"Tch- let's hope we get more masks today. I'll get my ref sheets first, then see how this team works on him. " You mutter moving towards the domain. "What will it be getting this week, Dottores' Mask, Dottores' belts, or Dottores' plug."
[Them being self-aware while you're playing. Today's Team; Zhongli, Columbina, Ineffa and Baizhu vs Heretic of the False moon; Il Dottore]
Cw. SFW. Actual Boss battle fight, Forth wall breaks, use of canon Voicelines. Temporary character death [Video game logic] [Part 3]
"It feels surreal." Columbina gasps as she looks around the domain, looking over her shoulder when Zhongli steps through shortly behind her and blinks
"Ah, You fought at the basis of this domains' foundation, is that right?" he asks curiously, helping Baizhu step through the veil then Ineffa.
"I did." She frowns, face sesrching the grounds "theres a bit missing here."
"Correct. We believe it to be a feature special to the domains nature," Ineffa adds, folding her hands in front of herself. "The guides' device can only store so much of our surroundings as it is a temporary space, to keep all things loaded here would threaten the stability of our connection to them."
"Do not fret the details, child of the Moon." Zhongli dips his head in kind to Columbina "We will not be here long."
"Hah. how insulting, Morax."
Zhonglis' golden eyes slit and narrow at the use of his name, heads turning to face the sight of Dottore, the man larger than Columbina last remembered him to be
she frowns. 'No, that's right, it's only a segment.'
She glances back to the screen shining behind Zhonglis' form to glance at your face, your cheek pressed into your palm as you blow a puff of air from between your lips, waiting for something. she turns back to Dottore
"Surprised to see I'm not dead, little sister?" He taunts, making her shiver in disgust at the tone
"Dottore." Ineffa steps in, placing a hand on her shoulder to pull the woman back behind the trigger line. "I recommend waiting until the Guide is able to step in."
"Guide?" He growls out the nickname. "Do you not even care to use your Gods name? is it so sacred you feel unable to? unworthy?"
"We've had this conversation plenty of times by now." Baizhu finally pipes up, a wince on his face as his stomach settles from the teleportation "Do refrain from the repetition"
"Pathetic." he spits back
Columbina looks between the group a little lost, the four seemed to know each other well
or, well enough, that they're confident enough to talk back to Dottore so casually
She frowns when he turns to face her, ignoring the other three.
"Columbina, this will be our first rematch. I look forward to the secondary trial." he clicks his tongue "a shame you will not win this time."
'hmn'
You perk up as the screen loads in, and you see Zhongli facing the Trilunar God, arms folded, and the familiar looking rock orbiting him his eyes glowing- you hesitate, twirling the camera around to bring up his face close to the screen.
Oddly detailed. slitted. blinking...?
you lean back a moment, taking in a deep breath, more and more things haven't been right in your game, and this seemed to be another new thing.
'Not a mod.' You think, twisting the camera around again. 'No lag.'
and yet so... cool.
Zhongli smiles softly as his eyes follow the small golden orb, not unlike the meteor he controls, swirl around him, the screen from earlier morphing into the tiny seelie pet of yours.
"It seems we will not be in a rush today," he comments, leaning back to address the others. "They wish to take photo's today."
Dottore deflates, clicking his fingers and dropping down onto the platform and crossing his arm in disappointment
"what does that mean?" Columbina murmurs, facing the archon
A kamera appears, floating for a second before dropping into Ineffas open palm
"It means it is time for your photoshoot."
You hum pleased as you looked over the screenshots, a collage of Columbina in her idle animation, attack, and her burst. The background perfect for the images.
Pulling out of the kamera feature, you twirl her in a circle, smiling at the gentle sounds of twinkles coming off of her footsteps. tapping the controls, you let her character pause, hit the inventory screen, and open up the screenshots on a separate tab
Columbina wobbles as she centres herself, arms spread out
"Well, that went quite well." Baizhu muses, taking her forearm to help stablise her "not nearly as long as the last set."
"This is a normal event?" Columbina questions
"Yes, it is."
"why?..."
Baizhu purses his lips, glancing at Zhongli, who lets out a chuckle at the swap
"I believe it's just in appreciation of us, Child of the Moon." he awnsers. "Is it so odd that our patron God reveres us in turn?"
"Yes." she awnsers immediately. "Why would they care for us?" she turns her gaze to the seelie and frowns "I still don't... understand this guide."
"Perhaps that is because you are one yourself," Zhongli points out "One that operates differently to our 'eye in the sky'"
"Are you done, yet." An irritated voice calls out, again, Dottore calls out unprompted
Zhongli sighs and shakes his head "Yes, they're just sorting through the photographs"
he grits his sharpened teeth. "Perhaps you could try being a bit more proactive?" he growls, lifting his mask to your obscured visage, his sight seeing through the frail 'screen' straight through to you. hand twitching and summoning a black and red mutation and jamming his fist through it
You click 'save' on the last image and place down your phone, stretching before turning your attention back to the game and seizing up when you notice the blind movements of a hand-
a hand. patting around the flat screen of your device.
your jaw drops at the blue appendage and lean over to watch its pointer finally grasp onto your controls, and inch your Columbina forwards in the game-
The screen glitches, the black and red inky mist where the hand protrudes thinning, making the hand flinch and retreat, but it's done what it needed to.
