Nero rocked back and forth on the gray stone chair.
He reflected on Mistaker's powers:
He can create illusions, puppets, and even his weakest puppet is rank 9…
He is dangerous…
Well, I guess any god is dangerous. But I have a doubt about the one who controls errors and failures.
What does he want from me?
He wants me to perform the Black Tide ritual, but for what?
Gods… transmigration… Wanderers…
All of that makes sense individually, but together…
Also, what does Wanderer mean?
Are they people who transmigrated like Merlin and me?
I miss the tranquility of my previous world… even though I only remember 24 hours of it.
Nero stood up from the chair.
What will the sixth step be?
The red-eyed man headed toward the kitchen of room A1.
He decided to cook dinner before his companions arrived.
Nero knew he wasn't a chef like Kōri, Rose, or Sunday, but he did have talent for cooking.
"What should I cook?" he murmured.
He went to the refrigerator and opened it like an ancient chest.
Wait… how is there electricity in these damn catacombs?
Nero shook his head and simply focused on the contents of the freezer.
Inside were chicken, pork, and rex meat.
Nero's stomach growled with fury and gluttony.
"Calm down, my friend."
Nero rubbed his delicate stomach.
Nero took out the chicken and realized it was gigantic—large enough to feed an entire family without any problem.
The corners of Nero's mouth curved upward.
He began to hum a beautiful song… the same one his deceased "mother" used to sing to him.
"Activare…"
He let his aura flow freely and then opened his hand, imagining the shape, color, and texture of a knife.
Nero opened his left hand, leaving his palm exposed.
He stayed still for a second. Nero reflected on how much aura he wanted to see.
For a second, nothing happened. Nero even thought he had made the request incorrectly.
The magic circle appeared like a tattoo on the palm of his left hand.
"Phew…"
Nero sighed in relief, then raised an eyebrow.
He observed his aura storage carefully.
A quarter of his magic circle was empty.
This surprised Nero, because one of his Poker cards cost half as much as that knife.
"Is it because of the size?"
Nero deactivated the magic circle through telepathy, completely erasing the mark.
"Deactivare," he said while looking at the frozen chicken.
I should put it in water…
Nero searched through the kitchen, which was lit by a small bulb that emitted a blinding yellow light.
What wasn't reached by the light was swallowed by terrifying darkness.
How scary… Nero reflected as he looked around.
Upon finding a pot, he filled it with water from a bucket of potable water at room temperature.
Nero put the chicken into a bag without holes and then submerged it in the water.
"One to two hours, I think," he murmured with determination.
Nero realized that if he only made chicken, no one would be satisfied.
What should I serve it with?
Nero searched the kitchen again until he found a 20-pound sack of rice.
"Something is something… I guess."
Suddenly, Nero could only see black. Something—or someone—had covered his eyes.
Nero was about to react aggressively, until he noticed that the hands covering his vision were cold.
Not frozen… dead.
Wait…
"Kōri?"
Nero heard a beautiful, melodic laugh behind him.
"Did you recognize my touch?" Kōri said, shaking her head.
She removed her hands from Nero's face.
The red-eyed man turned to look at her.
"Of course I recognized them. They're always cold like a corpse's."
"Seriously?!"
Kōri looked surprised.
She looked at the chicken submerged in water and the sack of rice.
"Let me guess…"
Her face turned into a smile.
"…you wanted to make dinner for all of us, but you have no fucking idea what to do, right?"
Nero was left speechless, then smiled shyly and nodded.
His cheeks showed a slight blush of embarrassment.
"I'll help you, but only if you make me a promise…"
"Which one?"
Kōri swallowed and trembled slightly.
"Promise me you'll get us out of this hell of rock."
Nero stepped closer and placed a hand on the white-haired girl's shoulder.
"I'm not the kind of person who breaks promises. I promised we'll get out of here, understood?"
Kōri felt relieved; the red-eyed man's words were a balm to her wounded mind.
Kōri stared at the knife in Nero's hand.
With a quick movement, she stole the knife from the black-haired man.
"Hey, thief!"
Kōri shrugged, a smile on her face.
"Make me a knife if you want this one back."
"No, it costs too much aura."
Kōri smiled sweetly. She stepped closer to Nero and placed a hand on his cheek.
"And… for a kiss? Would you do it?"
She winked her left eye at him.
