Legends of Runeterra

Chapter 1096 Power outage

We bought a second to breathe, but that was all. A poisonous mist filled the entrance, and shadows flashed as the mystics emerged. They shifted slowly, fiddling with their weapons, but all held themselves back, waiting.

The doorway darkened again, this time obscuring the shadows. Finally, the shadows solidified into the massive silhouette of Urgot, who emerged, bursting into the domed pastoral landscape, his followers making way for him.

Urgot laughed as the poison gas blew away, a sound of gravel and the rattling of gears. "You think you refuse the test of these men? Your own test? No. I will test you myself, and when you are destroyed, I will test them."

Xiao Kai gripped the rifle tightly, the hextech crystal in the barrel glowing with a rosy hue. She turned to look at the Piltover people behind her. "Hurry and retreat. Go up the bridge to the Dance Corridor. Leave this to us."

I clashed my fists together, energy pulsing through my gloves. "Behold!" Urgot shouted, staring at me. "Such a precious weapon. Your master gave you power, but beneath the surface, you are broken. Weak."

"I don't need this thing to be strong," I scoffed. "I don't need this thing to beat you. I just wear it for fun."

"I saw you with that child." Urgot nodded slowly. "You cling to both worlds, son of Zaun. Sooner or later you must choose."

"Stop talking nonsense." My anger finally came out. "Don't waste time, let me beat you to death and avenge my grievances."

I don't know if the fight lasted seconds or hours. I remember only a few flashes. Metal against metal. The feel of ribs wrapped around knuckles. The thunder and sting of Urgot's arm cannons. The sound of blood bubbling and drying on my gauntlets.

Xiaokai and I joined forces, and we decimated Urgot's followers until only he remained standing, a steel monster of fire, bullets, and chains. It was unclear who would be the last to leave the dome alive, until Xiaokai found a flaw in the launch net, deciding the outcome.

Urgot roared, trapped in the net, his arms tangled at his sides. He was distracted just long enough for me to lunge. I threw everything I had into one blow, knocking him off his feet and sending him stumbling and tumbling over the edge of the dome. But I wasn't going to let him fall so easily.

I pulled in the end of the net, holding his incredible weight, my boots sliding to a stop on the edge. I wanted to look him in the eyes again before I dropped him.

"Let's see how fast the spider can fly."

"Wait!" I heard Xiaokai shouting behind me.

"That's enough, Xiaokai," I hissed.

Xiao Kai stopped beside me, holding an iron rod. "True power lies in choice. If you kill him now, we will be no different from him."

She weaved the rods through the ropes and pinned Urgot to the tower. I didn't want to hear her. I just wanted justice. But I knew justice couldn't bring back what was taken.

I spat, slamming the iron into the floor.

Some generous soul called these wind-eroded rocks just beyond the isthmus islands. The barren rocks, stained only by salt, surely wouldn't be considered a place of habitation. But it seems that generations ago, a visionary among Piltover's rulers built a prison there.

After returning to the police force, I told Xiaokai I trusted her to escort Urgot to the most secure facility, ensuring that nothing could go wrong. I was going to the sewers, to visit the House of Hope, to use my heavy hands to help rebuild, not destroy. But I felt she knew how much this matter meant to me, and she wanted me to see the justice he faced with my own eyes.

"I know this is hard for you to accept," Xiaokai said, "but I want you to see the end result of your choice. I want you to know that this is different because of you."

Different. The word stuck in my throat, and my mind was filled with images of those who had choked on the poison left by progress.

"By locking him up, we've saved Piltover and Zaun a lot of trouble."

"Do you think something better will come out of that mess?"

She looked at me and sighed softly. "Perhaps. Or perhaps worse. If someone insists on trying, many people will die, and I won't allow that. That's why we fight, because we do our duty, to prevent the world from collapsing. That's what the law is for, that's what we do. We maintain order."

Law. Order. Can they exist without each other? Are they connected to justice? If you'd asked my younger self, she might have had an answer. Now, I'm not so sure.

“Urgot’s influence will fade,” Xiaokai said. “Ambitious individuals will shatter his legend, seeking power. They’ll be too busy fighting among themselves to cause us much trouble.”

"You weren't there, Xiaokai." I shook my head. "You didn't see what I saw. You didn't see the number of people, or their determination. We haven't dealt with them yet. We must take a long-term approach."

We stood on the crane, looking down at the cellblocks. Cells lined our sides, cages emptied. Guards and wardens escorted Urgot down the center path to his new home—a massive section of reinforced steel pipe that looped from top to bottom, like a giant piston enclosing him.

Urgot was bound in chains and offered no resistance as he followed them to his cell.

"How much can we take out of him without killing him?" Xiao Kai asked me, loud enough for the Dreadnought to hear. "I say we can take out most of it."

"Then come forward and give it a try." Urgot's eyes gleamed. "Or are you only capable of intimidation?"

"Let me be frank with you." Xiao Kai shouldered his rifle. "You're only alive now because we allow you to. You can only eat if we allow you to, you can only sleep if we allow you to, you can only breathe if we allow you to. No more, no less. If you resist in any way, I will kill you. Do you understand?"

Urgot laughed. "You think you can destroy me? You are wrong. You never can. That door will never open to you."

"Oh, then I'll have to settle for the next best thing and close this door first." Xiao Kai nodded to the technician. He flipped the switch hard, and a huge pipe buckled down from above Urgot's head and locked it tightly to the ground.

I could still hear his laughter through the iron walls as we left. I paused at the cell block door and looked back, a nagging dread creeping up my spine.

Urgot is not a prisoner in my opinion.

He is like a spider, waiting patiently in his web.