Runes determine our path

Under normal circumstances, Balyard would never linger in Zaun. This smog-filled city was a textbook "fog city" its smoke masked ugliness, and beneath it roamed chaos, crime, and trouble.

"Brat, you'd better quit whatever bad idea's in your head. I don't have time to play games with kids."

Balyard's clothing was of a rare style, fashioned in the design of Blessed Light Isle garments, though it was his magically transformed plate armor.

He preferred it this way, sleek and functional, yet with a touch of elegance.

The quality wasn't bad either. Back in his wilder days, he'd often challenged demi-gods and still came out with this outfit intact.

Of course, what attracted the local sewer urchins to him wasn't the rarity of the magical armor.

These orphans, parentless, surviving off pickpocketing, begging, or hard labor, had no magic insight to see through illusions or detect enchanted gear.

Even if they managed to steal the armor while Balyard was asleep, they'd likely discard the heavy plating and just tear off the golden patterns decorating the armor.

All it took was a forceful yank on one golden inlay, and they'd have enough to survive for years. Or so they thought in their reality, it might only be enough to get by for a few days.

What they didn't know was that this gold wasn't ordinary; it came from ancient Shurima, blessed by the Sun Disc, and was one of the finest vessels for rune-forging magic.

In layman's terms, the golden trim on Balyard's armor wasn't just valuable—it was made of runes.

Each strip was pure, crystallized magic, worth a fortune on the black market.

Runes were pure arcane essence, magic permanently solidified into a physical form by master mages. Their natural properties had been altered to become physical matter capable of enacting permanent magical effects.

Now, those sewer kids were hesitating. Stealing from a Transcendent was suicidal.

But… people in Zaun who were still willing to help them were growing scarcer by the day.

If they didn't pull this job off soon, they'd end up dead, just like their parents.

"Sir Transcendent, please take pity on us!"

The lead boy dropped to his knees, and the other three quickly followed suit.

Their means of survival were limited to three options: pickpocketing, begging, or working.

Pickpocketing was off the table, trying that on a Transcendent might get them killed.

And labor? That worked for regular folk. But working for a Transcendent? They had no idea what he might make them do.

Maybe use them as lab rats.

Maybe force them to spy on wanted criminals.

Maybe something worse...

In the Empire, strength meant everything. A Transcendent could kill sewer orphans without ever being held accountable.

"Pity you? You wish."

Balyard wasn't short on money, but he wasn't about to hand out rune coins to kids who had just tried to rob him.

They weren't his responsibility-only after death did their souls become his concern.

"We can gather intel for you! You went to the Takeda Tavern earlier to gather information, right? We can help! It'll just cost a little!"

"Can your info be better than what they have?"

So it was Takeda's tavern, a family of samurai from distant lands. Its head was one of the Chem-Barons ruling Zaun.

Balyard doubted these brats could provide anything more reliable than what the Takeda could.

"Sir! The Takeda family is still part of the Empire. There are things they're not allowed to say. Even if you get info from them, it might not be the full truth, especially about the resistance."

The lead boy knew a lot about the Takeda Tavern and knew how to get intel.

Had Balyard underestimated these sewer rats?

Then again, in a city like this, you didn't survive long without learning how to gather information.

"Fine, come with me… You reckless kids."

Digging into resistance movements? These kids had a death wish.

Now they wanted him to take responsibility for their lives? Forget it, this version of the Shadow Isles wasn't under his rule.

"Sir, if you're looking for a place to talk, I know a good one," said the lead boy again.

He did seem to know everything, no wonder he had a group of followers surviving with him in Zaun.

"The Sun Gate? That's the place you brought me to? I never should've trusted you. If you can't give me a good reason, you'll pay for it."

The Sun Gate was the collective name for a series of sea locks. These locks had turned Piltover and Zaun into the center of trade between Valoran and Shurima.

