Arcane: Thicker Than Blood

"What's wrong with Vander? Speak up!"

Seeing Cipher drinking with Silco without a care, Vi became anxious and yelled with her beautiful eyes wide open. Her fists were clenched at her sides.

"Nothing. Vander's just getting old. He's been too tired recently, so he's resting in his room."

Cipher avoided looking into her eyes, lowering his head and taking a sip of his drink to mask his awkwardness. The bitter liquid burned his throat, but it was better than facing the accusation in her gaze.

After all, knocking out Vander to seize power wasn't exactly something he could easily justify.

"Yeah, Vander's getting old," Silco said, seemingly agreeing. But then he suddenly changed the tone.

"When the Hound grows old, his end often isn't pretty. So, I heard the new boss of the Lanes is Cipher. Vi, what do you think your brother is planning to do with your dad?"

Though his words were directed at Vi, his eyes stayed fixed on Cipher, his lips curling into a sly smirk.

He was doing it on purpose—stirring the pot for entertainment.

Rejecting his my olive branch only to take your father's power? Are you trying to mess with me? His expression said it all.

"What have you done? Vander is your father!"

As expected, Vi took the bait.

Among her siblings, she was the one most like Vander—the same slicked-back hair, the same reliance on fists, and, unfortunately, the same lack of wit.

"He really is just sleeping. Fine, Sevika, take Vi to wake Vander up. He can cook, and we'll all eat together later to discuss things."

The more Cipher explained, the guiltier he sounded. To stop Vi from overthinking, he asked Sevika to take her to check on Vander, while he headed to the kitchen to cook.

Today was one of those rare occasions when the family could gather, so he wanted to make something special.

Soft white bread, rich mushroom and meat soup, fried eggs and bacon, a small steak, and fresh fruits and vegetables. The ingredients cost more than most Zaunites made in a week, but today was different.

A typical Piltovan meal.

He decided to make it for his family today, dreaming of a future where every citizen of Zaun could afford such meals.

Where children wouldn't go to bed hungry, where fresh food wasn't a luxury.

By the time he returned with the food, the atmosphere in the bar had grown suffocatingly tense.

Vander and Silco sat across from each other.

Vander sipped his drink in silence, his head hung low with guilt, while Silco calmly smoked a cigar, speaking not a word.

The adults were silent, and the kids just sat there awkwardly, sensing the weight of things they couldn't understand.

Sevika, not sure what was going on, kept glancing between Vander and Silco. Her lips twitched as if wanting to say something, but she ultimately held back, her face cold as she drank her liquor alongside a smoke.

Cipher noticed a folded apology letter sticking out of Silco's breast pocket, just visible enough for Vander to catch sight of whenever he lifted his head.

How manipulative. No wonder Vander wouldn't raise his head!

"Sevika, take the kids to the kitchen and bring the food out. The mushroom soup needs to cook a little longer, so wait for that."

He realized Vander and Silco needed privacy to talk, so he found an excuse to send Sevika and his siblings away.

His hint was clear enough, and fortunately, Sevika wasn't too dense to catch on. She herded the younger ones toward the kitchen.

"Alright, you two old friends, say whatever it is you want to say."

Cipher sat in the main seat, poured himself a drink, and prepared to listen to the two old men pour their hearts out.

Silco struck first.

"I've been watching Powder and Vi for a long time now. Do you even know how long it's been since they've had a change of clothes? They're filthy, reeking of strange odors, and judging by their pale faces, it's clear they're not getting enough to eat."

"You can't even take care of the daughters your old friends left behind. That alone shows how much poorer the Lanes have become. If this so-called stability is what you traded for by compromising with Piltover, then I must say—you were wrong. Completely, utterly wrong."

"Vander, we came into this miserable world not to let our children live just as miserably—like stray dogs scavenging for scraps from Piltovans' garbage bins."

