[EARLY ACCESS] SHRINK IMPACT | GENSHIN IMPACT | CHAPTER 44

Mona was still trapped, but you made the journey across Ningguang’s quarters, following her, determined to save the girl from certain death. 

You trailed Ningguang to the threshold of the palace bath, staying low in the shadow of the carved screen as she entered. She padded towards the bath built low into the flooring.

The air was already heavy with steam, fragrant with rose and amber. At the center, an enormous tub gleamed—deep, sunken, and brimming with swirling, petal-strewn water.

Ningguang stopped in the center of the room. She untied her sash, letting her robe slip from her shoulders in a liquid golden cascade. The fabric pooled soundlessly around her feet, leaving her statuesque form completely bare—save for the sheer thong that clung to her hips, its thin band disappearing between the plush roundness of her rear.

For a moment, you could only stare. Her back was a smooth, elegant line from nape to coccyx, dusted in a faint sheen of sweat that shimmered in the lamplight. She ran a hand up her thigh, tracing the curve, then hooked her thumb in the thong’s waistband. 

With a single, graceful motion, she peeled it away—dragging the damp fabric from between her cheeks, letting it dangle from her fingertips. She glanced down, expression amused, then let the thong fall to the tiles with a soft, wet slap. The last barrier gone, she stood revealed—her body gleaming, flawless, regal in its nudity.

She gathered her hair atop her head, pinning it with a jade comb, and took a step toward the tub, hips swaying. You caught a glimpse of her breasts—full, pale, nipples already pebbled from the cool air and the anticipation of heat to come. Ningguang dipped a toe, then her foot, into the water, shivering delicately.

And then, out of the corner of your eye, something flickered. There, caught in the crack of Ningguang’s plush rear, just where her skin dipped into shadow, was a tiny, limp figure: Mona, battered and glazed with sweat, her arm and a lock of dark hair visible as Ningguang shifted her weight. 

The thong’s removal had dislodged her just enough to reveal her, glistening and desperate, still clinging unconsciously to the warmth she’d been pinned in.

Your breath seized in your chest. 

Ningguang’s fingers trailed along the marble lip of the tub. She sank gracefully to her knees, then perched on the edge, hips flexing. You watched in petrified awe as her body moved, the powerful muscles of her thighs shifting, her rear flexing—Mona’s form vanishing, then reappearing for a heartbeat, then nearly disappearing entirely as Ningguang shifted her weight and prepared to slip into the bath.

Slowly, with all the poise of a queen, Ningguang lowered herself into the steaming water. She eased herself down, water climbing her thighs, lapping at her hips, her curves half-submerged and gleaming. The water, agitated by her entrance, sent waves rolling across the surface and almost over the sides—scattering petals and steam.

The moment Ningguang’s hips met the water, Mona’s form slid free at last, the suction and pressure of the water tugging her loose. She tumbled down the curve of Ningguang’s cheek, hitting the water with a nearly silent splash and vanishing beneath the surface—just a flicker of blue hair and a ripple where she’d sunk.

Your body jolted with panic. Without thinking, you scrambled along the edge of the room—dodging past the robe and thong, boots and scattered jewelry, all of it impossibly vast—skirting puddles of condensation as you ran for the tub.

Ningguang, oblivious, exhaled a blissful sigh, sinking deeper until the water nearly reached her chest. She stretched, her breasts rising and falling with the gentle waves, eyes half-closed as she cupped water in her hands and let it cascade over her skin.

You reached the tub’s base, heart pounding, peering up the slick marble side. The waterline shimmered above, the surface aglow with reflected lantern light, petals drifting in lazy circles. Meanwhile Mona, barely buoyant, tumbling in the current, perilously close to Ningguang’s thigh and the undertow of her every movement.

You had no choice. With a desperate, shuddering breath, you began to climb—a tiny, sticky hand on the grout, bare feet slipping on condensation.

Every sense was heightened—the heat, the scent of her body and the bath, the sound of water lapping at smooth flesh, the thunderous rush of your own blood in your ears.

Mona, you thought, hold on. I’m coming.

And you threw yourself over the marble lip, plunging headlong into the swirling, fragrant water—into Ningguang’s dangerous, luxurious bath, and the fight for Mona’s life.

You plunged over the edge, bracing for agony. Instead, you hit the water with a jolt and a splash, the heat enveloping you all at once—intense but not unbearable, the temperature wrapping your battered body like an embrace instead of scalding punishment. It soaked through your hair and clothes, stinging every scrape and burn but not overwhelming.

For a brief, dizzying second, you just floated—weightless, warm, surrounded by swirls of rose petals and shimmering oil. The water muffled the world; sounds became distant and muted. Above you, Ningguang’s legs shifted with a rippling sigh, the current from her movement tugging you a few feet closer to the mountainous swell of her thigh.

You surfaced, coughing, blinking droplets from your eyes, and found yourself gazing up at the most intimidating—and somehow impossibly sensual—sight you’d ever witnessed.

Ningguang’s knees bent, her long, pale legs shifting beneath the water with lazy grace. She parted them, spreading wide, her thighs cresting the surface to either side of you like the gates of a palace. The motion sent waves rolling in every direction, carrying you even closer, the rose petals swirling around your shoulders. Her skin gleamed beneath the surface, pale gold and slick, traced with subtle veins and soft shadows.

And there—half-submerged, wreathed in steam, framed by her open thighs—was her sex: pale and glistening, water beading off the smooth flesh and collecting in the gentle hollow where thigh met hip. A delicate tuft of silver hair crowned her mound, barely visible beneath the water. The soft, inviting folds of her lips glimmered wet and pink through the shifting currents, a shimmer of heat and life that made your pulse thunder and your face burn.

It was terrifying, yes—because of the sheer scale, the power in every casual movement, the knowledge that a careless shift could pin you under or draw you helplessly in. But it was impossible not to be aroused, too: to feel the electric throb of heat and desire as you realized just how close you were to Ningguang’s most intimate place, the living core of her body.

Her thighs flexed slightly as she stretched her arms along the marble rim, tilting her hips just enough to let the water slide deeper between her legs, the gentle current parting her folds for a fleeting, heart-stopping moment. Her breath shuddered out in a soft, satisfied sigh, her head tipping back and her eyes closing in pleasure.

You drifted there—awestruck, tiny, and hopelessly aroused—watching the slow, lazy motion of her hips and thighs, the shimmer of her glistening sex. One wrong move and you could be drawn in.

The danger only made it more intoxicating. And somewhere, beneath the pounding of your heart, you remembered your purpose—Mona, still lost in the water, in even greater peril.

But for this moment, all you could do was float, trembling and breathless, as Ningguang’s immense, exquisite body spread open before you like the most decadent, forbidden vision in all of Teyvat.