Chapter 10: Failure and Dejection
Akali brooded. She knew it was her fault. No one scolded her, though they probably thought she lost her edge. Her reputation could fall among the League. The Summoners could penalize her for slipping in the ranks if they didn’t profit off her while betting on her. Most of all, Akali worried about losing the goodwill of her fellow champions. So Akali thought she would rectify her mistakes by talking it over with her friends. The first person she contacted was Shen, who reassured her everything was fine before she talked to Thresh. Once more, Akali headed to the Shadow Isles. She stealthed herself in a cloud shroud from any passing hostile spirits and revenants before she realized Thresh was waiting for her, as usual, in the same spot. Akali emerged from her smoke shroud and bowed towards Thresh.

“I apologize for the match, yesterday,” Akali said while bowing her head. “It was my fault.”

Thresh pondered for a moment. “You didn’t come here to tell me that, I’m sure.”

Akali took a deep breath. She didn’t come here solely for that. Maybe she lied to herself and she made an excuse to see Thresh again, despite Shen’s protests against her seeing the specter. But she had to know. There was something she needed to know. Shen wasn’t providing the answers for her. If she had to go to these godforsaken isles to find the answers, if she kept company to a mad man to learn them, she would.

“Does dying on the Rift…have something to do with my mother?”

Thresh paused for a moment. “I have some suspicions, but I don’t know everything on my own. That’s where I’ll need your help to do something. I realized that the Summoners keep a key to a vault where they keep something extremely private and locked away. Only someone with the key can get into the vaults that the Summoners enter through. I want you to use your feminine charms to seduce a young Summoner and take the key from him while exploring that vault.”

“That sounds like a tall order,” Akali’s eyes narrowed when Thresh mentioned a secret room the Summoners had. No champion went there before. Those who attempted to try were severely punished. Just what could be in that room? Her curiosity got the better of her. “All right, I’ll do it.”

“Good,” Thresh said. “Make sure that the others don’t know. One of the Summoners suspects me for trying to get into the vault, so this is where you come in. Also, it’s best if you don’t tell anyone else about this venture; the fewer that know about it and attempt it, the less likely the Summoners will get suspicious of us.”

Akali listened before she stared off into the distance. Something bothered her for a while and she wondered if Thresh would answer her questions. He dangled tantalizing pieces of information for her, though she figured the cunning wraith let her glimpse the tip of the iceberg, before letting her dive deeper into the depths of the unknown to discover things for herself. What was it Thresh had seen? What had her mother had seen? What was it that caused the Summoners to lead to her eventual death? It couldn’t be a coincidence…could it? No, the puzzle pieces started to come together, though the pieces of information that Akali had were warped and didn’t form a complete picture—some pieces were the wrong shape and others barely showed a glimpse of what the overall picture could be. It was all wreathed in the shadows.

“What do you know of my mother?”

She felt as though she were a starving wolf coming after a raw bone hide he threw out to her, trying to piece together everything, trying to think of what this overall picture meant. Some of them came together, and she figured doing this task led her to more answers she needed. Though at first, she was afraid Thresh was going to leave her on a lingering note of disappointment because she failed her last task. Or perhaps this was a lesson he wanted to teach her? It was an unpleasant experience, but maybe you could learn more from your failures rather than your successes. Isn’t that what her mother always said? Did her mother have a relationship with this specter that was similar to hers in the present? She needed to know!

“I knew that she looked exactly like you,” Thresh said. It’s a little suspicious, isn’t it? That a mother and daughter have that close of a resemblance to one another.”

“I guess it’s not so strange, at times,” Akali said, furrowing her brow a little again. “It’s just our genes.”

“I’m not talking about just passing familial resemblance. I mean that your mother, to a T, looked exactly like you.”

Akali shifted on her feet. Interesting. There was something about this conversation still tugging at the back of her mind, which involved the circumstances of her mother’s death. Akali couldn’t quite recall the circumstances behind her mother’s death, though she was sure she had a mother, didn’t she? All of them did. But there was something about the entire circumstance that puzzled her further and further. Thresh voiced the same thoughts she did.

