Rossi Mansion – Main Dining Room | 2:15 p.m.

  The dining room was bathed in midday light, pouring in through the art déco stained-glass windows. The white linen tablecloth contrasted with the antique china and silver cutlery. The murmuring of the staff serving lunch was soft, almost elegant. Everything felt in balance.

  Kali played with a piece of bread, imitating one of her professors' voices and exaggerating his gestures as she spoke.

  "And then the guy goes: 'Syntax is like a healthy relationship: it needs a subject, a verb... and communication.' I swear!" she exclaimed, making Dahlia nearly spit out her water laughing.

  "That's the saddest thing I've ever heard," Dahlia said between giggles. "And that's coming from someone who once had a lady sing reggaeton to summon spirits at the café where I work."

  "Well, worse would be Nicco teaching history. I can just imagine the class group chat: 'Guys, don't forget to bring gold chains for our Italian nobility practice.'"

  Nicco leaned back in his chair, feigning indignation.

  "Ungrateful princesses! I welcome you into my dining room, I give you gourmet soup, and this is how you repay me?"

  "You call this soup? This is god-tier consommé!" joked Kali, lifting her spoon. "At my place this would be 'suspicious chicken water.'"

  "The secret is letting the staff do everything while I sit here looking pretty."

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  The three of them laughed. For a moment, life was just that: silly jokes, warm food, and the feeling that nothing could shatter that perfect balance.

  Until the TV in the corner —always muted— switched images. The butler pressed the remote without thinking, turning up the volume before quietly stepping away.

  "Breaking News: Authorities are investigating the cause of an unprecedented catastrophe in Alendre state, six hours from Aarush. An entire sector of over twenty square kilometers has been found in ruins. No signs of life."

  Silence fell over the dining room like a curtain of lead. The clinking of spoons stopped. No one laughed anymore.

  The screen showed blackened fields, houses reduced to charred timber, overturned vehicles. The reporters spoke in hushed tones, as if afraid to awaken something.

  "No survivors. Not even animals. Structures were pulverized. No signs of explosion, fire, or seismic activity. Just... absence."

  Kali froze. Dahlia slowly lowered her glass. Nicco turned pale.

  "That was..." Nicco began.

  "Yesterday. When we blacked out," Kali murmured, mostly to herself.

  "This is too much... how did we do that?" Dahlia whispered.

  The TV flickered. Then, as if controlled by an unseen force, it turned off.

  And all three phones vibrated simultaneously on the table.

  1 NEW MESSAGE – SENDER: SKYLER

  "This is Skyler. If you want answers, come to the Tower Overlook. At midnight. None of you can miss it."

  No one said anything at first.

  Kali picked up her phone, rereading the message. Her face no longer carried a trace of laughter.

  "Skyler?" she whispered.

  "The one who brought us back home..." Dahlia said, still staring at the screen.

  Kali looked at Nicco. Then at Dahlia.

  "We're going."

  Dahlia nodded slowly. The warmth had vanished. The dining room, once majestic, now felt too quiet. Too vast. As if echoes of something invisible were slipping in through the walls.

  "I'm coming too," Nicco said firmly. "And it's not a choice. It's a promise."

  They exchanged glances. The food remained untouched. The staff approached quietly to clear the plates.

  But it was too late for lunch.

  What awaited them that night at the Tower Overlook wasn't hunger of the body.

  It was hunger for truth.