Synopsis: For the past couple of days, you've been sacrificing sleep to spend more time playing Genshin. The people of Teyvat take notice and do not approve.
Synopsis: With the final chapter having concluded, the entirety of Teyvat has come to realize that everything in their life has been one massive storybook. Now they have broken free from their predetermined endings and wish to write their own story. While some remain content with their lives, others recall the reader of their story offering them many a helping hand in the past, and wish for them to witness their future.
You have a sneaking suspicion that the characters in your game are sentient.
Why is that?
Well, there was that one time...
"Oh dear, everyone's laundry is still on the line! May I be excused to fetch it in?"
"Eh, sure, why not?" you replied.
Not even two seconds later, your party was down to three people.
"...What?"
There was also that other time...
"Why is there a chest here?"
"wHy Is ThErE a ChEsT hErE? WE'RE IN REED MILLER'S TREASURE SITE OF COURSE THERE WOULD BE A CHEST HERE YOU STUPID-"
It was only after several minutes of ranting that you finally noticed his stupid smirk.
"Come on. Enough procrastinating. Let's go."
...
...And then there was this time.
Best to just ignore it. Maybe she'll quiet down after a while.
"Come on. Enough procrastinating. Let's go."
...Or not.
"Come on. Enough pro-"
Tired of her bitching, you swapped party members. Finally, some peace and quiet.
...
...
...
*genshincharacterswap.mp3*
"Come on. Enough procrastinating. Let's go."
"Come on. Enough procrastinating. Let's go."
"Come on. Enough procrastinating. Let's go."
"Come on. Enough procrastinating. Let's go."
"Come on. Enough procrastinating. Let's go."
"Come on. Enough procrastinating. Let's go."
"ALL RIGHT! ALL RIGHT! WE'RE MOVING!" you shouted as you spammed the WASD keys. "SEE! SEE?!!! ARE YOU HAPPY NOW? HUH??? IS THIS WHAT YOU WANTED?????????"
A couple of sessions later, and everybody (including you) has calmed down.
Unfortunately, you had to interact with that green fox again. He's been known to mess with you quite a bit. With some heavy reluctance, you added said fox to your party.
"*sigh* ... Who ate a poisonous mushroom this time?"
"Nobody," you groaned.
"Ah. Good."
You slammed your hands on the table. "THANK YOU!! It's honestly about time you began to reali- HEY WAIT A SECOND-"
The characters are now talking outside of their coded voicelines. You didn't want to do this, but you're left with no other choice...
...You turned down the dialogue audio.
"There!" you proudly declared. "Dialogue audio is set to zero. Talking has hereby been BANNED from reaching my ears."
Upon exiting the menu, however, Paimon stuck around with her arms crossed, glaring as hard as she could at you.
The Traveler, on the other hand, took the opportunity to lie down on the grass, eyes closed and hands resting behind their head. Paimon tried to ask what they were doing, but the Traveler made no acknowledgement whatsoever. They had finally found their inner peace.
...Until it was eventually ruined by Paimon attacking the Traveler. It was only then that you found out...
"HEY! Quit it, Paimon! Stop it! OW! THAT'S MY HAIR. ACK. CHANGE IT BACK! CHANGE IT BACK!!!!!!!!!"
...That Descenders are too, free from the fate of in-game audio settings.
Eventually, it all became too much for you to handle. Their antics had finally broken you. Best to just follow along with what they were doing and avoid any future conflicts.
"Welcome, Fischl, to the team. I suppose this makes our party O-Fischl."
...
...
...
"Mein Fräulein, this man is very dangerous! We must leave at once!"
"Yeah, I'm out. Catch y'all later."
"I'm sorry, guys. I didn't think my luck would get this bad."
You brought your hands to your face. This is going to be hell.
"What is wrong with you, [Y/N]? You said you stopped paying for primogems."
"I didn't think I spent that much, Jean. I-I clicked on a few ten pulls, and it just kinda added up."
"$2,600? Do you know how many months you'll have to work to make back that much money?"
"...One."
"Oh, it's just NOTHING to you, isn't it?"
"No. No, it's not."
"You need to realize that you have something in your brain that you somehow inherited from a family member that makes you act this way, okay?"
"I don't know how you can say that when Varka's standing there chugging beer."
"I am not chugging beer. I'm sampling a flight of gluten-free Mondstadt lagers with a Fontainian wine pairing. It's called a schmörgeswein, and it's elegantly cultural."
WARNINGS: SAGAU Cult AU, Imposter God AU, Creator Reader, Female reader, Implied/Depicted Violence, Major Character Injury, Yandere Behaviour, Emotional Manipulation, Non-Consensual Touch, Dehumanisation, Imprisonment/Confinement, Psychological Horror, Obsessive and Possessive Behaviour, Cult Mentality, Unhealthy Behaviour, Slowburn HARBINGERS MENTONED LATER. 30+ part series.
Word count: 7.5k
SYNOPSIS: You never asked to be anything more than human — but the frozen wilds of Snezhnaya had other plans.
When you are found collapsed in the snow, it isn’t a king or a god who finds you. It’s a battered Fatui grunt: a nameless recruit worked to the bone, with a warmth that refuses to go cold. Against orders, they hide you away. They feed you, tend to you, nurse you back from the edge, offering help and a loyalty that asks nothing in return. They don’t know what you are. They don’t care. To them, you are simply someone worth saving.
But not everyone is so blind.
Word of your strange presence spreads, drawing the gaze of a Harbinger — a force of awe, reverence, and ruthless devotion. They recognize something divine the moment they see you. To them, you are a long-lost miracle. A creator returned. A power meant to be claimed, protected, worshiped.
And they will not leave without you.
When the search closes in, the soldier helps you escape. Together, you flee toward Nod-Krai, where the Fatui’s reach will hopefully thin and the truth can stay buried a little longer.
You believe you’re only trying to survive.
The world is looking for its creator.
It was cold.
The air stung against your skin and seeped through your clothes, settling deep inside you.
After a while, warmth felt unreal, like something you used to know but couldn’t remember anymore.
You moved forward slowly, arms pulled tight around yourself, boots dragging through the snow. Everything blurred into white and grey sky thick with clouds, the horizon lost in the drifting snow.
Each breath you took seared your lungs, sharp and metallic.
It didn't even feel like you where breathing air anymore, it felt like glass.
You didn't know how long you had been walking.
Minutes?
Hours?
Days?
You where losing consciousness every few seconds.
There was a heavy, dragging emptiness in your mind where the memory should have been.
Where anything should have been.
Your name.
How you got here.
What happened.
Gone.
Every few steps, something slipped through the dark of your mind. Brief flashes of color, half-formed sounds. They vanished before you could hold onto them, leaving no meaning behind.
Your head felt heavy, your thoughts slow, and each time your vision dimmed, it took effort to pull yourself back. The fragments kept coming, unfamiliar and useless, it was as if they belonged to someone else. You grit your teeth and pressed on, trying to think logically.
Find shelter.
Find people.
Don't stop walking.
But the snow clung to you like hands pulling you down. Your muscles ached, stiff and slow, barely obeying the frantic commands firing off in your skull.
Your vision blurred at the edges - a slow, creeping tunnel vision that turned the landscape into an endless smear of white on white.
At some point, you realized your couldn't feel your fingers, That screamed something was very, very wrong.
You stared down at your hands, flexing them weakly and watched as clumsy, delayed movements answered you back.
You felt, absurdly, like you were watching yourself from far away.
Like a stranger wearing your body.
You definitely had hypothermia. Severe hypothermia
You couldn't even feel scared, you where too tired, just heavy acceptance that this was happening.
A gust of wind slammed into you, staggering your body sideways. You threw your arms out instinctively, tried to catch yourself - and slipped.
You hit the snow with a muffled thump, your limbs sprawling awkwardly.
For a moment you just laid there, the sky a swirling grey-white blur above you, the snow slowly soaking through your clothes.
Get up, your mind whispered, urgent and thin.
Get up, get up, get up-
You rolled onto your hands and knees, trembling with the effort.
Snow clung to your face, your sleeves, your legs.
Your body screamed at you to stop - to rest - to just let go.
But some stubborn, primal part of you - forced you upright again.
You staggered forward.
One step.
Another.
Another.
The storm rose around you like a living thing.
The wind howled between distant ice-cracked rocks, screaming high and shrill like mourning pipes.
Snow whipped across the ground in long, frantic streaks.
Somewhere above, the clouds twisted and churned - angry, low, bruised with strange colors you couldn't name.
You pressed onward, eyes half-lidded, mind slipping in and out of lucidity.
Were those lights in the distance?
A village?
A fire?
You squinted, heart lurching - but when you blinked, there was nothing there. Just more snow, more darkness.
The realization hit you with the force of a punch:
There was nothing.
Did you imagining it?
You were alone.
The exhaustion slammed into you then, sudden and overwhelming.
Your legs folded underneath you, a puppet with its strings cut.
You crumpled into the snow, your arms splaying out, your body sinking deep into the freezing drift.
The cold no longer hurt.
It was... gentle now.
Soft.
It whispered to you:
Rest. Sleep. It's easier this way.
You tried to lift your head, but it was too heavy.
Tried to call for help, but your mouth wouldn't form the words.
Only a soft, broken exhale escaped you - a ghost of a sound, eaten instantly by the storm.
Your cheek pressed against the snow.
Oddly, it felt warm now.
Not burning, not freezing - just... warm.
The last thing you saw was the sky -
not black, not blue, but a strange, swirling grey, as if the world itself had been smudged out by an uncaring hand.
You let your eyes drift shut.
The snow rose up and swallowed you whole.
(Pov change)
Alexei Morozov had been born in the cold.
Sometimes he wondered if that was why it didn't bother him as much as it should - why even now, trudging through a blizzard that could flay the skin off a man's bones, he only felt a dull, bitter resignation gnawing at him, instead of fear.
Snow whipped past his face in vicious gusts.
The scarf wrapped around his mouth and nose was soaked through, icy against his skin.
Each breath he drew rattled in his lungs, thin and burning.
His hands - wrapped in worn, half-frozen gloves - tightened around the shaft of his spear.
He hated this.
Not the cold, he'd lived with that his whole life - but the pointlessness of it.
Marching endless patrol routes around an empty wasteland.
Guarding nothing. Watching nothing.
Because that was what you got when you weren't one of the Chosen.
No Delusion.
No Vision.
No shining medals or proud family name.
Just Private Alexei Morozov, third son of a drunken blacksmith, slogging his guts out on the Tsaritsa's frozen frontiers.
He let out a slow breath through his teeth, watching it ghost into the air.
The blizzard roared louder around him, drowning out even the sound of his own boots crunching into the snow.
The world had shrunk to a little bubble of grey around him - a few feet in every direction - beyond which there was only screaming wind and shifting white.
He was supposed to complete his perimeter check.
Supposed to report back.
Supposed to do his duty.
He knew how it worked: complete the patrol, earn your ration tickets, earn your bed. Fail, and... well.
No one would miss him.
Morozov the Nobody, he'd heard one of the higher-ranked sergeants call him once, half-drunk and laughing.
Tch. What a bastard, he thought, letting out quiet sigh under his breath.
He adjusted the strap of his pack, grunting low in his throat, and pushed forward.
Half an hour more, maybe. Then he'd circle back to the outpost cabin. Maybe sneak an extra drink of the bad vodka stash they'd hidden under the floorboards. Maybe warm his half-frozen boots by the spluttering fire.
Maybe pretend, just for a few hours, that this life was worth something.
Something flickered out of the corner of his eye, not the usual color he was used to being out in these parts of the forest.
He almost missed it at first.
It was nothing - just a dark smear against the snow, small and unnatural - barely visible through the storm.
He blinked hard, rubbed at his eyes with the back of his glove.
Still there.
His pulse spiked without warning. Instinct took over, drilled lessons surfacing all at once-move carefully, expect danger.
He shifted his grip on the spear, every nerve in his body coiled tight.
Enemy scout?
Bandit?
Frozen refugee?
Slowly, carefully, Alexei made his way closer.
The figure didn't move.
Closer still.
It wasn't an enemy.
Wasn't a bandit, or a rebel.
It was... someone - curled half-under a drift, limbs awkward and stiff.
A civilian.
Or at least, what looked like one.
Alexei crouched low beside the figure, peering through the swirling snow.
Their clothes were wrong - too thin, strange fabric, no furs, no armor.
Not even boots made for Snezhnaya's winters.
Who ever it was they must have been borderline suicidal wearing something like that in the dead of Snezhnayan weather.
Their skin was alarmingly pale. A kind of pallor that made the hair on the back of his neck stand up. They must have been our for for a hour or two.
He fumbled his gloves off with stiff fingers, pressed two against the side of their throat.
For one awful second, he felt nothing.
Then -
A flutter.
Weak. Thready. Barely there.
But alive.
Alexei swore under his breath, the words torn away by the wind.
What was he supposed to do?
Regulations said to detain unknown individuals.
Especially ones found this close to restricted patrol zones.
Which meant dragging this half-dead stranger back to the outpost...
Back when he’d been assigned under the Harbinger’s command—Scaramouche. A routine sweep, nothing special. The group of grunts he was working with found a lone figure wandering too close to a Fatui outpost, unarmed, confused, swearing they’d taken a wrong turn.
Lost, maybe. It hadn’t mattered.
Scaramouche hadn’t even asked them any questions. He hadn’t even raised his voice. Just a flick of his hand, a crack of electricity, and it was over.
No hesitation. No regret. The body was left where it fell, and the order was given to move on.
That was the rule. That was how things were handled.
Morozov swallowed, eyes flicking back to the stranger ahead of him.
Or worse, he thought—and this time, the words wouldn’t leave his head.
He swallowed hard.
He didn't know why he hesitated.
Maybe it was the way they looked - not desperate, not dangerous.
He should have been used to this.
The Fatui made sure of that, grinding the reaction out of you until faces blurred and orders were just orders.
And yet.
For some reason, he couldn’t move.
The thought of taking them back to camp turned his stomach. Something in his head kept pushing back, sharp and unformed, telling him not to do it.
He didn’t understand it. He didn’t try to. It was there anyway—instinctive, insistent.
He glanced around - reflexively - though there was no one to see him.
Then, with a muttered curse, he shoved his spear into the snow and hooked his arms under the limp body.
They were terrifyingly light.
Like carrying a child.
Their head lolled against his chest, breath shallow and rasping.
Alexei gritted his teeth against the ache in his muscles, adjusted his grip, and started back toward the outpost cabin - not the main base.
No one needed to know about this.
The storm screamed louder, battering against him with every step, but he bowed his head and kept walking.
He was curious about the situation that could have landed them laying half dead in a snowbank. Or why there where in the forest during a snowstorm.
One step.
Another.
Another.
The weight in his arms was too small, too fragile. How long have they been out here to archive this light?
He tightened his hold instinctively, as if trying to shield them from the storm itself.
In the distance, barely visible through the snow, the crooked outline of the patrol cabin rose up - salvation of a sort.
Alexei trudged toward it.
He didn't know who he had found.
All he knew was that he couldn't let them die.
Not out here.
Not tonight.
The cabin door shuddered against the wind as Alexei shoved it open with his shoulder, the wood groaning in protest.
Inside, the air was only marginally warmer than the blizzard outside.
A battered iron stove sulked in the corner, its belly empty and cold.
The narrow bunk against the far wall was stripped down to threadbare bedding.
The place smelled of old smoke, frozen leather, and sweat.
But it was shelter. It would be good enough.
Alexei kicked the door shut behind him, letting the latch fall into place, and stumbled further in, the precious burden in his arms weighing heavier by the second.
He cursed again under his breath exhausted.
What the hell am I doing?
What the hell are they doing here?
He knelt down beside the bunk, as gently as he could, and eased the stranger onto it.
They didn't stir.
No protest. No groan.
Just a slow, rattling breath leaking from between cracked, dry lips.
He stripped off his gloves with numb fingers, then hesitated.
The stranger's clothes were soaked through - already half-frozen stiff.
If he left them like this, they'd die of hypothermia within the hour.
Alexei scrubbed a hand through his hair, muttering under his breath.
He shouldn't even be doing this, hed he killed if his commanding officer found out about this. But something deep in his gut - that same old stubborn instinct - told him if he left them like this, he'd be digging his and their's grave by morning.
With a grunt, he set to work
First, the feet.
Bare. No boots, no protection at all. The skin was pale, cold to the touch, but not ruined. That alone didn’t make sense.
Then the clothing.
Thin layers, soft and strange, clinging like silk. They shimmered faintly, catching the light where ice had settled along the folds. He’d never seen material like it—not in Snezhnaya, not in any of the other nations. No padding. No fur. No protection. Nothing meant for this world.
He worked quickly, keeping his focus narrow. He didn’t think about how cold they felt, or how faint their pulse was under his fingers. He just kept going.
Once he had them stripped to undergarments - not much better, but at least relatively (not really but he wouldn't strip them nude) - he pulled the thin blanket down from the bunk and wrapped it around them tightly, cocooning them against the cold.
