Genshin Impact-Eden

Several thousand years ago a great war descended upon the continent of Teyvat. Celestia opened up the seven divine thrones, each holding complete power over its respective element. 

Many gods and powerful beings coveted the seven treasures of celestia and fought greatly to obtain them. This was known as The Archon War. 

The land was destroyed and reformed many times until it eventually became what it is now. Seven nations ruled by seven archons, each with their own systems and ideologies. The present day Teyvat still bears the scars of that great war and very few live to tell the tale.

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I've seen this exact scenery more times than I could count and yet words couldn't describe how it is in person. The sandy beach that glittered under the sun. Instead of it being a smooth, flat layer was uneven and wavy. I could see each individual grain of sand that made up the shore. I bent down and grabbed a handful, letting it slip through my fingers. I could actually feel the grainy texture, the warmth of the sun. 

The cool breeze that came from the direction of the sea. The ocean waves that seemed to go on for eternity. If I wanted to go out there and explore, I could. That may sound like an obvious statement but previously, this was a game. Before, there were invisible barriers and trying to pass through would result in a mascot blocking your way-speaking of the devil. A familiar floating child entered my view with a questioning look on her face.

"Earth to Traveller, are you there?" Her shrill voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

"Yes." Holy crap, was her voice always this insufferable? "By the way, my name's Eden." 

"Ee-den? But I thought it was Aether?"

"Aether is dead, my name is Eden now-got it?" I'm finally in a decent mood, don't ruin it.

"Ok…" Paimon had shown a hint of discomfort at my remark. 

Well, I didn't know if Aether was really dead. But seeing that I woke up in his body, I don't favor his chances. What happened to him? I don't know and I don't care. What matters now is that I'm the protagonist of this fantasy world. And as for his sister… I imagine she wouldn't be too happy with this development but we'll cross that bridge when we get there.

"By the way, Paimon, how do you know what Earth is?"

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The beach was surrounded by large cliffs that stood as tall as modern skyscrapers. The only viable exit was the steep canyon that led into a forest. 

It was only whilst navigating through the forest path that I realised how much larger the world was compared to the game. Or maybe it just appeared that way because of my first person perspective. No, that couldn't be. After all, the trees that used to resemble sticks were now taller and thicker. The roots sprawled out from the ground where I tripped and got entangled on multiple occasions. 

The small rays of light that peered through the foliage didn't help and the grass that went up to my knees only exacerbated the problem. I had to climb rocks, crawl through tree trunks and claw my way out of branches before I could reach the other side. 

I wondered why there wasn't a nice and convenient path just like in the game. This area seemed deserted so I guess it made sense. A man-made path would have to be maintained and nature exists so things would grow wild.

But hey, at least there weren't any hilichurls around here. This wouldn't be a suitable place for them to camp out.

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"Haa…" I stopped to catch my breath and slumped beside a tree. Why is Aether's body so weak?

"Hey Paimon, how long have we been trekking through the forest?" I turned to the floating child that followed closely behind me. Unlike me, she didn't have cuts or scratches on her. Not a speck of dirt could be seen on her clothes. That little imp could float and was small enough to fit through small spaces. 

She rested her tiny hand on her chin, pretending to contemplate. Or maybe she was actually thinking at the time, I honestly couldn't tell. "Hmm, somewhere between five and thirty minutes." 

"..." 

"What you meant to say was: I don't know." I mimicked her annoying squeaky voice. 

"Hey, Paimon doesn't talk like that! Is this any way to treat your guide?" She protested. 

"Guide? I'm pretty sure that I've been leading the way this whole time."

"Do you even know where you're going?"

"To Mondstat, after stopping at Starfell lake."

"H-how did you know that?"

I hesitated for a second before remembering that she already knows about me being from another world, since Aether and his sister did travel to them. So this shouldn't really make any difference. "I have foresight, that means I can see the future."

"Paimon knows what foresight means. And is that really true?" She squinted her eyes in suspicion.

'So she isn't completely naive.'

I took two sunsettias out of my inventory and bit into one. Whilst we were in the forest I saw some hanging off some trees and decided to pick them up. They looked like a mix of strawberry and peach and had a smooth texture to them. Biting into them makes you feel like a vampire sinking your teeth into soft skin. Ok, maybe not the best analogy for food but you get the point.

"Hey, answer Paimon!" She waved her arms impatiently. 

I tossed one her way so that she could finally shut up. 

"Guru guru."

"Paimon. Why are you still talking?" I asked patiently. 

"EEEK!" Paimon screeched at pitches I didn't think possible until now, forcing me to flick my head in her direction.

"BIADAM!!" 

The goblin-like creature screamed what I could only imagine to be curses after hearing Paimon's performance. It stomped on the ground furiously, pointing its wooden club at my floating companion. She had it coming to be honest.

"Hey, Eden save me-" Before she could finish her sentence I was already sprinting in the opposite direction. 

"HEEEEY!!! DON'T LEAVE PAIMON!!" She cried, floating after me in desperation with all the strength she could muster. 

With a few more cuts on my arms and legs from stray branches, we entered a clearing of the forest.

Paimon panted heavily. "That…hilichurl…was scary." 

"Dammit. I didn't lose it." I sighed gravely.

Paimon spun all the way around but didn't see anything. She repeated twice, paranoia filled her expression "Wait, how? Where is it?!"

"It's still there, right in front!" I pointed in her direction.

She looked behind but saw nothing. "I don't see-oh."  She glared at the blonde boy who pointed at her, trying his best to hold in his laughter.

"Dammit this isn't funny!!" She stomped her feet in the air as if it was the ground. "Feel Paimon's wrath!!" Her hands balled into fists, sending a flurry of attacks at her current enemy but he wouldn't budge.

After a minute of unrelenting violence, Paimon decided to spare her victim. Afterall, she wouldn't want to break him.

◇◇◇◇◇◇◇

The path was a lot clearer now with only a few trees scattered about and so it was easier to follow. 

It didn't take us long before we stopped at a cliff that overlooked Starfell lake. 

"Wow…" The wide eyed Paimon gawked at the scenery in front of us. Me not being a fan of heights, I decided to stay further back. In the distance, one could see the walls of Mondstat. Below us was the vast lake that grew deeper the closer it got to the centre where a small island stood. We descended the cliff through a convenient slope that went down to the shore of the lake.

"There it is, the statue of the seven!" Paimon pointed at the statue that was planted on the tiny island. I wasn't even sure if it could be considered an island. "This statue belongs to the anemo archon, Barbatos. Oh wait, you already know that. Hehe."

Why does she believe me now?

"Let's cross." Paimon hovered above the water as if it was the most natural thing to do and then turned to face me on the other side.

"What's wrong?" 

The nerve.

"Do you expect me to float as well?"

"Of course not, but you can swim right over."

"Paimon." 

"Hmm?"

"I can't swim."

"..."

"You can travel through worlds and fight gods but you can't swim?" Paimon facepalmed.

Wrong. Aether could do those things, not me. But that's besides the point. I'm not sure if I can respawn yet and I'd rather not find out.

I shrugged. "How about we explore the area ahead of us later?" 

"So you made Paimon cross all the way here for no reason." she had a deadpan expression. 

"Pfft, don't pretend that floating takes any effort."

"Do you know how much energy this takes?!"

"No, so why don't you tell me. How much energy does it take, Paimon?"

"Well-uh...wait no, that doesn't matter!"

"Exactly."

"No, that's not what Paimon meant!"

I wasn't able to access the statue in starfell lake, but luckily there were more scattered across the region. We just had to find one of them.

And so, we travelled to our next destination with Paimon complaining all the way.