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[ Kyle's lived in barracks, with roommates, with a mutated raccoon under his bed - there's a certain threshold for nightly noise that his unconscious mind is able to ignore owing to the need to get rest in close quarters with so many other bodies. Movement has a much lower threshold.

He's not fully awake yet when he rolls over and slips an arm around Viktor's waist like he means to pull him back into bed, making a muffled, wordless question-like sound, eyes not even open yet. ]

[Viktor is undergoing the slightly arduous process of lifting himself off the bed (what a strange feeling, after a dream of a new, stronger body, unencumbered) when the arm around his waist prevents him from going further. He pauses, momentarily, looking over his shoulder and taking in the sight of Kyle in bed next to him, wanting to pull him back in like his whole world hasn't been upended.]

Go back to sleep.

[He whispers it softly, gently moving Kyle's arm from its place. Viktor is not so removed from this life that he doesn't think this will work--but he needs to clear his head. To breathe for a moment, and sort through this before he drags Kyle into it.]

[ He lets go easily enough. Rolled onto his side and slightly more awake, he watches Viktor shuffle out of the room before closing his eyes again. Nothing about this has him alarmed, he expects Viktor is only going to the bathroom and listens for the sound of the door - instead he hears the fainter sounds of footsteps on the stairs.

Even that doesn't get him to move immediately. He waits, maybe a half hour or so, for him to come back upstairs.

When he doesn't reappear on his own, Kyle slips out of bed and down to the workshop, barefoot and shirtless - and forcing back a sliver of anxiety that's been building off of the memories of that other life - an overreaction, he tells himself. This isn't like that. ]

[He's at least aware that Kyle is awake, though when he hears no further noise from the bedroom, he continues downstairs. The workshop is exactly as he left it at the end of the workday, and objectively, he knows no time has passed. Still, it feels foreign.

Viktor makes his way to a worktable and starts paging through the notes and blueprints, re-familiarizing himself. More time passes than he intends, perhaps, but once he starts leafing through his books, it's difficult to stop as everything starts to come back to him.

When Kyle makes his way downstairs, Viktor is seated in front of the automaton, palm pressed against its chassis, looking up at it, studying.]

[ He steps out into the workshop, feet padding quietly on the floor as he takes in the scene, not exactly certain what he expected to find. ]

What are you doing down here?

[ Kyle sounds and looks bemused, eyeing Perry. He stops near Viktor's side, internally batting away an unwanted sense of deja vu. ]

[Kyle's voice pulls him out of his reverie, and Viktor simply looks at him for a moment, his expression fond. But there's something else in it, too, like he's taking him in after some time away. Viktor is perched on a stool, and when Kyle occupies the space next to him, Viktor leans against his side.]

I couldn't sleep.

[Which is sort of true. He wants to be awake right now, some part of him worried that if he returns to sleep, he'll slip right back to where he left off.]

I had a dream about home.

[He hates to even say it, to know that he's about to upend their quiet domesticity--but such a thing was never possible for someone like him, was it?]

[ That something else in Viktor's eyes sets him on edge all over again. He's familiar with that look, he's experienced it twice with Jack now. Maybe, he thinks now, this was in Jath'ibaye's gaze too when they last met, beneath the shock and pain.

It's not just Viktor's expression, though. The moment he turns to look at him, Kyle clocks the change, he's too familiar with his strange, gold eyes not to notice how they're paler now, washed out almost to the same shade as his sclera. The effect is ghostly, and his body is tense for a second or two after Viktor leans against him. Kyle forces himself to relax. He lets himself put an arm around Viktor's shoulder, wanting to press his face against the top of his head, and just hold onto him for a little longer.

Instead, he asks in a quiet, level tone: ]

What happened?

[ He already knows some of what awaits one version of Viktor in the immediate future. ]

[Viktor already knows it was not just a dream, because if he tries he can reach out into that other space. See things that he's sure Kyle cannot. The Hexcore is not physically present, evidenced by Viktor's unchanged physical state, but he can feel the electric hum of the arcane, reaching out to him--he wonders if this isn't the Singularity. The source of all magic in this world.

The part of him that is a scientist knows there will be testing to do. To figure out how much of his abilities still remain.

Kyle seems to understand what Viktor has experienced. It's real and not real, all at the same time. Viktor is still sorting through it, wondering how it can be possible. When this happened to Tony, he imagined it would be the key to bridging the gap between worlds--to sending them home with memories and physical changes intact. Now, it feels like further assurance that apotheosis is awaits them, after all. The similarities between his visions of home and the god he became in the imagined future are certainly not lost on him. Perhaps some things are inevitable, after all.]

