Disclaimer: Halo and Genshin Impact DO NOT belong to me. They're owned by their respective owners and the only thing to my name is possible OC's and this story.

Anyway, enjoy.

"Internal Dialogue"

"Regular Speech"

"Foreign language translated"

Sound Effects

... Scene Break

Twitch... It would be a lie to say that he was fine. Twitch... He wasn't. Nothing was fine. Twitch... He glared at the offending blue object glowing in the water. Twitch... He took a gamble, Twitch... that he lost, that she lost... Twitch... The golden rays only bothered him, as they continually increased in intensity. Twitch... He needed to kill something now, right now.

Twitch... The blue glow mocked him, daring him to attempt again. Twitch... He nearly did break it, but only threw it in undisciplined anger. Twitch... She wouldn't have wanted that. Twitch... He still had one thing left... Twitch... He lifted Jorge's dog tags up Twitch... It was given to him. Twitch... He'll return them, one way or another. Twitch... There are still people counting on him, A-091, Collins, and the rest of humanity. He took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled. Twitch...

He rubbed an eye, stopping it from incessantly twitching. He arrived here... wherever here is. He was defeated, yet here he was. What did that mean...? Counting that he's alive, then was he imprisoned? If that's true, than that could be the same case as Lumine.

His heart felt a little lighter at that. Then he needed to find her. If not to save her, he swallowed, then to ascertain to her status. He simply had to know. That brought the image of the pale woman he suffered defeat from. Twitch... He blinked hard. The Sustainer of Heavenly Principles, perhaps not a leader, but an enforcer... Then the ones that created the 'heavenly principles' are the unknown hostile faction. Why imprison them though...? What is the point? He glanced at the helmet laying beside him.

He placed it on his head. It refused to activate and the air didn't cycle. He took it off and attempted to activate it by hand, it remained dormant. He opened his bicep and unrolled his tools. Flipping the helmet around, he opened the latch on the back with the proper tool. It gave way and fiddling with the interior, he pulled out a separate battery for the helm.

Holding it up, revealed something akin to a thin rectangular box with two wires sticking from the side. Using an age old method, he placed the wires on the tip of his tongue; completing the circuit. Nothing. It was drained, just like his energy based weaponry. His eyes flicked back at the water, scrutinizing it. No doubt his suit was already drained too, it would have served as the primary source for his helm. That damn thing must have drained him and his weaponry of all its energy.

To sustain it? He didn't know, he simply didn't have enough information. About it, about Lumine, about the enemy, about anything and everything. At least outside the Asylum, things made sense; it was 'normal' or more like logical. He sighed. Nonetheless, he wouldn't find out by moping here. He fiddled with his helmet with tools on hand and manually opened its filters.

He reassembled the whole helmet back together and placed it back on his head. The HUD, unsurprisingly, didn't appear; leaving a clear visage. He breathed in and out, the atmosphere passing in and out through the filters. He placed all his tools back on the roll and placed it back in his bicep. He uncrossed his legs and stood up, no longer feeling the cliff face on his back. Well he did lean his head on the cold rock, it felt rather nice.

He ensured the door on his bicep was closed and sealed along with taking his helmet off before diving into the water. He followed the glow, settling in the mud; pulling it free he swam back to the surface. He rinsed whatever debris that clung to the artifact and wiped it off. Though he did notice something off, the artifact didn't give its once vibrant glow. He couldn't do nothing about it yet except place it back into his bicep. Standing up, he went back to the spot he sat earlier and retrieved his depleted weapons.

He walked further inland to the bottom of the 'J' end of the beach, into the transiting forestry. A path led up a hill with a jutting rock terrance on either side. A statue, similar in appearance of a rook chess-piece, gently glowed red beside the path. He hid the weapons into the bushes farther right of it and used any dead branches to camouflage them. They would only be dead weight and hinder his mobility. He had the versatile loadout of having a sniper rifle, assault rifle, and a magnum that all functioned properly. He took the assault rifle of his back and held it in his hands as walked back to the path. He was glad the magnetic strips in his back and thighs still worked.