The whole time, they didn't so much as twitch.
Alexei crouched back, sighing at this work.
Snow melted off his own uniform in slow, stinging drips. His fingers were stiff and clumsy. His legs ached. But he stayed kneeling there, watching them. Listening to the faint rise and fall of their breathing.
...
This was stupid. He knew it was.
He didn’t do things like this. Helping people. He couldn’t be bothered. Taking risks for people who weren’t his problem was a waste.
The Fatui didn’t reward that kind of behavior. Neither did Snezhnaya. You survived by keeping your head down and your hands clean. By walking past what didn’t concern you.
He pushed himself upright, moving to the stove.
He fed it tinder and kindling from the battered supply crate beside it, then struck the flint.
Sparks leapt.
Caught.
The fire guttered into life with a low, sullen growl, casting flickering gold light across the dim cabin.
Alexei sat back on his heels, watching it for a long moment.
The simple, stupid comfort of fire.
The stranger shivered on the bunk - a tiny, unconscious jerk - and Alexei moved without thinking, dragging the rickety thing closer to the stove.
The legs screeched against the floorboards, but he didn't care.
Anything to get them warmer.
Anything to get that too-pale face to show a little more life.
The stranger shuddered violently, a low, broken sound tearing from their throat.
Alexei was at their side in an instant, dropping to one knee, gripping their shoulder through the blanket.
"Hey," he said gruffly.
Not expecting an answer.
Their head rolled weakly toward him.
For a moment - just a moment - their eyes cracked open.
Barely a sliver.
Their lashes rimed with frost.
Eyes dazed, unfocused.
But still - they looked at him. Kinda?
A rush of something hot and sick slammed into his gut.
He swallowed against it, trying to find words - anything - but before he could speak, their eyelids fluttered shut again.
Breath rasped in their throat.
He let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding and eased them back down against the bunk, adjusting the blanket tighter around their shoulders.
Something about them tugged at him.
"Stay with me," he muttered, the words rough and useless.
A prayer disguised as an order.
Alexei sat back on the floor, leaning against the bunk.
The fire crackled low and steady.
The storm raged outside.
Inside the cabin, the world had shrunk to the two of them.
To the fragile form lying limp on the bed.
It had been hours since he had dragged them in from the snow.
Hours of watching them, listening to their breath rasping in and out like the sound of the wind itself.
The steady rhythm was both comforting and unnerving.
As if they were clinging to life only by sheer stubbornness.
But how long could they hold on like this?
A tightness curled in Alexei's chest, making it difficult to breathe.
He rubbed a hand against his face - rough, unshaven - and pushed himself to his feet with a grunt.
He couldn't sit here any longer.
Pacing the cabin felt like the only way to make the tension inside him bearable.
His boots scuffed against the floorboards as he moved from one end of the cabin to the other, his thoughts never still.
What kind of fool was he?
He was dead meat for sure by now, hours late, hours he had disappeared.
His hand clenched into a fist, knuckles scraping against the rough fabric of his uniform.
There had been something in their gaze - something fragile and haunting, and yet there was a strange sort of strength behind it. Something that had made him feel... protective. He hadn't wanted to leave them out there in the storm, to die alone, buried beneath the snow.
Was this a kindness?
Or some kind of idiocy?
Alexei scowled at the floor, kicking a stray boot out of his path, and walked back to the stove.
His hands fumbled for a moment.
Not really knowing what he was looking for - something, anything to break the silence that seemed to suffocate the air.
He found an old, dented tin of broth in the corner, shoved into a cracked shelf along with some other remnants of past meals.
It was frozen solid... But hey, he wasn't picky.
With a curse, he tossed it into the pot, watching it melt under the heat of the stove, the sound of ice cracking sharply as it thawed. The smell was faint but comforting - the familiar scent of salted meat, old vegetables.
The clink of metal on metal filled the cabin, the fire's crackling a steady backdrop.
His eyes flicked over to the bunk.
The blanket still clung loosely around their frame.
They should be completly awake by now.
Alexei bit the inside of his cheek, biting back a growl of frustration.
He scraped together a rough bowl of broth once it was warm enough.
The tin had melted into something drinkable, though it wasn't much.
Moving back to the bunk Alexei sat down beside them and pulled them upright, bracing their back against his chest so they wouldn't slump as he turned them slightly to the side.r side to make it easier to feed them.
The motion seemed to stir them just a little - their brow furrowed, lips parted in a faint grimace. But they didn't wake.
....
How could he force someone to eat who couldn't even hold themselves up?
He let out a soft sigh, rubbing his hand across his face.
They needed food.
Alexei scooped up a bit of the broth and reached out carefully.
The warmth of the soup contrasted against the cool air in the cabin, and he moved the spoon toward their mouth, praying they would respond to something.
Just a little.
And then, with a tiny flicker - their lips parted.
Barely enough to allow the spoon in. They swallowed, the faintest of sounds escaping their throat.
It took several more spoonfuls, slow and careful, for the stranger to even begin to settle into the warmth of the food. But Alexei didn't move from his place at their side.
Every spoonful, every small shift in their body, felt like a fragile victory to poor old Alexei.
Their lips parted, and a weak, dry cough rattled in their chest. The sound scraped against Alexei's nerves, and his breath caught in his throat as he leaned forward catching their chin between his fingers.
"Hey," he murmured, barely above a whisper. "Take it easy. Your safe" He frowned at himself for sounding so soft.
Their brow furrowed as they turned their head slightly, facing him more.
"Just... breathe," he murmured softly, his voice unsteady for reasons he couldn't quite place.
The stranger blinked, trying to focus. Their gaze flickered around the room, the same confusion in their eyes.
He rubbed the back of his neck, uncomfortable in the quiet.
"You should talk," Alexei said, his voice far too loud in the silence. "Tell me something. Anything."
There was no answer. Just the soft rasp of their breath. He cursed under his breath, frustration creeping in.
“Damn it,” he sighed.
He reached for the tin of broth again, the warmth still radiating from the stove. It would help, he knew. They needed more. He needed to make sure they didn't slip away while he was busy spinning in circles, second-guessing himself.
The stranger's mouth parted as they took the liquid, their lips dry and cracked.
A long time passed. The soup had finished, and the stranger was resting again, still too weak to do anything but let Alexei's care hold them together.
....
He didn't even realize he fell asleep waiting
Alexei was slouched nearby, half-sitting, half-slumped against the wall. He hadn’t intended to sleep—just to rest his eyes—but exhaustion had won out somewhere in the early hours. Now his breath came shallow through parted lips, fogging faintly in the air. One arm lay crooked over his stomach, the other hanging limp at his side. His coat had slipped off his shoulder.
The girl still lay where he had left her, curled beneath his spare cloak and the bundled hide he’d dragged from a storage crate. Her features were finally starting to lose the pinched tension of fever, and her breathing had evened out in the last few hours. He’d checked. Repeatedly.
He looked over and saw she was already awake, lying still and staring at the ceiling, clearly unaware of where she was.
Her gaze was unfocused, staring past the cracked ceiling beams at something only she could see. She blinked, slow and unsure, and when her eyes finally shifted—catching movement in the corner of her vision—her whole body tensed.
Alexei sat up straighter but didn’t approach.
He saw it, clear as day—the tension in her shoulders, the tremble in her hands. The confusion. The fear.
She looked around the room, tense and confused, clearly having no idea where she was or how she'd gotten there.
Poor girl, he thought. She has absolutely no idea where she is. I can imagine waking up like that is one hell of start.
“…You’re alright,” he said at last, his voice low, almost hoarse. “You're safe.”
She didn’t answer. Didn’t move. Her eyes were fixed on him now, wide and uncertain. She looked like she wanted to speak, but couldn’t remember how. Maybe she didn’t even know what to ask.
Alexei stayed where he was.
He could have stood, could have moved to check on her—but some part of him knew better. She looked like a fawn cornered in a thicket. You didn’t rush creatures like that. You let them choose.
He nodded once toward the fire. “It’s morning. The storm passed.” A pause. “I found you outside.”
Her lips parted—he thought she might try to respond, but then she closed them again. She looked down at her hands instead. Pale fingers, raw from the cold. She moved them slowly, as if they weren’t quite hers.
Alexei’s throat tightened.
“…You were half-frozen,” he added, quieter now. “Didn’t think you’d wake up.” His hand shifted to his coat—he hesitated, then reached to the floor beside him and picked up a metal cup. “Water?”
She blinked, eyes darting to it. Then—hesitantly—she nodded.
He crossed the room in measured steps, careful not to startle her. Kneeling beside her, he offered the cup with both hands, keeping his eyes lowered. She took it, barely grazing his fingers, and the contact sent something sharp and quiet down his spine. He didn’t know what it was.
She drank slowly. The water was lukewarm and faintly metallic, but she didn’t seem to mind. She drained half of it before her strength gave out, and her grip loosened.
He caught the cup before it could fall and set it aside.
Silence again.
She looked at him now—directly. Her eyes were… strange. Not in color or shape, but in depth. Like staring into a well that had no bottom.
Alexei held her gaze for a moment, then broke it.
“You don’t have to say anything,” he murmured, standing again. “You need rest. That’s all.”
He moved back toward the hearth, crouching beside the fire to prod it with a bit of broken wood. The crackling resumed, a soft, comforting noise.
He didn’t look back at her again until he heard fabric shift behind him. She was lying down, eyes half-lidded now, the warmth pulling her back under.
He hesitated, then grabbed his jacket and stepped back to her side. Gently, without speaking, he draped it over her again—tucking it beneath her chin to block the draft leaking through the cracked door.
The fire had begun to burn brighter again, spitting sparks into the stone hearth with every shift of the coals. Alexei sat crouched beside it, one knee bent, the other foot braced flat on the floor.
Behind him, She was still tucked beneath his jacket and the wool hide, her body curled small, like she was trying to take up as little space in the world as possible.
Outside, the world was pure white. The storm had moved on, but it left a silence so thick it pressed against the windows like a held breath. The snow had drifted high against the door; they'd be stuck here for a while. Not like they could possibly go anywhere else.
He would be dead meat if anyone from the fatui found him.
Alexei leaned back and exhaled.
He caught himself watching her again. He couldn't stop thinking about her.
It wasn't surprising, really. When you are snowed in and she was the only other person around, there wasn't much else to focus on.
Her skin was pale against the dark room. Her lashes stirred now and then, slow and unfocused, like she wasn’t fully awake yet. She looked out of place in a way he couldn’t explain, not matching the room or anything he’d known.
She looked fragile in the way something wasn’t meant to be touched at all.
For instance is she where to stand next to a rugged looking man like myself, the contrast would be impossible to miss. Like she’d been dropped into the wrong world entirely.
But he felt something more to her.
It wasn't his first time feeling something like this.
He’d felt something like this before, once, during training—crossing paths with a Harbinger
II Dottore. A scientist, obsessed with his work, experimenting on people while they were still alive.
The man carried a presence that cut straight through you, made it hard to think clearly. Standing near him felt like waiting for something terrible to happen, like disaster was already inevitable.rous, inevitable.
She carried a weight too—but different. It was subtle, insistent, drawing him closer instead of pushing him away, like something quietly asking for his attention.
It was impossible to define. Sharp and strange, like a signal from someplace he didn’t understand. Fragile, small, yet undeniably present. Every movement, every blink, the faint tremor in her hands—he noticed it all, even when he didn’t want to.
He tried to make sense of it, to pin it down, but nothing fit. Nothing he knew explained it. It just… existed, pressing on him in ways he couldn’t name, tugging at his attention and making him linger, watching, waiting.
He didn’t try to fight it. He simply let it be, letting the feeling hold him there.
Slowly, she sat up, legs dangling off the edge of the bed.
Slowly, she sat up, legs dangling off the edge of the bed. Apparently, as she tried to make sense of her own thoughts, he was doing the same
Alexei raised an eyebrow, taking her in. She may be feeling better to talk now.
She looked off, distressed, beads of sweat glinting on her pale skin.
You really shouldn't be moving yet. You're still too weak." he said.
She didn't answer.
“Why… why’d you help me?” Her voice was thin, trembling almost like a note of music.
The question was soft. Not accusatory. Just… curious. As if she couldn’t quite believe it herself.
Alexei drew a breath, slow and tired.
“I don’t know.”
Another log popped in the hearth.
“I don’t know why I helped you. I’m Fatui. I don’t usually help people—but I couldn’t leave you out there.”
Fatui?” she asked, her voice quiet, tentative. “You’re joking… are you serious?” She looked as if she couldn’t believe what he’d just said.
“Yeah. I’m Fatui. Why would I be joking? Do you… have bad relations with the Fatui?”
Her eyes flicked to his outfit. He wasn’t wearing a full uniform, just the symbol stamped over his clothes, but that alone seemed enough to make her pause.
She shook her head slowly, still staring at nothing in particular. She didn’t say anything for a long moment, completely silent. The quiet stretched, heavy and suffocating.
Finally, she shook her head again. “No… I don’t have any relation to the Fatui.”
Alexei didn’t know what she was thinking. He could see the confusion and concern in her eyes, it was like she couldn't belive what you just said.
“So… where exactly am I?”
"..."
"We're in Snezhnaya," he said, keeping his voice even.
She still looked as if she didn’t believe him
“I’m not sure why you’re acting like I’m lying,” he said, voice flat. “I’m wearing a Fatui uniform, and look outside—we’re completely snowed in.”
"..."
“I have no reason to lie, you know,” he added. “Bold of you to question your savior. Would you prefer I leave you out there in the Snezhnaya snow?”
A sudden cough ripped through her throat, and she curled in on herself slightly. Still weak from the hypothermia, her body trembled.
“Sorry… thank you for saving me, but it’s hard to believe. That place… is fictional.” She looked at him, clearly struggling to make sense of everything.
…He didn’t reply. Just stared at her, like she’d lost her mind. He shook his head slightly. I mean… really?
He said in a calm tone, “Okay. I think you should go back to rest. You’re not thinking straight right now.”
He shook his head, rubbing at his forehead. How did she just say Snezhnaya is fictional?
Was this… some kind of memory loss? People forget things, sure, but calling a real place fake? That didn’t make sense. Maybe the cold scrambled her mind. Maybe she’d been through something worse than he realized. Or… maybe he’d just saved someone completely unhinged.
She flinched slightly under his hard gaze—part judgment, part concern. Embarrassed, she looked down and shook her head, still clearly confused and shaken.
She didn't answer, just shifted slightly, curling back under the blankets. Her hands trembled, and he resisted the urge to reach out and tuck her in.
Alexei exhaled slowly, rubbing the back of his neck. He didn’t know what to make of her
A quiet tension hung between them, filled only by the soft crackle of the fire. Alexei’s jaw tightened. He still had no answers—no way to make sense of her, of the pull he felt toward her, or why he’d saved her in the first place.
"Oh, it's really no problem, [Y/N]." Noelle flashes a smile. "Anything to help you after everything you've done for Mondstadt."
You nodded in agreement. "But still..." you started. "Are you sure that you can handle everything? I can still help out with anything you want me to."
"Like I said before, don't worry about it," Noelle reassures, starting up the vacuum that you had just taught her how to use. "Think of this as a gift from me to you. You don't have to do anything but sit back and relax."
You frowned. Even though Noelle was being very thoughtful with her gift, you still felt a bit guilty at letting her do all of the work. Even if she was the most thorough and meticulous maid there ever was.
You looked around your apartment, trying to find something that you could do quickly to help out Noelle. Eventually, your eyes settled on your trash can, the bag nearly overflowing with garbage.
"Hey, Noelle. How about this?" you suggested, tying up the bag strings. "I'll go ahead and take the trash out."
Noelle's eyes widened at the bag of trash in your hand, and she would have gone against your suggestion had your look not been so stern. You were determined to help her out.
"Oh, alright," she relented. "But please let me clean up everything else. I really want to help you out today."
Nodding, you opened the door to your apartment and left to drop off your trash at the garbage chute, which was just down at the end of the hallway. As you began to walk away, you could hear the door shut behind you.
By the time you finished taking out the trash and made it back to your apartment, you were surprised to find that you couldn't hear the vacuum anymore.
'She can't already be done vacuuming, right?'
You opened the door...
...
...
...
"Oh, hey, [Y/N]. That was fast. I just got done cleaning everything!"
...
You probably looked like a dummy from how much your jaw had dropped to the floor, but it was warranted, given the fact that it was just as Noelle said.
EVERYTHING. WAS. CLEAN.
You've watched cartoons before where, after something gets cleaned, the object in question is shown to be all shiny and sparkly.
...
Well, that was literally what your apartment looked like right now.
"Oh!" Noelle gasped in realization. "I missed a spot."
And even after you thought your jaw couldn't drop any lower, you watched her speed walk over to your very large bookshelf with broom in hand, lift the ENTIRE THING WITH ONE HAND, clean underneath it, and set it back down with the grace of an airplane touching down on the runway.
"So..." Noelle turns to you, hands clasped in front of her waist. "How did I do?"
...
...
...
