Chapter Text
Their newest face had officially joined them in the break room.
August immediately stepped up to lay down some ground rules. "So, we have a vending machine in here, and you're free to take from it," he explained to Jasper, gesturing toward the shattered glass. "But don't touch the ramen unless you're absolutely famished. We have no idea how long we're going to be stuck down here, so we need to ration our food as much as possible."
Jasper nodded slowly. "Makes sense. So you guys really are trapped here, huh? Guess I'm added to the bunch."
"For now," August said. "We're waiting on someone. Once he shows up, we figure out the rest. So until then—" he pointed at the ramen, "—don't touch those unless you need to. Speaking of which, so you need to eat? Are you hungry right now?"
Jasper shook his head, staring tiredly at the floor. "To be honest... not really."
"Good." August nodded. "We can stretch them out a little longer then,"
~~~~~~~
After everything that had just happened, none of them wanted to pressure Jasper. The poor guy was already going through enough without having to overthink the fact that he had essentially time-traveled a decade into the future.
Eventually, exhaustion took over the room. Most of everyone was sleeping—except for Jasper, who was sitting silently on the floor, leaning against the wall furthest away from the group.
Oliver, who was also wide awake, noticed him sitting there in the dark. Beside him, Venti was awake as well.
"I'm gonna go check on him," Oliver whispered.
Venti gave a soft, understanding nod. "Go do that," he murmured, gently pulling away to let his boyfriend up.
Oliver slipped out of his chair as quietly as possible, careful not to wake August or Arnold. He made his way across the dim room and approached the newest victim of Doctor Barclay's twisted experiments.
The situation with Jasper felt eerily similar to Arnold's, but with one agonizing difference: Jasper was essentially processing two completely separate lifetimes simultaneously.
"Hey," Oliver whispered as he approached.
Jasper looked up, his eyes heavy. "Hey," he replied quietly.
"Mind if I sit?" Oliver asked, gesturing to the empty floor space beside him.
Jasper nodded. "Yeah, sure."
Oliver plopped down, crossing his legs and adjusting his posture against the wall before looking over. "You feeling okay?"
Jasper just stared straight ahead into the gloom of the break room. "I don't know," he admitted, shaking his head slowly.
Oliver watched him with deep sympathy. He knew Jasper was going through hell—in some ways, it was even worse than Arnold's amnesia. "I know... you must feel so lost right now. The whole thing with living in a different reality, getting your mind completely rewritten, and then... waking up to realize you've been gone for over a decade in your original world." Oliver let out a heavy sigh. "I wouldn't even know where to begin explaining all the things you've missed."
"It's not even about that," Jasper muttered.
Oliver tilted his head. "What is it, then?"
Jasper was quiet. "Billy," he said. "It feels wrong. That I had feelings for him,"
Oliver blinked, completely confused. "Why?" he asked. "Is it because he's a Ghoul?"
"No... it's because... he was thirteen in the realm I was in."
Oliver's expression immediately softened in understanding. "Hey, do not stress yourself out over that," he said earnestly, placing a comforting hand on Jasper's shoulder. "You were rewritten in there. You physically and mentally became thirteen again yourself. You were a completely different person living a completely different life. That wasn't you sitting here right now making a choice,"
"I-I know," Jasper stammered, staring at his hands. "But... now that I'm back here, I still have those feelings for him. That's what feels weird,"
Oliver kept his hand firmly on Jasper's shoulder. "Listen, I don't know exactly how long you were trapped in the Fallout realm, but based on how you described it, you lived an entire lifetime in there. If you came back here at thirteen, that means you lived thirteen years in there. You probably knew Billy for what, one or two years? So of course it left a mark. That's not something that just switches off because you woke up in a different place,"
Jasper shrugged helplessly. "I don't even know how long I knew him... we just clicked the moment we met."
"And I can completely see why that would happen," Oliver assured him. "I've played a few of the Fallout games, so I know exactly how miserable and terrifying that environment would be to actually live in." He gently gave Jasper's shoulder a squeeze before pulling his hand back. "You're not a bad person, Jasper. Please don't think that. We have much bigger things to worry about right now. Besides, knowing his in-game lore, Billy is technically over two hundred years old anyway. He just looks 13."
Jasper's gaze remained glued to the floor. "Do you think I'll ever meet him again?"