He stopped beside the statue and studied it, it had the same white and gold appearance as that in place in the clouds. He placed a hand on it, feeling the carved hieroglyphics. It pulsed, the soldier quickly retracting his hand. The stone floated upwards before stopping, shifting from red to blue. He... felt the pulse as if it were tuning with his being. He didn't like it, he'll make it a point to avoid those until he knew more.

He climbed the steep dirt pathway and reached level ground. Walking out, he reached a small area on top of a cliff. A sparsely forest with a large pond containing an island came into view. A statue sat on the island and past the whole area laid a small... medieval-like city in the center of a lake in the distance. "My kind seeded your world and the Ayslum, your kind has since expanded." It... felt strange that there are 'others' out there. Not the humanity he knows... what did that mean for him? He went prone, switching to the sniper rifle. He crawled to the edge, placing the bipod down.

Him and his sister joined the Spartan program to kill the alien bastards in righteous fury. Ambrose took that hate, refined it with discipline, and strengthened it with duty. Duty for humanity, to ensure the survival of their species and sacrifice themselves if needed. With no power, the scope's more advanced capabilities didn't pop up. The basic functions of regular scopes remained such as the reticle, appropriate markers, and magnification. He turned the proper dials, clearing the image on the human structures.

Some of the Spartan-IIIs took that to heart more so than the rest. Though others resorted more to their bloodlust. He was one of the ones that took it to heart... ONI pushed Lumine to the other side of the spectrum. Twitch... Though... something changed, something good. When they originally obtained the artifact, she had been deadly silent even after their extraction. Especially in front of A-091, and until A-091 left to scout the perimeter of their extraction; only then did she return the Spartan Smile.

Now something had... touched her in a way he wasn't able to. His thoughts drifted to Jorge's dog tags. He was truly sorry for that price, a bittersweet feeling welled up in him. He would have liked to thank Noble in person, yet he felt unworthy to carry the same dog tags. Tall walls of gray interlocking bricks lined the perimeter of the large island. Bash buildings with red roofs made up the majority of structures inside with windmills sporadically placed among them.

A castle towered over the buildings and at the far end of the sloped island laid a Cathedral with a large statue in front. The statue appeared to be a angel-like aspiration, holding its hands together and palms up, as if either receiving or offering a gift. Still the question remained, what to do with this humanity? As far they knew, this is their world and not a... bunker?... Prison? Would... they help the creators of the Heavenly Principles? He was sent after insurrectionists in the past, however this was different.

How should he see them? As 'people' he was vowed to protect, as enemy aliens, or insurrectionist foes? He simply didn't have enough information to make a logical conclusion. They might be a foe, they might not be... He deeply hoped it was the later because if they force him to choose between his humanity or theirs... His grip tightened... Well, he already made his choice long ago.

...

He silently crouch-walked through the forestry, making sure to avoid any beaten paths. He had gotten a few hours into his expedition now, taking note of the terrain and landmarks. He was only circling back since he was now restricted by the terrain. If he had attempted to go further, he would have to cross either a crossroad of dirt paths directly in front of a bridge leading to the city, go across a large plain with a otherworldly large tree, or climb the surrounding cliffs that had too little tree cover. All three would leave the spartan in plain view of everyone nearby. Now that he mentioned it, he didn't see anyone at all even outside the forestry.

The surrounding areas appeared to be deserted including the small town across the crossroads he scrutinized with his sniper rifle. He suspected patrols, however the opposing force could be utilizing more discrete means. Their knowledge of the terrain would be a huge boon in their operations, to the detriment of his. Assuming the whole situation is normal, there should be civilians operating as well. The capabilities of this humanity is unknown to him and the only evidence he had is the architecture of the buildings.

Surely these 'people' can't be primitive as this place suggested... in a place of advanced alien engineering. He wouldn't know what to make of it if that was the case. He stopped, laying flat against a thick tree. He heard... humming, high pitched and feminine. It wasn't that of a woman, but more akin to a child. He silently crept forward, passing a dirt path before flattening against another tree.

He peeked out, and was surprised at the sight. In a small clearing was little girl, with a shovel built for her size, patting down disturbed dirt and rock. Her back was to him as she continually hummed a melody, hiding her face from him. From what he could see was she dressed in all red with a backpack and flat cap that were a few sizes too large, with light blonde hair peeking out. No way... he spotted pointed ears among her hair. Was she even 'human'? Something glowed on her backpack causing him to focus on it. It was a red round gem with a glowing flame sigil embraced by golden bezel with wings.

