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It’s easy to see life as a type of game. But not in the way it ends up being oddly maniacal, no— that would make you seem like you weren’t quite right in the head. No, it was more of an understanding, a quiet observation that everyone had a role to play.
From the past, to the present, and all the way leading up to the future—you deemed that each person had a place they fit into, a part of the grand scheme that they could fulfill. It wasn’t so much about destiny as it was about the natural flow of things. The interconnectedness of lives, both great and small. Every decision rippling out into the next, the consequences following like an endless chain. You’d often reminisce on the idea of “The Butterfly Effect”.
It wasn’t something you ever really questioned. You were content watching, seeing how others moved through life and filled their parts, finding satisfaction in that quiet, passive participation. You never sought to be the center of attention, nor did you crave applause or recognition. You weren’t the hero, but you weren’t the villain either—just someone who sat in the background and helped to support the pieces of the story to stay in motion, just as they always had been. That was all you knew as safe.
After a while, you gave yourself a role to play, The Mediator. A role that, at first, felt overly cliché. Everyone’s heard the hundreds of tales of the “selfless hero,” that beacon of virtue whose name is always chanted, whose deeds are eternally praised. The thought of being that person made you cringe; you didn’t want the spotlight, nor the weight of everyone’s expectations. But the more you thought about it, the more you realized your role didn’t require any of that. It didn’t require recognition or even thanks.
You simply did your part, quietly. You helped the world stay in balance by guiding things when necessary, keeping people on their paths when they seemed to veer off course. You weren’t a savior—you were the steady hand, keeping things from falling into chaos.
You weren’t perfect, of course. You still felt the tug of your own desires. Sometimes, the things you wanted were as human as anyone else’s. A desire to be seen, to matter, even if just for a fleeting moment. Times when you were tired of being taken for granted, tired from the constant dragging down your life had put you through.
Sometimes you’d imagine yourself in a different role, someone with real purpose and importance. But, in the end, you knew your place. Your value wasn’t in the spotlight. It was in the background, where you kept the world turning just enough to keep people from falling off the edge. Where it was safe.
But sometimes thoughts would slip through.
“Am I hard to understand? Am I meant to be a temporary force in this universe? I want to be special. I want to make an impact I see others do, to be like them when they make a change.
But to want is to be selfish. And the disdain I feel beside every need eats at me no matter what.”
It was a quiet role in life. A life of observation, of helping others reach their ends without interference. You were content with it—until, of course, everything changed. You were always aware of your role but never imagined it would change this drastically. You never imagined the day that you’d find yourself lost in the middle of nowhere in some silly game you played.
And when you woke up to the cold, foreign snow, none of it made sense anymore.
.・゜゜・ ・゜゜・．.・゜゜・ ・゜゜・．
.・゜゜・ ・゜゜・．
.・゜゜・ ・゜゜
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.・゜
The coldness is the first thing you feel—sharp, biting, and relentless. Your eyelids sting as you try to open them, as the frost against your pupils jolts you to life.
...What?
Your eyes open, your chest hurts as you instinctively took a breath in. The icey cold air stabbing at your lungs and throat. To wake up to the sensation of icy needles against your skin was borderline excruciating, and the world around you shrouded in a thick fog made none of it easier to process.
The dark trees loom like silent sentinels, their branches bending beneath the weight of snow. You try to move, but your body is numb. The only thing you can feel is the cold, seeping into your bones, burning like frostbite that shouldn't exist in a dream.
…Where did…my phone go? I need to....check the time…soon...check...something-
You blink, letting out a trembling breath as you tried to shake off the dazed fog in your head. You know this is a dream. It has to be, right? But usually once you realize it’s a dream, you’d have woken up by now….
The sharp sting of your freezing fingers says otherwise, and the dull ache crawling up your limbs feels far too real.
Panic begins to rise in your chest as the snow crunches beneath you. You glance down at your clothes—baby blue pajama pants with mini bunny prints on them, a thin t-shirt with a very worn out logo—yeah, completely inappropriate for the bitter cold.
This can't be real...
You feel your fingers twitch, fingertips immediately meeting numbing snow. You push your hands down, hoping the icey burn is just something you made up. You raise your top half off the ground, and immediately regret it as a flurry of snow strikes your front, the chill striking you harshly. But when your vision blurs and the frosty air stings your lungs, you can't ignore the reality of it.
Your arms wobble, and you feel your strength disappear as the harsh snow meets the back of your neck as you collapsed. A sharp pain shoots up your spine as the feeling of frostbite creeps further along your skin, and your head starts to spin.
Does actual frostbite hurt this bad? Why is this happening to me, what do I do? What did I do?
You try to move, but your body won’t respond. What can I do…? No, no, no... this isn't happening.
Darkness begins to creep at the edges of your vision as your body starts to shut down. You sink further into the snow, feeling the freezing cold piercing into your limbs. Yeah, no, it’s over. You were so stupid to think this was just a nightmare.
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The first thing you feel is the weight of your shoulders and legs ascending off the ground, and the violent cold you felt before now replaced with a gentle warmth that flows throughout your muscles like you were just lying on a heated blanket. You felt no pain, only the blissful warmth around you that made you feel like you were in an endless dream. Part of you wondered if this was how the bridge between heaven and death was supposed to be.
