Part I: Sun Shines Bright
The first thing Felix notices is the gentle cradle of grass under him. He can barely remember where he was, but at least he remembers that he wasn't in the middle of a field. The air around him hums, warm and sunny, contrasting to the thunderstorm he thinks he last heard.
Felix forces his eyes to open, and a thousand suns bore into his brain. He blinks multiple times for the jarring light to tone down and his vision to clear up. The sky above is cheerily bright blue as little birds chirp in the distance. Vast yellow hills stand firm as if to embrace the valley below. The smell of flowers wafted by the wind brings a calming yet exotic scent.
He snaps out of his trance as a grunt sounds next to him. A young man with light blue hair dressed in all white clutches his head, shaking it as if awoken from a deep sleep. Where had he seen that face before? The stranger opens his sky-blue eyes; his cat-slight pupils locked with Felix's. Could that be…
"Chongyun?"
"Bennett?"
Felix watches the young boy across from him. Chongyun, a character from Genshin Impact talking to him? Did he just call him Bennett? Felix looks around and doesn't see anyone.
He turns back to Chongyun, who looks just as dumbfounded, picking at sleeves and the gauntlet. Why was he with Chongyun? Should he say something?
Felix scratches the back of his head, and it feels duller than usual. His head also feels slightly heavier. He reaches it. When did he ever wear goggles? And gloves? His eyes inspect his slightly tanned arms plagued with scars and scratches. Could he really swap places with Bennett ?
"Umm…" Felix looks back at Chongyun, whose face is quite bright red right now. Wow, he looks so… cool!
Chongyun clears his throat and makes the first move.
"Who- Would you mind telling me where we are?"
Right. The grasses beneath him are fresh and green, unlike the plastic soccer fields at his school, and if he squints hard enough, the blocky mountains paint the landscape on and on. He could also hear some breeze in the distance, ocean waves? The sight that beholds him is familiar, but at the same time, he can't seem to recognize it.
Felix hears yet another muffled groan behind a ruined pillar nearby. Chongyun gestures to them to stay silent as they tiptoe to the sound. Bit by bit, a silhouette emerges from the corner, of a teen lying in a pool of red. An unmistakable green mask hangs on his belt.
"Xiao!?" Both Felix and Chongyun shout at the same time. How could the great Conqueror of Demons be bleeding this much?
"What do we do?" Felix turns to his companion. If Xiao dies, who will protect fricking Liyue?
"Don't you have some bandages? Or-or some healing food?"
Oh right! Felix quickly rummages through his pockets. If this is a video game, and he is Bennett, the boy who lives on the verge of death every day, surely there must be something good. In his mind's eye, a window pops up of his "inventory" and he could sense just the right thing…
"Quickly! We're running out of time!" Chongyun presses Xiao's red sleeve-thing into the gash, but blood still gushes out.
"I've got it!" Felix raised his hands in the air, clutching their hope of-
"An egg?"
In-game, there are many types of food, including 'recovery' dishes. If a character has fallen, the player can simply slap a recovery dish, like the fried egg in Felix's hand, to instantly revive them. He hopes that the mechanic still works right now. Felix squeezes the egg and slaps it on the adeptus' head.
Chongyun screams and Felix prays to the Archons that it works. A minute or two passes of total silence when Xiao coughs up even more blood.
"It's not working!" Chongyun cries to him.
"And what do you want me to do!?"
Chongyun bites his lips and, with his hands still dripping red, as quickly as a blizzard, whips that egg in the sky and slams it into the adeptus' mouth.
"Ew! That's even worse!" Felix face-palms and looks away.
He slips into his worries while Chongyun chants something in the background. Then, Xiao starts to cough up some more blood. He gasps and shots up, stroking his throat.
"Oh my," Felix said, "Thank the Archons! Thanks, Zhongli!"
"Where-" Xiao coughs some more. "-am I?" He shakes his head. "And who are you?"
"We…" Felix looks at Chongyun, who is still breathing a sigh of relief. Shouldn't Xiao recognize Chongyun? "Don't know. About where we are, but I'm Fe- Bennett, and this is Chongyun. We found you bleeding lots. What happened?'
Xiao eyes widen and he glances down at the wound that has stopped bleeding. The egg did work!
"No, no, no, this can't be happening." Felix can almost hear Xiao muttering something under his breath as he… pinches his own arm? Felix watches as Xiao knocks at his own head.
