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The knell of the church bell overhead echoed off of the cold walls of the ritual chamber. This holy place was tainted; the droning prayer of the masked figures rising in time to match the damning resonance until it all melded into one cacophonous song.
Shen Yuan’s side burned from the brand he’d been forced to receive; the mark of the beast, if he’d heard them correctly. Had Shen Yuan the strength to fight back when they captured him, perhaps he could have saved his sister. Instead, they were both sold off, and now Shen Yuan was all alone with no kind faces to take pity on him.
As the tolling of the bell faded, the voices followed, and then all was silent save for the rustle of clothes as the figures broke formation to surround the altar. Shen Yuan was chained up nearby, his bare skin exposed to the cold and rubbed raw by his bindings. The mark on his torso was bright red and throbbing with heat.
A robed figure approached, and Shen Yuan pleaded with him wordlessly to let him go, to save him from this fate and let him leave, but the man gave nothing away as he dragged Shen Yuan to the altar, lifting him onto the stained, freezing stone with one hand.
The masks surrounding him were pitiless as he was tied down, his frail voice calling for help from an emotionless audience. His body went numb against the stone until he could no longer feel it beneath him, and then he could swear he was hovering above everything- the way he imagined God felt when his parents would describe Him.
As he lay there, he mouthed a soundless prayer. He asked for liberation; for protection; for a savior to take him away from that wretched place. He pleaded for this to be a dream, for his sister to be safe and sound in her bed, and for his parents to be up late so that he could crawl into bed with them when he wakes from this nightmare.
All that replied was a ringing hollowness and the hiss of a blade being sharpened.
The glint of steel pierced the chilled air, singing Shen Yuan's death song in a high, resonant tone. The sharp edge of that blade enraptured him, capturing his focus until the world slowed down around him, narrowing to the descent of its point toward Shen Yuan's heart.
It was then that he knew the truth; no god was coming to save him. He was doomed.
The press of metal to his skin ripped a scream from his lips, his vision blurred as his mind conjured images of his mother and father, of his siblings and the family dog, smiling down at him as his heart was carved from his bird-like body. When his tears fell, they dripped onto the stained altar and mixed with the rivulets of crimson pouring from his heaving chest into a muddy brown, seeping into the porous stone.
After an eternity Shen Yuan's senses dulled. He sank into the embrace of oblivion in a restless sleep.
Distantly there was the sound of music. Something regal and somber was playing, lulling Shen Yuan into a daze. A voice called out to him, the tone rich and gentle. His eyelids were leaden, refusing to open.
“A-Yuan,” the voice cooed, a hand smoothing down his forehead the way his mother used to do. Shen Yuan's body was too heavy to react.
“Yuan-er, open your eyes,” the voice called again, but this time it almost sounded like his mother. With great effort and a fuzzy mind, Shen Yuan obeyed.
There was nothing to see aside from the great, empty void stretching far out ahead of him. It was uncaring and cruel, and Shen Yuan wanted nothing more than to get away from it, but he could not move.
Shen Yuan's eyes were half lidded when someone whispered into the shell of his ear, jolting him out of a doze. Shen Yuan whipped around to address the voice, but there was nothing there.
Clarity seeped into Shen Yuan, the feeling of the knife in his heart and the brand on his chest bleeding in as though through a thick curtain. As he remembered where exactly he should be, a young face emerged from the shadows.
“Hello,” the boy called, a sweet smile blooming beneath cold, star-bright eyes. Shen Yuan nodded in greeting uneasily.
“I can make your wish come true,” the boy said. He approached Shen Yuan, slightly shorter in height, though his gait was oddly elegant. He seemed too small to move so effortlessly through such heavy fog.
“What wish?” Shen Yuan eyed the boy, his brother’s advice to not trust strangers echoing in his ears. But was this really a stranger? They were almost the same age, after all; he could be a friend.
“Whatever wish you want,” the boy replied, his smile never wavering. “We’ll make a contract, and then your wish will be my command.”
“A contract?” Shen Yuan thought about the business meetings he used to eavesdrop on while his brother played outside with his fiance in the Spring. Should Shen Yuan emulate that, he’d have to make sure he got what he deserved out of it, or his father would be very upset with him.
“You don’t have to,” the boy eventually said, noticing Shen Yuan’s hesitation. “Either way, you’ll never get back what you sacrificed. It’s ultimately your decision.”
“If it’s my decision, then…” trailing off, Shen Yuan thought about everything he’d lost. His parents, his security, maybe even his life. There was nothing left for him to go back to. Even his sister was…
Wasn’t his sister dead? He felt the phantom of hands in his shirt, clinging to him; but was that real? Was any of this real?
Shen Yuan shook off his uncertainty, one thing clear in his mind. If this boy was offering him something, he should take what he could get.
“Okay,” Shen Yuan agreed and held his hand out the way his father always did. The boy’s smile turned sharp, his fingers oddly elegant over his bony wrists.
“First, we must discuss the conditions,” the boy said.
“Good,” Shen Yuan replied, “I have a few.”
The boy paused, his expression twisting in interest. Then, he said: “Of course. Name them.”
Shen Yuan cleared his throat to buy time. Wracking his brain, he thought about everything that could go wrong, how the boy could work against him. The weight of his father’s hand depressed Shen Yuan’s shoulder, a memory from just a week ago.
“In business, there will always be people who want to undermine you. Know who your allies are, and be prepared if they are unable to remain loyal.”
Shen Yuan's dry lips parted with an audible sound as he said: “I want you to be my best friend, and to never betray me.”
“Is that all?” the boy asked.
Shen Yuan shook his head. “There’s more.”
Shen Yuan’s father once said, “Yuan-er, when doing business, you must always protect yourself. Never let your partners pull the wool over your eyes. Knowledge is power.”
The boy’s face was odd when Shen Yuan zeroed back in on him, but Shen Yuan ignored it as he spoke.
“You must never lie to me.”
A sharp smile betraying eerily white teeth.
“Anything else?”
“Yes.” Shen Yuan stood up straighter, squaring his shoulders as he prepared to be denied. “I want to teach you how to live as a human.”
Silence resounded around them, the smile frozen on the boy’s face as he digested what Shen Yuan had said. Shen Yuan let it linger, watching the boy for any indication that he was about to get angry, but instead, raucous laughter broke out of him, doubling him over until he was wheezing from it.
“Oh, I like the sound of that.” the boy grinned uncannily wide, sharp teeth peeking from his lips as the corners widened impossibly. “I look forward to it!”
The boy grew in size, his body lengthening as his eyes shone red. Shen Yuan went hot, then cold, his heart thundering in his chest louder than a rain storm.
“It’s a deal,” the demon all but hummed, his voice sing-song and inhuman.
To the hand Shen Yuan held out despite his fear, the demon asked, “Shall I take this as the place you wish your seal to be?”
Numbly, Shen Yuan nodded, and was rewarded with a too-tight handshake as a searing pain blistered over his palm.
“Now,” the demon purred, curling around Shen Yuan with its large, lithe body in what felt like a hug, “state your wish, Shen Yuan.”
Shen Yuan made his heart’s desire known to the demon. Not a breath later he was enveloped by darkness and sank into the tight cradle of his new friend’s embrace.