Xia Yu stood before the pitch-black void for a long time.
'I knew it... I knew it wouldn't be this easy.'
Her small rental apartment was located in a quiet district of the city. The environment was decent; the east gate of the complex was right across from her building, and the 7-11 downstairs never turned off its lights.
When she first moved in, the curtains were too thin and let in too much light, ruining her sleep. She had to buy thick blackout curtains to replace them. No matter the hour, if she pulled those curtains back, that bright white glow was always there.
Now, there was only darkness.
After a long silence, she closed the curtains and returned to her computer desk. She pulled her phone from her pocket and pressed the power button. There was no response; the battery had died long ago. She instinctively glanced at the power strip nearby and was surprised to see the red indicator light glowing. She plugged in the charging cable.
The black screen flickered to life.
There was electricity.
Seeing this, Xia Yu turned toward the door. She reached for the handle, gave it a turn, and pulled gently.
It wouldn't budge.
She applied more force. Still, the door remained shut.
This space was sealed.
She fell silent for two seconds, then walked to the bathroom and turned on the faucet.
There was water.
She had water and power but no way out. The place was identical to the home in her memories... so what exactly happened to her that night? She stared at her reflection in the mirror, trying to recall the past. No matter how hard she thought, she couldn't find a single clue. It had been an ordinary night, nothing special at all.
Looking at herself, she sighed. She took out her Vision and focused her mind. In the blink of an eye, the person in the mirror changed. She had become Furina once again.
After a moment of thought, Xia Yu reverted to her original form. She left the bathroom and sat back in her chair, looking at the charging phone. In Teyvat, the battery had run out long ago. After all, if someone was whisked away to another world and changed forms while keeping their phone, wouldn't that be a cheat code?
Yet, she hadn't found anything special about her device.
Wait. If there was water and power... was there internet?
Her eyes lit up. She reached out to turn on the PC. As the screen glowed and the tower fans began to hum, she stared intensely at the bottom right corner.
Disappointment followed. After booting up, the icon showed no network connection.
Xia Yu sighed, shifting her gaze to the center of the screen. She immediately spotted a strange folder. It was labeled New Folder, but she never kept folders directly on her desktop.
Taking a deep breath, she clicked it. Inside was a single file: Teyvat.
She paused for two seconds before opening it. Inside was another folder named Initial Exploration — Reward 3.
When she clicked this time, things became surreal. Three orbs of light emerged from the screen and hovered before her.
'Seriously? Everything was normal until now, and now you give me this?'
Her lip twitched, but she reached toward the first orb.
[Archwing — ITZAL]
Known for its high mobility and stealth capabilities, specifically suited for clandestine operations and rapid strikes. Modified to function without a Warframe, though the user should ensure their physical strength is sufficient to withstand ultra-high-speed flight. — 'My wings! How can I live without you? Huh? What? K-Drives are out? Oh, then you're useless now.' — From an anonymous Tenno.
A vehicle from Warframe... or something like a vehicle. Commonly known as wings, they allowed a Warframe to fly rapidly through atmospheres or even space.
The ITZAL was commonly called the black wing. It was the model Xia Yu used exclusively before she quit the game. Its skills were incredibly useful—stealth and teleportation made it viable for almost any map.
'But I just came out of Teyvat and you give me this?'
The wings were useful, though. Xia Yu preferred them over K-Drives any day. As she touched the orb, it surged into her body, becoming an instinctual part of her.
She felt she could summon the ITZAL from her back with a single thought. However, looking at her tiny apartment and her ordinary human body, she decisively abandoned the idea. That hunk of metal looked heavy. If she didn't activate it, its weight would probably pin her to the floor. If she did activate it, flying at near-sonic speeds in this cramped room would be a death wish.
She suppressed her excitement and turned to the second orb.
[Mantle of Divinity — One-time Spell Card]
A legendary mage from Faerûn, for reasons unknown, paid a massive price to a mysterious entity to exchange for this path to godhood from the world of the Elder Scrolls. After a century of study, it was modified into a legendary spell usable in Faerûn. The conditions are harsh and the cost is immense—but if you fulfill the prerequisites, it can pull high gods from their thrones and seat you upon them.
The condition: Wear the name of a god, walk the path they once trod, establish a connection through the faith of believers, slowly approach them, understand them, and finally, replace them!
'Difficult. Faerûn lacks the towers, and this primal ritual is too dependent on its native environment. But it doesn't matter, I can modify it! I am a legendary mage!' — From the overconfident legendary mage, Thares.
Note: He died a miserable death. Attempting to mantle the Goddess of Magic, he paid a heavy price to walk her path. Ultimately, a single slip-up led to her discovery. The Goddess descended in her avatar form, beat him down, destroyed his soul, and made his very name a taboo.
The orb turned into a card and fell into Xia Yu's hand.
Her brow furrowed. This spell... it was too timely. She needed something to solve the problem of Furina's plan, which required self-sacrifice. Now, this had appeared.
Mantling. She had heard of it while playing The Elder Scrolls. It was the first of the six paths to godhood. But it wasn't something a normal person could handle. Wearing a god's name before their followers was hard enough, but one also had to practice their Way and replicate their past deeds.
Even after ascending, you had to keep the skin on. You used their name and possessed their divine power, but if the skin was ever pierced, the mantler would fall.
