That night, Ruola and Noelle lay on the same bed, chatting through the day's experience and lessons.
Mid-conversation, Noelle drifted off.
Ruola closed her eyes as a cool breeze slipped through. Her pores relaxed; her mind fell into sleep.
Half-dreaming, she murmured, "Lord… Anemo Archon…"
…
At first light, the two were up again.
Early mornings had become a habit, especially this past month: Stormterror had been harrying Mondstadt, leaving the Knights with more tasks than they could count.
Though Ruola and Noelle were not full Knights, the duty to contribute to Mondstadt was theirs all the same.
Ruola wore a red-and-white training outfit, high boots, hair tied in a tall ponytail. She drew her spear from her Vision, switched the tip for the new one from Wagner, and locked it in.
"Bro, I'm heading out—taking breakfast with me!"
"Be careful."
"Got it!"
Ruola handed one Mora Meat to Noelle and kept one for herself.
It was a Liyue specialty one of her "Liyue identities" could make; naturally this "Mondstadt identity" had learned it too.
This batch had been taught to the maids by Ruola herself, then prepared by them.
The two left Dawn Winery side by side.
"Noelle, you head back to the city first. I'll help clear monsters outside the walls."
"Eh? You're not coming with me?"
Ruola shook her head. "I want to look around—do some field training."
"No. It's too dangerous. Captain Kaeya told me to keep an eye on you!"
So that's what Kaeya whispered yesterday.
"Aw, come on— you know I'm strong. I'll be fine. Pleeease?"
Ruola clung to her arm, wheedling.
Noelle hesitated, then firmed her stance. "No— unless I go with you."
"Okay, together then!"
She wanted to head out because she suspected the story was about to begin.
Seventeen years had blurred her memory of the game—understandable after so long without touching it.
When she first met Venti, she thought the plot had started and she'd missed it— but she hadn't seen a blond traveler in the city.
Now she had a feeling: it would start today or tomorrow.
Venti had mentioned he had something important to do soon—today or tomorrow—and told her not to come looking.
It was launch day—players always wore rose-tinted glasses for the first characters they met.
…
Because of Stormterror, monsters had clustered around Mondstadt. Hilichurl towers had sprung up where none should be.
Ruola drew her spear; together with Noelle she swept the hilichurls clean.
She'd had her Pyro Vision three years now and trained nonstop. Thanks to her talent (read: cheat buff), she wasn't on her brother's level, but she was a touch stronger than Noelle.
Her elegant scarlet spear burned bright; each movement showed refined form.
Pity Noelle's element was Geo—no elemental reaction with her Pyro. Otherwise they'd clear even faster!
"Which way now?" Noelle panted, stowing her Favonius greatsword into her Vision.
"Whispering Woods."
Weren't they supposed to be clearing near the city? Why go deeper?
"The Knights have almost cleaned these outskirts. Let's check the woods."
Noelle nodded—they had just seen a patrol go by.
The real Mondstadt was far larger than the game's. Whispering Woods was dense with trees; morning sunlight fell in broken patches.
The hush made one's heart beat loud.
It never used to be like this.
They advanced slowly, alert to every change.
Suddenly a thunderous roar shook them. Then—something enormous burst from the woods and flew off.
Noelle tensed. Ruola's eyes lit up.
No mistake—it was him!
She sprinted toward the source of the roar. Noelle followed close.
…
A parallel world—Blue Star.
8:00 a.m. Genshin Impact, an open-world exploration game, skipped its closed beta and announced public launch!
People who'd been watching the game exploded with joy. Early risers rushed to download.
New comments flooded the official site by the second.
"I thought it was tomorrow—what the— public launch?! This company ruined me. I can't sit at this desk even one more second!"
"Haha, good thing I didn't sleep in. Who could've guessed they'd drop it early!"
"Teyvat! I'm coming!"
…
Chen Xiyao streamed games for a living under the name Guo Jia, or simply Guo to her fans.
Sweet-faced and very emotive on camera, she had gathered quite a following.
Genshin had been going viral for two months—their world showcase was too gorgeous.
Terrain, buildings, character models— it all blew everything else of the time out of the water.
Just like the rest of the internet, the moment Guo saw the promo she fell in love.
A breathtaking world, finely crafted characters— and free to play.
As hype climbed, she and the other streamers had been waiting for a closed beta—only to get a surprise full launch instead.
"My friends, the download's almost done— this darn network is so slow. Think I can nab an early UID?"
Slurping pure milk, Guo opened her stream.
Viewers poured in.
[You can still move? My net's dead. How many people are downloading— is my whole dorm on it? Campus Wi-Fi sucks!]
[Hurry hurry hurry— I want Teyvat. I want Barbara!]
[I love Amber, but I'm at work. If I sneak the stream, will the boss notice…]
…
Five minutes later, she finally loaded in, created an account, and hit Start.
A beach. A little crab waved claws marked by two stars.
A voice-over: "So you're from another world… drifting here?"
Two golden meteors streaked over Liyue and Mondstadt.
"As you tried to leave for the next world, a strange god stood in your way."
The Sustainer of Heavenly Principles appeared. Guo squealed.
"Oh my god the graphics. Oh my god— she's stunning. I love her!"
Chat went feral. Wives everywhere.
"Why can't we pick her?!"
Guo hammered her mouse on the Sustainer to no effect.
After a moment, she chose the girl twin— Lumine.
The cutscene continued: Aether was taken, and Lumine was swallowed by cubes.
The animation ended; back on the beach, after a chat with Paimon, Guo tested combat.
"Look—so pretty! I can't believe they really delivered graphics like this. I thought it'd be fake like some trailers."
Roaming as Lumine while ignoring the cute Paimon, Guo kept feeling her laptop for heat.
[It's actually this pretty? I'm doomed. My phone won't run it.]
[Don't worry. I'm on a phone too— looks great and runs smooth, hardly warm.]
[Paimon's adorable!]
[Stop sightseeing—push the plot! I want the story!]
-------
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