Seven Sins System Chapter 596. Where The Hell Am I?

Seven Sins System Chapter 596. Where The Hell Am I?

I didn’t even realize when I started to lose consciousness.

It was like falling into ink—no dreams, no sound, just the weightless nothing that came after getting sucker-punched by a cosmic blender.

When I finally snapped back into myself, I gasped.

My eyes flew open and I shot to my feet, battle instincts slamming into gear before my brain even caught up.

‘Wrath…’

Six blades curled and hissed behind me like cobras ready to strike, my whole body tensed to tear apart whatever dragged us into this mess. I spun, scanning the area.

Nothing.

No glowing crystal. No sanctum. No altar. No divine rumble waiting to happen.

Instead, it was... a cave.

A mortal cave, to be exact. Earthy, rocky walls closed in around me, jagged and rough but not oppressive. Moss clung to the ceiling, and above, just a faint stream of light peeked through a crack near the top—somewhere far, far up. I couldn’t smell sulfur, ozone, or even divine residue.

Just dirt. Dust. Wet stone.

And something else.

“…Okay,” I muttered, tentacles twitching as I slowly lowered my stance, my gaze sweeping the dim chamber again with suspicion.

This didn’t make sense. Considering how psychotic that crystal went right before yeeting us into the abyss, I expected void, or chaos, or a personal nightmare dimension. But this?

This was weirdly... peaceful.

Too peaceful.

And then I smelled it.

Faint. Subtle. Sweet.

Not like sugar or flowers—more like… shadow syrup. If that made sense. It reminded me of the Shadow Realm. Not the war zones or cursed lakes.

I’d smelled it before.

Long time ago.

But the memory slipped through my fingers like fog. I couldn’t place it where.

My eyes landed on a figure sprawled across the ground near a mossy stone ledge.

Puriel.

She was still unconscious, armor slightly scuffed, hair spread across the dusty floor like a goddess doing a calendar shoot for the month of “Divine Panic.” Her weapon was still clutched in her hand, loosely, like she fell mid-defense.

I took a slow step toward her. My heartbeat picked up—not from danger, but from a... complicated tangle of thoughts.

The old me would’ve seen this as an opportunity. Back in the day, if I caught the Goddess of Chastity unconscious and alone in a strange, vulnerable place?

I wouldn’t have hesitated.

Not out of malice—just... survival. Strategy. Remove the enemy. End the threat. That’s how things worked during the war.

And for a moment, just a flicker of a heartbeat, my Wrath tentacles stirred again—blades twitching at the edges.

Not because I wanted to strike.

Just because that old habit lingered like a scar that hadn’t faded.

I stared at her. Silent.

Then I let out a long, heavy breath.

And lowered my tentacles.

“…Tch. You’re lucky I’m soft now,” I muttered under my breath, almost annoyed at myself. “We’re partners in crime now, or whatever this is. Not really crime since you’re technically holy, but... semantics.”

I stepped closer and knelt beside her, reaching out with one clawed hand. “Hey.” I shook her gently. “Wake up. No nap time in limbo, c’mon.”

She didn’t stir.

I poked her again, this time with a little more demon-prince urgency. “Seriously. Wake up. We might be in a monster’s lung right now.”

Still nothing.

Then her eyes snapped open.

In one smooth motion, she flipped her body upright and swung her sword at me in a fast, practiced arc—like she woke up mid-war and assumed I was the enemy.

-CLANG!

The Thread of Fate shimmered into existence between our wrists—glowing bands of light and shadow that kept our attacks from ever reaching lethal force. A barrier shimmered as her blade slammed into it, stopping just inches from my neck.

We froze.

Both of us blinking.

Puriel stared at me, sword still in mid-swing. “Azrael… what were you doing?”

I just blinked at her, deadpan. “Waking you up.”

She slowly lowered her sword, clearly not amused. “You shook me like you were trying to cast a curse.”

“I was being gentle!”

“You poked me in the face.”

“I don’t do gentle. I’m a wrath demon. Poking is the nicest thing I’ve ever done in this form.”

She sighed, eyes narrowing. “You looked like you were about to attack me.”

I glanced at the glowing thread between us and shrugged. “You know this stupid thread won’t let us kill each other. Why waste the energy?”

“You tried to kill me in the past.”

“Yeah, but that was before we were coworkers.”

“We’re not coworkers.”

“We technically are.”

She stared.

I stared back.

Then we both looked around the cave again.

“…So,” I muttered, finally rising to my feet. “Any idea where the hell we are?”

She stood as well, brushing dust from her armor. “Somewhere... in-between, maybe? It doesn’t feel like another plane. I still feel tethered to the mortal realm.”

“Same.” I sniffed again. That sweet scent was still there—lingering. Like old perfume. “But something’s wrong. This place isn’t natural.”

She glanced at me. “You smell it too?”

I nodded slowly. “Yeah. Sweet. Faint. Like… Shadow Bloom sap. But it shouldn’t be here. Those flowers don’t grow in this realm.”

“That’s what worries me.”

I paced in a circle, eyeing the rocky walls. “No monsters. No echoes. But this isn’t just a cave. It’s quiet. Too quiet. Something brought us here.”

“Maybe the crystal?”

I looked at her. “Then the question is: Why?”

She was silent.

My tentacles twitched behind me, still tense.

Whatever this place was, it didn’t feel like a prison. It felt like a test.

And I had a sinking feeling it wasn’t done with us yet.

“…Let’s move,” I said. “Before something decides to crawl out of that wall.”

She nodded, her blade still drawn.

I glanced at Puriel, and she nodded once more, wordlessly understanding what I was about to do.

[Skill Activated: Teleportation]

My vision warped, the cave bending like it was made of rubber as I snapped through space. I felt the usual pulse of mana, the comforting sensation of ripping a hole through reality with my power and stepping through it like a smug bastard.

But when I landed…

I blinked.

Same cave.

Same smell.

Same faint glow trickling down from above like moonlight pretending to be helpful.

Puriel stood across from me, just as startled, her brows furrowed. She had tried it too.