This is the story of a traveler who spent most of his time wandering the endless lands that make up the world of Teyvat in a quest to find and join back up with his missing sister, accompanied by his well meaning yet questionably intelligent guide he met at the start. Since first venturing into Mondstadt, he has made his way through Liyue, Inazuma, Sumeru and Fontaine while prepping for his next step of his journey, the lands of the nation of Natlan. However, he and his friend, Paimon, have stopped by Mondstadt again upon request from the acting protectors, the Knights of Favonius. To their surprise, Jean had called for their assistance due to the sudden disappearances of several of his friends: Amber, Albedo, Kaeya and Klee. Their last known sighting was investigating the appearance of a new Domain door on the outskirts of their border.
Accepting her call for help, the traveler and Paimon were able to quickly locate the Domain door and, to their surprise, it was in a rather quiet and out of the way location from the grassy plains that made up the hillsides. By the door leading to the Domain was one of Albedo's tools used for studying alchemy…
GENSHIN IMPACT X ZENLESS ZONE ZERO
Chapter 01: We're Not in Teyvat Anymore
Aether bent down and picked up Albedo's equipment before exchanging glances with Paimon. A look of worry plagued both their faces as the ones who disappeared were good friends of theirs.
"Oh, Paimon's getting worried. It'd be one thing if Kaeya went missing. We could just find him at any local tavern serving alchoholic drinks. But Amber, Albedo AND Klee disappearing too…makes Paimon worry that something big is going on." she said. Aether set the tool down by the doorway.
"This might be the work of the Abyss, Paimon. Remember what we found out from Dainslief in Sumeru? They have the Loom of Fate in working order." he said, making Paimon gasp.
"So…they can just conjur up Domains like this on a whim? If that's the case, we better get our friends back and fast!" she replied. They both nodded in unison as Aether reached out to touch the door. The moment his fingers passed through, a powerful force seemed to pull on him in an attempt to drag him inside. Paimon shrieked before grabbing onto his other arm out of desparation. But the force pulling from inside the Domain was too much and ended up dragging them both in before disappearing into thin air.
Teyvat : - : New Eridu
In what appeared to be a run down and abandoned construction site, no signs of any people nearby, the Traveler's missing friends were fighting back against ferocious and feral black and green monsters that bore solid black orbs for heads. Kaeya drew his sword and managed to put one in a stalemate with himself before it was picked off from behind by a lone arrow fired by Amber.
"Heh. Thank you for the backup, Outrider." he sighed, glancing back to see her taking shelter behind concrete slabs and wooden crates. At the same time, Albedo was fighting another of the strange creatures. But instead of immediately killing it, he seemed to be taking their fight as time to study its behavior and movements.
"Albedo! How you holding up?" Amber shouted before dodge rolling away from another colossal monster attacking her. She retaliated with more arrows but it could not break through its rock hard shelling, guarding itself with an arm raised in front of itself. But from behind, it came under heavy fire from a swarm of Jumpy Dumpty mini bombs going off. The monster stumbled slightly before looking back, seeing Klee from an upper floor.
"Leave Amber alone, you big meanie!" she yelled. It growled and roared before leaping for Klee, the child quickly backing up while it briefly dangled from the broken walkway. Seeing Klee's worried expression, Albedo groaned and quickly slashed through the black sphere with his sword. It crumbled away to dust before he hurried towards her.
"Don't worry, Klee! I'm coming!" he shouted. The battle played out in this fashion until, from above, an unstable fissure opened up. The monsters as well as the Mondstadt knights came to a halt, all looking upwards to the sky.
"W-What now?!" Amber asked. Kaeya and Albedo readied their swords.
"Watch out! Might be more of these weird monsters!" Kaeya called. Amber groaned, looking at her Vision. It did not shine its radiant red coloring of Pyro, meaning she had been fighting without the added fire abilities to her bow. The same lack of light could be seen from everyone else's Visions.
"If only we could figure out why our Visions aren't working!" Amber thought. Suddenly, a loud high pitched shriek could be heard as both Aether and Paimon came falling through the fissure above, arms flailing around out of desparation. The others looked up and gasped.
