Broken Blades, Broken Souls - An Arcane Fanfiction

The Choices We Made

July 18th, 1:40 AM

Ekko's POV

"Alright, go back to the hideout, it's pointless." Ekko vaguely gestured to a bunch of volunteers who had come down to the docks with him to search for Jinx.

They'd been busy searching all night and still hadn't found the smallest hint of evidence that she had been possibly here. It was frustrating to look for something when they didn't even know what they were looking for.

"Are you sure?", an older woman asked. She was one of the shimmer survivors who'd gotten away lightly, yet her face was sunken and tired. Something that most of the Zaunites shared.

Ekko nodded. "We're not going to find her. Not tonight, at least. If she was here, she's probably escaped the second she saw us coming. No need to waste our energy here."

While the others slowly walked back to the hideout, he stayed behind, leaning backwards against a bollard, quietly humming as he scanned the place.

The docks were an abandoned part of Zaun. Long before Ekko was born, in the Undercity's prosperity, they had been used for maritime trade but since all trade was happening topside, they were useless.

Right in front of him loomed the dark silhouette of Silco's old factory, the ominous shadows of the ruin creeping along the sparsely illuminated ground.

The windows were smashed in, metal doors, hanging on their hinges, screeching whenever they were moved by wind gusts, sorts of ancient dried liquids were still sticking to the walls. The roof only consisted of one half, the other one had been shattered in an explosion.

The once magnificent glass dome that had covered the factory was long gone, still, shards of it were still lying around everywhere. It perfectly matched the rest of the docks - abandoned and derelict.

Ekko waited patiently. He knew it was not a coincidence that people had supposedly seen Jinx here today, even if he hadn't seen her with his own eyes. He knew she was around here, hiding, somewhere in the shadows. And he was almost one hundred percent positive she'd show up sooner or later.

Today was the death day of Vander, Claggor and Mylo.

Almost to the hour, eight years ago, Jinx, at that time still named Powder, had blown up the building with her monkey bomb and accidentally killed her family.

That had been the first time Ekko's life had been shattered to pieces. He closed his eyes and tried to remember. The memories washed over him like waves he couldn't hold back.

Flashback

Ekko stands in a dark alley near the factory. The building is completely burning, smoke thickening the air and making his eyes well up with tears.

He sees someone kneeling on the ground, apparently sobbing. As he takes a few steps forward, he realizes that it is Powder. She's kneeling before a body. Vander's body.

Startled, Ekko takes a few steps back. Where is Vi? And Mylo? And Claggor? And what happened to the building?

Suddenly, he sees a strange man approaching Powder. A bunch of bodyguards is surrounding him, one of them is holding an unconscious Sevika.

Ekko recognizes the man. It's the same man who's responsible for killing Benzo and Grayson. The one Vi, Claggor and Mylo went after to rescue Vander.

Silco.

The industrialist kneels down beside Powder and speaks a few words that Ekko can't understand.