In front of the Gate of Teyvat.
Gong Qu and Keqing didn't wait long.
The Gatekeeper returned, cradling a handful of sand that still carried the scent of salt and sea.
"Creator-sama, on the other side of the gate is a beach. There are no signs of human habitation, and even animals are scarce. For now, no immediate danger has been detected."
A beach, huh?
So it's not Celestia on the other side of the gate. From the description, it sounds more like the place where Paimon got fished up.
"Scout again and report back!"
"Yes, sir!"
"'Yes, sir' my ass. Follow behind me, we're going in together."
"Understood, Creator-sama!"
Keqing couldn't help but smile at their exchange.
Maybe it's true that onlookers see more clearly.
From her perspective, the Gatekeeper's respect for Gong Qu didn't seem the least bit forced.
You could tell just by the way he looked at him, he truly believed Gong Qu was a god. It was the same look she used to give the Geo Archon before she ever met Gong Qu.
It was a kind of pure faith that Gong Qu, born in an era devoid of gods, could never truly understand.
Snapping out of her thoughts, Keqing felt her hand being gently squeezed.
"Let's go, A-Kei. Let's see what your home looks like now."
She nodded, her slender fingers intertwining with his larger hand.
With Gong Qu's tender gaze on her, the tension she felt about returning home slowly faded.
Wherever A-Qu is, that's home.
Keqing smiled sweetly at the thought.
One day earlier.
Mondstadt, Teyvat.
"Ad astra abyssosque! Welcome to the Adventurers' Guild."
"Morning, Katheryne! Got any easy commissions that pay well?"
Floating in front of the guild window, a tiny sprite-like girl piped up cheerily.
"Hm... Captain Jean issued a request yesterday to clean up the Seven Statues around Starfell Lake. Looks like there was a battle, scorch marks all over the place."
"Oh... I think I know who did that. Got it! I'll take it!"
Paimon's mind flashed with an image of a certain small red girl who was always way too fond of explosions.
Klee must've sneaked out again to blow up some fish.
Seeing Paimon accept the mission solo, Katheryne hesitated. "Is the Traveler still spending all day holed up in Angel's Share instead of taking commissions?"
Paimon stiffened, her smile turning awkward. "S-She's not feeling well... it's fine! I've eaten so much of her Mora over the years, now it's my turn to return the favor!"
She pumped her tiny fists in the air as if to cheer herself on.
"But if I may speak frankly, Lady Paimon, Starfell Lake is quite a ways out. You could encounter danger along the way."
"No worries at all! The Traveler and I have taken down Stormterror, Fatui Harbingers, and even the Raiden Shogun, we've got this!"
Katheryne didn't push further.
Despite spending years among adventurers, her Snezhnayan puppet frame had only just begun to simulate human emotion. She couldn't truly read hearts, and couldn't see the sorrow hidden beneath Paimon's cheerful mask.
Once the task was accepted, Paimon didn't leave right away.
Instead, she turned and flew toward Angel's Share.
"Mr. Charles, is Lumine still here?"
"You mean the Traveler? She's upstairs."
"Thanks, Mr. Charles!"
Flying up the stairs, Paimon found Lumine slumped over a table, completely lost in drink.
"Lumine... I'm off to take a commission."
"Mm... be... hic careful..."
"Qu will come back. He has to. He still has you, me... and so many others he cares about."
"Zzz... snore..."
"She's out cold."
Paimon wiped away a tiny teardrop that had slipped from her eye, then clenched her fist.
"Qu's gone. Lumine's fallen apart. That means it's my turn to hold this family together! And when he comes back, I'm gonna eat so much he goes broke!"
Remembering the dream she had last night, her stomach, which hadn't had much to eat lately, growled even louder.
"No time to be hungry! Gotta go earn that Mora!"
She left behind a small pouch of coins to cover Lumine's tab and flew out into the daylight.
"What's wrong, A-Qu? You look like something's bothering you."
"It's nothing... just a strange sense of déjà vu. Like I've been to this world before."
Gong Qu plucked a raspberry from a nearby bush. Just looking at it made his mouth water.
One bite, sweet and tangy, juicy and real. This wasn't a game. This was reality.
He recalled the scene from when he first met Keqing.
This otherworldly Teyvat, accessed through her connection, might very well be the same world his game account had existed in.
Back then, he was playing a game in the real world, but from the perspective of a higher-dimensional being, he had unknowingly been participating in the course of this world's history.
The game characters had perceived Gong Qu in ways that matched what they could comprehend, and that perception had been etched into their memories.
The discrepancies between Gong Qu's memories and Keqing's were the result of being on different observational planes.
Thinking back... wasn't the last thing I did in Genshin Impact the "Book of Sumeru Sands" questline? Then I hopped on a train... and didn't log in for a few months. Did time in this world freeze after that?
"A-Kei, tell me something. Before I summoned you to my world, how long had it been since we last met?"
"How long...? Hmm, let me think."
She recalled the last time she visited her Serenitea Pot. "Probably about four or five months. I haven't seen you since that day... though I still hear Lumine asking around for you now and then."
"That matches the timeline. Lumine... huh?"
Gong Qu repeated her name quietly, unsure how to feel about her.
As the player, he never experienced things like affection meters or dating mechanics.
But judging from the tension in Keqing's voice when she mentioned her, it seemed his relationship with Lumine wasn't just a matter of casual adventuring.
"I get it. Let's activate the waypoint and keep moving. I want to reach Mondstadt before nightfall."
Without hesitation, Gong Qu unleashed his elemental energy, casting a continuous speed buff over the entire party.
Now that he had left the Minecraft world behind, all its restrictions were gone. He could feel his power surging, it was overwhelming. He quickly accelerated to absurd speeds.
Two hours later~
Gong Qu had already carried Keqing over 100 kilometers, sprinting at a 5-second-per-100-meter pace. If it weren't for the Gatekeeper needing to keep up, he could've pushed it to 3 seconds flat.
"You guys... your bodies are insane. Don't you ever get tired?"
"Sorry, but us Minecraft folk don't have a stamina bar. As long as we're well-fed, we can sprint indefinitely. Plus, I'm in Peaceful mode, my hunger bar doesn't even deplete. Though I do still feel hungry, personally.
Oh, and by the way, A-Kei... you're a Minecraft person now, too."
Gong Qu's joke drifted into the wind.
But Keqing didn't laugh.
She knew better.
She was aware that even if she had the body of an MC player, she'd never match Gong Qu, the Creator himself.
Just looking at the Gatekeeper, practically collapsing from exhaustion, made it obvious.
Limitless stamina... that was something only Gong Qu had.