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He had been stupid, so stupid.
They had known there had been a group of Familiars roaming around close to Falcon coast. They had even been a decent group. Four of them including Bennet. But none of them had a Vision, so none of them had seen the Witch’s labyrinth until they were inside it.
Bennet hadn’t seen it.
The space within the Labyrinth was hard to explain; it defied all sense of reality. The walls were made of weird waterfalls, looking like they came out of a picture book, but moving and real in a way. The floor was made of stone and dust and obsidian, and the blackboard sky had three scorching suns. Carl and Suzie started talking nonsense soon after entering this weird space and it didn’t take them long to wander off, despite Bennet’s attempts at stopping them.
Katheryne had warned them of Labyrinths, of how Witches Labyrinth’s could only be detected by a Vision and now two of his teammates wandered further into the Labyrinth, with Jonas dead on the ground behind him, killed by a strange humanoid crow not long after they entered.
Bennet himself held his sword in front of him, one arm hanging useless at his side. It was the only thing he could do.he entrance was gone and he didn’t even know if it existed anymore. Could he even see the Witch inside here? He didn’t know. Would this be where he died? Would his body be lost in the Labyrinth, never to be recovered?
Bennet shook his head fiercely, tears prickling in his eyes. He didn’t want that.
Bennet sliced a crow familiar with a smoking pipe and tophat only for two more to take its place.
A movement from the corner of his eye. Bennet jumped to the left, he couldn’t handle even more enemies, what if it was--
A small, white, cat-like creature with small round eyes looked up at him.
“Wh-what?” Bennet stuttered? Another Familiar?
There is a way out. A voice said in his head.
“H-huh…? Was that.. You?” Bennet asked. He didn’t wait for the creature to answer before swinging at another Familiar that had used the distraction as an opening to attack him.
If you make a Wish, I’ll be able to grant you a Vision.
“Vi--” Bennet’s eyes boggled at the realization.
“You’re the Heavenly Messenger!”
I am.
Of course he knew about the Heavenly Messenger. The envoy of Celestia. The divine being that granted Visions. No one except those approached by the Heavenly Messenger knew what they looked like. To be honest, Bennet had imagined a more human appearance, not the small cat-being. Maybe it shouldn’t be surprising. Celestia was the land of the Gods, not humans. Even several of the archons simply took on human forms.
“Is that true? Can you get me out?” Bennet asked.
I can grant you a wish. The wish must be your own. But you will gain a Vision and its power in return.
Rumble.
The waterfall’s started to pour more water into the space he was in, and Bennet could hear some kind of creature from further down in the space… hallway? He didn’t have time to dwell on it.
“O-Okay!” Bennet said to the creature.
Well then, What is your Wish, Bennet of the Adventurer’s Guild?
“I Wish-” Bennet started.
A giant squid with a windmill head came into his vision, rushing towards him. Bennet held up his sword.
“I wish to survive and go on more adventures!”
His chest burned.
And fire poured out.
::::::::::
“Fischl! Watch out!”
“Oz, reveal yourself!”
Fischl’s raven materialized in front of her, flying towards the Witch’s Pumpkin head. It glowed for a moment before exploding into a thousand pieces.
The labyrinth started dematerialising around them as Bennet ran up to Fischl, having just finished off three headstone-Familiars himself.
Fischl picked up the Grief Seed, holding it up triumphantly.
“Look on my most esteemed retainer, for our holy mission has succeeded in vanquishing the evil force that was plaguing these lands!"
“Good job Fischl!” Bennet said, “You’re really strong,”
“Well, of course! After all, I am the Prinzessin der Verurteilung. My powers will always triumph against creatures such as these corrupted Witches of the night sky! But you should not bemoan the power of one such as yourself! After all, you are my most entrusted retainer!”
“What she means to say is that she could not have done it without you,” Oz translated.
Bennet gave them a small smile. It was still strange that Fischl could summon another creature, something Fischl adamantly did not call a familiar, as a power, but she and Oz were truly some good companions for Bennet.