The Hexcore. [That seems like a good place to start, even if he already feels shame welling up from the pit of his stomach, to recount the events. Viktor is still struck by how strange all this is--to know that he hasn't really experienced any of it, but to have it feel so real all the same.] My first experiment was a success. So I attempted it again, intending to fully cure myself. But I wasn't careful enough the second time, I--I did not fully replicate what made the initial attempt successful.

[Viktor couldn't have, not with the blockade preventing him from acquiring more shimmer. But he's always suspected this, based on what he learned from Jayce. The one thing that would cause him to halt his research, and accept his inevitable death--because that kind of sacrifice in the name of progress would be unconscionable.]

It killed someone. My assistant.

Edited 2025-02-01 22:59 (UTC)

[ Even before their vision at the crater, Kyle might have been the one best suited to understanding these dreams about home that aren't dreams, even though he has never experienced one himself - and likely never will, he's come to accept.

Viktor had told him of a future, only days away from where he had left his world, where a version of himself had seemed to give up on the cure for his disease. It wouldn't make sense - Viktor was someone who didn't accept the impossible, who had succeeded in creating his miracle here. Kyle had admired him for that when they first met. He understood Viktor was capable of beautiful and terrible things, but that he was gentle, and believed he only ever wanted to help people. Kyle has already seen had badly it affected him to have his work stolen and used for violence in this world, the responsibility he put on himself. He would have protected him from that, if he could.

It was impossible, though - just like it's impossible now. Worse, that this time the circumstances sound more direct. All he can do is shift so that he's in front of him, standing in the space between his legs where he sits on the stool and wrapping his arms around him. ]

I'm sorry. [ That's only one possible future, he wants to say. You are here now. But he knows something has shifted irrecoverably for Viktor. ]

I think I always knew. What would bring me to that point.

[Harm to another person has always been non-negotiable. To kill someone, unimaginable. Kyle has always called the Hexcore a miracle, but they both know the inherent dangers of that kind of magic. It seems what always awaited him back home was not the success he enjoyed here, where he was able to save his own life, and it was foolish to think that the potential future as Jayce described it was some other version of him.

There is more to say, but Viktor allows himself this moment to mourn, curling into Kyle's embrace. It feels like it's been so long--even though no time at all has passed.]

I couldn't destroy the Hexcore. Not even after my efforts failed. I asked Jayce to do it.

[ All power has a cost. He had wanted to hope that Viktor's explanation of his world and the arcane could be different, but whatever mistake Viktor makes in his future exacts that toll despite his best efforts.

He lets Viktor hold onto him for as long as he needs, not wanting to interrupt with questions even if he has them - what was different? Viktor's plan was always to avoid returning to a future where he failed. And after a time, Kyle had accepted that he would help him.

There are some things he doesn't want to wrestle with either, though it's inevitable as Viktor continues. Viktor wouldn't use the Hexcore once it took a life. He doesn't say anything immediately, needing to just hold him like this, almost afraid to ask: ]

Did he?

[ Destroy it?

Knowing what he does, if he were in Jayce's position, he doesn't think that he could. This is different than the hypotheticals they discussed when they first met, of what they would or wouldn't risk to reach that person who mattered most. If the Hexcore was Viktor's last hope to survive, Kyle isn't sure it would matter to him if it killed a room full of people. ]

[He's sure there are questions--he wishes he had better answers. It's strange, to be recounting these events without having actually lived them, especially when the contents of his dream would have been months in the real world.

Kyle already knows the answer to this question. Viktor shakes his head.]

No.

[Of course he didn't. Viktor had been angry at the time, awakening to his own changed body and blueprints for more Hextech weapons on the worktable, but he's not sure he can blame Jayce for what he did, especially knowing what he does now about his true feelings. Strange, to reconcile the knowledge gained here with the events of back home--he wonders how he might have done things differently, if he'd been allowed to keep that knowledge.

The council bombing seems unimportant, in the scheme of things, but he tells Kyle about it anyway, and the broad strokes of the political situation that lead there. How the only reason why Viktor was in the room at all was to make a bid for the Undercity's independence--his last chance at a legacy.

And then, the moment that changed everything--]

He saved my life.

Edited 2025-02-02 03:02 (UTC)

[ There's a moment of relief when Viktor confirms that his partner wouldn't destroy the cure - that there was still some hope. And while he understands the importance of Zaun's independence to Viktor, his thoughts can only circle what comes immediately after, the building dread that this story has an abrupt end (as though the color drained from his eyes must already be a sign).