"Wake up, Gui, wake up!" Gui? A bell rings in Felix's head.
"Quick, quick, quick. Heal. Heal!" Felix screamed at his phone as he and his homies tried to beat Azhdaha in a rocking bus, going up a slippery hill. Cruck, cruck, his seat shook and his phone slipped from his grasp and fell to the floor. Shit!
As he bent down to pick it, he caught a glimpse of the dark grey skies outside, decorated with flashing white bolts of lightning like an early Christmas, if the Grinch took Santa's rein. What a day for a field trip, Felix thought. He brushed off some dirt off his phone and called everyone to stand in Bennett's circle.
"Get out of my way!" Shouted Gui from behind as his in-game character, Xiao, repeatedly plunged. His hp falling dangerously close to zero yet avoiding Bennett's heals.
"Come in! You're gonna die!" James yelled out next to Felix, spamming Chongyun's skill, and the word 'melt' filled the screen.
"Xiao's Anemo! Why did you bring a C6 Bennett?"
"It suits Chongyun! And swirl works with anything!" Felix spammed his normal attack and noticed a Lumine standing still out of the field. "And Addy, come help us!"
"Wait, let me eat some food buff."
"Why didn't you do that before the fight?"
Foolish mortals! The frog toad roared and hurled its bloated body into the air.
"Run out, run out!"
The brown bag of pure agony slammed into the ground sending shockwaves out, inhaling his Bennet's hp.
Suddenly, a bright light shone just above Felix's head with loud honks. He looked up just in time to see a big truck-kun heading towards his bus. His vision went dark as more honks could be heard. Vroom. HOOONK, SWISH, and KABOOM.
"Xiao- I mean Gui?"
The teal-headed man looks at Felix, narrowing his eyebrows.
"Do I know you?"
"And," Felix turns to the cat-eyed boy, "James?" His listener grows wide-eyed.
"Yeah…?"
Felix inhales deeply.
"It-It's me, Felix! You-I-We, are probably Isekaii-ed!"
Xiao-Gui narrows his eyes and inspects his gloves. "No shit Sherlock."
"Does that mean…" They all look at each other and laugh. If the whole crew's here, there's one more left.
Part II: Another Crew
After scraping the red off Gui, the gang scours around a bit when Felix finally finds the victim. "Over here!" he shouts. They shuffle around the target. There lies a young blonde girl in white. It is Lumine.
Felix grins and nods at the other two who quickly hide behind some rock pillars nearby. He then proceeds to shake the sleeper violently.
"Wake up, Lumine! We are under attack!"
"Huh," the other snorts, "I'm sleeping…"
Felix bites back a chuckle.
"But there are hilichurls!"
Gui and James yell out incomprehensible 'ya ya' from afar.
Lumine jolts awake. She swirls her head around, but no one's there. She looks angrily at Felix.
"And who are you?-" Lumine grabs her neck. "What happened to my voice?" She sounds like those girls in anime! She looks to the surrounding area and then at the dress she's wearing. Her shoulders are exposed and what's with that short skirt? She had never worn anything other than baggy pants! "What did you perverts do to me?!"
One behind the rock bellows out with laughter, dropping from their hiding place.
"Haha, very funny." Lumine crosses her hands.
"Addy, it's me, Felix." Felix brushes off a tear in his eyes. "We didn't do anything naughty. I promise."
"No way." Lumine looks at the white-haired boy in front of him, wearing a goggle, and full of scars. An adventurer outfit? "Felix?"
Addy follows the dying laughter behind the boy to see two even more strangely dressed people. The boy to the left clutching his stomach wears a whole popsicle theme hoodie and the one right to him, burying his face in his hands, wears a white and purple ancient Chinese warrior garment. And dang does that blood-stains look real. What's this? Did she stumble upon an outdoor Anime-con?
"Prove it."
The guy talking to him smiles wearily and rubs his chin.
"I-uh-know you since 6th grade. You like peanut butter with burgers and watch cats playing pianos. There's also this one time at my locker-"
"That's enough." Addy tries to hide her blush. Yep, it's Felix all right.
"And who are those guys?" She points at the duo heading towards them.
"That to the left is James and the other is Gui."
"Wakey, wakey," says 'Gui' while 'James' grins.
"Oh, hi, Heichou."
