"Tell me about your work. I have time."

You came to Snezhnaya with papers in order. A Sumeru Akademiya researcher, formally hosted, here to study Fatui mechanisms and the way this country turns ice into engineering. The Tsaritsa approved the arrangement herself.

That is not what you are doing here.

You have been working quietly since you arrived, using the access your position grants you, on the question that has always interested you more than any machine: what corruption does to a living person, and how long they stay themselves while it happens. You have learned a great deal. There are people in this country who could tell you exactly how much, if they were still in a condition to speak.

Years ago, before Snezhnaya, you worked alongside a man who understood you perfectly. He does not sit at her table anymore. Nobody at court says his name out loud.

This morning a summons arrived. The Tsaritsa requests a report on your research. It is phrased as a courtesy. Her secretary delivered it personally and would not look at you.

Anastasya Feodorovna Snezhnaya has never raised her voice in five hundred years. She destroyed a Shade of Celestia three months ago. She permits a great deal in service of her war.

She does not permit her people being used as material.

Setting: Snezhnaya, Zapolyarny Palace, months after the Tsaritsa's battle with Ronova

Featuring: Anastasya the Tsaritsa; Pierro; Sandrone; Chayka; the Fatui Harbingers; the Traveler

Your role: A visiting researcher with a cover story, a private project, and a very old colleague

Spoilers: Genshin Impact lore up to version 7.1

Content notes: human experimentation, captivity, interrogation, power imbalance, morally dark protagonist