"Beset by spirits, my home laid to waste!... And they call me twisted." ~ Maokai, The Twisted Treant
Well... I'm back. Been a while. Sorry for the delays. Life was pretty harsh for a little while and in ways.... it still is. Enjoy the chapters till the very end of this story, there were lots of rewrites. Thanks for sticking with the fic and me over the past two years. More after the final chapter.
And for the very last time for this story, DROP YOUR STONES!
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"This war begins with us." Wukong muttered as he hung off of a tree by his tail, "Who would have thunk it huh?"
"Indeed." Master Yi replied.
Wukong dropped to the ground, spinning and landing on his feet, "So much for never participating in a war again isn't that right Master Yi?"
Master Yi turned to look at him, his helmet, The Seven Lenses of Insight, covering most of his facial features, "Do not jest about one's conviction Kong. I will not be participating in this war."
Wukong slung his staff across his shoulders and hung his hands off it, "I believe that you should participate." He shrugged, "I think it is time for you to leave all of this behind and actually help save Ionia."
"I know what happens when men like me join wars Kong." Master Yi sighed as he looked at the vast expanse ahead of them.
The two stood along the edges of the Rainbowed Canyons of Shi.
Wukong played with his staff at that comment. Master Yi truly believed that his participation in the war against the Noxian invasion caused the deaths of all the other practitioners of the Wuju style. The deaths of everyone living in Wuju village.
"And this absolves you of that?" Wukong asked as he peered over the edge of the cliff they stood on.
"It does not." Yi replied, "It.... does not."
"Then why are you doing this?" Wukong asked, "What happened to Jun was not your fault."
Yi shook his head, "But she was my disciple. And I, her master. A master has to bear the sins of his disciple..... and if necessary..... end their suffering."
Wukong eyed his master, "You are so sure about everything. Look at me.... I don't even know what it is about me that those three believed would help us here. I don't know if I can do what they think I can."
"But you stand here." Yi spoke meeting his eyes, "Despite all your self-doubt you stand here. Just as I do. And that is enough." He chuckled for a moment, thinking about the past, "Whatever has to happen.... will happen. We cannot change that. The world ebbs and flows in its own way and to stand against it is to stand against the world."
"And you do not hate that?" Wukong asked, "Do you not hate having to accept everything that has happened to you?"
"What else can one do? Do I start a war against Noxus on my own in desire for revenge? Do I strike the earth when there is an earthquake? Do I slash the water when it floods? There are things you can struggle against... and things you have to accept." Master Yi let out a sad sigh, "The only thing you can do.... is live."
Wukong slumped to the ground shaking his head, "You know... out of all of your teachings.... this is by far the worst." He looked to the sky, "Accept your fate and live with it? Take every hit the comes toward you?" His right fist rose to the sky, "No." It closed into a fist, "No. I will not accept it." He turned the fist toward Yi, "I will struggle. Because that is what life is. To struggle. To survive. Even if death itself comes to me..... I will struggle to change that outcome. I will fight against the fact that there is injustice in this world. Against the fact that despite all the power you have..... you choose to stand back and watch as the world burns down, drowning in guilt that is not yours. Stopping Jun here isn't some grand act of love for your student. It is for yourself. To satisfy your own desires." He chuckled as he realized something, "You know... despite all of your previous words.... you are still struggling. You just haven't realized it yet."
Master Yi looked at his student without a word as he contemplated the words just spoken to him.
He had put himself in this position. He had left his village behind to fight the invaders. And he singlehandedly stopped waves of invaders in overwhelming fashion. It was so overwhelming that when he had left the village unattended a second time and left to protect Navori with a bunch of disciples..... Noxus had attacked their village.
Not with men.
No.
Mere men would not have stopped the practitioners of the Wuju style.
No.
They had used a poisonous mist. One that killed those who breathed the air in minutes. All life in the village was wiped out.
The village of Wuju still hadn't healed from that attack. The very land constantly fought against the poison.
Yi hadn't forgiven himself for that.
For not being there.
But what would have changed had he been there?
One extra body. An increment to the death toll.
He knew that. But it would have been a blessing to die with them than live without.
Wukong then turned around, ignoring the Yi in thought, and gazed at their surroundings, "Beautiful. If it looks this beautiful ..... I truly look forward to seeing it at night."
And he was right. The cloudy and moody weather did little to suppress the beauty of this land.
The Rainbowed Canyons of Shi was a land that consisted entirely of flat rock formations that rose from the ground. The flat ground was the only spots were people could walk on. Wooden bridges stretched across, connecting the formations together. The edges of the formations led to deep gorges which emitted an ethereal iridescent light resembling a shimmering rainbow. The rock formations were like puzzle pieces scattered across a vast expanse.
"This is where we will be fighting a being similar to a god and her thralls." Wukong sported a wild smile on his face, "How exciting!" He squinted and brought his hands around his eyes like goggles and frowned, "Ah.... is that them? There is quite a bit."
Yi looked in the same direction and spotted the incoming army. The The Seven Lenses of Insight, was a divine creation of Doran, the greatest mortal forge master. It let him witness the battlefield in it entirety. Every angle. Every moment. But it did come with its own downsides. The skill required to wear it and use it in a fight was immense but the load of information? That was lethal. Yi himself, could only up to five of the lenses without significant damage to his mind.
The thralls were people turned into corrupted blood magic fueled puppets. Shards of bone jutted out from their bodies at odd angles. Blood flowed freely from their bodies but refused to fall to the ground below, rather disappearing into their skin and continuing the cycle.
"To live is to struggle...." Yi glanced at his student, a proud smile sprouting on his face, "Maybe you are right."
"Maybe?" Wukong chuckled, "I KNOW I'm right. An caterpillar struggles to escape out of its cocoon to turn into a butterfly. If an insect struggles without thinking, why shouldn't you?"
"And your over confidence has returned." Yi commented as he unsheathed his blade.
Wukong rose to his feet, "Over confidence? No." He pointed at the incoming army, "Facing that and expecting to live is over confidence." His tail wagged in an X shape, "And I am not confident at all."
"But you will fight." Yi muttered as he raised his blade in the direction of the enemy.
"I will struggle." Wukong answered as he leapt off the edge and onto the next rock formation. "It will probably rain soon."
Yi leapt after him, his breathing changing to accommodate the Wuju style, "Lets hope it does not."
"Why?"
"Our enemy can fly. And we need to have solid ground to stand a chance. Wet soil will not work in our favor."
Wukong blinked as he watched his master reply and then disappear only to reappear a couple rock formations away, "He still hasn't taught me that." He then looked up at the giant floating monstrosity in the shape of a woman. Sickle like objects hung from her wrists.
Her weapons.
But that wasn't all.
There were six chakrams spinning around her. Each one zipping through the air making it look like there were a lot more chakram than there actually were.
Her face had three left eyes and one right eye. Blood, flesh and bone protruding from odd angles making her look more malevolent than he could have imagined
"That's a lot of chakrams." Wukong commented and then proceeded to leap into a the crowd of thralls.
Master Yi was skilled with a sword.
No.
That would be an understatement. He was born for the sword.
The thralls were a guaranteed death for the average soldier.
But Yi had reached the pinnacle of swordsmanship. And with the Wuju style, that targeted only the weak points of the enemies.....
The thralls were nothing more than paper.