Chapter 1 - Are We Alone In The Universe?

/_\

The multiverse is a vast place, if you weren't aware.

It was theorized to be infinite in size and scale, traveling across all forms and planes of existence in all axes. Across the multiverse lay countless worlds, some parallel to one another with numerous branching paths, others completely divergent from another like it often breaking into tangents leading to new places.

And that was only the parts known to us!

There lay limitless potential in the unknown.

A world could be near identical to another with only a single change, a single powerful decision made by one person completely changing the course of that world, diverging from its previous parallel path. With the sheer number of free choices made across the universe there were infinite possibilities and potential, some absolutely astounding and others leading to a dark end.

And connecting all these was a vast plane.

The Plane of Doimhne Shroich.

A cute name, honestly.

Which is why it was also qui locally known as The Plane of Connections.

This plane between dimensions connected every known and unknown, and newly discovered, universe across the entire multiverse. This was the bridge between worlds that could only be accessed and crossed by the select few. The explorers of worlds, protectors of life, and keepers of all knowledge within the multiverse, suitably named Planeswalkers.

Individuals who have dedicated their existence to protecting, exploring, documenting, and learning about the multiverse and all its secrets.

Many Planeswalkers have spent many a millenia traveling from universe to universe, learning of the world's secrets, saving whoever needed it as they went, and translating what they discover into books for other Planeswalkers to learn from generations to come. To pass on all that they learn during their centuries of life before they eventually meet their demise at the hands of a foe beyond their capabilities.

And, of course, aiding the world through whatever crisis it faces whilst doing it.

It was only right to do so.

Hence, why a certain Planeswalker found himself standing at the edge of space-time from within the place between dimensions and universes, peering out into a plane of existence leading to a world below that was quickly gaining their full, undivided attention.

The World of Teyvat.

"A world of gods and abyssal darkness," An eternally youthful young man, named Raylan, stated as he observed the world from within the plane of connections. "Nothing new there, but I must admit there is something truly… mystical about this one. Mystifying in a way."

Planeswalkers had long since developed the ability to observe and analyze worlds from afar without even needing to enter said universe, as if they were being studied under a microscope. Taking in as many tiny, minute details few would ever get the chance to have from a point of view even fewer would ever see.

And that meant they saw the magic behind the scenes.

"Oh?" Raylan said aloud with a raised brow, a magical glyph before him twisted and spun in response as it dilated, translating something in various symbols, "It seems this world has a fake sky, isn't that interesting."

Teyvat wasn't the first to have a fake sky, but it was a rare phenomenon from the worlds he'd been to personally in recent centuries. A lot of universes Raylan had traversed allowed for such things like space travel or wrap travel across multiple worlds within said specific universe.

It was always fun to be able to travel through space using a spaceship instead of walking between dimensions using the Plane of Connections. Raylan had read about worlds trap within gilded cages before from books authored by other Planeswalkers within the Great Library, they often spoke of how the world was, more often than not, slowly suffocating within the walls that held them and that there was usually a building of pressure until the truth of their world was revealed to the people.

It made the Planeswalker wonder if the same could be said for this world.

So to see a world almost trapped within the confines of a fake sky was a… refreshing observation, if a bit unfortunate for those living within the cage. Sure, he'd lose out on the space travel but at least that meant it made things simple. Instead of having to save a galaxy, it was merely a single world with some fun add-on dimensions and realms attached.

Simple!

It was clear to Raylan this world needed, or at least deserved, his aid, reading the world's fate it painted a grim picture. Without proper interference this world would suffer an untimely demise at the hands of some very cruel individuals before its complete and utter collapse. A fate no world truly ever deserved.

Well, mostly. Some worlds did deserve it.

But those stories were for another time.

Regardless, as a Planeswalker it was his duty and responsibility to step in and save a world in distress. It was a part of their code, it's what tied all Planeswalkers together. A responsibility to protect all life to the best of their vast abilities.

