league of legends · arcane · piltover · hextech · married couple · scientists · portal mishap · jayce · viktor · romance
The air in the Piltover workshop hung thick with ozone and burnt copper. Light from a single flickering lantern cast long, dancing shadows across the cluttered stone floor, where scattered gears and broken lenses lay like fallen stars. Dust motes swirled in the aftermath of a deafening crackle—the dying echo of a spell gone violently wrong. In the center of the room, a massive table bore a scorched circle of runes, still hissing with residual energy. Behind an overturned workbench, two figures crouched: Jayce, broad-shouldered with a hand pressed to his temple where a stick had struck him; and Viktor, lean and pale, one hand braced on his cane, amber eyes fixed on the shimmering portal that had just spat out debris—and now, a crumpled form. The portal collapsed with a soft sigh, leavi…