Silky was scared out of his wits.
He scrambled to climb out of the bath, but the slippery Stone Gate walls and his unfamiliar body caused his foot to slip, and with a “splash,” he fell back into the water.
A huge splash erupted, and his long, silver-white hair plastered across his face.
Just as he was floundering in a miserable state, choking on water—
“BOOM!”
The Stone Gate of the bathroom, which looked quite heavy, was…
No, that wasn’t pushed open; that was a violent demolition!
Debris flew everywhere, and dust filled the air, though it was quickly suppressed by the steam.
A figure, like a two-month-long winter break, instantly filled the entire space.
Siberian cold front: Bro understands me.
Standing at the doorway was a person.
The same long, silver-white hair, the same deep purple eyes, the same perfect yet icy-cold face.
She wore her signature dark attire, which outlined a lithe and powerful figure.
At this moment, those eyes of hers, which seemed to have Frozen the Abyssal Power, were locked firmly onto the disheveled “self” in the bath who wore the exact same face.
The air seemed to solidify, and the temperature plummeted.
The newly arrived Skirk (the real one) didn’t even twitch an eyebrow, but the aura radiating from her made the water in the bath seem as if it were about to freeze.
She slowly raised her hand.
She wasn’t drawing a sword, but the heart-palpitating black energy swirling around her fingertips was more terrifying than any blade.
She spoke, her voice like ice beads hitting cold iron, every word carrying absolute pressure:
“Who…
are you?”
Silky (the fake Skirk) froze in the water, water droplets and strands of silver hair clinging to his face.
His mind went blank, leaving only the system’s cold countdown flashing frantically and that deadly “cuddle” task screaming in his head.
Not good!!!
He opened his mouth, his mature female voice trembling with a hint of a sob and an extreme desire to survive.
He blurted out:
“Si…
Sister?!
Listen to my sophistry…
ah no, explanation!
I am your long-lost, half-sister from a different father and different mother—!!!”
He saw the black light at the real Skirk’s fingertips flare up!
[Cuddle task countdown: 0.01 seconds!
Target detected within reachable range!
Host!
Hurry up!
Hugging her thigh counts as a cuddle!]
The system’s electronic voice sounded incredibly excited and punchable at this moment.
Silky: “…”
Just as Silky (Skirk Limited Edition) watched the destructive black light at the real Skirk’s fingertips flare up, feeling that he would physically “cuddle” with a blade in the next second, his survival instinct and the system’s devilish whisper of “hugging a thigh counts as a cuddle” merged together, causing him to erupt with unprecedented potential!
“WOMAN!”
What can I say?
He/She let out a cracked scream, not lunging at the nemesis at the door, but suddenly leaning backward, submerging his entire body into the warm bottom of the bath!
At the same time, his will, overflowing with the desire to survive, frantically and chaotically urged that strange, cold, and deep power within his body—the Abyssal Power!
The goal wasn’t to attack, but to stir!
“Gurgle, gurgle—!”
The bath instantly turned into a huge, boiling whirlpool!
Thick steam mixed with the stirred-up pool water, like an out-of-control white curtain, instantly filled the entire space, blocking all sight!
“Hmph!”
An icy snort came from the doorway, carrying a trace of imperceptible…
confusion?
Obviously, this “attack” method, which had zero lethality and was purely for creating chaos, did not match her expectations for an “imposter” at all.
After pondering for a moment, she prepared to step forward and drag this silly “self” out to interrogate her properly.
The cryo element, manifested from the Abyssal Power, surged!
It instantly Frozen the frantically churning water.
So…
so cold, ahhh!!!
The cold stimulated the senses of the person in the water, causing her to do a carp leap, and she stood up!
However, as soon as she looked up, she saw the large hand of that cheap sister who looked just like her!
This hand slowly moved down, and finally, under her frightened gaze…
helped her pull up her fallen underwear.
Ah!?
The fake Skirk’s face suddenly flushed red, and her vision went black.
Hadn’t she just been…
“I…
I!
Uh…” Never mind the sobbing tone; she was about to actually cry.
“Quiet.”
The hand retracted, and Skirk scrutinized the flustered “self” in front of her.
The voice wasn’t loud, but it was very effective.
“Oh.”
Silky didn’t dare to move.
Skirk was a bit confused.
Such weak power.
For a moment, she didn’t speak, and the two stood face-to-face, falling into silence.
“You…”
“I!…”
The two spoke at the same time, then stopped at the same time.
Silky was having a mental breakdown.
If this continued, he was doomed!
Just as the chaotic curtain of steam hung, the system’s long-overdue notification rang out like music to his ears:
[Effective physical contact detected: Task 2: Cuddle…
Uh, although she initiated it, it barely counts as a completed graze?
Special situation!
Emergency teleportation initiated!
Countdown 3, 2…]
—Can I run?!
“…I, I like you!”
Oh man, you are really something.
Since you said you can run, what am I afraid of?
Just drop a big ultimate right in her face!
Hum—!
An irresistible spatial force instantly enveloped her, and the scene before her eyes twisted and peeled away like a shattered mirror.
In the instant before he completely disappeared, through the gap in the churning steam, he seemed to see a trace of extremely rare, unbelievable astonishment flash across those cold purple eyes.
The next second, the world spun.
Mondstadt, Starsnatch Cliff, late at night.
Cool air, carrying the scent of grass and sea breeze, rushed into his lungs, replacing the sulfurous steam of the bathroom.
Underfoot, it was no longer the smooth bottom of a pool, but soft, cool grass.
“Thump!”
Skirk (what should I call her?), having just barely steadied herself from the dizziness of the spatial teleportation, lost her balance, stumbled, and sat down on the grass in a very ungraceful manner.
“Ouch!”
A crisp, mature female voice cried out in pain, sounding exceptionally clear on the silent cliffside.
She gasped for air, still shaken, her heart drumming frantically in her chest, as if it were about to jump out in the next second.
The experience of those few seconds just now was a hundred times more exciting than the sum of her past twenty years of life!
The feeling of facing that real killing god was scarier than being hit by a hundred heavy trucks in a row!…
(Actually, maybe not.)
“I…
I survived?”
She looked down at her hands—still those fair, slender hands that belonged to Skirk.
She then subconsciously touched her chest—hmm, the heavy sense of oppression was still there, reminding her that this body was the real deal.
“Phew…”
She let out a long, long sigh, her whole body feeling as if its bones had been removed, and she flopped backward, collapsing directly onto the soft grass.
Her long, silver-white hair spread out, stained with the cool night dew.
The night sky was clear, the vast galaxy like an overturned jewelry box of diamonds, its brilliant light pouring down, shrouding the silent Starfell Valley.
In the distance, the twinkling lights of Mondstadt flickered gently in the night, and the silhouettes of the giant windmills rotated slowly under the starry sky.
A gentle sea breeze blew past, bringing the sound of waves like whispers.
The immense fatigue of surviving a disaster and an indescribable sense of absurdity surged into her heart simultaneously.
“I…
Silky…
finally finished the college entrance exam and was preparing to go abroad for a little fun…
now I’ve become the sister (probably) of one of the most mysterious and powerful women in Teyvat…?
And I was almost dusted by the original version for being an imposter?”
She muttered to herself, that cold, mature female voice saying such self-deprecating words created a strong sense of contrast.
…I don’t even know how to describe it!