[Ace's POV]
Gale reached across the table with a pair of long cooking chopsticks. With deliberate, almost fussy precision, he began adding the last of our ingredients to the seasoned broth pot: plump brown mushrooms, the final slices of marbled beef that hissed as they hit the liquid, a tangled nest of white noodles, and finally, a small bowl of shredded cheese that melted instantly into a rich, creamy swirl. He gave the pot a slow stir, the savory steam rising in a fragrant cloud that did nothing to cut the chilling tension in the room.
"Silver magic restraints and black magic restraints may look similar, but as the name itself suggests, they have different colors," he began, his voice resuming its lecturing monotone as he fished out a cooked piece of meat. He dipped it into a bowl of cheesy sauce he'd concocted. "But they are fundamentally different in both design and purpose."
