Malphegor
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Arcane: TTB: Ch. 02
🕑 Added 2025-01-21 00:33:51 +0000 UTCThe liquid swirled hypnotically in the light, almost alive in its movement.
Cipher stared at the faintly glowing potion in his hand as a flood of data appeared on his retinal display.
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[Shimmer: Unlocks and enhances the potential of the human body. Effect duration and potency are proportional to the user's physical condition.]
[Side Effects: Strong dual addiction to both mind and body. Multiple uses by those with weaker constitutions can severely damage brain and body functions.]
[Evaluation: A masterpiece alchemical potion imbued with arcane power, the work of a genius alchemist. Unfortunately, it remains incomplete, with side effects that are too severe to allow for widespread use.]
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The potion emitted a faint purple glow.
Arcane energy was the core that enabled Shimmer to unlock human potential.
"Madness in concept, brilliance in execution. Shimmer has opened the gateway to the arcane."
"The power of the arcane flows through this purple liquid. The alchemist who developed this potion is nothing short of a genius." Cipher studied the vial, noting how the liquid responded to even the slightest movement.
He pretended to give an expert evaluation, then sighed, adding, "Unfortunately, Piltover wouldn't tolerate such a genius."
"With the lack of resources in Zaun, he could never find a stage big enough for his talents. He should've gone to Noxus. Only there could he truly flourish."
He handed the potion back to the blond-haired man, then turned to Silco and said seriously, "Promise me, don't use this potion."
"Why would I waste such power?" Silco raised an eyebrow, puzzled. "It can bring unimaginable power. As a weapon, it's perfect."
"Perfect?" Cipher rolled his eyes and laughed. "Stop joking. Your test subjects, how many can still form complete sentences? It'll rot their brains faster than your river rot took your eye."
Silco's face darkened instantly, and the red glow of his mechanical eye flared up. The temperature in the room seemed to drop several degrees.
He said coldly, "The human trials for Shimmer just began. Only the doctor and I have access to the data. This is a secret. How do you know about it? Have you been spying on me?"
"Spying? I don't need to. You think you're the first to try enhancing soldiers with such compounds?" Cipher tapped his temple. "My world is something you wouldn't understand. Don't tell me you plan to wage war against Piltover with this half-baked product. Are you joking?"
Cipher shook his head, wearing a haughty expression as if it was beneath him to explain to Silco.
Knowing he had gone a bit too far, he deliberately shifted the conversation to a topic that would intrigue the man.
"Let's talk numbers, shall we?" Cipher said, moving to his workbench. "Their factories run day and night. For every weapon we produce, they make ten. For every chemist we train, they graduate fifty. And those are the ones we know about."
"Numbers aren't everything," Silco growled, but his fingers twitched.
"With Shimmer, and your weapons, we have this in the bag!"
He looked calm, but behind his back, his fist was squeezed so tight his fingertips went white.
His chance was right there in front of him, the one thing he'd always dreamed of. No way he was letting it slip through his fingers.
Cipher chuckled lightly, "Even with my help, you wouldn't win against Piltover. The gap in technology and resources is too massive. No matter how many people you sacrifice, you still won't have a chance. Even with my weapons and your Shimmer, we'd be throwing rocks at a fortress."
"Then we'll throw enough rocks to make those fortress walls crumble!" Silco's intensity built with each word. "I don't need to win. I just need to scare them enough so they don't dare step foot in the Undercity again."
His confidence was firm. After a lifetime of battling with the elites of the Upper City, he knew the nature of their ruling council all too well.
They were greedy, bullying the weak while fearing the strong, and cowardly when their lives were at stake. If the Undercity became enough of a threat to their weapons and power, these cowards would surely compromise.
"War will kill many people. You won't be an exception. While you may not hold the lofty position of a Piltover councilor, you're still a prominent figure here. Why risk it all? For power? Ambition?"
"You know, I never understood why you two split. Was it really just about methods?" Cipher, knowing the storyline, had a good idea of how Silco would answer. Still, he wanted to hear it straight from the man himself.
In the original narrative, what drew Cipher to Silco's character was his unyielding will to fight for the Undercity.
