Genshin Impact: The Road to Reversal

Xiao An grew up in this village, his parents were ordinary farmers. He should have had a happy family, but instead, he was met with endless abuse from the villagers.

At the age of five, Xiao An was playing in the fields with his fellow villagers when they accidentally stepped on a snake hole. The frightened snake leaped out and bit one of the children. The child's parents, along with the entire village, came to the family's house to demand justice, and Xiao An's father was forced to compensate them for the entire first half of their harvest. That night, he heard his parents sigh for the first time under the oil lamp.

When he was 6 years old, his grandfather, a mercenary, took him to the mountains to hunt. Unexpectedly, he fell into someone's trap. In order to protect himself, his grandfather's leg was pierced by the bamboo nails in the trap and he eventually died of excessive blood loss.

Half a year later, he and his father were working in the fields, but for some reason the ox suddenly went crazy and charged at him. In order to protect himself, his father's leg was broken again.

From there, strange rumors began to spread in the village, claiming that Xiao An was a kinsman and that anyone who got close to him would suffer misfortune. The villagers, already dissatisfied with Xiao An's family, became even more convinced and became increasingly indifferent and repulsive to Xiao An and his parents.

When he was 7 years old, the village was hit by a drought that hadn't been seen in a century. The fields cracked and the crops withered. The villagers gathered in front of the ancestral hall and put all the blame on Xiao An.

"This is the scourge! Ever since he was born, nothing good has happened in the village!"

Xiao An remembered that dusk was particularly red, staining half the sky like blood. The villagers, holding torches, drove him and his parents to a dilapidated land temple outside the village.

"Mom and Dad, am I really going to bring misfortune to my child?"

Xiao An curled up in the drafty corner of the temple and asked in a low voice.

His mother hugged him tightly, tears dripping down his face.

"Don't listen to their nonsense. My little An is the kindest child."

His father was silently repairing the leaking roof when his hand suddenly slipped and he fell heavily from the ladder. That night, Xiao An heard his parents' heated argument for the first time.

When he was eight years old, Xiao An and his parents painstakingly dug a well to save their fields. But just as harvest was about to begin, an unprecedented locust plague swept through the village. The swarm, like a dark cloud, obscured the sky and devoured all the crops in just one day.

In a panic, Xiao An's parents were completely exhausted from the long hours of labor and fell to the ground without a sound.

"It's all this disaster!"

That day, the villagers were furious, believing Xiao An to be the root of all the troubles. So they hanged him in front of his deceased parents.

"No, Xiao An is not a disaster star, but why? Why is it like this?"

The villagers looked at him strangely, and the fear and despair oppressed his senses. The pain of the hanging is still hard to forget.

Following the village chief's order, the rough hemp rope cut into his neck, causing severe pain. His legs kicked in vain in the air, and his vision was gradually swallowed by darkness.

Xiao An struggled in pain, but what followed was endless darkness and coldness.

"Anger? Resentment? No need to hide it anymore. Let despair become a sharp sword and bury everything in the void!"

Xiao An lost consciousness, and when he regained consciousness, the scene before him was completely altered. The already bleak village was reduced to ruins, with villagers sprawled on the ground, faces frozen in terror. He looked down at his translucent hand and realized he was dead.

"So it was you who killed the villagers here." It said calmly.

Hearing this, Xiao An immediately felt guilty: "Yes, but I don't know why. At that time, I was just scared. The rope tightened and I was suffocating step by step. And why it turned out like this, I don't understand."

"Then have you ever thought about leaving here?" Feng Ling stepped forward and asked.

But Xiao An shook his head and replied, "It's no use. I've tried many times. I've always wanted to leave here, but for some reason, every time I reach the village entrance and try to leave, a pair of invisible hands grab me. I want to ask for help, but the people around me turn around and run away when they hear my voice."

"So that's how it is. Then what about those Undead Knights? They can't just appear here for no reason." Kuang Dao asked.

Xiao An lowered his head and answered like a child who had done something wrong, "I don't know what happened. It's just that one time an expedition team came to the village. I thought someone would finally listen to me, but they came at me with weapons. I was so scared and didn't know what to do for a moment. But in the blink of an eye, these knights appeared before me."

"That's what happened. So these mercenaries were killed by the Undead Knights in order to protect you?" It said, folding his arms as he looked at the corpses lying on the ground.

Xiao An nodded. "I know, this is all my fault. They were trying to protect me... Ever since the locust plague, this kind of change has happened in the village. Although they can't speak, they are like family to me. Of course, I'm not saying this to excuse myself, I just don't want to be..."

"It's ok."

Before he finished speaking, Ite's voice made Xiao An startled.

At this moment, he stepped forward and said with a smile, "First, let me correct one thing. We are from the Fallen Angel Troupe, unlike these mercenaries. Therefore, no matter what you did before, it doesn't matter to us. Secondly, you probably don't know yet, but you and we are actually on the same side."

"People...along the way?" Xiao An repeated Yite's words in surprise and confusion.

"That's right. Perhaps you didn't know it yet? The power that binds you is actually the undead, one of the five corrupted elements. That's why the Undead Knights protect you like a machine, killing anyone who tries to harm you. We are the holders of the other five corrupted elements."

"Fallen... Elements, that's ominous..." Hearing this, Xiao An suddenly remembered the days when he was called the Star of Disaster. He began to wonder if it was this power that made him such a reviled being.

"Of course, but power does not distinguish between good and evil. The so-called elements are just fragments that make up for the flaws of the world, and the real cause of your bitter fate is the current "order". We are just like you, and we are heading towards the end of the world due to fate. Changing fate and changing "order" is the purpose of our Fallen Angel Brigade." It replied.

"Change your destiny..." Obviously, Xiao An was somewhat moved by these words. However, after seeing his own half-dead state, he couldn't help but ask with a tone of doubt, "But, in my current state, can I really do it?"

"Of course." Ite extended his hand to him. "Join us. With the power of the Demon Lord, you will be able to be reborn!"