Zen’s POV
We were riding south for the second day.
Noxus was in an excellent mood — talking nonstop…
and I was smiling at him.
I wanted to believe
that everything was behind us.
Night
I dread of killing demons.
One after another.
Without emotion.
Without thought.
A storm.
Lightning.
Blood on the snow.
Then…
The demons were gone.
And people stood in their place.
And I continued.
With the sa calm.
With the sa cold power.
When I woke up, I was drenched in sweat.
My hands were shaking.
Haras lifted his head nearby.
“Bad dream?”
“…Yeah,” I forced out.
I fell asleep again.
But this ti —
afraid to close my eyes.
The Lake
The next day we reached a massive lake.
The water was clear as glass.
A light mist drifted over the surface.
Norris said:
“Break. Fill water. Wash up. Stretch your legs.”
And we ran to the water.
I stepped in first —
and for the first ti in a long while, I felt peace.
Warm water.
Sun above.
Laughter.
Finn splashed around, throwing waves at Reynard.
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Kyren tried to dunk Siren.
Astra shrieked when Edgar splashed her.
I was laughing.
Just laughing.
Like a child.
Until—
“Zen!”
Elinia suddenly raised her hands.
A massive wave rushed toward .
Stronger than a ga.
Too strong.
It slamd into my chest.
I flew backward.
Water filled my nose. My mouth.
And sothing inside —
clicked.
Like a brittle bone snapping.
My eyes burned slightly.
I blinked.
And the world changed.
The Red World
The water beca… alive.
Thick.
Obedient.
I was filled with icy fury.
When I looked at Elinia—
I didn’t see a friend.
I saw an enemy.
My mana tore free
like a beast escaping a cage.
The lake around
rose, twisted into spirals, coiling around my body.
I felt every drop listening to .
I raised my hand.
The water rose with it.
Huge water golems began to rise from the lake floor.
ter by ter.
First arms.
Then heads.
Then bodies.
I looked at Elinia through red eyes—
and wanted her gone.
“ZEN, STOP!” Finn scread.
I didn’t hear him.
I only heard my breathing.
I ford a spear.
Long.
Sharp.
Icy.
And threw it.
Elinia tried to dodge—
but the spear cut her arm.
Blood mixed with the water.
And then—
Lightning
Elinia raised her hand in response
and discharged lightning into the lake.
Electricity exploded across the surface
like a living monster.
Pain struck instantly.
As if a thousand needles pierced
at once.
I arched.
The water collapsed.
The golems fell back into the lake.
I dropped.
Consciousness sank—
like a stone into a whirlpool.
Chapter 30: “Chains”
Zen’s POV
I opened my eyes.
Everything was blurred.
The first thing I felt—
cold iron on my wrists.
Chains.
Thick.
Heavy.
Dense.
Made for monsters.
I was riding…
on Noxus.
“Brother…” he said quietly.
“Are you okay?”
“Your eyes…
they’re red.
They scare .”
I didn’t answer.
Thinking was hard.
Norris approached — face gray, exhausted, resolute.
“For your own good,” he said.
“We put the chains on you.”
“Until you co back to yourself.”
I jerked my arms.
The chains clinked.
And imdiately—
they began to heat.
Warm.
Hot.
Then—
boiling.
The sll of burned flesh hit my nose.
“Enough, Zen!” Norris grabbed my shoulders.
“You’ll lt your own hands!”
I looked at him—
and his horse collapsed instantly,
as if sothing crushed its legs.
I breathed heavily.
Unevenly.
And poured mana into the chains again.
They hissed.
Glowed white-hot.
And lted.
Falling to the ground like wax.
I stood.
The snow beneath my feet began to lt at once.
Strike
Elinia ca up behind .
I felt her mana
before she even raised her hand.
She struck
with lightning.
I turned.
Saw it.
Felt it.
Too clearly.
I raised my hand—
—and sent it back.
My lightning hit her so hard
that her horse dropped dead instantly,
and she herself was thrown to the ground, unconscious.
I took a step forward.
Then another.
And then—
The Syringe
Seteya appeared from the side like a shadow.
No one else could have made it in ti.
She jumped at —
and plunged a long syringe filled with thick, dark liquid into my neck.
I tried to shove her away—
but my muscles refused.
The world swam.
Fog covered my eyes.
Sound dissolved.
The last thing I heard—
her voice:
“Sorry, kid.”
And everything disappeared.
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