Chapter 1: Only Foolery
001
Oh.
That's right.
I remember saying something along the lines of me being the photonegative of Paimon—in both personalities and looks.
Philemon also said, "You'll look your age."
But I never got around to talking about how I looked like now, did I?
Must have forgotten.
Anyway.
Being around bodies of water so much means I must have looked at my reflection at least once, right?
Yeah.
Seen myself multiple times.
And…
…
Sorry to disappoint.
I myself haven't changed all that much. Really. No crazy changes. What should be crazy, though, is what I'm wearing. So, please be patient because I'm going to be saving the best for last.
So.
Me.
There are only four things worth mentioning.
First, my hair; it grew. Well…it was such a small amount that I'm not even sure if "grew" was the right word to use. Rather, it just is longer. If they were here, S.E.E.S might not recognize the change. Who knows, even Aigis, with those robot features of hers, might have a hard time telling the difference. But to give a better idea of how I look now, just imagine me but slightly more feminine. That's it, really.
Secondly—alright, please listen because what I say next might sound crazy. Even if it's true. Well, I may be alive and healthy but I don't think I'm exactly alive and healthy. What I'm trying to say is I'm still sort of "dead." Once, going along with my routine, I went outside to fish. Luckily, I happened to catch a really big fish making Paimon go, "Woahhh!" Following this, Paimon lifted her hand, opened it, and sent her palm flying towards my neck. She was trying to pat me. A bad idea. Immediately after her palm made contact with my neck, she retracted her arm with a, "What the—!"
"Hm? What's wrong, Paimon?" I asked, confused as to why she retracted her arm.
"What do you mean 'What's wrong'?! Can't you tell?!"
I really had no idea what she was screaming about so of course, I said, "No."
"Huh? Seriously?"
I only nodded in response. Whatever it was, it must be really serious for her to be yelling at me like that, I thought.
"Well…um…the back of your neck—it's, like, really cold. Like, really, really cold."
Hearing her say that, I brought my hand to the back of my neck.
I touched it.
And.
She was right.
Like her, I retracted my arm.
It wasn't like it was actually cold enough for me to retract my hand. It was simply surprising. It was so surprisingly cold for human skin to be, that you just had to withdraw from it—it was like that.
However.
This didn't just apply to the back of my neck. It applied to my whole body.
All of my body—cool.
And I felt none of it.
I move as if the cold didn't exist.
I had to admit: it made me feel somewhat uneasy.
"What...? So you can't even feel it? Are you alright?"
"Yeah. No need to worry, I'm fine."
"If you say so… It sorta explains why your nose and cheeks are pink, though."
"Hm? My nose and cheeks?"
"Wait… You don't know about that either?"
I shook my head.
And instead of palming my neck, she palmed her face.
Not only is my body in a constant state of being cold, my nose and cheeks are in a constant state of being pink. All the water's fault; I guess it's because the water's reflective surface isn't sufficient enough that I couldn't see the pink—but that's the end of part two.
Well—thirdly; I can use the word "grow" in a way that will work. But first, I need to say something.
Now.
I have never really been insecure about my height—or anything, really.
I'm five-seven—the height of the average Japanese male and though I manage this feat, I'm still the shortest of the guys (of course, with the exception of Ken).
This, to Junpei, was a setup for a joke (which made no sense. Junpei was only a centimeter taller than me).
So he went for it.
And like usual, I ignored it.
Until—
The one person that happened to be near while the joke was made, chuckled.
…Mitsuru chuckled.
Mitsuru chuckled.
I've never been the same since.
…
...I tell this story but it doesn't really matter now, does it?
It's all foolery now.
Hm.
Nevertheless, 5'10—that's the height that I have grown to (or rather, it's an estimate). Something to be proud of, I guess.
To end it all, my nails are black.
How cool.
—And that covers that.
Now comes the best part.
Please note that the reason I say "best" is all because of Paimon. It's the so-called, "best part about me."
Ouch.
Apparently what I wore was superior to how I am as a person.
Paimon was brutally honest. I could appreciate that.
Okay.
My outfit consisted of: a black trench coat that reached a little over my knees, underneath is a black long sleeve shirt; black pants, along with red suspenders, and black shoes. The icing on the cake—a necklace with the pendant being one of Thanatos's coffins.
…
I really can't take myself seriously with the suspenders…
Paimon can't either.
I should have said this earlier but she thinks it's the best part of me not because it makes me look cool, but the complete opposite.
"With an all-black outfit like that, Paimon would have thought you were an enemy, but the moment Paimon would have seen you fish, that same fear would turn into laughter," is what she said.
That also brought another point up. This outfit—antagonized me.
That left a bad taste in my mouth.
"I'll make you fit right in," was it?
If this is fitting in, I can only imagine what other people are like.
But I guess it is what it is.
By the way.
I'm now 20 years old, I think.
002
A ball of water took shape in front of us.
In other words, a Hydro Slime.
Paimon and I have walked (actually, for her it's floating) no more than about 10 meters—and we've already encountered our first enemy.