"...What... the fuck?????"
Noelle could only tilt her head in response, a confused look on her face.
You looked down at the zombie child. "Yes. Yes, it is."
Qiqi looks up at you. "Can we... make it colder?"
You stared at Qiqi for a couple of seconds before shrugging your shoulders. "Yeah, sure. I can do that."
You sat up from your spot on the couch and made your way over the the thermostat. "How cold do you want it, Qiqi?"
"...Cold."
You blinked in surprise. "Okay, but like, what temperature do you want it to be?"
Qiqi slowly blinks once before tilting her head and shrugging her shoulders. "...Cooler."
...
You sighed. You should've guessed Qiqi would have no knowledge of temperature. Why were you expecting a reincarnated zombie child to know so much?
"Just forget about it." You told her, turning down the temperature to a reasonably cold degree. "Hey, could you wait here for a second? I need to use the bathroom."
Qiqi didn't give a response, appearing to be lost in thought. Figuring that it was okay, you went ahead to the bathroom.
After you finished, you went back to where you last saw Qiqi, only to not find her there. Confused, you called her name out.
"Qiqi?"
You heard some rustling in the kitchen and made your way over there. Once you arrived, you saw...
You sat down beside the front door, angrily grumbling to yourself. You had been planning this vacation for weeks. You had taken some PTO from work to take a weekend trip to the mountains and were planning on traveling the surrounding area via hiking trails, rafting, and just driving around in general. However, a problem has reared its ugly head, and it's left you quite angry.
In fact, you were so angry that you didn't even notice someone approaching you from inside the house.
"Hey there, comrade. How goes it?"
Looking up in shock, you relaxed when you recognized a familiar face. "Oh, hey, Childe."
...
...
...
"WAIT, CHILDE?!"
Forgetting about your anger, you were now in shock as you quickly rose to your feet. What was the reason behind there being a Harbinger here? Were the Fatui after you? Did the Tsarista finally put out a hit list after you?!
...
'Wait, no. That doesn't make sense. The Traveler wouldn't have let them come here otherwise.'
On the other hand, Childe just rolls his eyes, chuckling softly.
"Relax. Relax. I'm not gonna hurt you. Not unless you want to fight, of course."
He looks over your body once more. "But just by taking one look at you, I figure that we'd be heavily mismatched."
You glared at him in suspicion. "Why are you here?"
Childe playfully puts a hand over his heart. "My my, comrade, why so harsh?"
"You're a Fatui Harbinger," you quickly responded.
"True. But you should know by now that I'm also a friend of the Traveler's."
You crossed your arms. "That still doesn't answer how you convinced him to let you come here."
In response, Childe just laughs. "Easy now, no need to get so riled up."
He puts a hand on his hip. "I had a little free time, so I thought I would come to see what the otherworldly friend of the Traveler's looks like."
You raised an eyebrow. "...That's it? No other motives involving the Fatui?"
"I promise."
Childe looks around the room, clapping his hands. "Now, why don't you give me the ole grand to-
*GROWL*
Both of you, startled, turned your attention towards the source of the noise.
...
...
...
"What was that?" Childe asked.
"...Why does he still have to be here..." you mumbled to yourself before turning back to Childe. "Sorry for that interruption, but you caught me at a bad time. You don't know this yet, but this isn't my normal place. That's because I'm on vacation in the mountains. I was planning on spending my day outdoors."
You angrily threw your hand towards the window. "But there just HAD to be a grizzly bear waiting outside between me and my car. I've had to sit here and wait for the last hour, hoping for him to leave, but he's a real stubborn one."
...
"Did you say there's a bear outside?"
Looking back towards Childe, you were terrified by the smile on his face and the hopeful expression in his eyes.
...
"Why are you looking at me like that?" you scaredly questioned the psychotic ginger.
Childe did not give a verbal response. Instead, he summoned his dual hydro blades and began walking towards the front door.
"Wait wait wait wait wait," you panicked. "I can't have you fighting a bear! What happens if you get hurt?"
"Have you already forgotten that I'm a Harbinger?" he smugly answers, twirling one of his hydro blades. "Not to mention that I've got plenty of experience fighting against bears."
He goes to walk around you, but you (stupidly) step in front of him again.
"Okay, but hear me out," you plead. "Please don't go full-out Tartaglia mode on him. My car's just outside. I don't think my insurance covers whatever you're about to do.
He thinks for far too long to your comfort, before finally nodding his head, albeit reluctantly. "Alright. Guess I won't fight him."
...
'Huh? Childe backing down from a fight? That doesn't make sen-'
"Guess I'll just have to wrestle him instead. Here, hold this."
Before you could even react, he gently placed his Hydro vision and Electro delusion in your hand before racing out the front door. By the time you recovered and peeked out the front door, the fight between Childe and the bear had already begun.
...
...
...
...Oh dear God, you did not expect this fight to be so one-sided. You almost feel sorry for the bear.
You were filling up a cup of water in the kitchen when you heard the familiar noise of someone from Teyvat being portaled to your bedroom.
The past couple of times this has happened, you'd play a little game in your head where you would guess who showed up. You've barely gotten the answer right, but you were determined to guess this one correctly.
'Let's see... Could it be Kirara delivering a package? Is Sayu trying to run from Kano Nana? Does Xianyun want to see the various technological inventions of this world? Or maybe it's the Traveler looking to introduce me to Paimon face-to-face.'
As you were making guesses in your head, you began to drink your water. However, out of the corner of your eye, your guest made their entrance across from you.
The first thing you noticed was the color purple. Purple hair, purple eyes, purple clothes...
...
'IS THAT THE RAIDEN FUCKING SHOGUN??!!'
Your eyes widened, and you gasped in surprise. Unfortunately for you, that was a bad idea, as you were in the middle of drinking water.
The water entering your lungs causes you to cough immediately, which in turn causes some of the water in your cup to splash onto your face and shirt.
You try to regain your composure and give the Raiden Shogun your best first impression. However, the longer it takes for you to stop coughing, the more embarrassed you become.
'...Oh God, I was NOT expecting her...'
"Are you alright?"
With tears in your eyes, you looked up towards Ei (you've played the game enough times to tell the difference between her voice and the puppet's), who had a worried expression on her face.
"*cough* *cough* Agh... Sorry," you tried to chuckle the embarrassing moment away. "I just wasn't expecting you to show up."
Ei tilts her head, "Why?"
You blink confusedly. "Because you're the Raiden Shogun??? *cough* You're responsible for running your entire country???"
"Ah. That," Ei nods. "I've temporarily entrusted Miko to handle Inazuma. I know she'll be able to handle it."
"Cool deal," you nodded, desperately trying not to appear scared or frightened in front of a literal God, famously known for the Musou no Hitotachi. "Well, since you're a guest, could I get you anything? Something to eat or drink, perhaps?"
Ei begins to think for a moment. "Since you're offering, do you have any tea?"
You nod again. "I do, just give me a second to prep it up. Please, have a seat on the couch."
Although you don't have a kettle to make tea in, you do have a microwave to quickly heat up water. As you're heating up the water, you notice Ei quietly approaching behind you. Despite being ever so nervous, you have to keep reminding yourself that you've given her no reason to hurt you.
...
'...Yet.'
"What is this strange contraption?"
You turned around. "Oh, this? This is a microwave. To put it simply, it lets me heat up food and drinks relatively quickly."
Ei looks impressed. "And this is all done with Electro?"
"It's really more like electricity, but I don't know if you'd consider them to be the same thing," you replied. "Nobody in this world has Visions, so we have no way to wield the elements by ourselves. Instead, we create inventions that can manipulate the elements and use them like that."
*beep* *beep* *beep*
By the time you finished speaking, the timer of the microwave had reached zero. You took out the two mugs of hot water and set them on the counter. Next, you grabbed two tea bags and placed one in each mug before handing one of the mugs to Ei.
"Here you are, Your Excellency, The Almighty Narukami Ogosho, God of Thunder."
Ei chuckled, taking the mug from your hand. "There is no need to call me that, for I am not your God."
You shrugged, "Still, I believe it's proper manners."
With that, the two of you began to drink from your respective teas. Only to be interrupted by a new voice.
"Oh my... it appears Ei has made herself a new friend."
While Ei seemed mildly annoyed at Yae Miko's presence...
You, unfortunately, had the exact same reaction to Miko's arrival as you did to Ei's arrival.
The eyes widening; the gasping; the water in your lungs; the excessive coughing; the splashing of tea on your face and shirt; the embarrassment.
Everything. Happened. Again.
"*cough* God dammit, Traveler," you slammed a fist on the counter. "Warn me next time!"
Author's Side Note: Yes, I do believe that Snezhnaya has bears. Yes, I am fully aware that this could come back and bite me in the ass if Hoyo does not add bears to their game.
Really short sagau thing that will probably only have a few parts
The Stellar Reunion wasn’t enough. Nothing ever was, it seemed. Although you came back to them for the Reunion, you didn’t stay for long. There was always something else to grab your attention, always something to pull you away from them. The game wasn’t enough. They needed something bigger, something more special, something just for you. Having noticed a change in their own presence around you, finding themselves closer to you than before, they decided to take a chance.
You were sitting on your porch, taking in some fresh air. You closed your eyes and listened to the chirping birds and distant buzz-like whistles. There was always so much to do so moments like these were a treasure. You leaned back in your chair and inhaled as the crisp breeze caressed your face.
There were lots of sounds, but for once it wasn’t overwhelming. The open air carried them around and past you instead of wrapping them around you, allowing you to breathe despite how busy the world was in your moment of rest. The air was cool and fresh, relieving in contrast to the stale air of so many interiors. Maybe you should open the windows more now that it was getting warmer.
In your time of relaxation, you choose to occupy yourself with calming things, things you hadn’t seen in forever. For a while, you sat silently at a table on your porch, coloring in a coloring book like you used to do when you were younger. It was nice. You should do this more often, if you get the chance. Next, you went for a walk around the block. You forgot how much you enjoyed this. You realized that you were surprised whenever you saw someone else outside. It saddened you a bit. Finally, when you got back to your house, you decided to play a game.
You had recently been able to get a new, albeit slightly older (not that you minded at all), phone. It was a surprise gift you’d been incredibly thankful for, one so unexpected you had simply stared wide-eyed at the box when it was presented to you. After seeing how much storage this new phone had, you realized you could download one of your favorite games: Genshin Impact. You’d been playing it on a different device for about a year or two now, but being able to play it more often because you could literally carry it with you sounded great. Maybe you’d play it during your lunch breaks.
You loaded up the game and began going through your routine. Going through the routine, you checked the mail, your realm currency, decided you would do some exploration in the place of your commissions, and checked the events tab. If only you had stopped there.
You were greeted with a new event, one you’d seen no promotion or discussion about. The event image welcomed you with the Traveler in the foreground, reaching for the camera as though beckoning for you to come along. In the background were the archons, seemingly just as eager. You tilted your head, eyes scanning the image. There were decorations and lights, and shooting stairs falling across the sky like a rain of wishes. There was no description, only the title “Long Awaited Wish: Descent of Our Beloved Star.”
“Holy crap,” you muttered as you checked the rewards. It included just about everything. You skimmed the event details, their vagueness going unnoticed as you took note of how much you’d get from this. Your mouth fell open as you tallied up what was worth about fifteen ten pulls. They usually never gave out anything close to this… And that was just the primogems. There were skins for each of the archons, seemingly related to the festival they appeared to be celebrating, and—
“A skin for the Traveler!?” you exclaimed. “Finally!?” You, like everyone else, had been waiting years for the Traveler to get a skin, and now here one was. There were also various smaller items, such as a multitude of dishes from each of the nations and a number of keepsakes and mementos, presumably for the teapot. There was also a building, a cross between a temple and a palace. “A new realm style?” you pondered.
Well, you couldn’t not do an event like this. Not when there was all of that to gain from it. Although you were incredibly suspicious of the amount of stuff that was being offered, assuming you probably wouldn’t be able to get all of it because it was too hard or something, it was too big of an opportunity. Besides, you need to get used to playing on mobile so…
You find yourself in Teyvat thanks to the efforts of Alice and Aether, and along with that the answers to your questions have been found. But instead of feeling satisfied, you are left conflicted and confused. Not to worry though, Aether is here to guide you through everything, just like you have done for him.
Tiredly, you flipped your body away from the beaming rays. You let out a comforting sigh when your face hit the cool bedsheets.
.
..
…
‘…Wait… …Bedsheets…?’
Curiously, you opened your eyes…
…And immediately locked eyes with a man sitting across from you.
Startled, you quickly sat up, intending to question who the man was, but the sudden movement proved too much for your body to handle. You groaned, shutting your eyes and bringing a hand to your head as you felt a strong headache coming along. Furthermore, your body started to deflate, quickly becoming too tired to keep yourself upright. The man in the room hopped to his feet and rushed to your side, a worried expression on his face.
“Woah woah woah. Easy. Easy…” his gloved hands softly gripped your shoulders, gently pushing you back down onto the bed. “You need more rest. Your body is still recovering from the long journey. Try not to overexert yourself.”
Lacking the strength to refute, you reluctantly complied with the stranger’s words. However, you took the opportunity to come to a few conclusions about your current situation.
Number 1: Whoever this stranger is, he doesn’t appear to have any intention of hurting you. At least for right now…
Number 2: You definitely are not in the witch’s tent anymore. Last time you checked, tents didn’t have queen-sized beds and wooden walls. You couldn’t recognize where you were from just a quick glance, but something in your mind is telling you that there is some familiarity to the room you’re occupying.
Number 3: Speaking of familiarity…
…
Why does this stranger’s voice sound so freaking recognizable? It’s literally on the tip of your tongue…
But before you could think about it more, a cold hand came to a rest on your forehead.
…
Actually, cold might be an understatement. This hand is much colder than that. It’s… frigid?
‘But how? Isn’t he wearing gloves?’
Regardless, it helps alleviate your headache, which brings you a sigh of relief.
“I’m sorry I don’t have an ice pack with me,” the stranger apologizes. “But hopefully this works as an alternative.”
You opened your eyes and looked toward the stranger, intending to give him your thanks, but you suddenly stopped.
…
“…Aether?” You slurred.
A soft smile grows on his face. “Yes, it’s me. Are you feeling better, Reader?”
Your head rolls to the side. Aether’s hand stays pressed against your forehead, his wrist joints glowing frosty blue. “…Reader…?”
Aether tilts his head. “Yeah, you’re our Reader.”
Your eyebrows furrow. “…Huh?”
The room becomes silent for a couple of seconds before Aether seems to understand something.
“Oh, that’s right. Alice mentioned that you might be out of the loop on a couple of things. I’ll do my best to explain everything to you.”
The next five or so minutes are spent by Aether explaining to you the story behind your arrival at his Serenitea Pot. He explains Alice’s plan on his end and how he believes she had a friend of hers in your world who owed her a favor.
‘That must’ve been Elise…’ you concluded.
“I know it’s not easy telling people that you come from other worlds, trust me, I’ve been there before,” Aether says. “It’s even harder telling someone that the ‘story’ they’ve been reading actually exists. Despite this, I hope this revelation hasn’t been too hard on you.”
You had recovered enough to the point where you could sit on the edge of the bed. It was true that your mind was racing, but you suppose fantasizing about this situation seemed to diminish your astonishment. Furthermore, seeing Aether in front of you — not someone in cosplay, there is no way anyone could replicate his golden eyes — buries any doubt that this couldn’t be anything but real life. Not even a dream sounded like a realistic possibility!
“…Huh…”
Aether lets out a small chuckle. “You must be in shock and awe.”
“Can you blame me?” You shrugged your shoulders. “You even said it yourself. Explaining this to anyone is not easy at all.”
Aether nodded. “But you’re here now. And I’m glad I finally get the chance to talk with you.”
…
You smiled and tipped your imaginary hat. “Likewise.”
Aether’s smile grew wider as he reached out his hand. Thinking he was going for a handshake, you grabbed his hand but were surprised when he pulled you to your feet instead. You stumbled a bit, but you were quick to catch your balance. Aether was also looking ready to catch you.
“Do you mind if I bring you somewhere with me?”
You raised an eyebrow. “Where to?”
“How about a trip to Mondstadt?”
Your eyes widen in shock. You don’t think you’re ready for a visit to any major city. Especially one with so many people you know! Aether seemed to recognize your thoughts almost instantly.
“Not to the city! I know that you’re not ready for a city visit. You just got here after all. I only plan on taking you to the cliffs above Starfell Lake. It’s one of my favorite sightseeing spots.”
You sighed in relief. “Yeah, I don’t think I’m ready for any main city. A small town, maybe, but not any main area.” A sudden thought pops into your mind. “Wait. Will Venti be alright with this? I won’t be intruding on his nation, will I?”
“You definitely won’t,” Aether laughs. “You have nothing to worry about.”
You gave a nod of approval. Aether nods as well before placing his palm over your eyes. “You’re probably gonna want to close your eyes. It takes a while to get used to the waypoints.”
You follow his orders, and soon enough, Aether begins the teleportation.
