The silence. The terrible, awful silence. Gilah had steeled herself against many things before; threats godly or hellish in nature. But she didn't know how to combat the silence that hung heavily in the air between her and her human mate. She'd strike at it were she able. Anything would be preferred over the unbearable quiet that hung heavily in the air. A growing tension of unease that should have been put to rest long before growing cumbersome. Now here she was, struggling to even speak.

Gilah found a perch with which Jason could sit and still meet her at an eye-to-eye level. Granted, she needed to sit cross-legged for them to really meet shoulder to sight but it was better than nothing. Just another one of the difficulties faced with being with one so much smaller, so much more fragile, than yourself. Even with that disparity in scale, it was difficult for Gilah to maintain eye contact.

She shifted back and forth uncomfortably, shaking the corpse-strewn chambers of the ancient prisons’ walls. Debris fell from the ceiling, peppering Gilah and threatening to fall upon Jason. The leviathan raised a hand in his defense, shielding her beloved human from harm by falling stone or steel. It was simpler to protect him from this rather than the beasts that waited outside the chamber.

Nightmarishly powerful creatures, Depth-Borne like Gilah, whose sole purpose in life was to create carnage and chaos wherever they were. Much like herself, in her younger days. Thankfully, they stayed their hands, for now, knowing well the wrath that would come if they incited Gilah's fury.

There was interest though in her human companion. A weakness to exploit had they the chance. That said, Gilah would not give them the opportunity so long as she breathed. Even here, in this horrid place, she would keep Jason safe.

That did not change the fact that Gilah still lamented bringing her beloved here. There were many places where a creature as small and weak as Jason would not survive, and this ancient prison was at the top of that list. But he deserved to know who it was he was sharing an amorous relationship with. Though they had known each other for a short while, a year in earth terms is next to nothing upon the cosmic scale, Jason had done so much for her.

Though his size may not show it, Gilah saw her human lover as a sort of anchor. A protector of that which may be her greatest weakness; her heart. Kindness, compassion, security. Traits that were considered a rarity among those who called the Depths their home. Only a rare few are born with such characteristics, and even then their numbers are so few that one could deny their existence without difficulty.

Jason offered Gilah warmth to what was once a cold and cruel existence. That is why she needed to do this. It was why she needed to show him who she truly was. Her beloved deserved that much, to know that who was once called the Butcher of the Depths. Even if it was something that could be avoided, Gilah would not allow it to be so.

These walls, the bodies that lined them, and the chains that held it all in place, all carried a story that needed to be shared. Only then would Jason begin to understand her 'nature'. The destruction she caused, like that which she invited upon the civilians at the pier. No matter how hard she tried to contain it, no matter the precautions she made to fight it, this was just who she was.

But even after having shamefully accepted that truth of nature to be fact, this was a battle that continuously tested Gilah's fortitude and willingness to come clean of everything.

Every time she felt ready to speak, her voice caught in her throat. Her hands could not stop shaking, even as Gilah brought her hands to her thighs and dug her nails into her flesh, she could not cease their shivering. Fear, plain and simple. And rightfully expected. After all, how does one even begin to explain all the atrocities she's committed?

Every life she's taken, every planet she's burned. How could Gilah hope to possibly describe the once beautiful creations of various gods that she's ruined? Creations that would never grace the cosmos again, as the masterful crafters who had forged such beautiful artistry had been slaughtered by her own two hands.

The truth of the matter was that there was no easy way for things to be said, and in her frustration, Gilah brought her fists down upon the floor like some toddler in a fit of annoyance and anger. The force behind her strength proved enough to shake the entire chamber a dozen times greater than it had before. Thankfully, Jason's perch proved sturdy in its foundation, and by pure chance did any falling Debris miss his body. It wasn't often when Gilah demonstrated recklessness in showcasing her physical might and judging by the strength displayed it was no wonder once one viewed the state of her former 'home'. A picture was beginning to form, and Jason did not like what he saw.

Jason wasn't dense of mind. Already, he was beginning to piece together why he was brought here and why his titanic lover was so hesitant to speak. From the ancient destruction and desecration of potentially hundreds of nightmarish horrors, Jason was beginning to see Gilah in a new and far more terrifying light. She called herself a monster, and now he was beginning to understand why. But even then he could not picture the kind, sweet, and caring Gilah he knew to be a bloodthirsty beast. For the first time since being taken into the Depths, he simply could not comprehend it.

