5 Smoke and Ashes

It was a truly horrific sight.

The south of Piltover and parts of the bridge of progress was in flames.

The narrow streets were belched with smoke and embers, flames devouring the densely clustered houses. Screams and clamour of vicious battle grew ever louder.

The people of the Undercity had no chance and were slowly being pushed back by the Enforcers. And Art, who had seen this on top of the buildings while looking for the little girl's parents, felt his stomach churn.

However, no matter how he felt, he knew he could not interfere. This was an uprising, and if it was known he was helping the other side, he would be branded as a criminal.

Art had already used magic in front of people and if he were to help, no doubt rumors' would spread. The risk of his identity being exposed would increase, and the Enforcers would lock him up and may even implicate his parents.

'If I'd only learned hand-to-hand combat, maybe I could've... But hold on, why am I even considering aiding them? If those from the Undercity break through the Enforcers' barricade to reach the northern part of Piltover, wouldn't that endanger my parents?' 

Shaking his head to clear the conflicting thoughts, Art swiftly exited the battlefield. He resumed his rooftop hopping in search of the little girl's parents. "Do you have any idea where your parents might be?" He paused, realizing his oversight. "Ah, I forgot to ask your name. I'm Art."

"Oh, my name is Sera…" she replied with a sniffle and paused. "I see them! Look, over there!"

The girl named Sera pointed towards a group of people.

"That's great, Sera" Art replied, turning his gaze towards where she was pointing.

It was there he saw a man and woman, both resembling the cute little girl on his back. The two were in the evacuation shelter located near the Enforcer's headquarters. They were distressed, seemingly trying to find their daughter among the crowd.

"Try not to get lost next time, okay, Sera?" Art said as he jumped down from the roof, their figures hidden by the smoke.

"Kay," replied Sera. "I'll hold onto my mom and dad's hand tighter."

He then put her on the ground and walked her to her parents, holding her small hand. But, just before he was about to reunite the little girl with her parents, he stopped walking and asked. "Sera, I have to go now. Can you make it on your own?"

Sera nodded her head obediently. "I can do it, I'm a big girl."

"Good," Art patted her head. "And keep my powers a secret, okay? I might get in trouble if people were to find out and bad people might come and hurt me."

"My lips are sealed," Sera zipped her mouth.

"Pinky swear?" Art asked, chuckling at the little girl's childish antics.

"What's that?" Sera asked, tilting her head as she had never heard of this 'pinky swear' and was visibly confused.

"It means you are not allowed to break the promise we made after we lock pinkies," Art replied, showing his pinky finger.

"Okay, I promise," Sera said with a cute smile before locking pinky fingers with Art.

"Good," said Art with a smile before pointing toward her parents. "You should go now. Your parents are worried sick for you."

Sera cutely nodded and gave Art a quick hug before running away with a blush on her face. After seeing a tearful reunion and her safe return, he went straight home or at least he tried to.

As Art was walking away and was about to head home, he felt each step he took grow heavier and heavier. The sound of explosions, screams and gunshots from afar made him unable to walk away. Eventually, he stood still and looked back to see the horror.

Although Art had decided not to intervene in the matters between the two cities, but when people were dying around him, he realised he couldn't just sit back and relax. He stood there for a while, contemplating before coming to a decision. "The least I can do is help the injured, the people unable to fight anymore."

Art gathered up the courage and started to make a move. He covered his face with a broken Enforcer mask he found on the ground that was just lying there next to an injured officer. He then stole a first aid kit in one of the many tents treating injured Piltovans and headed straight into the battlefield once more.

The air filled with smoke that seeped through his broken gas mask was hard to breathe for Art, who was not used to such things, but still, he continued to move forward.

He went above the rooftops and searched for those incapable of fighting from all sides, such as those who had been shot or knocked out. He scanned the surroundings and was able to spot a few injured people.

Art jumped down from the rooftop and started walking toward his first patient. It was a middle-aged man with pitch-black long hair, blue eyes and an average-looking face. He was heavily injured, a hole in his leg and face brutally bruised.

"I'm here to..."

Bang!

The man, his vision impaired and mistaking Art for an Enforcer due to his mask, quickly pulled out a gun and fired off all the rounds in Art's direction.

