Drip-drip-drip.
Orion's arm hung limply at his side as green energy pulsed over the wound. The bullet that struck him slid out with a metallic clink as it hit the floor, glistening with blood.
'Fuck, how did they climb ten floors that fast?!' Orion hissed in pain, his body weighed down from exhaustion after the brutal fight.
The custodian's office, which he had luckily located, was cluttered with books and piles of parchment. In his fatigued state, the chaotic mess seemed overwhelming. His gaze swept across the stacks of documents, frustration mounting.
Breathing slowly, he tried to steady himself and focus, shoving aside any papers that didn't seem remotely related to Syntixi.
Ventilation systems, distribution plans, logistics…
Fuck, where is it? Orion cursed inwardly, panic starting to bubble up as precious seconds ticked by. His eyes darted toward the custodian's window, but all he saw was a sheer drop with no ledge or grip to save him into the smog below.
Wzzzzt
Two sharp, twin impacts struck the window frame, followed by high-pitched whistling like a zipline cutting through the air. Orion's head snapped up just in time to see faint, glowing blue eyes emerge from the fog and whip toward him with terrifying speed.
He had only a split second to duck as the glass shattered, and sharp blades sliced through the air above him.
Gray hair, blue eyes that shifted shades with every blink, prosthetic legs equipped with blades, and sharp, angular facial features.
'The Grey Lady...?! Wait—Camille?!'
Panic surged through him as he twisted his body. Camille pivoted on one foot, her other leg arcing upward and leaving a shimmering trail of arcane power in its wake.
'Shit, she's using Hextech,' Orion thought in alarm, bewildered as he sensed the arcane energy flowing through her movements—and her heart. 'She's augmented herself with Hextech in some- '
The ziplines attached to her legs snapped violently with a sharp hiss. Acting on instinct, Orion rolled again just as the grappling hooks whipped back into the room, violently tearing a chunk off the custodian's desk.
Reaching for the desk, Orion channels a burst of arcane energy and hurls it across the room toward Camille. It slams into her, but a shimmering shield flares to life and shatters the desk into pieces.
ZZZZT!
Her grappling hooks loudly embed themselves into the ceiling, and with a swift, scissor-like motion, her legs slice downward toward him. His eyes widen as the incoming attack leaves him no room to dodge. Desperately, he unleashes an arcane orb in retaliation.
Camille's legs slice the orb clean in half, but the resulting blast sends her flying backward into the ceiling. He hears the air driven from her lungs as she coughs violently. Without wasting a second, Orion's eyes dart toward the window.
'Fuck it!' His heart pounds as the thundering sound of approaching boots reaches his ears. He dives headfirst toward the window, using his arcane energy to propel himself further into the open air.
A rush of burning wind engulfs him as he soars through the fog. Tilting his head mid-fall, he keeps an eye on the window. Camille leaps after him, her grappling hooks hissing as they shoot from her hips. Her sharp, predatory eyes lock onto him, but the tension on her line pulls her away, yanking her into the distance.
Orion turns his focus back to the rapidly approaching ground. He clenches his eyes shut, channeling fortifying magic just before impact.
His body crashes into a slanted rooftop and bounces like a rubber ball. Blood sprays from his mouth with each impact, the final bounce shattering his fortification and driving the air from his lungs.
The back of his jacket is scorched, his tunic stained with blood, and his cracked mask drips crimson onto his chest.
Rasping for air, Orion lifts his head. No sign of life?
He turns, looking up at the Syntixi factory looming above the building he struck. The roof beneath him bears two massive dents from his fall, but he doesn't have the strength to inspect them.
"Ugh," he groans, rolling onto his back. His breaths come in heavy gasps, the only sound being the steady drip of blood from his mask to his shirt. "That was... a failure," he grimaces, exhaling in defeat.
---------------
//Caitlyn's PoV//
Caitlyn burst into the custodian's office with Greyson and a team of enforcers following close behind. Their bodies tensed with alarm before relaxing as they surveyed the room. Caitlyn's eyes widened, scanning the destruction before her.
Evidence of the fight was clear—burning parchment littered the floor, massive dents marred the walls, shattered furniture lay scattered, and deep gouges in the metal walls made it look like someone had sliced them open like dough.
Her gaze fell on the shattered window, blood pooling and streaking across the floor beneath it. Frowning, Caitlyn approached it cautiously.
"Where are they?" Caitlyn asked, her voice laced with confusion. "Did... they jump?"
Greyson nodded, her sharp eyes resting on the blood slowly dripping down the jagged glass. "That's my only guess. We heard more fighting, but the room was empty by the time we arrived. This is all that's left."
One of the enforcers leaned out the window, scanning the area below. "Did they jump to their deaths in hopes of escape?"
Greyson shook her head, waving them toward the exit. "Search the streets. After what we saw, we can't assume they're dead until we have confirmation."
"Yes, ma'am," the enforcers replied, rushing out of the room.
Only Greyson and Caitlyn remained. Greyson sighed, her eyes roaming over the scattered, scorched documents and crumpled papers. "Something big was happening here, but most of the evidence is either damaged or destroyed."
She leaned on the butt of her weapon, shaking her head. "I don't even know what we're dealing with anymore. None of this is natural."
Caitlyn's eyes flickered with uncertainty before determination took hold. Her expression hardened, and she declared in a resolute tone, "Leave this to me. I have a knack for this kind of stuff! I'll figure out what was going on here."
Greyson's gaze slowly shifted to Caitlyn, her expression unreadable as she studied her silently. After a moment's pause, Greyson nodded, hefting her weapon and heading toward the exit.
"See what you can find, then," Greyson said softly, placing a reassuring hand on Caitlyn's shoulder. "I'll have someone guard the room while you work. Take your time."
---------------
//Orion PoV - Destroyed Warehouse//
Rain pattered against the overhang as Orion sat on the ground, leaning against the wall. The old Shimmer warehouse, the one he had emerged from several days ago, loomed before him in ruins.
The shattered window where Powder had thrown her Hextech Crystal bombs remained, the charred and rotten wood still littering the street a year later.
It didn't matter now. The silence here was peaceful, calming. Breathing out slowly, he kept his gaze fixed on the ruined structure as his thoughts wandered—revisiting recent events and memories of his peaceful days in Ionia.
'Nothing should happen to Kieran,' he told himself. 'Zarkon is dead, so there shouldn't be a direct link from him to me or Kieran. Still... I have nothing to show again.'
That thought clung to him, and waves of defeat crashed over him once more.
"Damn it," Orion muttered angrily, weakly slamming his fist into the ground. "Why the fuck was Camille there?"
The silence returned, lingering as he fumed in frustration. But suddenly, a sharp, stabbing sensation—like a knife twisting inside him—redirected his focus back toward the factory.
Groaning, he rose to his feet and stumbled toward it.
Inside, the factory glowed with pulsing waves of white and blue light rippling outward, like droplets hitting the surface of a still pond. Intense arcane energy radiated from a solid orb at the center, tendrils of purple swirling and coiling inside it, distorting the air around it where Orion had vanished and re-emerged.
Standing in the doorway and sensing the ominous energy it radiated, Orion's expression twisted with unease.
"Oh, hell no..."