Deeply Stranded

"Hah!"

A single voice echoed out in a world devoid of almost anything, merely a blank slate of white engulfing everything around it.

The only thing that existed there was a single building with two sides wings, containing a set of beds, bathing quarters are two giant hourglasses of emerald sand adoring the sides of the building indicating the passage of time, and a young man extending his right arm, his hand closed as beads of sweats roll off his entire body.

His name was Son Goku, a young martial artist that had experienced many kind of adventures ever since he first set out from his home. Currently, he was training by himself in a location known as the Room of Spirit and Time, a place that was able to distort time to the point that a year training within the room translated it to only a day passing outside of it.

It was an incredible way to become stronger, but it came at a cost.

The temperature within the room constantly fluctuated between the very extremes of hot and cold. It was harsh to the point that it became outright inhospitable to anyone staying in it for a period of time. As if conditions weren't unforgiving as they were already, the room itself seemed to have an effect on one's psyche, as one could feel their mind drifting further and further from sanity.

"Man, it's been three weeks already and I still don't feel like I'm getting any stronger," Goku whined as he let out a heavy sigh, having just finished practicing his kata.

If anything, the only thing that improved since he got here was his height, but that wasn't too relevant to his training. So, the simple conclusion in his time here was that it was simply too much for him at his current state. As much as his current mentor, Kami wanted to accelerate his training, the world within the Room of Spirit and Time was more than his body could currently handle.

After all, the main purpose of him coming to train here of all places was to prepare himself to fight Piccolo's new reincarnation, or his son?

Honestly, Goku could not wrap his head too much on the whole thing, but he did know what was important, it was that this new Piccolo was going to be much stronger than the one he fought before.

And that fight took everything he had just to clutch out a victory, so it was no wonder that his mentor wanted to try this method to ensure a higher chance at victory as Kami believed that at his current pace, there was no guarantee in beating the reincarnated Piccolo.

Still, if he continued staying here, then it would be more harmful than beneficial in his training. Thus, Goku believed that it was about time he left as he had more than enough of his fill in this room.

Just as he turned however, Goku's eyes widened in shock as what was formerly a building housing his daily needs, instead there was nothing but pure blanks of white.

Goku was sure his mind was still relatively sound so he couldn't have begun hallucinating, could he?

He surveyed the surrounding area, making sure that his eyes weren't playing tricks on him, but no matter where or how long he looked at it, there was still nothing there. The wheels in Goku's head began to turn, trying to think of a way out of his current situation. But just as he did, his mind slowly but surely became heavier and heavier...

He could feel not only his head beginning to spin, but his entire body becoming too burdensome for him to even carry on. He tried shaking it off, but it was to no avail.

It was a struggle to even stay awake at this point...

Unable to take it anymore, Goku blanked out as he fell to the ground, with the last sight that he saw was nothing but the white void surrounding him.

Teyvat.

It was a world where the seven elements flow and converge, with seven nations residing in it, each one governed by their respective archons.

One of those nations was Inazuma, or what was currently known as the land of eternity. Inazuma was an archipelago consisting of various islands, with its people worshiping their Archon, Raiden Shogun who also happened to be the leader of its governing body.

Amongst those islands however, there was an exception to that notion, for they did not worship the Raiden Shogun, but to another God that had long since passed.

It was known as Watatsumi Island, an island that was located the farthest from the most prosperous area of Inazuma. It distinguished itself from the other islands, with its dense foliage that was different from anywhere else.

Because of this, the residents of this island possessed its own unique culture and customs, and leadership in regards to Watatsumi island's affairs falls to the Sangonomiya Clan, one of the major noble clans of Inazuma that does not have any known positions in the Shogunate towards the ruling of Inazuma.

The base of operations for this particular clan would be within Sangonomiya Shrine, which was located at the very center of Watatsumi Island, with the Divine Priestess being the one who tended to the affairs within Watatsumi.

The current Divine Priestess however, was nowhere to be seen within the shrine itself, nor near its vicinity.

In fact, if one searched for her right now, they would have no such luck in finding her, at least...on the surface.

Sangonomiya Kokomi opened her eyes as she took in the atmosphere around her, for she was not on the land above the island. Rather, she was within the ocean depths near Watatsumi Island.

To dive into the ocean itself was but one of the ways for her to relax. One might consider this a strange sight, but for the divine priestess, this was merely a routine that she took from time to time.

She could feel her worries drifting away as a school of fish across her. It was not the first time she had seen such a scenery, yet she found it a splendid sight all the same. This was especially needed considering the present situation that had stagnated for the past six months within Inazuma.

