The forest was quiet again.
Too quiet.
Anthony sensed it before he saw her-
the familiar pressure of something dangerous moving carefully through the trees.
He turned.
Katerea Leviathan stepped into the clearing.
Clean. Composed. Noble.
Very different from the injured devil he had saved.
Anthony's Surprise
Anthony straightened immediately.
Anthony:
"You came back."
Katerea paused.
Just for a fraction of a second.
Then she smiled.
Soft. Controlled.
Katerea:
"I told you I wouldn't forget."
A lie wrapped in courtesy.
Anthony nodded.
He didn't question it.
He never had reason to distrust kindness.
Katerea glanced around the clearing.
The crude shelter.
The worn tools.
The quiet isolation.
Her chest tightened.
Not with pity.
With calculation.
Katerea (thinking):
What a pity life he is living
Perfect.
She knelt slightly, lowering herself to his level-an intentional gesture.
Katerea:
"You shouldn't be living like this."
Anthony hesitated.
Anthony:
"It's fine. I'm used to it."
Her smile softened further.
Katerea:
"No one should be used to this."
That sentence landed deeper than she expected.
Anthony looked away.
Katerea with her magic produced food-real food.
Warm. Properly prepared.
Anthony froze.
Anthony:
"...That's too much."
Katerea:
"It's nothing."
She placed it in his hands.
Their fingers brushed.
Anthony flinched-not in fear, but unfamiliarity.
No one touched him gently.
Ever.
Katerea noticed.
Her eyes darkened slightly.
Katerea (thinking):
He really is untouched.
Building Dependence
They ate together.
In silence at first.
Then later, by the fire-
Anthony:
"Why are you being kind to me?"
Katerea answered without hesitation.
Katerea:
"Because you deserve that."
Truth wrapped in deception.
His chest tightened.
Anthony:
"...Will you leave again?"
The question slipped out before he could stop it.
Katerea felt it.
The attachment forming.
She hid her expression perfectly.
Katerea:
"I'll stay for a while."
Anthony nodded.
Relief washed over his face.
And in the shadows-
The forest grew silent.
As if it knew something terrible had begun.
But for the first time in his life-
He slept without expecting to wake up alone.
Anthony slept deeper than he ever had.
No growls.
No cold wind.
No need to wake every hour.
For the first time, he trusted the night.
When He Woke
Warmth.
That was the first thing he felt.
A ceiling above him-wooden, cracked, but solid.
Anthony's eyes snapped open.
He bolted upright.
Anthony:
"...Where am I?"
The smell of dust and old stone filled the air. Sunlight filtered through a broken window.
This wasn't the forest.
The door creaked.
Katerea stepped inside.
Clean. Calm. Familiar.
The Surprise
Katerea:
"You're awake."
Anthony stared at her, heart pounding.
Anthony:
"I- I didn't hear you move me."
She smiled faintly.
Katerea:
"You were exhausted."
He looked around again.
A bed.
A table.
Walls.
Shelter.
Anthony:
"...Did I do something wrong?"
The question came instinctively.
Katerea paused.
Just a fraction too long.
Then-
Katerea:
"No."
She walked closer.
Katerea:
"I brought you somewhere safe."
She gestured around.
Katerea:
"You can live here."
Anthony's breath caught.
Anthony:
"...Live?"
She nodded.
Katerea:
"You don't have to run anymore."
Something broke.
Not loudly.
Quietly.
Anthony laughed-soft, disbelieving.
Anthony:
"I've never had a place."
His hands trembled as he touched the wall, as if afraid it would vanish.
Anthony:
"This is... mine?"
Katerea watched him carefully.
His smile was unguarded.
Real.
For the first time-
He was happy.
What He Didn't Know is
Beyond the walls-
Invisible sigils glowed faintly in the air.
A barrier, woven personally by Lucifer.
Time folded unnaturally.
Outside the house-
One day will be passed
Inside-
It's Six months
The world moved on without him.
But Anthony never noticed.
Six months passed inside the house.
To Anthony, it felt like days stretched gently together.
Katerea became his world.
She woke him each morning.
She cooked meals he'd never tasted before.
She listened when he spoke-really listened.
Anthony learned her footsteps, her silences, the way she paused before answering certain questions.
When she left-even briefly-
the house felt empty.
Too empty.
He began waiting by the door without realizing it.
Anthony:
"You're back."
Every time she returned.
Every time, relief flooded him.
At night, he would sit across from her, watching the candlelight reflect in her eyes.
Anthony:
"If you ever leave..."
He stopped himself.
Katerea looked up.
Katerea:
"What?"
He swallowed.
Anthony:
"...Nothing."
But the fear stayed.
He stopped thinking of survival.
Stopped listening for monsters.
The forest no longer mattered.
Only her presence did.
If she was there-
he was safe.
If she wasn't-
he couldn't breathe.
Once, she didn't come for what felt like a whole day.
Anthony paced the house, hands shaking.
When she finally appeared-
Anthony:
"Where were you?"
His voice cracked.
Then she answered softly.
Katerea:
"sorry for coming late. I'm home"
That was enough.
By the end of six months-
Anthony no longer thought of the forest as home.
He no longer thought of himself as alone.
He thought only this:
As long as Katerea is with me, I can live.
And far beyond the barrier-
Only one day had passed.
And the trap was complete