[Genshin Impact] I, the Ruler of Time, Know Your Ancestor

Legend has it that, thousands of years ago in Teyvat's history, there was a god who ruled over time, one who inspired both love and resentment in the Seven Archons of Teyvat.

Istaroth, who faked her death five hundred years ago, says that definitely wasn't her.

She clearly remembers being just an ordinary passerby in the eyes of the Seven Archons... probably?

Haha, anyway, what does she have to do with this dark moonlight figure?

...Never mind. To be safe, she'd better cover up her secret identity.

.

It's just that sometimes people insist on showing off right in front of her.

Istaroth finds it annoying. Is it really so strange to know an archon?

A Sumeru local says:

“I'm a descendant of King Deshret. Like the sands of the desert, I will never bow to force!”

Istaroth smiles without a word. Three thousand years ago, King Deshret waited on her hand and foot, afraid of making her unhappy.

A Liyue local asks:

“Do you understand the Geo Archon better, or do I?”

Istaroth says nothing. It's not as if she never scolded Morax in front of the people of Liyue.

An Inazuman snaps:

“I am a great general under The Shogun. Why do you commoners show me such disrespect?”

Istaroth makes no comment. In the past, when humans angered The Shogun, they had to beg her to cheer Raiden Ei up.

.

In truth, Istaroth is Teyvat's most well-connected person.

It's just that her relationship with those seven archons is... complicated.

She once tricked Egeria into committing the original sin of creating humanity, yet she was also the only one who supported Egeria's ascension to the throne of the Hydro Archon.

She once led Barbatos's friend to pursue freedom and die, yet she was also Venti's kindred companion.

She once took the life of Morax's dear friend Guizhong, yet she was also a comrade-in-arms who defended Liyue alongside the Geo Archon and Guizhong.

She once urged the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles to kill the Raiden Shogun Baal, yet she was also Raiden Ei's only surviving old friend...

At the end, she dissolved before the Anemo Archon's eyes, turning into the boundless, undying Thousand Winds.

She became the dark moonlight hanging high in the hearts of all those she had left behind.

.

Istaroth thinks her secret identity is perfectly concealed. After all, she made it through the previous five hundred years without a problem.

She puts any thoughts of being someone's dark moonlight passerby out of her mind and spends her days eating, drinking, having fun, and enjoying the world.

Who would have thought that the long-absent Anemo Archon Venti would show up with a bunch of debt collectors?

Among them are Liyue's Conqueror of Demons, the Eleventh of the Fatui, and the ronin samurai who caught the Musou no Hitotachi... There are so many that it's hard to put into words.

Istaroth doesn't dare look. She can only hope that all of this is a hallucination.

The carefree, graceful Anemo Archon laughs in her ear:

“It's been so long. I've missed you.”

“Hm? I'm Venti. Don't pretend you don't remember me. I haven't hated you over the past five hundred years. In fact, I've been searching really hard for you.”

“There's a lot of people behind me. Could it be you're trying to keep a harem?”

Reader's guide:

1. Told in chronological order. The fake-death plot happens in the middle. The protagonist is max level from the start.

2. Everyone's favorite, with no main pairing. Most relationships are one-sided crushes. The bonus-story pairing is undecided.

3. Istaroth is the native Istaroth of Teyvat. All the worldbuilding will be tied together.

4. I'll do my best to research the lore and respect the existing Genshin Impact text, keeping in line with the main story and Story Quests. Most characters who die in the original history will also die in this story.

5. I started writing this during Genshin Impact version 5.6. If later content contradicts anything, please treat it as my own interpretation.

6. Updates follow the rankings when there's a ranking schedule. Otherwise, I'll try to update daily, with Sundays off.

Coming soon:

Venti, the Anemo Archon and retired master of slacking off, transmigrates from his carefree life in Mondstadt to a place called the Luofu.

It doesn't matter where he transmigrates to. The important thing is that there's no slacking off here.

Venti sighs. Venti is forced to find a job.

At the Ten-Lords Commission interview, the judge clutches Venti's resume and gasps:

“We're hiring people to catch Heliobi.”

“What do you mean, you've lived for over two thousand years and haven't fallen to mara? Even a Heliobus would have to call you senior!”

“What do you mean, your special skill is chatting and making friends with non-human creatures? Are those the kind of friends one can make?”

Venti, the senior wind spirit who excels at slacking off: “Ehe.”

Just as the judge is about to kick him out, a white-haired, squinty-eyed man passing by waves him over and tells Venti to put his words into practice by making friends with a Heliobus.

Three days later, a vicious Heliobus fugitive runs back to the Shackling Prison in tears and turns himself in, saying Master Venti has taught him how to be a good flame again.

The Ten-Lords Commission: (◎_◎;)

Just as the Ten-Lords Commission decides to spare no effort to hire Venti, a paranormal-investigation blogger with an official seal of approval from the Divine Foresight Commission appears on the Luofu's network.

The Heliobi causing trouble are talked into converting to the Great Aeon Lan on the spot, shouting, “The Reignbow Arbiter can show off seven wheelchairs at the speed of light!”

Savage Borisin cling to him and cry, saying that looking at him is like seeing their family and friends.

Even Cloud Knights who've fallen to mara and gone on a rampage sit down obediently to listen to him sing.

The blogger himself claims to be weak and helpless, and says every paranormal incident is resolved thanks to those ghosts having a change of heart.

Whenever people question whether the livestream is real, the gentle, easygoing young blogger smiles and replies:

“Oh, that? Just think of it as magic.”

Later, after an accident during a jump, the famous Luofu paranormal-investigation blogger Venti falls into an uninhabited star system and disappears.

Not long afterward, while the Astral Express, the Galaxy Rangers, and the Xianzhou Luofu are gathered outside Amphoreus, Venti starts livestreaming again.

The young streamer, holding a selfie stick, broadcasts live from the nursery where the Lord Ravager “Iron Tomb” is being born.

Venti leisurely walks toward Iron Tomb's core as he reads the comments on his phone.

“Eh? Who am I going to trick this time?”

“I'm just a weak and helpless little blogger. How could I trick anyone?”

“I'm only going to see a friend named Iron Tomb off from Amphoreus.”

Before the suffocatingly huge machine, the boy, who keeps up his weak and helpless persona, doesn't so much as change expression. A moment later, he suddenly laughs, and the braid by his temple glows green.

“Except this time, I'm sending him off physically.”

Venti cuts off the livestream.

The next moment, the Xianzhou Luofu and the Interastral Peace Corporation issue a joint statement that shocks the universe:

The Lord Ravager “Iron Tomb” has fallen.

When he starts streaming again, the young blogger, his clothes slightly dirty, pats them down in front of Iron Tomb's remains and smiles at the camera as if nothing happened.

“Hm? I didn't do anything. ...You want to know how it ended up like this?”

“Ehe. I told you, it's magic.”

Reader's guide:

1. The protagonist is Venti. No CP, with an absolutely happy ending.

2. There are original elements. Venti's power is roughly equivalent to that of an Aeon. Don't think too hard about the combat logic.

3. The timeline is after the defeat of Phantylia and before the Wardance.

4. The premise was conceived during Honkai: Star Rail version 3.7 and Genshin Impact version Luna II. If later content contradicts anything, please treat it as my own interpretation.

Theme: Time will prove the power of all living beings