The moon was red.
A dull, old red, as if the whole place had been painted by something tired of brightness. Dust drifted over the surface in slow waves. Craters stretched into the distance. Above them hung a blue planet, close enough that Logan could see the swirls of white clouds over its oceans.
He had no idea where they were.
Logan sat on a smooth rock and watched the blue world turn in silence. His mind kept returning to Xineos.
A war against Runeterra could not be as simple as a few Aspects flying down and throwing judgment around. They would need bodies. Hosts. Mount Targon had worshippers, climbers, zealots, priests, warriors, and fools desperate enough to offer themselves to the sky, but would that be enough for an army for all the Aspects?
Probably not.
So where would Xineos find the rest?
Logan did not know enough about Celestial politics to answer. He only knew that every answer he imagined made his headache worse.
A few steps away, Ahrielle and Aatroxelle were trying to call Bard.
At least, Logan thought that was what they were doing.
Ahrielle whistled a soft melody. Aatroxelle clapped along with its tiny hands, keeping an uneven rhythm.
From what Logan had barely understood, Bard was nearby.
Of course, "nearby" in the Celestial Realm probably meant something stupid, like two galaxies to the left and three impossible doors down. But after seeing Bard move, Logan had stopped measuring distance the normal way.
Behind him, Zoe was playing with Ahri and Zoelle.
More accurately, Zoe was playing with Ahri, while Zoelle was playing with Aatrox.
Logan was not entirely sure whether Zoe's game with Ahri was safe. It involved small portals, floating lights, sudden jumps, Zoe appearing behind Ahri just to shout "tag" before vanishing again, and the occasional flying star that exploded nearby. Ahri seemed calm enough, though her tails twitched each time Zoe appeared too close.
That was probably fine.
Zoelle, meanwhile, had Aatrox floating in front of her like a toy blade. Every so often the sword twitched, shifted angle, or tried to pull in a direction that looked suspiciously dangerous.
Logan narrowed his eyes.
He was almost certain Aatrox was trying to get Zoe killed through Zoelle.
...
Zoe suddenly popped into existence in front of Logan, upside down, hair falling toward the moon's surface.
"Do you want to play?"
Logan leaned back.
"No."
"Why?"
"Because your games look like they were designed by someone who thinks survival is optional."
Zoe considered that.
"It kind of is."
"Not for me."
She flipped upright and landed on her feet.
"You're boring."
"I'd like to stay alive while being boring."
Zoe stared at him.
For once, the stare lasted longer than one second.
Her expression changed. The grin softened. The bright, restless movement in her eyes slowed.
"Have you died before?"
Logan's reply caught in his throat.
That question should not have hit as hard as it did. Maybe it was the way she asked it, without joke or warning. Maybe it was the fact that Zoe, under all the nonsense, had somehow noticed something he had not said.
He looked down at his hands.
"Yeah," he said.
Zoe tilted her head.
"Did you like it?"
Logan gave her a flat look.
"What do you think?"
"I think dying is boring and sad." Zoe kicked at the red dust. "People get too quiet after."
Logan did not answer right away.
Then he said, "Yeah. That sounds about right."
Zoe nodded as if they had discussed the weather. Then she spun away and went back to Ahri, shouting something about a new rule that involved not using tails unless everyone had tails.
Logan watched her go with a faint smile.
Then the smile faded.
He looked at his hands again.
His real hands.
"Wait," he whispered.
The thought arrived slowly at first, then all at once.
There was a problem.
Usually, when he descended into the Spirit Realm, his spirit was what moved. His body stayed behind in the Physical Realm. He was sure that had happened normally this time. He remembered the separation.
But when he left the Spirit Realm through Bard's portal, he had appeared in the Celestial Realm with his real body.
Which meant...
Logan sat straighter.
Was he no longer physically on the Snerfs' planet?
Had Bard's portal dragged his body across realms when he passed through it? Had it pulled the physical part of him along after the spiritual part moved?
Then the worst thought hit him.
Jinx.
Logan grabbed his head with both hands.
"Oh no."
If his body had vanished from that planet, Jinx would be losing her mind right now. She would tear through the entire Snerf settlement, accuse every small creature of kidnapping him, threaten the landscape, then somehow build a machine out of rocks, mushrooms, and bad decisions to chase him into space.
"Please don't leave the planet," Logan muttered. "Please don't leave the planet. Please, for once in your life, choose the safe option."
Then came the next question.
How the hell was he supposed to get back?
Logan drew in a long breath.
"All right," he told himself. "Everything is fine."
He looked around at the red moon, the blue planet, the meeps, the Aspect of Twilight, Ahri dodging portal-tag, and Aatrox trying to turn a game into a murder attempt.
"Everything is fine in this burning building."
He lowered his hands.
"One problem at a time. Bard first."
A few minutes passed.
Ahrielle and Aatroxelle kept playing their strange melody. The tune rose and fell through the red dust. Zoelle paused with Aatrox in her tiny hands. Zoe stopped mid-laugh and turned toward the black sky.
"Oh," she said. "Space Beard is coming."
Logan barely had time to stand.
...
Bard appeared on the moon with ridiculous speed, surrounded by several meeps that chimed and circled around him.
One moment, empty space.
The next, Bard.