[Take cover behind the Ancient Moon's Remnants to escape the moonfall impact...]
"The night sky... dims... once more..." You watch in horror as Columbina falls.
Snapping out of it, Gasping and leaping to grab the controls to immediately steer Zhongli behind the obelisk just in time to save him from getting one shot too when the screen glitches again, rolling straight into the next commandment despite the first still occuring on screen
[Stay right where you are, or you'll be punished for crossing the line...]
you take your hands off the controls, your hands were trembling from adrenalin, if you kept them on it -
[Affected by The Doctor's power, your sense of direction is now inverted...]
'you-'
[Do not face The Doctor, for gazing upon a God invites punishment...]
You gape at the screen when Zhonglis' pillar activates by itself and brings up his shield
'This... was no longer just a game'
Columbina shuffles away from the glaringly bright walls of the tight enclosure she finds herself in, grasping at her chest and panting before being able to focus back on the fight
Zhongli is reasonably annoyed, kicking up his polearm and knocking back The Doctor, Baizhu just behind urging Changsheng to whip around and slither around the heretics leg and biting down once, twice.
"Ugh -" The mad man grins sadistically "That's more like it; some results of value."
"Columbina!" She jumps, turning to see Ineffa making her way to her, jumping over the numberous lazer devices, stamping the nearest into the ground and crushing it underfoot, hooking the toe of her boot beath and kicking it into the next
the lineup tumbles like a domino stack, allowing her to reach the moon goddess in quick succession
"Here." The android hands over the MRE device, a golden sparkle shines "Eat, Baizhu will put up his shield the moment you revive."
she reaches out her hand to the bag, swallowing down the seethrough appearance of her limb, memories bubbling forth of the past few months
"An egg?" she whispers
"Fried. Bennett made them." Ineffa nods, stamping her polearm into the ground, summoning Birgitta and seeing it immediately teleport on top of the two in battle. She holds her hand out to Columbina with her shield spreading and coating her
"You'll feel better afterwards. We will sort through the optimal food options for you at a later date."
She grimaces but picks out an egg, tossing the small thing into her mouth and chewing. when she swallows, she watches with a morbid curiosity as her skin sparkles and loses the transparency
with help, she stands and nods to Ineffa, facing the fight and following her back in.
a green glow consumes her form and deflects the stray blasts that ricochet from the clashing of Zhonglis favonius polearm and The Doctors raised arm
"Entropy!" Zhongli doesn't falter, jamming the tip of his weapon into the battleground, preventing him from being blasted backward
Baizhu is not so lucky, Changsheng hisses as both of them fly through the air and are knocked out of the arena, the same veil that'd coated Columbina moments before apearing on him as he's rolled into the stasis box
"We must hurry" Ineffa raises her voice, "he-"
Columbina quickly clasps her hands together "Allow me to step in."
Just as quickly as he was knocked down, he'd been revived. the pained and tired look on the pharmacists face wincing as he struggles to sit up from the harsh blow, a series of rough coughs spurting from his mouth causing her to falter "ah- that was supposed to help"
"Go." Ineffa presses her towards where Zhongli is currently stalling solo "i will assist the good Doctor."
they nod at each other and split up
She waves her hand and sends a torent of hydro into the face of Dottore, the unexpected attack making him splutter at the absurdity of it and making him glitch, teleporting back to swipe at his face. Zhongli perks up and takes a deep breath. to Columbina he didn't look too injured, just tired.
He summons another piller as another vanishes, the golden glow flickering as it swaps over
"Welcome back." he greets "now. should we test that new ability of yours?"
she raises her hands, to the sky and drags it down, a phantasmal set of wings bursting from her back "New moon rises!"
hydro drips from the heavens, crystaline chimes ringing out on the field and as Zhonglis' pillars pulse in energy, golden sigils sprout from the earth creating a minefield
Dottore straightens and grins at the development "Good, keep it up. I'm still collecting data."
Guiding them back and forth was exhausting, the game not functioning normally, the controls worthless as you arent able to move them. the screen pointer becoming like a suggestion you recognise from The Sims.
