A Search Through Runeterra (Arcane)

"Feeding time!" ~Kog'Maw, The Void Puppy, The Three Item God

Heh! Heh! Funny chapter number.

Also please god let NIP flop extremely hard. I'm a generational Doinb hater for what he did to my 2019 G2. Amen.

Also is Volibear broken are what?

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Gregori looked around frantically.

"I'm right here moron." Caalyx's voice sounded to his side.

Gregori turned to face him.

"Wow you think just because you used me I would appear in your head with a physical form?"

Gregori stilled and frowned.

"I'm a spear you fuck. That is all I ever want to be." Caalyx continued, "And you.... YOU!" He thundered, "You almost made me take control. Almost killed yourself because you did not take things seriously."

"I took-"

"YOU TOOK SHIT!" Caalyx cut Gregori off. "You faced Naganeka without going all out." A tired sigh echoed through the mindscape, "You faced.... the weakest possible Darkin and barely made it out."

"The weakest?" Gregori looked confused, "I remember her being quite high on the list."

"THE WEAKEST BECAUSE OF HER FORM!" The mindscape rumbled, "She took the form of a FUCKING COW!" Caalyx screamed in frustration, before speaking softly, "A cow that is distinctly lacking the same level of movement as a human host. She had no fangs. No claws. No ounce of in built bloodthirst. A fucking cow eats grass. Darkin or not that is an easy fight."

Without allowing Gregori to speak, he continued, "You won this based on pure luck alone. That is all. Pure utter bullshit luck. Literally..... the stars aligned for you to be able to live as well as beat Naganeka."

The mindscape shifted, going back to the battlefield.

"You had every advantage here. A powerful demon. A ranged opponent in close quarters. Powerful magic that is yours to command. And the Chrysalis form with the spear. Any one of these things could lead to victory and you squandered every single opportunity."

The scene shifted to his last move.

"Your last move was supposed to be your first. A cow, no matter how strong or how empowered cannot beat a man in a similar state. Instead you waste your blood to fuck around."

"I did not fuck around." Gregori interrupted. "You do not go into battle without observing or gaining an estimate of your opponent. That is the first rule of battle."

"That rule fucks off when your opponent has made the first move you moron." He screamed once more. " On the backfoot you cannot afford to take time. Retaliate or die. You cannot go easy on them. You owe me that. You owe US that."

"Strike hard. Harder than them."

Gregori silently stood watching the fight replay in the mindscape.

"Now you are incapacitated. Your children are alone. And when you wake you will have no ide of your current position. You will be forced to pray to the Celestial again. Who knows what she even sees in you. Any upcoming battles you will have to face in a weaker state. Living could be a guarantee if you were alone but you have six children to protect. The odds are automatically stacked against you. All of this could have been avoided if you ended the fight earlier."

"Are they safe?" Gregori did not turn around.

"They are." Caalyx answered. "Annie has set up the wards and they are all asleep near you. The day has taken its toll on them as well."

The two remained in silence.

Gregori decided to cut through it when a thought occurred to him, "If you wanted me to rest why did you bring me here?"

"Oh you think you are so smart...." Caalyx drawled, "This is all in your head dumbass. Your body is still getting the rest it requires. Your body is asleep. Your mind? That doesn't need the sleep."

"Mental exhaustion?" Gregori questioned.

"Mentally exhausted from doing what?" Caalyx shot back, "Fucking up? Losing so much blood that the only way for you to have survived was to absorb blood?"

"A single mistake Gregori. One single mistake. And there is no coming back..... And I do not want a body unless it is absolutely necessary. Tell me Gregori... what were the terms of our deal?"

Gregori closed his eyes remembering the day the deal was struck, "I get to use you and live a long fulfilling life and only when my death is assured will you take over."

"AND?"

"And I do everything in my power to live that long life. Only in times when Darkin attack should I even think of breaking the terms of our deal."

"And did you consider breaking the contract today?"

Gregori nodded.

"Why?"

"It might have been necessary."

"Gregori." Caalyx groaned, "Of all the people that could have found the ruins, it had to be the greatest numbskull of all."

"The insults are unneeded."

"Its not an insult when it is the truth."

"MAKE YOUR POINT." Gregori growled.

"Your life is not your own. It does not belong to you to do as you please with it. It is your children's. You live for them. Your life is for them. Everything is for them. By throwing away your life, you throw away theirs. Who do they have but you?"

Caalyx waited for his words to sink in.

Only after Gregori replied, "No one." did he continue.

"Exactly. And you decided to take on more children. That is responsibility. Every single child is a grand responsibility and you are now, a father to SEVEN! Seven children who will look to you for their every need."

Gregori stayed silent.

"I've had children Gregori. I have watched them grow. Have children of their own and watched them die. I HAVE WATCHED THEIR CHILDREN DIE! Do not think I am jesting here. Just because your parents threw their son away does not mean you can do it to your own children. You have to be there for them. This world has so many dangers.... how can you expect seven children... despite the power they all wield.... how can you expect children to survive it and come out sane?" Caalyx's voice had reduced to pleading now.

"They will survive. I will ensure that."

