A World I Don't Belong In (Genshin Impact x Female Reader)

Chapter 37: The Opening to the Last Dance Part 2

Summary~ During the epic battle against the Harbinger, you realised an important feature. The fire beacons in the corners were a game mechanic and Aether wasn't going to last long in the freezing ice. Finally with coordinated attacks, Aether is able to injure the Harbinger in her left shoulder. However, her next attack was aimed to kill you, Aether was able to save you from the ice missile, but at a great cost. You watched as your beloved friend get frozen in ice...

The scene before me becomes burned into my eyes as the rage I felt earlier rekindles. How could I be so pathetic that Aether had to save me AGAIN?! A part of my spirit was broken, however the other part refused to lose for Aether. I was going to save him, as he had done for me. Adrenaline hit my body in a higher dose this time, providing me with the false strength I needed to believe that I could do this.

My muscles began to shake from overwork and the adrenaline, however only one thing weighed on my mind, saving Aether before he cannot be saved. It is possible to save someone after they have frozen, however it shouldn't be left to long, otherwise the tissue will begin to die.

My teeth grit and my legs carry me forward. Despite La Signora's amusement from my struggles, the second I save Aether, her amusement would fade. With nothing else on my mind, I dash forward towards him, making this my top priority. However, La Signora wasn't just going to let her amusement fade.

Two ice wheels spin in front of me, preventing me from reaching Aether. Just as I was prepared to use anemo to leap over them, an ice missile comes flying from above, forcing me to dodge behind. My teeth grit harder and harder, until the point where they're about to break, as I was forced to dodge backwards away from Aether. I begin to panic as the distance between him and me, only widened.

Without thinking, I decide to barrel through anything that comes at me as I go on the offensive. However, this left me blind sited as I was not focused on my opponent. I only saw it moments before impact, but another icicle, bigger than I had ever seen propelled itself towards me.

How could I let this happen to me AGAIN!?? The stress of the battle plus the time limit was making me irrational and miscalculated. Clearly, I had not learned the first time, but now there was no one to take the force of the missile. It dug into my right lower shoulder, above my armpit. The icicle was moving so fast that I was launched into the wall at the back of the area. I lasted a few seconds lodged in the wall before the icicle disappeared, dropping me like a rock, onto the ground.

It took a few moments for me to realise that I was not holding my swords anymore, they were a few metres to either side of me, they must have caught the momentum of the icicle too. I sat there crouched over unable to lift my heavy head.

My head began to pound again, from my previous injury and a new one at the back of my head. The right side of my torso became drenched in blood while my right fingertips begins to tingle. My left shoulder injury from the previous fight reopened and the graze began to sting again. My back began to throb from the impact of the wall. My lungs were empty and no matter how much I breathed I could never fill them. The fire inside me was taking all of my oxygen to just stay alive and keep me conscious, and whatever wind I could breathe in was crushed by the gaze of the shogun.

As I regained enough awareness to realise that La Signora was approaching me, I tried to move, though I got no response from my body. The pounding in my head was so loud I barely heard what she had said, "You did better than I expected."

I was still not ready to accept defeat, my mind as broken as it was, was not ready to let her win. I stare blankly at my swords, too far out of reach for my motionless body. Barely a few seconds later, ice wheels lodge into the walls a few metres beside me, shielding my swords from my view, preventing me from looking at anything but the Harbinger as she approaches.