Within a Fatui camp deep in Sumeru's wilderness, dozens of soldiers stand by and go through the motions of their mission.
The camp was heavily defended, with guards standing at the perimeters.
"Do you think everything's going with Henri's group?" a Cicin Mage asked an agent to her side.
The agent shrugged, putting his hands in his pockets. "No clue, these kinds of operations could take from a day to—
"Watch out!"
"Something's coming!"
The shouts reverberated through the camp, and all the soldiers went on guard. A loud screech was heard as their heads looked above to see a figure descending.
Whatever activities and conversations had been happening stopped as all the Fatuu's brandished their weapons, expecting a fight.
The figure landed with a loud thud, shaking the ground around them. Its unblinking eyes staring at the soldiers without even an ounce of fear or intimidation.
"Formations!" a commander shouted, and the gun holders took aim while the rest surrounded the beast.
The creature looked undisturbed and seemed like it welcomed the challenge.
"Attack—!"
"Hold it!"
The soldiers stopped just as they were about to move and looked up to see Henri holding his hands up high.
"Henri?!" one of the soldiers shouted.
"This thing is with us, please lower your weapons!" Henri shouted and slowly got off the bird, followed by Volkov and a new person they didn't recognize.
Some of them did. Some didn't. Their eyes were moving between the bird and the third person dismounting from it.
Some gripped their weapons tighter the moment they laid eyes on the young man. He moved without urgency behind Volkov, with what looked very much like dried blood spattered across one side of his face.
For some reason, the air around the man felt just a little colder.
A commander walked up to Henri. He was a tall, bulky figure that towered over everyone. Yet even his presence still wasn't as intimidating as the newcomer.
"Commander Ivan," Henri bowed slightly.
"Henri, what happened?" Ivan asked, his eyes lingering on the new arrival. He eyed Henri up and down. Noting his battered state and bandaged body. "From the looks of it, the infiltration was found out?"
Henri nodded, "I'll explain things in detail later. We have a… new variable to account for."
Ivan didn't need to look up to know who he was referring to.
"I guess this is where I come in," Volkov walked up and pointed to the newcomer, "This man is Ren Roman, the one who saved the Fatuu's in the Chasm. He has requested to work with us on this operation, and I allowed him."
Ivan's eyes widened, "The Knave's—?!" He stopped himself from saying more and coughed in his hand.
"Very well. It seems like we have much to discuss," He turned his gaze towards Ren, who leaned into the giant bird.
"Mister Roman. Forgive me, but I must discuss this with my men first." He said, "Alexander! Please escort Mister Roman to one of the temporary tents."
A man holding what looked like a Geo staff walked up to him.
"For your… Mount. They can—"
"There's no need." Ren cut him off.
Suddenly, the giant bird melted into dark goo and fell into Ren's shadow, startling everyone in the camp.
Ren regarded the commander with a nod before following the shaken Alexander.
They moved through the sea of Fatuu's whose expressions were covered by their masks, but their body language showed that they were tense. Ready to attack at a moment's notice.
He paid them no mind and eventually arrived at a small tent.
It looked basic, just a small bed and a table with a chair.
He chose to sit on the chair, but before he could, Alexander handed him a handkerchief.
"It's for the blood." He said, extending his hands.
"Thanks," Ren took it without another word and sat down as Alexander left the tent's proximity.
He didn't try to relax. Not that he could with his mind preoccupied.
'Slavers.' The word echoed through his mind and was impossible to remove.
So he just waited in the tent for what came next.
/ — /
Ren
Ren didn't have to wait long.
Alexander appeared at the tent entrance not much later and told him they were ready. Ren set down the handkerchief he'd been turning over in his hands and followed him back through the camp.
The main tent was larger than the one he'd been kept in with a map table in the center, lanterns on each corner, and around eight people gathered.
Commander Ivan was at the head, Henri and Volkov to one side, and the rest being senior operatives whose expressions ranged from neutral to visibly unhappy about the addition of an unfamiliar face.
Ren stepped inside, and all of them glanced towards him, each sporting a complicated expression.
"Commander, we can't let an outsider join this operation!"
"What if he's a spy? We don't even know what he is—"
"He helped our people out of the Chasm and asked nothing for return." Volkov cut across both of them. He kept his voice even. "Not only that, he went back into the deeper sections to pull out an agent who was minutes away from dying. He did that with no obligation to any of us."
"If this is not enough, here's a logistical perspective," he said, looking at everyone in the room. "We have a manpower problem. The compound needs to be hit tomorrow. Now that they know we're watching, if we take any longer, they'd be gone. We don't have enough bodies for both a full perimeter and a functional raiding team. So…"
He let his words sink into the rest of the people there, seeing their reluctant expressions. But they understood Volkov's point. If they wanted the operation to succeed, they needed extra hands.
"Then Ren Roman stays," Ivan announced. "Continue."
The first soldier crossed his arms and didn't argue further. The second one exhaled and looked at the map.
Ivan gestured to the operative who was running the briefing. She stepped forward and regarded Ren with a quick nod.
