Author Notes: I may have gotten a little too into making this chapter...
/ --- /
Ren
Ren stood a good distance away from the group of armed men, hand ready to pull his sword from his shadow storage.
Above him, Nue circled lazily between the stone pillars, Electro crackling along its wings with soft pops and hisses. The shikigami's eyes tracked every movement below, waiting for Ren's command.
Ren's eyes moved across the twenty individuals, analyzing them.
There were five crossbow wielders positioned at the rear, some on elevated rocks for better vantage points. Five sword fighters and five lighter-built figures with knives.
And five big guys at the front wielding... shovels?
'Shovels?' Ren thought, his brain halting for a second. 'They're using shovels as weapons?'
His mind came to the conclusion that these had to be Treasure Hoarders. Only desperate criminals would arm themselves with whatever they could find.
His gaze moved back to the leader.
The man who'd called himself "Mr. Chen" stood at the center of the group, watching Ren with that same wide smile from before.
But something had shifted in his posture. His shoulders were tense. His hands weren't relaxed at his sides anymore. His fingers were curled like he was preparing to do something.
Ren concluded that Chen was the real threat and the rest were amateurs.
Suddenly, Chen sighed in annoyance. "Why do you have to be so perceptive all of a sudden?" Chen muttered, though it was mostly to himself.
Ren's hand drifted closer to his shadow.
Chen's smile faded. Gone was the friendly merchant act. What replaced it was something much more dangerous. His hands clenched into fists, and that's when Ren saw it.
A Vision.
Glowing faintly red at Chen's hip, half-hidden by his coat but unmistakable now that Ren was looking for it.
A Pyro Vision.
'A Vision wielder?!'
But that wasn't what bothered him. What bothered him was that he couldn't sense it at all.
Vision holders radiated elemental energy. It was like ambient heat from a fire or cold from ice. Something Ren had already gotten used to sensing from the multitudes of Vision Wielders he's met so far.
But Chen felt completely normal. There wasn't any elemental signature.
'How the hell is he masking it?'
Chen's eyes narrowed. He'd noticed Ren staring at the Vision. Then, he raised one hand and made a sharp, cutting gesture.
"Take him."
Immediately, five arrows launched simultaneously, whistling through the air with deadly precision. All aimed at Ren's torso.
Ren's hand plunged into the shadow at his feet.
His fingers closed around the hilt of his sword, and he pulled. The blade materialized in a flash of darkness, and he moved his arm to parry the attacks.
Clang. Clang. Clang. Clang. Clang.
All five arrows were cut as his sword batted them aside like they were nothing.
Ren shifted into a combat stance, blade held at the ready.
Seeing his ready stance, the Treasure Hoarders hesitated. Ren realized that they must have been expecting a normal courier, not someone who could actually fight.
But that raised another question of why did they even ambush him in the first place?
Ren wasn't given any time to think as Chen started the fight. The man crouched low, hands slamming into the ground, and his Pyro Vision flared to life.
Bright and intense heat washed outward in a visible wave, and a wall of fire erupted from the earth.
The roaring flames that obscured Ren's vision completely. The heat was overwhelming, distorting the air and forcing Ren to squint against the brightness.
'Shit—'
The fire lasted only two seconds before it began to dissipate, flames dying down as quickly as they'd appeared.
But when Ren's vision cleared—
Chen was gone.
Ren's senses flared, searching for elemental energy.
And he felt something behind him.
A Pyro signature.
Ren's body twisted on pure instinct, just in time to see a spear thrust aimed directly at his back.
'Where did he get a spear?!'
Ren's sword came up to block.
Their weapons collided with a loud clang as the force of the parry sent Ren sliding slightly backward. While he didn't put his all into that block, Chen was way stronger than he anticipated.
Chen pressed forward immediately, spinning the spear and following up with a horizontal sweep.
Ren ducked under it, creating distance. He turned his head for a split second and saw the other Treasure Hoarders still hesitating to attack.
'Individually, they're not that dangerous. But in these numbers...'
He couldn't afford to get sloppy. The real problem here was Chen. If he took him out, then the rest would go down without a fight.
Hopefully, things went his way. Ren didn't like hurting weaklings.
Chen's little vanishing trick threw him off at the start, but he quickly understood how it worked.
'His Vision wasn't active before. I couldn't sense him at all.' But the moment Chen used Pyro to create that fire wall, Ren immediately felt the elemental energy.
'So his stealth ability only works when the Vision is not in use.'
Chen spun his spear again, eyes locked on Ren. And around them, the other Treasure Hoarders began to close in.
Ren tightened his grip on his sword.
'Alright. Let's see how this goes.'
"For fucks sake, ATTACK!" Chen shouted, spinning to glare at his subordinates.
The order snapped the Treasure Hoarders out of their hesitation.
The sword wielders and shovel-carrying brutes charged forward with a roar. Their footsteps thundered across the stone courtyard, uncoordinated and desperate but numerous enough to be a problem.
Ren's eyes narrowed as he calculated the distance. They'd be on him in seconds, and fighting so many people at once—even amateurs—was asking for trouble.
'Let's get them out of the way.'
