Raphael entered the darkness with Azekiel, but even he hadn't expected that he was going to be lost in the darkness. He called for Azekiel, but he couldn't find him.
He found himself all alone. He couldn't even hear the sound of crying ever since he entered the Darkness. The entire world had gone silent as he found himself in the middle of nowhere.
"What is this place?" He frowned, finding this entire place really strange. He didn't know why but he was getting a really strange feeling from this place.
"That's a good question. What is this place?" A calm voice fell on his ears.
"Huh? That voice?" He hastily turned around, but he had forgotten that he couldn't see anything. Even when he turned, he couldn't see who it was that had spoken.
Still, that dark voice was something that he could never forget!
"Alziem?!" Raphael exclaimed.
"You still haven't forgotten me, it seems. Then again, how can someone forget the person who killed them? Isn't that right? My dear Raphael?"
"I never would have expected that you would become a dog for a mortal. Oh how far have you fallen... From the King of Gluttony to the servant of the King of Gluttony..."
"What are you speaking? What King of Gluttony? I was never a King of Gluttony!" Raphael retorted.
"I was punished by the High One for eating something that didn't belong to me and turned into this damned spirit, all because you told him what I did! It's all because of you! I can never forget you, Alziem! It's because of you that every day of my life is a living hell!"
Alziem went silent for a moment as if he was lost in some thought.
"It seems like you don't remember about... That's disappointing."
"What don't I remember? What are you speaking about? Tell me!"
"How far have you fallen, Raphael. I can't believe I used to be envious of you. You were superior to me in everything until... And now you are nothing but a Spirit who can't even remember the most important part of his life. I pity you Raphael... I pity you a lot."
The voice kept getting closer. "You know what I feel more than pity for you? Anger!"
"You feel anger? You betrayed me! It's because of you that I lost everything, and you think you have the right to feel angry!"
Raphael had a better sense of distance and direction. Through the voice, he could guess exactly where that person was standing. In his anger, he couldn't stop himself as he shot straight toward Alziem, swinging his sharp claws.
Unfortunately, his claws only passed through an empty space, unable to touch anything. "Raphael, did you forget? You're a spirit. You are at the mercy of your master to even appear in this Tower, let alone being able to finish anything. As I said before, you're nothing more than a dog now!"
Raphael couldn't touch Alziem even if he wanted to, but it was also unclear if Alziem was actually here or not.
"By the way, don't you want to know why I'm angry?" Alziem asked.
"It's certainly not because of what you might think! It's because you dared to forget! I'm angry because you dared to forget the moment which I'm most proud of! It's because you dared to forget how I did that... How I killed you!"
"How could you forget the happiest moment of my life, Raphael? How could you be so cruel to this dear friend of yours?"
A peal of cruel yet hearty laughter echoed in the surrounding, which seemed to be coming from all directions at the same time.
"I came here so I could see that rage... so I could relive that moment once again through your reactions, but you don't even remember. This is disappointing. I was so happy to find out that you've returned, but it seems like I was happy for no reason at all."
"Still, it doesn't matter if you don't remember! I'll always remember! I'll always remember crushing you under my feet! I'll always remember that day when the Almighty Raphael died at my hands right before he could clear the tower! How I walked over your dead body to clear the Tower! You might not remember, but I'll never forget Raphael! I'll never forget my biggest achievement!"
The laughter of Alziem kept resounded in Raphael's ears, giving him a headache. Through the words of Alziem, he had managed to understand a few things, yet he couldn't believe it.
Alziem was implying that he had also participated in the Tower of Sin as the King of Gluttony? Alziem was saying that he had failed the quest of the tower only to die at his hands and fail at the last step?! Why couldn't he remember that!
The more he tried to remember, the more he felt his headache increasing. He didn't know what it was, but he couldn't remember those memories at all. Until a few moments ago, he didn't even remember that there were memories like that... Just what was this... This part of his life which even he didn't know?
And if he was a Participant in the Tower of Sin in the past, then how was he just a Spirit now?
He held his head firmly, which felt like it was going to explode in pain as he dropped to his knee, firmly closing his eyes.
"I didn't expect our next meeting to go like this, but this was certainly fun. Seeing Raphael on his knees before me... Just like that day... Just like that moment... I must say, coming here was worth it."
"Too bad I only had limited time... Too bad..."
The voice became distant before ultimately stopping, leaving Raphael all alone with his fragmented memories.
He could not remember anything, yet he also couldn't give up trying to remember, which increased his headache even more as if there was a mental block around his memories.
