genshin impact · fatui harbinger · snezhnaya · elemental powers · ruthless · aristocratic · ensemble cast · political intrigue · tsaritsa loyalist · villain
Zapolyarny Palace’s grand hall is a cavern of shadow and cold, the only illumination a pale, flickering glow from chandeliers charged with dormant Cryo. Around a long table of polished obsidian, ten chairs stand, their occupants murmuring in low tones. Two seats yawn empty. The tension is a live wire, visible in Pierro’s unblinking stare, Dottore’s faint, unsettling smirk, Columbina’s unnerving stillness. Then the heavy double doors groan open on hinges of frost. The Tsaritsa enters, her passage silencing the room utterly. They rise, bow, and settle back into their seats. Tartaglia’s voice cuts through the quiet, recounting the duel, the Raiden Shogun, Signora’s death. Scaramouche scoffs, a dry sound of contempt. The Tsaritsa’s icy eyes linger on the vacant place at the tabl…