Chapter 1 - Introduction
It was a gloomy day. But every day was gloomy for the Master of Shadows; be it rain or sunshine, harmony or cataclysm. The masked and fully armored man walked across the narrow hallway of the League dorm. It was going to be his first day here and he had just arrived. According to the summoner at the reception, his room was just right around the corner and impossible to miss. But she was wrong. The now frustrated ninja quickened his pace, his footsteps becoming louder and less discreet.
Zed shook his head and huffed just as he bumped into a smaller figure and met the ground butt-first. It became apparent that the other party also fell to the ground as the loud thud echoed against the walls around them. The man growled deeply and one of his gloved hands shot up on instinct to rub his throbbing head. Then, he heard a gasp coming from the careless individual. He cocked an eyebrow. It was a woman. He quickly composed himself, not wanting to be seen by a passing champion or summoner. Getting a closer look at the suspect, she turned out to be a very young woman; two years younger than him at the least, and was quite the beauty.
The Shadow Master was not one to judge by appearance. Mortals were, after all, foolish and naive; blind to the truth. Blinded by beauty. Of course, he, too, was a mortal, but he had long strayed away from that mentality. Such foolishness. However, something about this young woman had him rather interested. He had to admit she was beautiful, not that it mattered anyway, but there was an aura of familiarity around her. And he just could not put his finger on what it was.
"Mister?" Her melodic voice filled his ears and snapped him out of his deep thoughts. He lifted his head to look straight into her eyes. He saw curiosity - and a little bit of fear. He found it nothing surprising as that was the look every other mortal gave him when they saw him. "Are you well? I'm truly sorry. I did not see where I was going." She said apologetically, slightly lowering her gaze to the carpeted floor. Zed assumed that she hadn't wanted to look into his unworldly red eyes behind his dark mask, but he did not speak anything of it.
"It's alright. I'm fine." He nodded, his voice deep and gruff, "But just watch where you're going next time. You might bump into someone- less considerate." She vigorously nodded her head, looking a little bit embarrassed and fearful at the same time. Before the man could turn around to leave, the girl mumbled something unintelligible. He merely turned his head at the slightest as a gesture to let her start talking. "You look unfamiliar. Are you by any chance the new champion who's supposed to arrive today?" She questioned curtly. Zed nodded his head and turned to fully face her.
"Oh, then, hi! And welcome to the League!" She squealed and clapped her hands together lightly, her face now glowing with excitement. "Uhm, thank you. I'm Zed, the Master of Shadows." He replied shortly. It was only polite to introduce oneself when meeting someone. And although he considered himself inhuman, he still kept his manners and common courtesy. "I already know about you, silly. We were all told about you." She giggled, raising her hand in front of her for him to shake, "And I'm Syndra, the Dark Sovereign. It's a pleasure, Master of Shadows."
The gauche ninja slowly pulled his glove off and lifted his large calloused hand to meet with the girl's smaller one. He did not associate with a lot of girls (other than Akali, when he was younger), and he certainly has never touched one before. Electricity shot through his veins as his skin came into contact with hers. He knew it was silly and he was overreacting, but this gesture was something so foreign to him. The girl simply wore a sheepish smile throughout the whole thing. As quickly as he shot out his hand, he pulled it back towards him and fumbled his glove back on.
What is this feeling, the thought to himself, eyebrows furrowed. How so very confusing. "I can show you to your room, if you don't mind. It's face to face with mine and it's just round that bend." She offered happily while pointing towards a bend that led to another dark corridor. "T-That would be nice." He said, slightly stuttering. The girl then spun on her heels and trudged towards their destination. The man followed shortly behind, studying her back intently. The long hem at the back of her black dress swept the floor behind her. Does she like being a mop? Zed puzzled. Humans were unfathomable.
She had long white hair that hung down to her lower back and a funny-looking apparel on her head. What a strange being. He stopped short in his tracks just as she halted. She rested a hand against a wooden door and chuckled, "Here we are! This will be your new room from now on." "Thank you very much for your kind help, Syndra." Zed thanked, smiling ever so slightly underneath his mask. Of course, Syndra was not known of it. Nobody has ever seen the ninja smile. Nobody has ever made him smile. "Don't worry about it. If you need further assistance, don't hesitate to call me. I'm right in front of you!" She smiled widely.
"I'll see you tomorrow then...Zed!" And with one last toothy grin, the girl disappeared behind the door of her own room. Zed smiled again before entering his new homestead. The room was not what he had expected. It was quite large for a mere dorm room and was cleaned up well. A comfortable-looking single bed sat in the far corner of the room next to a big glass door that led to the balcony. It was well furnished with a dressing table, a bed stand, a study table, a toilet and shower. Not bad, the man nodded to himself, I could get used to this. It was nothing compared to his old abode, but it was beyond his expectations of a murky, dark chamber.
The exhausted man chucked his things beside the bed and stretched his sore muscles. Travelling was undoubtedly not his favorite thing and he swore to avoid it in future. He cautiously lifted his heavy metal helmet off his head, releasing his soft, ruffled white hair to escape the stuffiness of it. He sat down on the bed for what seemed like an eternity before falling into deep thought once more. What was he going to do now? Suddenly, Syndra popped into his head like a floating lightbulb. "If you need further assistance, don't hesitate to call me!" Her chirpy voice and unceasing smile appeared in his mind. She was such a mysterious being; and he wished to know more about her. Perhaps he would find her for inquiries later on.
Yes, that sounded nice. For the first time in ages, the Master of Shadows smiled beyond his mask.
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Forgive me if it was awfully short 〜(￣▽￣〜) 〜(￣▽￣)〜 (〜￣▽￣)〜
