8 7

"A code must be determined by the individual."

Third POV:

In the Ionian mountains, at the farm that Grey had first appeared at, the farmer had just finished today's work and was walking towards his house. Beside him was his son, carrying a bucket of milk that they had just got from the barn.

His wife was waiting at their front door, making sure they were okay. Ever since the incident, she had been regularly checking on them to make sure her son didn't wander off and put himself in danger again.

They had all entered their house together… when the door suddenly slammed behind them, causing them to jump in surprise. They huddled together and turned around to see Akali, standing beside the door.

"W-Who are you?" the farmer asked, pulling his wife and son from the woman, who was obviously an assassin from her attire.

"I told you we should have knocked," another voice spoke out, surprising them again as they saw Kennen, sitting in the middle of the living room with a cup of tea in his hands.

Akali rolled her eyes. "Relax, we're from the Kinkou order," she revealed, seeing that the family was starting to panic.

The mother and father seemed to have calmed down, but only slightly. The son was obviously still too young to know what they were talking about. "Oh, you're from the Order?" the farmer asked, receiving a nod from the two intruders. "Alright, please take Sora to his room," he instructed his wife who nodded and started guiding the boy upstairs. Akali and Kennen didn't seem to have a problem with that, the latter finished his tea and stood up to stand beside Akali. "Is there something I can help you with?" he asked, wondering if there was something wrong with his farm to gain the attention of the Kinkou Order.

"We're just asking for some information," Akali said, still leaning beside the door. "Tall, dark clothes, red cape, pointy metal hat, and a large sword, ring any bells?" the farmer's eyes noticeably widen at that description, recognizing it almost instantly. "So, he was here."

Akali and Kennen had been able to follow the Abyss Watcher from the way they came from to a village, where they found dead bodies outside of it in the woods. At first, they were horrified but then found out that they were working with slavery, so any remorse they felt was gone.

Afterward, they followed the tracks again while asking around town, which got them to find out that the Abyss Watcher got there through a carriage. They tracked where it came from to another town, and then followed the rest of the tracks to this farm.

"What do you know about him?" Kennen asked, seeing that the farmer clearly knows something.

"I-Is he in trouble?" the man asked hesitantly.

Both Kennen and Akali raised an eyebrow in confusion, wondering why he would care. "No, not really. We're just checking on where he came from," Akali replied. She wasn't really lying. They had nothing against the Undead Swordsman. And, if he was really the one who killed those slavery men, then they were probably going to thank him.

The farmer seemed troubled. "Honestly, I don't know. He appeared out of nowhere and saved my son's life," he answered their previous question, while also making them realize why he was concerned for the Abyss Watcher.

"What did he exactly do when he was here? After saving your son's life, that is," Akali asked, hoping to find any valuable information.

"Ask for directions," the farmer replied.

"To what?" Akali asked again.

"Well, everything really," he replied, causing them to look at him in confusion. "At first, he asked about this land, and then asked about Runeterra itself, as if he didn't know anything about it," that seemed to further confuse the two Kinkou members. how can someone not know the land they're on? "I think he's headed to the Institute of War now, since I mentioned that it might help him get back home."

Akali and Kennen shared another look. They were champions of the Institute, and they wouldn't doubt that they can help the Undead Swordsman with whatever his problem was. However, this still left much unanswered. "Can you take us to where you first saw him?" Kennen requested, hoping to find any further tracks.

The farmer nodded. "Yes, I still remember where that is," he replied as he started walking towards the door, passing by them, and exiting. It was hard to forget the place where his son was attacked, after all.

The two Kinkou members followed him. They were honestly curious to find what they can about the Abyss Watcher. The more they found about him, the more confusing he seemed. They just hoped to find answers before this became far too annoying.

…

Meanwhile, Grey and Ahri were on the bench in the locker room, waiting for the fighting pits to start. A few moments ago, the guy who was at the table in front of the entrance came in and hanged a piece of paper on the door, showing numbers and a schedule, showing everyone the timing of their fights and who they would be fighting.

Grey's fight was the very first one tonight, and Ahri couldn't help but keep looking around cautiously at the other fighters as they either prepared their weapons or trained on punching bags. "Calm down, you're too nervous," the Abyss Watcher suddenly said, reading her body language.