"c'mon..." you whisper under your breath as Zhongli and Columbina enter the rifts and the scene changes
your whole team is visible now, not just your main. that inky mist making your device now permenantly fucked with.
you open the inventory and slog through the food category and tap the elemental potions, draging the item above the Baizhu and Ineffa and watching as they hold out their hands and catch the vials
you look on with distress as Baizhu is helped to his feet by Ineffa, popping the capmand downing the elemental stimulus in one gulp, Ineffa doing the same
"Defensive mode engaged"
you breath out a sigh of relief when Ineffas shield appears around them
"Mind the side effects."
they both engage Dottore, Ineffa taking lead with Birgitta while Baizhu sticks to the outskirts, throwing out his arm occasionally and sending Changsheng out and refreshing their shield
the battleground shatters and Dottore stumbles, a cry of agrivation as Zhongli and Columbina reappear through the rift
"So you rather wallow in this rotten, decaying world?!"
your shoulders sink in pure relief as the Doctor collapses to his knees, the the leyline flower bursting out beside him and the domain clears of obstacles
"You-" you voice cracks, all five of them free at the sound of your voice, faces snapping straight to you making you waiver at the realistic fluidity of their movements, their appearance. "What the fuck was that!"
[What boss are you fighting next? weekly or otherwise, and who's your team of the day for it? - I personally dont have everyone, so screenshot doodles at the end will vary unless you send in your own! either works, Thank you for reading!]
imagine trying to explain artifacts and artifact farming to people in teyvat in sagau.
disclaimer: idk if this is the most self-indulgent thing i've written but it probably is
they're wondering why you are constantly going to the same ruins, a bag full of goblets, crowns, flowers and feathers and hourglasses and whatever else. they keep wondering why you are constantly giving them to them. they keep wondering why they see you mindlessly tapping on the air, then whining because 'it all went into flat HP', then carelessly throwing the precious artifacts away. so... strange.
the artifacts you give them don't look any different from eachother, but they can sense the improvements as you replace the crown on their heads with a different one, can feel themselves getting stronger, can feel their hits landing more precisely and striking stronger, can feel themselves regain their own energy quicker and quicker.
childe, in particular, is someone who seeks your presence. he'd been going to these broken-down ruins so far away from his homeland and destroying every creature within his way in the domain, just so he can find out what it is that you do. he'd grab the fallen plumes and cups, but he can't sense any improvements, unlike the ones you provide him. must be because of your own blessings, then.
on the bright side, he does lessen your workload a tad. its extra farming that you don't have to do yourself, childe just comes to you and asks you to enhance the pieces he'd get. sometimes it turns out good, sometimes it doesn't. you'd tell him how the results come out, and childe finds out it rolls badly more often than not, and he comes to realize that this is awfully repetitive and frustrating, and that killing the same weak beasts everyday in a few seconds for no worthy results is annoying --... but he begins to admire the lengths you are willing to go for for the sake of strength, appreciates how much you would do for the slightest improvements in power, for him, and for everyone else.
Wait. No. That's not the word you should be using.
"Something is different..."
These were the thoughts rummaging through your head as you stared at the door to Teyvat on your computer. Everything up to that point had gone smoothly compared to all the previous times you logged on.
This time, however, you noticed that the time it took the game to get ready was noticeably quicker than usual. Like really quickly. Like almost instantaneous.
Like you didn't even have time to check the notifications on your phone. It was as quick as someone snapping their fingers.
"Not that I'm complaining. All the better!" you happily exclaimed, clicking on the screen and opening the door to Teyvat.
Thinking that this loading screen would last around the same time as before, you looked away from the computer towards your phone with the intent of checking on any new notifications that may have popped up. However, the outdoor ambiance of Teyvat quickly traveled to your ears, signaling that the loading screen came and went just as quickly as the one from earlier.
"Again? How?" you questioned, turning your attention back towards your computer screen. "Why is my computer suddenly able t-"
.
..
...
"...What..."
You could immediately tell that you were in Mondstadt given that you were standing in front of the Barbados statue. But that doesn't make any sense. You logged off at Liyue the last time you played Genshin.
"...The..."
Additionally, the plaza looked much more lively than normal. You've never seen more than ten people occupy the area at one time. But this time, it looked like you were standing in the center of a heavily populated city. People were walking, running, praying, and making conversation. But to top it all off...
...They all looked so real that you almost forgot you were playing a video game.
"...Hell?..."
You moved the camera around to view as much of the plaza as you could, but you quickly came to realize something important.
"Wait... Where's my character?"
Given how much time you've spent playing Genshin, you feel a bit embarrassed that you didn't immediately notice the lack of a player character in the bottom center of your screen.
But now is not the time for such feelings! You've got questions to answer.
You tried looking for them in the crowd but found no sign of them. You turned to the left but yielded the same results. You turned to the left aga-.
"HIYA [Y/N]!!!"
"JESUS!!"
The sudden shout jump scares you so badly that you instinctively lurch backward in your chair. The cord from your headphones was pulled off your head from how far you flung your head back. The cord was also responsible for shifting your computer awry.
You quickly leaned forward and brought a hand to the computer to prevent it from falling off your desk. In doing so, you also got a glimpse of what was shown on your computer screen.
Paimon had both her hands over her mouth, suggesting that she was the one who shouted in your face. Her eyes were dilated, looking frantically all around her. The Traveler was frozen in place behind her, their right arm stretched out towards Paimon.
