Teyvat: Pretender

Right now, my attention is focused on a woman who's delivering a message of utmost positivity. It's as if she's passionately advocating for world peace and the magnificence of nature (She's not)

'Was I too excited to finally meet someone?' cringing at his previous actions, he even thought his smoke-like appearance is cool without addressing the problems that came with it. hell someone might even exorcise him in a Hinata Sakaguchi-style manner thinking he's some evil spirit that should be purged, extremist like Xiao exists in this world you know?

'I said it as a joke before but did I turn dumb after getting struck by that lightning?' His expression bearing a hint of dry amusement mixed with genuine bewilderment.

He reflected on his previous actions while keeping his eyes on the woman in front of him, who was presently engaged in a conversation about the joys of life and how to make the most of its beauty. Such a shame he couldn't hear it as he had conjured a barrier after hearing the first sentence of her preaching.

--Flashback--

In the middle of a desert, bathed in the soft embrace of moonlight.

Sara, a tengu warrior, a vision holder, an adopted daughter of the Kujou Clan, and a General.

Even as a child, her identity revolves around duty and violence.

However, despite all that, in the present moment, she was squarely confronted with a formidable challenge. Before her, loomed a misty void, a spectral figure with piercing, luminous white eyes.

A manifestation of malevolence.

'An evil god?' sweat trickled down her forehead, a stark testament to her fear.

"Wh--who are you?" hesitation evident in her tone.

…

..

.

She's in emotional tumult, she felt guilt at the mere thought of her absence being exploited, used as a threatening tool- a pawn used to exert a semblance of control against the God of Eternity and helplessness because of her weakness. While she's aware the archon would probably discard her if she got exploited as a hostage, promising to return the Inazuma's Tenryou commission general if the Archon agrees to abolish the decree. Regardless, it would weaken and lower the morale of the army if it were known that she got teleported somewhere in Sumeru

'there is also the possibility that I'm not in Sumeru but in an artificial realm locked somewhere.' As she saw the Moon when it was supposed to be noon.

Therefore, she tried to find out her exact location, clues that would help her to get out, if this thing functions just like a domain would.

She saw no landmarks that would indicate where she was, the horizon looked never-ending, infinite. However, as she looked behind her, she saw a being, seated on a couch.

Looking directly into her.

"Wh--who are you?" Her voice wavered as she asked, hesitation evident in her tone.

Before her, seated on a couch, a misty void, a human-shaped figure, with a bright white glow resembling eyes and mouth.

A manifestation of malevolence.

Her mouth was dry, a chill raced down her spine, and a cold sensation washed over her. Nervousness oozed from every pore, and a primal fear of the unknown choked her.

She averted her gaze, intentionally avoiding direct eye contact with the being. The sight of it had stirred a nauseating sensation within her, making her feel unsteady at the mere sight of whatever that shit was.

'Did... did she just advert her eyes from looking at me with the look of someone about to puke?' Lukas thought.

'Do I really look that disgusting... I feel like crying. The first encounter in my isekai... Was someone about to vomit seeing my face.' Lucas lamented.

You must know that Lucas has never really been ugly before, if we were to rate his looks, he's about 6 to 7 out of 10, not really a level of One-look-women-fall-for-me, But he's above average. While this kind of gaze didn't really bother him, it's different knowing you look disgusting enough to make someone puke, A lethal weapon against people with sensitive stomachs.

'Now, why is this woman here?' he leaves the matter about vomiting for later and continues with the most important concern.

'How is she in Tensura... Wait... Don't tell me... No no, wait let's ask her first' He's slapped with a realization.

He smiled to look friendly and approachable, he opened his mouth and released a "Hi."

'UAAGGHHH seriously?? HI?? WHAT ARE YOU THINKING AAAAAAFFFUC--.' Lucas cringed at his amazing communication skills.

Sara, whose head is lowered looking at the ground while keeping her gaze close enough to observe the being, flinched at the being's words.

Startled, she looked at the Incarnation of evil.

It's smiling at her; it looked welcoming and serene that you would not hesitate to run away faster than all Recorded Olympic records in history and then skydive with no parachute just to escape being in the same realm the being is inhabiting.

'DID IT JUST TALK!#)(* HOLY FUCK--' Her fear was overwhelming, so intense that not even her obsession over the shogun could provide the usual distraction and protection to her mind. Even her cool-headed character slipped.

'Now she looked terrified... I don't wanna be here anymore, she's looking at me like a real-life ugly bastard from those cultured mangas' The more Lucas look at this woman the more emotional damage he receives.

