Genshin Impact: Rise of the Desert

When Ivan opened his eyes again, he was greeted by an endless grassland. Above him was a sky full of stars, as if he were no longer on a planet.

The darkness in the sky was so pure that even three moons and a sun could not dispel it.

After observing the starry sky for a while, Ivan looked around and saw a figure in the distance observing him, the only person he could see on this grassland.

Ivan walked toward him, and he walked toward Ivan.

As the two drew closer, Ivan realized that the other person was a semi-transparent figure.

In Teyvat, a demon is typically a collection of memories created when a person dies and their body dissolves into the ley lines. These memory collections are slow-moving and take a long time to speak.

The ghost, however, saw him from afar and screamed as it ran, waving excitedly.

Emotions are something a ghost doesn't have.

So what is he?

Ivan didn't run; he just walked slowly, getting closer and closer...

Ivan found him; his appearance was so clear in Ivan's memory... It was his grandfather who had passed away when he was six years old!

Ivan was also unlucky. He didn't know when he had traveled through time. He only knew that when he had his memories, he was being held in swaddling clothes. A man was prying open his hands and found congealed blood inside.

That man was his father, Varisi Rurik.

At the time, Varisi was Toghtobuqa's second-in-command, going out to plunder with him, while Ivan's grandfather rarely went out, preferring to train the younger generation of the tribe or go on trade.

Ivan lost his mother at a young age; to put it bluntly, it was his grandfather, Ivan III, who raised him.

Ivan's grandfather, who shared the same name as Ivan, was fifty years old and would often sit in front of his tent, holding little Ivan, lost in thought for a whole day.

Even though he was only a few months old, Ivan tried his best to make the old man happy, and he only quieted down when his grandfather started telling a story.

It seemed like Ivan III had an endless stream of stories to tell, and Ivan would listen quietly with an interested look on his face.

When Ivan went hunting at the age of five, Ivan III would sit in front of the tent and wait for Ivan's return.

When Ivan was six years old, Ivan III rode his horse to Kavan Station to trade with the goods accumulated by the tribe. When he returned, he was carried back by other tribesmen with his head on his back, and his body was gone.

Yes, more than a decade ago, the desert was plagued by bandits, unlike now which is basically stable.

If it weren't for Ivan III telling stories every day, heaven knows how Ivan survived when he couldn't even walk!

The two drew closer and closer, and embraced.

However, the two only made a gesture of embracing. Ivan missed and fell forward onto the grass, while Ivan III passed through Ivan and staggered forward a few steps.

Ivan sat up from the ground and saw a familiar face. Tears welled up in his eyes as he cried out, "Grandpa...Grandpa..."

Ivan III revealed his translucent teeth: "Heh heh, I thought my most beloved grandson had also come to the Holy Paradise. Turns out he had some kind of adventure and his body came up here. It must be that kid Perm, right?"

Ivan nodded, then decided not to get up and lay down on the grass: "Yes, thanks to Dad's discerning eye, he recruited Perm to the tribe..."

Ivan III lay down next to Ivan, finding a comfortable position: "Don't listen to his bragging. It was not far from our tribe at the time. Perm didn't want to go with his teacher, and his teacher beat him half to death. Your father picked him up. At the time, I complained, 'You already have enough sons, why are you picking someone from outside?'"

"Huh? But when my dad was alive, he said he left the teacher's side voluntarily."

"Nonsense, he was a shaman back then. We should have given him some face. Why expose him?"

Next, Ivan briefly recounted everything he had done since taking office, from swindling and cheating sheep to being trapped in Yilongbu.

Ivan III was very excited midway through, but not wanting to interrupt Ivan, he simply sat up and looked into Ivan's eyes, and then became even more excited.

Ivan knew that Ivan III was examining his eyes to see if his bloodline had truly been purified, or if he was just bragging.

It wasn't until Ivan handed over his evacuation plan to a merchant that he found himself helpless, knowing the merchant wanted him to fight the Liyue people.

After saying this, the two fell into deep thought.

After a while, Ivan III sighed and said, "You are too impatient. You can use Fontaine's advanced technology to improve Fuluoyu and take your time to develop the Thousand Ravines Sandy Land. Young man, you are too hasty."

Ivan rolled his eyes. He wanted to too, but the travelers had already left Inazuma for Liyue and were preparing to take a detour to Sumeru!

After a while, Ivan III asked, "How strong is that merchant in combat?"

Ivan said, "Pure trash. I reckon the mercenaries she hired are also useless."

“That’s easy!” Ivan III sat up and looked at Ivan. “All the gilded warriors, all those who possess the Eye of God, take advantage of the darkness to dive over there and tie her up!”

"Ah? Grandpa, that's the sea!"

"What's wrong with the sea? Your grandpa swam all the way to the waterfall and rock-climbed Fontainebleau back in the day! Otherwise, where do you think Perm's book came from? Would his teacher be so kind as to beat him half to death?"

Ivan couldn't hold back any longer: "No, not everyone is as awesome as you. And how did you get the book back?"

"Bullshit, you think just getting a gilded plating is enough? We're the Red King's offspring! It's just crossing the sea, why the hell did you take a boat to Fontainebleau? It's utterly shameful! But you've also turned misfortune into blessing, because if you hadn't taken the boat, I would have seen you months ago."

Ivan III said casually.

"As for the book, it's simple. Just drag it on the sea with one hand."

Ivan fell silent. He seemed to have underestimated the Gilded Warriors. In terms of combat, they could only take on a dozen or so people in a one-on-one fight.

Ivan only saw the gilded warrior's combat prowess, but upon closer inspection, it seemed that the gilded warrior, apart from being seriously injured, didn't even have a cold or fever.

Ivan III stretched and slowly stood up: "In our Rurik family, you're the one I have the most faith in. The other brothers are all thinking about going out into the desert to try their luck and rob. Only you thought of staking out outside Kavan Post and catching some fat sheep!"

Then, as if remembering something, Ivan III said to Ivan, "By the way, your father is gone."

Ivan: "???"

No, my dad died once, how come he's still alive?

Ivan III said, "Shortly before you arrived, a smiling Winterman wearing a bird-beak mask captured him. Our bodies are completely incapacitated..."

According to Ivan III's account, Ivan drew on the grass with his finger, and the conclusion he reached made him grit his teeth.

"Dottore! I'll fuck your mother!" Ivan stomped hard on the face drawn on the ground.

Before his feet touched the ground, Ivan realized that his body began to disappear from his feet, turning into specks of starlight.

Ivan's eyes widened. Ivan III smiled and said, "It's alright, it's time, child, go..."

Before Ivan III could finish speaking, he felt a sudden dizziness. He found that his body had disappeared from his sight, and the grass and Ivan III were spinning and shrinking.

The next moment, Ivan lost consciousness.