The room felt warmer now—or maybe it was her.
Evelynn leaned forward, one elbow resting on the plush, dark velvet of the booth as her glass caught the low ambient shimmer. She studied him like wine she hadn't yet decided to drink or pour out. The scent of orchids clung to her—sweet, exotic—blended with something sharper, like ozone. The high-cut dress wrapped around her like liquid shadow, occasionally revealing the smooth ivory of her legs.
Cole sat.
His heartbeat felt too loud—just enough to notice.
"I don't expect lies," she said, dragging a claw along her bottom lip. "Not yet. But if you're going to spin stories, darling, at least make them interesting."
Cole didn't flinch. "Something's going to happen—or maybe it already is. And you're all at the center of it."
A beat.
Then—
A curl of her lip.
"You're not entirely wrong," she purred.
"I think I was sent here to help you."
"Oh?" Her voice dipped lower. "And why should I trust you?"
"Because I'd never hurt you."
She laughed softly. Not amused—just tired.
"I've heard that line one too many times, dear."
Her eyes lingered on him. Something flickered behind them—amusement, maybe. Or warning.
"But you're brave," she said after a moment. "Braver than the cowards pretending nothing's wrong. Or maybe you're just reckless."
"Maybe both," Cole replied.
The silence after that was taut—like a string pulled too tight.
Evelynn reached under the table, retrieving a slender black chip etched with iridescent glyphs, and slid it across to him.
"Take this to the warehouse in Zaun. Don't speak. Don't run. Just watch. You'll understand more after."
[Quest Item Acquired: Eve's Backstage Pass (Encrypted)]
[New Objective: Observe the anomaly at Zaun. Time limit: 2 hours.]
Cole picked it up.
"And after that?"
Evelynn's smile deepened, all danger and velvet.
"After that, I'll decide whether you're a stagehand… or part of the act."
[Relationship Bond Updated: Evelynn – Intrigued]
She stood, her heels clicking in slow, deliberate rhythm. Her hips swayed like a pendulum—hypnotic, practiced.
"Don't die," she said sweetly, vanishing through a curtain that hadn't been there a moment ago.
_________________________________________________
The Zaun district had the vibe of a forgotten music video—graffiti over rusted steel, alleys buzzing with half-broken drones, and shadows that twitched a moment too long.
Cole followed Evelynn's instructions. The chip slotted into a side console behind a defunct vending unit. The wall shimmered—then parted, like a curtain made of glitching code.
Inside: darkness. Then static.
Then—
Light. Movement. Voices that weren't speaking.
He stepped into what looked like a rehearsal stage. Empty chairs. Holographic rigging. And in the center—
A girl. Dancing.
Not just moving—burning.
Her hair shimmered like solar fire, every motion slicing the air like it owed her something. The sound system pulsed with a corrupted K/DA beat, warped as if bleeding through dimensions. The sway of her athletic, curved frame was mesmerizing—refined violence cloaked in rhythm.
[Name: KAI'SA]
[Occupation: Lead Choreographer / Voidmarked Performer]
Her eyes snapped toward him.
The music died.
In the silence, her breath filled the room—controlled, precise, powerful. Kai'Sa didn't approach.
She didn't need to.
"You're not part of the staff, are you?" she said.
Her voice didn't tremble. It cracked through the quiet like lightning.
"No," Cole said. "But I'm not here to hurt you. Evelynn sent me. Said I'd see something important."
Her stance shifted—fluid, predatory. Combat-ready.
A low hum vibrated beneath his feet. The stage—no, the space—felt wrong. Like a violin string tuned to too many notes at once.
"She's testing you," Kai'Sa said, narrowing her gaze. "And you're walking into something you don't understand."
"I want to," Cole answered. "If something's wrong with K/DA... I need to know. I want to help."
She didn't respond immediately.
The tension simmered.
Then, slowly, her posture relaxed.
"You're either the bravest idiot I've ever seen… or the most sincere," she murmured.
She flicked her wrist. A wall panel lit up, revealing a tangled web of incident reports—distortions, attack logs, missing data.
"This isn't just about the music," she said. "Something's trying to overwrite us. Rehearsals glitch. Footage disappears. Our powers… they're unstable."
Cole's thoughts raced. "You think it's connected to the Void?"
She turned to face him fully.
"I'm afraid so. I thought our ancestors locked it away long ago."
"Maybe it never left in the first place."
She studied him for a moment longer, expression unreadable.
"Are you willing to go up against an endless darkness?" she asked. "Even if it means risking everything—for us?"
"I-"
"Make your decision first, then we'll talk again"
[Relationship Bond Unlocked: Kai'Sa – Suspicious but hopeful]
[You have earned 300 SP from interacting with Kai'sa]
_________________________________________________
Later, as Cole walked back through the neon arteries of Piltover, the voices echoed in his mind.
Evelynn's velvet threat.
Kai'Sa's hopeful challenge.
And beneath it all—the hum of something older. Deeper. Approaching.
[System Alert: New Bond Available – Ahri]
[Location: ???]
[Clue: "Where dreams scream louder than silence."]
He stopped under a flickering streetlamp.
And there, in the distance, just at the edge of vision—
A familiar fox-like silhouette.
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AUTHORS NOTE: Hi guys, hope you all liked the chapter. I apologize if the relationship development is a bit slow right now, just want to set the stage for the themes in their future relationships.
Please vote or drop a review if you're enjoying so far ٩(◕‿◕)۶