How to survive in the Romance Fantasy Game-Chapter 400: Silent Invitation

"Shit… where am I now?"

The words escaped my lips in a breathless whisper, echoing faintly through the endless void around me.

I blinked, once—twice—but nothing changed.

Darkness.

Utter, consuming black.

I stood—or at least I thought I was standing—in the middle of an empty space.

There was no ground beneath me, no ceiling above, and no horizon to anchor my senses. Just… dark.

Not the soft, soothing kind that comes before sleep. No, this was thick and silent, like it had swallowed light itself.

I spun around slowly, trying to get some sense of where I was, but it was all the same. No wind. No sound.

"Cheshire…!!! Alice!!" I called out.

"..."

No reply came, but now I can confirm this wasn't a random prank from that whimsical cat….

It wasn't like I'd done anything to trigger this.

The last few days had been calm—remarkably so.

I'd been taking it easy, recovering, spending time with Alice, indulging in the kind of peaceful routine I didn't think I'd ever have in the White Realm.

Rest, meals, training in moderation, the occasional kiss that spiraled into hours I didn't mind losing with her… everything was going well.

Too well, maybe.

The fact that I was conscious here, in this dark realm, meant a few things.

One:

This was another conscious dream.

Like the kind I'd fallen into before when something was trying to reach out to me.

Two:

This was one of those strange cross-realities—a fragmented piece of another version of myself bleeding into my current one.

Or three:

Just another damn nightmare.

"Haah…"

I sighed heavily, rubbing my temple, though even that action felt odd.

Like I wasn't really touching anything. Like my body didn't quite exist here.

Honestly, I should've seen this coming.

This kind of random crap always happens to me.

The weird, the surreal, the existentially unnerving—it's just part of my life at this point.

Still, I didn't expect it to happen this soon, not when things finally started settling down.

"Is she finally inviting me to her realm?"

I closed my eyes for a moment and tried to reach inward—toward my soul, toward the divine thread Erebil left behind.

…Nothing.

I couldn't feel her presence at all.

No whisper of her dark divine energy.

No lingering echo of her voice or influence.

Which meant… this wasn't her doing. This place wasn't tied to her domain.

A bit ironic, honestly.

She's the primordial darkness of the world, and yet this realm—this deep, dead quiet—felt less like her darkness and more like a void born of absence.

Like a place where not even darkness wanted to reside.

That was unsettling.

Because if this wasn't her domain, then whose was it?

And why the hell was I here?

Deciding that staying still would get me nowhere, I took a step forward into the endless dark.

And then—

Drop.

My stomach twisted as if the floor beneath me vanished, and I was falling—weightless, soundless, and utterly disoriented.

A moment of vertigo gripped me before the scenery around me began to shift—fading like static, then reconstructing in a blink.

The black void peeled away like curtains, revealing something almost too surreal to believe.

Light returned.

My hazy vision adjusted slowly, and I found myself no longer falling—but seated.

A firm but comfortable wooden chair supported my body.

Beneath my hands, I felt the smooth surface of a polished mahogany table stretching before me.

A single white porcelain plate sat centered, carrying a perfectly cooked steak—garnished with sprigs of rosemary and glistening under the flickering light of a crystal chandelier above.

Beside the plate was silver cutlery placed with impeccable etiquette, and a tall, narrow glass filled with blood-red wine shimmered beside it.

It was the setting of a meticulously arranged fine dinner.

Elegant. Refined. Eerily quiet.

I blinked.

"What…?"

My mind struggled to make sense of the sudden shift.

One moment I was lost in the void, the next, I was seated in what looked like an otherworldly version of a high-class dining room.

And then a voice broke the silence.

"Welcome," it said calmly, "I hope the sudden invitation didn't frighten you too much."

I looked in front of me.

Sitting directly across from me was a man.

No—something that looked like a man.

He wore a black, skull-shaped mask devoid of any expression, but somehow, I could tell he was smiling behind it.

His posture was dignified, almost noble.

A long, black trench coat draped elegantly over his shoulders, and beneath it, a tailored black suit hugged his frame with crisp perfection.

He held a glass of wine in one gloved hand, swirling it idly as if this was just another quiet evening.

Even with the mask, there was something unsettlingly charismatic about him.

Composed.

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Dangerous.

