"Magnificent, huh? It is true that you humans tend to exaggerate a lot, don't you?" Sol muttered. "But this doesn't mean that I don't like it."
Lanius turned around and looked at Runeterra.
"What one can achieve with a few things." Sol stated.
"Such life...all made by you?" Lanius asked.
"Not only this one. Thousands of stars, constellations, galaxies, universes. All made by me over billions of years. Imagine it as your life being a grain of sand in a vast dessert."
"A grain of sand...then how big would yours be? Tall as Targon?" Lanius questioned.
Sol smiled yet again. "I am the desert."
Lanius kept looking down at Runeterra. He stretched his hand outwards, towards the snowy mountain.
"You want to go down there, Winter? You really wish to return to yours struggles already?" Sol questioned.
Lanius nodded.
"Fine..alas, when you get down there, you better brace yourself. Targon will be punished soon."
Lanius spun around. "Punished? How? Why?"
Sol grit his teeth. "I've gone too far to spare their ways. They call me a comet, so a comet they'll get."
Sol brought his hand in front of him. A small light appeared at the center of his palm.
The Winter looked at the Star Forger's open palm. The light got shaped into a sphere.
"Touch it...and see all the possibilities there are. This, is my parting gift to you, Winter. You've amused me so far."
Lanius touched the sphere. In an instant, thousands of universes flashed before his eyes.
Thousands of possibilities, all forged by Aurelion Sol. And in all of them Lanius was ther, next to Ahri.
Singing with her in a foreign language, being dressed in odd suits flying through the skies, leading a coven with her on his side, battling robots, fighting giant monsters.
Everything was possible, everywhere.
Lanius finally understood the uniqueness of Runeterra. In an instant, everything whitened.
.
.
.
The young man looked around him. He could see the sun decent below the clouds. He was kneeling on the snow. Something glowed bright blue in front of him. He looked upwards...and saw no more mountains. Only the starry sky.
The young man turned his attention back to the object. It looked like a fist sized half of a sphere. It was composed of true and dark ice.
Lanius leaned forward and picked the object up.
As he did so, the echo amber on his torso activated and the Winter was flashed with the memories of the ice rune.
The young man found himself into a glade full of giant ice spikes, tall as trees. People were scattered all around the place, some frozen, others impaled by the spikes. And at the center, a Winter looking at the rune in his hands with horror in his face.
The young man zoned back in and looked at his hand. The rune was there. Lanius summoned his Krigsoks and embedded the rune in it.
Just as he did so, small veins of ice began to spread from the weapon into his right hand, then arm and shoulder, all the way to the torso and back, forming patters. His left eye, the one trapped in true ice began glowing, burning.
Lanius yelped in pain and tried to let go but could not.
"Embrace it...Lanius Varholl." Anivia's disembodied voice sounded.
Suddenly his Sovereign's Dominance activated, and Lanius was met with Anivia staring at him,before the image exploded and faded into darkness.
.
.
.
"Lanius? Lanius? Can you hear me?" Freida called out for him.
Lanius felt something jab his arm. He opened his eyes and found what looked like a small ice phoenix next to him.
"Is...that you, Freida?" Lanius asked.
"I am." the phoenix spoke.
"You have a body?" Lanius questiones.
"No, this is merely a fragile body used by my mental strength. You are still my host...and perhaps you will forever be." Freida replied. "But my Winter, you made it this far. You hold half of the fist."
"Freida...let's get down." the young man muttered.
.
.
.
Ahri kept waiting. Lanius had left six days ago and hadn't given any life signs yet.
Akali approached the vesani. "Ahri, you can't keep on waiting for him on this rock, you'll end up sick."
"I'm good." Ahri insisted.
Suddenly, the temperature rapidly dropped. Akali began rubbing her upper arms.
"What? Again?" she questioned.
But Ahri wasn't listening anymore,as a familiar smell was brought near her.
Cinnamon and lavender with a faint taste of mint.
Her tails began to wiggle in ecstacy as she finally saw the young man approach them, followed by a small ice phoenix.
Ahri jumped up from the rock and rushed towards the Winter. Lanius also began running forward, as Akali called the rest.
The Winter catched the vesani into his hug and stayed there as he shared a passionate kiss with her.
.
.
.
Lanius lied on the bed and lazily brushed his fingers across Ahri's back as she snoozed on top of him.
Not much happened the previous day. The Ionians sat down and celebrated, with Sett and Lanius each telling them their part of their climb.
The young man purposely didn't include the discussion he had with Aurelion Sol, in order to not freak out the others.
The Vesani then opened her amber eyes and stared at him. "Good morning, wolfy." she mumbled and yawned.
"Morning, foxy. Had a good night?" he asked her.
Ahri chuckled. "Always, since you're here." she replied with a chirp in the end.
The young man wrapped his arms around her waist and laid there for a few seconds. "Well, you may excuse me, miella, but I need to change my bandages. These ones are bloody."
"Fine..." Ahri rolled to the side, so the Winter could get out of bed and walk to the other side of the house.
Lanius unwrapped the black bandages from his torso and tossed them aside. He was removing the ones on his left hand, when he heard Ahri gasp behind him.
Lanius turned around, to see her starting at him with her eyes widened and her mouth slightly open.
"Ahri!? What's wrong!?" the young man asked with concern.
"Lanius...your back and torso!"