held weapons like sickles and daggers. Some of them even had rice hats on.
The closest demon raised his sickles and swung at the man.
Xin blinked and then kicked off the step.
CRACCKK
The stone cracked as he disappeared from view.
SWINGG
He reappeared in front of the man, his spear swinging in a wide arc.
The demon swinging its weapon froze for a second as its view began to change. The nearby demons also halted at the sudden appearance of this man.
And then their torsos slid off their body.
"Climb up the mountain." He spoke to the man who had looked behind him, hearing the thumping of bodies. "You will be safer there."
The man raced to his feet, bowed while constantly thanking him and carried his child up the stairs.
"You cannot save them all." A nearby demon hissed at him.
Xin swung his spear, instantly decapitating the demon, "I know. I'm not here to save them." He was a fighter, soldier and a general, he knew that all life couldn't be saved. "I'm here to kill all of you."
In one smooth motion, he loosened the grip on his spear and slid his hand over the shaft, gripping it closer to the blade and pulled his arm all the way back.
The tail end of the spear slammed into a demon swinging its sickle at his back and sent it flying. The other demons used the chance to jump at him together, all swinging their weapons toward him.
Out of the corner of his eye, Xin Zhao spotted a bunch more demons coming toward him from the bridge, Koeshin's crossing. Shifting the spear's tip downward, he let it slide down until he got a better grip. He then roared as he swung his spear around him in a wide arc, splitting all those jumping at him in half.
The demon who he had knocked down previously, staggered to its feet and then took a few steps backward, intimidated by his presence.
"I did tell you." He said as he walked toward the cowering demon, "I am here to kill you."
SLASH
The demon turned to dust.
He then turned to face the incoming wave of enemies from the bridge and without a moment's hesitation, sprinted toward them.
His spear turning into a blur as he rampaged through them.
Fifteen seconds.
That was how long it took for him to wipe out thirty three demons.
WHOOOSH
He tilted his head.
A thrown blade grazed past his cheek, a line of blood forming as it flew past him. He made eye contact with the demon standing in the back and leapt toward it. A short slash and a forward thrust.
The final demon on the bridge fell.
As he began to cross the bridge, in the distance, he could see a whole bunch of demons crowded around a shrine.
He swished his spear around and sprinted toward them.