"HOLY SHIT."
The words tore out of Henry's throat before he had time to think, echoing off the walls of a room that felt far too familiar to ignore. He shot upright in bed, heart hammering, breath uneven, his eyes snapping across the space as instinct took over.
His gaze jumped to the ceiling, then the walls, then the window, before landing on his PC, sitting exactly where he had left it. The faint hum of distant traffic filtered through glass instead of wind.
No…
The bed beneath him wasn't the narrow, firm mattress he had grown used to in Mondstadt. This one was wider, softer—unmistakably his. Every detail confirmed it before his mind was ready to accept it.
He was back on Earth.
A chill crept down his spine.
ORIANNA! Are you still there? Talk to me.
Nothing answered.
The silence stretched, heavy and oppressive, pressing down on his thoughts until unease began to crawl in. His fingers dug into the sheets as doubt surfaced, slow and insidious.
Was all of it fake?
Did I imagine it?
Did I really not get isekai'd into Teyvat?
The shop.
The bicycles.
Mondstadt's clean air.
Eula
Lisa
Jean
The system.
The rewards.
Was it all just a dream?
[Surprise, mother*ucker.]
"FU—!"
Henry nearly launched himself off the bed, pulse spiking as the sudden voice exploded inside his head.
[Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha.]
[Sorry, sorry. Couldn't resist. You should've seen your face.]
"Do that again and I swear—" Henry cut himself off, exhaling hard as he rubbed his temples. "You're still here."
[Obviously. And judging by your reaction, I'm guessing we're back in your original world?]
Henry dragged a hand down his face, forcing himself to steady his breathing. "Did you do this, Orianna?"
[No, Henry. This wasn't me.]
There was a brief pause before her tone shifted, turning analytical.
[It appears you possess an ability to travel back to your original world.]
Henry blinked. "An… ability?"
[Correct.]
"So I can return to Teyvat at will?"
He closed his eyes and focused, picturing Mondstadt in sharp detail—the city gates, the breeze carrying the scent of grass, the familiar rhythm of life. He leaned into the thought, willing himself back.
Nothing happened.
He opened his eyes, jaw tightening.
[Perhaps you don't need to be conscious to activate the condition.]
[You returned while asleep. The trigger may be sleeping.]
Henry groaned and fell back against the mattress. "I have so many questions."
He inhaled slowly, forcing himself to calm down. Panicking wouldn't help, and guessing blindly wouldn't either.
"If you didn't give me this ability," he said, staring at the ceiling, "then who did? I'm not complaining—I'm thankful—but even if it's tied to sleep, there has to be a way to control it. Some condition. Some pattern."
[That remains unclear.]
"Yeah. No shit," Henry muttered.
Suddenly, a translucent panel appeared in front of him.
__________
Mission: Set up a bicycle shop in Mondstadt and sell 100 units(Completed)
Reward: Deadpool X-Serum (no side effects)
__________
Henry blinked. Wait—did my shop really sell a hundred units already?
Orianna, you can still track what's happening in Teyvat?
[Of course. That's why I issued the reward.]
A grin spread across his face. "Nice."
A container filled with green liquid appeared in his hand.
[Drink it, Henry.]
He hesitated only for a moment before downing the contents.
Suddenly ,pain detonated across his body as if thousands of needles were piercing every inch of his skin at once. His muscles and bones felt like they were tearing apart and rebuilding themselves simultaneously. Henry screamed as agony tore out of his throat, his vision blurring as he felt himself on the verge of blacking out.
Then, just as suddenly, the pain stopped.
Henry collapsed onto the bed, completely exhausted. His body felt tingly and sore from the violent transformation, while his head throbbed as if it had been split open.
"Aaahhh," he groaned through clenched teeth "What the fuck was that, Orianna?"
[That was the serum reworking your body, Henry. Did you think gaining Deadpool's abilities would be easy?]
He let out a weak laugh that turned into a sigh. "Fuck… I'm tired. I'll sleep for a bit."
The moment he said it, his eyes closed on their own.
Henry woke up to late morning light filtering through the room.
"How long was I out, Orianna?" he asked, his voice rough.
[An entire day.]
His eyes widened.
He rolled onto his side—and froze.
"Wait. What day is it?"