"Can you tell me how you got here?" He asked, making sure to soften his voice and look friendly so as to not receive more emotional damage from this woman.

As far as he knows, everything here is from his memories, so he's thinking this woman, Kujou Sara, is also one of his memories that he subconsciously manifested. But seems unlikely as he saw an electro vision on her, and he hates lightning. So why the fuck would he manifest something he dislikes?

Kujou Sara, hearing the question, answered hurriedly so as to not offend the Misty being, with sweat ticking on her forehead. Still a bit scared of this accumulation of shit, while it hasn't done anything to harm her, just standing in front of this Humanoid abomination is scary enough.

"I suddenly got transported here when I was training my archery.." Sara answered.

"Hmm," Lucas hummed, his thoughts racing as he tried to comprehend how such a thing happened.

"My theory is this could be a plot to abolish the Vision Hunt Decree and Sakoku Decree to weaken the army and its morale, they set a ploy to teleport me here" Sara, feeling her reply was not enough, expressed her thoughts about the matter.

'Hmm, that's weird' Lucas thought, 'there isn't a mention of this kidnapping in the game, but she mentioned Vision Hunt, hmm so that means Inazuma exists, and looking at her vision makes the probability of Sara being in Tensura smaller.'

"Is that so." He said

"Yes," Sara replied.

"..."

"..." She withdrew her eyes and looked at the ground. AGAIN!

'FUCK I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO SAY NEXT!' He mentally berated himself 'It's so hard to talk to someone when they're looking at you like that, woman stop it!!' again, his amazing communication skills.

'Now that I think about it, her fear is too great for someone with her personality and experience. I mean, she has already seen deformed corpses and gore before, and compared to my face, an unidentifiable corpse looks worse, right?' He mulled over, analyzing her reactions with his perspective. 'Hmm, I wonder why?'

The first thing that came to his mind was Energy leaking, just like what happened to a certain slime. He quickly denied it as he had already fixed that problem in a few days he's here 'Besides, my energy pool is not even that large'

Second, his appearance. He didn't see anything wrong, looking at his arms. He looked the same as himself before reincarnation.

So, he tried a different approach, maybe he couldn't see it himself and must be observed from an outside perspective.

He tried doing just that, he used magic sight. He gained it after a few uses of magic when he was thinking of One Piece and Haki while stuck here.

'Let's see' he's curious as to what made the General of the Tenryou Commission Terrified.

With that, he saw himself, he looked.... cool?

He saw a black smokey thing, like an upgraded Black Zetsu or perhaps the criminal in Detective Conan but cooler. 'WHY ARE YOU SCARED OF THIS, WOMAN!! I LOOK COOL AS FUCKK!'

Jokes aside, he used his Thought Acceleration. his thoughts flying at a speed that would make his previous self look brain-dead 'Is this related to my Pretender skill, some kind of passive effect? No, the information in my head didn't think so. Could it be my body? I thought I was human.' An intriguing realization surfaced: 'Wait...I don't need to breathe.' He thought that was the case because he was in this weird space where he controls everything. 'my guess is wrong' He can see the woman crow is capable of breathing in this space. As the pieces began to click into place, he deduced 'Considering I died and not transported, the Voice of the World might've created a new body for me that reflects my desire just like a certain slime.'

'But what is my race?' he questioned.

'Eeh doesn't really matter, I'll figure it out when I evolve! HA HA HA HA HA' A joyous realization, as being a monster held the potential for growth through naming, and thus, increased strength. However, despite his newfound insights, his current appearance made engaging in a friendly conversation quite difficult.

'Can shapeshift fix this?' He wondered, he didn't like using such things, believing that those who couldn't embrace their own identity should cease to exist and just leave the server. [1]

It's kind of ironic as his personality contradicts this. (He's a hypocrite)

'Would shapeshifting to my regular look work?' he pondered. Giving it a try, he could see nothing had changed, he still looked like a black humanoid smoke, so with no other choice, he just shifted to a tall, well-built body, black hair, dressed in a form-fitting suit with his eyes that seemed to be somewhat tired and upset. He looks clean.

Withdrawing his Thought Acceleration, he materialized another couch just in front of him with a coffee table along with some drinks and snacks,

Sara, sensing a shift, like something appearing, became instantly alert. She saw a Sofa, 'Did THAT just created a sofa out of nothing?' she wondered, while subspace isn't uncommon especially among vision holders as they can store their weapons and some small things inside their vision.

