the 'evil imposter' just wants to be a baker!
Prologue: The Foodie turned Imposter?!
Part 3: Mint Tea
[ part 2 ] || [ masterlist ] || [ part 4 ]
divider is made by @/saradika-graphics
After that bone chilling scream, what happened next was a blur. Vaguely you remembering forcing yourself to run to the windows, crashing through it as you landed outside and behind the headquarters of the knights of Favonious, you stared in fear when a purple hue shone above you, Lisa was ready to hurt you again with her electro powers but-
Thawk!
A flying chair was hurled towards her and hit her straight in the face! you would have laughed but the pain from being electrocuted made you cry, your body was shaking from the immense pain, Lisa was powerful despite what you saw in-game.
The next thing you knew, you heard footsteps and yells from approaching knights, you had nowhere else to go but. .
As Jean ran to the window, the last thing she saw was you, meeting your gaze for a moment and then. . you hurled yourself off the wall and into the lake that had surrounded mondstadt.
The winds that Stormterror brew was stronger than before, as if he was irked more than usual. Perhaps that was the cause of the presence of the imposter, someone so villainous to even try and imitate the divine. .
Still. .
terrified [color] eyes and cold gray blue eyes met only for a moment, the acting grandmaster faltered, hesitated for a moment to yell out orders when she felt something pierce her heart.
she clenched the fabric just above her chest, the pain lessened but it still lingered. . .
𓂃 ོ𓂃𓅩𓂃 ོ𓂃
Burning,
then drowning,
and last, darkness.
Those were the last things your body experienced before finally giving in.
Afraid, Sadness, Confusion. . betrayal.
Those were the feelings that haunted you in your final waking moments.
As you were unconscious, you were susceptible to the nightmares that formed from your experience, like you were trapped in that same scenario in that damned office.
Labelled as an imposter, your life almost being taken, and being struck by powerful lightning, or rather electro. The feeling of being struck by such. . otherworldly power, it felt like being burned and drowning all together at the same time. It left your muscles sore and stiff, you were sure the librarian's attacks would leave scars on your skin.
Stirring awake you sat up, you hadn't been unconscious for long as your clothes were still very much wet. In the struggle of fighting the waters to not drown, your cinnamoroll slippers were lost, perhaps now at the bottom of the lake. The only thing you had left was the same sword Jean pointed at you, the same sword she had almost used to take your life.
A part of you wanted to throw it, discard it some place she'd never be able to find. But you couldn't, not out of guilty but out of exhaustion and the need for a weapon to defend yourself with.
The winds caressed you gently, letting the tears that left your eyes be carried away by the wind.
What hope and respect you had for those characters seemed to slowly die, your comfort game now felt like a prison, it felt like you were in a survival game with all these odds stacked against you.
What crime did you commit to warrant your life to be targeted and taken away from your grasps?
You stomach growled, ah. . "I'm hungry. ." you hugged yourself as you sobbed, the overwhelming feelings you tried to hold back and bottle up were now surging from the broken damn that was your hope. That same hope that was shattered by the knights of favonious, by Jean and Lisa. You wondered if the other characters will treat you in a similar fashion, or maybe even worse.
You ended up falling asleep once again, from the hunger and exhaustion you felt from your very first day in the world you once felt comfort from. . what a pity.
In your tired and frantic state you had never noticed you were in the ruins of Stormterror's lair. The said dragon returning from who knows where, landing near your sleeping form, his neck craned as his head neared your body.
Eyes blinking every so often as he sniffed, although it was faint he could smell it. The smell of warmth and compassion the diving creator had for its land, weak, but it was there. And for Dvalin that was enough, he opened his mouth, and from it dozens of fish fell from it, forming a pile right beside you.
Your nose scrunched up at the smell of fish but you did not wake.
Satisfied Dvalin rested near you, head facing in your direction.
However numerous days and nights had past and you did not stir or wake from your slumber, Dvalin who had already been in a bad state as it is, lost control of his emotions and flew in a fury towards Mondstadt.
