Genshin Impact: Fatui's Resplendent Sword

"Where is this?"

After recovering with the help of Dottore's famous healing serum provided by Crucabena, a dilapidated Heins walked out of the hidden place. He looked around perplexedly, trying to figure out the maze that is the orphanage. A guide would be nice.

"Hm?"

Heins's eyes flickered as he noticed a small silhouette from afar. The girl was standing on the balcony, immersed in sightseeing the glimmering stars and the reigning moon. He walked towards her slowly, his steps calculated and controlled.

"Hello?"

The girl jumped like a frightened rabbit, her eyes nervously darting around. It wasn't until she noticed Heins that she gradually calmed down.

"O-Oh, hello there, big brother."

Heins raised his eyebrows. Big brother? Where did that come from?

"Why did you call me big brother?"

The girl clenched the hem of her dress as she explained nervously, "W-Well, Peruere said that you always protected her outside, a-and she said we don't have to worry as long as you're here. She said that... As long as big brother is here, he wouldn't allow anyone to get hurt."

As she explained herself, her eyes glimmered subconsciously as she looked up at Heins. She blushed slightly as she took in his sharp countenance. Wow...

Heins felt somewhat helpless. So that little girl has already mingled with the orphans here. At the same time, he looked at the girl before him, his crimson eyes veiling the sorrow and sadness within.

He just hope Crucabena would find it exhausting to toy with these children anymore since he took most of her. Heins subconsciously clenched his chest, where a stitch mark could be discerned, hidden beneath the fabric of his shirt.

In the end, Heins suppressed a sigh as he leaned down and smiled, "Well then, if you say so, then I'll also be your big brother from now on. Can you tell me your name, little girl?"

As if finding a straw of respite, the girl's whole being literally lit up like a firefly. Her dilapidated countenance was replaced with a happy grin, "I am Clervie, big brother!"

As she blushed and giggled, Heins smiled softly, his eyes reflecting the moon above. At the same time, continuous, undeterred pain resurfaced like a surging tide. He suppressed a groan as he asked slowly, "Well then, Clervie, why don't you show me the room? I am very exhausted, you see."

Clervie nodded as her hands grasped his scarred one, "Let's go, big brother! We already reserved a bed for you!"

Heins showed a helpless look. Even his bed was reserved?

As they walked through the looming hallways of the orphanage, Clervie noticed that Heins's steps were slowing down. The boy frowned in pain before he noticed that the girl has receded her steps.

Heins's heart softened. Just like Peruere, this girl is also very attentive.

Soon, Clervie stopped before a door and slowly opened it. Inside, rows of beds could be seen. They are neatly placed, and judging from the speckless floor, the hygiene was also top notch.

The children must be forced to maintain the hygiene. Although the Hearth was cruel, Heins admitted that this is one of the things he could agreed on.

"Big brother!"

Heins stumbled back a couple steps as a little figure jumped on him. The boy easily discerned her as Peruere. However, looking at her teary eyes, he couldn't help but feel somewhat guilty.

"Heins, you never stumbled back. What happened?"

Contrary to his expectation, Peruere's voice was soft and quiet. She does not throw a fit, but instead expressed her concern for his well being.

"I met with an accident. Now my legs hurt."

Peruere did not retort to his lame excuse. She stayed silent, holding him tightly with her little hands. "Big brother, please don't do anything stupid. I am not that dumb. I understand there was a certain price for us to stay here..."

Heins's heart clenched like a twisted knot. Sensibility from children is what his father despised the most, and it seems like he inexplicably inherited this strange trait, forgetting that he was a child himself.

With a stern tone, Heins denied it firmly, "Peruere, even if there was a price that has to be paid, it would be Mora. We got quite a sum, remember? I used it for our stay here."

Peruere was unwilling to accept it, but it sounds believable no matter how much she wanted to retort. It was a pity she had no sense of wealth and couldn't discern the right amount of Mora to stay in a dwelling, thus she was quite susceptible to lies when it comes to money. Not to mention the orphans here, who never got the chance to experience the society.

In the end, the little girl huffed as she trotted away crankily. She sat on her bed and crossed her arms over her chest, clearly not pleased with her big brother.

Amused by her attitude, Heins chuckled. At the same time, the orphans in the room stared and curiously trotted over. The older boy casted an inquisitive look over the orphans as he asked, his tone exasperated, "Well, did Peruere tell you all about me?"

The cute yet dilapidated orphans blinked at each other before they nodded at him. Their eyes have the same light as Clervie, their gaze hopeful and expectant.

