"Let me weigh your worth!"
Pride's massive frame expanded to match Nasus's towering form. Every move mirrored his opponent's perfectly — blow for blow, spell for spell.
If Nasus fought with a great axe, then Pride would answer with his halberd.
If Nasus conjured flames through magic, then Pride would pierce the void with his breath.
If Nasus swelled his body to godlike proportions, then Pride would not fall behind.
Each strike mirrored and countered the other, but in that perfect symmetry, Pride's inner arrogance burned even brighter.
He would use his opponent's power against him — not merely to defy him, but to prove who stood above.
His father's voice echoed faintly in his memory.
"Pride means standing above all —
To make the world kneel before you, in awe of their own weakness."
Now, standing amidst the desert winds, Pride bared his fangs.
"Tell me, god — are you prepared to lose?"
"Tell me where she is, and I'll leave. End this meaningless battle!"
Nasus's voice, wrapped in storm and sand, thundered through the dunes. But Pride met his gaze unflinching, his voice sharp as a blade.
"I already told you — look up to me, jackal!"
"Then face death!"
Nasus's body expanded again, the runes of the Ascended blazing with golden light. Yet his speed and ferocity did not wane — they intensified. The great axe in his hand split the void itself, leaving a blazing scar of light across the sky.
The weapon, set with a sea-blue gem inscribed "430," met Pride's dark halberd in a deafening crash.
When divine weapons clashed, the world trembled.
The shockwave surged outward like ten thousand warhorses charging across the sands.
Within seconds, the desert roared alive — golden dunes rolling like tidal waves, sweeping endlessly into the distance.
Halberd and axe met and parted, meeting again faster than the eye could follow. In the span of a heartbeat, they had already collided over a thousand times.
Thunderous booms echoed through the desert like a storm without end.
"Death is my companion," Nasus growled, "and decay shall be yours!"
After another clash, Nasus retreated two steps. One hand gripped his axe; the other gathered an ominous glow of power.
A strange scent filled the air — sweet and fatal.
Before Pride's eyes, a lavender mist spiraled into a spectral bloom: the Flower of Death.
Nasus's skill: Wither.
Pride's movements suddenly slowed. The magic corroded his internal systems, rust blooming along his mechanical veins.
But in the next instant, power surged through his blood — the anti-magic stone embedded within him flared to life, dispelling the curse and awakening his self-repair protocols.
From every seam in his armor, countless micro-machines poured forth, replacing corroded parts with blinding speed.
It all happened in an instant.
The armor on Pride's chest opened, revealing a crystalline flower that bloomed like ice beneath the sun. Pride grasped it — and crushed it in his hand.
"Descend into hell!"
The shards fell to the ground, pulsing with stored energy. A heartbeat later, the desert floor erupted.
From beneath the sands, countless crystal spikes burst upward like a forest of glass spears, swallowing Nasus whole.
They pierced through his flesh, and a muffled groan echoed within the crystalline prison. But before the next heartbeat, the Desert God shattered his confinement, his blood splattering across the sand as his axe fell.
"Burn," Pride growled, "until even your soul turns to ash!"
Runes blazed beneath Nasus's feet — a blue totem ignited, summoning the Soulfire of the Ascended. Flames surged outward, engulfing Pride.
Through the inferno, Pride's roar split the sky.
"My life was given by my father!"
"And no one but him will ever take it from me!!"
The dragon's maw opened wide — and a surge of nuclear breath roared forth, tearing through the sandstorm.
Nasus's form blurred, leaving only afterimages as he blinked above Pride's head, his axe plunging downward.
But Pride's armor split open, missile bays unfolding. A storm of warheads erupted upward, their explosions swallowing Nasus in fire.
As the flames consumed the god, Pride swung his halberd in a single, ruthless motion—
Shkkt!
The blade pierced Nasus clean through, lifting him into the air like a skewered beast.
Nasus gritted his teeth against the pain.
Within the halberd, Tayanari — the fallen god bound inside — felt the familiar divine presence and fell into bitter silence.
He had severed his connection to Pride the moment the battle began.
Once a god turned Darkin — now trapped inside a weapon, forced to fight an old comrade. The humiliation was beyond words.
But if he didn't intervene now, Nasus would die.
Though the Ascended healed like flames in a forge — ever burning brighter — Pride still had yet to reveal his full hand.
And Pride… cared for no one but that man.
"Archmage Nasus!"
Tayanari's voice echoed in Nasus's mind. The god's eyes widened. "Who are you?"
