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ruinsoffayth · 5 years

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Inktober Day 1: Ring - Otoya

Ahhh, I finally finished it! I’m already way behind though... Anyway, this got way too long, so I’m putting it under the cut!

⊱ ────── {⋅. ♪ .⋅} ────── ⊰

The Forest of Dreams is an entirely different place at night. Darker. Eerier. Frightening.

Long gone are the vivid colors that paint the landscape with flowers and streams and stones by day. Long asleep are the beautiful creatures of all shapes and sizes, that greet any travelers passing through, offering gentle company to those who wish it, or a simple nod of antlers or a wave of paws to those who don’t.

No, the inviting world that opens up before dreamers, giving them the opportunity to explore endless wonders, has very little to do with the narrow path lined by pale, dead trees, that stretches out before anyone unlucky enough to have found the entrance to nighttime.

There is no color but the pitch black of shadows that stretch over the landscape, a lot longer than they should be, and the pale white of a crescent moon that slashes the starless night sky.

The red-haired boy feels his heart thump wildly in his chest, as dregs of fear make his stomach twist in knots, but he presses on nonetheless. He may be afraid, but there isn’t a hint of hesitation in his mind. He reaches inside his coat pocket and grabs the ring carefully placed there. He squeezes it once and slowly breathes out, releasing it as he lets his hand fall back to his side.

He starts singing under his breath, a song he heard a long time ago but doesn’t remember where. There’s something sad about the melody, but it had always made him feel comforted whenever he sang it.

Right now it helps him ignore the fact that he can’t hear anything else, the forest enveloped by an eerie silence that makes him more uneasy than the sound of rustling leaves or prowling animals ever would. Although, what bothers him most about this, is that not even his own footsteps make a single sound, not even a dull thud when his boots make contact with the ground. It’s almost as if he isn’t there at all.

Just as he reaches the chorus, the boy suddenly stops in his tracks, bright red eyes widened in shock staring at his abruptly different surroundings. He had only blinked for a moment, but when he opened his eyes the seemingly never-ending path that he had been walking on for so long, had suddenly disappeared, a small clearance now standing in his way.

The boy grips his satchel tightly, knuckles turning white with the strain as he takes a step forward into the clearance. If he had been unnerved before by the dead trees lining the path, there are no words to describe how he feels now, completely surrounded by them on all sides.

“Hello?” he says, words echoing in the night air. He shakily breathes out, half out of wanting to steel his nerves, and half out of relief. He had been waiting for this for so long. The thought fills him with strength and he continues, voice a little louder. “I’m here to make a deal.”

Immediately the boy jumps as giant flames erupt from the ground at the center of the clearing. They rage, nearly blindingly for a single moment before settling down into a calm flame as tall as he is. There is no heat coming from the strange, maroon fire, and as he watches the flames calmly dance, the boy doesn’t flinch as they take the shape of hollow eyes and a big mouth with sharp teeth.

The flames grin at him, but the boy doesn’t move. “Hello there, little boy. What is it you seek?”

The boy opens his mouth and immediately a sharp pain overcomes him. He drops to his knees, screaming as he grips his head. His vision flashes white, and he falls to the ground, one hand feebly reaching for the ring in his pocket. He can’t think, the searing pain completely overwhelming his senses, but his body moves on instinct born out of habit and he manages to find his ring and slip it on. The effect is instantaneous, the pain eases in a rush, disappearing as if it had never existed.

He slowly gets up, breaths coming out unevenly. Out of all times to get an episode, why now? He clicks his tongue in frustration and looks up at the flames, expecting some kind of reaction, but they only remain silent, fiery eyes boring into him, as if they could see through to his very soul.

The boy’s heart pounds in his ears. After all these years of searching, he’s finally found the key to getting his memories back, to remember where he came from and who his family is, what happened to him and why it did. He’ll finally remember who he is.

Without hesitation he moves to stand directly in front of the flames. “Are you the demon who eats dreams?”

The fire flickers as the demon laughs raucously, flaming eyes dancing with mirth. “Is that what they’re calling me now?” It settles down and looks at the boy, mouth still contorted into a smile. “I’ve been called many things over the years. You can call me whatever you like.”

“Can you… can you grant people’s wishes?”

The demon hums, a low, almost raspy sound, not too unlike the cracking of wood as it burns in a fire. “It depends.”

Hope fills the boy’s heart. He’s so close. “I want to know who I am. I want… I want to get my memories back!”

