The Pipe Accumulation District was, true to its name, a place where countless pipes crawled across the ceiling and walls. Every time steam leaked out with a sharp hiss, visibility vanished. Kain had been wandering through this sector for well over an hour now. (A clinic hidden in the back. A silver-haired, talkative female doctor. A place with lots of pipes.) That was all the information he'd picked up at Salma. Honestly, it was painfully unreliable. "Lots of pipes, but there's pipes everywhere here..." Muttering to himself, he turned the corner for the third time. The same torn pipe cover came into view. He'd seen it before. He was going in circles—three laps around the same corridor. An old man sitting on the step across from him was smoking a cigarette and watching Kain. The same face he'd seen before. "Kid, that's your third lap," "I know!" Embarrassing. Completely embarrassing. Kain took a breath and turned down a narrow alley deeper into the sector. A dimly lit passage where pipes hung low and few people seemed to pass through. The floorboards creaked and sank beneath his feet. Damp air filled his lungs. There was an old metal door. No nameplate. But a small chemical lamp glowed above the door. A soft, green light. A place this far back wouldn't have a lamp unless someone was using it. Kain knocked. "Excuse me, is someone named Echo here?" There was a pause. The door opened. A small woman emerged. Her silver hair was cut in a short bob, tinged slightly blue by the lamp's green glow. An apron stained with pale chemical marks. Multiple piercings lined her left ear, and her green eyes regarded Kain quietly. A gentle smile played on her lips. "So you're the loud salvager," Kain froze. "...Huh?" "A message came three days ago. Said a loud salvager might show up, and to not turn him away," Rin. That woman had arranged this beforehand. Kain stood dumbly in front of the door for a moment. "...You knew?" "Yes. Come in," Echo opened the door wide and gestured for Kain to enter. ───── The clinic was larger than he'd expected. It had apparently been a water distribution facility once—the floor was concrete, and pipes ran along the walls. But there were four beds, and shelves lined with medicine bottles in neat rows. It was clean. He hadn't thought such a place existed in Zaun. In the back corner, an elderly man sat holding his arm, chemical stains spreading across his skin. Symptoms of chemical contamination. Not uncommon in Zaun. Echo seated Kain in a chair and examined his face. "You took quite a beating," "Yeah," The marks from three days ago were still visible on the right side of his face. The swelling had gone down, but the bruises had turned yellowish. His ribs still ached a little with each movement. Echo touched Kain's cheek with a thin finger. It stung slightly. But her touch was so gentle he could bear it. "Did you go for Rin and get beaten for it?" "...More or less," "I heard you went to get medical components," "Pretty much," Echo nodded and took a medicine bottle from the shelf. It was salve. She soaked a cloth slightly and applied it beneath Kain's jaw. It stung a little. "That girl asking someone for help—it's been a while," Her voice was quiet. "When she sent me a message about you, I was a bit surprised. I didn't think she'd do something like that," Kain listened and remembered Rin's golden eyes. That face, staring at a point on the wall, saying "just the name." He'd thought she'd known all along. But he didn't feel like saying that now. "What do you mean by that?" Echo smiled slightly. "Hey, do you like her? Rin?" She said it in a completely natural tone, her hand never stopping as she applied the medicine. Kain froze. "I-it's not like that. I just couldn't leave her alone—" "'Couldn't leave her alone' is what liking someone means," "N-no! She was hurt, so I thought she needed medical components—" "Your face is red," "The medicine is stinging!!" His voice got louder. The elderly patient in the back, holding his arm, looked over with a startled expression. His eyes were cold. Kain noticed and hung his head in full embarrassment. Echo was laughing. A silent laugh, but her mouth was completely relaxed. "You're a good kid," "Shut up," His face was hot. Kain stared at his own knees, desperately trying to change the subject. "...I need you to look at Rin's arm. She's in the basement of the old Vander Hostel. It looks like Hextech armor has fused with her flesh—" Echo's smile vanished. Her green eyes became sharp and serious. "...What does it look like?" "Blue-white light running across her entire arm. The fusion seems to be progressing," There was a brief silence. Echo faced the shelf, standing still as if thinking. "Let's go," ───── The basement of the old Vander Hostel was filled with the same blue-white light as always. The moment Echo opened the door, Rin was already standing away from the wall. She must have known Kain would bring her. Her golden eyes narrowed slightly as they found Echo. "It's been a while, Rin," "...Yes," The two knew each other. Kain didn't know the details. But there was something tender in Echo's voice. Echo approached Rin's right arm. She began observing the limb carefully, without hesitation, where blue-white light traced across it. She touched it with her fingers, checking the inside of the arm, near the wrist, around the elbow in sequence. Rin didn't move. She let it happen. Kain stood silently beside them, watching. After a long silence, Echo spoke. "The armor and Hextech