Silco's base was a submerged architectural marvel hidden in the deepest, most pressurized level of Zaun. Through reinforced glass panes, giant marine creatures drifted by like silent ghosts. It was a sanctuary for the desperate, built with the help of lower-level Alchemists who had traded their morality for a chance to strike back at the world above.
Together, they had perfected Shimmer.
In micro-doses, it was a miracle—knitting flesh and bone together in seconds. But in its raw form, it was a transformative nightmare. It granted the user the strength of a titan at the cost of their humanity, mutating both body and mind into something predatory and addictive. To Silco, this wasn't a flaw; it was a leash. He knew he didn't have Vander's natural charisma or stable foundation, so he chose a path of chemical tyranny.
Silco had originally intended to wait for the perfect moment to move against the "Hound," but Vander's attempt to mine Hex-crystals in the lower levels had forced his hand. The warning fire at the factory hadn't worked. When Vander led a suppression force into the Sump, Silco unleashed his "monsters."
The result was a slaughter. Vander was repelled and broken. Now, Silco was aggressively converting middle-tier factories into Shimmer labs. He knew this was a sprint; if he didn't consolidate power before Vander recovered, he would be crushed.
Inside the Fuggen Bar, Vander was more bandage than man. Powder had covered his dressings in colorful doodles of bunnies and gears, while Vi had performed the actual wrapping with a ferocity that suggested she was trying to mummify him.
"Smoking in this state?" Vi snatched the pipe from Vander's mouth and stuffed it into her own pocket.
"I'm mostly recovered, Vi," Vander wheezed, yielding under her glare. He turned to Benson. "How's our 'friend' Silco?"
"He's turning the middle levels into a war zone," Benson grumbled. "His methods are too ruthless. Even for Zaun."
Sevika paced the room, her arm still in the makeshift splint Kael had provided. She admired Silco's defiance against Piltover, but her loyalty to Vander—the man who had shielded her from a Shimmer-monster's claws—was ironclad.
"We can't wait forever, Vander," Sevika pressed. "He's taking root."
"We need a counter for Shimmer," Vander replied calmly. "Ordinary steel can't cut through those monsters."
"Then you'll have to ask that Piltie kid," Sevika muttered, unable to meet Kael's eyes as he pushed open the bar door. She was the definition of a Zaunite tsundere—grateful for his medical help, but biologically programmed to resent his Upper City origin.
"I have a name. It's Kael," Kael said, walking up to the bar. He held up a test tube filled with a glowing purple liquid. "Shimmer is a plague. It doesn't just destroy the body; it erodes the will. If Silco mass-produces this, Zaun will become a literal hell."
"Silco must die," Vander growled, the last of his old guilt for his former friend evaporating.
"However," Kael continued, "Shimmer has a 'light' side if you refine it correctly." He produced a syringe filled with a pale violet fluid. Without waiting for a response, he jabbed it into Vander's chest.
"What is—?"
"Shimmer Type A," Kael explained. "Neutralized alchemical agents. It accelerates cellular regeneration without the mutation."
Vander let out a long, shuddering breath. He could feel the cooling sensation spreading through his torso. When Vi peeled back the bandages, the room went silent. The jagged, black-veined wounds were gone. Only faint, silvery scars remained.
"I've tested it on rats," Kael added helpfully. "They're mostly still alive."
Vander stared at the ceiling, a single tear of frustration escaping. "If you had this... why didn't you use it before you stitched me up without anesthesia?"
"I needed to see if you were 'sturdy' enough for the dose," Kael lied effortlessly.
Mylo and Claggor dragged in several heavy crates. These weren't Enforcer weapons—Kael wasn't foolish enough to get arrested for smuggling government hardware. These were his own custom creations.
"They look like... toys," Vi noted, picking up a sleek, silver sphere. It was a unibody construction, seamless and cold to the touch, engraved with glowing blue runes.
"This is the Chomper Bomb," Kael said.
He turned a dial on the center knob, pressed the activation button, and tossed it into the center of the room. The bar patrons ducked for cover, expecting a fiery blast.
Instead, there was a silent, terrifying snap.
A one-meter sphere of space simply... vanished. A hemispherical chunk was scooped out of the stone floor as if by an invisible spoon. No fire, no smoke, just a lightless node of spatial collapse that lasted a fraction of a second.
"It's a runic-alchemical reaction," Kael explained. "I've infused the chemical agents with energy from the Ark Rune Reactor. It doesn't explode; it deletes."
The room remained silent for a long beat. Even Vi was speechless, her eyes wide with a mix of awe and genuine terror.
"Wait, brother," Powder whispered, breaking the silence. "Where's the 'chomper' sound you promised?"