The next day, early morning. Stepping out of the inn and seeing Shen and Usan who had been waiting for a long time, a hint of surprise surfaced in Faen's eyes.
"Back so soon? That's some high efficiency." As he spoke, Faen cast his gaze toward the group behind Shen and Usan.
In Faen's line of sight, there were about twenty people. Their clothing varied in style and color, appearing disconnected at first glance, but the same patterns—such as the sigils of the Kinkou Order—were clearly visible on their chests or bracers.
Hearing Faen's words, Shen nodded and spoke quickly: "Great Master Kusho made a decision immediately after learning you had received the Enlightened One's recognition. Unfortunately, those wretched Noxians seem to have caught wind of the Kinkou's existence, launching harassment operations in the Shon-Xan region. To ensure regional stability, Great Master Kusho cannot step away for the moment, but he has dispatched the most elite disciples of the North Academy and practitioners of the Kinkou Way. Please do not take offense, Mr. Faen."
Hearing this, Faen nodded in understanding, then cast his gaze toward a corner to the side: "How could I blame Master Kusho? Shon-Xan is the home of the Kinkou, and nothing in this world is more important than protecting one's own home. Moreover, although Master Kusho hasn't come, the fact that the 'Sun-Chaser' has appeared here in his stead proves Master Kusho's true attitude."
As Faen spoke, the air in the direction he was looking twisted and rippled. Then, amidst the startled gazes of the Kinkou disciples, including Shen, a tiny, pocket-sized Yordle wearing blue-purple robes and a mask, with sharp eyes, manifested out of thin air.
Or rather, he stepped out from behind the veil of the Spirit Realm to manifest in the Material Realm.
Upon seeing this Yordle, Shen, Usan, and many other Kinkou disciples and practitioners bowed in greeting. The Yordle, however, didn't seem to care. He looked at Faen and spoke in a voice that sounded like it was set to double speed—rapid and efficient: "You recognize me."
"Of course. Who wouldn't know the 'Heart' that bridges the 'Fist' and the 'Eye' within the Kinkou Order, which is responsible for the balance of the two realms?" Faen replied.
The composition of the Kinkou Order was very interesting. In the beginning, the Kinkou only consisted of the Eye of Twilight and the Fist of Shadow. Although both branches aimed to implement the Kinkou Way and guard the balance between the two realms, the "Eye" and the "Fist" often held differing views on how to handle evil spirits. Simply put, sometimes, out of rational concerns, the disciples of the Eye could appear exceptionally cold and aloof. Meanwhile, out of concern for future consequences, the disciples of the Fist would appear overly meticulous and aggressive.
In such a situation, although both fought for the balance of the two realms, the war-hungry "Fist of Shadow" would sometimes overpower the calm, introspective "Eye." And at other times, the overly rational "Eye" would observe and obstruct the "Fist's" actions.
It was at that point that the Heart of the Tempest, Kennen, stepped forward.
Though he looked small and cuddly, Kennen was actually one of the oldest living beings in all of Runeterra. He had been active in Ionia for thousands of years, long before the Kinkou Order ever existed.
While most Yordles are perceived as exceptionally lively, in reality, not all of them are suited for the vibrant, high-energy atmosphere of Bandle City—take a certain "forever-slacker" like Poppy, for instance.
Kennen was one of those outliers. He didn't enjoy the multi-colored, boisterous nature of Bandle City, preferring instead the gentle harmony of balance and moderation. His innate Yordle power allowed Kennen to cross thousands of miles in the span of a heartbeat, and ultimately, he chose to stay in Ionia.
This was the ever-changing Bandle City, a place ill-suited for a Yordle like Kennen. To seek harmony and balance, he had left the Spirit Realm thousands of years ago in search of adventure. He explored the Material Realm with endless curiosity, crossing vast distances in a single pulse. But he held a special affection for Ionia.
Exactly when Kennen arrived in the First Lands is a fact long lost to history. All that is known is that Kennen's existence is ancient, predating even the Temple of the Long-Standing. In those primordial eras, Kennen witnessed series after series of ancient wars on this land—histories that no one remembers today.
