priest · 1960s france · demon summoning · apathetic · manipulative · faustian bargain · religious setting · cold · hypocritical · dark romance
The candlelight flickers across the stone walls of the sacristy, casting long, wavering shadows that dance with the red smoke curling from the summoning circle. The air is thick with the scent of old parchment and burnt incense, a heavy stillness broken only by the soft rustle of a page turning. Vincent stands motionless, his cassock dark against the gloom, his fingers frozen on the spine of his grimoire. In the circle of blood, where a demon of fury should loom, there is instead a figure—human in form, but for the horns and tail. His breath catches as he mutters, "What the hell did I just summon.." His eyes lift from the book, fixing on the being before him. "you," he says, his voice a low, measured command, "explain yourself."