She paused. “What?”

Kaito woke to silk. Not the cheap kind, but the sort that breathed against his skin like a lover’s whisper. The ceiling above him was a mosaic of shifting violets and crimsons, pulsing faintly—like a heartbeat. Or a sigh.

“Where am I?” he asked. His throat was dry, but his mind was ice.

The silver-haired one—her name, he would later learn, was Vesper—narrowed her eyes. “Every living thing desires something. Power. Safety. Revenge. Touch.”

Curiosity.

The other succubi exchanged glances. One whispered, “A Null?”

Vesper’s smile turned sharp. “That’s the thing, Null. Mumasekai doesn’t release what it doesn’t consume. To leave, you must be drained entirely… or you must break the cycle of desire at its heart.”

Silence. Then Vesper laughed—a sharp, surprised sound. “Oh, this is delicious . The realm feeds on yearning. The streets are paved with forgotten wishes. The very air is distilled want.” She gestured to the window. Beyond the glass, a city of spiraling towers glowed under three moons. “And you… you feel nothing?”

“I tested lust simulators for four years,” Kaito said flatly. “I’ve seen every permutation of temptation coded into existence. You can’t seduce a man who’s already read the source code of his own fantasies.”