"Uhhhh, [Y/N]?" Paimon quietly spoke up. "Are you okay?"
Given how clearly you heard Paimon from your headphones on the floor, you figured that part of the reason why you got so scared was because of how loud Paimon was.
Grabbing your headphones, you adjusted the volume before putting them back on.
"I'm alright," you assured her. "I just wasn't expecting that."
Your assurance worked as Paimon began smiling again. "Good! Paimon was worried that she accidentally scared you away again."
You softly chuckled. "Given how much I've been through already, it would take a lot more than that to scare me away."
Paimon happily nodded before flying back over to the Traveler. "Hey, [Y/N]," The Traveler greeted. "It's been a while hasn't it?"
"It has." you agree. "What's going on?"
The Traveler's smile grew. "Straight to the point, I see. In that case, I'll let you in on what Paimon and I have been looking into for the past couple of days."
You leaned back in your chair and propped your elbows on the armrests. You guessed that this was going to take a while to explain.
"Remember what I told you before we sent you back to your world?"
"Do you mind doing a quick favor for me after we send you back to your world?" the Traveler asked.
You nodded. "Sure. What do you need me to do?"
"I need you to not come to Teyvat for a little while."
...
"...Huh?"
"I know it sounds weird but let me explain," the Traveler emphasized with a hand on their chest. "I'm planning on asking Albedo to see if he can strengthen the connection between our two worlds so that we don't have to communicate like this every time. Not only will it be easier, but I don't have to worry about anything going wrong with the summoning ritual."
You crossed your arms. "So why do I not need to log i-... excuse me, not come to Teyvat? That basically goes against the whole reason you summoned me here in the first place."
"I'm worried that any attempt to cross the gap will either damage or destroy the link we have so far. Additionally, Albedo works best when he's not distracted."
You shrugged your shoulders. "Fair enough. But when do you want me to come back?"
The Traveler switched to a thinking pose. "Give me a week at minimum. If nothing comes out of it, I'll summon you here again."
You nodded. "Okay, sounds good. Is that all?"
"That's all. Are you ready to head back now?"
You nodded again. Aether was quick to call Xiao's name and he arrived just a second later.
"Remember. One week from now." The Traveler reminded.
The Traveler nodded. "I did. You should be able to see a noticeable difference from your previous visit."
"So that's what's happening..." you spoke in awe. "Everything looks so much more lively now! I'm even surprised that the computer I'm using can handle all of this."
"...Computer?" Paimon asked, confused.
"Sorry. It's the name of the device I use to get to Teyvat," you explained.
"Oh, THAT'S what its called!" Paimon exclaimed. "Interesting..."
You chuckled at her enthusiasm. "Yeah. I wish I could show you all how it works."
"Hopefully we'll be able to in the future," The Traveler butted in. "I'm happy with what we've accomplished so far, but I would be even happier if I could have you in Teyvat by my side constantly like Paimon."
You raised an eyebrow. "Doesn't Paimon literally disappear on the regular?"
"HEY! THAT'S NOT TRUE!"
... ... ...
"Oh wait..."
The Traveler laughed. "You know what I mean, [Y/N]."
"Hmph! You guys can make fun of Paimon all you want, but Paimon's been working on something as well!" She floated closer to you and pointed toward the top of your screen. "Go ahead and click on that button for Paimon, [Y/N]."
...
She was pointing at the wish button.
"You can see that?"
"Yep! Now Paimon's able to tell just what exactly you're doing at all times!"
Dear God, that sounds like a nightmare.
You clicked on the wish button. "You better not have done anyth-"
...
"WHAT HAPPENED TO MY PRIMOGEMS?????!!"
"Wait wait wait wait wait, don't panic!" Paimon frantically assured. "Having more is better, right?"
...
...
...
"...[Y/N]?"
"Shut it, Paimon. I'm checking my bank account for any suspicious purchases."
"Paimon did not steal any money from you! Paimon has no way of accessing them anyway!"
"Then why do I have..."
...
"DOES THAT SAY INFINITY????"
The Traveler could only rub the back of their head in embarrassment as their commotion attracted the attention of the majority of people passing by. After all, it wasn't all too common for a Seelie and a fairy to be shouting at each other.
"I don't get it..." you muttered. "There aren't any signs of fraud in my bank account."
"That's what Paimon has been trying to tell you!" Paimon argued. "You should be more grateful. Paimon went through a lot to get those."
You sighed. Truly, Paimon was as unpredictable as ever. "You're right. You're right. Sorry."
"Apology accepted!" Paimon smiled. "Now, using your infinite supply of primogems, make a few wishes on one of the banners."
...How does Paimon understand what all of this is?
Regardless, you went ahead and wished for a ten-pull on the Standard Banner. There wasn't anyone or anything you were really aiming to pull on the character and weapon banners.
The animation played out as usual, the star starting out as blue before slowly turning into gold.
"Oh sweet! Thanks Paimon!"
"Don't thank Paimon just yet! There's plenty more where that came from~!"
