"As long as it means I can kill the Void, I'm willing to give up everything!"
Kai'Sa spoke with grave seriousness as she handed a fragment of her living Void carapace to Duke.
Faced with the fragment in her hand, Duke fell silent, his expression thoughtful.
No one understood the threat of the Void better than Kai'Sa.
Having worn the living armor born from the Void itself, she shared in its symbiosis—and in doing so, grasped the malice it harbored toward the whole of Runeterra.
When she heard that Duke might be able to develop a method to combat the Void using her biology, she didn't hesitate for a moment.
She tore a piece straight off her armor—no questions, no second thoughts.
She didn't ask if Duke would fail.
She didn't even question whether he was lying.
She simply acted.
Direct, honest, and carrying a kind of frightening resolve.
"You really don't beat around the bush, huh?"
Duke didn't hesitate either. He retrieved a proper containment vessel and sealed the fragment of Kai'Sa's armor inside. The piece she had torn away came from her waist.
The look on her face said everything about how much the armor's reflexive pain response hurt.
Clearly, ripping that piece off had not been easy for her.
"What about your injury?"
Duke asked, pointing to the raw gap in her armor. The rest of the living carapace was slowly repairing the missing area—but the process was sluggish.
Kai'Sa gestured down into the canyon below.
"The Rek'Sai you just killed—its body will nourish me. As long as I can feed my partner here enough biomass, it'll regenerate on its own."
She patted her armor.
Duke rubbed his chin. "So… anything that provides nutrients will do?"
"Mm, that's right. It's not picky at all."
Kai'Sa nodded, then walked to the edge of the cliff and peered down. Unfortunately, the smaller burrowers had already dragged away most of the Rek'Sai's remains.
Seeing that, her expression shifted slightly.
These Void creatures were efficient—they recovered the corpses of their kin quickly to birth more spawn, wasting nothing.
That was the Void's instinct: never waste.
"Looks like your plan to snack on Rek'Sai chunks just fell through," Duke said, stepping beside her.
Kai'Sa shook her head. "It's fine. I can last for a while longer."
"Forget it," Duke said. "Let me feed you instead."
He reached into his inventory and pulled out a large, fresh rib.
"Here."
Kai'Sa's armor immediately caught the scent—meat, bone, muscle—all perfect nutrients.
"Where did you even get this?" she asked, though she didn't refuse. She grabbed the rib from his hand.
Duke watched carefully as she "ate."
Her feeding process was entirely dependent on her carapace—the moment she touched the meat, the living armor rippled, spreading like a sponge absorbing water, and devoured the rib greedily.
Not a shred of flesh remained.
Even the bones vanished.
The section of armor she had torn earlier quickly regenerated, looking as if it had never been damaged.
Kai'Sa exhaled in relief. With her armor fed, it loosened its painful bite on her body.
If she didn't feed it in time, the carapace would begin to devour her instead.
If Duke had to describe the sight, he'd say it was like dropping a powerful magnet beneath a layer of sand—then watching as every grain of iron dust disappeared into it in seconds.
"Don't worry about where I got it," Duke said with a smirk. "But tell me—do you always eat like that?"
"I used to eat like a normal person," Kai'Sa murmured, her eyes dim. "But once this armor fully wrapped around me… I didn't need to anymore."
"As long as it eats enough, it feeds me in return."
She gave a small, bitter laugh. "Pretty gruesome way to live, isn't it?"
The armor had kept her alive underground for years—protected her from the Void's corruption—but it had also stripped her of many of the things that made her human.
"Gruesome?" Duke raised an eyebrow, pulling out another rib.
He pressed it gently against her abdomen, watching the armor's absorption with scientific fascination.
"I'd call it efficient."
"Efficient?" Kai'Sa blinked, confused.
Duke's eyes gleamed. "Think about it. Humans eat by chewing and swallowing, then digesting in the stomach and intestines, right? You, on the other hand, can bypass all that. Your carapace is your digestive system now."
He leaned closer. "Do you realize what that means?"
"What does it mean?" she asked softly.
"It means you've surpassed human limitations. You can absorb nutrients directly—no toxins, no disease, no risk of organ failure. Every bit of energy you take in is converted cleanly and instantly. That's not monstrous, Kai'Sa… that's evolution."
Kai'Sa ran a hand over her armor, thoughtful. "Maybe so… but I'd still give it all up if I could."
"Everything in the world has two sides," Duke said, pulling out more ribs. He pressed them against her skin, letting her armor feed as he spoke.
"So, how's it feeling now? Full yet?"
"Not yet," she replied, half amused, half weary. "It's always hungry."
She could feel the feedback through her armor—the hunger, the gradual satisfaction. After the battle and tearing off a piece of herself, it had been starving.
But with Duke's help, it finally began to calm.
"Hmm…" Duke mused. Then he dumped a heap of raw meat and seafood from his inventory at her feet.
This time, the armor didn't wait—it devoured everything on its own, breaking down flesh and bone, feeding her body in turn.
Kai'Sa frowned. "You're giving me all this… what about you?"
"I've got my own," Duke said, pulling out a can of food. He tore it open with one hand and popped a piece into his mouth.
"Didn't get a chance to eat properly earlier, so I might as well now."
As Duke ate, Kai'Sa sat down across from him. She didn't need to consciously feed—the armor did that for her—but watching him eat stirred something long dormant in her.
She swallowed unconsciously, eyes softening with longing.
Duke caught the look and chuckled.
No matter how alien her body had become, under all that armor, she was still just a young woman.
He handed her another can. "You look tempted. Here—this one's yours."
Kai'Sa accepted it with a nod. "Thank you."
"No need to thank me," Duke said lightly. "You gave me material for research. I give you food. Fair trade, right?"
"I… haven't talked to anyone like this in a long time," Kai'Sa murmured.
"Ever think about going back to the surface? To the human world?" Duke asked.
He could see why any scientist would be fascinated by her, but for him, it was something else—admiration, maybe even pity.
At ten years old, she'd been buried alive when the Void erupted.
In that hell, fear and despair should've killed her.
But she had survived.
Strong—but heartbreakingly so.
"I can't go back," Kai'Sa said quietly.
Duke clicked his tongue. "Don't sound so defeated."
She didn't reply. She mimicked his earlier gesture, tearing open the can—only for her fingers to graze the meat and broth inside.
Instantly, her armor devoured the entire can, metal and all.
"...Oh."
She set down the empty tin in silence, eyes shadowed with loss.
She really wasn't like other people anymore.
Duke sighed and placed a few more cans before her, along with a spoon.
"Try again," he said with a grin. "Use the spoon this time. No direct contact, no interference from your armor."
Kai'Sa hesitated, then peeled open another can carefully.
Clutching the spoon, she tried to remember how it used to feel. Her hand trembled slightly as she scooped up a piece of meat and brought it to her lips—like she was holding the entire world in her palm.
The moment the soft, savory flavor melted on her tongue, her brows relaxed for the first time in years.
"It's… delicious."
"Then have more."
Duke smiled, opening several more cans. Kai'Sa ate with increasing eagerness, spoonful after spoonful, until a long-lost warmth filled her stomach.
Then she suddenly remembered something.
"Right—you were looking for your teammates, weren't you?"
Duke blinked. "Oh, right! I almost forgot… I got so caught up studying your armor."
End of chapter....
IRONBOUND PATRON
🔸 Arc Reactor Elite – 35 chapters + HIDDEN SURPRISES
👉 patreon.com/MrBehringer