At three in the morning, a lot of people in Zaun still weren't asleep. The wastewater-pipe work was still going.
It was disruptive—seriously. The roaring, grinding noise above people's homes was deafening.
But not a single person came out to curse them out.
Not a single person even looked resentful.
Plenty of Zaunites carried flashlights and volunteered as moving light sources, helping illuminate the work. Food and water sat by their feet.
Whenever a shift changed and someone crawled out of a pipe still wearing their protective suit, the people nearby rushed in immediately—using water to rinse them off, pressing food into their hands.
"We're almost there. In another hour, every wastewater pipe in the Sump will be successfully converted."
Inside the Spirit Blossom Gang's building, Vi—who'd slept a bit and was now ready to get back to work—said it excitedly.
She was still extremely unhappy that Silco was in the same room, but she swallowed it down.
Today was a big day.
Ekko said, "We can start preparing. Turn the device on, and then… see the results." There was a trace of unease in his voice.
Off to the side, Heimerdinger munched on a pastry and said, "Don't rush, kid. Steady work is how you avoid problems."
"The root cause is handled. Now we just need to deal with what's in front of us."
They chatted while they waited for time to pass, and even Logan was having trouble sitting still—not because Jinx was leaning on him asleep, but because he was just as eager to see Zaun's air truly start to clear.
This was the second biggest thing he'd done since coming to this world.
The first, of course, was what Logan believed was changing Jinx's future.
"Boss!"
Marsen's voice rang out from outside. Logan stood instantly, and beside him Jinx let out a confused "Huh?" as her body swayed and she blinked awake.
"It's done! Every wastewater pipe in the Sump is finished!"
Marsen rushed in, shouting with excitement.
Logan took a deep breath and waved. "Let's go, Ekko. Start the device."
"You're the one who turns it on."
"Me?" Ekko froze—then nodded hard. "Got it."
Two minutes later, the Spirit Blossom Gang base.
In the area designated as storage, a platform rose high above the ground. Ekko rode his hoverboard up to the air purification unit.
A sea of people surrounded the platform. Right at the front were Logan, Silco, Jinx, Vi, and Heimerdinger.
Behind them were Marsen, Manzu, Aunt Marna from Hope Community, Uncle Kerr the fish seller, and more.
Everyone watched Ekko with expectant eyes.
"Okay… I'm pressing it." Under countless stares, Ekko felt a prickling crawl up his spine. He inhaled and announced loudly.
He couldn't flinch.
He absolutely couldn't.
"Press it." Logan nodded.
With Logan's approval, Ekko reached out, adjusted the device, then slammed a button and backed away on his hoverboard.
"Rrrrrr—!"
The air purification unit roared to life. Through the hollow, transparent sections, everyone could see Shimmer burning and flowing. Then the Hextech gemstone in the second layer began to compress and spin, blue light spilling outward in waves.
Everyone saw it.
The haze… was being pulled in.
Under the blue glow, the gray fog became visibly defined. Even the tiny suspended particles—normally invisible—showed themselves, drifting and swirling with the movement of Logan's clothes as they were dragged toward the unit. The fine grit in the air was being sucked in too.
"Bzzzzzz—!"
Ekko held a device in his hand—an air-quality meter built by Heimerdinger.
"19."
"Still 19."
He reported in real time from above.
Below, Logan clenched his fist. Silco actually closed his eyes.
"It moved—It moved!"
Ekko suddenly shouted. He looked at Logan, face blazing with excitement. "Boss, it moved!"
"18.3—17.2!"
"It's still dropping!"
"Boss—16!"
"Air index is 16!"
Ekko was yelling like a maniac, completely losing his composure.
Logan finally let out a breath, and Silco opened his eyes.
The residents from Hope Community began cheering too.
The air hadn't changed yet—not in any obvious way. The visible haze was still thick, the smell still sharp and irritating.
But it was changing.
Ten minutes later, Logan sniffed.
His senses were far sharper than a normal person's, so he was the first to catch it—something clean, something fresh.
Then Jinx did too. Her sense of smell was keen as well—otherwise she wouldn't have been able to pick Caitlyn's scent off Vi.
"This air is different!" She jumped up. "It's here—the cleaned air is coming out!"
Five minutes after that, the Spirit Blossom Gang members and the Hope Community residents smelled it too.
"It really is different!"
"I've smelled this in Piltover—oh my god… is this really Zaun's air?"
"Goddess Janna above—we did it!"
"It's real! This air smells so good!"
A hand patted Logan's shoulder—then stayed there, resting on him.
Logan turned his head and met Silco's gaze.
"We succeeded," Silco said calmly.
