Lukas had barely closed the door behind him when the ceiling moved.

Two bodies dropped from above simultaneously, landing on either side of him.

He stumbled back a step, already trying to activate a skill when he recognized them.

It was Akira and Melody.

He exhaled, the tension leaving his body. "You startled me."

Akira grinned at him. "We decided to hide there as a precaution. What if it was someone who wasn’t you but knew the knocks?"

He exhaled slowly. "Good call."

He crossed to the table and dropped into a chair, feeling unexpectedly weary. The games hadn’t lasted that long or expended more effort than usual but he felt more tired compared to what he’d done.

Akira and Melody took the chairs on either side of him, leaning in close.

"Well?" Melody asked. "What did you see?"

And so he told them everything.

He started with the conductor, then moved on to the games, mentioning the flashing tiles, the countdown, and the people swallowed by darkness.

He recounted everything, including how only thirty-two people had survived the night. And when he finished, he mentioned the prize.

"A Fate Key," he said. "Either of you know what that is?"

Akira and Melody exchanged a look.

"No," Akira said.

"Never heard of it," Melody confirmed.

Lukas exhaled. An unknown prize in a game where people died. He looked at the table.

"Should I even go tomorrow night?"

Neither of them answered immediately. He could see them working through it in their heads, weighing the risk he’d face against the unknown value of what was being offered.

"I think you should," Melody finally said. "We don’t know what the prize actually does but the name alone already tells us it has to be something impressive. Not to mention the fact that people are willing to die over it. What if it grants some kind of advantage on the Second Floor?"

"It could be worth the risk," Akira nodded in agreement. "And you survived tonight without really any strain, so the remaining rounds should be easy."

"Yeah," Melody added. "I doubt there’s anyone stronger than you there, but this Trent you mentioned was able to survive a previous game. This means it’s dangerous, but it’s survivable."

"If I don’t win, I don’t die," Lukas said. "That much is guaranteed."

"Then go," Melody said simply.

He nodded. "Alright."

But Akira had one more question.

"Did you find anyone suspicious?" She asked. "Did you find the person your quest told you shouldn’t be on the train?"

He hadn’t. The Death Game had consumed his full attention from the moment he entered carriage 122, and he had nothing concrete to bring back.

He said so.

"Tomorrow night might give you a better opportunity," Akira said. "There’ll be fewer people, and this is based on the assumption that the person isn’t already dead."

That was reasonable.

With that settled, they moved to their bunks without much further conversation.

Lukas lay on his back in the dark, listening to the train move beneath him, wondering what the next two rounds might look like.

Sleep found him before he had any answers.

***

Lukas woke to the sound of the train and his own yawn, loud enough that he was mildly surprised it hadn’t woken anyone.

He sat up to see that Akira and Melody were dressed, talking among themselves at the table.

It was clear that they’d been awake for a while, and had been waiting for him.

"Morning, sunshine," Akira said, her voice uncharacteristically sweet. "Did you dream of me?"

He looked down to see he had morning wood, his cock rock hard and pitching a tent in his pants.

"We didn’t want to wake you," Melody chuckled. "Given that you spent time in a death game, I figured you needed the rest."

He sat up, running a hand through his hair. "Thanks."

He yawned again, standing and heading for the bathroom.

After his bath and a change of clothes, the three of them made their way to the cafeteria and found a table.

The smell of food filled the air, and Lukas found his stomach rumbling.

"You finally have a high metabolism like me." Akira joked.

"I doubt it," Melody chuckled. "Yours is more like a bottomless pit."

Lukas called for the waiter, and they placed their orders. Before long, the food was arranged in front of them.

They were partway through eating when the cafeteria door opened.

Boaz Connifer entered with his two guards, dressed flamboyantly as always with a gold chain around his neck, and his spatial ring holding a large diamond on it.

The moment his eyes found Lukas across the room, his face transformed into a wide smile and he crossed the cafeteria at a pace that was almost a jog.

"Good morning!" He addressed all three of them before he focused his attention on Lukas.

"I have to tell you, Mr. Lukas, I followed your advice last night." He grinned, his eyes shining. "I approached a lady, and just like you advised, I kept it simple."

"When she didn’t pay me much attention, I ended the conversation and left without making anything of it. It was hard, but I did it. And this morning, I saw her again."

He paused for effect. "And she smiled at me in the corridor! Can you believe it?! She smiled! Most women run the other way when they see me coming!"

He looked at Lukas as if he had handed him something invaluable.

"You know what? Your breakfast is on me," he announced, already gesturing to one of his guards before Lukas could respond. "Please. I insist."

The guard walked to the service desk before Lukas could intercept him, taking care of their bills.

Melody and Akira turned to Boaz with identical warm smiles.

"Thank you," they said in sync, and the man’s eyes widened before a warm smile appeared on his face.

"It was my pleasure." Boaz beamed.

Then he bid them an excellent morning and left.

Akira turned to Lukas slowly, the smile shifting into amusement.

"Don’t," Lukas said.

"A smile," Melody said. "Just from walking away."

"Revolutionary advice," Akira agreed.

"Both of you, stop."

They didn’t stop for quite some time.

They stayed at their table for another thirty minutes after the plates were cleared, watching the cafeteria door as they conversed.

Since this was the place the card game had materialized yesterday, Lukas was wondering if there’d be another game setup today.

However, nobody started any games. There was no sign of the dealer, and everyone there was either eating, discussing among themselves, or watching the view outside.

"So the selection period is over, huh?" He muttered under his breath.

Now that the conductor had enough people for his twisted games, there was no need to set up games to recruit people. Not until this current game was over.

Lukas had no idea when the next game would start, so this was the only game that’ll probably be played before they got to Salaria.

Now that they’d confirmed this, they stood and headed for the door.

Their next stop was the lounge. This was a place designed to sit in and watch the passing landscape.

They couldn’t just sit around in their room all day, so this was a place to stay before night arrived.

They’d barely left the cafeteria when the train officers appeared, surrounding them.

"You’re all under arrest."