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Soonyoung traces the mark that’s been freshly burnt into his skin, wincing at every slight contact it makes with the tip of his fingers.
The mark is on his left abdomen, and the Dog had torn off that side of his shirt so the hidden audience sitting in the stands can see the mark, so they know who he belongs to. That was what he overheard from the man who stood outside his cage.
He’s kept like an animal. They had forced him into a cage that’s big enough only for one person, and during a certain time of day, they’d throw food and water in to keep him alive and breathing. Soonyoung doesn’t remember when, he’s lost count of it after so many days. Then, they’ll drag him out on every second day to show off to the people in the stands. If he’s lucky, he’ll just be thrown back into the cage again. If he isn’t, then it’s the end of the line for him.
The Dog, that’s what he calls him. The one who stands outside his cage, the one who ‘feeds’ him. He hurts, attacks, and kills on command. Just like a dog, a trained dog. How many times has Soonyoung heard the screams of another boy that sounded around his age? He isn’t sure, and with each passing day, he dreads that it’ll be his turn next.
There are always people coming to watch. Watch what? He doesn’t know, but he knows that the stands are always filled to the brim. Though he’s never been able to check because the Dog blindfolds and ties him up in the corner of his dark cage when it’s not his turn. But he hears, Soonyoung hears the screams and whistles of those people when a painful cry echo through the stands.
It’s disgusting, and he hates them all for it.
His cage opens with a rough clatter and Soonyoung immediately stands to his feet. He clutches the hem of his shirt, out of both fear and resistance, whimpering. He doesn’t want to go, not again. The Dog only clicks his tongue and pulls Soonyoung by the arm, dragging him outside, onto the altar.
He feels as if his arm would pop out of its socket any second. The Dog had always been rough when handling him. He would beat him if he made too much noise or if he resisted too much and he still has the bruise from a few days ago. It's turning an uncomfortable shade of purple on his collarbone.
Once in the middle of the altar, Soonyoung’s eyes trail up to the top of the stands. He’s unable to look past the blinding lights but when his eyes land on the silhouette of a man sitting in the front row, the blood in his body freezes.
Who is he? And why does he look so familiar?
His thoughts get cut short by the Dog pushing him to the line of boys on the side. They don’t utter a word to each other, because the four of them know better.
The people in the stands start raising some kind of card, and the Dog starts chanting.
Soonyoung looks at his dirty fingernails. He hasn’t cut them for a long time. He wonders how his parents are doing, are they looking for him? What about the butlers and maids? Maybe they’re looking for him too.
A boy gets pulled away.
He should go home soon. Hopefully, their butler- Seungcheol- finds him soon. Seungcheol is someone who Soonyoung trusts, he’s like the big brother he never had. Of course, he’d be looking for him. Why wouldn’t he?
Two more boys get pulled away.
That’s strange ,’ he thinks. There were only three other boys last time I checked. How many more—
Soonyoung suddenly feels his stomach drop.
Before he can process another thought, the Dog begins to carry him onto the marbled table in the middle of the altar.
Soonyoung does nothing but scream. He kicks and bites and cries but the Dog doesn’t seem to waver. He’s chained down now, and the lights above continue to blind him. The shackles are cold against his wrists, and they’re on so tight that he’s losing sensation in them.
Out of the corner of his eye, he sees a masked figure bring out a sword to the Dog. The crowd begins to chant and Soonyoung continues to gasp for air, fighting against the chains that have bound him to this table.
A summoning. They’re summoning something.
“Save me!” he cries, looking into the sea of faces, hoping to catch the eye of someone, anyone . “Help me!”
But instead, all he’s met with are grins and gleeful looks.
“Please!” he screams as the Dog brings the sword high above his head.
The masked figure clasps a hand over Soonyoung’s mouth, preventing him from making any more noises. There’s only so much Soonyoung could do, as a mere thirteen-year-old, and when he sees the sword come closer to his chest, he wonders if he should have put up more of a fight.
