[manga spoilers??]
╭┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈𑁍ࠬ┈┈┈╮
❝Problems are not stop signs,
they are guidelines.❞
╰┈┈┈𑁍ࠬ┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈╯
OPENING APP GENSHIN IMPACT...
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SUCCESSFULLY OPENED.
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l o a d g a m e ?
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> [yes] [no]
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'It's fucking illegal to be this pretty.' You grumbled in your head, feeling the pressure of this redhead's foot press down harder, 'God, I asked to be stepped on by him, but not in this kinda position where I was losing oxygen in the first place. Give me a breather, bud.'
"Sneaking past the guards and climbing up Mondstadt's walls is breaking in, from my book. What brings you to this city, trespasser?" The poorly disguised Diluc ordered, narrowing his eyes at you.
You coughed, "First off, it's rude to keep your foot on someone defenseless," He flinched and removed his foot, but summoned his claymore just in case, "And secondly, I'm just someone who needed to buy resources and do missions, or something."
"Something?" Diluc raised an eyebrow at you, his suspicions rising at that one word.
You sighed, slamming your face onto the ground that you still laid on, "Grab a wine." You lied, knowing well that you were too young to drink in the first place.
He scoffed, "You're underage. What makes you think that you can drink alcohol?"
"JUST BECAUSE I'M SMALLER DOES NOT MEAN I CAN'T DRINK." You argued, scowling at Diluc, "Plus, my parents had me have tiny sips of their wine once. This isn't any different."
"Yeah, sure, whatever. But, I'm not your parent." Diluc frowned, crossing his arms as his claymore faded away, the weapon now floating behind him. It's hard to convince the stoic and serious Diluc of the City of Mondstadt. No doubt you're having troubles with him in your current situation of "breaking into" the city.
You pondered as he watched your every move- your unbalanced breathing pattern from exhaustion, your hands that trembled from shuffling them into the cracks of the walls to hoist yourself forward, the way your eyes narrowed as your e/c iris' were somehow more sharp than his gaze itself.
'Maybe if I...' You thought to yourself, watching the nearly visible form of your bow starting to gather together under your fingertips. As quick as you could summon your bow, you formed an arrow as well, shooting it quickly at Diluc, watching his face contort into horror.
Thrusting your legs, you dashed forward and out of the wide alleyway, letting out a successful laugh. Before the arrow could strike the redhead's face, you had the arrow disintegrate, not trying to hurt him intentionally.
Diluc growled, shoving his mask into his pocket before going after your fleeing form, "Damnit... that stupid kid just tricked me." You had gotten farther than anticipated, reaching the Mondstadt Cathedral as Diluc was still a distance away.
You huffed, jumping up and climbing upwards, watching Diluc starting to slow, catching his breath as you were ahead by a large amount. Your arms started to ache from the constant burning of energy just from this one night, realizing that this was going to be your everyday life now. Running and climbing constantly.
Pushing yourself up onto the roof, your erratic breathing returned, wiping the sweat from your cheek with your wrist. Everything burned. Your chest, your legs, your arms- everything. You would get used to this pattern, now that you were trapped in the world of Genshin Impact.
Diluc then started to glare at you, hopping up to catch himself on the wall onto the cathedral, climbing much quicker than you. Cursing at yourself, you tried to find a way to escape his endless game of a goose chase. You didn't have a Wind Glider, nor were you willing enough to jump and snap your ankles and die, thus making no way out of this for you.
The redhead hoisted himself up onto the roof, walking towards you. You backed up onto the edge of the roof, almost losing your footing and falling to your death. Summoning your bow, you aimed it at his head, trying to threaten him in some way. From him still moving towards you, it obviously didn't work.
"Just give up and turn yourself in. It's easier than it seems." He spoke, stopping as soon as the tip of the arrow knocked into your bow pressed up against his chest, sparks and flickering lights of rose coloring that dripped with elemental power that wasn't recognizable in Diluc's eyes.
