Closure for The Cryptic King: Zara [Epilogue 1: Reminiscence]

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Ballad of Streams: a dream in the afterlife. https://youtu.be/-dhMjbrn9Lw

So, a song, flowed here just like the water in the wind. (Wake up.) The mana that comes from within. (Can you feel me?) (Come on Zara!)  Memories shown from the time. (Can you feel me over there?) Coming from the time that I died.

"Zara was all." In, her arms. "All to..." Rests- "me..." "My legs, his arm..." At this time, "Calls," I rest... "to," in... "me." Peace.

"Through all," She saw the past that I kept hidden, deep inside thoughts overridden. "Love and fear shall," Monster that I couldn't get rid of. Failure as husband I... "Crawl. Through all..." Swept the world with painful lies. Hoping maybe we'd both die, But it seems, through it all: You survived. "Now go," Instead of giving into fate, living through those painful days. "You'll always be at home..." You decided, to give, life a chance. Then you came back, and realized, (I'll give it to you.) That it was I who saved your life.

"Please... come" Then, you gave, your life- "Back to me."  This song of a Seraph, has wrought a staff that's meant for me. (My dearest love) "Please come back to me."

**So **The jewel of, you the crown that, **have **we shared in life set was sent to me. (Come on, get up!) Free

In fading, I see that, the light reached out a hand to me.

(My dearest love) Really now, to think that hand was really you. (Wake up, I feel... I will give you anything) Tell me, Prophet, what did you do?

---

fin.

"So, the story of The Ruined King comes to an end."

He closes the book and passes it to a wandering caretaker. The celestial puppet warps the book into a the spirit of the tale and casts out a glyph that shines to the heavens. A legion of miniature spectators are lifted into the gate and flung into the cosmos as the story takes flight into the stares. There the wandering caretaker rewrites the story of fall of a king the song told from the story we wrote.

"You can stop that now. You don't have to go narrating every single thing."

"Ah, it seems I've gotten used to it by now. Who knows this might be part of an epilogue."

"Are we done yet? If not, quit screwing around!"

"Shit man, don't get feisty. Zara waited in the realm of blue, with this suspicious man waiting for his arrival for- ACK!"

"WHAT DID I JUST TELL YOU?!"

"Fine, I get it!"

...

"So what do you want?"

"Really now. You bring me here and force me to recall everything I did and that's all you ask?"

"Don't be snarky now, I could have left you wandering in the middle of nowhere. This is like dead space man, but with mana."

Zara sighs. "Again with the narration."

"I really can't help it man. How else is the audience supposed to know whats going on? I could be doing backflips for all they know."

"You're doing something equally ridiculous."

"Hehe, but they don't know- Wah!"

"Who the hell are you?"

...

"Come on now, you know who I am: The Prophet."

"Skrolle, right? Is that's even your real name."

...

"I go by many names. You can call me Skrolle or Prophet, doesn't matter to me."

"Well it matters to me."

"Just call me Prophet. Skrolle is a name that follower of mine knew, not you."

"So, Prophet... Did you always know?"

"Know what?"

"You know."

...

"It's a bit ridiculous to expect someone to be able to read minds. Though even if that's the case, I don't need to since I can read fate."

...

"Well then. There really isn't a good way to put this. Yes."

"Yes what?"

"Now you sound like a nanny... Yes, I knew at least one of you would die."

...

"And you did nothing about it?"

"That's insulting."

"What's insulting is that you left without so much as a word."

...

"That fate is destiny. Nothing would have changed even if I informed you."

"At least I would have known!"

"Better that you didn't. If you did, you would have certainly regretted not being able to stop it."

"I did anyways."

"Yet that was not destiny."

...

"You're twisted, you know that?"

...

"I guess you could say that. However, it's hard to sit still when you see what can happen next."

"I know."

...

"So, what did you mean by at least one of us?"

"Exactly what it sounds like. A scenario where you both lived was simply impossible."

...

"What would happen had I been the one who died?"

