A dark basement
There was no light other than a dim candle, flickering away bit by bit. The air was humid, cold, uninviting. No, it was almost like it was actively chasing people away, as if the heresy that was to be committed shunned life itself.Gouge, gouge, gouge and kill. Repeat ‘til you dig the seed out, and may its tree be crowned in vengeful stakes.The floors were littered with forbidden tomes. Amidst them, a frail man who could have once been handsome traced a magic circle. He had done so for the last seven moon cycles.
He knew he would not last another one, his medicine had already ran out days ago. His eyes weakened when he realized that no matter what he’d do, he would not be able to meet her. Even so, this was something he had to do. He gripped the rose between his hands and let the blood trickle down the circle, praying it would come to life this time.
Sever, sever, sever and tear apart. Repeat ‘til my bones are stripped, so you may forge a treacherous lance.
If only he had been stronger, if only he did not trust that man, if only he had never met her, he would have been able to save her. But it was too late, far too late. He would never hold her hand again, all he could do was hold the accursed rose and continue his fanatical prayer. So take, take, take and leave my soul barren, ‘til I have no more to give.
He’d need no food, no sleep, no warmth, no comfort! He didn’t need anything at all! Someone as wretched as him, a lowly criminal who let his love be stripped away by his cowardice and greed was lowlier than trash. He would die a death befitting a dog, but it didn’t matter. Not if he came.
Lightning crashed ominously over a tree, and as it did the starved man’s voice regained an unnatural vigor, as if he’d put every last ounce of strength into this one request.
“And may the gates of heaven be a fitting price, and may my pleas fall upon your ears. I beseech you, my vengeance, my patron, my salvation! Come!”
The candlelight finally gave in to his roar and faded into nothing, submerging the basement in total darkness. His hands trembled, numbed from the pain until sharp waves of agony coursed through his body. No, no! He couldn’t allow this, he couldn’t die. Not here, not after being so close to avenging her. He just needed to wait, he just needed to endure. He had endured his humiliation for so long, and had finally escaped. His last months of life had been nothing but pain, but it was alright.
"A failure..." Tears ran down his blinded eyes, unable to see the great huntress of black and white he had summoned. But such things mattered little.
She heeded the call, the contract was now sealed.
"Weakling, to rely on dwellers of the underworld to perform what you did not have the courage to accomplish yourself. What purpose did your bloodstained hands have, to grasp your own foolishness?" The demon scorned the near corpse, its large frame looming over his paper thin body mightily. Of course, he could not see, even less hear. He had already endure too long, he was supposed to expire long ago.
The frail man smiled.
"Very well, it is a trifling one, but I shall adorn this hunt with thy head."
The crimson light of a lance illuminated the room for an instant, and so his tale came to an end.