However, something this big can't fit in a limited space of a vision. He either possessed a personal subspace, allowing him to store items of any size, or... THAT THING had just manipulated reality itself without even lifting a finger. The implications of such a possibility were unsettling, It's unnerving. She didn't even feel any Energy fluctuations!

She directed her gaze at the being, indirectly asking 'why' As she looked, contrary to her expectation, instead of the usual horrifying humanoid misty black void, her eyes fell upon a black-haired man adorned in a suit, seated in the very spot where the abomination had been.

The man gestured for her to take a seat, and with a mixture of hesitation and a bit of fear, she complied.

'It's not like I have a choice' a hint of resignation coloring her thoughts.

Seeing Sara seated, her body displays a somewhat greater level of comfort and a noticeable decrease in fear,

"Apologies for scaring you there earlier, it was an unexpected visit you know." The man spoke, his tone carrying a hint of dryness.

"You mentioned that you were teleported here while training, right?" He clarified, continuing without waiting for her reply "Hmmm, then have you experienced anything unusual before this incident? Like suspicious individuals or rumors?" He inquired further, his tone contemplative. He asked these questions with a purpose – while the situation didn't directly affect him, assisting this woman might offer clues about his own location.

With hesitation, she refrained from asking what was that Mist-like black being earlier, because she knew it was him. The young man in front of her. She's thinking he's considerate enough to change form to converse with her. However, the aura still didn't change. It's creepy. "Now that you mention it, days prior I heard a sinister laugh, but when I surveyed the street there was no such person and the people around didn't notice, that must be the ones following me and planning to do this!! Augh... I should've asked someone to investigate it" She replied also realizing her faults.

'laugh??' ?_?

'A laugh... A laugh...Hmm' His expression shifted as realization dawned upon him. 'Huh? No...' A sudden shock surged through him, and his mind raced to connect the dots.

He's sweating, his expression turned grave as the weight of his realization sank in, understanding the possible implications of the situation.

He's not a dumbass as to not realize what's happening. However just to make sure, he pried further.

"Curious, when did you hear this laugh exactly?"

"Five days ago" Sara replied, her confusion evident as she tried to understand the significance of his question. [2]

'IT WAS ME! FUUUCK!' he exclaimed, frustration coloring his words. 'AUGHH, AM I INSIDE KUJOU SARA?!' He clutched his face with his right hand, creating the image of an emo kid in distress. (No, he just face-palmed)

"I guess we'll be neighbors now?" He said wryly.

"What?" She's confused, what does he mean by that?

"Same girl, same" 'I'm as confused as you!'

"No, please. I demand an explanation," Her curiosity demanded clarity. What does he mean by we'll be neighbors from now on? With THIS abomination? No way.

"Why don't you introduce yourself first, before we go into that" Gesturing for her to introduce herself.

"Very well, Ahem... I am Kujou Sara. You may forget my name, but this you must know; On my watch. Inazuma will always be defended, and the will of the Shogun will always be done. Deity or demon. If you make an enemy of me, you will be struck down!" She declared with unwavering resolve.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

'Did she just do a voice line?' He struggled to contain his laughter, his lips trembling like a leaf caught in a sudden gust of wind. His smiling face twitching uncontrollably, He's trying so hard he has to use magic to contain his laughter from bursting out, and the silence isn't helping at all!

'Is he laughing at me?' She noticed with a grim face.

"Are you laughing at me?" She said as her golden eyes narrowed with her focus unwavering on the stranger before her, forgetting the man still hasn't introduced himself.

The unfamiliar surroundings had put her on edge along with this being in front of her, her guess was he's some kind of God but that is not of importance right now, she doesn't know what he found funny, is it something she said, or is this bastard mocking the Immortal Shogun, the Narukami Ogosho, the God of Eternity?!

"No, no, please wait a moment," Rising from his seat and taking a few steps to the left. He fought harder to suppress his laughter, his efforts intensified by the memory of the expression on her face – a look that seemed to imply, "I'd kill you if you said something about the Shogun." It's cute, yet funny.

After a few seconds, he returned deleting the couch he previously sat on.

He then materializes a frameless glasses out of thin air along with white-board and marker.

"Regarding your question about neighbor, I have no reason and don't have the will to explain this to you but because I'm in a good mood, I'll try." Said as he pushed up his glasses, creating a shimmering effect for added emphasis.

"Um, ok" She just nodded

"I'm inside you" He said with all the seriousness he could muster, his tone so grave with an air of gravity and seriousness, leaving no room for doubt or ambiguity.

"What th--" Sara spoke, her face reddening as she interpreted his statement as mockery.

