The boat swayed as Sachi rested his head in the palm of his hand. He thought the beach.
'Why did I kill him..? Right after what I said to Chronos too...'
Gili broke his fixation. "Do you have a plan, Sachi?"
"…Nothing that I haven't already mentioned. We get stronger until an opportunity presents itself."
Ali chimed in. "And if that never happens?"
"…Then we make it happen."
Ali turned in the boat. "Gili, this is never going to work. We should knock this off already."
Gili stared off into the murky water. "... I want to at least try."
"But what's the point! You'll die for an ideal that never had a chance in the first place!"
The water seemed to rush harder, echoing the sound of it smacking the wooden hull.
Pat interrupted the waves. "What was the Gods' Game like?"
Sachi changed the way he sat. "A nightmare is the easiest way to put it. Every fight feels impossible, and sometimes it feels like I'm not even in control of my own actions."
"You said you had friends there? What were they like?"
Sachi tilted his head back, staring into the black abyss that would be the sky. "...They were nice."
Gili pointed ahead. "Look, there's Limbo."
So far, the entire realm had be a dull palette of blacks and greys, but Limbo emanated a strong orange aura around it, making its silhouette clear. A small city all surrounding one impossible tower.
Sachi couldn't hold in his curiosity. "What is that?"
Ali spoke calmly. "That is Tartarus. A tower that connects all the layers of the realm."
"Layers?"
He nodded. "The nine layers. Every layer down is full of more grotesque and dangerous monster. Usually, at bottom would be where the Deadly Sin resides, but this realm has none."
"Have any of you been in there?"
They all shook their heads. "Only a select few members of the guild are allowed inside. It's far too dangerous to let standard members in, and there's no point anyways. They're not Champions, we don't get stronger from killing random creatures."
Sachi stared at the silhouette for a bit longer. "We're going in there."
"Did you listen to anything I just said!? What would be the point?"
"Combat experience is still experience, and if we start at the top, we have better chances of being able to handle whatever's in there. This is how we sneak ahead!"
Ail shook his head. "No."
Pat seemed to quiver. "I-I don't think I can..."
Gili look at Sachi. "We aren't able to fight whatever's in there, plain and simple."
"If you don't think you can handle it, then trust me to handle it. Please. This is what they'd expect the least. We have a chance here!"
All three of them looked indecisive.
"We'll think about it when we get settled in, Sachi. You need to meet our captain too."
Ali looked at the approaching port. "Yeah, he's gonna climb the ranks fast."
They all sat quietly until they reached the port.
"No talks about anything on that beach until we meet with David, okay? And, Sachi, you're a new recruit we found to join the guild, okay?"
All four nodded. "C'mon then."
Gili began to lead them down a winding path in the city. Tall buildings with giant cogs turning, puffing out smoke as they clicked. Guild member's roamed the city like they were normal citizens. Talking, laughing, working jobs, having lunch. It all seemed so normal for such an abnormal place.
Several other members exchanged greetings to Gili's group.
"Hey BB squad, run into any trouble?" He smiled as he walked by them.
"Wassup BB squad, need a hand walking back?" another chuckled to himself as he walked away.
"Yo BB, need a change of clothes?" He practically fell on the floor from laughter.
Finally, Sachi couldn't stay silent. "BB squad?"
Ali's focus didn't seem to shift. "We're the 88th ranked squad... out of 88. Or, BB: Bottom of the Barrel, or they're just calling us babies."
Corner after corner, the finally approached a build labeled "Level 1 Guild Hall." The outside looked rusted, almost even forgotten. They pushed through the doors.
"We're back!" Gili shouted. "We've got a new recruit!"
The hall was entirely empty.
"Hello? Pan? Mercedes? Banner? David? Kata? Anyone?"
Suddenly, a man appeared on the second floor, leaning himself over to peer at the group. Sachi recognized him instantly. The man who beat him in the tournament right before he got dragged away from home. David Johnson, an infuriatingly good kendo student, always three steps ahead of Sachi no matter what. And now he was stuck in hell with him.
"Sachi!? Is that really you!?" David hurdled the railing and landed on the first floor with them. "Oh man it is you! Look at you! Your Devil must've toned you up real nice huh?" He grabbed Sachi's arms. That condescending tone was still etched into Sachi's mind.
"Oh, man! It's nice to see someone from home! Coming to join the Eternal Flame huh? Trust me, it's a great gig you're gonna love it. Oh, you wanna practice? I've gotten a lot better since the tournament!"
Sachi wasn't even sure what to say. "Oh, U-uh, sure..."
"Great! Guys, move all the tables out of the way."
They didn't even hesitate. "Yes, Captain!"
"Let's see... here." He tossed Sachi a pool cue that was hung on the wall, grabbing another for himself. "It's not the real deal but it'll work. Pat, use your light to call it."
Pat nodded, and pulled out his traffic light as commanded. The lights flickered: red, yellow, and then green.
David leapt forward. He wasn't asking for a kendo match, he was asking to humiliate Sachi again.
Sachi responded to his aggression, sprinting forward. After only a few steps, something grabbed his foot, causing him to go tumbling through the hall.
He slammed into a reception desk, and David lightly tapped his side. "I win, again."
From the hood of David's cloak, a little raven appeared on his shoulder. The three spectators seemed surprised.
"David's Devil?"
"I thought he said his devil abandoned him?"
David seemed just as surprised as them. "Hey! You're not supposed to come out!"
The raven laughed. "And miss something as hilarious as this!? No way!"
"This is no different from any other fight we've had!"
The raven kept laughing. "It so much more different than you realize. This chump doesn't have a Devil, he didn't even start in this realm to begin with! I'd recognize the bum my moronic sister chose instantly!"
Sachi picked himself up, watching the bird slowly turn into a terrifying creature. An almost human-like appearance with dark green hair, pitch black eyes with skin so pale you could hardly call it "skin". Along his back spread black wings, horns shooting out of his forehead and curving to point behind him. He wore an all black sweatshirt, minus the small icon of a 5-leaf clover on the front, matched with all black sweatpants and shoes.
He placed his hand on David's shoulder, his nails as sharp as claws, holding himself up as he laughed even harder. "Let me help this make sense."
"I am Serendelle, the Devil of Luck"