Lisa had been enjoying her daily library nap when she heard two people enter the library. She feigned being asleep, hoping they'd go away. Alas, they walked right up to her.
She opened an eye. The woman on her left had short green hair, violet eyes, and a cute but distant face. The other lady had fair white hair, blue eyes, and a chilly complexion. They tried acting casual but tried to avoid eye contact with the knights.
It took her a moment to recognize them in civilian clothes.
"Katarina! Cryo!" she got up with a grin. "What are you two doing here?"
The women exchanged glances. Katarina never talked much, but Cryo Cincin Mage was a social butterfly. Something was wrong. She turned to a nearby knight and asked him mind the library while she was away.
Lisa brought the girls to her private office and locked the door.
"What's wrong?"
Katarina brushed back the hair behind her ear. Amidst her green locks, there was a streak of gray hair. Lisa said nothing. She took the grayed hair in her palm, finding it brittle and thin. If she didn't know better, she'd think this was the hair of an elder. Katarina couldn't be over twenty-five at most.
Lisa activated her elemental sight. Lingering elemental particles clouded Katarina's body. She found similar particles sapping out the life energy from Cryo Cincin Mage. It looked bad, like some kind of parasite. If it continued like this, they'd cut their lives in half.
"How did this happen?" asked Lisa.
Katarina choked. "Our Delusions. They give us elemental power but at a terrible cost."
Her heart ached for them. Poor dears, how long had they been living like this?
Then her sorrow became rage. What kind of monster would force their soldiers to rely on such cruel weaponry? How could anyone have such little regard for a human life?
"Lisa," said Cryo Cincin Mage. "Is there any way we can cure this?"
Her anger dissipated. Right, they needed help. No sense in moping about now.
"I can make a potion that should stabilize your constitutions, but it won't work unless you stop using those Delusions forever."
The pair winced.
"But, without them, how are we supposed to fight?" asked Katarina. "Our duties to the Fatui are absolute. And without our Delusions, how will we protect Aether if he needs us?"
"Aether would never want you to kill yourselves like this. And neither do I."
"But…why?" Katarina's voice quavered. "I'm just a foot soldier. People like me don't matter."
"Yes, you do." Lisa fixed them in a fierce but loving gaze. "You're both important. After all this time with Aether and the girls, do you truly believe we think so little about you?"
Lisa ordered them to sit in her office and wait while she prepared the potion.
She opened her toolkit of alchemical components. Lisa did some mental calculations. Special Qingxin would give the potion a healing characteristic. Balance that with Special Violetgrass for Constitution Efficacy and the potion should help. Anything less than expert quality would be ineffective. The amounts had to be perfect. One slip up could destroy them.
Katarina watched Lisa methodically arrange the ingredients. She'd always seen Lisa as a lazy person who cared mostly about her appearance, but her face was one of sheer determination. The mage placed Qingxin, Violetgrass, Sweet Flowers, and Cala Lilies onto the tray so they fit together.
"Wrong characteristic" she muttered.
Lisa emptied the tray. This time, she added a bit more Violetgrass to the mixture.
"Now it's not good enough," she grumbled.
She cleared the tray and started over once more.
Katarina and Cryo Cincin Mage sat, spellbound, as their friend poured all her effort into this potion. Time and time again, the potion was a bust. Even so, Lisa continued tirelessly. Her forehead was soaked with sweat. An unsightly scowl lined her brows. Lisa never let such an expression sour her beautiful face.
Outside, the Cathedral Bell dinged six gongs. Vendors closed their shops. Merchants headed to the tavern, eager to relax after a hard day's work. Even the Smith Wagner extinguished the furnace, telling his apprentice to put away the unsold goods. From the window, Katarina and Cryon Cincin Mage could see them all happily heading home.
Lisa, the woman who was always punctual about closing time, kept working.
Time wore on into a heavy midnight when at last, the librarian announced she found the ideal ratio.
"Now," she said, "I can begin making the potion."
Taking the mortar and pestle, the librarian diligently ground up everything. Even then, she worked gingerly. She refused to be haphazard now of all times.
Lisa spent the next hour over the Alchemy bench, adjusting the temperature so the ingredients melted. She whisked the potion into a sky-blue goop, which she then poured into matching tear-shaped bottles.
"Here," she said. "Drink."
Katarina and Cryo gulped it all down. Katarina never liked taking medicine, even as a child, but Lisa's potion had a sweet berry flavor. She had no clue how Lisa managed that with all the bitter Qingxin. Balancing the flavor must've taken her extra time.
Lisa activated her elemental vision and observed them.
"Where are you two staying tonight?" she asked.
"Um…Miss Eula and Amber offered to host us while we're here."
"Perfect," Lisa said. "Go rest. I'll come by in the morning with more."
"More what?"
"More potions," she said. "You'll need much more than one to improve. Now go, I must work."
Lisa began a new batch of potions. The Fatui told her to stop. Surely, she didn't need to push herself this hard. Their words never reached her. They had no choice but to let her work.
Katarina and Cryo stepped out into the moonlight. Neither spoke as they walked the stairs leading to the courtyard. They paused beside the fountain, lost for words. Both felt horrible guilty lumps in their chests.
