Falling for them (love and deepspace X OC )

Connoisseur'sDesserts

Fog seeps into the abandoned factory as I nimbly leap onto a shipping container. I'm getting closer to the energy fluctuation l've detected.Soon enough, I spot approximately ten motionless figures standing in a narrow gap between the containers.Six, seven, eight, nine... The rest of them are here.According to the plan, Sylus is dealing with the other contestants and Wanderers to obtain the arena entry token: a gold coin.Meanwhile, I'm tracking down those masked figures. And that's why I'm here.I'll take down their leader first. Once I find out who's in charge, the rest will be a piece of cake.
I close my eyes and attempt to channel the Spatium Core's energy.
From my heart, warm energy surges and envelops my entire body. My racing heartbeat is warning me that I might overload to continue. sense that distinct energy signature and pinpoint the signal's source in the chaos.I leap down from the shipping container, grab a masked figure's shoulders to pin him down, and press my gun against his forehead.With inhuman reflexes, he flips over and knocks me away. His chest doesn't rise or fall as he breathes. Instead, intermittent electrical currents crackle from within.Their leader is an android!
Before the other masked figures can raise their guns, I pull the trigger. The bullet pierces the cold metallic chest above me. As if connected by the same energy source, the surrounding masked figures clutch their chests.Their movements were delayed by a second.I place my palm on the leader's lowered head and detect something unusual. With two fingers reach into the eye socket and extract an artificial eye.Sparks fly from the severed wires as the machinery, still functioning, freezes.The masked figures have lost their power source.They fall to the ground one after another and let out pained groans.I hold up the artificial eye to the moonlight. As I suspected, Protocore particles within its shell emit a faint glow in the darkness.Hmph... I'll be taking this.

"Well, won't you look at that... Someone's still alive." Elysium's neon lights shine as they always do as I arrive at its entrance.

"Hey, I'm ranked second on the leaderboard. I can't let all those people lose their money because of me."

"You're too kind."need to lay low here for now. But how am I going to contact Sylus...?"I see something's troubling you. When you have a lot on your mind, you should treat yourself to a good meal. The body knows what it needs."

I sit down at the bar and remember what Aislinn said about offering services beyond "filling empty stomachs.I might as well see what this place is really capable of. "I'd like to look at the Connoisseur's Menu."

The menu is promptly presented to me. My gaze sweeps across the peculiar dish names one at a time until it lands on the last item.
"Sweet Evil Trap."

"Every dish in the Connoisseur's Menu tells a story from the N109 Zone.But the story behind this one hasn't started yet.It's waiting for someone to order it... In fact, it's been waiting for a long time now.

"10.5 grams of soul.."

"Even at just 21 grams, the soul is one of the most precious gifts the universe has given to humanity."

Sylus practically has "I prepared something for you" written all over his face.I close the menu.

"I'll order this one, then."
The red wine marshmallows are sweet, and the pomegranate juice dances across my tongue.

"How is it?"

The notes of roasted rosemary and walnut intertwine. Layer by layer, they unfold on my palate in an intricate dance of flavors.

"It's like him."

"Your satisfaction is our greatest source of motivation. Here's your bill."

I look at it and see a five-digit number. "This is... the price for one dessert?"