Welcome to my world // Genshin Impact x reader

oO Chapter 67 Oo

(a/n: alrighty my lovely readers, you won me over! I'll do a continuation for this book in a sequel book! Also, thank you so much for all the praise this book received, it genuinely made me smile like an idiot in math class <3

careful tho, or i'll let the praise go to my head- /j)

"So...battle plan, anyone?" I looked up from the swirling portal on the floor.

"Stay close to me." Albedo answered, lacing his fingers with mine and squeezing reassuringly. I smiled at him gratefully.

"Oh, and if it gets too much at any point...come find me." Scara leaned towards me momentarily. He kept his arms crossed like he was serious, but his voice was soft. He looked at me knowingly, and I realised he was actually concerned, like he didn't want a relapse of when I stabbed that Cicin Mage. Off topic, but that actually shook me up quite a bit, despite the fact that my ordinary job at home requires me to be able to handle blood and gore. It's just...all those people had been put in front of me by someone else (ahem, murderers-). This was the first time I had been the cause of someone's death.

"Aww, look at you, being sweet on me." I chuckled, bumping my hip with his teasingly.

"Oh, shut up." Scara huffed and summoned his catalyst. "We have a few gods to overthrow, y'know."

"Right you are!" Aether chirped, his hands on his hips. "Lumine and I will go in first, and then everyone else follow, mkay?"

With that, Aether turned on his heel, taking Lumine's hand and leading her to the edge of the portal. Aether summoned his sword, as Lumi mirrored him, and jumped through the portal casually like he was jumping into a pool.

"We go last." Albedo whispered to me, though still summoning his sword.

•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•

"Oh gods..." I breathed in horror, the moment I got through the portal.  I don't know what I expected from Celestia, but this wasn't it.

Buildings were crumbling, pathetically clinging to their foundations. I could see they must have been grand once, but...not anymore. They were flame scorched, and blackened by ash. Debris and broken glass were scattered across the street haphazardly. The sky itself was horrifying too, a deep blood red though it was barely visible through the dust and smoke. 

Celestia had been torched. Though whether it was by our hand or their own, I don't know.

"What...happened...?" I managed, summoning my polearm and wildly looking around my frankly hellish surroundings.

"This couldn't have been us." Albedo shook his head, seeming a little unsettled as well. "Aether mentioned Celestia was undergoing civil war. This must be...the result."

"Gods, it's like they killed themselves before we even got here." I said. 

"Well, there seem to be a few alive and kicking." Albedo looked up, towards the heart of the city. There was a massive tower spiraling upwards, though it hadn't been untouched by the war. Fire raged in its windows, and lightning flashed and crackled in the stormy skies above. I just hoped against hope we'd make it through this unscathed.

"Let's go." I took his hand in mine, and made for the centre of town, ignoring all the buildings and signs of past life around us. Though, of course, my eyes are traitors and glanced  momentarily at a child's stuffed bunny, lying decimated and dirty on the ground. I swallowed hard and refused to let it get to me.

Eventually, as we reached the heart of the battle, I caught a glimpse of one of the gods we were fighting. She was beaten and bloody, though still standing. It was obvious she had a few broken ribs, and a snapped forearm, but she refused to back down, murder gleaming in her crimson eyes. Her black dress was torn and smeared with blood and grime, and her long dark hair was splayed wildly behind her, floating of its own accord. She even had a fan of floating katanas spread behind her, which seemed like overkill, but go off, I guess.

She was fighting Childe, who seemed to thoroughly be enjoying the rush, unsurprisingly. She locked eyes with me for a moment, and a huge grin spread across her face.

"Well, look who it is!" She snarled, contradicting the smile on her face. "Celestia's very own bastard traitor!"

"What?" I scrunched up my face in confusion. "The fudge are you talking about?"

"Oh, don't tell me you don't remember me!" She laughed maniacally, her eyes widening to an almost frightening diameter. "Did their pathetic spell actually work on you?"

I narrowed my eyes at her. "Yeah, imma need you to back up and explain."

"No can do, hon." She giggled, flinging a katana at Childe haphazardly. "I think you deserve to suffer in ignorance for what you did!"

"Hey!" Childe had apparently had it with this goddess. "Leave (y/n) out of this!"

"What do you mean?" She glared at Childe, equally annoyed. "They're the reason this started at all!"

"I..." I shook my head and glared right back at her. "You know what? You're not being helpful at all, and quite frankly, you're annoying. Shut up."

It was an absolutely stupid decision, I know, almost as stupid as the time I took on the Shogun, but...she started it, okay?!

I glared daggers at her, summoning my signature whirlwind and hurling it at her, watching in satisfaction as it swept away her katanas, leaving her defenceless. Childe grinned at me and took the opportunity to swoop in and uh...behead her. Yeah, it wasn't a pretty sight, and he didn't hold back.

I tried not to look at her head rolling away from her collapsed body.

"Thanks for the support (n/n)." Childe smiled, his face blood specked.

"No problem." I smiled back. "Anyway, we gotta be off now! I have a few gods I need to interrogate~"

"Bye bye!"

"See ya later, sweetie!"

"That was...quite intriguing." Albedo commented as we continued further into the centre of the fight.

"Right? Like, between this and my lightning wound... I'm starting to question myself." I mumbled.

"Let's not dwell on it for now." Albedo replied, catching sight of the next god we could take on. "There are other matters at hand."

"Right!" I chirped. "Let's have some fun!"

•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•

Eventually, we fought our way all the way through to the navel of the chaos, where we found Aether taking on who seemed to be the grandest, most powerful god we'd come across yet. She, like all her kin, was bruised and dripping blood, though she didn't seem to have major injuries. Her hair was shorn at the shoulders and unkempt,  and her dress, made completely of purple and blue petals, was practically shredded. A shame too, it would have looked gorgeous otherwise.

Wait, but...her hair should be long. She always used to keep it in two buns and twin-tails, like Usagi Tsukino...

...How in the goddamn hell do I know that...?