Suddenly, everything starts to move slowly for him. He looks into the sea of faces again, then to the other children in the cages, and finally to the Dog and the masked figure holding him down.
It’s then he realised that no one will save him. Not even God, because there is no God.
The sword slices through his right abdomen and Soonyoung lets out a scream.
God is such a coward, I’ve prayed to him so many times, and yet he has not saved me. A coward he is. A coward, a coward, a coward, a coward, a coward, a coward, a coward.
“I’ll kill you all!” Soonyoung screeches as the sword goes above the Dog’s head again. “I will, I will, I will! All of you, all of you, all of you!”
The gleeful look on the Dog’s face tells Soonyoung he has lost. He’s lost, and maybe it’s time to give up.
However, a low rumble across the cathedral stops him.
“What’s happening?!” the Dog asks the crowd, but all he receives are blank stares.
Then all Soonyoung can see is black. The entire cathedral is swept up in some kind of thick, black smoke. He pulls on his chains, hoping that he’ll be able to escape in the midst of this chaos, but feels his heart stop once he realizes he can’t. The chains are on too tight.
“Who has summoned me?” A low voice booms through the enclosed space. “Where is the fool who spits upon God?”
The Dog and the masked figure seem to have forgotten about Soonyoung and the crowd begins to fill with cries and gasps. It doesn’t take long for Soonyoung to understand what’s happening.
It’s a demon…
Cries of the Dog rings in his ears, something stupid along the lines of; “Grant me eternal life!” and Soonyoung rolls his eyes. He just wants to get this over and done with, he’s given up already. Maybe the mouth of a demon isn’t a bad way to go.
The shadowy figure brushes past the Dog and instead looms over Soonyoung’s table. “Aah,” it says, baring its fangs. “This is the one.”
Soonyoung feels his heart hammering in his chest as his eyes meet with a pair of glowing red ones. He’s going to die here, in a cathedral, in the hands of a demon. The irony almost makes him laugh.
“What a surprise,” it continues. “You’re quite a small one. It was you, correct? The one who called for me.”
Black smoke cusps his face and tilts his head upwards. “What?” he manages to stammer out. “I-I didn’t call you! No!”
‘It was the Dog and the masked figure ,’ he wants to scream out. Soonyoung wonders where they are right now, are they still planning to kill him?
“No,” it hums. “I am certain that it is you. You denied the existence of God and placed a curse upon this cruel world. That is enough to grant you a wish of your choice.”
“No, no, no!” Soonyoung cries as he pulls on the chains again. Maybe if he pulls hard enough, it’ll come off. Maybe if he keeps trying, he’ll live. “I can’t! I don’t! How could I have summoned you?”
Black smoke slams Soonyoung back down onto the marbled table and knocks the air out of his chest. “You summoned me,” the demon seethes. “That has been set in stone and nothing you do or say can change that.”
The demon lets go of Soonyoung and he sinks back onto the table.
“Of course,” it says. “You can ask for me to disappear. However, that’d be a waste of a contract, don’t you believe so?” There’s a tone in its voice that sends shivers down Soonyoung’s spine.
The thirteen year-old boy takes in a deep breath and slowly turns his head to watch the people in the stands. It’s absolute chaos, with people running around and begging to be spared from the demon. A man locks eyes with him and lets out a cry of mercy.
Soonyoung feels anger bubbling in his stomach. They didn’t save him, they never intended to. So why should he? Why should he spare mercy when they wouldn’t?
He’s made up his mind. “A contract?” he says, looking up into the glowing red eyes with a breathless smile. “I’ll form one with you.”
The teeth make an appearance again as the demon chuckles. “Perfect,” it responds. “Now where shall we engrave the contract on your body? The more visible it is, the stronger it will be. So where — ”
“I don’t care!” Soonyoung cuts it off, still pulling at the chains. “I don't care,” he repeats, a lot softer this time, choking out his words. “Just get me out of here.”
