There are voices that whisper, fading into nothing like the neon-green lights of the Firelights. In the same way, the screams of a child echo in the depths of a dark place—a place where blood splashes endlessly, agonizingly, painfully.
The lights flicker, again and again. The screams grow louder, and tears spill.
In the end, death embraced him and carried him away from his suffering.
When that happened, Midas opened his eyes. He found himself beside the campfire, breathing heavily. Cold sweat ran down his forehead as he sat up to catch his breath, the faint glow of the fire illuminating his face.
At that moment, a pair of tears slid down his cheeks, and a sharp, stabbing pain wrapped around his entire body.
That pain still felt real—so real that it was enough to make him cry. It had been a horrible nightmare.
No… it was more than a nightmare.
It was a memory.
Suddenly, a sound nearby interrupted the disturbed expression on Midas's face.
"Hehe… hm…" It was Briar, sleeping peacefully beside a rock. She lay on the ground, laughing as if nothing in the world mattered. That laugh calmed Midas's nerves a little.
It was still dark. The moon hung high in the sky, and a cold wind pushed through Midas's hair.
'It's been a while since I had that dream…'
Midas looked down, his eyes dull. The screams still echoed in his mind, and the stabbing pain lingered faintly. When he lowered his gaze, he noticed that the scar on his chest had shrunk, and that strange gray color was still there—in fact, it had spread about two more centimeters across his skin.
'Maybe I remembered that moment because Briar said that person's name. Vlad… Vladimir…'
With a sigh, he stood up. His bound hands and long hair covering his face made him look like a madman wandering through the forest at night.
"It doesn't matter anymore. I'm not there anymore. I won't go back…"
He shut his eyes tightly, engraving that resolve into his mind like iron.
His goal would remain clear. He had escaped his prison. Sadness was not an option. He had grown up as a solitary man in a cell, so now he would act like one. He had stopped being a child long ago—it was time to become stronger.
Once he steadied himself, Midas sat down beside the fire and looked at Briar in silence. Several minutes passed like that, until he realized he couldn't fall asleep.
"I don't know how you can sleep so peacefully… None of the deaths you caused weigh on you, unlike me."
The difference between them was still there…
***
The next day, Midas and Briar set out to climb a mountain. It was faster to go up and over than to walk around it. With everything ready, the fire extinguished, and their tracks erased, they were prepared.
They walked along a path surrounded by trees. The sun was blazing that morning, so the heat was intense. In fact, Midas was drenched in sweat as he walked. Briar, on the other hand, looked as fresh and carefree as ever.
"Kicking is kind of one of my talents. You'd be surprised what you can learn to do with your feet when your hands are tied."
"Huh, really? I guess I've had the same experience. Though kicking things isn't exactly my thing."
"If you learned how to fight, it'd be really good for you, Midas. You could kick your enemies, and also defend yourself from wild animals. We could even fight together against anything that comes our way—like real friends do."
"I have my own specialty. I don't need hand-to-hand combat."
"You mean your magic? What's the point of having magic if you can't use it?"
Midas frowned.
"It's not that I can't use magic. It's just… unstable."
That was a lie. Midas was unstable—not his magic. His magic was perfect in its own mysterious way. However, due to the trauma he suffered ten years ago, every time he looked at his hands and tried to release his power, the memories of people turning into solid gold came rushing back.
"Hmm… Magic is complicated. I once read a book full of funny scribbles, and suddenly I felt stronger. I think that's when I learned that if I throw my hemolith at something, I can launch myself toward it."
"The thing you did to that scroll vendor…"
Midas didn't want to remember that. It had been so graphic he felt like throwing up.
"Yeah, that. You know… maybe if you read one of those weird books, you could learn to control your magic—or even learn new magic. I'm not a witch or anything, so I can't really recommend anything."
"…Learn…" Midas muttered, thoughtful, picking up his pace.
"So, how did you find out you could use magic?"
Interesting question. Midas wouldn't have been taken to Noxus if he weren't a man of magic. How did he discover mana flowing through his body? The answer was actually simple.
"It's not like I just knew from the start. When I was eight, some idiots locked me inside a box to make fun of me. My sister showed up and beat the hell out of them, obviously. When she helped me out of the box, that's when I first experienced magic. And… there are two versions of the story—mine and hers. In my version, I felt something lighting up the inside of the box. I was afraid of the dark back then, so I thought it was some kind of Piltover artifact someone had thrown away. But my sister saw something different. When she pulled me out, she told me there was a small ball of light following me. It disappeared when I left the box. I didn't realize that was magic until much later."
"So that light was your magic?"
Midas fell silent, remembering what happened after.
"It was supposed to be, but…"
An image crossed his mind. The expression on Maissa's face back then. At the time, Midas hadn't understood it. Now, remembering it, he could see the worry and fear in her eyes.
"But?"
Midas shook his head. With a sigh, he replied:
"Forget it. Let's talk about it some other time."
