A Dark Ritual

"Hea hea hea...I will sign the contract because I like you so much."the devil laughed creepily and stared at skylar with a fond look which made him vert uncomfortable and wary of the intentions of the devil.

The devil then signs the contract by dropping few drops of his blood and chanted in the same eerie language, with sudden burst of light the contract vanishes in thin air.

The devil then hands back the daughter back to the father. After coming in her father's comforting embrace she giggles cutely while sleeping.

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Skylar tightened his hold around her, a wave of relief and happiness washing over him.

But as he lifted his gaze, his stomach twisted. The devil had dug his nails deep into his own chest, carving strange symbols into his flesh. He hissed through the pain, his voice a low, guttural chant in his devil tongue.

Skylar thought about stopping him but held himself back. He didn't want to provoke the devil.

The ritual continued. Purple-hued blood oozed from the wounds, dripping down his torso. Then, suddenly, the wounds began to burn. The blood evaporated into the air, leaving behind blackened, charred scars.

Skylar hesitated before finally asking, "What did you just do?" He stepped closer, interested in inspecting the markings but held his curiosity back.

"This is a part of the process to preserve my body," the devil said, flashing a devious smile. "If you want to see the whole process, you'll have to follow me."

Skylar frowned. "Why are you trying to preserve your body?"

"You'll know soon, delicious darling," the devil purred, licking his lips.

A shiver ran down Skylar's spine, creeped out by the odd behaviour of the devil, but he followed him. He knew the devil couldn't harm him or his daughter, as he was bound by the contract.

They made their way toward the ruins of a house. Most of it was nothing but broken walls and rubble, yet one room stood eerily intact. The devil strode to the door and pushed it open.

Skylar followed behind him and stepped inside, but immediately regretted it.

A dark magic ritual had been set up in the room's center. A large blood-drawn circle dominated the floor, four lines stretched outward to four smaller circles. In the middle of the large circle lay an old-style coffin, while the smaller circles each held a severed animal head. The stench of blood and decay filled the air.

A cold unease crawled through Skylar's veins. Disgusted, he took a step back, tightening his grip on his daughter, fearing she might wake up from the ordeal.

"Scared, are you?" the devil taunted.

"What the hell are you trying to do?" Skylar asked, his voice edged with caution.

"Just wait and watch." The devil smirked.

Without another word, he climbed into the coffin and pulled the lid shut over himself.

The air in the room grew heavier. A deep, unsettling chant echoed from inside of the coffin, and shadows slithered across the walls. Thick black fog seeped from the ritual markings, slowly spreading, devouring the whole room.

Skylar remained frozen at the threshold of the room, watching in horrified awe. Despite the dense fog filling the space in the room, not a single wisp drifted beyond the doorway.

Fearing the black fog might be harmful, Skylar stepped back from the doorway but without a warning, a glowing red particle shot out from the fog, aimed straight at his forehead.

Skylar's instincts screamed at him to move. But before he could even react, it struck him at the centre of his forehead—piercing straight into his skull.

A sudden dizziness washed over him. He stumbled backward but fell flat onto his hips. Searing heat rose from the center of his forehead, where the particle had struck.

After some time it all stopped, 'hey delicious darling, how are you feeling?' a voice similar to the devil, spoke inside his head. Confused, he looks around but finds no one around him, the ritual room was also completely demolished.

'Hey, I am inside your head, so stop looking around.' spoke the devil inside the head of Skylar.

"Huh...how are you inside my head, is it because of the weird ritual?" Skylar asks aloud confused as to how this all happened.

'You don't need to shout out aloud, you can just talk to me mentally' the devil irritated by the foolishness of the man.

'Of course these things need to happen inside of a fantasy world' skylar thinks lamenting on the irony of the situation as some time ago these were the things he read in a novel but now these types of things is happening in his reality.

'For you it might seem like fantasy, but for me it is normal.' the devil feeling superior to him comments.

Suddenly a loud roar shook the area.