"Oi, what you call me? Girlie. "
Addy is going to snap that neck when Whoosh! The wind swirls around and compresses into a big ball of blackness. Addy pushes her feet firmly in the ground as the air throws her hair everywhere to reach that ball, which stretches and compresses and disappears. Bang! A blue portal opens up, lined inside with thousands of sparkling stars. From the abyss, a foot the size of one's pinky steps out to reveal a white-pink little child with a small crown.
"Welcome Travelers!..."
What the f- is that?
"… to the land of Teyvat! This is your Personal Artificial-Intelligent Master-Operator Network, or P.A.I.M.O.N. for short! We hope that you will have an immersive experience..."
"Is everybody seeing this?" Gui whispers to Addy as the loli drones on about rules and something of that shit. Addy nods her head along like she always does in Math class–cluelessly.
"...must not reveal the existence of the Transmigration. Any questions?"
"Did we die?" Felix cries, clutching his head. Oh yeah, almost forgot about that.
"What? No, Travelers are simply unconscious and your souls have been transferred to this world. If-"
"Can we change characters? I want to be Captain Beidou." Everyone looks at Addy. "What?"
"No."
Felix asks next, "When I looked at my inventory, I didn't have my Skyward-sword. Can I have that back?"
"No."
James opens his mouth.
"No, no, and no!"
"But I didn't-"
"The character bined to the user's account is permanent for this round. The weapons are too. But yes, Travelers can interact with non-playable characters however you want as long as it abides by the rules. Satisfied?" Paimon looks around and clears her throat. "If Traveler wishes to return, there are main missions to be earned! Would Travelers like to view their Main Mission?"
After some grumbling, everyone agreed. A small screen pops up in front of each of them. Addy reads hers.
— —
Main Missions
COOP: Beat Azhdaha. Currently Locked. Progress 0%.
World Quest
[n/a]
— —
"What? We're not done with Azhdaha?" Addy says, looking up from her screen.
"Well, it would've been done if someone ate their buff before the match!" Felix grins at Addy. Hmpf, he doesn't have to remind her of that.
"Why the Primo Vishap King?" James continues. "I don't think this is in the main storyline."
Paimon simply replies, "It is the unfinished business of the soul."
"And how are we going to do that?"
The floating child pauses, then winks. "Travelers are encouraged to immerse themselves. May Travelers work hard!" And with a small flip, she slips into the thin air.
"Wait, wait!" Felix grasps at the place that Paimon used to be.
"Get back here!" Addy follows suit.
James sighs. "Guess we'll have to find that out ourselves."
"Where are we even?" Gui turns to him, partly in question and partly to stop watching a traveler and an adventurer clawing the empty air, yelling and pleading into the sky.
"From the many yellow, blocky mountains around, I think we're somewhere in Liyue," the land of Monoliths, Geo Archon. "And that sound of water means we're near the coast, either we're in Bishui Plain or south of Guili Plains." Wait, how did I know this? Thinks James.
Gui looks impressed, nodding his head along. He notices the shoutings have died down and that duo has slumped down, huffing and puffing. He signals to James, who sighs and walks to them. He crouches down and pats their backs.
"Com'on. At least we have each other."
"Aw." Felix scratches his own head.
"Well then," he stands up. "There's only one way left and that is onwards!" Suddenly, a rock hits his head from behind.
"Hey!" Felix looks at Xiao.
"Why you look at me?"
"Not me either," Addy adds. Chongyun shakes his head too.
Right, Bennett is the unluckiest character. This just keeps getting better and better. He heard someone else sniffing.
"What? I'm I catching fire too?"
"No, I smell something else…" Addy looks into the distance. "There! A smoke!" Felix and James follow her black gloves to some white clouds in the distance, between the hills. If James squints hard enough, he can barely trace some green big leaves around the source. Smoke means fire. Fire usually means people! Perhaps they can get answers after all.
"What are we waiting for?" Felix waves his hands. "Let's go!" He leaps forward and stumbles down the hill.
"Last one there's a hilichurl's meal!" Addy exclaims and runs past Bennett.
"Hey, no fair! Aren't we a team? What-Gui, wait up!"
And so the four friends take their first steps into the world of Teyvat.
Part III: I'm on my knees
James feels like collapsing in the dry sun. He was sitting in a bus one moment and now stuck in another world, running to who-knows-where. He looks ahead at his companions disappearing in the distance.
Since Lumine, no, Addy initiated their race the likes of her whim as always, James has to pant all the way, and his heart is pumping like crazy. He isn't lucky enough to play as an Anemo character like Gui, who zips with green fervor immediately past Lumine, but at least he's not tumbling every step like Felix as Bennett.