Teyvat was a much more threatening place to be in than Earth. Encountering enemies that are commonly found in fantasy novels or games back on Earth are day-to-day occurrences for the world of Teyvat—at least that's what Paimon taught me to believe. I haven't seen much of it myself, only encountering one other enemy other than the one in front of us.
So, yeah, it was my first time seeing this creature.
And—I guess it was underwhelming.
Paimon had spent lots of time warning me how dangerous these things are but—in a battle with me and the slime, I felt that kicking it would be enough for me to win.
"Alright!" Paimon announced. "Ryoji, take out your weapon and show it who's boss!"
Paimon turned to look at me; I looked back at her.
…
…
…
"H-hey Ryoji…are you not gonna attack it with your weapon?"
Weapon? That was news to me.
"I don't have a weapon," I told her.
Immediately, she freaked out. "What?! And you never told Paimon?!"
"You never asked…"
"Just be—Woah!?"
Paimon barely managed to dodge the waterball that flew at her.
I followed the waterball with my eyes; it managed to hit a rock that would need my whole hand to hold. That rock—cracked.
I didn't feel like kicking that slime anymore.
"Let's run for it!" Paimon yelled.
So that's how our first "battle" went.
Along with Paimon, I ran from the enemy.
003
I was scolded by Paimon.
"Jeez! Don't forget to tell Paimon such important things!"
"Sorry."
"We could have died!"
"Sorry."
"No, sorry isn't gonna cut it! Paimon wants you to repeat after her, alright?"
"Alright."
"Say: 'I will never forget to tell Paimon such important things.'!"
"I will never forget to tell Paimon such important things," I repeated.
"'And if I don't, Paimon will forever be sad and will leave me for eternity—which I don't want.'!"
"And If I don't, Paimon will forever be sad and will leave me for eternity—which I don't want."
"Now get on your knees and beg for forgiveness!"
"Now you're going too far…"
What is she, a god? Ordering me around like that…
Like hell I'd perform dogeza for Paimon.
"Well, whatever. Paimon can tell you get the message by now… Alright, let's keep going!"
Wow.
Such a quick and sudden change in mood.
Paimon is dangerous, that much I can tell.
Anyway, we left it at that.
We started walking towards our destination. After passing by what Paimon called an ancient relic, we immediately came to a halt. We were met with a rock face.
Paimon says to climb, so I do.
She begins to talk.
"Following this route—and with a little more walking—we'll meet our objective! You do remember what the objective is, right?"
I nodded and said, "A Statue of The Seven."
"Yup!"
Right.
Of course, language isn't the only thing (Ms.) Paimon had taught me. The things she taught me ranged from Teyvat common knowledge to the Gods of Teyvat. And—I have no room to say this but she seems weirdly knowledgeable about everything. I get that she's lived in this world since she was born, but, still. People back on Earth usually knew little about other countries than the one they lived in (even if they did it still usually never compared).
However, I ignored it. Sure, it's strange, but maybe everyone in Teyvat is as knowledgeable as she is.
This isn't Earth.
It's Teyvat.
A new world.
Because Earth is gone, and I now reside in Teyvat, I need to stop thinking like I'm back on Earth.
…
Plus, Paimon's knowledge helped me out a lot so I can't exactly complain, can I?
Back to the matter at hand.
A Statue of the Seven. Statues found all across Teyvat. They watch over the world. Each nation has a Statue with their corresponding Archon.
Archons are, in other words, gods.
How crazy.
Gods were a big part of my life back then, and now they seem to be as much as big a deal over here. Because of my relation with the gods I thought that maybe Philemon had put me in Teyvat on purpose. Or not. Maybe it's just a coincidence. Who knows. Not like it matters.
Eventually on our walk, Paimon floated ahead to make it to the edge of a cliff (if she kept going would she fall or continue to float?). Not wanting to get left behind, I quickly caught up to her.
And—beauty.
The view was absolutely breathtaking. From here, I could see tall trees scattered around, most were a dark green color but ones surrounding a lake—a statue in the middle of the lake; it took no heavy thinking to realize that it must be our destination—were a light orange. I could make out boars walking around aimlessly, seemingly with no goal in mind. Far out, I could vaguely see a forest and a city. To give a name, the city of freedom. Where the citizens of Mondstadt inhabit.
The verdantness of it all completely captivated me. Completely.
"Oh wowwwww!" she said, amazed by the view we were getting from up here.
I share her amazement, to an even greater amount.
I would guess the average Teyvat resident would similarly be stunned by a view like this but not to the same extent as me. It's most likely because I would never get the chance of looking at something like this back on Earth.
I continued to gaze ahead of me—then down.
Around 50 to 60 feet above the air.
"Hey, Ryoji, you alright?"
A weird feeling of peace overcomes me.
Joy.
Pleasure.
Delight.
I find myself enchanted.
"Hey, Ryoooji…"
Because I might—
…
No…
Rather.
Because I know—
The crisp wind flows through my hair and past my cheeks.
