Singed and Viktor looked at each other.
Neither of them spoke at first.
The prototype lay ready on the table, ugly and incomplete, but alive enough to matter. Thin lines of Hextech light moved through the frame. The treated Xer'Sai tissue shifted under the restraints in slow pulses, like something sleeping badly. The petricite bands held it in place. The feeding canisters, filled with measured extract, waited beside the spine frame.
Jinx stood in front of it with her hand raised.
"I said I'll do it," she repeated.
Viktor did not answer immediately. His eyes moved from the prototype to Jinx, then to Singed.
The problem was obvious.
Jinx was brilliant. She understood machines quickly, too quickly sometimes. She had already helped improve several parts of the prototype in ways Viktor had not expected. But the suit was not only a machine. It touched the mind. It reacted to fear, guilt, anger, memory, and instinct. If the Void truly knew how to dig into human weakness, then placing Jinx inside the first prototype felt dangerously close to handing it a loaded weapon.
Singed seemed to reach the same conclusion, though his expression barely changed.
Jinx lowered her hand and stared at them. "What? You two are doing the quiet old-men-staring thing."
Viktor sighed. "Jinx, this is not a weapon test."
"Everything is a weapon test if you try hard enough."
"That is exactly why I am concerned."
She folded her arms. "I know what it is."
"No," Viktor said. "You know what we built. You do not know what it will do once it touches your nervous system."
Jinx glanced at the prototype. For the first time, her confidence did not look careless. It was sharp, forced into place because something more fragile stood behind it. "Then we find out."
Viktor's voice softened. "Are you certain?"
"Yes."
He studied her face, perhaps looking for doubt, perhaps hoping to find enough of it to stop this. But if there was one thing no one in the room could deny, it was that arguing with Jinx once she fixed herself on a goal was nearly impossible.
Viktor tried anyway. "Would you prefer to have someone close nearby? Silco, Vi, Vander, anyone who could help keep you grounded?"
"No."
"You do not have to prove anything by doing this alone."
"I'm not proving anything." Jinx looked away for a second, then back at him. "I'm testing the suit."
Viktor turned toward Singed.
Singed gave a small nod. "Refusing her may produce worse conditions."
Jinx pointed at him. "See? Creepy doctor gets it."
"I did not say I approved," Singed said.
"Still counts."
Viktor pressed two fingers against the bridge of his nose, then lowered his hand. "Fine. But if I see signs that you cannot tolerate the connection, I will disconnect you immediately."
Jinx gave him a quick salute. "Sure."
"I mean it."
"I know."
He picked up a small control switch attached to the prototype by a thin cable. "You can also disconnect yourself. Press this if you feel overwhelmed, disoriented, or if you see anything that feels wrong."
Jinx took the switch and turned it over in her hand. "Wrong how?"
Viktor looked at Kai'Sa.
Kai'Sa stood nearby, silent and alert. Her carapace had been tense ever since the prototype began to pulse. She had not liked the idea of Jinx testing it, but she also knew that telling Jinx not to do something would not stop her.
"Wrong like something inside you is speaking with your own voice," Kai'Sa said.
Jinx's fingers tightened around the switch.
Then she grinned, but it did not reach her eyes. "Great. I hate those."
They fitted the prototype onto her carefully.
Viktor handled the spinal frame and chest brace. Singed adjusted the feeding canisters and checked the flow of the Xer'Sai extract. Jinx held still, which somehow made her look stranger than if she had been bouncing on her heels or complaining. The inner braces locked around her arms and legs. The collar settled at the base of her neck.
Kai'Sa watched the connection point with unease.
It did not pierce deeply. Viktor had made sure of that. This prototype only brushed against the nervous system through a shallow interface. It was safer than true fusion, but safe was not the same as harmless.
"Beginning low contact," Viktor said.
The Hextech core lit.
The tissue moved.
Jinx's eyes widened.
For half a second, nothing else happened.