After dragging his numb feet, step by step, for what feels like hours and hours on end, they've reached a small hill with a lonely tree. Just a few more skips and they would enter the bustling camp in front of them.
"Ay yo! Why you guys so slow?" Addy crosses her arms and cocks her head to the side.
James would like to reply if his lungs aren't burning .
"We're not doing a speedrun ya know!" Yes, thanks Felix.
"Ha! Sure."
James' head starts to turn.
The blonde hair guy jumps up, brushes dirt off his grey shirt. "What nex-" James' vision went dark. "James! Are you alright?"
It's not alright. It's hot. And he smells smoke. Was that thunder? He hears ringing and crying around the corner, but he cannot crane his neck to see. He can't move a thing. It's too dark to see anyways. Why was it wet? Under him is soft though. Perhaps a little nap...
Coldness runs through his forehead and James gasps in the air.
"Thank goodness! Almost the second casualty today."
James blinks hard. He stares at the green eyes. Out of the corner, a green head looks away. He realizes his head is wet and cold. He pats his own head. Something squishy.
"That's slime condensate. There should be a cooler, but you usually don't use water in this game." Felix pauses. "Or maybe only you do."
"Thanks." James sits up and the slime starts to warm up. He takes it off.
"Let me get another one."
Something tucks behind James' head, like when an answer floats in during a test. "That's alright." He breathes slowly and clutches the slime condensate. A cold pulse flows from his hand and ice crawls up the once gooey liquid. Neat. He puts the block of slime back on his head as his friend's jaw drops.
"Woah ho, awesome! How did you do that? Better yet-" Felix fumbles around his bag. "What else can you freeze?"
On the other side of the tree, the star girl and a Yaksha scan the site at hand, ignoring the noises from the back.
Eagle symbols decorate the green tents while under, men sit around a boiling pot. Even if Addy can't see what's in it, it smells tantalizing. Undeniably they should be-
"Treasure hoarders?" Asks Gui, a hand above his head to block the sun. Cooking was what Addy thought.
"Aw, you stole my line! There should be around 7-8."
"There's only 4."
"There's some tent at the back, and definitely others behind that rock…" Addy trails at the suspicious look the slit eyes toss at her. "Anyways. What are we gonna do about it? Can we fight them?" She adds the last sentence with some thrill.
Treasure hoarders were some spoonable enemies that Addy usually helps her fam. farm, particularly Felix for his Bennett. Like their name, Treasure hoarders usually crowd around ruins in the outskirts of Liyue. A couple of them could be easily wiped off, but a whole camp such as this might take some time. Not that it would be much difficult with a Xiao in her team.
"No."
"Why not?"
We are not the characters! We don't even know how to hold our weapons yet! Don't you dare give me those puppy eyes."
Tsch. Buzzkill. Addy stops pouting and shouts at the back in her most spoiled tone, "Are you guys done yet? There are treasure hoarders here~"
Bennett perks up and Chongyun seems to have recovered, a popsicle in his mouth.
"What really?" The glass-head runs over and wraps an arm around Gui's shoulders while the popsicle guy walks over with the enthusiasm of a snail. "Woah… Can we talk to them?"
"Good luck with that. While you do, I'll go in with my sword." Addy instinctively flicks her hand and a large, white sword materializes into it. Noice, I can work with this.
"No! They're people too!"
"You never said that when we massacred villages daily."
"But- we're in that world now!"
"And your luck is trash now. Good luck making them cooperate ."
"But- right…" Felix trails his eyes to the other green companion.
"Don't look at me, I'll spook them."
All three look at the last guy peeking from behind, licking a popsicle.
"Hmm? What?"
Why does It always have to be me? Thinks James as he gulps the last piece of the sweet cold jelly. Hmm, he should ask Felix later what this flavor is. He places the stick into his inventory. Now though, he has a job to do.
He glances behind for some support: a goggle-head giving a thumbs up, a girl waving her hand, and a stoic nod from the green. They quickly slip behind the golden tree. Thanks guys. He sighs and marches over to the bustling camp.
"Hi, there, uhh, excuse me," James mumbles as he nears the camp. Some adults are chattering. Others are napping by. Anyhow, the men remain as they were before.
You can do this James. You went through choir and band. He shudders at the reminder of hot light above him and waves of anonymous heads, blurred by the darkness of the auditorium. A rising heat forms again in his chest, so he quickly waves the thoughts away. Let's try again.
