A Castle in the Trees (Saiouma Fantasy AU) (HIATUS)

8

schoolwork is boring so... this. lmao im in a zoom class

oh also i should mention: TW for burns

"Shuichi!"

A loud and urgent call of his name grabbed the young boy's attention and he turned towards it's source, tensing up and preparing immediately for whatever was to come.

A tired and severe-looking Kirumi was speeding down the hallway towards him, her hair and clothing disheveled, coated from head to toe in soot and dirt. He knew immediately that something was very wrong.

"Kirumi? What's going on?" He asked as soon as she met her. She was coughing and panting and smelled of smoke and charcoal, an odor that matched her blackened apperance.

"The furnace. It's malfucntioning. Right now we suspect magical foul play, but we're not sure. We need your help, and now." She gasped desperately.

This was surprising to him. The furnace downstairs was a huge an ancient thing, resembling more of a glorified hearth made of iron and stone than anything, almost constantly filled with a dangerous firey inferno that they used to cook their food and stay warm. 

He was admittedly quite afraid of it, as it was extremly loud, and at very random times- which sent his jumpiness through the roof- and he could just happen to trip and fall in front of it and end up burnt to a crisp.

But in all the time he had been alive, it had never broken, not once. Despite it's age, it remained mostly reliable for their purposes, and sputtered on despite constant insistence from everyone that it would die out sooner or later. But now, it had apparently broken down.

"Come, there's no time to idle here." Kirumi gestured for him to follow her, turning around and running back down the way she came. She left sooty footprints in her wake, but the mess seemed to be the least of her concerns right then. He could do nothing but follow, wondering what exactly could be wrong.

They flew down the flight of stairs that took them to the basement, eventually reaching the bottom. The sight they were greeted with was almost inconceivable.

The furnace was wide open, it's flames much taller than they would ever be normally, belching out thick layers of dark smoke. But that wasn't the strange thing.

Running around the room, letting out an awful roar and swiping at anyone near it, was a man. At least, it was the size of an adult man, but appeared to be lit on fire. No, more than that, it was completely made of fire. Tendrils of flame lashed out angrily from its body every now and then, and three bright golden glowing holes resembling a scowling face were on its head.

People were scattered all around, screaming and trying to fight it to the best of their ability with everything from spoons to cups of water that sizzled on impact. It didn't react whatsoever to the attacks on it.

ok (not) sorry to break your immersion but im just imagining some random bitch screeching with terror and picking up a spoon and yeeting it at the demon thing like

"SPOON I CHOOSE YOU!"

*bonk*

"HEYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRAGHH-"

"HAROLD THAT WAS A TERRIBLE IDEA"

"OH SHUT THE FUCK UP DAVE"

Kirumi was just as surprised as Shuichi was, both of their faces wide with horror. It was unlike anything Shuichi had ever seen in his life, and it terrified him in the very sense of the word, the sight utterly incomprehensible to him. He truly didn't know what in the name of all that was unholy he was looking at.