She took a step back and placed a sign right next to the reburied hole. A large shadow ran across the ground over her, blocking the rays of sunshine peeking through the trees above momentarily. The girl looked up, causing him to tense. The rays of light were covered in an instant with an gray overcast clouds. A animalistic roared sounded, blasting through the air causing the girl to cover her ears. Wind audibly rushed and swirled... and tornadoes started to form all over the landscape.

He could see the unnatural phenomenon in the distance tearing apart the open plains, near the village, and past that village. Strangely, the city itself didn't suffer though. The sounds of tearing and bashing of wood met his ears, his head turning right. His eyes widen as a tornado touched down within the forest and headed straight towards him. He quickly bounded away, intending to create distance. He had already move thirty feet when childish cries pierced his helmet.

He glanced back, the girl in red was fleeing as quick as her legs could carry her; her heading towards the city. She took a step meeting grass and her other step only touched air. He dashed forward, grabbing the front of her jacket before she could disappear in the swirling whirlwind of dirt, trees, and broken wood. He subconsciously grabbed the cabbie cap before it could fly off too. He pressed the girl against his chest plate, wrapping his arms around her. He sprinted through the forest, the environment becoming a blur.

He could feel the wind 'lick' at him, trying to lift them up, the overall weight of him and his armor anchoring them. He kept pushing himself harder, curving his path around. He circled back, running alongside cliff faces. The winds drastically strengthened, the winds literally beating him. He went to one of the larger trees and clamped onto it, shielding the girl in between them. Wind roared in his ears, branches whipping and snapping.

As soon as it started, things calmed down immediately as the tornado passed; leaving a path of destruction in its wake. Debris continually flew in the sky and landing all over, including the trees themselves around them. Wooden shards speared the surrounding ground and trees. Sounds of breaking wood reached his ears as... wagons and crates slammed into environment and broke apart. Must have came from nearby tornadoes throwing all manners of things. Silence reigned as the sky cleared up again, with all the remaining debris landing shortly after.

He felt the girl patting his side, leading him to carefully release the tree. Gently, he dropped the girl down. She craned her head up at him, revealing reddish-orange eyes. They widened when they reached his visor, instead of fear... they twinkled in excitement? She gave a bright smile and babbled something to him. Her words flew right over his head before voices yelled out in the distance; all alternating phrases yet all contained the same word. Klee...?

The girl visibly jolted at it, was that her name? Something akin to guilt washed over her face, her eyes looking at her boots. The amputee drew her attention when he crouched to her level, placing the red cap back on her head. He placed a finger right where his mouth would be. She immediately recognized the universal 'silence' gesture and repeated it back with a mischievous smile. He gently pushed her in the direction of the voices, she turned back to look at him before whipping her head around to look for the missing spartan.

The spartan ran through the forest and debris, quickly gaining ground. He'd already reached the edge of the forest in short time, the pond coming back in view. He slowed, glancing back and ensuring nothing was giving chase. He jogged past the pond and into the neighboring cliffs. Climbing up top, he quickly set up his sniper rifle. He focused onto the city's bridge, waiting.

Heads appeared above the bridge's walls, women and men walking across the bridge in all manners of clothing. He recognized what to be their 'guards' or military force, all wearing uniforms that consisted of silver armor and a golden sigil of a shield with wings on their chest plates. The civilians were in all manners and arrangements of clothing with the exception of those with green and white uniforms. Natural disaster response force? Would the whole event be considered natural? His eyes flicked, noticing a shade of red though it wasn't that little girl. Instead it was a brunette woman with a large red ribbon in her hair.

He wasn't surprised, he probably wouldn't see the little girl for the fact the bridge wall would completely cover her. His eyes scanned down the length of the bridge before settling on an entourage heading to the city, four 'guards' being led by a woman with pale blue eyes and blonde hair tied in a pony tail. Strange... perhaps an officer? The woman stopped, exasperated frustration clear on her face. She reached down and plucked the same little red girl up eye level. It appeared that the girl was being scolded.