"Gilah, talk to me please..."

Gilah struggled to look at Jason, and even with a single eye being more than enough to take up the entirety of his vision she was unable to meet his gaze. As though it were his eyes that were a danger to her sanity and not the other way around.

Gilah chuckled softly, her tone sounding defeated and tired. "That's the problem. I…I don't know what to say." No matter the scars that littered her body it would always be those within that hurt most.

Jason looked upon his titanic lover, his heart breaking to see her in such a sad state. There was nothing, absolutely nothing she could say which could properly explain her actions, whatever it is they were. Jason only knew that whatever Gilah had done in the past warranted her capture and imprisonment. But even as the scent of age-old meat filled his nose and lungs, he did not care for the possible crimes committed. Not at this moment anyway. All that was on Jason's mind as see Gilah through this.

"Then let's start things simple", Jason said, his voice betraying no other tone beyond relaxation. He was controlling his breathing, getting a hold of all that was unraveling around him, and maintaining his composure. "Why?"

Gilah cocked her head to the side in confusion. "Why?"

"Yes, why," Jason said again. "Why did you bring me here? Why are there so many bodies? Why are some chains snapped? It can be any ‘why’ you want, just take your time and relax."

Whether for his own sake or Gilah's, Jason allowed his titanic lover the chance to explain things at her own pace. Normally, she'd take the opportunity to voice her appreciation, but for obvious reasons that would not do this time around. So instead, she'd focus on the single-word yet shockingly complex question.

Though only one word, Gilah had often pondered the 'whys' of her behavior. She knew destruction to be a part of her nature. The ability to bring untold carnage wherever she trod. Gilah understood that well enough. What she never understood was how she came to be appalled by such acts of cruelty. It wasn't something a human could put into words. At best, it could be described as her coming to realize the importance of life. At worst, and in terms more fitting for those of the Depth, she had finally begun to question why it was she constantly acted as a bringer of doom. Those of the Depths who did often took pride in realizing their nature. Harbingers of destruction, bringer of calamity. Enemies to the whole of creation.

It was something Gilah once wished to be. Now, that was no longer the case.

She straightened her posture, taking in and exhaling a deep breath. In her minor movement, Gilah rose over her human lover, her eye leaving his vision as the leviathan's bountiful chest rose to fill his sky. Despite the spectacle before him, there was nothing else on Jason's mind other than being there for her.

"You've lived in the Depths for some time now, Jason. You've seen dangers no other human being should. The kind that would set fire unto the world just so it could bask within the heat." Gilah's chest tightened the more she pictured herself in such a scenario. Memories of beautiful civilizations, ruined, and her blood-crazed smile touched by the flames of armageddon. "What if I told you those aren't the worst dangers? That there was something more, lurking, waiting for the chance to break free and carve a bloody path across the universe?"

Gilah grit her teeth as she raised a hand over her chest. Her fingers pressed over where her heart would be, all while she stared down at the wide-eyed human. Her magenta eyes shined brighter, and the bestial slit that was the pupil grew more narrow. The ancient, hidden scars scattered across the Leviathan’s body began to glow the same azure color Jason had witnessed before.

"What if I were to tell you that you shared your precious warmth with that very same beast? And that this beast; this horrible, monstrous, fiend only ever brought pain wherever she went? Even after trying to cull her bloodlust, what would you say to them?"

Gilah couldn't have been any more obvious in what she was saying, and Jason couldn't have been in greater disbelief. The beast his titanic girlfriend described was far from the kind soul he knew. And yet her words, her actions, painted a whole new picture. Still, he steeled himself and stepped forward despite knowing, deep in his bones, that Gilah's self-reprimands had to be founded in some truth.

But no matter the picture she painted of herself, no matter the beast she told herself that she was, they did little to change his feelings towards her. He stepped forward, and on instinct alone Gilah lowered her hand towards him again, extending her finger until the tip was only a few inches away from Jason's body.

She flinched, only once, when she thought of how easy it would be to push forward a little more and pierce his little body with her nail. Gilah could so easily kill him were she not careful, and should that ever come to pass there'd be no turning back for her.

