- Man - Ch. 4

Man

Chapter four

The alarms sounded, the soldiers gathered and stood their ground at the front gates and all along the temple grounds. Their bodies were tense with anxious energy and with no word back from the Kinkou Order yet they had every right to be. They waited in anticipation. They knew someone had breached the perimeter lines that they set up. They had scouts watching the main road and without the sight of a single person, they felt it safe to assume that it was Jhin traveling off the beaten path.

Even if it wasn't, it was better safe than sorry. They didn't want to risk the chance of being caught off-guard. Minutes went by without anything. A false alarm? Perhaps an animal had set it off? Zed stood at the front deck along side some of his best men. There wasn't a single sound. Not even the beasts of the forest made a single sound. It didn't feel right.

Suddenly, there came a loud cracking sound that reverberated throughout the forest, sending some birds to retreat into the sky in the distance off to the side of the temple. A beam of blue light came and slammed into Zed's face, hitting him in his left eye and sending him crashing to the floor.

'What..? What is this? It hurts. Is this... The work of Jhin? How..?'

Zed coughed and sputtered as he convulsed on the ground, half his men gathering around him and rushing him inside while the other half searched the premises of where the shot came from.

'This doesn't make sense... Before... It was merely a dance of blades...'

Zed was placed on the ground while one of his captains checked his wounds. That's when they noticed a branch growing where his eye should have been, Sakura blossoms slowly blooming. The men gasped for they hadn't seen such a thing before. The branch trickled down Zed's face as roots, twisting around his neck and shoulder. It traveled around his body at an alarming rate and no one knew how to deal with it. Blood began to coat the strange vegetation as well as pour from areas of Zed's body.

"W-Warn them.. That this was nothing we've faced from him yet," Zed gagged on his own blood as it leaked from the corners of his mouth. "Tell them.. Everything."

Those were his last words as his body fell limp on the floor. He was gone. Shortly after, the sliding door slammed opened and there stood Shen with Akali and Kennen by his side. Their gazes fell upon the distraught men that surrounded the dead body of their fallen leader.

"We were too late," murmured Shen.

:rose: :gun:

There sat Shen on the roof of the Order of the Shadows' temple. The petals of the nearby Sakura trees danced on the gusts of wind as if to taunt him. In his hand was Zed's mask. He couldn't believe it. None of it felt real but as they say, the first stage of grief was denial. Grief? Shen could hardly believe he still harbored such feelings for his enemy.

"Shen? Are you okay?" Akali asked as she sat beside him.

"Yes. I'm fine," he replied, setting aside the mask.

"You don't have to lie," she smiled.

"Is it... Wrong to feel remorse for him?"

"No," Akali said matter of factly. "You both used to be like brothers. I think somewhere deep down, you wanted to rekindle that. But now... We just have to avenge him."

"He was our enemy. Would that still be okay to do?"

"He was your friend first."

"Thank you Akali," Shen whispered as his eyes began to well up.

Akali wrapped an arm around him. Shen knew he shouldn't be so torn about Zed but the pain he felt reminded him of when he lost his father. He knew he had to warn all of the League and the Ionian council. Especially of what Zed's men told him. He knew this confrontation would be nothing like it was before. It seemed that Jhin had come up with a new type of weapon and way of fighting.

"It's time," Kennen said in a hushed tone.

Shen hopped down and picked up a torch from a fire pit. It's radiating heat was nothing compared to the rage he felt inside. Shen steadily carried it to the funeral pyre where Zed's body peaceful laid. The men did the best they could to remove the plant without damaging the body too much.

"Shen said that the true cause of death was the damage done inside his body," Kennen said. "Is it true?"

"Yes. It was terrible. The plant did extensive damage to his internal organs. It appears Zed suffered greatly as it was not a quick death," replied Akali.

Kennen shuddered. It was a terrible way to go. The two of them watched as Shen placed the burning torch to the remains of his former friend and Zed's men began to do the same.

"Goodbye, Brother."

_____________________________________

Hello everyone! Hope you liked Chapter 4! I was able to get a large portion of this chapter done yesterday while on break at work and then finish it up this morning. I know it's already getting to Chapter 5 with no signs of the story getting close to ending. Sorry. It's gonna be a long one. Hope you don't mind. :relaxed:

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