No, 'Don't Worry, It's Just A Game' isn't dead. I just took a break from writing it. I got sick of writing a story so heavily based on canon. Originally, I wanted it to be a lot more crack, but it ended up veering into a more serious direction that required a lot of effort and research. The next chapter is in the works, but don't expect it to be out super soon.

In the meantime, I'm just going to let loose in this fic. Have fun!

"...and then the Unknown Goddess took my sister away. When I came to, all of my powers were gone."

"Ah...Paimon gets why you were so sad…Paimon is sorry for having to make you bring that back up."

"It's fine, I'm used to it."

Aether wasn't in the greatest of moods right now, admittedly. Thinking about the Unknown goddess tended to do that to him.

"You said all your powers are gone, right?" Paimon asked.

"Yep."

"Then how did you pull that sword of yours out of thin air?"

"That's…a very good question."

He frowned. That WAS a good question. Normally, he had a subspace pocket inventory where he stored his items, but his ability to manipulate space-time had been sealed. So why could he still make that sword appear and disappear?

Pacing back and forth along the beach they were in, he tried to summon and put away his sword over and over. It seemed to work.

"Paimon, can most people pull their weapons out of thin air in Teyvat?" Aether asked

"Uhh…not all of them. But Vision holders, or those who wield the elements, can. But Paimon is pretty sure you don't have a Vision…"

"Weird. So why can I do it?"

"Maybe the laws of Teyvat don't apply to you. Aether is an outlander, after all."

"You can say that, but that Unknown Goddess was clearly able to seal my power."

"How were you so sure you couldn't use your powers then?"

"I tried flying. I tried shooting beams of pure light from my palm. None of them worked."

"What about any powers related to your ability to pull objects out of thin air?"

"You mean spacetime magic? I tried direct teleportation."

"No, like, pulling something else out of thin air."

"It's still spacetime magic, so I shouldn't be able to use it."

"Try anyway!"

Aether paused for a moment. If he couldn't teleport, that meant he couldn't manipulate spacetime. By that logic, pulling objects out of thin air shouldn't be possible, yet he was able to. Paimon mentioned that the act of pulling objects out of thin air wasn't totally impossible.

It couldn't be that easy, could it?

Aether imagined trying to pull out something that he could use to fight easier. The sword he did have wasn't terrible, but he doubted he could scratch, much less defeat the Unknown Goddess. Some range would also help. He really didn't want to have to get up close with those cubes.

He made the motion of grabbing something, expecting absolutely nothing to come out of it…

…and immediately found himself holding a gun.

What?

"Gah! Aether, what is that?"

"I don't believe it…it's a gun."

"Heh? Paimon has never heard of that before. Wait, is that from another world?"

"Yep."

"So you CAN pull random objects out of thin air!"

Aether frowned as he looked at the gun. It looked familiar. It was a black Glock 21, if he recalled correctly.

And that's when he realized that the gun came from his subspace inventory.

"No way…does this mean I still have access to my inventory? This is big!"

His internal celebration was cut short by the appearance of a blue blob. A slime, if Aether had to guess.

"Aether, watch out!"

Paimon definitely didn't expect the loud bang that followed. Neither did she expect the hydro slime to be absolutely pulverized in one shot.

"It works! This is amazing!"

"Wha- wha- WHAT IS THAT?" Paimon could only sputter in surprise.

"I just told you, it's a gun."

"YOU KILLED THAT SLIME IN LESS THAN A SECOND! YOU DIDN'T EVEN MOVE!"

"I did."

"PAIMON IS OFFICIALLY TERRIFIED OF GUNS! PAIMON DOESN'T WANT TO BE KILLED BY THAT!

"This kind of weapon is pretty normal in the world it came from, though."

"THIS ISN'T THAT WORLD, THOUGH! PUT THAT THING AWAY!"

"But it's my most effective weapon."

"IT'S SCARING PAIMON!"

Aether sighed. He probably should have expected this. Guns were way too powerful for this world.

He sighed as he dematerialized and started comforting Paimon. Maybe he should use a gun with a silencer next time. He was pretty sure he had one of those.

Amber was doing her usual outrider duties when she heard the loud bang.

"That's unusual. Doesn't sound like an explosive barrel being triggered. I should check it out."

She made her way to Stormbearer point, where she guessed the sound came it wasn't anything too crazy. The last thing she needed was even longer patrol duties.

As she walked there, she could hear the sounds of people talking. Making her way there, her eyes made out q blonde guy wearing an exotic outfit talking with…a floating, talking, toddler?

They were clearly on the path to Mondstadt. Weary travelers, perhaps. Maybe they knew what that loud bang was about. In any case, she should ask them. Best case, they knew what happened. Worst case, she could still escort them to Mondstadt.

She was about to call out when she saw at the hilichurl camp they were approaching. As far as she could tell, the two weren't aware of the impending danger they were walking to.

Thinking quickly, she materialized her bow and drew an arrow. She aimed at the head of the nearest hilichurl, who held a flaming club. Those ones were particularly nasty.

She was about to shoot when she heard the loud bang again.

She promptly saw the hilichurl she was aiming at stop and drop dead.

She turned and looked at the pair. The floating toddler was clearly freaked out. The blonde guy was holding…some kind of weapon. Judging by how it was aiming at the hilichurl, it was the source of the loud bang.

He didn't stop, however. He aimed his weapon, before killing the other hilichurl that was also running to attack him. Saidhilichurl also immediately dropped dead.

"...what?"

Clearly, that weapon was incredibly dangerous. He was able to attack and kill that hilichurl from a safe distance, all without the hassle of drawing a bow and aiming an arrow! Whatever ranged projectile was coming out of it was so fast that anyone who was shot at stood no chance at dodging it.

