A week passed and Leo was sitting in his squad's dorm room painting silently. In the room was just him and Faust.
Leo was painting the forest's edge for the billionth time. There wasn't a lot of things to paint. Well, that wasn't true, there were, it's just that they weren't really that interesting. To be fair, they were probably more interesting than painting the forest's edge again.
As Leo wrangled with those thoughts, Faust watched him in silence. After their mission in Riftmoor, the two hadn't talked much. Leo was waiting for all the questions, and he was prepared to answer them. At the same time, Faust wanted to ask a million things but didn't know what specifically. Because of this, the two were at an impasse.
Then, Faust finally spoke up.
"It's nice to get out of the rain, right?" He said with a smile.
Leo's arm paused mid stroke and he turned to Faust with a flabbergasted smile, "That's the first thing you ask?" He chuckled slightly as he shook his head.
"Well, yeah. I personally think it's a good question."
"Well…" Leo took a moment to think about it and finally answered, "As much as I dislike Riftmoor, I did like the nonstop rain. But, after dealing with it for so long, I guess it isn't so bad without it."
After answering, the room awkwardly descended back into silence. Leo and Faust looked at each other for a bit before Leo slowly turned away and continued painting. Eventually, Faust spoke up again.
"Ah, screw it. What does it mean to be the first prince?" He asked with a slightly giddy expression.
Leo turned back around and looked at Faust, "I forget sometimes that you wouldn't know. I guess humans don't talk about it. Hmmm…"
As Leo thought about it, Faust asked, "So, like, do you get special perks?"
This caused Leo to laugh, "Faust, I lived in the streets of Riftmoor, I'm attending a normal military academy, and I'm hiding my identity. No, I don't get any special perks besides people trying to kill me. Remember those doll mask people? Their leader was something called an apostle, their one job is to kill me."
"Ah! Really?! Wait, why didn't she kill you then?"
"That's not a question I can answer." Leo said quietly as he focused a bit on his painting.
"Oh yeah, before she leaves, you should probably apologize."
"Hmm? Apologize? To who?" Leo said as he turned back around to Faust.
"Yeah, to Evelyn. She's leaving soon, she quit."
"Why would I need to apologize?"
"Look, I've thought about it. I've thought about it a lot. You're… different from who I thought you were. I'm not going to lie and say you aren't twisted, and that you probably need help. But at the same time, I also know what happened in Riftmoor wasn't your fault, but, Evelyn, she's struggling right now. As few words can go a long way, Leo."
Leo looked at Faust from the corner of his eye. He stayed like that for a moment, scrutinizing Faust's figure. In the end, Leo sighed, "I'll think about it."
"Good. Good. And… if you don't mind me asking…" Faust muttered.
"…" Leo waited for Faust without uttering a word.
"Well, what happened to you? Why are you like this? What made you like this?"
Leo tilted his head back slightly and thought about his childhood. He lowered his paint brush and it lingered at his side. After an entire minute had past and asked while still looking towards the ceiling, Leo spoke, "Have you ever wanted to kill someone?"
"Uh, no. Well, maybe… It's one of those 'in the moment' things where you just snap. You don't actually do anything, but you think it. I guess I have wanted to kill someone then. Not for long though." Faust honestly answered.
"I see. You're a good person then. There are a few people I want to kill, but they're mainly for others. I want to kill them for my family. But there is one person, I personally want to wrap my hands around, and squeeze until they're beyond dead." He turned and looked Faust in the eyes, "I've wanted to kill this person since I was five."
Leo looked away and muttered, "They're the reason why I'm like this. They aligned the stars that made me realize how disgusting humanity is. And no, I'm not referring to humans, the species, but humanity the philosophical concept."
"Humanity?"
Leo put down the brush and fully face Faust, he raised his hands slightly and fully garnered Faust's attention, "What is it? Is it benevolence? Is it forgiveness? Earlier, you said that you've thought about killing someone, but that you realized it was wrong. Why is that?"
"I-I don't know." Faust stammered.
"Think about it. Just for a moment, think about it." Leo said as he leaned back and waited.
