Due to the dangers of Hextech, Piltover Academy specially approved the construction of a high-standard laboratory building, handing it over to Jayce and Viktor.
The next morning, sunlight streamed through the glass of the Hextech laboratory. Viktor hadn't slept all night, dark circles heavy under his eyes, but his gaze remained sharp despite the bloodshot veins.
He sat hunched over his workbench, pen in hand, sketching and jotting down notes as he pored over the Book of Revolution given to him by Cipher. The book had answered many of his questions, yet at the same time, it had raised countless more.
His hand trembled slightly from exhaustion, but he couldn't stop now.
"This book only reveals the root cause of the enmity between Piltover and Zaun, how it has hindered their progress… but it doesn't say how to dismantle it."
The cannon was loaded, yet before it could be fired, it misfired, frustrating beyond words
Sleep was out of the question. The entire night was spent calculating, constructing mathematical models, searching for solutions. He had formulated several ways to counter it, only to reject them one by one.
None of them worked.
He couldn't shoot it, couldn't bomb it, couldn't negotiate with it. It was in every trade, every transaction, every moment of exploitation.
The Book of Revolution merely scratched the surface, exposing only the tip of the iceberg. Viktor's eyes burned from strain, but he forced them to focus on the pages before him.
It was visible yet untouchable, real yet nowhere to be found. To fight it was to fight all of Piltover, already consumed by its influence, and even the forces in Zaun that had been bought by it.
How do you kill something that lives in the very fabric of society?
He had exhausted himself thinking, but still, no answer came.
Because it wasn't a concrete enemy, not a faction, not a person. It was an abstract force, born from commerce, feeding on the darkness in human nature.
The truth of it made his head spin.
As long as trade existed, as long as greed and cruelty was present in the hearts of people, it would never die. Viktor's pen scratched against the paper, another calculation leading nowhere.
How could he possibly destroy such an enemy?
"I should go to Cipher. If Cipher could see the beast clearly enough to describe it, he must know how to wound it."
Draining the cold tea beside him in one gulp, Viktor decided to run another round of calculations. If nothing came of it, he would head to Zaun to seek Cipher's guidance.
The bitter taste lingered in his mouth, matching his mood.
---
Dawn was breaking over Piltover when Mel found Jayce leaving the Hextech lab, his shoulders slumped with exhaustion. He had dark circles under his eyes from working through the night on the portal calculations.
"Jayce, do you have a moment?"
He turned, rubbing his eyes. "Mel? What brings you here so early?"
"Walk with me." She fell into step beside him. The streets were empty save for a few early merchants setting up their stalls. "The Council has been discussing Piltover's security."
"Security?" Jayce stifled a yawn. "The city's never been safer."
Mel guided them to a quiet courtyard near the Academy. "That's what we thought." She produced a leather folder from her coat. "Until these reports came in."
"What reports?"
"Sit." She gestured to a stone bench. "You need to see this."
Jayce sank onto the bench, still groggy from his all-nighter. Mel spread several documents before him.
"These are intelligence reports from Zaun." She pointed to detailed sketches of weapons. "They've developed something new. Something that could change everything."
Jayce squinted at the diagrams. "These are just theoretical designs. Zaun doesn't have the infrastructure to—"
"Look closer." Mel's finger tapped a particular page. "These aren't designs. They're photographs."
This can't be right. Jayce leaned in, studying the images more carefully. "But these specifications... the complexity of these systems..."
"They're calling them VK-47 Flatlines. And these—" She pulled out another document. "Explosive rounds that rival magic in pure destructive power."
Jayce shook his head. "Impossible. Zaun's scientific environment is too unstable for this level of innovation. Who could possibly—"
"Cipher."
"What?"
Mel laid out more evidence. Trade manifests. Weapon shipments. Meetings with Noxians. Each document revealed more of Cipher's double life.
"No." Jayce stood abruptly, pacing the courtyard. "There has to be some mistake. He wouldn't, he's dedicated to progress, to helping people. He helped us develop Hextech!"
"Perhaps that was his goal all along." Mel's words were soft but carried clearly. "Learning Piltover's secrets while developing weapons in Zaun."
"But why? Why would he..."
"You remember the Day of Ashes?"
Jayce stopped pacing. Of course he remembered. The Bridge of Progress had run red that day.
"Zaun hasn't forgotten either." Mel gathered the documents. "And now they have the means to make it happen again. Unless..."
"Unless what?"
"Unless we develop countermeasures." She met his eyes. "We need Hextech weapons, Jayce."
"No." His response was immediate. "Absolutely not. Hextech is meant to help people, not—"
"And how many people will die if Zaun attacks? We've seen what they're capable of. The hatred runs deep. Very deep."
Jayce sank back onto the bench, head in his hands. The evidence was there.