Dressed in a vest made from fine fabric, he exhaled cigar smoke elegantly as he spoke in a calm, persuasive tone.

He looked more like an upper-class Piltovan gentleman than a Zaunite rebel.

Every gesture was designed to emphasize the contrast between what was and what could be.

"But at least everyone is still alive, alive and well. Do you remember how many people died the last time we tried to cross that bridge? If we hadn't done that, would Vi and Powder's parents have died?"

An old lion is still a lion.

When it came to his adopted daughters, Vander's guilt toward Silco lessened significantly. He raised his head, his gaze as fierce as an enraged lion's as he stared down Silco.

Even now, Vander remained haunted by the deaths of the girls' parents. He firmly believed their deaths were his and Silco's fault. 

Vander, Silco, and the girls' parents—they had once been inseparable comrades, and together, they had built the foundation of the Lanes.

Blowing out a smoke ring, Silco stared at Vander fearlessly. "If it weren't for your retreat halfway through, we would've already crossed that bridge!"

Vander roared in anger, the sound rattling the glasses on the table. "Silco, you could've rushed the bridge alone and died if you wanted to, but did you ever think about those brothers and sisters who died? What about their children? And even if we had crossed that bridge, then what? Would we have won? War has no winners!"

Silco's blood pressure spiked. Clutching his chest, he felt like his heart was bleeding.

"They died for nothing—all because you were too weak, too much of a coward. The rebellion we sacrificed so much for became meaningless."

"All these years, have you even thought about avenging them? No, you haven't. All you've done is hide in the Lanes, colluding with the Pilties, wagging your tail and begging for mercy. You've become their lapdog!"

"Freedom isn't something you beg for; you fight for it. A dog will always be a dog—it will never be a person."

"Vander, if only for the sake of our old friends' daughters, stand tall and be a person! Wake up! Stop dreaming of Piltovan mercy. We need to fight. We need to win dignity for Zaun!"

He stood up, taking one deliberate step at a time toward Vander, speaking with every step. His glowing red mechanical eye came so close to Vander's face that it was nearly touching him.

That eye—it made the furious Vander clutch his head in pain, unable to utter a word in response.

Cipher suspected that if he weren't present, Vander might have actually broken down in tears. The proud Hound of the Lanes, reduced to this by words and memories.

"I haven't betrayed the Lanes, I haven't betrayed Zaun, and I haven't betrayed our dreams! Everything I've done has been for Zaun's rise, for Zaun's children to live with dignity, to have everything that Piltovans take for granted!"

Pointing a finger, Silco jabbed it hard against Vander's chest. "The one who betrayed us wasn't me—it was you. You betrayed us in that river. You betrayed our vision of a better future for its people!"

Silco's words were like a sharp knife, stabbing Vander in the heart. Vander felt suffocated, barely able to breathe.

For years, he had been trying to atone for his mistakes, doing his best to shield his old friends' daughters from harm, to care for them.

But looking at the results, he had neither protected them well nor raised them properly. His daughters, barely teenagers, had already caused trouble so big that even he couldn't handle it.

Thinking about it just made him feel worse and worse. His weary face took on an ashen, lifeless hue. The strong shoulders that had once carried the hopes of Zaun now slumped in defeat.

"Uncle Silco, that's enough. I think Dad already deeply regrets his mistakes. We're family. Families are supposed to encourage and support each other. When someone makes a mistake, we should respond with understanding and forgiveness."

"Let's eat. It's been a while since we all sat down for a meal together."

Cipher noticed Vander's abnormal state. He decided to intervene before things spiraled out of control. If this argument went on any longer, something worse might happen.

Some wounds needed time to heal, and some battles weren't won with words or fists.

"The boy's right. We're family. Let's eat!"

Silco returned to his seat.

Although he felt awful seeing Vander in such pain, he couldn't help but vent his grievances. He needed to get all that bitterness out; otherwise, it would fester inside him and make it impossible to mend their brotherhood.