His free hand came up, fingers forming a quick sign as shadows spread from his feet and sank into the ground. Cursed Energy pulsed outward, and the stone beneath the charging hoarders rumbled ominously.
'Extension Technique: Orochi.'
Five massive Geo columns burst upward from the ground in rapid succession, each one angled forward. The Hoarders had no time to react as their bodies were launched backward, ragdolling through the air before hitting the ground hard and staying down.
All ten fighters were knocked out in an instant. At least, Ren hoped they were just knocked out.
The remaining Treasure Hoarders froze, eyes wide with shock as they stared at the unconscious forms of their comrades scattered across the courtyard like broken toys.
Chen's expression shifted from annoyance to genuine surprise, his eyes locking onto Ren with a new intensity.
"Using Elemental energy without a Vision?!" His voice carried disbelief mixed with something that almost sounded like fascination. "How is that possible?!"
Ren didn't bother answering. Words were wasted in a fight, and besides, Chen was already attacking again.
The man's shock lasted all of a second before he charged forward, spear spinning in a practiced grip. The weapon became a blur of thrusts, feints, and sweeps.
Each strike flowed seamlessly into the next with the kind of skill that came from years of training.
Ren's sword met each attack with equal power, his father's teachings guiding every movement. His mind spaced out for an instant as he relived the memory in his head.
Funnily enough, his dad was also proficient in using a spear. He told him to block quickly, redirect the force, and dodge rather than meet strength with strength.
'This guy's had professional training.' Ren thought as he ducked under a particularly vicious overhead strike.
He knew that he could have ended this quicker. Use any shikigami to gain the upper hand. Even just the normal divine dogs would do.
But a part of him, the sorcerer in him, wanted to see how it would play out… Also, he was kinda pissed off that his delivery was disrupted. You do NOT mess with a person's livelihood.
The spear came in again, a lightning-fast thrust aimed at Ren's chest. He dodged, letting the weapon whistle past his ribs, then countered with a horizontal slash that Chen barely parried in time.
Chen's next attack was a low sweep aimed at Ren's legs, forcing him to hop backward. The moment Ren's feet touched ground, Chen's spear was already coming at him from a different angle—this time a straight thrust toward his face.
Ren's blade snapped up to block, and that's when Chen's eyes glinted with something dangerous.
The tip of the spear ignited.
'The fuck?!'
Fire roared from the weapon's point like a flamethrower, a concentrated stream of Pyro energy that surged directly at Ren's head. The heat was intense, warping the air around them in flames and burning the tips of Ren's hair.
Ren's hand shot forward on pure instinct, and a wall of Geo materialized between him and the fire. The stone barrier was crude and hastily formed, but it was enough. The flames washed over its surface, leaving scorch marks across the golden-brown rock.
When the fire dissipated, Chen was staring at him from the other side of the cracked Geo barrier, spear still raised.
"Fascinating," Chen said, and there was genuine curiosity in his voice now, the kind that made Ren only narrow his eyes more.
"Geo manipulation without a Vision. I've never seen anything like it." He tilted his head slightly. "What are you, exactly?"
Ren dismissed the Geo wall with a thought, letting it crumble back into shadow and dust. He said nothing, just adjusted his grip on his sword and adjusted his stance slightly.
Chen seemed to take the silence as its own kind of answer. He shrugged, a casual gesture that didn't match the intensity in his eyes. "Fine. Guess I'll just have to beat it out of you!"
The man charged again with greater speed, spear moving in patterns that were harder to predict.
Ren met him head-on, and for a few seconds, it was just steel on steel, sparks flying as their weapons clashed again and again in rapid succession.
But Ren had been gauging Chen's ability this entire time—reading his patterns, testing his reactions, figuring out the limits of his skill. And now that he had enough information, his conclusion is…
'I thought you would be more interesting.' He thought, disappointed. 'But you're nothing special at all.'
Ren instantly switched from defense to offense and struck harder, forcing Chen to backpedal. He pressed forward relentlessly, his blade a blur as he drove Chen backward step by step.
The Treasure Hoarder's eyes widened slightly, his confident smirk faltering as he realized he was losing ground.
Chen tried to create space with a desperate thrust, putting all his strength behind a straight strike aimed at Ren's chest.
But the spear never made contact.
The weapon's shaft was suddenly dragged downward with overwhelming force, yanking Chen off-balance. He stumbled forward, eyes going wide as he looked down to see what had grabbed his spear.
At his feet, a pool of shadow had opened up like a black abyss, and from within it stared a massive toad's face.
"Ribbit…"
The creature's purple-black tongue was wrapped tightly around the spear's shaft, its adhesive surface refusing to let go no matter how hard Chen pulled.
"What the—?!" Chen's voice was strangled with panic as he tried to wrench his weapon free, but the Toad's grip was absolute.
Ren moved in for the finishing blow, sword raised to capitalize on the opening.
Then he heard the whistling sound of crossbow bolts cutting through the air.
'Damn it—!'
Ren threw himself backward just as three arrows slammed into the ground where he'd been standing a heartbeat earlier.
He rolled to his feet in time to see a new threat rushing at him from the side. A masked figure wielding twin daggers was moving with the kind of speed and precision that immediately set off alarms in Ren's head.
