After roughly a week since the incident with Camille, Cipher looked around at the small group gathered in a factory on the outskirts of Zaun. The floor had been transformed into an impromptu operations center, with diagrams pinned to walls and portable lights. The location had been chosen specifically for its isolation, far from curious eyes and, more importantly, far from the children.
Silco checked his pistol, loading it before tucking it away. A thin trail of smoke curled upward from the cigarette clamped between his lips. "I still have reservations about the whole 'other dimension' aspect."
Vander ran a whetstone along the edge of a combat knife. His expression remained guarded but firm. "We've been through the risks. If it can protect Zaun, it's worth it."
Sevika flexed her mechanical arm, testing the hydraulics after Viktor's recent adjustments.
Viktor observed from the side. He'd spent the last several days helping with preparations, but he would be staying behind. "Remember, the wristbands should maintain your connection to our dimension. In theory, they'll make it easier for Cipher to reopen the rift and bring you back."
"In theory!" Heimerdinger exclaimed, hopping onto a crate, eyes bright with excitement. "That's the thrilling part! We're venturing into completely uncharted scientific territory!"
The yordle professor held up a series of small discs. "These sensors will allow you to collect invaluable data on any technology you encounter. Simply place them on any device you wish to analyze, and they'll decode the fundamental operating principles!"
Silco took one of the sensors, turning it over skeptically. "And they'll work in another dimension?"
"In theory!"
"That's what concerns me," Viktor replied. "The dimensional instability alone could have unforeseen consequences. We're working with extremely limited knowledge."
"What about the children?" Vander asked suddenly, looking at Cipher. "Are you certain they bought the story about us inspecting the northern sectors?"
Cipher nodded. "Vi was suspicious, but Mylo's tournament should keep them occupied for at least two days. All the children in the Lanes are participating."
Silco exhaled smoke through his nostrils. "Her instincts are sharp. If anyone would see through our excuse..."
"I made sure to plant enough truth in the lie," Cipher assured them. "We are investigating potential expansion areas, just not in this dimension."
"And if we don't return in time?" Vander's voice held a note of concern.
Cipher hesitated. "Viktor has contingency instructions. But we'll be back. I've made this journey before."
"And Janna?" Silco asked, glancing at the empty air around them. The wind spirit's absence was notable. "Will she stay to watch over them?"
"She's aware of our plan," Cipher said carefully. "She'll keep an eye on things while we're gone."
"Good," Vander said. "The less they know about this, the safer they'll be."
"You trust a deity that much?" Silco raised an eyebrow.
"I trust her interest in Zaun's survival," Cipher replied. "It aligns with our own."
"Which brings us back to the expedition," Cipher continued, tracing his finger along a crude sketch that appeared to be a terrain map. "Let me be clear once more. That world isn't like anything you've encountered before. The technology is decades, perhaps centuries ahead of even Piltover's best innovations."
Silco picked up a peculiar cylindrical device with glowing blue lines. "And you're certain these items we're seeking can be adapted for our purposes?"
"Shield technology, advanced medical equipment, energy weapons, they could revolutionize Zaun's defenses." Cipher took the device from Silco, demonstrating how it activated with a soft blue glow. "But the environment itself is just as dangerous as its inhabitants."
"You mentioned these... games," Vander said, sheathing his knife. "People fighting to the death for entertainment?"
"Blood sport on an industrial scale," Cipher confirmed. "Heavily televised, sponsored, glorified. The participants, they call them 'Legends,' are celebrities and warriors of exceptional skill."
"Reminds me of the fighting pits," Sevika muttered, "just with fancier toys."
"The critical difference," Cipher continued, "is that when we step through that rift, we aren't participants. We're intruders. No rules protect us."
"We should move. The longer we wait, the more variables enter the equation." Silco crushed his cigarette under his heel. "Time's short, and we have a narrow window."
They moved to the center of the abandoned factory floor, which had been cleared of machinery and debris days before. The high ceilings and open space would give them room to maneuver. The group formed a tight circle, Silco, Vander, and Sevika around Cipher at the center. Each carried minimal equipment, weapons secured, wristbands glowing faintly with power.
"Last chance to reconsider," Viktor said from the edge of the clearing. Heimerdinger stood beside him, already taking notes, his enthusiasm undiminished.
"Too late for second thoughts," Cipher replied. He closed his eyes, his breathing becoming slow and rhythmic. "On my mark, we move together. Stay close. The transition will be... unpleasant."
The air around them began to shimmer and distort. A low hum built, rising in pitch until it was almost painful to hear. Reality fractured like broken glass, revealing swirling cosmic energies beyond.
"The energy spike are stronger!" Viktor called out, monitoring a device. "Cipher, is this normal?"
Heimerdinger murmured observations while he took readings with a device Cipher had helped design. "Extraordinary! The quantum fluctuations are perfectly synchronized!"
Inside Cipher's mind, the familiar cold mechanical voice echoed as text scrolled across his vision:
---
[Please select a dimensional rift destination:
- Apex
- Worms
- Random world]
[If no selection is made, the rift will disappear in one minute.]
---
Without hesitation, he focused on "Apex." The system responded.
---
[Destination: Apex World Coordinates locked]
[Calibrating dimensional frequency.]
[WARNING: Dimensional instability detected.]
[Proceed with caution.]
[Rift stability: 87%]
---
"Now!" Cipher commanded, his voice strained with concentration. "Step through together!"
