In the dark of night, after the dinner party downstairs, Leviathan stood on the balcony looking out at the courtyard with its beautiful flowers. The whisper of the peaceful fountain and the faint rustling of leaves on the trees not far from the side of the wall.
Gazing at the sky, silent and lost in thought. The sound of soft footsteps approaching was heard from behind, breaking the silence. Leviathan turned at the same time as a gust of wind gently blew his hair and clothes until they fluttered.
There, from the side of the library that was not touched by the reddish-brown candlelight, stood a figure in a white sleeping gown, elegant, tucking her fluttering hair behind her ear with captivating grace. It was a moonless night, yet the sweet smile she wore shone brighter than the moon.
"What is it?"
Violet came closer while asking back, "Can't you sleep?"
Leviathan turned to look outside, with Violet standing beside him. "Mm."
"Shall I help you?"
"Hm?" Leviathan turned to look at Violet.
Violet, without fear, took Leviathan's hand and led him into the library and pushed him onto the long sofa, then sat beside him, gently pulling Leviathan's head to rest on her lap. "Sleep, Sir. I will sing for you." She began to hum while alternately patting and stroking Leviathan's head.
Leviathan's eyes blinked, stopped gazing upward, smiled faintly and fell fully asleep into the realm of dreams. As usual, his dream would become a place of meeting. The white world slowly began with strokes like a brush painting on canvas.
Trees, waterfalls, rocks, and small animals among them. Like paradise, the beautiful chirping of birds, the roar of free-falling water. Leviathan's eyes were reluctant to open. Yet, the unfamiliar gentle touch pulled him to move quickly, grasped his hand, and pulled him closer to her.
"Is it the little girl who taught you how to love, my son?" With her soft voice the mother asked.
"L-love...?" Leviathan looked confused.
The mother gently released Leviathan's hand, moved aside to give him space to sit. "I've seen that lately you keep being with her before coming to see me."
Unconsciously Leviathan drew a faint smile, "Really? I just feel at peace, like being with you when I'm in her embrace."
The mother made a sullen face, wanting to tease, "Does that mean you don't need me anymore? It makes me sad..."
"Ah..." Leviathan panicked, moving closer slowly, and the mother laughed at his expression. "M-mother...?"
"I was just teasing you."
Leviathan puffed out his cheeks, turning his eyes elsewhere. Not long after, he remembered the question he wanted to ask his mother, "Mother, is it true that I have a younger sibling? She seems to be fifteen years old, or maybe sixteen?"
The mother, sitting with her legs to the side, lowered her gaze. "You... know?"
"She came to see me with the seven archangels." Leviathan's statement made the mother lift her face in surprise. "She didn't hurt me, quite the opposite. So, can you explain it to me?"
The mother turned her face away, as if she wanted to avoid it if she could. Seeing that, Leviathan immediately reacted and said, "For this one, I beg you, please answer me. About Light, the Goddess of Light, and the heavenly realm."
"M-mother..."
"Can you tell me how I came to be, until you, father, and Light could become my family? Forgive me for forcing you."
"This story... began a very long time ago when father and I first met. A sweet meeting that bore fruit in your birth. But in truth, the ending was not as sweet as before. There were so many obstacles that I cannot tell you, only remember that your father always resolved them like a hero."
"A hero?"
The mother caressed his face, "Yes. Though a Demon King, your father was still your father. Before you grew up, he played the role of father very well. His name remains in my heart, and his soul dwells within you."
"Within me? Father... is inside me?" Leviathan quickly looked up, staring at the face that was briefly visible when the transparent cloth covering it was lifted by the wind, "Does mother know where father is now?"
The mother's lips opened as if to speak, but then closed again, and after a while she answered, "He has gone and will never be able to return." There was a trace of sadness in her voice.
"Can't... he be reincarnated like the seven great demons?"
The mother shook her head slowly, "His soul has been shattered." That was all she said; she did not tell him that his husband had sacrificed himself to bring their son to meet the core of the world.
Leviathan fell silent, accepting it. "What about me? If I am your and father's son, then why was I born from the core of the world? Every time one old question is answered, there is always a new question that confuses me. Is this world a world inside a mystery novel?" He ended with a light chuckle.
"Because your father and I did not have enough mana to raise you, your father suggested entrusting you to the core of the world. Until you were born again as the Demon King." The mother explained in a low voice.
"So that's how it was."
"When I saw your figure reborn, I realized one thing. Your father's darkness was more dominant than my light. Perhaps that is why you are called destruction." The mother smiled, happy to see a figure nearly perfect like her husband.
"Is that why I can use light mana even though my status is Demon King? Isn't that like a God?"
"Perhaps you are already above them."
"Did you say something?" Leviathan did not hear what his mother had just said, and received a slight shake of her head in answer. "Then, what about Light?"
"After your father died, I returned to the realm of the Gods and married the God of Water by order of the emperor of heaven." The mother's voice grew fainter now, and she stopped, reluctant to continue the story.
"How could darkness and light become siblings like this? Doesn't this mean the hostility between light and darkness has ended? Haha." Leviathan was happy, also a little disappointed. "Then... mother... where are you now?"
The mother fell silent, a question she did not want to hear came naturally from her son's mouth. She was silent for quite a while, and Leviathan waited patiently, not forcing her to answer immediately—because it seemed he was trying to understand his mother's condition. In his opinion, it was impossible for her to leave and disappear without news for hundreds of years without a reason hiding a painful story.
From his father's departure, his mother's unclear return to the realm of the Gods, the necessity of staying in the womb of the world for hundreds of years, and questions without clear answers all this time. What more if there was a secret behind it?
"C-cough! Cough, cough!"
"Mother!"
Leviathan quickly moved closer, supporting his mother's body in his embrace, without looking he knew his mother's face behind the pale cloth. Her breath was ragged, her body trembled and she was powerless to move.
In that embrace Leviathan channeled his energy, his heart crying out, "Are you alright, Mother? Why are you like this?". But before he could open his mouth, his mother's body began to shatter like dust particles drifting toward the sunlight. Helpless, Leviathan could only watch, crawling, reaching out trying to grasp the pieces of light flying away.
"Since your arrival, the balance of the world has been broken."
That was all that was heard, nothing more, only a few words asking him not to worry. With tears welling in his eyes, and with helplessness he watched her, the light that seemed to smile warmly at him. After the dust was swallowed by the light, he sat with his head bowed, waiting for the dream to end on its own.