Arcane: I have Plasmids F*** YEAAAAAAH!!!

Lukas stepped out of The Last Drop, feeling pretty damn good about himself.

He made his first real deal.

He had actual money in his pocket.

He had a name now—Lukas Fontaine.

Not bad. Not bad at all.

He adjusted his coat, took a deep breath, and—

Oh.

Oh, this was pathetic.

Vi was dragging Powder by the ear.

Like, literally.

Powder was flailing, kicking her legs, whining like a wounded puppy.

Vi, meanwhile, had the angriest, most tired "big sister" face Lukas had ever seen.

And also?

She looked like she had been in a fight.

Bruised knuckles, scraped cheek, slight limp.

And from the pattern of bruises?

Yeah.

She fought Enforcers.

"Holy Hextech chests, She's actually insane."

"You're out of your goddamn mind!" Vi snapped, yanking Powder forward.

"Ow, ow, ow, Vi—stop, stop, stop!"

"You seriously thought running from Enforcers on that stupid-ass Bike was a good idea?!"

"It was fine until the bike broke!" Powder whined.

Vi let out the longest, most frustrated sigh.

"You're lucky I was nearby, Powder. If I hadn't pulled your sorry ass out of there, you'd be locked up right now."

Powder pouted.

"I had it under control…"

Vi's eye twitched.

"Bullshit."

She tightened her grip on Powder's ear.

"You're grounded."

"NOOOOOOO—"

Lukas, watching this play out, grinned.

This was too good to pass up.

So, in his best dramatic voice, he stepped forward.

And with all his over-the-top energy of one red trench coat wearing, fedora having, Vampire mother fucker he said—

"Excuse me, young lady, is this Boy/girl bothering you?"

Vi snapped her head toward him.

And if looks could kill?

Lukas would be a pile of ash right now.

Powder, despite being physically dragged to her doom, had to fight back a laugh.

Vi's eye twitched.

"Fuck you, Tiny Boy, I've got no time for you."

She kept walking, dragging Powder toward The Last Drop.

Powder, even in her suffering, still had the audacity to wave.

"Bye, Mister Nudes!"

Lukas winced.

The name was sticking.

He sighed dramatically.

But deep down?

Totally worth it.

----------------

Lukas took a deep breath, shook off the humiliation Powder had inflicted upon him, and focused on the next objective.

He had money now.

Not much, but enough to afford a real meal.

And after days of living like a sewer rat, he was finally going to eat something that didn't make him question his life choices.

Fifteen minutes later—

Lukas sat on a rickety old crate, staring at the food in his hands.

It was a grilled fish on a stick.

Crispy on the outside. Greasy. Smelled a little too salty.

But hey—actual protein.

"Alright, this should be fine. Normal food. Nothing sketchy."

He took a bite.

And immediately—

[-0.5HP]

Lukas froze.

Slowly, he looked up at the floating blue notification.

Then back at his fish.

Then back at the notification.

Then—

He took another bite.

[-0.5HP]

Lukas sighed.

"I swear to God, Zaun. Can I not eat one thing without it trying to kill me?"

He looked at the fish, deep in thought.

It didn't taste bad.

But the fact that it was literally damaging him meant he was probably ingesting something horrible.

Toxic runoff? Chemical residue? Something way worse?

He chewed. Swallowed.

Shrugged.

"Whatever. Not like I have other options."

He took another bite.

For a few minutes, things were actually peaceful.

Lukas leaned back, half-enjoying his meal.

Sure, it was slowly murdering him.

But everything in Zaun was slowly murdering him.

So this was fine.

Then—

DING!

A sharp notification sound rang in his ears.

Lukas blinked.

The System?

This was new.

He opened the blue interface and saw—

A message.

[NEW MISSION: CLEANING THE UNDERCITY]

Objective: Kill 4 Chem-Baron enforcers.

Time Limit: 5 Hours.

Failure Penalty: Death.

Lukas froze.

He reread the words.

Then again.

Then again.

Then—

"WHAT THE FUCK?!"

He immediately went back to the mission screen.

There had to be a mistake.

This had to be a joke.

There was no way the System was actually telling him to go out and commit four murders.

Right?

Right?!

…

Nope.

It was serious.

And worse?

There was a Yes/No button.

The System was asking if he accepted the mission.

Lukas stared at it.

Then noticed the fine print.

[Mission Decline Penalty: Death]

Lukas went very still.

His mouth went dry.

His heartbeat hammered.

"Oh, you've gotta be fucking kidding me."

For a moment, he just sat there.

Staring at the screen.

His mind raced.

He had no choice.

He had to kill four people.

And if he didn't?

He was dead.

Slowly, his hand moved toward the button.

Hovered over "Yes."

Shaking.

This was real.

This wasn't a game.

He was choosing to kill.

Not for survival.

Not for self-defense.

But because something inside him had decided that this was necessary.

The System was forcing him.

Like some unseen hand was pushing him forward.

Like some god was playing a game with him, and he was just another piece on the board.

Lukas swallowed hard.

And clicked.

[MISSION ACCEPTED.]

The blue screen faded away.

Lukas exhaled sharply, his hands clenching into fists.

His time limit started counting down.

5:00:00…

4:59:59…

4:59:58…

He didn't have time to sit here and think.

He had to move.

Now.

Lukas stood up fast, wiping his mouth.

"Shit, shit, shit—"

He grabbed his coat.

And ran.