"Uncle, you should be happy. If you can cry your eyes out, even better."
"I don't cry."
"Alright. If you say you don't cry, you don't cry." Logan didn't argue.
Heh. The day I marry Jinx, I'll see if you still don't cry.
"Logan," Silco said again.
"Hm?"
"From now on, Zaun is yours. You handle inside. I handle outside." Silco spoke suddenly.
Sevika stood behind Silco. Hearing that, her brow pinched for a second—then smoothed out again.
"Uncle, me handling inside and you handling outside is fine. But Zaun isn't mine. It's ours. I told you—I'm not like you." Logan slung an arm around Silco's shoulders.
Silco struggled briefly, then let Logan hold him.
Maybe… he really had changed.
Because of Jinx, he'd become more emotional.
And the situation made Silco feel briefly drained at first—but with Logan's arm around him, he steadied, and that fire returned.
No. Not enough.
Zaun still needed more.
Silco's gaze hardened, growing resolute.
"We succeeded, but it's not enough." Beside them, Heimerdinger spoke up. "I'm going to pour some cold water on this."
"What we need to do next is produce more air purification units as fast as possible, then place them everywhere."
"No problem, Professor."
"Is it really no problem?" Heimerdinger said. "Jinx only has a few Hextech gemstones left."
"…" Logan went quiet. He looked down at Heimerdinger. "You'll help us, right, Professor?"
"Hm." Heimerdinger tapped his chin. "If Ekko and Jinx are willing to call me their teacher… then I'll consider it." He winked mischievously at Logan.
Logan flashed an OK sign and grinned. "No problem, Professor. I'll convince Jinx to become your student."
"Wonderful!" Heimerdinger brightened immediately.
Logan watched the air purification unit as time ticked by.
No one left.
Everyone stayed clustered around it, breathing deeply, like they were afraid the air might vanish if they let it go.
Even after six in the morning, no one left. They crowded around Ekko, listening to him read the air index.
After five, it stabilized at 11.3—no longer dropping, no longer rising. It looked like clearing a wide area would take a long time.
Logan lifted his head and narrowed his eyes. Behind him, he heard Zaunites talking.
"Shame… only we get to see it today."
"Yeah. If everyone could see it, after working all day, they'd be so happy."
"It's fine. There'll be chances later. I'm gonna sleep and come back to smell it again. This air is too good."
Hearing those voices, Logan lowered his gaze.
Yeah. Right now, only the Spirit Blossom Gang and Hope Community could enjoy this.
But it was fine. Everything would get better. There would be more purification units. Zaun would become better.
Still… it was a shame so many Zaunites couldn't see this moment.
Because plenty of people were literally asleep on the Entresol's floor right now. They had no idea what was happening. If he could, Logan wanted them to see it with their own eyes.
And then, mid-thought, Logan froze.
Because the wind came.
A cool, comfortable breeze swept in from nowhere, washing over everyone present. Logan looked up—and the wind kept growing, strengthening into a fierce gale. It howled as it formed, and within it there was even a trace of green.
In an instant, Logan understood.
His lips trembled.
"Whooo—"
The gale whipped everyone's clothes. Jinx had to press both hands on her two big buns so they wouldn't come undone.
Silco narrowed his eyes, lowering his body against the force, astonishment flickering across his face.
Was this… also the air purification device?
That strong?
The wind gathered, spiraled—scooping up the remaining haze. The gray smog and toxic air were dragged into the vortex, then hurled upward, roaring into the sky.
That wind was like a blade—piercing Zaun's oppressive, gloomy canopy. Across the city, the wind grew stronger and stronger, carrying the haze away, tearing open the murk.
Sunlight appeared in the Sump. There wasn't much, because of the terrain, but that sliver of sun was blinding.
Everyone turned to look.
That was sunlight.
And if the Sump could see sunlight… what about the Entresol?
It was higher, wider. It would see even more.
Logan lifted his head, staring at the sky.
His lips moved, voice barely a whisper—
"Thank you, Janna."
He said it without thinking.
Because Zaun wasn't supposed to get winds like this. The geography was wrong.
And this wasn't something people could do by force.
The only answer he could think of was Janna.
"It's alright—"
A voice suddenly echoed inside Logan's mind—ethereal, sacred, gentle, compassionate.
Then the breeze brushed his face like a hand, and Logan felt a warm, soft touch against his skin.
Like a kiss.
Right on his forehead.
He stared blankly ahead, seeing nothing.
But inside his mind, the voice spoke again:
"I've been watching you."
"Look, Logan."
"Morning has come."
Logan looked up, squinting—
Because the sun was truly, painfully bright.
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