Arcane: Mage from Noxus

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"No matter what happens, they are still fighting among themselves."

Sevika couldn't see that far ahead, but she paused her paddling, hesitating as she debated whether to move forward.

Jinx glanced at her unexpectedly. For once, there was no mocking grin—just a dull, detached look.

"A few robots with flashing blue lights appeared," Jinx muttered, her tone uncharacteristically flat.

"With a few swipes, they wiped out the defenders at the fort."

"Is it the one who answered our signal? Machines? Must be Mr. Butler," Sevika replied with a smirk.

She resumed paddling, pushing the boat toward the towering side walls of Piltover.

As the boat reached the wall, the two leaped onto the rocky terrain below. Sevika turned to Jinx and, after a moment's pause, asked dryly:

"Do you even know how to get up there by yourself?"

"Of course I can climb this kind of wall!" Jinx shot back, feeling Sevika's skeptical gaze boring into her.

She straightened, brushing off her hesitation, and raised her eyebrows in mock confidence.

Jinx inhaled deeply, then pushed off hard with her legs. Her body propelled upward, and she grabbed hold of a corroded gap in the wall. One hand clung tightly as the other reached for another crevice. Her movements were jerky and uncoordinated, relying entirely on her arms to pull her weight—a sloppy and inefficient method.

Sevika watched Jinx's uneven climb, her robotic arm resting on her hip.

She frowned but said nothing. Without further hesitation, Sevika jumped.

Thud!

The metallic impact of Sevika's robotic arm echoed against the wall as it slammed into the surface, anchoring her in place. Her right hand followed suit, while her feet carefully found footholds.

Unlike Jinx, her climb was smooth and methodical—every motion deliberate as the mechanical arm dug into the wall for leverage.

As they climbed higher, Jinx began to struggle. Her arms trembled as her strength waned, and she found herself stuck, clinging to a recess in the wall with no obvious way to proceed.

Sevika, steady as ever, caught up quickly. Her calm voice drifted up from below.

"If you keep flailing around like that, Zaun will have already taken Piltover by the time you get up there."

Jinx sneered, assuming Sevika was about to mock her again. But Sevika's next words surprised her.

"I'm not here to show you up, Jinx," Sevika said, her tone unusually patient.

"Mr. Butler sent me to make sure you get up this wall. Do you know what's beneath us? A pile of bones left by those who tried and failed before us. This wall wasn't built to keep us out peacefully."

Jinx's grip on the rock tightened. She pursed her lips, unwilling to admit weakness.

"I don't need your help! I can do it myself!" she snapped, her voice sharp with frustration.

She glanced upward. Less than ten meters to go. Her chest heaved as she steadied her breath, her eyes hardening with determination.

She gritted her teeth.

'No one will look down on me again. Not ever.'

Summoning every ounce of strength, Jinx yanked her body upward. Her left hand gripped tightly while her right hand found a tiny gap—barely big enough for her fingertips. Her skin split as her fingers dug in, but she ignored the sting.

Her eyes darted back and forth, searching for her next move. But before she could act, her fingers slipped, and she felt herself falling.

Panic flashed across her face as she flailed, trying to adjust her posture midair. But before the ground rushed up to meet her, she felt a sharp tug on her ankle.

"Hold on, you idiot," Sevika growled, her mechanical arm hoisting Jinx back up with ease. Jinx dangled upside down for a moment before Sevika slung her over her back like a sack of grain.

"Twenty meters down," Sevika muttered.

"If you're trying to prove you can't fall to your death, you're doing a great job."

"Let me go!" Jinx protested, squirming against Sevika's grip.

Sevika didn't budge. "Stop being so reckless. Can you act your age for once?"

"I'm not a child!" Jinx snapped, her voice shrill with indignation.

Sevika only smirked, shaking her head as she continued climbing.

Jinx grabbed Sevika's shoulder tightly to keep herself from slipping and gritted her teeth as she snapped back, "Hey, you're the one acting like you're not a child. After all these years, you still don't know how to stop being so impatient."

