"Everything's changed since I left…"
Following Duke through the crowded streets, Taliyah turned her head slowly, taking in the unfamiliar cityscape. Her voice came out as a soft murmur, tinged with nostalgia.
To her, ever since returning to Shurima, everything felt different. Yet those very changes brought her a strange comfort — a quiet assurance that she was, at last, home.
It was a peace only one's homeland could offer, a peace forever denied to wandering souls adrift in foreign lands.
"Little Sparrow, you seem distracted again."
Duke, noticing her faraway gaze, spoke up casually — just as he backhanded a three-armed thief attempting to pick his pocket.
Sivir glanced at Taliyah. "What's wrong? Homesick?"
"A little," Taliyah admitted with a small nod.
In truth, she'd been thinking about how to tell Duke she planned to leave. They'd already arrived in Vekora — his destination — which meant her role as a guide was technically complete.
But throughout the journey, she hadn't done much guiding at all. Duke had been the one looking after her instead, and that made her feel both guilty and hesitant to bring up parting ways.
"Well," Duke said lightly, "I'll prepare some supplies for your trip back. You should head home soon."
Taliyah froze, startled by his matter-of-fact tone. Sivir tugged her arm to keep her moving through the crowd.
"But I—"
"You've brought me to Vekora," Duke interrupted. "Your 'escort job' is done. And besides, weren't you just saying you missed home?"
As they wove through the bustling street, Duke kept his eyes on her. Taliyah shook her head quickly. "I'll wait until you find your friend, Mr. Duke. Then I'll leave."
"That works too," Duke smiled. "Whenever you want to go, just say the word."
"Alright," she replied softly.
Duke then turned to Sivir. "Word is, my missing friend was spotted around here. Think you can dig up some leads?"
Sivir swept her gaze around the busy market. "Vekora's changed a lot, but finding information here isn't too hard."
"Then it's all yours."
Instead of answering, Sivir extended her hand expectantly. "Pay up."
Duke blinked. "Pay up?"
"Of course!" Sivir crossed her arms, unbothered. "Intel costs money. I know where to look, but I'll need some coin to loosen tongues."
Duke eyed her for a moment, then pulled out a pouch and tossed it to her. "Fine. But I expect accurate results."
"You'll get them," she said with a sly grin, weighing the pouch in her palm.
It was a generous sum — more than enough to restock supplies for the road. For all his arrogance, Duke was surprisingly generous with his money.
If she weren't tangled up in her current mess, Sivir mused, she could probably make a fortune working with him.
She had no idea that every flicker of thought, every greedy impulse, was laid bare before Duke's mind.
Smiling confidently, Sivir gave him a casual wave before disappearing into the crowd.
Duke shook his head. "Looks like she still needs a little reminder about honesty and trust."
He opened his inventory and selected a small rune slot.
"Pride."
"Yes, Father?"
"Shrink down and follow Sivir. Keep an eye on her for me."
"Yes, Father."
The next moment, Pride materialized in the air, shrinking swiftly to palm-size before darting off in pursuit of Sivir's trail.
Run all you want. If I can't catch you, I'll call it my loss, Duke thought with a faint smirk.
Dusting off his hands, he turned to Taliyah. "Come on. Let's take a walk around Vekora while we wait for Sivir's report."
"Alright, Mr. Duke."
The two moved slowly through the dense market crowd, people parting around them like waves flowing around a rock.
Amid the shifting tide of bodies, one figure stood out — tall, wrapped entirely in tattered cloth.
To anyone else, he would have looked like just another weary traveler, but his towering frame betrayed his identity.
He leaned heavily on a long, cloth-wrapped staff, the top bound in strips of linen. His gait was slightly crooked, as though his legs no longer obeyed him properly.
Duke's brow lifted as soon as he saw him.
"Well, isn't that lucky," he murmured. "To bump into Nasus himself."
"Though, technically," Duke added with a faint smile, "Sivir's the lucky one. She just left, and now we run into him — perfect timing for her to avoid this mess entirely."
Taliyah, still lost in her own thoughts, didn't notice Duke stop. She walked straight ahead—
Thud!
—and ran headlong into Nasus.
The impact was like hitting a wall of stone. Nasus didn't even flinch, while Taliyah bounced back and landed flat on the ground.
"I'm so sorry! I wasn't paying attention!"