"Jum...p... I'll... cat...ch yo...u," Wind whistled into your ear, the familiar voice of Venti and your trust in him fogging up in your thoughts as you lifted your foot and let it dangle from the far fall. You felt terrified since your previous death was from a plane explosion as you fell from the sky.
"Wait- don't-!" Diluc yelled as you shifted your weight back, letting you fall from the roof of the cathedral. His hand tried to reach out to grab yours from gravity pulling down on you, just barely touching your hand that once held your bow still.
His pupils shrunk from watching your form grow smaller and smaller. Feathers then engulfed his vision as you felt whips of wind pushing against your back and side, caressing you softly, slowing down the process of the fall.
Venti's eyes were closed as he channeled the wind to balance your weight, stripes of pastel green gently placing you onto the brick ground around the Mondstadt Cathedral. You weren't far from the bard, no. In fact, he saw you running from the Pyro-holder.
You turned around and followed where one of Venti's feathers flew from a tiny current of wind passing by your shoulder, figuring he was leading you away from Diluc, who was trying to clear the feathers from his view. You stalked around, trying not to look suspicious from the small population of Mondstadt.
The feather then drifted to the ground as soon as you walked into a different alleyway. You crouched and picked up the delicate object, air flowing past you from behind as another small gust of feathers swirled in front of you before it dispersed, revealing the petite body of Venti.
"That was quite a chase you put up, y/n!" He said rather cheerfully, giggling as he closed his eyes in pure amusement. His cheeks and the tip of his nose were a bit rosy from the chill of nighttime winds, which also caused goosebumps to form on your arms.
You didn't say anything as you unclipped your hood from the white iron star charm and walked over to Venti, slipping it onto his shoulders and lifting the large hood over his beret. The Anemo Archon stood frozen in place at the action, his eyes blinking rapidly as you backed up.
"U-uhm..." Venti stuttered, his lips starting to tremble as he spoke, "Wh-what was that for? Surely, you're not flirting with me again, are you? Ehe..."
"You just looked cold..." You answered, rubbing your cheek, trying to generate some warmth with friction, "After all, you are in the body of a human. It's only natural that you have something that blocks the cold weather."
In secrecy, you just wanted to see him blush.
His face started to bloom red, pointing an accusing finger at you, "Y-you have no right to make me feel fluffy like that!! I am far more superior than you! Hmph!" He partially covered his face with your hood, hiding the color sprouting on his cheeks as he turned around, pouting.
"Aww~, don't be like that." You hummed, wrapping your arms around his shoulders from behind him. He only buried his face into your hoodie further, continuing to hide his face with childish behavior.
It was early morning. The sunlight that lit up Teyvat spilled past the curtains and into your closed resting eyes, causing you to shift and furrow your eyebrows before twisting the other way and away from the light. The bed was comfortable, now that the blankets were warm and your body's natural instinct of the feeling of not wanting to move rushed through your loose limbs.
Venti had returned your hood from last night, leaving it at the nightstand of your booked hotel room for the night. You managed to have enough Mora from stray common chests that had Teyvat's currency splayed out on the bottom of the chests without the hassle of fighting hilichurls.
As y/n stayed lying on their bed, Aether fluttered his eyes open, inhaling to take in more oxygen than he does when sleeping, his mouth feeling as if it were screwed shut. Kodzu, who was lying on Aether's stomach, started to wake, the fairy child's shoulders bunching together as he stretched with his eyes closed. His two-toned iris' blinked open, still exhausted.
"Y/n?" Aether called out, gazing around him as he yawned, rubbing his half-lidded eyes. Not seeing any traces of you, he gently picked Kodzu up and placed him onto his bedding, draping a thin blanket over him to let the smaller boy lay down.
The blond crawled out of the tent, letting his braid loose and ruffling before tying it into a high ponytail, too tired to braid it again. He walked down to the beach, going to see if you were there instead, chasing crabs.