That did it.
The next thing I knew—
"Hey—!"
I was facing those 50 to 60 feet. Yet, nothing happened. The ground doesn't close-in on me nor do I close-in on the ground. I should be falling to my death but instead I'm unmoving.
…?
How…?
"Rghhhh—!"
I react by looking behind me, where the noise came from. I now see the reason as to why I haven't fallen yet: Paimon has been holding me by the back of my coat.
"Mind helping Paimon a little?!"
I was clueless as to what she meant until I noticed that I still had the tip of my feet on the edge of the cliff so I put some weight onto them and did my best to push myself back. Eventually, we succeeded and I toppled onto my back.
Paimon hurried over to me.
"You okay?" The look on her face told me the concern in her words were true.
"Yeah, I'm fine. No need to worry."
"You sure?"
"Yeah."
"Super sure?"
"Super sure."
"Alright… But I'm never letting you get near a cliff ever again, got it? …Let's continue."
"...Right."
...She seems to have seen the incident as an accident. Good.
Even I'll admit that was a completely foolish thing for me to do. My actions are completely opposing my goals. Such a loser thing to do.
I let out a sigh.
I need to calm down.
I'm too eager.
004
"Hey, Paimon…"
"What is it?"
"Do you think you can carry me across?"
"In your dreams!"
The lake with our destination in the middle of it stood right in front of us. To get to the Statue I would have to, naturally, swim. But—like hell I'm going to get my clothes wet.
I guess it's come down to this, huh…
So be it.
To do my best job at convincing her, I'll have to damage my pride.
Here I go!
I put up my best puppy eyes. "Pretty…please?" I already lost half of my pride by making this stupid face so asking an even stupider question just rubbed salt into the wound.
Now I await her reaction.
"Ewww! Take that disgusting look off your face! Hahaha!"
…
Instead of having just a bit of my pride left, all of it was completely cut off.
Damn you, Paimon.
I feel like crying.
"…I guess I'll take my loss."
Paimon ignored me and continued to laugh.
Tch.
To not get all of my clothes wet, I took off my trench coat, shoes, socks, and shirt. After they were off, I swam across. Of course, Paimon floated across. Soon enough, we were facing the Statue.
A Statue of the Seven.
About three times my height.
Mostly made out of stone, except at the bottom that was made with a good amount of gold.
At the top of the Statue is a figure; it wears a hooded cloak and has wings on its back. With both of its hands, it gently holds a ball.
This figure is the Archon of Mondstadt.
Each Archon is associated with an element, and this Archon is associated with the wind.
The Anemo Archon.
The God of Freedom.
Barbatos.
I felt an indescribable sense of nostalgia.
"Alright, quiz time! Time to see if all that stuff Paimon taught you stuck in your head. Ready?"
I turned to face Paimon, who was behind me and nodded.
"Question #1: This God is linked with what element?"
"Anemo."
"Ding ding ding! Question #2: What nation does this God preside in?"
"Mondstadt."
"Ding ding ding! And finally we have question #3: What is the name of this God?"
"Babatos."
She burst out laughing.
"..."
She calmed down a bit before she continued to talk.
"Ha… Sorry, can you say that again?"
"...I meant to say Barbatos."
This whole new language thing isn't as easy as it looks, you know? Having to deal with constant mispronunciation is pretty annoying. It's even more annoying because everytime I do stutter, Paimon is always there to laugh at me. I was lucky enough that I had gone more than ten minutes without it, but it seems my bad luck had finally caught up with me.
Don't turn my pain into your pleasure, alright Paimon?
It's mean.
"I'm sorry I'm sorry. It's just…" Even after her apology, she remembered my stutter and continued with her chuckling.
…
I'll just ignore her.
I turned my back on her and looked back at the Statue.
To say that the nostalgic feeling I get from looking at the Statue is almost no different than the feeling I got from looking at the view from that cliff is no lie.
Except this time, there were no suicidal tendencies. I simply felt like—touching it.
So I touched it.
Immediately, I got a reaction out of it.
In small openings of the statue, the ball it was holding and all around the statue itself, a green light started glowing. It started to get brighter but came to a quick end—except that something had come out of the ball. It was making its way towards me. I took a step back and took a defensive stance just to be careful. It was deemed useless as it casually made its way to me and went into my body; it entered my body.
I felt power.
Powerful.
Like I can take over the world.
Like I can go back and kick that slime.
I'm not unfamiliar with this.
It was how summoning a Persona felt like.
It was too much how summoning a Persona felt like.
It was convincing.
It was persuasive.
And so it convinced, and so it persuaded. I turned around expecting to see a Persona. Unfortunately, the only thing that stood behind me was Paimon.
Powerless, foolery—and sadness.
She had stopped laughing.
"Woah! Did you just absorb the power of the Anemo?"
"Seems like it."
"Being able to get a hold of the power of Anemo as easily as you… It's probably because you're not from this world to begin with that you can do something like that."
I told her that I agree. I'm not from this world which means that I don't follow its rules—doesn't mean I shouldn't though. I wonder if I can take advantage of that sometime in the future.