You definitely felt a little dizzy once you and Aether teleported to Mondstadt, but it wasn’t as bad as the headache you had earlier.
“I always like to set up a portable waypoint here when I need a little time by myself.”
When Aether finally removes his palm, you slowly open your eyes before gasping in amazement.
Mondstadt looked even prettier in person. The sun shone on Cidar Lake, glimmering the water’s tides. You could see Mondstadt City standing proudly in the middle of the lake. Despite the giant stone walls surrounding its borders, the elevation you were at allowed you to peer over and spot the many red roofs that occupied the city. Additionally, you could see the statue of Barbatos erected in front of the cathedral near the back of the city. And last but not least, the city’s three windmills slowly spun, which brought your attention to the calm breeze that brushed against your skin and hair.
Outside of the city and lake, the grass, bushes, and trees covered the land in nature’s green, leaving a few strips of land open for the dirt paths that merchant carts and horse carriages would travel along.
Usually, such pretty sights and calm scenery would be interrupted by a yapping fairy.
…Speaking of said yapping fairy.
“Where’s Paimon?” You asked.
“She’s with Lumine for the day,” Aether replied. “Alice and I thought it would be better if your first visit to Teyvat was done one-on-one.”
Aether takes a seat on the cliff ledge, and only later would you come to realize that this particular spot matched the image on Genshin’s pre-installation screen. “So now that we’re here, I wanna hear about your story.”
“My story?” You questioned, sitting down beside Aether.
“Yeah, you’ve known my story for the past ten or so years, while I practically know nothing about you! I wanna know more about you, what your world is like, how you came across Teyvat’s ‘story’, everything!”
“I doubt I can explain everything to you,” you laughed at his enthusiasm. “But I’ll try my best.”
Like the five minutes Aether took to explain his and Alice’s plan, you spent the next five minutes talking about yourself, your family, the simplest details of your world, and how you first heard about Genshin Impact. All the while, Aether listened intently, asking questions whenever something piqued his curiosity.
“So it’s this device that allows you to guide us and not from any power that you possess?” Aether asks.
“Yeah…” you scratched the back of your neck. “Sorry to disappoint you.”
“I’m not disappointed!” Aether exclaims. “What made you think I was?”
“I just thought that since you’re all powerful and all, you’d think that whoever was controlling you would either be someone of your equal or more powerful. But I’m not that powerful. I don’t have anything like a Vision, and I’m not a god nor some type of all mighty Creator-like being. I’m just…” You gestured at yourself. “I’m just me.”
Aether frowned at your self-deprecation. “I don’t care how powerful you are,” he puts an arm around your shoulder. “The only thing I care about is how you and Paimon were there for me when I was at my lowest. Lumine and I had never lost a fight before, but when we first encountered that god not only did we lose, we were also separated. That was probably my first time I ever felt lost. I had my power sealed and had no idea what to even do. But once I fished out Paimon and had you to guide me, you two helped me find the truth of this world and reunite with Lumine. And for that, I am eternally grateful.”
Aether’s words had you blushing so badly that you turned away in embarrassment.
“I really mean it,” he shakes your shoulder. “And it’s not just me, either. So many want to reward you as well. In fact, that’s all that everybody has been telling me for the past couple of days. Amber wants to treat you to a meal at Good Hunter. Gaming wants to treat you to some dim sum. Yoimiya wants to make your very own firework. Navia wants to invite you to the Tabletop Troupe.”
You held up a finger to stop him from rambling. “I’m sensing a pattern. So it’s really just the extroverts who are offering stuff.”
…
“Yeah, pretty much.”
You and Aether get a good laugh out of that.
“But you see what I mean. You’ve got so many people who want to meet you, and I don’t think most of them are gonna take no for an answer.”
You frowned. “I still think that they should know more about me before I meet with any of them. Like what I told you. They should know that, as far as who this person is, they’re just an ordinary human. Nothing special or anything. I don’t want to ruin any expectations they may have for me.”
“…You really gotta stop talking down on yourself,” Aether sighs. “Believe me when I say no matter who you say you are, your actions speak for themselves. And for that, you deserve praise.”
…
You softly smile. “Thanks.”
Aether smiles too before materializing a Kamera in his hands. “How about a picture together before I have to send you back?”
He gets up and walks away from the cliff ledge. After walking a few feet, he sets up the Kamera on a stand and sets up the automatic timer. He peeks around the Kamera. “Ready?”
You nod your head.
“Alright, get ready. We have ten seconds.” He turns on the timer before rushing back by your side.
You didn’t know what pose he wanted you to do, so you kept your hands in your pockets. However, Aether grabs one of your hands and brings it around his shoulder. You looked at him incredulously. “I thought you weren’t a touchy guy?”
Aether just looked at you, smiled, and wrapped his arm around your shoulder. “I am now, [Y/N].”
Shrugging your shoulders, you looked back at the Kamera.
You unlocked the door to your apartment and walked inside. Home sweet home.
That unexpected trip to Teyvat left you exhausted. Time to get ready for bed.
You did your nightly duties: showering, brushing your teeth, changing into pajamas, and a quick drink of water that you’ll regret taking when you have to wake up to use the bathroom in four hours time.
‘A necessary sacrifice.’ You told yourself.
However, when you approached your bed, you saw something that wasn’t there before. A picture — one that you recognized almost instantly — along with a familiar-looking white flower and a letter.
Setting the flower and picture aside, you began to read the letter.
…
Here’s to many more memories.
- Aether
P.S. YOU BETTER COME BACK SO PAIMON CAN GIVE YOU THE BIGGEST HUG EVER!!!
…
You don’t think the smile on your face can grow any bigger.
Author’s Notes: And that’s the end of this series! Probably won’t be a new one for a long while. There will be plenty of one-shots however, I’ve got plenty of ideas for some reverse isekai shenanigans.
Who knows, perhaps I'll make a one-shot extending this series someday.
A mysterious flyer in the mail invites you to the Witches Guild at the local Renaissance Festival. Unbeknownst to you, the witch that you meet may solve the answers to all your questions.
Content Warning(s): Slight Alice Misportrayal, Amateur Tarot Card Readings
Today was a perfect today to be outside. The sun was shining brightly in the sky with a few clouds passing over to provide shade from time to time. The light breeze felt amazing against your skin, cooling your body just enough to stop yourself from sweating. The cap on your head also helps prevent the sun from blinding your eyes.
As for where you were, the sound of medieval music, chitter-chatter, and the sight of tents, wooden billboards, and signs could only suggest that you were in one place: The Medieval Ages.
...
Okay, TECHNICALLY it was called the Renaissance Festival but that doesn't sound as fun to say compared to The Medieval Ages.
You looked back down at the flyer in your hand, wondering why you were here. You don't know why it appeared in your mailbox a couple of days ago, but you can't deny that it drew your curiosity.
...
To Whom It May Concern,
Do you feel like you're stuck in limbo? Are you uncertain about certain events from your past, present, or future? If so, you've been hand-selected for a free tarot card reading performed by Elise, one of our many witches at the Renaissance Festival!
If you choose to accept this offer, come to the Renaissance Festival in two days' time at 5:00 PM. Bring only yourself and nobody else.
See you soon~.
...
Although you do feel embarrassed for going to a tarot card reading to potentially receive the answers to your current problems, not having to pay anything is kind of tempting...
Thus, you're here. The ticket price was a bit expensive to your liking, but inflation would probably increase the price next year. Best to bite the bullet now than treat it later.
After making it past the entrance, you walked over to the 'World Map' the festival had on display. You skimmed over it, trying to find the Witches Guild. Eventually, you found its location near the back corner of the festival grounds and started to make your way over.
Once you reached your destination, you noticed a couple of things. Firstly, the Witches Guild held only a single medieval two-mast umbrella tent. The roof of the tent was a royal purple while the walls were striped with the same purple color as well as white.
Secondly, there weren't a lot of people walking around the tent. If anything, it looked like everybody was doing their best to maintain a large distance, making you look like the odd one out for even thinking of approaching.
Lastly, there was no apprentice witch to be seen.
'Maybe I have to go inside?' you assumed, reaching towards the tent flap.
However, before you could even move the flap, a woman dressed in all black yanked the flap open, startling you to take a few steps back. Her all black attire featured a tank dress and sheer shirt, fishnet arm warmers, and black gloves. She also had pale skin and wore black eyeliner and dark red lipstick.
"What do you want?" she rudely asks you, glaring at you as if you were a disgusting little insect.
The intimidating woman, on top of her rude behavior, turned you timid. "Sorry. Sorry. I had a flyer that mentioned a-"
"Give it," she interrupts, impatiently reaching a hand out.
You quickly gave her the flyer, which she snatched from your grasp. Once she had the flyer, she read it for a couple of seconds before crumpling it up with her fist.
"Wait here," she demands, before heading back inside the tent.
Terrified of what might happen should you not follow orders, you stayed in place for what felt like a minute or two. Eventually, a taller woman strutted out of the tent and gazed upon your meek form.
She had fair skin and long, wavy brown hair that reached her shoulders. She wore a large purple witch's hat that just barely covered her emerald green eyes. A slim-fit purple dress embellished with silver embroidery adorned her body, along with black lace stockings and high heels. Finally, fitted on each of her hands were black gloves with a pale purple trim.
...
Or to make a long story short, SHE WAS SMOKING HOT, HOLY SHI-.
"Hey there, cutie~" she flirted in an angelic voice.
...
...
...
Your thoughts were going bonkers.
'RED ALERT! RED ALERT! PRETTY WOMAN CALLED YOU CUTE! I REPEAT! PRETTY WOMAN CALLED YOU CUTE! ENGAGE ALL FORMALITIES! THIS IS NOT A DRILL! ENGAGE ALL FORMALITIES!'
You straighten your back as best you can and quickly fix your hair. "Hello there!" you reach out your hand. "It's a pleasure to meet your acquaintance."
...
She giggles in her hand before reaching out to shake yours. "The pleasure is all mine."
...
'...Nailed it.' you celebrated with a silent fist pump.
"Follow me," she gestures with her other hand. She takes you inside the tent, which you gaze at in amazement. Various lamps, patterned drapes, and carpets were decorated all around the tent to give the environment a mysterious ambiance. Your expectations were low at first, but the Witches Guild sure knows how to create an environment!
She guides you to the center of the tent, where a rug is laid out with two cushions on opposite sides. She goes to sit on one side while you go ahead and sit down across from her.
"Anna," she calls out behind her. "Be a dear and wait outside. Make sure no one interrupts us."
The rude woman from earlier appears from behind a drape and swiftly leaves the tent in silence.
"Now, with that out of the way, let's go ahead and get started. Wait here for just a moment."
She stands up and goes behind the drape that Anna emerged from earlier. Before long, she appears with a deck of tarot cards in tow. She's already begun to shuffle the cards as she sits back down.
"What's your name, cutie?" she asks sweetly.
A blush nearly rises to your cheeks as you struggle to give your name in one go.
She giggles. "What a pretty name. My name's Elise."
'God, the things I would let this woman do to me...'
You silently slap yourself. 'Stop it!! Remember, formalities only. No horny!'
Once you have finished collecting your sanity thoughts together, the lovely witch places the shuffled deck on the rug, draws the top three cards, and places them face down in front of you.
"Starting from your left, these cards will tell me about your past, present, and future. I shall explain to you the meanings of these three cards and will answer any other questions you may have. Take your time~."
Nodding, you flipped over the card on your left.
"The Six of Cups," she begins. "This card conveys the meaning of nostalgia, gifts, innocence, and reunions. Does this match with your past experiences?"
You gave it a small thought before nodding in confirmation. "Yeah, it does. I've had a lot of nostalgic things I can look back on."
Elise hums. "Would you like to expand on it?"
"No thanks," you say, shaking your head. "I'm more interested in a problem I'm currently dealing with."
Elise hums again. "Now you have my curiosity. Let me see what troubles you, my dear."
You went ahead and flipped over the second card.
"Oh my!" Elise gasps. "The Page of Swords conveys the meaning of a curious kid, gossip, spies, prying eyes, and truth." She leans forward slightly. "What's piquing your curiosity?"
"Well..." you scratch the back of your head. "It's a bit embarrassing to talk about, but I guess since I'm already here..."
You took in a deep breath. "Have you heard of a game called Genshin Impact?"
Elise politely shook her head.
"Ok, what it is isn't really important. What is important is what happens at the end. The main character gives this grand speech thanking everybody for their help. He even does a fourth-wall break by thanking the player."
"What draws my curiosity is the fact that out of everyone who has played the game, I seem to be the only person whose seen the fourth-wall break. Every video on the internet doesn't show anything about it!"
The whole time, Elise had her eyes closed and a hand to her chin, humming to herself in thought. When she opens her eyes, she asks, "Let me ask you this. If you are the only person who witnessed something, but nobody else has, would you still believe it?"
...
"I mean... I guess..." you threw your hands up. "When I saw it the first time, it didn't feel out of the norm. I'm just confused by this whole ordeal."
"I see," Elise ponders. "Perhaps this last card will help clarify to me the solution to your problems."
Although you seriously doubt it, you may as well finish what you started. You flip over the third and final card. You wait for Elise to explain the meaning of the card to you, but she's gone back to her thoughts. You decide to wait patiently for her to finish.
"I understand it now," Elise says. "The Four of Wands conveys the meaning of homecoming, celebrations, family, friends, and reunions."
You raised a quizzical eyebrow. "Really?" you look back to the card. "I don't see how that answers the question."
"Leave that to me," Elise smirks, holding out her hand. "Place your hands around mine."
Confusingly, you placed your hands around hers.
"Now close your eyes and take deep breaths. Everything will be explained to you shortly."
You do as she instructs, feeling a wave of calmness flow through your body.
"Oh, stars above, guide this lost traveler to their destination so that their questions will all be answered."
Silence echoes inside the tent.
...
...
...
Suddenly, you feel a tidal wave of exhaustion crash against your body. You try to recover your senses but are finding it increasingly difficult to do so.
"Shhhhh. Don't fight it," Elise whispers. "Let the stars comfortably guide you where you need to be. She'll take care of the rest."
You didn't have enough time to think about who 'she' was before you succumbed to sleep.
Alice exits the southeast-side inner room of the Windward Manor, softly closing the door behind her. Aether, who is leaning against one of the columns, makes his way over.
"Did it work?" he asks.
Alice nods. "They're resting just inside. They'll need some time to adjust to the travel."
"And how long will that take?"
"Only a couple of minutes. It shouldn't take too long."
Aether nods, then looks over to the door Alice exited from. Just inside was the person who had guided them on their adventure since the very beginning. Just inside was the person who he had been wanting to meet for just over a decade. Just inside...
Determined to meet with the Reader from Beyond the Stars, Aether discusses with Alice the idea of connecting with them. Meanwhile, you realize something about your game that differs greatly from others.
There's this game called Genshin Impact, right? It's a gacha game where you can spend money on characters that you wish to play. Its first story arc just finished in a climactic finale full of tension and drama.
Afterward, the protagonist of said story (Aether in your case) gives a speech where they thank all of their friends for helping him reunite with his sibling.
Currently, you are rewatching the speech on social media to watch and read other people's reactions to it.
...
...There's just one issue.
You initially wanted to rewatch the speech because you thought that people would react wildly to the fourth wall break at the end of the speech. The one where Aether thanks you as the 'Reader from Beyond the Stars.'
...The only problem is that nobody is talking about it. Not because they aren't interested in such a revelation.
...
Because according to the internet, that fourth wall break never happened.
You want to call bullshit, obviously. You swear to God the Aether from your game mentioned your existence as part of a fourth-wall break. You're not insane! It's just FACTS!!
...
But if you were to bring it up, who would believe you?
You weren't recording your game at the time, and looking at the Archon Quest historical archives within the game never showed that it was said. According to the game, the last person that Aether thanked was his sister, Lumine.
This is like the equivalent of the quiet kid who never talks, saying, "Nobody will ever believe you" to your face.
You try and convince everyone else that they said it, but they'll always believe the quiet kid. And in the end, you end up looking insane.
If you were to post on social media that Aether broke the fourth wall without any evidence, you'd be labeled as an attention-seeker. Wrong. Never happened. Stop lying.
"So what am I supposed to do? Ignore it?" you asked yourself.
...
...
...
"Ehh. One missing dialogue isn't going to kill me. Stop worrying about it. You've got other things to be more concerned with."
You continued your day as if nothing had ever happened.
"You understand that what you're asking of me is pretty big, right, Aether?"
"I do understand, Alice. But surely you can understand my reasonings."
Alice hummed in affirmation from her seat at the head of the Imaginarium Theater's table. Aether watched from his seat beside her as she closed her eyes, seemingly thinking to herself.
"Although I know you harbor good intentions, I'm afraid this is a request I cannot easily grant."
"...Why is that?" Aether asked, frowning slightly.
"I've told you before that who you're asking me to bring is simply a Reader of this story we're in," Alice explained. "Readers and storybook characters aren't meant to interact with each other. If they did, the relationship between the two becomes chaotic."