"If you want to know that much, I might as well tell you every feasible case. If you died that day, she would resent the people forever and go on to be a dictator who would reign much like that man you strived to become."

"So everything would have been just fine."

"If that's what you consider fine, I guess so. However, there was another possibility even as she died. If you never learned of the Blessed Isles, one of your knights would have rose to the occasion and succeeded you."

"Which one?"

"Many of them. They were all quite valiant. Even the rebellious ones mellowed out. Nobody wanted her to die after all."

...

"Speaking of which. I can't help but wonder. Why do you never call the queen by her name. I mean-"

"Stop right there. You are going to publish this as an epilogue, so say no more. Nobody can know who they are from a mere story. Not the queen, nor the rest I leave unnamed. If they wish to make themselves known, they shall in their story. Not my story."

"It's honestly confusing."

"It may be a selfish request and it may be vague. However, their name comes with their past and is supposed to be a core part of their identity. Yet I find it so empty and meaningless. I care not for a name that bears no weight on its own, a flimsy one that could mean many things. A title that represents who they are and the events they are associated with shows what they mean to me."

"You serious? There is too much wrong with that. If you don't define a name for someone, then you don't know who is who."

"Thus if you are to refer to them, you must reference the things they have done or their title, which represents the same. Their legacy becomes their name."

"Seems convoluted."

"Says the man who keeps changing his name."

"You got me there. I can't help it though, the only thing I can do here is write legends. Legends should have a name, lest they get shrouded by similar feats."

"Sitting around here doing nothing? So how do you explain that huge ass sword that popped up out of nowhere? The one I've been swinging around for all this time."

"Ehehe. I guess you knew huh? I didn't plan on interfering with your journey, but... That was too sad. You can't just throw your life away like that."

"If it was to save that fallen empire. I'm sure that would have been a fitting end."

"To you maybe, but I'm not letting you call it quits so early."

"You call walking the ocean depths for millennia early? You got a bad sense of time. I've recounted this whole journey, and I honestly still have no idea why you brought me back."

...

"Me? You really think that was me?"

"Who else would?"

"Frankly, I'm disappointed. Though, I guess I don't blame you. There might be subtle hints, but it wasn't really definitive."

...

"What's wrong? Usually this is the part where you say something like: What do you mean?"

"If it isn't you who brought me back, then I already know who did."

"Hoh, I'm impressed. You really aren't as dense as you seem."

"Just tell me what happened."

...

"Put bluntly, she didn't die after you wiped out The Blessed Isles. She lived and as she bore witness to her sorry state, she sought to become beautiful. No offense, but she got a bit crazy during that time. Yet she truly was gorgeous when I met her."

"You actually met her?"

"Yep. Face-to-face, but this was after I bound myself to this place so it was a bit tricky coming face-to-face. Honestly, I wasn't interested in her at all until she went on that quest for beauty. Not that she wasn't attractive before, but she was more or less normal. However, she became more than just a looker, she was brimming with ether."

"What do you mean by ether? And stop hitting on my wife!"

"Eh... sorry man. That ether is more of what I was focused on. As for what it is, put simply it's what mana used to be. Remember how I said mana and life are connected? Well ether is that connection, because ether is life itself. On your journey, sometimes you would glow white or that mist around you would. That is the state of ether. You can think of it as incredibly dense mana. It is the source of angels in times of old."

"Angels? You mean the godlike ones in the legends you told me? So ether is the power that the angels used."

"Godlike? No, they are god. Ether is life and life is god. Every instance of ether is part of the same collective whole. Its strange to say that angels use ether, because angels are ether. They become ether when they die."

"Die? I thought you said angels were immortal."

"While it is true that angels are known for their immortality, the sacrifice to their great power is that their existence is finite. It's quite ironic, but essentially it means that their form cannot be sustained. Eventually, angels become consumed by the power they use and lose shape. Their identity doesn't disappear, but their form does, which you could consider death."

"So you are meaning to tell me something as ridiculous as my wife becoming god?"

