Arcane: Whispers of Ionia Chapter 4: The Watcher, an arcane fanfic

The morning after the attack, the village felt different. The air was still thick with the scent of smoke, and the ground bore the scars of battle. Yet, life moved on. Villagers worked together to repair the damage, sweeping debris from the square, mending broken lanterns, and tending to the wounded.

Jinx sat on the steps of the elder's house, watching it all. She had expected fear—people keeping their distance, whispering about the destruction she had brought. But instead, they greeted her with nods of quiet gratitude. A little girl even ran up to her and pressed a small bundle of wildflowers into her hands before dashing away with a shy giggle.

Jinx turned the flowers over in her fingers, her mind racing. Was this what it felt like to be... needed? To be something other than a walking disaster?

Kael appeared beside her, leaning on his staff. "You look like you're thinking too hard."

Jinx smirked. "That's dangerous for me, huh?"

Kael chuckled. "More dangerous for the rest of us." His expression softened. "You did good last night."

Jinx shrugged, but a small part of her warmed at the words. "Guess I didn't screw up too bad."

Kael nudged her with his elbow. "Don't get soft on me now."

She snorted. "Oh, don't worry. I'm still me."

But was she?

For the next few days, Jinx found herself slipping further into the routine of village life. She helped reinforce the village's defenses, set up a few traps around the perimeter—non-lethal, of course (for now)—and even trained with Kael.

He wasn't bad in a fight, she had to admit. His staff wasn't just for show—he moved with the precision of someone who had spent years mastering his craft. But he wasn't rigid like the Enforcers back in Piltover. His movements flowed like water, shifting between offense and defense effortlessly.

Jinx, on the other hand, was chaos incarnate. She was fast, unpredictable, and explosive—literally. But for once, she wasn't fighting to destroy. She was fighting to control.

Kael noticed. "You're holding back," he commented one evening after a sparring session.

Jinx wiped the sweat from her brow. "I call it strategy."

Kael raised an eyebrow. "Since when do you do strategy?"

Jinx tossed a small rock at him, which he dodged easily. "Hey, I can be smart when I wanna be."

He smirked. "If you say so."

Jinx rolled her eyes, but she knew he had a point. She was holding back. And for once, it wasn't out of fear of losing control—it was because she didn't want to cause destruction. Not here. Not now.

The realization was unsettling.

Was she really changing?

One night, Jinx couldn't sleep. The memories of the attack still lingered in her mind—the way the shadows had moved, the unnatural glow in their eyes. Something about it didn't sit right with her.

So she did what she always did when her mind refused to be quiet—she wandered.

The village was silent, save for the distant chirping of insects. Jinx moved through the empty streets, her boots barely making a sound. She didn't know where she was going, only that she needed to move.

And then she saw it.

At the edge of the forest, standing just beyond the tree line, was a figure cloaked in deep blue robes. Their face was hidden beneath a hood, but even from this distance, Jinx could feel their gaze on her.

Her hand instinctively moved to the small pistol she kept hidden beneath her jacket. "Alright, creeper," she called out, taking a step forward. "If you're here for the festival, you're a little late."

The figure didn't move.

Jinx's fingers tightened around the grip of her gun. "Not much of a talker, huh? That's cool. I can fill the silence." She took another step. "You gonna tell me what you want, or do I have to start guessing?"

Finally, the figure spoke. Their voice was soft, almost melodic, but there was an edge to it—like a blade hidden beneath silk.

"You are not what I expected."

Jinx blinked. "Okay, cryptic much?"

The figure tilted their head slightly. "The corruption should have consumed you by now."

Jinx's grip tightened. "Yeah, well, I'm full of surprises."

The figure was silent for a moment. Then, almost as if they had lost interest, they turned and began walking deeper into the forest.

"Hey, wait a minute—" Jinx started forward, but before she could follow, the figure simply... disappeared. One step they were there, the next, gone—vanishing like mist in the wind.

Jinx cursed under her breath. She didn't know who that was, but she knew one thing for certain.

Her past wasn't done with her yet.

The next morning, she found Kael in the training yard, practicing his forms. He didn't seem surprised when she stormed up to him.

"We've got a problem," she announced.

Kael sighed. "When don't we have a problem?"

Jinx ignored him. "I saw someone last night. Someone who knows about the corruption."