"I don't have time to explain," Tayanari answered quickly. "The bloodline of Ascension is safe. Stop fighting Pride. Go find Duke!"
"Find Duke Sanchez — the bloodline is at his side!"
"Raaahhh!"
Pride roared, flinging Nasus aside with a sweep of his halberd. He took a step forward, only to hear Tayanari's voice within.
"Enough. He won't fight you anymore."
"You don't get to speak!"
Pride strode forward, sand crunching beneath his armored feet. Nasus, lying wounded in the dunes, looked up at the halberd in Pride's grasp — recognition dawning in his eyes.
"So the rumors were true…"
Only another Ascended would have known that name — Archmage.
Tayanari sighed within the weapon but offered no reply.
"Will you continue, jackal?"
Pride loomed over him, the crimson light of his eyes burning through the haze. Nasus's chest and abdomen were pierced through; his blood pooled in the sand, hardening to glass.
"You've won, mighty dragon," Nasus said heavily, "but the pride of the Ascended will never fade."
"Hmph."
Pride's eyes glowed brighter, ready to strike again — but Tayanari's voice stopped him.
"Don't forget Duke's command!"
The light in Pride's eyes flickered. Finally, he lowered his halberd.
"Gods," he sneered, "are nothing special."
"I'll tell Father about your weakness."
With that, Pride turned away, following the faint resonance of Original Sin — the signal of Wrath.
That damn mutt had vanished the same day Father did.
Did he really think he could ignore his eldest brother?
Pride folded his halberd, transforming into a sleek motorbike, and sped across the sands — leaving Nasus alone beneath the desert sun.
Nasus watched the receding trail, voice heavy with sorrow.
"How can I save you, my fallen kin…"
His eyes lingered on the fading glint of the halberd, then closed, the desert wind swallowing his sigh.
The next day.
Across the golden dunes, a plume of dust rolled toward the horizon — kicked up by a roaring four-wheeled desert rally car.
Its thick, treaded tires bit deep into the sand, built for grip and stability. Solar panels lined its roof, glinting beneath the sun, while its reinforced chassis absorbed the shocks of the rough terrain.
The engine hummed low, silent enough not to stir the sand beasts below — or alert the desert raiders lurking beyond the dunes.
"This ride is amazing! Way better than any sand beast I've ever used!"
Sivir exclaimed from the driver's seat.
"Eyes on the road," Duke said without looking up.
"There's no one out here but sand and wind. Relax!"
Sivir brushed him off cheerfully, and Duke didn't bother arguing. If she wanted to act wild, let her. With Edith's systems running, nothing catastrophic would happen — probably.
Turning his attention to the backseat, Duke saw Taliyah and Kai'Sa sitting behind them. The little sparrow had long grown used to these vehicles — after all, the Wolfcar Wrath used wasn't any slower than this one.
Kai'Sa, though, was wide-eyed with curiosity. Even after traveling some distance, she still kept fiddling with the interior buttons, her fascination as pure as a child's.
"Duke, what does this button do?"
She pointed to one beside her seat. Duke gave it a quick glance.
"That's sleep mode."
"Sleep mode?"
Kai'Sa pressed it — her seat reclined and slid back, transforming into a single bed.
"And this one?"
"That's massage."
Duke answered patiently, though his tone was flat.
"Oh!"
Kai'Sa pressed the next button, and her seat began to hum softly. She leaned back, eyes half-closing in delight.
Whirr—
A low rush of wind caught Duke's attention. Something streaked past the car — a yellow blur tearing through the desert like a gust of lightning.
It was fast. Unbelievably fast.
"What was that?"
Sivir had seen it too — a spinning shadow racing ahead of them, kicking up a thin trail of sand that vanished almost instantly.
The dust behind their car was massive by comparison, but the mysterious figure's speed dwarfed theirs completely.
Duke narrowed his eyes. Ahead, that golden blur rolled endlessly forward — a figure clad in armor, curled into a perfect sphere, spinning across the sands.
He recognized it instantly.
Sliding on his Edith headset, he took control of the vehicle's systems.
"That's Rammus."
"No way!" Sivir blurted. "Rammus is just a legend!"
"Then we'll find out."
Duke smirked, pushing the throttle to its limit. The car roared forward, the speedometer climbing rapidly.
"Everyone, hold on tight," Duke said, eyes flashing with excitement. "Let's see just how fast that thing can roll."
End of chapter....
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