Then all color drained from her face.
Viktor had not even opened his mouth before Jinx slammed her thumb onto the switch.
The light died.
The tissue went still.
Jinx stumbled forward, one hand flying to the edge of the table. Kai'Sa stepped toward her, but Jinx held up a hand to stop her.
No one spoke.
Jinx breathed through her teeth, fast and shallow. Her pupils were small. Her shoulders trembled once, then locked.
Viktor moved carefully. "Jinx?"
She did not look at him. "Bring Vi."
The words were quiet.
That made them worse.
Viktor nodded at once. He removed the collar first, then checked that the rest of the prototype had fully separated before stepping away. "I will find her."
When he left the room, the silence stretched.
Jinx stayed where she was, both hands on the table. Kai'Sa could see she was trying to pretend she was fine and failing.
Singed watched the inactive prototype. "What did you see?"
She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. "Logan."
Kai'Sa's gaze sharpened.
"Dead," Jinx said. "And blaming me."
Singed did not react with sympathy or shock. "That was fast."
"Yeah, thanks. Very helpful."
"I meant the corruption response. It identified an effective vulnerability immediately."
Kai'Sa stepped closer. "The Void does not always begin with lies. Sometimes it begins with what already hurts."
Jinx did not answer.
Kai'Sa understood that silence. She had heard it in herself before, in the dark, after surviving another day and wondering what part of her had only survived because the Void allowed it.
Singed picked up a small instrument and checked the readings from Jinx's brief connection. "Human minds are full of entry points. Fear of loss. Guilt. Anger. Desire. Shame. The Void does not need to invent weakness. It only has to find one."
Jinx looked down at the switch still in her hand.
Kai'Sa said, "It will use whatever makes you move away from yourself."
Jinx gave a faint snort. "At least you're honest."
Singed set the instrument down. "A mind that has endured repeated pain may be more susceptible. There are more wounds to press against. More memories to distort."
Jinx's eyes lowered.
"But," Singed continued, "that is not the only possibility."
She glanced up.
"Some individuals become more resistant because of what they have survived," he said. "Not untouched. Not stable in any simple way. But accustomed to pressure. Familiar with fear. Capable of recognizing intrusion because their inner world has already been hostile."
Kai'Sa looked at him.
She did not expect comfort from Singed, and perhaps he was not offering it. He was only stating a conclusion. Still, the words settled into her in a strange way.
She thought of the Void tunnels. Hunger in the walls. The carapace fused to her body. The years spent learning to live with something that wanted, demanded, and fed.
She had survived because she was afraid.
She had also survived because she did not let fear become obedience.
"He is right," Kai'Sa said.
Jinx studied her face. "You think messed-up people can be better at not breaking?"
"I think people who know their own darkness may recognize when something else is pretending to be it."
Jinx fell quiet again.
By the time Viktor returned, Vi was beside him.
Viktor must have explained the situation on the way, because Vi did not enter with anger. She entered with worry she was trying very hard to control.
Her eyes went straight to Jinx. "Hey."
Jinx looked away. "Hey."
Vi glanced at the prototype, then back at her sister. "Viktor said what happened."
"Did he use the big words?"
"A few."
"Then you probably missed half the point."
"I got enough." Vi came closer. "You sure you don't want me to try first?"
Jinx's fingers tightened around the switch again.
For a second, her answer did not come.
"I saw him," she said at last.
Vi's expression changed, but she stayed still.
"Logan," Jinx continued. "Dead. Looking at me like it was my fault." Her voice grew smaller near the end, and she hated that enough to bare her teeth. "I know it wasn't real."
"I believe you."
Jinx swallowed. "I'm going to try again."
Vi did not argue. She only asked, "What do you need?"
Jinx looked at the floor. A faint red rose along her cheeks, irritation and embarrassment fighting across her face.
Then she muttered, "Just stand next to me."
Vi's face softened.
Jinx pointed at her without looking up. "Don't make it weird."