He released a breath he was holding. Why... did he save her? He compromised himself, he could have left her to die at no expense to himself. That would have made things simpler, kept his operations discrete. Now his element of surprise is now dependent on a child, which could have already alerted the 'people' to his presence. He was by himself, with barely any supplies, low on ammunition, and possibly in enemy territory. The last thing he needed to do was to give away his greatest advantage.

For a child?"RUN!" Him and Lumine ran away from their struggling fath- He took a deep breath, rationalizing his thoughts. Doesn't matter, it happened and he shall deal with the consequences. Despite all the negative aspects of his decision, he had to be realistic about it. He couldn't hide forever, at one point the people of this place will become aware of his existence. Instead of prolonging the inevitable, he could instead control how he was introduced.

He also needed information. About everything and anything he can acquire, and that city will have it. Geography, customs, neighboring nations, factions, the wildlife, flora, and quite possibly the enemy. Glancing at the rifle in his hands, he grimaced. Not to mention how he'll need supplies though he doubted this humanity had ammunition his weaponry could use. He could live off the land, surviving off the wildlife yet it would be best if he had information about it.

Essentially, the only way to move forward is through 'them'.

...

10 Hours Since Awakening

Personal Log of SPARTAN B-311

After I and Spartan B-312 suffered defeat by an unknown entity, I can only assume we've been imprisoned. While in this state, no outside stimuli was observable until I was released through unknown means. As I term, "awoken" in this log and following logs. I cannot remember much nor clearly before our defeat. As far as I can recall, when we entered the Asylum; we came upon architecture that either is so large to be seen up in the clouds or that the architecture itself is capable of flight. I would believe the latter.

Since waking up, I've taken to scouting the surrounding area and confirming a "human" presence. There is also the possibility of different races coexisting with this "humanity" though I will have to look into it further. My findings has been limited other than that the populace speaks a language I'm unable to comprehend and have chosen to be isolated in a small city. I believe the reason for this is due to the unnatural phenomenon of multiple tornados appearing temporarily and at the same moment. I believe this event to be artificial in nature, possible by a creature even. I'll continue to observe this "humanity" in the hopes of better understanding before making first contact. Due to the unnatural phenomenon incident, I've been lucky enough to obtain supplies thrown close to my position.

Though I've only been able to retrieve a small amount of non-destroyed goods such as a simple short sword, a fishing pole, and a box of cookware. The box of cookware conveniently had this journal and feather and ink. I believe it was for the purposes of a cookbook. Both last instances were saved by landing in the water of a pond near my position. Concerning the sword, I'm unaware of this humanity's combat doctrine and this makes me wonder if the humanity here fights without firearms. If that is the case, I will have a huge advantage in terms of battle.

The biggest drawback is the lack of ammunition simply because I brought multiple weapons on my person. This limited the amount of each munition I brought excluding the fact that SPI armor doesn't allow much room to carry such munitions. I'll use the sword in order to save ammunition. I'll make camp where I awoke and survive off the wildlife, such as boars, and emergency rations in the meantime as I observe. I may as well use the fishing pole and attempt to capture the aquatic wildlife. My only hope in that regard is that the aquatic wildlife is not exotic or strange to the point to where I have to question whether to consume it or not.

...

6 Days Since Awakening

SPARTAN B-311

I have been using the leftover materials of the thrown debris to build a shelter during my isolation as well as using the rest as firewood or for other miscellaneous tasks. I've been observing the movements of "human" forces for the past week and noting their patrol patterns before they disappear from view. It seems the purpose of these movements is mainly to clean up damaged areas and repair though I have noticed three individuals of interest. These include two females and a male of varying occupations. The first female appears to be a high ranking, or the highest, ranking officer who rarely leaves the small city and even rarer makes expeditions further out.

The second female's role seems to be primarily as a scout though she uses a technique that surprised me. She uses a glider like contraption to glide around the area, however it only comprises of two wings longer than her arms. The glider itself should be unable to generate enough lift to support, much less fly, the woman yet it continues to defy the rules of aerodynamics anyway. The male goes out on expeditions only and returns back to the city at strange times. What makes it notable is that all three individuals are unarmed and contain these gems of varying colors and sigils that glow. I believe these have some importance, whether in ranking or in other unknown uses.

