-Michael-

Michael dove through the door of fog, sliding face-first across the icy ground before coming to a sliding stop upon hitting something. After opening his eyes, Michael noticed that this 'something' was actually 'someone'.

His eyes grew larger the more they scanned this person’s body. Unlike Michael, who wore rags over his body, this person was wearing practical mage gear. They wore a white, short cloak with black trimmings, covering the black T-shirt that was barely visible just beneath it. The cloak itself had matching sleeves, sharing that black trim around the cuffs. They wore a skirt, along with black pants and brown boots beneath it. Despite this person wearing a skirt, they didn't look feminine, but at the same time, they didn't look masculine either.

Their hair, as black as a raven's feathers was long, similar in length to Petra's. Their face, having eastern features, appeared defined and sharp, contrasting with their soft, pale skin and plump lips. The more Michael looked at them, the more confused he felt. Regardless of what this person's gender was, Michael could not deny that he found this mysterious person quite attractive. Though deep inside, he was hoping they were a girl.

Upon seeing Michael, the mysterious mage recoiled a single step backward, gripping their wooden staff tightly while hesitating to speak before finally opening their mouth. “You’re– a person?” their gentle voice whispered as they took a look at Michael’s scaly, demonic body. Their brow wrinkled in confusion for a moment until they spoke again. “A demon person...you're like that kid.”

Michael quickly and rather awkwardly rose to his feet as he dusted off his raggedy shirt and pants before giving the mage his attempt at a charming smile. It wasn't until then that he realized this mage was half a foot taller than him. Since they shared the same body, Mike could feel his heart fluttering and it disgusted him; the secondhand embarrassment was too much to handle.

Stop looking at...him with googly eyes!

Michael ignored Mike's voice, but he couldn't hide the embarrassment written all over his face. 'He can tell!?' he thought before clearing his throat and speaking smoothly.

"Oh, so you've met Harut too?" Michael asked. He didn't expect anyone else to be ascending the tower at the exact same time as him, but the more he thought about it, the more it made sense. Thousands of people died every day, so it was only natural for Tartarus to be full of others who wanted to climb to the top and send in their appeals.

“Was that his name? Hm…" The mage tapped their chin and hummed softly. Michael's fawning was only amplified by a thousand, 'So cute.' he thought.

"Are you his older brother or something?" the mage asked, still tapping their chin as they spoke.

"Uh, no. I'm a human just like you. From Earth. You're from Earth, right?"

After hearing Michael's explanation, the mage looked him up and down, squinting their eyes as they focused on his more demonic features; such as his talons, discolored skin, fangs, crimson eyes, and horns. "I am... Are you sure you are? You don't look very human to me."

Michael looked down at his own body, forgetting for a moment that he'd taken this newer form upon entering Hell. 'They're right, I don't even look like I used to be human...'

"A lot of strange things have been happening to me here. But I swear I'm human. Or was... I lived in California."

The mage was still suspicious of him, but the demon child she met seemed trustworthy, so trusting a demon wasn't outside of the realm of possibility. "Well, anyway, maybe you can figure out how to get past this floor 'cause I've been stuck here for ages.”

“What do you mean?” Michael looked over their shoulder, seeing that there weren't any branching paths, just a singular hallway that eventually led to a right turn.

“I’ve been here for…I don’t even know how to keep track of time anymore. Hours? Maybe longer? All I know is, I keep getting sent back to the beginning and it's really starting to piss me off.”

“Sent back to the beginning?” Michael repeated.

“Here, I’ll show you. Just... don't touch anything.” the mage said, cocking their head toward the hallway before leading the way. Michael followed close behind them, walking past the walls which were covered in paintings, along with candles that hung from them. The wide hallway housed many different articles of furniture, far more than what Michael and Mike had seen on the previous floors. After walking through this hallway, the two of them turned a corner and found themselves back at the entrance. When Michael turned around, he was met by a solid wall.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

So every floor after the first one has some sort of gimmick, huh? Mike deduced. I guess a puzzle beats being chased by whatever the hell that was back there. I'll let you handle this one. I'll sit back and relax while you drool over that...person.

The mage leaned against the wall and started kicking the bottom of their staff. “See? There has to be something about the hallway, but I can't figure it out. I'm about ready to give up."

“Interesting… You know what this reminds me of? This one videogame I played where you’re in a loop and you have to find what’s different. Uhm, have you noticed any sort of anomalies whenever you passed through the halls?