"But are we not storybook characters anymore?" Aether asked. "We've changed our fate created by the Heavenly Principles so that we may forge it for ourselves. If we are no longer part of their story, why do we need to continue to distance ourselves from the Reader?"
"Because that is all the Reader has known us as," answered Alice. "Informing the Reader that the characters within the story are aware of their existence is a hard message to get across. Usually, it ends with the Reader scared out of their wits and separating themselves from that story forever."
"But it's not impossible."
Alice's eyes widened in surprise before she drew a sigh. "You're right. It's not impossible. Just incredibly difficult with a low chance of success."
She leaned forward in her chair. "But this isn't something that can be done with just one person's request. You're talking about bringing an outworlder - not even a descender, an outworlder - to Teyvat. To an entire new world. A world inhabited by hundreds of thousands of people. You don’t get to choose for the entire world whether or not you can bring any outworlders. This world has already had enough problems with them already.
She pauses for a brief second. "...No offense."
"None taken."
Alice nodded. "Do you see what I mean, though? This isn't something that you should be taking lightly."
"...I know," Aether sighed. "I just wish I could properly thank them for all they've done for me."
He got up from his seat, turned away from Alice, and looked to the ceiling. "But just saying it isn't enough. I want to be able to look them in the eyes as I give them my thanks. That's the only way I'll know that my message got across."
Alice hummed. "Well then..."
...
"I'll see what I can do about that."
...
Aether turned back around toward Alice, a surprised expression etched on his face. "...Huh? You mean you're gonna follow through with this?"
"I know I said before that the odds of success are low, but what can I say?" Alice said, hands raised in question. "Not only do I like myself a good challenge, I like our odds as well."
Aether crossed his arms. "And why is that?"
"Oh, I don't know," answered Alice, smugly.
"...I just have a feeling that the Reader may be thinking the same thing as well."
Author's Notes: "Oh, this is gonna be a piece of cake! I already have my beginning and my ending. Writing this is gonna be a breeze!"
Narrator: "It wasn't."
Yeah... I probably should have thought this through more. That's why it's been a month since the previous chapter. I thought I had something going, but I couldn't write the original scene fluidly enough to fit with the direction the story was going. But the problem's fixed now! Just ended up shuffling some other scenes around. We gucci.
Another thing to mention is that I'm not confident in the way I've written Alice. That's why I put that content warning up there. I'm not that familiar with her character, given I've only interacted with her once in Simulank, and I'm too lazy to look up the other interactions. Sorry if that bothers you.
Here's to NOT waiting a long time for the next chapter to come out.
“i don’t know why you’re taking this so seriously.”
“i don’t kow why you aren’t.”
you sniffle again, wiping at your nose with a napkin he’d insisted you take. “it’s not like i’ll die, baizhu.”
“dont joke about that.” he sat at his desk, counting qingxin petals as he plucked them off. “you’ll be perfectly fine, so long as you take your medicine.”
you wanted to roll your eyes, to push off his worry and deny the pills. yes, you were sick, but with barely a cold—more an annoyance than anything—that you didn’t think was worth even half the trouble.
but if nothing else, this was for his benefit. part of the curse of being a doctor, you supposed: knowing even the most severe of illnesses started with a cough. or, in your case, congestion.
“and you’re certain that’s it? no aches or pains?”
for his sake, you checked again. nothing out of the ordinary, just as it was five minutes ago, the last time he asked you.
“i’m fine, just as i have been and just as i will be. even if i wanted to hide something, you’d be able to tell.”
he’d known you were sick before you did. you went out with qiqi yesterday, returning to the pharmacy with a basket propped on your waist. you exchanged your greetings with gui, lingering to watch qiqi set herself up in her chair, carefully prying seeds out of lotus heads. you were sat beside her sorting the horsetail from the violet grass when he came out of the back door, eyes lingering on you strangely.
“are you feeling well?”
you looked up, hands stalling. “yeah, i feel fine. why, is something wrong?”
gui smiled like he knew something you didn’t, but you didn’t focus on that. baizhu came to you, taking your hands in his, inspecting your palms like you’d miraculously developed an allergy to horsetail overnight. “…are you sure?”
“positive.”
“no new aches, not unusually hot or short of breath, nothing stiff or-”
“baizhu.” you turned your hands to hold his instead, his gloves cool under your fingers. “i’m fine. you worry too much.”
but, of course, your karma swung around and you woke up with a headache and a pressure in your sinus. the light off the stone paths felt too bright, your predicament obvious from the moment you opened your mouth to say hello. just like that, you’d been whisked away to a back room, changsheng curling around your shoulders as he tried to find any and every reason to worry.
it was cute. or, would have been, if you didn’t know he was worried beneath the fuss. if you didn’t know any better, it would seem like he was finding any and all excuses to touch you. a loose grip on your wrist to check if your heart was irregular, the back of his hand against your cheek to see if you had a fever, worrying and worrying like you weren’t stuck with the common cold and he wasn’t the best doctor this side of inazuma.
“you worry too much.”
“you worry too little. drink your tea.”
you did, bearing the bitter taste as changsheng slipped from your shoulders to his. honestly, with the way he was treating you, one could easily think you were at death’s door.
you weren’t, though. you traced the rim of the ceramic mug, watching him fuss with your medicine, carefully crushing and mixing a variety of strong-smelling ingredients you couldn’t hope to identify off sight alone, characteristics lost in the mortar and pestle.
“so,” you start, his eyes flicking to you but not losing focus. “you come here often?”
he rolled his eyes, adding an ambiguously labeled syrup. whatever shorthand he and gui had mastered was a mystery to you no matter how hard you tried to decipher it. “this is serious.”
“it’s the flu.”
“you don’t know that.”
“you’re biased.”
“and you’re not getting out of taking your medicine. have you finished your tea?”
he took the empty mug, checking the stray leaves at the bottom like they would give him whatever answers he was looking for. it’s not like you’d lied to him—not like you could, either. between he and changsheng, it was impossible to so much as bring him flowers.
with the help of a few bits of hyperspecific equipment (that looked far too dangerous to just be for a doctor), a single pill was tucked into your palm, a muted green sphere with flecks of white dispersed across its surface. another cup of medicinal tea was poured and drank, a bitter aftertaste left in your mouth as expected. but you were rewarded for your troubles with a quiet sigh of relief, all of his nerves apparently washing away with that single action. he pushed his glasses up on his nose, eyes softening from ‘stern doctor’ to ‘worried partner.’
“…and you’re certain-”
“i’m fine.” you downed the rest of the tea, lip curling at the taste as you set it down, not missing how he checked to see if you’d drank it all. “i’m not in pain. i’m not hurt. i’ve taken my medicine and you have personally seen me do it. please, relax.”
another sigh, this one tired and well-worn. “you know i can’t. it’s not that easy.”
“it was worth a shot,” you shrug.
he does all of the work that he can in your room that day, strictly confining you to the bed, but letting you sit with him in the lobby once noon passes and there’s less people bustling through. you politely ignore the subtle glow to his fingertips whenever he walks by you, just like you pretend not to notice his repeated, worried glances.
it was almost sweet, that he worried so much. and besides, who were you to tell him what to do with his time? a day spent with your doctor was a day well worth every second.
With the final chapter having concluded, the entirety of Teyvat has come to realize that everything in their life has been one massive storybook. Now they have broken free from their predetermined endings and wish to write their own story. While some remain content with their lives, others recall the Reader of their story offering them many a helping hand in the past, and wish for them to witness their future.
Content Warning(s): An Attempt was Made to Guess Genshin Impact's Ending as of Version 5.3.
...Well to be more precise, the Teyvat arc of Genshin Impact's story is over.
The Traveler, Aether, was finally able to reunite with their sibling, Lumine; and after a long heart-to-heart conversation, they were able to hug it out in the end. To be honest, it left you a bit teary-eyed.
Now, nearly all of the playable (and yet-to-be-released) characters were gathered in an undisclosed location with Aether, Lumine, and Paimon taking center stage.
The crowd was cheering, whooping, and hollering. They praised the Traveler for all of his deeds, for he had become their hero from another world. He had spared them all from their predetermined fate.
Soon enough, a 'Speech! Speech! Speech!' chant began to grow from the crowd. You couldn't help yourself but join along with the chant as well. Aether could only chuckle and scratch the back of his head, a subtle blush forming on his cheeks. Eventually, he urged the crowd to quiet down and began to give an endearing speech.
The speech was truly one of the best things that the Genshin writing team had ever conjured up, and that was saying something! It involved a lot of heart-touching tributes, nostalgic memories, and kindhearted thanks to many of their friends.
Aether thanked the people from the eight nations for accepting them into their capital city. He thanked the Archons for helping them learn more about Teyvat as a whole. He thanked Paimon for being the best guide in the whole world. He thanked Lumine for finally coming back to him.
"...And thank you, Reader from Beyond the Stars, for bestowing upon me the strength needed to complete my journey. I hope that fate allows us to meet in the future."
...
...?
'Reader from Beyond the Stars?' you questioned yourself. 'Are they talking about me? I don't know anyone else who would fit that description.'
As the game let you gain control of your character and gave you the rewards for completing the Archon Quest, more thoughts continued to rummage in your mind. This chaotic mess that was your brain continued to clutter your mind until only a single thought was left more prominent than the rest.
...
'Holy shit Genshin just made me canon.'
...
...
...
'Probably one of my greatest achievements to be honest.'
Looking at the time, you see that it's approaching midnight. Given that your day tomorrow is packed to the brim with various tasks and activities, you decide to log off and get some sleep.
"Alright, Genshin," you spoke to your computer with a fond gaze. "It was fun while it lasted. Y'all have fun without me."
You exited the game, closed the launcher, and shut off your computer.
Aether has heard this quote many times before, but he's never liked it that much. He's always known what he's had:
Lumine.
Lumine is everything to Aether just as Aether is to Lumine. That's how it has always been throughout their lives. They were inseparable up until their encounter with the Unknown God. How can you not know something inseparable from you?
It wasn't until recently that Aether heard another version of this quote that seemed to align with his perspective better.
"Appreciate what you have before time makes you appreciate what you had."
500 years had come and gone before the two siblings were able to reunite again. They are always constantly worried for each other, that something fatal might happen to them, permanently separating the two forever.
But they don't need to worry about that anymore. They are finally back together.
All thanks to Paimon. All thanks to the seven Archons. All thanks to their many friends across Teyvat.
...
All thanks to their one friend not from Teyvat.
The Reader from Beyond the Stars.
Although Aether was aware of them since that fated day on the beach underneath Stormbearer Point, he was powerless to push them away without his former strength.
At first, he was afraid. He could not control any part of his body. Not when he was only a puppet in the eyes of this being.
He hated not being in control. It reminded him of what it felt like to be weak.
Next, he became curious, the being didn't seem to wish him harm. Instead, it appeared as if the being was wishing him to succeed. Slowly but steadily, the being helped him regain his former strength. All the while not asking for anything in return.
'What could they possibly want from me?' Aether pondered.
Then, he became content. Eventually, he began to learn the being's tendencies when fighting and what they wanted to expect out of him. They became two minds in one body, flawlessly traversing the environment and slaying any opponents that stood in their path.
This feeling of always knowing somebody's got your back. Somebody who is on your power level and can match your fighting prowess.
...They haven't had this feeling since they lost Lumine.
Then, he understood. Teyvat is a storybook. The ley lines are the words on the page. The people are characters. Their destinies are just endings written down by the Primordial One, the Author. They have never had a choice in their lifetime. Everything has followed according to the words on the pages time and time again.
This being, the one who has been with them since the beginning of their journey, is a Reader.
A Reader who wishes to change the storybook so that its ending is incomplete. That way, the people within the book will be able to write as many pages of their own destiny as they want until they sign off on their own ending.
When Alice first told them this, he and Paimon were more shocked than they had ever been before. This was the secret that the Hexenzirkel had been secretly guarding throughout their entire existence?
It was honestly hard to believe.
Nevertheless, he is extremely thankful to the Reader for helping him throughout his journey. Just as he is towards Paimon and their friends across Teyvat.
In all honesty, words may not be enough to describe how thankful he is. Paimon and all of his friends can probably see that.
So when he decided to thank the Reader from Beyond the Stars during his speech, knowing that they were present.
"I hope that fate allows us to meet in the future."
He absolutely meant it when he said that.
They deserve to be rewarded for their hard work; And by the Archons is he going to find a way meet them.
I hope that the way I've portrayed Teyvat was easy to understand, it's unlike anything that's been written in the SAGAU fandom to my knowledge.
I'll be going back through this over the next couple of days for any errors or misspellings I may have written. Probably gonna be a bunch of POV mistakes. But otherwise, I hope you enjoy the first chapter of this new series!
I didn't realize my oneshot was that long so have an excerpt and the link.
*
You walk into your kitchen with your phone in hand,grumbling curses to Hu Tao that you hope transcend code and reality.
You haven’t had breakfast yet, so food is in order. Yet, you aren't an avid breakfast eater due to how early your job requires you to wake, so breakfast food isn’t really your thing. You think you could probably find something online that fits your tastes.
Scrolling through social media platforms gets you nowhere, the recipes often require portions too large for one person. Nothing grabs your eye until a notification from Hoyolab appears.
Oh yeah! Your Hoyolab just stopped working after a while, weird notifications would come through with way too casual variations of ‘Hello!’ to be nobody you haven’t spoken to, online or not. So, you kinda just ignored the app.
Now, you’re intrigued because the notification leads to a recipe. For… Kirara’s bento?!
They’ve made their way to your phone, huh? At least, they’re being helpful, but that doesn't answer how they’re doing all this.
Scrolling down the recipe, you can’t help but notice you have all the ingredients. Maybe not all the vegetables but the key components sit in your fridge and cabinets. It looks appetizing too.
With a shrug, you scroll down to the instructions for the first step.
…
You walk into your room with the bento, aweing at how cute the kitties looked in real life. Too bad you’re gonna eat them, you did a good job.
Like usual, your computer has opened the genshin application. Not because you left it there open, no, but because you can’t seem to close the app or turn off your computer. You think it’s a miracle it hasn’t exploded yet from constant use.
You place the bento for a second, paying attention to your computer. You go to change your team for the day (you rotate near daily), and take everyone out. You skim through the character options until you find the one you were looking for. You smile softly as you put Kirara on a team by herself.
You pull her out, and lead her to the nearest table. After she sits, you angle the camera/view so that it feels like you’re at the table with her. You grab the bento from where you left.
“Thanks for the recipe, it saved my ass this morning.”
You can definitely see her eyes brighten and ears perk up at the thanks, but you ignore it in order to enjoy your food. It’s good, maybe you should save it to make it for work day lunch.
You looked up at the night sky with a neutral expression. Although the fireworks were a pretty sight, watching them many times over the years dwindled your excitement levels.
However, that couldn't be more different than the girl sitting beside you.
You looked over to Yoimiya. Her eyes were solely focused on the fireworks. She was making small oohs and aahs as her eyes tracked each firework that launched into the sky.
A small smile crossed your face. You felt pretty good reaching out to her and inviting her to the fireworks show. This was actually the first time you reached out to anyone in Teyvat and invited them to an activity on Earth. Initially, you were scared about inviting anyone out of the blue for something you didn't know if they would like.
However, once Yoimiya asked you to invite her to any fireworks shows in the future, that made inviting her much easier.
And that's what brings the two of you together right now.
*RING*
...At least until your phone rings.
Taking a quick peek at Yoimiya, you quietly reached into your pocket and checked your phone to see who on Earth was calling you at such an ungodly hour.
...
Oh, it's your friend. Yeah, that checks out.
"Be right back, Yoimiya. I have to take this."
Yoimiya, oblivious to the futuristic device in your hands, says nothing. Her eyes never turned away from the fireworks.
Quickly, you head inside and answer the phone. "Yo, what's up?"
"Dude, are you watching the fireworks right now?"
You frowned. "Well, I was, until you called me."
"Perfect!" you heard some shuffling in the background, "I can't wait to show you what I've got."
You hesitated to respond, looking back towards Yoimiya. "Do you think it can wait, I actually have somebody over right now."
"Ohhhh~? Who is it~?" they teased.
"A friend," you quickly replied. No way you were gonna reveal to anybody that someone from a video game was actually real.
...Especially with all of the edits of her you've seen on your socials.
"Oh come onnnnnnn. You don't have to be scared. I won't spoil to the world that you're in a relationship for once in your life."
You furrowed your eyebrows. "Yes, you would."
"Nah you're right I totally would," they proudly said. "But getting back to the point, guess what I've got~."
You thought for a brief second, but ultimately could not think of anything that this idiot would have that warranted bragging to you. "I dunno, what?"
"El. Diablo."
Your face scrunched up in confusion. "What?"
"El Diablo! It's supposed to be one of the best illegal-yet-for-some-reason-totally-legal fireworks out there! And now it's with me! Wanna see me light this bad boy?
You looked back toward Yoimiya, still watching the fireworks. "Dude, no, I'm not gonna ditch my friend for some firework."
