Chapter 1: The Sin of the Weak
The warm sunlight spilled a golden hue across the lands of Teyvat. From the godless nation of freedom to the chaotic land of war, the day had come ,signaling a new beginning for some.
On a small hill in the land of justice, Fontaine, a boy barely ten years old had just woken up and was running with all his might, the echo of smaller footsteps following close behind him.
"Big bro, wait! Don't leave me alone!"
Linda's voice was thin, breathless from the effort, but it carried that bright, stubborn joy she always had. She was running as fast as her fragile legs would let her, cheeks pink, eyes shining.
Arthur slowed just enough for her to catch up, then darted away again, teasing. It was their game, the one they played every morning.
They tumbled into the clearing where their father was splitting wood. Ronan paused mid-swing, axe resting on his shoulder, sweat glistening on his brow. When he saw the two small storms of chaos barreling toward him, his tired face broke into the kind of smile that made the whole world feel safe.
Bending down to grab a towel and wipe the sweat from his brow, he greeted them warmly.
"Art and Linda, up early as usual , I see. Is breakfast ready?"
The Linda beamed and bounced on her toes, nodding so hard her curls flew.
"That's right, Daddy!"
The sheer cuteness nearly overwhelmed him. For a moment, Ronan felt like he could have died happily right then and there.
Arthur, ever the mischievous child, clearly couldn't allow his father such a peaceful end.
"Mom also said that if you don't get home in fifteen minutes, you won't be eating anything today" he said indifferently before adding casually as if remembering. "She seemed really mad… and we probably need to go to the city too."
The man shuddered. Fear of his wife's wrath and the destruction it promised
ran down his spine.
He quickly composed himself, scooping both children up and placing them atop his shoulders.
With a powerful leap, he launched himself into the air, landing smoothly and sliding downhill.
The golden Vision strapped to his back glowed brightly as Ronan shaped the earth beneath his feet, gliding forward on a slab of Geo.
The cool rush of wind and adrenaline surged through the trio as they descended toward their home.
Arthur, used to the experience yet never bored of it, shouted at the top of his lungs
"Father! Do you think I can get a Vision like yours someday?"
Ronan laughed heartily.
"Of course, boy. You might even be stronger than your old man one day. All you need is resolve and beliefs you'll never abandon. Only then will the gods bless you."
"That's not fair! What about me, Daddy?"Linda pouted, kicking her legs dramatically.
"No need to fuss, my little princess."
Ronan said gently. "You'll get one too."
The aroma of freshly cooked eggs and bread soon reached their noses.
Disabling the Geo construct, Ronan set his children down and hurried inside only to be greeted by his wife's radiant smile.
"Took you long enough, Ronan. The food is almost cold."
Yuno's brown hair flowed past her waist, her warm blue eyes complementing her gentle
features .
"Sorry, babe. I was busy training, as usual."
Ronan replied, flexing his muscles in mock pride.
It clearly did not have the intended effect.
Yuno sighed softly, clearly used to his antics, before shaking her head.
"Just sit down, you three."
"Yes, sir!" the hungry trio replied in unison.
An air of gentle harmony filled the table, the chirping of birds outside making the moment feel timeless.
"Are you ready to leave for the city?"
Yuno's voice echoed from the other room.
Ronan and Arthur were preparing to head out, planning to buy a few necessities.
"Almost."Ronan replied while counting the Mora in his pouch. "Anything you need?"
"There's a trial today,"Yuno said calmly. "I thought Arthur might want to see it."
Arthur's head snapped up instantly, eyes shining as he looked to his father with barely restrained excitement.
Ronan chuckled softly.
"Sure. I don't mind."
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The trip through Fontaine's bustling streets was anything but dull.
The unique architecture and advanced technology that defined the nation left Arthur in awe.
After storing their valuables in his Vision, Ronan led Arthur toward the courtroom.
Arthur's excitement was palpable. The thought of seeing the Iudex of Fontaine filled him with wonder.