"Is that…? It is! Mr. Honorary Knight and Paimon!" Klee proclaimed. Kaeya put one hand over his eye, narrowing his gaze until he could make them out.
"Klee's right! Looks like the backup has arrived." he smirked. As they drew closer and closer to the ground, Amber hurried towards them while discarding her bow. She managed to get under them in time to catch Aether's body as they hit the ground. Paimon safely bounced off them, rolling across the ground in a daze. Aether groaned, looking down at Amber's face, realizing he was on top of her.
"A-Amber?!" he exclaimed, quickly attempting to stand up. But in his haste to stand, he felt a slight dizziness come over him and had to be momentarily supported again by Amber.
"Take it easy, traveler. Get your bearings." she said while bracing his arm over her shoulders. Paimon still moaned dizzily before her eyes opened back up, just in time to see one of the monsters looking straight at her. It let out a distorted roar in her face, Paimon shrieking loudly before quickly flying back to Aether's side. Fortunately for Aether, it didn't take long for him to regain control of his senses and shake off the dizzy spell. But upon realizing the situation they were in, he quickly drew his blade while his guide cowered behind him.
"Glad to see you are here as well, traveler. Care to lend a hand?" Albedo asked. The traveler silently glanced around, counting the number of monsters in the surrounding area as Paimon caught sight of everyone else.
"Klee? Amber? Kaeya?! Albedo too! We already found you guys!" she exclaimed with glee. Just then, the ornaments decorating Aether's clothes began to light, surprising him while restoring the glow to the other offline Visions. Kaeya could feel it coming back as another monster lunged for him, quickly shot down by a sudden frosty blast. Reclaiming her bow, Amber reignited her arrows before unleashing a horde from up above her and burnt down the giant from before. The symbol on Albedo's neck momentarily shined, assuring him his powers had returned.
"Well, whaddya know? Having THE traveler here is our lucky charm. Our Visions are working again." he confidently smirked.
"W-Wait. You guys couldn't use your Visions before?" Paimon asked "Speaking of which…uuhhh…Paimon has a gut feeling we AREN'T in Teyvat anymore." Kaeya chuckled quietly.
"Now what could have given you that idea, Paimon?" he teased. The monsters roared in unison before charging at them, everyone bracing for a brawl. At that moment, a grenade came rolling into the scene and, upon exploding, blanketed the battlefield with a thick cloud of smoke. Aether and the others covered their mouths as, from the other side, the monsters were quickly being assaulted and torn down by another attacking group. Varying voices could be heard from within the smoke.
"Don't let a single Ethereal get near the civilians! Surround and neutralize them!"
"We've got your back, Captain Zhu Yuan! Leave them to me!"
"Trying to look "cool" in front of Zhu Yuan again, eh Seth? Whatever."
Without mercy, the monsters were dissolving away before the other group emerged from the smoke, all members wearing matching uniforms with the words "PUBSEC" and "N.E.P.S" on their clothing. Accompanying them were also small rabbit-like animals pushing through the horde. As the last one fell and dissolved away, Aether and the others lowered their guard before being approached by the leader, a young woman with black and red hair.
"Is everyone all right? Any ether corruption sustained? Don't be alarmed. Public Security is here to make sure you get out of the Hollow safe. I am Captain Zhu Yuan and you have nothing to worry about now." she said while saluting. But Aether and Paimon could not understand anything that she said.
"Ether corruption? P-Public Secur…Hollow? What?!" Paimon asked. Another PubSec member approached her, a young man with a long furry tail and cat ears atop his head.
"Captain Zhu Yuan! No signs of any remaining Ethereals! Looks like we got them all." he said. Zhu Yuan nodded.
"Good work, Seth. You and Qingyi did great." she said. Nearby, a young girl sighed with her arms crossed behind her head. She had light green hair stylized in pigtails. Her non-chalant attitude slightly annoyed Seth.
"You know he was only doing that to score a date, Zhu Yuan. Too bad you're too slow to catch the HINTS he's been practically giving you." she replied. Seth growled slightly.