With Jinx's weight on her back, Sevika's climbing slowed, but her movements remained steady and deliberate.

"When the boss first took me in," she began,

"I was like you—always thinking I could do anything. But reality hit hard. In his eyes, I was just another tool that couldn't do a damn thing."

Jinx opened her mouth, ready to fire off a sarcastic remark, but for once, she hesitated and stayed silent.

"Except for that one time," Sevika continued, her tone softening.

"I don't even know why, but I threw myself into an explosion to protect him. Lost my whole left arm. That was the only time I thought—just for a moment—that I'd earned his respect."

Jinx's expression darkened, her voice low. "That day…"

"Yeah, the day Vander died," Sevika replied without missing a beat. Her voice carried a mix of bitterness and nostalgia, though her hands and feet didn't falter.

"That was also the day your sister abandoned you. You cried your eyes out."

"I don't have a sister!" Jinx snapped, her face twisting in anger.

Her grip on Sevika's shoulder tightened.

"There it is again," Sevika said with a dry chuckle.

"You're angry like a child, always wearing your emotions on your face. You and the boss aren't so different, you know. But do you know what sets him apart?"

"What?" Jinx sneered, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"What does that even mean?"

"It means," Sevika said, grinning, "you can't face your past. You're Jinx now, but you've always known where that name came from. Your sister gave it to you—a jinx, a disaster. The boss? He doesn't shy away from his past. He tells his story to anyone who'll listen."

Jinx grimaced, rolling her eyes. "What, the story about how Vander nearly drowned him? He's told that one at least eight hundred times. It's old news."

"Exactly," Sevika said.

"He tells it eight hundred times. You? You can't even tell it to yourself once."

"Of course I—" Jinx started, her voice rising defensively, but she faltered mid-sentence.

Her expression shifted—from indignation to indifference, and finally to a strange, complicated laugh.

"Okay," Sevika said, cutting the moment short.

"Enough of the emotional crap. We're here."

She shifted Jinx's weight slightly and continued, "Remember this, kid: everyone has their own value. Mine is simple—to carry out the boss's orders, no matter what. Yours? You need to figure that out for yourself."

Sevika's tone turned sharp, tinged with frustration.

"That day when you blew up the airship, the boss screamed at me, said it was all my fault. But after meeting Mr. Butler and Mr. Mage, I realized something: I'm a nobody. It doesn't matter what I do—no one cares. But you're different. Silco saw something in you, and because of that, I do too. Even if you are… a waste."

With a grunt, Sevika adjusted her position. Her mechanical arm punched into the wall one last time, propelling her high enough to grab the edge of the city wall.

She hoisted herself up and, with Jinx still clinging to her back, dropped onto the platform above.

The two hid behind a coastal defense gun as Sevika surveyed their surroundings.

The corpses of enforcers littered the ground, their bodies bearing fatal wounds. Some had large dents in their armor, clear signs of brutal force.

"It's all taken care of," Sevika muttered, her eyes narrowing.

"But they'll catch on soon. We don't have much time."

Jinx slung her rocket launcher over her shoulder, her expression blank.

"I've got this."

Sevika raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure? We've only got one shot at this."

"Bodyguarding is your thing," Jinx replied coldly, tilting her head toward Sevika.

"Blowing stuff up? That's mine."

She pointed to herself with her free hand, her eyes glinting with something unreadable—a mix of clarity, resolve, and defiance. Without another word, she moved her finger to the trigger and pulled it.

Boom!

The rocket, amplified by hex gems, shot through the air with a deafening roar, leaving a trail of thick smoke in its wake.

In the blink of an eye, it covered the kilometer-long distance to its target.

The tower erupted in a massive fireball, the explosion lighting up the night sky. An earth-shattering sound followed, echoing across Piltover like a thunderclap.

It was the first sound of the night.