Whispers from the Void

"You have been reshaped, mirroring my own change," Kai'Sa approached to compare their transformed skins, her fears finally subsiding.

She now knew Kane would endure alongside her, and nothing could be more reassuring.

"Yes, soon we'll be able to carve out hearts with nothing but our hands."

Their hands, sheathed in a carapace shaded with gray and veins of purple, ended in talon-like sharpness, incessantly tingling with a sensation akin to needle pricks.

Kane felt his new extremities, the coarse skin reminiscent of medical gloves, its resistant nature allowing him to reach into the innards of a Voidling without injury.

He stabbed his fingers into the rocky ground, as easily as if delving into firm sand, leaving behind deep furrows, his strength exceeding his expectations.

His attention then drifted towards Kai'Sa, musing if a test of the sturdiness of their armors was in order. However, he quickly dismissed the thought considering Kai'Sa's carapace was still healing.

Kai'Sa, catching his contemplative look, returned it before her eyes settled on the anomaly of his eyes.

Kane had developed an eye of the Void; his right eye remained a deep brown, but the left had ceased its clarity of black and white, now an endless purple chasm.

Within it flowed an energy, ebbing and rising, occasionally forming ghastly figures.

Good or bad—indeterminable.

"Your eyes…" Kai'Sa reached out to his face without fear, her touch soothing the ancient prickling sensation on his arm carapace.

The discomfort was gone!

Kai'Sa, in awe, pinched at her own carapace, the phenomenon bewildering her.

Turning back, Kane's hand was already cupping her cheek.

"Hm, why?" muffled by his grip, Kai'Sa's voice was unclear.

She saw her eyelids parted by his fingers, his right eye coming into an intimate proximity, nearly brushing her nose.

"The hue of your pupils is shifting to purple..." he stated calmly.

"Do they look as ugly as yours?" Kai'Sa breathed the same air as Kane, a peculiar sensation, slightly suffocating.

"No, it's just the pupils, not the whole eye," Kane gently wiped the dust from her face, noticing something beneath her skin about to emerge.

"Moreover, you're soon to bear the marks as —the Void's trifecta is manifesting upon you."

Just as the Riftwalker possesses three eyes, each limb adorned with trios of bony protrusions, so too were parallel purple striations starting to surface on Kai'Sa's cheeks and forehead, the Void's indelible signature.

Kane was aware such changes were imminent for himself as well, yet he spared Kai'Sa the task of searching. Likely still faint, her youth and inattention might miss them, easier to detect once fully pronounced.

After all, coexistence with the Void, regardless of form, brings inevitable corruption; the variance lies in how much of one's consciousness endures.

For Kane and Kai'Sa, their symbiosis was perhaps as favorable as it gets. Their kin brought to ruin, falling into this underworld—another victim of the Void's manipulative brainwash.

And for those darkin, ascended beings tainted by the Void, their fates were far more tragic.

"Wrinkles? You must be jesting; I refuse to age into an old crone!"

Hearing 'wrinkles,' Kai'Sa instinctively massaged her face. At just ten, premature aging seemed absurd.

"Not wrinkles, facial markings!" Kane clarified with barely concealed irritation, wondering if the Void induced hallucinations in him and auditory illusions in Kai'Sa.

"What are these markings?" Kai'Sa covered her face, puzzled.

She hadn't misheard but lacked the understanding of 'facial markings,' mistaking them for wrinkles.

"It's akin to the whiskers of a cat!" He pinched her soft cheeks and stretched her mouth wide, feeling a sense of vindication.

"Does it appear repulsive?" Without a mirror, Kai'Sa could only inquire from Kane.

"How could it? You look most beautiful," he reassured, cradling her face with a smile.

"Giggles—You're my favorite," Kai'Sa planted a kiss on Kane, her sweet laughter filling the air.

Her straightforwardness made her believe in her own appeal.

But Kane had merely spoken of the face, while Kai'Sa wondered about the overall image.

In truth, with Kai'Sa fully encased in Void armor, none but Kane could appreciate this bound, sinister, and startlingly sensual beauty.

In the eyes of the mundane, there was only one term—monster.

Witnessing Kai'Sa's innocently joyful expression, Kane realized his unintended praise may have led her to a false self-image.

Though she was not yet troubled by her bizarre transformation, shattering this illusion could deeply wound her psyche.

Mental preparation and subtle hints were crucial to ensure Kai'Sa wouldn't be shattered by the harsh reality, preventing a reclusive disposition.

To avoid exploding her already sparse social ties and cementing her title as a monster, unable to return to human society.

And the name Kai'Sa, an acceptance of her new identity, would come at an opportune time.

Should she inquire about his knowledge of the name, he'd obfuscate with prophecies, given that precognition was not without precedent.

And that seer was their common foe.

Kai'Sa's smile faded at the sight of Kane's sudden solemnity.

"What plagues you now?"

"Nothing," Kane crossed his arms, recalling a matter.

"Which is?"

"Oh, by the heavens, you've forgotten."

Kane's theatrical dismay only deepened Kai'Sa's confusion.

"What have I forgotten?"

"Cough!" A pronounced cough from Kane. "You disobeyed me earlier, violating our pact—time for a spanking, remember? If not, then present your behind!"

"Ah! No, please!"

Laughter and playful scuffles echoed through the tunnel...

...

Now, they sat midway through the tunnel.

Kane, leaning against the rock wall with legs outstretched, and Kai'Sa, unable to sit due to a swollen coccyx, lay on the ground, her head resting upon Kane's thighs, eyes blissfully closed.

In the enveloping darkness, time was easily forgotten.

Kane was unaware of the day's phase above, not weary enough to sleep but lacking the vigor to hunt the Riftwalkers.

He gently tapped Kai'Sa.

"Are you asleep?"

"Hmm?" Kai'Sa attempted to rise, only to be softly pressed back down.

"Just listen."

"Alright. What is it?"

"So much to say, but first, let me impart knowledge of Void creatures, for upon waking, we hunt," his fingers teased her tender earlobes, tickling her.

"Okay, I'm all ears."

"Then... I hereby commence our little Void lesson!"