Curious (Ray x Reader)

Two Promises

[Y/N] exhaled slowly, steadying herself as the otherworldly presence loomed ahead. The being's gaze—if one could call it that—seemed to claw through layers of her mind, peeling back thought and soul like fragile parchment. She stood at the edge of everything, time completely still, the laws of physics bending like reeds in a storm.

But she had already endured this.

She had walked through the darkest corridors of herself. Faced her past. Drowned in guilt and grief. And somehow, she'd surfaced. Broken, sure. But alive.

So no—there was nothing left to fear.

Lifting her chin, she met the god's ever-shifting stare. Its form writhed like smoke and bone and starlight all at once. Impossible to define, like trying to focus on a dream while waking.

"I had a proposal," she said clearly, voice ringing into the abyss. "I hope you remember it?"

The air vibrated with low resonance. The god did not speak. It watched. Soundless, breathing silence.

Beside her, Peter Ratri stiffened, overwhelmed. The hall—the place between dimensions—warped around them, shadows blooming like ink in water, colors bleeding from nothing, space folding inward. He stared at the entity with wide eyes, as if hoping he could vanish into the stone beneath them.

[Y/N] inhaled deeply, grounding herself. "I've returned with Peter Ratri," she continued. "He will be the one to make the new promise, the one to set the cattle children free."

"Ironic." Peter sighed.

"Poetic." [Y/N] gave him a cheerfully deadpan smile.

The air changed.

Reality bent again, trembling with tension, like a harp string drawn too tight. The god leaned forward—though it had no body to lean. Still, its presence shifted closer, pressing against her like the weight of an ocean. It wasn't hostile. But it was expectant. Measuring.

Then—

A deep, bone-deep hum rolled through the chamber, vibrating her very teeth. The god was listening.

"I didn't think you'd actually be able to bring him," it said at last, its voice like cracking ice and roaring fire wrapped in a whisper.

"Like I said last time," [Y/N] muttered, adjusting her stance. "Fight me, bitch."

Peter choked. "WHAT—?! Show some respect, you insolent brat!"

"Hey, he started it!" she snapped back, hands flaring out in exasperation.

"I do admit," the god rumbled with amusement, "it gets far too mundane when no one dares speak with me so frankly."

"See?" [Y/N] gestured at Peter like she had just won a court case. "He's a masochist."

"Oh, you shut up!"

The god chuckled—an earthquake laugh that echoed in infinite directions. The chamber pulsed once with light.

"Proceed," it said. "Let us hear the promise."

Peter, still visibly trying to recover from being verbally bodied by a teenage girl and an eldritch deity, cleared his throat. Straightened his coat. Tried to look diplomatic.

"Try not to screw it up, Ratri Jr." The girl gave a hard pat on his back making him stumble.

He scowled at her one last time before taking a step forward, words laced with centuries of tradition, as if by saying them formally enough, he could pretend he wasn't trembling inside.

"From this moment forth," he began, voice steady but hollow, "the world of demons and the world of humans shall remain separate for all eternity. No creature from one shall ever cross into the other. No dealings, no contact, no interference. Forevermore."