{Author's note: Hi if you notice a change in how new characters are introduced, I decided to add the character's names and info through the system, since having the MC just give all the information can be a bit awkward}
Dreams weren't supposed to bleed.
But his did. Blurs of chaos, destruction, and death painted his mindscape.
He didn't wake so much as he was torn out of the dream, lungs aching like he'd been underwater. Cold sweat clung to him like a second skin. He sat up, blinking in the dim light of the motel room—walls painted in soft Ionian hues, the faint scent of jasmine drifting from somewhere unseen.
'Karma definitely had something to do with that.'
The bed groaned beneath him as he rose. He moved to the window, pulling the curtain back with fingers that still trembled slightly. The ambient light of the piltover nightlife still shined into his room. Neon signs shined under the dark sky, traffic gliding below like veins pumping cold light through the city.
[System Notice: You slept for 4 hours. Mental Clarity: Hazy.]
The notifications faded like mist. He ignored the rest.
His reflection stared back at him in the glass—half-shadowed, eyes hollow. This wasn't his face. Not completely. The system hadn't changed everything, but it had rewritten enough. A stranger with echoes of his own features.
"What the hell am I doing?" he whispered.
The system, mercifully, stayed silent.
With the latent exhaustion still weighing on him, he went back to sleep.
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Four hours later, he woke up, and cleaned up in the tiny bathroom—splashed water on his face, changed into the clothes he'd found neatly folded on a nearby chair. Urban, minimalist. Slight shimmer tech embedded in the seams.
[K/DA Casual Grade: +1 Charm to Interactions ]
He winced. Even his wardrobe was gamified.
With a final glance at the glowing interface in his eye—flickering like a second pupil—he stepped out of the inn. Karma was nowhere in sight. Just a vacant front desk, a pot of lotus tea steaming faintly in the corner.
Outside, the city was awake. Barely.
Piltover mornings were quiet, almost too clean. Sanitation drones hummed by, steam curling up from under the grates, and the air smelled like static and distant rain. It felt like walking through someone else's dream—one that hadn't quite decided if it was a utopia or a nightmare.
He needed to move. To think. To breathe.
The system didn't give him any new quests. Not yet. But he knew Evelynn's voice would echo if he sat still too long.
"Come back tomorrow night... or don't. But fate's funny like that."
He remembered the way her eyes drank him in. Like she could see through every lie he hadn't even told yet.
He hadn't decided if he'd go back.
His feet, as usual, made the decision for him.
The café was a hole-in-the-wall, tucked behind a maintenance tunnel and shielded by a canopy of glowing ferns. An Ionian refuge wrapped in tech-glass and spirit wood. Old and new. Real and simulation. It felt out of place. Like him.
A chime rang as he stepped inside.
"Welcome," said a soft voice. A girl in an apron—silver-blue hair tied loosely behind her head. She didn't look up. "Find any seat you like."
He did.
And then froze.
Her name floated above her head, half-hidden by a privacy filter.
[Name: Sona Buvelle]
[Occupation: Barista / K/DA Sound Director]
[Relationship Bond: Stranger]
His mouth went dry.
'Sona?! Here?'
The universe, it seemed, had a twisted sense of humor.
She approached with a tablet and a quiet smile, eyes bright but unreadable. Her aura was... calm. Almost serene.
She tilted her head, studying him. A melody whispered into his ears—notes formed not from air, but vibration. The soft resonance of a soul speaking in frequencies.
He felt it more than he heard it. Her long beautiful hair cascaded down her well-curved, and elegant frame.
"You've seen Evelynn."
The words, though never spoken, struck deep.
He nodded.
Sona's eyes didn't change, but her melody shifted slightly—something darker beneath it.
"Be careful. She doesn't kill out of cruelty. She does it out of curiosity."
He blinked.
"I just want to help," he said aloud. "I think... I was sent here for a reason. Something about K/DA, about the stage—about what's coming."
Sona's melody paused.
A second passed. Then she turned, gracefully, and walked toward the counter.
Moments later, she returned with a steaming drink and a note placed beside it.
"Go to Track Seven tonight. Tell them the signal is 'Neon Ashes.'
She might listen then. Maybe."
He stared at the words.
And then at her.
"Hey wait, why do you know so much?"
He received no reply, but the sway of her receding silhouette.
[Relationship Bond Update: Sona - Acquaintance]
[System Update: Side Quest Triggered—"Neon Ashes"]
[Objective: Enter Track Seven. Use the passphrase. Survive the conversation.]
[Reward: ???]
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[New System feature Unlocked]
[Interact with key figures in Runeterra to earn points which can be exchanged in the system shop]
'Wait does this mean that I can just earn points by talking and meeting with people?'
While contemplating about ways to find and interact with more characters.
[You have earned 100 SP from making a first impression on Sona]
(Author's Note. 1 System point (SP) = 5 Runeterra Points(RP))
'I think my best bet for now is just meeting as many of the characters I know as possible... maybe excluding some of the Noxians like Draven... and on second though maybe the void characters like Kha'Zix'
__________________________________________________________________________
Night fell faster in Piltover than anywhere else. Or maybe it just felt that way.
The streets changed when the lights went out. They didn't get darker—they got louder. Music spilled from windows. Skaters drifted by with visors glowing. And the people... the people didn't sleep.
He walked with purpose now, coat drawn tight against the whisper of wind. The bar called Track Seven lay nestled between two collapsed towers, marked only by graffiti and a flickering triangle of violet neon. No guards. No bouncers.
Only a camera.
It blinked.
And then the door opened.
Inside was dim. Blue light shimmered off a cracked ceiling. The music pulsed low—bass like a second heartbeat. A few patrons sat in shadowed booths, their faces obscured by digital filters or augmented masks.
The bartender, a lean woman with silver piercings and a jacket stitched with musical runes, looked up.
"Password?"
His voice didn't waver. "Neon Ashes."
A pause.
Then, a crooked smile. "She's in the back."
The back room was darker. Quieter. Smelled of lavender and danger.
She sat at the far end, legs crossed, one claw tracing the rim of a glass that held something glowing and violet.
Evelynn.
Her eyes found his the moment he entered. As if she'd known.
"Took you long enough," she said, voice like silk soaked in blood. "Was starting to think you'd bailed out."
"I didn't," he replied.
"You wanted to." She smiled. "But you came anyway. May I have the pleasure of knowing our dashing stranger's name?"
"Cole"
She gestured to the seat across from her.
"It's a pleasure to meet you… Cole. So," her voice projected the stern shift in her mood. "Why don't you tell me why KDA needs saving."
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[Relationship Bond Updated: Evelynn - Cautiously Curious]
Author's note: If you enjoyed reading kindly vote or leave a review ♫꒰･‿･๑꒱
[Name: Cole Altair
Status: Transmigrated Entity
Current Level: 1
Special trait: Unlimited Potential]