"Well, I think you're too calm," Ahri retorted, seeing his rather lax sitting position while leaning back and crossing his arms.

"What they're doing is stupid beyond reason," he commented causing her to raise an eyebrow in confusion. "They are simply showing off in the hopes of seeming intimidating to lowers the morals of their opponents. However, they're also giving others a chance to come up with a battle plan to fight them. So, ignore them," he explained.

The Nine-tailed Vastaya looked surprised before looking around again, but this time, with her magic. She then saw clear anxiety on everyone, some even fearful. They were those who weren't worried, but they were reeking of arrogance, so Ahri dismissed them as fools. Looking back at her traveling companion, she saw that he was just as emotionless as always, which meant that no one can read anything on him, not even her with her magic.

"Hey there, beautiful," just as luck would have it, one of those Ahri dubbed as fools came to approach her, and he was reeking of lust. A large, muscly man that had the sides of his head shaved, silver shoulder armor, bare chest, brown trousers, and was holding a spiky morningstar. "What's a cutie like you doing here?" he asked.

Ahri rolled her eyes. "Just seeing my friend fight," she answered, motioning to Grey.

"Why don't you be my friend? I'm sure that I can offer you better than what he has," the man said, puffing his chest to show off.

The Nine-tailed Vastaya was honestly wondering if that way of talking actually works on women. "Thanks, but if I wanted to leave him for trash, I would go into the corner," she replied, pointing a trashcan in the far end of the room.

The man was obviously not pleased. "Listen, lady, I'm trying to be nice here, so why don't you just come along before I get violent," he threatened while reaching forward with his arm.

Ahri was ready to burn his arm off right then and there. However, before the man's arm even came close to her shoulder, an armored arm grabbed it. "She declined, so you should leave," the Abyss Watcher said.

Ahri was somewhat surprised, she expected him to let her handle this and not get involved. "Mind your own-argh!" whatever the man was going to say stopped as Grey tightened his hold, to the point that Ahri can almost hear cracking.

"I will say this one last time, leave, before they have to drag your corpse from here," Grey threatened before letting go of the man's arm.

pulling back his hand, the man glared at the Abyss Watcher before walking away while checking his wrist. The Undead Swordsman turned his glare at the rest of the fighters, and all of the lustful looks Ahri was receiving stopped while the anxiety went higher out of that short display.

Ahri just looked at Grey as he went back to his previous position. "I didn't take you for the jealous type," she teased, still wondering why he interfered.

"Starting fights before their official time is a bad idea. We're new here, so it would be easy to blame us for what happened," Grey replied, ignoring her teasing.

The Nine-Tailed Vastaya wouldn't deny that the fact he would always ignore her teasing was somewhat annoying, but it also made her feel challenged that she gets a reaction out of him. "I'll just believe that you were jealous," she teased further.

However, like before, he ignored it and shrugged his shoulders. "Believe what you want," Ahri really wished his responses would stop being so blunt.

…

In another part of the Fighting Pits, overlooking the arena from a private booth was a young man sitting on a rather fancy looking chair, looking to be bored out of his mind.

The young man had messy red hair, pointy fur ears, a scar over his nose, a sleeveless long furry coat with a furry collar that had a golden wolf head on either side of the chest with nothing underneath it, baggy pants, and black, fingerless gloves with golden brass knuckles.

That young man was Sett, the current leader of the fighting pits, or 'the boss' as he preferred. And, just as his look implied, he was bored out of his mind, mainly because of the current state of the Fighting Pits.

It wasn't that their business was dropping. They were actually as successful as ever, even more than usual now that fighters are trying to stand out and gain the attention of the Institute of War. What bored him was his own current state.

Sett never expected that being a boss would be so… bland and boring. He didn't hate the job, and he obviously got most of the income, which he was using to help his mother's life get better. Simply put, he hated just sitting around.

Sett was a fighter. He'd always been a fighter. And, now that all he has to do is just sit around and watch the fights, he had gotten bored. There were the occasional idiots trying to take the position from him, but they were all nobodies that barely lasted against him.

