The Symphony of Flames

A chain of raucous sounds echoed through the house.

It was currently midnight, the time when all things were sinking deep into slumber. Yet, in stark contrast to the silence enveloping the surrounding area, inside that house, it was as chaotic as a battlefield. Bloodcurdling screams echoed throughout the corridors, mingling with hurried footsteps and the sounds of objects being knocked over. With every passing second, the reverberations of explosions blended together, creating a symphony that shook the night.

The classic residence bore the distinct style of ancient Japan, with architecture akin to an old-fashioned villa, featuring long wooden corridors, paper sliding doors, and intricately carved pillars. That architectural style, possessing a tranquil atmosphere that usually brought a sense of peace and serenity to visiting guests, was now engulfed in a sea of fire along with the chaos. Seen from afar, the entire estate seemed to be drowning in a sea of flames, columns of black smoke billowing upwards despite the midnight hour.

Inside the house, numerous figures were frantically attempting to flee the blaze. Rapid footsteps trampled over burning embers, yet even as the heat scorched their flesh, they harbored no intention of stopping for even a single second.

"Hesitate for an instant, and I die." That was what they thought.

But they were not the only ones present, aside from them, there were others frantically fighting the flames, buckets of water being passed from hand to hand in desperation. All of them were servants who lived and worked within this estate, the majority being maids attempting to utilize firefighting equipment to quell the spreading inferno.

In the front hall, a group of servants was attempting to use soaked cushions to shield a wooden wall that was beginning to catch fire. Yet, in the blink of an eye, a section of the burning ceiling cracked and collapsed, forcing them to immediately recoil. Despair was clearly visible upon their faces.

A middle-aged man, his body covered in ash, was clad in a kimono discolored by the smoke. With a face full of extreme tension, he shouted, his voice swallowed amidst the roar of the flames.

"Hurryyy! Bring more water here, this place is about to collapse!"

A young girl with a face smudged with soot ran over, staggering while coughing violently.

"Master Sebas... cough... it’s no g-good! The well... has run dry!"

The man named Sebas froze for a moment upon hearing those words, his expression revealing utter anguish. He shouted orders to the others.

"Damn it! Why did it come to this.... Listen! Go find more water immediately, bring everything that can be used to fight the fire. We cannot stop now... the Young Master and the Mistress are still trapped inside the blaze."

The servants turned pale at Sebas's words. They immediately scattered, some trying to find more water while the rest rushed in to fight the fire, ignoring the heat that scorched their skin. The suffocation and tension had reached their peak.

Sebas stood motionless amidst the sea of fire, his eyes reflecting the wildly dancing flames. He clenched his fists, staring intently at the flames devouring everything before him, and whispered softly, his voice choking in his throat.

"Young Master... Mistress... please be safe.

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It all seemed to happen in the span of a mere instant.

Explosions, screams, and hurried footsteps... All coalesced, creating a symphony of chaos. Outside, everything appeared to be plunging into the flames of hell. Yet, in stark contrast to the bedlam outside, a small room nestled deep within the estate, the master's quarters remained uncannily quiet.

But there was something amiss about this abnormal silence. It was a suffocating stillness, as if the very air had condensed to its absolute limit.

Inside the small room, two silhouettes were cast long against the wall by the crimson glow of the fire flickering through the paper doors, a man and a woman. No panic, no anxiety, no fear. They... no... rather, the young man simply remained there, staring blankly into the void.

Everything transpiring outside the room, be it the faintest sound or the slightest movement, was captured by the young man's acute senses. Beneath that soulless shell, his mind was continuously reacting to that influx of information, struggling to devise a solution for this unprecedented situation.

However, in contrast to his mind working at full capacity, his body remained completely motionless. Kneeling on the floor, his head hung low, obscuring every expression on his face.

Even though the fire was spreading and would soon engulf the entire room, he seemed to have no intention of leaving. He simply sat there in silence, gazing at the girl's body growing cold in his arms. The only movement in the room at this moment was the stream of tears flowing unconsciously from his eyes.

Not a single cry of grief, only a terrifying silence.

Her soft, long black hair, her delicate, beautiful features. Her pitch-black eyes, usually so sharp, had now turned soulless, and her porcelain skin was partially stained red with blood. The pink mixed white yukata adorned with small flowers, a gift she had been so overjoyed to receive from him, was now also dyed in that same crimson hue.

Now, all he could do was cradle her body, feeling the warmth within her gradually fading away. He tightened his embrace, as if he could somehow trap that last remnant of heat. As if, by holding her just a little tighter, she would not leave him. But it was all nothing more than a fragile illusion, the vain hope of a man drowning in despair.

That girl was his wife, the other half of his soul, murdered as the everything descended into chaos. A fatal wound to the left side of her chest had stolen her life away, though he had tried desperately to stanch the bleeding, it was already too late.

His world had collapsed in that very instant.

The gears of time seemed mired in sludge, bringing the world around him to a standstill. For a moment, he seemed to accept it all and resolved to end his own life. To live in a future where she did not exist? He could not imagine such a prospect, and so, he decided to go with her.

“Hey, kid. You have no reason to fear me... What can a mere vestige like me do, other than parasitize this girl?”

But just as he closed his eyes, ready to take his own life, a stream of memory flashed through his mind like a flickering light in the dead of night.

“Refuse me? Even so... I will wait... The contract will still be there waiting for you, oh lost soul forsaken by God.”

“That’s right... there’s still a way.”

He whispered while clutching her body tight. The memory of a conversation between him and a stranger was replaying in his mind. The insane things that girl had said, sounding like the delusional pipe dreams of a child. He had once ignored those words in the past, but now, everything had changed. Every word, every syllable that girl had spoken was now racing to the surface of his mind.

Even if those might just be lies and she was only trying to deceive him, right now he had nothing left to lose, so he might as well take a gamble.

Embracing her body tightly, he leaned his head slightly closer to her and whispered his final words.

"Yume... wait for me. One day, I will definitely bring you back."

That promise, along with his intense emotions. In this blazing hell, it was not a farewell, but a beginning.