"You think it would take me that long?" He asked, pushing the door open, gesturing for Cullen to go in first.
His eyes went wide as he entered the large room that Leviathan had created. There were large circles drawn onto the stone floor and ropes hanging from various beams across the sloped ceiling. Several dozen types of weapons hung on the wall across from them, all of them looking very deadly and sharp. And some engraved with heavy jewels he knew meant the weapons were old–and unique. It was much more impressive and intense looking than the training room backhome.
"Good enough?" Leviathan asked as Cullen moved forward to examine the weapons more closely. "If there's anything specific you want, just let me know. I will happily create it for you."
Cullen hesitated, his fingers lingering on one of the sharp blades, before he turned to him. "Why are you being nice to me?"
Leviathan’s face went very still, and then broke into a smile. "Because I want you to like it here. I want you to be happy with me."
Cullen blushed, biting back the harsh words he wanted to say as he examined the room again. "You took me from my friends and made me into a demon against my will, Leviathan. Did you think that was a good start?" His voice was quiet. He kept his eyes away from his face. This seemed too…casual. Too open and honest but…
"And how would you have gone about it, Cullen?" Leviathan asked quietly. "I couldn't get you alone for more than a few seconds and it would have killed you to bring you here as a human. Your body could have exploded just from a second of being in this dimension. It can be difficult to travel between worlds. I didn't want to hurt you."
"You burned me–"
"I didn't have a choice. That's how a human is made into a demon."
Cullen shook his head with a deep sigh. "You should have asked me first." What was he saying? Why did it almost sound like he would have considered it if he’d only beenasked?
"You would have turned me down. It would have been pointless." There was an edge to his voice now.
"Then maybe you should have moved on to someone else!" Cullen snapped. "Why did it have to beme?"
Leviathan’s eyes popped wide and then narrowed. For a long time, they simply glared at each other. Until Cullen finally rolled his eyes and walked back to him.
"Spar with me."
Leviathan looked shocked. "Why?"
"I have no one else to do it with." Cullen muttered, stopping in the center of the room. "And besides, I want to test out how strong this new body is."
Leviathan walked towards him slowly, his hands calmly at his sides even as Cullen raised his own.
"Eager for me to drop another building on you?"
Cullen winced at the memory. "No. Keep it reasonable. Fight me fairly."
"Fine." Leviathan muttered, shifting into a new position. “Just fists and shadows.”
He twitched, his eyes narrowing. “Shadows?”
Leviathan smiled and lifted a hand. Shadows swirled around his body, stretching towards Cullen and making Leviathan look as if he had deadly tentacles. The thought brought a flush to his face.
“You are a demon now,” Leviathan murmured. “You no longer have the power of light, Cullen, but the power of darkness. The powers of Hell. Use them well.”
A slow, heavy feeling seeped into his chest. The powers of Hell. Of shadows. Demons used them to fight and they were deadly and could do fucked up things. He’d once seen a man drown in their depths as if he were flung into the ocean. Light powers were the opposite. Light was…hope incarnate, heaven made tangible. It left a warm, tingly feeling in his hands and made his chest feel light with wonder…
To use shadows…to give up on his humanity that easily…
“Just…just fists.” He said quietly, his eyes on the shadows around Leviathan.
Slowly, they melted away, leaving Leviathan looking just slightly more human, even as a dark smile spread across his face and his onyx eyes flickered with excitement. “As you wish, pet.”
There was a tense silence.
Leviathan smirked. "You get the first move, Cullen."
He burst forward before Leviathan had finished his sentence, rushing straight at him. He ducked to the side just as he reached him and swung at his face. Leviathan dodged him. He growled, rage tearing through him when he saw the smirk on the other man’s face. He swung lower this time, aiming for his chest, and Leviathan stepped back just far enough to avoid him.