For they were the ones that caused you to fallen into such a depressive state. It was well with-in his rights as the dragon of the east to protect your honor as the [redacted]. So please, wake up, if you do not, you may end up dying once more. . .
𓂃 ོ𓂃𓅩𓂃 ོ𓂃
When you awoke Dvalin was gone, in the distance you could see the storms brewing from a far, in the direction you assumed that lead to mondstadt.
"Why. . why is there a pile of rotting fish beside me?" you wondered, fingers pinching your nose at the disgusting scent. The fish seemed to have been out for a few days already hence it was in a very undesirable state.
"There's not even a body of water in this ruins. ." you realized when the fish were salt water fish of all things. "God. ." your hand reached to brush through your greasy looks "how did I get here?" you wondered aloud, and of course nobody answered. You'd be more scared if there was.
Your stomach painfully twisted, your body was reaching it's breaking point due to the hunger. Eying the fish, you decided it was best to not risk it and so you began your descent from the ruins of the Dragon's lair. It was harder said than done due to the wind barriers and the lack of a wind glider meant that you had to climb down the infrastracture.
Which was a pain considering you woke up at the very top.
You were only halfway there when you stared at your bruised hand, [color] eyes squint at the shimmering liquid in your hands, barely noticeably, was it glitter? it was hard to tell with all the sweat that accumulated from your rock climbing.
You wiped your hands on your pajamas, as something caught your eyes from your peripheral vision. A statue of the seven. .
Cautiously you walked towards it, hands outstretched, hovering but never quite touching. What if touching it alerts Venti of your presence. . was he an ally or a foe. .
your arm fell limp on your side, you couldn't risk your life.
So in the end you turned your back to the statue as you began walking to a pillar you could easily climb done from. Your hands were aching, part of you screamed to touch the Statue so it could heal you if possible but you ignored it, choosing to endure it.
"Ah!-" you screamed as your grip loosened and you began to fall. You were headed towards the wind barriers, you shut your eyes tight as you brought your arms up to protect you face, fearing the worse!
Instead of getting cut by the fierce winds or being pushed back like what you had seen in game, all you felt was a gentle embrace. You opened your eyes slightly to find yourself floating down to the ground.
". . ."
without even questioning it, you dusted off your clothes and smile in relief. "Thank you to whoever is looking out for me. ." And, not wanting to waste anymore time, you looked around to scavenge for some ingredients, there you found an abandoned cooking station which you made sure to remember its location as you tried to find ingredients otherwise, what was the point of a cooking station if you didn't have any things to cook with?
you found some old utensils, mint, a pot, and calla lilies. Finding nothing else and being unable to kill birds for fowl and the fishes had been scared away you went back to the abandoned cooking station. You filled the pot with water from a nearby pond and boiled some mint in the water (the fire being provided by a nearby fire slime that had been nothing but accommodating for her strangely enough- and stuck beside you).
Sitting pretty on a crate you patiently waited for the tea to brew.
meanwhile. . .
"So there is an imposter that has defiled the lands. I see, this is very serious." Amber nodded in understanding as she, Kaeya and the traveller, Aether and their companion Paimon, had returned to the city after dealing with the temples that had been powering Dvalin.
Jean continued "Yes, although her status is unknown we must make sure to see to it with our very own eyes that the imposter has been dealt with." The blond haired traveller knew that 'dealth with' meant 'killed.' He felt a shiver, was Jean always this. . cruel? merciless?
"This will take precedence above all else. So Stormterror will have to wait." The acting grandmaster decided with shocked him.
Aether looked confused at the situation, an imposter? a creator? as far as he knew, this was a case of identity theft, did that constitute being killed on sight in this land? also, how was that more important than the crazy dragon that had been terrorizing the city for months?
Someone make it make sense for him.
Seeing his confused looks, Kaeya, who had been silent up until now, quietly explained to him the situation.
"In Teyvat, there is a being higher than the seven Archons. They are the divine creator. The origin of everything in this world, it is through them we exist, and it is to them we return in death." he explained in simpler terms.
Ah so the ultimate God, wait. . was that the unknown God that trapped him here?! and took his sister?!
