Honkai Star Rail: Kay (aka Artyom) (Patreon)

I really love how Kay turned out! I wish it was just as easy with Sasha xDBut we have what we have <3If you're interested, here is his lore:

In HSR, I think Kay will go by his real name, Artyom, as Kay is actually the name of the Spirit.

Artyom was born blind. He was the eldest son, but the second-born child. As hard as it was for his parents to look for him in the Underworld, they had a little happy family. However, with two kids and two lost jobs later, his mother began to see Artyom as an inconvenience. He wasn't much of help, tho what help she expected from a 5-year-old boy is hard to tell. And the perspective of caring for him until the day she dies wasn't so bright in her mind. He was just a burden.

So one day, when her husband went on a job hunt once more, this time at the miners, Artyom's mother took him "for a walk". She sneaked out of the town and entered Fragmentum, hoping she went deep enough into it that Artyom couldn't find his way back. The boy didn't know where he was but couldn't recognize the path they took to get her, and when he tried to ask his mother about it, she pushed him away and ran away, hoping his death wouldn't be at least painful.

Of course, a blind child couldn't find his way back and only got even more lost. For his luck and unluck at the same time, Artyom was found by a scientist aka Kay (spirit). He once was the one to research the Fragmentum until the day he understood he became a part of it and just... never returned to the city, preferring to stay here. To say the least, Kay is long gone mad. But seeing a little lost child, and learning his family abandoned him here for being a blind burden, Kay took him under his wing. Little did Artyom know, Kay took him in not as much as out of empathy, but more as a test subject. And the more time passed, the deeper Kay was lost in his madness.

With time Artyom adapted to the Fragmentum, not without Kay's help, as the scientist worked on the boy's resistance to corrosion, gave him sight, and overall created a being that could walk in Fragmentum like at home.

You can see his eyes and hands being covered in snow scars, the one returning his sight, the other giving his hands resistance to cold and corrosion.

Why did Artyom never try to return home? He thought he was a burden, and as no one ever tried to find him, he figured that no one wanted him back. This wasn't true, as his father tried to find him, just was unsuccessful. And with time his family accepted Artyom's death, living with his mother's lie that he ran away when they were playing "hide and seek". And with years passing, Artyom couldn't see himself being able to readapt to society.

One day the tables turned, and Artyom wasn't afraid of his new home anymore, walking from place to place, gathering supplies, and sleeping at the less corrupted apartments he could find. The one who was getting scared more was Kay, and he was scared of what he created - Artyom. Kay's mental health was degrading and at some point, he wasn't able to stay sane long enough to keep guiding Artyom. Kay created a container, which Artyom carries around, where Kay can hide during the time he feels detached from his normal mindset (the scientist lost his physical form long ago).

Among those who dare to enter Fragmentum, there's a rumor about a ghost walking on the streets, scaring the monsters away and guiding the lost ones back to the town. Well, the rumor is true, that's what Artyom does daily. He can't come back but doesn't wish the same fate for anyone else.

One day, however, he will be discovered by the Guards, arrested, and brought back to the civilization, where he will have to face his family and the past, that he was successfully escaping.