Azael froze.
"HAHAHAHAHA! IT'S TRUE!"
Satan's laughter echoed inside his head like someone banging pots.
Not funny, Azael snapped internally at satan.
"I… guess so?" Azael managed to say aloud, his expression twisting into something between confusion and embarrassment.
"Anyway," the man continued, brushing it off, "I forgot to introduce myself. My name's Connor. And what you did back there was so cool."
Connor's eyes shimmered brightly even underwater as he stared at Azael like he had just met his personal superhero. Azael stared back awkwardly.
"Uh… thanks, I guess? My name is Aza—"
He stopped.
His tongue held still. His eyes narrowed slightly, mind whirring. A moment passed… then he looked up with a small, confident smile.
"Hazel," he said smoothly. "My name is Hazel." Connor blinked. "Hazel?"
"Yup, It's hazel" he replied with forced confidence and a thumb pointed toward himself. "Definetly hazel."
"Smart move, kid," Satan praised. Azael could practically hear him slow-clapping.
"It's too risky telling strangers your real name down here. You never know if those people are the same person who you crossed on Earth before." Azael mentally nodded.
Yeah. From now on, I'll go by Hazel when I meet people.
"Hm… Hazel. That's a good name," Connor said with an approving nod. "I wanted to ask something. where did you get that fiery power? What animal did you kill for that invocation?"
Azael didn't even blink. He answered with confidence. "I killed a dragonfish. It looks cool, but honestly… it's kinda mid."
Connor's eyes widened. "A dragonfish?! That's amazing! I've never even seen one. All I killed was a sunfish. It gave me the water-breathing invocation. I'm so jealous."
Satan let out the faintest scoff.
What? Azael asked him silently.
"Nothing," Satan muttered, but Azael could feel the amusement behind it.
"You know, Hazel," Connor continued, "have you noticed how colorful everything is down here? I saw a jellyfish earlier that literally shimmered like glass, it's like a rainbow trapped inside water. It's weird, considering the place we're in."
Azael's thoughts paused.
…He was right.
Even in this murky, oppressive ocean, the creatures so far were unnervingly vibrant too vibrant and expressive, almost way to beautiful...
isn't this floor of hell is supposed to be cold… dull… dead. Why do things here look like they belong in a fantasy aquarium? The thought sat uncomfortably in his mind, twisting into suspicion.
"Let's keep moving," Azael said. "We need to find the floor sovereign to advance."
"Right! And having more people will make beating the boss way easier," Connor said cheerfully.
They swam deeper into the vast darkness, side by side. And yet…
Azael noticed it.
Every few moments, Connor glanced at him quick, shy side glances, then snapped his head away whenever Azael turned toward him.
"…Is something wrong, Connor?"
Connor jolted slightly. "Huh? O-oh! No, nothing. Don't worry about it."
Azael didn't buy that at all. He studied Connor more closely. He had a Brown eyes
Just normal brown, nothing special unlike azael and his parents eyes.
Something about Connor felt off.
"So, Connor…" Azael asked casually, "do you remember anything from your life before this?"
Connor's expression dimmed instantly.
"Not much," he said quietly. "Before I woke up in the Raging Sea, the only memory I have is from when I was a kid, five years old, maybe? Nothing special."
Azael opened his mouth to ask satan something, but Satan's voice cut in first sharper this time, as if he'd overheard a thought Azael hadn't meant to direct at him.
"Kid," Satan said, "Connor weren't from Treachery to begin with."
Azael blinked. "Huh?"
Satan continued, voice firm and uncharacteristically serious.
"No one and I mean no one has ever climbed to the next floor if they're on Floors 66 to 60. The Seven Sins have too much power. It's pratically impossible to defeat us. The only reason you manage climbed to the next floor is because I forfeited."
The words hit Azael like cold water.
"R–really?" His voice came out small. "That… sounds kind of depressing. If what you said is true then… what happens to the people who can't climb? Like in Treachery, since you decided to stay with me than what'll happened to other sinners in treachery?
Satan scoffed, the sound echoing faintly in Azael's head.
"I honestly don't know. Floors that's not tied to the Seven Sins, if their Sovereign dies or gets replaced, the system just creates a new one. But for my floor?" He clicked his tongue.
"In the system I'm still listed as the Floor Sovereign, even though I'm not ruling Treachery anymore. Who knows? Maybe those self-righteous Seraphim already made a new Sovereign for treachery."
Azael opened his mouth to respond but before he could speak, a hand suddenly gripped his shoulder.
"Hazel, look," Connor whispered.
Azael turned and saw a pale rock on the seabed who was slowly losing its glow, the faint light dimming until darkness crawled over it like ink swallowing a flame.
"What's happening?" Azael's heartbeat spiked. He looked around, the seabed, the plants, the distant shapes in the water all being swallowed by a heavy, suffocating black. The dim green shimmer of the hell-ocean flickered… then vanished.
Within seconds, Azael couldn't see anything. Not even his own hand.
"Hazel, what's happening?" Connor's voice trembled violently. Azael felt him latch onto his arm gripping so tight, the pressure sharp enough to hurt but Connor was shaking so badly Azael didn't complain.
Satan, why can't I see anything? Azael asked silently.
Satan answered calmly, as if this wasn't terrifying.
"The crimson sun has burned out. It's now Layl."
Layl? Azael frowned in the darkness. What, does that mean?
Satan sighed.
"Each hell floor has two periods. Sabah and Layl. Sabah is when the crimson sun rises think of it as the biggest light source for Hell.
But when the crimson sun loses its energy, it goes out. That's Layl. The darkest time in Hell."
Azael listened, trying to picture it.
"We experienced Sabah earlier when you were first dropped into the ocean" Satan continued. "But in Treachery? There's no crimson sun. So it's always Layl, that's why it's hard to navigate in treachery withought any invocation"
Understanding clicked into place.
"So… Sabah is like daytime. And Layl is like nighttime. Just… way darker?"
"Exactly," Satan said.
Azael swallowed. Hard.
But how are we supposed to find Leviathan like this? Should we rest? Wait for Sabah? he asked.
"I'd suggest finding something with a light-source invocation. That's your only way to see right now," Satan replied.
Azael immediately thought of it.
The anglerfish. The one with a fleshy lantern dangling from its head.
"Connor," Azael said softly.
He still couldn't see the boy not even a silhouette, but he could feel Connor's trembling hand clinging to his arm.
"Y-yeah…?" Connor's voice wavered like he was trying not to cry. "We need to find an anglerfish. Its light could help us."
"Oh—yeah. Y-yeah! Good idea," Connor said quickly, trying to sound brave but failing. "Let's just… let's hold onto each other. We don't wanna get lost."
Their hands locked together tightly, and the two of them pushed forward, into the suffocating void.
There was no sense of direction.
No light.
No horizon.
Just endless, crushing black water pressing against their bodies like the sea itself wanted to swallow them.
From time to time, Azael heard something scrape across stone, sharp and slow.
Sometimes a distant scream echoed through the abyss, muffled by water but unmistakably human.
Connor flinched every time.
Azael squeezed his hand. He had to stay calm. If he panicked now, Connor would break.
He forced himself to breathe slowly, water filling his lungs in smooth, cold waves and thought:
I need to be the brave one. I can't let both of us fall apart.