I will be making separate profiles of these individuals when able. On a side note of the male, while he openly goes onto expeditions; the individual carries himself like a spook, will have to be suspicious of. Speaking of suspicious, I've made a 'friend' today.

He watched the improvised bobber softly riding the water, the small piece of wood wrapped in fishing wire. It disappeared under the surface suddenly, he sharply pulled the stick back a split second after. A white object launched from the surface, limply dangling by the hook. A child in unusual clothing hanged from her collar, unresponsive. Quickly, he unlatched the girl and brought her to shore.

Placing her on her back, he turned her head to the side. His eyes widen. A light bronze halo floated above her scalp with a line of metal crossing it above her forehead. Twitch... His eyes scrutinized her clothing, mainly white with the same bronze aesthetics. Amber eyes burned at him, enemy laying in the sand. Twitch... A scarf wrapped around her neck, it was a dark blue similar to the night sky with bright white constellations. It's his best chance.

Twitch... Constellations that moved. It is a threat and must be acted upon when he has the advantage. Twitch... White hair with a concave sided black diamond hairpin. She is a source of information and must be acted upon when he has the advantage. Twitch... Pale skin with, he opened an eye lid, black eyes containing white pupils with mimicry of stars surrounding them. Kill it, let it die.

Twitch... A large gloved hand wrapped around her minuscule neck. Save her, let her live. Twitch... He could feel a pulse, one that was fading. He cannot take the risk. Twitch... He slowly squeezed, all he needed is a little pressure. Twitch... "We are both Spartan-IIIs, we go against odds Spartan-IIs wouldn't dare. Impossible odds, for there is no other option."

Twitch... He let go of the beings neck and instead pressed on its, her, chest. First pump, nothing happens. He's a Spartan, he should act like one. Second pump, a mouthful of water shot out. He's supposed to take risks, make gambles. Third pump, another mouthful exited between the girl's lips. Starry eyes shot open before the tiny being got on her hands and knees, coughing the rest up. And to win. Fiery amber eyes challenged him before he blinked them away, replaced by eyes filled with stars.

While fishing, I inadvertently saved what appears to be a child. Though this "person" appears to be of the same species as the unknown entity based on appearance and clothing alone. The child's affiliation is currently unknown though I've been using indirect means, due to the language barrier, to assess where it stands. I'll be labeling this person as "Fairy" until I receive a proper name or title.

He nearly broke its fucking neck after it regained consciousness. Twitch... The creature flew, FLEW, into his face. It proceeded to hug him in relieved sobs, his discipline keeping him from killing it. Then it talked to him, or at least attempted to. He looked up from writing in his journal, observing the pixie sitting by the fire; enjoying the heat. It glanced back at him with those inhuman eyes and waved.

Twitch... It said something to him in the same language as the red girl, he only remained silent at that. He kept silent the whole time and nodded at what he deemed appropriate times. He didn't want it to know that he didn't understand, that would compromise him. Yet... it was all alone. If it hadn't arrived, he'd had to go to the small city without understanding the language. That would be very far from ideal, surrounded on all sides by possible combatants that could be set of by the slightest finger-twitch. He was a soldier, not a diplomat.

Instead he could learn the language from this individual while having the advantage over the situation. If it didn't compile, Twitch... he'd have to terminate it. First, he'd have to see if he can find out its affiliation before trying anything. He closed the journal and set it on a rock beside him. He stood up walking away, the fairy squawked out something behind him; floating behind him. He lifted a palm, stopping it in its tracks.

He pointed down and walked off over the hill. Seemed like human gestures were universal after all. He glanced back, the beach and camp disappearing from view. He climbed a neighboring rock wall and climbed until he met flat land. He kept prone and crawled to the cliff's edge overlooking the camp. He held the assault rifle in his hands, flicking the selector to single fire. Peeking over the edge, he watched.

The creature sat back at the fire, fidgeting. It appeared increasingly anxious, glancing back at the terraced hill. Twitch... His fingers tightened on the rifle. The white creature floated up and away to the wood pile nearby. Picking some up, the fairy went back to the fire and threw individual pieces into the flame at a time. It fiddled with its hands in between each throw, glancing back all the while.

