"I say...it's been a long time since I last had an audience." a voice sounded near the young man, prompting him to open his eyes. He was on the ground within a destroyed Court room. A relatively young wraith sat on the broken throne, holding a music box, shaped like a flower. The music box played on repeat a melancholic song. Melancholy was also depicted in the young wraiths face.
Lanius knew who it was. He had seen how the Ruined King looked like after touching the Rookie's wayfinder. Tho the Ruined King had changed.
His hair now reached his shoulders. The cropped jacket he wore in the memory was replaced by a coat that reached his ankles and left his chest uncovered. The hole in front of his heart was still there, tho it didn't ooze the black mist that engulfed everything.
"The Ruined King, I suppose?" Lanius asked.
"Oh...I have many names. Viego, The Ruined King. The Mad King. King Viego of Camavor...and many more." Viego replied, not bothering to look at the Winter.
"Well, your majesty...I'm here to talk to somebody." Lanius said.
"And why would you visit me, if you wanted to speak to another?" Viego asked, brushing his armored finger against the music box. "Unless the one you are looking for is undead."
"I suppose that he indeed is undead." Lanius replied. "It was a previous Winter."
"And the current Winter is here, seeking his ancestor. Such altruism." Viego finally looked at him with his luminescent green undead eyes. It was as if he was piercing him.
"I know that you are still lamenting after you lost your wife..." Lanius tried to speak.
"...Again. I lost her again!" Viego cut him off, gritting his teeth. "I've spent so many years, trying to find ways to bring her back to life, back to me...only to lose her again." Viego's voice cracked after the short pause.
"I love somebody, your majesty. I would have been in ruins if I lost her...but to plunge the world in darkness to save her? No, I wouldn't." Lanius simply said.
In an instant, the Ruined King was up from his throne and in front of him. Rage was depicted in his face. Lanius swallowed.
"You...wouldn't know...what it feels like to lose everything. She was my world. My love, my queen. And now, she's gone." tears rolled out of his eyes. The Ruined King cringed, remembering something, something that perhaps caused him pain. He then turned around and looked back at the throne.
"I lost my family, my tribe. Five hundred and fifty people died. I was imprisoned for fourteen years. I have to carry one of the most powerful spirits in the world in order to not bring frost everywhere. But this doesn't mean that I'm willing to destroy the whole world for everything." Lanius said.
The Ruined King stopped and turned his head at him." Let me tell you a small story. I was born centuries ago to the royal family of Camavor. Due to being the second born son of the king, I was largely neglected in favor of my brother and spent my childhood in his shadow. I was tutored by the greatest minds in the land and learned swordsmanship from my father's generals. My best friend was my own niece, Kalista."
Viego sat down in his throne and continued.
"When my brother passed, I was crowned the king, despite being unprepared. Shortly into my reign, I fell in love with a peasant seamstress named Isolde, my love. We had a whirlwind romance and got quickly married. I didn't give a damn about my kingdom. I only had eyes for her. Of course, my enemies began to conspire against me. They sent an assassin to kill me, but Kallista saved me...at the cost of Isolde." Viego paused, swallowing.
"I saw her die day by day. I gave everything to save her. People called me a madman, a villain. In the end, she passed. I brought her to the Blessed Isles...and then...and then...darkness." Viego's voice cracked again.
"Those who die are never truly lost. You'll find them, soon enough."
"Never. I cannot die, you fool. I'm cursed to forever lament, forever live in sorrow, trapped in here. What is a Wraith, but the undead shadow of what a man once was." Viego closed the music box. The melancholic music ceased.
"I feel your pain, Viego. As I lost my family, I crave revenge against those that harmed them." Lanius looked around him.
"I'll tell you what, Winter. If you let me take over your body, just to escape from Camarov, I'll tell you where to find what you seek." Viego got up from his throne and walked towards the young man.
"Where the soul is?" Lanius asked.
"No. The soul you speak of was claimed by the Lamb and Wolf. The artifact you seek to find." Viego explained, stopping in front of him.
"How do you know?" the Winter was confused.
Viego just chuckled and extended his hand, the one that held the music box, towards Lanius. It opened again and the sound played. - basically Viego's music box.-
Lanius looked at it in hesitation. He then placed his palm onto it, covering the two brass figurines.
Viego smiled. "You have made the right choice." and then turn into a thick misty figure.
Instantly, Lanius was overtaken by dread. His vision darkened and erratic whispers sounded, in combination with ringing, in his ears. His vision fogged...
And then...
...Silence.
.
.
.
The Blade of the Ruined King snapped in half as Hecarim hurled his spear at it. A large cloud of black mist poured from it like a shock wave, sending back the Commander. It continued, pushing the Sentinels and the Ionians on their knees and sending back the wraiths.
Lanius stumbled, coughing. He was feeling as if he was being drowned mere seconds ago, but was now fine.
"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!" Hecarim's full of despair voice sounded, causing the young man to turn towards the way the wraith was looking.
Viego was standing above the broken blade, with the mist pouring from his heart again. He picked it up and inspected it. Then, a wraith blade emerged from the broken tip, fixing the snapped greatsword.
Viego began to hysterically laugh. It was a blood-freezing laugh, the laugh of a madman.
Then, the Ruined King pointed his blade at Lanius. "I'll keep my promise. I found what you're looking for when I travelled at the highest peak of Mount Targon."
Viego moved out of the room. Lanius stumbled forward, using the wall as support. "Now... It's time for those who wronged me to face the wrath of the Ruined King!"
.
.
.
Viego appeared through the mist in front of the Ionians and the Sentinels.
Ahri saw his luminescent green eyes first, followed by the Sentinels...but it was too late.
The Ruined King charged straight at her...straight for her.