ON THE OTHER SIDE | AETHER

TWO

The moon was inconstant. Maybe that's why you could never reach for the stars. You liked continuity. You would lose that if you tried to change.

☁️

You woke up not too long ago, but you still refused to open your eyes. You refused to face the punishment the gods had dealt you. The arrogance of mankind...your wish to travel to a world that wasn't yours... You understood what the unknown god meant now.

Fantasy was just that, fantasy. Genshin Impact was a video game. A game that you installed on your computer. A game that was still being developed. It was fantasy. Fake. That's how it should be. There's no way this wasn't a dream.

You opened your eyes.

You were still in the nightmare.

A part of you was still in denial of your situation. But the rest of you was forced to accept it. Somehow, you had travelled between worlds. A dream would never feel this real. It could never be this lucid. You didn't know how, and you certainly didn't know why, but it was a reality you needed to come to terms with if you wanted to adapt.

You took in a hard breath. Time spent deluding yourself was time lost.

Trying to figure out where you were, you realized you were in a part of the game you had never seen before.

You were in what looked like an infirmary. You slowly sat up, biting your cheek to balance out the pain. You stared out the window, finally seeing the familiarity you were yearning for. Gothic brick houses lined the streets of Mondstadt, you could see the fountain that sat in the center of the city from where you were. In the distance, you could even see the Angel's Share.

This situation was so absurd. So absurd that the smallest bit of consistency brought you comfort. How fickle you were.

You took in more of your surroundings. The infirmary was simply designed. Beds were aligned next to each other and curtains separated them. From what you could tell, you were the only person in the room.

On the bedside table was the faded vision. There was no Fatui mask. It made you anxious. If you were really in Mondstadt, being Fatui—or somehow related to them—was bound to attract trouble.

Your head throbbed. There was a bandage enveloping your cranium. It was secured tightly. On your legs and arms, there were no visible wounds. When you moved, even if carefully, you felt a sharp pain flare in your stomach. Lifting the patient gown you were dressed in, you saw more bandages wrapped around the abdominal area. Red bled through the white indicating it was the most serious of the injuries.

However, it still didn't feel like you were hurt enough for there to have been so much blood surrounding where you woke. That much blood loss seemed fatal.

A lump formed in your throat. Was there someone else there? Is that why there was an Inazuman vision and a Fatui mask? What if the Knights of Favonius realize and accuse you of murder? Were you going to end up imprisoned after traveling between worlds? If that happened, it would be one hell of a punishment from the gods.

The door opened and your heart pounded. In walked a tall blonde pensive-looking woman—Jean. Behind her was Aether and...Kaeya. They looked unbelievably real.

"Oh, you're awake," Jean said, walking towards your bed. You felt like you were going to crumble into pieces. This was so terrifying. "If you're feeling well enough," she continued, "can we ask you a few questions?"

You nodded, gulping. Underneath the covers of the blanket, your palms began to sweat. Fear was settling in. It was making a home for itself, and not planning on leaving any time soon.