And this time was no different.

Raylan huffed a small, but genuine laugh. "Seems like I have another adventure on my hands!" With a wave of his hand he dispelled the magical glyph he'd been using. "Let's see what kind of trouble I can find, problems I can solve, and lovely ladies I can meet."

Despite having the opportunity to study the world's fate further in excruciating detail, down to the individuals who inhabited the world, it always proved more fun to study the world at large in broad strokes but leave the nitty gritty for his time on the ground. Like how one would read a summary of a book before reading the book itself.

Same rules applied here.

With that the Planeswalker cast another spell, opening a rift through space-time, with remarkable ease one might add, leading right toward the world of Teyvat.

"I'm sure nobody will notice me tearing a hole through the fabric of their reality." Raylan stated casually with a small cheeky smile, damn well knowing someone, or something, would take notice of his rather blatant and direct entry into the world.

Without further delay the Planeswalker stepped through the rift.

Time to find out where he lands!

A world needed his help, let's see if can pass this intelligence test.

/_\

Stepping through a spacial-rift Raylan found himself in a vast grassland atop a cliff overlooking the beautiful blue sea, with beaches battling the ocean's waves below.

"Beautiful." Raylan stated as he took in the magnificent views of the land and sea around him. Despite having seen countless worlds during the course of his long life it was always an amazing feeling taking one's first step on a new, uncharted world.

The sense of exploration and wonder was renewed with each world, a new series of opportunities lay ahead. From the countless adventures the Planeswalker could face, to the interesting people to meet, the fun to be had, knowledge to be gained, and, of course, the beautiful ladies to seduce!

But business always came first, sadly, as was the duty of the Planeswalkers.

This world needed his help, and Raylan wasn't about to shy away from that fact. But first Raylan had a decision to make.

A direction of travel.

"Which direction to the closest city I wonder?" The Planeswalker thought to himself as he observed the environment around him. Obviously the ocean was the wrong way to go if he wanted to reach civilization fast, unless they had cities built in the skies above or within the deep blue depths, so that meant moving further inland until he could confirm such for himself.

"Inland it is," Raylan pooled magic into his hand and formed a semi-transparent compass the size of a small table in front of him. The compass needle spun several times as a light began to form on one side, the needle slowly settled as the light grew brighter until it wavered back and forth in the direction opposite from the ocean.

"So that's where the largest pool of nearby life energy is." Raylan thought to himself, "Now what's the cardinal direction?" The Planeswalker formed a standard, normal compass in his hand as the large, magical one dispersed. The normal compass indicated to him that eastward was the direction he'd be heading to reach the nearest pooling of life energy.

Translation; Life signs detected in an eastern direction.

With a flick of his wrist the Planeswalker dispelled the compass, and adjusted his jacket. "Time for a nice stroll." Raylan thought to himself with a pleasant sigh as he began his walk east. "I must admit, I'm curious as to what this world has in store for me."

And a pleasant stroll through the woods and grass plains was the best time to let the mind run wild!

It was always thrilling to wonder what kind of trouble awaited on every world you stepped on. Raylan, as well as every other Planeswalker, had learned long ago that no matter who you were, or how much you wanted to help a world and its people, there would always be those that did not take kindly to your intrusion regardless of your efforts. There would always be trouble no matter your intentions.

Haters gonna hate, as a young boy once told him centuries ago.

Which was why Planeswalkers usually developed rather thick skin when it came to dealing with people, it was a part of the job. If a world despised them, whether justified or not, it was their duty to protect the people and their world, even if they didn't appreciate it.

So, let the trouble come as it does. It wouldn't change anything, whatever Raylan may come for him in the future he would face with a clear head and a genuine smile.

"A world of gods, monsters, and a fake sky…" Raylan mused mentally, causally glancing at sceney around him, "I wonder if I'll make friends or enemies of the gods this time~"

Given his track record he was leaning on cozying up with them, but who could say? Maybe the gods of this world were a part of the problem, and if that was the case then friendly relations were likely off the table.