The demon’s flaming eyes widen and it sneers, looking away in disinterest. “Hah, that’s it? That doesn’t really seem to be worth my time, now does it?”

The boy’s heart sinks. “But—"

“What good does it to do to simply get your memories back? What will you do then?” The demon looks at him, and the flames fan out, glowing brighter than before. “Forget your boring memories, I’ll take you there, to the home your heart so desires. And then you’ll finally be able to find yourself.”

The boy finally stops then, really stops the never-ending movement he had forced himself into as everything sinks in. All that time, he had been searching for his memories, for even a hint of where he came from or who he was. It was all that ever mattered to him, ever since he woke up alone by a small lake in the Forest of Dreams all those years ago, with nothing in his possession, not even his own name. Nothing but that sad song and the ring in his pocket.

But now, being told that he can actually go home, that he doesn’t have to roam about aimlessly from place to place anymore. It’s all a little too much.

“Well?”

The boy pauses and then looks up, eyes filled with determination. “I’ll do it.”

The demon’s flaming eyes narrow in delight. “Good. You already know there is a price, don’t you?”

The boy brings a hand up to his satchel and reaches inside, the tips of his fingers brushing against a bag of deep-sea volcanic gold and a flask of dragon bone dust, before the demon’s voice stops him.

“No, no, no. I’m not interested in some dull trinket that anyone can find in this forest.” The flames stretch into a grin. “What I want is your cute little ring.”

The boy gasps, hand closing into a fist out of reflex. “No!” The word escapes his mouth before he can think, and the flames flicker.

“Oh?”

He relaxes his hand, and brings it closer to his face to inspect the ring. The low light of the flames gives the silver band a maroon tint, but the three small emerald stones neatly embedded on top, still glow a pretty shade of green.

He’d always had this ring. It was the only thing he had from his past, the only thing that even indicated that he had a past. Not to mention, that it was the only thing that could ease the agonizing headaches that came for no apparent reason, and always made him feel like his head would split in half.

He’d never had any proof, and he had absolutely no memory of it, but he always felt like it was given to him by someone important, maybe someone who wanted to keep him safe.

The small ring and the sad song had been the only things that had gotten him through the bad days.

“I…” the boy, starts. “I can’t.”

He looks up at the demon and clenches his fist, voice rising with emotion. “I’ll give you anything you want, but I can’t give you the ring!”

The flames flicker, turning darker for a single moment. The elation in the demon’s voice is palpable. “Anything?”

“Anything.”

“In that case,” the demon drawls, “What I want is your soul.”

The boy starts, staring at the demon with wide eyes as his mind races. His soul? He gulps audibly, throat suddenly dry. “And what… will you do with it?”

The demon laughs. “Eat it, of course!”

The boy looks down at his feet, heart racing as he tries to figure out what he should do. His dream was so close, and yet…

“Don’t worry, little boy. I will take you home and make sure your wish comes true. And then, when the time comes, I will take your soul for myself.”

What. What should he do?

“Or…” the demon says. “You can always continue to wander through the Forest of Dreams, offering help to any dreamers passing by, and visiting that other world that isn’t your own, in search of something you’ll never find. The choice is yours.”

The boy’s face contorts in pain. “No…” he whispers. Then, louder. “I want to go home.”

Flames contort into a sharp grin. “Good. Do we have a deal?”

The boy closes his eyes for a moment. When he opens them, there is no hesitation. “Yes.”

The last thing he sees is sharp teeth stretched into an unnaturally twisted grin, before the flames stretch out and engulf him, and then he’s falling, strange visions flitting through his mind.

A long desert stretching out into the horizon.

(This place, I… have I been here before?)

A red-haired woman gently singing a beautiful song with a sad melody.

(What a beautiful voice…)

A young boy with olive skin not much darker than his own, and beautiful green eyes, urgently placing a ring in his hands.

(Who are you? A stranger? A friend? A brother?)

Black mist covering everything around him, until darkness completely envelops his vision, until darkness is all that ever was.

(Please…)

The demon’s voice chuckles in his ear. “Are you ready, Otoya?”

And then there is nothing.

#uta no prince sama #writing #otoya ittoki #ittoki otoya #my writing #inktober 2019 #i sincerely doubt this is even going to show up in any tags #but i wanted to post it anyway #also i'm really sorry if anyone comes across this and the read more doesn't work #this got way out of hand #hopefully i can make the other prompts shorter #and maybe start posting them on time...#anyway #this was fun and i hope i can keep up with it!

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