Like Faust

 Black. An inky sort of black. The kind that pools into a puddle, dripping down, staining the floors so much so that no amount of water can rub it out. A permanent stain. Viscous and cloudy, spreading like a fire to engulf the whole world, or so it seemed like it. A clawed hand stretched out from the mass, also completely dark.

"The time has come, my lord."

The voice that spoke from seemingly nowhere and everywhere all at once was slippery, oozing into every single crevice it could find. The grin of the Cheshire cat widened and widened and widened, stretching across the inky blackness, baring its teeth. Sharp. But taunting. And beastly. The tongue stretched out, wetting a nonexistent mouth as two pupils of burning coal amidst the deepest red slowly opened themselves.

And there was that smile still. Looking and looking and looking as a man lay amid that inky blackness. Adorned with medals of valor, the finest of the finest of silk sashes, and the most brilliant of brilliant golden hair like the sun. But not the sun. There was no light in this darkness, merely more darkness that stretched for miles, and yet, the man was clear as day. Two beautiful eyes lay open as that noble mouth finally parted, only to hum a nostalgic tune as the head turned in two painfully slow seconds.

"Ah... is that so..." 

The man's weary voice was on the verge of fading, but did not. And as the clawed hand stretched out and the jaws gleamed and gleamed, bursting into a throaty chuckle, those bloody eyes never blinked.

"Dying for revenge? How stupid..."

The voice laughed and laughed and laughed before the mass loomed overhead, staring down with a piercing gaze. Steely and unwavering, it seemed to find amusement in all that had come to pass. This man was incredibly amusing. Those beastlike jaws remained still as the voice continued.

"You could have asked for anything else. Money, fame, love, like those other idiotic humans do. Your life was short... but so is every human's life. It didn't even take half a blink for it to be over. How taxing... I'll have to find a new soul soon."

Something almost resembling a sigh passed through that voice as the man chuckled. Though the inky black voice seemed to stop, it was far from over. The man merely managed a smile as he locked eyes with the darkness.

"You say that we are foolish, but you seem to need us all the more. You desire us, crave us, choose us. That... is something worth noting. Think of me as you wish. For I will be no more after this. I am happy. And that is all that matters to me."

The inky black voice paused. The grin faltered, but in such a short time that neither one could make out if or why. Then it purred to life with the same fervour, inching closer and closer and closer directly overhead the man.

"Very well then, noisy human."

And then there was nothing.