"I can't believe she worked that hard for me," said Cryo Cincin Mage.
"Me neither," she replied. "I guess, she really does care."
They went their separate ways.
Beneath the lamplights, Katarina kept thinking about how hard Lisa worked. Two unimportant Cincin Mage Fatui shouldn't warrant such effort. Katarina felt that went doubly so for her. Say she did recover; she couldn't use her Delusion anymore, so what good would she be to anyone?
"There you are!"
Katarina started. A tall, blue-haired woman strode across the street and marched right up to her. Before she could say a word, Eula got up in her face.
"You've kept me waiting well past midnight! How dare you cause me concern? Mark my words, vengeance will be mine."
Eula grabbed her wrist and pulled Katarina into her apartment. The knight's residence was a quaint little place: not embellished with gaudy decorations or sentimental heirlooms. She found a little cot had been set up in the living room.
"You shall rest here," announced Eula. "Breakfast is at 7:30 AM, so don't dilly dally. Do you need anything else?"
"I'm fine. Thank you."
Eula marched away. Katarina had to suppress her laugh. The frosty knight put on a superior air, but she was one of the nicest people Katarina ever met. Staying up late for her, giving her a bed, letting her stay here a while—Eula was a sweetheart through and through.
As she settled into the cot, her thoughts strayed from Eula and Lisa to when she joined the Fatui. They told her the risks. Anyone who used a Delusion accepted a premature demise. She accepted it. After all, she never had much to live for. When the Husks cornered her and Nikolay in the Chasm, fear of death was the last thing on her mind. She had always been ready to die.
Then, Aether came to her rescue.
"Your life is important, Katarina." His words from that night still rang in her ears.
Now, they meant so much more. Somehow, her life had become important to several people beyond the man she loved. Delusion or not, they cared about her and expected nothing in return. Katarina mattered to them.
She found, deep down, that they mattered to her. She couldn't say goodbye when they had so much more to do together. She wanted to have more tea parties, more talent shows, more Aether love-making sessions, grow old with them, and raise their kids together. For the first time in her life, she wanted more.
"I want to live," she said.
Suddenly, the darkness of the room vanished as a light swirled into existence. Katarina gazed upon it unafraid. It floated down into her outstretched hands.
By the time Lisa finally finished the batch, knights arrived at the headquarters for their duties. Losing precious sleep didn't bother her. So long as Cryo and Katarina got better, that was all that mattered. Lisa got a knight to drop the batches off for her so she could take a little nap in the office.
She barely laid her chin on the desk when someone knocked. Seemed there wouldn't be any rest today. With a sigh, Lisa straightened her hat and dabbed makeup under her eyes to obscure the bags. When somewhat presentable, she cleared her throat.
"Come in," she said in the sweetest voice possible.
The door creaked open. Katarina entered. She seemed different: more confident. Her stride had a purpose, and her eyes blazed with an unfamiliar strength.
"Hello,' she said. "I was wondering if I could ask another favor. Could you teach me how to use this?"
Katarina opened her fist revealing a pulsing Electro Vision.
The purple gemstone rested upon a silver teardrop-shaped medallion. The medallion sharpened at the bottom into a tip. Triangle wings framed the Electro stone much like the wings of a Cincin. The Vision had a fierce violet glow that declared I will not be snuffed out.
Lisa's amazement became a proud smile. Katarina's wish had been acknowledged by the gods. Rising to her feet, Lisa told her newest student they'd begin training immediately. They had a lot of work to do.
Katarina Gets a Vision Article by Charlotte
Katarina Snezhevna sought out Lisa for treatment due to a declining physical state caused by her Delusion. That night, she received an Electro Vision.
Katrina says, "Most Fatui operatives are disposable. Death is just a part of the job. I'd been conditioned to accept it as inevitable. But Lisa fought to keep me alive. She put so much time into someone like me. When I stayed at Eula's, it got me thinking.
"I love all my friends, and they love me. I must live. When I realized that, the Vision appeared. I don't know what it means, but I guess it's the gods' way of telling me to keep going. So, I will."
Lisa has taken on Katarina as an apprentice intending to instruct her how to channel her new powers. Several members of the UHA also offered to teach Katarina including Raiden Ei, Clorinde, Yae Miko, Fischl, Shinobu, Keqing, and every other Electro wielder.
Reassignment
Cryo Cincin Mage has been reassigned from field duties to animal care duties. Her superior Tartaglia personally made the arrangement. He explains, "That woman's got a gift for animals. The Fatui have been squandering her talents like this." Quickly, Cryo Cicin Mage made a name for herself as a diligent and capable veterinarian. So much so, that even the gods recognized her.
Cryo Cincin Mage stayed awake for three days straight to save an injured dog. Soon after the pup stabilized, a Cryo Vision manifested before her. Given this, the reassignment is now permanent.
Tartaglia and Arlecchino announced new guidelines for the Fatui operatives under their command who use Delusions. Among these new laws, operatives will not use Delusions without undergoing rigorous conditioning beforehand. This rule hopes to curb the ill side effects of using a Delusion by strengthening the physical constitutions of trainees.
Arlecchino explains the rule saying, "This change has been long overdue. We're poor leaders if we neglect the well-being of our subordinates."