Zoe immediately marched forward with all the confidence of a lawyer, a queen, and a child who had already decided she was right.
"Okay, first, Zoelle is my soul friend, and second, she chose me, and third, I took very good care of her, and fourth, you have so many meeps already, and fifth, if anyone says I stole her, that is a very mean word for finding someone who wanted adventure."
Zoelle dropped Aatrox.
The sword hit the moon dust with a furious metallic sound.
Then Zoelle rushed straight to Bard.
The tiny meep flung herself against him, or at least tried to. Bard was enormous compared to her. The gesture looked less like a hug and more like a glowing speck colliding emotionally with a wall.
Bard lowered one hand and somehow gently stroked the top of Zoelle's head.
Or her wig.
Zoe gasped.
"My best friend abandoned me."
She burst into tears.
Zoelle immediately left Bard and hurried back to hug her.
Bard made a low, mournful sound.
Zoelle froze, then hurried back to Bard.
Zoe sobbed louder.
Zoelle went back to Zoe.
Bard gave another sad chime.
Zoelle went back to Bard.
Logan watched the cycle repeat three times.
He slowly rubbed his eyes.
"I am losing respect for every cosmic entity I meet."
...
Eventually, the crisis resolved when Zoe rushed to Bard and hugged him too, trapping Zoelle between them. Bard accepted this with solemn grace. Zoelle made a happy sound. Zoe sniffed like she had survived a tragedy.
Logan walked closer.
"Zoe."
She wiped her eyes.
"What?"
"You see that Zoelle missed Bard, right?"
Zoe looked at Zoelle. Then at Bard. Then at Zoelle again.
Her mouth twisted.
"Yes."
"That doesn't mean she doesn't care about you."
"I know."
"She spent time with you. Now it's fair that she spends time with Bard. After that, you can see her again."
Zoe hugged Zoelle tighter for one second, then let go.
"Fine," she said quietly. "But only because I am very mature."
Zoelle floated down to where Aatrox lay in the dust. She picked him up and carried him back to Zoe, then pointed at the sword with a small sound.
Zoe took Aatrox carefully.
"Nothing can replace you," she told Zoelle. "But I will try to become very good friends with Aatroz."
"Aatrox," Logan corrected automatically.
"Aatroz," Zoe repeated.
The sword's killing intent filled the moon like a storm front.
Zoe brightened.
"And I'll find him a good wig."
Aatrox spoke with terrible calm.
"I will end all of you."
Logan lifted a finger.
"Zoe, remember, I only lent you Aatrox so you could play with him for a little while."
Zoe looked at him with perfect innocence.
"I remember very clearly that you gave me Aatrox."
Logan stared.
Then he glanced at Bard.
"So this is how the whole Zoelle problem started."
Zoe shrugged.
"Doesn't matter. I'll think about it later. For now, I'll stay with Logran and Ahri to make our friendship stronger."
"Logan."
"Logran."
"Logan."
"Logan," Zoe said, pronouncing it correctly for once. Then she immediately pointed at Ahri. "And Ahri. I say her name right because she is cute."
Ahri smiled at Logan.
It was a patient smile.
A charming girl, that smile seemed to say. Be kind.
Logan looked back at her.
She didn't steal your sword...
He turned to Bard.
"So," Logan said. "Do you accept what I suggested? Zoelle spends time with you, then time with Zoe. Back and forth. Fair for both."
Bard nodded.
Then he made a deep musical sound.
Zoelle bounced happily.
Logan relaxed a little.
"All right. Good. That's one cosmic custody dispute settled."
Bard extended his arm toward them.
Logan looked at the hand.
"Is that supposed to mean you want to return the favor?"
Zoe perked up.
"Oh, then take us to Space Doggy."
Logan turned slowly toward her.
"Space what?"
Bard did not wait.
His hand swept forward, gathering them all with terrifying ease. Logan felt Ahri, Ahrielle and Aatroxelle pulled along, felt Zoe grab Aatrox, felt Zoelle and the other meeps chime around them.
Then the moon vanished.
They were moving.
Fast.
The Celestial Realm stretched into streaks around them. Stars bent. Colors folded. Logan's stomach tried to resign from his body.
"Zoe!" he shouted over the impossible rush. "The favor was supposed to be for me to ask!"
"It is."
"No, it isn't. Who the hell is Space Doggy?"
"My pet."
Logan opened his mouth to insult her.
Then a memory hit him.
Old lore. A title that had always sounded too absurd to be real.
Space Doggy.
A cosmic being.
A dragon.
A star-forger.
Logan's eyes widened.
"No."
Zoe smiled.
"Maybe."
"Zoe."
"Yes, Logran?"
"Are we going to Aurelion Sol?"
Zoe tapped her chin.
"Maybe that's one of his names."
Logan stared at her as the Celestial Realm screamed past them.
"Aurelion Sol?"
Zoe nodded cheerfully.
"Aurelion Sol?" Logan repeated, louder.
Ahri looked at him with concern.
"Aurelion Sol?" he shouted again, but the anger cracked halfway through.
Then he started laughing.
It was not a sane laugh.
It was tired, sharp, breathless, and a little broken.
The Star Forger...
He had come looking for spices.
Somehow, he was leaving with gold.
Ahri watched him, her concern deepening as his laugh echoed through the light.
Logan could not stop.