Volkov
Volkov stood across from Commander Ivan as he recounted the compound operation.
Ivan stood across from him with his arms crossed, his shock and worry showing even behind the mask he wore.
Volkov explained that when the infiltration team arrived at the compound, they found the area already desolate.
He took a shaky breath, "Our cleaning group was unable to identify the exact number of slavers eliminated due to their… unrecognizable conditions. But we suspect Ren Roman had exterminated at least 50-70 slavers on his own."
"But he kept the leader alive?" Ivan asked after some thinking.
"Yes, albeit very, very crippled." Volkov hesitated a little before continuing, "A report from our medical team indicates that apart from the gouged eye and shattered hands, Ren Roman had also severed critical tendons for movement, possibly crippling the man for life."
Volkov remembered what he felt when he saw the report, he hadn't even noticed the extra cuts on the man's body at the time. He was too focused on trying to get the hell away from the courier.
He stared at Commander Ivan's silent form. The commander of the operation had a hand under his chin as he digested Volkov's words.
"Although Roman's methods are… barebones. He was able to successfully bring the compound's leader and critical files and documents. For all intents and purposes, this operation was a success."
The words spoken by Ivan weren't wrong, but Volkov disliked the idea that Ren Roman's actions were necessary for the operation's success.
Killing was a given, almost certain in his line of work. But that… that wasn't killing. It was the most depraved action he had ever seen another human being do to another.
What made it worse was that he had the unfortunate task of going through the remains of Ren's massacre. He went to the file room of the compound to check if he had missed anything, and found the body of a headless woman, with her chest cavity carved open.
"What worries me—" Ivan's words brought Volkov's mind back to reality, "Is whether Roman took any critical information from the compound. With his odd shadow inventory ability, it would be hard to confirm without asking him directly."
'By Her Majesty, please don't make me ask him!'
"So we will put that away for now."
'Thank you, my Archon!'
After a few more discussions regarding the aftermath of the operation, the two started to go through the gathered documents that were placed across the map table.
Most of it confirmed what they had already suspected. The proceedings of an auction and its attendees, and the overall scope of the event.
But they did come across two pieces of information that made the whole situation considerably more complicated.
The first was the masking mechanism. Sumeru scholars and Fontaine nobles with enough resources and the right connections had somehow created a machine that made the mansion and the four hundred meters surrounding it indistinguishable from ambient elemental energy.
Not hidden, exactly. Just invisible to anyone looking, as it just blended in with the natural environment.
"That explains why we couldn't find it," Ivan said.
"There's more," Volkov said.
The second piece of information was worse.
"How did they even…?" Ivan muttered.
They'd been using the remains of dead gods. Placed at specific points around the mansion's perimeter, the karmic residue generated a persistent sensation of fear and avoidance in anyone who approached.
Not enough to cause alarm. Just enough to make people unconsciously redirect themselves away from the area without knowing why.
Ivan was quiet for a moment. "How long have they been operating like this?"
"Years, based on the records."
Another silence.
"The auction," Volkov continued, "is in three days."
Ivan cursed as he looked up from the documents. "That's too soon… Just from the sheer size of the mansion, the number of guards would be insane. Especially if they have Fontainian mechs."
"Even with the reinforcements," he continued, "the mansion's security will be beyond what we can handle cleanly. The masking mechanism means we can't do reconnaissance beforehand. We go in effectively blind."
Volkov chose his next words carefully. "There is one variable that could address that problem, sir."
Ivan didn't say anything, but he seemingly got what Volkov was trying to say.
"Ren Roman has indicated his willingness to continue assisting us with the operation," Volkov said, keeping his voice neutral. "Given what he demonstrated at the compound, his involvement would significantly reduce the security burden on our team."
"It would," Ivan said.
Looking at the map again, he ran some rough calculations, "Maybe eighty or ninety percent of the mansion's forces could be dealt with by him alone."
"Yes." Ivan folded his hands across his chest. "That's precisely the problem."
"What?"