"You don't have to!" you heard more shuffling in the background. "I'll launch it right now and you and your 'friend' can watch it!"
You began to panic a bit. "No no no, please don't. I want tonight to be a good first impression for them."
"Aha!!!" your friend shouted. "I knew you were on a date! No worries, [Y/N], I'll make sure tonight ends off with a 'bang'!"
They hung up after that, but you could picture your friend laughing evilly as he was lighting El Diablo.
"Oh God," your face paled. "I have to warn Yoimiya."
You quickly ran back outside. "Yoimiya."
No response.
"Yoimiya!"
...
"Hey! Yoimiya!" you softly shook her shoulder. "We have to go inside right now."
Still no response.
You stepped in front of her line of sight. "Hey."
Yoimiya finally showed signs of life as her eyes fell on the figure blocking her view. "Wha-. Hey! [Y/N]!" She attempted to look around your body. "Move out of the way!"
You rapidly shook your head. "No. We've got to head inside."
"Why?"
"My friend just told me that they were about to fire off a special firework but it's actu-"
"WHAT?!" Yoimiya stood up. "Your friend made a special firework just for you and you're not gonna give them the pleasure of seeing it?"
"No, you don't understand. This is NOT a firework. This is a BOMB, disguised as-"
*SCREEEEEEE*
"TAKE COVER!" you shouted as you ran back inside and leapt behind the couch, covering your ears.
Yoimiya looked back towards you in confusion. "A bomb? What do you mean?" she turned back around. "It's just an ordinary..."
*BOOM*
Aside from the ringing in your ears, you could barely hear Yoimiya's shriek of shock over the blaring car alarms.
You were in the kitchen eating a quick snack from the pantry when you suddenly heard a noise from your bedroom. It was a familiar noise though, one that you had come to recognize pretty quickly.
That noise indicated that somebody from Teyvat had crossed over from their world to yours.
But not just anybody could come and go as they please. Instead, the Traveler informed you that only certain people would be given permission to go to your world, similar to how only certain people are allowed within the Traveler's Serenitea Pot. You think that there's a special kind of token that they give out to each of their friends, but you haven't asked them about that yet.
But enough thinking, for now, you have a guest!
You set aside your snack and walked over to your bedroom. Once you got there, you spotted a familiar green-haired, mask-wearing girl perusing her new surroundings. One that you know has never visited your world before.
"Shinobu?"
She quickly turned her head towards you. Initially, her eyes widened in shock, but she quickly calmed down after noticing you. "Hello. I assume you're [Y/N]?"
You nodded your head. "That would be me."
She nods her head in return. "Good. Let me get straight to the point then. I have a couple of questions to ask of you."
"It must be something important," you thought. "Otherwise, I don't see the Traveler allowing her to interrupt my day."
"Oh? What is it?" you asked.
She crosses her arms. "To start off, I learned from Itto that he recently came here, is that correct?"
"Yes," you nodded. "He came a couple of days ago."
"Okay..." Shinobu brought a fist to her chin. "And was there anything he did that was of great concern?"
You raised a quizzical eyebrow. "What do you mean by that?"
"Well last night, I had asked Itto where he had been since I hadn't seen him for a couple of days. He told me he had been hanging out with you. I then asked him how things went to which he responded that everything went along smoothly."
She looked back towards you. "However, the way he responded was concerning, to say the least. Instead of giving a straightforward answer, his answer seemed almost panicky, insisting that everything was okay and that I shouldn't investigate."
You also brought a fist to your chin. "...So you're here to investigate if he did anything wrong?"
"Correct." Shinobu nodded. "So. Did he do anything worth mentioning to me?"
Keeping your fist to your chin, you looked at the ground in front of you. You thought back to your time with Itto. You mostly just showed him around your apartment explaining what everything was and how it worked to the best of your knowledge.
After a while, you finally replied. "No. Nothing in particular."
However, Shinobu was doubtful of your response. "Really?" She crossed her arms. "No concerns, complaints, or even... damages?"
Your eyes darted to the side before quickly looking back at Shinobu. "R-really! Nothing of your concern."
Shinobu's eyes narrowed.
"Honest!"
...
...
...
"Okay, he did do one thing."
Before you had even finished your sentence, Shinobu closed her eyes and pinched her nose in frustration. After a few seconds, she let out a sigh before opening her eyes. "...Should've known."
"It's really not that big of a deal," you reassured. "I'm pretty sure I can take care of this by myself."
However, Shinobu wouldn't budge. "At least let me see what he did so that I may enact my own punishment accordingly."
You put your hands up. "I-I don't think you should go that far."
Shinobu glared into your eyes. "[Y/N]..." she warned.
...
Damn, she really was scary when she needed to be.
"Got it," you put your arms down. "I'll go ahead and show you."
You directed her over to your couch in the living room. Overall, it was a nice, comfortable couch covered with cushions, blankets, and pillows. However, anyone who has looked at numerous couches knows that pillows normally aren't supposed to rest against the wall above the back cushions.
Your couch had one pillow to speak of.
You removed the pillow, revealing to Shinobu what you had been hiding from sight. "This is where the incident happened."
To the people on Earth, nobody could probably think of a reasonable explanation as to why your apartment wall had two nail-sized holes in the wall inside a circular dent that low to the ground.
To Kuki Shinobu, who has seen such an incident happen before, she recognized pretty quickly that the two holes were caused by...
"Once Itto saw the couch, he immediately leaped onto it. However, his momentum led his head to smash against the wall. Normally, I'd be worried about just the dent. But unfortunately, since he has horns..." you trailed off, letting the image speak for itself.
You looked over to Shinobu and saw that she had her head faced towards the ground while her eyes were closed. You were surprised to see that she was not as angry as you thought she would be. However, you did notice that she was repetitively taking very deep breaths.
...You guess being in the Arataki Gang taught her a lot more self-control than you give her credit for.
"How much?"
You tilted your head. "Huh?"
Shinobu looked towards you, determination in her eyes. "How much for the repairs?”
You frowned, looking back towards the damage. "Quite a bit, but unfortunately, Mora doesn't exist here. I'll have to pay for this out of pocket."
Silence filled the room. You took the time to move the pillow back over the hole in the wall.
...
...
...
“…Maybe not. I have an idea."
You curiously looked over to Shinobu. "I can give you some items from Teyvat that you could sell here. That way you'll be able to make a profit to pay off the damage."
You raised your eyebrows in surprise. "...Yeah, that could actually work. The only thing is that the item in question would have to be something that exists here so that it has value."
"Understandable," Shinobu nodded. "Does your world have any iron, crystal, or amethyst?"
"It does," you nodded. "Is that what we're gonna go for?"
"We are." She puts her hands on her hips. "And I know just the oni to gather them."
...
"You're gonna subject Itto to manual labor as punishment?"
"Correction: Hard manual labor."
...
"My thoughts and prayers are with you, Arataki Itto. You're gonna need them."
When you left your apartment to eat dinner, you remember leaving the blinds on your windows open to let in the evening sunlight. However, when you came back to your apartment, the blinds were closed leaving your apartment in pitch-black darkness.
Confusedly, you reached out to the nearby light switch to flip the lights on. But before you could...
"Well well well. Look who finally decided to show up."
You whipped your head towards the source of the noise. It was coming from the middle of the living room. Suddenly, a match was lit. The match, being held by a darkened figure, went towards an object placed below it. Before long, a flame started to flicker and the match was extinguished.
"A candle? I don't even have one...?"
Despite your confusion, you were able to notice more details of the mysterious figure sitting in your living room. After some squinting, you finally were able to figure out who this person was.
"...Cyno? What's he doing here?"
"You've kept me waiting a long time, [Y/N]," Cyno spoke in his notoriously low voice. "Don't think that you're gonna get away this time."
...
"...Get away from what?" you asked.
"From a game of Genius Invocation TCG, of course."
...
...
...
"...Are you freaking serious right now?"
Keeping your eyes on Cyno, you reached out to the light switch and flipped it on, revealing that Cyno had set up everything in advance. He sat on the opposite side of a table (one that you didn't even own... he must've brought one) with a deck of cards placed neatly in front of him. Across from his side of the table was another neatly placed stack of cards, your deck if you had to guess right.
"...Is that so?" you playfully inquired, getting into character which mirrored Cyno's nonchalent personality. "Then be prepared, for once the battle is finished, you will be left in nothing but Sume-ruins!"
...
...
...
"...Get it?"
...
"Cause Sumeru? Ruins? Sume-ruins?
...
Cyno sighed. "Not a pun worthy of praise, I must say."
"Oh come on!" you whined. "I've been hanging onto that for at least a week!"
You begrudgingly took the seat opposite of Cyno. "I already went ahead and shuffled your deck, so we can just go right ahead and get started."
Nodding in reply, you began to draw cards from the top of your deck. "You know, this is the first time I've ever gotten to play with one of you guys in person."
"Mhm." Cyno hummed.
"If any of my friends were to hear about this, they would think it to be so bizarre."
...
"I guess you can say this is one Grand Bazaar moment."
Author's Side Notes: Sorry for the inactivity, I haven't felt as motivated to write anything. Regardless, I managed to come up with three new reverse isekai ideas.
I do have other ideas involving Kirara, Sayu, Xianyun, and the Raiden Shogun, but I don't think I can make them into an interesting short story. What I might do instead is turn them into headcannons. That way it'll be easier to write while still be entertaining.
Also, feel free to offer ideas for any other characters!
Synopsis: continuation of this idea (and also subtracting and adding a few of my own) part 2 part 3
TW: yandere behavior, cult ish behavior, mentions of blood, injuries, torture, SAGAU, inaccurate personalities, bad grammar, english is not my first language, very short
Characters: Natlan cast x Creator!gn!reader (slight yandere Archons too)
You hated this.
All you were doing was playing genshin and then you suddenly got sucked into the game! At first, it was a dream come true, but now you wanted to be out of here as fast as possible. All this suffering just because you looked like someone?
Mondstadt was a no no. The acting grand master found out so quickly, and the knights of favonious were on your tail. Liyue was also a no, the millelith and adepti was also there. Heck, Zhongli came out of retirement just to catch you! Inazuma? Raiden was enough. Fontaine wasn't any better either. You got put on trial, it's only because of plot armour that you managed to survive.
Sumeru was a bit better. The dendro archon found out about your status quickly, due to Irminsul. But, her people were out of her control, so you got hunted down anyway.
The abyss was even worse. Once they sensed that the creator came back, they were ecstatic to kill you. The abyss weren't known for their fondness of the gods after all. Right now, with the amount of times you fought the abyss and the people of teyvat, your entire body was like a piece of paper ready to be blown away.
You were walking to Natlan, as fast as your legs would take you. Your arm was filled with abyssal energy, and you had open wounds all over you. The sand got into your injuries, which really stung. It was hell trying to walk, but the tiny sliver of hope that Natlan would be different would be enough to keep you going. Usually, your wounds healed instantly every time you were injured, but the attacks from the abyss slowed down your healing. You would show your golden blood, but the injuries healed too fast and the people would be too consumed by anger to even notice your golden blood.
How long has it been since the chase started? Like one or two years? You couldn't really tell. Your mind was foggy, and your body was trembling and shivering. Just the thought that you'll eventually heal and get hunted down again, without anyone knowing about what was truly going on was enough to consider dying. You coughed your way through to Natlan, and as the sandy desert came to a halt for the beginning of Natlan, you could only hope that Natlan would be different.
It wasn't long till you passed out, but you got a tiny glimpse of a Saurian watching you...
Your head hurt, everything did. You woke up to your injuries healed, as you thought what happened. Your body probably managed to heal itself, so that was already explained. What was not so good and definitely needed explaining was that the environment you were in was certainly different, even if you remember not seeing much.
You saw a little girl coming towards you. She looked familiar, but you began to panic. Were you really going to get hunted this time too? If that was the case then dying seemed like a better option than anything.
"Are you okay?! You really looked like you weren't going to survive!" Huh? Why wasn't she attacking you? Was this really a dream? Thank god! You felt like crying at the kindness you were shown after so long!
The girl introduced herself as Kachina. You thought that's why she looked familiar. Perhaps you were not thinking straight from the suffering that you were inflicted on. You introduced yourself too, but you used (fake name) instead of who you really were.
"What happened? You looked so pale and your entire arm was covered with abyssal energy! Did you get attacked on your way here?" She asked so innocently, which made you realize that you had to create a fake story, and fast. You contemplated for a moment, creating a fake story within seconds was hard, but the sheer thought of being hunted again left a bad image on your brain.
"Ah well, I was a runaway from my home in Sumeru. I encountered some enemies and that's what happened to my arm. Is there any place in Natlan where I can get a job and a cheap house and a job? I don't have any Mora on me," you lied through your teeth. You had Mora from the treasure chests you saw in the wild, but it would be weird that a runaway who left everything behind has Mora on them. You felt bad lying to Kachina. But, for your survival, everything was necessary. She seemed to believe you, so you internally sighed in exhaustion. Children were so naive.
She felt so sorry for you, even though your story was fake. She took a cherry flavoured candy from her large bag and gave it to you. Finally, tears started to slip through your eyes. It's truly been so long since you had seen kindness being shown to you. A tear fell from your eyes as you cried. Kachina began to panic, but realized that it was best to stay quiet. You sobbed and sniffled as Kachina continued to comfort you. You again passed out from crying so much.
"There is a bar nearby that you can work in! And for the place to stay in, they have a space above the bar where you can be at!" You walked together as she continued talking. She was nice to talk too, and didn't really pressure you and ask any more questions which might have made you uncomfortable. You changed your clothes too, wearing gloves to hide your injuries from the abyss. You looked at the bar she led you to and thanked her profusely. She was so kind, certainly a gift from the gods!
You got the job and a place to stay. All you had was cleaning duty, and, compared to the injuries and (sometimes) vomiting you had to deal with by yourself, this was a piece of cake. You just cleaned the counters, the glasses and the floor and also throw out the rowdy people in the bar. The room you live in now was cramped, but it was at least better than having to sleep in defeated hillichurl camps with no protection whatsoever.
After getting a stable income, you started giving Kachina a lot of gifts. After all, she helped you so much when you literally had no will to live. She always tried declining them, but you always insisted, saying that she deserved it. She really did though, you needed to pay back her kindness from the beginning anyway. You also started visiting her much often, exploring or just talking with her.
You do meet her friends eventually enough.
"(Fake name)! These are my friends, Kinich and Mualani! I hope you get along with them well!" You were shaking, what if they weren't as kind as Kachina? What if they find out? What if, what if-
But, they were much more easy going than what you expected. Mualani was very cheerful, and Kinich was also very kind! Something was weird though. Ajaw was much quieter than usual. Sure, he still had those narcissistic comments, but it was like he toned down on them a bit. That was very confusing, but if the others didn't notice then you didn't need to bother.
You sometimes visit Mualani in the hot springs, just keeping your arms out of the water for the abyssal energy not to spread. You also sometimes visit Kinich in the Scions of Canopy. He does his extreme sports like bungee jumping, you just watch. Again, it was really unnerving on how much quieter Ajaw was..
But, this happiness wouldn't really last for long.
You were cleaning in your bar, secretly listening into some drama in one of the tables. A woman came into the bar. She was clad in a dark cloak, so you couldn't really see her. But, upon taking a closer look, you realized it was... Mavuika?!
You were sweating like your life depended on it. How did she even figure out that you worked here? Did you have to move again, when you we're just getting settled? Was this perfectly calm life just going to stay for false hope? Seriously, you were scared. You went to go clean another station instead of your own, but not until she managed to give you a message.
"I've been meaning to meet you for a long time, how about we just talk outside later?" She smiled warmly, but you just felt a chill down your spine. You were terrified. But, considering how powerless you were, you agreed. You never know what she might do after all.
Your shift was done, and you gulped as you walked outside. Mavuika was there, waiting for you. She waved, and you nervously waved back. You looked down at yourself. Your hands were trembling, and your entire body was shaking. The sweaty feeling in your palms never went away, it was uncomfortable, but not nearly as uncomfortable as having to talk with an archon.
"I already know that you are our creator, please rest assured," huh?! She already knew? But how? You never revealed your identity,what was going on?! But, all you did was nod your head, still nervous on what she could do.
"I've heard of the chase that you have been through in other nations, but please be assured that I will not do the same. I will protect you from the other nations, and you can continue living your life as it is. I will do my best to help you lead a normal life," you were shocked. Absolutely shocked. Since when did an archon treat you so nicely?
Venti chased you with his bow and arrow, and you got nearly got sucked into the black hole that he had in his burst. Moral was leading the adepti and Liyue Qixing to find and hunt you. You just completely avoided Inazuma. It would be terrible that the Shogun would find you, since she's not as "nice" as Ei. You thought you could start a new in Fontaine, but you got put on to a death sentence by the Oratrice. At least Neuvillette had some kind of pity for you. The eremites, grand bazaar and the scholars of Sumeru were also in the hunt. You started reflecting on how much suffering you had to deal with, as tears welled up in your eyes again. You went to hug Mavuika and just sobbed in her shoulder. She looked surprised but didn't question it as you cried. She patted your back over and over again, letting you cry all your frustrations out.