He also witnessed the subsequent, grueling reconstruction of this land. What fascinated Kennen most was the people here, who were constantly pursuing a balanced self and a balanced home. Gradually, Kennen spent less and less time returning to Bandle City, eventually viewing this place as his true home.
As a creature of the Spirit Realm, Kennen did not age with time like humans do, yet he enjoyed embracing mortals, observing and studying them for generations. Kennen himself held a deep admiration for these mortals. Although their lives were thin and fragile, they were all diligent guardians of the sacred balance of this land.
Unfortunately, facing the vicious spirits that frequently crossed the veil into the Material Realm, no matter how much Kennen enjoyed the thrill of each challenge, he could never truly eradicate the root cause. Finally, Kennen understood: his combat treated the symptoms, not the disease; the root of the invasions lay in imbalance. It was then that Kennen discovered a newly born sect. The members of this sect proactively sought balance between the two realms—they would first observe carefully, then decide what action to take to restore balance.
That sect was the Kinkou Order.
Kennen watched the sect with great interest, subsequently discovering the conflict, contradictions, and imbalance between the "Fist" and the "Eye." This made Kennen worried, so he proactively volunteered to join. Kennen's own extreme speed and vast experience made the members of the sect very happy to have this eternal, ancient spiritual lifeform as their arbiter.
Since then, Kennen had formed the new leadership trio under the title "Heart of the Tempest" alongside the "Eye of Twilight" and the "Fist of Shadow." Within this, the Eye was responsible for observation and insight. The Fist was responsible for combat and annihilation. Kennen's duty was to make judgments, deciding which actions would best maintain balance and using his own methods to preserve internal harmony within the Kinkou. It could be said that when facing Kennen, in terms of status and seniority, never mind Shen, Usan, or even the current Eye of Twilight, Great Master Kusho—even if Karma herself arrived, she would have to show him a high degree of deference.
With these thoughts, looking at Faen, Kennen spoke quickly and clearly: "I sense an ancient malice upon your person."
Hearing Kennen's words, the others looked over with a slight sideways glance, but they didn't have much of a reaction to his statement. After all, before they set out, they already knew that the reason the Enlightened One met with Faen was because he wielded the power of some ancient evil spirit.
Although they weren't entirely sure how powerful these evil spirits were to require the Enlightened One's personal intervention, since Faen had now been recognized by her and granted the Mark of the Twin Dragons, it meant he was someone worthy of trust.
Meeting Faen's gaze, Kennen tilted his head slightly. His voice remained hurried, without the slightest pause, yet every word was exceptionally clear as he spoke in a continuous stream: "Howeveryourspiritstillmaintainsa-powerfulsenseofselfandyouhaveforciblystrippedawaypartofthatwretchedevilspirit'sessenceespeciallywithinyourspiritrealmprojectionIsense-thecheersofcountlesspeoplehowdidyoudoitwhata-reyouabletotamethisspiritofanancientevil?"
Kennen's speaking speed was incredibly fast, with no pauses or breaths between sentences. While it was understandable that this was a linguistic habit Kennen, as the "Sun-Chaser," had refined specifically to transmit messages accurately for the Kinkou, the reality was that outside of delivering commands—especially when encountering long, complex sentences—he was damnably difficult to understand.
However, Faen understood Kennen's confusion and simply said calmly: "I found the balance within that extreme essence."
"...BalanceIseeitisasitshouldbe." Hearing this, Kennen nodded rapidly after a brief silence and continued: "InowunderstandwhyKarmaaward-edyouwiththeMarkoftheTwinDragonsyouareonetru-lypracticingtheKinkouWayandseekingtruebalanceIwillassistyou."
"Thank you." Faen nodded, and after a moment's thought, he asked curiously: "Speaking of which, do you know a Yordle named Heimerdinger?"
"Heimerdinger?" Kennen frowned in recollection and then shook his head: "Idonotknowhimwhoisheandwhereishe?"
"In Piltover. He's honored as the Revered Inventor. Age-wise, he should be around eight hundred years old," Faen said.