He missed the thrill of battle and throwing fists. Not to mention that the fights recently have seemed boring to him. If they had gotten more interesting, maybe he wouldn't be as bored as he currently was.

"Alright, let's start today's matches," he said before looking towards the referee in the arena and nodding towards him. He wanted to get this over with and hopefully get back home to his mother. Spending time with her always seemed to make him happier.

The arena was a giant wooden circle covered in dirt. People were on both sides, some of them cheering while others were placing bets. Sett's booth was at the end, right between where the two sides of the people met. Under his booth was the gate to the locker room that had the fighters.

The referee, who was a short, obese man with a beard, got the message. "Ladies and gentlemen!" he called out from his spot, which was the middle of the arena, and caused the crowd to quiet down. "Your waiting has finished, we will officially start the fights for tonight!" he yelled causing the crowd to start cheering. "First off, coming from Noxus, here comes Ronak!" he called out.

The man who came to talk to Ahri earlier walked through the gates. An arrogant smile on his face as he waved to the crowd while showing off his muscles. Noxians cheered at him, while Ionians booed.

"And now, he's challenger, from parts unknown, Grey!" the referee called out as the Abyss Watcher walked out of the locker room and faced his opponent at the other side of the ring.

Some people cheered, mainly for the fighting to begin, while others were wondering about who he was. There were whispers about him being a Noxian because of his color theme, but the Noxians themselves in the crowd seemed just as clueless, so those thoughts were ignored.

Meanwhile, Sett couldn't help but laugh as he saw the Undead Swordsman. "Who the hell wears a hat like that?" he asked, pointing at Grey's helm.

His assistant, an Ionian female assassin, looked at one of the papers in her hand. "He's a new fighter. Came in here with some weird fox Vastaya and registered in," she said reading the paper before looking back at the arena. "He looks Noxian."

"No, he ain't Noxian," Sett commented, scratching his chin.

He might have been a more brawn-over-brains guy, but being the boss and seeing all kinds of warriors has given him knowledge on such subjects. He can clearly tell that the Undead Swordsman wasn't Noxian, nor was he Ionian, and Sett can't help but be curious of where came from. Well, it didn't really matter to him. But, he had a feeling that today's fights weren't going to be so boring.

Meanwhile, at the gates of the locker room, Ahri was standing outside the locker and near the edge of the arena. Just close enough to get a good look at the fight, but not close enough for the crowd to see her. "You better know what you're doing," she mumbled, actually concerned for her traveling companion. Normally, she wouldn't be concerned for someone she didn't know that long, but she wouldn't deny that the Abyss Watcher was making this journey a lot easier than it could have been.

"Well, well, well," Ronak chuckled as he pulled out his morningstar and started petting its pole. "I guess I get to pay you back for what you did to me in the lockers. And, after I'm done with you, maybe I'll take that girl for myself," he gave a lecherous smirk as he imagined what he would do to Ahri.

The Abyss Watcher simply ignored his talk. He knew for a fact that Ahri would be able to beat this man even without her magic. Though, he doubted she would he the chance to as much as see him again after this fight.

"Alright," the referee took a few steps back as he raised his hands. Tension grew in the air as the entire crowd grew silent, even Ahri took a deep breath to prepare. Suddenly, the referee brought down his arms. "Begin!"

The first one to make a move was Ronak, who charged in while raising his morningstar. Grey simply remained still and unmoving, causing Ahri to have a small sense of panic seeing him do nothing at the charging enemy.

When Ronak was close enough, he brought down his morningstar, hoping to crush his opponent's head with it. However, it never touched him. In a sudden turn of events, Grey swiftly caught the incoming weapon by the pole without as much as flinching.

Before the Noxian fighter can even show his surprise, the Undead Swordsman quickly pulled out his dagger with his free hand and cut his opponent's throat open. Ronak jumped back in shock and dropped his weapon before falling on his knees as he choked on his own blood.

Ronak started desperately clutching his throat in an attempt to stop the bleeding. However, the cut was far too deep, and it wasn't long before he fell on the ground, life leaving his eyes as blood kept flooding from his cut throat.