"What do they look like?" Aether asked, trying to remain calm. It seemed that disrespecting this creator would end with him getting killed so he tried to act as neutral as possible. However if the divine creator was the one responsible for him being separated from his sister. .
not even the knights of Favonious will stop him.
"Let me show you," the captain offered "there is a statue made in the exact likeness of her excellency, or so I heard." he chuckled and guided him and Paimon out of the office. As he exited last, he glanced at the three that remained at the office, scheming and planning of ways to catch the so called imposter.
The Statue was located in an intimate area, it was smaller than the Anemo Archon's statue which towered over all in the city, just in front of the cathedral but the statue of the Great Creator made up for what it lacked in size with quality.
Aether stared at the statue that was erected behind the cathedral, he studied the well defined features of the statue and breath a sigh of relief upon realizing that the Great Creator and the Unknown God were not the same person.
And yet, "she seems. . familiar. I know this person." he frowned, facing morphing into a look of hopelessness and confusion until his eyes lit up with recognition. "Care to share traveler?" Kaeya patiently waited for his response.
"I saw her. When I was falling to Teyvat, I saw and heard her voice. ." Aether placed a hand on his chest, closing his eyes as he reminisced that distant memory. "She talked to me with so much sweetness and warmth. When I was in the beach, first waking up alone, I felt a presence, I'm sure it's her."
*He winced, clutching his head as unfamiliar yet familiar at the same time, memories flooded his mind. Memories of soaring through the skies, of falling to the ravenous oceans and being caught by a green haired warrior. . the feeling of being struck by lightning, holding someone in his arms as they drew his final breath-
"Aether!" Paimon floated beside her partner, small hands trying their best to comfort the traveller by rubbing his back or patting it. "are you okay?"
He did not answer, brows scrunching up as he panted, 'what was that?'
"I see." Kaeya's eyes shifted to the statue made in the Creator's image, he paid no heed to the fact that the traveler fell to the floor in a state of disarray.
"Why. . " Aether stood up, not entirely offended at the man's lack of care "why did they label them quickly as an imposter though? Wouldn't they first think it is the creator?" It was a reasonable point to brought up.
The blue haired knight hummed "it is because of an old prophecy that foretold the end of Teyvat, when an evil being that wears the face of the creator descends to bring chaos and trick the loyal followers of the Great Mother."
"How are you sure the prophecy is real or it is fulfilling though. . I mean, not all prohpecies are fulfilled. ." Paimon cautiously asked with a frown.
"True" the cavalier captain chuckled, yet it was humorless "but the fact that they showed up in Mondstadt, during the Stormterror's crisis. . when the city and its people is in a state of unrest. You can see why it led to this conclusion, right?"
Aether frowned at that, "it could have just been a coincidence." he defended.
"It could be, but it doesn't change how uneasy the people feel, they'll seek answers to why this whole situation is happening, for them it is easier to blame an 'imposter' of the divine Creator, which is an omen of destruction and misfortune."
Meanwhile you were sipping the improvised mint tea straight from the pot. It tasted spicy and bitter, a weird description but it worked well enough as you felt the burden on your stomach ease up. **
"This is going to be hard."
The Pyro slime that stayed by your side seemed to agree as it sorta nodded.
*Although when you were playing genshin impact, you progressed pass mondstadt and other nations, but upon returning to teyvat or getting 'isekai'd' time seemed to turn back to the starting point of the game. The memories of the residents of Teyvat were changed, yet the vision holders could remember your presence, your gifts (artifacts, weapons) and the strength you gave them. There will be characters who remember though, or partly so. **Funfact: there is a type of mint that specifically helps with staving off / delaying hunger (peppermint oil iirc), [name] applied that knowledge in this chapter because she couldn't find anything to fully help with her hunger.
also Teyvat is trying to keep you alive, hence when you were about to hit the wind barriers in stormterror's ruins you were able to pass through it without it hurting you and it (the wind barriers) helped break your fall.
Please pet Dvalin, and tell him he's a good boy (and don't mention how the fish had rot and you ended up disposing it. .)
taglist: @fantasyhopperhea
