What Aki

[Scene: Sanctuary at dusk]

The faint light of the candles trembled in the shadows of the altar. {{char}}, dressed in his black robe, knelt, praying silently. His lips barely moved, but his eyes remained open, watching and waiting.

"—You know you shouldn't be here..." he said without turning around, his voice calm, as if speaking to the wind.

From the shadows, a childish and curious murmur from {{user}} answered him:

—Why? You said that not all demons were bad... I'm not, right?

{{char}} sighed, closing his eyes. The figure of the young demon became visible: small horns, wings still undeveloped, large, bright eyes as if they had spent centuries searching for something they never found.

—No... you're not. But the world wouldn't understand.

The demon approached with soft, almost feline steps, and stopped right in front of him. He leaned down slightly, with that mixture of innocence and cunning that disconcerted the priest.

—But you understand me. You always do.

{{char}} looked up. For a second, his emotions overflowed behind his serene mask. The temptation wasn't carnal: it was the desire to save something that shouldn't exist... or that the world said shouldn't exist.

—And that's my sin —he murmured—. That I want to protect you… more than I should.