The entire arena was in stunned silence. None of them expected the fight to be over so quickly. Even Sett was surprised by how quickly the battle was concluded. "Well, that just happened," the boss mumbled.

"Uhmm… boss? This guy… just broke your record," his assistant mumbled, causing Sett to look even more surprised. He has the record for the fastest match to be over… well, HAD the record. And now, some mysterious guy just finished it with one move.

Ahri herself was astonished at how fast the fight had been, if she can even call it a fight to begin with. It was then that she noticed a dark silhouette leave Ronak's corpse and disappear into the Abyss Watcher. She has been noticing that silhouette every time that he killed someone, and she can't stop wondering what it was.

Meanwhile, Grey glanced at his opponent's dead body and felt… nothing, like usual. He could take Ronak's soul and use it to get Sovereignless Souls, but he already got some from the kill. Plus, he didn't really need it. So, he just decided to leave it there.

However, the Abyss Watcher also noticed something that he caught sight of before. The two mysterious white and black figures were above the corpse for a brief second, and then they were gone, just like in the Noxian camp.

Before he can think on the subject any longer, the referee finally got over his shock. "A-And the winner, Grey!" he called out.

Most Ionians began cheering, mainly because they wanted to see the Noxian Warrior defeated. As for the Noxians, they were mixed reactions. Some cheered at that impressive display, while others began glaring and booing at the Abyss Watcher for humiliating someone from their nation like that.

Grey himself paid the crowd no mind and simply started walking out of the arena. He saw Ahri waiting for him with a smirk on her face. "You don't hold back, do you?" she asked in a teasing tone.

"We don't need to spend more time here than we need, so why bother?" the Undead Swordsman retorted as he walked towards the locker room with her following close by. The Nine-Tailed Vastayan agreed with him, which is why she didn't say anything back.

When they were inside the locker room, Grey obviously drew looks from everyone around. Unlike before, Ahri didn't receive any looks, lustful or otherwise, and people even seemed to move out of her way as she and her traveling companion went back to their bench to sit down.

When they were seated, the Nine-Tailed Vastaya looked around and she didn't need her magic to see the fear people had, and all of it was directed to the man sitting beside her. Even the ones who were arrogant before were now full of anxiety.

"It looks like you left quite the impression," Ahri noted, seeing the clear signs of different attitudes compared to before the Abyss Watcher had his match.

"That is a good thing. It means that fewer idiots will try to cause conflict like that fool from before," Grey explained, not wanting to be bothered by breaking every fight because some in-heat idiot tried to get into her skirt.

Ahri smiled slyly, finding a chance to tease him. "So, you're saying it's good because people won't hit on me and you can keep me to yourself?" she questioned, explaining the situation in her own way.

The Abyss Watcher simply regarded her with what Ahri can guess is a deadpan look. She still couldn't see his face. "The world does not reside around you," Grey retorted, believing that her teasing was simply out of ego.

The Nine-Tailed Vastaya rolled her eyes, understanding what he meant. True, she can be somewhat egotistical, but she was teasing to hopefully get a reaction out of him more than a deadpan look. She'd be lying if she said that it wasn't fun to challenge herself with getting him to feel something. She just hoped that the rest of their time in the Fighting Pits was going to go this smoothly.

…

It had been nearly a few hours since Grey's fight. As Ahri had hoped, most of it went without a problem. The Undead Swordsman had two more fights, and each one was finished as easily and as swiftly as his first. She started wondering if there's actually anyone here who can last against him.

Meanwhile, Sett wasn't as joyful as Ahri was. People obviously noted that the Abyss Watcher was stronger than any of the current fighters, and they were all putting their bets on him. Losing money wasn't the problem, it was the reputation. He can tell that people were starting to wonder if either the Abyss Watcher was just that strong, or that the Fighting Pits were just that weak.

He can clearly see it wasn't the latter. It was obvious to Sett that the Undead Swordsman was for more skilled and experienced in battle than any of the fighters that registered in. But, people don't know that, and if the Fighting Pits seemed weak, then their business would start going down from lack of interest.

"And there goes another fighter," his assistant commented seeing the Abyss Watcher kill another one of his opponents easily, again in record time.