The first wish flashed on the screen. "Jean! Finally, I got her!"
The second wish flashed on the screen. "Aquila Favonia?! Two golds back to back?! This is a moment in history! Take a picture!"
The third wish flashed on the screen...
...
...Another gold? That can't be right.
You're not one to judge your luck, but getting three gold items in a row sounds like a load of bull shit to you.
You pressed the skip button to see what the rest of the pulls looked like.
...
They were all gold.
"WHAT THE FUCK?!"
"I know right!" Paimon giggled excitedly. "Just wait until Paimon shows you the other banners!"
...
Paimon is going to get you banned by Hoyoverse, fan-fucking-tastic.
I will be honest, I've had this idea in my head for a while. It honestly could be it's own one-shot if I wanted to, but I felt like it would fit better as an epilogue for my main series.
That being said, if you don’t like this ending or like the previous one better, then go ahead and treat that one as the de facto ending.
Thanks again for all who liked, reblogged, and/or commented on this little series. I appreciate each and every one of you!
When Genshin finally finished loading, you found your player character back where you originally left them before you were forced unconscious; in the bustling streets of Chihu Rock. The first thing you noticed was the red exclamation marks over the Paimon Menu, Events Menu, and Battle Pass Menu. However, you saw these exclamation marks nearly every time you logged on to Genshin, so you weren't surprised.
What does surprise you is that so far, everything appears to be... normal.
The Traveler was currently doing one of their idle animations, the NPCs were all in their familiar spots, and the leaves were subtly floating to the ground...
You began to grow suspicious.
You moved the Traveler one step to the left, cutting off their idle animation. They moved as you expected. Then you moved them right. Then up. Then down.
You looked at their face. They were staring back at you with lifeless eyes.
"But they're not lifeless..." you commented.
Next, you opened up the preceding menus. Nothing out of the ordinary happened. Even Paimon was doing her usual shtick.
Finally, you turned the Traveler away from your gaze and had them walk a few steps forward. You had them perform their normal attack combo. No signs of restraint were noticeable.
"...I guess everything is as normal as possible," you noted. "I'll still do everything I promised myself I would do. I don't want to be deceived by false appearances."
You opened the party setup and began to remove everyone from your party aside from the Traveler. You had decided that since nobody specifically asked the Traveler to join them on their travels, you should only use the Traveler from now on. Sure, that may make things harder for you, but you were willing to take on the extra challenge if it meant that everybody was happy.
However, as much as you would prefer to avoid it, you knew that fighting enemies was inevitable. You were just going to need to be extra careful while fighting to make sure that the Traveler doesn't get hit.
"It's almost like I'm doing a no-hit challenge," you chuckled.
Lastly, you were going to take your time doing long quests such as Archon and Story quests. You figure that doing so many quests in a short amount of time would be tiring to the Traveler. Especially with how grueling some of them can be.
With that being said, you took the time to quickly organize the pages of notes on your side before setting off to the first commission of the day, conveniently in Liyue Harbor of all places.
...By walking, of course. Strictly walking while inside cities should be the norm from now on.
The adrenaline rush that they got when they realized [Y/N] was back in Teyvat made them all hyper and focused. They were ready to do anything and everything with you. They wanted to sprint across the widest plains; climb atop the tallest mountains; and fight against the strongest enemies.
However, they have learned before that they need to be patient.
Over time, they have come to realize many patterns that you have while guiding them throughout Teyvat. One of these patterns was that you normally started working on the daily commissions first.
So they were a little surprised when the first thing you did was move them around, almost like you were testing to see if they would still follow your guidance.
"You don't have to worry about that, [Y/N]," they thought. "I'll always be here for you."
Not to worry though, [Y/N] went ahead and guided them to all the places where the commissions took place afterward. However, there were some things that they noticed while they were completing them.
The commissions involving the common folk and the time challenges went about the same way. It was the fighting commissions that had them asking questions.
What was the best way to describe it...? They still had no problem defeating the enemies, don't get them wrong, but they noticed that you seemed to be a little more... cautious?
Normally, [Y/N] would have them rush in and start swinging. Sure, this was reckless at times, and got themselves hit a couple of times, but that was honestly the fighting style that they were most accustomed to. However, this time they noticed that for whichever enemies they were fighting, they would focus on one at a time and balance an attack with a couple of dodges whenever their opponent attempted to strike back.
Furthermore, they also noticed that they were the only ones fighting. They know that [Y/N] is capable of guiding at most four people at once. So why were they only using them?
"Perhaps I can ask Paimon whenever [Y/N] leaves." they thought.
Not that they wanted you to leave, no no no. You had just come back to Teyvat after a whole week! They wanted to make up for lost time.
"If I counted right, that's all the commissions for today. Just got to visit Kathryne and then we can continue with our day. I wonder what we will get to do today. Are we gonna do some exploring? Fight amongst the ley lines? Meet up with old friends? I can't wait!"
