[EARLY ACCESS] SHRINK IMPACT | GENSHIN IMPACT - CHAPTER 48

The warmth of Xinyan’s palm felt almost safe now, compared to what had come before. 

But Ganyu still trembled, her damp body curled tight, clutching the folds of her soaked dress like a second skin. Her breath hitched with every movement—memories of suffocating steam, crushing dough, and the humid cavern of a giant mouth still clinging to her like a film.

If that had happened to her, it would have been maybe, an even more terrifying fate than getting eaten by Xianyun. Because Xinyan would never have known. She’d have ended up being digested into nothing inside her belly, and she would have been none the wiser.

She shuddered at the thought, staring at Xinyan’s midriff with a chill going up her spine. She didn’t want to imagine how awful that would be…

“Ganyu?” Xinyan’s voice came again, gentler this time. Her wide, warm eyes scanned the tiny girl with a mixture of awe and guilt. “You okay down there?”

Ganyu pushed her dripping hair out of her face and gave a nod that felt far too small.

“I-I think so,” she said softly, throat raw. “But I can’t stay here. I have to go back. My friends…they’re still in danger.”

“Woah, woah—slow down,” Xinyan murmured, cupping her other hand over Ganyu like a roof. The dome of her fingers filtered the lantern light, casting everything in a pink-orange haze. “You mean there are more of you shrunken like this?”

“Yes!” Ganyu’s voice cracked with urgency. “Mona, and—someone else. We were attacked by Xianyun— and she…she—” her breath shuddered, “—she ate them. I don’t know if they’re alive, but I have to try and find them—”

“Wait, back up,” Hu Tao interrupted, her elbows hitting the table as she leaned in, face upside-down again in Ganyu’s vision. “Xianyun? Ate them?”

“I-I know it sounds insane, but she’s not acting like herself. Something’s wrong with her. She was so cruel—she didn’t even hesitate to swallow Mona whole. A-and there were others too, she had a whole bunch of shrunken people in her lair!”

“Holy shit,” Xinyan whispered. She carefully shifted her grip, letting Ganyu settle into the cup of one hand while the other gently brushed some tea-soaked strands of hair from her tiny cheek.

Hu Tao’s grin had faded. She sat up straighter now, eyes serious. “If what you’re saying is true, then this isn’t just some weird Adeptus magic gone wrong. This is serious. Shrinking? Cannibalism? And if it's Xianyun responsible…”

Ganyu tried to stand, wobbling slightly on Xinyan’s palm. “Please, I need to go back—”

“No can do,” Xinyan said firmly. “You’re not going anywhere like this. Look at you. You're shaking. You're half tea.”

“But—!”

“We’re taking you to Ningguang,” Hu Tao cut in, rising to her feet with an uncharacteristic weight to her tone. “If people are shrinking and going missing, and an Adeptus is at the center of it? She needs to know.”

Ganyu hesitated, heart pounding. She didn’t trust Ningguang. Not really. She was all calculation and strategy. But she also had power, resources. And maybe that was what they needed now.

“Alright,” she said at last, her voice small. “But please…hurry. We have so little time.”

Xinyan gave her a gentle smile, tucking her safely into the crook of her scarf like a pearl hidden in fabric.

“Hang on tight, little Ganyu,” she said, strapping on her guitar. “Let’s go save your friends.”

…

Ganyu had never realized how tall the world truly was until she found herself swaying inside the layered warmth of Xinyan’s scarf. She’d taken one with her to stave off the chill of the night, and now used the black and red fabric to safeguard their little friend. 

She found herself tucked near the hollow of Xinyan’s throat, snugly. A bit startling at first, considering she could feel every swallow, imagine it might have been her as it bulged against her body, but she adjusted, at least assured Xinyan wasn’t going to deliberately eat her…

It made her cheeks warm, being pressed against her tanned skin like this. Beside her, Hu Tao walked with a spring in her step, stealing the occasional glance and smirk.

Every once in a while, Xinyan’s fingers would sneak under the edge of the scarf to check on her. One time, Ganyu wasn’t prepared, and the pad of a fingertip the size of her torso brushed right under her bust. Just a little. Just enough to make her flinch.

“Oops. You okay in there?” Xinyan asked, voice a whisper against the world’s thrum.

“Y-Yes,” Ganyu stammered, heart doing anxious flips. “Just…startled.”

Xinyan chuckled. “My bad. You’re so small. Kinda hard to tell where you’re at.”

She didn’t move her finger for a moment. And Ganyu didn’t ask her to.

Hu Tao skipped ahead barefoot, her arms outstretched like she was walking a tightrope, the hem of her robes billowing behind her. She twirled once and spun around, eyes alight with mischief.

“So,” she called out, “what’s it like being smaller than my pinky, Ganyupuff?”

Ganyu peeked over the scarf’s edge, her voice barely reaching. “Terrifying. Really…overwhelming…”

“But kinda fun, right?” Hu Tao winked. “Like, if you had a little house in someone’s pocket, maybe. I could keep you! You’d be warm forever.”

“Or suffocated,” Ganyu muttered.

Hu Tao’s expression darkened mischievously, “...Better than being kept in another place…”

Ganyu didn’t respond to that. She just tried to focus on what they needed to do.

Time was of the essence. Literal hours at hand. But the two giants were right – no matter her mixed feelings, Ningguang was their best hope if they were going to take on an Adeptus. The last thing she wanted to see was the same fate happening to Xinyan and Hu Tao…

…

As they entered the upper levels of the Jade Chamber district, the wind picked up, pulling back the edge of Xinyan’s scarf just enough for Ganyu to catch a full view of the city below. She gasped, momentarily forgetting everything.

Liyue at dusk. But from up here? It was dazzling. Thousands of lanterns glowed like fireflies, and the bustle of people, so tiny from this height, made her feel like she was somewhere between heaven and the real world. A speck held in motion.

Sure, she had seen it many times. But…when she was so small, it became so much more grand.

“You seeing that?” Xinyan murmured. Her fingers brushed under the scarf again, this time curling lightly behind Ganyu to support her like a seat. “Damn. You really are little enough to fit in the palm of my hand.”

Ganyu’s eyes fluttered as a breeze lifted her hair.

“I’m trying not to think about how easy it would be to lose me,” she whispered.

“Don’t worry,” Xinyan said, tone deepening slightly. “I’m not gonna let you fall.”

Her hand didn’t pull away this time. Good thing too, because if she had, Ganyu wouldn’t have been surprised if she fell right down into her plush cleavage, and experienced a different problem entirely. She was flustered enough as it was.

When they arrived at the entrance to Ningguang’s private chambers, guards tried to stop them, until they showed them Ganyu, and Xinyan nodded, seeing the shocked looks on their faces.

“Yeah, hi. Crisis.”