Nero swallowed hard…
"D-don't try to seduce me."
Nero looked away with a slight blush.
"I'm like you… I always keep my promises."
She placed a hand on her chest, guiding Nero's eyes toward her breasts.
"Bitch…"
She stepped close enough to place a hand on Nero's chest.
"Don't you want a free kiss?"
Nero froze when he felt Kōri's cold hand.
Nero Alexue, don't fall into your most animal sexual instincts.
"No… activate."
Kōri smiled smugly.
Nero found himself creating a knife. When he finished, he handed it to the white-haired girl and leaned against the wall, waiting for his reward.
Kōri gave the knife back to Nero while looking at him.
Nero began to grow nervous as he saw Kōri approaching.
She grabbed his face with both hands and slowly brought her face closer. Kōri seemed to be enjoying Nero's silent agony.
My first kiss is going to be from a woman as beautiful as Kōri!
The red-eyed man's heart pounded like a drum.
Kōri stopped centimeters from Nero's lips. She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.
The blue-eyed girl pulled away quickly.
Nero raised a hand to the cheek where Kōri had kissed him, surprised.
It took him a few seconds to process what had just happened.
"Bitch…" he said, looking into Kōri's eyes.
"I kept my promise. I kissed you… I never said where, did I?"
Nero wanted to be furious, but he knew she had kept her promise.
"Ugh, you win… bitch."
Kōri looked slightly offended.
"Pervert."
"And why is that?"
Kōri looked at the red-eyed man with a faint smile.
"Because yes."
Nero shook his head in clear disappointment.
"Let's cook."
"Let's go!" Kōri shouted.
Kōri began scanning the ingredients with intense determination.
"Rice… chicken… I know!"
Kōri turned to Nero, her eyes shining.
"What if we make a Rug?"
"Rug?" Nero repeated, tilting his head.
"Yes," Kōri said, already moving around the kitchen as if it were her territory. "It's simple, filling, and doesn't require fancy ingredients. Besides…"
She grabbed the sack of rice and dropped it onto the table with a dull thud.
"…we have enough rice to survive a siege."
Nero let out a short nasal laugh.
"Convincing."
Kōri tossed him the knife he had created.
"Cut the chicken. I'll take care of the rice."
Nero caught the knife midair. The blade was smooth, unmarked, perfect. Still, it hurt a little to think about the amount of aura he had spent on something so mundane.
But when he placed the chicken on the table and began cutting, the thought faded away.
The rhythmic sound of the knife against the wood filled the room.
It wasn't silence.
It was… routine.
Kōri washed the rice with precise, almost automatic movements. Her cold hands moved with a confidence that showed experience. For a while, neither of them spoke.
And yet, it wasn't uncomfortable.
"You know?" she said suddenly, without looking at him. "In another place, in another world… this would be normal."
Nero didn't answer immediately.
"That's what makes it dangerous," he said at last.
Kōri smiled faintly.
As the rice cooked and the chicken began to brown, the aroma filled room A1. There was nothing magical about it. It didn't glow. It didn't whisper.
It just smelled good.
Too good for a place buried under rock, ruins, and ancient errors.
A while later, voices echoed through the hallway.
"I smell food," Lux said loudly. "Is that… real food?"
"If this is some weird ritual, I refuse to participate while hungry," Merlin added.
Sunday was the last to enter. He observed the scene—the pot, the rice, the chicken, Nero and Kōri—and his eyes softened slightly.
"So that was it," he murmured. "It wasn't an anomaly."
"If anyone complains," Kōri said without turning around, "I'll kill them."
"That explains why I trust you," Nero replied.
They ate around the improvised table. Simple plates. Mismatched cutlery. Yellow light trembling over their faces.
For a few hours, no one talked about gods.
Nor paths.
Nor the Void.
Lux told an absurd story. Merlin corrected him. Kōri mocked them. Sunday listened.
Nero observed.
And he thought that this—this normality—was the most dangerous thing he had felt since arriving in that world.
Toc Toc.
"I'll get it," said Sunday in his usual polite voice.
He grabbed the doorknob and turned it, opening the door.
Two shadows entered with almost insulting speed. They knocked Sunday out with a swift movement.
Then, in less than five seconds, everyone was unconscious.
It was at that moment that Nero understood the sixth step Mistaker had spoken about…
The walls have ears.