The dagger wielder's blades came in fast, twin slashes aimed at Ren's torso from opposite angles. Ren's sword came up to parry, catching both daggers and forcing them aside, but the attacker didn't relent. They pressed the assault with a flurry of strikes, forcing Ren into a defensive stance.
Ren's eyes narrowed behind his guard as he studied this new opponent. 'Wait. I didn't see this guy before.'
He'd counted every Treasure Hoarder when he first arrived. Twenty people, divided into clear groups based on their weapons.
But this person hadn't been among them. Ren was certain of it.
'Where did this guy come from?'
The dagger wielder's stance was all wrong for a Treasure Hoarder. It was way too refined, and they didn't look even a bit afraid of fighting.
Before Ren could process that thought any further, heat washed over him from the side.
Chen had freed his weapon from Toad's grip, and now the man was hurling another wave of fire directly at Ren's position.
The flames roared toward him in a wide arc, cutting off his escape route to the left. Ren cursed under his breath as he realized the situation.
He was now fighting two opponents at once—Chen with his spear and Pyro Vision, and this unknown dagger wielder who moved like a professional assassin.
The remaining Treasure Hoarders were starting to close in as well, emboldened by their leader's resurgence.
The fire wave was almost on him. The dagger wielder was pressing from the right. Chen was already repositioning for another attack from the left.
Ren's mind raced through his options, calculating distances, angles, and energy reserves.
He has more than enough CE to keep fighting for a long time, but he needed to be smart about this. And he was getting really tired of being on the defensive.
His eyes flicked upward for just a split second, finding Nue still circling overhead, waiting for his command.
'Alright, buddy. Let's change up the pace.'
Ren reached out through the mental link he shared with the shikigami.
A high-pitched screech echoed across the ruins like thunder, sharp enough to make several of the Treasure Hoarders flinch and cover their ears.
The shikigami folded its wings back and dropped from the sky, Electro energy crackling around its body in violent arcs of purple lightning.
Chen's head snapped up at the sound, his eyes going wide. "Shit—!"
He tried to dodge, but Nue was too fast. The shikigami released a concentrated bolt of Electro energy mid-dive, and the lightning struck Chen square in the chest.
The man's body convulsed violently, his muscles seizing as electricity coursed through him. His spear clattered from his grip as he dropped to one knee, smoke rising from his singed clothes.
The dagger wielder's head jerked toward the sound, momentarily distracted by the sudden arrival of the massive electric owl diving from the sky.
That split second of distraction was all Ren needed.
He surged forward, closing the distance between himself and the dagger wielder in a single explosive movement. His fist—not his sword—came around in a brutal arc, catching the masked figure square in the side of the head.
The impact sent the dagger wielder flying backward like a rag doll. They hit the ground hard and rolled several times before coming to a stop in a crumpled heap.
Nue swooped down on the fallen attacker immediately, electricity crackling between its talons. The shikigami struck with another Electro attack, and the dagger wielder's body spasmed violently before going completely still.
Ren didn't have time to check if they were really unconscious as the crossbow wielders were already reloading, and he could see them trying to line up another shot.
Nue sensed his intent through their link, and the shikigami turned hard in mid-air and shot toward the archers.
The crossbow wielders panicked, trying to scatter, but Nue was on them in seconds. Chain lightning arced from the shikigami's wings, jumping from one archer to the next in rapid succession until all five of them collapsed unconscious, their bows clattering uselessly to the stone ground.
Ren turned back toward where Chen had been kneeling.
The spot was empty.
'He's using the stealth ability again—!'
Ren's senses flared, searching for the Pyro signature. For a split second, there was nothing, just the ambient elemental energy of the area around him.
Then it flared to life directly behind him.
Ren's body started to twist, his sword coming around to block whatever attack was coming, but he knew even as he moved that he wasn't going to be fast enough.
'This is embarrassing…'
Chen had timed this perfectly, waiting for the exact moment when Ren's attention was divided.
Ren's eyes narrowed as the shadow beneath his leg rippled. But before he could do anything, he felt another presence of Elemental Energy.
A blade of compressed wind sliced through the air with a whistling sound.
Chen's weapon was cut cleanly in half mid-thrust. The tip spun away through the air and clattered to the ground several meters away, leaving Chen holding nothing but a useless wooden shaft.
Chen's eyes went wide with shock as he stumbled forward, his momentum carrying him past Ren in his confusion.
And Ren didn't waste the opening.
He spun the rest of the way around, dropped his sword, and grabbed Chen by the face with one hand. His fingers dug into the man's face as he drove Chen's head downward with all the force he could muster.
Chen's skull met the ground with a sickening crack, and the Treasure Hoarder's body went completely limp.
Ren held him there for a moment, making sure he was actually out cold this time, then let go and straightened up.
He stared at Chen's unconscious form for a second, looking to see if he was still breathing, before sighing and shaking his head.
He picked up his sword from where he'd dropped it, sliding the blade back into his shadow storage with a thought, then finally turned to see who had saved him from that last attack.
A man was walking toward him, moving with the kind of easy confidence that came from complete certainty in one's own abilities.
He wore a wide-brimmed hat that cast shadows across his face, and loose-fitting clothes that seemed to move with the wind even when the air was still. At his side, an Anemo Vision glowed with soft green light.