“Of course,” it grins as black smoke approaches Soonyoung’s right eye.
“Wha — ” The words get caught in Soonyoung’s throat as the black smoke enters his eye. He’s unable to hold onto it as the chains are binding him, so all he does is scream as the demon watches over him. It burns, his eye burns. The pain is unlike anything he’s ever felt before, this doesn’t even compare to the beatings the Dog gave him.
With a few deep breaths, Soonyoung calms himself down. The pain begins to subside and he feels thick liquid rolling down his cheeks.
Blood.
“You have now obtained the power of a demon,” it says, holding Soonyoung’s chin. “You never have to bow down to anyone ever again. You can hold your head up as high as you want, and nothing will stand in your way.”
Soonyoung’s entire body is shaking and he feels like he can pass out any second now.
“Say it,” the demon orders. “Say your inner desire.”
Soonyoung’s voice comes out soft and quiet at first.
“Hm? I can’t quite hear you,” it taunts.
“I said,” Soonyoung takes a ragged breath catching sight of the Dog hiding a few feet away. His face hardens as he shouts out his command. “I said to kill them!”
The demon closes Soonyoung’s eyes. “As you wish.”
He doesn’t open them. He doesn’t want to.
He hears cries and screams of both children and adults alike. He’s going to have to live through this, he’s going to have to live through this and the people who did this to him don’t have to. But it’s okay, it’s okay as long as he finds out who had hurt him and his family.
“You can open your eyes now,” the demon says.
Soonyoung peaks open an eye and feels the blood rush back into his wrists as the demon releases him from the chains. Soonyoung sits up on the marbled table, taking in his surroundings. There’s an awful amount of blood dripping from various parts of the cathedral and even more pieces of stray limbs everywhere.
“Couldn’t you have done a much better job at cleaning this up?” Soonyoung scrowls, wiping off the blood dripping from his eye.
The demon says nothing. “What is your name?” it asks, taking Soonyoung’s hand and helping him onto his feet.
Soonyoung bites his cheek, hesitating for a second. “My name is Kwon Soonyoung,” he says eventually. “The next in line for the head of the Kwon household.”
He wants to be able to read the demon’s face, but the black smoke gives him nothing.
“Oh my,” the demon gasps. “An earl. Then I shall too, take a more appropriate form for one in that position.”
Soonyoung takes a step back and a tall, black haired man steps out from the dissipating cloud of black smoke.
He — no, it— has a mix of both delicate and masculine features. Soft, droopy doe-like eyes and a nicely shaped pair of pink lips. It also has a strong jawline, a straight nose and high cheekbones. Its skin is a deathly shade of white, setting him apart from humans.
It’s as if its face was carved by an angel.
How ironic, Soonyoung thinks.
“That’s better,” it says, fixing the white glove on its left hand. It's wearing a butler outfit, one that’s slightly similar to what Seungcheol wears and it also has a chained silver lapel pin bearing the Kwon crest on the left side of its chest, two tigers fighting over a staff. Soonyoung grew up seeing that crest. He’d recognise it from miles away.
“I am now at your command, young master,” the demon says, bringing his left arm over his chest and bows slightly, not taking his eyes off of Soonyoung.
Soonyoung wants to scoff, what kind of butler stares at the master straight in the eye without flinching? One that’s not a demon, probably.
Soonyoung kicks the unmoving body at his feet. He realises it’s the masked man from before.
“Mayhaps you should name me,” the demon muses behind him, interrupting Soonyoung’s thoughts.
The thirteen year-old narrows his eyes, focusing on everything yet nothing, at the same time. An unknown figure flashes before his eyes and immediately after, his mind feels as if it would break. He holds his hands up to console his head, hitting it to stop the pain.
The demon walks up to him, perhaps worried, but Soonyoung holds an arm out, stopping it from taking another step further.
