Exhaling deeply, you walked down the well lit main street. Your gaze was fixed on the pavement in front of you while Marcus walked silently by your side.

Unlike before, he didn't try to glance at you from time to time. He just stared into the darkness, sometimes left and sometimes right. But something about him seemed different. He was nervous. His eyes were darting through the shadows, as if he was expecting someone to want something from him at any moment.

The sudden change in mood confused you, but at that moment it was more the stabbing in your chest that was bothering you.

The grave had been a nice gesture, but at the same time it felt like a final end.

Could you still save something?

Anything?

Was it even worth trying?

The thought of you doubting made you sick. But at the same time you couldn't suppress the little voice in the back of your head. It was eating into your brain, corrupting it from the inside.

Sighing, you squinted your eyes and shook your head. You stopped, gripped by the feeling that the next step would feel like the hardest of your life.

Marcus stopped as well. His eyes jumped to you. Now the nervousness on his face was clearly visible.

"Keep walking.", it sounded like he was begging you not to stop.

Confused, you frowned.

His chest rose and fell rapidly, he breathed hastily even though he was good at hiding the agitation. He glanced unobtrusively over his shoulder.

Your gaze followed. In the corner of your eye, hidden in the shadows, you could make out the outline of two people.

But Marcus' hands quickly came to rest on your cheek, forcing you to look at him. His eyes trembled when they met yours. He looked so nervous, maybe even scared. It was strange to see him like that. Usually, he was hard and grim. He attacked when he had to and didn't hide.

But the man standing in front of you looked as if he would break at any moment.

"Please.", he whispered with his eyebrows drawn together. "Keep walking. Don't stop until you reach your hotel."

You frowned. Your lips moved, but instead of them your eyes asked the question.

With his lips pressed together, he shook his head.

"I'll take care of it.", he whispered, pulling you into a hug that made the conversation look natural. "We'll talk about it later."

Your hands hung limply down your body without making the decency to hug him too. Something inside you knew things weren't right. You just didn't know what it was yet.

But not playing the game and letting him walk into the open knife would not have been a smart idea. It could have gotten you both in trouble, him more than you.

You looked up at him.

Marcus' and your eyes met again.

Then you nodded, patted him on the shoulder and turned away to leave.

Immediately he put on a well-played smile, pretended to wave goodbye to you, and walked off in the opposite direction.

You didn't react as he disappeared into the shadows and joined the outline of strangers. You walked on, holding your breath, and turned around a corner. Only when the feeling of being watched disappeared did you jump into a side alley and climbed onto the roof of a house.

A cold wind stroked your (S/C) skin as you lifted your head to look down on the city. Not far in the distance you could immediately recognize Marcus.

His back turned to you, he was walking straight toward one of the bridges that connected Piltover and Zaun.

Directly behind him walked two rough looking men, heavily tattooed and marked by a life no one would want.

Confused, you frowned.

For what reason should Marcus be accompanied by such men?

He was an enforcer, the sheriff nonetheless while those two were clearly criminals.

"Oh Marcus...", you muttered and jumped over the rooftops to follow him. "Where did you get yourself into?"

When he was on the other side of the bridge, Marcus suddenly stopped and glanced over his shoulder. He sensed that something was wrong. He had already expected you to follow him.

Quickly, you jumped back into the shadows and pressed yourself against a wall to avoid his eyes. From a distance you could hear one of the men urging him to go on.

When you glanced around the corner again, the three were gone.

Fortunately for you, Zaun was a dirty place. In the muddy streets, the footprints of passersby stood out perfectly. And Marcus' heavy boots left particularly conspicuous prints.

Satisfied, you had to grin.

"Bingo!", you whispered, and jumped off the roof.

The streets in Zaun were wide and dark, perfect for staying undetected if one wanted to. With your head down, you followed Marcus' tracks, far enough away from the group not to be noticed.

But it didn't take you three steps before the acrid smell of chemicals and gas hit your lungs. Tears filled to your eyes.

Suddenly, everything was on fire. With one hand pressed to your mouth, you tried to suppress a rasping cough before it could draw all attention to you.

Marcus had a mask, but you hadn't thought about it at that moment.

The air turned green before your eyes. It felt like you were suffocating. But before your lungs could contract any further, a warm bolt of lightning chased through your spine. It felt like your spinal cord was glowing.

Overwhelmed by the feeling, your body tensed.

This feeling was so strange, so painful and yet meaningless. It felt like a thousand knives were stabbing into your back without the blades being sharp. With opened lips you threw your head back, your eyes trembled and a hoarse gasp escaped.

But then the feeling disappeared all at once as if it had never been there.

Shivering, you took a deep breath and noticed the next moment that the air no longer tasted of gasoline and decay. Your lungs could breathe again.

Your hand immediately felt over your back.

"What a devil's stuff...", you growled, running your fingers over the mounds of your spine. "So... is that what I am now?"