Sett needed a way to show people that they weren't weak and that Grey was just strong. He couldn't go down there himself, as tempting as that was. If the Boss himself showed up to do something about a new fighter just because they were successful, he can kiss his reputation goodbye.

Suddenly, a thought appeared in Sett's head, causing him to smirk. "Hey, how many contenders we have left?" he asked.

His assistant was surprised before pulling out a piece of paper. "Excluding that monster, five fighters are left," she answered.

"Good, send them all at him," Sett ordered causing his assistant's eyes to widen in shock.

She was about to say something, but a glare from the Pits' leader silenced all her complaints, so she just shrugged it off. "Well, you're the boss," she said before walking out.

Sett couldn't help but smirk. While he didn't get to do any fighting, he wouldn't deny that tonight wasn't as boring as the last. Seeing that Abyss Watcher fight multiple people should show the crowd that they weren't weak, but he was simply strong.

If he failed and died, it would be a good show. If he actually succeeded, it would still be a good show, and Sett MIGHT put in a little extra gold in the reward… plus, Sett was a little mad that a new fighter broke his record, so that might have something to do with this decision.

Back at the arena, Ahri watched as another of Grey's opponents dropped dead. At this point, she just stood there to see him finish, not even wondering if there will be any fighting. She didn't even see him pull out his sword once, just his dagger. The Nine-Tailed Vastaya was actually impressed. She already knew that the Abyss Watcher was a good fighter, she still didn't expect him to be that good.

She also noted that the Undead Swordsman gained a reputation amongst the crowd. Ionians liked him because most of his opponents were Noxians, while the Noxians seemed to respect him for his strength. It wasn't a surprise. Noxus was a land that respected strength no matter where it came from. So, not knowing where the Abyss Watcher was from didn't really matter to them.

Ahri directed her look at the referee, waiting for him to declare Grey's win. However, she narrowed her eyes suspiciously as she saw Sett's assistant come in and whisper something into the man's ear. Because of the crowds cheering, and the distance between them, Ahri couldn't hear what was said, even with her enhanced senses.

The referee looked surprised but still nodded. Sett's assistant left as the referee started addressing the crowd again. "Ladies and gentlemen! We have a special surprise! We will be having today's finals… right now!" he announced causing questioning murmurs to start filling the arena. "Our up and coming starfighter of tonight, Grey, will be fighting the rest of the fighters by himself!"

"Wait, what?" Ahri questioned as the crowd gasped in shock, while Grey himself looked simply confused.

The gates of the locker room opened again and the remaining warriors got out. They were already informed about what's happening and were also informed that there was a big reward for whoever defeats the Abyss Watcher.

Meanwhile, the crowd began placing their bets. Most betted against the Undead Swordsman. Believing that, while he appeared to be strong, he couldn't take on the five remaining warriors on his own.

Ahri herself started looking at her traveling companion in worry. She couldn't understand what was going on. In all the memories she took that included the Fighting Pits, nothing like this has ever happened.

The Abyss Watcher looked at his opponents and got a good look at them. One of them was an Ionian wearing leather armor and holding a spear. The second was also an Ionian also wearing leather armor, but was holding a sword- a Katana, if Grey remembers what he heard about eastern lands correctly back in Farron Keep.

The other three were Noxians. All of them wearing silver armor around their chests, shoulders, and legs. One was holding a double-edged ax, the second was holding a greatsword, and the last was holding a mace.

All of them got inside the arena on one side while the Abyss Watcher was on the other. Ahri was expecting Grey to pull out his sword, but he simply stood where he was, like he did most of the fights, which made her question if he was either confident, crazy, or simply gave up already.

In all honesty, Grey didn't see the need to pull out his sword. He can clearly see that his enemies weren't planning to work together at all. They were all sending glares at each other, most likely thinking of sacrificing the others in order to achieve victory.

The referee raised his hands before bringing them down. "Begin!"

The first one to make a move was the Ionian with the spear. He charged forward, thrusting the tip of his weapon. The Undead Swordsman side-stepped the attack before grabbing the spear near the tip, breaking the wooden pole, and then using the tip of the spear to stab the Ionian man at the side of the head, killing him instantly.