"Our primary objective is the retrieval of the House's kidnapped orphans, along with saving any other victims found." He explained slowly, "But we have a second objective that I cannot fully disclose."
Volkov immediately knew where this was going.
"We need to capture a few specific individuals alive and relatively unharmed. Their capture has implications that extend well beyond this operation, to the extent that the true reason is only known to the Harbingers"
Ivan leaned his head back with a sigh, "Roman's approach had made it very clear that 'alive' was not a constraint he preferred to operate in for this mission."
"If he gets to that individual before we do, the secondary objective fails. Regardless of everything else we achieve."
"Which is why," Ivan said, looking directly at him, making a chill crawl up Volkov's spine, "I'm tasking you with managing Ren Roman during the raid."
Volkov's entire body stopped functioning for a moment.
Ivan continued talking, something about communication strategies, operational parameters, but Volkov had gotten stuck somewhere around "managing Ren Roman" and couldn't quite move past it.
Managing Ren Roman. The man who had walked out of a compound covered in someone else's blood and asked if he'd done a good job like some sick psycho. That man. Managed. By Him?!
"Sir," Volkov said, when he trusted his voice again. "With all due respect. Is there any other option?"
Ivan silently looked at him for a moment. Seemingly understanding his fear and hesitance about trying to tell a man who butchered at least 50 people to slow down.
"Very well," Ivan sighed, "Do not speak of this to anyone. But I have gotten word that Father wishes to assist in the mansion attack. But due to complications in travel, she might not be able to make it in time."
'The Knave?!' Hope rose in Volkov's chest.
"And the likelihood of that?"
"Very unlikely."
…
…
"Fuck."
"Indeed," His commander nodded grimly, as if he weren't the one sending Volkov to his doom.
He was dismissed shortly after. He walked out of the tent into the morning air and stood there for a moment, looking up at the sky.
Before punching himself in the face hard, making other agents around him flinch in surprise.
"I hate my life."
/ — /
It didn't take long for Volkov to find Ren. He was around the camp's eastern edge, sitting his face tilted toward a patch of sunlight coming through the canopy.
He was also eating a sandwich.
He had a wide, easy smile on his face, the kind of smile that belonged on someone who had just finished a pleasant hike, not someone who had walked out of a building full of his own handiwork less than twenty-four hours ago.
'I don't have to do this,' he thought, stopping his body before he could get too close. 'I could go back to Ivan and explain that I tried.'
But he knew that he was lying to himself. There was no way he was going to refuse a direct order from a commander. He knew what his role was and what was expected of him the moment he became part of the Fatui.
Even so, it still fucking sucked.
He was still weighing his options when he spotted Henri not too far to his left, checking his equipment near a supply crate.
Volkov suddenly had an idea.
"Henri," he said, grabbing the man's arm. "I need your help."
Henri looked at him. Then looked at the direction Volkov had come from. Then back at Volkov.
"No."
"I haven't even said what it is yet—"
"You came from the direction of Ren Roman, and I want nothing to do with him." Henri pulled at his arm. "No."
"I need someone to help me talk to him." Volkov kept his grip. "You have an established rapport with him. He saved your life, so you can just frame it as—"
"He responds to everyone like a normal person and then does whatever he was going to do anyway!" Henri pulled harder. "I am not going over there!"
"It's an operational concern—"
"Then make it someone else's operational concern!"
A few other Fatui personnel looked at the two as they fought like cats. Henri pulled his arm back, Volkov holding on, and neither of them willing to raise their voices too much in case a certain person hears them.
This went on for a while before the other agents and soldiers decided to leave them be.
Up until another agent jogged up and told Henri the commander needed him immediately.
The two stopped and stared at each other for a second.
Before Volkov relented and let Henri go, the man ran off without so much as a glance.
Volkov watched him go with irritation. 'Fucking coward.'
He turned back to the rock where Ren was still eating his sandwich.
'Fine. Fine.' The seasoned agent steeled himself and walked towards the unstable young man.