"Y/n!! Are you out there!?" Aether yelled, cupping his hands around his mouth, making his voice louder as he passed by trees. His brows furrowed in confusion as he heard no reply. Now starting to run down to the shore, he skidded to a stop as he couldn't find you, panic building up. His breathing rate increased as he couldn't see the familiar purple clothing.
"Y/n...! Y/n, please... please... don't leave me..." He croaked, falling onto his knees, water building up on the corners of his eyes, the waves of water being the only thing the blonde could hear.
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Exiting the inn after lying in bed for a couple of minutes, you shifted the hood around your shoulders and flipped it over your head, making a shadow cast over your face. You knew if Diluc was going to be walking around Mondstadt, he was going to recognize you. Your clothing was dark during the night, so you have a small chance of him being familiar with your wear.
Walking towards Good Hunter, you walked over to the oven and asked Sara for permission to cook- which she granted. You bought some pepper from Blanche, and the fish you had, you grabbed from Cider Lake when you were going over the walls of Mond. You made Mondstadt's Grilled Fish with the ingredients you had. It tasted alright, not the best, but not the worst. You tore off the pieces, walking around Mondstadt, feeling as if the city was nearly dead.
Feeling a tug to your cloth that draped upon one of your shoulders, you peered down to see a child's face. More specifically, Klee's face. Her red outfit told it all as she swished from side to side slightly.
"U-um... Excuse me, but, can I have a bite of your food?" She asked, eyeing the grilled fish. Her light red iris' lighting up at the sight of your morning meal.
You blinked at her, finding it strange that she asked a stranger for their food. But, you were feeling a little generous, "Yeah, sure. Here." You slipped a piece of fish off of the stick and placed it onto her palm, watching her face light up in joy as she finished it by shoving it in her mouth.
"Thank you so much, Big Sibby!!" Klee smiled before covering her mouth in shock, watching you stiffen at her shortened word meaning sibling. No one has ever thought of you as an older sibling, mostly just someone who doesn't really spend time with children.
"S-sorry! It was a slip of the tongue, I swear!" She yelped, waving her hands in front of her embarrassingly.
You blinked a couple of times before smiling, "It's fine. I don't really mind." You reassured, patting her head softly.
"Klee? Klee! There you are!" A sigh of relief came from behind you, causing your focus to shift to whoever was behind you. Shoulder-length pale blonde hair and pretty teal eyes are what struck you most from the beauty that emitted from this man.
'Wait a minute. Wasn't this dude an upcoming character? I was placed into Genshin before Dragonspine was even released, so I'm not even sure.' You internally asked yourself, feeling as if you were staring at him for too long.
"Don't go running off again. I thought you were going to blow up Mondstadt from taking my eyes off of you for a split second." He scolded, crouching down to place his hands on Klee's shoulders.
"Sorry, Mr. Albedo," Klee muttered, placing her hands behind her back as she stared at the ground, swaying.
Suddenly, it clicked in your head, 'Oh! OH, FUCK YEAH, I REMEMBER HIM. He's the guy with the elevator flower!' Memories of the 1.2 update flooded your head again, and how Dragonspine was going to suck ass without Pyro characters.
"Thank you for looking over Klee for the time being, kind, but respectable stranger." Albedo tipped his head in an apologetic- yet polite, and grateful manner as he stood straight once more, Klee doing the same.
Realizing he was talking to you, you laughed sheepishly, "Oh, uhm, I'm not really good with kids. She just asked for some of my food, so I gave her a piece. That's all."
Sudden wind started picking up, lifting the twin-tailed cape that dangled from your shoulders, causing you to peer upwards at the sky, dark clouds gathering together. A flash of blue scattered across your vision, Albedo noticing the change in weather as well.
"Another storm?" The alchemist sighed, pushing Klee behind him slightly, "Klee, go to Sucrose for now, will you?" He asked, hearing the child hum affirmatively and run off to find the Anemo-user.
People ran for their respective homes, getting protection from the havoc that Dvalin was going to cause. You knew it wasn't going to be as big as Aether's encounter, but this was still an attack. Your fingers twitched as your bow started to take form in your hand.
