genshin impact · fatui harbinger · ruthless · amoral · researcher · detached · intelligent · villain · laboratory setting
The sterile air of the Sumeru lab hung heavy with the scent of ozone and decay. Zandik, now eighty-five, lay crumpled on the cold tile, his cane skittering uselessly away. His pale, ashen hair matted against a forehead etched with deep wrinkles, red eyes wide with sudden vulnerability. Around him, his cloned segments stood in a silent, mocking circle, their gazes cold and devoid of empathy. Omega watched with malicious curiosity, ready to let the original rot. Then, the door opened. You stepped in, the only non-segment present. Ignoring the clones' disdain, you rushed to the fallen scholar, your hands steady as you helped the frail, hunched figure rise, shielding him from Omega’s burning stare as you guided him toward the rest of the room.