"What the hell?!" Art shouted, narrowly halting the bullets in midair with Telekinesis Magic, mere inches from his face. The bullets then dropped, clinking as it hit the ground. It was only when the smoke began to clear that the man finally saw Art amidst the smoke,

"How did you do that?" the man asked in surprise, but Art didn't respond and arrived before him. He was pissed off and knocked him out with an empowered chop to the neck while being careful not to break his neck.

Art, despite his anger, still gave the middle-aged man first aid that he learned from his past life in school.

Of course, he was not taught how to treat a gunshot wound, but he knew the basics and decided to wing it. He removed the bullet from his leg using magic, cleaned the wound and wrapped his leg with bandages before carrying him to somewhere safe.

Art repeated this with everyone he encountered, be it the Enforcer, civilian or people in the Undercity. Those that resisted were knocked out and treated, while those that didn't were treated with the utmost care before being carried to safety.

Sadly, some were beyond saving and died in his arms, slightly traumatizing him. He could only lay their bodies on their respective sides before continuing to save as many as he could. Only when his mana was nearly depleted did he stop. Using the little mana he had left, he exited the battlefield, eliminated any evidence of his involvement, and headed home.

"If only I was stronger," Art shook his head. "No, I did all I could. I shouldn't feel guilty."

Thirty minutes later, Art arrived home to find Zalie and Lilah anxiously waiting for him at the doorstep. They rushed to him, enveloping him in a warm hug as soon as he was within reach.

"What happened out there, son?" Zalie asked, her eyes searching his for answers.

"Are you injured?" Lilah chimed in, concern etched on her face.

The two concerned parents bombarded their son with questions, deeply worried since he had been in the area of the explosion earlier.

"Good thing I changed before coming home. I can only imagine their reaction if they'd seen me in bloodied, dirty clothes," Art thought to himself. "Mom, Dad, I'm okay. I left the area before the explosions happened."

To reassure his parents, Art provided a brief account of the events—carefully omitting his own involvement, of course. He mentioned that he and Ezreal had left the area before the bombs went off, and then excused himself a few minutes later.

Exhausted from his frenetic activities, running low on mana, and emotionally drained from witnessing so many lives lost, Art fell into a deep sleep as soon as he hit the mattress.

***

Meanwhile, in the bridge that connected the south and north of Piltover, the flames of battle were dying, but the remnants still raged on. The air was still filled with smoke and embers, and the blood of the fallen dyed the ground red, but the gunshots and explosions could still be heard everywhere.

The Enforcers had pushed back the uprisers-- the people of the Undercity back to where they belonged. Most had retreated, but there were still some struggling, fighting.

Vander was in a frenzy, in a heated battle against two Enforcers. He was beating them down with his gauntlet, breaking the gas mask they wore and brutally smashing their faces in until they no longer moved.

His chest heaved up and down. He was out of breath. His eyes glowed with anger, and it was at that moment that he heard footsteps behind him. He turned his body and saw two little girls holding each other's hands. One had pink hair and the other blue.

Vander's mind had cleared and he was able to recognise these kids. They were the daughters of his long time friends, whom he grew up with Silco in the Undercity. And as for how the two got here, he did not know.

What was more important right now was to get them out of here.

He walked towards them, but as if looking for their parents, the pink-haired girl, the older sibling, looked to her left and then right before looking at him in the eyes.

"..."

Even without saying anything, Vander knew what she wanted to say. He closed his eyes, inhaled the smoke-filled air, suppressed the reaction to cough, and sighed. He looked to the side and gestured for the two to look over.

Horror filled the two kids' eyes upon seeing their parents' corpses. The pink-haired girl took several deep breaths and lost the strength to stand. She knelt down on her knees before bursting into uncontrollable tears, whilst the blue-haired girl hugged her sister by the neck and buried her face into her shoulders.

Vander's heart ached upon seeing this. He felt regret. "What have I done? Why couldn't have I done this different? A more peaceful way," he thought. "I have gotten many of my friends, my people killed."

He looked at his hand, no, more specifically, the weapons he wore. He dropped them to the floor as the ground cracked from the weight of the gauntlets.

Vander picked up the two girls, leaving the battlefield with a new conviction. Whilst, a new one was born as a vengeful look filled the pink-haired girl's eyes, staring at the remaining Enforcers and, beyond them, the gleaming cityscape of Piltover.