#hellfire hymns

Each step and every breath accounted for. He listened to the rise and fall of the heartbeat that thrummed for the redheaded beauty. Men were just ordinary creatures. Another organism that fed, fucked, and fought. Predictable. Women, on the other hand, not so much. The inheritance of chaos was born from the rib of a femme. Thus did man vie for it and so it was to be such for him to fall to the whims of a lady's dominance.

The illusion of power was grand. This was the hand of most men. Very much like the waiting mage envisioned, Rousseau was another bipedal beast much like his brethren. Yet, unlike them, he held something important within his veins. Perhaps this was why Eurath chose him. Through the veil of dark adumbrations and wisps of obscurity, the crimson gaze of Vivica's lord settled on her.

He was there. He had witnessed it all. Although, he dared not touch or reach for her until she was under the sheets. It was his hand, undoubtedly, that came to caress her jaw so tenderly. The skeletal appendage still felt like flesh, but if she had seen it for herself, the ivory that graced her was as warm as his touch had been the eve prior.

"O' Pharoah dear pharoah, I beckoned thee from the crypts of Sybunha. The sixth child born of the sixth day on the sixth bell from the sixth plane awaiteth thee. Come, the bastard child of the Eidolon of Rebirth. Fate calls for thee to uncoil the seal. Your sacrifice awaits..."

All was quiet for several moments except the infernal ticking from the chronometer. The hand of Eurath had withdrawn from Vivica, but his presence was still very much felt. The creaking of the closet hinges announced the arrival of another. A resonating crunch of the wooden frame followed as if something unruly large was attempting to escape the confines. The temperature within the room skyrocketed and the panting of Rousseau announced his state of discomfort.

That is when it started...

The low, unholy rumble of a primal growl was unleashed into a window-shattering roar. The scream of terror from Rousseau carried his fear well throughout the Holy See before the splattering of something splashed against the sheets that Vivica was tucked well within. The bed shook and trembled beneath the weight as whatever was occurring at her side persisted.

Red...

It began to seep into the blankets and covers. It started to touch her skin and bless her flesh. It burned, however. It ignited with a wicked heat while only a portion melted into flesh. The palms specifically and extended down the middle fingers of both of her hands. Tonight, she bathed in ritual, but it was only the beginning.

Rousseau was still alive gave his pathetic whimpering...

"♪Hush little baby... don't say a word♪--" A mocking tune was drawn off of the melodious tongue. "♪No matter how you scream... you won't be heard♪--" The feasting of something animalistic was occurring. The snapping, twisting, and guttural ripping of insides carried on unabated. "♪And if you think we are almost done...--" a cynical, mirthful chord followed in amusement, "ha... ha... oh, sweet baby, we have only just begun♪--" That final word brought an eerie density.

Slowly, whatever weight was on the bed next to Vivica was being dragged away. The slurping pulls and snagging of rough wood caught onto whatever it had been before being violently yanked into the direction of the closet.

The crimson covered bone of Eurath's hand snaked beneath the blanket and brushed a few tresses of Vivica's hair to the side. "Rest, my dear. On the sixth bell, Milo and Melanie will come for you, no later. They will see to your every need and when you have digested," he paused, perhaps the wrong choice of words, "the circumstances of this evening I will expose the next measure to watch your aptitude evolve."

His incantation could barely be heard beyond the pounding in her ears. Her heart was as loud as a herd of stampeding chocobo, likely to burst free from her breast. Fingers curled into the mattress beneath, knuckles white. It was taking every single ounce of her self control to fight her natural inclination to escape. The redhead knew though that no amount of distance could outrun this destiny. This was something darker and more evil than the manifestations of man’s hubris. Come what may, this was her course. Dainty pointed ears twitched as something crept across the floorboards, it’s malevolent presence felt keenly in every single fiber of her being. She did not need to lay eyes upon it to know it’s intention. No doubt her imagination could conjure any number of possibilities of what had been summoned from within the dark confines of the closet, but all would pale in comparison. The bed beneath her bucked and jarred violently as the creature lunged, the dual cries deafening. Vivica would have likely joined her own were it not for the fact that she bit down firmly on her lip. Blood flooded her mouth and her eyes shut as tightly as possible. She was no longer capable of rational thought. Terror gripped her so tightly as Rousseau’s very essence seeped into her cloth shroud and baptized her naked flesh. Her belated reaction though came rather violently as her skin began to burn. Memories of her torture bombarded her in the remembrance of iron and flame. The brand on her back throbbed in unison with her palms. She had no more control of herself, as she thrashed wildly in the pain and screamed till she was hoarse. It did not seem to take note of her, a testament that in her excruciating writhing, she had not been unveiled as Eurath had instructed. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she was forced to endure the sick lullaby mingled with the crunching of bone. Something snapped within her, and she fell still. There was only so much a person could endure before their body and subconscious shut down in the last feeble hopes of self preservation. Though keenly aware of everything happening around her, Vivica felt numbness take hold. Her head lulled to the side, fixating on a point in the distance she could not see. Somewhere far away. Somewhere safe. Somewhere only she could go.  When everything fell silent, she could not stir. Not even Eurath’s soft encouragements would lure her back yet.