It's 2:47 AM and I'm still awake.
That's normal for me. NIGHTSHIFT isn't just a brand—it's when I actually work. When most people are asleep, I'm sitting here with Claude open on one screen, League of Legends Wiki on another, and a half-finished cup of coffee going cold beside my keyboard.
Tonight, I'm thinking about regret.
Specifically, what people would do if they could change one moment. Not save the world. Not prevent wars. Just... fix the one thing that haunts them at 3 AM when sleep won't come. The mistake that defines everything after. The choice they'd give anything to unmake.
That's the spark for this volume.
RUNETERRA: UNTOLD isn't about the champions you already know everything about. It's not another retelling of Jinx and Vi's story, or Yasuo's quest for redemption. You've seen those stories. Riot's told them.
This is about the spaces between. The moments the game doesn't show you. The fights that happen off-screen. The choices made in shadows while everyone's watching the spotlight.
This volume—The Noxian Job—came to me while I was reading about Twisted Fate's lore. Everyone focuses on his rivalry with Graves, the betrayal, the broken partnership. But what struck me was simpler: what if TF got a chance to undo it? Not through character growth or redemption arcs, but literally—rewrite that moment, erase the betrayal, reset the timeline.
What would he sacrifice for that power?
And more importantly: should he?
Think about it. Twisted Fate—con artist, gambler, card mage with precognitive abilities—assembles a crew to steal an artifact from Noxus. An ancient Shuriman relic called the Chronolith Shard that grants one person the power to rewrite a single moment in their past.
But he's not doing this alone. He needs specialists. He needs people desperate enough to risk infiltrating the most dangerous nation in Runeterra during their biggest military celebration.
So he recruits:
Ekko, the time-bending genius from Zaun who lost someone he couldn't save—even with the power to rewind seconds.
Samira, the Noxian mercenary running from a failure that cost her everything she believed about honor.
Seraphine, the empathic pop star hiding guilt behind a perfect smile, haunted by a choice between fame and family.
Graves, TF's former partner who spent two years in prison because of TF's betrayal—and who still showed up when called, despite the rage.
Five people. One artifact that can only be used once. Each of them lying about why they want it.
Who wins that fight?
More importantly: When they finally see what changing the past would cost them—who they'd stop being if they erased their biggest mistake—what do they choose?
That's what excited me. That's the spark.
This isn't a story about good versus evil. It's not about saving Runeterra from some ancient threat. It's about five deeply flawed people pulling off an impossible heist for purely selfish reasons—and then having to decide if their regrets are worth more than who they've become.
Here's what you need to know before the story begins:
This is Volume 1 of RUNETERRA: UNTOLD. If you've read other League fanfiction, welcome. If this is your first, don't worry—you don't need encyclopedic lore knowledge. I'll give you everything you need. Every volume stands alone. Different characters. Different corners of Runeterra. Different stories.
The only connection is me. I'm the one sparking these worlds.
This story is complete. Roughly 25,000 words. Fifteen chapters. No cliffhangers. No "continued in next volume." When it ends, it ends. You'll know what happened to the Chronolith Shard. You'll know who used it, or if anyone did. You'll know where each character goes from here.
Or maybe you'll know they can't go anywhere after what happens.
Maybe both.
A few promises I'm making you:
This moves fast. Every chapter propels forward. Even the planning sequences have tension. If you're looking for slow-burn character studies, this isn't it. This is kinetic—constant momentum, constant stakes, constant pressure.These are real people, not game pieces. Yes, they're League champions with abilities from the game. But they're also complicated humans (mostly human, anyway) with fears, regrets, and motivations beyond their champion kits. Twisted Fate isn't just "teleport and throw cards." He's a man running from intimacy because everyone he's cared about, he's hurt.The heist is cool, but the choice is everything. You'll get your Ocean's Eleven moments—the crew assembly, the infiltration, the vault breach, the complications. But the real story starts after they get the artifact. When they have to decide who deserves it more. When desire meets consequence.No sequel bait. I hate when stories end with unresolved threads meant to hook you into buying Part 2. This story will feel complete. If you want more from me after this, I'll have other volumes. Other corners of Runeterra. Other crews, other heists, other impossible choices. But Twisted Fate and this crew? This is their complete story. Beginning, middle, end.
One more thing:
I write these at night because that's when my imagination runs clearest. No distractions. No noise. Just me, the keyboard, and whatever world I'm trying to spark into existence.
Sometimes it's horror set in the Shadow Isles. Sometimes it's political intrigue in Demacia. Sometimes it's cosmic horror in the Void.
Tonight, it's a heist thriller in Noxus with five champions who shouldn't trust each other, pulling off a job that should be impossible, fighting over a prize that might destroy them.
I can see it already—the crimson banners of Victory Festival snapping in the wind, the crowd roar from the Grand Colosseum, the cold stone corridors of the Eternal Archive three levels underground. I can hear Twisted Fate's cards whistling through air, Graves' shotgun blast echoing off vault walls, Ekko's Z-Drive crackling as time stutters backward. I can feel the moment they finally hold the Chronolith Shard and realize only one of them walks away with the power to rewrite their past.
I've imagined every moment of what's about to happen.
The assembly. The infiltration. The complications. The betrayals. The visions. The choice.
Now I'm handing it to you.
Welcome to The Noxian Job.
Welcome to regret made tangible.
Welcome to RUNETERRA: UNTOLD.
— Deepanshu Setia
Founder, NIGHTSHIFT
Ludhiana, Punjab
2:47 AM
Every world hits different. Let's see how this one hits you.