Paimon proceeded to say something about going west from here will make us reach Mondstadt. Apparently, because of my newfound Anemo powers, we'll probably be able to get help for my goal there.
"Then let's get moving."
As Paimon and I were about to head on, we heard a familiar strange noise. The noise happened once, then twice, then thrice, then four times, and then 5 times until it stopped. We turned around. A group of five Pyro Slimes.
Shit.
Should we run?
"Hey Paimon, let's—"
"No way! The last time we ran away was because you didn't have a weapon but now you have the power of the Anemo." She was being totally serious and confident about this. Problem is, I'm not. No more than four minutes have passed since I have obtained this power. Wouldn't it be better if I gained some sort of familiarity with it?
Ah, hell. Whatever. The slimes have already closed-in.
"Paimon, any tips on using this power?"
"Uhh…press R2?"
That doesn't help at all!
I took another defensive stance. The slimes were close to five meters away. They had about a two second lag between every jump they took to get closer.
I could go the safe route: maneuver to their left or right, proceed by getting as far as possible, and try to get a hold of the Anemo power until I feel assured about using it.
But if it means finishing this as fast as possible, I'll go the risky route. If I fail, I'll be hit with slimes that are made of fire. Oh, how that would hurt. So I have to be careful.
I held out my right hand. Palm open and facing the slimes. They jumped.
I imagined it.
How a Persona would do it.
How a Persona would unleash an attack that would leave no enemy behind.
How a Garu would look.
I am thou.
Thou art I.
It happened.
A green wind started forming in my hand. It being my first time doing this, the hand that carried the wind was shaking uncontrollably. The wind grew rapidly in my hand until I couldn't hold it anymore, making me release it instantly. A huge horizontal blade of wind was released from my hand and sent towards the slimes.
Regrettably, the slimes jumped again and it only managed to take down three that were in the back of the group.
I brought my arm back up to attack again, this time with my other arm holding it to make it steady.
But.
"Huh…?"
It stopped working.
There was no reaction.
No wind was gathering in my palm.
C'mon c'mon, please start working…!
I put my eyes back on the slimes. They jumped—and this time they would hit me directly in the face. I hurriedly put my arm down and ducked just in time for the slimes to miss. With quick feet, I stood back up and turned around to face them.
I got ready to send another windblade after taking four steps back, but it still wasn't working.
As I was about to continue with my complaints, it unexpectedly started up. The unexpected start caused me to hold it out longer than I intended to. The strong wind that was let out when I released the attack sent my flying back, until I yet again fell on my back. All of my actions were filled with mistakes but it seems it was worth it, as I saw two windblades were sent as opposed to one. But since only one was needed to kill both, it became unnecessary.
That doesn't matter now, though.
I had won the battle.
"That. Was. So. Cool! Why can't Paimon get any cool fighting powers?" she whined.
Ignoring her, I thought: I noticed something. When using the power of Anemo it felt—like I was calling for a specific Persona for its power. It felt like—Masakado. A samurai that lived during the Heian period of Japan.
Is this Philemon's doing? Or is it the result of the Universe Arcana (it's questionable if I still have it in the first place… Maybe my Persona's were gone but the Universe Arcana stayed, or perhaps both were gone)?
Ah, whatever.
Back to reality.
I was panting.
Dammit. Being the Great Seal for years has caused a huge toll on me, hasn't it. Once we get to Mondstadt I should start training on my stamina.
…Oh, that's right.
Mondstadt. We need to go.
A long sigh left my mouth as I stood up.
"Let's go!" Paimon announced.
"Wait."
"Huh?"
Before anything—I need to make up for my last loss.
I swear I'll win this time!
"Lissen, Paimon. You saw how when I held the wind then released it, it made me go flying, right? So wha if I held it towards me? I'd go flying even further. Sure, I might be severely injured by the edd of it but if it means I wouldn't have to sw—"
"Just swim across already, you big baby!"
I swam across. Needless to say, I don't think I'll ever be getting my pride back.
005
Paimon had picked up my clothes.
I think.
She kept reassuring me she had definitely picked them up but it's not reassuring when they're nowhere to be seen.
I hope she knows that if they are gone, I will not hesitate to slap her.
Anyway, we were on our way to Mondstadt. Our trip was filled with comfortable silence.
At least, until a dragon showed up.
In the sky—what is that!? Paimon exclaimed with her finger pointing at the sky.
…
I still can't believe I was brought to a fantasy world like this… I guess, life can be absurd sometimes.
The dragon was close to the ground so it caused a gust of strong wind to pass us. In fact, it seemed to be making contact with the ground sometime soon. I kept my eyes on the dragon, and I was right. It landed in the heart of a forest that was near Paimon and I.
I looked over to Paimon. We nodded in silent agreement to check out the situation.
We were within the heart of the forest after a few minutes of walking. Hiding behind a tree, we peeked around it.