His eyes wandering across the room until they landed on a familiar figure, humming softly, seemingly unbothered by the noise around her.
A Melusine with short hair brushing her shoulders. Bright yellow eyes shimmering like stars and contrasting beautifully with her blue-purple skin.
It took Arthur less than a second to recognize her.
"Sedile!"
Before his father could react, Arthur bolted forward and hugged her tightly.
"Long time no see! Did you miss me? I missed you too!"
"Little Art?" Sedile blinked in surprise, yet her hands instinctively found their way to his messy hair, gently stroking it. "What are you doing here?"
"Huff, huff! I'm so sorry, Officer Sedile"Ronan said as he rushed over. "He means no disrespect."
Sedile waved it off casually.
"It's fine. I'm not on duty today. Besides..." she added warmly"I love children,especially little Arthur."
The trial began. When Neuvillette entered, the entire hall seemed to still. Arthur couldn't take his eyes off him . tall, silver-haired, voice calm and deep as the sea yet carrying to every corner. His eyes swept over the audience momentarily with an emptiness that Arthur would recognize later on.
The case was about a factory owner poisoning village streams. Children had gotten sick. Families had suffered.
Arthur watched Neuvillette truly listen to every trembling victim.
When the Oratrice declared guilt, something inside Arthur's chest bloomed wide open. This was the Justice his father always preached about.
It was quiet, unshakable, and it protected people like Linda. Like his family...
He leaned toward his father and whispered, awe shaking his voice, "That's real justice. He avenged them. Those poor people who suffered because of that man's actions"
Ronan squeezed his shoulder. "That's why we're proud to call Fontaine home, son."
On the way out, Ronan bought him a blueberry macaron. Arthur savored every bite, dreaming aloud about becoming a garde, maybe even standing beside Neuvillette one day.
They took the shortcut through the woods on their way back , the one Arthur loved.
The fresh air and the smell of trees were a great ending to this seemingly perfect day.
Art was Skipping through the forest while humming a melody his sister used to sing when they went to pick up flowers. While he wasn't much of an enjoyer of such activities, the sight of his cute little sister happy was enough to make him indulge in her games.
Out of nowhere muffled voices of children alongside that of heavy machines reached Art's ears.
Hearing such unusual noises ,curiosity burned deep inside him, dashing further ahead of his father. He peeked around a tree trunk.
He saw the masked figures each wearing such ridiculous-looking clothes that he thought they were part of a circus.
The crates around them were covered by a piece of cloth, yet whimpers of children could be heard clearly. The machines that moved those crates held a weird-looking symbol that resembled that of a snowflake , it was the Fatui emblem.
Arthur stared at the scene in front of him with equal amount of confusion and unease.
And the feeling of his father's hand clamped over his mouth surprised him, resulting in him accidentally revealing his location.
A Fatui agent that had two daggers connected by a chain that rested on his back was the first to react and realize the predicament. His red glowing-eyes connected with the little boy's own eyes leaving a dreadful chill across his spine.
Cursing his luck , Ronan hurriedly
pulled his son, and throw him over his shoulder.
He Formed a shield for safety and rushed through the woods in a path far from home to lose the people tracking them. After what seemed like an hour without anyone in sight, Ronan finally let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.
Ronan set Arthur down and scanned the treeline once more.
"I think we lost them," he panted his lungs burning , forcing a reassuring smile.
"Just some smugglers. Nothing the gardes can't handle if we report it tomorrow."
Arthur nodded, still shaking. Guilt twisted in his stomach . He had been the one to run ahead it was all his fault...
They walked the rest of the way in silence, the perfect day now feeling fragile, like glass about to crack.
Dinner was quiet. Yuno noticed immediately. But Ronan brushed it off as tiredness from the long day, but his eyes kept drifting to the windows. His worries never fading.
Linda, cutely oblivious, babbled happily about the flowers she wanted to pick tomorrow.
Arthur poked at his food, the macaron's sweetness now tasting like ash.
