Venti's funeral

Part 2 - The Death of a Bard

The Church doors opened with a creak, followed by loud footsteps which echoed across the room.

"Is Barbara here?" Kaeya panted. Why are there so many fucking stairs? He thought.

"Coming!" A voice called out, followed by a large gasp when she saw the two.

"Oh my Archons!" She cried. "Bennett! How did you hurt yourself again?"

"I'm literally holding an unconscious Venti here..." Kaeya stated.

"Sorry! Only one patient at a time, I'll be with you in a moment!" Barbara sang as she took Bennett away to heal him.

Kaeya stood awkwardly, Venti in arms, waiting for someone to do something. Is Barbara the only sister in this church that does anything?

"Let me have a look at him." A stern voice said behind him, making him turn quickly. It was Rosaria. "Oh yeah, he's dead."

"How could you tell?"

"Because he's not fucking breathing. That's a pretty common trait amongst dead people." Rosaria rolled her eyes.

"Well, you never know, Barbara could heal him!" Kaeya snapped back. Rosaria ignored him, and so they both waited for Barbara's return.

Barbara finally returned, and came closer to inspect Venti. She sighed upon closer inspection.

"I'm afraid to say that he is dead. May the anemo Archon bless his soul." Barbara tearfully said.

"I told you so!" Rosaria smirked.

"Rosaria, a man was just pronounced dead, this isn't the time to say "I told you so"..." Kaeya groaned. "Anyway, is there anything else you can do Barbara? Like determine the cause of death or something?"

"Kaeya... I only deal with living patients. I have no idea how to do that." Barbara said as kindly as possible.

Kaeya dramatically turns around, his half-cape thing flowing behind him as he walked away. "Well, it looks like I have some investigating to do..."

***

The next morning was warm and bright, in contrast to the cold shade casted by tall, fungi covered buildings that line the streets of Monstadt. Zhongli looked up at the birds flying above the city, taking it all in, before returning to look at the traveller who sat before him.

"How are you enjoying Monstadt, Zhongli?" The traveller asked, cutting their sticky honey roast.

"I must admit, the atmosphere here is quite different to the one in Liyue. It is a pleasant and welcome change of pace." He replied calmly.

"Plus, you can eat lots of Monstadt's specialties here! Oh! You definitely need to try Monstadt hash browns next!" Paimon drooled at the thought of the meal.

Suddenly, their conversation was cut off by a familiar presence walking over to their table at Good Hunter's. It was Kaeya.

"Traveller, may I have a word with you?" He requested.

"I'm busy." The traveller quickly replied.

Kaeya sighed. "Fine. I'll tell you now." Kaeya paused before finishing what he was saying. "Venti was found dead in Whispering Woods last night. I don't suppose you know anything about what might have caused this?"

"Venti died?! How is this possible?!" Paimon wailed. "Well, at least he's with his friend now!"

The table went awkwardly silent until Kaeya broke it. "Traveller, when you have time, please come to the Knights of Favonius headquarters to discuss it further."

The traveller watched as he walked off, before turning back to Zhongli.

"Venti... that's the name Barbatos takes this days, isn't it?" Zhongli queried. The traveller nodded. "I see... well I saw it coming, since he was the weakest Archon and all."

"That seems a little inappropriate to say after his passing, don't you think?" Paimon exclaimed.

Zhongli ignored her, reminiscing about the past. "I remember me and Barbatos used to play catch, way back then. It's one of my most cherished memories."

"Aww that's so cute!" Paimon said softly.

"Though Barbatos could never catch the giant mountains I threw at him, so he opted to dodge instead." Zhongli smiled.

"Oh."

Zhongli took a sip of his drink. "So, is there going to be a rite of parting or something similar for Barbatos?"

"Well most people don't know his true identity, so he'll probably have a normal funeral. Will you be attending?" The traveller said, also sipping their drink they purchased from the Cat's Tail.

"Certainly. It's not everyday an Archon passes."

To be continued...