Aphelios: The Dark Side of the Moon
Written on March 14th, 2023 by Ethan Zhang
Aphelios walked alongside Alune in the spirit realm. The moon’s surface was pristine. Alune hummed a tune from their childhood as their footfalls echoed across the mirror of the moon.
“The moon, isn’t it beautiful Aphelios?” Alune asked, knowing full well Aphelios wouldn’t respond. She sighed. As they continued their walk, Alune noticed a disturbance in the air. A strange energy pulsed through the spirit realm, and Alune felt a sense of unease. She turned to her brother, hoping to see some sign of recognition on his face, but his expression was as blank as ever. Alune sighed again and summoned her weapon, a glowing orb of light that hovered at her side.
"Something's not right," she said, her voice tense.
"I can feel it. We need to be careful." Aphelios nodded and drew his weapons, a deadly array of moonstone firearms that he wielded with lethal precision. His weapons hovered above and around him. The two siblings pressed on, their footsteps echoing through the silent expanse of the spirit realm.
As they approached a clearing, Alune saw a figure in the distance. It was a creature unlike any she had ever seen before. Its skin was pitch-black, and its eyes glowed with a fierce red light. The beast lunged forward, its claws flashing in the moonlight. Aphelios reacted with lightning-fast reflexes, firing his guns at the creature with deadly accuracy. The beast snarled and lunged again, but Aphelios was too fast. He dodged and fired, each shot finding its mark. The creature let out a high-pitched scream and fell to the ground, its body dissolving into a cloud of dark energy as its screams drifted off into the dark side of the moon. Alune breathed a sigh of relief and turned to her brother, who was reloading his guns with practiced ease.
"Nice work, Aphelios," she said, a note of admiration in her voice."
“Your aim is as deadly as ever." Aphelios didn't respond, but Alune didn't mind. She was used to his silence by now. Instead, she turned her attention to the strange energy that had disturbed the spirit realm. As she looked closer, she saw that it was emanating from a nearby portal, one that she had never seen before.
"What do you think that is?" she asked Aphelios, gesturing towards the portal. Aphelios looked at the portal, his expression unreadable. Then, he nodded, his guns at the ready. Alune knew that meant he was ready to investigate.
They approached the portal cautiously, their weapons at the ready. As they got closer, Alune felt a strange sensation in her stomach, as if she were being pulled towards the portal. She looked over at Aphelios, but he seemed unaffected.
"What's happening?" she asked, her voice trembling. Aphelios dove into the portal, disappearing into the unknown. Alune hesitated for a moment, but then followed him, her weapon glowing brightly at her side. On the other side of the portal, they found themselves in a dark, ominous forest. The trees were twisted and gnarled, their branches reaching out like skeletal fingers. Alune shivered, feeling a sense of unease.
"We need to be careful here," she warned Aphelios. "This place feels...wrong." Aphelios nodded, his guns at the ready. They pressed on through the forest, each step bringing them deeper into the unknown. As they walked, pairs of eyes lit up. Red, green, blue, purple, and white. Their eyes were drawn to the lunar siblings. Aphelios stared right back, Crescendum in his hands. Suddenly the trees came alive. Twigs snapped. Crescendum glowed. Aphelios leaped up into the air as a series of concentric circles and chakrams exploded from Crescendum as he pulled out Infernum. Flames burst from the chakrams as they settled down into layers of protection for the siblings.
At the end of it all, Alune sighed a breath of relief. Aphelios had saved her. But just as they thought their troubles were over, they heard a low, guttural growl coming from behind the trees. The hair on the back of their necks stood on end as a figure emerged from the shadows. It was Fiddlesticks, the ancient terror from the depths of the spirit realm. His eyes glowed with a dim, otherworldly light, and his arms stretched out to unnatural lengths. Aphelios and Alune knew they were no match for the demon, but they didn't run. They stood their ground, weapons at the ready, and prepared to fight for their lives.
Fiddlesticks unleashed dark magic and terrifying illusions. Aphelios's weapons were proving ineffective against the ancient terror. They were running out of options and running out of time. Alune concentrated all her power into a single spark of light, temporarily siphoning Fiddlesticks’ power. Aphelios seized the opportunity and unloaded a barrage of bullets, each one expertly finding its mark. Fiddlesticks let out an unearthly scream as he dissipated into darkness, leaving behind a foul stench of rotting flesh.
Aphelios and Alune breathed a sigh of relief, but their victory was short-lived. They heard a deafening roar coming from deep within the dark forest, and they knew they had to run. They dashed through the twisted trees, their hearts pounding with fear. As they ran, the ground shook beneath their feet; they knew they were being pursued by something much worse than Fiddlesticks. Finally, they burst through the trees and into the safety of the spirit moon fortress. They collapsed, Alune gasping for air as Aphelios simply smiled at her, playing with his different weapons. Alune looked over at her brother, a newfound appreciation in her eyes as he used Gravitum to seal the portal.
"Thank you, Aphelios," she said, her voice trembling. "I couldn't have done it without you." Aphelios didn't respond, but she knew he felt the same. Alune got up and opened a portal out of the spirit moon.
“Go, brother, Runeterra needs you. I’ll be ok.” Then with a sisterly smile, she pushed Aphelios through to the other side.
