Genshin Impact: Following the Winds

That night, after a wondrous time watching the night sky be lit by the fireworks, I fell asleep and dreamt.

It was an…odd dream. When I opened my eyes, I found myself submerged in deep water. For a moment blinding panic filled me, until I then realized that my [As Water Seeks Equilibrium] practically turned me into a fish. I could stay submerged for as long as I wanted and barely feel a thing.

It didn't change that I was deep underwater however. I tried looking around, but there was practically nothing around me. Nothing but deep waters, stretching far above and below me. 

But after a while of looking, I finally found something. Something far below, in the deep darkness far too dark for normal eyes to view. From where I floated it almost looked like some kind of egg, translucent blue in color and glimmering strangely in this water-filled void. 

With nothing else to do, I decided to swim towards it. My movement through the water was swift—not because I was a particularly talented swimmer, but because my Talent made it so the water itself listened to my will, essentially dragging me along as I dove deeper and deeper downwards.

It took some time, or maybe no time at all? It was hard to gauge how much time truly passed in that dream. The moments seemed to blur into one another, as if the concept of time itself had been blended.

Eventually, I made it down to the strange blue egg. On closer inspection, it did indeed look like what I'd expected—a giant blue egg, seemingly crafted from iridescent scales. My fingers hovered over the shell, and I had to pull them back seconds after the buzzing feeling I felt became too much to bear.

What was this thing?

No, more than anything, why was I even dreaming about this?

I pondered over what to do for some time. I had a feeling I could simply wake up, but that would be missing the point entirely, wouldn't it? I had a mystery presented before me, and it would be remiss of me to neglect it entirely.

I then began looking through my list of Talents, trying to see if there was something I could use that'd perhaps give me better insight into this strange egg before me. After nearly scrolling all the way down, I finally made it back to [Windblume Festival: Resonance], and an idea appeared in my mind.

Indeed, what would happen if I tried to Resonate with the egg? Morax could interact with all sorts of stone, and Guizhong often used her connection with dust to help fertilize the lands. Certainly something similar could be done in this scenario.

There was just one issue.

I was underwater. And my Talent mostly worked through music.

Hmm. I thought it over for a good while. The Talent worked with music, which complimented my control over Anemo. But did it have to be Anemo? I mean, the definition of music was blurry at best. Could Geo not perform the same if the stones were to sound at certain frequencies that sounded pleasant? Could Electro not create buzzing that complimented the pace of a song?

I gave my arms a wave, and felt the waters around me dance. An odd sound followed—booming yet quiet, melodic yet not. But there was not a doubt in my mind that it was music. One that wasn't for me, but music nonetheless.

A smile came onto my lips. Finally, for the first time since I dropped into this dream, I finally felt like I could do something.

I began my 'song', manipulating the waters around me to sway and flow in such a way that sound would propagate through the unending waters. And through it all I used [Swords Dance] to guide this 'dance', all while using my [Windblume Festival] to further enhance this performance of mine.

Near-immediately, I felt it. From within the egg, I could feel some sort of consciousness lying within. It felt old, far older than I was, yet also impossibly simple. But the more I interacted with it, the more unsettled I became, and chills crept up my spine as our resonance grew deeper.

It wasn't a feeling of danger. Nay, it was something worse. 

It almost felt like…remembering.

As my 'song' continued to play, I watched as the egg began to unravel. The scales began broke apart, and the egg began opening like a flower in the midst of blooming. The unsettling feeling grew as the egg opened further, but I did my best to keep my 'song' going.

Then, as that feeling reached its apex, the egg finally opened wholly, leaving behind a translucent layer that kept the egg's insides separated from the rest of the waters outside.

And inside of it was-

Me?

My thoughts stuttered to a halt as I saw myself. Or someone that looked like myself. The me in the egg was asleep, curled into a small ball as his eyes remained close. Great white wings stretched from his back, accented with plates of gold. 