Starry eyes looked around the camp before settling on on his journal. Floating over to it, the creature lifted the book and opened it. Crosshairs settled on its head, finger hovering just above the trigger. The creature's face frowned, confusion evident in its features. It... was holding it upside down. The creat-, she placed it back in its spot before returning back to her spot.

She had her back to the fire and watched the hill, waiting. He waited too, all day long. Minutes turned into hours as the sun dipper further until it disappeared past the horizon. The girl became more anxious as time passed, soon trembling; but not from the cold. A hour passed in the dark before the sitting fairy cracked, tears trailing down her cheeks as she attempted to hold them back. A few minutes later turned into barely controlled sobbing as she cried into her knees, the fire as her only company.

Alone... just like him. Damn it... He flicked the selector to safety and retraced his steps. When he reached the hill, the fairy had cried itself to sleep. He added a few more pieces to the fire, ensuring that it would burn into the latter part of the night. Gently, he picked the girl up; bringing her to the shelter and placing her onto the makeshift bed of branches and leaves. He tried to cover her as best as he could with what he had before taking his post. Sitting down and leaning against the contraption, he closed his eyes and shortly followed the girl's example.

...

8 Days Since Awakening

SPARTAN B-311

While Fairy's affiliation is still unknown to me; I don't believe her to be a spy and if she is, she's either a very poor or extremely good one. Regardless, I'll have to take the plunge and learn the Asylum Inhabitant's common language from Fairy. Fairy realized on her own that I couldn't comprehend her words and so the situation became unavoidable.

She tutted at him, waving a small finger in the air. Twitch... She slowly pronounced the word again, stressing the vowel on the end. She pointed at the rock with the stick again, to emphasize that the word meant rock. He glanced back at the line of letters in the sand again, memorizing their characteristics and assorted meanings.

I plan on taking her with me when I go out to better learn the language and provide more vocabulary. This'll take me a while and with two people, I'll have to get busy so I'll cut this log short.

The fairy salivated, watching the dead boar being hanged up. The sun peeking over the horizon, giving the place a dull red glow. Before he started cutting, he threw a MRE at her. She caught it before recognizing it for what it is. Her face scrunched up in pure disgust, holding back gags. He smirked amusedly at the display.

He had fed her MREs at first and she learned firsthand that their taste wasn't... spectacular. His smirk immediately dropped when she threw it into the fire. He pointedly stared her down, crossing his arms. The last MRE was for him. Her eyes met him in confusion before realization dawned on her. She just sheepishly chuckled, rubbing the back of her head.

...

2 Month Since Awakening

SPARTAN B-311

Some time has passed, however it was very simple. Intel gathering, hunting, fishing, learning the language is what composed the past two months. Though I'm proud to what I've accomplished so far. Fairy's name is Paimon, and the strangest thing about her is that she refers to herself in the third person. I wonder if its how her species converse, a aspect of her personality or biology, or a symptom of a mental disorder or disease. I've been progressing very well and am able to initiate and hold conversations now. Though Paimon did ask me about my background and circumstances, I only remained silent about it. This in turn kept her silent about her own, saying "If you don't share your story, Paimon won't tell hers." I'll have to refine my speech before heading to the small city, perhaps a week or two. I'll head out today to hunt some more boars and I'll take Paimon with me, make sure she earns her keep.

He crawled to the rocky edge, peeking over the forest; the sun glaring at their backs. He surveyed land, watching for any patrols or unaccounted individuals nearby. The fairy slowly floated up to the edge, taking her place beside him. She hovered only a quarter of an inch from the grass, completely silent. She'd make for a good lookout or scout if she could turn the floating constellation trail off.

"Do you see anything out of the ordinary? Any boars? Do you see the pines of that tree atop that cliff?"

"Paimon doesn't see a thing. Yes, Paimon sees the pines, but why is that important? Honestly, Paimon wonders how you can even see these things so easily." It was rather simple, attention to detail and knowing what to look for works wonders. He didn't feel the need to explain it to her, nor about his augmented eyes. It was more of test about her capabilities, it seemed she didn't have advanced eyesight. That tree didn't have pines, but instead jagged leaves.