Part of you wanted to stay like this, no tension, no fears, nothing that would cause you to have any care at all. But that was nonsense, even for you; you knew that was something you wouldn’t be able to bear for an eternity. Your thoughts are hazy, clouds of memories swirling around your head, making it impossible to get a firm grip on where you are or what’s happening.
You can feel yourself drifting in and out of consciousness, the grip you had on the mental rope that grounded you becoming looser and looser. Thankfully, something pulls you forward. That or–someone…
A voice—sharp and excited—breaks through the fog.
"Rise and Shine my friend!!"
Your eyes snap open, but all you see is mist. What’s going on? Your limbs move unbearably slow, almost as if you were pushing through something thicker than water. You start to panic, but the voice in your head continues, almost as if it’s reading your thoughts.
"Hey hey hiiii! Congratulations! You’ve been selected as the lucky winner for a chance to switch realities!" The voice practically sings the words, full of an excited, upbeat energy that’s almost jarring. "How lucky are you?!"
The voice has an uncanny reverb as you hear it in your head. You blink, shaking your head in disbelief. You open your mouth to ask what in the world is happening, but before you can say anything, the voice adds, "Oh, don’t worry about the specifics. I’m Aero, your personal guide through this little... adventure of yours!"
You feel your arms finally move to the front of your body, and you realize you’re sitting up again. You rub your eyes, trying to make sense of things, but all that seems to form in your head is confusion. Your mouth opens to speak but it's as if the words already breathed right out of you. “Wait, what? A guide? Adventur-I-I don’t even understand—”
"Listen, listen. I know, I know. This is a lot to process. It’s a huge deal. But trust me, it’s all good!" Aero interrupts, their voice sounding more amused than concerned. "You’re in Teyvat now, my friend. And I’m here to make sure you don’t do something stupid while you're trying to figure out what to do next!"
The swirling fog around you begins to settle, and you see the setting around you shift and change. You’re on a mirror-like ground, yet it flowed like a puddle of water. The area around you was vast and empty, but on the assuming horizon you saw nothing else but a beautiful, glimmering orange and pink sunset. You feel the weight of the situation finally start to register. You stand up, legs lightly shaky, but you were determined to make some sense of what’s going on. “But... why am I here? How did I even get here?”
"Ah, yes, the details! I was getting to that," Aero says, their tone playful but with a hint of knowing behind it. "Alright! So– while you’re here in Teyvat, time is paused in your world. No need to worry about what you’re missing back there. You can just go ahead and enjoy your time here!"
"....Enjoy?" You repeat, still feeling lost. This whole situation makes absolutely no sense. Hang on, back up, did this little guy just say Teyva–
"Oh, don’t you even worry!" Aero continues, their tone still light and cheerful. "When or if you return to your original reality, time will resume from where you left off. Pretty neat, right?"
You blink. “This... still doesn’t make any sense.”
"Listen, man, there’s only so many mumbo-jumbo terms I can throw around until your brain explodes. Just have fun and follow the rules!" Aero's voice is warm and teasing, as if it’s the simplest thing in the world.
“Rules?” You ask, still feeling like your brain is in overdrive. What the fuck.
"Yep! And I’m gonna tell you about them right now!!" Aero responds with uncontainable enthusiasm. "Rule number one! Don’t interfere with the canon storyline! It’s best to stay low to the ground like an NPC rather than get involved with any larger figures of the game. Trust me on this one—just blend in, okay?"
Okay, freaky lightbulb demon wants to put you in a video game sounds legit. You frown. “So... I’m supposed to just—what? Watch everything happen?” The idea of doing exactly what you already do settled in your stomach poorly.
"Exactly! Keep your head down, stay out of the drama, and you’ll be just fine," Aero reassures you, their tone still cheery. "The world here is already moving, and you don’t need to be a hero or disrupt anything. Just limit your interactions to basically zero and let the rest of it unfold!"
You blink, feeling the weight of their advice. “So... no making friends or... doing anything that would draw attention?”
"Exactly!" Aero sounds very pleased with your understanding. "See, you’re even ahead of me with this! Keep things low-key and don’t get mixed up with the big players. And if you ever get stuck? I’ll be right here to help you figure it out."
Aero’s voice softens just a touch as if a final bit of wisdom is coming your way. "You’re not alone in this, but you do need to stay on your toes. This world? It’s tricky, and it doesn’t care who you are."
You nod slowly, feeling a little more grounded from all of the scenery suddenly shifting on you. You were wildly confused, but– even with your head still spinning, you couldn’t mistake the anxiety in your chest. What a weird dream this was. “Alright... I think I can do that.”
"Good!" Aero chimes in, their tone filled with an unexpected type of upbeat cheer. You opened your mouth to ask another question, but felt the air get knocked out of you somehow as the scenery began to shift again. The gentle atmosphere turned wickedly tense as a bright white light came to surround you so suddenly. You could no longer make out any shapes or details of this place you were in before you felt the familiar icy chill in your chest. You reach a hand up to your throat, but an unknowing darkness consumes you before it can even reach.
"Now, let’s go make sure you don’t screw things up and enjoy yourself! Welcome to Teyvat, [Y/N]. This is gonna be fun…”