Before I could respond, another voice rang out—sharper, higher in pitch, and definitely annoyed.

"See? This is why I told you to at least try to contact him first!" the voice snapped. "Now look at him—all confused like a headless chicken!"

I turned to my right, and only then noticed the presence of a child-sized figure sitting nearby.

She wore a mask too—but unlike the smooth, almost elegant black skull the man had, hers was twisted, more demonic in design.

Horns curled from the sides, and jagged carvings were etched into its surface like markings of some ancient language.

Despite her small frame and the childish tone, the energy around her made the air feel sharp, like she could flay someone with a glance if she wanted to.

Her short legs swung beneath the chair, not quite reaching the ground, and her arms were crossed with dramatic irritation.

"You're so theatrical," she grumbled at the man, then turned to me with a dismissive wave. "Don't mind him. He always does this. Thinks dropping people into existential darkness before dinner is somehow 'classy.'"

The man let out a soft chuckle, still swirling his wine.

"I find it dramatic. Memorable. And considering who he is… he can handle a little suspense."

Their conversation was casual, almost playful, but the weight in the room said otherwise.

Something about them was off—too composed, too… aware.

Whoever—or whatever—they were, they clearly weren't ordinary beings.

I stayed silent for a moment longer, mind catching up with everything.

"The sudden invitation couldn't be helped," the masked man said calmly, resting his wine glass on the table with a soft clink. "The codex of the world seems to be heavily protective of him."

"Tsk!" the young girl scoffed beside him, clearly annoyed. "There are many ways to bypass that kind of restriction. You're just lazy."

The man turned slightly toward her, his head tilting in mock amusement. "Oh, I did try last time," he replied, voice still smooth and composed. "But any further interference would've drawn her attention. Would you want that?"

That comment clearly struck a nerve.

The girl's body tensed ever so slightly, as if something unpleasant had just brushed her thoughts.

Her mouth opened like she was about to retort, but she merely clicked her tongue in irritation and turned away, arms crossed once again.

It was then another voice entered the fray—this one calm, sultry, and soaked in the kind of grace that only age and power could cultivate.

"You two really ought to mind your manners in front of a guest~"

Her tone was smooth, teasing almost, but beneath it was a subtle pressure that commanded attention.

I turned instinctively toward the source and realized—much like the young girl earlier—I hadn't even noticed her presence until she spoke.

She had been sitting quietly to my right, legs crossed, posture relaxed but regal.

Her mask, like the others, was also skeletal—but unlike the simple black skull or demonic child's version, hers was more ornate, shaped like the skull of a goat, complete with polished curved horns and intricate carvings etched around the eyes.

A thin, black lace dress clung to her figure with sensual elegance, dipping just low enough at the chest to reveal a modest hint of cleavage.

Her deep crimson hair fell in gentle waves down one shoulder, a striking contrast against her midnight attire.

She leaned slightly forward, her voice warm and velvety.

"Young human," she said, her tone almost playful, "please forgive these two's rudeness. I'm sure you're terribly confused, but do not worry—you're not in any danger~"

That part I could already tell.

None of them exuded malice or killing intent.

In fact, there was a strange sense of neutrality in the air—like ancient beings simply observing, rather than intervening.

But that didn't mean I could trust them.

Not yet.

"…Who are you?"

Her masked face tilted ever so slightly, and she gave a soft hum of amusement.

"Oh my," she said, sounding vaguely flustered. "It seems I forgot my manners as well." She placed a hand elegantly on her chest as if preparing to formally introduce herself. "My name is—Hec@!#—"

A sudden static cut through her words like a jarring glitch in reality, as if the very laws of the world had reached out to mute her.

The air shimmered with distortion for a split second, and then settled again.

"…Hmm," she muttered, unfazed. "It looks like the laws of causality won't allow us to share our names with you yet. That's… inconvenient."

"Who cares about names anyway?" the masked girl snapped, still clearly annoyed. "He'll figure it out later. He always does."

The man chuckled faintly at that, reclining a bit in his seat. "Indeed. Let the story unfold on its own terms."

I frowned, trying to piece it all together.

I'd never seen or heard of these three before—not in the game, not even in the DLC's, not even in the long-forgotten lore logs buried in the back corners of the game...

They were complete blanks.

Unknowns.