The Fatui operatives stood in the streetlight with eyes sharp enough to feel like cold blades.
Even with night falling over Mondstadt's stone roads, the air had grown heavy, filled with a tension that seemed ready to break at the slightest touch.
One of the men tilted his head, annoyance flickering through his gaze.
He stepped forward and spoke with a cold, clipped tone.
"You are Kael Archlight, correct? We have business with you."
Kael watched them in silence.
Arrogant, overconfident, already posturing.
Exactly what he expected from the Fatui.
He glanced inward at the earlier panel options he had received, then lifted his eyes again with steady calm.
"What do the Fatui want from me."
"We are inviting you to join the Fatui."
The operative's tone was firm enough to sound like an order.
"Join us and you will receive whatever resources you desire. Power, materials, anything. We can provide all of it."
Kael paused.
They spoke about it as if offering him a drink of water.
The Fatui certainly enjoyed pretending Mondstadt was theirs to recruit from.
Before he could reply, the same man leaned closer, impatience rising.
"Well. Your answer."
Kael let out a quiet breath and smiled in a way that barely lifted the corner of his lip.
"You can satisfy anything I ask for. Even a Gnosis."
The shift was immediate.
Several Fatui stiffened.
A few exchanged looks filled with disbelief and irritation.
The one at the front scoffed openly.
"What are you. You think you are worthy of holding a Gnosis."
"If your performance is exceptional, we may grant you a Vision. Provided you earn it."
"A Vision."
Kael studied the man for a moment before answering in mild confusion.
"Aren't your people known for something else entirely. Not Visions, but Delusions."
The Fatui operative froze for a heartbeat, then narrowed his eyes.
Very few Mondstadt citizens dared to speak openly about Delusions.
The Knights actively suppressed such information.
Only adventurers who tangled with the wrong crowd would learn it firsthand.
For someone so young to know this much already, it drew the Fatui's attention in an instant.
"You seem to know quite a bit."
His voice dropped, colder than before.
"Since you know, give your answer."
"No one refuses the Fatui. If you do not join us, you challenge our authority."
Kael's smile faded.
"Authority. I have not seen any from you. Only a questionable attempt at an invitation."
"So you refuse."
The man's expression darkened.
His voice thickened with threat.
"You truly believe you can leave safely. Join the Fatui and rise. Refuse, and you become nothing more than a hunted stray."
"A hunted stray."
Kael spoke quietly.
"You can try."
He moved the moment the words left his mouth.
He summoned the Path of Destruction energy woven into Clara's secondary talent, the ability that manifested through I Want To Help, letting that power flow directly into the sword at his side.
He had already replaced the blade earlier that afternoon.
Experience had taught him to contain the volatile infusion so the weapon would not shatter the moment the energy entered it.
A deep vibration rolled through the air.
His sword lit with a fierce glow, the surface rippling as if flames of annihilation licked along the metal.
The Destruction power surged upward in a violent rush, filling the blade to its very edge.
Even the air around it felt thick, strained, ready to split.
The Fatui stiffened.
The male operative at the front narrowed his eyes with sudden caution.
"You dare to draw steel."
Kael did not bother answering.
He moved.
His sword cut outward in a clean, merciless sweep.
The blade carved the air, riding a burst of destructive force that landed directly on the nearest Fatui operative before the man even understood he had been targeted.
His body split apart under the impact, torn clean through in a spray of blood that painted the stones beneath him.
The shock hit all at once.
Several Fatui instinctively stepped back.
Fear, disbelief, and fury collided in their eyes.
The lead operative stared for a long second before shouting in disbelief.
"What blade is that. How can a sword hold such power. Is that a divine weapon."
His voice trembled despite his effort to control it.
The remaining Fatui recovered enough to draw weapons.
Daggers, claws, halberds, each tipped with a faint unnatural light.
"Capture him. A mortal without a Vision should not wield something like this."
The lead operative lunged with a pair of hooked claws, each strike heavy with killing intent.
The others spread out, forming a loose ring meant to crush Kael from all sides.
Kael shifted aside, light on his feet, letting the claws slice through empty air.
His sword cut again, faster than the man's eyes could track.
Every strike carried that same destructive pressure, the kind that forced opponents to meet it with everything they had or be cut down instantly.
They tried.
None succeeded.
The air snapped around them with every swing.
Their attacks found nothing but shadows, while Kael's sword found their openings with precision sharpened by a lifetime of instinct, both his own and the thirty years buried inside him.
The lead operative grew more frantic with each passing moment.
He could not find a single safe angle.
He could not even risk brushing Kael's blade.
His face twisted as he dodged, breath tight, eyes wide with the realization that he was not facing a normal adventurer.
Not even close.
Kael pressed forward.
Tonight, the Fatui had chosen the wrong target.