The hideout is silent, save for the faint hum of streetlights and the smoke still clinging to the rafters. The aftershocks of what almost happened hang thick in the air. You’d nearly pulled the trigger—ended it all in one final, reckless moment. Ekko had stopped you just in time.

Now, silence stretches between you. You sit with your knees to your chest, trembling. He’s across the room, legs dangling off a broken table, eyes lost in a place far from here.

“When I used the Z-Drive,” he begins quietly, “I saw something. A version of Zaun where things didn’t fall apart. Where Piltover listened. Gardens in the Lanes. Lights without shimmer. And our people—they were alive.”

He pauses. “Vander was still around. So was Powder. And you…”

You turn, heart catching in your throat.

“You never went to Silco. You smiled more. Laughed more. You were happy.”

Your voice cracks. “You left that?”

“You had your dad. Our friends. I was normal… Why would you give that up?”

Ekko looks at you now. Really looks at you.

“Because that version of you never needed me. But you? Right here?” He moves closer, voice low and steady. “You’re the one I’ve fought for. The one I’d fight for again. And I’d choose you—any timeline, any world, no matter how broken.”

His hand finds yours. Not to fix you. Just to hold on.

“I’d love you in any universe.”