"I don't want to hear it coming from this ridiculous dude. In any case, she did come close to becoming one of the greatest angels. At the time she came to me, I could already consider her an archangel. Yet she had the potential to be a seraph."

"She came to you? Not the other way around?"

"Well, it was impossible for me to come to her. Being stuck here and all. I can only impact the world through the runes I placed around. I think you know them as the world runes."

"So you are the cause of that disaster the rune mage went through."

...

"So what does this have to do with her?"

"What do you think that tree is?"

...

"She may have been brimming with ether. Yet that was precisely the issue. The power consumes angels and unless the angel has a vessel that can withstand it, the body will quickly crumble. She remembered that it all began at the tree so she sought to use that sacred tree as her vessel. Of course, the way to do so was all but a mystery to her, but I knew. I could have given her the vessel to make her the seraph I always wanted to see. Since her vessel would be a world rune, I could also follow her on her journey to see everything she has done. I could have... but I didn't."

"Did this not fit into your master plan? Was she not a worthy pawn for your game of life and death?"

"She did, but the reason is much simpler. It's mundane really."

"So what could have possibly clouded your judgement?"

"Not what, who."

"Then who?"

"You."

...

"She came to me blind, like you, not knowing the reason she still exists. It was unsettling. I am not the most noble man in existence. I have made sacrifices worthy of eternal spite. Yet, she deserved to at least know what kind of sacrifice she was making. Destroying the tree that you gave up everything to place your hopes in. She was quite crazy, so that may have influenced me. Though in truth, it was you who influenced me the most. Instead of granting her the last vestiges of power from the tree as a vessel, I made this power a memory of Reminiscence, so she could see for herself what had transpired when you gave your life up for hers."

...

"How... did she respond?"

"In frustration, cursing your name. In confusion, doubting your sanity. In panic, over your actions. Yet eventually in tears, mourning your death. Surely enough she was back to how she used to be, yet for how much she trashed you for being brash, she made quite a rash decision herself."

"I can't possibly see her doing something like that."

"Neither did I, she was probably influenced by your idiocy. Yet even though I blamed her, she simply asked me, Who are we?"

...

"We are me."

"So, she embodied that statement. Do you remember that crown you had? There was a jewel within, that was not there before. That follower misconstrued it as a World Rune, but it was not something of my making. She forged that with all of her power, channeling all the ether into a vessel to contain her magic. It first took the form of a staff, but then it tore itself down as she cast a spell of resurrection to find you in the abyss. This left her in shambles, such that even I couldn't save her with the meager power in the sacred tree. An amalgamation of souls came to her, a result of the curse you made to lay waste to the isles. As her last hope, she gave her soul up to become the a small part of the ghost of the shadow isles, her identity shrouded in the depths of insanity."

...

"Why?"

"I think you already know."

...

"She was waiting for me. All this time... waiting."

...

"I couldn't even see her... Even while she was so close to me, I was blind. She was there wasn't she, waiting at the tree? I kept walking, but I couldn't hear or see her at all. I didn't even say a word. I collapsed right onto her and died yet again. How ironic is that? She died in my arms as I gave all my power to save her. Now I die before her, as she gave her very being to save me. How ironic is that?"

"It's not ironic, Zara. It's sad."

"Get me out of here! She's still waiting, in those god-forsaken isles. What am I doing here of all places?!"

"You are stuck here. After all you have become ether."

"No..."

"That power that made into an immortal soul, that same power has burned you out of existence. You are not dead Zara. You are beyond dead."

"GOD DAMN IT! WHY GOD? WHY!"

...

"Is there no hope for me? Was my journey all for naught? I came so far, but I could not manage such a simple task."

"So long as that land remains the land of the undead, you cannot return."

"This is my punishment... For being a failure, this is my punishment. It is too cruel."

"Zara... You didn't fail."

"What, does it count if she sees me while I can't see her? Bullshit!"