And he had white hair with a very distinguishable single streak of red.
The stranger's hand rested casually on the hilt of his blade, and even from this distance, Ren could sense the power radiating from him.
It wasn't oppressive or threatening, it was just… present. Like standing near a bonfire and feeling its warmth without getting burned.
He was leagues stronger than Chen had been. Stronger than Chongyun, too. Maybe even stronger than anyone Ren had fought before.
Though admittedly, that was because Ren usually ran away when he found something stronger than him.
Sorcerers don't take chances. Ren's current reserves can't handle a prolonged fight with someone of this caliber. If things turned for the worse, he would use Nue to get away.
The white-haired man seemed to notice the tension, raising one hand in a gesture of peace and stopping a few meters away.
"Forgive the intrusion," the stranger said, his voice calm and soothing like a gentle breeze. "I am an ally of Captain Beidou." He inclined his head slightly in what might have been a small bow.
"My name is Kaedehara Kazuha."
'An Inazuman name?'
Ren didn't relax his guard, but he didn't draw his weapon either. "...Ren, but you probably already know that"
Kazuha's lips curved into a small smile. "Yes. You made quite the showing back on the Alcor."
"Yeah. And you followed me here."
"I did," Kazuha admitted without hesitation, which Ren had to respect even if it was still kind of creepy. "I had hoped to speak with you privately."
Ren wanted to ask about a dozen questions. Like, why follow him and what did Kazuha want to talk about. But before he could voice any of them, Kazuha's gaze drifted past him to the unconscious bodies scattered across the courtyard.
"Though perhaps we should secure these criminals first. Explanations can wait until they're properly restrained."
Ren glanced around at the aftermath of the fight. Bodies everywhere—some groaning and starting to stir, others still completely out cold. Chen was unconscious at his feet. The crossbow wielders were in a heap near the ruins. The mysterious dagger wielder was alarmingly nowhere to be seen.
"...Yeah," Ren said, letting out a long breath as the adrenaline finally started to fade. "That's probably a good idea."
/ — /
Ren tied the last knot around one of the unconscious Treasure Hoarders' wrists and gave it a testing tug to make sure it would hold.
The rope was secure, tight enough that they wouldn't slip free when they woke up, but not so tight that it would cut off circulation.
He straightened up and looked around at the results of their work.
All of them were bound and gagged, scattered across the stone courtyard in various states of unconsciousness.
He was a bit weirded out when Kazuha conveniently pulled out some rope and gags. Like, who just carries that stuff around?
Some were starting to stir, groaning quietly as awareness slowly returned. Others were still completely out, which was probably for the best given how thoroughly they'd been beaten.
Chen was tied up separately nearby, still completely unconscious from having his face driven into solid rock.
What wasn't good was the empty space where the dagger wielder should have been.
Ren's eyes drifted over the bound prisoners again, doing a mental count. There should have been one more, but the mysterious fighter who'd attacked him with twin daggers was nowhere to be seen.
'They got away,' Ren thought, frowning slightly as he scanned the ruins around them for any sign of movement. 'Probably slipped off while we were dealing with Chen and the others.'
It bothered him more than he wanted to admit. That fighter had been different from the rest, and definitely not part of the original group Ren had counted when he first arrived.
Though Ren couldn't help but get the feeling that they weren't trying to kill him. They were attacking seriously, sure. But it felt like they had another goal in mind…
But there wasn't much he could do about it now. The person was gone, and chasing after him would mean leaving Kazuha alone with a bunch of criminals.
Ren pushed the thought aside and turned his attention back to Kazuha, who was finishing up with his own set of prisoners a few meters away.
The white-haired man worked casually like he had experience doing this, his movements smooth and unhurried as he secured the last of the ropes.
'Why is he suspiciously good at tying people up?' Ren shivered slightly, 'Please don't turn out to be a weird person… I can't handle another Hu Tao.'
When he was done, he straightened up and brushed some dust off his hands before walking over to where Ren stood.
There was a moment of silence between them, the awkward kind in the way that conversations between strangers often started.
Ren wasn't sure what to say, and apparently neither was Kazuha, because they just stood there for a few seconds looking at the unconscious Treasure Hoarders.
Finally, Kazuha spoke. "That was impressive."
Ren blinked and looked at him. "What?"
"Your fighting," Kazuha clarified, his tone thoughtful. "Your movements were efficient and purposeful. Like autumn leaves guided by the wind. They may look scattered, but are all controlled by an invisible breeze."
Ren stared at him for a moment, trying to process the extremely flowery compliment he'd just received.
"...Uh," he started, trying to come up with an appropriate response. "Thanks?"
'God dammit.'
He wasn't really sure how to respond to that kind of praise. Most people just said "good job" or "nice work" and left it at that. This whole autumn leaves thing was... well, it was certainly something.
Kazuha's lips curved into a small smile, like he was amused by Ren's confusion. "You're welcome."
Another beat of silence.
Then Kazuha tilted his head slightly, his expression shifting to something more curious. "Though I couldn't help but notice… You were holding back by quite a large margin."
Ren felt a flicker of surprise. It wasn't exactly something he'd been trying to hide, but he also hadn't expected someone to call it out so directly.
