(Editing) Twisted Wonderland X Zhongli!Reader (Version I)

⚰️Stranger Waking⚰️ (Updated)

Your eyes, still heavy with sleep, slowly opened. Being met with nothing, but pitch black darkness. How long have I been in slumber...? Had that all really been a dream...? No... It felt all too real. You thought to yourself. Wood creaked beneath your weight as you shifted your lengthy body. Feeling around with your hands in the darkness, it was discovered that you were completely encased in that same wooden material. Just where exactly were you? Who was bold enough, or more possibly dumb enough, to trap a god with mere wood? As you contemplated on who could perform such idiocy, the sounds of shuffling and grunts wormed their way through the grains. The voice itself was heavily muffled due to the thick plank separating you from the outside world.

As the voice spoke you could somewhat make out the words of whoever owned it, "I better hurry up and find that uniform before someone spots me..." Little grunts followed suit along with the creaking of the wooden lid. Barely moving the top a centimeter.

Hearing the almost pathetic attempt at freeing you, the irony was not lost on you. Here you lay in a foreign coffin. A transport for souls to the afterlife. The very same kind you assisted with after the mortals' lives stopped ticking. However... this specific type of burial box was one you were not yet familiar with.

"Urgggh... This lid weighs a ton! Try this on for size! Mya-ha!" Blue flames ate away at the wooden lid. Ashes drifting down from the disintegrating timber. Finishing their feast of kindling, the flames dissipated from existence. Allowing your cinder covered figure to finally sit up. That blaze... you had not yet seen anything like it. A mystery that fascinated  you.

"Was that blue pyro...?" Quietly whispered your lips to no one's ears, but your own. Wiping away charred embers, you were granted a clear view of the room you were in. Only to have your observation interrupted by some kind of... cat? Monster...? You weren't very sure what greeted your now up right form.

"Now to grab the goods... What?! You ain't supposed to be awake!" It yelped in shock. Its large blue cat-like eyes meeting yours. One set filled with surprised. The other in confusion. Which was which? Who could ever know. But, one thing was for sure. You were no longer in Liyue.

Taking your surroundings in more closely this time, due to the fiery creature being too stunned to speak, details made themselves known. There were coffins laid on the floor and propped up against the stone walls. The architecture was similar to Fontaine's. Only it was darker... Everything looked more twisted and eerie. As if intentionally made to look vile to anyone with a color palette with absolute zero room for dark colorations.

"Floating coffins...? And a talking... creature of some kind?" Your mumble quietly falling from your mouth. All while you slowly stood from your coffin. Soot flying off and landing back within the wooden container.

"How... How DARE YOU! I am not just some creature! I'm Grim, sorcerer extraordinaire!"

Listening to the thing halfheartedly, your eyes drifted to look behind the floating being. Landing on a cloaked figure. Their body language tense and awkward. Trembling violently with what you could only assume to be fear. Understandable when you suddenly appear some place unfamiliar. Then harassed by an animal of unknown origin that can speak.

"Tch. Whatever. You...human! Just gimme your uniform, and be quick about it! Cause if you don't...you're gonna regret it!"

This thing was already beginning to twiddle away at your patience. "Grim, Sorcerer Extraordinaire! Have you anything to do with my unexpected departure of Liyue?" You questioned in a firm tone. There was no time to waste in useless idle conversation. Too many things were happening at once, and you weren't the only one dealing these issues. A boy was in obvious terror with this situation.