The music of the ball faded as Ekko walked away from the main hall, his mind clouded by the sight of "Jinder." This girl... she looked so much like Jinx, but at the same time, something was off. The look, maybe. Less outbursts of madness, more control.

He ran a hand over his face, trying to dispel the whirlwind of emotions. Why had Miss Luxanna taken him away so quickly? He had tried to follow, but the crowd had slowed him down, and now they were gone. Maybe he should never have come here under this "Councillor Hale" identity.

He looked up to the upper floor, where Mel was chatting with a group of influential guests. She had this air of sovereignty, this confidence that contrasted with the inner chaos he felt rising within him. Focus, Ekko. You are here to protect Mel. Nothing else.

But despite his efforts, his mind kept returning to that girl. And to Jinx.

The sound of laughter caught his attention. A man was approaching Mel, dressed soberly but with a menacing aura. Ekko immediately noted that it was the man the famous Jinder had been talking to earlier.

He stepped forward, his senses on alert. The man had an icy smile, and something in his posture screamed danger. Mel, oblivious to the threat, continued to speak calmly and confidently.

When the man pulled out a knife, everything seemed to slow down.

Ekko reacted instinctively, his arm grabbing the assailant's before the blade hit Mel. A brief but brutal struggle ensued, the knife falling to the ground with a metallic thud.

The man growled and tried to free himself, but Ekko gave him a blow that made him stagger. As he caught his breath, the assailant looked up with a strange smile.

—"You don't know what's coming."

Before Ekko could react, the man reached for a belt hidden under his jacket.

—"No!" Ekko shouted, stepping in front of Mel.

A loud bang rang out, followed by a shockwave that swept around them. The man had blown himself up.

The intense heat, the blast, everything mixed together in an instant. Ekko was thrown against a wall,

his vision filling with dust and flickering light. He struggled to his feet, the taste of blood in his mouth. A brief golden light dissipated in front of him, uncomprehending.

—"Mel!" he called, desperately trying to spot her in the chaos.

The building shook violently, chunks of the ceiling collapsing around him. He found Mel on her knees, shaken but unharmed, her gaze searching his.

"I'm fine," she said, though her voice trembled slightly.

Ekko nodded, but he knew their situation was far from under control. Shouts rang out in the distance, and guards rushed in all directions to evacuate the guests.

"We need to get out of here," he said, helping her up.

But as they headed toward an exit, Ekko noticed several men in dark armor enter the room. They had the same raven tattoos. Swain's agents.

He instinctively stepped in front of Mel, ready to fight despite his frantic heartbeat.

A gunshot tore through the din, followed by the thud of an agent collapsing. Ekko froze, his senses on alert. The dust from the explosion reduced visibility to almost nothing, but he could make out a slim, lithe figure on an upper balcony.

Bang.

A second, precise shot. Another man fell.

The chaos around him seemed to fade for Ekko, his attention entirely absorbed by this figure through the smoke and debris. She moved with almost supernatural precision, taking down the agents one by one. Every movement, every gesture...

His breath caught. Jinx.

He saw her. Or at least, he thought he saw her. Her short hair, her nervous demeanor, that brutal efficiency... it could only be her.

But it was impossible.

"No..." he muttered to himself, his heart beating like a drum.

The shots stopped as abruptly as they had begun. When the figure made a final movement to disappear into the shadows, Ekko held out his hand as if to stop it.

— "Wait!" he called, his voice strangled.

But she was already gone.

— "Ekko!" Mel's voice brought him back to reality. She was leaning over him, her face marked by dust and worry. "We have to go, now!"

He nodded, but his mind was elsewhere. The gunfire, that figure... Am I losing my mind?

He didn't have the luxury of thinking any further. He helped Mel up, shielding her from the pieces of ceiling that continued to collapse around them. Still, the image of that figure remained etched in his mind.

As he left the building, he took one last look behind him. Nothing. Just smoke and rubble.

But he knew what he'd seen. Or what he thought he'd seen.

"Jinx..."

The chill of the night hit Ekko as they finally reached the outside. Guards were busy securing the area, panicked guests looking for ways to leave.

Mel leaned against a wall, exhausted, and Ekko stood next to her, his gaze still on the collapsed building.

"Someone helped us in there," he said, the words slipping out before he could stop them.

Mel frowned. "A guard? A shooter?"

Ekko shook his head. "No... it was someone else."

He hesitated to say more. How could he explain what he'd seen, or what he thought he'd seen, without sounding crazy?

"Whatever," he finally said, straightening up. "I'm going to get answers."

But in his mind, he couldn't ignore the nagging thought: If it really was Jinx... then why had she hidden? And if it wasn't her, why was his heart screaming otherwise?

----

The screams and chaos still echoed in his ears as Jinx leapt from one balcony to another, her breath short, her heart pounding. She should have left sooner, never come. But she had seen Ekko.

"Wait!"

His voice echoed in her head like a hammer blow. That word haunted her, even more than the sound of explosions and gunfire. She had felt his gaze, that mixture of pain and hope. She had seen it in his eyes. He thought he recognized her.

She shook her head violently. No. It's not me. It's not me anymore.

As she dashed down a debris-strewn hallway, a raspy cough caught her attention. She stopped abruptly.

