A Search Through Runeterra (Arcane)

"Flee into the forest? I am the forest."~ Maokai, The Twisted Treant, CC God

I apologize if the meeting the past chapter did not hit as hard as I wanted it to. Emotions are very hard to convey in writing. I'll get better.

Also writing is hard when the group doesn't contribute to the group project. Actually annoying.

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He had come back to the battlefield, looking over the devastation that marked the ground.

He could have followed them further...

But there was something he had to finish.

Something that would cascade into chaos.

And he just needed to light the fire that set it all off. The months of constant preparation and manipulation all for this one moment.

Even from the distance, he was still connected to that small form of his.

The bear.

Tibbers.

This was just a temporary separation.

The first few days in the forest were very productive. Gregori was there after all. Delectable. The man was just oozing guilt.

Savory guilt.

Guilt that he consumed.

Gregori did not even realize that he had stopped feeling guilty for whatever he felt guilty for. He had probably rationalized it, assuming that he had gotten over it without actually facing the issue itself.

But Tybaluk did not care.

Food was food.

And great food was even better.

The new girl, Rell, her guilt was just as delectable. A little sour but the kind that makes you coming back for more. Despite consuming her guilt for a while, it did not lessen. Considering that they had found her among bodies.... she was probably trying to get over the fact that she had taken so many lives. All while trying to put up a brave and angry face on the outside.

Tybaluk hoped that she kept thinking about it.

More food for him.

His spiritual form flew past the battlefield, a little bit of anger erupting through him for not having been the one to put the creature down.

But Gregori knew what it was. And that transformation. Beautiful. Violent. If he was the Demon of Rage or Lust, Gregori would be prime picking. But the man had enough guilt to keep him occupied.

Gregori was a good fighter. Probably around the best he had ever come across. If he was born in the old days of war, he could have become a ruler through pure skill alone. Coupled with good magic and this inhuman transformation? That was a recipe for someone meant to shape the course of history.

But he wasn't interested in conquest.

He wanted love and family.

Love that Tybaluk had come to accept and crave.

Darkin.....

Another bunch to look out for. Though one thing caught his attention though. The magic the two of them used, the creature and Gregori.

It was blood magic.

But not the same kind he had been previously acquainted with. No. This was many tiers above. The kind that seemed primal. He had stated that they were ancient warriors. Warriors who had been corrupted thousands of years ago.

The only event that stood out from thousands of years ago was the invasion the lands faced because of the idiot woman from the Frost Lands. The demons did not care for it but had planned to step in at some point of time, since their food source would be eradicated. Most wanted to move earlier but the First held them back.

The fear from those days began his ascension or downfall as he considered it.

But his flames would have killed the creature. It showed properties of immortality but nothing was truly immortal. Not even death. Every thing would eventually end. Even the demons. But the creature was showing parts of something impossible.

Tybaluk raged. It was a mistake made once. The next time? His flames would take care of everything. They would focus on the intangible things in life. Souls. He would burn the souls of these creatures.

A fitting end for something as vile as them.

His aversion to blood mages had made his view of them extremely prejudiced. He had been trapped and then sealed and finally experimented on for so many years. He had developed a significant hatred for those mages.

But what cut deeper was his failure to protect Annie. Protect the children. He had been ordered and given a command. But his aversion to orders had made him ignore it. That had been the wrong decision. He had overlooked his priorities for a fight that was not his.

Another mistake. One that would definitely not happen again.

A few hours of flying through empty land, he had arrived at the capital once more. A group of soldiers were stationed outside the broken wall as stone masons worked to cover up the hole again.

A noble watched over them from above.

Tybaluk ignored them as he slid through and made his way to the conservatory. There was only one man who he was after.

The man that he had set up with all of his plans.

Flynn Retrick.

Every time he had come closer to Annie, Tybaluk had slowly affected his psyche. Making him make significantly worse decisions each time. 

It was why he had not taken advantage of his early knowledge of Annie's identity. Tybaluk's words in his ears had made his save that information as a secret weapon. One that he could use to jump ahead of Telsi when the time came to become a noble.

But that was not the only thing.

Tybaluk could influence Flynn's decisions. Physically.

The man had unintentionally spied for Tybaluk. He went into restricted areas that made him feel both scared as well as guilty. Guilty enough for Tybaluk to be able to read his memories. 

And every time he felt guilty.... he would become easier to manipulate.

That made him the perfect spy. A spy who did not even know that he was one. Even if he got caught, no one could tie Tybaluk to him. Flynn would just make decisions that were not normal for him and he would rationalize it somehow. If he got caught, his behavior would bail him out.

Every single day as a spy was all for a single reason.

The freedom of his brother.

Atakhan.

The Demon of Pain.

Atakhan had been sealed in the underground catacombs that weaved across Immortal Bastion. Sealed in a little helmet. The helmet that housed another soul. A soul that couldn't pass due to his loyalty. Khatash-Li. A general of the Barbarian King. The man who beat Atakhan and him and had forced them into slavery.

Escaping alone was not enough for Tybaluk. Atakhan was a brother in suffering. He would offer him the same chance to escape.

What Atakhan did after was not for him to decide.

But he would offer that chance.

He found Flynn having an intense argument with Telsi. An argument Tybaluk ended by initiating the final order he had given.

After that Tybaluk felt for the connection to the bear and summoned himself back. Anything that took place after this was not for him to know or care for. And the release of a major demon would be felt by every other demon in the vicinity and if Fear decided to move, then he would be in trouble. But from a distance, he could feel Atakhan's freedom once the plan was complete.

Flynn broke off the conversation and looked at Telsi. His face scrunched up in anger, "We will discuss this again at a later time." As he finished those words, he walked out of the conservatory and placed a palm on his forehead and sighed. "FUCK!" He grunted.

After a few seconds, he walked through different alleyways and slipped into one of the many entrances to the catacombs.

Walking through the rock passages, he found himself in front of a large door. Placing his ear on the door, he heard voice coming through the other side.

But he knew that this was where he had wanted to be.

He didn't know why he had wanted to be here, but he did. The thought was intrusive and the decision decisive.

An abnormal creeping voice in his head told him to go further. And break the one in chains. And he agreed with the voice.

With false bravado he pushed open the doors to see two women with their faces covered. Raising his staff with runic engravings, he pushed his magic out.

Wind magic.

The air around the two disappeared on command, the surprise at seeing a new face and the sudden disappearance of air sent their hands clutching at their throats. They coughed and sputtered and finally fell dead.

Looking up from the two he had gotten by surprise, Flynn saw it.

The caged being.

A helmet. One with a powerful aura.

He stumbled toward it. Slipping on the rocks around before eventually arriving at his destination.

With a swing of his staff the helmet was knocked off the pedestal. His staff caught on fire. And slowly he body caught on fire as well.

But he couldn't take his eyes off the creature.

Four clawed arms appeared through the smoke that billowed from under the helmet. Undead armor formed around the creature.

And with a burst of smoke, a red lights appeared in the eyes of the helmet.

I AM FREE?

Atakhan took in his surroundings and his eyes landed on Flynn. Instantly recognizing the energy permeating under the man, Atakhan laughed out in glee.

I WILL TAKE THIS AS A FAVOR..... BROTHER.

Atakhan then took his first steps outside his wretched cage.

Flynn watched it all. Not uttering a word despite burning. His eyes remained open until his body turned to ash.

Tybaluk wouldn't let anyone who had any evil intention toward Annie live. Flynn was just the first to feel his wrath.

In a realm beyond anything conceivable, another pair of eyes opened. A being sat on his large iron throne. The bluish-green orbs flickered for a moment before closing.

"INTERESTING."