Because what we see from a few feet away, is a huge living and breathing dragon. I managed to get a good look at it. Six wings with three on each side. A body of azure blue; it's two horns and talons are more midnight blue. A light emits from it's eyes and the scales of wings. And two purple spikes on the dragon's back.
Now, normally, a situation like this shouldn't be confusing. It should be straightforward. Like—unless we have a death wish, we should be extremely careful to avoid the dragon that is blocking our path to Mondstadt. Something easy to understand.
Plain and simple.
Unfortunately, it wasn't like that.
Since there was a person standing directly in front of it. In fact, they were trying to make contact with it. They were cupping their hands out as if offering something, except their hands were completely empty.
…Don't be afraid. It's alright now, I'm back. I managed to hardly catch what they said.
I'm…back?
"Is he talking to…a dragon?" Paimon wondered in a small voice as to not catch their attention.
"Are they stupid?" is what I wanted to ask (and in all honesty, Paimon probably wanted to as well) but it…seemed as if it was working.
Until—I happened.
Or more precisely, my necklace.
"—!"
For no more than one second, the tiny coffin vibrated with a green light.
It caught everyone's attention.
The dragon's mouth opened and unleashed a great roar. It's roar surpassed even the craziest of winds; my feet almost being carried off the ground. I wrapped my hands around Paimon and completely hid the both of us behind the tree. Once it was over, I let go of Paimon. No point in hiding anymore, we stepped out from behind the tree.
The dragon had gone hostile.
It tried attacking the mysterious person with its claws, but they managed to evade it by jumping back.
They must have noticed our presence because they shouted, "Who's there!?" They looked in our direction and finally saw the both of us.
I blinked.
And.
What the…
They were…gone.
Without a trace.
Like it was just in my imagination.
As I was about to get caught up in one thing, another came up. My attention quickly went back to the dragon. Its feet escaped the grass it was standing on, and began to fly. Luckily, the wind caused by its flapping wings were weaker than ones from its roars so we barely managed to stay grounded. It was short-lived, as it flew away with one last roar.
…
…What the hell just happened?
What's up with my necklace?
"That was close! Thank you for grabbing a hold of Paimon! If you hadn't, Paimon would have been blown away."
"No problem. But what was that about?"
"Paimon has no idea. Definitely has something to do with that weirdo that was here a second ago…"
"I'm no expert but talking to a tra—"
She smirked. I gave myself a second to think.
"..."
"..."
"...I'm no expert but talking to a dragon isn't normal, right?"
"It sure isn't."
My thoughts exactly.
Somebody that can talk to a dragon muttering the words "I'm back," hm…
I wonder.
Paimon raises her finger and points at something over my shoulder.
"Oh? What's that?"
I turn around.
What she points at is strange. I've never seen it. Or, at least I don't think Paimon has taught me about something that matches its description: a glowing red "thing" in the shape of a tear. It hovers over the ground in which the dragon was just standing on.
Something left behind by the dragon, maybe?
Another silent agreement is exchanged and we go to check it out.
It's big. The dull side of the tear, if I held it, would most likely barely fit the palm of my hand.
It's unknown. So unknown that Paimon, someone who I determined is strangely knowledgeable about seemingly anything, doesn't even know what it is. Meaning, it is dangerous.
Not touching it is the smart option.
It would be stupid to even think about touching it.
"Touch it."
"What's wrong with you…"
"Paimon's just joking! Paimon will just store it in her pocket."
"Store it? What for?"
"Maybe it will just come in handy later. Who knows?"
"I guess… Alright, go ahead."
She stretched out her arm to touch it. As soon as a tiny bit of her skin made contact with the glowing tear—it disappeared.
"..."
"Let's keep going!"
"...First, can you explain what you just did?"
"Paimon put the glowing red thing in her pocket. Is there something wrong?"
"Well… Where is the pocket?"
"..."
She's not answering…
Is she doing this on purpose? To freak me out?
…Well, it's sort of working.
We resumed our walk to Mondstadt.
Suddenly.
A voice came from somewhere out of my field of vision that I didn't bother to look at.
How annoying.
"Hey, you! Stop right there!"
A woman in red clothing skillfully landed about 2 meters in front of Paimon and I. She faces us and quickly does some sort of gesture with her hand: making her hand into a fist, putting it up to her chest, then quickly putting it back down.
"May the Anemo God protect you, stranger!"
She introduced herself to us. Her name was Amber. The "Outrider for the Knights of Favonius." Naturally, I gave my name.
"And this…mascot, what's the deal with it?"
Ah, Amber must be talking about Paimon.
"That's Paion, my companion."
"Ryoji, I'm happy that you called Paimon your companion, but could you not take advantage of your mispronunciation to make Paimon's name sound like it belongs to a really important physician! That's mean!"
"Sorry. Didn't mean to."
"As long as it's an accident…"
Unfazed by our banter, Amber continued to talk, saying that we should get inside Mondstadt to stay safe. Something about there being sightings of a large dragon recently.
"It's not far from here, so I'll escort you there."
"Oh? Aren't you out here for some other reason?" Paimon asked with curiosity.
