Beginning of the End
Overview Beginning of the End is a teaser cinematic for League of Legends, animated by Fortiche — the studio behind Arcane — and released in August 2025 to open the year's third thematic season, Trials of Twilight. Wordless and dread-soaked, it trades exposition for a single freighted image: a nightmare that grips Xin Zhao as he lingers in Ionia , and the vision of Demacia 's ruin it carries. The featured cast is Xin Zhao, Garen , Jarvan IV , LeBlanc , and the Darkin Zaahen . The Story The cinematic unfolds as a vision rather than a scene.
Excerpt from the official cinematic by Riot Games on YouTube. Story and characters © Riot Games.
View the original cinematic at Riot Games on YouTube
Where this sits in Runeterra
Xin Zhao in the codex
Great City of Demacia
Immortal Bastion
Raikkon
Temple of Koeshin
Zhyun
Demacian Crown
Ascended
Darkin
God-Warrior
More Xin Zhao in the archive
- For Demacia: Requiem l Motion Comic – League of Legends
- For Demacia: Spearhead l Motion Comic – League of Legends
- Everywhere, and Everyone
- Aftermath
- Twilight’s End
- The Story So Far: 2025
- Trials of Twilight: The Warning l Motion Comic – League of Legends
- Trials of Twilight: The Truth l Motion Comic – League of Legends