Chapter 2: The Taste of Sovereignty
The drip of the kitchen faucet was the only sound in the room, a rhythmic, metallic tink that seemed to amplify the suffocating silence. Ren stayed on the floor, his back against the door, feeling the vibration of the street below through the floorboards. To his right, Mia was still leaning against the sink, her chest heaving as she stared at her soot-stained hands. And in the center of the room stood Elena Valentine, a masterpiece of silver and violet that looked entirely alien against the backdrop of his peeling wallpaper.
Elena hadn't moved. She was staring at the golden cord that connected them, her eyes tracing the way it pulsed with a soft, rhythmic light—a heartbeat that wasn't hers, or Ren's, but theirs.
"Ten thousand credits," Elena whispered, her voice like cracking ice. "My father tips the stable hands more than that for brushing his horses. And you're sitting there looking at it like you've found the Holy Grail."
Ren looked up, his gaze tired. "In this district, Elena, ten thousand credits is life. It's food for a year. It's a new heater that doesn't leak carbon monoxide. So yeah, I'm looking at it."
"It's blood money," she snapped, finally looking at him. Her eyes were rimmed with red, the first crack in her aristocratic armor. "It's a leash. It's bribing us to accept this... this perversion of the System."
Mia spoke up then, her voice small but steady. "It's not a bribe if we have to eat, Elena. I haven't had a meal since yesterday. My father... he didn't have much to give me before I left for the Plaza." She looked at Ren. "How do we use the Shop? Does it just... appear?"
Ren took a breath and swiped his hand through the air. The blue interface shimmered into existence, translucent and humming with a faint power.
[SYSTEM SHOP: LEVEL 1 UNLOCKED]
Current Balance: 10,000 Credits
"It's like a digital catalog," Ren explained. "We just think about what we need, and it deducts the cost." He scrolled through the 'Basic Needs' tab. "Look. There's a 'Sovereign's Feast' for 500 credits. It says it provides optimized nutrition and minor stamina recovery."
"Do it," Mia said, her stomach letting out a loud, traitorous growl that made her blush.
Ren tapped the icon.
A flash of gold light illuminated the wobbly wooden table. When it faded, three heavy ceramic bowls sat there, steaming with a rich, thick stew filled with chunks of tender meat and root vegetables. Beside them were three loaves of crusty, warm bread and three tall glasses of cold, clear water.
The aroma hit them like a physical wave—savory, earthy, and impossibly rich.
Even Elena flinched, her nose twitching despite herself. She had been raised on the finest delicacies the Valentine Empire could buy, but there was something about this scent—something System-enhanced—that spoke directly to her primal instincts.
"I won't eat it," she muttered, though she stayed within the three-foot radius of the table, forced by the tether.
"Then starve," Ren said simply. He stood up, his joints popping, and sat in the lone chair. He pushed one bowl toward Mia and another toward the empty space at the table. "Mia, take the bed. We can use the table as a seat."
Mia sat on the edge of the mattress, pulling the bowl into her lap. She took a spoonful, and her eyes rolled back in her head. "Oh... oh gods. Ren, I've never tasted anything like this. It feels... warm. Not just hot, but warm inside."
Ren started eating, and he understood immediately. It wasn't just food; it was a physical restoration. The exhaustion in his muscles began to recede. The constant, low-level anxiety that came with being an orphan in District 9 felt like it was being muffled by a thick blanket.
Elena stood there for five minutes, watching them. Her pride was a towering fortress, but her body was nineteen years old and had just undergone a traumatic Soul-Bonding event. Finally, with a sharp, humiliated huff, she reached out and snatched the third bowl. She didn't sit. She stood by the window, staring out at the brick wall of the neighboring building, and ate with a frantic, desperate grace.
[NOTIFICATION: FIRST SHARED MEAL CONSUMED]
[SYNC RATE INCREASED: 0.05% -> 0.10%]
[REWARD: 500 CREDITS DEPOSITED]
"It's paying us for eating together," Ren noted, his voice hollow. "The more we act like... like a unit, the more it gives us."
"It's trying to manufacture intimacy," Elena said, her back still turned. She set the empty bowl on the windowsill. "It wants us to forget that we are strangers. It wants me to forget that I am a Valentine and you are... nothing."
Ren didn't take the bait. He was looking at the 'Home' tab of the shop.
"We need to spend the rest," he said. "The Quest says we have to stay here for twenty-four hours. Look at that bed, Elena. It's a twin. If we try to sleep on that, we're going to be tangled up in each other's arms just to stay on the mattress. Is that what you want?"
Elena turned around, her face pale. "Absolutely not."
"Then we buy the 'Restorative Bedding'," Ren said, pointing to the screen.
[ITEM: RESTORATIVE BEDDING (TRIPLE-SIZE)]
Cost: 2,000 Credits.
Effect: Fits up to three users. Increases Health and Mana regeneration by 10% during sleep. Maintains 'Harmonious Proximity' automatically.
"And this," Ren added, tapping another icon.
[ITEM: PRIVACY PARTITION (MANA-SILK)]
Cost: 1,500 Credits.
Effect: Provides visual and acoustic privacy within a 5-meter radius. Does not interfere with Soul-Bond Tether.
"Buy them," Elena commanded, her voice trembling. "Now."
Ren tapped the screen.
In a swirl of golden particles, the old, sagging twin bed vanished. In its place appeared a massive, low-profile bed that took up nearly half the room. It was covered in deep charcoal linens that looked softer than silk. Simultaneously, a shimmering, translucent curtain of pale blue light dropped from the ceiling, bisecting the room. It separated the sleeping area from the kitchenette and the bathroom.
"Mia, you take the far side by the wall," Ren directed, his voice low. "Elena, you're in the middle. I'll be on the edge by the door. The partition will stay up all night. You won't have to see me, and I won't have to see you."
"And if I try to leave in the middle of the night?" Elena asked, her eyes narrowing.
"Then we all wake up screaming in pain as the tether snaps," Ren replied. "The System isn't subtle, Elena. It doesn't give us an exit."
As the sun began to set outside the single grimy window, casting long, orange shadows across the room, the three of them lay down. The bed was unnervingly comfortable, the kind of comfort that felt like a trap.
Elena lay stiff as a board in the center, her breath shallow. To her left, Mia was already drifting off, her small frame curling into a ball. To her right, Ren lay on his back, eyes fixed on the ceiling, his hand resting near the edge of the mattress.
The golden cord between them pulsed in the darkness—a constant, glowing reminder that their lives were no longer their own.
[DAILY QUEST PROGRESS: 4/24 HOURS]
[CURRENT ACCOUNT BALANCE: 6,500 CREDITS]
In the silence, Ren heard Elena whisper, so softly he almost missed it.
"My father will burn this city to the ground to find me."
"Let him try," Ren thought, closing his eyes. "The System didn't give us a leash to let someone else pull it."