So there's relief again when it doesn't. Some tension recedes from his muscles, and he realizes he's been gripping a fistful of Viktor's shirt at his shoulder as he's been talking. He lets the cloth unwind from his fingers and releases the breath he'd been holding. ]

Then - it worked.

[ The Hexcore. Just like it did here. That means they can be relatively certain that if Viktor were to lose his connection to his world, he wouldn't be returned to a death sentence. Kyle would thank Jayce if it were possible. Right now, he leans in to first place his lips on Viktor's forehead, his cheek, then to kiss him. ]

[Kyle is relieved, his fingers relaxing where they grip his shirt. Viktor covers that hand with his own, trying to be comforting. Of course Kyle sees only the good in this, that Viktor lives. He's not unlike Jayce in that way, in what matters the most to him. Viktor still struggles with that--why he should be so special.]

It worked.

[Though, not exactly in the way he expected, or even wanted at the time. Viktor reminds himself that if the Hexcore had not taken and a life and if Jayce had not made the choice for him, he had every intention of completing the process himself.

Viktor allows himself the indulgence of the kiss, reciprocating gently until it reaches a natural conclusion and they part.]

I should show you something, in the Horizon.

[ Kyle has never been on a rollercoaster, but he imagines that it must to similar to listening Viktor recount his story. From hearing about one death sentence to a much more sudden, catastrophic one, right now he's having difficulty separating and focusing the details or questions beyond hearing that Viktor survives.

Viktor reciprocates his impulsive kiss, and it's only as they part that he wonders if he shouldn't have taken it. At the suggestion that they go to Horizon to see something, he seems slightly confused: ]

Now?

[ He senses that another shoe is meant to drop here - everything comes with a price, but he feels better prepared for it now, still riding on his relief. ]

[He nods--Viktor sees no reason to delay it.]

I think some things will be easier to explain if I show you.

[And, it will allow him to breach the subject of how similar it seems to the imagined future. That's the part he imagines Kyle won't take well, which is why Viktor needs to show him as soon as possible. He reaches out to take both of Kyle's hands in his.]

[ Kyle hesitates - mostly because going into Horizon while in a wide open room makes him itchy. But he nods in return, offering his hands to Viktor. ]

Alright.

[ He'll close his eyes, figuring they'll meet in Viktor's domain this time. ]

Edited (htmllll) 2025-02-03 04:21 (UTC)

[Viktor focuses on the feeling of Kyle's hands in his until the moment he slips into the Horizon. Then, he works to remember the details of the dream. What it felt like. The moments after stumbling out of the stasis he was held in. When he arrives in his domain, he draws on the memories and when he looks down, sees his changed body. It feels less foreign, than it might have, even as he reconciles all of his experiences in Abraxas with what feel like implanted memories.

Kyle certainly understands that much.

He'll bring them to the laboratory, foregoing any kind of clothing or covering--he has nothing to hide, and Kyle needs to see the extent of his merger with the Hexcore. How similar it is to what was imposed on them by the gods of this place. He recreates, too, the strange cocoon, the remnants of the worktable suspended from the ceiling of the lab.

Viktor simply presents himself, though it's not without the slightest glimmer of shame in his expression--like he's frightened of what Kyle might think.]

This is...what happened.

[Yes, Jayce saved his life, but it came at a cost.]

Edited 2025-02-03 16:47 (UTC)

[ It takes him a moment or two longer than usual to reach the mental state required to slip into Horizon, instinctively following Viktor into the laboratory area. The large centerpiece, the ominous negative space in the shape of a man, draws his gaze first, reminding him of the discarded cocoons he would find attached to tree trunks.

He would step toward it if not Viktor's presence immediately taking his attention.

The transformation is extreme enough that there's a flicker of shock across his features before he can mask it, his anxieties about the time, how quickly they seem to be hurtling toward a certain future bubbling up again at the sight of Viktor's new, almost familiar body. He picks up the differences quickly enough though, how uniform this body is compared to the more piecemeal way Viktor constructed his own over time in that vision. Barring a major accident, Viktor had done it all to himself in that life - a difference that, while Kyle couldn't agree with all of his choices, at least could understand why he made them.

This is different. Not the horrific way the issusha'im are made (he hopes, at least, if there was pain then it was swift) - and he still can't blame Jayce for choosing to save Viktor no matter the cost, but -

He catches that glimmer of shame in his expression, feels it twist in his side like a knife, using the jolt to try to do more than just stand here. He remembers, keenly, his own moments of shame here, when Viktor had kissed the corners of his mouth - he has only ever wanted to give in return that feeling of being wanted, and loved, without any pain. It has him stepping closer to him, gently cupping his face, thumbs brushing over where the strange metal begins to merge with his skin, still warm. It gives him a better look at his eyes now too, what he thought was a washed out and deathly pale is actually many, many colors at once, shifting and changing as he studies them.