After chatting with them, Heins began to understand the pillage that haunted the orphans of the Hearth. Every month, two children would be randomly chosen by Crucabena.

By the end of the day, only one of them would come out. The fate of the other one is unknown, but it's unlikely to be fortunate.

Looking at the cute orphans before him, Heins's gaze darkened. The taste of defeat from one's helplessness is always an extremely bitter pill to swallow, to which the pill was savoured slowly and excruciatingly.

He felt it when he was pushed aside like a small animal when his father's property was confiscated. He felt it when he watched a little girl being torn apart by a group of greedy man. He felt it when the kind elders who fed him could only freeze to death.

He could only watch from the sideline, powerless to change anything. It's infuriating. It's frustrating. It's hateful!

Despair has never been so clear and prominent.

It's a constant reminder that he is nothing but a small thing, a weight anyone could throw around.

What can I do? What can I do? Heins thought fervently, his eyebrows furrowed. Of course, it was all in his mind. His eyes remained steady and amused as the cute orphans began to enthusiastically introduced themselves.

Meanwhile, Peruere, unable to being left out any longer, reluctantly sat not far from Heins. She slowly trotted over until their thighs touched, not wanting to part but unwilling to admit it. Heins merely caressed her charcoal hair, playing with the white fringe.

"Oh! Oh! Clervie likes flowers. They are very beautiful!" His guide, Clervie, excitedly jumped on her spot.

"Big brother, big brother, I am Mervien, and I like milk very much! Oh, how delicious!"

"I'm Yhamin! I like noodles! But there are no noodles here..." A warm-toned boy deflated like a pierced balloon.

Heins smiled amusedly.

At the same time, he wondered why fate placed these innocent children into such a cruel situation. He also wondered why it forced him to witness this all when he was powerless to change anything.

Why must it reminded him of his defeat and powerlessness so constantly and cruelly? Just when he found something he could place his heart on after he lost the first one, it was threatened to be ripped away from him again.

Peruere noticed her big brother's emotional turmoil. Her big brother always grin when he's truly happy, and she saw no grin there!

She struggled for a bit, but in the end, she whimpered as she placed the jar on Heins's lap, her tone soft and concerned, "T-This is my spider. She made me very happy. Perhaps it would make you feel happy too."

Like an intoxicating drug, all the bad thoughts dissipated the moment Peruere's concerned little face appeared in his sight. Heins's inconspicuous nerves relaxed as he rubbed the jar. There was a cute spider inside, its body round and black.

Like enthusiastic students, the orphans noticed this form of affection and immediately strutted away, their eyes darting around their personal zone to find an appropriate gift for their big brother.

"Aha! A worn-out crest! The sound when I smashed it against the bed is very pleasant..."

"Oh, my pebble collection. I hope big brother likes it."

"Hehe! Let me show you my handmade Vision! I called it Khers Vision! I shall control the bubbling magma with it!"

Heins and Peruere watched as the room bustling about. The older boy looked at the younger girl, who stuffed herself into his chest, like how she always did when she felt cold.

"Heins, please don't hurt yourself. My chest felt stuffy every time I looked at Heins's scars. I always feel very very anxious when I noticed something is not right with Heins."

Peruere's voice trembled, her tears fell freely from her gorgeous eyes, "I am not dumb, Heins. Even if I lack understanding of many things, I could understand some things. So please, please take care of yourself. You're all I have, big brother."

Heins stayed silent. He has no rebuttal for her words. No, there wasn't supposed to be a rebuttal in the first place.

His crimson eyes inexplicably turned warm, shining softly. He slowly caressed the trembling girl, letting her vent her grievance. The pain, the hatred and the resentment are all washed away, cleansing his resentful, vengeful heart.

Feelings are the hardest to decipher, and one should not describe it, but feel it. Drunk on it, immersed into it, understand it. Words are not sufficient nor appropriate to convey it. It could only be proven through actions.

And as he embraced the caring, anxious bundle that is Peruere, he realized that perhaps what he need in order to fight against the cruelty of destiny is not vengeance.

Her simple gesture somehow cleansed away all of his vengeful thoughts, clearing the fog ahead to show him what path he truly wish to take in order to actualize his objectives.

Heins finally grinned, his hand sweeping the smooth lines that is her hair, "Peruere is now so understanding. When did you learn to be so sensible, huh?"

Peruere quickly rubbed the tears away as she looked up, her crimson Xs glimmered proudly, "Hmph! Don't underestimate me!"

Heins marvelled, that perhaps he has found his little piece of heaven.