"Qingyi! How many times do I have to tell you?! Stop teasing me with these dumb fantasies of yours!" he exclaimed, tail standing up on end in a riled up state. Zhu Yuan put away her gun before approaching Aether and offered her hand to him.
"Oh. Uhh…thanks for the help, I guess." Aether said while shaking her hand. The others gathered by him as Zhu Yuan got a good look at their clothing and brandished weapons. A look of confusion plagued her face.
"Wait a minute. You don't…look like anyone I know from New Eridu. Your clothes are also quite…unique. Also…wait. Are those…real swords you and your friends are carrying?" she asked "And….is that "floating little pixie" your Bangboo or…something?" Paimon, realizing she was talking about her, groaned before flying in her face.
"Paimon is Paimon! She's not a PIXIE or Bangboo…or whatever you're talking about! What are you EVEN comparing Paimon to?!" she asked. One of the small rabbits approached Zhu Yuan's side and spoke to her in a strange babble. Kaeya lightly chuckled.
"I believe THAT is a "Bangboo", dear Paimon." he retorted "And..if I'm speaking frank, I say that's a look you could pull off." Paimon groaned, throwing a midair temper tantrum.
"You think Paimon looks like THAT?! She's not a little bunny rabbit!" she shouted. Seth approached Zhu Yuan's side as she brought out a hand sized etheric scanner and used it to examine Aether and the others. While it did not shock the others, Paimon and Klee were a bit surprised by them being scanned.
"Hmm. Interesting. It appears as nobody here has sustained any kind of ether corruption. Phew. You must all have high ether aptitude in that case." she said. Seth tapped her shoulder.
"Wait. Captain Zhu Yuan. Look at the readings. I think…they're the ones taken from him." Seth said while singling out Aether. Zhu Yuan looked again before letting out a slight gasp.
"W-What? That…That can't be right. According to these readings, you and your small "friend" have complete IMMUNITY to any matter of ether corruption." she said with a look of surprise "H-How? I haven't heard of any New Eridu citizen, let alone anyone from the Outer Ring, having total immunity to the effects of ether." Paimon and Aether glimpsed to each other.
"Uhh…ether corruption? What's…ether?" she asked. Seth directed their attention to a collection of black crystals growing around them. Some were tall spires while others were just forming bushels, no bigger than a bush. They each shimmered under the light like black diamonds.
"That is ether. It's a substance that naturally spawns as a result of a Hollow engulfing an area. The longer a Hollow stays active and continues to expand, more and more of these ether crystals grow." Seth explained "While some companies in New Eridu make a living out of mining crystals or reusing the power they produce, ether is still a highly dangerous and continuing threat." Qingyi walked over as Zhu Yuan continued.
"Those without strong ether aptitude who have spent too much time in a Hollow can have their minds corrupted, their bodies mutated by the influence and transform into the very monsters you just saw. We call them Ethereals…and they can either be born from the ether itself or when a human or machine has been corrupted by the ether. That's why Public Security HIGHLY ADVISES against venturing insie a Hollow." she continued "Also, it is not easy to leave a Hollow upon entering." Qingyi continued from where she left off.
"Reality is constantly shifting within a Hollow. Anyone without a Bangboo, Carrot data or a highly trained proxie at their side can easily get lost or have their sense of direction flipped around. Anything is fair game inside a Hollow." she finished. Having a somewhat better understanding of their surroundings, Paimon hurried behind Aether.
"E-Even Paimon could…become one of those ugly things?!" she shuddered.
"Don't worry, Paimon. She just said you and I were completely immune to it. We should be fine." Aether said, attempting to reassure her. Kaeya crossed his arms.
"Must be nice. But it looks like WE aren't in the clear like you two are." he smirked "Then again…the traveler has ALWAYS have good luck no matter where he goes." Amber nodded.
"Yeah. If you guys didn't show up, we'd still be fighting the…uhh….E-Ethereals…off without use of our Visions." she said. Now the words they were saying began to baffle the PubSec officers.
"Huh? Visions? W-What are you talking about?" Zhu Yuan asked "N-Nevermind. You can explain later once we're all out of this Hollow. Allow us to escort you back to New Eridu. THEN we can get to the bottom of all this."
TO BE CONTINUED…