Runes determine our path

"Demacia!"

"Whoa, come on! Not the face!"

Balyard was utterly stripped of dignity. That familiar voice there was no mistaking it, it was the power of Demacia, the famed demi-god-level hero, Garen.

This was not an opponent he could handle. Not that he was worried about being hacked to death by that famously brainless brute. After all, he was the ruler of the Shadow Isles, the second-greatest power in Runeterra!

Though he wasn't undead himself, he possessed a power fitting for a Shadow Isles sovereign, immunity to lethal damage. That's also why the other demigods of the Isles were fine letting him roam unsupervised. As long as he couldn't die, they didn't care what else happened to him.

But Garen didn't slash him with the giant sword. Instead, he kicked Balyard over and drove the blade into the ground beside his neck.

"Talk! Was this your doing!?"

What could he have done? He'd just been teleported here by that strange will, hadn't even had time to assess the surroundings, before Garen took him down. What could he have done?

"I didn't do anything! I just got here!"

Out of the corner of his eye, Balyard saw the villagers, their bodies wrapped in sickly green mist that was corroding them. This used to be a village. Now… it was a living hell.

The eyes of the corpses seemed to be pouring out their pain, literally. Their eyeballs had rotted away, the corroded jelly oozing down their faces.

Their eyes were turning to liquid-naturally, the rest of their bodies weren't in any better shape. The exposed parts touched by the green mist were mostly already "melting"? That was the only word in Balyard's shallow vocabulary that could describe them.

Like candles under a flame, the villagers' bodies melted layer by layer. Balyard bet that if someone touched them, ugh, not with bare hands, that'd be disgusting, but even with something else, you could probably scrape off a chunk of flesh with just a light touch.

Tragic. The Shadow Isles would be gaining new residents again. Maybe it was time to raise "housing prices"? Can't afford a haunt? Go back into the black mist and stay out of sight.

"Indeed, brother."

Who else could call Garen "brother"? Naturally, it was the leader of the Demacia Lightbringers, Luxanna, aka Lux.

"That teleportation spell just now, only a mage with the Will of Valor could have pulled that off. But this guy only has a Resilient Body. Doesn't look like the perpetrator or anyone sent to investigate either."

Lux held an oak magic staff, wore a brown hood, and her hands were adorned with silver jewelry, which looked like mithril.

As for Garen, his runeblade was already covered in cracks. His pauldrons were falling apart. No breastplate was probably destroyed in battle.

This wasn't the Garen and Lux he remembered.

Garen's legendary sword, Judgment, wasn't supposed to look like this. And all those pouches and belts? Not exactly standard gear for a general or a mage leader.

"This has to be the Empire's human experimentation. This guy lacks the valor of an imperial soldier, definitely doesn't look like the culprit," Garen said, pulling his sword from the ground and resting it on his shoulder.

"Let's go, Lux. These people can't be saved. Burn it all."

"Wait up! Garen, we could... don't be rash, please don't owe, that hurts!"

Just as Balyard was getting up to follow them, Garen's sword was back on his shoulder.

What kind of cursed luck was this? They wanted to kill him at the drop of a hat? That's not how Demacia's justice should act, especially not the famed Power of Demacia.

"How do you know my name?"

Only then did Balyard notice Garen had grown a beard and looked far more weathered than the Garen he remembered.

"Aren't you the legendary Power of Demacia? I've heard that whenever the Power of Demacia raises his sword, he always shouts 'Demacia!' So I assumed… You were Garen. Wait, aren't you?"

Balyard tried to make his innocent expression look more sincere, but Garen only responded with disdain.

"Never heard of any Empire lapdog behaving like this. Coward. 'Power of Demacia'? What kind of title is that? Sounds made up, but not bad."

Garen sheathed his sword and turned toward Lux.

"Alright then. From now on, I'll be the Power of Demacia, captain of the Demacia Adventuring Party. As the one who came up with it, I'll begrudgingly let you join. Now get moving, coward!"

