Sacrificing Myself: Nine Transmigrations (Genshin Impact)

"Ah!"

Elliot suddenly jolted upright.

His eyes were wide, breath ragged, and his body soaked in cold sweat.

"Nightmare?"

Xiao, holding his Yaksha mask, asked without turning around.

"Yeah." Elliot wiped the sweat from his forehead and replied.

"Looks like you've really been through something unusual."

Xiao knew all too well what nightmares felt like. With all the karmic burdens he bore, they came often—sometimes so terrifying they woke him up.

Elliot frowned, lost in thought.

He rarely had nightmares.

Especially this time—he should've been out cold. He hadn't slept for two days and nights, constantly locked in intense combat. Normally, he wouldn't dream at all—just crash and sleep till he naturally woke.

"That experience... was way too real."

Even now, just thinking about the dream gave Elliot chills down his spine.

He had dreamed of completing all nine lives and returning to Hu Tao, Qiqi, Shenhe, and the others.

But—

None of them remembered him.

Even though traces of his existence remained, not one of them remembered who Elliot Yuan was, nor had they even heard of him.

Not just them—Zhongli, Xiangling, even Jean from the Knights of Favonius, all drew blanks.

That was why he'd woken in a panic.

The nightmare might've been caused by the effects of switching fate threads with Shenhe.

He remembered Shenhe used to have frequent nightmares too—whenever she lost her red rope, they were inevitable.

Maybe that's just how the Lonely Fate works.

Tormenting the host not just physically—but mentally as well.

Double the suffering.

"It's time to get to work," Xiao reminded him.

"Huh? What work?" Elliot blinked, confused.

Xiao: "?"

"You ate ten bowls of almond tofu and now you're trying to skip out?"

Now Xiao was ticked off. He'd warned him not to mess with evil spirits, but thanks to Elliot's stunt, there was no avoiding it now.

Ten bowls of almond tofu—that was Xiao's weekly allowance, and this guy scarfed them all in one go!

If Elliot had Mora, fine. But those ten bowls were taken out of Xiao's own rations!

And now he wanted to just pat his belly and skip out on responsibilities?

No way. There's no such thing as a free lunch.

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

Elliot feigned ignorance like a pro, wearing a perfectly innocent look that, in Xiao's eyes, was begging for a punch.

"Get. Up." Xiao smiled—too sweetly—and spoke through clenched teeth.

"Who even are you?"

Clang!

A sharp metallic ring echoed.

Sparks flew in the air.

"Okay, okay! I'm up! Man, can't take a joke?" Elliot cried, staring at the spear now inches from his face.

"Who's joking?" Xiao growled, holding the spear coldly.

"This won't do, you know. Waving your weapons around all day, flipping out over a few words—and you're not even that tall! At this rate, you're never gonna find a wife."

Hearing that, Xiao's brows twitched furiously. He launched into the air and swung down his spear.

BOOM!

The ground cracked open under the impact.

But a second before it hit, Elliot vanished.

He'd predicted Xiao's move, flung his spear in advance, and dodged it with a perfect "Flame Flash."

"Triggered!" he yelled as he sprinted away, not slowing down for even a second.

"Get back here! I'm going to kill you!" Xiao, beyond furious, charged after him with his spear.

"Wuhu! Can't catch me!" Elliot yelled back, taunting as he ran.

"Damn it…" Xiao cursed, stomping the ground and launching forward like a missile.

To be fair, with no one else around, Xiao had clearly opened up. He wasn't as cold and distant as he'd been back at Wangshu Inn.

Seems like the guy's got a bit of tsundere in him.

When people are around, he keeps up the cool act. But when it's just Elliot, his true nature shows.

After all, no one is born cold as ice. Whether it's Shenhe or Xiao, that coldness is just a shield.

Not to protect themselves—but to protect others.

Both Shenhe and Xiao were alike. Burdened with misfortune, they kept their distance from the mortal world, keeping everyone at arm's length.

"Ugh…"

As Xiao chased after Elliot, a groan of pain suddenly escaped his lips.

Elliot immediately stopped and turned around—only to see Xiao kneeling on one knee, gripping his spear in his right hand, left hand clutching his face in agony.

"That's…"

"Karmic erosion…?"

Elliot dashed back and crouched beside him.

"Don't tell me you're losing to this stuff," he said grimly.

"Mere karmic residue…" Xiao gritted his teeth, forcing the surging karma back with sheer willpower.

He was panting hard, eyes unfocused.

Clearly, each wave of karmic corrosion brought excruciating pain—one wrong move, and it'd drag him into the Abyss.

"This little karma messed you up that bad? Man, you're getting old, huh?"

"From now on, I'll handle the evil spirits. You can just sit back and chill."

"I'd like to see what kind of karma these small fry can even stir up."

Elliot clapped him on the shoulder like an old buddy.

But his words? Not exactly comforting.

Then again, this was just how guys bonded.

Back in school, the tightest bros would jokingly call each other "son."

As they bantered, several evil spirits appeared in the distance, heading toward Liyue.

"Whoa! Speak of the devil!"

Elliot grabbed his spear and charged straight at them.

"They're mine." Xiao, now recovered, refused to be left behind and followed right after.

"Let's see who gets more!"

Elliot smirked and hurled his spear at the group of evil spirits.

"Damn!" Seeing this, Xiao knew he was about to teleport.

After fighting him all day yesterday, Xiao already had a good grasp of Elliot's skills.

That teleport of his was the most annoying. Xiao had come close so many times, only for Elliot to vanish at the last second.

Sure enough, in the blink of an eye, Elliot used "Flame Flash" to land among the evil spirits.

He picked up his spear and unleashed a flurry of strikes.

His style was sharp, aggressive—evil spirits like these couldn't last long under such pressure.

By the time Xiao arrived, only one was left.

"I left one for you—so your pride wouldn't take too big a hit."

"I really am the ultimate, invincible, snake-skinned, super good guy."

Arms crossed, Elliot nodded seriously.

Xiao looked like he was about to explode.

He couldn't figure out where this infuriating guy had even come from.

How could someone be this shameless!?

Elliot had clearly been about to finish the last one off—now claiming he "saved it" for Xiao?

Good grief!

Even if he really did leave it for him, for pride's sake—why say it out loud!?

And brag about being a "good guy" on top of it!?

Bah!

Good guy, my ass! More like a walking menace!

This guy…

This guy was the ultimate thick-skinned wall of shamelessness!

...