That got his attention. "Who?"

Jinx crossed her arms. "Dunno. Blue robes, spooky voice, likes to disappear into thin air. Any of that ring a bell?"

Kael frowned. "That sounds like a Watcher."

Jinx raised an eyebrow. "A Watcher?"

"They're a group of mystics," Kael explained. "They study the balance between the spirit world and the mortal one. If one of them is here, it means they're interested in something." His eyes darkened. "Or someone."

Jinx felt a chill run down her spine. "So what, you think they're here for me?"

Kael met her gaze. "I think you should be careful."

Jinx scoffed. "Careful's not really my style."

Kael sighed. "Yeah. That's what worries me."

Jinx rolled her eyes, but deep down, she couldn't shake the feeling that this was just the beginning.

She had come to Ionia to escape.

But now, it seemed, Ionia had plans of its own.

The Watcher's words clung to Jinx like a bad dream.

"The corruption should have consumed you by now."

What the hell did that even mean? She wasn't some freaky spirit-thing. Sure, she had her issues, but she wasn't cursed—at least, she didn't think so.

But the way that figure spoke, like they knew something about her, like they had been waiting for her… It made her skin crawl.

Jinx needed answers.

Kael was pacing outside the elder's house when Jinx found him. He looked up as she approached, his expression tense. "You're late."

Jinx smirked. "Didn't realize I was on a schedule."

Kael shook his head. "This isn't a joke, Jinx."

His tone was sharp, and for once, she didn't have a comeback.

Inside, the elder sat cross-legged on a woven mat, surrounded by candles. The air smelled of incense, thick and heady, curling like ghosts around the room. Jinx wrinkled her nose.

"So," she started, rocking back on her heels, "anyone wanna explain why some creepy robed weirdo is stalking me?"

The elder's eyes, clouded with age but sharp as ever, flickered toward her. "The Watchers do not act without reason."

"Yeah? Well, I'd love to know what that reason is."

The elder didn't answer immediately. Instead, she gestured for Jinx to sit. Reluctantly, Jinx dropped onto the floor, arms crossed. Kael sat beside her, silent but watchful.

The elder exhaled slowly, as if choosing her words carefully. "Ionia is a place of balance. A harmony between the physical and the spiritual. But there are... anomalies. Forces that disrupt this balance."

Jinx narrowed her eyes. "And you think I'm one of them?"

The elder didn't flinch. "You have always been touched by chaos, child. But chaos alone is not corruption."

Jinx frowned. "Then why did that guy say I should be corrupted?"

The elder studied her for a long moment. Then, softly, she said, "Because something within you resisted."

Jinx stilled.

The words sank into her like stones dropped into deep water.

Resisted what?

She had been through hell. She had lost everything, destroyed everything. She had been drowning in darkness for so long, it felt like part of her. But was there something else? Something inside her that should have broken, but didn't?

Kael shifted beside her. "There are stories," he said, his voice careful, "about people who survive corruption. People who should have been lost to it, but aren't."

Jinx snorted. "Great. So I'm a walking fairytale now?"

Kael didn't smile. "The Watchers would only take interest in you if they saw something… unusual."

Jinx rolled her eyes. "Buddy, I am unusual."

The elder placed a hand on the floor, fingers brushing against the woven patterns of the mat. "Whatever it is they seek, they will not stop." She met Jinx's gaze, her voice heavy with meaning. "And neither should you."

Jinx leaned back on her hands. "Alright. So what's the plan? We find this creep and ask nicely what they want?"

Kael sighed. "I doubt it'll be that easy."

Jinx grinned. "Good. I hate easy."

That night, Jinx didn't wait for the Watcher to find her.

She went looking for them.

The forest was alive with the sounds of rustling leaves and distant streams. Moonlight filtered through the trees, casting silver streaks across the ground. Jinx moved quickly, her steps light, her instincts sharp.

She didn't have a plan.

She rarely did.

But she had a feeling—one of those gut-deep, unshakable instincts that had kept her alive this long.

And sure enough, she wasn't alone.

She felt it before she saw it.

A shift in the air. A presence, cold and still, watching.

Jinx smirked. "You again."

The Watcher stepped from the shadows, their robes blending into the night. Their hood remained up, but this time, Jinx could see the faintest glow of silver eyes beneath it.

