#arcane skyvik

What you're keeping from me

The pale light danced with iridescent colours on the drops of moisture hanging in the air as Viktor stood at the entrance of the commune’s main greenhouse. He mused at the sight briefly, resting on his staff, thinking of the shapeless, ever changing colours inhabiting his consciousness since his awakening. He has become numb to most sensations, few things could stir his tranquil composure, but the success of new research still woke his curiosity every time. At the back of the structure, he spied a group of his followers tending to the plants and putting the finishing touches to a small artificial pond. They noticed him arriving immediately, turning to look at him as one. Their leader, a shorter man with a ponytail came forward to greet him as the rest returned to their work. Viktor recognized the man as the first one to approach him once he arrived back to the Undercity.

“The new filtration system is working as intended!” - the follower said enthusiastically - “Now that we have more than enough clean water to provide for the whole commune, we have started to build the new section of the greenhouse. - he reverently bowed - As you have instructed. We are almost finished.”

For a while now they have been working on adding a watery habitat to the existing gardens of crops and wild flowers. The plan was to reconstruct the biome of Zaun’s riverside flora from before the pollution turned all of it into a toxic wasteland. The idea of course came from Sky’s notes, as did the rest of the greenhouse. Her words guided him through the building of their community. He read them over and over: to study everything from cross-pollination to cellular structure; to see what components were needed for an air purification chamber or a closed terrarium; to piece together whatever was left unsaid on missing pages and torn off corners. He had the booklet with him today too, clutched to his chest.

“I wouldn’t have expected any other results from such a design” - answered Viktor with approval, then his gaze shifted, searching the empty air behind his follower’s back. A faint, proud smile appeared on his lips as he noticed Sky standing there in the cover of the leaves. Sky smiled back at him shyly, tucking a strand of curly brown hair behind her ear. His fingers tightened on the notebook ever so slightly.

Of course the man standing before him hasn’t noticed anything of this little exchange, his eyes filled with vacant contentedness under the metallic fingerprints.

“If you say your work is almost done, would you mind leaving me alone here for a while?” - Viktor asked him.

“As you wish!” - he bowed again and turned to the rest of the group - “The Herald wishes to inspect the greenhouse alone!”

Viktor couldn’t help but let out a sigh once they all finally left.

“Admit it, you have been looking forward to this” - said Sky teasingly as she walked up to him.

She was right. After the last few hours that he spent with healing a group of newly arrived sick Zaunites, he was in a sore need to recuperate his strength. In these times he loved to retreat to the lushness of the greenhouses. This was also where he most often saw Sky, outside the realm of the arcane. Seeing her in her element, wearing the academy’s uniform, admiring with her the vibrant greenery, discussing with her all the different facets of her research made it seem like she was as tangible as all that thriving Eden he has constructed around her. As if she had never…

“Come!” - she reached out for his hand, gently pulling him along until they were at the side of the little stone basin.

Sky sat down on the soft green grass, patting the ground with one hand, inviting him to join. Viktor put down his staff and the notebook to sit beside her.

“The honeyfruit is almost ready for harvest” - he noted, reaching for the leafy tendrils of the plant on his right. He plucked one of its tiny, vibrant green bulbs and tossed it into the water. Just as it landed with a plop, a little bright pink head poked through the surface. And then a second. And a third. Salamanders. They swirled around the berry, nibbling at it, splashing at each other with their stubby little tails and legs.

“Now, now, be nice to each other!” - Sky reached into the pond giggling.

Viktor flinched a little, when he saw her touch leave no ripples on the surface. He threw in a few more berries to break the fighting salamanders apart. The three escaped back underwater with their prey, their swift little bodies like rose-coloured neon blurs.

“You know, I’ve been thinking about something. This greenhouse… - Sky said sitting back up and gesturing towards the arched ceiling. - …it’s not going to be good enough for very long.”

“What do you mean by that?” - Viktor raised his eyebrows worriedly.

“Just that, if these three are going to grow as big as you told me, we’re going to need a MUCH bigger one.” - she answered with a grin.

Viktor gave a chuckle, but he couldn’t deny that his heart sank a little.

“But that’s nothing we cannot solve, right?” - said Sky, resting her head against his shoulder. Viktor leaned into her touch, but then the sight of his lone reflection in the pond gave him a pause.

“Of course” - he turned away and picked up her notebook to distract himself from the breaking illusion. He traced the leaf patterns on the cover with his finger, eyes fixed on the golden clasp. - “But are you happy with all of this Sky? Are you satisfied with what I’ve done so far? Because I’m doing this for you as much as for Zaun. I’ve tried to follow your every word. Sometimes I admit I do struggle. Some of your notes must have been... lost. Possibly when… - he sighed - But I want to make this real for you. You deserved to see your dream realised. You deserved to do good. You deserved to live.” - his last words came as little more than a whisper. He glanced to where Sky had just been sitting, but found her gone. Instead of her reassuring word, he was left with nothing, but the rustle of leaves and the soft humming of the water system

Viktor opened the notebook, carefully flipping to the pages about the watery biome. It eased his mind to see how meticulously Sky’s plans had been executed: every choice of plant and all the machinery to keep them alive. Her drawings even found their way onto the intricate glass and metal walls of their buildings. But it wasn’t just a list of instructions to follow. Her words gave him purpose at the dawn of his new existence and renewed his hope in a future he once thought lost to him. They gave him companionship, a way to escape whenever he felt drowned out by the echoes of his thoughts.