Most people wouldn't have been able to tell the difference between him fighting at full strength and him fighting at... whatever percentage he'd been using against the Treasure Hoarders.
"How did you—" Ren stopped himself and shook his head. "Never mind. Yeah, I was."
"May I ask why?" Kazuha's tone wasn't accusatory, he was just genuinely curious. Given his speech pattern, Ren is starting to piece together what kind of person Kazuha was.
Ren shrugged. "Seemed wasteful to use more than that. These guys weren't exactly elite fighters. Most of them could barely hold their weapons properly."
He gestured at the unconscious hoarders around them. "I wanted to see how much power I actually needed to deal with normal fighters. Get a baseline, you know?"
'And it wasn't like I wanted to rough em up a little for messing with my deliveries. No way…'
Then Ren added, "And I'm satisfied with the results."
Kazuha nodded slowly, processing that answer. "A measured philosophy,"
"Yeah, well, no point in going all-out if you don't have to."
"True enough." Kazuha's expression grew a bit more serious. "Though skill doesn't make one invulnerable. Even an ant can harm a wolf if the wolf is careless."
Ren frowned, not sure what Kazuha was getting at. "What do you mean?"
Kazuha pointed at Ren's shoulder. "There."
Ren looked down and felt his frown deepen.
There was a small bloodstain on his sleeve, barely visible against the dark fabric but definitely there.
He pulled the cloth aside to get a better look and saw a tiny puncture wound on his shoulder. It was like a pinprick, so small that it was almost unnoticeable.
"What the hell?" Ren muttered, reaching up to wipe at the dried blood with his thumb. The wound had already stopped bleeding, and when he wiped away the blood, there was barely anything left. Just a tiny mark that looked more like he'd been pricked by a needle than cut by any kind of weapon.
'That's weird.'
His mind went back to the weapons he saw in the fight. Swords, shovels, daggers, arrows, and a spear. All sharp, but none of them could have made a wound this… delicate. It was too clean.
His mind immediately went to the dagger wielder. That fighter had gotten close to him during the chaos, close enough to land a hit if they'd wanted to. But why would they go for such a small, non-lethal strike? It didn't make sense as an attack.
'Is it poison? No, I don't feel anything wrong…' But the thought already made him slightly paranoid, 'Maybe I'll check up with Baizhu to make sure.'
Ren pushed the thought aside. He didn't have enough information to figure out what had happened, and standing around speculating wasn't going to help.
"Does it concern you?" Kazuha asked, watching Ren's expression carefully.
Ren shook his head. "No. I'm just a little surprised." He let his sleeve fall back into place and looked back at Kazuha. "I'll think about it later. Not exactly a priority right now."
Kazuha nodded, seeming to accept that answer, though there was still a thoughtful look in his eyes like he was filing away the information for later.
Another moment of silence stretched between them, and Ren got the distinct impression that Kazuha was working up to saying something.
Finally, the white-haired man spoke again. "Earlier, when you fought… were you afraid of accidentally killing them?"
The question caught Ren off guard.
He went quiet for a moment, actually thinking about it seriously instead of just giving an automatic answer.
Was he afraid of killing the Treasure Hoarders? Had that been part of why he'd held back?
After a few seconds of consideration, he shook his head.
"No, that isn't it."
Kazuha waited, clearly expecting him to elaborate.
Ren sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I wanted to gauge how much power I needed, see what works on regular fighters without going overboard. Like I said—get a baseline."
He paused, then added, "Killing them would've defeated the purpose. Hard to calibrate your strength when your test subjects are dead."
It came out more blunt than he'd intended, but it was the truth. He hadn't been holding back because he was squeamish or afraid of taking lives. He'd been holding back because it was a learning experience, and you couldn't learn much from corpses.
Kazuha's expression didn't change, but there was something in his eyes, a deeper curiosity maybe, or just a desire to understand Ren better.
Ren frowned slightly. He thought he was getting a read on Kazuha, but maybe he was making assumptions too quickly. This guy was definitely more than he seemed.
"I see," Kazuha said quietly. He studied Ren's face for another moment, then asked a different question. "A different question, then. Are you afraid of killing?"
"No." The word left his mouth with full confidence. Then, because the simple answer felt incomplete, he clarified.
"I've killed people before… Though I would usually avoid resorting to that," Ren said, his voice dropping slightly. Not in shame, but because the topic required such care. "I only do it if the enemy deserves it. Or if I'm forced to."
As the words left his mouth, his mind flashed back to a memory he usually tried not to think about.
In that dark building, surrounded by cages. Filled with so much rage… Hate.
And so much blood.
His hands were covered in it. Red dripping from his fingers. He could still remember the feeling of it, the way it had cooled against his skin as the adrenaline faded and the reality of what he'd done set in.
Yet he couldn't find it in himself to regret his actions back then.
'Those people... they deserved it.'
The thought came with certainty, the same certainty he'd felt that night. They had deserved it. Every single one of them. What they'd done, what they'd been about to do—
Ren forcibly pulled himself out of the memory, shaking his head slightly to clear it.
When he refocused, Kazuha was watching him with an expression that was hard to read.
