"Leviathan..."
"Leviathan..."
"Leviathan, wake up..."
Leviathan's eyes blinked from the glare, looking up to see a woman whose face was full of light smiling at him. "Who... are you?" he asked. His body was unable to move at all.
"Calm down..." The woman in white, wearing a golden crown in her hair shining like the sun, with her face covered by a transparent cloth, gently stroked Leviathan's head on her lap. "You must be confused, right? You can't understand your own feelings. Forgive me. I sealed your feelings, considering how tremendous your power would be as you grew. You must be able to feel the overflowing power inside you now."
"Seal?"
The mysterious woman stopped stroking his head. "All of this is for your own good, but not anymore. I will let the seal on your feelings open slowly. Starting with the feeling of loss."
Leviathan, feeling his body could move again, shifted into a cross-legged sitting position facing the woman. "Loss?"
"Let the feelings within you overflow. Feel what your feelings are trying to tell you, and then your heart and body will be in harmony." The mysterious woman touched Leviathan's forehead with her index finger, assembling each piece of the puzzle that Leviathan couldn't solve.
"This memory... them?"
"That's right. I sent them to you not only to make darkness balance with light again, but also to be your companions on your journey, Leviathan."
"What is this suffocating feeling? Why do I feel like I want to shed tears again?"
"Let it out."
"Alright."
Leviathan began to cry. The suffocating feeling filling him made it hard to breathe. It felt like he was in a silent, bottomless water. No matter how many times he used magic to rise to the surface, it always ended in failure. He kept sinking into the bottomless water.
"Lord!"
Leviathan saw the shadow of someone above the surface of the water calling out to him. "Who? An enemy?"
"Quick, Amon! Extend your thorny roots down to save the Lord!" Karya's voice sounded shrill.
"Be patient for a moment!"
"Hold on, Lord." Beelzbub called out.
"Hey, Belial! Can't you use that ugly hair of yours as a rope?" Asmodeus asked.
"My hair? Use your own hair!"
"Oi, oi!" Belphegor struck with a bolt of lightning. "You guys... are so noisy! Better to just destroy everything."
Lucifer sighed tiredly. "Move aside, you foolish creatures." He took position at the front with the charisma of a typical nobleman. "Watch closely how I do it."
"Whoa... big brother!" Karya shrieked.
"Who's your big brother?" Lucifer's focus wavered. "Who are you calling big brother, huh? I'm not your big brother!"
"Really? Aren't you the first great demon?"
"What Karya said is true, Big Brother." Asmodeus also called Lucifer 'Big Brother'.
"Big brother? Not bad. Not unworthy enough to be destroyed." Belphegor calmed down again and fell asleep.
Seeing the others nod in agreement, Lucifer was frustrated. "I'm not your big brother, remember that! I'll kill you if you call me big brother again." He warned.
"Bawahhaa hha..." Karya laughed with the others at the sight of Lucifer, whose face was usually charismatic, now looking annoyed.
"Ah... so that's how it is..." Leviathan understood. His body, sinking deeper now, understood why the shadow of their presence was always seen everywhere. "So you all mean something to me. It's funny that I only realize it now and want you back." He closed his eyes, letting the water pressure pull him toward the bottom that he now knew.
"Leviathan!"
"Leviathan! Can you hear me?"
Leviathan slowly opened his eyes, finding himself back in the place where the mysterious woman was. "What is your reason for making me realize this?" he asked as he got up from where he lay before the mysterious woman.
"I just didn't want you to keep living in loneliness."
"I've already lived in loneliness. They are dead and it is impossible to bring them back because I am not God."
The mysterious woman shook her head gently. "You're wrong, child. Impossibility does not apply to God almighty. If God wills it, your friends can live again."
"I am the King of demons, a race punished by God. Fortune could never be granted to me by God."
"You're wrong. God has granted it to you."
"What do you mean?"
"God gave you a second chance with the destiny of reincarnated souls for your friends."
Leviathan's eyes widened in disbelief. "Is that possible? A vile creature like me being given such an incredible chance by God?" he asked in disbelief.
"That's right. However, you need to take a long journey to find them. Because God gave them life as creatures called humans up there. This journey will also slowly release all the seals holding back your feelings."
"That's enough for me." Leviathan stared intently at the mysterious woman. "How can I repay God's kindness?" he asked.
"Just try to do good, and live happily." Slowly, the mysterious woman began to fade.
"Wait!" Leviathan tried to stop the shattering light that was fading the mysterious woman's form. "You haven't told me who you really are." He grabbed her hand, soft as silk, looking at her with hope that the mysterious woman would answer.
The mysterious woman slowly released Leviathan's hand. She turned away, not wanting to see the face she longed for, the face that made her want to cry while holding him close. "I am your mother, child."
"What? Wai—"
"See many places on your journey. The world where you were born is very beautiful and not worthy of being destroyed. Mother hopes you can feel the beauty that mother feels."
"May the light bless you, my son Leviathan."
The mysterious woman disappeared like sunlight slowly covered by clouds, leaving Leviathan stunned by her confession. A beautiful woman like a goddess of light claiming to be the mother of a Demon King? This was a joke that wasn't funny at all.
"Mother...?" Leviathan laughed softly. This was the first time for him. "What kind of joke is that? Wasn't I born from the darkness of the human heart and this world? Seriously, is there no guidebook for living in this world?" He walked casually toward the light guiding him to the exit ahead.
"I will surely meet you before my death, mother. Be ready to account for your statement when that time comes."
The mysterious woman, far away in a place unknown to Leviathan, smiled happily. "I will wait for it, my child."