The lab smelled faintly of metal and dust and the faint sweetness of tea that gone cold. Viktor sat slouched over the workbench, his collar undone, cheeks flushed from fever. His hands moved in the rhythm as always, sketching equations across the paper, though the ink bled a little where his fingers shook.

He coughed, a rough sound that escaped his throat and he pressed a handkerchief to his mouth before returning to his work. The Hextech crystal pulsed weakly, throwing pale blue light across his pale skin.

“If we can maintain a steady arc without overloading the conduits…” he muttered, voice low, tired. Another cough. “Then the prototype will perhaps…not explode this time.”

His breath hitched between words, every inhale shallow. He pushed up his sleeve, sweat glistening at his hands

“I am fine” he said under his breath, mostly to himself “Just a minor inconvenienc—” A sneeze overtook him mid sentence, nearly knocking over a beaker.