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Chapter 53 - Episode 52: Omnipotent

Bael burst through the lab's doors, his coat soaked from the drizzle outside, hair dripping, eyes blazing with purpose. The lab was silent, empty at this hour—but that was perfect.

He slammed the lights on and made his way straight to the central table, scattering blueprints and mechanical scraps. His fingers moved with unhinged precision, pulling open compartments, twisting knobs, and scrawling glowing runes across the surface of the main engine.

He wasn't hesitating anymore.

These runes—his runes—weren't just explosive or empowering. They were bridging something far greater now. They shimmered with colors that didn't belong in this world, bending reality with each line he etched.

"I'm coming back for you…" he whispered, his voice nearly lost in the storm outside.

He carved the last rune into the center of the device—an anchor. Dimensional resonance. A tear through space itself. The machine rumbled softly as the runes began to pulse, alive.

The air crackled. The floor vibrated.

A hum built from silence to a low roar. Purple lightning arced from the machine, splitting into strange symbols midair.

The rift was forming.

Behind a pillar, Isha crouched quietly, wide eyes reflecting the swirling energy. She didn't flinch. She just… watched. Still. Silent. Like she already knew this moment was coming.

Bael didn't see her.

All he saw was the path forward.

A path that led back to her—

Back to Jinx.

The night howled.

Rain lashed against the windows like claws. Thunder cracked the sky open in bursts of pale light, revealing the twisted shadows crawling along the lab walls. Wind howled through the cracked panes, shrieking like lost souls.

And in the middle of it all stood Bael.

His coat clung to his skin, soaked and heavy, but he didn't feel it. He didn't hear the storm. All he heard was the humming of the runes—etched along his arm like cursed veins, pulsing with forbidden energy. They whispered to him in voices not meant for this world.

Each symbol he carved bled a little more of him.

Each spark of power brought him closer to something unnatural.

He was building a doorway—a rift—not to escape, but to rip through the fabric of reality and return to her.

Jinx.

The real one.

The thunder outside was nothing compared to the storm inside the lab. Glass shuddered, metal groaned. The very air distorted around the machine, heat and cold colliding as arcane energy built to a sickening crescendo.

And from the shadows near the crates, Isha watched.

Silent. Pale. Her little body tucked behind a beam, soaked but unmoving. Her eyes wide, reflecting lightning, locked on Bael.

He didn't know she was there.

But she knew this wasn't just magic.

This was something darker.

Bael's hand hovered over the last rune.

The machine crackled with unstable energy—arcs of light dancing wildly, warping the space around it like a dream slipping into a nightmare. Just a few more glyphs. Just a little more power. And then—

SLAM.

The lab doors burst open with a metallic screech. Wind and rain howled in behind the small figure of Heimerdinger, soaked and breathless, his fur matted down. Behind him, enforcers stepped in cautiously, weapons drawn, eyes wide as they took in the chaos before them.

"By the stars, what are you doing?!" Heimerdinger exclaimed, his voice trembling more from shock than the cold.

Bael turned slowly, eyes burning, veins glowing faintly with arcane light. His coat fluttered from the sheer pressure in the room, his body marked with glowing runes like war paint from another realm.

"Finishing it," Bael said flatly.

The enforcers looked at one another, unsure whether to move or stand still. One of them whispered, "The report said the lab was hijacked…"

Heimerdinger's gaze locked onto the machine. His ears twitched. His pupils shrank.

"No," he muttered. "No, no, no… This isn't research. This is madness. This is a breach of every safety protocol Hextech has ever stood for."

"You think this is Hextech?" Bael smiled, just barely. "This is something else entirely."

Heimerdinger stepped forward. "You have no idea what you're playing with, young man. Whatever this is—it doesn't look safe. And it definitely doesn't look… good."

Bael lowered his gaze, then tilted his head. The runes along his arm pulsed with a low hum, as if reacting to the tension.

"Nothing good ever comes without a little danger, professor." His voice lowered. "And nothing worth doing… ever stays safe."

Behind the crates, Isha remained hidden, eyes sharp, hands clutched together.

This wasn't going to end quietly.

Heimerdinger's voice cracked with authority, his eyes wild as he stepped forward, trying to close the gap between himself and Bael. "Stop!"

Bael didn't flinch. His hands hovered above the machine, fingers curling as he activated more runes, their glow intensifying, casting an eerie light across the room. The air itself seemed to tremble with the weight of the power he was harnessing.

"Stop, Bael!" Heimerdinger shouted again, his voice rising in panic. "You don't know what you're doing! This is dangerous! You're risking everything—everything you've worked for!"

