The One Before the Traveller (An OC x Genshin Impact)

Chapter 1 - A New World

Aira yawned and stretched as he woke up in his bedroom. His eyes slowly opened, revealing his grey, monotonous ceiling.

"Finally, a day off from school," he thought to himself.

He turned over to check the time on his phone but was surprised to see his phone was missing. "Weird, I swear I plugged it in last night."

He got up and walked over to his window, holding on to the blinds, planning to pull it open but then he hesitated. Deciding against it, he walked around his room looking for his phone, dragging his feet whilst he moved. After a few minutes of searching in the dark, Aira gave up and decided to get on with his day. He exited his room, the cool morning air enveloped Aira in a cold embrace. His feet touched the cold wooden floor making him take a sharp intake of breath. He braved the wooden floor and went inside the bathroom. He flicked open the lights and stared at himself in the mirror. His long, black, hair hung messily in front of his face. His bangs almost entirely covered his eyes. His pale face stared back, emotionless. He ran his hand through his hair, lifting his bangs and revealing his tired eyes with dark circles underneath.

*It's you!

Aira continued with his routine: a quick shower, brushing his teeth, washing his face, and leaving the bathroom.

He walked downstairs toward the kitchen, his mind pondering what to eat and what he'd do for the rest of the day. As he reached the bottom of the stairwell the emptiness of his house met him. The feeling of being alone started to manifest, but then again, Aira was used to this.

As he was making his breakfast he noticed a note on the fridge door. It read:

"Aira could you please go out and buy groceries? Thanks, Mom"

Aira looked at it with squinted eyes, but as quickly as his expression had appeared it reverted to his neutral apathetic face. He found his phone on the counter and picked it up whilst he ate breakfast. Before he opened his phone, however, a wave of anxiety crashed over him. The feeling was so strong his heart started to palpitate. He decided against scrolling on social media and instead ate his breakfast in silence.

After breakfast, he decided to head out and buy the groceries just like his mom had asked him to. Aira slipped on his shoes and then turned to the vacant house.

"I'm heading off," he said, his voice echoing throughout the house.

No one responded.

Of course, no one responded, he was alone after all, his parents had left for work a while ago. They always work, and they barely have any time off. Aira turned and left through the door. He took a quiet train ride and arrived in Shibuya. The place was busy, as always, from white-collar workers carrying their briefcases in a fast, monotonous walking pace, to people of Aira's age hanging out with their friends. He looked at them with a sliver of envy. Aira doesn't usually go to crowded areas like Shibuya, the number of people stressed him out and he felt his appearance made him stand out. He had always felt like people would stare at him and talk badly behind his back. He picked up on such little details due to being quiet. He wasn't much of a talker, nor did he have any friends at school to talk with. So, to pass the time, he just grew to observe the people around him

"God that sounded creepy..."

"Hey, do you see that guy?..."

"Where?"

"There!"

"Doesn't he look so..."

Aira let out a deep mental sigh. "They're staring at me ... This is so embarrassing..." Aira thought to himself.

He quickened his pace by a bit and proceeded to enter a mall. He decided to look around the mall. He felt that this was better than staying at home all day and playing video games; this made him feel more productive. He first headed to Tsutaya, checking out newly released video games, picking them up, and then putting them back down again.