After nearly half a month of exploration, and with the help of their three juvenile dragons as mounts, Gong Qu and Keqing had fully illuminated the map within a 300-kilometer radius of their forest cabin.
During that time, they had discovered two villages.
Each village was a small settlement of only a few dozen homes, living off the land in the most primitive form of agriculture.
What caught Gong Qu's attention, though, was that the villagers weren't blocky NPCs like in the base game. They looked much more like modern humans—and they even showed a level of intelligence.
Because of this, Gong Qu, with his intact human morals, just couldn't bring himself to treat these villagers like mere "items" in a game.
Whether it was the strategy of infecting them with a zombie virus just to swoop in as a hero and earn the village buff, or cramming them into tight spaces to turn them into trading stations, those classic tricks from his past gameplay, he couldn't bring himself to do it.
Not when they looked and acted so real.
And besides, the way the villagers treated him was… peculiar.
Some of them respected him to the point of reverence, almost like they were worshiping a god.
That planted a strange suspicion in his mind~
Could this Minecraft really be my world?
One lazy afternoon.
Gong Qu was out alone, riding Sanko along the edge of the map, charting new territory.
Sanko was the smallest of the three juvenile dragons they'd tamed from the overworld.
The three had been named in order of size: Daiko, Niko, and Sanko, Big Horn, Second Horn, and Third Horn.
Keqing hadn't come along today. Lately, their orange cat had been getting a bit too chonky, so she was busy sewing it a new outfit.
Sigh. "It's boring mapping the area without A-Kei," Gong Qu muttered, multitasking as he manipulated the Dendro elemental power in his hands, shaping it into floating models of the numbers one through ten as practice for better control.
"Rawrr~"
Sanko let out a soft little growl.
"You too, huh? Want to play with your siblings?"
"Rawr~"
"Oh? You're saying Daiko keeps stealing your food? Alright, got it. I'll give that guy a talking-to when we get back."
"Rawr rawrr (～￣▽￣)～"
In the lore of Genshin Impact's Teyvat, Dendro power governs dreams and the mind.
Over this past stretch of time, Gong Qu had reached level 72. While the leveling system here wasn't quite the same as in Teyvat, his power growth was shockingly fast, even Keqing had begun to suspect he might be some kind of reincarnated deity, like the Geo Archon himself.
By now, he could already use Dendro energy to "communicate" with most plants and animals, a power that could rival Gol D. Roger's ability to hear the voice of all things.
After crossing over the slope beneath his feet, a taller mountain appeared before him.
Perched halfway up the mountain was a solitary house.
"Huh? Why is there a lone building there? It's not part of any village… Oh, right, that's the Gatekeeper's Hut. If I remember correctly, it's the portal point to the alternate dimensions: Eternal Dusk and Eternal Day."
Just like their names implied ~
Those two alternate worlds were locked in perpetual night and perpetual daylight, respectively.
Across the overworld, you could find Gatekeepers like this one. If you bought a Windflame Stone from them, you could light the portal inside the hut next to the Gatekeeper's house and travel to one of the two dimensions.
But those worlds ran on different rules.
Weapons, armor, and tools from the overworld would be nerfed the moment you crossed over.
So you basically had to start over, gathering resources from scratch.
"Still, now that I've got resources from the DragonFire modpack, there's really nothing good left to squeeze out of those two dimensions. And the bosses in both worlds are kind of annoying."
Back when he used to play DragonFire, the main questline had forced him to fight those bosses.
But now? With no mandatory objectives?
He had zero interest in masochistically throwing himself into another world.
Riding his dragon at a leisurely pace, Gong Qu headed up toward the Gatekeeper's hut.
Half an hour later~
After what felt like a deceptively long hike thanks to the mountain's perspective tricks, he arrived at the door.
A solemn-looking middle-aged man in black priestly robes stood respectfully at the entrance.
"Greetings, O Great Creator."
"'Creator'? That's an interesting title."
Dismounting, Gong Qu gave the Gatekeeper a scrutinizing once-over.
Close-cropped hair. A trimmed short beard. Gaunt, sharp features. The man gave off the air of a wandering ascetic monk.
Except this monk had 80 hit points and could glide through a swarm of zombies like a ghost. Definitely not your average NPC.
"Has the Great Creator come seeking something in particular?" the man asked humbly.
The way this Gatekeeper behaved made it hard to tell whether this was all just part of his AI routine. Gong Qu cut to the chase.
"Do you have anything for trade?"
"Yes, Great Creator. Please, come inside."
Gong Qu patted Sanko's forepaw. "You wait outside. If I yell, charge in and bust down the door."
"Rawr~"
The dragon obediently sat down on the spot like a husky, tongue lolling out.
Gong Qu chuckled and tossed him a few slabs of beef.
The Gatekeeper didn't even blink at the half-threatening comment, as though he didn't care whether his whole house got wrecked.
"This way, Great Creator. What kind of items are you looking for?"
The setup was similar to trading with villagers.
The Gatekeeper pulled out a chest, and the items appeared in bubble-wrapped physical form, not the usual sci-fi virtual shop interface.
[Windflame Stone – 6 Emeralds]
[Blueprint: Gate to Teyvat – 32 Emeralds]
Gong Qu fought off the urge to press a sword to the man's neck, and tried to ask politely, "What the hell? You want half a stack of emeralds for this junk?"
"Great Creator," the Gatekeeper replied, unfazed, "that is the fare to cross into the alternate world known as [Genshin]. I do not set the prices. I am merely the world's courier."
"I can read the item descriptions, thanks."
"Still, since you call me 'Creator,' I think I get to ask you a few questions, don't I?"
"Of course, Great Creator."
"How did this world come to be? And what role do I play in it?"
Direct. Unfiltered.
To Gong Qu's surprise, the Gatekeeper actually answered, deep voice calm and steady.
"This world was originally created by a past Creator and named Journey to Gensokyo. After the former Creator's passing, the world began to fall into ruin."
"Your arrival gave the world a second life. You are the successor to the Creator's throne. However, the loss of the previous Creator left deep scars. Only by slaying the Catastrophic Dragon can you reclaim full dominion over this world."
The name Journey to Gensokyo rang a bell.
Not because of the Touhou fangames.
But because it was personal.
The night before he died in his previous life, Gong Qu had booted up Minecraft and created a world save called Journey to Gensokyo.
He'd done it to check out version 3.4 of DragonFire.
Barely loaded into the world when his boss messaged him, he had to rush a presentation for the next day. Furious, he deleted the world save on the spot.
Closed the game. Worked all night.
The next morning, sleep-deprived and foggy-headed, he rescued a little girl who'd run a red light.
And then got hit by a truck.
Now, hearing the Gatekeeper speak of a deceased Creator and a collapsing world…
He had reason to suspect that the past and present Creators weren't two separate people.
They were one and the same, him. The player.
"So this Catastrophic Dragon… is it the Ender Dragon? And if I beat it, do I unlock Creative Mode?"
"…"