Three in the afternoon, the Piltover Council building.
The circular tower at the very top rose straight into the clouds. Through the glass up here, you could see the Hexgates pulsing with blue light, and the harbor below packed with ships coming and going without end. White doves swept past in the bright sun.
At the Council roundtable, clean white light poured down from the domed ceiling. Mel, dressed in gold, sat in her seat. Not far from her sat a tall young man in white—broad-shouldered, muscular, strikingly handsome.
To Mel's left sat the rest of the councilors, members from different houses.
As a newly appointed councilor, Jayce Talis was young, but he'd become an unavoidable force in the Council thanks to his Hextech patents.
No one dared look down on him, even if politically he was still a blunt rookie—didn't understand the game, didn't know the rules, couldn't do half of what the others did.
But his relationships with Mel Medarda and Councilor Kiramman were common knowledge.
He'd received support from House Kiramman. Now he was close to House Medarda as well. And he was Professor Heimerdinger's prized student. Naturally, he'd become the Council's hottest rising star—no, it wasn't even "future" anymore.
It was already reality.
Piltover had eight councilors. Three of them were on good terms with Jayce Talis. Add in the fact that Jayce himself was a councilor, and without even realizing it, he already had a faction behind him—already had the weight to be one of this city-state's leaders.
On the far left of the roundtable, a councilor with a sharp, narrow face and pale skin raised his hand and spoke loudly.
"Everyone, I've recently learned something. It concerns the Undercity."
"The Undercity?" another councilor replied. "Haven't they been behaving lately?"
"Behaving?" Councilor Salo rolled his eyes. "Councilor Hoskel, when you say 'behaving,' do you mean the time one of our buildings was blown up and a Hextech gemstone vanished without a trace—still not recovered? Or do you mean the harbor attack, where enforcers were killed and the culprit still hasn't been found?"
"But… the building explosion wasn't that an accident?" Hoskel scratched his cheek, his mustache twitching.
"An accident?" Salo looked even more baffled. "How could you possibly think that was an accident?"
"Honestly, I also think it's time we cleaned up Zaun," another councilor said. His name was Bolbok, and just from looking at him, you could barely tell he was supposed to be human.
In a low, rumbling voice, he continued, "Shimmer has poisoned Piltover. At the last gala, I saw plenty of our own people using that stuff."
The moment Bolbok said that, Salo flinched and leaned back in his chair.
But he straightened almost immediately and said, "Councilor Bolbok is right. So I propose it's time we take control of Zaun."
"In the end, whenever they cause problems, we're the ones stuck cleaning up after them. So why not handle it properly—cleanly—once and for all? That's good for everyone, isn't it?" Salo smiled.
Heimerdinger clasped his small hands together, glancing left, then right, and then he tapped the table.
"I disagree," he said. "We have been divided for far too long. This city was founded to be a beacon of enlightenment—independent of a world ruled by power, consumed by vanity and greed."
Heimerdinger's voice tightened as he went on. "But look at us now. We chase pleasure, we drown in comfort, we loosen our moral restraint. We trade real integrity for hollow prestige. We once stood united—yet now, we're nothing but scattered sand."
"So I do not support suppressing Zaun," Heimerdinger continued. "We should guide them. We should help them change. Shouldn't we?"
Salo frowned, exchanging a look with the two councilors beside him.
"I support it." One councilor raised her hand first. An unusual metal collar circled her neck, and the moment she raised her hand, Mel turned to her in surprise.
"I support it too." Salo raised his hand.
Bolbok raised his next.
Hoskel saw Salo and Bolbok both looking at him, and he raised his hand as well.
"Councilor Kiramman, what's your view?" Salo asked, turning toward the middle-aged woman.
"I don't support it," Councilor Kiramman said. "Our conflict with the Undercity is already bad enough. Suppressing them now—cracking down on Zaun—won't help. And besides…"
She glanced at Mel and shook her head.
Noxus had come to Piltover, and they were still thinking about fighting among themselves?
Of course, Councilor Kiramman did support dealing with Zaun after the Noxians left.
