Okay! Chapter 1! At the time of writing this, the prologue has, according to traffic stats, over 150 unique readers, nearly 200 views, 5 favs, and 8 follows! Thank you so much!
I'm also in the process of trying to animate the picture I used for my cover. I'm still learning how to animate, but according to my instructor I have a talent for it. Yay! Anyway, I hope you will enjoy this chapter!
First though, reviews! Thanks for leaving them!
Guest: Thanks, I really hope this story ends up well!
GachaMHCreator: that will be explained later. I myself am not fully through the story quests yet, so if there are any major inconsistencies, please tell me! If there are some small ones, just chalk it up to plot and alternate universe. I don't want to spoil my own playthrough unless necessary. It will be explained in the next chapter! Thanks for the input!
LilyMaja: Thank you! That was what I was going for since every other attempt I've made at writing fan fictions is ruined by my tendency to over explain things. I'm glade you liked it and I hope you enjoy this one! Also I read your Yantao fic and I liked it! Nice work!
alifr7409: Here ya go then! I've had this chapter ready for 2 days now and wanted to stay on a regular schedule, but hey I'm impatient so :P
Thoughts: Hu
Speech: "Tao!"
Narration: {Yan}
Place: (Fei!)
Disclaimer: Genshin Impact belongs to Mihoyo. I don't own anything except for characters of my own creation.
Chapter 1: Yanfei's Guilt
(In Wangshu Inn, room 102, a certain half-adepti lay tired in her bed)
We barely escaped with our lives. As I came to, I watched as a battered and beaten Hu Tao collapsed. There was fire everywhere, the grass and flowers burned to ash. There were a dozen abyss mages and two dozen hilichurls left. Compared to the army of nearly a thousand, it was hardly anything.
I quickly grabbed her and ran, carrying her all the way to Liyue Harbor. I got her tended to by a local doctor and told Xiao of the attackers so he could finish them off. According to the doctor, it was a miracle that she was still alive, causing me great worry and stress. They said she would survive, and miraculously, have no permanent damage.
Now, as I lay here in my bed, I thank the archons for the many miracles that were granted today. Taotao alone fought them all, and slew almost the entire army alone. I don't recall having even a scratch on me afterwards. She protected me. She almost gave her life for me. While I... while I was just asleep on the ground, unable to do anything to help and not even knowing of the suffering she was going through for my sake.
I feel a tear streak down my face, betraying the storm of emotions conflicting inside me.
Thank you. Thank you with all my heart. But why? Why did you go so far just for me? When I did nothing to help and barely awoke in time to save you!
I remember something she told me a while ago.
Flashback
(On a bench in Wuwang Hill)
"Hey, Hu Tao?" I said to the girl sitting next to me.
"Hmm?"
"Why do you always hang out with me? Not that I mind or anything! Just, don't you have funeral rights to do, Xingqiu to discuss poetry with, Xiangling to scare or Chongyun to tease? Why almost always me?" I ask in genuine curiosity.
"Aiya Aiya! Quite the curious question! I suppose, it's because very few actually accept me, and even they do not at least try to understand me well. Other than Zhongli, you at the only one in Teyvat who understands me."
"Oh, um-"
Well that wasn't an answer I was-
"That, and your more fun to tease!"
Seriously?!
"Hey!"
Hu Tao giggles cheerfully as she stands and sprints off to escape an annoyed Yanfei
"Get back here!"
Yanfei stands to give chase
End of flashback
I can feel my cheeks heating up and my heart rate accelerating.
Is that really the only reason?
As I recall her cheerful smile, I feel my heart beating even faster.
Calm down Yanfei! She will be fine! But, what could I do to help her? I couldn't do anything.
The girl who I care for more than anyone else in the world, who is my best friend, whose cheerful personality can brighten up any day.
The girl who stole my heart.
And what could I do for her in her time of need?
Nothing
{More and more tears flow. Sobs could be heard throughout Liyue Harbor that night. Even while asleep, she did not stop for hours. But no matter how much she cried, that hollow feeling of helplessness wouldn't fade.
She didn't realize that even though she hadn't physically helped her, she unknowingly became the biggest emotional pillar in Hu Tao's life.}
(Elsewhere, the man once known as Morax, watches as the new archon rests)
This is certainly quite the spectacle to behold.
As I stare at Hu Tao's sleeping form, I can't help but think of the anomaly in front of me. A human being, by means of which is still unknown, has obtained a Gnosis. By definition, this means that she is now one of the Seven.
Something tells me things are going to get quite a bit more interesting from now on. It's a shame that I had to tell the people she got lucky and wasn't going to have any permanent damage. It isn't false though. She did get lucky, and won't have any permanent damage. But that is misleading, as the reason isn't what it would seem.
I hear a growling noise coming from the girl beside me. I pick up the radish soup and begin to sate the young girl's hunger.
Something happened after that ambush. From her earlier condition, it wasn't that she was close to death. She should have been dead. Every vital organ was pierced, every bone was broken, and most of the skin was charred to ash. She didn't survive it. She had died. But from what I can see, she is alive, and healing at an impossible rate. In the span of just a day, all her vital organs have fully recovered, her skin has almost completely healed back to its original state, and most of her bones have mended themselves. Who or whatever did this, they not only gave her a gnosis and healed her body. No, they did something more.
They brought her back from the dead.
Even the gods cannot achieve such a feat. This is something I must look into more. However, for the time being, I am content just to sit by her side till she awakens from what would have been her final rest. After all, it's not every day a new archon is born.
In other news, it seems miss Yanfei has grown quite attached to the young director from their time together. If I were to take a gander at what is going on in that head of hers, I'd say she's quite smitten with the girl. It's endearing to see her come check on her every chance she can, and do whatever she can to help. Although, I sense that beyond her worry and care, she holds an ugly guilt, likely born of not being able to help her and stop her from being injured to such an extent.
I look to the seat on my left, paperwork piled high. I stand to get to working on them.
Best get this done so when she awakens, she won't be greeted by the duties she couldn't get to today. There have been many more funerals to perform ever since the abyss mages and hilichurls started moving closer to the Liyue Harbor. Xiao has been clearing them out, but even he admits his worries about them eventually being too many to handle alone.
As I sit and begin working, these thoughts continue to go through my head.
(?)
{Unbeknownst to any but the girl and the man once known as Morax, on the day of the ambush, the most powerful magic ever created was cast, the magic that could rival the lost magic that created existence itself. Unbeknownst to any but the one who casted it, fate is no longer sealed, the future is no longer certain, and the fun, is just getting started.}
"After all, this tale is mine to tell, and I'll be damned if it isn't a good one! Hahahahaha!" Paradox says, as she watches the story unfold before her.
Alright! Personally, I'm not sure about the format style I used but I can't come up with a better one so for now it sticks! Thanks for the support! :P
Edit: Thanks to LilyMaja for help in perspective shifting, and thanks to SkyChaser17 for help in dialogue formatting!
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