They sat in silence as the sun climbed higher. Finally, Mel stood.
"Think about it. We'll need your answer soon."
She left him there in the courtyard, surrounded by the proof of his friend's deception.
The walk home was a blur. He walked mechanically through Piltover's streets while Cipher's betrayal played over and over in his mind. The documents Mel had shown him were stuffed hastily in his coat.
In his workshop, he pulled them out with trembling hands and spread them across his workbench.
His eyes fell on a detailed sketch of the VK-47 Flatline. The design was brilliant.
"Damn it!" Jayce swept the papers off the bench in a sudden burst of rage. They scattered across the floor. He slumped into his chair, head in his hands.
Memories flooded back unbidden. Cipher helping him refine the Hextech formulas. Sharing breakthroughs. Celebrating successes.
The night deepened outside his windows, but sleep was impossible. Every happy memory now felt tainted, poisoned by doubt.
He gathered the reports from the ground and flipped through them. Looking at the information on Cipher, especially the vast number of weapons he had developed and sold, Jayce felt as if his heart was bleeding.
In that instant, everything became clear.
Cipher, one of the few people he had truly respected, the man who had helped him develop Hextech, had been using him all along.
The image of a virtuous, selfless inventor, a genius mechanical engineer dedicated to the advancement of humanity, nothing more than a facade.
In reality, he was the leader of a weapons-smuggling syndicate in Zaun, a radical warmonger plotting revenge against Piltover, waiting for the perfect moment to ignite another Day of Ashes.
It was midnight when Jayce finally made his decision. He gathered up the remaining scattered documents, carefully straightening each page. The friend he thought he knew was gone, had never existed. In his place was a stranger who had used their friendship as a weapon.
---
The next morning, he went to Mel's office.
He found her already at her desk, as if she had been expecting him.
"If we do this," he said without preamble, "we do it right."
Mel nodded. "Of course."
"And Viktor needs to agree." Jayce gathered the files from her desk. "He's my partner in this. If we're going to weaponize Hextech, I need him to understand why."
Losing one friend was painful enough. he couldn't afford to lose another one too. Viktor's thoughts mattered deeply to him.
He knew Viktor had always been committed to using Hextech for the betterment of humanity, firmly opposing its militarization.
Persuading him was essential. If they were to proceed with Hextech weapons, he had to talk to Viktor first, had to convince him.
"Then let's go see him." Mel rose from her chair. "He's been staying at the Hextech lab lately, he should still be inside."
With Cipher's files in hand, Jayce led Mel toward the lab. The morning air was crisp, but he barely noticed it, his mind consumed with what he would say to Viktor.
Reaching the entrance, he noticed the door was left open, the lights still on.
"Viktor, you pulled another all-nighter? I told you, the research on the Hexgate is complete, we don't need to rush anymore."
Jayce opened the door and strode inside. He knew Viktor's health wasn't great and had always been concerned about his habit of staying up all night for research.
But something felt off.
Viktor wasn't working on Hextech at all. Instead, he was hunched over his desk, scribbling furiously on scattered sheets of paper, a handwritten book beside him. It looked like he was deriving some sort of formula.
His movements were feverish, almost manic.
"Viktor…?"
Jayce was confused. Something about Viktor's demeanor felt strange.
In the past, whenever they pulled all-nighters together, Viktor would be visibly exhausted the next day. But now, despite the dark circles under his eyes and the bloodshot veins, his expression was nothing short of exhilarated, more intense than when he was on the verge of a Hextech breakthrough.
"Mm."
Viktor didn't even look up, responding with only a faint hum. His pen never stopped moving across the paper.
"You okay? Maybe you should rest first?" Jayce frowned.
This wasn't like Viktor. He was never this dismissive. Jayce was beginning to worry.
"Rest? No, no, no… I can't stop now."
Once again, he had torn apart his own theories. Finally, Viktor lifted his head. His eyes burned with an intensity that made Jayce take a step back.
Fingers brushing over the pages of the Book of Revolution, he turned to his friend.
"Jayce, do you know? It wasn't until I read this book last night that I finally understood what has truly been holding us back all this time."
"It's the System."
"That monstrous beast has corrupted the very core of our progress. It enslaves our minds, turns us all into blind, obedient servants."
"I've been thinking about how to defeat it."
Jayce felt an even deeper sense of unease. Viktor… wasn't acting normal at all.
His gaze dropped to the book Viktor was clutching.
The Book of Revolution: The Rift Between Two Cities.
The author's name, Cipher.
"Cipher!"
Jayce's pupils contracted. His first thought was that Cipher had poisoned Viktor's mind with something dangerous.
Fury surged through him, and he roared in anger. The sound echoed off the laboratory walls, making even Mel take a step back.