He was about five meters away when Ren, without looking up, said: "Hey, Volkov."
"...How did you know it was me?"
"Oh, I memorized your unique energy." Ren took another bite of the sandwich. "With all of you wearing basically the same clothes and masks, I took it upon myself to remember most of your energies. Yours is quite distinct."
Volkov felt a bead of sweat fall from his forehead. He had spent months spying on Ren Roman, blending into crowds and shadows, using his concealing abilities to be basically invisible.
And now, Ren had memorized his energy signature.
Shaking the thought away for now, he sat down on a log next to the courier.
They talked for a few minutes about nothing significant. The weather, the forest, how Ren found the Sumeru border region compared to Liyue.
Through it all, Ren was perfectly pleasant company. That was the worst part. How could his mood change so quickly in just 24 hours?
Eventually, Volkov cleared his throat.
"I wanted to thank you for your assistance at the compound. The operation's success was largely due to your involvement."
Ren didn't say anything.
Then he set the sandwich down on his knee, stood up, and started walking toward Volkov.
'Okay,' Volkov thought, his body going very still. A part of him hesitated whether or not to brandish his daggers. 'Okay. Stay calm. This is fine. You're fine. There's no reason for him to—'
Ren put both arms around him.
Volkov's brain stopped.
He stood with his arms at his sides, completely unsure what was happening or what the correct response was, while Ren hugged him with the genuine warmth of someone very happy.
"I should be the one thanking you," Ren said. He pulled back and looked at Volkov with a bright expression. "Honestly, it's been a while since I've been able to blow off steam like that."
He went back to the rock and casually picked up his sandwich.
'That was him blowing off steam?! And did he say it's been a while? He's done this before?!'
Question upon question flooded his brain, and he needed a moment before he found his voice again.
"Actually," he said, once he trusted his voice again. "That's related to what I came to talk to you about. We're planning the mansion raid."
Ren immediately reacted. He didn't tense up like last time, but his eyes moved to Volkov with a kind of intensity that was unsettling.
"When?"
"T-Three days." Volkov steadied himself. "Which is the thing I need to discuss with you. Going into the mansion."
He chose his next words very carefully. "For the mansion attack… I'm going to need you to not do what you did at the compound."
The smile immediately left Ren's face.
His eyes narrowed on the agent, as if trying to decipher something about the man. The air around them also got slightly colder, as Ren's narrowed eyes threatened to become a full-on glare.
This was a delicate situation. Volkov knew that he couldn't let Ren get the wrong idea. Well, he himself didn't know why they needed to capture some slavers, but the reasoning didn't matter.
All he needed to make sure of was that Ren didn't think they had people working with the slavers that they were trying to protect.
"There are specific individuals in that mansion," he said. "People who have information about trafficking operations across all of Teyvat. Not just this one. Networks, locations, victims we don't know about yet."
He held Ren's gaze even though everything in him was telling him to look at the ground instead. "If they die in the raid, those leads die with them."
Ren was quiet for a long moment, his eyes turning towards the ground as he considered Volkov's words.
After a long moment, something in Ren's expression settled. It was a look of absolution.
'That's not a bad expression, right?'
"Fine," he said. "I won't kill anyone."
Ren stared directly at Volkov's masked eyes, "But I will do anything I can to hurt them. And the moment you've got whoever you're looking for, I will stop holding back."
"Very well, we can work with that," Volkov responded, trying to keep some image of professionalism.
Ren looked at him for one more second, then nodded and picked up the sandwich again. The coldness in the air dissipated as quickly as it had come.
His expression was pleasant again, easy, like the last thirty seconds hadn't happened.
"Thanks for the heads up," he said, taking a bite from his sandwich.
"Of course," Volkov said.
He turned around and power walked back to camp as fast as he could without outright running.
'Rank be damned, The Knave better get here quick!'
/ — /
Ivan
"The work never ends," Ivan sighed at his desk. In front of him was a fresh document, and next to it was a file. Specifically, Ren Roman's.