They waited for their exchange with Kathryne to end so they could get back to your guidance. But suddenly, they began to feel themselves gaining control over their body.
...Wait.
... ... ...
Oh no...
...No...
No. No. No. No. NO! NO! NO! NO!
They know this feeling all too well. It was their least favorite part of the day.
...It was when you left Teyvat.
Just as their fears were confirmed, they gained control over their body again. Horrified, they quickly looked up at Celestia and prayed to the Archons that what was happening wasn't real.
Unfortunately, the light from Celestia came and went. [Y/N] was gone...
"Aww, already?" Paimon groaned, appearing out of thin air. "Paimon thought that [Y/N] would stay just a little bit longer."
The Traveler's eyes never left Celestia. They were holding on to the slim hope that the light would return. That [Y/N] would come right back and continue our adventures.
...But it never came.
"Hey, Traveler. Are you alright? You haven't moved in a while."
The Traveler finally took their eyes away from Celestia and sadly looked at Paimon. "I was so happy that [Y/N] came back. I was looking forward to spending all day with them. But in the end, they were only here for a few hours."
Paimon solemnly nodded. "Yeah, Paimon gets where you're coming from. But Paimon also says not to worry! It isn't often that [Y/N] leaves after completing the daily commissions. Maybe this is a one-time thing?"
The Traveler gave it some thought. They suppose that what Paimon is saying is true. There's no guarantee that this will happen again tomorrow.
Their mood picked up. "You're right, Paimon. Hopefully, we get to adventure with [Y/N] longer tomorrow."
Paimon smiled. "That's the spirit! Trust Paimon when she says that everything is going to be alright!"
It's been three days since [Y/N] first came back to Teyvat. They have since come back every day afterward.
...Three days...
It's been three days of completing commissions...
...And nothing else.
...Three days...
It's been three days since the Traveler realized that they were the only person [Y/N] used in their "adventure team".
They still remember how heartbroken Amber was when they met her.
"It wasn't something I did, was it?" she fretted with sorrowful eyes.
"Of course not!" they reassured, "You've done nothing wrong!"
However, they could tell that their words were not effective at uplifting the normally bright and cheerful outrider.
Now, [Y/N] was guiding them back to Kathryne again. Most likely the end of another day together.
... ... …
...No.
"I REFUSE!"
Going against [Y/N]'s guidance, they stopped in place. They were not going to let [Y/N] leave this time! They felt a couple of forceful nudges from [Y/N] but they were going to hold their ground for as long as it takes.
"No more commissions, [Y/N]. Let's go back to before. Explore Teyvat! Go fishing! Search for my sibling! Just don't leave again!"
...
... ...
... … …
...-hy?
..."Huh?"
"What di- ... -o wrong?"
"Is that...?" they wondered.
"I thought ... was doing ... -thing right?"
"[Y/N]?"
"I've done all the things that match their preferences. I've removed all the people who have jobs that prioritize their duties over adventuring; I've been careful while fighting enemies; I've even been spending as little time as possible to conserve their energy. So why are they still unhappy?
...So that's what has been the issue.
They wanted to tell you everything that was on their mind. But they couldn't bypass the restriction placed upon them.
This restriction in particular involved speaking freely towards [Y/N]. From what they understand, they are never able to say anything while being guided by [Y/N]. Instead, Paimon does most of the talking.
They still don't know much about it.
"...Maybe I'm not cut out for this after all. I should've known better..."
They didn't need to be told what that meant for the future.
After hearing that last sentence, they fought as hard as they could to break the speaking restriction, to tell [Y/N] something, anything, to stop them from leaving.
When they gained the slightest control over their body, they shouted: "[Y/N]! Wait! Don't leave!"
However, it didn't appear that they even heard them. Furthermore, they instantly felt a painful shock rush through their body. Punishment for breaking the rules.
The shock brought them to the ground, and they were in too much pain to notice the light from Celestia. And from what they had to guess, potentially for the last time.
"Traveler!" Paimon screamed, immediately floating down to nudge their body. "Quick! Get up! Get up! We've got to do something or else [Y/N] will be gone forever!"
Slowly but steadily, the Traveler brought themselves to their feet. They felt more defeated than ever. "It's too late, Paimon... I couldn't stop [Y/N] from leaving... It's all my fault."
Paimon was quick to shake her head. "Don't say that! You already know that we've never been able to talk with [Y/N] in the past."
"That still doesn't change the fact that [Y/N] is probably gone forever. They're never coming back."
Paimon frowned. She hadn't seen the Traveler like this since they met their sibling with Dainsleif. But as much as she wanted to cheer the Traveler up, she needed to find a way to reach [Y/N]. She quickly used all of her brain juice to come up with a solution.
"Paimon has an idea! Why don’t we ask Zhongli for help? He did assist us last time.”
The Traveler let out a weak, sad chuckle. “I doubt even Zhongli would know what to do in this scenario.”
"Really?!" "You do?!" Both Paimon and the Traveler exclaimed respectively.
