Chapter Text
Red.
That's all she saw.
"Wait, ma lumière! I-I can explain...!"
But how? How could anyone even begin to explain this?
The brunette watched with complete and utter despair as that light in her eyes finally dulled.
But it wasn't long before she witnessed the light fade from his own eyes, as a bullet made its way through his dome.
✿❀✿
"...(Name)! Stop daydreaming!"
A voice brought your mind back to the present, suddenly noticing the small book between your fingers and the passage that triggered your distraction.
"You spaced out for a second there. Go on, read to me the next step," Khalida urged.
Following the instructions in the book, you lit the 33rd candle. Now all that was needed is a blood sacrifice...
Luckily Khalida's voice prevented you from spacing out again, except it sounded tense, "I'm not using my blood! Just the thought of it makes me sick to my stomach."
Rolling your eyes, you offered your blood instead, much to Khalida's relief. Reevaluating the sight before you, you went over the instructions to make sure everything was right.
Draw a radio on the ground with two dials big enough to fit two persons. Then place a radio at each corner of the drawing.
After handing her the book, the summoning was ready to take place.
Khalida kneeled inside one of the drawn radio dials and began reciting the words. As she went on, the yellow candle flames grew in size and her voice gradually became more distorted, almost like she was speaking through an old microphone.
One by one the flames burnt out like a sudden gust of wind just happened to go by, yet you were indoors, and you felt no breeze.
Seconds of silence pass in pitch darkness until you see an incredibly tall silhouette. Glowing red eyes shot open in the dark, making you fearfully stumble over. Then the candles reignited from their once classic yellow to a blood red. The first thing you could make out on this humanoid monster was its clothes. They were outdated but it managed to pull it off with a pinstriped tailcoat along with crimson and black high-heeled boots and trousers, topped with a neatly placed bowtie and red monocle. Overall, it looked like it just came back from the early 1900s.
What caught your attention the most was its smile. Its wide, creepy smile paired with that insane look in its eyes as they bore past Khalida and into your own. Somehow, as your eyes connected with his, you felt some form of...
Nostalgia?
Though it quickly melted away when Khalida's exhilarated voice cut through the silence and static, "It worked! Can you believe it (Name)?! It worked! Demons do exist!"
The lump of fear in your throat made it difficult to speak, opting for the door instead.
"Wait, where are you going? Don't you wanna talk to him?"
"I-I can't... Khalida..." you stammered.
The red demon remained in his place, but the ecstatic look in his eyes morphed into something foreign at the sight of your hysteria.
"I'm just- I'm going home. D-don't worry about uhm... giving me a ride..."
Khalida didn't bother to try and stop you, seeming more interested in her demon buddy than you at the moment. Which was fine by you.
"Why...? Why, why, why would I agree to that?!" You cried, the cold night air grazing your face as you rode home on your bike. "And I just left her! I-I left my best friend with that... monster!"
The bike skidded to a halt and you nearly fell trying to get off. The world seemed to sway under your feet as your thoughts were clouded with fear and self-hate.
Fear of the demon that was now loose in your world.
Slipping on the frosty cement you silently cursed yourself for being so terrible, so unloyal.
Self-hate for being such a bad friend.
The effects of a rising panic attack crept into your body, rendering you completely vulnerable as you began to hyperventilate, your nails digging into your scalp.
How could you abandon your best friend in their time of need?
Dark spots blotted your vision.
You never seem to pull through,
The sight of red and black boots was the last thing you saw.
Do you?