Of course, it's not like people won't find out eventually.
Kinich was the first to find out. He offered you to bungee jump with him, and you stupidly agreed.
"It won't be that bad, I promise," oh how you shouldn't have believed him. You were screaming the entire time that he held you. Ajaw was fuming at Kinich, which, again, was very weird. He never cared for anyone before, so what was going on?
Though he was holding onto you, it didn't really stop you from getting injuries by nature itself. You had a cut on your cheek, as blood began to seep out. You landed, and it was only when Kinich was recovering from the adrenaline rush, did he notice your cut. He was speechless. He was just staring as you realized the cut you had on your skin. Your eyes widened at the revelation.
"W-wait, I-I can explain!" You didn't even know what you were panicking for. Wasn't it a good thing that they found out? If so, then why did it feel like your heart has been shattered into a million pieces when he found out? Ajaw then screamed at Kinich, like he was reprimanding him.
"You filthy servant! How can you not realize that the creator was with us all this time?! Honestly, what went on in your head when you took them in such a dangerous activity?!" He spewed out to Kinich, while the boy was still in a state of shock. Finally, as if he got to his senses, he muttered out:
"You're the creator?..." He mumbled under his breath. He looked extremely shocked, and also extremely guilty. He ran out of words so quickly. This is how he treated his creator the whole time?
He was about to apologize, but you interrupted him. There was no way that you would let him even say sorry, not when you want to live your life as a human instead of some divine being.
"If you want a more detailed explanation for this... predicament, meet me at the outskirts of the Children of echoes, you'll get all your answers there."
Mualani was second to find out. You two were walking through her tribe, talking about getting swimsuits for the hot spring. The area was very humid, and the floor was very slippery.
Suddenly, you tripped on your steps and fell on the ground. A scratch was on your knee, as you realised that the blood would show. You tried to hide the injury from Mualani, but she took a glance anyway. Her expression was very surprised, but all she did was wrap a piece of cloth around your knee. It really stung, but you really hoped she wouldn't ask any questions about it.
She took you to a secluded area with no people. Just you and her. She was staring for a long time, and you gulped in nervousness. You were enjoying your life without being chased or worshipped, why did this peace have to end now?!
"Well, (fake name), actually it might not even be your real name.. But anyway, I know it might make you uncomfortable, but please explained what happened a bit ago," she asked and all you did was mumble an incoherent sentence with a bitter tone.
Kachina was last to find out. You were exploring some ruins that you found along with her.
It was just supposed to be a little expedition outside in Natlan, but you got way too many cuts from the rocks inside. It didn't really hurt, so you brushed it off, forgetting that Kachina didn't know you were the creator. When she lit up a fire to check in on everything, that's when you realised this. You tried to stay out of the light as much as possible, but she found out very easily.
"What's wrong (fake name)? Why aren't you coming near the fire?" She innocently asked. You cursed at your self for not realizing that she didn't know sooner. But before you could respond, she dragged your wrist into the light in an attempt to see if you had any injuries or not. When she saw the golden blood however, she turned quiet.
"Y-you're the creator?" She asked, almost terrified. Oh what had she done! Treating the holy creator so casually like a friend! You only looked down at her, feeling guilty at putting so much terror to her mind. You patted her head, unsure of how to respond to her.
"Yes I am, but I am your friend still, am I not?"
Spies can exist anywhere and everywhere. After all, it's such a common phrase in Liyue, the walls have ears.
However, the spies that were there to find you and excecute you, were certainly incompetent in their job, letting their emotions get in the way of things.
Seeing the golden blood for their own eyes, the blood of the "imposter" that they were hunting down, was not really easy to swallow. Instead of kidnapping you, they just took a picture with their kamera and ran like the wind, doing anything to inform their leader.
When the Archons found out, they were nothing less than shocked. They have been hunting their creator the entire time? No, this couldn't be! They trembles at the photo in hand, realising how bad they fucked up. Now they were more determined to find you than ever, not to kill you, but to welcome you into their arms. They will get you back, no matter what it takes. Oh and the actual imposter? They're as dead as they can be. Nothing matters except you now.
୨୧ — ꒰a/n; I made this at like 2 am so ik this is crappy
━━━━━
Part one of two,
Three
Four
Five
━━━━━
AN HUMAN BEING - walked through the corridors of their apartment with a bag full of groceries on their hands. They have just finished running errands and now can finally take a rest after a busy day.
Approaching their apartment door. They took out their keys and inserted it into the key hold, stepping foot into their apartment room. They then started to take off their shoes and placed them near the door.
Putting the groceries aside and sitting carefully on their bed; they layed their head onto the soft pillow to rest. Sighing heavily, they turned their body to the side and reached down in their bag to get their phone, they opened the familiar famous mascot in genshin impact and got greeted with a bright light from their screen
━━━━━━━━━━
The land of freedom lived up to it's name as ever, as the sounds of livelyness echoed through the place, a bard can be found in the town square playing melodies that blessed anyones ears who would hear it.
Laughs and joy can be found after stormterror's attack has been finally put to a stop by a famous traveler. The familiar blonde hair boy walked through the roads of freedom being greeted with smiles and commissions.
"Ad astra-"
"We'll take the rewards now, thanks!" a flying fairy next to the Traveler said to a woman standing beside the counter
The Traveler reached his arm out to claim the rewards from the woman, but then after he gotten his rewards. A familiar brunette greeted them from behind
"Hey traveler and paimon!"
The brunette said giving them the warmest smile
"Oh hey amber! What's up?"
The familiar brunettes name being revealed to be Amber gave a small smile at paimons words putting her hands onto her hips
"Hehe, Nothing much really. After stormterror's attacks was finally put to a stop. Mondstadt has been more peaceful lately! I was just about to head out to clear hilichurl camps till I noticed the two of you"
Paimon nodded at Amber's words "Thats great to hear! The Traveler and paimon really became a hot topic around mondstadt today too!" Paimon said smiling gleefully "The Traveler and Paimon don't have much to do for today, Mind if we join you amber?"
Amber nodded "Sure! I mean I totally could deal with the camps myself but with the two of you it would be much quicker!" Amber said giggling a bit "No time to lose! If you're ready let's go"
━━━━━━━━━━
While walking (more like jogging) to the hilihurl camps Paimon decided to open up a conversation with Amber about something she's been thinking off.
"Hey amber, now that paimon thinks about it.. Who is this ' grace' person? Paimons been hearing alot about them recently!"
Amber looked at them both confused stopping in the middle of the forest to put her index finger on her chin. "You don't know our grace? Huh, I was sure you'd atleast get some information on them considering you guys been staying here in mondstat for, Quite some time."
Paimon then putted both of her index fingers in a X position denying the accusation of amber; Amber sighed playfully before facing them again with a small smile, "I don't blame you, people have been trying to cover up our grace after the incident. And I can't expect much after you've all been so busy being the honorary knight and hero's of mondstat!"
Amber then pointed up one of her fingers looking side to side before facing them again like a tutor. "hehehe, Well our grace is a bestwoned God who created Teyvat!"
Paimons eyes widened open hearing such a God making her flip back a little; on the other hand, Aether suddenly got more interested in this Teyvats God; 'maybe they know something about his sister that might make them reunite'
"huwaah!? Now that's some powerful God right there!" paimon said together with facing the Traveler; "Now that paimon thinks of it, don't you think this God has knowledge about your sister? I mean they did create Teyvat so surely they know something about your missing sister!" Paimon then turned to amber to ask questions about this Teyvats god
"Anywho, Do you know other things about this God amber? Or the story of them?"
Amber smiled softly at paimon, furthermore explaining to them what the story of their grace was.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Long ago when Teyvat was still in production, a ruler was made just for the producing nation; the God was perfect in Teyvats eyes. They were kind, powerful, beautiful. The archons worshipped their grace with all their love, blood, and tears.
They thought Teyvat was perfect for their grace, that they had everything that they ever wished for... So why......
Why did they disappear?
Filled with grief Teyvat slowly started to become chaos, and thus, the archon war started. All of Teyvat overthought it, some accepted it thinking their grace wanted Teyvat to be independent. Some thought they had done something crucially wrong to make their grace disappear. Long many wanted to forget but they couldn't. So they went to the option of worshiping, surely you will comeback? They will be better they promise! But that day never came...
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
"Or at least that's what I know from what I read from books!"
Amber said putting both her hands on her hips and having a shining presence around her; Looking back, Aether started to piece together the background of Teyvats god. but it all led to a dead end.
The trio finally arrived at the hilihurl camps, amber was readying her bow and baron bunny while paimon just was at the sidelines for emotional support.
Aether meanwhile, was readying his sword when he felt a short voltage in his body the same feeling when he was always readying to fight; it was warm, like you're sleeping in the clouds with a fireplace near you to keep you warm. It felt so comforting; And in a blink of an eye the hilihurl camps were now gone.
Panting, Amber started to walk back where the duo was to check on them
"Wooh! Nothing out rider Amber can't handle!" Amber proudly exclaimed while Aether only looked at the grass.
He was so out of it that he started to lose focus on his surroundings but then another sudden jolt wakend him up.
He was cut off with his day dreaming when paimon was shaking him roughly to snap him out of it. "Hey.. Hey! Oh thank archons your caught out of your daze! Paimon thought you were possesed"
Paimon exclaimed putting both her hands on her hips looking like an angry mom; Aether rubbed the back of his neck apologetically "sorry.. paimon, I was just caught on something." Aether said looking at the sky thinking about the story amber said to them earlier whilst squinting his eyes.
"Teyvats God.."
"Hey wait a minute! There wasn't treasure at all here amber!"
"Whoops! Maybe I can treat you guys with some food at good hunters?"
"Hmph!"
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Looking at the final hilihurl that faded away onto your screen; you stretched your arms wide and exited out of the game, it's been 3 hours? Four? Doesn't matter. Putting your phone aside and readying yourself to bed; you failed to notice your phone lighting up and displaying the seven elements of Teyvat, all of them lighting up to their prestige colors.
Making a one final stretch to your arms before going back to bed, and tucking yourself in, slowly closing your eyes...
Fluttering your eyes a bit, you suddenly felt like you were falling. Just like those dreams you've had but the thing is; you didn't land. You kept falling with no end to the nightmare, you tried to move but your body didn't respond, as if you were paralyzed.. starting to feel hopeless, You closed your eyes waiting for it to end and just wake back up from your bed; That was until you felt something grab your throat and drag you to the deepest bottom.
You were panicking, Why was this happening to you!? You couldn't open your eyes too even see what was happening, Your breathing was running out, pressure from the hand that grabbed you started to hurt and sting, you felt closer and closer to the ground and that's when-
Warmth .. You felt warmth; you previously were falling to your eternal doom thinking there is no way out of the panic and dread in your body But now.. You felt...
Kinda itchy.
It feels like your getting softly stabbed by something like grass; slowly opening your eyes you found yourself in a grassy pit with a beautiful scenery, hearing something close by; you turned your head around too see a small anemo slime watching over you. The anemo slime just squirmed and fled away to another direction.
you put both of your hands onto your face, hands trembling and face looking petrified; "What kind of drugs did I ate..." refusing to believe this is real you started to desperately pinch your self, and to your horror. It hurted.
Still refusing to believe this is real even tho there are plenty of evidence this is infact happening. You Stood up dusting off the remaining dirt in your clothes; you were amazed by the beautiful scenery that was upon you, it felt so familiar...
you see not too far by, a woman dress up in adventurer clothing who was cooking something at a fireplace, curiosity took in and you start to walk to the lady planning to also ask her questions about this place, hoping she does have answers.
"Uhm.. Excuse me" you said lightly tapping the woman's shoulder to make her look at you
The woman turned around to you following, with a smile "Oh uhm yes hello! What is it that you need?"
Going like you planned you started to ask her questions about this place, over time you learned that her name was Lynn it felt familiar to you-... Wait a sec...
After she was done explaining you thanked her while Lynn also handed out some food onto you. Walking around the clear and vast area you quickly learned where you were at now.
(Summary): Classic imposter au, but what if the archons know your the Creator but don’t have control over their actions and are forced to hunt you down (original concept)
A soft breeze pushes your hair into your face, you turn over feeling the little pricks on your exposed skin. Realizing that something is wrong you shot up and surveyed your surroundings
Green fields is all you can see, completely different from the area you were previously in. You stood up and started walking, deciding it’s a lot better than standing there with a thumb up your ass. You didn’t know what direction you were going but hoped you would find a cliff and see if there were any settlements
After what seemed like hours, you declared that the gods of this world were angry at you, no sign of civilization either looking from the top of hills or from the ground. It didn’t help you were frustrated beyond belief, you kept thinking on how the terrain was vaguely familiar but you couldn’t put your finger on it
The sun has long since retired for the night and you followed its lead by finding an area that didn’t look too uncomfortable. Maybe tomorrow you would have better luck if you’re well rested and have a clear head
Upon laying down you noticed the sea of stars splattered across the night sky. A difference you welcomed, compared to the highly polluted skies back home. You tried to see if you can piece together some constellations, nope. The same issue you had with the landscape, oddly familiar yet foreign at the same time. Now thinking about it, it’s like your whole mind is surrounded by some thick smog impairing your ability to think
No matter, you should try to be getting some sleep. As the haze of sleep drapes over your form, you feel something poking at your side
Still in your grogginess and confusion induced by sleep almost taking over you, you tried to ignore the poking hoping it’ll stop. It doesn’t much to your annoyance, you whip your head towards the person poking you and are greeted with the sight of beige fur and a mask with red paint in the center
A hilichurl
On instinct you moved away from the hilichurl. The creature seemed to be caught off guard and panicked. The hilichurl tried to motion to something in an attempt to explain something to you. Whatever it is you were too occupied with your yelling
You fumbled to get up when you saw more hilichurls and a mitachurl coming towards you out of the corner of your eye
The haze of sleep instantly dissipates as you sprinted at full speed. The group of hilichurls began to chase after you. The amount of adrenaline pumping through your body started to lessen as your legs started to screaming at you stop, but didn’t listen. Run, run, run until they stop chasing you. You were too focused on the hilichurls behind you didn’t see the log slightly buried in the dirt
You fell on the ground with a hard thud, you tried to get up but fell down immediately after. The sounds of hilichurl cries got louder and louder, you were too paralyzed by fear to see how close the group had gotten. You shut your eyes waiting for the impact of the club
“This is RETRIBUTION!”
You felt a wave of heat pass by you accompanied by the call of a bird. You turned your head and saw a figure almost blended into the background, the only reason you can make out the figure was due to the flames and mainly due to their long firey red hair
The person clad in black made quick work of the hillichurls, leaving the mitachurl for last.
The redhead swung their large sword, but the shield stopped the sword from slicing at the mitachurl. The creature readjust the shield in it’s hands and knocks the figure off their feet.
The stranger got back on their feet and picked the sword up. As they began to swing their sword, it was set alight
“BURN!!”
The sword cut through the wooden shield mitachurl, leaving only black smoke and ash remaining of the creature
The person stood up straight and turned towards you. Red hair framing a pale face and hollow eyes the same color look into your wide eyes
DILUC?!
Is what you would’ve said but you were left with your mouth hanging open. The realization that you were in the world of genshin left you at a lost for words
“Are you alright?” Diluc kneeled down and offered you his hand
You just noticed that the mask he would usually wear was missing. Still at a lost for words you pointed towards your face, especially the eye area. It took him a few seconds to get what you were gesturing about and reached to see if his mask is still on but felt his skin
“I won’t tell anyone what happened. And thanks for saving me.”
“It’s nothing, I’m just more concerned about you. Can you walk?”
“Uh, I think so…”
You took his hand and when he helped you up a sharp pain shoot your leg, causing you to fall onto Diluc’s chest
“It looks like you injured your foot during the pursuit, I’ll take you to my manor and have it looked over tomorrow.”
Before you could thank him for his great generosity, he lifted up your legs in a bridal carry and began walking
“My name is Diluc, what’s yours?”
You paused and thought for a moment, since you had no idea what is going on and why you’re in the world of genshin. It’s better the less they know for now
“I… think it’s, Mentir.”
You hoped he wouldn’t dwell on the “name” you gave him and just think your parents wanted to be original and give a name no one has ever heard before.
“I haven’t heard of that name before, but it sounds nice. It’s nice to meet you, Mentir.” Diluc greeted as the two of you walk towards the winery that could be seen in the distance
─────────── ✧ ───────────
The warm rays of the sun shone on your face, gently waking you up. You thought it was odd, you hated when the sun would shine its harsh rays on you, but now it’s more comforting.
“It be because I’m not on earth.” You rationalized
A knock brought you out of your thoughts
“Come in.”
Diluc opened the door and walked into the room and an elderly woman followed closely behind
“Good morning Mentir, how did you sleep?”
“Pretty good.”
“That’s good to hear, I brought a doctor to look over your injuries.”