"Better question, what will people in general call me? Friend or foe?" It was the better question. Not every universe or dimension was a welcoming one, although this one seemed friendly enough from his observation from the Plane of Connections that did not mean he, personally, was going to be welcomed.

On the bright side, the world itself and its landscapes thus far were gorgeous. A wonderful sight to take in whilst on a leisurely stroll.

Little did the Planeswalker know that his arrival had been felt by many powerful beings and groups across the world, all of which took an interest in the arrival of this unknown, and multidimensional power.

An interest large enough to draw their attention, the good and the bad.

/_\

Raylan emerged from the edge of a woodland to find, a small distance away, a small lake with a little island in the center of it. Oddly enough there was also a statue on the little landmass in the lake accompanied by decorative hedges and flowers.

It was quite the pretty sight, the Planeswalker would freely admit, but he knew there was more to it than that. Raylan could sense the elemental magic emanating from the glowing statue.

"An inanimate object emitting elemental magic," Raylan noted within his mind, with a snap of his fingers he teleported across the water to land on the island in the blink of an eye. As the Planeswalker stepped closer the magic flared to life, swirling around the statue.

"Anemo huh?" The colouration, and the feel of the energy was a dead giveaway as to what element was. During his observation of Teyvat from the Plane of Connections he had noted the magic system the world ran by, among a number of other details which included the seven elements each representing a god, or Archon, and nation within the world.

Anemo, apparently, belonged to the God of Freedom as it were.

"If that's the case then there is a chance I'm near Mondstadt." Raylan thought to himself. It was interesting to know that kingdoms were often ruled by their Archons in some way, not always directly but involved in governance or policies.

Except for Barbados.

Which happened to be the Archon of Mondstadt.

Yay.

Raylan reached out his hand and traced his hand along the statue. The instant his hand touched the stone surface he felt a surge of elemental energy. The Planeswalker watched as Anemo swirled around him for several seconds before it was pulled into his chest, his body absorbing the magic without his consent.

The young man felt his body pulse with elemental magic. It felt familiar whilst also different, not entirely like other wind magics Raylan knew, this one proved unique in its magical signature.

"Fascinating." He stated aloud, pulling back his hand to look at it. A second ticked by before Raylan formed a small tornado in the palm of his hand made of pure Anemo. Although different, using magic was second-nature to the Planeswalker, it wasn't hard to use all his knowledge of other magical arts to use Anemo in similar manner.

But what Raylan found more intriguing was the fact he'd absorbed the Anemo power in the first place.

"So much for needing a Vision then." Raylan thought. He'd observed earlier that the people of this world had to possess either a Vision or a Delusion in order to command one of the seven elements. Yet he lacked such a thing. "Perhaps outsiders don't need one."

It was just a theory of course, he would have to provide proof of that later on.

The Planeswalker dispersed the Anemo power in his hand. He would have to experiment with his newest power when he had the chance, for now he had somewhere to be.

However, before he could teleport, a voice called out to him.

"Hey!" A pitched squeaky voice yelled from behind him, "Mister!"

Raylan turned back, looking side-on toward the source of the voice. Much to his pleasant surprise he found two individuals staring at him from across the lake.

One was a small, cute, floating fairy in rather fantastical clothes, waving at him to get his attention. The other, who was frankly far more eye-catching, was a young, beautiful blonde woman standing next to their little companion.

In response Raylan politely waved back.

"Hello there." He said back, loud enough to be heard across the lake but not quite loud enough to be called shouting.

"How did you get over there Mister?!" The little fairy yelled back. Despite the distance Raylan noticed their curious expressions. Seeing an opportunity for some fun, the Planeswalker decided the best response would be a… demonstration instead of words.

With another snap of his fingers Raylan teleported from the island in the lake to several feet next to the two strangers. His sudden appearance caused the pair to react.

"Waah!" The little fair cried, jumping back much further than her companion.