He clears his throat and speaks louder,
"Excuse me! I'm Chongyun the Exorcist! I need your help!" He realizes he had shut his eyes that entire time, and now he has to peel it open. Through the tiny window, he notes some heads that turned to him. Good.
He hears them whisper amongst themselves.
"Help?"
"Isn't that a Vision-bearer?"
"Exorcist? Chongyun? The guy who banishes ghosts around?"
All eyes lock upon James, and sweat trickles down his forehead. The treasure hoarders that have sat stand up while others take arms. The biggest guy with arms the size of his head trudges towards him. James wouldn't be exaggerating if the ground around him shakes with each of those steps.
"What do you want, kid?" The voice cut through the air.
"I-uhm" Rivers form on James's face as he shoves another flare of heat down his throat. "I want to ask for directions? I-kinda got lost.. Wh-where am I, and how do I get to the nearest town?"
"Hmm…" grunts the giant while one of his crew laughs.
"Lost? Big Gao, how can a kid get lost so near a Ruin? A vision holder for a fact? Kid, that treasure is ours!"
"That's true," replies the stoic man. He leans in closer to the trembling Chongyun. "What actually brings you here?"
"I-" Think, James, think! He can hear a small thud around the tree behind. He can see a blur of green and yellow flash for a sec.
"Huh? What's-" the giant, Big Gao, looks up.
"I'm here for a stroll to catch some spirits but it fled all the way here and I got lost. Maybe we can trade services?" James raps out so fast he thinks he might've bitten his tongue. Take the bait please.
Big Gao looks away from the tree (Phew!) and snorts at the young boy before him. He straightens his back and lets out a burst of bellowing laughter.
"Fair enough." He scratches his chin in thought. "There have been some inconveniences in the ruins. A couple hilichurls. Maybe some… mitachurls. You think you can handle that?
A commission? Sweet! "You can count on us!" Big Gao looks confused. "I mean, me. Um, do you have some paper we can sign the contract on? And for the payment, I would like a map of the area instead."
"Hmm...? Sure."
As James walks away, he hears that obnoxious high-pitch again, but Paimon isn't to be seen.
"Congratulations Traveler!"
A screen pops up.
— —
New World Quest!
Ruined Troubles. Progress 5%.
Clear all monsters from the ruins.
— —
— —
+1 F point with Big Gao!
+2 Charisma
— —
A new side quest? F points? What's Charisma? Ooooh, this is getting interesting.
Paimon screams into his head, "New tutorials unlocked! Would you like to view them right now?"
Extra: Gui - Xiao
Upon the highest tree branch, Gui watches as James strolls away towards the camp of grown-ups. Did he really agree with this? No, but it is in their best interest if they are to go home. But this is the guy who fainted moments ago!
In the real world, Addy would be the one handling most of these confrontations. Why didn't she go instead? He peers down to the girl in question, who is posing with her sword and laughing with Bennett. No, she's too eager to fight. He would like to be in James' place instead, but what if they recognize the Yaksha? The clear blood-stains on his clothes don't help his appearance any better.
That moment he gets lost in thought, he hears a commotion from the camp. He returns his gaze and finds James surrounded! He grips the tree hard.
"Hey," Felix whispers behind him. "Can you move? I wanna see!"
"There's many branches for a reason." Gui squints and spots a large man heading straight towards James.
"Can you move, please?~ I still can't see from there." The gorilla is now right in hands' reach of James!
Gui looks at his glove, embedded with the glowing green gem. He might not have a weapon, but his speed should be enough. He crouches down to take flight when a hand grabs his ankle.
"It's my turn now! Let me see!" Felix barely balances himself on the nearby, lower branch.
"What? Get off! You're too heav-" A loud sickening crack echo inside the tree, and the branch pops off.
Both come crashing down, with Felix unfortunately at the bottom.
"Hey, what are you guys doin- Really? This quick in the game?" Mocks Addy.
"You-" Gui backflips up and holds up his hand when he realizes, "Take cover!" He whooshes backward, dragging his companions to the tree's safety. He hopes that the gorilla man near James won't catch their peeks , James and the big man are talking pleasantly. They exchange some papers. And with his usual bow, James leaves and casually strolls back to the tree.
This is my crosspost from Ao3. I mainly post there.
If you would like pictures, there's also the Wattpad version.