The second one to charge in was the Noxian with the double-edged ax, most likely trying to use the first attack as a distraction. When he swung down his weapon, Grey swiftly pulled out his dagger and parried the attack, leaving the Noxian open for when Grey's dagger came back and sliced through his throat.

The remaining two Noxians seemed to have a look between each other. Seeing that charging in alone was the wrong choice, they apparently made the smart decision of working together. And so, they both charged in at the same time, both swinging their weapon from a direction.

The Undead Swordsman knelt down, dodging the attack and causing the weapons to clash together. With great speed, Grey pulled out his sword and swung it in a large cut, slicing both Noxians from the waist in half.

When they were down, the Abyss Watcher stood back up and saw that the last Ionian was not there. Hearing the sound of a blade cutting through the air, Grey immediately raised his dagger to his right and stopped the katana from cutting at his side.

The last Ionian has apparently tried to sneak up behind him while he was dealing with the Noxians. The Undead Swordsman pushed the katana away and swiftly spun around, swinging his sword and cutting off the Ionian's head.

Seeing the last fighter fall dead, the crowd erupted into cheers. "And the winner of today's tournament, Grey!" the referee announced.

The Abyss Watcher paid the cheers no mind. He was more focused on the white and black figures that were standing above the dead bodies of his opponents. However, they were gone almost instantly again. The Undead Swordsman couldn't figure out who those figures were, but he did notice that they seemed to appear every time someone dies.

Ahri let out a relieved breath she didn't know she was holding. She told herself that she should stop worrying at this point because it was not good for her health to have this much needless stress. She saw Grey start walking out of the corpse-filled arena.

"Do you know what was that about?" the Abyss Watcher asked, wanting to know why he suddenly had all the other fighters against him at once.

"I honestly don't know, but I do know it wasn't normal," the fox Vastaya replied, knowing that the assistant that came before the fight most likely had something to do with it. "But, I think we'll find out soon," she commented, seeing the referee walk towards them.

"Great show, young man," the referee praised. Ahri can swear she suddenly felt a spark of amusement from Grey when he was called 'young man', but it was gone in an instant, so she just thought it was her imagination. "Your reward is with the boss. Let me lead you to him," he said as he started walking towards a small door that was beside the locker ones.

When the referee opened the door, it revealed stairs that led upwards. Grey glanced at Ahri, who nodded, showing it was okay to follow. They both went after the referee up the stairs where he guided them towards a pair of doors that were obviously made from a better material than most things here.

Opening the doors, both Ahri and Grey were greeted with the sight of a smirking Sett, who turned his seat around to face them. "Great show out there. I was almost impressed… well, almost," he chuckled arrogantly.

When they saw Sett, the two traveling companions had a different reaction. Ahri was surprised to see a Vastaya in charge of this place, mainly because she didn't see any around and she knew that no Vastaya tribe was close by. As for Grey, he only had one thing that popped in his head, and it was that Sett was obviously a child.

"Anyway, here's your reward for today's fighting," Sett said before pulling out a bag that was bigger than a man's head and throwing it near their feet.

Ahri was the one to pick up the bag and checked it and saw it was full of gold. However, that didn't stop her from glaring at the boss. "What was that just now? We weren't told about any kind of battle royal," she questioned.

Sett raised his hands innocently, but his smile was showing that he didn't regret anything. "Hey, your friend was winning too quickly. So I had to make it… interesting for the viewers," he replied, obviously lying by his tone.

Before Ahri can say something else, she felt someone put a hand on her shoulder. She looked and saw Grey's blue eyes looking at her through the small mask. "We're done here, so let us leave," he instructed. He honestly didn't care how many people he fought, especially since nothing wrong happened. Plus, he still had some spare Estus, so he could have healed anything that would have happened to him.

The Nine-Tailed Vastaya spared one last glare at the boss before she nodded. Both of them walked out and started making their way out of the Fighting Pits, leaving Sett alone.

Sett simply chuckled and turned his chair around, looking at the now empty Arena. Even the crowd was starting to leave. This has actually turned out to be a far more interesting night than he originally expected.