He continued turning the pages. By now, he knew all of them by heart. Where Sky left a page empty to press a flower… Where she hid a funny little doodle of Heimerdinger… Where were pages missing… He cursed himself for those repeatedly. If Sky’s research would fail in any way, because he lost her notes the night she saved him from the Hexcore… No, he couldn’t wrong her again. So he spent his free time deciphering her missing words whenever the pages stayed silent.

But now that silence became overwhelming.

Viktor closed his eyes and retreated to where he knew he would find her.

When his eyes opened to the void he was rushed by sensation. The dull numbness of his physical body instantly replaced by a charge, a lightness he could only ever compare to the first time he took to run. The surrounding space vibrated with tones of green, pink, blue and gold, the shapes slowly collapsing into one another in clouds of glowing dust.

Sky was standing before him. She gestured for him to follow her, like every time they went to explore the arcane together and disappeared behind a web of luminous tendrils.

Viktor ran after her through the maze of neuron-like structures as if in a game of hide and seek, their steps sending ripples through the invisible surface.

They finally stopped in a clearing, standing hand-in-hand, staring together to where the horizon would have been.

“Why did you leave me there in the greenhouse?” - Viktor broke their silence.

“I didn’t go anywhere.” - Sky said matter-of-factly, looking up at him, studying his face for a moment. - “What’s been troubling you?” - she asked in a softer tone.

“So much for a calming stroll in the garden” - he sighed with a grimace.

Letting go of Sky’s hand he turned away from her towards one of the gleaming walls.

“I fear that your research… or the very least what I have of it in the notebook… is now incomplete. I don’t want this to jeopardize our projects.”

While he talked he absentmindedly traced a pattern into the astral light .

“So far it never posed a problem. And if it did, I’m sure you could figure something out.” - she said reassuringly.

“I just want it to be perfect. Forgive me for not taking care of your notes…” - Viktor continued. Under his glowing fingers shapes began to appear: leaf shapes in a circle, like a flower blooming…

He was at a loss for words. Should he repeat once again how sorry he was that she had to die for him like he did already thousands of times? Tell her how his guilt went way beyond that night in the laboratory? That he needed Sky’s notes not just for her research, but to know her. To know everything about her, to surround himself with her, to atone for letting the two of them drift apart. What good would that do now, after everything he has put her through?

He ran his fingers through the translucent wall, dissolving it in the ether.

“I… I feel like I’m only talking to myself.” - he scoffed, looking away.

Sky crossed the distance between, then reached up and gently turned his face towards her own.

“Then why don’t you talk to me?” - she asked, looking into his eyes.

Viktor raised his hands to hold her palm against his cheek. If only he knew what she wanted him to say.

Then again, he was never that good at reading others... Heimerdinger’s awkward attempts at empathy over his illness, Jayce’s lingering prejudice against Zaun and their diverging ideals on Hextech… would any of this have hit him as hard as it did, had he just paid more attention to the people around him? He thought his new state of being could bring him clarity and understanding. He could access anybody’s mind just at the touch of his fingertip. Yet here he was in front of her, apparently as clueless as ever.

The light cascading on Sky’s face, the stardust tangled in the glow of her hair, it stirred memories in him. Pictures flooded his mind: the moment he first saw her by the side of the stream in their neighbourhood. Her coming to say him goodbye when he left to study in Piltover. Her smiling at him when years later he brought her the news that she too got admitted to the Academy. And her smile again when he gifted her that notebook. That inquisitive glint in her big brown eyes full of wonder got repeatedly etched into his very being. How beautiful he found it. How beautiful he found her. Did she know this? How would she react if he told her now?

“I… just can’t help but feel that there is something you are keeping from me. That I’m missing part of the picture. You are still trying to tell me something, don’t you… Sky?” - Viktor asked her instead, ashamed.

She said nothing, just held him, smiling up at him, cupping his face gently with her hands. Viktor thought he saw a kind of sadness in her eyes. And a sense of knowing, maybe, like if now she too could see into his soul.

Then, still smiling, Sky took his hand, pulling him along with her again, to run with her through the intertwining rays of light. And Viktor ran with her hoping that in time she would guide him to whatever there was left for him to know.

-

Some time later the new head research assistant of the Piltover Academy would find an envelope hidden amongst the few belongings of their predecessor. If they open it, they can see it contains nothing more than a few pieces of paper torn out of a notebook:

Dear Viktor!

Thank you so much for the notebook! It was a really thoughtful gift. Sorry for being so awkward, I didn’t expect anyone to It was so nice of you to remember the anniversary of my enrollment. I wish I could let you know how much I treasure it… Working with you has been my greatest inspiration. I would be so lonely here otherwise. But we Zaunites have to stick together, right?

Have a lovely day!

Sky

~

Hi

I hope this note will find you! You’ve been so busy nowadays. I’m going back to Zaun for the weekend to visit family. Do you want to come along?

Sky :)

~

Dear Viktor,

Thank you for your advice on my project! I really appreciated the feedback. I will consider it moving forward. I can’t wait to tell you about the results.

Sincerely,

Sky

~

Dear Viktor!

The professor told me about your illness. I’m so sorry! I don't even know what to say other than you never deserved any of this. I want a future where nobody from Zaun would have to suffer like this ever again. I pray you can be a part of that future! I hope I didn’t overstep by writing to you! If you ever need anything, I’m always here.

Love,

Sky

~

Dear Viktor

It's not like I'm ever giving you these notes anyway so…

I love you,