He shifted back, Paimon following shortly after. The sunlight disappeared around them, gray helm whipped at what created the shadow. His arm snaked around the girl's waist, his legs propelling them in the air. A overly-large teeth lined beak snapped shut where they occupied a split second ago. Both of them landed on a large azure reptilian back, almost sliding off into the open air. An armored hand clamped into one of the many scales while the other kept the white pixie from flying off.

A roar blasted into his ears, as he dug his feet into the dragon's back. He brought Paimon in close, the girl clamping onto his chest plate with all the strength she could muster. The creature bucked wildly, the spartan holding on with a death grip. With a mighty beat, the beast shot up into the air. A maw reached over to bite his face off, he released his grip before it could. His hands slid across the blue scales and feathers before finding purchase on a purple thorn, a glyph seemingly tattooed around it.

That looked very important. He stabbed the base with his sword, nearly black blood oozing out. A pained roar screeched in his ears as he pulled at the blade, the blade tearing instead of cutting due to its poor quality. The beast dived, spinning wildly and whipping its tail; Paimon screamed under him, her voice drowned out by the rushing wind. The purple crystal jostled loosely, an enraged screech sounded out before the whole avian body lurched. The blue body disappeared from under him and suddenly it was above him.

Ah... fuck. Wind rushed past him as he fell. He released the now detached crystal and placed the sword on his back between the firearms. He flipped around, visor meeting the incoming ground. Correction, the rapidly closing roof. He quickly wrapped himself into a ball around the pixie, turning to show his back before pain flared into his left side.

He lurched, but didn't stop as the roof collapsed. He kept going down, something else breaking under him before he slammed into a stop. His head whipped, his mind swimming in a haze. He could hear panicked shouts, screams, and hisses...? He quickly stood back up, placing a hand on the wall; ignoring the stabbing sensation in his entire left side. He released Paimon from his grip all the while blinking through the haze.

His fingers grasped onto the magnum, unlatching it. The haze lessened, voices and his vision becoming clearer. He bumped into something, his mechanical hand palming it. A counter, with something atop of it. That something spoke to him. Slowly, his vision finally cleared; his hearing restored.

"-ile I admire your dedication to destroy the alcohol industry, terrorism is not allowed!" A girl shouted, standing atop the counter and pointing a finger at his visor. He blinked, observing the small creature. Teal-aqua eyes fearlessly peered at him, pink hair framed her scolding frown. Her clothing consisted of blues and oranges with a cap on her head. A belt pouch on her hip and her boots were cat-themed.

Cat ears stuck out of her hair while a cat tail lazily swayed behind her. There are cat-human hybrids, why not? Both cat appendage's fur patterned in tri-colors of ginger, black, and white. He glanced to the side to see Paimon wobbled unsteadily in the air before collapsing onto the counter, otherwise she looked no worse for wear. They were in a cat-themed bar, a depression on the broken floor; he glanced up. A large hole in the ceiling allowed him to see the sky.

Peering at the far end of the bar, patrons looked at him wide eyed with a mixture of awe, curiosity, concern, and fear. Some of them that were tip-toeing their way to the door stopped when his visor met them. A cascade of boots and voices can be heard outside, getting louder as seconds passed. Twitch... He placed the magnum in its proper place despite his own reservations.

"Sorry, wanted to beat traffic." A cat ear twitched at that, her face contorting in annoyance.

"Hmph! Tell that to Margaret. Not only that, but you scared all the cats away! I swear to Barbatos, you will help me catch them!" She dropped down in a huff and walked out, a guardsman stepping out of the doorway for the cat girl. That girl certainly had guts going at him, he'll give her that. The brunette, blue-eyed guardsman walked in before stopping in front of the super soldier, clearing his throat.

"Welcome to Mondstadt, strange yet respectable guests. Please state your identities and intended destination. The Knights of Favonius are here to ensure your safety." He saluted, placing a fist across his chest over his heart while putting his heels together before opening that same fist to his side at a 45 degree angle with an open palm. To his benefit, he didn't falter at the introduction. Though the Spartan can see how tense the man is and how... rehearsed that line is.

"My name is Aether and my friend's..." He nodded at his catatonic companion, "name is Paimon. Our intended destination is Monstradt,..." The amputee looked around. "apparently." The man blinked at that, dumbfounded confusion nearly settling on his features before he regained his composure. The man looked at him for a bit, seemingly expecting him to elaborate. He didn't.

