#a scientist

He’s overwhelmed. He can’t believe how he missed it before. Not only does this body keep Viktor alive— important, yes, and how could he have ever wished Viktor didn’t build it for that purpose alone— but it is also breathtakingly beautiful. In that moment, he suddenly realizes that Viktor built this. He’s magnificent, powerful. The Machine Herald’s body is crafted perfectly, a feat of engineering unlike anything Jayce has ever seen before.

Sure, Jayce created some incredible things with hextech, but his old partner’s body is a unique and innovative invention that weaves magic and science together boldly, fearlessly. Every seam is perfect, every piece of metal lovingly shaped and engraved with fine details that Jayce has never been able to manage himself. The steel augmentations allow Viktor to stand straighter than Jayce has ever seen, and somehow it feels right: Viktor is glorious, and brilliant, and now he commands the space around him in the way that Jayce had always thought he deserved to. And beneath it all is a beating pulse— whether engineered or biological, he does not know nor care— that emanates a warm glow and reminds him that Viktor is alive because of his work. That Viktor can save lives because of his work.

Jayce’s legs almost collapse beneath him, and he has to fight back tears. Not only did this save Viktor’s life, but it is the most breathtaking manifestation of Viktor’s mind itself, soldered and enchanted into a corporeal masterpiece. It is a definitive demonstration that Viktor is more brilliant and beautiful than any other invention Jayce has ever dreamt, let alone seen.