"Oh, you certainly fucked up there. However, you still have another chance to see her."

...

"What the hell are you talking about? Were you pulling my leg this whole time?"

"Well, the situation really is as grim as it sounds. Yet even so, think about it. Why I am talking to you in the first place? I hope you didn't think it was just to get your account of the story and throw you off to the wayside. Don't you remember? I was the one who took your hand as you were fading away."

"Ah. So that really was you!"

"Yep, while you could have been lost, formless, and wandering Nirvana, I kept your identity safe here to keep tabs on you. The first thing I wanted to finish was taking an account of your entire legacy. That's because you have turned the cogs of fate for too many legends. I needed to keep track of it all."

The Prophet imitates his grand procedure of Reminiscence and the entire realm becomes a vision of the world of Runeterra as they stand within the world.

"There you go, narrating again."

"Come on. Let me do this for this part at least. There is no way I can portray this without any detail," Prophet begs dramatically.

Zara shakes his head, but unsurprisingly complies, "Do as you wish."

"Do you remember how you and that follower randomly went to a sandstorm for seemingly no reason?" The prophet asks while dropping the world into the desert oasis.

" Ryze you mean."

"I thought you don't do names, Zara Phim." Prophet poises a theoretical challenge.

"He explicitly stated his name, thus he wanted his name to be known."

"Picking at fine details I see," Prophet dismayed with downright dissatisfaction. "While you may have sacrificed the vessel that the queen nearly exhausted her life for, you did revitalize the Oasis of the Dawn."

An overhead view of a broken woman fallen into a catacomb, hoping the Oasis of the Dawn will save her, faltering before she reaches it. A blood ritual is started and the great emperor of Shurima is reborn. Zara sees hope shine in the eyes of the emperor as the woman in the oasis awakes to bear witness to the glory of Shurima reborn.

"While indirect, in this revival of the Oasis, you have revived the great emperor. One of the great individuals I hoped would become a divine to save Runeterra. With this began a new journey, to rewrite the second story of apocalypse written in the stars, the one that comes before yours."

"I see..." Zara reminisces himself on old memories from a time before even his kingdom was born. "I am glad he bodes well."

The world is flung to the cliff that divides Zaun and Piltover, the one made when Zara plummeted down from the sky. "You may know this only as a bad memory, but rest assured that Zaun survived."

Despite the fierce terrain, markets remain sprawled around the boundary. A church was built to aid the crippled with hextech prosthetics. The Sun Gates stand tall as merchants arrive at the Wharf Docks.

"It's admirable just how tenacious this place truly is." Prophet comments as he looks to Zara who remains speechless at how well they have recovered from catastrophe. A relieved sigh as he finds Evangeline overseeing the production of Hextech Gunblades.

The world flies into the ocean zooming toward ships voyaging through the storm of fish. As they find themselves in the thick of battle, Captain kicks a barrel of coins into the sea and break through the scourge. As they fire their cannons and guns, one man leaps outward carrying the sword Zara used to slay a Nashor. A large woman comes to aid slamming the undead with glowing tentacles to purge them from their suffering.

"It's also admirable how powerful your legacy remains. Their dedication knows no bounds." Sinking into the depths the fish grow fiercer and more dastardly, but a monster rises in his metal suit to hammer through the darkness of the abyss into the glimmer of ten-thousand coins. "Nor does his."

"However, your feat on those isles is beyond comparison. It is a miracle beyond miracles, the revival of The Blessed Isles is finally underway." Amidst the hell-spawn and dreariness of The Shadow Isles lies The Monument to The King. The sword that towers above the sacred tree in a garden of its own creation. The most fiendish of ghosts restored to their living state as the ether that remains within his blade pours out into the souls of the undead. They gather at the sword pray at the king's grave for the life they were given in the hell that they endured.

"Ghosts are merely angels in disguise. While this land may still be wrought with undead, you have finally brought the ether back to this place. The Sacred Tree was the world rune that governed life and death, it was the source of ether in this land that made it flourish. The Blessed Isles was always designed to become the land where angels would preside, yet it never quite reached there. It seemed all, but hopeless after your screwup, but you have made it up tenfold."