Clutching her head, she tried to stand, wincing from the pain. Duke sighed helplessly.
This little sparrow really can't stop daydreaming…
Nasus looked down at her, his face obscured by the shadow of his hood. Without a word, he reached out a bandaged hand — the wrappings reminiscent of a leper's.
After a brief hesitation, Taliyah took it.
"Child," he said, his voice deep and rough, heavy with ancient sorrow, "watch where you walk."
Duke listened closely — there was a depth in that voice, a weight that resonated with the same mournful tone he'd once heard from Tayanari.
But while Tayanari's grief came from losing her own humanity to darkness, Nasus's burden was older, heavier — born from guilt that spanned millennia.
Thousands of years ago, he had sealed the tomb with his own hands, trapping his brother Renekton inside its eternal darkness.
That guilt had followed him ever since.
He had wandered the mortal world for centuries, bowed under the shame of his own name, living a life of penance.
He had chosen exile — endless, lonely, and filled with regret.
"I… I'll be more careful," Taliyah stammered. The giant's massive hand effortlessly lifted her to her feet.
As she looked closer, she glimpsed a faint golden light flickering beneath the dust-covered robes.
She stepped aside to let him pass, watching as he disappeared into the crowd. "He's so tall," she whispered.
"He's an Ascended," Duke chuckled. "They're not exactly normal folk."
Taliyah's eyes widened in realization, but before she could speak, Duke covered her mouth.
"Not yet," he said quietly. "Now's not the time to meet him."
Duke's eyes gleamed with understanding. Getting involved with Nasus now would only invite trouble.
Nasus was searching for Sivir — he intended to bring her back to the capital and restore Shurima's lost glory.
But Renekton was still out there, following behind in madness and rage.
If Duke revealed Sivir's whereabouts now, Nasus would almost certainly demand Duke's help in escorting her back to the royal city.
And Duke had no intention of letting that happen.
Not yet.
It wasn't the right time to return to Shurima's ancient capital. Not until he found Viktor.
Though, admittedly, the Great Library Nasus guarded did pique his curiosity.
Still, Sivir had to stay hidden.
She was the key to his plan — and until that plan succeeded, Duke would keep her close.
If everything went as intended, Shurima itself would soon become his new goldmine.
"Come on," Duke said cheerfully. "Let's find somewhere to eat. Last time in Kennessar, those darkspawn ruined my meal. This time, I'm going to eat properly."
"Yes, sir. I'll find us a place."
Taliyah moved ahead, parting the crowd for him.
Meanwhile, across the city, Sivir had gathered everything she needed — except for a beast to carry it all.
Her pride wouldn't normally allow her to stoop this low, but she had already died once — by the blade of that Noxian woman.
Though she now lived again, she refused to be anyone's pawn ever again.
No more knives in the back. No more ancient sorcerers or cunning scientists pulling strings.
This time, she would choose her own path.
Adjusting her shoulder strap for comfort, Sivir shifted the heavy satchel packed with smoked meat, oats, bread, and cheese — plus two water skins.
It was far more than she needed, and Duke's payment had nearly all gone into it. Only a little remained — just enough to buy a new desert beast.
"I guess this isn't exactly honest," she muttered, touching the curved blade at her waist. "But it's my only choice."
"I'll decide my own fate."
She pressed forward through the crowd, unaware of the tiny mechanical bike hovering just behind her — Pride's miniaturized form, quietly tracking her every move.
Elsewhere, Nasus continued through the throngs, guided by the faint, vanishing echo of Ascended blood.
The markings scrawled in blood upon the walls of the Astrologer's Tower had led him here — to Vekora.
He had felt it briefly before: the pulse of royal blood.
Ancient Shurima's purest lineage.
He had to find her — before anyone else did.
The blood of Ascension could bring Azir back from the void… or, in the wrong hands, doom the reborn Shurima forever.
Nasus paused beneath a stone archway, gazing up at its crude construction.
To mortal eyes, it was an impressive imitation of ancient architecture. To him, it was nothing but a painful reminder of what had been lost.
Memories of the golden age filled his mind — of his brother, of the oath they once swore.
"I will walk beside you, until the end," he whispered.
Then, without another word, the Desert Reaper stepped through the archway and vanished into the shadows beyond.
End of chapter....
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