"Damn it, what a waste!"
Duke slammed his fist on the workbench, glaring at the burnt remains of the Fate Loom fragment on the table. He had triggered it without meaning to. Thank goodness the question he asked wasn't entirely useless, otherwise, it would've been a complete loss.
"Still... not bad for something I blurted out on a whim."
He memorized the information left behind by the smoldering silk fragment. The Ferros family's rise to power came from their discovery of the original Hex Crystal.
Of course, Arcane barely mentioned the Ferros family or Camille's lineage. Makes sense, if Camille had actually shown up, Jinx wouldn't have had a chance to cause chaos. She would've been stomped out by Camille in an instant.
Duke carefully noted the mechanism described for unlocking Alicia Ferros's coffin. With a wave of his hand, the silk burned to ash and vanished without a trace.
"The Heart of a Huskborn, the primeval Hex Crystal of natural magic..."
Tapping the tabletop, Duke sank deep into thought. Since he now had this knowledge, he had to get his hands on that crystal.
As for Jayce and Viktor's Hextech Core? Honestly, the original Hex Crystal outclassed it, though it lacked Hextech's versatility. Hextech only needed some rune inscriptions or shimmer serums to function. But the original Hex Crystal? It demanded innate magical affinity.
"Should I make a move?"
Duke hesitated, then temporarily shelved the idea. He was still a fledgling, if he really tried grave-robbing now and ran into Camille, he'd be a goner. Better to wait until he had real power.
"For now, I've only got one priority."
He pulled out the Super Soldier Serum once again. His eyes gleamed as he examined the folded injector inside.
Moments later, Duke locked the attic door, shut the windows, stripped off his shirt, and strapped on the injector. It resembled the machine used to inject Captain America, though this one was a simplified version.
Cap had a fancy setup with Vita-Rays; Bucky just got a shot in a dingy room and screamed through the pain.
Duke's injector was like a chestplate, covering his upper torso. The needleless injectors targeted his heart and brainstem directly.
After locking the serum into its valve, Duke clenched a towel between his teeth and activated the device.
Click. Click.
Two crisp mechanical sounds. The needleless heads pressed against his chest and neck, and the deep blue serum surged through the tubes into his body.
Duke's eyes flew wide open. Capillaries around his eyes burst, glowing blue as his pupils flooded with radiant light.
"AAAAARGHHH!!!"
A guttural roar tore through the attic. Out on the street, passersby paused, looked toward the building, then shrugged and went about their day.
An hour and a half later, a seemingly ordinary man stepped into the depths of Zaun.
Hood up, hands in his jacket pockets, Duke blended into the crowd. But up close, his steady breathing and solid footfalls were unmistakable. The faint arcs of blue still glimmered at the edges of his black irises.
"Thought that shot was gonna kill me..."
Still shaken, Duke had grossly underestimated the serum's side effects.
It was agony, cellular-level transformation. Every cell was breaking down and rebuilding itself at hyperspeed. His organs, muscles, blood, bones, everything, had been optimized to peak human performance.
Even his brain felt sharper. The world moved slower around him, like everyone was walking in slow motion. He could analyze every frame of movement, like scrubbing a video frame by frame. His body hadn't changed much outwardly, but inside? A complete overhaul.
Now enhanced, Duke made a beeline for Zaun. He didn't want to waste time. His top priority now was upgrading his clockwork power armor and acing the assessment at Blue Rose Manor to earn more resources.
That ten-pull gacha had been a jackpot. And he needed another one. Or several.
As he wandered deeper into Zaun's Blacklane district, Duke slowed his pace.
He had spotted something familiar.
The Frogen Tavern.
The home of Vi, Jinx, and their adoptive father, Vander.
Duke looked at the tavern's glowing sign and the stream of people going in and out. After a moment's thought, he walked in.
Maybe he'd run into the sisters. If memory served, Jinx should already have an unfinished Hex Crystal in her possession.
That would make for one hell of an energy source.
Inside, the atmosphere was warm and rustic, very different from the chaos that would come under Silco's rule.
