Venti was having some "alone-time" after the eventful day,
When suddenly, he felt Lisa's presence completely disappear...
...
...
He was...Not imagining it, right...?
...
Lisa, she...
*He could no longer feel her...
...
...
As if she was now gone...
As if she was now...
...
Dead.
…
…
Why would she die...?
Why would it have to be...Now...?
...
Why...Leaving him once again...?
*Just like his people...Did in the past...
…
…
Sooner or later...
...
They all…
…
Each and every one of them…
…
…
Just died...
...
...
...
-...The last place she was at...The Alchemist Lab...-Venti heard himself say, the realization of what happened still not quite registering in his mind. -...I should...Go there now...
And a second later, without much thought,
He teleported to the location in question...
...
The place where Lisa,
Breathed her last...
...
The place where...
...
...
...
Albedo and Emilia were quietly standing by the bed,
The familiar form of Lisa lying on top of it, completely immobile,
A pure white sheet was covering most of her body, with only the head seen,
And a small jar with a strange substance was standing at a nearby Alchemy table...
...
...
The strange substance...
...
Why did it feel...
...
...
JUST LIKE LISA'S SOUL?!
...
…
…
-Albedo, Emilia, you have a minute maximum to explain this. If I don't like your explanation, you better be prepared for severe punishment! -Venti coldly said, as a small hurricane appeared in the room, one which rapidly started getting bigger in tune with his emotions. But he didn't care, if the whole room gets destroyed...If all their Alchemical research gets destroyed...Not when, both of them...-...What do you think you just did...?! I accepted you, two Homunculi, into Mondstadt! I adopted you as part of my people, my children of wind! I TRUSTED YOU TWO, SO HOW COULD YOU...?!
"Please, don't be mad at Chief Alchemist Albedo and Alchemist Emillia, Barbatos! They were just following Librarian Lisa's plan!", the Winds interrupted him, sounding both frantic, as well as increasingly sad, "...This is the way she wanted her death to happen...And she was the one who asked for their help..."
At these words, his mind went blank,
And the hurricane quickly stopped…
*What Venti heard just now,
The Winds' words to him…
…
…
He didn't misheard it, right…?
…
…
...
Lisa is the one who...
...
...
Wanted this...?
…
…
…
Her death and…
…
…
That small jar…
*Her soul,
Was it truly inside…?
…
…
…
Why…
…
Did she…?
…
…
…
W-why…?
Afterwards, everything passed in a blur,
From people taking Lisa's body in preparation for the funeral and to...
It was afternoon,
But you could barely notice it with how dark the sky was...
…
It was cloudy, as if aligning with his current mood,
And the scene around him made it even worse...
...
He was near Springvale accompanied by the knights of Favonius,
On the same hill where Jean imagined his "send off" to be that one time...
...
There were graves scattered all over it...
...
It reminded him of that horrible "Vision" he had,
At the time when he and Barbara exchanged bodies...
They were graves of people he once knew,
And saw as his friends...
...
As his family...
...
...
It was starting,
What he was so afraid of...
All of those graves were theirs,
Most of their bodies are already skeletons beneath the earth...
...
...
He found that this time it was harder to say goodbye,
As unlike the times before when he parted from one to a few people at once...
*And couldn't forget any of them, no matter how much it hurt him to remember. The memories are the only reminder that they once lived...
...
...
It was really starting...
*It was starting and he...
...
"You all. You are so cruel...
...Making me promise to take care of myself and continue living, while you die and leave me all alone...!"
...
...
He never wanted this,
And yet...
"Too much of a good thing"
Starting from Lisa...
"The road to hell is paved with good intentions"
His people were...
...
...
Was he going to experience this over and over...?
Was he going to get close to people only for them to leave him again and again...?
*Never being able to rest because of his promise and his people's persisting faith...
...
...
H-his people were...!
Was he going to outlive even Dvalin, Boreas and Vennessa...?
Was he going to be all alone in the end...?
*Would he never be able to see them ever again…?
...
...
How long can he keep living like this…?
...
Before he finally breaks...?
…
Before he himself becomes a "cursed relic"...?
...
...
…
-...I am going to inform the Traveler of this...-Venti quietly said, his "Archon" voice still reverberating through the place and interrupting the ongoing Leichenschmaus, with some people already starting to look towards him with worried expressions. He knew why they were looking at him like this, still...-...I am going to inform them of Lisa's...
And a second later, unable to finish the sentence, he teleported away,
Soon appearing at the Nameless Island, the place he somehow felt the most comfortable at, at the moment...
...
"Barbatos, we understand how you are feeling...", the Winds carefully started, sounding a little regretful, "...But please, don't do anything dangerous, alright...?"
...
-...I am not going to do anything dangerous, since I made a promise...-Venti answered moments later, sounding more hollow than anything. -...I just want to tell the Traveler about what happened, so they could tell Cyno and...
His words soon trailed off...
...
What he said just now,
It was a lie, wasn't it...?
...
...
This wasn't the real reason why he NEEDED to speak with the Traveler...
*Traveler wasn't human and neither were they from this world...
...
And yet, for him, the Traveler...
...
Somehow...
...
...
...
"Oh, hello there, Venti! Is there something...?", The Traveler started right after answering the call, before their words suddenly trailed off, "...Venti, why do you look so...Crushed...?", they continued in rising worry, with Paimon, who was floating by their side, now looking as worried, "...What happened in Mondstadt for you to...?!"
-Lisa is dead. We recently had her funeral and now there's the Leichenschmaus...Funeral feast...-Venti interrupted them, sounding quite hollow and feeling just as horrible. And why wouldn't he, when...W-when...-...T-they are starting to leave me again, Traveler. T-they are starting to die on me and I...I-I can't do anything to stop it...!