Now that I think about it, being out simply to escort people inside Mondstadt does seem like a bit much. Everyone should have enough common sense to find immediate shelter if there's a dragon around. Something else must be happening in order for Amber to be out here.
"I am. But not to worry, I can keep both of you safe while doing that too. Besides…I'm not sure if I can trust you two just yet!"
"...I guess that's true. But, depending on what the problem is, maybe Paimon and I could be of some help. We got a few tricks up our sleeves, isn't that right, Paimon?"
"You bet!" Paimon pumps her fist into the air.
Amber closes her eyes. She's thinking about this pretty deeply.
Trying to get comfortable with Teyvat—and now Mondstadt—, I think taking every chance I get that could possibly leave me exploring and interacting with its people is the best choice I could take; the more I know, the better (and the faster), so I appreciate a chance immediately coming up.
But…that easily?
Amber is a knight; she must have taken orders from someone else to come out and help. Then, does she not have orders from her leader on what to do in case suspicious characters, in this case it's Paimon and I, want to help out? Did the dragon really shake things up that much? No, I doubt it. I apologize, but is Amber just stupid? If she, however, really doesn't have orders to ignore characters like us yet considers the option of letting us assist her—a questionable decision, nonetheless.
Maybe…some problem within the "Knights of Favonius" she serves?
"Mm… Alright. Here, follow me."
"…"
…I guess it is that easy. Whatever. I'll take what I can.
006
On our way to wherever, I had gone ahead and asked, "What is this problem exactly?" Of course, it was directed to Amber.
A stupid thing. Not the question, rather, the timing of it. Asking what the problem is now is idiotic considering it should have been the first thing I done. What's going to happen now if it ends up being some problem that threatens the lives of Paimon and I? Jeez. It's like if I had some superpower that delays pain in my body, and I break my arm for the hell of it, only for an hour later end up crying out from the pain.
A stupid simile, but at the very least it's a stupid simile that works.
It's simple. You'll understand in a bit—that was Amber's answer.
Ah.
I was relieved.
Images of simple tasks materialized in my head; maybe some cats just need help getting out of a tree? I hope so. Because in that case, I have the perfect solution to that (I'm talking about Paimon, by the way).
We spent a few minutes walking.
As we walked, I noticed that Amber would sometimes glance over at me and quickly look away. I'd even catch her eyes at times.
I thought, is there something on my face?
And then.
"Here, this way!"
Amber's sudden jogging caught us off guard, but we followed soon after. She shulked her way behind a rock and in a few seconds so did we. Amber peeked over the rock. Moments later, she ordered us to join her in her peeking. The orders were followed.
Hilichurls.
We saw hilichurls.
A monster that needs no introduction. That is because it had been the only other enemy I had encountered. Though there isn't much of a story to tell. I merely saw it, determined it was dangerous, then ran away.
Now, however, things are different.
They were in a shabby camp. Wooden planks circled the small area they were residing in; they were so run down that it made me question whether they were set up to act as defense or decoration. Three hilichurls in total. On one side of the camp two were walking around aimlessly, on the opposite side the other hilichurl was standing on the top of a tall wooden structure, roughly around two times my height.
They held weapons. The two on the ground held clubs, and the one on the structure held a crossbow, which explains why it's on the structure: it's on the lookout for enemies—that structure is actually an observation post.
Ah, I see.
To make up for their lackluster defense, they used the rest of their wood to see if an enemy is coming for them maybe? Not a bad plan if true.
Yes, yes, I applaud the enemy.
Great job hilichurls.
…
Alright.
So…
"Why are we watching a hilichurl camp?" I voice the exact question that I had in my head.
Amber kept her head and eyes straight, still looking at the camp, unfaltering; almost as if she was deaf to my words, and said, "Because it's our responsibility to take it down."
…
Oh.
So that's our problem—the simple problem.
We have to take down the camp.
In other words, we were lied to.
No, that's wrong too. It's more like we were half-lied too.
I should have known that an "Outrider for the Knights of Favonius" (I'll need to ask about what that is later) would have a different idea as to what simple is. I'm sure she's been handling these things for years; I haven't. So to say that all the fault is on Amber would actually be a lie.
I have accepted that I am fifty percent at fault.
But.
I'm still mad.
We've already had so much to deal with, and it's only our first day on our journey. I don't even think it has been over three hours since we ran away from that hydro slime—no, probably not two hours either… Ah, whatever. I put myself in this situation so I'll just have to deal with it, even if it's tiresome.
"Alright, how are we going to do this?" I ask.
"First of all, do you have any weapons?"
Weapons again, huh… Should I say something about the power I gained? Maybe if I kept it to myself it wou—
"He has the power of the Anemo!"
Yeah, not like my opinion mattered or anything! Thank you, Paimon!
"You're a Vision user!? But, how come I don't see a Vision on you?"
"Huh? Oh…uhm…" Paimon panics. I can't help but smirk a bit, seeing that happen.
