I apologize for the time it took to release this chapter, but I hope you'll enjoy it! Feel free to leave a comment—I always take great pleasure in reading your thoughts!

A crimson silhouette lunged at Powder, clutching her cape with desperate strength, as if afraid she might vanish before her very eyes. She had recognized her thanks to the painting Ekko had created. He had captured her perfectly.

"You're real?" Vi asked, her voice trembling with emotion.
"Vi? Is it really you?" Powder replied, breathless.

"Oh my god, Jinx, I thought you were dead... The explosion... Vander..." Vi stammered, loosening her grip to take her sister's face in her hands. Her eyes were brimming with tears, their blue as deep as Powder remembered.

A detail caught her attention: a tattoo under Vi's left eye. It was the same symbol Vander had on his hand. The coincidence sent a shiver down her spine.

"Where were you all this time?" Vi asked, her voice breaking with emotion.

"I..." Powder hesitated, unable to form an answer. Emotion constricted her throat. She was beginning to understand that here, for reasons beyond her comprehension, she was called Jinx—a name she found far from flattering, if anyone asked her opinion.

Seeing her sister in front of her, alive and well, was a dream she had carried all her life since the tragic accident. And now that dream had come true, she didn't know what to say. All she knew was what she couldn't say: that she wasn't truly her sister—not the one from this universe.

So much had happened in her life, yet none of it could be shared with Vi.

"Come in," Vi said softly, placing a hand on her shoulder to gently guide her inside the manor.

A fireplace crackled in the richly decorated room. A massive library covered almost an entire wall, concealing the green wallpaper, while family portraits were carefully arranged on the opposite wall.

"So chic," Powder thought as she examined the paintings. Her gaze stopped on one of them: a funeral portrait of Cassandra Kiramman, the counselor.

Suddenly, she felt a gaze weighing on her. Turning her head, she saw Caitlyn, silently watching her. Leaning against a wooden and gold guéridon, Caitlyn gripped the piece of furniture so tightly that her knuckles were white.

"Why did you come back?" she asked in a cold voice, not loosening her grip.

"What?" Powder replied, caught off guard.

"We were finally at peace. She had mourned. Why did you come back? Why now?"

"I... I'm not sure I understand."

Caitlyn straightened up and slowly approached, moving with the grace of a feline ready to pounce on its prey.

"I want to know why you're here," she said, striking the wall next to Powder. "Why fake your death to disappear, only to come back now? Vi was finally happy, and here you are, ruining everything. Again. You should've stayed in the rat hole you hid in."

Powder stared at her, silent. She had no answer to give.

In response to her silence, Caitlyn clenched her teeth, turned on her heel, and slammed the door shut behind her.

'I don't think she really likes me,' Powder thought as she rolled her eyes.

Vi entered through the opposite door, a tray with three steaming cups balanced in her hands. She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw the nearly empty room.

"Where's Caitlyn?" she asked, frowning.

"The Kiramman girl? She just left. I think she has a bone to pick with me," Powder replied, shrugging.

Vi stared at her warily but didn't comment. She set the tray down on a coffee table, facing the crackling fire in the fireplace, before sitting down in one of the green armchairs.

"So... what happened?" she asked, sitting down, her gaze fixed firmly on Powder's.

"It's..." Powder sighed deeply. "Complicated."

She slid into the chair opposite, pulling her legs up to her chest and placing a hand behind her neck, clearly uncomfortable.

"That's it? You reappear after three years, and all you can say is 'it's complicated'?" Vi's voice rose, betraying her frustration.

"You wouldn't understand..." Powder murmured, avoiding her gaze.

"Jinx, I don't care about understanding! I just want to know. Why?"

"'Why' what?" Powder asked, her voice tight.

"Why did you disappear?! Damn it, Jinx!" Vi ran a trembling hand through her hair, her anger mixed with clear pain. "You abandoned me when I thought we were starting to understand each other better. I wanted to be there for you, but you kept pushing me away! Again, and again, and again!"

A white flash flooded Powder's eyes, accompanied by that tearing sensation she had felt when passing through the portal. But this time, she didn't feel herself leaving. She felt... herself splitting, as if someone was trying to push her away without success, trying to speak to her but unable to.

When she regained her senses, she was standing, gasping for air. Her head was spinning, and she staggered before finding her balance again.

"Jinx, leave." Vi's voice echoed in her buzzing ears.

"What?" Powder replied, stunned.