"I really have to question him about that weapon."

Seeing as there was no more threat, she decided to approach the pair, albeit cautiously. She could start making out their conversation.

"WAAH! Paimon thought you promised not to use that weapon again!"

"Sorry Paimon…I kinda panicked when I saw that thing attack us." the blonde guy scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

"Didn't you say there was a silent version of that?"

"I haven't found it in my inventory yet…I'll find it when I have the time."

"May the Anemo God protect you, stranger!"

Amber went in with the Knights of Favonius approved greeting.

"Uh…hello. How can I help you…?" The blonde guy replied, looking confused.

"Identify yourselves."

"Uh…I'm Aether, and this…actually, Paimon, what are you?" the now identified Aether asked the floating child.

"Paimon is Paimon!"

"Right…sorry, I haven't figured out what kind of creature she is." Aether said.

"Hey!' came a complaint from Paimon.

"I see…I'm Amber, Outrider of the Knights of Favonius."

"A knight? Huh…what're you doing all the way out here then? Reconnaissance?" asked Aether.

"Close. I'm on patrol duty. I heard a loud bang, so I came here. And I think I found the source."

Amber pointed to the weapon in Aether's hand.

"Ah, this? Yeah, sorry about that…I'll use a more silent weapon next time."

He had other weapons like that?

"Hold on, what even is that? You killed those hilichurls like it was nothing."

"It's called a gun. And that's what those creatures are called?" Aether turned to Paimon for confirmation.

"Yes, they're called hilichurls. And Paimon doesn't want to end up like them!"

She promptly curled up into a ball in the air. Oh gosh, that gun was terrifying…

"I see. Where did you get that?"

At this statement, Aether sighed deeply and clutched his forehead.

"How about I tell you while we walk to Mondstadt? I need to go there anyway, and it's a REALLY long story."

Aether and Amber (along with a slightly traumatized Paimon) had made it all the way to the gates of Mondstadt City by the time the former finished his story. Along the way, they took out another hilichurl camp, instilling even more fear into Amber and Paimon. Truly, guns were terrifying in a world without them.

Amber was also clutching her forehead.

"So you mean to tell me that you come from another world, traveled many more, and got stuck here because an Unknown Goddess stopped you and your twin sister from leaving? And you have access to your…subspace inventory filled with items from other worlds?"

"Yep." He replied with the straightest face he could make.

Amber sighed deeply.

"Normally, I wouldn't believe you, but I can tell you're not lying, which makes all this even more ridiculous."

"Yep. I can tell."

"Even Paimon isn't sure what to think of you now…"

And Paimon was still traumatized. He really needed to find that gun with a silencer.

"Anyway, I almost forgot, but welcome to Mondstadt! As a thanks for helping me out with that hilichurl camp earlier, I'll treat you guys to some Sticky Honey Roast!"

"Ooh, food! Paimon's hungry already."

And Paimon was right back up.

(Amber was actually ordering the Sticky Honey Roast more for herself, really. Treating them was just a cover-up. After the day's events, she needed it."

Amber led them to a place called "Good Hunter's", where she told them to take a seat while she ordered the meal.

It didn't take long for the food to arrive, and soon enough, the three were digging into their respective meals.

"Paimon, you're going to end up with food stuck in your windpipe if you eat too fast." Aether said.

"Hm? Paimon's fine!"

Paimon was eating her food at the speed of light. It had hardly been 5 minutes, and she was already almost halfway done with her meal.

"So anyway, your…gun, is it called? It's kind of terrifying…" Amber asked.

"And so I can tell…I think I traumatized Paimon." Aether replied.

"And you said there's a version of it that's quiet?"

"As far as I know, yes. I think I have one of those, but I'm still looking for it in my inventory."

"That's even more terrifying…you can be shot from afar and no one would know."

"You mean sniper archers aren't a thing here?"

"Well, it's not like they don't exist, but-"

Amber was interrupted by the sudden picking up of the wind. Aether also looked up, and noted that the previously blue sky was now gray. Objects were flying, and people were screaming and running for shelter.

Oh, and the big dragon in the sky that was making tornadoes. It was pretty hard to ignore that.

"Hey, we have to move! Let's go!" Amber said, as if the situation wasn't already a reason to get out of there.

Aether checked on Paimon, who had since disappeared into a bunch of constellations (oh yeah, she could do that apparently. Maybe that's why she knew what spacetime magic was.)

"Alright, let's go!" Aether said. He took Amber's hand and ran away.

Only to get picked up by the wind and tossed away.

"Well this is great. How do I avoid falling to my death?"

As he saw Amber's terrified face grow farther and farther from him, this was the thought resonating in his mind.

Aether with a gun is truly a terrifying thought. But hey, at least Klee doesn't have a grenade launcher. Or a tank. That would be very bad.

As I said, I won't be taking this story AS seriously as my other one. Think of this as me taking a breather from that story, as well as trying to get back into writing again. Expect full crack.

By the way, the items Aether can have in his inventory aren't limited to stuff from Earth. He and Lumine have been to MANY different worlds, so items from fictional worlds are on the table. The runes from Breath of the Wild? Fair game. Wand from the Harry Potter universe? Sure. If you guys wanna make suggestions, go ahead. I'm still considering the results of the gacha session Aether will have in my other story…

Also, while this story will (sort of) follow canon, don't expect full continuity. Just bits and pieces of canon. Think of it as some loosely connected one-shots. The goal is to cause as many chaotic scenarios as possible.

In any case, I will NOT have a schedule for this fic. So uhh, please don't kill me in the reviews asking for updates.

That is all. As usual, have a nice day.

- Author