While not many people lingered there, Piltover guards patrolled in shifts to evict anyone loitering, ensuring the gates weren't sabotaged.

"Sir, you don't understand! Zaun and Piltover are now the frontlines of the war between the Empire and the resistance. Surveillance equipment has been activated everywhere. Talking about the resistance in the city would get us dragged off by Singed for experimentation."

The boy visibly shivered.

Singed, the alchemist, held terrifying sway over Zaunites.

No one wanted to become one of his monstrous war experiments. Many of the Empire's most brutal weapons were designed by him.

"Surveillance equipment… I'll believe you, for now. Speak, what do you know about the resistance?"

Zaun had surveillance gear?

Not in the original timeline. Chem-Barons thrived in secrecy, espionage devices would've exposed their dirty dealings.

But this was a different world, one where Darius had become Emperor and nearly unified all of Runeterra.

And Darius wouldn't allow anything to interfere with his intelligence network.

Fortunately, the Empire of Noxus, built on strength, didn't care how filthy Zaun was.

Otherwise, the Chem-Barons would've had to kiss their power goodbye.

"Three months ago, former Piltover officer Caitlyn rallied the people of Shurima to rise against the Empire. With help from Shurimans who refused to submit, she's unified the continent and is preparing to launch a counterattack on Zaun and Piltover…"

The boy spilled what he knew while his gang continued to beg and steal in the alleys.

Some secrets were too dangerous for them to hear, better to keep the risk limited.

"Soon, huh? What a coincidence."

"Darius hasn't reacted? He's letting Caitlyn build an army without retaliation? That's not like him."

Balyard leaned against a support rope by the Sun Gate, dark green magic flickering faintly in his hand.

"Rumor has it there's been a major incident in Freljord. Prime Minister Swain has left for Freljord to handle it, and His Majesty the Emperor doesn't have time to deal with the resistance right now."

Something big in Freljord?

Balyard hoped he didn't have to cross half the world to investigate the anomaly—that place was way too far.

Freljord and the Shadow Isles were almost directly opposite on the map, and Zaun, being closer to the Isles, was much more convenient.

Still, Darius having "no time" for the resistance? Balyard didn't buy it.

If Swain, the strategic mastermind of the Trifarix Council, had left the Immortal Bastion, he left instructions behind.

Singed luring Garen and Lux was probably part of that plan.

Boom!

The dark magic in Balyard's hand exploded.

"They found me. Let's go. Here's a tip: if you want to live, stay away from Zaun and Piltover."

This was a spell unique to the Shadow Isles, used to manipulate shadows and gather intel.

Balyard had been using it to track whether Garen and Lux had arrived in Zaun, but Lux had disrupted the spell.

The gap in power was too great.

Being detected was inevitable.

If Singed was already baiting Garen and Lux, then the battle would likely break out outside the city.

Balyard returned with the boy to Zaun… or so it seemed.

At the same time, he also left Zaun and Piltover.

As a ruler of the Shadow Isles, Balyard was a master of soul manipulation.

In the boy's eyes, Balyard had returned with him, but in truth, Balyard had already slipped away.

"Where do you think you're going, kid?!"

A familiar voice rang out from behind.

Balyard didn't even need to turn around; he already knew that this moment would haunt him forever.

"Lux! Battle positions!"

Garen gripped his massive runeblade with both hands and swung it forcefully toward Zaun.

The blade clashed with a streak of Hextech light, kicking up a storm of dust across the desert outskirts.

Protected by magical barriers, neither Lux nor Garen was affected by the blast.

"That's Ikaraya's Hextech Longbow, brother. We've been spotted. Should we retreat?"

If it were just Singed after them, Hextech weapons wouldn't be involved-Singed, proud as a Chem-Baron, wouldn't rely on Piltover tech.

"No need. They're already here."

As the dust settled, Hextech-armored warriors surrounded them, along with Zaunite mercenaries carrying volatile alchemical weapons.

And standing among them...

Singed.