He lunged for his phone on the bedside table, fingers closing around the familiar shape like a lifeline.
"Ahhh… phone," he murmured as the screen lit up. "How much I've missed you."
Monday.
9:00 AM.
Henry stared at the screen.
"Shit. I'm late for work."
Muscle memory carried him through his routine while his mind raced ahead, already compartmentalizing everything he'd learned so far. He showered, dressed, grabbed his car keys, and was out the door in minutes.
Traffic crawled, but his thoughts moved faster.
Two weeks in Teyvat… and I'm back here the very next morning.
I returned here the next morning after I was wishing for Lauma.
Time doesn't sync.
By the time he parked and stepped into the building, his breathing had evened out. One hand held a cup of tea, the other a nearly finished hotdog from a stand outside. He scanned in, greeted a few colleagues, and settled at his desk as morning traffic blurred past the windows.
Nothing had changed.
The quiet hum of computers blended with the faint smell of stale coffee and the low murmur of coworkers scattered through the office.
His inbox loaded with a handful of unread emails, including one from his supervisor sent the previous evening, containing comments on a draft. Nothing urgent.
He switched on his PC.
The screen displayed his work exactly as he remembered leaving it—half-finished notes, charts, and lines of code waiting patiently. A problem he had abandoned early to go home and boot up Genshin.
His fingers moved.
He reviewed the results, adjusted parameters, and reran tests. The work was careful and methodical, demanding attention rather than inspiration. Where the model misbehaved, he corrected it without hesitation. Solutions that would have taken hours before now came easily, as if he had already walked this path once.
Time slipped by unnoticed.
Eventually, the results stabilized.
"There we go."
He updated the draft, added a concise explanation, submitted the revision and then logged off. Only then did he lean back, tension easing from his shoulders.
The work was done.
The office felt quieter—not physically, but internally. Like something heavy had shifted.
"Wait," he muttered. "Do I still have System space?"
[You're asking if something I gave you came with you?]
Orianna's voice carried dry amusement.
[Use your brain, dumbo.]
Henry closed his eyes and focused. The next second, he found himself standing in a large space.
He had never explored it before, but the System space was far larger than he had assumed—a anime-like room with blue translucent tiles stretching outward. Until now, he had only stored or withdrawn items by thinking about them, never consciously entering the space itself, which made this his first time actually seeing it.
His gaze shifted to the corner of the room, where his mora pouch lay undisturbed. He walked over, picked it up, and withdrew a single mora, its weight solid and undeniable in his palm.
"This is real gold," he murmured. "I could make a fortune with this."
[You could also attract unwanted attention.]
[Find proper channels, Henry, or you'll end up explaining yourself to the government.]
"Yeah. I know. I know"
He concentrated and willed himself out of the storage space, and a moment later, he found himself back in his office chair. He leaned back, spinning slightly as his thoughts shifted.
"Talking with Lisa about bike durability got me thinking. Reinforcing the steel frame with Geo could work… but that adds weight. Too much, and the tires won't handle it."
He frowned.
"Rubber's the weak point. Maybe there's another material. But I can't solve this alone. I'll need Albedo. Sucrose. Lisa."
-
It was evening when Henry left his office and headed toward the gym. I want to test my strength now.
The gym was busy when he entered, with the familiar sounds of clanking weights and low conversation filling the space. He paid for a one-day pass, changed quickly, and entered the workout area.
He started with warm-up push-ups, but they felt far too easy. He increased the pace and added more reps, yet his muscles barely reacted.
Frowning, he walked over to the bench press and slid plates onto the bar until it reached 250 lbs . That drew a few glances from nearby lifters.
Henry lay back, wrapped his hands around the bar, and pushed. The weight rose smoothly, without any resistance worth noting. The surrounding noise faded as silence spread through the area and eyes locked onto him.
He completed one rep, then another, and then a third, each movement controlled, precise, and effortless. When he racked the bar and sat up, whispers rippled outward.
People stared openly now—some impressed, others clearly confused—but Henry ignored them.
Some women were bolder, trying to hit on him. Henry flirted back lightly, keeping things polite. No offense—but they didn't compare.
Not after Eula, Jeanand Lisa.
---
(: Reminder to give Power Stones :)
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