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The trio imdiately scanned the room for the source of the voice, but after a thorough look, they found no one. The audience chamber was vast and empty—no living creatures, no furniture, just a massive golden throne and an ornate scepter.
"Strange. What was that voice?" Eluresa asked, her small head swiveling in confusion.
Roy heightened his guard. A voice without a visible source was deeply unsettling. Given his and Alma's keen perception, only soone like Belial, the King of Sloth, could evade their senses.
"How rude! I'm talking to you, and you're ignoring !" The sharp voice rang out again, yet Roy and Alma still couldn't pinpoint its source.
They exchanged a glance. Finally, Roy spoke up. "Why don't you show yourself? I don't even know where you are!"
The voice sighed dramatically. "Kids these days have worse eyesight than an old geezer like . I'm standing right here, plain as day, and you still can't see !"
Plain as day?
Roy rubbed his eyes, still seeing nothing, but Alma seed to catch on to sothing. The voice was shrill, almost like a goblin from a ga or ani—not remotely like an old man's.
"Roy, the voice is coming from the scepter!" Alma said.
"The scepter?"
Her words drew Roy's attention to the ornate scepter beside the golden throne.
"That's right, it's !"
Roy realized this wasn't just any scepter—it was sentient, with a high degree of intelligence. He'd encountered items with consciousness before. His magic mirror was one, though its awareness was complex, like a programd AI that responded to questions but didn't initiate conversation. The Leviathan Axe and Armor, on the other hand, had simpler consciousness, like a dog's, driven by basic instincts—eat, eat, eat—fitting their nature.
But this scepter was different. It could start a conversation on its own.
It was as if a soul was sealed inside it.
Roy's guard went up instantly. He recalled his cursed daggers and M629 revolver, which housed trapped evil spirits with independent souls. But those weapons couldn't speak.
"Hey, I'm talking to you! Answer ! Look in my eyes!"
Lost in thought, Roy and Alma had approached the scepter without realizing it, ignoring its words. Eluresa, less preoccupied, was puzzled by its command. "Which part is your eyes?"
Her question stumped the scepter. It had no obvious eyes—just a few large gemstones, which weren't functional and were scattered haphazardly.
"Uh, never mind that! When I speak, you should look at . It's polite!"
Roy and Alma exchanged another glance.
"Alright, Mr. Scepter, before we get into it, shouldn't we introduce ourselves?" Roy asked.
"Good point! You go first," the scepter replied slyly.
"I'm Roy Black, this is Eluresa, and that's Alma," Roy said, gesturing to each. As he nad them, the scepter's gems glowed faintly.
"Roy Black… that na sounds familiar. Let's see—a Nephilim, a pure succubus, and a human soul in a succubus body. What a weird trio! But why don't your identities match the records?"
"Familiar? Records? What do you an?" Roy latched onto the keywords.
The scepter seed to realize it had slipped up and quickly changed the subject. "You misheard! No records here! Ahem, allow to introduce myself. I am the Scepter of Satan—Lord of the Nine Hells, Master of the Dark Abyss, embodint of fear and sin, eternal enemy of God!"
The grandiose titles were impressive until the last bit, which made it sound almost comical.
Eluresa, ever the natural, burst into laughter, clutching her stomach. "Hahaha! I thought you were sothing big, but you're just a scepter!"
Her mockery riled the scepter. "Not just any scepter—the Scepter of Satan!"
Eluresa kept giggling, her infectious laughter making Alma struggle to hold back a smile. The scepter grew more indignant, but Roy was still hung up on its earlier words.
"Mr. Scepter, what did you an my record doesn't match?"
"Huh? Did I say that? You must've misheard, kid," the scepter said, playing dumb.
Eluresa wasn't having it. "Liar! All three of us heard you!"
Despite her bombshell figure, Eluresa's personality was pure and blunt, like the child in The Emperor's New Clothes. Her directness left the scepter flustered.
"Fine, you win! I can see your life records, okay?" the scepter admitted, throwing in the towel. But its words only piqued Roy's curiosity further.
"So what's this about my record not matching?"
"Roy Black, born in Twin Peaks, Texas. According to my records, you were supposed to be killed by a woman nad Jennifer Morgan on Halloween 2000. Eluresa, daughter of Asmodeus, you should be drifting in space right now. And Alma, your soul should be wandering the Bay Area, not inhabiting a succubus body. Your fates have all drastically changed. That's not normal!"
Roy was stunned. The scepter could see their destinies—far beyond Iris's Eye of God, which couldn't even read Roy's fate, let alone its original course. This scepter seed on a level above even Uriel.
