[excited]Uwaaaaaah! What is this light!? With that sharp cry, everything began. In the Ferros Memorial Lab, tucked away in a corner of Piltover's eastern academic district — a laboratory with white walls crisscrossed by brass pipes — Victor stood breathless before the scene unfolding in front of them. The three Hex gems mounted on the central pedestal were glowing in impossible colors. Normally a bluish-violet, the crystals now pulsed violently, radiating iridescent light. This is bad. The moment those words flashed through Victor's mind, the world exploded. ────── How long had they been unconscious? The cold of the floor brought Victor back to awareness. A high-pitched ringing filled the depths of their ears. They'd been blown back by the blast, apparently. Cracks ran through the walls, and dust drifted down from the ceiling in lazy cascades. "…Ngh." They tried to sit up, and something felt wrong. Something heavy. A weight on their chest that hadn't been there before. And their arms — they seemed thinner somehow. No, their whole body felt smaller. Victor looked at their own hands. [whispers]What is this… These weren't the hands they'd known for twenty years. The fingers were slender and long. The joints far more delicate than before. Looking closer, the nails were shaped into perfect almonds. A chill ran down their spine. In the corner of the room, a mirror had survived the blast intact. Victor rose on unsteady legs and approached it. And in the mirror— "Wh-what…" Their voice was different. Higher. A soft voice they couldn't believe had come from their own mouth. The mirror showed a petite woman with black hair. It fell to their shoulders in a mess, haphazardly tied back in a single knot. Deep gray eyes stared back, wide with shock. A white lab shirt hung loose and baggy, threatening to slip off their shoulders. The body beneath it was slender, lean — and unmistakably female. [scared]Aaaaaaah! They couldn't stop the scream. Frantically, they covered their chest with their arms. But how were they supposed to hide it? How were they supposed to handle something that hadn't existed before? And below was wrong too. The contents of their slacks had completely changed. Their leg length, their balance — everything was off. Just standing made them wobble. (Calm down. I'm a scientist. This is exactly when I need to collect data, rationally.) Repeating this to themself internally, Victor picked up the observation notebook that had fallen to the floor. They gripped a ballpoint pen. Their hand trembled. They couldn't hold the pen properly. The thickness of their fingers had changed, and the sensation of the pen was completely different. On top of that, their bangs kept flickering into the corner of their vision, a constant distraction. They'd always kept their hair short before, so this had never been an issue. They forced the pen across the page, only to be hit by another wave of wrongness. Their chest swayed with every movement. That weight and sensation disrupted their thoughts. "Damn it." The letters they'd started to write in the notebook were nothing but squiggly lines, like worms crawling across the page. "I am Subject V. Today—" Just as they tried to organize the situation aloud, another voice came from beyond the partition wall that had been blown open by the explosion. "Hey! Victor! Are you okay!?" At that voice, Victor's heart jolted. Jayce. Emerging from the smoke was a tall young man, 185 centimeters, with light brown hair swept back. His golden-brown eyes held fierce determination and curiosity. His hair, usually neatly styled, was still mussed with bed-head. A confident genius inventor, raised in Piltover's upper echelons. My best friend. [surprised]You… Jayce's movements stopped dead. The moment their eyes met, his face flushed so red it seemed it might make a sound. His golden eyes traveled from the top of Victor's head to the tips of their toes, as if looking at something unbelievable. (Ah, he's looking at me.) Victor unconsciously clutched the collar of their shirt. Thank goodness the clothes were baggy. But that meant their shoulders were exposed, which only made it more embarrassing. [embarrassed]I-it's not what it looks like, Jayce, this is— [scared]Your, your skirt! …I mean! Jayce's voice cracked as he looked away, in a completely different direction. [serious]Glad you're safe! I'll come back later! [scared]W-wait, hold on— But Jayce didn't look back as he fled the room. The door slammed shut. Silence fell over the lab. Victor stood frozen in place. He ran away. My best friend ran away from me. A sharp pain throbbed deep in their chest. And at the same time, their heart was pounding harder than before. The embarrassment of being seen by Jayce, the sadness of being fled from, and some strange, unidentifiable flutter — all of it churned together in a tangled mess. (This is… yes. It must be an aftereffect of the accident.) With trembling hands, Victor scribbled in their notebook. *Subject V exhibits elevated heart rate in response to Subject J. Cause unknown. High probability of accident aftereffects. Requires observation.