“And your mother died under mysterious circumstances,” Thresh said. “Usually, Champions don’t die, do they? That’s another strange thing.”

“That is also true,” Akali said. “Though Shen told me that this forbidden knowledge could lead to something that ends up in disappointment or disillusionment. He asks me what I’m going to do with that knowledge.”

“Ah, Shen,” Thresh said. “He suspects something, but he’s an obedient dog to the Summoners. No, I needed someone with a little…rebellious streak in them.”

“You could’ve simply picked someone else,” Akali wondered why Thresh chose her of all people.

“Your skills as a shinobi will come in handy here,” Thresh said. “And I have confidence in your skills."

“I'm glad that you have confidence in me," Akali said. "But the Summoners also have abilities that we don't know of. They’re very powerful yes, but if they’re able to contain gods like Xerath or you...what does that say about the rest of us?"

"I can't say for sure," Thresh said. "But this is something that we'll discover together. I know that you seek answers, and you've been restless and unsatisfied after the Summoners told you that your mother was executed for not obeying their will. I'm not sure how all this connects, but I've got a sneaking suspicion that I need to have confirmed...all of this ties into how Champions die on the Rift but come back as though brand new, why your mother looks so much like you, and everything else. I'm puzzling things together, but they're not quite fitting yet."

"I need to reflect on this as well," Akali appeared solemnly. "But this means not telling Shen anything? I hate keeping secrets from him; surely you must know that."

"If this is to work, then you will not tell him," Thresh warned. "I suppose that I will be seeing you off then. However, there is one more thing that I need to tell you,"

Akali paused, listening. She wondered what else Thresh had to say. He left her pondering things which made her head pulse with exertion, and Akali could usually grasp things easily. But she wasn’t sure how this all made sense. Dying on the Rift had something to do with her mother? And it had to do with dying in general; what answers did she seek, and what would she do with that knowledge when she found out? Would it be something beyond comprehension? Something that would break her with this newfound knowledge if she sought it. Dare she pursue it further? Should she upset the status quo, the current relationship between Summoners and Champions? What if it had far-reaching consequences that did more than upset the balance between the Summoners and Champions—what if the implications were it could shock the entire balance of the world they lived in?

Could Shen know something she didn't? Was he keeping secrets from her as well? She didn't think Shen would do that, but then he is the Eye of Twilight. Shen was a being of enlightenment and must keep impartial in all matters. But love was the greatest force in the world, or so she thought, and not even a man as stoic as Shen could resist its temptation when he found someone that he believed in and someone who believed in him. Akali shook the thoughts aside.

Perhaps he didn't know anything after all. But Akali knew Thresh told her not to tell Shen anything. As much as it hurt her to keep secrets from Shen, Akali's curiosity got the best of her. She needed to find this out, and even if it cost her soul to do it, she would do it. She needed these answers, no matter what. Even if it meant keeping something from Shen, the person she loved and trusted with her entire being—she had to do this. Secrecy and information were her trade, as a shinobi, and it was only natural that she would eventually do something of her independence rather than being sheltered by Shen’s caring tutelage. No, she needed to do this.

"I'll keep it a secret," Akali promised. "But Thresh...be careful."

"I should be expressing that sentiment to you," Thresh said. "I would do it myself, but as you can see, I'm a spectral being that no human being would find attractive. Therefore, you need to seduce a Summoner named Kei."

"Kei..." Akali said, wondering for a moment. "I know about him. He's the green Summoner, right?"

"Just got inserted among the Summoner's Ranks after studying in an Academy far away from here," Thresh said. "That's the one who will be easy to coax, I think. You only have one chance."

Akali looked down. "Even though I lost the match...you still have faith in me, Thresh?"

"That doesn't matter now," Thresh said, before saying. "This is more important."

"I will do my best," Akali said. "I solemnly swear."