Chapter Text
It felt as if you had been spinning for hours on end. Black completely surrounded you, blindingly bright and filled with nothingness at the same time. It was almost as if you were frozen where you fell, eyebrow still throbbing from your injury, yet you couldn't feel the ground beneath you. You couldn’t tell how much time had passed, if where you were even had the concept of time.
Is this death?
When the rune exploded, did you die? Is this some kind of purgatory or your afterlife? Did you die without saying one final goodbye to Jayce and Viktor? Thoughts kept rushing through your head, could this really have been it, and you didn't even graduate from the academy? Life couldn’t be over so soon, but you had no control over your body; if you even had one. The black surrounded you like a thick cloud, not suffocating but ever present.
A light peeked through from the corner of your periphery, completely white. If you weren’t dead, this was the light to take you to it. Turning your head, you tried to direct your body to go towards it. You tried to imagine yourself wading through the thick darkness, the light only grew the more you moved. Strain completely enveloped your legs, like your muscles hadn’t been used in years, but you kept pushing, you were almost there.
The light in front of you was cold, but it was your only option. You didn’t want to be stuck in the darkness for the rest of your afterlife. Pushing forward, you used your hand to push into the sliver of light that has grown from your approach. It is almost like it grips your hand, pulling you into it. Your body squeezes through the crevice, eyes flooding with white that you hadn’t seen in such a long time. You fall.
Fully expecting not to reach ground, your eyes closed. To your surprise, the ground came quite quickly. It was hard and cold, as your eyes blinked to adjust to the light, you saw that you were still in the room with the Gemstone mesh, deep underneath the laboratory. As you realized, you rushed to scoot your body away, your legs still feeling strained and numb at the same time. Your hands ached with the pressure of pushing, but you didn't know what else to do. You stopped as you reached the edge of the mesh.
Breathing heavily, you rubbed your hands, the ache causing a tense pain to flow through your wrists. As you examined the skin around them, you noticed that they were dry and cracked. Almost like it was flaking from the dryness of whatever realm you were just in. You notice the color of your clothing seemed to have faded away, and your slippers were gone from your feet. You mush yourself off of the ground, legs still aching, but you needed to know what happened. You pushed your way out of the Gemstone mesh and made your way to the elevator towards the laboratory ground floor. Slamming down the button, the lift jolted to life, bringing you up to the place you once called home.
As you exit the elevator, and head to the lab, you see that it all looks as it did the day you left, just covered in a fine layer of dirt. Jayce and Viktor’s lab looked the same as well, except Viktor’s toolset seemed to be missing. As you tried to find any sign of where anyone could be, you pass a mirror on the wall of the lab, one that Jayce kept by the sink in case he needed to freshen up.
Your hair had grown a significant amount, so had your nails, unclipped and uneven. The skin of your eyebrow seemed to have grown over your stitches, leaving a bumpy scar underneath. The skin on your lips and around your nose was raw and dry, and you looked exhausted. For what felt like an hour in the unending darkness it looked like you were in there for much longer.
You needed to get out of the lab, you needed to see what was happening out in the city, if anyone else knew what was happening to you. You limped through the silent laboratory out into the equally quiet street. You heard whispers of couples on dates taking a stroll, or maybe a lonesome person who just needed a breath of fresh air. You could only imagine what they would think of if they saw you in your current predicament.
It was cold outside. It was incredibly strange to feel the chill in the air, as when you were last outside it was nearly burning you up.. You remember Viktor making fun of himself for keeping a cloth on the handle of his cane so his hand wouldn’t sweat.
God, what you would have done to say goodbye to him.
At this point you had made it to the bridge between Piltover and Zaun, surprisingly empty at this time of night. You had expected at least some police presence, but the gate between the two cities sat unguarded for the night, although surrounded by bright lights and cameras. Your disheveled pajamas did nothing to keep you warm, you wrapped your arms around yourself to try and generate some heat in your body when you heard a pair of footsteps behind you.
