Gilgamel found himself at the long dining table, seated exactly where he used to sit— third from the left, just within reach of his father's line of sight but never at the center.
The House of Shad's grand breakfast hall was just as suffocating as usual.
The ceiling soared above them, chandeliers spilling light across polished silverware. All six of them — parents at the head, five children lined up by birth order, silent under the weight of cutlery and porcelain.
They all shared one thing in common: the same sleek black hair that marked them as Shads — except for Lady Seraphine, whose scarlet hair fell like a silk curtain around her shoulders, a striking contrast to her family.
Gilgamel blinked, his mind seemed to become hazy and confused.
'What am I doing?'
The smell of warm bread and bitter coffee drifted up, so real it made his stomach twist.
"Gilgamel."