Oliver offered a sad, helpless shrug. "I don't know. So far, the only way to meet people from the games is through those transfer chairs. And we both know how... incredibly problematic those can be." Oliver slowly pushed himself up from the floor. "Just try not to overthink it right now, okay? Try to get some sleep."
Leaving Jasper to rest, Oliver quietly made his way back across the room to Venti and slipped back into his seat.
"Was he okay?" Venti whispered, immediately tapping his lap, silently offering it as a pillow.
Oliver smiled tiredly. He pulled his chair a little closer to Venti's, then laid down flat across the seats, resting his head comfortably on Venti's thighs. He looked up at the bard's glowing eyes. "He's just feeling conflicted about something, that's all. He thinks he's a bad person. But I promised him he's not."
"Hmm," Venti hummed softly, his cool fingers gently tracing Oliver's forehead.
"Hmm," Venti said, as he gently rubbed Oliver's forehead.
Oliver's eyes drooped almost immediately. "God, I'm tired," he said, and covered a yawn with the his hand.
Venti smiled affectionately, his fingers moving from Oliver's forehead to gently card through his hair. "Get some sleep, then."
"Can I stay right here?" Oliver whispered, already half-asleep.
"Duh~," Venti giggled quietly, playfully sticking his tongue out.
Oliver let out a quiet, sleepy gasp. "Rude~,"
Venti just smiled warmer, reaching down to gently boop Oliver's nose.
Smiling to himself, Oliver finally relaxed, letting his eyes flutter shut.
As his boyfriend drifted off, Venti cast a quiet glance across the room at Jasper. Whoever you are, I hope you feel better, the Archon thought to himself. Taking a deep breath, Venti leaned back. He didn't actually require sleep, but he had to admit, the sensation felt incredibly nice. Being stuck with Oliver in this mortal world for the past week had given him a taste of human life, and... he was honestly loving it.
Venti decided to close his eyes, to drift off.
~~~~~
The next morning, Venti was the first one fully alert in the bunker. He shifted slightly in his chair, looking down to see Oliver still sprawled across the plastic seats.
At some point during the night, Oliver had rolled over; his face was now pressed directly into Venti's stomach.
Venti let out a series of muffled, melodic giggles, quickly covering his mouth to stay quiet. "Ehe~!" he whispered, lowering his hands to gently stroke Oliver's messy hair. "Of course he got all snuggly with my belly."
Venti glanced around the shadowy room. The only illumination came from the dim morning light filtering through the small window on the front door, spilling faintly down the hallway and into the break room.
Well, at least I know I can sleep just about anywhere, Venti thought proudly. Stripped away from his home dimension and practically drained of his power, yet he still slept like a log. He stretched his arms above his head, letting out a quiet yawn before settling back down.
Across the room, he noticed August beginning to stir.
Venti couldn't help but marvel at how fundamentally different the people of his boyfriend's world were compared to the citizens of Teyvat. It wasn't a bad thing at all—in fact, Venti found it entirely fascinating. It was thrilling to be somewhere so completely foreign. Still, a small part of him wished he could just peek into his own world for a moment, just to make sure everyone was safe. After the near-catastrophe they had just faced, a lingering unease tugged at him being so far away from home.
On his lap, Oliver groaned, shifting slightly as he began to wake up. He turned his head, finally moving his face away from his boyfriend's stomach to blink up at Venti's face.
He rubbed his eyes, letting out a groggy yawn. "You know," Oliver mumbled, his voice thick with sleep, "I almost forgot you were here with me."
Venti beamed. "You did, huh?"
"Yeah." Oliver gave a sleepy giggle. "I was half expecting to open my eyes and see Teyvat all around me, instead of this crappy place."
"Comforting," Venti said sarcastically.
Oliver didn't move to get up, entirely content to just lie there looking up at the bard. "How did you sleep? Sleep well?"
Venti continued to gently scratch Oliver's scalp. "Actually, yes!" he chirped cheerfully. "I guess that means I can adapt to sleeping absolutely anywhere. Or~," he flashed Oliver a teasing, wicked little smirk, "maybe it's just because you're here with me."
Oliver's cheeks instantly flushed a bright, dusty pink. He didn't even know how to respond—it was way too early in the morning to handle this level of cuteness. "Ventiiiii," he whined playfully, turning his head to bury his burning face right back into Venti's stomach.
Venti just giggled, happily continuing to play with his boyfriend's hair.
