Soma came dowairs, rubbing a towel through his damp red hair. He looked at Zero, who was sitting at the register, stretg his fingers like some high-stakes gambler preparing for the roll of a lifetime.

  Soma yawned. "Hey, why did I have to take a bath too? You're the one rolling the Gacha."

  Zero grinned without looking up. "Just trust me. It's a ritual."

  Soma sighed, tossing his towel over his shoulder. "You do realize luck isn't real, right?"

  Zero scoffed. "Says the guy who was literally born from my bad luck."

  Soma clicked his tongue. "Fair point. Alright, let's do this."

  Zero cracked his knuckles. "Here we go."

  He pressed the 11-Pull option on the register.

  The moment he did, the s flickered, and just like before, eleven cards slid ly out from the mae.

  Zero and Soma stared at the stack of cards now resting in the register tray.

  Zero picked up the first one. "Alright, let's see—"

  +10 Magical Energy

  The card glowed briefly before vanishing, absorbed into Zero's body.

  He sighed. "Ugh, most of these are just Magical Energy again."

  Soma, leaning against the ter, shrugged. "Well, you do . You nearly killed me st time trying to make a sed e."

  Zero groaned and pulled the card.

  +10 Magical Energy

  Then another.

  +10 Magical Energy

  And another.

  +10 Magical Energy

  By the seventh card, Zero was losing hope—until he pulled something different.

  The card had a golden glow, different from the others.

  It read:

  Erwin Smith (Atta Titan)

  Zero blinked. "Huh. Erwin Smith."

  He flipped the card to show Soma, revealing a picture of a tall blond man with a anding presehe description underh listed his charismatic leadership, strategitelligence, and ability to rally people.

  Soma squi the card. "Hey… you're me, and you don't know who this guy is… how the hell am I supposed to know?"

  Zero groaned. "Why do I keep pulling characters I've never seen before? I guess I wasn't nerdy enough in my past life."

  Soma smirked. "Maybe your past self should've stopped stepping on poop and started watg anime."

  Zero ignored him and pulled the card.

  +10 Magical Energy

  Then another.

  +10 Magical Energy

  Until finally—the st card.

  As soon as Zero picked it up, he immediately reized the name.

  Shinichi Kudo (Detective )

  Zero cheered.

  "YES! I GOT !"

  Soma, still chewing on a pop kernel he had snagged from earlier, paused.

  "…Wait."

  Zero grinned. "This is great! Shinichi Kudo! The greatest detective! This is perfect—I use this to infiltrate the police as a high-ranking officer or start my owive agency! This is huge!"

  Soma frowned and poi the card. "Uh, Zero… look at the description."

  Zero, still grinning, flipped it over to check the details.

  The smile on his fastantly dropped.

  Shinichi Kudo (Child Form)

  Zero's eye twitched.

  "…Wait. What."

  Soma leaned in, grinning. "Yeah. You didn't pull Shinibsp;Kudo—you pulled Edogawa."

  Zero grabbed his hair in frustration. "SHIT! What I even do with a damn kid?! I thought I was getting a badass detective, not aary school student!"

  Soma patted his shoulder. "Hey, at least now you solve crime from a legally unatable position."

  Zero groaned loudly. "This is so useless!"

  Soma, still smirking, stretched his arms. "Well, how about we sleep this one off and figure it out tomorrow?"

  Zero slumped against the ter. "Yeah, yeah… Fine."

  And with that, they ed up their night—one brother smirking, the other brooding over his most disappointing Gacha pull yet.

  …

  The m light filtered through the windows, casting a warm glow inside Café Lebnc.

  Zero rubbed his eyes, still waking up, while Soma adjusted his apron, already prepping for the m rush.

  Soma g him. "Alright, Zero. You figure it out. I got a café to run."

  Zero nodded. "Yeah, yeah. Go do your thing."

  Soma grinned, rolling up his sleeves. "Good luck. Try not to pass out."

  Zero took a deep breath, closing his eyes as he reached inward, trying to feel the e again.

  For a moment—nothing.

  Then, a spark.

  This time, he could se—that part of himself that had created Soma.

  His eyes snapped open, and he rushed into the café to che Soma.

  Still fine.

  Zero exhaled in relief. "Alright. I'm ready."

  Steadying himself, he pulled a knife, cutting a small wound on his palm. The blood dripped onto the floor, and just like before—

  A figure began to form.

  Zero watched as the shape took form, molding into a figure with his exact appearance.

  The e's eyes opened.

  It looked at Zero, sing him from head to toe.

  Then, it smirked. "Well, you worked hard to make me."

  Zero let out a breath, smiling. "Of course."

  The e's smirk widened.

  "And now, I will take over your pce."

  Its expression darkened, lips curling into an unnerving grin.

  Zero blinked. "What."

  The e suddenly burst into ughter.

  "AHAHAHAHA! Oh, man! You should've seen your face!" The e spped his knee. "I just thought you needed a cheerful joke!"

  Zero exhaled sharply, pressing a hand to his chest. "Goddamn, that nearly gave me a heart attack."

  The e wiped away an imaginary tear. "Ahh, alright, alright. So, my job is to help you colleagical energy, right?"

  Zero nodded. "That's the pn."

  The e stretched. "I could do that… but I want a deal."

  Zero narrowed his eyes. "What deal?"

  The e smirked. "I want you to join me. If we both collect magical energy, we'll get results faster. Just for today."