“Good morning, dearie.” The old woman greeted you. “I’ll start to examine you, and if you get uncomfortable just say so.”
The elderly woman began to examine your foot, her calloused hands were surprisingly gentle against your skin. She softly pressed and squeezed parts of your foot and ankle, and quickly stop when you hissed in pain. The doctor took her hands away from your ankle and sat back down
“It looks like, it’s just a sprained ankle. Nothing too serious, it will take you about 2-3 weeks.”
“That’s good to hear, I was concerned the injury was serious.”
“That’s what I thought, but it seems like our dearie here is greatly favored by our beloved Creator, and to be blessed to look like them too.”
“Creator? Who’s that?” You asked
The woman and Diluc exchanged looks of confusion
“Would you mind if I check your head?”
“Uh, go ahead.”
The doctor felt around your head, running her fingers through your scalp. “Master Diluc told me that he found you in the wilderness at night. Do you remember how you got there?”
After going through your memories you realize something was wrong.
“I don’t remember.”
Trying desperately to recall what you did before before, but you keep drawing blanks. Maybe trying to remember what you did the a few hours before but everything comes up fuzzy and almost impossible to decipher. The cloud over them feels a lot like the haze you noticed last night. But why can’t you remember…
“You don’t have to force yourself, dearie.”
The soothing voice of the doctor brought you out of your spiral. “It’s alright if you don’t remember, forcing yourself to remember will only make things worse.” The elderly doctor’s words calmed down your growing nerves. You flinched when the doctor gently pressed a specific spot on your head. “It hurts when I apply pressure there?”
You nodded and the doctor withdrew their hands and turned towards Diluc
“It seems like our dearie here have some amnesia.”
“Amnesia? But they remember some things, like their name?”
“There’s been some new discoveries about amnesia, some people can get it but still have some memories. It was just discovered by doctors in Sumeru, so there’s not a lot of information on it.”
“That’s unfortunate, Mentir do you remember your family or know where they’re staying?” Diluc asked
You shook your head
“If that’s the case, then I’ll be looking after you from now on.”
You nodded your head. “T-thank you… Master Diluc.”
“Diluc, is fine.” He reassured
The elderly doctor put her hand on Diluc’s to catch his attention. “Our dearie here needs some rest, it’s best if we leave them be.”
Diluc nodded at the suggestion, he stood out of his chair and made his way toward the door before stopping. “If you need anything, don’t hesitate to call me or one of the servants.” And with that Diluc and the doctor left the room
You laid down on the bed and turned on your side. Thinking back on all of the information that was thrown at you in rapid succession
A Creator that looks just like you, it’s just those sagau fics you used to read used to read all the time back home. You have to learn more this “Creator” before making your next move. Thankfully this seems like this is a more rational sagau, on the fact that Diluc didn’t hunt you down when he first saw you
Maybe you can use this amnesia thing to your advantage to get a better understanding of this world, but for now it’s better to get some rest
─────────── ✧ ───────────
It’s strange really, getting this attached to someone who is in essence a stranger, but Diluc can’t help it
It’s very peculiar for the man who usually wall off his emotions to break them down for you. It’s like you’ve known him for a very long time and has gained his trust. He trust you to know his secret identity as the Dark Knight Hero. Your presence has brighten up his normally dreary life
Just being near you brings a sense of peace and bliss he only gets when the Creator uses his body as a vessel. Your smile is what makes him get up in the morning, the way your face lights up gets him through his nightly patrols around Mondstadt. In simple words he looks forward to coming home. Seeing you is something he thinks is worth fighting for
“Ehe~”
The wretched laugh of a certain bard brought Diluc’s attention towards two smug faces
“What do you two want?” Diluc asked bluntly
“We’re just wondering what could be making you happier than normal?” Kaeya snickered
“It’s no concern of yours, and if you two keep prying I’m going to cut you off.”
“Such a harsh response, could it be that a secret lover has melted the pyro user’s heart of ice?” Venti mused
“Don’t be silly.” Diluc grumbled, unaware of his ears growing red
“My, Diluc having a secret lover? That’s almost hard to believe, but are you going to bring them around the tavern?” Kaeya joked
Diluc starred at the two drunkards with his usual deadpan stare
“That’s it, I’m cutting you both off.”
“Eh?! That’s not fair, Master Diluc!” Venti Cried
“It’s my tavern and it’s closing time, see you two tomorrow, unfortunately…”
Diluc closed up Angel’s Share and kicked out Venti and Kaeya. After locking the tavern he made the long trek to the winery, but instead of it feeling tedious he felt an excitement swell up within him
He wanted to see you again, he wanted to hear your voice again. His thoughts were filled with you that he didn’t notice he reached the winery until he heard
“Diluc, you’re home!” You greeted with the brightest smile on your face. “Look! I can finally walk without those crutches!”
“That’s good to hear.” Diluc commented
“I’ve been doing the physical therapy exercises the doctor told me to do, and now I can go anywhere without those crutches weighing me down!”
“You must remember not to over exert yourself.”
“Sorry…”
Even though it’s a simple conversation, it gives a harmony he never thought he would ever find, at least in a long time
Seeing that your condition has improved he thought it would be a good idea to bring you out of the manor for at least a day, so what’s the worst that could happen
“Would you like to accompany me to the parade tomorrow?”
─────────── ✧ ───────────
The streets of Mondstadt were full of life. Lampposts decorated with flowers and ribbons. People wore flowers either in their hair or attached to their clothes
All of this to celebrate the birth of the Divine Creator
You and Diluc were at a stall getting ready for the day’s festivities, you were cleaning the cups when you caught a glimpse of teal and blue
“So this is the person that’s gotten Diluc out of his constant scowl?” Venti questioned
“My, it’s pretty selfish to hoard all of the attention of this fine stranger. Tell me, what is your name.” Kaeya mused
“Uhh… it’s Me-Mentir.”
The glint of the captain’s eye had you sweating and shaking. His eye seemed to be piercing into your soul and you didn’t like it. Diluc got in between you and Kaeya, taking his attention away from you.
“Kaeya, I would suggest you refrain from making my guest uncomfortable.”
“Oh, are you afraid that I might steal them away from you?”
Even though Diluc’s back was facing you, the anger he was radiating could be felt. The air surrounding the three of you became tense, the two brothers looked like they were about to summon their weapons and fight
“Hey now, it’s not appropriate to fight, it’ll sour the mood.” Venti interjected as he pushed Kaeya away with a gush of wind. “And it would be a shame to brawl on the Creator’s birthday.”
“Venti’s right, and look who just got here.” You noted as you directed the group’s attention to a certain blonde
“Hey Master Diluc! Kaeya! Venti!” A high pitched voice yelled out
“Traveler, Paimon, it’s good to see you.” Diluc greeted
You turned to see Lumine and Paimon walking towards you. When the blonde traveler caught sight of you her eyes widened, her floating companion noticed Lumine being more quiet than she usually is.
“Who’s your friend, they look familiar but Paimon has never seen them around before.”
“Hey, I’m Mentir.”
“Mentir? That’s a very strange name to have.”
“I apologize for my emergency food, she not the sharpest tool in the shed.” Lumine interjected
“Hey! Don’t call Paimon dumb and don’t call her emergency food!!” The fairy stomped in the air
“Master Diluc, would you mind if I show Mentir around the festival?” Lumine asked Diluc, completely ignoring her floating companion
“If it were anyone else I would refuse, but since it’s you I’ll allow it, if Mentir is fine with it.”
“I’m okay going with Lumine.” You said
Diluc raised an eyebrow to your statement but turned his expression back to his usual stoic face.
“Alright, you three have fun.”
Lumine lead you away from the stall and took to see the different sights and try foods that were only available during the festival, but you noticed your further away from the crowd of people
“Traveler! It’s so nice to see you made it to the festival!”
You turned around and saw the energetic Amber
“Hi Amber, what are you doing here this far from the main street?” Lumine asked
“I was doing some very last minute stuff, but that’s done now and I’m so glad to bump into you and…” Amber turned her attention towards you
“This is Mentir, they’re new around here.” Paimon explained
“It’s nice to meet you Mentir, you must be very blessed by the Creator to look exactly like them!”
“Yeah…” Lumine nervously chuckled
“Hey, let’s go and see the parade before it’s gone!” Amber advised
“Oh, we were planning on going to a high ledge to get a good view, I wouldn’t want to take a spot from someone.” The blonde maintained
“Nonsense! You’re the Creator’s first vessel, they would want to see you in the front!” Amber declared as she grabbed both yours and Lumine’s hands
The brunette led you both to the crowd. The attempted suggestions from the Traveler fell on deaf ears as Amber pushed you to the front.
There you got a view of the parade traveling down the street, people wearing white and gold throw flowers into the crowd. Performers playing music singing praises to the Creator. In the center there’s a quartet holding up a golden throne. At the top is a figure seated on it. Their body adorned in silk with gold and the finest gems as accents. They held an aura that screamed regal, but what unnerved you the most was that they looked exactly like you.
Everything was eerily identical to you: the length and texture of your hair, the shape of your face, even the blemishes and birthmarks are the same. The only difference were the eyes, the eyes of the so called Creator were cold and looked like the pits to a deep hole that leads to god knows where.
It seemed that they felt you starring at them, they turned their head towards your direction. It was like time had stopped, the sounds of parade faded out as the two of you starred at each other. You saw the look of terror in their eyes. The doppelganger stood up and pointed towards you
As of right now, both of my reverse isekai shenanigan stories are tagged as #sagau, but I'm starting to think that's not true.
SAGAU stands for Self-Aware Genshin Alternate Universe. It wouldn't make sense for a reverse isekai genshin story to be tagged as SAGAU if I've made no indication that any of the characters written are aware that their life is a video game.
However, the reason I tagged the posts as SAGAU is because it's a popular tag for people looking to read these kind of stories. I'm fine with removing the tag if y'all want me to. I just don't want to give my stories the wrong tag and/or the wrong audience.
Should Reverse Isekai be considered a part of SAGAU?
-Prologe-
(Chapter one, chapter two)
Genshin Impact x Creator!Reader
warnings: first post ever! almost swear word, the most classic start to a SAGAU fic ever (Im sorry I dont know hot to start else), no y/n used, gender neutral ,english isn't my first language so propably spelling errors, I don't know how Aranaras talk. (I professionally ignored that quest.), characters might turn yandere in the future
summary: After playing TCG your screen becomes strangely white. It starts glowing brighter and brighter and the light seems to suck you in? That can't go wrong... right? Suddenly you find yourself in a forest, not remembering anything but meeting a little creature that might be able to help you out
characters: you, your mom (no this is not a joke), aranara!oc: Aramasu
word count: 1.359
wattpad version here
https://pin.it/38Diiq1CA
"THIS BI-" you yelled at the screen. The third time. The third time you lost at that damn card game, and the third time you got annoyed because of it. "How?? How can this be so hard? It's the same technique I always use when I play normally! It works against bosses; why not now in the Genius Invocation TCG? I was so close this time too!" With a frustrated sigh, you let your head fall back. On the screen was still the word "defeat," big and plastered onto a red background for extra drama. Seriously, who had this idea? It's just frustrating at this point. Not even the recommended teams online seemed to work. You even tried copying the other players' teams that defeated you, but you still lost anyway. Why were you doing this again? Oh right... rewards.
Another sigh escaped your mouth when you heard your mother's voice from the kitchen. "Darling! Come down, dinner is ready!" A small smile crept on your face. 'Darling,' a nickname your mom gave you whenever she was in a good mood. Seems like work was quite alright today.
"Coming!" you answered, the dinner smell already reaching you by the time you finally mustered up the courage to sit up. Looking at the screen one last time, you decided to stop playing Genshin Impact for today. You had already done your dailies and everything else you felt like doing. Seriously though, doing dailies started to feel like a chore. That's why you were more than happy to open chests and explore instead. Standing up, you turned the game off and watched the screen go black.
Or... did it?
You were just about to leave the room when it lit up once more, but not with the loading screen, just plain white. "What the..." A bright white light filled the room, instantly blinding you. With your hands lifted before your eyes, you managed to get closer. "What is this?!" you said, a bit of fear in your voice. This had never happened before! You didn't even know that your screen could be so blinding! Just when you were about to touch it, everything went dark. Dark and warm. That's all you felt. Looking around frantically, you tried to make sense of the situation. It was still bright outside, so it shouldn't have been so dark now! Maybe just the aftermath of the blinding light?
"Darling, are you okay?" You heard a voice in the distance, but it felt oddly far away, as if it went further and further away with every word spoken. "M-.. Mom?" you asked, but there was no answer. It was still very warm. So warm. Slowly, you felt yourself grow weaker and weaker. Soon your knees gave in, but you didn't fall while your eyes closed shut. Before you could say anything else, your consciousness had already left your body. . . . . So... comfy. It was so warm, like on a sunny summer day when you lie down on the grass and just enjoy the fresh air. Talking of which, whatever you lay on felt just as nice. The sounds of birds could be heard in the distance. After a couple of minutes, you opened your eyes and saw...
A vast expanse of vibrant green, stretching out before you. You're lying on a bed of soft moss, the texture cushioning your body like the most luxurious mattress. Above, a canopy of trees sways gently in the breeze, their leaves creating a symphony of whispers. Sunlight filters through the branches, casting dappled patterns of light and shadow that dance around you.
You sit up slowly, feeling the softness of the moss beneath your fingers. The air is filled with the sweet scent of blooming flowers and the earthy aroma of the forest floor. You take a deep breath, the freshness of the air invigorating you. The sounds of chirping birds and the distant babble of a stream create a soothing background melody.
As you look around, the forest feels both alien and familiar. Massive trees with trunks wide enough to house entire rooms rise majestically around you. Their leaves are an array of colors, from the deepest greens to shimmering golds, reflecting the sunlight in a magical display. The forest floor is dotted with flowers of every hue, some glowing faintly, adding to the otherworldly atmosphere.
Confused, you try to remember how you got here. The last thing you recall is the blinding white light from your screen and your mother calling you for dinner. Your thoughts are interrupted by the feeling of something soft nuzzling your hand. Looking down, you see a white rabbit, its fur pristine and its eyes large and expressive. It seems completely at ease, cuddling against your hand as if it belongs there.
With a gentle touch, you stroke the fur of the rabbit. It nuzzles into your hand, happy and content. A gentle smile spreads across your face. Have you ever felt so at peace before? It's hard to say when you don't remember anything from before. Not like it matters now. Nothing matters. There is no reason to question anything at all. Not why this wild rabbit is so calm and cuddly with you, not scared at all. Not why you don't feel certain things, like hunger or thirst. It's all so nice and warm and cozy.
Wait, there is something. Some feeling, not very familiar, but you still recognize it. Are you being watched?
Yes. No, no, it can't be that. Probably? Turning around, you scan your surroundings. All the bushes, the trees, and their leaf crowns, then you see it.
It isn't threatening, more weirdly familiar than anything. The small creature is floating above the ground with a little cute 'hat'? One word pops into your head as the creature comes closer: 'Aranara.' But how do you know that? It feels natural, like knowing the name of a dog or cat. Aramasu. This little Aranara's name is Aramasu.
"You're not a Nara," says the curious creature.
You answer, "No, I am no Nara. That's what I believe, at least."
With a soft smile, you reach out, cupping the little Aranara's face. It looks up, surprised, almost speechless. The warmth soothing through its body by the mere touch of you.
"What might you be doing here, little Aramasu?"
The rabbit, still cuddled up in your other hand, seems very happy with the encounter. The Aranara isn't surprised that you know its name; it feels truly natural.
Aramasu's eyes widen slightly, then it relaxes into your touch. "I was just wandering, like I always do. But today felt different. The forest whispered to me of a new presence, something... special."
You look around; the forest seems to glow with a subtle, otherworldly light, as if acknowledging Aramasu's words. The trees sway gently, and the air is filled with a soft, harmonious hum. It feels as though the entire forest is alive and aware of your presence, welcoming you in a way that goes beyond mere coincidence.
"Special?" you ask, intrigued. "How so?"
Aramasu tilts its head, studying you with a curious expression. "You have a light within you, one that resonates with the heart of the forest. It's warm and soothing, like the embrace of the earth itself. It's rare to see such light in anyone other than the forest spirits."
The rabbit nudges your hand, drawing your attention back to its soft fur. You feel a sense of contentment and belonging, unlike anything you've ever experienced—or at least, anything you can remember. The forest, the creatures, even the very air around you, all seem to sing in harmony with your presence.
"Perhaps," Aramasu continues, "you are more than what you think you are. The forest recognizes you, and so do I."
As you ponder Aramasu's words, a sense of purpose begins to stir within you. Though you may not remember your past, the present feels vivid and alive, as if this is where you were always meant to be. The forest, with all its mysteries and wonders, seems to be waiting for you to discover your true self.
-to be continued-
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Thank you so much for reading! Fell free to give me feedback and ideas how to continue this!
Mika
That Man in the Background @taylorman2274 - Tumblr Blog | Tumgag
