L'APPEL DU VIDE | jjk.

OO1) HIS PROMISE .

warning : mentions of blood and death.

ASK HOW THE EMPIRE is doing and all anyone would be able to say is 'complete and utter shit'.

because the empire is doing complete and utter shit.

the roads are filled with pick-pocketers and beggers, children running around with ragged clothing and women and men alike doing whatever it takes in order to earn a coin or two. under the guise of a 'golden empire' is nothing but rotten bone, built up through corruption and biased judgment.

The elderly rot in corners, women make use of their bodies, men are attempting to find jobs, and boys and girls alike are shoveling horse shit from the roads for pieces of hard bread.

basically, everyone is fucked.

( name ) is not an exception to this.

so that's how they found themselves in a room filled with frantic, panicked movement of other castle servants. they all hurriedly organize the silver eating utensils and porcelain plates, a bitter reminder of a privelage no one in the room will be provided. again, ( name ) is no exception, constantly double checking every arrangement to make sure there were no flaws, no mistakes. even a single speck of misplaced dust will cause all of them their heads.

so when the large, wooden doors slams open to reveal a familiar silouhette, no one dare breaths. the figure steps towards the very end of the long, rectangular table. their calm steps filled with unspoken grace and an uncaring attitude. no one lifts their head.

when they hear the grinding sound of a chair, they all tell he has seated himself. there was a beat of tense silence, and for a second, everyone wanted to beleive they'd be given permission to leave already.

but life's not fair.

"oi, you, raise your head." sukuna, the emperor of the complete and utter shit empire, spoke with a commanding undertone.

everyone knew who the man was reffering to. only one actually locks eyes with the intimidating emperor. and thus, ruby met ( eye color ).

sukuna hums, resting his cheek to the knuckles of his hands. "you look like shit."

"and you look like you just finished curb stomping 16 toddlers. what's new?"

"only 16? you're underestimating me."

despite what seems like friendly banter between two old friends, everyone else in the room felt like they were about to shit their pants and collapse.

everyone almost let out a gasp when all sukuna did was chuckle. a god dammed chuckle.

and that's how ( name ) made their first public debut as 'the only person to have made more than three seconds of eye-contact with the emperor without having their head roll onto the floor'.

with that, sukuna swiftly waves his hand. everyone took the cue and scurried away, making sure not to be too slow or too rushed. as everyone made their way to continue on with their work, some would glance at the rather unbothered ( name ).

ignoring hushed whispers and discreet side glances, they dug into their pocket to pull out a pocket watch. with the flick of their wrist they read the time, humming to themselves before returning the timepiece to the confines of their pocket.

the meeting-but-not-quite would start soon. the room everyone spent so long preparing will be filled by privelaged pigs stuffing their mouths with a feast everyday-citizens would kill for just a bite.

The emperor is not an exception.

despite only have started working in the castle for a few months, ( name ) has already gotten themselves promoted as sukuna's personal own little assistant. as the only person he seems to tolerate, they seemed like the obvious choice.