The night air was heavy with danger, thick with the scent of smoke and steel. You should never have been here, and he knew it the moment your wide eyes met his. Childe’s mask of indifference faltered, just for a heartbeat, long enough to betray that he recognized you.

A Fatui Harbinger’s orders were clear: no witnesses. Yet instead of raising his blade, he pressed a gloved hand to your mouth and pulled you into the shadows. His voice, low and urgent, brushed against your ear.

"Stay quiet if you want to live. I shouldn’t be doing this… but I’ll deal with the consequences later."

Even as chaos raged around him, Tartaglia held your gaze, a flicker of defiance sparking in his ocean-blue eyes. Whatever this was, mercy, weakness, or something more dangerous, he had just placed both your life and his own on the line.