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Mori\'s surprise was displayed on his face. He sat down against the wall, contemplating.

"You guys were that close, huh?" said Aleesia.

She shrugged as Mori was unresponsive, going back to her cooking.

The sound of her knife hitting the cutting board filled the room, the smell of a salty soup stock rapidly propagated.

She was carefully stirring it the way she had seen Mori do it, randomly adding her ingredients to the pot.

The Unkindled got up, catching her attention. He was clearly looking at Mori.

Telepathically conversing like that made her feel slightly excluded, but she had no insecurities about it.

"But it could work," said Mori.

"What could?" she asked.

Mori got up suddenly.

"We\'ll speed things up," he said.

Aleesia frowned, unsure of what he meant.

"How?"

"We\'ve taken a very long time just to get to a quarter of where Aura got by herself."

"She must be quite strong."

"And we\'re quite weak."

Mori approached the fire, it was warm as always and the smell was even better now.

He wasn\'t sure if the taste would translate, however; he paid attention in the corner of his eyes and she truly just randomly selected what would go in the soup.

He sat next to it, taking an available bowl and using the ladle, served himself a portion.

Aleesia\'s eyes were staring at him, the intensity matching her facial expression.

"It\'s hard to eat if you\'re staring like that."

"Pretend I\'m not here."

Another sigh left Mori\'s lips, but she had completely tuned them out. She was immune.

He finally had a sip.

"No bad."

"Right?!"

Mori ate some more, and it truly wasn\'t too bad. She had properly done the stock, which helped make anything she threw in taste great.

"So what did you mean by speed things up?" asked Aleesia, her mouth full.

"Can\'t you swallow first?"

"Sowwy."

Mori rolled his eyes, shaking his head.

"There\'s a way for us to go faster. I had the idea some time ago, but now that we\'re out of time, I\'ll go ahead and do it."

"She\'s really important to you?" she asked.

"I\'d rather not lose her."

"Huh," said Aleesia, attitude in her voice.

"The way it\'ll work is pretty simple," said Mori, with a weird smile on his face.

Aleesia was attentively listening, while the Unkindled was purring, seemingly not paying attention.

"I\'m the Cursed Sovereign. I\'ll let hexes loose on S floors, letting them kill anything they see."

"They\'re like things you summon?" she asked.

"Not exactly. But hopefully the dungeon sees it that way.

"I\'m not sure I see the point," she replied.

Mori put his bowl on the ground, he was done with it.

"They\'ll stay there, roaming the floors. They\'ll keep killing monsters for me, and whenever an adjacent room opens up, they\'re bound to stumble upon it. The Unkindled confirmed it, items not picked up are sent to the stash after some time, it was confirmed when I came back here from the [2-0] boss unconscious."

Aleesia served herself another portion, still paying close attention.

"That would speed things up for sure... He\'s fine with it?" she asked, pointing at the cat.

"He says any way is the right way, as long was we conquer the dungeon he doesn\'t mind."

"Really? What if we did really... really horrible things to get there?"

Just conquer the dungeon.

"Ehh."

"Don\'t you want to get out of here faster too? We both have things waiting for us."

"It\'s risk-free?"

"Yeah."

Maybe.

Mori got up, stretching his back.

He felt fine. No pain remained from what he had experienced during the boss fight.

He felt mentally fatigued, however.

He slowly walked toward the bed, letting himself fall on it.

There\'s absolutely no way to join her in her room? he asked the cat.

You need to meet first. She most likely won\'t leave her room anymore.

You helped Aleesia meet me. How is this any different?

I could make the timing right because she was in the room with one of my selves.

Most people avoid staying in the room I am in. They find the mind-reading intrusive. You seem fine with it, however.

You probably don\'t even see us like people. We\'re like ants to you, I would guess. There\'s no point in being shy about thought you probably couldn\'t care less about.

You\'re incorrect. Mortals fascinate me. I\'ve been in here for so long, yet most avoid me. It\'s been a while since I\'ve had this kind of entertainment.

Mori was staring at the ceiling, while Aleesia was most likely trying to clean the dishes.

She was making a ruckus. He clearly heard her breaking something, and acting like nothing.

He opened his profile, in thought.

[Memento Mori] [Level 21]

[Class: Cursed Sovereign]

[Cursed Path: Fateweaver 1879892/2,216,838]

[Health points: 105/105]

[Cursed Energy: 0/1477892]

[Magic: 210]

[Strength: 63]

[Defense: 42]

[Agility: 21]

The growth curve was about to steepen, and he knew it.

But there was still a problem.

Can I beat the final boss, you think?

I don\'t think so.

Mori\'s expression went toward surprise.

The Unkindled was quite direct, oftentimes not a behavior he expected. It was refreshing, however.

An honest and direct answer saved a lot of time and wasted breath.

Mori stared at the tiles composing the ceiling, while his thoughts truly were somewhere else.

His mother, for one.

Why am I remembering those moments? he wondered.

Aleesia was finally done with the dishes, and by the moment she joined him in the bed they shared, he still had no answer to his questions.

She swiftly fell asleep, in yet another weird position.

Unable to join her in that slumber, Mori got up.

Really?

The room was a true mess. The dishes were barely done, and everything was displaced. She had taken off her clothes. He could see them on the floor at spots quite far apart.

Who does this?

She reminisced about it earlier. In her home, her room always goes back to what the same clean state, what she did to it rarely mattered. Her maids were always a few steps behind, ready to clean her mess. She\'s apparently truly struggling.

Mori mentally sighed.

I guess we all have our \'battles\'.

She\'s doing her best to impress you.

I\'m not impressed.

Mori sat next to the Unkindled, by its flame.

Without really overthinking it, he picked it up, bringing it in front of his face.

Its feet were paddling a little, until they went limp, dangling in the air.

Its eyes were truly something out of this world. Even during his first playthrough of the game, he had never seen something like this.

He couldn\'t tell what race or even realm he came from. A true mystery.

"Do you not mind that I hold you like this?" he said.

The cat was just staring at him, in Mori\'s grasp.

A lot of people kill me when they first meet me.

Mori frowned.

"That\'s insanely stupid. Why would anyone do that?"

You considered it too. Nobody wants to be here, so upon learning I\'m the cause, a lot decide to simply kill me. I understand their anger. I don\'t want to be here either.

Huh. I thought this was your home?

More a prison.

Mori put the unkindled down on his lap, petting it. It was purring.

Like a flash before his eyes, something struck him.

"Why could I hear you purring? When I was using the spear."

I was watching.

Only watching?

Only watching.

So you\'re truly not the one who brought me back? asked Mori, while scratching its head.

It took a moment for it to answer, surprising Mori who was expecting the usual quick answer.

I am not sure what happened. I was watching, and thought you would die there. I was surprised, when you were transported here.

Mori picked the purring cat again, laying it next to its flame.

He lied on his back on the cold floor, struggling with his thoughts.

"You truly don\'t mind if I let hexes out?" he asked.

I don\'t.

"It will attack anything. Other people clearing the dungeon too."

People often attack each other, especially if they encounter someone who is wearing something that looks fancy. All I care about is that someone eventually clears this dungeon.

"I will clear it. I had planned on it before you brought me here. Now that everything has come to this, I have no choice but to do it."

Because of that girl? Aura?

"Yeah. It will be my fault if she dies. I have already killed Maya and Torryn. I\'m afraid of what I would do, if I killed her too."

The Unkindled didn\'t say anything, but got up and walked on Mori\'s chest, lying on it.

Mori\'s eyes finally closed, slumber taking him.