July 15, 2044, Teyvat Dimension, Day 6
Recorder: Eileen Custer
As I stared at the Electro Archon lying on the ground, felled by an anti-materiel sniper rifle, I finally realized just how vast the technological gap was between Earth and Teyvat. She collapsed, a bullet hole in her chest gushing blood relentlessly… the crimson liquid seeped into the cracks of the stone pavement, a stark contrast to the elegant Inazuma-style tiles beneath her. For a moment, time seemed to freeze—even the bustling crowd around us fell silent, their eyes wide with terror and disbelief at the sight of their "Eternal God" lying vulnerable.
Around noon today, we received word that Thoma had been arrested. Rushing to the scene, we found him tied to a wooden stake, his Vision being wrenched away by the Electro Archon's power, a faint purple glow coiling around the glowing orb like a greedy serpent. It was then that we noticed Karl was nowhere to be seen.
"Where's Karl?!" I asked anxiously, my hand instinctively resting on the electromagnetic pistol at my waist.
"He went to set up the sniper rifle," Hamke replied, his voice calm but tinged with tension.
"Damn it! Are we declaring war on a god? Have you both lost your minds?!" I snapped, my voice rising. Before Hamke could respond, the Traveler suddenly charged forward, slicing through the air with their sword to reclaim Thoma's Vision. The Electro Archon's eyes flashed with fury, and she drew her Musou no Hitotachi, the blade humming with crackling lightning.
At that exact moment, a dull gunshot echoed from the distance—we all recognized it instantly: the sound of our XM109 anti-materiel sniper rifle. A 25mm armor-piercing tracer round streaked through the sky, striking the Electro Archon's leg. A second shot followed, slamming into her chest. She staggered, then crumpled to the ground, her sword clattering to the stone.
"Karl! Are you out of your mind? This is interfering in another nation's internal affairs—you'll end up in a military court!" I roared into the team's communication channel, my fingers trembling with anger.
"Just get out of there now, move fast!" Karl's voice crackled back, tight with urgency. We seized the chaos, slipping through the panicking crowd and meeting Karl at the prearranged rendezvous point—a narrow alleyway lined with bamboo fences.
"Have you lost your senses, Karl?" I snarled the moment we saw him, yanking the sniper rifle strap from his shoulder.
"We're cut off from Earth, Eileen. We're not going back," he said, his eyes dark and resolute. "The mission's failed—HAAVK isn't sending anyone to find us. If we're stuck here, at least let's make things better for the people here." His words hung in the air, heavy with the weight of our hopeless situation. We fell silent; none of us had the heart to argue—he was right. We were stranded, adrift in a world that was both alien and strangely alluring.
Back at our temporary camp—a hidden cave on the outskirts of Inazuma City—we gathered around a small campfire to discuss our next move. The flames danced, casting shadows on our faces as we spoke.
"The Electro Archon is dead, and we're branded as god-killers. Every soldier in Inazuma is hunting us now, and we have no idea who'll succeed her," I said, glaring at the two men before me. "From what I've researched, we have to flee to Sumeru tonight—there's no other way out."
"But the ocean… Inazuma's still closed off. We'll be struck by lightning before we even leave Inazuma's territorial waters," Hamke said, his brow furrowed as he stared at the crudely drawn map spread out on the ground.
"Then what do you suggest we do?" I snapped, frustration edging my voice.
"Join the Inazuma Resistance. Fight the Shogunate to the end!" Karl said suddenly, leaning forward. His proposal took us aback—fighting a nation's army with just the three of us, even with our technology, seemed suicidal. But as we looked at each other, we knew it was the only option.
"Fine. If that's the case, we'll head to Watatsumi Island and ally with the Sangonomiya Clan," I said, making up my mind.
Night fell quickly. As darkness blanketed the land, I stood at the entrance of the cave, gazing at Inazuma City in the distance. The city's lanterns glowed like countless fireflies, casting a warm light over the quiet streets. A strange feeling of envy welled up in my chest. No matter how flawed this world was, how authoritarian its rulers, it was still better than Earth. Roy—one of the few survivors of the "Great Calamity"—was missing here, his whereabouts still unknown. The war between the United States and Russia had ended, but what had we gained? A million pieces of space debris left by the failed Sule Plan? A planet whose climate had collapsed under the weight of reckless industrial development?
I found myself longing for the Earth of the past—the one filled with beauty and flowers. I remembered when I was a child, back in Marseille. Summers then were always sunny, and when I was three, that was the happiest time of my life. My parents and I would sit on the beach to watch the sunset, then lie in our tent to gaze at the stars. But all that ended when I was five. A sudden plague swept across the globe, and from that moment on, the world changed. Viruses, wars, death—they became the new normal. In 2042, my parents were killed by an angry mob. They'd opposed the Low Near-Magnetic Field Distortion technology, and the crowd had pelted them with bricks until their heads were smashed and bloodied. I'd been in the lab, researching, and never got to see them for the last time…
But Teyvat? Even with its authoritarian rulers, the people here seemed truly happy. Because their technology was underdeveloped, there was no pollution—no smog choking the skies, no rivers filled with toxic waste. The people smiled every day. The wind in Mondstadt was warm, carrying the scent of dandelions; the sunset in Liyue painted the sky in hues of orange and pink, breathtakingly beautiful; even Inazuma, with its closed borders and tyranny, most of its people lived in peace.
"Eileen, are you crying?" Hamke's voice pulled me back to reality. I touched my cheek—sure enough, it was wet with tears.
"Ah… am I?" I said, forcing a smile. "It's nothing."
Earth was already in ruins, its once-green lands turned to ash. For us, there was no going back. We had to start a new journey here, in this strange yet hopeful world. Whatever dangers awaited us in Sumeru, whatever battles we had to fight alongside the Resistance, we would face them together. Because this was our home now—our last chance at redemption.
End of Log