"You seek answers," the Watcher said.

Jinx shrugged. "Yeah, well. You stalk someone in the middle of the night, you tend to get their attention."

The Watcher tilted their head slightly. "And if you do not like what you find?"

Jinx's grin widened. "Then I blow it up."

The Watcher was silent for a long moment. Then, quietly, they said, "Your soul should have been lost long ago."

Jinx's smirk faltered.

The Watcher took a slow step forward. "Chaos follows you, yet it does not consume you. The darkness reached for you, yet you did not fall. Why?"

Jinx's throat tightened.

She had no answer.

She had never questioned why she was still here. She just was.

The Watcher studied her for a long moment, then reached into their robes. For a split second, Jinx tensed, ready for a fight. But instead of a weapon, the Watcher pulled out a small, silver pendant.

It glowed faintly in the moonlight.

"Take it," they said.

Jinx hesitated. "What's the catch?"

The Watcher's lips curled slightly. "Consider it a key."

Jinx frowned, staring at the pendant. A key to what?

But curiosity got the better of her.

She reached out, fingers brushing against the cool metal—

—And the world shifted.

Suddenly, she wasn't in the forest anymore.

She was somewhere else.

A place of shadows and echoes. A place where the air felt wrong, thick with whispers she couldn't understand.

And at the center of it all, something watched her back.

Something vast.

Something ancient.

Something waiting.

Jinx's pulse hammered in her chest.

For the first time in a long time—

She was afraid.

Jinx stood frozen in the void, her fingers still gripping the cold metal of the pendant. The air around her shimmered with an eerie hum, like a thousand voices whispering just out of reach. Shapes moved in the darkness—tall, twisting forms that flickered in and out of existence.

Her breath came quick and sharp. This wasn't real. It couldn't be.

But she could feel it. The weight of it. The wrongness pressing in on all sides.

"Where the hell am I?"

The Watcher had disappeared. The forest was gone. All that remained was the endless, shifting dark.

And then—

A voice.

Soft, almost familiar.

"You were never supposed to survive."

Jinx turned sharply, her heart pounding. The shadows rippled as something stepped forward—someone.

A girl.

No.

A mirror.

Jinx's own face stared back at her, but not as she was now. Younger. Softer. Innocent.

Her breath hitched.

"No."

The other Jinx—Powder—watched her with wide, blue eyes. She looked just like she had before everything. Before Silco, before Zaun, before the madness had swallowed her whole.

And she was crying.

"You let me die."

Jinx stumbled back. "No. No, no, no. You're not real."

But Powder just tilted her head, those big, tear-filled eyes drilling into her. "Then why am I still here?"

Jinx clenched her fists, her pulse thundering in her ears. This was a trick. A lie. Some Ionian magic screwing with her head.

She wasn't Powder anymore.

Powder was gone.

Dead.

Jinx had made sure of it.

"You don't belong here," she growled, voice low and shaking.

Powder didn't flinch. She just took a slow, trembling step forward. "Neither do you."

Jinx's breath caught in her throat.

The darkness around them shifted, rippling like a stone dropped into water. The voices grew louder—whispers crawling over each other, rising into a deafening roar.

You were never meant to live.
You should have been lost.
You should have fallen.
WHY ARE YOU STILL HERE?

Jinx clutched her head, her skull aching under the weight of it all.

"Shut up. Shut up!"

The whispers laughed.

And then, just as suddenly as it had come—

The darkness shattered.

Jinx gasped as she hit the ground, lungs burning. She was back in the forest, the damp earth cool beneath her fingers.

The pendant lay beside her, its glow now faint and flickering. The Watcher stood over her, expression unreadable.

"What the hell was that?!" Jinx barked, still catching her breath.

The Watcher knelt beside her, picking up the pendant. "A glimpse."

Jinx's hands curled into fists. "A glimpse of what?"

The Watcher studied her for a long moment before saying, "The truth."

Jinx scowled. She hated cryptic bullshit.

The Watcher continued, their voice softer now. "The corruption should have taken you. The chaos should have consumed you. But something—someone—held on."

Jinx's stomach twisted. She already knew what they were implying.

Or who.

Powder.

The part of her that should have died. The part of her that still clung to life, no matter how much she tried to bury it.