Gaoshan Hotel – Presidential Suite.
"You don't seem nervous at all."
Camille stood by the window, overlooking all of Bilgewater. The skies had grown ominously dark, with oppressive black clouds shrouding the city below.
Gone was the usual sticky heat.
Instead, the air was heavy with a chilling, eerie tension.
The once-bustling Pickpocket Square and Slaughter Docks were now completely deserted. Every door and window was bolted shut, and the entire city held its breath, waiting for the dawn to break, shrouded in fear, dread, and suspicion.
"What's the rush?"
Duke screwed the cap back onto a UV grenade and carefully placed it down.
He had previously obtained blueprints for ultraviolet-based weapons specifically designed against photosensitive dark creatures. Using those as a foundation, he expanded the concept into other fields.
These UV grenades, upon detonation, released a blast of ultraviolet light intense enough to vaporize a man's skin in an instant.
And they didn't stop there, the detonation also emitted a brilliant, blinding flash.
Duke had prepared plenty of them.
In addition, he'd built an energy rifle capable of channeling UV radiation into directed beams.
If he kept pushing his research, he might even recreate something like the solar-powered rifles from Transformers.
Camille picked up one of the neatly arranged grenades, examining it in her palm. The casing was transparent, a faint glow pulsing within, beautiful, yet deadly.
"When chaos looms, one must stay calm."
"You're far better than I was at your age."
She placed the deceptively lovely weapon back down, turning to look behind her.
There stood her Hanged Man armor, waiting silently.
As for Neeko and Fizz, Duke had left them in Piltover. He didn't want them interfering tonight.
Fizz was with Heimerdinger, while Neeko had been entrusted to Orianna. Though Orianna's expression had darkened terrifyingly when Duke showed up at her door, she still agreed to take Neeko in.
Later, Duke heard that Mr. Corin had been hospitalized that same night due to a heart attack.
Apparently, after seeing both the real Orianna and Neeko imitating her standing side-by-side, he got so overjoyed that his heart couldn't handle it.
All Duke could do upon hearing this was let out a helpless chuckle.
At least someone was taking care of Neeko, that was good enough for now.
"I've never heard you talk about your younger days,"
Duke said, tightening the last grenade's pull ring before standing up from his chair and giving a long, satisfying stretch.
"There's not much to tell," Camille replied, her voice flat.
"Just relentless training, instruction, fulfilling the expectations of my family, until the day I replaced my heart."
She touched her chest gently.
Seeing this, Duke knew better than to press further.
Instead, he smiled awkwardly and said, "I'll go check on Jayce next door. If he needs to return to Piltover, I'll have Tahm ferry him back."
Knowing he was trying to escape the subject, Camille waved him off lazily.
"Go on, get out."
Duke shrugged and stepped out, heading to the room next door, leaving Camille alone, her eyes still on the looming black clouds above.
"Sometimes," she murmured softly, her fingers brushing her chest,
"scars are the finest clothes one can wear."
Knock knock knock...
Duke rapped on Jayce's door.
A few moments later, a half-asleep Jayce opened it, his hair a disheveled mess.
"How long's it been since you last rested?"
"I just woke up," Jayce mumbled, yawning. He stepped aside to let Duke in.
The moment Duke entered the room, his eyes were drawn to a massive hammer leaning in the corner.
It stood nearly as tall as a man. Runes were etched along the shaft, and embedded in the head was a multi-faceted crystal orb, radiating with powerful energy.
Just looking at the hammer made Duke's mouth water in envy.
"How is it?"
"You've been looking for a site for your experiments these past few days, haven't you?"
Duke circled the weapon, reaching out to touch it. A spark of electricity leapt out, zapping his fingertip and making him recoil with a wince.
"Your words gave me the push I needed," Jayce said.
"When someone has no voice, nothing they say really matters."
"If you want your voice heard, you have to earn it, with strength."
"And with the Harrowing approaching, I realized just how dangerous things are. So I spent over a week building this hammer."
"Where'd you get the materials?"
"Bought them from Sarah. To be honest, it nearly bankrupted me."
Jayce gave a bitter laugh.
Duke smacked his lips. Sarah... could she have sold Jayce the pile of junk he'd previously turned down?
"Especially that second-hand furnace. It had a hole burned right through it. If I didn't know how to patch it up, I probably couldn't have made this at all."
That sealed it.
Duke was now 100% certain the materials came from the pile of scrap he rejected. Miss Fortune had really pulled one over on Jayce.
"She got a name?" he asked.
"Mercury. That's what I'm calling her." Jayce's eyes lit up with pride.
"She's got two modes, hammer and cannon."
"She can emit a field of Hextech energy that enhances my physical capabilities."
"You can't imagine what it feels like to be surrounded by pure Hex energy, your entire body surging with power!"
"Ahem."
Duke raised a hand and cleared his throat. He didn't want to kill Jayce's excitement, so he simply smiled politely and let him go on.
"So how do you manage the Hextech field? Doesn't it harm you?"
"Each time Mercury transforms, it releases stored Hextech charge. When I'm in contact with her, the energy flows directly into me."
"In hammer mode, it boosts my strength. Cannon mode enhances my speed."
"Not bad at all," Duke said, stroking his chin.
In the original timeline, Jayce didn't create Mercury until years later, after tensions between Zaun and Piltover boiled over, and after he witnessed Marcus' death.
That pivotal moment was still five or ten years away.
But Duke had changed everything.
Under the pressure he created, Jayce had forged Mercury early, to prove himself, and to protect others during the Harrowing.
"So, you're fighting tonight?"
"I'm ready."
Jayce stared at Mercury, eyes gleaming with resolve.
Duke reached into his coat and placed several UV grenades on the table.
"Courtesy of me," he said with a wink.
"A little reward for embracing change."
As he reached the door, Duke suddenly remembered something.
"Oh right, one last thing," he turned back,
"When you throw these, do it far away. Otherwise, you'll end up hurting yourself."
"That's it. See you tonight."
With that, he left, the door closing behind him.
Jayce was alone again.
He glanced between his Mercury hammer and the UV grenades on the table.
Picking one up, he muttered to himself:
"A little reward for my change, huh?"
"Heh. I'll prove it to you."
"I, Jayce Talis, am not weaker than you, Duke Sanchez."
His grip tightened around the grenade, resolve burning in his eyes.
End of chapter...
🚨 Bonus Chapter Just Dropped on Patreon! 🚨
Yup, it's live! A fresh bonus chapter is waiting for you right now. 👀🔥
So what are you waiting for?
🔹 Hexcore Initiate – 15 chapters ahead
🔸 Arc Reactor Elite – 35 chapters
👉 patreon.com/MrBehringer