Yuno kept glancing between him and Ronan, worry creasing her brow . The fact that Ronan was eating mechanically, his free hand resting near his Geo Vision, as if expecting trouble didn't help either.
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After the kids were tucked in, Arthur heard his parents' voices downstairs low and urgent. He crept to the top of the stairs, peering through the banister.
"...Fatui, Yuno. In the woods. They saw us." Ronan's voice was tight, laced with fear Arthur had never heard before.
Yuno's hand flew to her mouth. "Did they follow?"
"I don't know. But I'm not taking chances. I'll stay down here tonight guarding the doors." He pulled a chair to face the entrance, axe propped beside him. "Go to bed. I'll wake you if anything happens."
She hesitated, then kissed his forehead. "Be careful. I love you."
As she climbed the stairs, Arthur scurried back to bed, heart pounding. He lay there, staring at the ceiling, the Pyro agent's predatory eyes replaying in his mind. The excitement of the trial felt like a distant dream, swallowed by an uneasy dread he couldn't shake.
Sleep came fitfully, until the crash of the front door splintering inward ripped him awake.
Screams tore through the night.
Arthur stumbled into the hall just as his father threw up a desperate shield downstairs.
The Fatui poured in like dogs given meat. Ronan fought fiercely, Geo constructs shattering against Pyro and Electro blasts .
"Arthur take Linda and go!"
His mother's face was streaked with tears, but her voice didn't waver as she pushed Linda into his arms. The little girl was shaking, clinging to him with a terrified sob.
They fled toward the back door. Behind them, stone shattered. His father grunted in pain.
They burst outside into the cool night and straight into waiting eyes.
The electrohammer caught Arthur in the ribs sending him flying, and the Fall was as devastating.Linda was torn from his grip, hitting the ground with a small, broken
sound that would haunt him forever.
When the stars stopped spinning, he saw an agent standing over her. Linda looked up, confused, blood blooming dark across her nightgown.
"Big brother… it hurts…"
His father staggered out clearly hurt, his right eye bleeding and a deep cut rendered his arm useless . And yet he willed his body to one last Geo spike impaling the agent above her.
But more came. Ice froze Ronan's legs. A sword slid between his ribs.
Coughing a mouthful of blood ,he fell with a thud .
Their mother's scream inside the house followed soon.
And then through the chaos a familiar figure stepped forward. The Pyro agent from the woods, mask covered in blood, flames dancing mockingly in his palms. He sauntered over, pinning Arthur's face in the mud with one boot, a cruel, twisted grin splitting his face like a wound.
"Oh, look who's here," he drawled, voice thick with sadistic glee, leaning down so close Arthur could feel the heat of his flames.
"The brave little explorer from the woods. You really thought you got away, didn't you? Pathetic. I had you in my sights the whole time , could've roasted you and your daddy right there, turned you to ash before you even screamed. Snap! just like that." He snapped his fingers, a spark of flame bursting around Ronan lifeless corps for emphasis, his eyes glowing with pure malice
"But nooo," he continued, dragging out the word like a knife across skin, letting out a low and guttural chuckle.
"Where's the sport in quick kills? I let you scurry home like scared rabbits. Let you hug your mommy, tuck in your sweet little sister. All so I could come back and take it all away piece by bloody piece. Hear their screams?Oh? They already are dead."
"And That's on you, kid. Your stupid, prying eyes. Your fault Daddy's bleeding out. Your fault Mommy's gone quiet. Your fault that fragile little girl over there is gasping her last breaths. You did this. You killed them. And now? Now I get to watch the light die in your eyes too."
Arthur's world shattered under those words. Guilt crashed over him like a wave, drowning everything, twisting deeper with every taunt. The agent's flames cast flickering shadows, his eyes gleaming with monstrous, unbridled joy . As if breaking a child's soul was the greatest thrill in the world.
Heavy rain began to fall suddenly, as if grieving .