“Are you… looking for help?” The voice asked. You turned to find a short man standing behind you, clothed in all white with a hood over his head. You couldn’t make out his features or decipher who he was, but you could see bits of his cheeks were glowing in shades of light blue and gold that contrasted with the dark tone of his skin.
“Yes.” You replied, “but I don’t know… what happened or where any of my friends are or how long it's been. I don’t know how you can help me.” Your panic level was slowly starting to rise. Paired with your shivering, your words were sputtered out in a rush. The man turned towards you so you could finally see his face, clear yet covered in the glowing marks you saw before. “There is a place I can take you. The Herald can help you.” His voice is calm and clear, beguiling you to agree. Your stomach turns to knots of anxiety, but you bring yourself to nod at him as he holds his arm out for you to take, guiding you across the bridge into Zaun.
In truth, it had been a very long time since you had been back in your town. You constantly sent your nan mail, but ever since the explosion she hadn’t wanted you to return due to the conflict in the city. The air was oddly thicker and the moonlight tinged a light green. You didn't know however long you were in that darkness of the rune… but it must have been over a year with your current state as well as the state of Zaun.
The man that led you held your arm securely in his, almost like he was holding you up. You needed it too, your legs were still getting used to the strain of walking again. If your hypothesis was right and it had been a year, you might even be experiencing some severe muscular atrophy. It felt like it, your knees were already aching with the weight of the rest of your body, even after walking for maybe five minutes. The man helped you, still.
You were guided through the streets of Zaun, even passing by the pump house. You hoped that your nan was nowhere near. She didn't need to see you like this. On the outskirts of the city lay tall hills and rock formations that people usually hid out in, either from escaping enforcers or doing illegal activities, you were always told to never go near them.
As the sun began to rise over the rocks, you saw old bridges and pieces of architecture of the city above you, almost like an archway leading the pair of you into a bright area where you could hear other people already bustling about. The man led you further into this… village? Commune? You weren’t sure at this point. “Before we enter, I must ask if you have any weapons on you? You must surrender them before entering.” The man said.
“No, I have nothing on me.” It felt ridiculous to say, as you were still in your tattered pajamas that obviously couldn’t be used to hide a weapon. The man nodded and guided you in. The sun finally broke through the tall rock formations, lighting up the area. “This is the Herald’s vision.” The man said. You looked around at the wicker shelters around you. Some of them obviously stood as market stalls, but you could tell that some of them were also the homes of the residents in the area. Those that must have also been helped by the Herald. They all had matching marks on their faces and dressed in similar clothing, white linens draped over them.
Some of the stalls were selling rich looking fabrics that sparkled in the morning light. Another had some fresh fruit, vegetables, and drinking water. One or two stalls looked like they were selling metal and wood worked goods. This commune was never established when you lived here, and you were getting closer and closer to confirming your hypothesis of being in that rune for over a year.
The man guiding you paused his step for a moment, almost like he shivered. He shook his shoulders and took a breath in. “The Herald is expecting you. Please, follow me.”
How did he know that the Herald…
You shook your head, maybe you shouldn’t make assumptions of what was happening just yet. For all that you knew, this was just a community of people that just needed some help and actually got it, you weren't sure if you would agree to getting this kind of aid, though. As he walked you further, you finally approached a large golden sphere in the middle of the commune. It looked just like the rune that you had once gotten trapped in, only fully metal and unmoving. There was a large, dark space in the center that looked carved out, you suspected that this was the entrance into the Herald’s space.
The man guided you up the small hill that was in front of this entrance before separating your arms, leaving you. You stood tilted on your right leg as your left felt even more shaky on your journey here. You crossed your arms and looked forward into the entrance of the rune-esque structure. A figure was moving inside of it, tall and covered in dark fabric, juxtaposing themself from the other members of the commune. They stood with a metal staff that clanged on the ground as they walked towards you. As the light hit their lower body, you could see the purple and gray metal that made up their legs and torso, accompanied with a twisted golden staff. Their face came into the light and it felt as if all of the air left your body. He called out your name.