"I AM INSIDE OF YOU," Lucas emphasized, his tone more assertive as he attempted to clarify his previous statement without even letting her finish her words.

Her face reddened further due to embarrassment at the sheer absurdity of shit that came out of this guy's mouth

"I demand explanation" She said after breathing deeply and calming down, as she realized that this individual's way of fun is to get a reaction out of her.

"Fine" He sighed with a grunt.

"Right, I will explain it to you, and I will NOT repeat myself if you understand jack shit, despite it being surface-level knowledge" "Firstly, you're familiar with domains, Subspaces and the-like, correct? It's akin but distinct, there is an Adeptus in Liyue, people call her Streetward Rambler; She can make subspace in objects like pots or kettles, hell she can even probably use a straw, basically any shit that has space that can be expanded. Inside such objects a realm would be created, and an individual can use that realm for whatever the fuck they want, they can bring stuff from the outside and build Mansions n shits, I'm not sure of how exactly it is made but that's pretty much it." He paused, giving her time to absorb what he just said.

"Second, In Inazuma, there's also a technique? Magic? Seal? Where you put your consciousness in an object. Again, I'm not entirely sure of how it is done and how it works. It's pretty much similar to the one in Liyue but as far as I know, you can only bring stuff from outside or create it manually before putting it inside the realm while the ones used by the booba sword probably don't have those limitations. As for the one who knows how to do such magic in Inazuma? it's a certain pink fox, this technique has even been employed by your Shogun. Now, how is all that related to our current predicament, you asked?" He added after seeing her face that says 'what-the-fuck-does-this-have-to-do-with-anything?'.

'What, she's actually listening?' He's in shock, he didn't expect she would actually sit through and endure such info dumps, yet this woman did it. 'I guess she will, it's about her body after all' He thought, acknowledging the significance of the subject to her.

'Wait... How does he know I'm about to ask that? Mind reading?' Sara's inner alarm bells rang loudly, and her suspicion deepened. The mere suggestion of her thoughts being potentially read was enough to put her on high alert.

"I can see it in your face dipshit" He looked at her as if she's an idiot, making her embarrassed

"Anyways, our situation works in a similar rule, with the combination of the two arts, but this time you, or to be specific, your body itself are in the role of the object while me as the consciousness, still have my own body though, just like the technique in Liyue. It's the one you saw right after arriving here, trying not to vomit right after seeing me as if looking at the most disgusting shit on Teyvat, How rude. And no, it's not possession" He added with a scoff.

"..." She found herself at a loss for words, struggling to convey the range of emotions swirling within her, I mean, how would you feel if you were told there's someone freeloading inside you? But before that, she wants to address something.

"Are you the one who sickeningly laughed five days ago and the cause of my nightmares that started when I was fifteen?" she asked in a serious tone. Reflecting how Lucas said he's inside her a few moments ago. She realized this amidst his explanation, connecting the dots using the logic of "Inside the body = connection = body's reaction which then becomes Dreams" She didn't really care about the laugh but those Nightmares... For a whole Decade... for a WHOLE DAMN DECADE.

"..." He stayed silent.

"..."

His silence said it all.

"SO IT WAS YOU [BEEP]!!!@*&#^!THEFIRST_)*@#&TIMETHATN*&#&*IGHTMAREAPPEAREDIW%^$#@ASTERRIFIEDOUTOFMYMIND($*&*(^YOUSOFABITCH! [BEEP] AND WHO THE FUCK LAUGHS LIKE THAT ANYWAY?!! YOUSO*@()&#NOFA(#)*$(*&@, &%$@#&---" Sara erupted, seizing the chance to unleash all the pent-up frustration and fear from earlier along with the headache-inducing dreams since she was fifteen, some people even look at her stupid when she told them about it. Her rant seemed to encompass everything, even aspects unrelated to him with unrestrained intensity.

'Yea, there's no way I'm listening to all that shit' He made a barrier around him to block all sounds.

As he materializes a coffee and took sip. 'Heh... women.'

--Flashback END--

"..." Lucas let out a sigh, a mix of emotions and thoughts swirling within him.

He continued to watch her inside his sound barrier, patiently waiting for her to conclude her speech about flowers and other pleasant topics (She's cursing him to death), Meanwhile, he sipped his coffee and took the opportunity to reflect on his own actions. 'Silence really is the best'

..

..

..

-Chapter END-

[1]: No, he doesn't think using someone else's appearance is wrong. He just dislikes it because he dislikes it, yea, no reason at all

[2]: see? she wasn't afraid anymore! I tell you the mc is nice... probably.