“Uh… I don’t think so. I try not to interact with any of the objects in there... Not after what kept happening. Every time I did, it spawned some sort of enemy or trap. A drawer ATE me!" The mage exhaled, calming themself down as they brushed their hair out of their eyes. "I barely got out of that thing alive with a spell. Now I’m running low on mana and I’m all out of Mana Potions. Where's that kid when you need him?"

Suddenly, Michael's horns perked up and his eyes beamed with hope. “Mana potions? Are there any Health potions? This idiot I met along the way put my HP down to five points.”

It was your fault, you dolt.

Michael's fist clenched, choosing to remain mature and not argue with Mike; at least, he would save what he had to say for later. He didn't want to look crazy in front of his potential future companion.

The mage looked confused; their eyebrows tucked as they dipped their head slightly in skepticism. “You haven’t found a Health Flask yet? Huh, that sucks. I would give you a sip of mine, but I’m fresh out. Sorry."

Michael's shoulders fell and he lowered his head, sighing as he did so. “It’s okay… We just have to be careful, right? One more hit and I'm cooked.”

“I guess we don’t have much else of a choice. Name’s Charlie, by the way.” Charlie leaned off of the wall and extended their hand toward Michael.

The name doesn't help... Even though Mike wasn't into the mage, he was still curious about them. If he was the one in control of the body, he would've asked upfront about their gender. Michael, on the other hand, didn't know how to ask without sounding rude so he refrained.

'Of course, they have the most androgynous name on Earth...'

“I’m Michael. Nice to meet you.” Michael extended his hand toward them, though when they touched, Charlie pulled their hand away as if they’d come into physical contact with a hot stove. “You’re hot!” They said, and to any normal person who'd received the proper amount of social interaction growing up, it was clear that they meant temperature-wise. However, Michael wasn't one of those people.

“Oh, thanks, I guess..." Michael's eyes and heart fluttered as he pointed two fingers together like a nervous schoolgirl. "I mean...you’re pretty cute too.”

Mike assumed the secondhand embarrassment wouldn't have gotten worse, but Michael's words proved him wrong.

Kill me. Kill me now.

When Michael looked at Charlie's face, he realized then that he'd read the entire situation incorrectly.

“Wh-” Charlie’s face was instantly flushed as they pressed themselves against the wall once again. “I meant temperature-wise. Your body feels like it's on fire.”

“Oh…” Michael let out an awkward chuckle, but to anyone with ears, it was closer to an eerie cackle.

‘Kill me. Kill me now.’ Michael thought, however, that his wish wouldn't come true just yet.

“Anyway, let’s check out that hallway, yeah?” Michael changed the subject and started leading the way. Charlie followed behind closely, though their face still had that pinkish hue.

The two of them, as if walking on eggshells, stepped cautiously down the looping hallway, only to find themselves back at the beginning just as they did during their last attempt. Before long, Michael and Mike also found themselves losing track of time. In fact, Michael assumed that Mike had somehow fallen asleep within their shared consciousness, it was the only explanation for why he had gone quiet.

During one of their countless trips through the hallway, Michael failed to notice any differences. However, Charlie did notice something peculiar.

“That light. Was it always on?” They asked, pointing at a bronze lantern that rested on a circular table.

Michael looked at the lantern closely, trying his best to remember if it had been lit before. No matter how hard he tried to remember, he couldn't even recall if the lamp was ever there in the first place. Regardless, he agreed with his mage companion. “Now that you say it, I don’t think so. Let’s try turning it off.” Michael whispered as he and Charlie stepped closer to the device. There was a candle snuffer right beside it, a device used to snuff out the flames of any lantern or candle. Michael picked it up before lifting the hatch to the lantern and using the snuffer on its flame. The moment the flame died, the ground began to tremble and it sounded as if Tartarus was adjusting itself.

What happened!? Mike's voice was slurred as if he'd just been jolted awake, proving Michael's theory to be true. However, he couldn't make any sense of why that was possible.

Michael and Charlie exchanged glances without words, nodding in unison as they stepped toward the commotion. Once they turned the corner, they found themselves in front of a newly appeared door. As for where it led, there was only one way to find out.

“This is different, right?” Michael asked.

“Very. I’ve never seen this door before. It looks like your theory was correct… Interesting.” Charlie rubbed their chin as if they were in deep thought for a moment, only to then step toward the door and grab the handle. “Well. I guess all we can do is progress, right? Let’s go.”