"Let's not worry about that right now. I'm able to use Anemo abilities, that's all that matters."
"You're right. So, how does your Anemo ability work?"
"Hm…it's a horizontal blade, wider than a body—at least my body—, travels about 20 to 30 feet before disappearing, has about a 5 second lag before I could use it again, and if I hold it for long enough I can make two."
"...! Do you think it would be able to take the observation post?"
"It was able to take down a slime with ease, does that work?"
"It does. Alright, here's the plan: you head to the right and take down the observation post, if we get lucky the hilichurl will go down along with the post, if it doesn't you go ahead and take it down. I'll go to the left and take down the two hilichurls from afar."
…This is weird.
Seriously.
Amber is a knight, and one that seems experienced at that, so I'm sure she has the qualification to order people. Yet… I'm not used to being ordered, especially since I was the one doing the ordering. I'm not saying I have never been ordered during my time at S.E.E.S. (Mitsuru has already done that plenty of times). It's just…
This thinking has striked a weird feeling in me.
I'm looking at Amber, and I think I feel something for her.
What is this?
…Admiration?
"Alright, when I say 'go' we'll move," Amber concluded.
"Wait wait wait! What about Paimon?!"
Ah, that's right.
What about Paimon?
Hm…
""You just stay here and watch.""
"Is Paimon so useless that both of you had to say the same exact thing at the same exact time!? Paimons going to cry!"
"Ahaha," Amber simply chuckled. "Oh, and one last thing."
"What is it?"
"Can you…put some clothes on?"
"…"
…So that's why she was glancing at me.
007
"..."
"..."
"..."
"Go!"
Immediately, we ran to our own destination.
Good luck! I hear Paimon say.
As I run, I keep my eyes on the hilichurl. My running was untroubled only for a moment, as the hilichurl had already spotted me. It already had an arrow inserted into the crossbow so it immediately aimed at me. I continued to run.
I'd say around five more seconds of running before I reach the camp.
I may be closing the space between the two of us but it's not so little that I wouldn't be able to predict the trajectory of the arrow. So, the hilichurl fires. As the arrow reaches the space between the Hilichurl and I, I jump to the side and continue to run.
My eyes don't move an inch away from the hilichurl, and I see it loading another arrow into the crossbow.
However, it is useless.
I finally take my eyes off the hilichurl. I plant one arm on the scruffy wooden slab and move my legs to my side as I jump; my feet land on the grass.
No time is wasted. I ran to the observation post. I make sure to stay under the post so the hilichurl has no way of attacking me. Arm up and the other holding it still, one leg planted behind the other to make sure I don't fall like last time, I concentrate; no noises have come from Amber's side nor have there been any other attack sent my way, so I take that her hilichurl's have been silently dealt with, but I still make sure to leave as little openings in me as possible.
"Ryoji, all of my hilichurls have been dealt with!"
Correct.
I concentrate, concentrate, and concentrate as if my whole life depended on it. In the passing moments—a windblade penetrates through at least a third of the observation post. The post doesn't fall. Some of the wood that broke off slammed into my face but I refused to flinch. My body stays still and so does my mind as it patiently waits for the next burst of Anemo power.
And so it came, and with that, the post started to fall—towards me. I managed to get out of its way—and even when I was out of its range I took a few steps back to be safe—before it hit the ground. The wood that remained on the post broke and flew all over once it hit the ground. This time, it missed me. I look for the hilichurl—and find it still alive.
No worries.
I'll just take it down myself.
It's impossible to see the expression of the hilichurl, but I can still sense the fear I installed in him. I can even see it's legs trembling.
Yet—it doesn't run away. Instead, it starts to scream.
To ignore its fear.
The scream will overpower the fear and nullify it.
Anger will be born.
In moments, he'll have as much anger as he did fear.
Animosity—towards me.
A final stand.
A brave hilichurl.
A respectable enemy.
I walk over to it.
It's just out of range for my windblade to kill it. I walk through some of the demolished wood, my steps slow and heedful.
I make sure to keep my palm aimed at the hilichurl.
…Three more steps and it's dead.
A step.
Two more steps and the hilichurl will have perished.
Another step.
One more step…and the hilichurl will have left this world.
I lift my foot. Wind emerges from my palm, my foot reaches the ground and—
I slip.
"…!"
…
…You can't be serious.
Is this reality? No, no, no, this is definitely reality.
Why the hell did it have to be now? What did I trip on anyways?
Let me see…
…
I tripped on nothing.
Absolutely.
Nothing.
I wish I could just lay down and drown in disappointment—but right now I have to deal with something else.
The steps of the Hilichurl get louder as they get closer to me. Eventually, the hilichurl stands over me and looks down on me. It's arm holding the crossbow is already in the air.
It's going to hit me.
It brings the crossbow down with great swiftness and force, so even when I roll to my right it still manages to scrape my shoulder.
It quickly makes its way over to me; it's about to attempt to hit me again, and I'm ready to dodge, but before that—
An arrow pierces the head of the hilichurl—right in the middle.