"Morning, guys," August called out, rubbing the back of his neck as he stood up. "Are any of you hungry? If not, we don't have to touch the ramen yet. We can wait until lunch time or whatever..."
"Yeah, yeah, we know," Oliver chuckled, finally sitting up and resting his elbows on the plastic table. "Gotta 'save the rations'."
August walked over to their table, looking a bit more focused than the day before. "I'm going to try to break into Extraction Room 3 today," he announced. "I need to see what's in there."
"Oh, right," Oliver said, blinking the last of the sleep from his eyes. "I forgot you mentioned there was a third one."
August nodded, gesturing toward the break room door. "Yeah, it's past Extraction Rooms 1 and 2 the one I was in. I have no idea if there are more victims in there, but god, I really hope not."
Oliver looked at Venti, then back at August. "Wait, how are we supposed to get in? Didn't you say the door was locked?"
August looked down at the table, then slowly shifted his gaze to the bard. "I'm not sure if... maybe your boyfriend could help?"
Oliver immediately turned to Venti, who was blinking innocently at August.
"Oh!" Venti straightened up in his chair. "Are you... suggesting I use my... uh..." Venti leaned closer to Oliver, dropping his voice to a loud whisper. "You did say I'm a famous character in your world, right? Does he know what I can do?"
Oliver gave a subtle nod, which was all the confirmation Venti needed.
"Alright then!" Venti announced, looking back at August. "I must warn you, though—I am no longer connected to Celestia, so my Anemo powers are severely weakened. I cannot use them to their full extent." He held up a single, confident finger. "But a mortal door? I'm pretty sure I can blast a door off its hinges. Should be no problem at all!" Venti smiled brightly, placing his hands proudly on his hips. "A mere slab of metal is no match for the greatest bard in Mondstadt!"
Oliver tapped his fingers thoughtfully against the plastic table. "Wait, if Venti can blast the door off the extraction room... couldn't he just blast the main door off the bunker so we can leave?!" He looked at August excitedly. "Right?"
But August quickly shook his head. "Even if it works, what do we do then? We still have absolutely no idea where we are, and there's a literal blizzard outside. We don't have winter coats, and if my dad really is the terrible mastermind we think he is, he definitely didn't build this place near—"
"—near civilization," Oliver finished, his excitement crashing. "Right. I get it."
"Exactly. Also it would be very stupid to do that and lead all that freezing cold air in. At least the temp is okay in here as it is. It's best we wait for Mark. We have enough food to survive for a few days if we ration it."
Oliver sighed, his thoughts drifting back to Extraction Room 3. "But if we find more people in there, that's just more mouths to feed."
"I know," August agreed grimly. "But we need to know if it's empty or not. Better to find out now rather than later. If there are people, I'll need to go through the whole unhooking process, and that takes time." He turned and headed for the hallway. "Come on. Let's do this before Richard and Jasper wake up."
~~~~~~
The three of them walked down the pitch-black hallway, passing by Extraction Room 1—where Oliver, Jasper, and Arnold had been held—and Extraction Room 2, which only housed a single chair.
The corridor ahead was engulfed in heavy shadows.
"I still don't know why the lights don't work out here. I haven't been able to find a single switch," August explained as they walked. "Only the extraction rooms have them. And for some reason, those lights are on a timer. You know, just to fuck with us even more."
"Wait, they are?" Oliver asked, surprised. "I guess they pick up movement, and if everyone's asleep with no heavy movements, they just shut off."
"Yeah, probably," August muttered.
The hallway came to an abrupt end. It was incredibly dark, but as Oliver squinted and carefully inched forward, he saw the dull gleam of a solid wall.
"Be careful, Ollie," Venti warned softly, staying close behind him.
"Don't worry, I got it." Oliver ran his hand along the cold metal. "Huh. It's a dead end."
"I know," August said. "I already checked down here." He took a step back and looked expectantly at Venti.
Venti rolled his shoulders, taking a deep, focused breath. He held out his left hand. The process was visibly slower than usual, but eventually, particles of glowing teal light gathered in his palm, coalescing into the familiar shape of his bow.
Venti gripped the weapon, aiming it squarely at the heavy metal door on the right wall. "Stand back, you two!" he warned with a bright smile. "Unless you want to get blown away! Well... assuming my wind is actually powerful enough to do that right now."
Oliver and August quickly scrambled backward, giving the Archon plenty of space.
