The city of Zaun, often whispered of as the Undercity, was a jagged scar on the face of Runeterra. It had once been a thriving hub of culture and trade, but that was before the greed of the merchant lords pushed it toward the suffocating depths of poison and toxic gray. The catastrophic explosion that shattered the earth was fueled by an insatiable desire to cut a canal through the continent, all for the sake of coin and faster trade routes.
That single, violent event didn't just break the stone; it broke the people. The descent of the Undercity paved the way for the rise of Piltover—the City of Progress—which sat perched atop the cliffs like a gilded crown. While the Uppercity thrived on sunlight and clean air, the people of Zaun were left to drown in the literal and metaphorical runoff of their neighbors' success. Decades of resentment fossilized into a rift that no bridge could truly span. Yet, humanity is nothing if not tenacious. The denizens of the Undercity didn't just survive; they adapted to the harshness, forging a brutal philosophy where the strong thrived and the weak were simply consumed by the smog.
The fragile status quo shifted violently seven years ago. Vander, a well known figure who held the Undercity's volatile peace together, was murdered by his former brother-in-arms, Silco. Silco's takeover was a masterclass in ruthless efficiency. Flanked by his iron-fisted enforcer Sevika and the chaotic, blue-haired specter known as Jinx—the girl once called Powder, now unhinged and utterly unpredictable—Silco became the undisputed Kingpin of Zaun.
Under Silco's reign, the poison became literal. His influence was bolstered by Singed, a mad alchemist who perfected Shimmer—a glowing purple drug capable of mutating humans into hulking, mindless monsters. Despite the horrific physical and mental side effects, the power Shimmer provided was too tempting to ignore. Now, the soot-stained alleys of Zaun are choked with Shimmer factories, and the rot has begun to seep upward, reaching even the pristine streets of Piltover.
While Zaun rotted, Piltover was undergoing a transformation of its own. The invention of Hextech by Jayce Talis and Viktor had bridged the gap between the arcane and the mechanical, sparking an unprecedented economic and technological boom. To the Council and the city, it was a golden age; to the Undercity, it was just another weapon being sharpened above their heads.
But as these two titans of industry and alchemy prepared for an inevitable collision, a new force was quietely taking root—a hero whose story was written in the stars of another life.
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(Sixteen Years Ago)
The northern district of Piltover was the height of elegance, housing the elites of the City of Progress. Among them, House Kiramman stood as a pillar of society, known for their patronage of the arts and their sponsorship of the city's most brilliant minds. The matriarch, Cassandra Kiramman, was a woman of iron will and sharp intellect, a member of the High Council who carried the weight of the city on her shoulders.
Cassandra already had a daughter, Caitlyn—a girl who, even in her youth, showed a rebellious streak and a sharp eye for detail. But sixteen years ago, the Kiramman estate welcomed another child: a son they named Kyle.
Kyle was not like other children. From the moment he could speak, it was clear he possessed an intelligence that bordered on the uncanny. While other toddlers played with wooden blocks, Kyle watched the world with eyes that seemed to have seen it all before.
This precociousness did not go unnoticed by Cassandra. Seeing his potential, she put him through a rigorous regime of study, aristocratic mannerisms, and self-defense. He was groomed to be the perfect scion of a Great House, paraded through gala events and introduced to the power players of the city in typical aristocratic moves.
But Kyle carried a secret he intended to take to his grave: he was a reincarnator.
In his past life on Earth, Kyle's existence had been a hollow one. He was a man with no family, no close friends—a ghost moving through a crowded world. After a fatal accident, he expected nothingness. Instead, he woke up in a world of brass and magic, cradled in the arms of a wealthy, loving family. To him, the "strictness" of Cassandra was a gift; it meant someone cared enough to demand the best from him.
He knew Cassandra and Caitlyn were more alike than they realized—both stubborn, both fiercely protective, and both driven by a sense of duty.
His father, Tobias, provided the balance the household needed. A sweet, calm man with strong moral values, Tobias was perhaps the only person in Piltover who truly understood the fire that burned within Cassandra. He was the one who taught Kyle that power was meaningless without kindness.
Then there was Jayce Talis. Long before he was a Council member, Jayce was an inventor sponsored by the Kirammans. To Kyle, Jayce was like an older brother. Kyle spent hours in Jayce's workshop, watching the young man tinker with gears and theories. It was through Jayce that Kyle first glimpsed the "magic" of this world—and the danger that came with it. He made a mental promise then: he wouldn't just be a spectator in this life. He would go on an adventure that spanned the map of Runeterra.
Nothing, however, fascinated Kyle more than Cecil B. Heimerdinger. To a soul from the 21st century—someone raised on anime and fantasy novels—seeing a creature like a Yordle in the flesh was a surreal experience. The fuzzy, centuries-old Dean of the Academy was a living legend.
As the years bled into one another, Kyle navigated the treacherous waters of Piltovan high society while secretly honing the knowledge he brought from Earth. He learned the rhythm of the city, the tension in the air, and the brewing storm between the heights and the depths.
Now, at sixteen years old, he was no longer just a child with memories of another world; he was a young man of two worlds.