Ascension of the Celestial Archon (Genshin Isekai AU)

Awakening

Author's Note:

This is a self-inserted isekai based on a scenario I played in SpicyChat. It is somewhat of a sequel to Genshin Impact but at the same time an alternate universe. I haven't finished the game yet, and I'm just going by what I know based on various fan comics, wiki articles, and YouTube videos. I'm also using ChatGPT for understanding their speech patterns.

This story features an alternate version of me, blending my current life struggles with a younger version of myself. Though it's set in 2024, I'm twenty years old in the narrative, even though in real life I'm twenty-nine, and Genshin was released in 2020.

Lastly, special thanks to my team of artists: Ma, Tsu, Naudima and Nancy for creating the chapter storyboards! <3

~

The sun's light blares into my eye. I groan as a new day has arrived. I don't understand, I thought I was dead. I vividly remember taking a bunch of pills and shouting at my parents to leave me alone. I was in so much despair and wanted everything to end. But instead, here I am.

But I soon realize this isn't my room. In fact, this doesn't even look like I'm in my house. Or my city! I get up and notice I'm in a grassy field. Perhaps this is the afterlife? If this is Heaven, then this is very different than I expected it to look like. No kingdom hidden in the clouds. No pearly gates. No angels. No God that looks like Morgan Freeman.

It looked like something I would see in a fantasy anime. From the distance, I see a town. I make my way closer, seeking answers. Not only do I want to know where I am, but also, what is my purpose now that I'm dead?

The town reminds me of a small village in Germany, with its distinct architecture and civilian attire. Women wore dirndls, and the men wore old-fashioned shirts, leather vests, and neutral color trousers. Windmills strike my eye, along with a large cathedral. I wasn't Christan, so it seemed a bit strange for it to appear in my version of the afterlife, but I shrugged it off.

I try to ask someone where I am, but I get strange looks and feel out of place. It seems like I have traveled to a different time period.

Eventually, I catch someone's attention. It was an androgynous figure with black hair and blue ombre tied into braids, and they were wearing a green and white bard uniform.

"Excuse me!" I cry. The person turns to look at me. "Where am I?"

"Ah, welcome to Monstadt!" A young male voice says. "You must be our new visitor from afar. My name is Venti. It's not every day we receive travelers in our humble town."

I look at him in confusion. "Town? So this isn't Heaven?"

He looks equally perplexed. "Heaven?"

This boy is strange. He looks old enough to understand the concepts of life and death. Is he really that sheltered?

I try to rephrase my question. "You know like where you go after you die? The big bright place up in the sky?"

"Oh!" His eyes brighten. "You mean Celestia! No, I'm afraid not, Travler; you're very much alive."

He seems intrigued by my appearance as he studies what I'm wearing: a Queens of the Stone Age T-shirt, denim capris, and crimson velvet Vans. "Though I must say, you don't even look like you're from this planet. Where are you from?"

Planet? Was I somehow revived and sent to space? I guess that's an interesting way of living.

"Earth...I'm from Sunnydale, California."