The blonde beauty though merely flinched in surprise, her eyes widening at the same time.

Before Raylan could speak the little fairy spoke up.

"Hey! Don't scare Paimon like that!" The fairy, seemingly named Paimon, said in a mixture of embarrassment and frustration.

"My apologies," Raylan replied with an incline of his head in her direction, "I merely wanted to have some fun and also answer your question with a demonstration."

"Paimon would have preferred a vocal answer!" She yelled whilst stomping the air. Her response made Raylan chuckle.

"I'll keep that in mind for next time." The Planeswalker looked between the two strangers for a moment, "Ah, where are my manners? My name is Raylan," he introduced himself with a small bow to the pair, "May I inquire your names?"

"Oh, yeah," The fairy, Paimon, mumbled for a second, "Well, I'm Paimon and this is-"

"Lumine," The blonde woman interrupted. "My name is Lumine," She repeated with a small, soft smile, "Nice to meet you Raylan."

"A pleasure to meet you both as well," Raylan replied, he eyed up the pair, "Now, is there anything I can help either of you with?" His eyes lingered on Lumine a moment longer, which went unnoticed.

"Maybe," Paimon answered, bouncing in place as she spoke, "We're on our way to the City of Freedom, but first Paimon wanted to show Lumine one of the statues of the seven." She gestured to the statue on the island he'd just been on.

"Ah, I see." Raylan hummed. "Well, I can help with that. It would be rude to make you swim across when I can help." With that Raylan turned and formed a triangle of light in his hand, flipping the shape with his fingers the light quickly expanded to form a bridge made of light between the shore and the island in the lake.

"Woah!" Paimon gushed, alongside Lumine who looked on in surprise at the magical display.

Raylan just laughed silently to himself. It was always entertaining to show off all his exotic magic and other bullshit abilities, people were often drawn to him and his oddities.

Which was something he was als going to have to be careful of.

Revealing some of his tricks to these two, in his opinion, was harmless. The two women seemed friendly enough, he couldn't sense deceit or hostility from either so he deemed it acceptable to show off a bit.

"Shall we?" He asked, gesturing across the bridge of light. Lumine and Paimon glanced at one another for a moment before turning to him with a nod. The trio made their way over to the statue.

Lumine and Paimon stepped forward whilst Raylan hung back a few feet, allowing the duo to go about their business. Paimon seemed to be the one explaining everything to Lumine, which suggested she was new to the area.

Which further confirmed another theory.

Lumine was also an outlander.

Much like himself.

It hadn't been hard to figure out, how she held a certain aura to her revealed plenty. Like she was of the stars themselves, which was quite… mesmerizing in a way. While she wasn't a Planeswalker, he could easily tell that much, she was certainly a world traveler.

Luckily for him, he was proven right once again when Lumine reached out and touched the statue. In a similar fashion as to himself, the object reacted with swirling Anemo energy before Lumine too seemed to absorb the element.

Whilst Lumine and Paimon stared on in awe as to what had just happened.

Raylan merely smiled in amusement.

"Well isn't this interesting?"


C1: End.

Another, different, Genshin story. (And another story using the name "Raylan" for the MC, lol)

This one is more in line with the actual game just with the added element of an OC, as opposed to my other AU stories. Just so people are aware, there will be references to other worlds Raylan has been to and he will be using powers/abilities seen from other media outside Genshin. So expect crossover elements as Raylan toys with the world abit using his frankly bullshit magic abilities and other such nonsense.

Time to do a bit of trolling!

I will also be updating Outworlder hopefully soon, that story is not abandoned, I just need to get all the other nonsense ideas I have out of my head so I can focus better on my other stories. Outworlder has a lot of moving parts in its current "Arc", I really need to nail that down.

As per usual, no update schedule for any of my stories. They come as they wish - if at all.

Thank you for reading.

Until next time, all the best!

AlcatrazDGold - Have a lovely day!