Amid the twisting and circumstantial stacks of bookshelves and scrolls, books, and loose pages, Azir met a slave boy who came almost every day to look for information for his master. Shurima did not allow slaves to own names, but as the two boys became friends, Azir broke this law by naming his new friend Zelas, which means "one who knows how to share". While he must be careful not to call him by his name in public for fear of danger, Azir appoints Zelas as his personal slave. The two boys then share their love of history and continue to learn about Shurima's past and the Ascended Heroes that have been passed down to the ages.

Once again, Azir was out on an annual tour of Imperial territory with his father, his brothers, and Renekton, with the Royal Brigade anchored for the night beside a well-known oasis. Azir and Zelas sneak out in the middle of the night to draw stars, comparing their maps of the celestial spheres with those in the Great Library. While they were drawing their constellations, the Royal Brigade was assassinated by Assassins sent by the Empire's enemies. One of the Assassins found the two boys in the desert and stepped forward to slit Azir's throat, at which point Zelas intervened and jumped onto the Assassin's back. In the ensuing scuffle, Azir plunged the Assassin's dagger into the Assassin's own throat.

Azir picked up the Assassin's sword and hurried back to the Oasis, but by the time he arrived, the Assassin had already been dealt with, and Renekton protected the Emperor and killed the Assassin, but all of Azir's royal brothers were dead. Azir told his father, the Emperor, about Zelas's heroism and asked him to reward the slave boy, but his request went unanswered. In the eyes of this emperor, the slave boy did not deserve his attention at all. Azir swore that day that he and Zelas would become brothers.

When the Emperor returned to the capital, the then fifteen-year-old Azir became his heir, and the Emperor unleashed a merciless slaughter to avenge the enemies he believed had sent the Assassins. Shurima was trapped in years of panic and murder, and the Emperor took revenge on anyone suspected of betrayal. Although Azir is the heir to the throne, his life still hangs by a thread. His father had a grudge against him, and the emperor was eager to let Azir die for his brothers, and the queen was still young enough to give birth to more princes

Azir began to practice martial arts, as the last attack on the Oasis made him realize his ignorance of combat. Renekton was tasked with training the rapidly growing prince, and under his guidance, Azir learned to wield knives and guns, command soldiers, and read the ups and downs of the battlefield. The young crown prince promoted Zelas, his only confidant, and made him his right-hand man. In order to better assist him, Azir instructed Zelas to spare no effort to acquire knowledge.

Years passed, and the queen was unable to give birth to new children, and each fetus was stillborn before birth. As long as the queen continues to be infertile, Azir's life is relatively safe. Rumors began to circulate the existence of the curse around the court, and some even mentioned the name of the crown prince, but Azir insisted that he was innocent, and even executed some who dared to speak out against him.

Later, the queen finally gave birth to a healthy son, but on the night of the baby's birth, a bad storm enveloped Shurima. The Queen's chambers were struck again and again by lightning, and in the ensuing fire, both the Empress and her newborn prince were killed. Some people say that the emperor committed suicide in grief after hearing the news, but soon news spread that the emperor's personal guards had died in the palace, their bones torn apart, and the shape of charcoal was unbearable.

Azir was shocked by their deaths, but the empire needed a leader, and with the assistance of Zelas, he soon ascended the throne as Emperor Shurima. In the decades that followed, he expanded Shurima's borders, ruling the empire with severity and justice. He implemented New Deal reforms to improve the living standards of slaves, and he also secretly devised a plan to overturn thousands of years of tradition and eventually free all slaves. He kept the plan a secret, not even telling Zelas, as the issue of slavery had always been a knot between the two of them. The empire was based on the flesh and blood of slaves, and many nobles relied on forced labor to maintain their wealth and power. Such a stubborn foundation could not be overturned overnight, and Azir's plan would have fallen short if it had been made public too soon. While Azir had always wanted to recognize Zelas as his brother, he must first free all of Shurima's slaves.

During these years, Zelas protected Azir against his political enemies and guided him to expand the empire. Azir married and had many children, some of them born to the main family, and some of them were the result of a freak love affair with slaves and court maids. Zelas envisioned a great vision of an empire for the Emperor, surpassing all the empires in the world. But to become the ruler of the whole world, Zelas convinces Azir that he needs to become an invincible god among men to become an ascendant.

At the height of his power, Azir announced that he would perform the Ascension Ritual, claiming his right to rival Nasus and Renekton, as well as their glorious predecessors. Many have questioned this decision, the Ascension Ritual is so dangerous that only those whose lives are coming to an end will attempt it, and only those who have dedicated their lives to Shurima are entitled to the honor of Ascension. Only the priests of the sun can decide whether a person can ascend or not, not the megalomania of an emperor can give him the right to do so. Azir did not heed these exhortations and continued to go his course, as his character had expanded with the empire, so he threatened the priests of the sun with a painful death.

The day had finally come for the ceremony, and Azir strode toward the Ascension Altar, flanked by thousands of soldiers and tens of thousands of people. The brothers Renekton and Nasus were not present because Zelas had sent them to deal with an urgent threat, but Azir did not let this delay the great fate he saw in front of him. He climbed to the golden disc at the top of the temple in the center of the city, and just before the Sun Priests began their ritual, he turned to face Zelas, finally granting him his freedom. Not only him, but all slaves were liberated.

Zelas was dumbfounded in shock, but before Azir could finish speaking, he hugged Zelas, identifying him as an eternal brother, as he had promised years ago.