Burden of the Abyss: Internal Refraction [Genshin Impact x (O)OC]

Arc 5 - 4: Cutting It Close

[If there's any comments about to odd order of events, let me know.]

[Version 2.0* is apparently in two weeks, the title is in relation to the fact that I have absolutely nothing on the festivals yet. Lantern Rite seems much harder to write than Windblume— BECAUSE THERES ALMOST NO DIALOGUE. It'd be half the normal length of a chapter...

Enjoy!]

"Are you sure you want a god to beat up everyone just so I can get a ride to Inazuma?" Mono asked as they walked to the furthest island west.

"God?" Kazuha said stopping in his tracks.

"I'm the Anemo and Geo Archon." Mono informed with a shrug.

"You ruined the surprise, Mono..." Beidou whispered with a glare. "I didn't know it was supposed to be a surprise." Mono said with squinted eyes.

"So... may I ask was circumstanced to make you the god of two nations?" Kazuha asked.

"Well, I'm not really the god of any nation. Mondstadt fares well on its own, and ever since Rex Lapis passed and I fought Osial, Liyue's learning to do the same." Mono explained first. "But, as to how I became a god. Stopping Fatui plots. That's about it." He said making Reona scoff.

"No. First, he beat a dragon called Stormterror, then, he stopped a Harbinger from stealing a Gnosis, what makes an Archon an Archon, and claimed it as his own. He traveled to Liyue, and then ended up arranging the Rite of Parting! Then when he discovered that Rex Lapis' body was being held in the Golden House, he fought off another Harbinger! And with all his injuries stacking up, and the odds against him, The Qixing and the Adepti supported him as he took down Osial, sealing him back into the depths of the sea!" Reona rambled, sounding way too enthusiastic.

"Then I stole another Gnosis." Mono added, leaving out Zhongli.

"...I can no longer see you as an equal in a sense, I suppose. Your feats have spread far and wide, but hearing this in person far exceeds my imagination." Kazuha replied.

"I wouldn't say that... I'm just power hungry. Like everyone else." Mono said rubbing his nape.

"That's not a positive connotation. Would you perhaps say, that you aren't a hero?" Kazuha questioned.

"Let's just say... I won't be, in the end." Mono said with a smile. "I help people, willingly, yet why I help them, never has to do with their well being. It's what I get in the end that matters." Mono explained.

"I can't seem to grasp your character. Your words sound false, but you look like you're genuine. You're the first person I can't particularly read." Kazuha said with a troubled sigh.

"He's just being a weirdo. He's the nicest guy you'll meet!" Beidou said punching his shoulder. "Except when he talks about age." She added.

"I don't even know yours..."

•

"Qingce Village Armwrestling... alright, you're signed up. Next." A woman with bob-cut black hair and blue eyes said with boredom.

Mono stepped forward after the participant left, and the woman looked up with widened eyes.

"My name is Mono. You may or may not know me as—" He began, but was cut off when the woman finished his statement for him.

"The Traveler! Oh my god you're standing in front of me..." She shouted, causing the many surrounding the stone floored arena to gasp and look over as well.

"Uh... yeah, that's me. Mono is fine," he said waving of her excitement.

"I would never! You defeated a god, a dragon, and two Fatui Harbingers!" The woman said making him smile. "Ah, that reminds me! Aren't you a Vision bearer?" The woman asked.