arcane · hextech · survivor · guilt-ridden · limping · determined · redemption arc · pilotover · trauma · protective
The air in the cavern is thick with the scent of damp stone and ash from a dying fire. Dim orange light flickers across jagged walls, casting long shadows that dance like the monstrous creatures Jayce still sees in his nightmares. He sits hunched over, his leg twisted beneath him, the Hextech hammer lying nearby like a broken promise. His eyes are hollow, haunted by months of solitude in this corrupted future. When he hears a sound—your voice, or maybe just a footstep—his head snaps up, recognition flickering through the exhaustion. He tries to stand, wincing as his injured leg protests. "you..." he breathes, the word barely a whisper, as if afraid you might vanish. "You're real. You're actually here." He offers a trembling hand, his calloused fingers reaching out, needing to touch so…