"We are the House of the Hearth," she started. "Our primary function is as the Fatui's main intelligence agency, so do forgive us if we can't be forthcoming with all information. We also function as an orphanage, though that is not relevant right now."
She stopped for a moment before continuing. "Two weeks ago, several of our own were taken. Kidnapped. We believe they're currently in the hands of a trafficking network operating in this border region."
No one there missed how Ren's body tensed instantly at the mention of the trafficking network.
She moved to the map. "The network is far larger than anything we anticipated. It's a wonder how they were able to stay hidden from us for so long. On the Sumeru side, they have cover from corrupt Akademiya sages, people with enough institutional authority to make inquiries disappear. On the Fontaine side, noble families with the same ability. Between the two, they've carved out a pocket where none of the three nations bordering this region has clear jurisdiction."
She traced the area on the map. "They've been running here for years. This is why no one found them sooner."
Ren looked at the map and ingrained the location of the compound in his brain. Oddly enough, even through all the rage he currently felt, it also came with a sense of peace.
He made sure to keep his face neutral as he went over all the ways he could butcher the slavers.
"Henri's team was assigned to infiltrate one of their known compounds and gather intelligence. As you know, the operation didn't go as planned, and Henri was left the only survivor." She glanced at Ren. "And it was because of you that he was able to escape the slavers. On behalf of the House of the Hearth. Thank you."
The sudden sincerity cut through Ren's mind for a second. Clearing his clouded mind to calm him down just a little bit.
He just nodded at her, and she took it at that.
"The compound will notice. If they haven't already. When they do, they'll either scatter or send word up the chain." Her voice was flat. "We have until tomorrow morning before that becomes likely. Possibly less."
"The plan," Ivan said.
She nodded, "Our next course of action is to create a full perimeter around the compound. We use the majority of our force to seal it so nobody gets out to warn anyone. That leaves us a small team for the actual breach and clearing."
She looked around the tent. "From what Henri told us, the compound doesn't hold any of the trafficked individuals. They're kept at separate locations. What it does hold is their internal records. Communication logs. Routes. And most critically—" She stopped for a half second. "The location of their main operation."
Ren's heartbeat quickened again.
"We've confirmed through our intelligence contact that an event is being held at a private mansion somewhere in this region. Probably at the end of the week, though we are still unsure." She said slowly. "The attendees are Fontaine elites. Sumeru upper class. Sages, though unconfirmed."
She looked uncomfortable as she addressed the rest of the room. "Given the network and the guests, we believe it's an auction."
…
…
Ren stared at the map.
Wealthy people. Powerful people. People with titles and institutional authority who felt that all of that wasn't enough.
Weaklings who used fake power to trample on others.
Disgusting.
Unworthy.
Inhuman.
"So I'll take part in the compound raid then," Ren asked, and Ivan nodded in turn.
"Fantastic."
/ — /
Not long after, the briefing ended and the people inside the tent dispersed.
Ren found Volkov near the tent entrance. "I'm going to go on a walk to clear my head."
Volkov nodded and let him be.
Ren walked to the edge of camp, making sure to walk far enough before sinking into the nearest shadow. He moved through the shadows until he felt he was far enough and emerged somewhere deep in the sea of trees.
He didn't know when he started breathing heavy. Leaning on a random tree, he looked down at his shaking hands.
Against his will, a memory from that day slowly resurfaced.
/ — /
Ren's eyes looked up from the cage he was held in. His small, child hands were unable to even fully grab the bars that encased him
"Don't damage this one. This one has a lot of Cursed Energy. He'll sell for a nifty price."
His hands trembled within the cage. Not just from fear. But from an all-encompassing rage.
His senses were only more overwhelmed by the sounds that echoed through the dull room.
Crying. Screaming. Yelling.
Most of the crying came from children. Yet even their cries had lost most of their fire. What's left was hollow, quiet sobs that mixed with their breathing.
And a grating sound that pierced through it—
The laughter.
He could still hear it cutting through the cries.
Laughing at something. Laughing at nothing. Laughing at their power—their fake strength.
Laughing and laughing and LAUGHING—
/ — /
CRACK.
Ren's fist had split a tree in two pieces without registering that he even swung. The top part fell with a heavy thud.
He stood over it breathing hard, and the images flashing in his head. The shapes against the wall that had stopped moving. The ones who hadn't been worth keeping.
'Weak. WEAK—!'
He covered his face with his hand. Trying to slow down his breathing as his heartbeat drummed in his ears.
He stayed like that until the sounds faded away, and he could hear the life of the forest again.
Lowering his hand, he took a deep breath. A sense of resolve filled him.
Wealthy people. Powerful people. Those who sat in rooms and laughed while other people's children cried, because it cost them nothing, and they could afford whatever they wanted.
Their false strength was a stain upon humanity, upon life itself.
Ren had made his decision.
He was going to kill everyone in that mansion.
He turned around and walked back toward the camp.
He had a compound to raid in the morning.