The common room is basically empty. You’d think with fifteen budding pro heroes living here, one of them would be out here being loud or practicing their signature moves or dramatically staring at the ceiling while contemplating their trauma. But nah. It’s quiet. The fire crackles in the grate, the couches sit there looking aggressively comfortable, and there, sitting on the coffee table like a vision sent from heaven itself, is a plate of brownies.

Not just any brownies. These are perfect brownies. The kind with the little crinkly top that looks like a topographic map of deliciousness. You can smell the chocolate from here. There’s about a dozen of them, stacked in a neat little pyramid, like some sort of edible ziggurat.

No one is around.

I want you to understand, I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking, "Hmm, these probably belong to someone." And you’re right. They do. But in your defense, Sato—my resident culinary gremlin in training—leaves food out here all the time. It’s practically a public service announcement at this point. "Sato’s baking: now available in the common area, no coins required, just vibes."

So, naturally, you grab one.

It’s good.

Really good. Maybe even dangerously good. There’s a slight...aftertaste. Not bad. Just...different. Herby? But you chalk it up to maybe some fancy cacao Sato imported from some island nation you can’t pronounce.

You eat a second one.

You tell yourself it’s for the protein.

You’re sitting on the couch now, trying to read your textbook. The words are starting to look weird. They’re...wiggling. Like tiny little letters doing a choreographed dance number. That’s either the start of a massive migraine or...

You eat a third brownie.

That, my friend, was a mistake. The kind of mistake people write entire cautionary tales about. Like, historical-level bad decision. You don't know it yet. But in about ten minutes, you're going to be floating. And not in a metaphorical, "I feel so zen" way. No. You're going to be physically convinced your hands are objects separate from your body, and they are absolutely fascinating.

Right on cue, you hear footsteps on the stairs.