Believing having taken more than enough time for herself, Kokomi began swimming upwards back to the surface of the ocean.

Once she did, she could not help but notice the scenery of the sunset staring right at her, with the clouds taking on the red and orange hues of the setting sun slowly coming together.

Truly, it was beautiful.

At the same time, it also marked the end of daylight, and the beginning of the starry night sky.

Kokomi floated there for a bit, admiring it all once again before finally settling on returning to shore. Just as she turned around however, the edge of her vision caught on to a small bright light shining in the sky right above her.

At first, she thought nothing of it, as stars that illuminate the sky were nothing uncommon in Teyvat, even if earlier than usual.

But the more she observed it, the more...unusual it seemed.

For one, it was blinking. What's more, it was falling directly right at her...at a very fast acceleration.

Quick to react, Kokomi raised her left arm as she manipulated the water around her, using it to shield her from incoming impact. Within mere seconds, the supposed star collided into the ocean, causing gushes of water to explode from the resulting collision.

Despite the waves of water rushing towards her, Kokomi was undeterred as the formation of water she created protected her for the most part. Instead of fearing for her life, she was more focused on what...or who might have just arrived.

She needed to take a closer assessment on the situation, for every little detail was crucial in determining the potential level of threat.

As the water slowly subsided, Kokomi cautiously moved towards the source, her eyes never leaving anything out of sight as she leveled her right arm above the ocean, causing small bubbles of water floating around the area.

Having arrived at the necessary distance, she stopped.

She observed for any signs of movement. If a period of time had passed and nothing occurred, then the source itself had drowned into the depths of the ocean. However, if there was even the slightest hint of movement then...

Something then burst out from the water.

Droplets of water had also begun to fall, probably due to the gigantic impact just now causing the water to be flung into the air.

Even if it was a bit obscured by the momentary rain, she had worked out that it was a silhouette of a person, though only their upper part showing as the rest of them were covered by the water.

Since it was a person, this meant that dialogue was possible between the two of them.

Good. After all, she rather talk than fight. Still, she did not let her guard down as she continued her observation.

From the physique alone, she identified that it was a male that was of similar age to that of hers. It was also clear from his general appearance, that this person had gone through multitudes of battles before, meaning he was possibly a fighter of some sort.

Having said that however, it also seemed that there were several signs of wounds on his person. Whether or not it came due to falling from such heights or something else remained to be seen.

Regardless of that, the mere fact that he was able to survive such a fall was a plain indication of his endurance, along with the capability to move around afterwards...meant that this person still had some reserves of strength left.

She then finally turned to the person's face, and the first thing that stood out was the shape of his hair. It was distinct, in the sense that she had never seen a hairstyle such as this, with spikes growing wildly in uneven length.

Though it was not an impossibility, she was almost certain that the person who just landed was not someone that hailed from Inazuma, so the possibility of him being from the Shogun's Army was slim to none.

Her sight then landed on his face, scrutinizing him as the area around them became clearer as the drops of water stopped.

It was a look of confusion, meaning he too had no idea how he ended up in the waters of Watatsumi Island. Subsequently, she noticed that he was staring right at her, which she was doing the same to him as well.

He blinked.

She also blinked.

He blinked even more after.

The two did not speak for several moments, neither knowing what to say. Just as she finally formed an idea to initiate the conversation, he was the one that spoke first.

She prepared herself, thinking of all sorts of possibilities to follow up on what he could possibly say. She needed to dictate the flow of conversation to ensure the safety of not just her, but for the entirety of Watatsumi Island.

"Hey, aren't you a fish girl...or was it a mermaid? Anyway, I met one of you before but why do you have legs instead of a tail?" he asked, smiling nonchalantly despite the absurdity of it all.

Out of all the possibilities she thought of, this was one she could not have predicted at all. For the first time since she was born, Sangonomiya Kokomi was rendered speechless, her mind coming close to a crawl as she was still trying to comprehend his words.

A blank look now adorned her face, and unknowingly, she tightly gripped her left hand into a knuckle.

Thus, a new chapter in Teyvat had begun.

AN: If anyone ended up reading this, thanks a lot for stopping by! I'm mainly writing this story to get back into the swing of writing again, that and I just wanted to see what I could do with exploring the premise since I feel like putting these two characters together would be fun considering the contrasts, but that's just me. Do forgive if I get the lore wrong, especially on GI's side, since there is a lot of it.