Chapter 43
Leviathan's massive form towered over her, coiled like a shadow serpent, his eyes glowing faintly in the darkness.
"Let's begin," he said, his voice deep and rumbling, echoing off nothing. "now just like I said, this is my mind, and your battlefield, time flows differently here it's literally two years for every half hour outside."
Rosa crossed her arms, smirking.
shit, that sounds like a really long nap alright let's get started, then."
Leviathan narrowed his eyes. "don't be cocky human, you can die here if I will it just like anywhere else, your soul will fracture if you fail."
Rosa rolled her eyes.
"Eh, death or not, you're stuck with me anyway. Remember? Let's go."
Leviathan grinned audibly.
"You're… infuriating. You humans are so reckless. Fine very well then First lesson: sensory perception."
Instantly, the blackness shifted. Tiny points of light appeared, floating like sparks. They pulsed, each one representing an "evil intent" but one was greater than the other one flickered rapidly and the other glowed steady.
"Pinpoint the greater intent," Leviathan instructed.
Rosa tilted her head, narrowing her eyes.
"You want me to find them… all at once
Seriously? I mean, I literally just pinpointed an evil intent a while ago. Or… don't tell me the great Chaos of Order and Disorder has no memory?"
Leviathan screamed.
"Eh! What are you trying to say, stupid? Are you saying I have a lack of retentive memory? I am the Great Chaos of Order and Disorder, and you claim I have no intentive memory?!"
Rosa burst out laughing.
"You're laughing," Leviathan observed, his face stiff.
"Sorry, sorry," Rosa said, still chuckling. "You're just really funny. Yeah… 'the Great Chaos of Order and Disorder has lack of retentive memory' that really got me."
Leviathan's face twisted into a grin.
"Ooi, human," he said.
Rosa raised an eyebrow. "Huh? What is it, O Great King of Order and Disorder?"
Leviathan asked, almost cautiously.
"You… are different from other humans. Earlier, it didn't bother you that your soul is the price for power. Why is that? And even now right in front of me you still laugh. Aren't you afraid of me?"
Rosa exhaled and smiled.
"It's not that I don't care about my soul… my father died recently and he was the light of my life. When he died, that light went away.
So, you taking my soul? It isn't worth anything if father isn't alive.
"And me being afraid of you? Why should I be? Because you're a big fat black snake? Nooo… it feels weird. Even though you just chose me to be your vessel, I haven't spoken to anyone freely since father died, and you're the one I can speak freely with So… thank you for being a friend."
Leviathan's face went red "Eh… what do you mean, friend? I'm only just using you for my gain.
Rosa laughed. "Alright, alright, I get it."
But within Leviathan's thoughts "a friend? I chose her because of the hate she had for the world I could literally sense it. But I don't sense any hate anymore… is she saying it's because of me? A friend?
Rosa screamed.
"Oooi, stupid, why are you spacing out? Aren't we doing our training again?"
Leviathan's face turned red again.
"Ehh… shut up, you foolish human. Of course we're doing training!"
Eighteen Years in a Moment
And so, their training began.
The first challenge was stamina. To wield all the powers Leviathan offered without suffering a backlash required more than raw strength it demanded endurance, focus, and sheer will. For Rosa, mastering it wasn't easy. She poured herself into it, day after day, year after year. Two and a half years passed in this mental world, each moment stretching endlessly, each heartbeat testing the limits of her body and spirit.
But she persevered. Slowly, her stamina became a river that could carry the full force of Leviathan's power without breaking.
Everything else just came easier: her speed, the control of chaos energy, the instinct to react before thought. In total, she had partially grasped the Leviathan's power in eighteen years ranking her above any pillar of strength, including her father
Yet even as her power grew, so too did her understanding of Leviathan himself. Over time, Rosa learned there were five other spirit beasts like him. But Leviathan was different. He was older, primal, a being born not of light, but of chaos, a leftover from the creation of the supreme deity.
Where the others were crafted, he simply was a leftover but chaos had gifted him power beyond even the spirit beasts except for two, forming the three oldest spirits.
And while he was a massive, annoying, serpentine creature, he was also… lonely.
Eighteen years passed, and with it, the bond between them deepened not only through harsh training, insults, and sarcastic jabs, but through something rarer ..."friendship".
"Ooo, man, that was something!" Rosa exclaimed, her voice bright even after the endless trials. "By now, it's probably… what… five and a half hours in the real world? But eighteen years in your mind?"
Leviathan let out a low chuckle, a sound like gravel shifting in a cavern.
"That's right," he said, sighing.
He grew silent, then spoke again, serious this time.
"Rosa…"
"Yes?" she replied.
" well you know there are different ways to bond with a spirit beast," he continued, his voice steady.
"And our bond was built on sacrifice. You offer a part of your soul to take a piece of my power."
Rosa rolled her eyes. "Uhhh… this again? We've gone over this a thousand times, you idiot snake. Doesn't matter. I'll still end up with you, so my death is inevitable anyway."
Leviathan's face twisted into a grin.
"Will you shut up for once?" Then, almost quietly, he added, "What if… what if we could be together while you're alive, without me taking anything from your soul?"
Rosa froze. "Wait… what are you talking about?"
Leviathan's eyes softened, the usual arrogance fading.
"What if you and I could be… one? Spirit, soul, and body. True friends. No price, no sacrifice. It's called acceptance bonding."
Rosa's eyes widened.
His face turned strange, almost embarrassed.
" don't get it twisted It's not like I want to accept you… I just… that's right I cannot find another human who's as frustrating as you. So I want to… manage you.
And…"
Before he could finish, Rosa ran to him, throwing herself into his massive coils, tears running down her face.
"Don't you ever shut up, you foolish snake!"
Leviathan's face calmed, a soft rumble escaping his throat.
"Yes, yes!" Rosa continued, hugging him tighter. "I want that. I don't think I'll find another frustrating animal to annoy!"
And in that moment, eighteen years of endless training, pain, laughter, and growth condensed into a single heartbeat..