"You cannot ensure shit if you are dead." Caalyx spoke, "Your decisions are what brought you here. You decided to make sure Annie needed to grow up with a mother. In the process, two children lost theirs. You decided to take the children out in the rain. You decided every step of the way till this moment."

"So.... it is my fault?" Gregori asked standoffishly.

Grunting, Caalyx continued, "There is no right or wrong decision for you to make. The world doesn't exist only for you. Everyone makes decisions that affects others. Leanna made the same decision as you, only it worked in her favor. Daisy gained a father who would do the impossible for her. Decision are just that. Decisions. But you have to live with the outcome. Do you understand? LIVE with the outcome."

Gregori's shoulders sagged.

"Live Gregori. Live to atone for your decisions. Live till your children can stand on their own. Even in a near impossible situation against a Darkin do not think of relying on me for an easy win at the cost of your life. Fight. Fight till your last breath. Fight till you fall. Then and only then will I consider a complete take over."

"And I do mean a complete take over. A Darkin keeps their host alive inside their own heads. Torture. They are forced to watch their bodies being used. I am giving you a way out of that. Complete take over is me taking over everything. It will no longer your body that we co-inhabit. It will be mine. And your soul will move on. That is the only mercy I can afford you. But until then I need you alive. Alive and strong. As a father you cannot afford to show weakness. No breaking. No bending. Eternally tall."

Taking a shaky breath, Gregori focused himself, "What do we do now?"

"Prepare." 

"Alright."

"You need to be ready both physically, magically and mentally. It is my belief that our enemies might not just be the Darkin. There are more dangerous forces at work. You need to be ready to handle all of them. Demons. Spirit Gods. Aspects. All of them. But first, we review every single aspect of the battle you just had. I will point out things you could have done better. All I ask is for you to have an open mind."

Gregori nodded.

"Good. I have hundreds of years of experience. It will do you a lot of good."

Gregori tilted his head quizzically.

"No. I know exactly what you are going to ask. I am not going to just share those memories with you. Your mind cannot handle that many memories. It is the same reason as why normal mortals get overwhelmed from coming in contact with us. You know this and you still ask.... Gregori.... Are you..... by any chance.... retarded?"

Gregori shut his eyes and winced at the oversight.

But you can make new ones, from what I can show you." Caalyx continued in pity.

The scene that depicted the earlier battle shifted.

"They are rushing us." A calm voice spoke. The figure with the head of a falcon looked forward at the incoming wave of creatures. "There is no method to their madness. Pure violence is all this is."

"We just bash through them." A figure with a lion's head spoke.

"Yess. Cull the meek!" Another figure with crocodile like features supported.

"No." Another figure with the head of a jackal cut in. "They have more warriors than us. We will fall if we tire."

The one with the falcon chuckled at that. "Tell it to those idiots there." He pointed to the group of Ascended that had split off from the main group and ran to meet the creatures.

The jackal headed man, raised his palm to his face, "Ugh..... How was Ranur even elevated to the position of Grand General?"

"He had Xola by his side. That is why." The falcon headed man replied.

BANG

Their attention fell on the arrow speeding to their enemy. It did not stop even after breaking through the ranks of the enemy, decimating the entire column of the incoming wave.

"Hahahha!" Laughter cut through the air. A woman with a snake's head laughed loudly. "That was one arrow!"

"Well there goes any need of a thoughtful plan."

"Don't fret Nasus. Your time will come." The falcon headed man reassured. "Sometimes, the easiest answer might just be the right one and Naga has already helped us out here."

"I suppose.... my prince."

"Well then... what are we dallying around for?" The leader asked. "Lets join our brothers and sisters." He picked up his spear and ran to face the enemies.

The lion and the crocodile roared in support and followed him into battle.

Nasus remained. Shaking his head at the immature acts of his superiors.

"This was the turning point." Caalyx spoke to Gregori. "This was the beginning of the end.... But that is not why I wanted to show you this."

The memory rolled back to show the snake headed woman.

"Naga." Caalyx pointed out. "Now Naganeka. The attacks you faced were no where as strong as this but you still struggled. This attack..." He showed the aftermath of the attack. "This was her having fun. Playing around. Not even trying."

Gregori clenched his fists.

"Even if you might not face them at their strongest.... you have to be prepared to face at least something similar."

Gregori interrupted, "Wait.... the creatures. I've seen the same color."

"WHAT?" Caalyx yelled out in alarm.

"The ruins in Tokogol. There was a similar purple mark on the ground."

"No. No. NO." Caalyx denied. "You must have seen wrong. It is not possible."

"I know what I saw."

"Show me the memory now." Caalyx ordered.

Gregori showed him with haste, Caalyx had never spoke with that much urgency before.

Caalyx viewed the ruins and the scorch marks. All Gregori could hear were sounds of gritting teeth. "You need to go there again Gregori." Caalyx spoke with voice hard leaving no room for a reply. "If this is real then your list of enemies has just increased by one more. One beyond the Darkin."

"Alright." Gregori accepted.

"Now.... lets go back to the battle today." Caalyx continued, a little breathless.