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Once again, the demon felt it – the unmistakable sensation of the Call. Once again, someone in the Middle World attempted to summon her; someone foolish, greedy, or desperate enough to appeal to her kind for help, even at the cost of their very soul. Once again, she surrendered herself to the feeling, allowing the ritual to carry her through the rift between the worlds straight to her latest victim.

Such was her nature. Such was her way of surviving.

The demon stepped gracefully from the rift, appearing inside of a summoning circle. She looked around, swiftly taking measure of her surroundings – she had been summoned in the middle of battles before, and had no wish to lose her summoner before even making a contract with him. This time, however, there seemed to be no immediate danger.

She was in a small room, most likely underground. The ritual circle she was in was drawn correctly – nearly perfectly, in fact. All the ritual candles were in place and burned brightly, preventing her from simply killing the summoner and taking their soul by force – had she been so inclined in the first place.

Finally, the demon regarded the human who called her. It was young man – although his grey eyes somehow seemed anything but young – wearing the viridian robes of an acolyte. He was staring at her intently, not saying a word.

Then she spoke.

“I am Eshirlienne,” she said, using a name that was possible for a human to pronounce, unlike her true one. “I have heard your Call, and at your behest, I have been summoned. I can grant you your heart's desire, if you are prepared to pay the price. What would you ask of me?”

The same words she said many, many times before. Idly, she tried to guess what her summoner would want in exchange for his soul. Power, perhaps? Fame? Fortune? Someone’s death, or someone’s life? With humans, it was always the same, over and over again…

“Would you be my lover?”

… Oh. This was certainly new.

\*\*\*

Eshirlienne floated lazily inside the summoning circle, her legs crossed as if she was sitting on an invisible cushion. Before her, the acolyte sat formally on the hard floor, his spine straight as he listened.

“I can grant you power no king or emperor could ever possess. I can grant you riches beyond your imagination. I can make you adored by all, or make the bravest fear you. You could have the greatest beauties of your land and the lands beyond… yet what you seek, in exchange for your soul, is for me to be your lover?”

“Yes,” the acolyte said, his voice trembling slightly. “That is my wish.”

Eshirlienne cocked her head quizzically. After a moment, she laughed, the sounds of her melodious laughter reverberating around the room.

“Very well,” she finally replied. “I admit, you have managed to surprise me, and that deserves a reward. Rejoice, for I shall not be taking your soul in exchange for your most amusing request.”

She expected the acolyte to be elated after hearing her words. There was no summoner, after all, who did not secretly dream of tricking a demon and keeping their soul in the end. The acolyte, however, looked surprised – and for a brief moment, even aghast.

“Why?” he demanded. “It is your kind’s code that you take a human’s soul after granting their wish, is it not? Why should you go against it?”

“I am granting you a favour, human,” she said, raising an eyebrow. “You cannot imagine how rare it is, so you would be wise not to make me reconsider it.”

“I… I do not wish for such charity,” the acolyte said, his voice uneven. “It would not… it would not be fair, would it?”

If Eshirlienne thought she was surprised before, it was nothing compared to what she felt now. But then, a thought came to her.

“I shall not form a contract with you,” she declared firmly, making the acolyte shudder. “I shall not do it… unless you tell me, truthfully, why you wish for your soul to be ripped from the Eternal Cycle.”

“You would never understand,” the man shook his head slightly. “A being such as yourself…”

“You would do well not to underestimate my wisdom, summoner. Explain it, or I shall be returning to my own world.”

Her summoner took a deep breath.

“Have you ever reincarnated?”

“Of course not,” she replied. “It is you humans who do so.”

“Yes, all humans do, but…” he hesitated for a moment, “only I seem to remember it.”

“It is impossible. No being can remember their past lives.”

“So everyone says, but I still do,” the acolyte replied. His voice was louder now, more forceful. “Have you ever been a pig led to the slaughter? Or a deer feasted upon by hungry wolves? Or an insect crawling on the ground? Have you, o wise one?”

He stopped for a moment to catch his breath.

“I have tried to ascend, of course – for decades I have been trying. I was a spider in an ancient temple; I was an eagle making my nest on top of a holy mountain. But I failed. Time and time again, I failed. And now that I am human again, I finally have the chance to escape this curse.”

The acolyte laughed bitterly.

“You wanted the truth, Eshirlienne? So hear it now: there is nothing I wish more than to stop this, no matter what it would take – even if my soul disappears for all eternity. If the oblivion is what it takes, then I shall pay this price gladly.”

For a moment, there was only silence.

“So that is your true wish,” the demon said slowly. “You have summoned me so that I would take your soul.”

“Yes.”

“Why, then, did you make such a request of me? To be your lover?”

The acolyte averted his eyes, his face turning slightly crimson.

“In truth, I had another request in mind. But when I saw you appear, I could not help but… well, that is…”

He blushed harder, not finishing his explanation.

“Oh?” the demon said, almost purring. “And what was your original request, pray tell?”

“… A cup of coffee.”

This time, Eshirlienne’s laughter must have been heard outside the room, if not the entire dungeon.

---

Submitted by Yuriy116 on Fri, Sep 09, 2022 to /r/WritingPrompts/

The prompt

My job as a demon is to take requests from those who summon me in return for their souls. It's amazing! But it's always the same requests. That's why I promised myself I wouldn't eat the soul of the one to give me a brand new request. Nothing new. Until today. "Can you be my girlfriend?"