"Wait, Viktor," Orion called. "Your purpose here was to be healed, wasn't it?"
"Yes," Viktor curtly replied.
"How about a trade then? I heal you now, and in return, you show me the Hexcore."
'If nothing else, it stops one of the original reasons for Viktor's mutations,' Orion thought as he watched Viktor's perplexed gaze shift to surprise.
"You can do that?" Viktor turned around. "Why haven't you used your powers sooner for that reason?"
"It comes at a cost to me. And it was a little different back then," Orion said though in reality, he was unsure how everything would play out if he did start randomly healing people. It is the Undercity, after all, with an anti-magic regime next door.
"Hmm... I agree. I can take you in immediately-" Viktor began, as if he'd just landed the deal of a lifetime, before Orion cut him off.
"No. At night. Smuggle me in as a sick friend or something."
"That wouldn't work. The Enforcers would-"
"Let you pass because of your inventions and deeds alongside Jayce Talis. In fact, perhaps involve him even."
"Why, though? It would only raise suspicion if we're caught. The Council is already in an uproar. You and your constituents created a rebellion!"
"Well," Orion began, "the Noxians are foreigners after weapons and would want me captured. And the Council would see me arrested and imprisoned again- or executed. You then wouldn't receive any future insight from a willing mage… and the rebellion will continue more fiercely."
Viktor didn't respond immediately. His lips tightened, and he glanced toward the Undercity barricades, then back over the bridge toward Piltover's distant buildings.
"I don't care for the rebellion. Or the Council," he muttered. "But I care for progress. I care about survival."
"Then let me help you survive," Orion said plainly. "So you can see your progress through without feeding it with corpses."
Viktor looked down at his cane. His fingers tensed around the handle. The shimmer vial still faintly glowing within the metal shaft, a quiet temptation- always there, always easy.
"You know nothing about the pain this body carries," he said, voice thin. "You look at me and see a mind, but my bones grind like stone. I can't sleep. I can barely breathe without hearing the rasp of my lungs or stinging as I cough up blood."
"You're right. I don't know the pain your body carries. Only mine, and it far exceeds yours," Orion says sympathetically as he steps forward. "Both options carry risk. But mine allows you to learn more. To progress."
His hesitancy slowly turns into nods and Viktor sighs quietly, "Alright. Heal me. If you can."
"Sit. It will only take a minute."
Viktor hesitated again, then carefully sat down on a nearby crate near the edge of the checkpoint. His posture was straight, dignified, but there was no hiding the twitch in his legs or the way his left hand shook subconsciously.
"Close your eyes," Orion said, "and don't resist the flow. This isn't science."
"I'll try," Viktor murmured, his voice unsure.
Orion placed one hand on Viktor's chest and the other just over his spine, hovering without touch. A pale violet shimmer mixed with laced green strands began to form around his hands, threads of Arcane energy seeping slowly into Viktor's body.
Viktor inhaled sharply. For the first time in years, he felt warmth flooding through him, alleviating pain and subduing the burning sensation inside him. It was gentle, simple, as he felt his leg softly shift and the grinding sensation between his bones disappear.
He didn't know whether to weep or gasp.
And yet, somewhere deep within his bones… something began to shift.
In a swift motion, accompanied by a high-pitched shriek, strands of darker purple light fled from Viktor's body. He gasped sharply, as if some invisible torment had been torn out of him. His knees buckled, nearly sending him backward—only for Orion to catch him with a steady hand.
"It's done," Orion panted, dropping to one knee. Viktor didn't notice immediately. He stood in stunned silence, then slowly began flexing his leg and twisting his body. Tears of joy spilled freely down his face.
"T-The pain! It's gone! I-I can walk! This is incredible!" Viktor stammered, overwhelmed, clenching his fists as excitement swelled inside him. "I knew it! Magic is wonderful! Combined with Hextech, this could—"
He turned mid-sentence, arms spreading with eagerness- only to stop short at the sight of Orion's shaking, pallid form.
His joy evaporated instantly, replaced with concern as he rushed to support the kneeling Orion. "You're not well. Let me help you-"
"I told you… it comes at a price," Orion muttered, breathing heavily. The amulet on his chest rattled violently, trembling as it struggled to contain his own troubles.
"And that Hexcore," he added, glancing up at Viktor, "it infected you. A seed of corruption- it felt like it was embedded inside you purposefully."
'The irony, considering my own circumstances,' Orion thought and chuckled weakly.
Viktor's expression darkened. He looked over Orion's trembling form with thoughtful eyes, then nodded faintly. "Indeed… It's like the plants we've been experimenting with. They bloom for a time, but they wilt abnormally. Am I going to die now?"
"No, no." Orion managed a faint chuckle. "By the way…"
He clutched the amulet tighter, forcing himself to meet Viktor's gaze.
"Meeting a goddess might be a learning experience, too- if the opportunity arises."
'Or if she fucking answers!'