Venti pinched his fingers against the bowstring. A glowing arrow of pure Anemo energy flickered into existence. His playful demeanor vanished, replaced by an expression of intense, divine focus as he drew the string back, the tension humming in the quiet hallway.
Thwack!
Venti released the string. The glowing arrow shot through the dark and slammed directly into the center of the metal door, lodging itself deep into the steel.
Instantly, a violent vortex of wind erupted. The gale howled, swirling aggressively around the embedded arrow and violently pushing against the sealed door. Venti gritted his teeth, holding his hands out to manually control the tempest, desperately trying to focus all the kinetic energy directly into the door rather than letting it tear the surrounding walls apart.
He wasn't entirely sure how he was manipulating the element without the leylines of Teyvat, or Celestia, but he could feel the immense strain. It was substantially weaker than his usual power.
But it was enough.
The locked door shrieked, the heavy metal groaning as the raw wind pressure forced the deadbolts to their breaking point. With a deafening SNAP, the locks gave way. The massive sliding door was violently blasted off its tracks, flying into the dark room and crashing onto the floor with an earth-shattering clang.
The magical wind instantly dissipated. A flurry of loose papers went fluttering wildly through the dark room before gently fluttering to the ground.
Venti lowered his bow, a triumphant grin spreading across his face. "Boom shakalaka! As Paimon would say~," he cheered, turning to the other boys. "There we go!"
Oliver let out a breathy laugh, utterly amazed. "That just proves how insanely powerful you actually are, if that is what you consider 'low power'."
Venti giggled, dismissing his bow in a flurry of sparks. "Ehe! Yeah! Though, I'm honestly still surprised I can use my powers here at all. But... that doesn't matter right now! The door is open."
"Yeah, it is." August stepped cautiously over the threshold. He felt blindly along the interior wall until his hand brushed against a plastic switch. "Let's hope the power works in here."
He flicked it.
The harsh fluorescent lights buzzed to life, violently flickering before flooding the space with stark white light.
There were no transfer chairs. The room was completely devoid of machinery. Instead, it was packed wall-to-wall with towering stacks of heavy cardboard boxes.
August let out a massive sigh of relief, sagging against the wall. "I have never been so happy to see boxes in my entire life."
"Seriously," Oliver agreed, walking in and looking around in awe. "What's even in all of these?"
"No idea," August said. "But why were they locked up behind a reinforced door?"
Oliver stepped up to the nearest stack. Stamped across the side of every single box in thick red ink was the word: CONFIDENTIAL. "I think I know why," he murmured.
August was by his side, and with Venti on the other.
"You think they're documents?" August asked.
"Maybe," Oliver said.
"Do you think Doctor Barclay wrote all of that out?" Venti asked, tilting his head.
"Probably." Oliver focused on a single box sitting isolated near the front. It looked significantly newer and less dusty than the rest. He looked over his shoulder. "Venti, summon an arrow."
Catching on instantly, Venti summoned a single Anemo arrow, elegantly twirling the glowing shaft between his fingers. He stepped forward and cleanly sliced the sharp arrowhead through the thick packing tape sealing the box.
Oliver reached over, pulling the cardboard flaps open to reveal hundreds of neatly stacked manila folders. He narrowed his eyes, pulling out the very first packet of stapled papers.
Transfer Chair - Barclay Ficto-Avatar Model Prototype 1
Notes: The prototype can adapt to any environment it's sent into. It has the ability to copy its user's physical appearance and seamlessly convert them into the aesthetic style of the world they are traveling to.
Unfortunately, this prototype has severe bugs within its system. While it does not matter if its human controller can remember their old life (the primary goal is to completely rewrite the subject), the avatar is highly susceptible to heat damage. Furthermore, even without extreme heat exposure, the user may still recover real-world memories unprompted if they encounter stimuli within the fictional world that triggers a connection to their past life.
