Teyvat: Pretender

Sitting on a bench, surrounded by ever-changing surroundings, Lucas looked around. He had his suspicions about where he was, but he decided to observe for now.

It's chaotic.

Whenever he looked away and then looked again, he would notice things being added or removed. Even the bench he's sitting on and the platform it's placed on are floating, colliding with random objects, Weather constantly changing.

He could see a street not too far from him, with white trucks driving over everything 'the fuck? Truck-kun? Prime?'. Apples—no, a bunch of apples (ROR), a tree with countless toilet paper rolls, pools with tables and chairs thrown in it, islands appeared and disappeared, some colliding with others creating powerful shockwaves, doors led to who-knows-where [1], posters [2], random items hung suspended, a windmill spun whimsically in one corner, glitching two towers with a plane, weather constantly changing, lines as if drawn by toddlers. In short, everything is fucked.

As he glanced around, he began to name the things he saw, using it as a distraction since he couldn't currently think of a way to get out of this situation or perhaps an attempt to distract himself from his death.

He kept looking around and naming stuff.

--tables, eyes, tentacles with eyes— he shuddered, goosebumps forming, a chill running down his back, cold sweat trickling. 'WHAT THE F%#$?!!' said Lucas calmly in his thought. [3]

Just as Lucas calmly spoke those words in his mind, it disappeared. The same as what happened to every object he named before this, except his bench.

The place he discovered that disgusting hentai? Lovecraftian? tentacles underwent yet another transformation becoming normal, normal for him and this chaotic space, at least.

'Now, that made me certain that everything here is from my memories' he sighed 'seems like I don't have to worry about my safety here..., probably... ugh... Why the fuck were that tentacles even here, and why the fuck is it looking at me anyway, I'm no magical girl man.' Lucas grunted at the end, his mind racing as he pondered a way to escape from this bewildering situation.

He was aware that he had already died. Struck by lightning, his last memories were a jumble of pain and profanities swirling in his mind, So, why was he attempting to escape from this chaotic place despite knowing he already died?

Because he wants to.

Initially, he believed he was finished, it's a damn lightning you know? yet in the depths of his primate mind, a thought emerged: "Still capable of thinking with intact memories = alive" his monkey brain reasoned, logical and simple. Of course, it wasn't quite as straightforward, but that's the whole gist of it.

While his inner cultured side thinks he got isekai'd, He too wants to believe that. why? Because why the fuck not? Get this, when you died, do you want to stay dead or reincarnated and enjoy life?

Yea fuck you, if you choose to stay dead, you lying fuck.

'If I really did get isekai'd' he grinned, his smile stretching so wide that it seemed like a cosmic rift had opened on his face, and he chuckled—his chuckle turning into sinister laughter. In that moment, momentarily forgetting what happened earlier and instead savoring the sensation of himself being isekai'd. However, he stopped.

Thinking about his actions, he lowered his face and cringed at his earlier thoughts. The excitement that had carried him away now seemed naive and perhaps a bit foolish, the idea of being isekai'd was too exhilarating for his mind that just got fried by lightning.

"Did some of my brain cells disintegrate?" he muttered, his fingers instinctively reaching up to touch his forehead for comfort. The tingling sensation that lingered there was a stark reminder of the extreme pain he experienced.

"Note to self," he said, his tone a touch wry, "add 'lightning' to the must-avoid list."

After inhaling deeply, Lucas made the choice to step into action. He lifted himself from the bench, noticing that his motions flowed remarkably well within this chaotic space.

In his thoughts 'This place is like a collection of my memories; things just fade away when I willed and morph into something else. Guess my inner genius was napping when I failed to notice, too busy playing 'Name That Thing' to dodge the whole 'painful death' topic.' snorting at the end.

With the air of a mad scientist, he decided to give his theory a run. Lucas Focused his will for a Cup of water to appear—and it did. The Cup of water materialized before him, He reached out and grabbed the cup, bringing it to his lips and taking a sip.

'Taste like water' Lucas thought

With that, a thought crossed his mind. Could he also manifest something that didn't exist within his memories, like things he doesn't know the exact details and just remembers the cover, what would happen if he manifested a book he never opened? 'Let's test it with the latest newspaper before my death'

He envisioned the bold fonts, the captivating stories, and the vivid images that would grace the pages of a newspaper he had never actually read. Then the newspaper materialized. He reached out and picked it up, his fingers grazing the smooth surface of the pages. However, as he flipped through the newspaper, his excitement waned. The pages were completely blank, devoid of any text or images besides the front of the newspaper.

"So, it didn't work, huh?" Lucas muttered wryly under his breath.

