The sun's bright rays poked through Nova's eyelids. He annoyingly got up, holding his body up by his arms as he looked at the messy bed. The pillow, which Kai had ditched in the middle of the night and given to Xerxes instead, was somehow on the wooden floor. Nova had more freedom to move around thanks to Kai sleeping sideways at the foot of the bed, and Xerxes, after being so resolute about not sleeping on his side, was now sleeping like a shrimp, taking up only a small part of the bed.
Nova slumped back down onto the bed. He had been a bit cold last night due to the blanket being overtaken by Kai. The blanket had only warmed his feet, but now, with the warm sun hitting him, he felt sleepy again. Nova turned to the other side, away from the sunlight, and dozed off.
When Xerxes finally woke up, the sun was already high in the sky. The room around him was eerily quiet, and the bed was empty. He could clearly see the disgusting, golden walls staring back at him... He got up and headed downstairs, where he was met with the sight of everyone already awake and making a commotion.
"Sir, please hurry up your business!" There was already someone waiting for the toilet to be free. Savannah knocked on the door again impatiently.
"Can you hold her just until I finish eating? She's sleeping after drinking milk." Bailey carefully placed Elise on Lucas's lap, who was sitting on the couch. "I'm telling you, I don't know how to take care of babies," he protested.
Nova and Kai sat quietly at the table, munching on bread with glasses of milk in their hands. Both looked half-asleep, as though the night's exhaustion still lingered over them.
Xerxes was amazed by the lively morning—or afternoon? "What's the time right now? Did anyone figure it out?" he asked as he took a seat on the empty couch, grabbing a piece of the milky bread placed on the table. "Where did the food come from?"
"It was just there when I woke up—and a lot of it, too," Bailey replied. After successfully convincing Lucas to hold Elise, she took a seat on the same couch as him and quickly started eating the bread as well.
"No one knows what time it is," Savannah answered the other question, her tone tinged with frustration. "There aren't any clocks here, and the wristwatches were taken too." The door to the washroom opened, and Savannah wasted no time in pushing Gerald aside, slamming it shut with a thud.
Nova set his bread down, his stomach turning from the foul smell wafting out of the restroom. "I'm going to eat in our room," Kai spoke up, picking up his food tray and dashing upstairs.
Xerxes's stomach growled from hunger, so he didn't pay any attention to the smell or anything else. Bailey, being on the same page, kept her eyes on Lucas.
Did he already eat? Did he take off his mask to eat?
Xerxes wanted to catch him in the act, in case he decided to remove his mask. Being in the unknown only intrigued him more—it was like there was an unscratchable itch inside him, wanting to see Lucas's face.
Lucas stayed true to his role and didn't remove his mask. He even ate with it, only lifting it slightly to take bites of bread. He finished his glass of milk in a single breath, leaving a sour taste in Xerxes's mouth.
Everyone gathered again in the living room after eating and shitting to their hearts' content. The daylight was precious right now, so they needed to figure out what to do before the night returned.
"I don't think we can guess the story without knowing it beforehand," Lucas said, his voice quiet, but resolute his eyes fixed on something far away.
Kai dragged a dining chair into the living room, plopping down with a confident air. "I have a general idea of the theme," he said casually, his gaze flickering between the others.
"You know how the story goes?" Gerald's voice was skeptical, his eyebrows raising. There was an edge to his tone, the kind of doubt that made it clear he didn't fully trust Kai's certainty.
"Most of the early dungeons are based off children's books," Lucas said, unfazed by the confession. He crossed his arms and pressed his body against the back of the couch.
Kai nodded. "To confirm if I'm right, I need to see the girl who lives in the room upstairs." He pulled out a sheet of paper and placed it on the table. Everyone moved closer to examine it. The drawing depicted a little girl with two pigtails suspended in midair by large red bows. She was wearing a plain frock and she was barefoot.
"Does she really look like this, or is this a product of your inferior drawing skills?" Savannah asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm, though she didn't quite hide the curiosity behind her words.
Kai looked up, unruffled. "She really does look like that. I couldn't find any colors, but she should have red eyes and black hair. Keep a lookout for her. The girl from last night could be her."
Kai's request reminded everyone of the little girl. "I have a question: how do you know she lives in the room upstairs? What did you both see last night?" Nova asked.
"Last night, we saw her staring down at us from the upstairs window, her eyes glowing bright red," Xerxes said, his voice devoid of emotion, but there was something in his gaze that hinted at unease. "When I went into the room later, there was no one there."
"..." the room fell into an uncomfortable silence.
"She could just be a nice little girl. Let's think about it in a positive way," Bailey said, trying to be optimistic about the situation, though her gut feeling told her the exact opposite.