“This is where I started off,” Nil said, pointing to the longest section of the kitchen. Four cooks worked on it. “It's called garde manger. The far end is making the snacks we just ate. The next one over is where our cold vegetarian starters and elements will be made. Then we have Alan and Steve making the hot veggies that’ll go on all our hot dishes. I know they look like twins but they’re not. Alan and Steve don’t like it when I make that clarification or mix them up either. They also take turns ensuring the section is running just fine and report to the sous chef for ordering ingredients or if anything is wrong.”

“Sous chef?” Sammy curiously peeked at whatever Alan was cooking. The skinny man angled himself, giving the young teen a better view. “That was you, wasn’t it?”

“It was,” Alan said. “And Nil was by far the best sous chef I’ve ever worked under. He looked up from his work for a moment. Let me know if you ever quit the arena and decide to open your own place.”

“Who else would I put in charge of the cold kitchen?” Nil winked. He lowered his volume and stepped past his sister and cousin. “Did they change the decor or lighting after I left? Something feels different.”

Alan shook his head. “It's all the same, chef. The menu has changed a bunch. You can probably tell that most of the old team is gone. But besides that, nothing has changed. Same chef. Same drama. Same old shit.”

Nil moved on, still trying to shake the uncomfortable feeling. “I then did a month on fish. It always has three people. One for the cold, raw stuff. Another for the hot. Then there is a floater, helping wherever there is a rush.” He pointed at the next part of the kitchen. “Sauce or Meat is the busiest section. We have one for the tartare and terrine. One for the sauce. One is taking care of the charcoal grill. And that’s Wendy helping whoever is struggling, cutting and trimming everything before she runs it up to the sous chef and chef to send out.”

“It’s so hot in here,” Emily commented, taking a step back as Wendy carried fresh burning coals from the hearth to the grill.

“You stop noticing after doing it every day,” Wendy said, winking as she passed. Nil also received a shy smile from the woman. She would often flirt with Nil while he still worked there. He had pretended not to notice even though Wendy was amongst the prettiest women to give him the time of day pre-Summoning. It wasn’t just because of the visage; he also didn’t want to get involved with a coworker.

“After finishing all three sections, I did a few weeks on pastry before becoming sous chef.” The unease got stronger as he led Sam and Emily down a narrow corridor to the back of the kitchen. “It's my weakest area, but it's my favorite. I—”

“Your favorite is something you’re bad at?” Sam asked, slowing. “I thought cooking over fire was your favorite.”

“I love cooking over fire, but I’ve done it so much and am so used to it, it's second nature,” Nil explained. “There is little room for experimentation or general fun. I am bad at pastry, but that means I have a lot to learn and practice, and there is also room for innovation. It's satisfying when you get good at something you suck at. Isn’t it?”

“Stop trying to teach life lessons, Nil,” Emily said, rolling her eyes. She paused, nose twitching. “Is that chocolate?” Emily smiled mischievously, peeking at the restaurant chocolatier making petit fors. “Can you snag me a sample?”

“You’re going to ruin your appetite, Emmy,” Nil said. “Just wait. You’ll get them eventually. I’ll see if I can get you samples or a goody bag to take home.”

“But—”

Emily fell silent when Nil stiffened, frowning. The unease reached its peak as they passed the pantry. It was the source of everything and sent a shiver down his spine. Even though Nil was sure what he was feeling, he rushed to the door and threw it open.

“What is it?” Sam asked, sounding concerned, but went ignored.

Energy Instinct has progressed to Iron 5!

Black smoke leaked from a cake box by the door. Pink, orange, and crimson flecks filled the dark fumes. A sticky note sat next to the bow. ‘For Nil Roy and Party. To be gifted and cut at the table after pre-desserts.”

Mind has progressed to Iron 4!

A pink aura surrounded the note that gave Nil a dull headache. It was partly responsible for the uneasiness. Nil recognized the odd presence. It was Mind Magic.

“Go back to Baba,” Nil said, approaching the container.

“What’s wrong?” Emily asked, grabbing his sleeve.

“Just go back to Baba. Send everyone else in here.”

“What—”

“Don’t argue or ask questions.” Nil snapped, struggling to conceal his concern. “Something is really wrong here, and I need them. You need to get away.”

The two youngest of the Roy clan ceased protesting. They did as told, leaving. A commotion filled the kitchen moments later. A couple of minutes passed before his friends rushed into the restaurant’s pantry. The chef was with them.

“What the fuck are you playing at, Roy?” The man demanded, his earlier politeness and flattering tone forgotten. He achieved Bronze Realm before achieving his celebrity chef status and never managed to progress past it. “Just because you’re a big shot doesn’t mean you can hold a fucking party in my kitchen. Take your people and get the fuck out.”

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

“What’s this, Chef?” Nil asked, pointing at the box with a bow.

The man appeared confused, eyes darting between and Nil. “What does it look like? A gift.”

“Where did you get it?” Susan’s demanding tone didn’t carry her usual gentleness. She was cold and business-like. It reminded Nil of when they went on a quest together.

“I don’t like this signature one bit,” Andrew commented, his eyes glowed silver as he studied the box closely. All of them were careful not to touch it. “There is a strong Mind Magic field around it and something powerful within. It's dirty. Uneasy feeling.”

“It’s Cursed Energy,” Nil told them before returning his attention to his former boss. “Answer the question, Chef. Where did you get it?”

