17 Who Dares Stand in My Way Shall be Vanquished!

In the heartbeat before decision, a profound intuition pierced Kai'Sa's thoughts.

Her gut told her that parting ways now might mean they'd never find each other again.

So, without second thoughts, she made what seemed to Kane an utterly reckless move—striking at the burrower's leg-spikes, aiming to shatter the barrier before her.

Yet Kane was right, as always.

Her decisive strike, fueled by a resolve to kill, was thwarted by something that intercepted her claw in a flash.

Stunned, she looked up to see a resilient tentacle wound around her armguard, clutching the descending claw with unyielding force.

It was the burrower's tongue!

Sudden contraction pulled her skyward, and below awaited a maw of gnashing teeth, pulsating with hunger, seemingly able to grind bone to dust.

A fall would mean certain death.

"No!"

In an instant, Kane lunged forward, his slight frame crashing against the burrower's body, to no avail.

At the peak of her flight, Kai'Sa began to descend. Witnessing Kane's desperate assaults on the beast, tears broke free.

At the brink of life and death, time seemed to slow.

It wasn't her life flashing before her eyes but the vision of Kane's lonely silhouette without her.

A burning desire to grow stronger, volcanic in its urgency, erupted uncontrollably, the fierce conviction reverberating within her chest.

If only...

If only she had been stronger, not failed Kane's expectations...

How could she allow this creature to tear them apart?

How could she be swept away by death, weeping?

How could Kane be left to dwell in darkness alone?

The heat of her fervor infused into her Void carapace, or perhaps it was the carapace sensing the imminent threat of death.

Her fist clenched, the carapace unleashed formidable energy. In a moment, purplish light swelled in her hand, and an oddly shaped energy crystal materialized a mere inch from her fist.

Unaware of how it happened, driven by an intense survival instinct, the crystal's tip blasted out purplish bolts that plunged into the burrower's gullet.

The bolts exploded within the beastly abyss, sending a nauseating stench and Kai'Sa flying upwards with the resultant force.

Fortuitously, she landed on Kane.

Without a word, he caught her, clinging on even as the impact sent them tumbling back against the cavern wall.

Their eyes met, tearful with the joy of a narrow escape, then drawn to the burning figure of the burrower.

The monstrous creature wailed terribly.

Its body, torn and ruptured, poured out black ichor ignited by purple flames, burning from within like a grease fire.

The searing Void flames consumed the burrower from the inside out, and Kane could tell—they were of the Void's making.

At last, the creature's perforated bulk collapsed, a burnt torch extinguishing with a thunderous fall.

Dead... The formidable beast that stood insurmountable moments ago was no more.

Kane's astonished gaze returned to Kai'Sa's armguard, first repulsed as he tore off the singed tongue still clinging to her arm, then studied the miraculous crystal at its end.

A mere glance was enough for him to understand—it was a long-range weapon, birthed from the carapace, comprised of pure Void energy. The irregular multifaceted crystal hovered like a savage-cut amethyst knuckle-duster, resembling a purple crescent moon suspended just an inch from her fist.

The crystal could unleash potent plasma and fire bolts, destined to become Kai'Sa's main armament.

Kane had thought such a weapon would only emerge after full carapace coverage, yet it was prematurely activated in dire necessity.

Apart from her fierce will to live, his strategy of resource allocation played a significant part, ensuring the stored energy in her carapace was sufficient to crystallize the amethyst blade.

As the light within the blade dimmed, ready to be reabsorbed, Kai'Sa spotted the voidling swarm recoiling from the burning carcass. Wisely, before the blade dispersed, she fired bolt after bolt to form a barricade of fire around them, halting the swarm's advance.

She then seized Kane's hand, and together they fled down the chosen tunnel until darkness swallowed the deadly flames behind them.

...

They collapsed exhausted in another passage.

Tunnel after tunnel—always tunnels.

Here below, apart from caves and abysses, there were no other landscapes.

Their only encounter with a "lake" had witnessed a "birth," attracting a lethal pursuit by the Void creatures.

First terror at the brush with death, then the relentless running; Kai'Sa's tears had long since merged with her sweat, indistinguishable.

"That was incredibly intense!" Kai'Sa exclaimed, rolling up her sleeves to wipe her sweaty cheeks and push back the sticky hair from her forehead.

As she wiped her face, the markings on her cheeks and forehead grew ever more distinct.

"Intense? Intensely insane! I almost lost you," Kane shot up, his eyes dark pits that unnerved her.

"Uh, haha..." Kai'Sa fumbled for words: "In that situation, there wasn't much choice, you know?"

Trying to make amends, she crawled over to wipe his sweat, only to be shoved away.

She landed with a thud, utterly baffled.

"You're far too disobedient! If you don't scare me to death first, you'll surely anger me to death!"

With those words, he stood up, ready to walk away as if to leave her behind.

Kai'Sa, accustomed to respect in her village, was incensed by such treatment and bellowed in the loudest voice she could muster: "If I'd listened to you, we wouldn't be together right now!"

The words slipped out before she could stop them.

In reality, Kane's choice had been logical, while she had stumbled upon an unforeseen option by pure chance.

"I haven't even started with you, and you're back-talking? Fine, then I'm leaving. You won't have to listen anymore!"

Kane turned and strode away, kicking a stone in the tunnel in frustration. Its reckless path made Kai'Sa realize the depth of his anger.

She swallowed hard, soothing her fiery throat, then sprinted ahead to block his path.

Still met with his cold gaze, she sensed he was giving her a chance to explain.

"If this will make you feel better..." Kai'Sa nervously swallowed again, turned her back to him, and tentatively offered herself up:

"Then please, punish me as you see fit!"

"?!"

Kane's expression twisted. Was this where the situation had led?

Did she believe a few spankings would excuse her mistakes?

Was it her misunderstanding, or had he taught her wrongly?