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Thousands of miles away, in the heart of the Noxian capital, the Immortal Bastion loomed like a jagged tooth against the sky. On a high balcony, a murder of crows perched silently on the eaves. Leaning on a cane, a man in a black cloak watched the horizon with a cold, singular focus. His most striking feature was his left arm—a twisted, blood-red limb of demonic origin.
He was Swain, the Grand General of Noxus.
Through the eyes of a crow in Piltover, Swain had been watching the fallout. He saw the moment Jinx's gaze met the bird's, and the subsequent muzzle flash that ended his connection. His vision snapped back to his own eyes, and he frowned slightly.
"That was the last of my eyes in the Twin Cities," Swain muttered, his voice a low rasp. "But no matter. Piltover and Zaun have been a powder keg for years. I simply provided the spark. By the time they realize what has happened, they will be too busy tearing each other apart to interfere with my grander designs."
He shifted his consciousness again. Far to the north, he saw Darius leading a Noxian legion through the biting snow of the Freljord. He looked toward Ionia, then south to the sands of Shurima. His red demonic claw slowly closed into a fist. "Everything," he whispered, "is within my reach."
Inside the Piltover Academy, Ekko groaned as he forced himself awake. "Powder! Chen!"
"Rest, child," a soft, high-pitched voice said.
Ekko sat up, blinking as he recognized the small, blue-robed Yordle. "Heimerdinger? Where are they?"
Heimerdinger's pointed ears drooped, a look of profound regret on his face. "The Enforcers moved faster than I could anticipate. Powder was hit... many times. Chen took her and fled, but the city is in an uproar. Two of the brightest minds I have ever mentored are now the most wanted criminals in Piltover."
Ekko's jaw tightened. "It's that Cop. Vi betrayed us." He stood up, reaching for his hoverboard, but the Professor held it back.
"You can't go through the gates, Ekko. The city is under martial law. Piltover and Zaun are sealed. If you try to cross the bridge on that board, you'll be shot down before you clear the first pylon. But... they were my students. I can at least get you to the river."
Under the cover of his authority as a Councillor, Heimerdinger escorted Ekko past the Enforcer checkpoints to the riverbank. He found a small, nondescript boat.
"The rest is up to you," the Professor said.
Ekko didn't make it across unchallenged. A searchlight swept over the water, followed by the frantic bark of rifles. Bang! Bang! Bang! Ekko dove into the water, using the hull of the boat as a shield as he kicked toward the Zaunite shore. Once his boots hit the toxic silt of the Zaun, he didn't stop running.
In Stillwater Prison, Vi was back in a cell. She pounded her fists against the stone until her bandages were soaked in red. "I failed her. Again. I don't even know if she's alive." Tears carved tracks through the grime on her face as she slumped against the wall.
Across the water, Caitlyn was a prisoner in her own home.
"How could she do this?" her mother shouted from downstairs. "Forging my signature? Bailing out a terrorist? If I hadn't intervened, she'd be in a cell next to that pink-haired girl!"
Caitlyn sat on her bed, her mind a chaotic storm. If that were my sister, what would I do? she wondered. Part of her saw the law—the dead Enforcers, the stolen goods—but the other part saw Vi's eyes as she grabbed the muzzle of the gun. Caitlyn spread her map out one last time. She didn't have her badge, but she still had her mind.
In a dimly lit lounge in the Zaun, Silco swirled a glass of vintage red wine. Since Powder had never become his daughter, Sevika stood at his shoulder as his primary confidant.
The door creaked open, and Marcus stepped in, removing his rebreather mask.
"You Enforcers," Silco said, his voice dripping with venom. "Dozens of rifles, and you still let 'Jax' walk away with the girl?"
"You've been hunting him for months and came up empty," Marcus snapped back. "My men died out there. Why am I here?"
Silco set his glass down and pulled a letter from his vest. The wax seal bore the mark of a Crow. "A 'friend' has provided me with the location of the Firelight Sanctuary. I want them gone. Every last one. And I want the Enforcers to look the other way while I do it."
Marcus hesitated, but Silco held up a small, torn photograph—a picture of Marcus and his young daughter.
"Don't think I've forgotten your lies about Vi being dead, Marcus," Silco whispered. "I'm giving you one chance to balance the scales. Do you want to be a hero, or do you want to be a father?"
Marcus's hand tightened around a grenade in his pocket. He imagined pulling the pin. He imagined ending it all right there. But the image of his daughter's smile flickered in his mind, and his resolve crumbled.
"I'll do it," Marcus whispered, his voice hollow. He turned and walked away, his footsteps heavy with the weight of his soul.
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