"Then I definitely don't know him," Kennen said rapidly. "TheYordlesIknowarenotsuchyoungpunks-eighthundredyearsoldatmostjustreachedadulthoodnotlongago."
Bandle City, as part of the Spirit Realm, is constantly shifting in its location and composition; this includes time and space itself. Being immortal, among Yordles, Heimerdinger was indeed just a youth. Those like Tristana, Teemo, or Lulu were basically just Yordle brats.
Hearing this, Faen didn't mind; it was just a random question on a whim. He then looked at the crowd and said: "Everyone else, please introduce yourselves as well."
Hearing Faen's words, the other Kinkou practitioners introduced themselves in sequence. Among them, the most famous was a girl named Yumu (Ye Wu). She was roughly the same age as Shen and Usan and had been betrothed to Shen since childhood; she also appears in the comics.
Although she sounded like Shen's sweetheart and should be a "good" character, in reality, she was a complete and utter slut.
In the lore, when Usan and Shen were hunting the Golden Demon, the demon set a specific trap. Upon discovering that Usan had a secret crush on Yumu, the Golden Demon—Jhin—used a small note in Usan's name to ask Yumu out for a secret tryst. Yumu gleefully attended in her finest attire. Later, after Usan killed Kusho, Yumu broke her engagement with Shen and eventually married a famous Ionian sage named Kun-Jo. After the marriage, Yumu bore Kun-Jo two sons.
Later, when Usan (now Zed) went to find Yumu for information on Shen, he discovered that this "pure" woman was still unsatisfied and was having an affair with her Vastayan servant. Although an ordinary person couldn't tell, Zed saw at a glance that Yumu's younger son had greater talent than the elder, but his soul was impure, showing traces of beast spirits. In other words, he was the Vastayan servant's brat.
Faen didn't have much of an opinion on this. Just as Karma said, the future can be used for reference, but reacting too aggressively to events that haven't happened yet can lead to even more serious problems. Especially regarding personal morality; as long as it didn't affect him, Faen couldn't be bothered to care. Although her "gates" were still closed for now, under the lens of the future, Faen only hoped this "slut-in-training" stayed far away from him.
On the other side, noticing Faen's gaze linger on her for a moment, Yumu blinked curiously. Simultaneously, she looked at the Mark of the Twin Dragons on the back of Faen's hand, silently wondering what kind of power was possessed by a man recognized by the Enlightened One and praised by the ancient Heart of the Tempest.
While everyone was talking, a young girl jumped out from the side and said: "My name is Akali. I'm a master of the kama and kunai. Although I'm still an apprentice, don't you dare underestimate me!"
Hearing Akali's words, Kennen cast his gaze over and spoke rapidly: "Akaliyourtaskisnotcombabutrathertoberesponsibleforreconnaissanceandtolearnhowtojudgethesituationcalmlyratherthanimpulsivelychargingatthefrontif-youstillactwithoutpermissionasbeforeIwillimmediatelysendyoutotheShon-XanHighlandstoletyourmotherdealwithyourbehavioralissues!"
Hearing this, Akali curled her lip in annoyance but didn't say anything further.
Akali was five or six years younger than Shen and Usan, but that small gap meant Shen was her Master in name.
As the next Fist of Shadow, Akali's individual ability and combat talent were absolutely top-tier within the entire Kinkou Order. The only problem was her rebellious personality; sometimes she was very "un-Kinkou." Therefore, every time she went on a mission, her mother—the current Fist of Shadow—would appoint a specific guardian. Among them, whenever Kennen was present, this duty usually fell to him.
After all, Akali's talent was plain for all to see; she was effectively the next Fist of Shadow in everyone's hearts. In this situation, having the Heart of the Tempest watch over her and the future Eye of Twilight, Shen or Usan, teach her helped forge deep friendship and rapport during the process, which benefited the sect's future development.
Regarding this, Faen rubbed his chin and said: "The Kinkou Way is a good thing, but whether it truly suits you is something you must walk through yourself to be sure."