Runes determine our path

"Did you see clearly?"

A deep male voice spoke from behind Balyard.

He hadn't expected to run into him here, let alone be forcibly detained.

Still, this Hextech telescope was quite impressive. Through it, he'd watched the earlier battle between Garen and Singed in perfect detail. The Resistance's timely arrival was far beyond his expectations.

That shot earlier, it had to be Caitlyn's doing, right?

Although Riven blocked the long-range assassination attempt with her runeblade, the impact must've torn her arm muscles.

"Yes, I saw it all. The Resistance's appearance was that part of Swain's plan, too? What's your next move… Your Majesty, Darius?"

Yes, the one who had detained Balyard was none other than Darius, Emperor of Noxus.

That alone made Balyard behave himself, not just because Garen's justice inspired respect, but because Darius's name inspired fear.

Even more than that, there was another man present, whether it was a throat slit or a beheading, neither was something Balyard cared to experience.

"Of course. I understand Garen's strength; it would be foolish to think we could easily capture him."

Darius hooked Balyard with his black cleaver.

"But that's not your concern."

With that, Darius kicked Balyard to the ground.

Not the first time.

Back when Thresh stirred up trouble in Noxus, it was usually Darius who came to "interrogate" him, face-to-face, and brutally so…

Darius often volunteered to come deal with Balyard, who had earned a reputation as "Runeterra's most durable punching bag."

"I was just… curious..." Balyard began, but after a glance at Darius's sharp gaze, decided it was better to shut up.

"Speak. What's your origin?"

Darius spun his axe in his hand, which reminded Balyard of his brother, Draven. Did both these siblings toss axes for fun?

"I-I'm a Noxian by birth, of course, Your Majesty! …Maybe I don't look like one?"

"Foolish."

Darius hurled his axe. It flew past Balyard's ear and struck the Sun Gate, scarring the ornate structure as though it had robbed the sun of a sliver of its radiance.

"That village. You know which one I mean."

"The village, uh, which one would that be?"

So close, he'd almost been split in two. Was this guy always this violent in every timeline?

Still, Balyard knew he couldn't admit anything. Sure, lying to Darius could get him beat up, but delaying the truth might delay the pain.

"Your Majesty, did you catch him?"

From a teleportation array, Riven and Singed appeared, freshly escaped.

"Yes. He appeared out of nowhere in the bait village, and Garen already confirmed he's not Noxian. So that only leaves one possibility: he's from the Shadow Isles."

Darius walked around to Balyard's back, retrieved his cleaver, and placed it against Balyard's neck.

(Balyard: Must he always put something so heavy on someone's neck?)

"Lying carries a high price. Inside that village were our agents. When you doused the corpses in oil, we planted a listening device on you. Every word you said to Garen, we heard it all."

"There's not a single Noxian who wouldn't know this," Singed added, stepping forward and grabbing Balyard.

"An orphan, unless conscripted, isn't allowed to leave the city. And if they sneak out, no other city will accept them."

Indeed, Noxians under age 10 weren't allowed to leave the city unsupervised.

They were too weak, justified weakness, as they were immature strength in the making.

Though the strong offered them protection, it came with conditions, like not leaving the city.

"You're not planning to take out your frustration on me because Lux shattered your potion, are you? Save me, Your Majesty!"

Balyard would rather be beheaded ten times by Darius's axe than be used as a test subject by Singed.

"Still not talking?" Darius asked.

"Let me tell you, the boy who gave you intel and led you to the Sun Gate is our agent. If you thought he couldn't detect Shadow Isles magic, you were dead wrong.

More importantly, you're carrying the Blade of the Ruined King."

Darius withdrew his cleaver. Singed's earlier manhandling had left a shallow cut on Balyard's neck—no way they wanted this "living man from the Shadow Isles" dead yet.

"I wanted to use the Soul Reaver Scythe," Balyard muttered, "but Karthus said unless I beat him in a duel, he wouldn't give it to me. And, well, the Blade of the Ruined King looks kinda ugly…"

Everyone gave him strange looks.

