At sunrise on the second day, Caleb arrived at the great hall.
With his constitution, it did not take long for him to bounce back to full energy, provided Yaanogel was not drinking his blood.
After a long discussion between Caleb and Yaanogel, the lump of blood on his left shoulder finally merged back into his body. There was no helping it, that thing had been way too ugly. Kayn carried a Darkin in a giant scythe, with two shadows clashing behind him. Caleb, meanwhile, had a nasty bloody chunk stuck to his shoulder. His cool factor had practically dropped through the floor.
The trade-off was that a massive spear now hung across his back.
Still, Yaanogel had been thoughtful enough to split himself into three sections. Only when Caleb actually took him in hand would he rejoin into a single complete weapon. That kept people from making King Arthur jokes at his expense.
The size alone made it obvious that drawing it in one motion and dropping into a fighting stance would be difficult. For Caleb, who still was not used to a two-handed spear, it was a bit much to ask.
Across Runeterra, long spears were generally wielded with both hands, while short spears could be used one-handed. The one in Caleb's possession was absurdly thick compared to the slim spears the sand soldiers used behind a shield wall. It had no fancy decorations, but it followed a brutally direct philosophy, attack, ambush, and absolutely no defensive option.
Caleb could not help worrying a little. If he kept letting things go on like this, was his body really not going to give out one day?
While his thoughts wandered, Azir had already taken his seat on the throne.
Sivir and Kai'Sa had arrived at some point too, along with Yuumi, who hurriedly darted over to Caleb's side.
"What's wrong?"
Caleb had been a cat owner in his previous life, so he reached up and scratched under Yuumi's chin.
"They were both picking on me," Yuumi whined, dragging out the last syllable with the full energy of a little drama queen cat. Especially with those big eyes blinking like tears were about to spill at any moment.
"Business first," Caleb said, pushing Yuumi gently to the side.
Even though Azir still did not seem ready to speak, Caleb noticed that Yaanogel had gone quiet, so he cut off Yuumi's act.
Besides, Yuumi was a yordle cat who had to be at least a thousand years old. She was getting bullied by Kai'Sa and Sivir? No chance. Even if she could not win, she could still run.
Caleb was feeling especially sharp today.
"Where's Nasus?"
He looked around but saw no sign of him.
That morning, it had been a silent sand soldier that woke him and led him into the hall.
"Good question."
Azir finally spoke, and both Sivir and Kai'Sa, who had been muttering to each other, immediately straightened up.
So they had become best friends overnight?
Caleb did not really understand it. Then again, with Shurima only just awakened, it was normal for Nasus, who had always leaned more toward the scholar and statesman side, to be overworked.
So why had Azir said that was a good question?
"You, yes you, for the sake of your precious honor, you sealed me in that tomb!"
"You trapped me there for so long, in endless darkness!"
The shout was familiar, overflowing with monstrous rage.
Nasus's towering figure entered the hall, sand swirling all around him.
And the figure charging in after him, swinging a massive blade, was Renekton himself.
As Renekton rolled forward in attack, Nasus brought up the ceremonial axe in his hands and blocked the strike.
"Your Majesty, what is the meaning of this?" Caleb asked, confused as he watched Renekton enter the hall.
Against Azir's sand soldiers, the coordination of shield and spear could put Renekton at a serious disadvantage. It could even force him to retreat from the oasis where travelers came to rest.
But why lure him here with Nasus?
"While Renekton was trapped in the Tomb of the Emperors, Xerath kept filling his mind with madness through magic."
Azir raised a shield wall, pinning Renekton into an extremely awkward position.
He could reach Nasus, barely, but only with the long-handled axe in his hands.
"Now that Xerath has lost all his magic, the false memories branded into him may have weakened."
"So, we're going to wake him up?" Caleb understood Azir's intention almost immediately.
"Sometimes, Renekton still becomes the proud Ascended warrior he once was," Azir said in the same steady voice as ever.
Even when the shattered sand soldiers were destroyed, they quickly re-formed. No matter how many shields Renekton smashed apart, he still could not cross the wall of imperial guards.
"So, can I borrow your body for Yaanogel?"
"He used to be Renekton's commanding officer. So there is a chance he can bring him back to his senses."
"I see." Caleb rubbed his chin. "And if it works, Renekton can come with us to suppress the Void."
"Yuumi." Caleb beckoned, and the yordle cat, who had been pouting just moments ago, immediately started circling around him.
"I'm counting on you in a minute," Caleb said quietly.
The price of letting Yaanogel use his body was just too steep. The damage always started at broken bones and went up from there.
He needed Yuumi beside him, constantly patching him up with Zoomies.
Otherwise, after one fight, he would wind up bedridden for another day.
The spear fell into his hand. Blood slowly ran from the shaft and spread across Caleb's entire body.
"This kind of looks like Venom," Caleb muttered. Last time it had caught him completely off guard. This time, watching the blood cover him, he still could not help making the comparison.
"I am not poisonous," Yaanogel grumbled through a mouth that was already disappearing.
"That's not what I," Caleb began, but before he could finish, darkness swallowed his consciousness again.
"Renekton!"
Yaanogel adjusted the shape of the body he was using and suddenly stepped forward.
The spear point punched straight through Renekton's chest and nailed him to the wall in one violent motion.
The entire hall echoed with the explosive impact.
Even the shaft of the spear trembled and rang.
"Look at me, I am Yaanogel!"
"Your first time on the battlefield, you got yourself torn to pieces!"
"Your chest was just like this, skewered by a giant bolt from the enemy's siege crossbow!"
"I carried you back to the rear myself and had Xolaani heal your wounds!"
Yaanogel's voice was less a shout than a roar.
"I don't know what happened to you, but you must wake up!"
"In the name of a Shuriman warrior!"
"Do you really think this will work?" Kai'Sa asked in a small voice, covering her ears as she leaned a little closer to Sivir.
"No idea." Sivir shook her head softly.
Even Noxus, for all its fighting on three fronts, could not compare to Shurima in the glorious age when its empire had been expanding in every direction.
...
Pain, searing pain in his chest.
It felt as though his whole body were being torn apart.
Pain came from every limb and every bone, like the first time he returned from a battlefield.
His commanding officer seemed to be roaring in his ear, ordering him to stay conscious.
Renekton remembered that ever since childhood, he had never matched his brother when it came to study.
When his brother entered the imperial council and became a grand scholar, he had chosen instead to enlist and head for the frontier.
He wanted to prove that Renekton could shine just as brightly.
But when he rode through the night and returned to the capital, Nasus had already withered until he was little more than skin and bones.
Disease had ravaged him until he barely looked human. There was nothing radiant left about him.
The empire agreed to grant him the Ascension ritual, to give him strength, a new body, and more years.
But in that condition, how could his brother possibly climb the Ascension dais beneath the Sun Disc?
Renekton remembered it clearly. He had carried his brother, the brother he had hated so much ever since they were children.
One step, then another, then a third.
Every step meant his brother's new life, and his own death.
They drew closer and closer.
And when that blinding light finally descended, Renekton, from the bottom of his heart, felt relieved.
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