He ignores for now the other obvious physical changes, concern bleeds across his features, a notch at his brow as he asks quietly: ]

Does it hurt?

[ This new body. ]

Edited 2025-02-03 20:36 (UTC)

[It's not exactly the same, but from what Viktor remembers of the imagined future, his augmentations had occurred over the course of centuries. Maybe this is what it would look like, had he done it all at once. Viktor watches Kyle's face carefully, taking in the surprise and the changes of expression, searching for disappointment or revulsion. He wouldn't blame him, really. This is all just a bit too close to their supposed destiny, too much that Viktor now knows it can't be a coincidence.

He stands there, arms at his side, while Kyle takes him in. Viktor knows, inherently, that he has some semblance of his powers--that he could reach out and take away the guesswork, when it comes to what's going through Kyle's head. But that feels intrusive, so Viktor concentrates on the shrinking distance between them, and Kyle's hands on the sides of his face, instead.]

No. [Kyle will notice that Viktor is simply standing without assistance--not necessarily unusual in the Horizon, but his posture is more straight and ] The opposite, actually.

[ There's no revulsion in his expression - to see Viktor almost entirely changed, not just his arm, is obviously a shock, but some of that is lessened by the fact that he'll leave this body behind when they leave Horizon. It makes it easier for him to think that this is only another possible future, willfully ignoring for the moment how this is now two separate visions of a similar transformation.

Kyle continues to stroke his face with one hand, letting the other one slide down his chest, tracing over the circular shapes from his brace now merged with his body, trailing as far down as the imprint of his belly button. He's warm, but beneath his touch he feels something else, a stronger current of magic than what he would feel with Viktor's arm. It makes him think of the yellow marbled stone of the Great Gates, and he swallows back a shiver at that. ]

This was the Hexcore. [ Not a question, just confirming what is obvious. There's a slight pause, his gaze flicking up to Viktor's face, betraying some fear now: ] Do you feel less?

[ Not physically. He had just started to worry less about that part of the future. ]

Edited (WAIT ) 2025-02-04 22:24 (UTC)

[Viktor already feels like he's had plenty of time to become accustomed to this body, even if the memories are only implanted. This--what they're doing now--is for Kyle, and Viktor will let him touch and explore all he likes.

The touch is pleasant, at least, this body still capable of feeling. There's magic that hums within him, something he's going to have to answer for--but for now he simply lets Kyle adjust.]

This-- [He says, gesturing to himself,] --is the Hexcore.

[Kyle might note that the Hexcore as he remembers it is gone from the laboratory. That much is on purpose. He reaches for Kyle's hand, wanting to be reassuring, somehow.]

I can feel.

[ His gaze tracks Viktor's hand as he gestures to himself and back up to his face, openly taken aback. ]

You're - [ he fumbles for the right word for a second, not liking the way any his mouth forms around any of them ] - joined?

[ Viktor takes his hand and he doesn't pull away, but there's a flicker of embarrassment that he should be the one needing any reassuring right now. One hand remains placed at his chest, uncertain but needing to understand. ]

How? [ Maybe he should've started with that, even if the broad strokes were explained up to a point - he was about to die, and his partner wouldn't let him. Quickly, he adds: ] How long?

[ How long did he dream of living in this future? ]

Edited 2025-02-05 04:37 (UTC)

Theoretically. I no longer feel its presence.

[If he ever felt it at all--if he's just trying to make sense of the visions dream. Ostensibly, the Hexcore is not physically present in this world. Anything he shows to Kyle is simply a recreation of what occurred, though that doesn't necessarily explain the way he can still feel the thrum of the arcane within him. The Singularity, perhaps, taking on the source of his magic, instead of the Hexcore.

Viktor doesn't necessarily want to think about those implications. Kyle is understandably horrified, though Viktor remains subdued. In his own mind, he's had some time to come to terms with it, after all--even if the transformation was forced on him.]

I...a few months. I think.

[ He's not sure what to make of that answer - he's equally unsure how to interpret Viktor's muted responses, if it's only that he's still reconciling this information himself, or if it's a sign of something else, a deeper change within him.

A few months. Not years, or decades. At least there's that. His gaze trails across Viktor's body again, his expression rendered indecipherable out of habit and caution as he continues to try not to let these past fears take hold.

He's alive, and that's what matters the most. Gently: ]

Tell me the rest. [ Everything that happened after this. He lightly tugs at Viktor's hand, wanting to lead him to somewhere to sit. Not that either of them technically need to in this realm, but it seems less awkward. ]

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