"Hey, you alright?" The voice of Amber filled my ears. Ah, Amber, your voice is so soothing right now.
She stands right over me and offers me her hand. I grab it with my own and I stand right up.
"I'm alright. By the way, sorry about that…"
"It's completely fine, It's completely fine!" she repeats herself twice. "As long as you're unscathed then it's alright!"
"No, it isn't. I was given a task and was unable to complete it. I was completely eligible to accomplish it; I wasn't tired nor was I injured. To slip during a battle is inexcusable. Please—don't try to sympathize with me."
"..."
I made things awkward, and now I look like an asshole.
Not my problem.
I meant every word about myself.
I was useless.
I am useless.
I am useless.
I am useless.
I am useless.
I am useless.
I'm—so useless.
"If you say so... Sorry," Amber says.
…
……
………
"Hey! You did amazing Amber!" Paimons voice breaks the ice. Both Amber and I look over and see her floating her way over to us. She notices the gloom look on Amber's face, one that shouldn't be worn after a victorious battle, and says "Did Paimon miss something?"
"No, no," was Amber's response. "Nothing really… But what about Ryoji? Wasn't he sorta' cool too?"
"Ryoji? Like hell he was! He fell in the middle of battle! Who does that!?"
"That's mean, Paimon." Seriously, cut me some slack alright? I tried my best.
"Like Paimon cares, loser!"
"…"
"Alright, that's enough. We've finished our job here, so how about we go to Mondstadt?"
Paimon immediately stopped her bullying and cheered out, "Let's!"
Yet again, Amber begins to walk, and we follow behind her.
"Hey, hey, aren't you excited Ryoji?" Paimon asked.
"After going through so much already, I don't care anymore," I answered immediately.
AN: DAMMIT ALL!!!! THIS CHAPTER WAS SUPPOED TO COME OUT WAY EARLIER BUT FOR SOME STUPID REASON I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE ALRIGHT TO PUBLISH RIGHT BEFORE FINALS!!!
...Anyways. Yo, I guess. Here's chapter 1 or Gushamonogatari after like a billion years! This Author Note isn't going to be much, just simple stuff that I forgot to say in the prologue. Well, anyway, if you couldn't already tell by the title, this story is heavily influenced by Nisioisin! You know (red flag incoming) the guy that wrote Monogatari, Zaregoto, Katanagatari, Medaka Box, The Forgetful Detective, Pretty Boy Detective Club, plus more! Don't worry though, I won't be including all of the weird shit I'll just be trying to mimic his writing style. So if you've read any of his novels and disliked any of it, I suggest you probably don't want to read this. Also, I'm probably gonna get some comments about how I handle P3MC's First Person POV, and to that I say, this is post canon plus my own mix. And since there is no post canon P3MC since (y'know hes dead) I'm just trying my best. I also want to say that this P3MC is a mixture of all male P3MC's. The game's, the movies, the manga, the CD's, etc.
Also, if you wanna really see how XXXXXX looks I suggest you go look at heviojisan's twitter. If you scroll on his artworks you'll see the outfit I was clearly going for.
Here's some answers to questions by Phantom Thief of Hearts! And thank you for the nice comment!
1. "Will there be different POV's?" I'm unsure as of now. Though I can say this: if do use different POV's it would be used only for "serious" and "intense" moments, plus they wouldn't happen very often. They would be their own separate chapter too. And If I don't use them, well, you'll know. But still, as of right now, it's still 50/50.
2. "Will Lumine appear and if she does will she join P3MC's Party?" I'm sorry to say but Lumine/Aether won't be appearing. Originally that's how it was supposed to be but I decided against it.
3. "How did P3MC's world end up destroyed?" Actually, you guessed it right. The P4 Crew were unable to defeat Izanami so, well, the world went to shit.
4. "Will P3MC have his Persona powers?" As you can probably tell from this chapter, it's something like that. Though he can't summon his Personas, he can use his Persona's abilities. Right now it might not seem like much but it'll become interesting as he explores all regions. (Extra Note: I've heavily nerfed him. I know that's probs gonna get some people concerned but, l mean, putting a character that the VS Battles Wiki reckons is Multiversal in a verse where their strongest character—as of now—is Island level, it's just overkill, is it not? I will try my best to handle it.)
5. "Does this P3MC remember the events of PQ and PQ2?" I might change my mind later on but right now I'll say he doesn't remember both.
If you want to ask questions, go ahead! As I upload more chapter I'll probably stop answering so take your chance right now!
Want some good news? I'll (probably) be able to publish at a nice and consistent rate now! Want some bad news? The first two arcs (Mondstadt and Inazuma) are for the most part gonna be XXXXXX getting used to the world of Teyvat and are following canon!
Lastly, I want to ask a question of my own: Who do you want Ryoji to interact with and how do you think they would end up? As best friends or maybe enemies? That's not saying I haven't decided that, in fact I have, just curious as to what you guys want.
Alright that's all for me! Do you have any predictions as to what will happens next? Find out next time in the next chapter! Bye!
