"Are you leaving?"
Duke extended a hand toward Sivir while undoing the restraints on her upper body.
"Or are you staying?"
"What can you offer me?"
Even suspended midair, Sivir twisted her wrists and met Duke's gaze head-on. She had already died once—she had to make that death mean something.
To seize her own fate, to walk her own path—
that was the first answer she had ever given herself.
"I'm a practical man," Duke said with a faint smirk tugging at his lips, "What I offer doesn't depend on what I have, but on what the other person wants."
He really did have the capital—and the confidence—to say something so domineering.
Sivir glanced at the railgun in Kai'Sa's hands, then pointed toward it. "I want that. Can you give me that?"
"To me, that's an outdated relic," Duke said, taking a slow drag from his cigar before exhaling a plume of smoke. "I can give you something better."
His gaze sharpened slightly as he studied her. "But in exchange—what price can you pay?"
"What price can I pay?" Sivir blinked. "So this is a trade now, huh?"
"That's right."
Duke nodded. At this point, it was a transaction between them.
"My skills, my experience, my strength—hell, even my bloodline—you can take any of it!" Sivir declared without hesitation. "As long as you can give me what I want!"
"Not just weapons," she added, her eyes flicking toward Duke's floating throne and Kai'Sa's railgun.
"I want freedom."
"Freedom from anyone's shackles!"
"Azir seeks those of Ascended blood," Duke said evenly. "Right now, you're the only living heir to that bloodline. In other words, if there's another inheritor of that blood, you'd be free of his control."
He opened his inventory, glancing at a particular item. Indeed, he had something that could meet Sivir's conditions.
Sivir frowned, scrutinizing him up and down. "You say that—but how do you plan to do it?"
"Let's make one thing clear: I'm not interested in you."
"Good," Sivir shot back. "I'm not interested in you either."
Duke waved dismissively. He already had Miss Fortune, Vayne, Fiora, and Qiyana—he wasn't about to add another headache to the list.
"I can extract your cells to create a child. Once the child is born, Azir can raise it himself."
"Then, I'll alter your appearance, give you a new name, a new identity, a new life—a complete restart."
"To be honest," Duke added, "I'm building a mercenary city. Once it's finished, I can send you there with resources to help you rise again."
Sivir hesitated. "You can have a child without… doing that?"
"Of course," Duke said, flicking the ash off his cigar. "If you prefer, I can even make a clone of you."
"That clone can stay by Azir's side, while you go do whatever you want. No one will ever know."
"But that depends on your choice."
Sivir fell silent for a moment, clearly torn.
"No other way?"
"None," Duke said calmly. "So, what's your decision?"
He didn't rush her. Whether it was a test-tube child or a clone, Duke could handle it—it was up to Sivir to decide.
"I'll need some time to think," she said finally. "I'll stay with you for now. I'll give you my answer when I've decided."
"Fine by me," Duke replied, releasing his control and helping her descend gently to the ground.
"For the time being, you can stick with me."
The first thing Sivir did upon landing was snatch up her crossblade, Chalicar. Without it in her hands, she felt exposed.
Now that she had spoken frankly with Duke, their cooperation had reached a tentative understanding. Her uneasy heart finally settled—if only a little.
"What's your next move?" she asked, looking up at him.
Duke shrugged. "Catch a spirit mage and use it as a power core. After that, I'm paying your great ancestor a visit."
"Tch." Sivir clicked her tongue. "Ancestors should stay buried and turn to sand, not wander around like ghosts."
"Get used to it," Duke chuckled. "Like it or not, your ancestor's alive—and that makes you a princess of Shurima. Quite the elevated status."
"I couldn't care less," Sivir said flatly. Her eyes drifted to Kai'Sa's railgun again, a glimmer of hunger in her gaze. "When do I get my weapon?"
"Women who lack a sense of security are truly pitiful."
Duke summoned another floating platform—it was safer than standing on Rek'Sai's nest.
Sivir stepped onto the platform, rising to his height. Duke quickly expanded it with several more panels until it was as large as a classroom.
He pulled out a shimmering case streaked with colorful light and set it down. "Feet together, arms out, chin up. Stand still and count to sixty."
Sivir obeyed, curiosity piqued by the ornate case.
Duke donned his Edith interface, projected a holographic keyboard, and began typing. The box split open, extending a scanning probe that swept her body with blue light.
Beep—beep—beep!
As the tone sounded, Duke hit Enter.
"Done."
Sivir blinked in confusion. "I only counted to nine."
"You can doubt my morals," Duke said, "but never my craftsmanship."
The box disassembled instantly, its components attaching to Sivir's body piece by piece.
As the armor unfolded over her, Duke explained, "That suit is called Centurion. It can assemble or disperse at will based on your thoughts."
"You can summon it in an instant or store it as a backpack. It's powered by six arcane engines, lined with anti-magic stone—it'll shrug off mortal blades and resist most spells."
"There's an integrated weapons pack and AI-assisted combat system," he continued. "It can even carry you across the entire Shuriman continent—but mind the energy drain."
"Feels good," Sivir said, flexing her arm before grabbing her crossblade. She was about to ask where to mount it when a hook automatically extended from her back armor.
Watching her gleefully admiring the suit, Duke rolled his eyes. The Centurion was one of ten—mass-produced suits built off Iron Man's Mark design.
Anyone who knew Duke understood—only his custom-made armors were truly masterpieces. The rest were just for emergencies.
As he took a swig from his flask, Kai'Sa approached.
"What is it?" Duke asked. "You want one too?"
Kai'Sa shook her head. "I already have my living armor. I just came to warn you—something big is coming this way."
Duke raised an eyebrow. "Something big?"
Kai'Sa pointed toward a canyon branch. "Over there. I can feel it moving."
Duke focused his gaze—just in time to see a familiar figure hurtling out from the ravine.
A young woman in a flowing robe, short brown hair fluttering, her eyes wide with panic—Taliyah.
She was riding the shifting earth itself, propelling herself forward atop rolling stone waves, fleeing desperately from something underground.
Below, the ground was cratered and spewing violet mist.
Before she could crash, Duke's power caught her midair and lifted her onto the floating platform.
"Little Sparrow," he teased, "why do you look so terrified?"
"Mr. Duke," Taliyah gasped, "there's a burrowing monster heading this way—we need to leave, now!"
"Burrowing monster?"
Sivir pointed toward the hulking carcass of the Rek'Sai Duke had slain earlier. "You mean one of those?"
Taliyah shook her head urgently. "No—the one chasing me is much bigger than that—"
RUMBLE!
The ground below split apart, collapsing into a massive pit. From its depths burst a monstrous Rek'Sai, roaring as it lunged skyward—its jaws wide enough to swallow a house.
Duke whistled softly.
"Well then… looks like the Queen has arrived."
End of chapter....
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