He's a Mess of a Man

Upright ~ One

Chaos pressed in the moment the group left The World Turtle's domain. Lightning froze and shattered in midair. Hail fell in torrents from the churning sky. "Things weren't this bad before..." Leviathan muttered.

"The Devil performed this ritual. It makes sense that its realm is the nexus of all this chaos," said Asra.

"So, what's that mean?" Lucio asked, "Things get worse the closer we get to The Devil's realm?"

"Most likely, yes."

"One would think The Devil could tidy up after itself," said Nadia. Despite the very inclement weather, everyone seemed to be in high spirits. Scout walked with ears perked and a spring in their step. Even Lucio wasn't complaining. He might as well had been taking a casual stroll with the dogs.

Leviathan couldn't help but smile, remembering how out-of-place Lucio was when he first visited the magical realms, "He's certainly come a long way since then."

"What, Levi? Do I have something on my face?" Lucio asked.

"Oh- I didn't realize I was staring at him-" Leviathan thought with a small blush. "I was just thinking about how proud I am of you."

Lucio turned to stare at him, nearly tripping over his own boots, "Eh?! I'm not complaining, but where did that come from?"

"Remember the first time we found ourselves in the magical realms?" Leviathan asked.

Lucio made a strange noise, halfway between a laugh and a groan, "Gods. I was still a ghost, we landed in a horrible frozen forest... And I kissed you for the first time. That too. That was nice," he rubbed at the back of his neck, flushing pink. "You're proud of me for that?"

Leviathan laughed lightly, "No, silly. I'm proud of how far you've come since then."

Lucio's mouth formed a perfect, surprised O. He stopped mid-stride, and the two dogs walked right into his back. But even Melchior's reproachful nip at Lucio's sleeve didn't get him to move. "I... uh... You really mean it?"

Leviathan smiled brightly and nodded, "Of course I do! You were so nervous in the magical realms at first."

"Hey, be fair. There were worms. And demons. Demon worms. And it was really, really cold."

"Yeah, but look at you now. Strange magic barely fazes you." Leviathan wrapped both arms around Lucio and squeezed tight, "You're marching off to face The Devil with me, even though the world's ending." He could feel the soft chuckle through Lucio's clothes as he hugged him back.

"Well, I had a pretty awesome teacher. And did I mention cute? Cute always helps." He leaned in closer, the tip of his nose barely brushing Leviathan's.

Asra chuckled, "Yes, good teachers do make a big difference. Wouldn't you say so, Levi?"

Lucio jumped but hung onto Leviathan, scowling at Asra over Leviathan's shoulder, "Ugh, we were having a moment, Asra!"

"Perhaps we should all have a moment for your moment?" asked Nadia. The others had all stopped walking as well, watching the two with varying degrees of amusement.

"Actually, I was going to echo what Levi said earlier," Asra said. "Lucio, I remember you being a disaster at anything to do with magic-"

"H-hey now, I wasn't all that bad-"

"But you really have improved," Asra laughed. "I've been meaning to ask, Leviathan. What's your secret? As far as I could tell, nothing I ever said managed to stick in Lucio's head."

Lucio huffed loudly and stuck his nose in the air, pretending not to listen. But Leviathan could tell that he was waiting for his answer as eagerly as Asra. "Patience."

Asra laughed at the same moment Lucio choked, "Patience! Oh, Levi, you must have the patience of a saint."

Leviathan laughed lightly, "I mean, I was already dealing with a six-year-old. So I believe my patience was already built up enough."

"You really do have the patience of a saint, though," said Lucio.

"Aww. The two of you are gonna make me blush."

"Really? I think I already see some blushing. It's very cute on you," Lucio said with a smirk. Leviathan rolled his eyes and turned away to hide the warmth creeping up his cheeks. A fresh wave of hail poured down all around the group. Blue sparks danced with each ball of ice. Lucio winced when a few bounced off the top of his head. "Ugh. When we've fixed everything, I'm gonna lounge on a beach for a week."

"In that case, we should hurry," Leviathan said, "The weather's only going to get worse."

"Yup. You're the boss," said Lucio.

"I've heard him say things like that before, to other people... The words often came with an edge of wistfulness, or even bitterness." Leviathan pondered. "But he's nothing but earnest smiles when he gazes into my eyes. Goodness, this man."

"And hey, maybe I can make you even prouder of me," Lucio said with a silly smile.

Leviathan playfully rolled his eyes, "As long as you don't do anything reckless."

Lucio bowed his head, brushing his lips over Leviathan's knuckles, "Me? Reckless? Never."

The looming bulk of The Devil's smoking mountain seemed to rush up to meet the group. Sooner than expected, they found themselves standing before a massive iron gate at the base of the mountain. Thick, twisted chains crawled over the bars like living serpents. "Huh. Where's the doorbell?" Asra asked ironically.

"Somewhere behind the giant ball of evil chains?" Lucio retorted.

Scout, Nadia, and Leviathan shared a long-suffering look. "When the two of you have quite finished, perhaps we should search for a way in?" said Nadia. The heat became tremendous as they inched closer to the gate. There was, obviously, no doorbell. Not even a key or lock for the chains that held it shut.

"See not with the eyes, but with the heart."

"What-?" Blinding white light filled Leviathan's vision, accompanied by the sound of wings beating in his ears. By the time his eyes cleared, "It's an illusion..." he muttered.

"Hold on a moment. Leviathan, what did you just say?" asked Nadia.

"The gate is an illusion. It's not really there." His voice echoed oddly in his ears, as if someone else spoke in unison with him.

"How do you-?"

Before Asra could finish his question, Lucio yelped, "WOAH! What happened to your eyes?!" He drew his sword, tilting it to show Leviathan his reflection. Glowing purple eyes stared back at him. Not his own, but the unblinking, all-seeing gaze of The High Priestess.

"Goodness! Are you... do you feel alright, Leviathan?" Nadia asked. But the voice in his mind was demanding all of his attention.

"My gift will not last long. Use it well."

"I- it's The High Priestess! I can hear it!" Leviathan exclaimed.

"But the tarot deck is gone. How is that possible..?" Asra asked.

"It's a great question, and I'd love the answer," thought Leviathan, "But The High Priestess made it sound like I don't have time to dwell on that." Leviathan grabbed Lucio's fingers with one hand, Scout's paw with the other, and marched toward the gate.

"Okay, okay! I dunno what's going on, but I'm hurrying!" said Lucio.

"This gate looks terribly solid for an illusion..." said Nadia.

"Only one way to find out," said Asra.

Leviathan hesitated, just a step before the threshold, "What if I'm wrong? What if-" Scout interrupted Leviathan's thoughts with a confident bark. He gave a soft smile, nodded, and took the final step toward the gate. Leviathan reached for the bars and his fingertips passed through the metal. But the illusion fought back. "It's like walking through a particularly thick, sticky spiderweb," he thought as tendrils of magic tangled in his clothes, attempting to ensnare him. "Everyone, stay together! Keep pushing forward until we're through!" Leviathan shut his eyes and shoved his shoulder against the illusion as hard as he could.