'At least I get to know my limits are, man... I can think of many ways to use it if it actually worked.. mostly to procrastinate though' he sighed

With his limitations found, He focused his will, channeling his thoughts into reshaping the space around him. But instead of manifesting new objects or elements, he decided to delete away the chaotic and headache-inducing aspects of his surroundings. As his intentions took form, he covered everything in sand, the landscape around him stretched out like a desert, the ground beneath his feet now covered in fine grains. The vibrant hues were replaced by a muted, monochromatic palette, creating an atmosphere of calm and simplicity. [4]

He materialized a couch and sat there. Eyes closed, he released a sigh, contemplating.

He looked at his hand, feeling that he possessed a tangible body rather than just a mere consciousness. It was evident that he could interact with objects, and not just simply phase through them, he was already aware of this fact, having realized it when he woke up sitting on a bench without phasing through and falling over.

Now that he had somewhat grasped his situation (Not really), he shifted his attention to the new information that had entered his mind upon waking up.

Magic.

Or to be more specific, skills.

He was honestly expecting some magical bullshit, given that the events of the past few minutes logic got spitted, fucked, ran over, obliterated, exterminated, slaughtered, and defiled.

Unique skill: Pretender

Based on the name, he suspected it might be related to Tensura, which led him to consider the possibility that he had been reincarnated into that universe. However, this explanation still left him uncertain about his present whereabouts. 'Seriously, where the fuck am I?'

He tried the skill, his understanding of its use flowing instinctively, a trait common among unique skill holders, or perhaps all skill holders?

He first tried using one of its abilities, Pretend, a combination of Mimicry and Attribute absorption.

With that, he found out he can assume the appearance and voice of any individual or creature, and with Attribute absorption, he can absorb the attributes of the individuals he mimics, it is also possible to slowly weaken his opponent by absorbing their attributes, like stats and energy, At least that's what his skill implied and based on his discoveries so far, there might be more but for now, those are the base.

The Pretender skill also gives him the ability, Illusionary Manipulation.

Along with the skills: Thought Acceleration, Perfect memory, and All-Seeing Eye. That pretty much sums up its abilities.

"That's..." he trailed off, rendered momentarily speechless.

'What if it evolves into an Ultimate skill?' He wondered, drawing from a wealth of references, including Aizen, Itachi, Amon, and characters from various anime and novels, especially when it came to illusions.

Shapeshifting or in this case Mimicry, didn't hold much allure for him, as he was quite satisfied with his current appearance. Perhaps he would consider giving it a try when he got bored?

After a few more tests and use of his Pretender skill.

"It appears you've also found your way here, my 'Excalibur'," he mused.

Unique skill: Excalibur Image

Because it was a skill and not the actual Excalibur, he could change its appearance freely, so long as it resembled a sword and maintained its functional nature. It can be a dagger, a simple bokken, a BBQ stick, a spatula, a butter knife, etc. Hell, he can even pick up some random branch and use his skill on it.

But most of all, An umbrella

He chuckled to himself, a playful grin tugging at the corners of his lips. The thought crossed his mind that if this skill kept progressing, it might just grow up to be the real deal – an actual Excalibur, or at the very least, better than EMIYA's version. He imagined his trusty arm-length paper fan undergoing an epic transformation, morphing into a blade fit for a king. The future was as uncertain as the cooking of a certain archon, but the notion of his Paper Fan taking on Calamity Class to Catastrophe class Monsters stirred a chuckle from him and ignited a wicked, almost sadistic, laughter deep within him. [5]

..

…

.

..

In the morning, on Inazuma's quiet streets, some were already up and about, while others remained in their slumber, just beginning to stir.

A certain general of the Tenryou Commission, walking in the street, she's tall, has indigo hair cut into an uneven bob, pale skin, and golden eyes. As a tengu, she has black raven-like wings on her back

Kujou Sara, walking, done with her routine of waking up at 5:05. Then going to the courtyard to take five deep breaths before walking five laps around it with five mouthfuls of breakfast.

Now, she's on a walk to ease her mind, she dislikes being at ease as it is something she finds unfitting for her duties; however, this is an exception, she just had a nightmare. This isn't new to her; it started when she was 15, the experience had repeated itself countless times, becoming a routine due to its countless repetitions. The dream being always the everchanging blurry space, objects colliding, the weather constantly changing, and terrains morphing.

During her free moments, she occasionally found herself at the Grand Narukami Shrine, in pursuit of a solution to this problem. With theories of it being a prophetic dream, divination, and haunting. While taking advice on how to avoid nightmares and getting a better sleep.

Yet, despite her efforts, it was in vain. Chaotic dreams continued and she just got used to it, not bothering with it anymore, especially since it didn't really hinder her while serving the shogun.