"Leave!" Vi shouted, her voice broken with emotion. "And don't come back! I never want to see you again!"

Before Powder could react, Vi grabbed her firmly by the wrist and dragged her through the manor. She angrily swung open the front door and shoved Powder outside. The young girl stumbled and collapsed onto the cold pavement. The door slammed shut behind her with a resounding thud.

Powder remained frozen, sitting on the ground, unable to understand what had just happened. Her sister had pushed her away, without explanation, slamming the door in her face.

'What just happened?' she wondered, pressing a hand to her eyes in a desperate attempt to calm the pounding pain behind her sockets.

Slowly, she realized that once again, she was alone. Alone in a world, a body, and a past that weren't hers. Panic flooded her as she got back on her feet, pounding on the door, shouting her sister's name. But only silence answered her.

And now? She had been so obsessed with the idea of finding her sister that she hadn't thought about what came next. How would she get back home? She had ruined everything with Vi, for a reason she couldn't understand, and now her sister didn't want her anymore.

'I can't lose her again.'

Her disastrous reunion kept playing in her mind. What had gone wrong? They had been sitting together, and then she had felt that strange absence. Had she said or done something wrong?

One thing was certain: something in her head was fighting against her.

And now?

She lacked so much information, so much understanding about this world, about the life she had lived here.

'Ekko.'

'Ekko will know how to help me.'

She felt foolish for rushing to find her sister without knowing anything about what she was supposed to be. She wondered how Ekko—the one she had met in this world—had managed to play his role. She thought back to his behavior: the embrace he shared with Benzo, the flinches at the slightest contact. She had sensed that something was off, but she never could have guessed that something as absurd as a dimensional shift was possible.

She now knew what to do, but she didn't know where to start. Nothing guaranteed that Ekko was still in Piltover.

She could start by going to the tree where he had painted the mural of Vi. He seemed to know the place well, while she, despite having lived her life in the underbelly, couldn't remember it.

She could also return to the rooftop where they had shared that kiss. The building with the balcony seemed still intact, barely touched by the destruction of the bar. And if she didn't find anything there, she could always try to remember the path they had taken to get there.

That kiss.

She still thought about it, the feeling still vivid in her mind. It had shaken her in a way she hadn't anticipated. She had felt his distress, how much he needed that contact, just as much as she had needed it.

'Can we pretend it's the first time?'

Now, those words held an entirely different meaning.

Once again, and almost as a growing habit, she pulled her hood over her head and lowered her gaze, carefully avoiding the crowds and passersby.

She quickly reached the outskirts of the Last Drop. She was used to climbing onto the rooftops from the bar, but this time she had to take a different route, jumping from building to building, roof to roof.

When she reached her destination, the place was in much worse condition than she remembered. Greenery grew through the cracks in the walls, and rust stained the fences. Everything seemed deserted, except for two paintings and a bowl sheltered in a corner.

Powder approached, and what she saw tightened her heart in a way she couldn't explain.

The first painting depicted her, or rather the version of her in this world. A long purple strand contrasted with her very short blue hair, a cut that strongly resembled Vi's. Two magenta marks adorned her cheekbones, and intricate patterns were painted along her arms. She looked like a fighter, a fearless warrior.

But it was the second, larger painting that captured all her attention.

It was them.

At the competition party. She was depicted with striking accuracy, her hair flowing as she liked to wear it for special occasions, and a pristine white dress. She was smiling, radiant, happy. Ekko was shown from behind, in an elegant outfit, holding her hand as if he were about to spin her to the rhythm of the music.

"Oh, wow..." she thought, stunned.

So, he had felt it too, that intimate and intense moment between them. In a way, it reassured her. She wasn't alone in this whirlwind of emotions.

At the base of the two paintings, incense was planted in a bowl filled with sand.

'I really died in this world,' she realized, breathless.

She struggled to understand. How could she have faked her own death? How could she have been so cruel, inflicting such pain on those who loved her?

The incense was still warm. Someone had been here recently.

Ekko is still in Piltover.

She closed her eyes and positioned herself where the back door of the Last Drop had once been. In her mind, she tried to reconstruct the path they had taken: the turns they made, the tunnels they had passed through.

After what felt like an eternity, she finally arrived.

The smell was familiar, a mix of fresh air, wood, and a faint trace of sewage. But this time, a metal door stood in front of her.

Behind it, she could hear voices, laughter, shouts. People were living here.

She raised her hand and knocked.