To her surprise, and even her shock, Jason did not back away despite the danger present. Instead, he rested his head upon her nail before turning to look up at his beautiful and stunned mate.

"I would ask them what do you plan on doing now?'"

Gilah felt her heart skip a beat, and a warmth fall over her chest and face. She tried to pull her hand away but soon found herself unable. In no way was it Jason's doing, but rather a deeper desire to be comforted by the small, fragile, and hopelessly brave human who provided her such comfort.

"No, you don't understand. You don't know the things I've done."

"I know that they don't define you." The human quickly rebuked. "Gilah, you brought me here to show me how dangerous you are, right? Well... I do..."

"Then you understand why I'm worried!" Gilah exclaimed, trying her hardest to show the danger she posed, not just to Jason but to all things. Anything and everything that possessed a heartbeat, whether they are divine or otherwise, was in danger. "The pier was just a small incident compared to what I've done before! The kingdoms I've destroyed, the pantheons I've slain! I'm just a beast waiting to-"

Jason raised a hand to silence the leviathan. She was getting too excited, and in such a state she could pose a very real threat to him. Even then, Jason did not back away. "Waiting to see where she goes from here." He finished for her.

"Gilah, I don't know what you've done. And I don't need to. All I want to know is that you've tried to change. That you've continued to try."

The leviathan fell silent, her heart fluttering as she witnessed her beloved's resolve. To hear such things, and stubbornly refuse to leave behind the one who committed such atrocities. Utter foolishness.

And so hopelessly wonderful.

"I have..." Gilah admitted through shaking breath. "I really, truly, have."

Even with Jason being no more than a more by comparison to her landscape of a body, Gilah could feel the minuscule kiss upon her finger.

"Then that's good enough for me."

Foolish, would be just one way to describe Jason. Idiotic would work just as well. A dozen different ways to describe his lunacy over being so trusting. "You...you can't possibly believe that?" Gilah argued. Though his feelings were appreciated in ways he couldn't understand, the fact of the matter remained. She had butchered billions to her knowledge. Likely far more. Jason couldn't just look at that and be so accepting of her still, could he?

"Jason, look around us." Gilah gestured to the walls of the ancient prison, the bodies that lined the walls as well as the massive corpse which lay in the center. "These bodies, this carnage, were my doing. I have spilled enough blood to fill an ocean. I have slain gods and devils alike. Even the previous Ruler of the Depths, Cathay's predecessor, was killed by me. You can't possibly believe you're safe so long as you stay by me?"

Jason's stance never wavered. He just looked up into her eyes as he usually did, and smiled.

"Even if that's the case, I'll still trust you."

Hopeless. That was the best way in which Gilah could describe Jason's mind. Only a hopeless fool would willingly stay by her side. With a huff, she grabbed an old chain, its darkened metal seemingly humming at her touch. It vibrated softly, creating a harmony that could be deemed beautiful were the intention behind the frequency meant to dull the mind of those it held captive. Gilah was familiar with the song, along with the strength of the broken chains.

"Jason... there exist oceans of strange dimensions, far beyond the perception of mankind..." Gilah explained. "Materials and substances which lack any composition that fit your natural laws. Those of arcane skill can reach out into the void and pull free creations they envision The stronger the caster, the greater the material they create."

Gilah closed her hand around the chain, her arm tensing up as she excerpted a considerable amount of force to bend the eldritch metal. Jason could see the definition in the Titaness’s arm as her muscles tightened to crush her old shackles. When next she opened her hand they hardly resembled their previous shape.

"These black chains were crafted by Cathay herself, and even then I outgrew them." Gilah tilted her hand, allowing the destroyed chain to fall to the floor where it crashed with an echoing clatter. Beyond, the duo could hear the murmurs and mumbles of the monstrosities waiting, bidding their time for the right chance to attack. They were, however, far from being one of Gilah's concerns.

"The shackles I wore were one of a kind, made to be unbreakable. No word exists that can describe how strong they are." Gilah lowers herself, looming over Jason but carrying a concerned expression. "Imagine what I could do to you if I wasn't careful. Worse than anything I've done to ancient enemies. I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if that were to happen."

"It won't happen." The human replied, far quicker than Gilah was hoping for.