"Mr. Scepter, can you see our futures?"
The scepter wobbled. "No, I can only see past, predetermined fates. The future's beyond ."
Still, that was impressive.
Roy eyed the scepter, wondering how he could take it with him.
"Wait a second! Why are you looking at like that? You're not thinking of taking , are you?"
"You caught that?" Roy asked.
"Your greed's practically spilling out! Dream on! I'm Satan's scepter—only Satan can wield !"
"Is that so?"
Roy stepped forward and grabbed the scepter.
"Doesn't seem that hard."
"What?! Impossible! Leviathan and Belial tried to wield and failed. How can a Nephilim like you pick up the noble ?!"
The scepter thrashed, but its strength was no match for Roy's grip.
"Quiet down! You said Leviathan and Belial were here?"
"Yes, Belial's been here multiple tis, always asking about the sa person. Recently, she wanted to know where they were. I can only see fixed fates, not current locations. Wait—Belial was asking about Roy Black!"
Roy's heart skipped. Belial had co to the Dark Abyss looking for him?
"When was this?"
"Who knows? Ti doesn't work normally in the Dark Abyss. This is a chaotic, primal world—many rules don't even exist yet."
The scepter's words reminded Roy of his mission. He wasn't here to snag a talkative, all-knowing scepter but to escape the Dark Abyss.
"Mr. Scepter, we're trying to leave this place and get to the upper layers of hell. Can you help?"
The scepter sounded surprised. "What? You're not here to challenge the Throne of Satan?"
"Challenge the Throne of Satan?"
"This Tower of Babel is the path to kingship. To beco Satan, Lord of Hell, you must enter the Dark Abyss, find the tower, pass its trials to prove your worth, and then challenge the throne."
Roy raised an eyebrow. "So I've got the chance to challenge it now?"
"Yes. Those who pass the three trials earn the right. You're the first to ever hold ! Neither Leviathan nor Belial could lift ."
"What's the perk of becoming Satan?"
The scepter seed to short-circuit, if it had a brain to do so. "What?! It's the throne of the Lord of Hell! You'd rule the Dark Abyss, reshape this world, and command the seven demon kings!"
"And? If I beco Satan, am I stuck in hell forever?"
The scepter paused. "The Lord of Hell can't leave, but why would you want to? Isn't this place great?"
Before Roy could reply, Eluresa gave the scepter a pitying look. "You've clearly never seen the outside world. This place is boring as hell—pun intended. What's so great about it?"
Her blunt words hit the scepter hard, breaking its composure. "Shut up! So what if I've never left? I've never even left this room! But I'm happy! Really, I am! Sob…"
The scepter started crying, though no tears fell—only tiny golden beads clattered from its body.
Roy tried to console it. "Hey, the outside of Babel's worse than this room. At least you've got light here. The Dark Abyss is just endless darkness and ash."
The scepter's sobbing stopped. "Really? It's like that out there too?"
It was like a frog in a well, trying to understand the world through its limited lens.
Then Eluresa, ever tactless, delivered the final blow. "No, the outside world's way more fun. Even the upper hells are better than this dump."
The scepter wailed harder. "Ten thousand years! I've been stuck here for ten thousand years! Why ? I want a vacation! I want to travel!"
Its cries were like those of an overworked employee chained to a desk. Roy, imagining the scepter standing guard for eons, felt a pang of sympathy.
He shot Eluresa a look—if the scepter got too upset and refused to cooperate, they'd be in trouble. Eluresa stuck out her tongue, realizing she'd ssed up.
Roy gently set the scepter down, trying to soothe it. "Mr. Scepter, if you tell us how to leave this world, maybe I can take you out to see the outside?"
"No! Only Satan can take out. Otherwise, I'm stuck here, waiting for Satan to rise!"
Roy scratched his head. "Okay, then just tell us how to leave."
The scepter's crying stopped. "It's simple. Hold any hellish authority, and you can travel between hell's layers. Or, if your power surpasses the Dark Abyss's rules, you can leave."
Easier said than done. If Roy had that kind of power, he'd have flown out already. As for hellish authority… he'd had Lust's authority but gave it to Elizabeth.
"No other way?"
The scepter wobbled. "If you don't have the power, your only shot is challenging the Throne of Satan. Becoming Satan lets you leave the Dark Abyss—but you're stuck in the Nine Hells forever."
A catch-22. Beco Satan to leave the Abyss, but then you're trapped in hell.
The only workaround was soone else becoming Satan to send Roy out.
But who'd take that job?
(Alma/Adra continues, played by Rachael Cook)
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