The Adventures of a Mushroom | Genshin x Child!Reader

𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝟮𝟵: 𝗗𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻

Blossom's Note: Nice weather.

༶•┈┈୨♡୧┈┈•༶

The blizzard struck without warning. When the first flakes began to fall, you discovered that they no longer melted off your skin. Instead, they stayed there, weighing you down.

The gentle flurries didn't last. Soon, it was impossible to see the path ahead. You were struggling to take another step when you felt Scaramouche pull you close to him. His body was cold as ice, but his hat sheltered you from the snow.

"Find... shelter," you suggested weakly.

Scaramouche nodded. The wind made it too painful to look directly ahead of you, so you looked at him instead. Snowflakes turned his lashes silver. For the first time, you saw cracks in his perfect face, highlighted by frost.

When you could walk no further, Scaramouche picked you up and carried you. The wind died down to a dull roar as he ducked inside a small gap between two rocks—a cave. You fell asleep in his arms.

༶•┈┈୨♡୧┈┈•༶

When you awoke, the campfire had burned out, leaving only a wisp of smoke. Scaramouche leaned against a boulder, sleeping with little restless twitches. His brow was furrowed, even in sleep.

Something had awoken you... a voice.

It came from within you. You could feel it: an unpleasant tug in your stomach, like you should be somewhere else. You shouldn't be here. You should abandon Scaramouche in the cave and move on. Why did you have to listen to that pathetic puppet anyways? Shouldn't you be the one giving the orders? Although... it wouldn't be difficult to just snap his neck, you know. You could even drown him like you'd drowned the other insignificant mortal. Scaramouche had placed his misguided trust into you, and...

Whoa, whoa, whoa! What am I thinking? I like Mister Hat Guy! He's my friend!

You were so disturbed, you scooted away from Scaramouche, afraid that your body would move on its own and hurt him. You could hardly think straight, but you made yourself stand and walk towards the mouth of the cave, even though snow was still cascading down outside.

I have to find whoever's messing with my head.

༶•┈┈୨♡୧┈┈•༶

You scarcely knew where you were going. Your surroundings were a bluish-white blur. Nor did you recall running into any monsters, Treasure Hoarders, or even animals for that matter. (Little did you know, you were at this point exuding a rather ominous crimson aura, and everything in your path had already fled in fear.)

When your eyes came into focus, a faint red glow beckoned at the end of a dark cavern. The glow brightened as you approached it. It was welcoming, like coming home.

You walked closer to the thing, and as you did so, you realized it was a heart, with fibrous veins spiraling in all directions, seemingly entangled within the stone of the cavern itself. The cave almost felt... alive. Like something that breathed. In the back of your mind, unease stirred.

Your vision blurred as you got close enough to hear the giant heart beating. Its beats were synchronized with yours. You laid a hand on the heart—for something that looked like a crystal, it was unpleasantly squishy. In the back of your mind, the voice spoke clearly now. It was an ancient, resonating voice, yet you had the feeling that this was only an echo of its former glory.

"You have finally come to accept your fate."

"Fate?"

"Once Mother had grand dreams for you. But you're cursed, you know that? You hurt people. This is better for everyone."