Celeste's voice rang again through the wood.
"Let me in. I wanna come in."
Zane slowly sat up on his bed, folded his hands like some criminal mastermind, and smirked.
"If you step inside this room," he said in a low, dramatic tone, "I assure you—you'll step into a portal I'll force Asher to make. Where does it lead? Who knows. A volcano pit sounds nice, right? Bit toasty, lots of lava."
Asher groaned. "Zane…"
But Zane wasn't done. He gestured lazily toward Luna.
"Or maybe the second lovebird here will do something, just because I want her to. And if she disagrees…" His grin widened. "…I'll force Asher to make her do it."
Luna blinked, confused and flustered. "W-wait, what!?"
Asher facepalmed. "Why am I always the middleman in your evil speeches?"
"And unfortunately," Zane continued, turning his head toward Mira with exaggerated seriousness, "I'd like to continue my glorious villain monologue, but—" He waved a hand vaguely in her direction. "I don't know your power. So, dramatic pause."
Mira's eyebrow twitched. "Dramatic pause my foot."
Outside the door, the boys' whispers escalated.
"He sounds like… like a demon lord!"
"No, he's protecting them with reverse psychology!"
"Wait… is that how he pulled three girls into his room!?"
Another blindfold slid down over another boy's eyes. The cult of Dorm God grew.