She shook her head. "You can't be sure of that."

Jason chuckled. Of course, he couldn't. That said, it's not like he wasn't already aware of just how weak he was compared to his titanic, world-ending, god-slaying girlfriend. Even before this revelation, he knew there were risks to be had in having such a close relationship with a colossus like Gilah. All the same, he stayed true to his feelings despite them. He was as stubborn as humans came, after all. Perhaps almost as stubborn as his sister even.

"My father had a saying, back before the two of us met. He'd say to me 'Jason when you meet that right someone you've been waiting for your whole life you don't stop and think about the risks. Walk with them. Be with them. Give them your all and they will give you theirs'."

"Gilah...you are that someone I've been waiting to walk with. I am willing to give you my all even if it means taking on every risk."

The leviathan felt a shock course throughout her entire body. From her flexing toes to her tingling spine, there was not a point on Gilah's skin that wasn't covered in goosebumps. She continually felt her lips curl upwards into a giddy smile before returning to their stern expression, the process repeating as she struggled to cope with this influx of feelings.

She felt her whole face glowing red as even the azure lighting of her scars seemed to adopt the embarrassing color. From behind, Gilah felt her rear in motion. Turning around, her humiliation only rose when she realized her stub of a tail was wagging back and forth from the sheer joy she was experiencing.

"This is too unfair..." Gilah threw her hands up into the air in defeat before bringing them back down in an attempt to conceal her blushing cheeks. They, however, could not cover up a single brightly glowing eye peaking in between her fingers, watching as Jason smiled up at her. The same warm smile that always caused her heart to skip several beats. "How could anyone...be so damn perfect!?"

"Would you believe me if I said it runs in the family?" Jason joked. He was glad to see his humor had an effect as not long after, he heard Gilah's soft chuckle.

"Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised. Even a Ruler could fall victim to such charm."

Somehow, Jason wasn’t buying that. "I don't see it.” After all that he’s seen of the Ruler of the Depths, what she’s capable of if pushed even a little too far, the last thing he’d expect of her would be falling for another being, human or otherwise. “Cathay doesn't seem the type to date an 'ape'."

Gilah had her doubts. While Cathay was many things, many of her aspects revolving around an incredibly destructive nature, there was one which the tyrant kept silent about to even her most trusted of advisers. Cathay was ancient, even before taking the throne as Ruler of the Depths. She has spent countless eons fighting even before Gilah came to be born. And as time progressed, desires came to be known. The kind that a leviathan of the darkest depths could not satisfy with wanton destruction.

“If it meant remedying her solitude, then who knows? She very well could.” Though Gilah knew her age-old friend to be one of the most powerful forces in the cosmos, if not THE most powerful, with only a handful being able to compete against her, they were also surprisingly vulnerable in the way of affection. “There’s more to her than meets the eye you know.”

While never having a mate of her own, Gilah was privy to moments of apparent weakness in affection. Strange among the depths, and even more so when they were directed towards Gilah, those moments of weakness came when she was close to the former butcher, desiring affection from the leviathan. Perhaps not shown in the way humans would, but still demonstrated through acts of kindness unheard of among the eldest of the Depth-Borne.

After all, it was Cathay who nursed Gilah back to health after her battle against the old lord of the Depths. Any other beast would have taken the chance to finish the job.

“You know, there was a point where I considered Cathay to be my significant other,” Gilah revealed. “Long, long ago, before I even met you.”

Jason was taken aback by the revelation. Though he had a clearer picture of who Gilah used to be, to picture her with the nigh-all-powerful tyrant was still a strange sight. Who knows what sort of havoc those two could have caused should they have grown together?

“What changed?”

Gilah crossed her arms as she mused over the question, reclining back just enough that her human lover couldn’t see her eyes beyond her breasts.

“I suppose I did.” The leviathan concluded. She wasn’t exactly certain when she began to lose her taste for destruction, but at some point, Gilah came to understand the carnage she created upon so many worlds. And she loathed it. So much so that she sealed herself away here, in the deepest point of the Depths, chained by its Ruler, and kept hidden away from creation until she felt ready to return.

