Safe and Sound [Devimega AU]

Part 2: Corruption

THE SKY WAS darkened with thick and suffocating smoke. Fire burned, tearing apart the house from the inside. Wood fell apart, burning hot. Being torn apart alive was a horrible experience. He coughed violently. If he didn't die from the exposure to the smoke, the fire certainly would. The house was glowing as flames ate it up, leaving nothing behind.

* *

Todomatsu walked through the town with his friend beside him. It was louder than usual. "Hey, Todomatsu," spoke out Atsushi. Todomatsu hummed in response. "You're not sick, are you?" He looked at him in confusion. "Why do you ask? I'm perfectly healthy," he said, almost sounding offended. "It's just that, I was told not to be around anyone who seemed sick," answered Atsushi.

"Oh, so I seem sick?" Todomatsu said. They walked past a market and he immediately changed face, handing him some coins in exchange for bread. Then immediately pouting a glare at Atsushi a bit. Atsushi simply stared. While walking along, Todomatsu overheard talking from two girls.

"My mother's got a disease. . . Her entire body's covered in swellings the size of eggs. It's horrible," said the one with her hair up. Todomatsu kept that in mind. As time progressed, he found it a risk to even breathe the air. The plague was spreading like a wildfire. It wasn't safe to stay at all.

He was trying to get out of town, trying desperately to look at the corpses from every once in a while that appeared almost littered on the streets. There was a horrible stench emitting. Todomatsu couldn't help but scratch at his neck. The male stopped when he saw some people ahead of him. They were familiar to him. The short boy in front of a few others. Doctors? They wore masks that reminded him of a crow's beak.

The boy pointed at Todomatsu. Something that he assumed was not a good thing. "It's him. He, sent us to hell," he claimed. Todomatsu stared in confusion. "H-huh? Ha-Hatabou, what are you--"

* * *

Karamatsu didn't speak, expecting the ghost Todomatsu to continue. He didn't. His eyes were glued to the floor. "That's. . . All I can remember. Everything else is just lamented," he said. Karamatsu looked uncertain. "What happened to your friend, by the way?" Todomatsu looked at him. "Isn't it obvious? He died." The priest looked around. Perhaps it'd only been a few months since the black death ended, but he still felt horrible at the thought of the experience the ghost must have went through. Dying through a disease that wiped out a third of Europe and telling the tale, but not living.

"I'm. . . Sorry. Is there anything I can do? Say, to help your spirit rest?" he asked. Todomatsu was in thought. A few seconds later, he shook his head and let out a sigh. "I don't think there is. Oh, but actually I can remember that in my final hours I was in a room full of light but not the afterlife or anything," he replied. "Maybe. . . Candles? Hence why you've got them all over you," Karamatsu suggested. Todomatsu gasped slightly. "Yeah, it seems like it."

Karamatsu smiled, then let out a yawn. "Apologies, but I must sleep now. Perhaps we can talk tomorrow over more pleasant things?" He stood up, as they were sitting over by the stool. Todomatsu had a smile with closed eyes, a small blush on his face as he waved. "Bye bye, take care, Karamatsu."

Todomatsu sighed. One of the candle's flame began to falter, and was put out. The wax melted into Todomatsu's non existent body. Even though he was dead, the pain was still there. He flinched.

It burned.