They really should stop doubting the capabilities of this man.
"I have no guarantee that this will work," explained Zhongli, "but I'm curious to see the results. I believe you two are familiar with the adepti art 'dream trawling'?"
"Mhm," Paimon nodded, "We were with Xiao when he had us perform it."
"I see. That will make things easier to understand," Zhongli remarked, closing his eyes. "If [Y/N] won't come to Teyvat anymore..."
His eyes opened, filled to the brim with determination. "We'll simply have to extend them an invitation."
Author Side Notes: Sorry this took so long to get out. I was struggling with how I wanted to write this.
Additionally, I've felt like my writing is lacking with descriptors. I feel like I keep saying words like 'said', 'asked', and 'nodded' a lot, especially in the last chapter. I've gone back and edited as much of it as I could.
I want to do my best to write all of these characters so I feel pretty bad whenever I'm unable to properly describe a character's thoughts or emotions. Maybe it's something that I'll get better at as I continue writing.
The first hint happened so quick you almost missed it.
You were a couple of minutes removed from logging into the game and had just started working on your second of four daily commissions.
As you were teleporting to Dadaupa Gorge to help Wyatt look for his key, you noticed an unusual message on the loading screen.
Sleep
When night falls, make sure that you get plenty of rest!
You were lucky that you were a fast reader or else you wouldn't have been able to read that message in time.
At first, you didn't know what to think of it. Sure, Hoyoverse could've easily added it into the game, but you didn't see them ever doing such a thing. Additionally, you've never seen anyone else experience this message before.
"Probably something new," you guessed before gliding on down to speak with Wyatt.
The second hint was a bit more noticeable than the first.
After completing Wyatt's commission, you were on your way to Falcon Coast to defeat some hilichurls. It was approaching nighttime in Teyvat when Paimon suddenly said:
"It's getting pretty late. Paimon thinks that we should go to bed soon."
You stopped gliding forward for a brief moment in slight surprise. It only took a few seconds for you to snap back to reality before pausing the game to save what airtime you had left.
"I can see a new line of text being possible, but a new voice line?" you contemplated. Like the last hint, you really didn't know what to think of it. If it was only one new voice line that got added into the game, you guess you shouldn't see that as a big surprise.
"Today has certainly been weird," you added before unpausing the game.
It wasn't until the third hint that you started to think that something was wrong.
After defeating the two waves of hilichurls, your last commission had you beat up some cryo slimes near the Dawn Winery. You teleported to the Anemo Archon statue, grabbed a couple of Windwheel Asters, and began to glide down to the water.
However, just as you were about to pass the Dawn Winery, you began to hear a sweet melody coming from the building. This wasn't the theme you were used to hearing when you were near the Dawn Winery, so being the curious person you were, you took a quick detour to the building.
As you approached the building, the melody began increasing in volume. Furthermore, as you moved your camera you noticed the sound gradually shifting volume in-between your right and left ears.
"Wait, this isn't just a soundtrack? Someone's actually playing this?" you questioned, speaking aloud for the first time. You rarely speak your thoughts aloud, finding such an action to be awkward, but you felt that the situation warranted such a reaction out of you.
After a bit of wandering and camera movement, you pinpointed the source of the sound coming from the roof. Starting from the front of the building, you climbed up the wall and onto the balcony. You moved the camera around, trying to see if you could get a better view of the roof, and after a while, you found the source of the melody.
Venti the bard was currently straddling the roof beam with his back against the spire right near where the Anemoculus used to be. He had his eyes closed as he was playing the soothing melody on his lyre. If he noticed you, he took no note of it as he continued to play.
"Okay, now things are getting weird," you began to monologue to yourself. "I can somewhat explain a new loading screen message and a new voice line, but a new audio played by a character who is never supposed to be seen outside of archon quests and events? A change as big as this would've surely been advertised by Hoyoverse on social media, right? So why does it feel like I'm the first person to have discovered this? Do I consider this to be a bug or a glitch?"
However, as you continued to think to yourself, Venti continued to play his melody. As the melody dragged on and on, you began to yawn and feel your eyes growing heavy.
"Hold on. Is this melody...making me sleepy?”
Music notes began to fade in and out as they floated from Venti's lyre to your player character.
"I can't fall asleep just yet! I still need to finish my commissions!" you proclaimed before leaping off the balcony and continuing your way down to the beach. "Ooh! I also may need to travel to some domains and farm for materials."
You missed the fourth hint while you jogged away from the winery. Had you looked back at Venti, you would have noticed that he stopped playing the melody before sighing with a slight frown on his face.
After completing all of your dailies, you decided to take a change of scenery and meet up with Liyue Katherine.
"I still need to go to Wanmin Restaurant and trigger that Beetle event. Plus, the crafting table is just around the corner for me to craft some Condensed Resin!"
You were too distracted by the crafting table to notice the fifth hint of the day. Had you kept your eye at Third-Round Knockout, you would've noticed the former Geo Archon getting up from his table and walking over to you.