“Viktor?” You asked back, tilting your head to get a better look at him. His hair had grown and had gray framing the sides of his face. The metal that was his body shimmered in a purple and black mixture like vines that went up from his feet to his neck. Even with the markings on his face, it still looked like him. You could tell that he was just as surprised to see you as you were him.
“What happened?” He asked, you couldn’t tell if he was concerned or just curious. Maybe a mix of both. “I could ask you the same question.” You responded, trying to make light of the situation, but he just sighed towards you. He nodded in the direction of a fountain that was near his shelter, ushering you to sit down to talk. You were slowly getting there, it looked like Viktor didn’t mind the walk, following beside you as you finally plopped onto the edge of the fountain, he sat next to you.
“I assume Jayce told you about my leaving.” He began. “He just told me about your connection to the Hex Core, nothing more.” You responded, and it was the truth, Jayce didn’t say anything about how Viktor left besides how he tried to beg for him to stay. “I believe our paths of research had begun to separate long before you joined us… that is why I left.” He said, tapping his staff on the ground. “Although, I am sure your work has continued to flourish in my absence. I am sorry that I could not be there to see it.” He finished.
“I think that is the reason that man led me here, actually,” you looked towards the man that was still near, but letting you and Viktor have a private conversation. “I don’t know how long its been, but… I think something really bad happened.” You turned your hands over to observe the cracked skin once again. Viktor was silent, urging you to continue as he also observed your current state.
“The night you left, Heimerdinger broke into the lab with his new pupil, Ekko. Jayce and I caught them in the act, but they came to do research on a tree, deep in the Undercity, that was being infected. It almost looked like markings from the Hex Core were also on the leaves that they brought in, Jayce thought it might be related to the research you did on wild runes. Ekko thought that the overuse of Hextech could have caused this reaction in the arcane.” You paused to take a breather, but Viktor was nodding. “Actions have consequences.” He said.
“Jayce brought us all down to the Gemstone Mesh to see if any reactions were occurring that we hadn’t seen before. If anything bad was happening then it was extremely close to the ducts-” You were interrupted by Viktor, “the ducts for water to the undercity, it's also close to the ventilation system that keeps the air clean.” He looked away in thought.
“That is what Ekko said. Once we got to the mesh, it was almost like it completely enveloped us. Something just popped up in front of Jayce, I think it may have been a wild rune. Jayce had the bright idea to touch it and then it just, I don’t know, exploded?” You were word vomiting to Viktor, but you had done it so much in the past that it seemed like he understood every word you said. “All of a sudden I was just surrounded in complete darkness. It felt like I was floating or something. Honestly, I thought I’d died. There was this light in the darkness that I got to, it was like a crack that I had to split open. I forced myself through it and it was like the rune spit me out. Then, I was just here. I haven’t seen Jayce, or Ekko and Heimerdinger. I don’t know if I was in there for an hour, or a week, or a fucking year, but, it felt like almost no time had passed at all.” You finished.
“It has been almost a year and a half since I last spoke to Jayce. You must have been inside the rune this entire time. It would explain the pain you are in now.” He said, “which is why he brought you here.” He gestured to the man that led you to the commune.
“He said that you could help me.” You responded, looking downward. Viktor nodded. “I can help you, but not in the way that some of the others have been healed. I want you to stay here to be rehabilitated, but I will not use the Hex Core to heal you.” He said back to you. So that is how he has been healing people. The power of the Hex Core. “Thank you, Viktor.” You responded.
He said your name, “you do not have to thank me, you are a friend.” You sighed out and looked around at the commune. The Herald’s Vision. “You know, you shouldn’t leave without saying goodbye. I really thought I would never see you again.” You looked at him again. The last time you saw him, he was in the nest of the Hex Core, only his head peeking out. You didn’t know if he was dead or alive. It felt so good to see him again.
“I will make sure to let you know the next time I make a dramatic exit.” He said back.