Sacrament in Timeless Path
Prologue
It was dark in the basement of Scarlet Devil Mansion. It was dark and had been dark for as long as she could remember. With no sun and no moon to gauge the passing of time, she was curious about the date. It wasn't unusual for Flandre to be ignorant of what day, month or even year it was currently but every now and then she wanted to know how long she had been in the basement. It had been so long since Remilia had come down to visit her.
She picked up one of the few toys she had that wasn't broken: a teddy bear with a flowery dress and spring bonnet. She cradled it like a baby for a time and then held it close to her face.
"Daffodil, what day is it?" asked Flandre.
The bear's two black button eyes stared wordlessly up at her.
"Daffodil, what month is it?" asked Flandre, her eyebrows starting to furrow.
The stuffed bear remained silent.
"Daffodil! Do you even know what year it is?" shouted Flandre.
If the bear gave a reply, it was never heard because the girl in the red dress ripped it apart with a sudden violent motion. She tore off the arms and legs and finally threw the disembodied head across the room. She sat on the floor, scattering the stuffing with the swish of air that came from her skirt. She was mad. Oh, she was so mad. If she could get out of the basement, there would be no end to the things she'd tear apart! No end!
But she couldn't.
She wouldn't.
Her sister had said to stay in the basement. And in the basement she would stay.
A sudden noise forced her out of her angry reverie. It had sounded like a cat. Flandre shook her head; there couldn't possibly be a cat here in the basement. Remilia had long ago forbidden Flandre to have any living creatures. They would just end up like poor Daffodil, broken and scattered to the corners of the vast basement.
She heard a soft mewing again and all of Flandre's anger was forgotten as she went in search of the cat who could not possibly be there. She threaded her way through some old forgotten furniture and passed a stack of crates when she thought she saw a flick of a tail. Delighted, she squeezed through the large crates until she reached a cold stone wall...and something else.
It was about the height of an average person and vaguely oval in shape. It was black, blacker than night, blacker even than the farthest corner of the basement. The edges seemed to shimmer with a faint, reddish light. Flandre stood transfixed, uncertain of what to do. She had never seen anything like this. As she was staring into its lightless depths, it seemed as though a dozen monstrous red eyes opened up out of the darkness to stare at her.
It never occurred to her to be afraid.
Flandre heard the cat's meow once more, seemingly from inside the strange thing in front of her. Without another thought, she plunged headlong into the door-like void.