* ~~Crimson Tears~~*
What would happen if Ciel managed to take away something Sebastian cherished? A demon is always balancing on a thin wire above insanity, new born demons tumbling into the abyss all the time... What if Ciel made him fall?
By Socio Sociopath
Inspired by BlueRavan666 and her work "Black Butler, Let the Monster Rise"
Thanks to her for yanking me by the collar back into this fandom!
WARNING! RATED M FOR VIOLENCE, SUICIDAL THEMES, MILD LANGUAGE, AND GRAPHIC DESCRIPTIONS OF DEATH AND AFTER-LIFE!
ENTER AT YEE OWN RISK!
Chapter I
Rubble, endless rubble… He sifted through every little piece of it… Searching for the one thing he'd lost so long ago. More significant than any soul, even that that he had perfected for the longest of times. This object was somewhere in the ruins of Hell's first palace, in Draeth, the town that no-one could remember. This king, king of the damned and the land they tread upon would search for eternity if he had to. Yes, most would say there is no use, the palace was massive. But he didn't care. Not one bit. For this was the ring of Crimson Tears. This ring was everything, his life and story and the lives of his father and his fathers father all in one little red gem and it's golden band.
But it seemed the newly crowned king would not find his ring now, for a young navy-haired boy is calling for him. The king was suddenly taking from his endless search and brought to a large occult. In front of him were cages, and within them were children, emaciated and either terrified or hopeless. One in particular had blue hair and azure eyes. Instead of being hollow or scared speechless he sat in his cage chanting. "There is no god" in a mantra. The boy is only ten years of age, and yet the king knew this was the one whom called him to this wretched place.
"Oh?" He asked, red eyes suddenly curious. How could such a young boy summon me so easily..? The boy looked up at the king, eyes wide. The demon smiled with his fanged perfect white teeth showing brightly.
"Y-You… Save me!"
"I could. Alas, it will cost you a very large price. Something you may not wish to part with." The king said, curiosity briefly overriding his burning desire to find the ring he cherished so. This boy of merely ten managed to accidentally summon him, and with the king so secluded and isolated in his task. It was odd but remarkable, something that had done the impossible and brought him towards the decision of bringing his search to a slower pace.
"What price?"
"Your soul."
"I have no need for a soul once I've given myself vengeance on these bastards!"
"Oh? So you would make a deal with me?"
"Yes! Stop asking tedious questions and make the contract!" The boy commanded.
"It shall be done. Where, as a matter of fact, do you want me to mark you?" Asked the king, kneeling before the small, frail human child whom was so eager to sell his soul for revenge on his wrong do-errs.
"I don't care, just do it, and save me from this god-forsaken place!" The boy said. The king chuckled and held out his hand.
"As you wish." The boy grasped the kings hand with his own much smaller one and grit his teeth, baring them and clenching one eye shut as a purple pentagram engraved itself into his big blue eye.
"And what do you order me to do?"
"Kill them! Kill them all! And save me, now!"
Sebastian awoke from the dream with a loud gasp, sitting upright and wincing. He was covered in cold sweat, shaking slightly and cringing at the wound tearing through his torso from Undertakers death scythe. "Damn…" He muttered. These dreams were reoccurring constantly, a side effect to being reaped by a death scythe and failing to die... So far, anyway. Unfortunately the wound has been troublesome, refusing to heal properly. On the rescue ship the blood drying and the cold hadn't helped at all… demons bodies require heat to function properly. Freezing air and blood loss? Not the best combination…
He sighed softly and swung his feet over the bed. He suddenly wished to go to the old palace and sort through the ruins for a while, something he hadn't done in months. He slipped into his shoes and buttoned his vest, which he'd slept in for the night, walking from the room less than gracefully. He made it to his masters study and gave two knocks. "Come in." He did as ordered stepped in.
"Young master, I-"
"What are you doing out of bed, Sebastian? I told you to stay put until you're well again."
"Yes, sir, you did. Though I would think you'd let me roam about for a bit."
Ciel quirked an eyebrow. "All right… Just… Be careful, after all of this I wouldn't want you bumping into undertaker."
"Of course, sir." He said, walking from the room, a slight limp to his step. Taking his leave on the manor he walked to the forest on the grounds, place a hand against it and watching the mortal worlds color swim out of balance and turn into a vibrant red and black inside a dark almost greyscale world.