Katheryne had paired them up four months earlier, saying their fighting style would match. Bennes suspected it was because of Bennet’s bad luck with team mates-- theyalldietheyalldietheyalldie-- that they had been paired together. A vision holder like Fischl was good at fighting Witches, familiars, and elemental creatures all the same, and it let Bennet take up a supporting role in the back, something he grew to find being very good at.
Fischl held the Grief Seed to her Vision. It was normally hooked on the back of her dress, round with gold ornaments around it. Now it looked like a purple egg-shaped gem as she held it in her hands, letting a dark mist flow from the Vision into the Seed.
She finished cleansing her Vision, and handed the seed over to Bennet. Her Vision glowed and disappeared for a moment before reappearing on the back of her clothes.
Her clothes also glowed, before transforming.
While fighting the Witch her outfit was a white and blue-purple outfit, with a crown-like ornament on her head. The rest of the time, she dressed in a black and purple outfit featuring a ribbon at her neck
Bennet had asked her about it once, and she had replied it was strange she was the only one transforming here; that where she was from, everyone transformed their clothing before fighting. Apparently it was a way of hiding their true identities.
Weird.
Bennet put the Grief Seed up to his own Vision, feeling it become cleansed.
The Heavenly Messenger had explained once that cleansing the Vision would restore his magic. So keeping it clean would make sure they were on the top of their game.
He had once gone two weeks without cleaning it and had felt groggy and slower than normal-- Wilsondiedbecausehecouldn’thealintimenotenoughtime-- so he made sure to cleanse his Vision after every fight he in which he gained one.
The Adventurer Guild let everyone clean their Vision before handing the Grief Seeds in. After all, the ones acquiring the Grief Seed were most likely to need it. Then the leftovers were used for others that might do quests that didn’t involve Witches, such as Familiars and Slimes. It was a fair deal. It was, but even then, there were times there were barely any Witches around. The knights had a stock too, but Bennet had heard they were able to scour Dragonspine so that made sense. And Wolvendom was off limits. He didn’t know for sure but he’d heard a boy in the wilderness who refused to let anyone wander off the trails in the area, lest they be in for a fight.
Bennet didn’t really want to fight other Vision holders, so he stayed away.
“Bennet?” Fischl asked.
“Hmm?” Bennet said. “Sorry, what did you say?”
“Hmpf! I will forgive you this once for not listening to myself so I shall repeat myself; We will be heading back to Mondstadt, are you ready for such a travel,”
Bennet nodded.
:::::::::
“Amy, there you are!”
Bennet and Fischl looked up the street as two people walked towards them. They had just finished delivering their Grief Seed to Katheryne.
Fischl sighed loudly.
“I have already told you, mine Kaiser and Kaiserin, my name is Fischl! I do not see the need to use such a name for one such as myself when I am not incognito to enjoy my subjects’s festivals”
“Amy…” the woman who Bennet now recognized as Fischl’s mother said in a sad tone.
The father put a hand to his face for a moment, “Fine, Fischl, we were worried, you were supposed to be home three hours ago,”
“Sorry,” Bennet said. “It’s my fault, I thought we were going a shortcut, but we managed to get lost,”
“Nonsense!” Fischl said, cutting off his apology, “You have done nothing but a splendid job on our execution. Our mission simply took some unexpected turns and we returned slightly later than anticipated,”
“W-well.. Then maybe you can join us for dinner?” Fischl’s mother asked.
“I wouldn’t want to intrude--” Bennet started.
“Nonsense!” Fischl said. “You are always welcome in Prinzessin’s castle!” Fischl laughed and did not see her parents share a look in behind her.
The four started walking together toward the home of Fischl.
The father sighed to himself, “That Wish… why did this happen?”
“I have already told you my Kaiser! I do not know of any Wish you speak of!” Fischl replied. And Bennet’s heart skipped a beat.
“The only one granting my wishes is myself!”