  Zero thought for a moment—then grinned.

  "Deal."

  …

  The Pi Police Department was in disarray.

  Detective Wolfe walked through the prect's halls, notig something was off.

  There were more officers iraints thaerday.

  Except this time—they weren't just patrol cops.

  They were detectives.

  Wolfe's eyes narrowed. He approached a nearby rookie, who stood near a holding cell. "What happened during the night shift?"

  The rookie shifted unfortably. "They just… arrived and started detainiives. Then, the sergeant—the watander—got escorted out."

  Wolfe froze.

  "…Eveander got looped into this?"

  Before the rookie could answer, a booming voice cut through the station.

  "EVERYONE, GATHER."

  Captain Era Vaelith stood in the middle of the prect, her presenanding and sharp.

  The remaining officers assembled quickly, filling what was left of the department's ranks.

  Era's emerald eyes sed them.

  "Good m."

  A heavy silence.

  Then she tinued.

  "The newly risen Chief of the Kingdom Police has implemented several adjustments."

  She folded her arms.

  "As you may have noticed from yesterday, and ht, we ducted multiple iigations and arrests. Some of you are probably w—who are these unfamiliar officers making the arrests?"

  She gestured toward a group of biformed officers, their badges bearing a new insignia.

  "They are the newly formed department: Internal Affairs."

  Murmurs rippled through the crowd.

  Era ighem.

  "And they are not just here for our department."

  Her gaze hardened.

  "They are here for the entire Kingdom Police."

  A few officers exged uneasy gnces.

  Era stepped forward. "We are rooting out the corruption in our ranks. And judging by what we've found so far—"

  Her expression darkened.

  "There are more rats in this department than there are in the sewers."

  The room fell silent.

  Then, she turned her attention to Detective Wolfe.

  "Wolfe."

  He straightened immediately. "Yes, ma'am?"

  Era crossed her arms. "We are critically low on manpower. Effective immediately, you are reinstated as a full detective. I will assign araining officer for Mo."

  Wolfe nodded. "Uood."

  Era's gaze swept the room o time.

  "For those of you still standing here, remember this—"

  She stepped forward, her voice cold and unwavering.

  "You have a choice. Adapt. Or be swept away."

  With that, she turned on her heel.

  "Dismissed."

  The remaining officers stood in silence, realizing that the police force they onew was about to ge forever.

  …

  In the grae of House Brenford, the golden afternoon sun spilled through the rge windows of the ducal manor. Ihe luxurious chamber, Duke Brenford sat on a fi chair, holding his newborn son in his arms.

  The three-day-old infant, a child with soft blonde hair and pierg blue eyes, cooed as the duke gently wiggled his fingers in front of him.

  The powerful noble chuckled, his expression warm and affeate.

  "Such tiny hands. You'll grow strong, just like your father, won't you?"

  The baby let out a small gurgle, his gaze seemingly fixated on his father's face.

  Then—

  A soft knock at the door.

  The duke's butler, an agi well-trained man, stepped ih a bow.

  Despite his years, the butler's posture was rigid, his movements sharp, a testament to his past as a warrior before serving the nobility.

  "My lord." The butler's voice was measured, calm.

  Duke Brenford tio rock his child, not looking up. "What is it?"

  The butler stepped forward. "The neointed Chief of Police is tinuing his work without hesitation."

  The duke's smile faded.

  He slowly stopped moving, his once affeate expression hardening.

  A cold silence hung in the air.

  "…Sift didn't get through to him."

  His voice was devoid of warmth.

  The butler lowered his head. "I personally e was delivered, my lord. But he is… much tougher thaicipated."

  Duke Brenford's grip on his child tightened slightly, though not enough to harm.

  The butler tinued. "I believe he thinks he has power in this kingdom."

  The duke let out a low breath, his fiapping against the baby's tiny back.

  "Let him be for now." His voice was calm, but the cold edge remained.

  "I will speak with the others."

  The butler bowed once more. "Uood, my lord."

  With that, the butler quietly exited the room.

  The duke turned back to his child, resuming his gentle, fatherly demeanor.

  "There, there… nothing to worry about, my boy."

  Yet—

  The infant's gaze remained locked on his father's face.

  Unmoving.

  Almost as if he uood everything that had just been said.

  …

  Back at Café Lebnc, the midday rush had finally settled down.

  Soma climbed the stairs to the living quarters, bang two ptes of food in his hands.

  "Alright, Zero. Lunch time—"

  He stepped inside—

  And paused.

  There were two Zeros sitting at the table.

  One grinned, while the other looked at Soma expetly.

  Soma blinked. "Well, you didn't tell me we had another one."

  Zero chuckled. "Yeah, I finally did it. Say hi to… uh… Zero 2."

  The e smirked, leaning back. "You just call me Z."

  Soma raised an eyebrow but shrugged it off. "Alright, 'Z'."

  He held up the two ptes and pced them oable. "So, these were supposed to be our lunch, but sihere's two of you now… I guess I'll have to make another one."

  Zero picked up a fork. "Well, you are the chef."

  Soma rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Enjoy."

  As he walked back to the kit, Zero and his e ked their gsses together, ready to dig in.

  It was a small thing.

  But now, Zero wasn't alone in his training.

  Things were about to get iing.

  **A/N**

  ~Read Advance Chapter and Support me on [email protected]/SmilinKujo~~??KujoW

  **A/N**