[Location: Blank World - Waiting Room]
L Lawliet sat on the floor with his knees drawn to his chest, arms resting on them. His bare feet touched the surface, though "surface" was an imprecise term for the endless, textureless white void around them.
His gaze wandered slowly, capturing every detail, every movement, while the figures seated around the table seemed like strange contrasts against the monotony of the environment.
Were it not for the eyes he felt on him, he might have devoted all his attention to unraveling the impossibility of this space.
Kiyotaka, Light, Lelouch, and Senku sat in chairs around the table, appearing more relaxed than L, though the tension in their gazes never waned.
Their postures varied, but each reflected, in their own way, the same vigilance and caution.
They watched him differently: Kiyotaka with calculated indifference, Light with mild curiosity, Lelouch with a spark of distrust, and Senku with pure scientific interest.
The silence, uncomfortable for anyone not like them, filled the room as they sized each other up, attempting to decipher what had brought them here.
Before L could focus entirely on them, something caught his attention. Not far from where he sat, a male figure materialized.
The others turned their eyes toward the newcomer.
Shinichi Akiyama looked around, his face briefly shadowed by confusion before he quickly composed himself.
His gaze swept carefully across the surroundings and the occupants of the room, assessing the situation silently. However, he had no time to speak as another figure appeared nearby.
Yuuichi Katagiri emerged from the void. His expression was neutral, but his eyes betrayed the rapid processing of his surroundings.
As he stood and observed the people before him, yet another figure materialized.
Keima Katsuragi arrived with the same air of disorientation as the others. For a moment, his eyes wandered through the infinite white before settling on the other individuals present.
Realizing he wasn't alone, he adjusted his glasses and sighed, a hint of irritation in the gesture, though his mind was keenly analyzing every detail.
The silence returned, heavier than before, unbearable to an average person—but no one here broke it immediately.
Finally, after a few seconds, Senku took the initiative.
"Hey, glasses guy," he said, gesturing toward Keima with a smirk. "How does it feel to be sitting in nothingness?"
Keima looked up, mildly annoyed by the interruption of his thoughts. His expression reflected a mix of confusion and disdain, but he quickly caught onto Senku's meaning.
He tilted slightly to one side, as if testing whether there was anything beneath him, and upon confirming there was nothing visible, he shrugged.
"I don't know what you expected," Keima replied indifferently, adjusting his glasses again. "But it's more comfortable than my school chairs, that's for sure."
The remark drew a chuckle from Senku, while Lelouch raised an eyebrow in disdain and Light offered a faint smile that didn't reach his eyes.
Kiyotaka, as always, remained silent, observing with an unshakable, neutral expression.
"So, what do you think?" Senku pressed, leaning forward as if to coax a more engaging response. "Doesn't it strike you as strange? Don't you wonder how it's even possible?"
Keima met his gaze directly, his eyes flickering with mild irritation. "For starters, it's stranger that you're talking to me. If it doesn't serve a direct purpose, I'm not interested."
"Well, aren't you practical," Senku quipped, propping his elbow on the armrest and resting his chin on his hand. "Looks like we've got different priorities."
Before the conversation could progress, Shinichi spoke from his position farther away. "Are we really going to ignore where we are?" he asked, his tone calm but firm, addressing the group. "I don't know who you are, but I think we're all thinking the same thing. This isn't normal."
The statement caught everyone's attention, including L, who still sat on the floor, seemingly motionless.
Light was the first to respond, his smile almost friendly. "I agree," he said, leaning slightly forward. "But if this place has any purpose, we'll find out soon enough. There's no need to rush."
"No need to rush?" Yuuichi echoed, finally standing and regarding the group with a sly smile. "Or do you just prefer letting someone else do the work?"
Light regarded him in silence for a moment, weighing his words before replying. "Patience is a virtue, though not everyone understands that."
The tension in the room began to rise until Lelouch, who had been silent until now, finally spoke. "Wasting time on trivial conflicts won't get us anywhere," he declared in a cold, authoritative tone. "If we want answers, we'll have to work together—at least for now."
The others regarded him with varying degrees of agreement and distrust.
Finally, L rose slowly, brushing his hands as if to remove invisible dust. "Looks like we're finally going to get moving," he commented, a faint smile ghosting his lips. "We should sit."
Seeing no reason to argue, they agreed. After all, what other purpose could the chairs serve?
One by one, they took seats around the table, each choosing the nearest spot.
Kiyotaka, Light, Lelouch, and Senku shifted from their initial positions, leaving spaces for the others.
Some moved with caution, others with ease, until the seats were filled, and they were all in place.
The silence cloaked the room again, dense and suffocating, vibrating with an almost tangible tension as if the space itself anticipated something inevitable.
Lelouch felt a chill creep down his spine—a cold, piercing whisper brushing against his consciousness. The others soon sensed it too.
It was intangible but impossible to ignore, a disturbance that prickled the senses and triggered primal alarms.
Then, as if he had always been there and yet just arrived, they saw him. A figure now occupied the empty space between Light and Lelouch.
The man, young and serene in appearance, radiated an effortless authority that seemed to impose itself naturally.
Yet, there were details impossible to overlook: his light blue hair fell in a perfectly disheveled fringe, a striking contrast to the almost hypnotic intensity of his eyes, so deep and luminous they seemed to contain a power defying explanation.
Ignoring the sharp gazes fixed on him, he lifted a teacup from the table before him.
Raising it to his lips, he closed his eyes for a moment, savoring the liquid with an unsettling calm.
"Excellent," he finally said, his voice resonating not just in the room but in the minds of those present.
With the same deliberate grace, he set the cup back on the table, the sound barely a whisper. Then he leaned back in his chair, crossing one leg over the other with the confidence of someone who owned the moment.
"I apologize for the wait," he continued, his tone casual yet unmistakably weighted. His gaze traveled slowly, studying each of them as though peeling back their layers to uncover hidden truths.
"My name is Zefir," he announced, his voice carrying an inescapable gravity. A faint, enigmatic smile curved his lips, calm yet edged with an almost imperceptible sharpness.
"And no, I am not a god."
The silence that followed was heavier than before, laden with unspoken questions and an uncertainty that seemed to scrape against the skin.
"As you might have guessed, I was the one who brought you here," he continued, his tone now a blend of interest and disinterest. "But I am neither a savior nor a tyrant. I seek neither worship nor obedience. Instead, think of me as a facilitator—a benefactor, if you prefer."
He paused, letting his words sink in, each one falling like a heavy drop into a pool of doubt.
"What I offer is simple: the power to do as you wish, to shape your destinies according to your will. Nothing more, nothing less."
His tone carried an air of indifference, as if his offer were trivial, yet his presence made it impossible to ignore the magnitude of what he was placing before them.
Zefir leaned back slightly, his gaze still fixed on them as the echo of his words filled the room—a promise as much an opportunity as it was a threat.