The most surprising thing was how revealing his clothes were. 

S-Seriously! I doubted I would ever muster enough courage to wear something that bold!

Once that surprise had passed however, I was left with an odd, hollow feeling in my chest. I was still unsure as to who the me in this egg was, but I instinctively knew that this person was sPEciAl. That he was someone I-, no, many hold DeAR. A being such as Him was not meant to be sealed away like this, left to drown in waters, fOrGOttEN by the world itself.

It was wrong. 

It was wro-!

…

No. No! No!

Not this TImE! I didn't understand why some things caused my mind to stop, but I refused to let it happen this tImE. It was my duty as a StORyteLLeR! 

My brain screeched in agony as I tried to REmeMbeR, but I forced myself to. Already, I could feel my insides boiling as I fought against this strange CUrsE, as if my organs were imploding one after another. I did my best to recover using [Sunlight Healing], but even with constant healing it felt like ToO MuCH.

The waters around me grew erratic as pain filled my every being. The harmonious 'song' became distorted, and had anyone else been there, it would've sounded as if the waters themselves were screaming in pain.

I forced my eyes forward. Forced myself to remember every detail of this strange REflecTioN I faced. Though I didn't understand why, I knew that this wasn't something I could forget. 

Then, almost as if he could hear my screams, the me in the egg opened his eyes. The eyes that stared back at me were bright red, reminiscent of blood. My reflection stared back at me, and then, he opened his mouth to speak.

The moment he did, I felt my mind break.

.

.

.

"Oh, I apologize, old friend. To know that I'm still causing you pain even now—oh how it breaks this old, tattered heart."

"Time has never been at your side, has it? For not even gods are immune to its passing—to the erosion it brings to one's heart."

"It is my eternal shame to not have done anything. Even if the Heavens had sealed me away for my defiance, I should've still been able to do something for the one I called my friend."

"Ha. What fools. To believe they could truly seal Time."

"The wheels have spun in reverse. Now, Destiny is shattered, and the future remains in flux. I suppose I have to thank that strange System that has bound itself to you, and the Aeons that now guide your way."

"Go, my friend. Wake from this strange plane. Let the remnants of Enkanomiya remain submerged in this abyss. One so full of life like you has no place in this grave."

"Go, Venti."

"..."

"Nay. Go, ██████."

.

.

.

"VENTI!"

I gasped loudly as my eyes shot open. I sat up from my bed, rasping as I clawed at my chest. My eyes stung, and it felt like my insides were boiling. But more than that, it felt as if I'd just watched something terrible, as if I'd seen some tragedy that now evaded my memory.

But then I felt the hands that worriedly shook me, and my vision finally began to steady as I pulled my eyes forward.

"Lu…mine…?"

Lumine sighed in relief as she heard me call her name. "Hey there, buster." She said, her jovial tone bordering on panicked mania. "You okay? You can hear me, right?"

My eyes shook. Somehow, someway, the feeling of wrongness remained. "I was…" I clutched my arm. "What was I…I was…!"

Before I could say anymore, Lumine quickly swept me into a hug. "Forget it." She hissed, clutching me tight. "It was a dream, Venti. Everything's fine. Nothing's wrong." She gave me a shaky smile. "See? Everyone's here."

I took a slow breath, and craned my head to see that she was right. Saiguu, Hanami, even Orobashi—they all stood at the door of my room, staring in horrified relief as they finally saw me calm down.

"A…dream…?" I whispered, relieved and lost all at once.

Lumine gulped and held me. "Yeah, a dream." She whispered. "Just a dream."

A dream. Yes. That was-, that was all it was. It was just a dream. Whatever I'd seen there, it meant little now that I was awake. After all, if I couldn't remember it now, it meant that it didn't matter in the first place, right?

Right?

A sob broke past my lips, and before long, I could do little but hold onto Lumine and cry.

…

Unseen by all, the island in the sky began turning towards Inazuma.