A coin-operated jukebox stood at the entrance, playing vinyl tracks. Brass framework painted in teal supported the second floor, each beam studded with warm, soft incandescent bulbs.
Scattered tables surrounded a central pool table where patrons chatted listlessly, as if something had just happened.
The bar was at the very back, lined with oak barrels. Behind the counter stood a burly man with a thick beard and overalls, Vander himself. He puffed calmly on a pipe while keeping a watchful eye on the patrons. A door beside the counter led downstairs, and a staircase beside it wound up to the second floor.
Duke scanned the bar with interest. Just then, someone behind him shoved his back.
"Hey kid, don't just stand there blocking the way!"
The guy had shoved with force, but Duke didn't budge an inch. Instead, the man yelped and shook his hand in pain.
"Watch yourself," Duke grinned, flashing pristine white teeth. The arcs of blue still flickering in his eyes made the guy freeze.
"S-sorry, just... don't block the door, okay?"
"No problem."
Duke stepped aside and walked straight to the bar.
In Piltover, you gained respect through elegance and manners. But here in Zaun? You had to show strength. Let people know you weren't someone to mess with. Be firm.
Two cities. Two survival codes.
Fortunately, Duke still had Zaun's rules etched into his bones.
"What'll it be, kid?" Vander asked, setting aside his pipe.
Taking a seat, Duke folded his hands on the bar. "I'm looking for supplies. Cheap, in bulk. Preferably something I can flip for profit."
He rubbed his thumb and forefinger together with a sly grin. Vander stared at him for a long moment, then took a deep puff of his pipe.
"This is just a tavern. We don't deal in that kind of business."
Duke expected the refusal. Vander had chosen peace. The man who once led Zaun's rebellion had long since tamed the beast within.
"Well, that's a shame."
Duke ran a finger along the countertop and turned to leave. He wasn't the type to make threats, especially not to Vander, the bar's de facto protector.
Threatening him here would be suicide.
And using Vi or Jinx as leverage? That would be idiotic. A father who loves his daughters is not to be trifled with.
As he turned to leave, Duke caught sight of the basement entrance. Four teenagers stood nearby, two boys, two girls. One chubby, one lanky; one tall, one short.
He gave them a friendly nod, unaware that his face had stunned two of them.
"Did that guy look familiar to you?" Vi nudged Jinx.
Jinx squinted at Duke's back, fragments of old memories surfacing.
"Pretty sure... that's Duke!"
"But didn't he die in the riots years ago?" Vi frowned. Milo and Claggor exchanged confused glances.
"I don't know who you're talking about," Claggor shrugged.
"Our old neighbor," Vi explained. "Used to live near the Sumps. His parents were killed by Piltover enforcers during the disaster... we all thought he died too."
"You still remember him?" Claggor asked, puzzled.
"It's complicated," Vi scratched her head, a little sheepish.
"Hey! Where are you going, Powder?"
Seeing Jinx step toward Duke, Milo tried to stop her, but Vi raised her hand. "Let her go. It's better to know."
From the bar, Vander gave them a questioning look. Vi offered a calming nod, eyes filled with quiet hope.
If it really was Duke, it meant something from the past had come back.
Sure, she used to bully him, stole his toys, wrestled him to the ground, but hey, who didn't do dumb stuff as a kid?
"Excuse me!"
Duke stopped in his tracks, surprised. He turned to find a petite, blue-haired girl looking up at him with wide eyes.
"You're... Duke, right?"
"You know me?"
When he confirmed, Jinx, Powder, jumped in excitement. "It's me! Powder! I mean, I'm Jinx now. Remember? I'm the one who watched my sister steal your snacks and toys all the time...?"
Her voice trailed off as guilt crept in. Duke searched his memories, and sure enough, images bubbled up. Faint fragments, two fierce girls, a childhood full of scuffles...
And Vi pinning him down in alley brawls.
"I remember now! Your sister stole my gear-spinning top and never gave it back!"
"Uh... yeah..." Jinx's face flushed red with embarrassment, hands awkwardly behind her back.
Duke chuckled. Who would've thought, the protagonist of this twisted tale, bumping into someone from his past?
"Fate really is something, huh?"