I: Getting a Little OP

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It has been nearly a month—in Teyvat time—since you've been learning their language and intensively training your non-existent combat skills with Aether. You come to learn about Aether's past, about his twin sister whom he's set on a quest to track down. You also learn about Paimon, his fairy companion, and how they had met (much to Paimon's embarrassment) when the pixie was fished out of the water. They plan to set out on a journey to all seven nations of Teyvat in hopes to find out about the twin's whereabouts and to restore his power.

You informed them about your own past, your parents' disappearance, and how you landed here (by accident, really). Thinking about it made you a little homesick, but were grateful to have Aether and Paimon by your side.

Who's tending to the house now, you wonder.

Aether's coughing averted you from your thoughts, "I think we should leave in about a month from now. Start the journey."

You nod, "More training and language exercises, then."

Paimon twirls around beside you, "Y'know, Paimon thinks you're doing a good job of learning in such a short amount of time. Very quick!"

You laugh heartily, "Why, thank you, Paimon," and murmur the rest as you stand up, "As if I even have a choice."

-

"Alright, do you have everything you need, Y/N?"

"Yep, do you?" You look over to Aether, who is sharpening your blade.

"Yeah. Paimon says we'll first go to Mondstadt, I think. Paimon?"

The said fairy munches on fried fish and nods enthusiastically. You decide to let Paimon eat for now.

After Paimon's meal, you three head over to the closest city, the floating child taking the lead. While chatting, Aether spots a large monument with a statue of a hooded boy holding a ball on top.

"Oh, this reminds me," Paimon turns to you two, "this is a Statue of the Seven. There are a few of these statues scattered across the land to show The Seven's protection over the world. Among the seven gods, this god controls the wind. Paimon's not sure if the god you're looking for is the Anemo Archon, but Paimon'll take you to the Anemo God's place first, and there's a reason why~" She finishes in a sing-song voice.

While you listen intently, Paimon continues her speech, "As we all know, poetry and language flow like the wind. There'll definitely be someone there who knows about your sister. At least, that's what Paimon thinks. And," She turns towards you, "I'm sure you'll find a way to return to your homeworld, Y/N."

You smile at her gratefully and she points at you two, "Whether the gods actually answer you is a different story. You never know unless you try!"

Paimon finds the statue, and floats towards it. You and Aether swim to it, and as you wring your hoodie of water after climbing out of the water, you look over at your golden-eyed friend, "What do you reckon we do? Should we touch it?"

Aether nods, albeit hesitantly. He reaches over and puts his hand onto the stone. Soon, a faint, green, breeze circles around the statue and into Aether, parts of his clothing start to glow green.

"Woah..."

"Ooh, did you just feel the elements of the world? Seems like all you had to do was touch the statue and you got the powers of Anemo! As much as they want it, people in this world can never get ahold of powers as easily as you."

Aether looks down at his hand and mumbles, "I think I know why..."

You nod, "You're not from this world to begin with."

Paimon turns towards you, "Give it a try, Y/N!"

Swallowing a gulp of air, you place your hand against the statue. It starts to hum a faint song, one you fail to recognize, and breaths of wind surround your hands.

"Woah, Paimon's never seen that reaction from the statue before..."

Removing your hand from the statue, the humming dies down, and the air current enters your locket.

I thought I took off this locket before? Maybe I didn't...

"That settles it then! C'mon."

Paimon informs you two about Mondstadt, how they worship the Anemo Archon, and how great it is that the statue responded, "It's a lovely sign!" She exclaims, "The elements in this world responded to your prayers."

As you three head west, Paimon points over to the slimes, "Oh, over there! Paimon thinks it's a great chance to test your new powers. Quick, defeat them!"

Aether rushes over and slashes the slimes. As he holds his right arm out, a miniature vortex forms, sucking in the slimes within its range. He then pushes the vortex, sending the monsters away, killing them.

You, on the other hand, are unable to use your powers. You rack your brain, trying to think of ways to use your newfound power, but to no avail.

"How did it feel to use your powers? Paimon's super jealous you get cool fighting powers."

You shake your head, "I wasn't able to use mine."

Paimon ponders for a moment, "I don't think you can summon the element on its own, so how about you try infusing anemo into your weapon? The statue did the same to your hands earlier, right?"

You consider her suggestion, "Sure, let's try to find more slimes along the way."

Paimon claps happily as Aether finishes up with his side of the battle, watching him gather wind to create a tornado, and kicks it towards the slimes. You and Paimon watch the tornado suck in the monsters, effectively killing them on impact. Once he finishes, he trudges over to you two and wipes a bead of sweat from his forehead, "That was cool."

The fae nods enthusiastically, "But Y/N wasn't able to use their powers yet, so we're going to find more slimes for them to test their powers on."

You three follow the path, chatting excitedly about Aether's newfound abilities. You look down at your palms, still feeling the wind on it.

"Look, Y/N, slimes!"

Aether places a hand on your shoulder, "You got this. I'll come in if things get out of hand."

Smiling gratefully at him, you charge an attack on the slimes. Taking Paimon's advice, you infuse anemo energy onto your sword, and swing your blade on the nearest slime. The wind pushes away the slimes, and after a couple hits, the slime dies.

Feeling more energized, you concentrate more anemo energy onto your sword. Striking the ground, a wave of wind gathers and repels against the blade, sending shockwaves to the slimes and propelling them away from you, killing them right away.

After the wind dies down, you remove your sword from the ground, and toss it in the air, dematerializing it. You approach a shocked Aether and a star-struck Paimon, "How was that?"

Aether responds first, "That was awesome, Y/N! Didn't know you had it in you."

Paimon tugs your damp hoodie sleeve, "Where did you learn to fight like that? That was epic!"

Your face slowly turns pink from the compliments they're giving, "I only took your suggestion, Paimon."

She rolls her eyes, "Yeah, but that last attack? That wasn't from Paimon."

"Actually, that was more of an inspiration from Aether's vortex."

Aether beams, giving you a pat on the back, "Still, you did really great there! Seems like our training paid off."

You give him your thanks as you trek along the path, making small talk about your powers. Suddenly, a dark shadow conceals the sunlight above you three, and as quickly as it came, it was gone.

"What is that?" Aether asks.

The three of you look at each other, and Paimon looks up and points ahead of you, "It's headed towards the heart of the forest. We must proceed with caution."

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