Having finished crafting your Condensed Resin, you began to head over to Wanmin Restaurant. But before you could...
"Traveler! A quick moment of your time, please."
Startled by the sudden attention, you flicked your camera behind you to find Zhongli approaching your player character.
"It has been a while since we last had a chat. I was hoping you would accompany me while I head to Wangsheng Funeral Parlor to retire for the night. We can catch up with each other while we walk."
Too many thoughts were running through your head for you to give a proper response, not that any prompt showed up anyway. Zhongli took your inactivity as a sign of acceptance.
"Good. Let us be on our way then."
Zhongli started to walk past you, which didn't help your thoughts at all.
When his feet hit the ground, there was no visible space between the sole of his shoes and the ground. You never saw any of his clothes clip through any part of his body. In fact, you swear you saw a few wrinkles.
"Everything about him is too detailed. The walking animation, the clothes, the collision, the hitboxes; there is no way in hell everything should be so... fluid."
You started to think whether or not you should go through with his request. However, before you could make a decision, the game decided to make one for you.
The Traveler moved... but your hands were off the keyboard.
"WOAH Woah Woah woah..." You repeated as you backed your chair away from the computer. Now you were starting to think that your game was broken. You quickly scooched your chair back closer to your computer and were about to Alt+F4 outta there before...
"I would refrain from doing that."
You stopped what you were doing and looked up at the screen. Did you miss something that the Traveler did?
"As much as we all love to have you around, we know better than to have you overstay your welcome when you are clearly tired."
...That didn't sound like he was talking to the Traveler.
"I admire your persistence, but you leave me no choice, [Y/N]."
"Oh sh-."
Before you could finish your sentence, a loud buzzing sound suddenly played from your computer speaker. Almost immediately, you could feel yourself about to fade to unconsciousness. You quickly stood up and covered your ears as you tried to fight it, wondering how in the hell this sound was affecting you despite having heard it before in Sumeru. Unfortunately, the noise continued to grow louder and louder until you could no longer stand on your own two feet. You slowly slumped to the floor as the sound began to lower in volume, sensing that its job was done.
You honestly should've seen it coming.
There were too many hints that told you what was about to happen, but you either didn't notice them or ignored them entirely.
Now you're about to fall into unconsciousness against your will, all because someone within Teyvat cared about your well-being.
"How is this even possible?" you pondered before you finally fell into sweet unconsciousness.
Author Side Notes: I know that I'm not the best writer in the world, but this idea for a SAGAU story I had continued to grow and grow until I felt like I could connect all of the plot points by myself.
I also have more ideas for SAGAU stories if anyone wants to hear them.
just imagine Neuvillette inviting Melusine Creator to official meetings, especially with the Harbingers there for diplomacy. they all notice that there's an extra chair, raising a brow as Neuvillette calmly tells them to wait a few more minutes, right before the door creaks open. in you march, gripping a cushion and several papers and clambering onto the chair. the pillow is for height- chairs for human-sized folk are never tall enough for you- happily perching with a pen in hand, glancing around the room with a smile.
Arlecchino stifles a cough, giving you a small smile instead. Clorinde visibly stares before hiding her gaze behind her hat. Neuvillette simply straightens his documents as if nothing happened. and Childe? Childe is doubled over beside Arlecchino, wheezing and choking so hard that she has to smack him on the back until he catches his breath.
you beam, antennae wiggling, and he grins right back at you, all delighted sharp teeth and deep blue eyes, speckled with hints of violet. a silent reassurance- we're here for you- as Nevuillette taps his desk to finally start the meeting.
Imagine in SAGAU Creator!MC ends up getting isekai'ed hundreds of YEARS earlier than the game, like probably 5 years after Khaenri'ah go boom boom pow, and MC was picked up by Morax who ended up spoiling her even without knowing she's the creator
When you say 'picked up', I now can't unsee Morax just walking by, sees Creator!MC literally spawn into existence, looking oh so confused and adorable-
Morax/Zhongli: "...Is no one going to take care of this adorable creature?"
He then proceeds go, "Mine now-", and carries her back to his residence, and yes, she's gonna be spoiled.
And that's before Morax even figures out she was the Creator! ...Which he'll figure out eventually. Just give him some time, he's a bit busy spoiling her rotten~
Imagine the fucking unease and absolutely confusion the leftover dragons of Teyvat would get when they smell more than a hundred dragons on isekai!reader
Zhongli/stupid blinder that a mole rat broken nose imposter sagua Zhongli: "w-what? I must be having a cold but what that's strangely earthy and coral smell on them?" / "oh, they were in cahoots with other ancient dwellers before? As expected of a selfish slut... brother don't even know where the scent comes from💔"
Dragonrider!reader: 'man I fucking miss Star Coral, I wanna go blast all my enemies with his star breath so bad rn'
Yes this is based off Dragon Adventures the dragons there are perfect and beautiful
Edit: is my destiny for the shitposts to get more attraction than my actual serious posts
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