"𝙈𝙤𝙞𝙧𝙖" ● 𝙋𝙨𝙮𝙘𝙝𝙤!𝙑𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞 𝙓 𝙇𝙪𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙚 ● 𝙂𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙣 𝘼𝙐

• 𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 7 • (𝙏𝙒: 𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙥𝙝𝙞𝙘 𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚)

In Mondstadt, Lumine crowded around the tree at Windrise with tears in her eyes. Her friend, Rosaria, was tied to it and seemingly was beaten to death.

The culprit wrote a message in her blood...gross. How messed up does someone have to be to write with someone else's blood as their ink?

Lumine kept staring at the message. She couldn't help but look at the first letter of each line:

M
I
R
A

It was most likely unintentional, but Lumine thought about this for a while. It was similar to the word "Moira", which means "fate of the gods". What if this was a God's fate? To kill people against their will? What if it wasn't against their will...? Could they be...?

No. Venti would never do that. No God would do that...right? Recalling Albert and Rosaria's body, Lumine recalled Diluc's body and formed a conclusion.

All of the people who were killed were from Mondstadt. So, it couldn't be someone from another region, right?

Not only that, but the day before the bodies were found, Venti left a note for her that he had some matters to take care of. It was way too suspicious for him to leave right before the bodies were spotted.

Lumine shook off the thought. Venti would never and could never kill and like it. Then again, the possibilities were endless. She also knew he was a god. Specifically, the anemo archon Barbatos.

She snapped out of her thoughts once she heard Kaeya crying. Again. She didn't even realize she was around other people.

Another one of his drinking buddies were gone, to never return.

"Who is doing this...?" He sobbed into his hands. Lumine rubbed his back gently. She had decided, at that very moment, to catch this killer. We'll call them...the Mondstadt Murderer.

The Mondstadt Murderer couldn't have been far. Lumine just had to interview everyone in the region. Starting with the city.

Soon, she took off in full sprint.

~Venti POV~

Venti trudged down the stairs, scythe in hand. His eye shined black, as he didn't care if anyone saw it or not.

He opened the door to find Signora thrashing about like usual. And screaming. Really loud.

He walked over and smacked her dead in the face. She whimpered slightly and backed down.

"You got some nerve trying to get someone to help you. Let me remind you of something." Venti leaned in close to her ear.

"We're in the middle of a fucking forest. Who is gonna hear you from here? Hm?" When nothing was said, his fist flew onto her face. Blood dribbled down from Signora's nose and mouth as she breathed loudly.

"WHO?!" Venti demanded, but Signora still did not speak up. He sighed and smiled. "Fine. Be that way. If you don't wanna speak..."

He took a knife out of his pocket and pointed it towards her.

"I'll have my knife do the talking for you."

He went over to her legs first. Plunging the knife deep, he heard Signora holler as he slid his hand farther up. The amount of pleasure he was receiving from hearing her screams was magical.

He took her other leg into his arm. "Ah, I have an idea for this one~" He pulled the knife out of Signora's right leg and hovered it over her left. "Hmmmm...maybe I'll carve my name into it! So when people discover your body, they'll know who killed you~ Hehe."

He licked one of the sides of the knife and laughed loudly. "Ah, but what name shall I use? Tell me, should I use my God name or my regular name?"

Signora wasn't any help; she just continued to sob and beg for him to stop. "Please...stop. I'm sorry!" She whispered and cried harder.

Venti swiftly sliced open her cheek with one movement. "You're so annoying!! You can never do anything right, can you? I'll just use my God name. After all, it's longer~! And it's more pain for you, more pleasure for me!!"

He giggled and stabbed her thigh, slowly carving his name while she screamed loudly.

"B...A...R...B- UGH- STOP MOVING, DAMMIT!!" He hit her in the face twice, causing more blood to ooze out of her pores. Venti licked his lips in lust at the sight of Signora bleeding. He continued to carve his name while laughing.

"...A...T...O...and S!! Hehe, we're done!"

Blood was pouring out of Signora's wound profusely. Venti lifted it to his face and ran his tongue across her thigh, licking up the blood. Signora's consciousness slipped away and her head flopped over. Venti groaned and threw her leg off of him. "Hmph! It's never fun when they're out cold." He continued to bitch about as he went upstairs to change and go into the forest for fresh air.

_____________

He changed into his bard attire and carried his scythe over his shoulder. Heading deeper into the forest, he heard the sound of the leaves rustling. He gripped his weapon tighter, looking around towards the sound. To his left, a blonde girl popped out with leaved all over her head. She coughed and picked them out before locking eyes with Venti.

"Lumine...?" Venti asked, putting his scythe away temporarily. Lumine rushed over to him and hugged him. He returned the favor, kissing her forehead and embracing her.

"I missed you. A lot." Lumine said from Venti's chest. "Awh, did you now? I missed you more. Did you get my note?"

She nodded. "I did. I...never knew you felt that way about me. I'm so sorry I didn't notice sooner."

Venti laughed lightly and gave her pats on the head. "It's not your fault, darling. I was scared you were going to reject me. Heh, I couldn't practically live with the thought. Now, this provokes the question..." He took Lumine's hands into his own.

"...do you love me back?"

A small blush appeared on Lumine's face. She always found Venti to be quite adorable all the time. Plus, he was super sweet and understanding. There's no way she could say no.

"Yes, Venti. I love you."

Venti's eyes went wide and he hugged her tight. After staying like this for a while, they pulled away and Lumine gasped. "YOUR EYE! Is that from...the rifthound?"

Venti nodded sheepishly. "Yeah it came from that. Heh, but I don't mind.  It doesn't affect my sight so I'm fine." He gestured her to walk with him. "Come with me. We can talk more about us on the way."

_________

"So...does this mean we're a thing?" Lumine asked, averting her gaze. "Aw, only if you want us to. I'm not going to force it upon you if it makes you uncomfortable." Venti responded.

"Ok...I think I'd love to date you." Lumine smiled wide. Venti kissed her cheek and laughed. "Then it's settled. "

He eyed a nearby tree and took out his scythe, glancing at Lumine with a smug expression. "What are the chances of me slicing through this tree with a scythe?" He asked, spinning his scythe in tiny circles.

"I don't think you can do it, you silly bard! It's the wrong tool to cut down a tree." Lumine snorted while Venti rolled his eyes.

"Yeah yeah, watch me." He swung the scythe towards the tree and...

*SLICE*

the tree slowly fell and all that was left was its stump.

With Lumine's mouth agape, Venti went over to her smugly. "Hehe~ wrong tool, eh? Now, how do you feel?"

"Impressed, actually! And a bit embarrassed." Lumine crossed her arms while Venti pulled her in for a hug and kissed her cheek. "Awww don't be! It does sound a little silly, huh? Well, that's Teyvat for you."

And with that, the pair continued to walk through the forest, finally reunited.

Knowing that they'd be together forever, nothing could separate them...

Right?