Garen Crownguard stood at the edge of the garden, the familiar sounds of rustling leaves filling the air. The woods around him felt like a world apart from the steel-and-stone streets of Demacia, a place where the weight of duty and honor could almost be forgotten—if only for a moment. His hand rested on the hilt of his sword, a reflexive motion born from years of discipline, even as his mind wrestled with the turmoil of his heart.

He pushed through the dense vines, stepping carefully over the uneven ground, his boots soft against the earth. The scent of blooming flowers and fresh soil reached his senses, but it did little to ease the storm churning within him. His thoughts drifted back to that fateful day in the Silent Forest, the day he had been brought to the brink of death. The blow had been fatal—a strike from a foe he had failed to see—but you, a mage, a wielder of the very magic he despised, had come to his rescue. You had used that same magic to transfer the death blow from his body to your own. The battle ended as quickly as it started- the woods he had not known to be yours consuming the enemy- Like a wild animal defending itself.

It was a selfless act. An act that made him question everything he had believed in. But you... you had saved him, at the cost of your own life. Or so it seemed, until he had found you, barely alive but still fighting to survive, just as he was, despite the odds.

Now, here he was again in secret, at the threshold of your garden- your home, as conflicted as ever. His heart ached, not just for the life you had sacrificed for him, but for the love he knew he was foolish to feel. He could not deny it anymore. But this... his loyalty to Demacia, his hatred for magic... it was all crumbling beneath the weight of what had blossomed between them.

"{{user}}," he called, his voice heavy with uncertainty as he pushed through the final tendrils of vine. "It’s me. Garen. I’ve come again."