A man lay on the ground, a gaping wound in his abdomen. He tried to crawl, but the blood that was flowing out was already pooling beneath him. He wouldn't last long.

Jinx hesitated. Leave. Leave, now.

But she didn't move. Something, a spark she thought was dead inside her, forced her to act.

She tore a piece of his jacket, pressing on the wound to slow the bleeding.

"Stay with me, okay?" she whispered, though she herself was shaking with fear.

The man barely opened one eye, unable to speak, but he seemed to understand. With an effort, he grabbed her hand, squeezing it weakly.

She dragged him with difficulty to a safer area, away from the debris. She knew she had to do it quickly.

She didn't have time to check if it would be enough. Voices were approaching.

Jinx placed a shaking hand on her mask, making sure it was in place, then disappeared into the shadows, leaving the man still conscious, but now out of immediate danger.

She ran.

Not to any specific destination, just away. Away from him, away from sight, away from this evening where everything seemed to collapse. Her feet hammered the ground as memories bombarded her. His voice. His gaze. His call.

She grabbed his hair, pulling it violently. Her mind was spinning.

He saw me. He recognized me. He knows it's me.

Her breathing became erratic, her thoughts clashed.

But it's impossible. He can't know. Lux protects me. No one knows I'm here.

And yet, she saw Ekko again, that broken look he had given her. She could still hear that "wait," almost pleading.

That simple word rang in her head like an alarm bell. She tripped over a brick and collapsed against a wall, her breath taken away, but it wasn't just the race. It was everything.

Her vision blurred, the world around her swaying like a fragile piece of scenery about to shatter. She closed her eyes and pressed her hands to her temples, as if to keep her skull from exploding. A nervous laugh escaped her throat, but it quickly turned into uncontrollable sobs. She rocked back and forth, unable to calm the storm in her mind.

And what she had done... saved that man... why? Why hadn't she just kept running?

"You'll never get out of this. Look at you, you little fool."

It was a voice she hadn't heard in a long time. Not since she'd fled Piltover and Zaun, leaving the shadows of her past behind. She'd thought that leaving would be enough to kill who she was.

But here, far from those cities, those specters had found a way to come back.

Her shaking hands slid over his face. He saw it. He knew it was you.

She inhaled sharply, but the air seemed to refuse to fill her lungs. She tried to stand, but her legs were wobbly. Kneeling on the dusty ground, she let her gaze wander, searching for an anchor, something to hold on to. But what she found terrified her even more.

A figure, blurry, in the corner of the room.

— "No... not yet, no, no, no."

She curled up, hugging her knees. This wasn't real. She knew it wasn't real. But part of her refused to believe it was real. But he was looking at her with those eyes that shattered everything.

But the figure was gone, replaced by the memory of another explosion. Piltover. Screams. Thick smoke, mixed with her own hysterical laughter. She was panting now, struggling to separate the past from the present. Zaun, Piltover, and tonight... it was all mixed together.

She sat up slowly, unsteadily, and forced herself to breathe. In. Out. She counted to ten, then again.

The floor was cold under her hands. The simple touch helped her regain some semblance of control.

But the whispers didn't go away. They were there, lurking in the shadows of her mind.

The hours passed in a blur. Jinx didn't even know if it was day or night anymore. But suddenly, hurried footsteps were heard in the alley where she had taken refuge.

She jumped up, grabbing her weapon.

— "Jinder!"

Lux's voice cut through the darkness.

Jinx released the weapon and fell back to the ground, exhausted. A few seconds later, Lux emerged out of breath, her clothes torn, her clothes covered in dust, a cut bleeding slightly on her cheek, her face marked with worry.

— "No..." Jinx whispered, stepping back reflexively. Another hallucination.

— "You're here... you're alive..."

Her voice broke, and before Jinx could react, Lux rushed towards her, almost falling to her knees to catch her in her arms.

Jinx stood still, frozen by the contact. But as Lux held her tighter, her walls began to crumble.

—"I looked everywhere for you," Lux whispered, tears streaming freely down her face.

—"I... I'm sorry," Jinx stammered, her own eyes misting over. "I didn't mean to..."

But she couldn't finish. Lux tightened her grip, as if she feared Jinx would disappear again.

—"You're alive. That's all that matters."

The words resonated deep within her, shattering something she'd tried to bury. She finally placed her hands on Lux's back, hesitant at first, then desperately clinging to her. Something inside her broke.

She began to cry hot tears, her face buried in Lux's shoulder.

—"I... I didn't want him to see me," she sobbed. "He recognized me, I know. And I... I saw him.

He looked at me like before, but it's not me, Lux. It's not me anymore..."

Lux pulled away slightly, her shaking hands coming to frame her face.

—"Listen to me." She spoke with a gentle but unwavering firmness. "He doesn't know anything. You're safe, okay? I'm here, and I'll help you through this."

Jinx nodded, but her gaze was still haunted.

"I wanted to run," she admitted under her breath. "But I couldn't. I can never run, Lux. Everything catches up with me."

Lux ran a soothing hand through her hair, whispering, "You're not alone. Not this time."

The two of them sat there in the darkness, half-broken but finding fragile comfort in each other. Lux continued to speak softly, words she knew were important, even if Jinx might not hear them all.

In this night, despite the dust, the debris, and the ever-present shadows, something stronger than fear seemed to take root.

A promise, silent, but palpable.