The complexity was immense. Most importantly: how could a god watch you do this and not react? This wasn't a ritual to trick villagers in the sticks; it required recognition from a massive scale of believers.
Successful examples in the Elder Scrolls usually involved a reincarnated god using the path to reclaim their seat when no one was watching the throne. That mage from Faerûn died because the goddess she wanted to mantle was very much active.
However, for Xia Yu, this wasn't impossible. If she returned to Fontaine, it was achievable. Focalors couldn't exactly step out of her sanctuary.
But the core issue remained. Once she mantled the Hydro Archon, she became the Hydro Archon. That sword, which had accumulated five hundred years of energy, would then be aimed at her head.
'Solving problems really isn't simple. The Hydro Archon must die, and the throne must be shattered for Focalors' plan to work.'
'So, what I really need is a Revival Cake,' Xia Yu thought. She turned to the third orb.
[Anchor — Automatically used in the next world. Binds that world as an Anchor World. Can also serve as a beacon to return home after endless travels. After every journey, one must return to the Anchor World to calibrate one's existence to avoid being lost in the Void.]
A journey with no end in sight requires an anchor for support, lest you vanish in the endless void. My child, I hope that one day you find your destiny and return home.
Xia Yu froze, deep in thought. Only her parents would call her 'my child.'
'But would they use this tone? Usually, they just call me by my name.' They were an ordinary couple; they didn't seem like the types to be high-level cosmic entities.
Her life had been unremarkable. Ordinary school, ordinary graduation, and an ordinary job.
This definitely wasn't her parents. But who else would call her that?
Answers swirled in her mind. She had read plenty of novels and possessed an open imagination. If she encountered a scene like this...
'Was it the world?'
Why did she leave her world so abruptly? Did something happen? Where did this strange traveling ability come from? It sounded like she had to keep jumping between worlds until she understood some 'destiny.'
Was this a forced mission, or was there something wrong with her specifically? Why did she become Furina? Would she continue to become various characters?
Her thoughts were a mess, but she couldn't find any more info in the folder.
Just then, a familiar palpitation returned to her heart.
'I have three days... before I head to the next world?' She understood the fuzzy message and fell silent.
She turned to the electric kettle on the table. She filled it halfway with mineral water and switched it on. Then, she found the leftover cup noodles.
"Exactly the same," she muttered, peeling back the plastic film.
She had bought these noodles shortly before her initial disappearance. Living alone made it hard to control one's cravings, especially late at night. She wasn't always hungry; she just wanted a taste. A full pack of instant ramen was too much before bed, so cup noodles were the perfect compromise—just enough to trick the taste buds.
'Three days...'
After finishing the noodles, she went to the kitchen to inventory her supplies.
She had two boxes of cup noodles, three packs of dry noodles, about five pounds of Ersi rice noodles from 2022, seven pounds of rice, half a pumpkin, five vacuum-sealed packs of cured meat from her parents, three packs of glutinous rice sausages, a small tub of lard, three packs of various preserved vegetables, a bottle of Lao Gan Ma, and plenty of salt, soy sauce, and vinegar.
It was more than enough for three days. But what about the next three days? Or the three days after that?
She didn't have a spatial warehouse or an inventory system yet. If she didn't find a similar ability soon, she might run out of food.
'Will I have to starve for three days every time I travel?' That was a terrifying thought. She grabbed her phone and opened the notepad, adding this to her to-do list.
No matter what, she had to stay fed.
She finished her noodles. The portion was small, gone in a few bites. Fortunately, she wasn't very hungry. Checking the computer clock, it was 3:00 PM.
What was she supposed to do now?
With no internet, her usual ways of killing time were gone. She needed to prepare for the next world. But how? She didn't even know where she was going.
Ultimately, she opened Steam and launched her library in offline mode. If the last world was a game, the next one might be too. It wouldn't hurt to brush up on some plots.
There was no other way.
★ ★ ★
Three days passed in a flash.
Xia Yu felt the palpitation in her chest again. She put down her controller. 'Damn, Radahn, Consort of Miquella, is a nightmare to fight!'
She shut down the computer and went to the kitchen. The pumpkin soup was ready. She set the table: Lao Gan Ma with rice, a bowl of pumpkin soup, a plate of cured meat, and some heated preserved vegetables. It felt like a last meal.
Who knew what the next world looked like? It could be the healing vibes of Stardew Valley, or she could look up and see the gothic architecture of Yharnam.
Who could guarantee they'd come back alive?
After eating, she calmly washed the dishes and sat in her chair. Looking at the dark monitor, she realized how thick-skinned she had become. Faced with such a situation and an uncertain future, she could still accept it so calmly.
'Take things as they come.' That was her life philosophy. People used to criticize her for it, saying she had talent but spent her days slacking off.
Xia Yu didn't care. It was her life.
Now, that mindset was a blessing. At least she could face the reality without breaking down.
The familiar starlight filled her vision, and she lost consciousness instantly.
When she opened her eyes again, she was greeted by a vast, white snowfield.
Xia Yu looked down at her body.
'This looks familiar... Isn't this the Crucible Tree set? Did I become a Tarnished?'
'But I wasn't wearing this when I was fighting Radahn!'