Kazuha seemed to realize he'd touched on something sensitive, because his expression softened.
"Forgive me," Kazuha said quietly, and there was genuine sincerity in his voice. "I shouldn't have asked such a brazen question out of the blue."
Ren blinked, a little surprised at the apology. "It's fine. It's just not a topic I think about much."
Kazuha nodded in understanding and decided to change the topic.
"I should explain why I followed you."
Ren looked at him, grateful for the subject change even if he was still wary. "Yeah, I would appreciate that. Following people secretly is kind of creepy, you know.."
Kazuha inclined his head slightly. "My apologies. I followed you as you left the Alcor. Not under Captain Beidou's orders. This was my own decision." He paused, then added, "I wanted to speak with you privately."
Ren processed that for a moment. On one hand, Kazuha had helped him in the fight and seemed genuinely respectful, even apologizing when he'd pushed too far with his questions.
On the other hand, the guy had literally stalked him to a remote location, which was objectively weird no matter how you looked at it.
But... well, he had helped. And he'd been honest about his intentions. That counted for something.
"Alright, what's your question?" Ren asked finally, deciding to give Kazuha the benefit of the doubt for now.
Kazuha's expression shifted into something that looked almost... hopeful? It was hard to tell.
"Are you from Inazuma?"
Ren blinked, caught off guard by the question. "No. Why would you think that?"
Kazuha's expression shifted slightly. "The term you use. 'Shikigami'. It's an Inazuman word to describe spirits or guardians."
'Oh,' Ren thought. 'So that's why he was interested.'
It made sense now why Kazuha was interested in him. He thought he was a fellow inazuman. Though Ren still wasn't entirely sure why that was relevant at all.
"When I heard you use that term, I had hoped…'"
He trailed off, leaving the sentence unfinished.
Ren frowned slightly, trying to piece together what Kazuha was getting at. Had hoped what? That Ren was from Inazuma? But why would that matter?
"I'm from a secluded island far to the north. It's called Tokyo." He said, reiterating the half-truth of his origin. "It's... really isolated. Most people haven't heard of it."
Kazuha's expression fell slightly. "I see," he said quietly, and there was genuine disappointment in those two words that Ren didn't quite understand.
Then Kazuha spoke again, his voice softer than before. "I had hoped to meet someone else who escaped." He looked away, gaze drifting toward the distant ocean visible between the stone pillars. "It's... rare to find others who made it out."
"Escaped? What do you mean?"
Kazuha turned back to face him, his expression barely changed, but he exuded a different feeling of… sadness.
"After the Vision Hunt Decree was enacted and Inazuma closed its borders… Many fled. Few made it out alive."
His hand moved unconsciously toward the Anemo Vision at his side.
Ren's frown deepened. Vision Hunt Decree. The name alone sounded ominous, but the implications were far worse.
First of all, Visions were gifts bestowed by the Archons. Why would a country pass a law that hunts Vision Wielders? They were dangerous, sure, but to make a law against divine gifts…
'Wait, isn't Inazuma also governed by an active Archon? What the heck is going on there? And why didn't I hear anything about it in Liyue?'
"What's the Vision Hunt Decree?"
Kazuha's expression darkened immediately, visible pain flickering across his features. "The Vision Hunt Decree is—"
His eyes shifted away from Ren, landing on the unconscious Treasure Hoarders scattered around the courtyard.
"...A conversation better had elsewhere," Kazuha said, gesturing at the bound prisoners. "We should bring these criminals back to the Alcor first." His tone made it clear the subject was being tabled, not dismissed. There was a promise implicit in his words that he would explain, just not here.
Ren wanted to push. But Ren also knew when to respect boundaries. He'd just met this guy, and he'd already asked some pretty personal questions. Pushing for more right now felt wrong.
"...Alright, let's talk about it back on the Alcor."
Kazuha's expression softened slightly, a small smile of gratitude crossing his face. "Thank you,"
The moment of heaviness passed, and Kazuha's attention shifted to the unconscious form of Chen that was still tied up and sprawled out on the stone ground nearby.
"Their leader," Kazuha said, gesturing toward the man. "Do you know who he is?"
Ren shrugged. "He called himself Mr. Chen," he said with a slight grimace. "Obviously a fake, but I didn't catch his real name. Didn't really have time for formal introductions while he was trying to stab me with a flaming spear."
Kazuha's smile turned slightly amused. "His true name is Huang. A wanted criminal and notorious Treasure Hoarder leader who's been evading the Millelith for quite some time."
Ren blinked and looked at the unconscious man with new eyes. 'Huh. So he actually was somebody.'
"The Millelith have a specific name for him," Kazuha continued, and there was something almost dramatic in the way he said it. "They call him 'The Ghostly Flame.'"
"The Ghostly Flame?" Ren repeated, raising an eyebrow. That was... actually kind of a cool nickname, as far as criminal aliases went. "Let me guess—because he vanishes after using fire?"
Kazuha nodded. "Precisely. He has a reputation for disappearing without a trace after his attacks. Leaves no evidence, no witnesses who can track where he went."