"What? But I wanted to know."
"I'll tell you another day. Let's keep moving. At this pace, it'll take us way too long to reach Zaun, so we need to focus. Save your energy. We'll find something to eat when the sun is at its peak."
"Oh, food. You know I like that."
"Yeah… of course…"
***
It took them three days to climb the mountain. They spent two more days crossing the summit eastward, hunting small animals and birds to eat. They drank rainwater and rested in the shade of trees.
During that short time, there were two occasions when Briar almost killed Midas. She couldn't always control herself when she lost control. She kept saying, "I decide when I lose control," but that very thing nearly got Midas killed twice.
Imagine Midas—a thin, weak man—running through the trees while a crazed girl with a monstrous face chased after him. It was truly terrifying for him. He hadn't been able to sleep properly because of it, and he even had nightmares.
There were many moments like that, not worth mentioning. Their life over those days consisted of walking, eating, and sleeping. Occasionally, something Briar did would bring a faint smile to Midas's face.
Like the time Midas spotted a wild fruit on a tree but couldn't reach it because his hands were bound. Briar took advantage of that and kicked the tree with incredible force, knocking the fruit down. Midas was surprised, and seeing Briar celebrate the strength of her kick, he smiled—as if he were already getting used to having a friend.
On the fourteenth day, in the morning, the scenery from the heights changed. A vast stretch of water teeming with life came into view—a beach and a coastal settlement at the foot of the mountain.
"Look, Midas! It's the sea! Haha! It's huge!"
Briar jumped, pointing at the ocean with her sharp nail, while Midas gazed at it with nostalgia.
After recalling the waters near his hometown, Midas knelt down and struggled to pull out the map.
"We're near the Rokrund Plains. There are three coastal settlements around here: Qualthala, Rokrund, and Stonewall—the last one being the farthest. Even though we're closer to Zaun and Piltover now, we're still in Noxian territory, so we can't approach the settlements. If anyone recognizes us, we'll be in trouble, and the soldiers around here will come hunting us."
"But that's so boring. We've been walking nonstop, day after day. There's nothing wrong with visiting people…"
"Didn't you hear what I said? We're fugitives—escaped experiments. Unless we leave Noxus, we can't go near other people. Besides, we're lucky we haven't been attacked by bandits already. It's better to stay out of sight."
"Sometimes I think you're the king of boring."
Tired of Briar's insistence, Midas put the map away and sighed. There was a lot to consider. They needed to descend the mountain without alerting the locals and then enter Piltover's territory. The best option was by sea—but these coasts still belonged to Noxus.
"Aah… I know it's boring, but we don't have another choice. It'd be better to go to Rokrund and find someone to take us across the sea to Piltover by ship, but that costs a lot of money—and like I said, we're fugitives."
"That doesn't mean we can't do whatever we want. Come on, Midas, don't be a chicken. How many times were we close to dying on the way here?"
"You? Twice. Me? Five times—and most of those were your fault."
"Hahaha. I didn't know when to stop. But what matters now is what we're going to do. Right now, we're heading to one of those towns and getting a boat. We're crossing the sea, sailor!"
The idea was good, yes—but Briar didn't understand how risky it was. They could gamble their lives by going into a town and hoping no one recognized them, but that didn't guarantee they'd leave without raising suspicion.
While Briar watched him, Midas thought it over seriously. Traveling by ship could shorten the journey significantly—what would take one or two months on foot could be reduced to just a week or two at sea.
"You can do it, Midas. I'll watch your back, I promise. I'll protect you like you protected me back then."
"Back then?"
Briar nodded, and Midas raised his eyebrows as he remembered the fight against Darius. The overwhelming defeat they suffered made no sense—at least not to them. It was something Midas sometimes thought about. In fact, he doubted he would ever forget the pain of being struck in the chest by an axe. And yet, despite everything, he had charged in without hesitation just to protect Briar.
"It was amazing… Even though you're ridiculously weak and didn't actually do anything. But your blood helped us escape."
"…Yeah… I guess it did…"
Shame flared in Midas's chest. He had tried to act like a hero to save a girl just because she reminded him of his older sister. Calling that anything more than selfishness would be generous.
But in that moment, he had tried to be someone he wasn't—something completely different from who he had always been… That had to be more than simple selfishness, right?
"So stop thinking and let's go get a boat."
…
…
'This woman is unbelievably stubborn…'
On the verge of collapse—and knowing Briar could kill him at any moment—Midas agreed to go after a boat. Their destination: Rokrund. If they departed from there, they could reach Piltover much faster than originally planned. But as always, the journey wouldn't be easy.
At that moment, a strange creature the size of four cargo ships moved through the waters near Noxus. Its eyes glowed with a mysterious purple light, and it was completely starving.
"When we get a boat, we'll reach your home so fast you won't even notice. Oh—and when we get there, I want to eat food from your city."
"Yeah, yeah. That's what we'll do…"