I am Leviathan.
One of the Seven Powers of Darkness that waged war against Heaven four thousand years ago.
Though we were all recruited by Satanas, we were never truly a team—in fact, I despised some of the Seven.
Our ambition was clear: bring down the authority of the heavenly beings and establish ourselves in a new order of power.
A plan that became shattered like fragile ice under a steel hammer.
We lost. Completely.
After the century of brutal warfare, I realized a harsh truth:
No matter the strength we wielded, the alliances we formed, or the cunning we possessed, defeat was inevitable.
Heaven was unassailable.
With that realization, I—along with most of the other Powers of Darkness—abandoned Satanas.
I even relinquished my promised reward: dominion over a portion of the Underworld.
Instead, I claimed the coastal seas surrounding most of Pison, retreating into an endless slumber beneath the waves.
Centuries passed. Millennia.
I slept in the cold depth, drowning in boredom and solitude.
Then, one day, a visitor came: Freya, one of the Asgardian gods.
She wanted me to turn a blind eye to the battle soon to rage upon my seas and coasts.
A proud goddess, I didn't have time for.
I agreed—I had no desire for needless strife with gods.
She assured me the battle would be brief, a few days at most.
But if she lied... I would swallow both armies into the endless maw of the abyss.
When the day of the battle arrived, I rose lightly from my watery tomb to watch.
Amidst the chaos of clashing steel and roaring beasts, I saw him.
Using the backs of dragons as stepping stones, a Dark Fenrir tore through his enemies.
Each bound sent shockwaves through the air, a blur of black fur and crimson eyes.
Claws like black lightning carved through scaled hides, and fangs, wet with blood, crunched bone and flesh.
His movements were a rhythm of savagery.
He was Ravenswood—a new addition to the legendary three Fenrirs.
Born not even a century ago, yet he fought with the ferocity of a bloodthirsty beast.
Dragons, soldiers, sorcerers—none could halt his rampage.
I found myself... enthralled.
With an arsenal of mysterious abilities, an aura of majesty, and a penchant for violence, Ravenswood captivated me.
I lay beneath the sea, my serpentine body coiled in the cool darkness, watching the battle unfold through the waves.
Something stirred within me—a sensation unfamiliar and unsettling. My heart, ancient and untouched, thudded with a rhythm I did not recognize.
Was this strange heat in my chest the fabled phenomenon called... love?
But the battle, like all beautiful things, ended too quickly.
Heavenly beings intervened, their celestial swords severing the threads of war.
Ravenswood fled, vanishing into the distance with his allies.
I remained beneath the coastal seas, cradling a fragile hope in the shadowy recesses of my mind.
One day... One day, I would meet him.
My adored. My beloved.
This fragile hope was my only companion as centuries slipped by like the gentle rush of a tide.
And then—two hundred years later—I found him again.
His appearance had changed, his form deviating from what I remembered. But his scent...
Oh, his scent remained unmistakable.
A mysterious blend of humanity, divinity, and darkness. An impossible fragrance that defied reason yet anchored itself deep within my soul.
My heart raced.
Elation surged through me.
I felt a bubbling anticipation, a giddiness I had not known in all my eons.
He was stronger now.
His aura crackled with an intensity that dwarfed the power he wielded before. His magic had grown, an ocean where once there had been a lake.
Though he was still leagues beneath me in raw power, it did not matter. The strange and wonderful thing about love is that strength means nothing if only your beloved is near.
The stone walls of my solitude began to crack.
My chest ached, and not with the pangs of war or hunger. It was something deeper, a longing, a need.
I wanted to see him.
But then, the doubts crept in.
What if he did not fancy me? What if I did not match his ideal of beauty?
These thoughts were insidious, curling through my mind like poisonous smoke.
To silence them, I made a plan—a desperate plan.
I would assault him.
Overwhelm him.
Defeat him utterly.
If I proved my strength, he would have to acknowledge me.
If I stood above him in victory, surely he would see me as worthy of his attention—and perhaps, his affection.
(Author's note: Ladies, this is a terrible plan, by the way.)
I launched my attack by toppling their boat into the sea, a domain where my power reigned supreme.
The vessel cracked and splintered, swallowed by the churning waves.
But instead of fighting back, Ravenswood fled, vanishing with his darkness spirits into the horizon.
Only a lone reaper remained, her scythe lazily resting on her shoulder as if this were all just a passing inconvenience.
Why?
Why did he run... away from me?
"Ohhh," the reaper drawled, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "I think I get what's going on here."
I narrowed my gaze at the tiny being. "Do you wish to battle me?"
"Ah, no, no." She waved a pale hand dismissively. "I'm not suicidal. But you—oh my, you like Rumen, don't you?"
"What's a Rumen?"
"The guy who just left with the darkness spirits."
"Wasn't his name Ravenswood?"
"Ravenswood, Riddick, Ramen—all the same. As long as there's an 'r' in there." She gave me a smile as irritating as a thorn in the skin. "And is that love I see in your eyes?"
She did it again.
Was this reaper secretly a Cupid in disguise?
A strange heat rose to my face.
Embarrassment? Shame?
How could this lowly reaper make me feel so... small?
"How could you tell...?" I asked, my voice barely more than a ripple on the water.
"Hehe, leave it to me! I consume tons of rom-coms and romance novels. I could spot a lovesick gaze from a mile away. The forlorn look you gave Rubuzuana said it all."
Who in the Abyss was Rubuzuana?
And what was a "rom-com"?
Were these things I should know?
The reaper kept talking, her words flowing as fast as a river. "Ah, thank heavens. I thought I'd have to make up some nonsense about how bad I'd taste and how my death would be meaningless to you, but hey, everything's cool, right?"
"…"
"...Right?"
Her hopeful grin froze under my icy stare.
This impudent creature had the audacity to fluster me. I—Leviathan, the coastal sovereign, the ancient terror!
"If you do not wish to explore the interior of my stomach, you'd best tell me what I wish to know."
"Y-yes, Mistress! If it's within my knowledge, I'll provide any information you want, including Pluto's weird habits. Please, don't end me!"
Her voice fluctuated—soft and uncertain one moment, then tumbling into a rapid-fire spill of words. Her fear was palpable, but beneath it lay a peculiar boldness.
A confusing blend, this reaper—maybe she had low blood pressure?
"Well then," I began, my voice a deep rumble that sent ripples through the water. "Since you know so much about love, tell me what to do to win Ravenswood's heart!"