"I won't."
"You already are."
"I'm standing normally."
"Your face is being weird."
Vi almost smiled, but held it back. "I'll fix my face."
Singed spoke from beside the table. "It may also be useful if Jinx describes what she experiences during the connection."
Everyone looked at him.
He continued as if nothing was unusual. "If Vi provides verbal reinforcement during the process, especially familiar and emotionally positive statements, it may help separate her own cognition from the suit's induced imagery."
Jinx stared at him. "Did you just tell Vi to say nice stuff to me?"
"Yes."
Viktor seemed almost as surprised. "That is… actually a reasonable suggestion."
Vi looked between them. "So I talk her through it."
"Precisely," Singed said.
Jinx squinted at him. "That was the creepiest nice advice I've ever heard."
"It was not advice. It was a method."
"Worse."
They connected the prototype again.
This time, Vi stood close enough for Jinx to touch her if she reached out. Jinx did not reach, but Kai'Sa noticed that her shoulders loosened a little when Vi stayed beside her.
Viktor checked the core. "Low contact. Same level as before."
Jinx held the switch in one hand.
Vi's voice was low. "I'm here."
"Yeah," Jinx said. "I noticed."
The suit activated.
The Hextech light moved through the frame. The Void tissue responded, tightening against the restraints. The collar pulsed once.
Jinx's face went pale again.
"What do you see?" Singed asked.
Jinx's lips parted.
"Logan," she said. Her voice shook. "Dead again."
Vi stepped closer. "That's a lie."
Jinx's eyes fixed on something no one else could see.
"He's looking at me."
"It's lying," Vi said. "You know he's not dead."
"He looks so real."
"Doesn't matter. It's not him."
Jinx's breathing hitched.
The muscles in her jaw clenched. The suit trembled, but she did not press the switch.
"The image is changing," Viktor said, watching the readings.
Jinx's eyes moved sharply. "There are more."
"More what?" Singed asked.
"Bodies." Her fingers curled. "People. You. Viktor. Kai'Sa. I don't know. Everyone."
"No," Vi said immediately. "No one is dead."
"They are."
"They're not."
"I can see them."
"And I'm telling you they're not real." Vi's voice stayed firm. "I'm right here. Viktor's right there. Kai'Sa's fine. Singed is still creepy and breathing."
Singed said nothing.
Jinx made a small sound that might have become a laugh if it had not broken halfway.
The suit pulsed again.
The air around the prototype seemed to grow colder.
Jinx's expression changed.
"Oh," she whispered.
Vi's hand hovered near her arm but did not touch yet. "What is it?"
Jinx did not answer for a moment.
Then she said, "Zaunites."
Vi's face tightened.
"Piltovans too," Jinx continued. "People who… people who actually died."
The room grew very still.
Kai'Sa watched Jinx's eyes. They were not wild now. They were full of recognition, which was worse.
Jinx's voice dropped. "That part isn't a lie."
Vi took her hand.
Jinx flinched, but she did not pull away.
"No," Vi said. "It's not all a lie."
Jinx's throat moved.
"But it's using the truth to hurt you," Vi continued. "That's different."
Jinx's fingers squeezed hers.
Vi stepped closer. "You've done terrible things. I'm not going to stand here and pretend you haven't."
Jinx closed her eyes.
"But you're still here," Vi said. "You're trying. You're making things that can save people. You've already helped people. You can help more. A lot more."
The suit shivered.
Viktor's eyes narrowed at the readings. "Neural stress is lowering."
Singed leaned in slightly. "Continue."
Vi ignored him and kept looking at Jinx.
"You don't get to undo the past," Vi said. "None of us do. But you can build something better than what came before. You've already started. Your inventions, your work, all of this, it matters."
Jinx opened her eyes.
For one clear moment, her gaze focused.
Not on the hallucination.
On Vi.
"It's quiet," Jinx said.