Prophet raised his hands to the sky as the sword streamed into this realm of mana. "You have resurrected this undead land and forged the finest destiny. The destiny of The Shadow Isles being a land where the undead presides becoming The Blessed Isles, a land where angels reside. It was all but improbable, but now guaranteed since you have inspired that Dark Lord."

"Really? How does he have anything to do with this?"

"He has everything to do with this. For he made a vow."

"A vow?"

"Yes," The Prophet proclaimed. "A vow for The Cryptic King's rebirth."

"Do you really think he will resurrect me?"

"I know he will. It is destined. For as long as this land remains a land of the undead you cannot return. Yet, if it becomes a place where angels tread, you will surely walk the earth once more."

Zara teared up a little.

"You can stop narrating now."

"You embarrassed?"

"Shut up."

"Ah fine. For now, you should help me out on a project of mine."

"Project? What project?"

"Well... You ever wonder why I am stuck here in the first place?"

...

"Let's just say we are facing the greatest foe this planet could ever encounter: a galaxy."

"You're joking right?"

...

"WHAT?!"

"The enemy is called The Void, and it has already breached this planet. I really didn't want to pressure this world to step up its game, but it really has to. Right now, the voidspawn are minor entities, but it should be made blatantly clear that the Void is galactic in scale. You have already fought the Abyssal Void while you were wandering the bottom of the ocean."

"Wait, you mean those fish are the Void?"

"Most of them. The Void opened a rift at the bottom of the sea for safety initially, but then they got mutated by the undead mist that sank to the bottom of the sea. As such many of the ruthless voidspawns are appearing in the abyss. Since Nautilus is one of the only active threats against them currently, they have been proliferating. Even so, there are surface level breaches. One of the almost world ending breaches was in the northern region of Freljord. It is currently kept under wraps since it was swiftly encased in ice, but another breach occurred in Shurima that was truly devastating. It is not world ending status, but it has forced many of the gods of Shurima to run rampant and nearly destroyed the world that way."

"The gods that should have protected this world, but abandoned their duty? Pathetic. How more dishonorable can you get?"

"Everyone has their reasons. I'm sure even you had yours."

...

"So what exactly is this experiment?"

"In essence, war strategy. I have designed a simulation with legendary champions of this era to fight in an arena. It is meant to serve as a clash of wills to extrapolate on the combat skills of various legends."

"Isn't that hopelessly unbalanced? Legends vary in vastly differing scales."

"It is."

...

"Strength alone is not the key here, it is legacy. The arena does not matter as much as how legend interacts with one another. After all, my magic is based on memories and fate."

"So... What purpose does this serve?"

"Purpose? There isn't really a purpose."

...

"Dude-"

"Ok, I get bored sometimes. I was just sitting here biding my time until I finally come across someone who can finally be an angel. Someone like you. Now I found you, but you're kind of stuck here. Might as well try my simulation."

"I'm not participating in this farce."

"Ah, come on. It's a good way to keep up to date with what's going on in Runeterra. Might not be perfect, but you'll get to experience a bit of what these legendary people have to offer. Plus, she's in-"

"Where is she?"

"Oh geez, settle down. She's not in there exactly since she didn't decide to become a seraph. However, she is here in spirit."

"Why are you pulling my chain?"

"Eh... Well, you're one of the finer legends I've come across. Even when we first met, I could tell you were going to be quite a magnificent legend. I was a bit disappointed with how your life went, but this second life was pretty damn good."

"That's a bit... mundane."

"That's harsh Zara. Unfortunately, I have to agree. However, that's not the only reason I want you to participate. I haven't had a chance to implement my latest experiment yet, but I finally can now that you are here. You have fought the Abyssal Void quite well, but as of now it is only the second most dangerous spawn point for the void."

"Really now? So the other points on Runeterra are more dangerous."