Just as Bolbok said—Shimmer had poisoned the Undercity, and now it had spread topside.
Mel lowered her eyes and remained silent.
She, Councilor Kiramman, and Heimerdinger had all made their stances clear.
But then, a hand rose.
Mel's head snapped up. She stared at the person who'd raised it, disbelief on her face.
"Jayce?"
"I support it." Jayce stood.
"Jayce, how can you—"
"Enough, Professor." Jayce looked at Heimerdinger and continued, "Shimmer is rampant in the Undercity. It's everywhere. Violent criminals attacked the Upper City, killed enforcers, blew up a building and the harbor—now enforcers don't even dare go into the Lanes!"
"I'm sorry, Professor, but governing this city takes more than pretty words. Again and again, you warn everyone about lines we can't cross, but I have to ask—what solution do you actually have?"
Heimerdinger froze, staring at Jayce in shock.
"How can you speak like that…"
Jayce looked over the councilors, a flash of hesitation crossing his face—then it hardened into resolve.
He couldn't step back.
Viktor couldn't wait anymore.
"I support restoring order in Zaun—controlling Shimmer, cracking down on criminals." Jayce planted both hands on the table, then raised his voice. "And I believe we should allow the founder who's devoted everything to this city—our rightful creator—to retire and rest."
"That requires a unanimous vote of the Council."
"!"
A flicker of panic crossed Councilor Kiramman's face. She lifted a hand, fingers curling into a fist, mouth slightly open as she looked at Heimerdinger—then at the others.
Around the table, the councilors traded looks, uncertain.
Mel watched Jayce. Seeing how unwavering his eyes were, she bit her lower lip.
She knew why Jayce was doing this.
The only one not hesitating was Heimerdinger—his ears drooping, staring at Jayce with hurt written all over him.
Mel hesitated again and again… and then raised her hand.
Under the bright lights, one hand after another rose with hers.
At the end, Jayce lifted his hand as well.
Heimerdinger's pupils tightened. He looked at Jayce, shaken.
But Jayce lowered his head, unable to meet his gaze.
Zaun.
In the thriving Hope Community, Logan sat in front of a mirror. Behind him was Jinx, grabbing his hair and styling it, bundling it up without mercy—then she plopped a hat onto his head.
"What do you think? Pretty good, right?" Jinx asked.
"I think it's… not great, Jinx," Logan said, looking at his reflection and letting out a helpless laugh.
Damn it. He'd become Jinx's toy.
She wasn't satisfied with only messing with Isha anymore.
"How is it not great?"
Jinx hooked one arm over Logan's shoulder, swaggering like she owned the world. With her other hand, she flicked the hat on his head with her knuckle and grinned.
"This is something I made with Isha! Look—press this button, see? This one's for anti-toxic gas. When you press it, goggles pop out to cover your eyes, and you get night vision. And then there's this button—Logan, this is my favorite one!"
As she spoke, Jinx pressed it.
"Ta-da~~~" she supplied her own over-the-top sound effects, throwing her arms wide—if she'd had party cannons, she definitely would've fired them off.
Then she bent down, leaning close beside Logan, chattering excitedly at his reflection.
"Cute cat ears!"
"I love this so much!"
Logan stared at the mirror.
There he was, wearing a blue hat. On both sides, a pair of wide cat ears had popped out—absurdly cute. And on the front was a doodle Jinx and Isha had drawn together: three exaggerated, simple smiling faces in crayon—one blue, one brown, one black.
Logan could tell right away who they were meant to be.
Jinx, Isha… and him.
"Say you like it!" Logan stayed silent, so Jinx puffed out her cheeks and tugged at his face, pulling his cheeks upward.
"Fine. I really like it. Thank you, Jinx," Logan said.
Jinx immediately turned and met Isha's eyes.
The two of them—one big, one small—burst out laughing together.
Logan touched the hat and laughed too.
Whatever. It was just a hat. Sure, it was really cute, and wearing it felt kind of ridiculous…
But it was Jinx's gesture.
Logan tugged the brim down a little lower.