"Did I say too much? Just remember, don't hit the face when you start beating me!"

"What's the Shadow Isles' purpose? Speak!"

Darius had come to deal with Garen and the Resistance, to remove obstacles before addressing the Freljord crisis.

But now, there was unexpected movement from the Shadow Isles as well.

On the Isles, few beings had physical form, and none matched this "human" who wielded both the Blade of the Ruined King and its armor counterpart.

"No purpose! I just came out to play! Uh… would you believe that?"

He was just exploring. Okay, maybe trying to power up too?

"My patience is thin. Speak plainly, or I'll send you off myself.

Noxus – Guillotine!"

At the word "guillotine," Singed immediately backed off.

Getting blood on himself was disgraceful, like being scratched by a lab rat during an experiment.

To a mad scientist, subjects must never touch them without consent.

"I'll talk! I'll talk!"

Balyard was quick to fold. But could you blame him?

No one wanted to find out what Darius's guillotine felt like; he didn't just decapitate; he split you in half from the skull down.

Like chopping firewood, maybe easier.

"Cowardice."

Darius stopped and turned his back, sitting down nearby.

To a man who despised weakness, letting a coward live was hardly any better than killing him.

"Actually… I'm the ruler of the Shadow Isles."

He waited for a reaction.

"Not surprised? Seriously?"

Wasn't the whole point of hiding his identity the dramatic reveal later?

Plus, none of them should've been able to recognize his gear, right?

There wasn't even a mage here.

Sure, Singed wasn't much different from a grand mage in intellect, but he was still a man of science.

He likely didn't understand much about Balyard's magic-based gear.

"Only the Shadow Isles ruler could wield both the Blade of the Ruined King and the Dead Man's Plate," Riven said, polishing her sword, the same one that had just taken Caitlyn's bullet.

"We've known all along."

Wait, they recognized his gear?

"If we're surprised by anything," she added, "it's that the Shadow Isles would choose a cowardly, weak, useless thing like you as ruler. What were Thresh and Mordekaiser thinking?

Now, keep talking."

"I came to investigate an anomaly. Some guy said the world's on the verge of destruction, and I was sent to fix it."

Now that his identity was out, who'd believe him anyway?

Aside from Darius becoming emperor, Caitlyn's rebellion, and the Freljord troubles, there wasn't anything world-ending going on.

World destruction? Seemed like a joke.

No cataclysms. No wars on a massive scale.

Shurima's so-called rebellion was just a small uprising in Balyard's eyes.

And Shurima itself, a desert wasteland, barely supported a large population.

The whole continent might not even match the Immortal Bastion in numbers.

"Karthus sensed this coming?" Darius said.

"With his affinity to death, it's not impossible he sensed the end.

But sending you, a coward, what is that? An insult to Noxus?"

That hit hard.

If someone like Darius believed the world-ending threat was real, then maybe it was a danger beyond imagination.

"If we work together, maybe we can defeat it?"

Balyard wasn't sure what this anomaly was, but if it scared Darius, it had to be a disaster.

"Singed, let him go. For now, he's on our side.

If Karthus and Thresh sent him, maybe he can help us fight it."

Darius slung his axe over his shoulder and headed toward Piltover.

"Why don't you just tell Garen?"

"I'm sure he'd fight to protect Runeterra alongside the Empire."

Balyard tried persuading them to stop hunting Garen.

To be fair, Garen and Lux could be huge assets against whatever threat was coming.

"You're too naïve, kid," Riven replied, sheathing her sword and following Darius.

"Since the Empire has nearly unified Runeterra, it must take full responsibility.

It's the Emperor's duty, and every soldier's, to protect it."

"And Garen? He left.

His Majesty doesn't stoop to ask traitors for help."

She was right. You had to take responsibility for your land.

Asking someone else to shoulder that burden wasn't Darius's style.

Even in the original timeline, Darius, symbol of power in the Trifarix Council, wasn't someone who asked for help.

He was a man of pure resolve.