“I—” The chef hesitated, his brows furrowing. He moved to touch the box, but Shawn grabbed the man’s hand and pulled it away. “I don’t know. Someone gave it to me, but I don’t remember who.”

“Someone fucked with his head,” Selia stated. She turned the chef’s head around and looked into his eyes.”Yeah. That looks like Mind Magic, alright. I think he put everything in Finesse first and Might second. Bastard probably put nothing in Mind.”

“Sleight of Hand doesn’t need a lot of it,” Nil said, eyes still focused on the box. Energy Instinct struggled to penetrate through the thick pink veil surrounding it. The Cursed Energy only leaked through a small tear in the encasing. “He only raised his Mind to learn a couple of support spells. Any idea what it could be, Andy?”

“It’s a bomb,” Andrew replied. “To be more accurate, it’s similar to the aetheric power cells I saw on the Control World. They’re considered outdated technology because of their unstable nature. This is a cheap imitation souped up with Cursed Energy. A shoddy artisan made this. This thing should have enough power to level the restaurant, the buildings on either side of it, and even the theater across the road. We’re talking about a little fire and a whole lot of concussive force.”

“I’ll evacuate everybody,” Susan said, heading for the door. Two knee-high canines appeared at her knee. One was fluffy and white; the other had a smooth black coat. Both radiated strong magic.

“Can you diffuse it?” Shawn asked. He carried the same focus as he did while on the battlefield.

“I won’t know without opening the box,” Andrew answered. “And for all we know, that’s the trigger mechanism. It's pulsing, though.”

“And the energy signature is getting stronger with each pulse.” Nil sighed, cursing himself. He knew something was wrong, but his inability to identify the issue had put all of his people in trouble. Someone—the people behind Symbiotech or Pietro and the remaining corrupted soul weapon wielders—had laid a trap for them. And it was all his fault. “I can barely tell through the Mind Magic veil. But it's getting stronger.”

“This thing will reach a crescendo and go boom.” Andrew pulled up his left sleeve, revealing a big gold, blue and pink tattoo underneath. It glowed as his right hand passed over it. “I don’t have the tools to deal with this.”

“Get out,” Nil said. “Take Chef with you.”

“Are you sure?” Andrew asked. “Maybe if I get a closer look—”

“Andy. You need to fuck off right now. Shawn and I will figure something out.”

The soulsmith hesitated. His eyes returned to the box. He stepped toward it until Shawn blocked his path. Andrew’s shoulders fell. He quickly hugged Nil. “Just don’t die. Alright? I just became a Summoned. We got a lot—”

The chef moved so fast that he was almost a blur. He slipped past Shawn and threw the box’s lid open. The man collapsed, and the veil around the container disappeared. Energy Instinct detected a Mind Magic cloud disperse from around his head. Then, the overwhelming Cursed Energy aura took over. The pulses sped up.

“Fuck!” Andrew yelled. He grabbed the chef and dragged him out of the pantry. Shawn pushed Nil aside and manifested a layered barrier around the box. Each section thickened and slowly gained opacity.

“Everyone out,” Shawn said. “I’ve got this.”

“No, you don’t,” Andrew said. “I’ve seen you in action. This is far more powerful than anything you’ve contained.”

“We’ll deal with this together,” Nil said. “It’s fire and concussive force, right? I can handle that.”

“No—”

“Just take Chef and get out.”

Andrew ceased protesting. He dragged the man out of the room. The kitchen and restaurant sounded chaotic. Nil heard shouting and crying. People were panicking.

“Andrew was right,” Shawn said. “My sensory powers aren’t as good as yours, but I can tell that my barriers can’t handle this no matter how much I layer it.”

“That’s why you’re going to take a step back and create a barrier around me too.”

“Are you sure you can take it?” Shaw sounded for the first time since the pair had met.

“I’m supercharging toughness. When it's about to explode, I’ll infuse everything I have in the ability. Between it, Absorb, and your barriers, maybe we’ll be able just about contain this.” Nil did his best to sound confident but failed miserably. “Or so I hope. We don’t have any other option. My family and a bunch of innocent people will get caught in this.”

“We’ve got seconds.” Shawn sighed. “Okay. Let’s do this. I’ve set the barriers to explode inwards. I don’t know if it will help at all.”

His barriers were so grey and opaque that they resembled smoothened and polished stone. Nil stepped up to the open box and studied the almost alien mechanism within. It looked like a biomechanical oddity out of a sci-fi film. He manifested the Source Gauntlets and did his best to cover as much of the box as possible.

In the meantime, Shawn surrounded him with a large, wardrobe-sized barrier. Nil heard a muffled good luck before it started to lose transparency. Nil closed his eyes and circulated all the energy in his system, focusing everything on Energy Instinct. The pulses sped up and reached a crescendo. Then came the terrifying moment. He infused Toggled Supercharging with all of his energy and hoped Absorb would do the job. The barriers shattered.

Absorb has progressed to Iron 9!

The blast rapidly inflated Nil’s stores, and he tried his best to pour all the energy he had absorbed into supercharging toughness.

Toggled Supercharging has progressed to Iron 6!

Toggled Supercharging has progressed to Iron 7!

The rate of infusion failed to keep up with the rate of absorption. Heat enveloped Nil’s body, and he felt so many bones break he didn’t know if any bit of him was still intact.

Galvanize has progressed to Iron 5!

Source Gauntlets have progressed to Iron 4!

Might has progressed to Bronze 0!

Consciousness left Nil, and his legs failed him. Unconsciousness replaced the pain.