The existing file was quite thin. Nothing more than a standard surveillance package from Volkov's months in Liyue, along with some reports of his activities, mannerisms, and abilities.
Ren Roman's threat classification had been set to a mid to high vision wielder. His abilities were strong, but what they thought of his personality had painted him as a reasonable and calm individual.
Up until yesterday.
He picked up his pen and crossed out the classification.
Then he started writing.
/ — — — /
FATUI INTELLIGENCE DIVISION
SUBJECT FILE — UPDATED
Subject: Ren Roman
Known Alias: The Shadow Courier
Origin: Unknown (Currently resides in Liyue)
Previous Classification: Person of Interest, Elevated Monitoring
Updated Classification: High Vision Wielder, Handle With Caution
Filed by: Commander Ivan, House of the Hearth Border Operation
Reason for Update: Field assessment following Compound Raid, Sumeru-Liyue Border
__________
OBSERVED CAPABILITIES
Primary Technique: Shadow manipulation and summons, along with the ability to manipulate multiple elements. Elements shown are: Geo, Electro, and Anemo.
Confirmed summons:
Nue: Large electro-affiliated bird construct.
Wolves: 2 shadow wolves without any apparent elemental manipulation abilities. Strong sense of smell, worth looking into.
Rabbit: Summoning hundreds of anemo-infused rabbits that can overwhelm entire platoons.
Orochi: A massive snake capable of Geo manipulation. Used to assist ninth company in the Chasm.
Unknown if the subject has any more summons.
Additional Capabilities:
Shadow submersion and travel: Subject can move through shadows at high speed, emerging at a significant distance from the entry point. Effective range unknown.
Shadow inventory: Subject maintains a possibly subspace inventory within the shadows. Contents unknown. Of note: subject may have retained materials from the compound operation that were not inventoried.
Energy perception: Subject has been seen possessing a strong capability to sense elemental energy. Concealment techniques still prove useful, though caution is advised.
__________
BEHAVIORAL ASSESSMENT
Subject operates independently when personally motivated. No observable hesitation threshold in combat situations. When engaged, demonstrates an efficient approach to target elimination with no signs of emotional interference in decision-making.
Of significant note: subject displays genuine positive affect during high-intensity combat situations. This is not performative or intimidation-based. Subject has been observed smiling during combat with apparent enjoyment.
Subject returns to baseline social demeanor immediately following high-intensity situations, with no observable transition period or emotional residue.
Baseline demeanor: cooperative, personable, direct. Responds well to transparency. Subject appears to value honesty in operational communication and reciprocates accordingly.
__________
TRIGGERS / MOTIVATIONAL ACCELERANTS
Human trafficking.
These are not weaknesses. Do not attempt to use these as tactical leverage. Subject becomes significantly more motivated and more dangerous when exposed to these stimulants, not less capable. See Compound Raid report for reference.
__________
HANDLING RECOMMENDATIONS
Direct and honest communication is the most effective approach. Subject responds poorly to misdirection or manipulation. Establish clear operational parameters before engagement and adhere to them.
Do not position subject within a mission structure without full disclosure of objectives relevant to their role. Undisclosed parameters risk a full operational breakdown.
Physical proximity during casual interaction should be approached with caution.
/ — — — /
Ivan read back through the document once and was satisfied with what he wrote.
His mind wandered to the implications this report would bring. Ren Roman had somehow gained the interest of multiple Harbingers, this report would no doubt increase that interest.
It was best if Ren Roman did not know he was the one who wrote this report.
Then he called an agent into the tent.
"Send a copy of this to the Northland Bank in Liyue Harbor," he said, sliding the document across the desk. "The Fair Lady is not in Liyue for the moment, so please address this to Tartaglia."
The agent didn't question his orders and merely took the paper and left.
Ivan leaned back in his chair and looked at the ceiling for a moment.
Then he picked up his pen again and got back to work. There was a mansion raid to plan, and three days was not a lot of time.