They stepped forward as one into the fracture. Colors inverted, sound became tactile, gravity shifted. Each experienced the transition differently.
Vander felt like he was drowning in open air, his lungs struggling against nothing. Memories of the river flashed through his mind, that fateful day when everything changed.
Silco saw echoes of every possible version of himself, countless paths diverging and converging. Glimpses of worlds where he killed Vander, where he died instead, where Zaun rose or fell under his guidance.
Sevika's mechanical arm went haywire, fingers spasming as the unknown energies interfered with its mechanisms. Painful feedback shot through her nervous system as her vision split into prismatic fragments.
"Focus on my voice!" Cipher called out. "Don't fight the sensations, let them pass through you!"
Time stretched and compressed simultaneously. A sensation of being pulled in all directions at once overwhelmed them. Then came a final lurching feeling, like missing a step in the dark.
They stumbled onto hard-packed dirt beneath a burnt-orange sky. Two suns hung low on the horizon, one significantly smaller than the other. The air carried unfamiliar scents: metallic undertones and something almost sulfuric.
Vander recovered first, immediately scanning for threats.
Silco took in the twin suns with narrowed eyes. "You mentioned 'different,' not 'entirely alien.'"
"Different dimensions, different physical constants," Cipher explained. "The air is breathable, gravity is slightly lighter than home."
Sevika experimentally jumped, rising higher than expected. "Explains why I nearly hit my head just now."
They had emerged in what appeared to be an abandoned outpost. Several prefabricated structures stood nearby, some partially collapsed. Debris was scattered around: empty ammunition containers, discarded equipment. In the distance, sheer rock formations rose like sentinels, and the sound of drones could be heard faintly overhead.
Sevika flexed her mechanical arm, which had stopped responding. "Something's interfering with the hydraulics." She tapped it against her leg, and it suddenly whirred back to life with unexpected force, nearly pulling her off balance. "Or... enhancing them."
"The ambient energy field here is different," Cipher explained, checking readings on his wrist device. "Denser, more conductive. Our technology might behave unpredictably until it equilibrates."
"That would have been useful information beforehand," Silco remarked dryly.
"I did mention 'unpleasant surprises,'" Cipher reminded him. And I never brought technology from Runeterra to this world...
Silco moved to the nearest structure, examining markings on its wall. "Really alien." He ran his fingers over what appeared to be a corporate logo, a stylized "H" with a hexagonal border.
"Hammond Robotics," Cipher explained, checking a device on his wrist. "Military-industrial complex that spans multiple planets in this system."
"Planets?" Sevika turned sharply. "You never mentioned we'd be on another planet."
"Same universe, different world," Cipher replied, though his attention was elsewhere. "The distinction seemed academic given we were already crossing dimensions. This outpost has been abandoned for some time, but not as long as I expected. The Games must have moved to a different arena."
"The... Games. Right." Vander tested the weight of his knife. "How far are we from where we need to go?"
Cipher checked another device, a compact holographic map projected from his wrist. "The research facility should be about ten kilometers northeast. If we maintain a steady pace and avoid detection, we could reach it by nightfall."
"Assuming 'nightfall' means the same thing here," Sevika muttered, eyeing the twin suns.
"Twenty-six hour rotation," Cipher informed them. "Longer days, longer nights, and a twilight period when both suns are setting."
Vander disappeared into one of the structures, emerging moments later. "Fresh blood smears inside. Someone was here recently."
Cipher found a discarded energy weapon partially buried in the dirt, its casing cracked but the core still intact. "Salvageable," he noted, turning it over.
Silco examined scorch marks along the walls of another building. "These aren't conventional weapon burns. The pattern suggests sustained energy output, not explosive force."
"Plasma-based weaponry," Cipher explained. "Highly efficient, minimal recoil, devastating against most forms of armor."
The sounds of distant mechanical whirring grew louder, then abruptly ceased, leaving an eerie silence.
"If even half of what's here can be salvaged and reverse-engineered," Silco said, a thin smile forming on his lips, "Camille's augmentations will look like a child's toy."
Vander pointed to the horizon. "Smoke. Not far off."
Indeed, a thin column of black smoke rose from beyond a ridge several kilometers away.
"Could be survivors," Cipher suggested, consulting his holographic map. "Or a trap. This world has few innocents, everyone is either competing or exploiting the competition."
"So we avoid it?" Sevika questioned.
"No," Silco decided after a moment. "It's on our path, and might provide intelligence. But we approach with extreme caution."
"Only one way to find out, huh?" Sevika checked her weapon.
As they gathered their equipment and prepared to move out, Silco paused, staring intently at the ridgeline to their west.
"Problem?" Vander asked.
"Just a feeling," Silco replied, narrowing his eyes. "That we're being watched."
"In this world," Cipher said grimly, scanning the terrain, "that's rarely paranoia. Stay alert, stay together."
They moved out in tight formation, weapons ready, eyes constantly scanning their surroundings.
From a distant vantage point, partly concealed by rocky outcroppings, a pair of glowing orange eyes tracked their movement. The figure remained motionless except for the subtle tilt of its head, assessing potential prey. Its metallic fingers silently curled into a fist.
Interesting, the figure thought. Not competitors. Not affiliated with any known faction.
The orange eyes flared brighter for a moment. Metal fingers tapped silently against the rocky surface.