Those five minutes were an eternity of static and shadows. I was a ghost in my own body, forced to watch the tragedy reach its crescendo. Through the ringing in my ears, I saw the impossible: Vander, fueled by a final, desperate dose of Shimmer, dragged Vi from the flames before his heart finally gave out.
As the stun timer ticked down to its final seconds, my vision cleared just in time to see the breaking point. Vi, bloodied and broken, struck Powder.
"Because you're a Jinx! Do you hear me? Mylo was right!"
The words were more lethal than any Hextech explosion. Vi walked away into the shadows, leaving Powder shattered on the cold ground.
"Vi! Come back! I need you!"
Powder's screams ripped through the air, but Vi didn't turn back. She couldn't.
Then I saw him. Silco. He was stepping through the haze, a predator scenting blood. If he reached her now, Powder was gone forever.
0:01. Stun Cleared.
I didn't think. I ignored the screaming pain in my ribs and the "Low Health" warning flashing red in my vision. I lunged out of the darkness, scooped Powder into my arms, and held her tight.
"I've got you," I whispered, my voice hoarse. "We're leaving. Now."
She clung to me like a drowning person, her tears hot against my shoulder. She didn't even ask who I was; she just buried her face in my vest. "She doesn't want me anymore... she's not my sister..."
Silco's footsteps were rhythmic, heavy, and closing in. We were at the end of a long, narrow alley. With my base stats and injuries, there was no way to outrun him.
But then, the system pinged.
Main Quest: Save Jinx (Completed). Reward: One Summoner Spell.
I didn't hesitate. I didn't look at Flash or Ignite. I needed a miracle. I clicked Teleport.
"Hold on tight," I commanded.
A pillar of brilliant blue light erupted from the sky, swirling around us in a misty aura. It was beautiful, alien, and—to anyone in Zaun—terrifying.
Silco rounded the corner. He didn't recognize me, but he saw the girl and the magic. His eyes narrowed, and he lunged forward, a wicked blade glinting in the firelight.
I was rooted. You can't move while the TP channel is active. I watched the bar fill: 1.5... 2.0... Silco was too fast. He aimed a killing blow at Powder's exposed back. In a desperate reflex, I twisted my body, putting myself between his knife and her heart.
-424! (Critical Hit)
The blade sank deep into my back. A jagged spark icon flashed over my head—a crit. My health bar vanished, leaving a sliver of red so thin it was almost invisible. 20 HP.
I coughed, blood splattering against Powder's shoulder. My vision began to tunnel.
"NO!" Powder's eyes went wide, reflecting the blue glow of the teleport and the red of my blood. She gripped my shoulders, her voice a frantic shriek. "Why?! Why did you do that?!"
Silco pulled the knife back for a second strike, his face a mask of cold fury. But the channel finished. With a sudden whoosh of displaced air, the alley was empty.
Back at Clockwork Sundries, Halde was staring at the music box I'd built. "I wonder if that kid is—"
The air in the shop suddenly hummed with power. A pillar of blue light smashed through the ceiling, rotating around the music box—the "anchor" for my teleport.
"Magic!" Halde gasped, recoiling in Demacian horror. "How?! Why here?!"
The light vanished, leaving me collapsed on the floor, still clutching Powder. I managed to set her down gently before the world turned black.
Status: Unconscious.
"Mister! Please, wake up!" Powder's voice was a frantic sob as she grabbed Halde's sleeve. "He took a knife for me! Please save him!"
Halde didn't ask questions. He saw the blood, saw the boy he'd come to love as a grandson, and acted. He hoisted me onto his back and sprinted toward the nearest Alchemist's clinic.
Powder followed, her small fists clenched so tight her knuckles were white. She looked back toward the direction of the docks one last time. Her tears hadn't stopped, but something inside her had shifted.
The grief was still there, but it was being wrapped in a cold, shimmering layer of hatred. A dark, jagged grin spread across her face—a look I would have recognized instantly.
"No matter who you are," she whispered to the shadows, her voice dripping with a madness that wasn't there an hour ago. "I will kill you."
The Jinx was already there. I had saved her from Silco, but I hadn't saved her from herself.