With his unpacking finished, Evan closed the cabinets. He stood up straight, brushing off his wolf-skin cloak as he faced the blank right wall, already calculating how he would reinforce his own space against his roommates habits.

Click.

The heavy oak door suddenly unlocked behind him. The latch gave way, and two men stepped together into the quiet of Room thirteen.

Evan remained perfectly still, his hand hovering near his waist as his eyes tracked their shadows stretching across the floor, his voice subtly humming to welcome his new roommates.

’Oh, you are our new roommate,’ both of them said simultaneously.

Evan turned around slowly, his dark eyes analyzing the duo.

The first man was quite tall with a very muscular build. He possessed a mane of bright blonde hair, paired with a thick blonde mustache and a matching thick blonde beard framing his chin.

The second man, standing an inch or two shorter than the blonde powerhouse, looked like the walking definition of extreme sleep deprivation. His eyes were barely open, heavy dark bags hanging beneath them, and his messy black hair looked like it had not seen a comb in weeks.

Evan looked between the two of them, keeping his posture relaxed but guarded.

’Which one of you is Ghost and which one is Peaker?’ he asked plainly.

The towering blonde man grinned, chest swelling slightly.

’I’m Ghost.’

The sleep deprived, messy-haired guy let out a weak, exhausted yawn.

’And I’m Peaker.’

’Not as I expected,’ Evan thought silently. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

He had fully assumed the passionate, sect-loyal Vampire sigil belonged to the pale almost dead looking guy, and that the perverted bikini wall belonged to the loud, boisterous blonde. Clearly, appearances in the First Court were deceptive, or it could be the other way around, he was too much of a fool.

Deciding to skip the awkward pleasantries, Evan gestured toward his side table.

’Wine?’

’Why not.’ they both answered instantly, their faces lighting up.

The three of them moved over to the center of the room and sat down around the round wooden table. Evan walked back to his cabinet, grabbed one of the bottles of refined wine, and asked,

’Got any glasses?’

Peaker shuffled over to the large wooden almirah against the wall, his movements sluggish.

He reached inside and pulled out three clean, elegant glasses, wine glasses, to be precise.

He brought them back to the table, and Evan uncorked the bottle, pouring the rich, dark liquid evenly.

Ghost raised his glass with a booming laugh, and they clinked them together.

They drank a toast to Evan, then a toast to the prosperity of the sect, then a toast to the fierce heads of the First Court, and finally, for some bizarre reason, a toast to Ghost’s grandmother.

The first bottle was emptied in minutes. Sensing the atmosphere loosening, Evan went back to his cabinet and pulled out the remaining two bottles. The heavy drinking truly began.

The toasts became increasingly unhinged as the alcohol took hold. They started drinking to Evan again, then to random things around the court. By the time they were halfway through the final bottle, they were slurring their words heavily.

’To... To tomorrow’s steak!’ Peaker cheered, his bloodshot eyes spinning.

’To the shit of my Pegasus!’ Ghost roared, slamming his fist on the mahogany table, completely wasted.

Because the alcohol had thoroughly warped his sober judgment, Evan, along with Peaker, raised his glass high and shouted in unison, ’To the shit of Ghost’s Pegasus!’

That was the final memory of the night.

The heavy, refined wine finally knocked their senses out completely.

None of them made it to their respective beds, all three of them collapsed right there, slumping over the round table in a dead, unsober sleep.

When Evan finally opened his eyes, a massive throb hammered against his forehead.

He looked at the window, the sun had traveled entirely across the sky. They had been out cold for a staggering seventeen hours, give or take, Evan was never good at maths.

Evan was the first to wake up. Standing up shakily, he went around the table and forcefully shook the other two until they groaned and dragged themselves awake.

One by one, they began to cycle through the attached bathroom to take a freezing shower and wash away the heavy scent of stale wine.

Evan went first, thoroughly scrubbing down and changing into his clean black disciple robes.

Ghost went next.

Then came Peaker. The sleep-deprived man finished his shower, but he turned out to be an incredibly, uncomfortably bold individual.

Instead of drying off inside, the bathroom door swung open, and Peaker walked straight out into the main room completely naked, casually strolling over to his cabinet to retrieve his clothes.

Evan happened to turn around right at that exact moment.

His eyes locked onto the sight, his stomach dropping as he saw the thing between Peaker’s legs swinging wildly around in the open air.

Evan froze, completely shocked and profoundly uncomfortable, his jaw tightening in sheer disbelief at the lack of shame.

When Ghost walked out of the closet area and saw this, his blonde beard practically bristled with rage.

’What the hell are you doing, you freak?!’ Ghost shouted, lunging forward.

He delivered a heavy, solid kick right into Peaker’s bare butt, sending the naked man flying back into the bathroom.

Ghost slammed the bathroom door shut and turned to Evan, rubbing the back of his neck with a deeply embarrassed, apologetic sigh.

’I dunno what kind of house he was born in, honestly, Sorry, man.’

Once Peaker finally emerged fully clothed and properly abashed, the three of them left Room thirteen and made their way down the corridors to the dining room.

The massive hall was roughly half filled with other outer and inner disciples whispering over their meals.

They sat down and were served a breakfast that was, without a doubt, the most luxurious meal Evan had ever seen or tasted.

Back on Earth, his miserable life had been defined by scarcity, he was usually given a single, stale loaf of bread that had barely touched the holy floor of his uncle’s house as a charity scrap.

Looking down at the rich, nourished meats, fresh fruits, and steaming bowls before him, Evan realized this whole cultivator deal wasn’t a bad arrangement at all.

Calling it the greatest deal of his life would not be an exaggeration.

As the chatter of the dining hall hummed around them, Ghost took a slow, methodical sip of his hot tea, his eyes locking onto Evan across the table.

’Who is your father, by the way?’