Cathay on the other hand was opposed to such extremes, believing that sort of power shouldn’t be locked away. Rather, they wanted Gilah to hone their power, and refine it to a point that they could temper their bloodlust. Of course, they knew the danger Gilah posed to creation as a whole. But to seal away such delicious power, to make oneself weaker by denying their nature, it was so un-depthlike.

“I love Cathay,” Gilah claimed. “Truly, I do. But I love her as one may love a family member. As someone whom I have confided in and in turn received relief. But I cannot be with her in the way she wants.”

Were Cathay to have her way, Gilah would still carry her nature, unchanged but directed in such a way that they’d be a near mirror image of the Ruler. An ideal outcome for the tyrant, but for Gilah that was less than desirable. “Cathay has lived a long, LONG time. She personifies the full might of the Depths. She is unchallenged, undeniable in power, and without limit in the malice she can incite. I don’t want to follow in those kinds of footsteps.”

There’d be no peace of mind, no moments rest nor a desire for anything other than the satiation of her bloodlust. She’d be a true beast of the Depths, just like every other natural-born beast which called this domain their home.

“What I want, is to be like you.” Gilah peered down, lowering herself until her lips were but a few feet away from Jason. “Kind and caring, to the point where you can perceive the best in someone even when their crimes are out in the open for you to see.”

It was the last thing a leviathan like her should wish for. So out of character for one of her past and were a younger Gilah to view such a claim they’d likely grow sick from hearing it. But in the here and now, in the present, Gilah wished for nothing more than to have a peaceful life with someone who could accept her, faults and all. She found that someone in Jason, and with him, she saw the potential towards a life that she never thought would come to her.  

“You know, I’m certain there are a great many who’d call you a fool for deciding to stay with me.” Only a madman would choose to stay so close to something as destructive as Gilah. Though in a way, that is what made things even better. For whom better to have by her side than one crazy enough to see past her flaws and remain? It was her Jason, after all, who waited upon a pier night after night for a full year just for the chance to see her silhouette. Such devotion can be seen as insanity, especially in a world where such actions were likely to be deemed nonsensical.

So in that, she was grateful for Jason’s foolishly brave devotion. For his love. But he couldn’t remain in the Depths forever. Not from the danger which was ever present, so long as he had Gilah’s and Cathay’s protection he would be safe. As safe as a human could be anyway. No, it was simply a matter of Gilah believing he deserved better than endless tunnels of beasts, or deep dark oceans. Jason deserved the sun upon his skin, and the wind blowing at his hair.

He deserved to be back in his world, back on dry land. And with his devotion to her assured, his love, Gilah was going to make that happen. Even if it meant crossing Cathay’s ire.

“I wanna try going to the surface again” Gilah knew the risks that came with such a goal. Crossing the Ruler of the Depths aside, the dangers she presented were still very real. Steps would need to be taken to ensure what happened before would not be so again.

Jason, of course, was hesitant. “But we were told to remain in the Depths.” Though a better way of putting it would be threatened. “I know you mean well, just like before. But what happened on the pier can’t happen again.”

“I know, I know” Gilah kept her voice down to a whisper, making sure that none but Jason could hear her. Outside other beasts still roamed, ever mindful of what she said. Any one of them could relay the information to others. “But I have a plan this time. Something that’ll ensure I won’t harm anyone. I promise…”

“Gilah, I’m just not sure this is a risk you should take.”

Wrapping her arms around the perch which Jason stood upon, Gilah cocked her head softly to the side. She leaned forward, only just a tad bit, so that she could feel her dear human’s body upon her lower lip. Even if he was little more than a speck the sensation that he was there was always welcome. Especially if it was to come before such a grand decision.

“Oh yes, it’s an incredible risk.” She admitted. “But you said it yourself. You trust me. Is that still the case?”

Jason pulled away, a thin but strong layer of saliva upon Gilah’s lower lip clinging to his body. He looked up, meeting the lovely shade of her eye shining down on him. Whereas others would go mad, he would not. Instead, Jason was allowed the chance to look upon a beauty so many were, unfortunately, unable to see. There was a sense of longing within them, a desire to set what’s been wronged right. Her goal, he came to realize, was not just meant for him.

Even if he could deny it, what right did he have to take this away from her? So, with a smile, he nodded. “Of course I trust you.”

That was all Gilah needed to hear. “Then we’ll have some work to do before that”