"Not even. Remember how I said that the Void is a galactic threat?"

"You can't be serious..."

"Yep, we need someone to cut down the Galactic Void. The only way to spawn there is to create a crystal for you to spawn from so you can get back here when you are done. However, to do so I need to practice summoning you with a crystal which I have been practicing with using the other experiment."

"That's fine and dandy, but... why don't you do this to summon me on Runeterra."

"Drat... Thought I could gloss over that one. Well, I'll be honest here I guess. I could manifest you on The Shadow Isles even in its current state. However, when I say I need a crystal to summon you with, the issue is the size of this crystal."

"Size?"

"Yeah... It's fine in deep space cause there is a lot of empty space, but definitely not on any planet."

"The fuck do you mean? How big is this thing."

"Well, the crystal is the size of a star."

...

"For you to even fight in space, you need to constantly be fighting on that crystal too so..."

"Fine. I get it."

"You get it, hold on you mean you're in?"

"As long as you aren't fucking with me, sure. Though it sure sounds like you are fucking with me."

"Heh... Seriously though, I was tasked with building an elite force of angels to challenge the upper ranks of the Void. It's a miracle that you exist and I'm honored to have you fighting alongside me."

"Fighting alongside you? You aren't even fighting."

"Not yet... not yet."

---

Thanks for reading the first of two epilogues for Zara, Reminiscence. This is the last of the three epic ballads and the only unsung ballad. It's better that way in my opinion, and this song is calm enough to ignore lyrical direction. While I did say that the previous chapter was the final chapter, it is the final chapter of his second life. I didn't make this story on the idea that Zara would not enter League of Legends.

I'm not going to explicitly explain the meaning of this in the storytelling of the next chapter, so I might as well explain it here. If it isn't clear enough already, the voice telling Zara to get up is the Queen. More specifically, it is the Queen that Zara fell upon when he died. Due to Zara losing his senses, he could not see his wife in the end. Zara guessed she was there, but wasn't certain how. In his perspective, that guess may have simply been an illusion--the memories flashing past him as he dies.

What Zara is witnessing is the events associated with the Queen in the eyes of the Sacred Tree. The Sacred Tree was not destroyed by Zara. The Queen had her own adventure while Zara sunk into the abyss. Her adventure stemming from the desperation of curing her pain and form as an abomination that The Ruined King created.

It was in this adventure that she gathered holy magic on the magnitude of a Seraph. Yet the drain on her mana was so enormous that she had the idea of coming back to the Sacred Tree to claim it as a mana vessel. However, she was given the memories of what Zara did before he ruined The Blessed Isles.

The Queen moved by her husband's reckless determination and guilt over her selfish pursuit of power compelled her to use the Sacred Tree to resurrect Zara instead of maintaining her beautiful form. Though with the Sacred Tree already spent on magic, she imbued a staff with all of her angelic power to become a World Rune class item as an offering to the tree for Zara's resurrection.

It was named Seraph's Embrace, because no matter where Zara is, an angel would be there to hold him. The powerful barrier that protects Zara from massive hits like from gunfire, cannonballs, and weather is the shield from Seraph's Embrace. Her magic spent, she became one of the many souls of The Maiden of The Mist, in hopes that one day Zara would find his way back to The Shadow Isles.

As for the legs, that was her sacrifice on her journey. It's just like how Zara sacrificed his head and left arm. It's a representation of Phantom Pain, something that should be there, but is not anymore. In this case, someone.

I might have said too much as I don't really know how much I will cover this in the final epilogue. However, I think it's better to get these thoughts out there instead of leaving it in my head.

Thanks for reading/listening to the last of the epic ballads as well as the metastory. What happened to The Shadow Isles in the final epilogue? [sg-lux-2]

Arc 1: Our King Returns

1. A Distant Memory

Arc 2: Method to the Madness 9. Dawn upon Zaun

Arc 3: A Reason to Remember 30. No More 31. At the Garden Ep1. Reminiscence