“Your name is Jeonghan,” The earl says slowly, recollecting himself. He still feels a little light-headed, but he steps on the man’s fingers, in hopes to make him feel better. The man’s already dead, but it still brings some bit of pleasure to Soonyoung. “Your name is Jeonghan,” he repeats. “I don’t remember whose name it is, but they were someone important to me.”
The demon, Jeonghan, raises a brow. “Oh?” he hums. “What an interesting choice of name.”
Soonyoung decides he has had enough of the body and kicks it away. He looks back up at the looming figure. “From this day on, you will be my underdog. You are not allowed, under any circumstances, to disobey me. You will heel, roll over, and kill under my command. Got it?” He narrows his eyes at him. “You are trained .”
The demon slyly smiles. “Staring straight into the eyes of a demon,” he laughs. “I’d never guess that you were the same wailing boy from a moment ago.”
Soonyoung wants to throw the discarded sword by his feet at the demon’s face. “Don’t make fun of me,” he frowns.
“Well then,” Jeonghan says, placing a hand on the marbled table. “What do you believe we should do about this place?”
One look at all the corpses and stained walls and Soonyoung knows exactly what he wants. “Burn it,” he mutters. The smell of corpses are already starting to irritate him. “This is a command. Burn this place down. The building and corpses, everything . Nothing shall be left after this.” He carefully picks up the sword off the ground and inspects it. The tip is covered in what he presumes to be his blood.
Jeonghan waves his hand and a wall of orange encloses in on them. “What an excellent decision, young master.” He holds out a hand. “Now, shall we go home?”
Soonyoung stares at the extended hand and the cackling of the fire drowns out his thoughts.
You never have to bow down to anyone ever again. You can hold your head up as high as you want, and nothing will stand in your way.
He scowls and slaps away the demon’s hand. He has the power of a demon on his side now, no one will make him bow down to them.
The Dog’s body is blocking his way now, or what’s left of it, he supposes. His torso is torn in half, and unfortunately, the part with the head still attached is the one that’s standing in Soonyoung’s way. He scrunches up his face, feeling disgust wash all over his body, before bringing the sword above his head.
He’s stopped by a pair of hands clasping his shoulders.
“Don’t you believe this is a little inappropriate?” Jeonghan asks with a voice dripping with venom. “Don’t waste your time and energy on a little roach like this.”
He takes the sword out from Soonyoung’s hands and tosses it into the fire. “He’s dead anyway, young master. Come, let’s go home.”
Soonyoung pushes Jeonghan away from him. “Don’t touch me,” he snaps. “What did I tell you? You are not allowed to disobey me. Have you already forgotten?”
Jeonghan smiles. “Of course not. I’m just worried about your well-being. You look like you will pass out any second from now.”
“What do you mean?” Soonyoung begins, but right as he finishes off his sentence, he begins to feel light-headed again, and black spots begin to cloud his vision. “What did you do?” he manages to say, before falling backwards onto the floor.
“Oh no,” Jeonghan mumbles, shaking his head as he bends down to scoop Soonyoung up. “Just what will I do with you? I don’t even know where your manor is.”
Soonyoung doesn’t have enough energy to push Jeonghan away, but he’s not going to be carried like a baby through the streets of Seoul, that’s just embarrassing.
“Young master, I think it’s time to take a short rest. You’ve had a long day,” Jeonghan says lightly, and if Soonyoung doesn’t know better, he’d think that Jeonghan is worried for him. “We’ll reach your manor soon enough.”
Jeonghan’s voice just sounds so sweet and gentle that Soonyoung decides to close his eyes slowly. There’s no one out there who he can trust or rely on anymore but this demon. This thing won’t betray him, he won’t, even though it’s all an act to receive his soul in the end.
But it’s fine, Soonyoung thinks. At least I still have someone on my side.
“Alright,” he says finally under his breath, leaning his head against Jeonghan’s chest. “But hide me if anyone walks by. This is embarrassing enough as it is.”
Jeonghan’s grip on him tightens, and that’s the last thing he feels before he passes out completely.
“As you wish, young master.”