* But the letters still shook. Victor stared at the closed door, feeling their fingertips still trembling faintly. From beyond the window came screams and angry shouts from all over the city. Something catastrophic was happening. But right now, the pounding in their chest was so loud, they couldn't focus on anything else. ────── [angry]This is no laughing matter! The person who burst into the lab a short while later was a hulking, muscular giant of a man. No. That wasn't right. Short navy-blue hair was messily disheveled, and clear, piercing blue eyes burned with fury. The facial features still held traces of the original. An enforcer's uniform strained at the seams, the chest buttons looking ready to pop off at any moment. Their shoulders were nearly twice as broad as before, and their arms were like thick logs. This was Caitlyn. Elite investigator of the Piltover Enforcers, and scion of House Kiramman — formerly a woman. [excited]You look awesome, seriously! Following behind was a woman with short, shocking-pink hair. The right side was shaved in an undercut, revealing her natural black underneath. Challenging gray eyes sparkled with amusement. She stood 178 centimeters tall, with a lean, toned build. Vi — a former brawler from Zaun, now serving as an enforcer's assistant. Vi was the only one in this bizarre situation whose gender hadn't changed. [laughing]You've got a way better body now! What's up with those abs! [angry]Vi! Do you not understand the gravity of this situation!? Caitlyn roared, but their voice was deep and rough. Like a bear growling. Which only made Vi laugh harder. [sad]O-oh, honestly… this is why people from Zaun are… Face bright red, Caitlyn tugged at their uniform collar. Unused to their new body, they bumped their shoulder against the door frame. [serious]The cause is your device, isn't it? Caitlyn looked straight at Victor. Even with their body changed, their eyes hadn't lost the sharpness of an enforcer. The observational skills honed through marksmanship scanned Victor's form. Just then, Jayce — who had fled earlier — returned. His face was pale, his head hung low. [serious]Yes… it's my responsibility. [gentle]I'm a co-developer too. Before they knew it, Victor had spoken. They didn't want Jayce to shoulder the blame alone. Besides, seeing their best friend hanging his head like that caused a different kind of pain in their chest than before. A moment of silence passed between them. Another scream came from outside the window. From the direction of the Rift Gate. Around the massive elevator connecting the upper and lower levels, chaos was erupting. Approximately 3,200 people. That was the number of victims Caitlyn had reported. All over the city, people were crying and wailing, running to find mirrors, struggling with clothes that no longer fit. Those bathed in the iridescent light — the Shift Light — were undergoing gender reversal, one after another. [cold]First, let's collect data. Victor re-gripped their pen with trembling fingers. Calmly. Logically. This was an unknown phenomenon. As a scientist, they had to analyze it. That's what they thought. "Whoa." Jayce had approached to take notes, and in that moment, their hands touched. Just a brief instant. Just the tips of their fingers. And yet. Victor felt their heart leap. The notebook slipped from their hand and fluttered to the floor. [scared]S-sorry! Jayce jumped back in a panic. His face was bright red again. [whispers]…It's fine. Victor said this as they picked up the notebook from the floor. Their fingers trembled. Looking awkward, Jayce retreated to the corner of the lab. He said he'd examine the wreckage of the device, and kept his back turned. Victor secretly watched that back. Broad shoulders, a solid build despite being a scientist. The familiar back of their best friend, someone they'd worked alongside for years. And yet, now it felt different. (What is this feeling?) They ran the pen across the notebook. *Subject V exhibits elevated heart rate in response to Subject J. Cause unknown. High probability of accident aftereffects. Additionally, visual confirmation of Subject J triggers further elevation. Cause unknown. Continued observation required.* But they knew. This wasn't some aftereffect. Still, they didn't want to admit it. Because the other person was their best friend. A man. No — now they were a woman, but inside they were still— [gentle]…I really don't understand any of this. The voice that murmured this was still high, like a girl's. Outside the window, Piltover's white cityscape stretched out as always. But from every direction came a mix of laughter, screams, and sobs. It was the hour when Hextech lights began to illuminate the night. But today, the city was bathed in a different kind of light. In the small laboratory of the Ferros Memorial Lab, Victor sat alone, confronting the pounding in their chest. The trembling letters in their notebook. And themself, who couldn't stop tracking Jayce with their eyes. The investigation into the cause had only just begun. But this change inside them — they had a feeling it couldn't be solved with data alone. Today, an iridescent light raced through Piltover. That light hadn't just changed bodies. Surely, it had changed something much deeper. Victor gently placed a hand on their chest and continued to gaze quietly at the chaos outside the window.