Documented Subjects that have used the prototype:
Jeffrey Daniels (Male, Age 26): Sent to Minecraft, Sub-284. Subject was killed by a Creeper within the universe. The heat from the blast melted the avatar. The Avatar system failed to send his consciousness back to his physical body. Documented Year: 2012
Vanessa Chambers (Female, Age 30): Sent into Silent Hill, Sub-34,485. Subject successfully replaced the protagonist, Heather Mason. The machine completely lost connection with her, leaving her real body dormant for an extended period. The nutrient tubes eventually ran out, as I could no longer afford the upkeep during that time. Documented Year: 2017
Billy Anderson (Male, Age 10): Sent into Five Nights At Freddy's, Sub-Unknown. The universe for this game seems highly unstable; I am unfamiliar with its mechanics. It is as if the logic of the world simply refuses to function. The subject was mutated into some form of "Springtrap," a character from the game series. After documenting the boy's status, I observed he was once again exposed to fire, which completely fried the avatar connection. Documented Year: 2021
Ashton Blackwood (Male, Age 16): Sent into WALL-E, Sub-59,393. Unlike previous subjects, this individual was sent into a cinematic universe rather than a video game. The experiment was proceeding flawlessly, and the results were fascinating. For a substantial period, my plan worked perfectly—the boy's mind had been successfully rewritten. However, the avatar eventually lost connection once again. Could not find the reason. Documented Year: 2022
Oliver Radcliffe (Male, Age 22): Sent into Genshin Impact, Sub-3,921. With the other subjects, they all had to undergo a period of "stasis" to perfectly pair with their avatars. Every time I retrieve a damaged avatar from a failed subject's realm to assign to a new user, the adjustment period takes significant time. Oliver's pairing took a little over 4 years to complete. However, it seems to have been worth the wait, as his avatar has not experienced many fatal errors. There is still a minor glitch occurring, but so far, the subject is stable. Documented Year: 2023
Oliver, August, and Venti stared down at the paper in absolute, horrifying silence.
"They're... they're all dead?" Venti whispered, his eyes wide.
August snatched the paper from Oliver's trembling hands, his eyes frantically scanning the text again. "I... I don't believe this..."
Oliver stared blankly at the box. "Doctor Barclay didn't explain a single piece of this to me. And—and that stasis thing?! No wonder when Claire told him to go inside the worlds himself, he panicked and said what he had..."
"There are more documents," Venti noted grimly, peering into the box and then looking at the dozens of other ones.
"We can't possibly read them all..." Oliver said, his head spinning.
Venti reached into the box and pulled out another sheet of paper.
Documented Anomaly:Alongside my primary experiments, I have observed a dark entity lingering around the subjects at specific times. I have no idea what it is, or what its ultimate goals are. It appears to be omnipresent, as I have documented it existing in two entirely different dimensions simultaneously. Occasionally, it ignores the avatars entirely, but when it does interfere, violent battles break out, and it rarely ends well for the subject. Though I possess very little data on it, I have discovered the name of this strange creature: Nerraw. I must investigate this anomaly further.
Oliver and Venti leaned in close to read the document together. "Well, I guess this definitively rules out the theory that the monster was working for Barclay," Oliver muttered.
"Yeah," Venti agreed softly. "And did you catch its name? Nerraw."
Oliver squinted at the typewritten text, reading it out loud again. "Nerraw... wait. Isn't that just Warren spelled backwards?"
Before they could process that, they heard the sound of ripping cardboard.
"Hang on," Venti called out, quickly summoning his glowing arrow again and hurrying over to where August was struggling to tear into a second box.
August stepped back, letting Venti slice the tape. He dragged his hands down his face, looking completely shattered. "I still cannot believe this," he whispered, shaking his head. "Don't get me wrong, Oliver, I never disbelieved your story, but... he's my dad." August turned to look at Oliver, his eyes shining with unshed tears. "And it's not like he was some abusive, terrible father where I'd instantly say, 'Oh yeah, no shit he'd do something evil like this.' No... he was always there for me. He was kind. To learn that he was secretly sending literal children into these death traps... it just doesn't seem like the man I knew."
Oliver completely understood the horrific cognitive dissonance August was going through. Before he could offer any comfort, Venti pulled the flaps of the second box open.
"More papers," Venti announced smoothly. "This Doctor certainly loved to write, didn't he?"
"Is that all that's in here? Just endless documentation of his crimes?" Oliver asked, walking over and pulling the top sheet from the new box.
Strange Structure Within a Realm:Using the main terminal, I can establish a weak visual feed into the realms my test subjects currently inhabit. I have discovered a hallway located within Kingdom Hearts, Sub-2, that I desperately need to investigate. However, for reasons unknown, Sub-2 of Kingdom Hearts is heavily fortified by a foreign energy. No matter what avatar I attempt to send into the realm, the system aggressively rejects the transfer.The hallway itself is incredibly anomalous. It appears to act as a physical nexus, with various other worlds attached directly to doors. I cannot visually identify what those connected worlds are, nor can I extract their specific Sub-Codes. This is a critical mystery I must solve, but the primary obstacle remains bypassing the security of Sub-2.
