The headaches were getting worse

For the past few months, Jayce had seemed distracted. It had started simply enough, a headache here or there, causing a pause in his research. But, the headaches had grown more frequent and more severe. The delays they caused began to overwhelm him. His friends noticed the changes in his behavior before he did. He had become moody and irritable.

When did this start? It must have been after I invented the Full Metal armor, he thought to himself. The unveiling had been grand; the citizens of Piltover had lined the streets to catch a glimpse of their iron-clad defender. Perhaps the power source for the hextech in the helmet? The metal had always felt warm, regardless of the situation...

Caitlyn and Vi found him unconscious in his lab early one morning. When they tried to rouse him, he could only babble incoherently. It looked as if the Defender of Tomorrow had run out of todays.

The finest medical staff was brought in from Ionia. Kennen could find no cause for Jayce's ailment. An exploratory surgery by Shen could identify no parasite or internal injury. Akali looked on in horror as Shen closed the incisions, resigned to defeat. Even Soraka, the Starchild, could offer no assistance. Infusing his entire body with lifeforce seemed only to exacerbate Jayce's condition. With no other options, the people of Piltover chose a drastic course of action.

The specialist arrived under the cover of darkness, smuggled into the city with the help of Gangplank, the Saltwater Scourge. "I will require samples of the creature's blood and brain matter," it stated flatly. "As well as whatever meager knowledge your primitive fumblings have gleaned."

Shen, grim-faced and determined, steeled himself to extract a slice of his patient's brain. As his scalpel drew the first inch of a crimson line across Jayce's scalp, Shen was halted by the specialist's sardonic laughter. "If your medical expertise is as crude as your instuments, it is no wonder that you require my assistance. Stand aside, human. I possess tools of far greater precision."

A sinuous purple tentacle traced a tiny circle in the air and an almost imperceptible beam of energy bored a hole into Jayce's skull. Vel'koz withdrew a sliver of tissue and regarded it for a moment before annihilating it. "It is as I suspected. This creature has exposed itself to a great deal of ionizing radiation. A growth within its brain will need to be excised, if you wish for it to survive."

"Our arrangement is finalized," said the representative of the Piltover statesmen. Vel'koz's tentacles undulated with excitement. "Then, I shall begin. The 'doctors' may remain, if they wish."

Jayce's recovery was swift. The scar on his scalp was small and easily hidden beneath his hair. It is not known what was offered in exchange for the services provided by Vel'koz, but rumors still persist that Caitlyn and Vi were seen escorting an inhuman, cloaked figure into Piltover's library that night.