He supposed that he could have found a more peaceful solution, but he wasn't that kind of guy. Besides, he had other things to worry about. Lately, his mother has been getting rather suspicious about where Sett has been getting his money.

While she didn't show it, Sett can see the obvious signs that she has been believing him less and less. He needed a way to either cover up his work as the Boss, or find a second job to tell his mother that he was getting his money from there.

Maybe he should join the Institute of War. He heard that they pay well for their fighters. True, it was about fighting, but Sett has heard that there was a way for no one to be hurt inside fights there, so that might ease his mother's worries. Plus, if he knew his mother as much as he does, then she would be happy that her son was fighting to 'protect' their nation in the Institute.

…

In another part of Ionia, back with Kennen and Akali, we see the two assassins venturing the forest. The farmer had shown them where he first saw the Abyss Watcher, and they found a trail afterward that led them deep in the Ionian mountains.

However, their trail seemed to have stopped in the middle of nowhere. The only strange thing about the area they were in was a few broken branches as if something had fallen from the sky, but no trail of where the Abyss Watcher came from.

"Kennen, did you find anything?" Akali asked as she inspected one of the broken branches on the ground.

The Yordle, who was looking around for any other sign of tracks, shook his head. "No, not yet," he replied.

"Well, keep looking. He couldn't have just popped up from thin air," Akali retorted. However, she then noticed the lack of reply. "Kennen?" she looked at her fellow Kinkou member, only to see him looking with a wide-eyed look at something beyond a few bushes.

Wondering what could cause such a reaction, Akali walked closer and took a look at what he was seeing, and her eyes widen equally as big at finally catching sight of what the Yordle was looking at.

Standing in the middle of a clearing, near a small crater was a figure. The figure was somewhat large and appeared to be entirely made of cloth. They had odd, narrowed feet along with what appears to be a horn with a green orb at the tip. They also seemed to be floating, since their feet were not touching the ground.

The figure seemed to be looking at the crater, where something obviously fell, before it turned to face them to reveal a yellow circular mask that had three golden dots. Around the mask was long, pure white hair coming out from all directions.

The figure and two Kinkou members simply looked at each other for a few seconds, before the former turned the other direction. The figure brought the horn to one of the dots in its mask before blowing in it.

The sound of the horn seemed to echo throughout the entire area as a golden portal suddenly appeared in front of the figure. The two Kinkou members simply stared as the figure floated inside the portal before it vanished.

"Was… was that…" Akali didn't seem able to finish her sentence.

Thankfully, Kennen finished it for her. "Bard?"

Every nation in Runeterra had legends about the Cosmic Vagabond. They had caught glimpse of him in the Institute of War, but this was by far the first time they had seen him in person.

They couldn't even begin to understand what he was doing here. Perhaps it was a coincidence, but there was still the chance that he was here to see where the Abyss Watcher came from.

Akali and Kennen knew for a fact that this is far bigger than they expected if Bard himself has come to look into the Undead Swordsman… far, FAR, bigger.

(A/N: Thank you for reading this.

First, about how the fights went. Considering skills and experience, are you really surprised that Grey found them that easy?

Second, Sett didn't get to fight for reasons that were already explained. If the Boss himself comes to beat up(or try and fail to beat up) a new contender because they were successful, that would throw Sett's reputation out of the window.

Third, I hope I got Sett's personality right. I never used him in any of my stories.

Fourth, Ahri seems to be catching on to Grey taking Sovereignless Souls, while Grey is starting to notice Kindred more, so that should be interesting.

And lastly, Bard made an appearance. That's mainly because I realized: if a portal from another world appears, Bard would definitely be the first person to go and check on it.

Again, thank you for reading this. Please comment, review, and give me your thoughts on my story. Criticism is appreciated as long as it's constructive.)

P.S. There's seems to be some confusion between my readers. Some of you believe that Sovereignless Souls and normal souls are the same thing.

Hate to break it to you, but that's not it.

Despite popular belief, Sovereignless Souls are not the same as normal souls.

The best way to describe Sovereignless Souls would be as broken souls or a Soul's leftovers.

That is why when you crush a soul, the greater or bigger it is, the more Sovereignless Souls you acquire. It's because you literally gather the pieces of that soul.