"Hallway?" Oliver blinked in shock. "And Kingdom Hearts? Wow... no way. I actually played a few of those games before..."
August grabbed the paper out of Oliver's hands, his eyes narrowing as he analyzed every single word. Slowly, he lowered the document, his face pale. "The hallway..." he breathed. "The metal door on the opposite side of the break room... the one that leads down to that massive portal rim at the end.."
Oliver and Venti snapped their heads toward him. "Oh, right! You mentioned that yesterday." Oliver said.
"Now I know exactly what it was built for," August said.
"Wait, didn't you say the door to that portal room was just completely unlocked?" Oliver asked, crossing his arms. "I haven't gone down there yet, but... a giant, dimension-hopping portal rim sounds incredibly dangerous. Why would Doctor Barclay leave that completely unsecured, but lock all of these basic paper notes behind a reinforced steel door?"
"Well, isn't it obvious?" August gestured to the boxes. "The portal is unfinished. It's probably completely dead and unusable. But these?" He tapped the side of the box. "These are his handwritten confessions. If anyone found these, he'd be locked away for life."
Oliver stared at the sprawling sea of boxes. "Well, they're not a secret anymore, thanks to Venti. Once we get out of here, we have all the evidence we need to report him to the authorities."
"That is if we ever get out of here," August sighed heavily. He turned toward the door. "We can read through the rest of these later. Let's just... go make sure the others are okay. I need to check on Richard. If he's still stressed out, I don't want him sitting alone in the dark."
Oliver nodded, turning to follow him out. But Venti suddenly grabbed his hand, stopping him.
"This man sounds incredibly dangerous," Venti said, his voice dropping into a rare, serious tone. "Inhumane human experiments? It honestly reminds me of a certain 'Doctor' back in my own world..." Venti let out a heavy sigh.
Oliver immediately knew exactly who Venti was talking about. "Well, the good news is, our Doctor is incredibly weak compared to you. Honestly, even with your magic drained, you could still flick any normal human in this world and send us flying and then we're all dead."
Venti snorted, his playful demeanor instantly returning. "My word, you make it sound like you and your fellow world-mates are all just fragile little twigs!"
Oliver laughed. "I mean... compared to the elemental magic in Teyvat, and the fact that humans here have absolutely zero powers? Yeah. Even Bennett could probably wipe the floor with us. Dottore is a terrifying, god-level threat. Doctor Barclay? He's just a weak, pathetic old man in a lab coat. You could literally kill him with a single puff of wind."
Venti shook his head with a dramatic sigh. "I suppose your entire race is just pretty looks and nothing else, hmm?" he teased, closing his eyes and shaking his head playfully, before cracking one eye open to see Oliver's reaction.
Oliver's face instantly burned red. "Oh, come on... you seriously cannot think I'm that pretty in my real-world body..."
"But you are, though!" Venti smiled brilliantly, rising up on his tiptoes to plant a sweet, sudden kiss directly on Oliver's lips.
Oliver blushed furiously, his eyes fluttering shut as he happily returned the kiss.
Venti pulled away with a soft giggle. "My cute Ollie~."
Oliver let out a flustered, happy sigh, his face radiating heat.
Fingers comfortably intertwined, the two of them finally walked out of the extraction room, following August down the dark hallway.
"I do wonder why Doctor Barclay chose to hide all of his documents down here, of all places," Venti mused.
"Well, we still don't actually know where this bunker or whatever is located," Oliver pointed out. "But honestly, now I'm really starting to believe we're in the absolute middle of butt-fuck nowhere."
Venti burst into a fit of laughter. "WHAT?!" he giggled loudly.
Oliver giggled along with him.
Venti calmed down. "Yeah. It almost looked like Snezhnaya out there," Venti noted.
Oliver blinked a few times, looking at his boyfriend in confusion. "I'm sorry, what?"
Venti giggled at his confusion. "Snezhnaya! It's a very cold, snowy region in Teyvat."
"Oh." Oliver shrugged. "I've... never actually heard of it."
Chatting comfortably, the two of them walked back into the break room to join the others, ready to face whatever slow, agonizingly boring day awaited them in this place.