"Yeah, that checks out," Ren said, remembering how Huang had vanished twice during their fight, once right at the start with that fire wall, and again later when he'd tried to sneak attack from behind. "He disappeared on me twice. As soon as he stops using his Vision actively, his elemental signature just disappears. Makes him impossible to track."
"An effective ability for a criminal," Kazuha agreed. "Which is why the Millelith have been unable to capture him until now."
He paused, then added, "There's a substantial bounty on his head. Two hundred thousand Mora, if I recall correctly."
Ren's brain immediately started doing math. 'Two hundred thousand Mora. That's...'
Then another thought hit him like a brick to the face.
Wait.
Huang was a wanted criminal.
This whole thing had been a setup.
The contract...
Ren's stomach dropped so fast he felt physically nauseous.
"Wait," he said, voice rising slightly in pitch.
Kazuha tilted his head, confused by the sudden shift in Ren's demeanor. "Is something—"
"WAIT," Ren said louder, hands coming up to run through his hair as the full realization crashed over him.
"The contract!" His voice was climbing toward panic now, words tumbling out faster. "It was fake! Mr. Chen—Huang—whatever his fucking name is—he wasn't a real client!"
He started pacing, unable to stand still as the implications spiraled through his mind. "The whole delivery job was just bait to get me out here!"
Kazuha watched this with growing confusion, clearly not understanding why this was such a crisis. "...Yes," he said slowly, patiently. "That's why we're capturing him. Because he's a criminal who set up—"
"WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN TO MY MORA?!" Ren practically shouted, spinning to face Kazuha with wild eyes.
Kazuha blinked, completely caught off guard by the question. "Your... Mora?"
"I accepted one hundred and fifty thousand Mora upfront!" Ren was gesturing wildly now, his movements erratic with genuine distress. "But if the delivery was fake, if Huang was just setting me up for an ambush—"
He grabbed his own head with both hands, horror dawning across his face.
"Do I have to give it back?!" The words came out strangled. "Is keeping it illegal?! Did I just accidentally commit fraud?!"
For a moment, Kazuha just stared at him, clearly trying to process this complete switch in priority. He'd just fought off twenty criminals, one of them a notorious wanted fugitive, and Ren's biggest concern was whether he'd have to return the advance payment.
Ren's knees buckled, and he crumpled to the ground, not quite sitting so much as collapsing into a heap of existential financial despair. His face dropped into his hands, and from between his fingers came a muffled, anguished sound.
"I'm broke again..." The words were barely audible, heavy with genuine misery. "All that work... for nothing..."
Kazuha stood there, utterly unprepared for this situation. This was definitely not a scenario his life experience had equipped him to handle.
He cleared his throat awkwardly. "The Millelith would likely..." He paused, trying to figure out how to phrase this. "That is to say, you were deceived by a criminal..." Another pause. "I don't think they would require you to—"
A muffled groan from Ren cut him off.
Kazuha tried a different approach. "You were clearly the victim of—"
Another groan, this one somehow conveying even deeper despair.
Ren wasn't listening. He was too busy mentally calculating his remaining funds and coming up with numbers that apparently warranted this level of dramatic collapse.
Kazuha stood there for another few seconds, then decided to try one more time.
"You could claim the bounty," he said, more firmly than before.
Ren went completely still.
His head lifted slightly from his hands, just enough that one eye was visible. "...Huh?"
"You captured him. Subdued him in combat and ensured he couldn't escape." He paused. "The reward is yours by right."
Ren slowly sat up, dust and dirt smudged across his face from where he'd been pressed against the ground. He stared at Kazuha like he'd just spoken in a completely foreign language that Ren's brain was still trying to translate.
"I can keep the bounty?"
Kazuha nodded, a polite smile tugging at his lips despite the absurdity of the situation. "Yes. That's typically how bounties work. You capture the criminal, you receive the reward."
Ren's brain visibly rebooted as it processed this new information.
Then he sprang to his feet with energy that should not have been physically possible for someone who'd been a crumpled heap of despair three seconds ago.
He closed the distance between himself and Kazuha in a flash and grabbed the man's shoulders, eyes intense and slightly manic.
"You're serious?!" Ren's grip tightened. "I can actually keep it?! Two hundred thousand Mora?!"
Kazuha looked mildly uncomfortable at being grabbed so suddenly. "...Yes," he said slowly. "I just said—"
Ren released him immediately, his entire demeanor transforming in an instant. The despair was gone, replaced by a huge smile that split his face.
"You're my new best friend," Ren declared with utter sincerity.
Kazuha blinked. Processed that statement. "...We've known each other for ten minutes."
"And they've been the best ten minutes of my financial life," Ren said, already dusting himself off and looking significantly more alive than he had any right to be given his emotional state moments earlier.
Kazuha just stared at him for a moment. "The winds suggested you were... unique," he said carefully. "I see it was correct."
Ren pointed at him with a little offended look. "Don't judge me. Do you know how hard it is to make money as a courier? I'm a small business owner, and I'm competing with actual companies with employees!"
"...I'm beginning to understand," Kazuha said dryly.
There was a brief pause, and then Ren's expression changed again. "How much is the bounty again?"
"Two hundred thousand Mora," Kazuha confirmed.
