(Rewrote this theory because the other post was badly written)
The Depths is actually in the ocean, not the shelter. The shelter is something else.
Most people generally assume at this point that the Depths is actually an evil Dark World in the shelter. Now, I used to think this was a given because the garbage noises play over there. But Noelleās basement also play that sound in Chapter 4.
So I've been wondering... does that theory even still hold up???
Well, after looking into it, I found out that thereās actually MUCH stronger evidence that the Depths is located deep in the sea.
It's no secret that the background is a distorted photo of an ocean. While this is the strongest piece of evidence, itās NOT the only connection.
For example, Dark Fountains (which are also called geysers), are said to be pulled directly from the Earth. In other words, weāre pulling these from the depths of the Earth... which also happens to be where deep water is. Deep water is one of the darkest places on the planet.
This is important because Onion-San and Gerson both mention that an old song is playing, deep in the ocean.
In the same chapter, we also get this prophecy:
Both this song and the Depths are beneath the Earth. The old song is playing there. This is why you can hear the garbage noises in Noelleās basement. It seems random at first, but this happens because the further you go down, the closer you are to the Depths. This also explains the shelter, which leads underground.
And I don't see this discussed often, but Onion-San just straight up disappeared after he happened to be investigating this song. We know that Dess accidentally entered the Depths, and she got trapped there too. This makes some VERY interesting implications.
Everything seems to be leading up to the fact that deep water acts as a portal to the Depths. It makes the most sense. If Dark Fountains can make a dark world then why wouldn't a Dark Ocean create the Depths?
This gives STRONG credibility to the theory that Dess actually drowned in the ocean. OK, she didn't literally drown, but she did fall into deep water. There's actually some evidence for this.
In the Roaring Knightās boss from Chapter 3, Krisās ACT is called āHoldBreathā, and some of the flavor text says things like āYour vision narrowsā, āYou feel surroundedā, and āYour chest tightensā. These are obviously referring to their attacks, but they also happen to be phrased like loosely graphic descriptions of drowning in water.
This wouldnāt be the Knightās only connection to water, either.
The glass imagery matches best with the description of the black shard, which we know is a part of the Knightās black knife (and by association, their armor). This implies that it's made from water.
None of this automatically takes away any suspicion from the shelter. We know there's a dark world in there. If Dess didnāt get lost in it, then she probably created it. This is where the āANGEL'S HEAVENā comes into play.
We still don't know much about this place, but we can infer some things. For one, the name āAngel's Heavenā gives me the impression that the escapism themes will be the most apparent here. Heaven is a perfect world.
Think about it. What form of escapism is a shelter? An escape from the outside world. This is usually associated with avoiding real life problems and responsibilities. That sounds exactly like the mental image of Heaven.
It's a given that the shelter will play an important part to the Roaring. It's the only place to evacuate. So what if the Knight is actually creating a safe haven there before they start the end of the world?