"Well… how about we talk more back at headquarters so we can let the others start assessing the damage done here?" The smaller man asked. The Headhunter nodded, putting Paimon over his shoulder; keeping his right hand free. He followed the man out and down the staircase. Right into the main street, a large crowd of people watched him. They all had the same stares as the patrons from before, breaking into whispers.

Guardsmen lined a perimeter, keeping order among the crowd. Some of their eyes widen when he came closer, the Spartan standing a head taller than everyone. They split apart, making way for the two-man convoy. Twitch... So many eyes laid on him, all their attention focused on him. He muscles tensed at the unusual circumstances. He was a Headhunter, he was trained as a hunter, and wore the specialized equipment as one.

He was not meant to be seen, he was suppose to accomplish his objective silently and disappear. All the attention being an affront to his very being. He kept his fingers from curling as he scrutinized the surrounding crowd. His eyes flickered between windows and rooftops as his apprehension grew. He eyed the sword on the mans hip, seemed like these people actually used primarily medieval weapons. He hadn't seen any hints of firearms since his arrival though to be fair, his area of operations was very small.

Something moved on an elevated landscape, people in black clothing with masks covering their eyes and their nose watched him from above, behind a short wall. Looking down on him, calculating; he almost felt compelled to shoot them. They climbed another staircase, heading to the small castle he observed earlier when he arrived.

"Excuse me! Excuse me, sir!" His head whipped at the source of the feminine voice. A teenage girl dressed in a strange frilly white nun outfit skipped to a stop, composing herself. She took a moment to catch her breath and her cheeks were flushed, seemed like she ran here.

"Barbara, why are you here? Please step aside, I have to escort our guests." The man attempted to dissuade her.

"Swan, he's hurt." She pointedly looked at his left side, the Spartan leaning heavily on his right leg. "I saw you fall from such a great height, you are in no condition to walk!" She rushed around the soldier and toward the amputee. She halted at a finger.

"Back off." Aether threateningly growled, he had just noticed on the girls hip laid a book with another of those strange gems implanted into its cover. Swan coughed into his hand, placing himself in front of Barbara. He didn't miss how Swan placed a hand on the hilt of his sword.

"Forgive her, she didn't mean any offense by it." He diplomatically remarked.

"Please sir, I wish to heal you with my magic. I'm a vision user." She put a hand on her chest, leaning around the guardsman in a placating manner. Magic? Vision user?

"Magic? Riiiiiggghhhtt." He was very dubious. There is no such thing as magic. As far as he was concerned, magic is just simply unexplained science. The girl seemed to take offense at that. Swan looked at him as if he lived under a rock.

"It's true let me show you!" She opened a palm and... impossible. Water swirled and spiraled in the open space in her palm. It then traced along her hand and in between her fingers. It took him a few seconds to register it.

"This magic... vision users can use it?" The girl gave a cheerful smile, seemingly glad about gaining his cooperation.

"Yes, and if you want to know more..." She motioned the two along, beginning to hum a beautiful melody. "I know the perfect spot to rest and heal your wounds!"

The Spartan could only sigh at the unexpected turn of events and followed her.

Author's Note: I'll be completely honest... researching information about anything in Genshin Impact fkn sucks. It's mainly because its vague like say the timeline at Genshin Wiki. When the traveller goes over at Monstradt the first time, it's labeled as the present and so is the Liyue arc of it, and the Inazuma arc, and the Sumeru arc. The whole timeline after that is considered the "present" so I can't tell when something is a week away or 20 years away.

Than there's the place of the characters, like in Monstradt for example. I recall reading from somewhere that Noelle was sent away from Monstradt during Stormterror, but I couldn't find that information anywhere. There's Eula and I think she's been sent away too because she's a reconnaissance captain. It just gets confusing to see what characters belong at what place at what time and it just gets convoluted.

I don't think I'll even be able to do events, perhaps I'll make those into special chapters. We'll see. So if anyone know any good sources for information about this stuff, like youtube or some encyclopedia of Genshin Impact, pm me or leave a review so that I can write my shit right.

Though in all honesty, I may just say fuck it and call in the butterfly effect. Spartan style.

Anyway, until next time.