circuitry have partially fused with the skin and skeletal structure," Her voice was quiet. A doctor's voice. "The stage of fusion is...still moderate. But it's not stopping. If left untreated, there's a possibility the entire arm will become non-functional within six months," Kain clenched his fist. "This is a scar from the Remnants of Euphinis Project," The words fell into the basement. Rin's movements stopped, just barely. "The Remnants of Euphinis Project...?" "A plan Piltover pursued in secret during the war," Echo withdrew her hand from Rin's arm and looked at Kain. "They implanted Hextech devices directly into the bodies of some Enforcers and prisoners of war. The goal was to enhance physical abilities. But there were no proper medical procedures, no consent from the subjects—nothing. It was illegal human experimentation," "...That actually happened?" "It was wartime. Anything could happen," Echo paused for a moment. The underground device vibrated with a low, rhythmic pulse. "I heard rumors of it as a Vander sympathizer during the war. I didn't want to believe it, but I couldn't deny it either. After the war, the project's existence was officially denied. Sealed away. But—" Echo's green eyes looked at Rin's arm. "Here it is, right in front of me," The room fell silent. Kain looked at Rin. Rin's eyes were downcast. She didn't deny it. She didn't confirm it either. She simply looked quietly at the vibrating floor beneath the device. That silence confirmed everything. Kain felt his chest tighten. She'd said she was treated as a traitor for disobeying orders. That she'd tried to save her comrades, but they died anyway, and only she survived. But it was more than that. That arm was evidence. That's why she was being hunted. That's why she had that face like she'd given up on living. (So that's it.) Kain couldn't say anything. He searched for words, but nothing came. Then Echo's small communicator at her waist chimed. ───── Echo held the communicator to her ear and exchanged a few brief words. Kain couldn't hear the content, but he could see Echo's expression change. When the communication ended, Echo looked between Kain and Rin. "A message from an information broker," "About what?" "Someone came to Salvage Market trying to sell fragments of records from the Remnants of Euphinis Project," Silence. "Tonight, at Salma," "...The data is starting to leak," "That's right. If records are appearing on the market, it means a faction pursuing the project has infiltrated Zaun. Once information gets out, it's only a matter of time before moves are made to recover Rin as an experimental subject," Rin remained leaning against the wall, staring ahead in silence. Her profile didn't change. No surprise. It was the face of someone who'd already accepted this. "Rin, come here," Echo spoke clearly. "Move to Noxus with me. I can treat your arm. At my place, Piltover won't know the location," Kain immediately continued. "I'll move too. The old Vander Hostel is already on the Scrappers' radar. Staying here is—" "No," It was short. "I won't drag Echo into danger. If I disappear, everyone will be safe," "Disappear? Where are you going?" "That's irrelevant," "It's relevant!" His voice got louder. Kain was a little surprised at himself, but he couldn't stop. "Even if you disappear, it won't solve the problem. As long as you're being hunted, no matter where you go—" "You too," Rin looked up. She looked directly at Kain. Her golden eyes captured him head-on. They weren't like the eyes from the first time, when she'd leaned against the basement wall. Not eyes that pushed him away. Eyes filled with a quiet will—a will not to hurt him. "You're not involved," Kain couldn't respond. Words wouldn't come. There had to be the right words somewhere, but he couldn't find them. He clenched his fist. When he squeezed, his knuckles creaked faintly. Echo watched the two of them quietly. She said nothing. The silence continued. The device pulsed—thump, thump. Blue-white light illuminated the three of them. "...Fine. I'm backing off for now," He forced the words out. "But it's not over," Rin said nothing. She lowered her eyes. Kain couldn't tell what that face was trying to say. Echo placed a light hand on Kain's shoulder. "Come again," Her voice was small. ───── When Kain stepped out of Noxus's door, the night air of Zaun filled his lungs. Steam leaked from pipes. Chemical lamps swayed in the distance. The stone pavement beneath his feet was damp. Kain walked. (Not involved, huh.) Rin's voice echoed in his head. It was different from the voice that had called him a "loud guy" the first time. Back then, it was meant to drive him away. Tonight's "not involved" was—something else. Because he understood that, he couldn't argue back. He turned a corner. Pipes crossed overhead. He stepped through darkness where the chemical lamp's light didn't reach, then emerged into brightness again. He felt a presence. Behind him. Kain didn't change his pace. He turned the next corner and stopped in the shadow of a wall. Footsteps approached. One set of footsteps. Walking with deliberate distance maintained. It sounded like the gait of someone practiced in pursuit. The footsteps stopped just before the corner. In the darkness, Kain could sense someone holding their breath. Kain remained leaning against the wall, unmoving. Something pulsed slowly deep in his chest. His mouth felt dry. (Who is it?) The footsteps didn't come any closer. But they didn't disappear either.