Leo paused at the top of the stairs, the grand doors of the Knights' headquarters just a few feet away.
He looked at his empty hands and then at his nearly empty HUD.
50 RP.
That's it, he thought, a cold sweat prickling his neck.
No gear, no Vision, and most importantly... no Mora.
His mind flashed to Eiji Hino, the legendary wanderer who could traverse the globe with nothing but a pair of colorful medals and a spare change of boxers.
I am not that guy, Leo groaned internally.
Eiji had the mental fortitude of a saint.
I'm just a guy who's one bad day away from sleeping under a bridge with a pair of useless drumsticks for company.
If I can't find a way to convert 'cool hero moments' into dinner, I'm going to be the first Kamen Rider to starve to death in a high-fantasy world.
"Leo? You coming?" Amber called out, her hand already on the heavy brass handle.
"Yeah, just... adjusting to the altitude," he replied, forcing a smile.
He followed her inside, but as the heavy doors swung shut, the scene shifted across the city.
The Goth Grand Hotel
The atmosphere inside the hotel was a sharp contrast to the breezy freedom of Mondstadt. It was cold, oppressive, and smelled of expensive incense and polished iron.
In a private parlor, two Fatui Skirmishers stood at attention while a Fatui Agent leaned over a map of the Mondstadt region.
"Report," the Agent hissed, his voice muffled by his mask.
"The disturbance at the bridge was not the Outrider's doing, sir," one of the Skirmishers replied, his voice trembling slightly.
"A traveler. Dressed in strange, non-local attire.
He manifested a set of crimson iron plates that didn't respond to elemental signatures. It... it wasn't a Vision.
"The Agent paused, his fingers tapping on the table. "Not a Vision?
A Delusion, then? From the Tsaritsa?"
"No, sir. It felt... mechanical. But faster than any Ruin Guard. Our scouts' goggles couldn't even track him.
One moment the Abyss Mages were chanting, the next—they were simply gone. Erased by a single strike.
"The Agent straightened up, the red glow of his mask intensifying."
"A 'Red Iron Knight' who ignores the laws of time and space"
He possesses no Vision, yet he commands power that rivals the gods.
"If he isn't one of ours, he's a variable we cannot afford to leave unchecked."
He turned toward the window, looking out toward the Knights' headquarters.
"Watch him. We need to know where that metal armor comes from if it isn't powered by the elements."