Arcane: Winds of Change

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Chapter 8: Flicker

"Silco, you beast! I don't care which dark hole you crawled out of, just go back to where you came from!" Benzo shouted angrily, waving his stick.

"Benzo, always in the way when you should step aside," Silco replied, looking at him calmly.

"Benzo, don't go!" Vander, who was handcuffed, shouted. Suddenly, a sound cut through the air as a steel cable shot out from Phil's waist, swiftly colliding with the dark figure.

"Benzo, you owe me your life," Phil said, having blocked the attack with his steel cable. "Sometimes, you have to wipe out the roots. Other times, leave room for maneuver," Phil quietly reminded Silco.

Silco took a deep breath. He still couldn't face his former brother with the calm he imagined. There was still some resentment in his heart. A small figure like Benzo wasn't important, but whether to kill him could show their attitude towards collaboration.

"Come with us, Vander," Silco said.

"What have you done! This isn't what we agreed on! You can't take Vander," the remaining male enforcer shouted.

Phil immediately grabbed the shotgun from his back. Drawing, aiming, and unlocking the safety, he moved fluidly and swiftly. The gun was aimed at the enforcer, who visibly sweated in fear.

"I changed my mind." With those words, Silco tossed a bag of coins to the enforcer. "He's still useful. Let's go, Phil." He patted Phil on the hand that held the gun.

Phil put away the gun as the experiment creature delivered a punch to Vander's left eye—he remembered the young boss had instructed this and promised five coins for it. Then he dragged Vander towards the factory. Vander did not resist; indeed, the once Black Hound had grown old.

Meanwhile, in the basement, Vi was initially startled by the enforcer's blood but then relaxed as Phil stopped the creature from killing Benzo. However, seeing Vander being captured, her whole heart tightened up again. She remembered the man, or rather, the boy. He had some dealings with Powder. Vi had seen him several times dining and chatting with Powder at a snack stall. Each time after their talks, Powder would be excited for a while. She also knew the handgun Powder carried was a gift from Phil.

"Benzo! Let me out," Vi shouted, snapping back to reality. The immediate priority was to rescue Vander.

Vi was released from the basement and rushed to the tavern. Before leaving, she reminded them, "Don't let the news of Vander's capture spread, or the undercity will be in chaos. We will rescue him." In the young Vi, Benzo saw a shadow of the old Vander.

At the factory, the potion was being mass-produced. This batch was the core of their war against the upper city. Silco led Vander into the factory and introduced, "Although the technology is still a bit rough, change requires sacrifice. People from the upper city only understand extreme measures; you and I both know that."

"Even if you nurture these monsters, you can't defeat Piltover," Vander retorted.

"Oh? What about with these?" Silco brought Vander to Phil's weapons workshop. Inside were an array of equipment—shotguns, semi-automatic pistols, grappling hooks, and more.

"So many weapons!" Vander was somewhat taken aback but chose to remain silent. He had always thought Phil was just a middleman, reselling weapons, never realizing he had his own munitions factory.

Seeing Vander's silence, Silco continued, "I just need to scare them, make them afraid to step into the undercity. Since they don't treat us as people, we have no reason to live in their shadow."

"You will get so many people killed! For what, pride?" Vander was somewhat angry, yet also helpless. 

"What I desire is respect, opportunity, everything the upper city has," Silco looked at Vander. 

"You've been respected by me and the entire Undercity, but you just aren't satisfied," Vander's tone softened.

"We share a common vision, Vander. It's not just for the Undercity but for all the people below, united for a rising Zaun! Have you forgotten that dream? I trusted you so much, and you betrayed me," Silco said with some sadness, memories of that day by the river flooding his mind. 

"I deeply regret what I did to you. I've never been able to forgive myself. You were once my brother," Vander said, his voice trembling slightly. 

A flicker of reminiscence passed through Silco's eyes, but he regained his resolve. "No, you still don't get it. Can you imagine that feeling? Unable to breathe, with blood flowing in the polluted river. I truly hated you. Yet, as time passed, my hate faded. I realized then that to defeat a powerful enemy, there's only one way—to stop at nothing!"

"I indeed hated you, but I have always respected you until you compromised and sided with the people of Piltover, forgetting all our past sufferings," Silco's emotions were slightly agitated. 

"I had no choice."

"Gurgle." A vial of Shimmer rolled over. "Well, now you have a choice," Phil said in a lighthearted tone. "Even a feeble person could easily defeat you after drinking it. Imagine the power you would wield. Your lack of choice stems from your lack of power," Phil's eyes showed some anticipation. 

"Flicker is our weapon. You and I can fight for our old dreams once more, my brother," Silco said sincerely. 

"Look what you've become! You've lost all humanity. Do whatever you wish to me, just spare the Undercity," Vander spoke with some pain. 

"You would rather die for your ideals than fight for them?"

"I'm not who I used to be."

"Then let me awaken your true self," Silco said, giving Vander a deep look.

"Hey, Silco, why bother with all this trouble? You could just threaten him using those kids. I just don't understand how he became the leader of the Undercity; wanting to protect everyone makes him naive."

Silco was silent for a moment. "He wasn't like this before." Truthfully, he couldn't understand Vander's thoughts either.

"If it really doesn't work, just replace him. It might take some bloodshed, and a little time, but that's better than dragging it out," Phil suggested. 

"Just wait a little longer, wait a little longer."

Everyone has a weakness in their heart, so Phil refrained from further persuasion. He knew that even though Silco and Vander had become enemies—and even though Vander had hurt him—Silco still held a place for him in his heart. It might have been the overwhelming charisma of the old Vander. Phil understood that for Silco to completely sever these ties, it would take some time or perhaps another betrayal.