Viktor looked up. "What is quiet?"
"The thoughts." She breathed slowly. "The ugly ones. They're there, but they're not inside my head."
Kai'Sa felt her carapace react.
The prototype's feeding canister twitched. A small amount of Xer'Sai extract drained through the tube.
Viktor's voice sharpened with interest. "The carapace has begun consuming the Xer'Sai battery."
Singed checked the second meter. "The substitute reward is functioning."
Jinx stayed connected.
Ten seconds passed.
Then fifteen.
Her face remained tense, but she did not look lost.
Kai'Sa watched with surprise. Not because Jinx was unaffected. She clearly was not. But she was holding. The suit had pressed against her wounds, and with Vi's voice anchoring her, she had not been swallowed by them.
Then Jinx's expression shifted again.
Her eyes lowered.
"I see Logan."
Vi's hand tightened around hers. "Dead?"
Jinx nodded.
"Blaming you?"
A pause.
"No," Jinx said.
That answer made Viktor move at once.
"Disconnecting."
He shut the suit down before the image could change further. The Hextech light faded, the tissue stilled, and the collar released from Jinx's neck.
Jinx exhaled hard and sagged forward.
Vi caught her by the shoulders. "Hey. Look at me."
Jinx did not answer.
Vi lowered her head to meet her eyes. "Are you okay?"
For several seconds, Jinx only breathed.
Then she nodded once.
"Yeah," she said hoarsely. "I think… yeah."
Vi did not let go. "Don't just say it."
Jinx looked annoyed, but too tired to put much force behind it. "There were about ten seconds where it wasn't getting in. I could feel it trying, but it wasn't in my head."
Viktor looked at the prototype with open focus now, the fear replaced by intense thought. "Ten seconds is significant."
"More than significant," Singed said. "The base design works."
Jinx blinked. "That thing almost made me see my dead husband twice and that's your reaction?"
"It worked poorly," Singed said. "But it worked."
Viktor nodded slowly. "The core principles are sound. We need to improve the restraints, strengthen the feeding cycle, and refine the neural interface. More protection, less exposure."
"So less dead Logan," Jinx said.
"That is one way to state the goal," Viktor replied.
Vi finally released Jinx's shoulders, though she stayed close.
Singed turned toward Vi.
"You should test it as well."
Vi stared at him. "Me?"
"Yes."
Jinx immediately straightened. "No."
Singed ignored her. "We need comparative results. Different host, different emotional structure, different resistance pattern. If multiple people are to use these suits, we cannot design them around Jinx alone."
Viktor hesitated, but did not disagree. "He is right. Eventually, we will need more than one capable wearer."
Vi looked at the prototype.
Jinx looked at Vi.
The silence between them lasted only a moment, but Kai'Sa felt something move through it. Fear, yes. But not only fear.
Jinx took a breath. "I'll be with you."
Vi turned to her.
Jinx looked uncomfortable again, as if the words had escaped before she could dress them in sarcasm. "You know. Like you were with me. So don't get all… whatever about it."
Vi's face changed.
She tried to hide it. She really did. Her mouth pressed into a line. Her eyes shifted away for half a second. Her shoulders rose like she was about to shrug the feeling off.
But Kai'Sa saw it.
The happiness hit Vi so strongly that it almost looked painful.
"Okay," Vi said, her voice rougher than before. "I'll do it."
Jinx nodded and looked away first.
Kai'Sa watched the two sisters stand beside each other, one pretending she had not just offered something precious, the other pretending she had not just received it.
For a moment, the laboratory felt less cold.
Kai'Sa had spent most of her life learning how to survive alone. She had known people, allies, kindness, and trust in pieces, but family like this was different. Messy. Difficult. Full of old wounds and sharp words. Still, when danger came, they reached for each other.
She wondered what it would feel like to have a family like that.
A sister, a mother, a father...
//Check out my P@tre0n for 10 extra free chapters //[email protected]/Razeil0810