"You've got dangerous eyes... I like that."~ Miss Fortune, The Captain
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Gregori sat on the ground looking out into the distance of the battlefield Ionia had chosen.
TheGraveyardofSwords.
The same place where the last battle against the Darkin were fought.
Discarded weapons of different shapes and sizes lay littered across the battlefield each one carrying its own story. Every scar that was carved into the land remaining exactly as it was for hundreds of years.
Caalyx stood beside him, the tail end of whom was planted into the ground.
"Any updates on the two who had gone to stop Xolaani?" He asked.
Gregori nodded.
"The monkey awakened its Celestial state and beat Xolaani."
The singular eye blinked before he began to laugh, "Xolaani fell?"
"Not exactly."
The laughter stopped.
"What do you mean?"
Gregori ran his now clawed hand across the ground, leaving sharp lines on the ground.
"He made a choice between stopping Xolaani and saving his master."
"And didn't end up beating Xolaani." Caalyx finished, frustration leaking into his voice. "What a fucking retard. A moron. A fucking monkey. Fucking damned unevolved piece of shit. Furry banana fucking coconut gargling monkey. The lives of countless Ionians for the price of one!"
"I know you do not care about those lives either Caalyx." Gregori chuckled at the colorful words Caalyx was spewing. He turned toward his companion, "You think that if he had beat Xolaani then we wouldn't need to proceed with our plan in its exact state. Don't act like you wouldn't choose to save me over countless Ionian lives..... I know you too much for that."
Caalyx's lone eye blinked in response. Not replying but the intent behind the silence was clear.
He would do the same.
"Though it is relieving in a sense." Gregori leaned back, staring into the night sky.
"What is?"
"The fact that there are Celestials in this world that display human emotions. One's that actually care enough to make such a choice." Gregori answered with a content smile on his face.
"You've seen Soraka for so many years and you never made this statement." Caalyx pointed out.
Gregori shook his head, "Soraka would have tried to save everyone at the cost of herself. This one made the decision that actually matters. The value of one life over countless. There is a real emotional connection needed between people in order for someone to make that decision you know..."
"A general would always choose the masses over a single life." Callyx replied.
"Which is why you aren't one." Gregori replied in jest, "Again Caalyx, I know you too well. You'd choose me over swathes of people." He frowned, "And he isn't a general either."
"Then the plan must be followed." Caalyx spoke, a tremble slipping into his voice.
Gregori smiled.
"It must."
"And you are fine with it."
"I am."
"How many days do we have left anyway?"
"A week at the minimum." Gregori answered. "Depends on how fast Xolaani can heal and how fast Aatrox makes it here."
"Whichever one reaches here first.."
"We hold them here until the other reaches as well." Gregori pointed, "There is a reason we chose this spot right here Caalyx."
"And you did a good job convincing everyone."
"They aren't fully clued into the plan yet." Gregori replied, " And that id crucial for the rest of the plan."
"Hehe! I cannot wait for their reactions." Caalyx chuckled.
"Is your plan really that comical?" Shen spoke from behind him.
"You do not find it hilarious?" Caalyx asked, "You helped set it up."
"War is not funny."
"Ugh... Gregori! Get me away from this boredom immediately!" Caalyx ordered him like a snobbish noble.
-x-
A month ago during the meeting,
"How does the youngest get all the luck?" Caalyx asked aloud. "A perfect wielder."
"But the idiot is too focused on learning that garbage Shadow magic." Rhaast's singular eye stared at his wielder.
"Shadow magic?!" Caalyx's voice rose. "Which dumbfuck moron wants to learn that? Also how is that magic still being passed down after everything done to get rid of it."
"Ionians kept a copy of it for safekeeping." Zaahen replied in an all-knowing manner.
"Safe-keeping?" Caalyx's eye looked around the whole room in a mocking manner. "Safe-keeping!" He spun around to Gregori, "Are you hearing this? These morons... in their infinite wisdom decide to put the one magic deemed too dangerous to exist in safe-keeping! We needed it fucking destroyed for a reason dumbfucks!" He turned to the inhabitants of the room, "That magic is named Shadow magic not because it is connected to shadows you inbred retards. It is the magic of eternal darkness. There is not only a demon that roams the endless darkness but it also acts as a pathway for the ones behind the Void." He turned back to Gregori, " You wanted to know how the Void is still active thousands of years later? These shmucks are the reason. Yeah no. Fuck Ionia. Let it be destroyed. We can fight the Darkin elsewhere."