Unfortunately, his path was twisted, his methods too extreme. What was meant to uplift the Undercity ended up harming its people instead.
"I fight for respect, for opportunities, for everything they refuse to give us."
Silco stared at the dozens of incendiary bombs on the workbench, his gaze sharp and intense, as if he could feel the heat radiating from each one.
"You've earned Vander's and the Lanes' respect before," Cipher said quietly. "That respect was real. But looking at you now, it seems you're still not satisfied."
His eyes shifted to the mechanical replacement where Silco's eye had been. "You and Vander were once like brothers who would risk your lives for each other. He was the leader of the Lanes, you his second-in-command. Technically, we are family. But then you two had a falling out. Why?"
"A falling out?" Silco's laugh was bitter. "Is that what they call betrayal these days? Is that how Vander justifies what he did?"
Cipher's words seemed to hit a nerve. Silco erupted, his body tense, arms flailing as he clenched his fists tightly.
"We shared a vision once, Vander and I both dreamed of freedom," he said passionately.
"Not just for the Lanes, but for the unity of the entire Undercity," he declared, his voice filled with conviction.
He lifted his head and gazed into the distance, his voice resonating as he continued, "The dream of Zaun's rise!"
But after a moment, his one intact eye revealed a trace of sorrow. "I trusted him so deeply, yet he betrayed me!"
This was the first time Cipher had seen him lose his composure in front of him, and he understood why.
Silco's brother-in-arms, Vander, had once organized a resistance movement against Piltover.
That day, later known as the Day of Ashes, ended in a bloody crackdown by Piltover. Many lives were lost.
"Vander remembers too. That's what broke him. Made him weak," Silco spat.
"Or maybe it made him wise," Cipher said quietly.
The brutality of that day broke Vander. He was tired of watching his friends and comrades die before his eyes. He chose to compromise with Piltover.
But Silco held firm, determined to fight for dignity through armed resistance.
In the end, Vander tried to kill Silco, throwing him into a river polluted with industrial toxins. The brothers, once inseparable, were forever divided by their irreconcilable ideals.
"Do you know what it feels like when your own brother keeps you pinned underwater, watching you struggle while you drown?"
"No. But I know what it's like to be pulled from waste by someone who became a father."
"So what? Can you even imagine how that felt? Can you imagine your blood being polluted by that filthy water, your nerves eaten away by the river's deadly toxins?"
"I hated Vander for what he did to me!" Silco roared.
"That river didn't kill me. It birthed me. Showed me what power really means. But as time passed, that hatred began to fade. I came to realize one truth."
"To defeat a powerful enemy, there's only one way, you must become the thing they fear most."
Silco's voice was low, almost haunting, as he recounted his break with Vander. Yet even as he spoke, he continued his subtle attempts to win Cipher over.
He knew perfectly well that while he and Cipher maintained a cooperative relationship, he funded Cipher's weapons research and provided the smuggling routes to Noxus, Cipher's loyalty had always been to Vander.
Always.
Years ago, Vander had rescued a young Cipher from the garbage heaps and raised him. In resource-starved Zaun, he was more than just a foster father, he was as good as Cipher's real father.
"I did hate Vander," Silco admitted, "but I always respected him, until he began working hand in hand with the Pilties, becoming their lapdog and forgetting all the suffering we endured!"
He appeared calm again, but his tone was filled with pain, dulled by years of torment.
Cipher, unwilling to let his old father figure be completely maligned, spoke up in Vander's defense. "Back then, he had no choice. The Undercity was too weak. He carried the weight of countless lives on his shoulders."
"Maybe," Silco replied, dismissively. "But things are different now. Your weapons, my Shimmer, that's real power."
"Together, we could reshape everything. Make Vander see the truth."
"And what truth is that?" Cipher asked softly, though he already knew the answer.
"That strength is the only language Piltover understands. That compromise is just another word for surrender."
"If you and I join forces, the dream is right in front of us, within reach. Vander and I could be brothers again, and you could even call me family once more!"
As Silco spoke, he watched Cipher intently, trying to gauge his reaction.
But Cipher's face remained emotionless, giving nothing away. Silco saw no hint of agreement, or dissent.
