Genshin Impact: Glutinous Path To Godhood

Haruka lay sprawled on a flat rock in the middle of the small, shimmering pond, his eyes fixed on the dazzling night sky above. The stars glittered like fragments of a broken jewel, scattered across the heavens. But his mind wasn't on the beauty of the scenery—it was on survival.

"Ugh, this fake sky again," Haruka muttered, tracing the unfamiliar constellations with his eyes. "Why does this forest feel like it's teeming with Hilichurls? What time period even is this? Did the Adventurer's Guild just… give up on pest control?"

His voice echoed softly, the only sound amidst the tranquil chirping of crickets. Beside him was a small bundle of damp firewood, an idea he had to create a makeshift shelter. Unfortunately, his limited knowledge of wilderness survival meant the firewood was little more than a barrier against Hilichurl crossbow bolts.

The stone island in the middle of the pond gave him a sense of security, even if it wasn't much. Everyone knew that Hilichurls couldn't swim. Lying there, he sighed, his stomach growling louder than the distant sounds of nocturnal animals.

Another Sunsettia from his dwindling stash went down the hatch. Its sweet, citrusy flesh seemed to rejuvenate him, a sensation that left Haruka both amazed and suspicious. Since waking up in Teyvat, he'd felt his body changing—healing faster, moving more fluidly. It was almost as though this strange world was reshaping him.

Despite the pain from yesterday's injuries, most of his bruises were gone, and even his twisted left hand had regained some strength. He gazed at the water, his reflection distorted by ripples. "Guess I don't look half-bad for a guy who's been running for his life nonstop."

The forest grew darker as the hours stretched on. Somewhere in the distance, wild boars snorted and rustled through the underbrush. Haruka shivered, realizing the gravity of his isolation. Still, the stars above offered a strange sense of hope.

And then he saw it—a faint glow of Small Lamp Grass scattered at the forest's edge.

"Wait… Lamp Grass? This is Whispering Woods!" Haruka bolted upright. His mind raced through the game map. If this really was Whispering Woods, Mondstadt should be nearby—assuming the world followed the same logic as the game.

He craned his neck, scanning the horizon for the glow of city lights. Nothing. His excitement dimmed. "Of course, it's not that easy. The map in the game was like a postcard compared to this endless expanse."

Resolving to explore the area in daylight, Haruka lay back down, clutching his stomach as it growled again. "Man… I could really go for some braised pork or grilled fish right about now," he mumbled, trying to ignore the gnawing hunger that kept him awake.

---

Morning broke with soft rays of sunlight filtering through the dense canopy above. Haruka woke on the cold stone, his muscles stiff but his spirit oddly refreshed.

"Alright, another day of not dying," he muttered, wading to the shore. He wrung out his damp clothes and set them in the sun to dry. Breakfast was meager: two slightly overripe Sunsettias and a handful of bitter lotus seeds.

"Better than nothing," he said between bites, though the sour tang made him wince.

His gaze fell to the pond, where blackback bass swam lazily just beneath the surface. The sight of the plump fish sent his stomach into overdrive. He quickly fashioned a crude three-pronged spear from a sturdy branch, sharpening the ends against a jagged stone.

This time, he vowed, he would catch one.

Haruka moved with calculated precision, his makeshift spear poised above the water. He'd learned the hard way about the refraction of light on the water's surface—his first few attempts had been humiliating failures.

"Steady," he whispered. His body felt sharper today, almost unnaturally coordinated. The moment a fish swam into range, Haruka struck with surprising speed and force.

Water splashed as he hoisted the squirming bass into the air, a victorious grin spreading across his face. "Yes! Gotcha!"

But his celebration was short-lived. He stared at the fish, blood dripping from its gills, as reality set in.

"No fire. No pot. No seasoning."

The idea of eating it raw sent a shiver down his spine. His stomach, however, had other opinions, growling in protest.

---

An hour later, Haruka was walking through the forest, a blackback bass slung over his shoulder with a grass-made rope. He carried a bundle of supplies scavenged from an abandoned adventurer's camp he had stumbled upon: a tattered tent, a dented pot, some flint, and a few shriveled radishes.

A piece of paper pinned to a wooden crate caught his attention. Two lines of writing—one in Teyvat's common tongue and another in Mondstadt's native script—looked important, but Haruka couldn't make sense of them.

"Probably something like, 'Beware of dragons!'" he joked, tucking the note into his pocket without a second thought.

---

The sky darkened as he trekked back toward the safety of his pond. A faint breeze carried a sweet melody, like a song on the wind.

Unbeknownst to Haruka, a green-cloaked figure was crouched by the water, humming softly. The bard's hand brushed the surface, eyes narrowing as he caught a faint trace of elemental residue.

"Strange," Venti murmured. "A foreign presence in the wind?"

Before he could ponder further, a deep, bone-rattling roar echoed through the forest.

Haruka froze mid-step, his heart pounding. He looked up just in time to see a massive, winged silhouette slice through the clouds. Its scales shimmered like liquid obsidian, and its piercing roar left the trees trembling.

"That's not just any dragon…" Haruka whispered, his throat dry. "That's… Stormterror."

Above, Venti's face darkened as the winds surged around him. "Tevyat's skies weep once more," he said, his voice low. "Dvalin… What has become of you?"

The storm engulfed the woods, and Haruka clenched his fists, bracing against the gale.

"This just went from bad to catastrophic."

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