"You cannot let the Darkin get any stronger. If Ionia falls the world will follow." Karma responded, annoyed at Caalyx.
"No." Caalyx replied, "If Ionia falls then we can convince the Celestials to step in. You are inconsequential. In order to safe guard knowledge you allow a threat that can end our world..." He turned toward the Order of the Shadows. "And how did safe-keeping turn out? I can clearly see a bunch of bum-fucked weaklings relying on the one magic that opens the gates to our world's destruction."
"They will stop practicing the magic Caalyx." Zaahen interjected. "They did not know."
"You didn't either!" Caalyx shut him down, "The twilight boy told me of your legends in Ionia. They see you as a hero. Do they know why you betrayed me? Do they know of all your actions in our wars? Don't act like a saint Zaahen. Not when there are those that know your true face. I know if you truly wished to you wouldnt have consumed Xin Zhao completely. You should have seen us from his memories and you should have known there was another option. But you did not. Let me ask you this.... how much blood do you require to survive and how much are these Ionians willing to give you?"
Zaahen stood still in silence. He had no words to reply. Those near him did not know the truth. Nor would they be willing to sacrifice lives to keep him going.
"Caalyx." Gregori interrupted, "We need to get this over with as soon as possible. This is our best chance. I do not care about Ionia but I do care about the rest of the world. Lets focus on our mission."
"Fine." Caalyx sighed, pushing the anger to the back of his mind. "How many Darkin are currently sealed in Ionia?"
"Including Xolaani and excluding you? Five." Zaahen answered.
"And Varus has a host." Rhaast interjected.
Gregori let out a whistle, "Then we need him on our side."
"He was on Aarrox's side." Caalyx disagreed, "He won't join us."
"The others did." Gregori replied.
Caalyx sighed, "Only two of them were sane enough to listen."
"You have other Darkin on your side?" Rhaast asked surprised and then reevaluated, "Your brother for one."
"No. Naga and Horaazi." Caalyx answered
Zaahen frowned, "Your brother?"
"Dead." Caalyx answered.
Zaahen and Rhaast both took in sharp breaths, their magic began to flutter.
""Death!""
"How?!" Zaahen pled.
"No." Caalyx replied gleefully, "Why would I help traitors? Now if we can get back to the matter at hand...."
Gregori brought a palm to his face, "I have a plan. It needs a few things to be set up but I can guarantee our victory. Though we need to bring the fight to a location that we control."
"Ionia has a place that would suit all of your desires. A perfect battlefield preserved over centuries." Kennen answered.
Gregori nodded and then slowly looked around the room, "But first...." He raised his hand up in the air.
And with that movement, a man rose to the sky.
Master Loi.
The man leading the members of the Shojin.
"What are you doing?!" Karma said as shw stepped forward, her magic responding in kind.
Gregori look at her, "You know this person?"
"He is the master of the Shojin monastery. A good man and a guest to our council." Kennen answered.
The man struggled weakly against Gregori's hold.
"But he is not." Gregori replied.
The man floated toward him slowly.
"You think I would not recognize your filthy magic here?" He asked the man, "I would have killed your true body in Noxus years ago, if I was not burdened with the task of protecting my children."
The man's struggles stopped.
"I overlooked the chances of your appearance." He spoke with the voice of a woman.
The Ionians that stood close by scrambled backward.
"I shouldn't blame the death of my wife on you. After all... I killed the family of those that perpetrated the attack." Gregori spoke.
The man nodded, "Even the children I heard."
Gregori nodded, "Variables I was not willing to overlook."
He knew accepting it would make the Ionians opinion of him drop lower. It was the way the Faceless operated. Sowing seeds of discord till their last breath.
"But do not worry. Your fears will come true. The empire you have built will come crashing down. Your desire for conquest will lead to your destruction. I have foreseen it. And your dreams have already been marked for failure. Beginning with this..."
CRACK
The man's neck bent at an odd angle and it fell to the ground.
Then the magic surrounding the body began to fade away leaving behind nothing but red and black dust.
Gregori turned around and began walking to the exit, "Your Master Loi could have died anywhere between today to the last five years. If you have any last rites for the man. Do them in peace knowing that a part of the one who killed them is dead." He stated as he reached the door.
"Hey even if you don't want to share your secrets, if Kayn decided to stop being a petulant child he can grant me the eternal sleep." Rhaast called out as he looked at Caalyx, "Keep your secrets."
"I'll kill him if you keep talking."
"I apologize."