II

"I fucked up, I fucked up, I fucked up! Oh shit oh shit shitshitshitshit!!"

Well that was welcoming.

The incessant mumbling made your eye twitch. You peeled them open with great difficulty. Your eyelids felt like weights were holding them down and your eyes themselves felt covered in sand, as if they had been staring at a screen for way to long and your body was trying desperately to say 'bitch you need to get to sleep right fucking now, I'm not playing with you anymore.'

Your head and limbs were clouded and equally as heavy as your eyes, giving you the feeling of being underwater, though that voice, it still hadn't stopped mumbling, was clear as day.

You pushed yourself up, digging your elbows into the ground(?) and using the very little core strength you had to get the rest of your body up.

One look around and you realized you weren't in Kansas anymore. Tall trees lined your sight casting shadows from the noon sun into your eyes. Lively, green grass tickled your fingers, swaying in the calming breeze that wafted through the clearing.

The crunch of leaves caught your attention and you turned only to see a pacing boy about the age of seventeen or eighteen muttering under his breath. He was draped in white clothes, accented with gold, too big for his lithe figure. Snug, low heeled boots fitted his feet and black tassels hung from the lapels of his coat. His hair was short and feathery, falling messily into his dark almond eyes, white as his clothing. A frown pulled at his lips and his eyebrows furrowed, creasing his forehead.

Though, what really caught your eye was the beautiful pair of fairy-like wings that sprouted from his back. They were translucent, with only the slim veins to see, that then faded onto a shimmering gold. They fluttered as he paced, sometimes flapping quickly before falling to hit the backs of his legs and skim the waving grass.

Having stared for an awkwardly long amount of time, you eventually caught his eye. His face flashed with surprise and he rushed over, falling next to you, somehow not staining his clothes with the grass.

"Are you alright? Are you hurt?" He delicately cupped your face, tilting it back and forth, searching you for any injuries. His gaze traveled down your body and ending at your feet. He looked back towards you and you saw his pupils contract with worry.

Shaking your head to clear the fog you focused on him, trying not to blush from how close he was and how intensely he was gazing at you.

"Yeah I'm fine, I'm good."

His eyebrows relaxed, a relieved smile twitched on his lips. "That's good."

His hands dropped from your cheeks and you found yourself missing the warmth, but a particularly harsh wind snapped you from your daze.

"Where-" you cleared your throat, attempting to get rid of the awful scratchy sound. "Where are we? And who are you?"

He sucked in a breath. "So the thing is-"

"That doesn't sound good."

"'-you kind of died-"

"I was right."

"And then got transferred to another universe."

He shrugged like he was trying to say 'sorry' and his teeth clenched. He cracked his knuckles then drummed his fingers on his knees.

The air had escaped your lungs, leaving you gasping. Your hands dug into the dirt, grasping for some kind of weight to keep you tethered to earth (was this even earth?).

"Are you joking?" You managed to say through the tears gathering in your eyes.

He winced. "No?"

You glared at him. "Why did you say it like that?"

"Because I don't want you to freak out?"

"I am freaking out, just internally." You deadpanned.

"Well whatever, we have to get you home-"

Your eyebrow raised. "Home to the universe where I'm dead?"

The boy huffed. "Where else are you gonna go? You can't stay here!"

You hummed. Your fingers had relaxed during the conversation, instead choosing to rest in your lap. "Why can't I stay here?"

The boy stood up again. "This place," he gestured to the forest. "Does not exist with you in it. You do not exist here. By being here, you are upsetting the natural order of this universe and the way it's supposed to play out!"

You glared up at the beaming sun. "This universe has a set path for it?"

"Technically every universe has a set path for it." The boy said, aggressively pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Wait, so we have no free will?"

"I'm not getting into a philosophical debate with you right now."

"Damn okay." You grumbled. "But you never answered who you are and where we are."

At this the boy looked a little nervous again, rubbing his arm. He gave a weak chuckle.

"I'm your guardian angel. My name is Ariel and you were kind of… transportedintogenshinimpact."

You were sure that your brain had short circuited because what? Genshin Impact? Seriously?

As if trying to disprove his point, you looked around the clearing in order to find some plant or animal that would say he's wrong; But, as your gaze landed on what you were sure was a small lamp grass, your heart plummeted.

Okay, freak out time.

You were in a world you had only ever experienced through a screen, a world you hadn't even fully explored yet because it wasn't finished, and you had no way of going home. You knew how these isekai fanfictions go. The mc gets dragged to another world, desperately wants to go home, finds out there's no way, and eventually resigns to staying in their new world. You were speed running all of these emotions.

The sorrow you felt of never seeing your mother or father again, of never seeing your friends again, of never getting to visit your dog again (because you couldn't take him to the apartment with you so you left him with your parents). Tears welled up in your eyes and distantly you saw Ariel panicking but you had to get this out of the way if you were gonna survive here.

The sobs left you shaking, hurting your throat as you took painful gasps to catch your breath. Salty tears ran down your cheeks, some falling in your mouth but you paid no mind to the taste.

You felt Ariel wrap his arms around you and you leaned into his embrace, nuzzling your face into his neck. He rubbed his hands up and down your back, humming a tune that sounded so comforting and sweet.

Eventually you got a hold of your emotions, not even having it in you to feel embarrassed about the situation. It was good you got all that out now so you didn't have a breakdown about it later.

You took one last shaking breath before you realized. "Are we gonna skip over the fact that you're an angel?"

Ariel chuckled, the soft puffs of air hitting your forehead. "We don't have to if you have any questions about it."

You shuffled back, criss-cross applsaucing as you faced the angel in front of you.

"So," you started. "You're an angel."

"I am, yes."

"A guardian angel."

"Yeah."

"My guardian angel."

"That is indeed what I said."

You inhaled. "What the fuck?"

He barked out a laugh. "Is it that unbelievable?"

"I don't even know anymore man."

He smiled softly. "As we have established, I am your guardian angel, I've been looking after you ever since you were born."

"So where were you when I was six and tripped over air, fell on my face so hard I knocked out two teeth and broke my nose?"

"Well I can't exactly interfere with your life, I just watch over you and lead you in the right direction when I think you need it." He paused. "That was hilarious by the way."

"Ha ha ha. But doesn't this count as interfering? I mean, you're standing right next to me. Am I supposed to even be able to see you?"

He tilted his head in a so-so manner. "Technically I'm not interfering since I'm not forcing you to do anything. 'Interfering' would be if I took control of your mouth to stop you from saying stupid shit."

You pursed his lips at his example but couldn't deny the truth of the statement.

"What I'm doing right now, doesn't really count as interfering. It's more like giving you advice. I can't stop you from doing anything, but I will tell you what I think."

"Soooo, can other people see you, or is this a you and me thing?" You tilted your head to the side, leaning it on one of your shoulders.

"Only you can see me."

"Cool." You nodded. "Now let's go fuck shit up."

"I beg your pardon?"

You jumped up, wiping the grass from your sweats and hoodie. You turned to Ariel with a wide grin as his eyes narrowed warily.

"We're in Genshin Impact! This place is cool as hell with hot as hell people with adventures I wanna go on! You can't honestly expect me to just sit around and do nothing!"

"Uh, yes the fuck I can! Did you hear nothing about the set path of the universe thing?"

You shrugged off the hands that had grabbed your shoulders and started shaking. "Of course I did, the problem is, I really don't care." You waved off his words with a flick of the wrist. "Besides, you said it yourself. My being here fundamentally changes the way this universe is going to play out, so why not have fun with it?"

"There's so many things wrong with that."

"Whelp! Let's go exploring!" You took off in a random direction.

"WAIT NO-"