Unlucky~ Bennett x Male Reader

Yet Another Night

Venti's POV

I flew next to Sorin as we enjoyed our night-time walk at the shores of Mondstadt. Sorin hummed a tune and played with his lyre, creating a beautiful lullaby that went along nicely with the gentle passing of wind, the crashing of waves on rocks, and the song of the crickets and fireflies. Hearing him sing, I couldn't help but hum along with his melody. I closed my eyes and as our walk continued, we sang throughout the night.

We do this quite often though not always at the shore. Sometimes we'd sing at Cider Lake and other times we'd sing along the roads, just following along with the winds just as a leaf would drift to it's rhythm. But this night was different...

Sorin suddenly stopped moving and the sudden pause to his song made me stop in tracks as well. Taking a small peek, I saw the worry in his eyes as his gaze seems to be fixed forward. I looked at where his eyes would have landed but saw nothing other than a bunch of stuff laying on the beach after drifting from the sea. Concerned of my friend's well-being, I decided to end my suspense and ask.

Barbatos "Sorin? Is everything alright?"

Sorin "That thing moved..."

Barbatos "Huh? Hey- wait!"

Sorin ran ahead of me. He stopped at where the ocean debris were and kneeled next to it, resting his lyre next to him. Sensing that the situation feels grim, I quickly flew to his side. Sorin moved the around the strange black ooze mixed in with sea-garbage and to my shock, he eventually uncovered a hand. Sorin quickened his pace and shoved even more black ooze out of the way until he uncovered a face. That of what looked to be a young child.

Sorin "He's alive... Barbatos, help me get him back home!"

Barbatos "What?! You don't even know who he is!"

Sorin "He's a little kid who's unconscious and cold! Now help me!"

I wanted to debate my friend decision further, but I know better than to stop him. Seeing as I have no other choice, I flew under the strange figure's back and flapped my wings as hard as I could to distribute the weight between us both.

*Timeskip*

It took us almost an hour but we managed to get back into our little cottage. You'd be surprised how heavy a little kid is when they're soaked in sea water. In any case, we put him down on a couch next to the fireplace. After resting for a little while, Sorin inspected the figure closely and i did the same. Up front, the little kid looked about 9 or 10 years old. He looked mostly human with the exception of horns that poked out of his head and some subtle differences from the distance between one eye to the other and larger fangs. Something a bit more obvious however is the kid's condition.

He looked to be at death's doorstep. Malnourished, boney, pale, and sickly, not to mention the fact that the only thing he had on was dirty, soggy rags.

Sorin "I'll go get a blanket and some fresh clothes. Could you get some soup in the pot? The boy looks like he hasn't eaten for days..."

Barbatos "All right."

Sorin left into another room and I used my anemo powers to float some carrots, potatoes, cabbage, leek, and leftover meat into the pot. I flew next to the pot and used my powers once more to gently stir it's contents with a big wooden spoon.

Seconds went into a minute, then another, then a third, and more... I stir and stir and stir but the more i do it, the more I felt like nothing is changing. I've seen the bottom end of the carrot surface on the same time for thirteen times now, followed by the same cut of potato. It felt like it had been half an hour since I started stirring this pot and Sorin hasn't come back. Finally deciding to break my cycle, I looked behind me and saw that (Y/N) wasn't in the couch either...

Strange noises came from downstairs. My hand let go of the spoon and I stood up, walking into a tight wooden hallway and down through it. Hung on the wall was a picture of Sorin, (Y/N), and myself. Within the framed image, Sorin was covered in slashes and arrows. and (Y/N) held a horrific scythe. As I held the picture, blood seeped from the glass and covered my hands, dripping onto the floor and sinking even farther down through the cracks. I continued on my way to follow the odd noises which seems to sound more and more like chanting as I drew closer. The old wooden panels creak loudly at my every step and upon the turn of a corner, I was met with a stairway going down into the basement.

Taking my first step, My body weakened. The air became thin and my nose was filled with a dreadful stench of rot and decay. Resisting the urge to turn back and pretend all that I saw was nothing, I moved forward. Deeper, and deeper, into Darkness.

As I near the bottom of the stairs, the words became clear. It was a spell, dark... old.... and powerful but forgotten by time, and forbidden by the Gods. A spell which invokes the soul of someone to return into an unfit vessel that no longer supports it's body. The words I heard... were Necromancy...

 My heart sank and my breath halted in my mouth when I finally saw what exactly was going on in the basement. Bodies hung on iron chains, limp, rotting and mutilated beyond recognition. Black featureless books line the floors and ancient runes carved into the walls. At the end of the room, a stone altar with red candles lit around it and resting at the top was Sorin's body...

At the center of the room...

(Y/N) stood next to a rotten body which stood upright, looking at me with foggy, hollow eyes...

(Y/N) "You may have killed him... but I'll bring him back..." 

I blinked and before I knew it, I lay next to Sorin's dead body, chained on all my limbs and my torso locked onto the stone altar with metal. Shadows surrounded (Y/N) and from it, A scythe made of bone and steel materialized in (Y/N)'s hand. He held it up, the tip of the blade following an arc that would lead right to my chest...

"So we can be a family again."

And struck down.

Venti "AAAAAH!!!"

My eyes open to the sight of a bottle of wine that I had pushed over the table, and a few patrons of Master Diluc's tavern who looked at me with worry and annoyance. My breath was heavy and rapid and my mind unsettled but then again, it's not like it's the first time this has happened... another nightmare, as usual.

I think I'm gonna need more drinks to get me through the night...