In her peaceful walk to distract her mind, she was suddenly startled by a disconcerting sound.

A distorted and ominous laughter echoed, lingering for a few unsettling seconds.

Her movements came to an abrupt halt, and a shiver raced down her spine as her hair stood. She quickly scanned her surroundings, her heart quickened, and her senses sharpened, her gaze darting in search of any signs of any suspicious presence nearby.

However. Her search yielded no results; her eyes only found the ordinary morning activities of the people around, oblivious to the eerie laughter she had heard. The unease within her intensified as she felt a growing sense of urgency to know the truth.

She approached the nearest person, her voice steady despite the lingering unease. "You," her stare locked on. She addressed them, her gaze fixed and unwavering. "Did you hear anything just now? like that of a laughter?" Her tone was measured, betraying the subtle tension within her.

The person she approached, a shop owner setting up a stall, blinked in surprise at Sara's inquiry. His brows furrowed in thought.

"Laughter, you say?" The unnamed shop owner repeated, a touch of confusion evident in his voice. "I'm afraid I haven't heard anything of the sort, General Kujou. The streets have been rather quiet this morning."

"I see," Sara replied evenly, her voice retaining its measured tone. "Thank you for your response. It seems I must have been mistaken." She offered a curt nod of acknowledgment before stepping away, her thoughts racing as she considered her next course of action.

'is it the wind? A wandering ghost playing prank?' 'No, there's no way' she denied.

..

…

.

A few days after that incident.

In the afternoon sun, the Kujou State basked in a warm glow, maintained gardens and ornate architecture glistening with an air of prestige. Dressed in a practical yet elegant training outfit that complemented her warrior's demeanor, Sara stood tall with a bow in her hand and a barrel of arrows at her side. Her golden eyes were fixed on a distant target, a simple wooden stand that had been set up at a strategic distance (More like as far as it can be).

The afternoon sun cast shadows across the practice area, creating a serene and focused ambiance. Sara's movements were deliberate, each action a testament to her unwavering discipline and dedication. She pulled an arrow from the barrel, her fingers handling it with practiced ease as she nocked it onto the bowstring.

Drawing the bowstring taut, Sara's gaze never wavered from the target. The tension in the air seemed to mirror the tension in her muscles, her form poised with a mixture of grace and power. As the moment lingered, the world around her seemed to fade, leaving only her and the target in a moment of perfect alignment. Suddenly, the area around her change. The training yard of the Kujou State underwent a breathtaking transformation, a sudden shift that defied reason.

A desert, the sun's warm glow was replaced by the soft luminescence of the moon, casting an otherworldly aura over the scene. The sand dunes rose and fell, creating an almost surreal panorama that stretched out beyond the horizon.

Sara, with her bow gone, still in stance, Her golden eyes widened slightly in alarm, her instincts kicking into high gear as she surveyed the transformed landscape. The sands beneath her feet felt real and solid, the moon's radiant glow casting an almost surreal illumination across the desert expanse. The air crackled with a sense of the unknown, a feeling that sent a shiver down her spine despite her warrior's resolve.

'What's happening?'

'Did I just get teleported somewhere in Sumeru without even sensing it?' The thought raced through Sara's mind, a flicker of confusion and surprise amidst her heightened alertness. Her golden eyes scanned her new surroundings, seeking any clues that might shed light on the inexplicable shift that had just occurred. The absence of her bow, the unfamiliar landscape—it was a disorienting experience that left her grappling for answers.

'Is there even anyone powerful enough in Inazuma to instantly cover such distance?' she frowned. Thinking if such a person exists yet remains unknown to them.

Her warrior's instincts urged her to remain vigilant, even as her mind attempted to process the situation. The transition had been seamless, almost as if the very fabric of reality had been rearranged in an instant.

"Could this be a trap, orchestrated by those who sought to undermine the Shogun's rule, Is it because of the Vision hunt decree?"

The realization hit Sara like a bolt of lightning, cutting through the confusion and uncertainty that had clouded her mind. 'I have to get back,' She thought with a renewed sense of urgency. The sudden shift in surroundings, the absence of her bow—it all pointed to a possibility that sent a chill down her spine. The very idea that her presence here might be exploited against her liege weighed heavily on her.

With thoughts swirling and planning to destroy those who dared to think to overthrow the shogun, she remained oblivious to a peculiar being watching her strangely

'What the fuck is this woman smoking?'

-Chapter End-

[1]: he read too much Chainsawman

[2] some are hentai covers

[3] Dumbledore said calmly AHAHHAH

[4] It's pretty much a desert with Moon as light source instead of Sun, YEA NO IMAGE!

[5] He still thinks he's somewhere in Tensura, let's mourn for his ignorant ass.