Bael's smile was cold, almost too calm for the situation. "I've worked my entire life for this moment," he said, his voice low and full of intent. "And I'm not stopping now."

The enforcers, clearly torn between their training and the imminent danger, stepped forward cautiously, weapons raised.

Bael's eyes flicked to them, and for a brief moment, the runes on his arm flared with a dangerous brightness. "I wouldn't take another step, if I were you." His voice was a warning, and the air around him grew thick with tension.

Heimerdinger's breath hitched, but he was resolute. "Bael, please! Stop this madness. You can't—"

But Bael didn't wait for the professor to finish. With a flick of his wrist, more symbols appeared on his arm—glowing, shimmering like a dark promise.

The room seemed to hold its breath, the wind outside howling louder, the thunder ramming against the building as if nature itself could sense the disturbance.

"Last warning." Bael's voice was sharp as a knife.

Heimerdinger paused. His eyes flickered to the enforcers behind him, then back to Bael. He wasn't sure how far Bael was willing to go, but the sheer intensity in the air—this was no longer a mere experiment. This was something beyond. Something dangerous. He had no choice.

"Stop!" Heimerdinger finally demanded, his voice carrying the weight of authority and genuine fear.

But Bael didn't answer immediately. He simply stared back at the professor, his hand slowly moving toward the heart of the machine, the runes glowing brighter, swirling with energy, as if waiting for his command.

The enforcers waited, weapons still raised, but hesitant.

Finally, after a long, drawn-out moment of silence, Bael spoke—his voice dangerously calm, yet darkly amused.

"I warned you…" he muttered, barely loud enough for anyone to hear.

But it was too late for words now.

The moment Bael placed his hand on the core, the entire machine pulsed—once—twice—then violently burst open in a blinding flare of blue and violet energy. The runes on his body surged, reacting to the rift as it tore through the very fabric of reality.

A violent boom followed.

The rift exploded.

The lab was engulfed in a flash of light as the explosion tore the room apart, ripping through metal, glass, and concrete. Wind and arcane energy howled together in a cacophony of destruction.

Bael was pulled into the rift, his body vanishing in an instant.

Isha, who had been watching in terrified silence, sprinted toward the collapsing vortex—eyes wide, hair and cloak flailing in the violent wind. Without hesitation, she dove in after him.

The rift closed behind them with a deafening shriek.

Then—

Silence.

And then the entire lab collapsed.

A massive shockwave followed the rift's closure. Machinery was vaporized. Consoles shattered. The Hextech core imploded, releasing a final surge of unstable energy that swept through the lab like wildfire.

Heimerdinger, caught in the blast, was thrown across the room, his frail body slamming against the wall. His eyes flickered briefly before rolling back. He fell into unconsciousness—a coma that would last for days, if not weeks.

The enforcers… weren't so lucky.

The shockwave turned them to dust, their bodies crumbling under the sheer pressure and energy. Nothing was left but scorched armor and ash.

The lab was gone. Only smoldering ruins remained.

And Bael?

He was already somewhere else.

...

The handshake froze.

Bael's eyes snapped open—dilated, breath sharp, disoriented. Something wasn't right. His whole body felt like it had just been thrown through a star and stitched back together.

Jayce stepped back, startled. "Bael…?"

A low whirring sound began to echo from Bael's arm. The mechanical limb trembled, then cracked at the elbow. Tiny arcs of unstable Hextech energy sparked along the joints.

Vi narrowed her eyes. "What the hell—"

CLANG.

The robotic arm collapsed, shattering into a thousand metallic fragments at his feet like broken glass. Tiny gears rolled across the floor, flickering with dying runes.

Bael dropped to one knee, panting, left with only one limb. He stared at the pieces in silence.

Jinx's smile faded. Her pupils shrank.

She snapped her gaze to Jayce.

"You did something," she growled, voice trembling with fury. "What the fuck did you do to him?!"

Jayce raised both hands, stepping back. "I didn't! I swear—I didn't touch him! I just—shook his hand!"

"Don't lie to me!" Jinx screamed, steam hissing from her gun as she aimed it at him. "You better explain before I make a new hole in your lab!"

Vi stood between them instantly, hand raised toward Jinx. "Hold up, Powder! Calm down—we need to figure out what just happened!"

Bael lifted his head slowly. Sweat clung to his face.

"…It wasn't him," he said, voice hoarse. "It's the price. For crossing dimensions…"

Both sisters looked at him in confusion.

Bael slowly stood up, one arm hanging limp, the other now gone.

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