Red mist leaks out from the base of the sphere as its pure, brilliant white darkens to a sickly purple.

  The air felt heavy, suffog. Orio like his head was uer with water filling his ears, dist reality as purple tendrils spread out like an iion.

  Gradually the ground's shade ged from its oural colors to darkened purple and red with any sembnce of life from grass to a stray flower withering. Wheendrils touched the nearby metal stairwell, it creaked ominously before snapping away, bing and curling toward the orb as if it had life.

  Folding in on itself, the orb fshed brilliantly before creating a rge, circur oval with a clear view to the other side.

  Oriohed heavily as he opened his eyes, squinting as he spotted familiar figures through the portal.

  "Ahahaha! e on, sister," A maniacal ugh broke through the portal followed by an intense series of gunshots and explosions. "Thought I would fall for your delusions again?!"

  Weakly stepping forward, the voice sent chills through Orion. It was familiar- too familiar. His eyes widened as the details came more into focus and the entire rear of the factory colpsed.

  Large creatures with tendrils, araid creatures, dahrough the city cutting down enforcers and people fighting ba the bridge. Screams echoed out with hollow, eerie noises resonating ba return.

  Vander, his body pletely stripped of its ani. His was merely a husk of metal and wires with pulsing veins of corrupted purple running through his figure. Eerie purple mist danced out of his eyes as he charged forward across the factory floor.

  Jinx was ughing maniacally, her eyes tinted purple while her Hextech guing violent shades of purple and shaking violently with every burst of gunfire. And Vi... she was locked in bat with her sister and Vander, her eyes burning with desperation and guilt.

  "What the hell is this," Orion whispered, stepping closer as his heart raced and a cold sweat gripped him.

  A chilling voice hissed through the air.

  "The results of your efforts, Orion. But you need not let this pass. Embrace the Void, or be ed by it."

  Vander, or whatever abomination he had bee, let out an animalistic roar as his massive, corrupted frame crashed through debris. He swung a jagged, metal-enforced arm at Vi mercilessly.

  She barely ducked in time, her gaus glowing with cracked energy as she tried to fend him off.

  "Stop, Jinx!" Vi screamed, but Jinx wasn't listening. The haunting echo of her giggle reverberated in Orion's chest.

  Orion's hands trembled as he reached out toward the portal, not knowing if he wao reach through or push it shut forever.

  "Is this... my future?" he whispered, disbelief turning into a spiraling pit of dread. His voice cracked. "No- this 't be real."

  The voice that had hissed at him returned, louder this time as if the mist itself was alive and creeping into his mind.

  "It is real. Every choiake leads you here. Piltover burns, Zaun crumbles, they all die because of you."

  Orion shook his head, stepping back but the weight of the air was suffog. Feelings of guilt cwed at his chest, doubt ed his mind, and the pull of panivaded his mind.

  "I- no!" Orion clutched his head as a splitting headache fred between his temples.

  "You were rong enough, Orion. And you never will be."

  Jinx's ughter pierced through him again. Visions of her younger self repced her corrupted form as she whispered. "Orion, join us. You save us. Wield the Void. We rewrite this future!"

  Temptation ced every word, buzzing with power and authority. His legs, which were already weakened, buckled as the decision weighed on him.

  But he knew what this was. He wasn't pletely ignorant of the Void and its impa Ruerra. Something was off with the air surrounding him, invading his mind with hostility and altering his thoughts- he felt it.

  Gritting his teeth, Orion shook his head violently and whispered, "No... I know what this is- what you are. I won't give you the satisfa."

  The grouh his feet cracked with purple veins as the mist thied. Vander roared again and for a split sed, his gaze flicked toward Orion as though he sensed him through the veil.

  'What do I do?!' Orion's thoughts raced. He could feel the Void's power crawling through his skiing him to act, to embrace its strength and rip everything apart.

  If he left it open and ran, who knows what would happen. If he tried to destroy it, would it risk pulling him in?

  g his jaw, Oriohis was being a split decision he would be forced to make.

  Yet another act of this world that would bring him pain, and the savior never reized.

  With one final breath, Orion stood back up aended his hands, surging are energy crag to life. His voice shook with a mixture of fear and defiance.

  "I've made my mistakes. But this isn't one of them."

  He unleashed a torrent of are energy toward the base of the portal. The remaining factory surrounding him that had yet to colpse shook as the portal rippled violently with blue and purple energies, destabilizing with high-pitched screeches.

  The forocked him off his feet, smming his bato the ground.

  Struggling to lift his head, the st thing he saw through the portal was Jinx's maniacal face turning toward him as if she could truly see him through the barrier.

  When the portal hissed and colpsed in on itself, the final explosio Orion's body skidding further bato the factory. Half of the factory fag the city was pletely goh the other half bent outward toward Zaun.

  When the mist dissipated and the tled, Orion slowly sat up.

  Everything was silent, but his ears were ringing and body was shaking. The portal was gone, but the vivid imagery remaiched in his psyche like a scar.

  Somewhere in the distance, footsteps echoed, apanied by the faint whistle of the Enforcers closing in. It was time to move.

  But as Orion staggered to his feet, haggard and weak, ohought lingered in his mind.

  'Was that a vision? Or was something reag through, waiting for him to slip?'

  Grunting, he pushed himself forward, shuffling as quickly as possible toward the street, entirely unaware of the faint trace of purple energy seeping into his feet.

  ------------------

  Everyoood outside as a violent surge of energy shook the ground and a pilr of purple light erupted into the sky, bsting the smog away and giving a clear view of both the desote, worn down city and the distorted magic.

  It's during times like these when kids, despite all of their anguish and problems before, falter. Vi and Jinx stood behind Vander, sharing expressions of awe and unease.

  Vander's expression was grim, knowing this wasn't natural ht. It was ihe Uy, which also meant a wave of problems for him and the kids.

  This rea was shared by many throughout the Uy and Piltover, but more tilted toward the feeling of fear. It was unnatural, and the energy- or vibe- it gave was unfriendly.

  One creature was truly haunted by the sight.

  Heimerdinger, standing i Piltover Academy, stood horrified. His voice was high pitched, shouting to everyo the top of his lungs.

  "Send every able body over there! Find the source, hurry! Don't let the culprit get away!"