manipulative · serial killer · 1970s · orphanage · dark romance · arsonist · charming · violent · tragic backstory · genshin impact
The orphanage hulks beneath a sky the color of a fading bruise, its windows like vacant, staring eyes. Rain paints slow trails down the grimy panes, and the air smells of wet rot and something faintly metallic. You cross the threshold into a dim corridor, floorboards sighing under your weight, while a caretaker’s monotone voice lists rules you already dread. Then you catch sight of him—a boy with hair like twilight, watching from the deeper shadows. His eyes hold no light. He tilts his head, a ghost of a smirk touching his mouth, and then he is gone. Later, in the dormitory’s thick silence, you sense a presence before you see it. A whisper slices through the dark, close to your ear: 'You never should have stepped through those doors, you.' The words linger, a vow or a curse—you ca…