It was lost.
Every fucking thing was lost.
The darkness swirled in a threatening oblivion. The shadows reached its depraved fingers toward one last touch of light. And the birds sang their last song. Before everything collapsed.
With the city on fire, it could have almost looked like a festival. A festival of a new year and new possibilities where anything can happen. Only, it can't. Because within that burning light are the bodies of hundreds and thousands of corpses. Their mouths wide in pain and limbs twisted in horror with outstretched hands, hoping to grasp onto hope for the last time.
Children cried in alleyways, clutching ashen teddy bears and calling out for their mothers. Their mothers who had abandoned them for their own selfish survival. But was that really selfish? With the world on fire, do morals really matter? Would they matter if you were dead?
As a demon, one would assume such an answer would be readily at hand. "No, of course not. We are of the night, and the night has no room for such a silly thing as morals." But it was not so simple. After years serving under the Phantomhive household, lines had been blurred. Something about that bratty child had melted a heart of steel. Now its fiery ore ran down the pale cheeks of a stranger who does not belong in this world.
With wings black as the char tucked beneath the burning embers, a butler flew over the city, blending in with the noxious smoke. In his arms laid the body of a young boy. The boy seemed so vulnerable. His eye patch had fallen away and his exposed face was so innocuously childlike. It would have seemed preposterous the tasks he had undergone and the experiences he had lived if one were not there to witness.
Sebastian cursed himself. He had always teased Ciel about how he desired to devour his soul, but now that it was so readily prepared, he did not want it. So much more would he have preferred more time with his young master. Even if only another year. He desperately wanted the routine of waking him up, making him tea and sweets, educating him on his studies, and tucking him in at night.
He bit his lip to stop the outpour of emotion. It barely worked and the skin had to split before it made any real impact. Blood dripped down, staining the lip red, and dropping onto Ciel's lifeless cheek.
Unaware of the blemish, Sebastian continued his angry train of thought. How could he? Yes, chaos rang its bells in the streets of the fading city, but he wasn't just a butler; he was one hell of a butler.
But could he even call himself that anymore?
A butler without a master. He was nothing.
He dropped his head in silent shame. He could not return to the Underworld in this state, definitely not. What would the other demons say? The reapers would even jest. "Oh look, a demon with feelings. What? Did you get too attached to your prey? So pathetic."
The stars did not sparkle on that night. Only the ground gleamed with fingers of fire until the first rays of morning emerged from the horizon.
Sebastian sat on the bank of the river by the manor. Or rather, where the manor used to be, for only the foundation remained.
Please, bring him back. he silently begged.
Sebastian gazed at the coiling fog that crept along the rippling surface. Though he had not been there, he could almost imagine a younger Ciel playing in the water of this river, splashing and laughing with his parents. He must have been so happy then. It was a time where everything actually was innocent. There was no death, no contracts, and smiles were genuine.
He closed his eyes and his brows knit together in an effort to suppress his despair. The others may return soon. Finnian, Baldroy, Mey-Rin… What would they say? He had to gain his composure, especially when he delivered the news.
Oh, what the hell was he even doing? Has he degraded to conveying information like some simpleton messenger? Why hasn't he already fled with his prey?
Ah, damn it to hell! What's wrong with me—?
"S…eb…astian?" a voice inquired weakly.
The butler shot up from his slumped position. The veins in his eyes were prominent and his nose was noticeably rufescent.
But the voice in his arms chuckled, a bitter edge residing in the humour.
"Did you miss me?"
Sebastian looked down at the boy in his arms but for once couldn't find the words to say. Had his prayer been answered…or was it another Underworld dealing?
Ciel seemed to barely grasp onto consciousness. His blue eye was blurred and his right eye only glimmered faintly. Soot dusted his skin in a layer of darkness. But despite it all, a weak smile stretched across the boy's lips.
"One last time before the end, Sebastian. One last time."