Arthur reached for Linda's hand, inches away, growing still. But the agent's foot kicked her body away like a broken toy, adding salt to the wound.
In that moment, color bled out of everything. The grass turned ash-gray. Blood became black rivers. The burning house roared in shades of shadow and smoke. Only Linda's eyes held on to their soft blue for one heartbreaking second longer ,the last piece of warmth his mind could bear to keep.
Then even that faded.
Everything was cold. Everything was gray.
The Pyro agent raised his hand, flames coiling brighter, his laughter building to a crescendo. "Say goodbye, boy. This is gonna hurt and I will enjoy every second of it."
Arthur stared at his sister's small, still limbs and felt something inside him die quietly.
Justice didn't come. It didn't save her. It didn't save any of us because of my weakness. It's all my fault. I killed them all , why ?why?why? What sin could theyhave done to deserve This? Was our sin being weak?
A single thought rose from the ruins of his heart, sharp and freezing:
'Then I'll gain the strength they lacked.'
The rain answered him.
'I will bring the Justice they deserve '
It howled. It surged. A fierce sapphire light bloomed above his outstretched hand the Hydro Vision descending like a promise carved in grief
' and I will bring the wrath of justice on those who deserves it '
The moment the vision touched his palm, two things happened at once.
Power flooded his body, knitting shattered ribs, driving the pain away.
And the world shifted again.
Tiny motes of elemental energy appeared in the air.
Hydro particles shimmering vivid blue, swirling around him like living tears. Amber fragments lingered where his father's Geo constructs had fallen, glowing painfully. Red sparks from the Pyro agent's flames. White-blue shards of cryo. Colors——floating in a world that had gone deathly gray.
The Pyro agent's eyes widened in shock as Arthur stood, the taunts dying on his lips.
Water rose at his call, whips restraining his movements and cutting through the skin.
Blades and spears formed, all laced with those aching blue particles. It struck without mercy. The agent tried to counter with fire, but the water smothered it, dragging him under. His mocking laughter turned to desperate gurgles as a bubble formed around his head filling his lungs
.
Arthur didn't feel the screams. He didn't feel anything. He still had to slaughter every last one of those pigs. He won't let anyone live to see another day.
When everything was over, he dropped to his knees beside Linda. The Vision's light poured over her, desperate, trying to heal what was already gone. But it couldn't.
He held her until the rain soaked them both, until her body grew cold in his arms.
The house burning behind him in silent monochrome flames.
Footsteps approached measured ,filled with unhurried elegance.
A woman stepped from the smoke wearing a black and crimson coat, untouched by rain.
Her masked face was sharp. But her eyes, those eyes burned a deep, living blue, the only new color his broken sight allowed.
Crucabena crouched, tilting his chin up with a gloved finger.
"Well," she said softly, almost kindly. "What does a child who has lost everything desire most?"
Arthur looked up at her. The dreadful look in his eyes was haunting to most people but the Knave isn't most people. His soulless sight brought her a sense of joy.
Arthur's mind didn't need to think deeply for an answer because it was right in front of him. He lost his family and there is no bringing them back. So the only logical conclusion was to pursue his goal.
His voice came out hollow, having lost the child wonder it had.
"Power."
Her smile was slow and satisfied.
"Then come, little one. The House of the Hearth has a need for hearts like yours."
He rose but did not look back at her instead it was focused on the corpses of his family.
Realizing what was going through his mind , the Knave knelt gently beside him
" You can rest child, I will take care of this"
As if hearing what he wanted the boy's body collapsed forward only to be caught by Crucabena who marveled at the amount of willpower this boy had . After all , running out of elemental energy usually meant being unconscious but this monster was able to ignore that by cheer will.
"I will raise you my child, until you become the next king . You will be my greatest masterpiece."
End of Chapter 1
Bonus part: character voice lines:
Future Arthur,about blueberry macarons:
Oh? Those are my favorite... Well used to be but now they are a reminder to my mistakes. Still , I enjoy eating them.