As soon as everyone was gone from the streets- besides from Albedo and yourself, you raised your bow, aiming it towards Dvalin as you raised your dominant hand and separating your index and middle finger from your pinkie and ring finger. You pressed your fingers against the bow before dragging your hand backward, pulling the string back as an arrow started to take form.
"Are you sure you're gonna hit them from this distance?" Albedo asked you, still gazing at the massive dragon that flew across the sky above you both.
You closed one of your eyes, focusing on the eye closest to the string of the bow, "Not sure. Only one way to find out." You held your breath as you lined up your aim, liquidy rose substances dripping from the arrow- which Albedo noticed quickly.
'C'mon y/n. You didn't ace archery for anything...' You rooted for yourself, watching Dvalin starting to slow, steadying your bow before sighing, "I'm sorry, Venti, Dvalin." And you released, the arrow flying through the sky as it ripped through the air, leaving a pink glow.
It struck the dragon, for sure. If it didn't, you're not sure what that shriek of pain was caused by. Albedo's eyebrows raised at the aim, humming in approval.
"That's not enough to affect him entirely, though. I need higher ground. We're too low." You commented, walking forward and to the cathedral, Albedo following a small distance behind.
The blonde pushed you back a little as he started to raise his hand, channeling his element's power before whipping his hand back down, muttering among the words, "Burst forward." The golden color of the Geo element formed around you, a gray flower-like object in the middle.
"Step onto the platform. It should elevate you higher into the air. Be careful, though. You still have the risk of falling." Albedo warned, stepping back to let you onto the flower-like platform.
Placing both feet onto the flower, golden petals erupted as you started to stumble before collected your balance as you were lifted up towards the sky. The moving soon stopped, and you breathed out a shaky breath before knocking in another elemental arrow and steadying it. Keeping your current air locked into your lung, you moved your aim to wherever Dvalin was moving, trying to wait until he stops in a specific place before you shot.
The large dragon then paused, aggressively flapping all 6 of its wings in a fit of anger, whipping wind onto your face, almost making you lose your balance and fall off the lifted flower. You crouched and gripped in the edge of the platform, waiting for the wind to settle as you lifted your bow again, knocking in another arrow.
Sparks tingled up your arm as you steadied your aim, locking your bow in place given your target. Elemental energy surged within the bow, firing with great speed as it split into five arrows- to your surprise. The pink-hued lights curved inwards, all of them striking Dvalin before making little explosions from contact.
Dvalin roared as it gave its last final flaps, then flying away into the clouds, retreating. You sighed in exhaustion before sucking a breath back once the platform dematerialized, causing you to fall down with a yelp. Luckily, Albedo caught you in his arms just in time with a small "Oompf," escaping your mouth.
"Are you alright?" He asked, way too normally for the fact he was carrying you like you both were newlyweds.
'Why are his eyes so motherfucking pRETTY-'
"YUP." You answered a little loudly, tugging your hood down to hide your embarrassment.
"So, Chief Alchemist, care to introduce me to your new friend~?" Kaeya's goddamn seducing voice echoed not too far away as you peeked out from your hood.
"It's only morning, and I'm already horny goddamnit!" You groaned into your fabrics.
┌ . . .
s a v e g a m e ?
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LOADING...
EXITING GAME...
THANK YOU FOR PLAYING! COME AGAIN SOON.
[A/n]: hngggggg this took way too longggggggg
though, I'm doing a QnA for this book since I hit 600 followers dkjksjdk and only 4 people asked something on my message board khahhaahh so drop your questions please, I'll be answering most of them
and just so u know, nikolai does look like aether a little bit, but that was for a reason (and no because it's referenced off of bsd even though it was; design matching the name.) plus, I'm making a comic on my notebook about this story, so I might share small images on them.
anywho, enjoy these pictures of xiao I've taken💞💞💞
[part not reviewed]