He was standing in a similar forest, though the crimson and silver leaves had been charred and were laying on the ground... Hell's leaves do not burn away, they die and are left as burnt shell. The trees were left covered thickly in copper colored ash, left by willow-tiff, or Hell fire, as Humans call it. He sighed, looking sadly at the once-beautiful forest before his eyes. The forest was his families… He could remember hiding in the biggest tree with Lucifer and shooting rocks at his father and mother… He would always hang upside down with Lucifer, his chosen fiancée from when he was little, and scare his sister… It brought to his mind the memories of the fire that killed all his family, and even his fiancée…. The one that spread from his palace to their forest and reduced everything to rubble… The engagement ring from Lucifer still trapped inside as the mansion came down on top of them… He had been 18, along with being the only survivor…
He shook himself out of his grievous memories, sighing and trekking towards the rubble, to look for that ring which he longed to have back, that he would give his life to have back on his finger…
He looked through a new place in the ruins… The palace was so big he had yet to sort through the last piece. Looking around he found himself drawn towards a particular pile, frowning. The place was very familiar even though he had never been to the north-wings rubble. An image of Ciel picking up a blue ring with a silver band, and it clicked. This area looked almost exactly like the one where Ciel had found his own ring. "It couldn't be…" He muttered, eyes narrowing as he looked closer at a glinting piece in the rubble. He approached it and was standing in the center at the almost perfect replica of where Ciel found his family ring three years ago. Kneeling his eyes widened, picking up the ring with great care. It was, it was the ring he'd been searching for, for so long. The rarest stone ever seen in hell… It was solid piece of hell fire, some say it's Hell's soul in stone.
Shock went through him and he placed the ring on his finger, a jolt going through him as another image flashed through his head. Shaggy blond hair and light blue eyes, pale skin and a bright smile. The king winced at the vision, the sight of his dead fiancée only made the feeling of icy Hell Fire licking his face and sides through memory and looking around frantically as he panicked at having lost sight of his fiancée. The memory faltered to a halt with the loud rumbling as the palace started to collapse in on itself, crushing all but one in the enormous structure. The king shuddered, a glimpse of orange eyes, a long overcoat and shaggy black hair to be seen for a fraction of second. He allowed his knees to buckle so he was sitting in center of the rubble, hissing at the pain in his torso and thinking himself alone to take a few moments to push the memories back. It seemed he wasn't that lucky.
"Michael… What are you doing here?" Called a baritone, velvet female voice. "You're in contract. And being in hell with such a large wound isn't smart." Said the woman, in a half-humored, chiding tone, as if she was a mother scolding a child for not wearing a sweater.
"I found it." The king stated simply. A gasp arose from her, her giant, blind grey eyes widening. She recovered instantaneously, indifferent mask set in place.
"That is truly wonderful. But it seems your master is wondering where you are."
"I agree." The king said, standing and brushing himself off. He placed his hand on the tree and returned to the mortal realm.
"Sebastian. You took much too long." Ciel said, frowning.
"I apologize for the inconvenience, m'lord." The butler replied swiftly, bowing as low as he could without agitating the wound.
Ciel dismissed it with a wave of his hand. "Just don't allow it to happen again… And Finny informed me that he didn't see you on the grounds. Where exactly did you go?"
"That's actually fairly easy to explain, sir." Sebastian smirked. "Because demon's body temperatures differ from humans, 'fresh air' as you might call it, should be much warmer to be comfortable. It would hardly make any sense for me to go outside merely to be assaulted with freezing temperatures."
Ciel hummed in satisfaction, a question suddenly popping into mind. "Wait, so demons such as yourself find cold air uncomfortable? Then why is it that you can go with such a light coat all year?"
"Because, sir. Demons usually can maintain their own body heat sufficiently. Though, when injured it becomes more difficult." Sebastian explained simply. "I will leave you be for now, sir." Ciel nodded and returned to the pressing paperwork in front of him. Sebastian slipped from the room and walked down the hall. He would have been right back to work but Ciel had ordered him to rest until the wound healed. He could not disobey a direct order, so he returned to his quarters and relaxed unto the crisp white sheets, images of his late fiancée flickering through his mind and causing memories that were drowning in murky waters of so many years to break to the surface. Sebastian wrinkled his nose slightly at a few which passed by, icy fire and crumbling stone could be seen, or even bloodied bodies littering the ground… But when one showing him and Lucifer in the forest passed he forced it to stay with him, sinking into the mattress as the memory grasped at him and pulled him under. His eyes fell shut as the memory turned into a dream and his breathing calmed.
TO BE CONTINUED…
Remember to go check out the story I found inspiration from, "Black Butler, Let The Monster Rise" and the author of it, "BlueRavan666"! Hope you enjoyed, and please review!