Ren did quick mental math. 150 thousand from the contract—assuming the Millelith let him keep it, which Kazuha seemed to think they would since he was the victim of fraud—plus 200 thousand from the bounty...
That was 350 thousand Mora total… Minus the amount he had to pay Beidou for the trip, but that was small compared to 350 thousand!
His eyes widened. "This is the best ambush I've ever been in," he said with complete sincerity.
Kazuha's smile became slightly more amused. "I... suspect that says more about your usual luck than this particular situation."
Ren was already moving, energy completely restored, striding over toward where Huang was still unconscious and bound. "Alright. Let's get these guys back to the ship." He looked around at all the scattered Treasure Hoarders, doing a quick count. "...This is gonna take a while, isn't it?"
"We can make multiple trips," Kazuha suggested, walking over to join him. He gestured at Huang. "Though we should bring him first. He's the priority."
Ren hummed and seemed to be considering something before nodding to himself. He put his hands into a hand sign, and shadows rippled beneath him once again.
Kazuha flinched slightly when Orochi burst from the shadows. He would have likely gone to attack if he didn't know it was one of Ren's shikigami.
"You're my favorite criminal now, Huang. Thanks for being worth so much money," Ren said conversationally to the unconscious man as he did another hand sign and manifested Toad's tongues and tied Huang along with the other hoarders onto Orochi.
Kazuha watched this display with a slight shake of his head. "The wind was right about you," he murmured.
Ren glanced back at him. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Kazuha's expression turned mysterious, a small knowing smile playing at his lips. "You'll understand in time."
"That's not cryptic at all… But that's ok because I.Am.Getting.PAID!" He said cheerfully, "Lead the way, best friend."
"We are not best friends."
"Not with that attitude we're not."
/ — /
Volkov
Volkov lowered his telescope with trembling hands.
From his vantage point high among the ruins, he'd watched the entire fight unfold. The courier's efficient dismantling of twenty Treasure Hoarders. The electric owl diving from the sky like a bolt of lightning given form.
And then that white-haired swordsman appearing out of nowhere to cut Huang's spear in half. That last part hadn't been in the plan, but it didn't matter anymore.
The mission was complete.
"Did he get it?" Sonya asked quietly from beside him, her cicins buzzing nervously around her head in agitated circles.
Volkov didn't answer yet, he was watching the distant figures of the courier and the swordsman as they worked to secure the unconscious Treasure Hoarders.
The swordsman was a complication. An Anemo Vision user, clearly skilled, and apparently connected to the Alcor's crew.
Volkov made a mental note to include that detail in his report—future operations involving the target would need to account for potential backup.
But the important thing right now was whether Dmitri had succeeded.
As if summoned by the thought, there were soft footsteps behind him. Volkov didn't turn around, he'd recognize that particular pattern of movement anywhere. Light steps designed to make minimal noise even on broken stone.
"Report,"
"Sample acquired," Dmitri's voice was breathless. "Clean extraction. Target didn't even notice."
Dmitri looked really roughed up—his disguise as a Treasure Hoarder had taken some damage during the fight, and there was a faint smell of electro clinging to his clothes from where that electric owl had shocked him.
But he was alive, and more importantly, his right hand was clutched around something small.
"Show me," Volkov ordered.
Dmitri opened his palm.
Nestled in his hand was a small vial, no larger than a finger, sealed with a specialized cap designed by the Marionette herself.
Inside the vial was liquid—or at least, something liquid-adjacent. It was dark, almost black, with faint purple undertones that seemed to swirl and shift even though the vial was perfectly still.
Volkov reached out and took the vial carefully, holding it up to examine it more closely. The darkness inside moved in ways that didn't quite follow normal physics, coiling and uncoiling like living smoke trapped in glass.
"How much did you get?" Sonya asked, leaning in to look at the vial with a mixture of fascination and disgust.
"Approximately five milliliters," Dmitri said. "The device was designed for minimal extraction to avoid detection. Any more and the target would have noticed."
Volkov nodded slowly, still staring at the vial. Five milliliters didn't sound like much, but according to the Marionette's specifications, that should be more than enough for initial analysis.
And three Harbingers would be very, very pleased.
"Good work," Volkov said, carefully tucking the vial into a specially designed protective case attached to his belt. The case had been lined with materials meant to contain elemental energy, whether it would work on whatever this was remained to be seen.
"Pack up," he ordered, his voice firmer now. "We're leaving."
Sonya didn't need to be told twice. She immediately began gathering their equipment. Her cicins swarmed around her, helping to collect smaller items and tuck them away for storage.
Dmitri also quickly packed, clearly tired and in pain after everything that happened. His hands worked quickly to strip away the damaged Treasure Hoarder disguise and replace it with his standard Fatui agent gear. Within seconds, he'd gone from looking like a desperate criminal to a professional operative.
Volkov took one last look through the telescope.
The courier and the swordsman were still at the shore. The courier had summoned a massive serpent construct (that summon was definitely NOT in the reports) and—wait, were those tongues wrapping around the unconscious Treasure Hoarders? Volkov watched in morbid fascination as the construct was loaded up with bodies like some kind of nightmarish pack animal.
"Creative," he muttered.
"What is?" Sonya asked, slinging her pack over her shoulder.
"Nothing. Let's move."