Adventuring party? Was this a joke? The legendary city-state of Demacia, the only one capable of standing against Noxus, reduced to an adventuring party?

And Garen and Lux weren't even demigods yet?

Maybe that was right; he couldn't rely on the knowledge he already had to define the people he met here.

"Captain, who else is in our Demacia Adventuring Party?"

Balyard flattered him shamelessly. You know what they say when under someone's roof, you bow your head. Okay, maybe he wasn't forced into it... not really.

"Who else? You, me, my sister. That's it. Hurry up and lend a hand!"

Garen stuck his head into a house, smashed a wall, and tossed out a few barrels of fuel.

"Got it!"

Just the three of them? Where was Jarvan? Where was Xin Zhao?

Was this obsessive brother seriously only interested in his sister?

And there's no Ezreal in the party? Maybe Garen killed him?

Balyard began to worry about his future.

The place may be familiar, but the people certainly weren't. Maybe… boil them until they are?

"Where should I pour this?"

Along the street. Soak the buildings, and the people. If you run out, go inside and find more."

Garen sent Balyard off without another word, off to discuss something privately with Lux.

He felt like he was stuck on a pirate ship now. But with Runeterra changing so much, where else could he go if not the Demacia Adventuring Party?

After all, Garen and Lux were still big names. Even if they weren't demigods yet, they'd get there eventually.

By sticking with them, he could learn more about the current state of Valoran.

Not because he was weak and cowardly. Not at all.

Certainly not because if he ran, Garen might catch and beat him.

The green mist didn't affect Balyard much; he'd been exposed to far worse in the Shadow Isles. But it was still disgusting.

At first, it didn't seem so bad. But as he walked into denser areas of the miasma, the already-rotting corpses emitted a stench more vile than any grave.

And yet, he had to pour fuel on these bodies carefully. If the barrels touched the pus pooling next to them, he'd throw them away on the spot.

The village was small, around a hundred people, twenty-some courtyards.

To someone beyond mortal limits like Balyard, it only took about ten minutes to finish the job.

Hearing the low groans of the dying villagers, Balyard gave a few of them a quick end. No, saving them would only deepen their suffering.

And someone capable of this kind of massacre, of creating such toxic gas… in Balyard's memory, there was only one person:

The mad alchemist, Singed.

"Captain Garen, your humble servant has completed the task!"

Addressing Garen like a servant wasn't shameful. It wasn't the first time he'd "sparred" with Garen. He'd let him win, kind of a reward for the victor.

"Lux, light it up. Time to go."

Garen gave Balyard a casual glance, still full of contempt.

Lux flicked her staff. A light orb flew at the remaining barrels. Boom. Flames roared to life.

Balyard braced himself for the heat, only to realize that Lux had already cast protective barriers around all three of them.

When did that happen?

The raging flames were held back by clean, transparent magic shields. Even without demi-god status, these siblings were still far beyond his level...

"Let's go. What are you waiting for?"

Lux hugged her staff and urged him along, while Garen was already ahead, unaffected by the fire and heat.

The village, the bodies, and the poison were all consumed by the flames.

But resentment doesn't burn away so easily. The cries of pain would linger for a long time, until Kindred took their souls or the black mist of the Shadow Isles claimed them.

"Lux, where is the captain planning to go?"

Now that they were far from the village, Balyard tried to probe for information. Compared to Garen, who put swords on his shoulder without warning, Lux was easier to talk to.

"Zaun. We're going to Zaun to get answers from Singed."

Before Lux could answer, Garen jumped in.

Lux gave a polite but awkward smile.

Garen loved interrupting.

Balyard couldn't help but imagine:

A flower girl asks Lux if she wants to buy a bouquet. Garen answers.

A lost traveler asks for a drink. Garen answers.

Ezreal asks Lux if she'd date him. Garen answers.

What a riot.

Even in a different timeline, this guy was still a hopeless sister-con.

But considering how weak he was, Balyard decided to keep his distance from Lux.

Getting sliced by Garen's sword hurts a lot.