And so, Faust did think. Eventually, he quietly spoke, "Because it's wrong to think like that."
"Alright, let's say it is wrong to want to kill someone. Why should you care? They'll die eventually. Not even the gods are completely mortal."
"Because it's wrong to end their life earlier like that."
"Why? Thousands of people die a day from starvation, disease, and murder each. You don't make an effort to save those people. All over the world, we drop dead like flies, why do you think anyone cares about one measly person."
"Because people do care about them. Maybe only one or two, hell, maybe a lot more than that. But people do care about others."
"What happens when they die? What happens when the people who cared about those people die? Over and over, again and again, why do they care? They won't and only those who make an impact on the world will be remembered, so should they be spared? No! Because life won't spare them! Everyone will die, so why should you care if it's by your hand?"
"Good gods above. Is that what this is about then?" Faust stood up from his bed, "You want to be known by everyone?"
"You're missing my point Faust. I don't care if people know my name or if I'm forgotten to time. I simply want to kill that man, even if I have to crawl through hell itself to do so. It's only fitting the man who bestowed the seedling of this accursed concept should die from its affects."
Faust and Leo were silent as they watched each other. Leo spoke after the slight pause, "Faust. I like to analyze everything through a microscope. What will happen if I do this versus that? What will I receive from it? What are the pros and cons? I've thought long and hard about you. Do you want to hear the truth?"
Leo tempted Faust. Faust hesitated but eventually took the bait, "Fine."
"After I've told you all of this, you'll forgive me. Because that's the person you are. I've told you the truth, I've laid my hands bare. Because of that, you'll accept me for who I am, despite being an awful person."
Faust clamped their mouth shut. The room descended into silence once more as the two stared at each other. Leo had focused eyes while Faust's eyes trembled slightly. That was until a strange conviction filled them.
"Haahhh. Fine. You're right. I don't like cursing, but you are a piece of shit. But I don't think that's your fault. I know you skirted the topic and didn't tell me what happened to make you like this. You told me about the man, but not what he did. Don't think that didn't slip by. But either way, I know you're not responsible for the stupid ideas in that noggin' of yours. As long as you don't do anything absolutely insane, I'll leave you be."
Leo looked down at his paintbrush and sighed, "Whatever. I got worked up." He picked up the brush and went back to his painting.
"But thank you, I guess…" Leo mumbled.
"I don't even know if you're manipulating me or not." Faust said with a chuckle, to which Leo didn't respond.
Faust got up to leave the room, but before he did so, he turned around one last time, "Hey Leo? One last question. Underneath all that," He gestured to Leo, "the manipulation, the horrible thoughts, everything… What are you really like?"
Leo mumbled, "I don't know, it doesn't matter anymore."
As Faust left, he said one last thing, "Well, I want to know the real you."
Leo turned towards the door that was closing. As it shut, he thought silently to himself, "The real me…"
Another week passed by, and Leo was given the all-clear to finally begin to finish his training. Leo entered Ethan's class and found him at his desk cleaning his glasses.
Once everyone sat down, Ethan finally stood. He looked around the room and found more than half the seats empty. This time, the seats were permanently empty. He shook his head with a defeated sigh.
He looked up and spoke, "This year, despite having some of the best recruits in a while, it seems the assignments went poorly. This means either our training is getting worse, or the world is getting worse. I suspect that within a year, maybe two, the war will be upon us. I say that because with each class, the survival rates become less and less due to angel interference."
The people in the room watched him with tired eyes, prompting him to trail off. Ethan rubbed the back of his neck and said, "Anyway, we've got to teach some final things to those of you who've graduated. I'll explain for the ex-humans. Among the demons, it is a rite of passage to learn these things at a certain age, so much so that it was made into a law. Well, that and because some people were getting too dangerous at such a young age. But joining the military allows you all to learn these things early and legally."
He cleared his throat, "Dealers will learn the more advanced, Restricted Contract. Grims will learn weapon storage. Finally, Soul Mages will learn to free themselves from their lanterns."
For some reason, Ethan thought Faust looked very annoyed when he said that last part.