Osmanthus (TWST X F!Zhongli Mc)

01. Darkness

It was dark, much like that time years ago.

So dark, in fact, that I couldn't even see my hands before my own eyes, even with my keen eyesight.

I sighed as my eyes glowed in the darkness, lifting my gloved hand in front of me, I could see slightly better now.

'Have I been kidnapped in my sleep? No, that's not possible... Perhaps the younger Adepti are simply playing a prank of some sort. ' I thought as I gently pushed against whatever was holding me.

It felt wooden.

I could feel a familiar presence nearby, so I decided it was safe enough to come out.

Pushing the top of my container, it didn't move, to my amazement, so I opted for another approach.

Punching it, it splintered into pieces as I then walked out, dusting myself off.

"My goodness, how troublesome..." I said as I looked at my surroundings.

Floating coffins everywhere, and green flames lit the area.

Heading towards the coffin directly next to mine, I pried the lid off, as it seemed to only open from the outside.

I laughed lightly at the sight I was greeted by.

Xiao was sleeping rather peacefully, drool coming from his mouth.

It was rather adorable, and he rarely slept free of nightmares, so I decided to wait for a bit, sitting on the ground as I smiled.

Perking up at the sound of small feet heading towards us, I looked down the hallway where it came from.

Seeing a cat with flaming ears, I paused for a moment before slowly standing up and heading towards it.

"Huh, you don't have a robe!" it said, surprising me.

"You can speak?" I asked curiously, as I crouched down to its level.

"Myah? Of course I can speak, I'm the Great Grim!" he said as I nodded.

"The Great Grim...? I can't say I've heard of such a being." I said in thought.

"May I ask what manner of creature you are?" I asked as they huffed, crossing their front paws.

"I'm a monster. I don't know what kind." He said.

"I see, in that case, may I call you a cat? You heavily resemble said creatures with your majestic Demeanor." I asked.

"Majestic... Sure, you can call me a cat then! But no one else!" Grim said.

"Alright, it's nice to meet you, Grim the cat." I said with a smile.

"It's nice to meet... me?" He asked.

I nodded.

"I don't meet many creatures that don't fear me straight away. You're one of the rare few, so I hope we can become friends." I said as I stood up, dusting myself off.

"Hey, human. What's your name?" Grim asked.

I chuckled lightly.

"Ah, that explains it, you see me as human." I said as I removed the hood of my white cloak.

"Whoah, I've never seen a human with horns before!" Grim said surprised.

"Actually, I have these because I'm not human. In a manner of speaking, I'm a dragon." I said as the cat freaked out.

"What? No way! Dragons are what all monsters aspire to be like! You're a dragon? Why do you look human then?" He asked, bombarding me with questions.

I laughed.