Prince of Gluttony: Born from Betrayal

Cain watched Jayden with a mixture of pride and disbelief. She had just demolished the entire meal he had prepared, and then some. Her belly was full, and her grin was wide as she leaned back in her chair, clearly satisfied.

"As expected of the man I chose," she said, patting her belly. "He is a great chef."

Cain felt a flush rise in his cheeks. Flattered, yes, but also a little annoyed. How was it possible that she had eaten more than Anna and he combined? He glanced over to Gaius, who had been quietly observing the scene, his eyes wide with admiration. Even Gaius, normally reserved, seemed impressed by how quickly Jayden had eaten.

Cain's mind began to wander as he cleaned up the dishes. Maybe it wasn't just skill and practice that made his cooking so good. There was something else, something deeper. It was as if his ability to prepare and enjoy food was tied to something inside him, something innate. The way Jayden had devoured the meal suggested that there was more than just hunger at play.

Could it be possible that his talent in the kitchen was connected to that strange feeling he had always carried? That hunger that never really went away, no matter how much he ate. Cain rubbed his chin thoughtfully. If that was true, maybe it explained why his food seemed to affect others differently. Why Jayden could eat so much without any trouble and even Gaius was impressed by the flavors.

Anna, who had been sitting quietly nearby, caught the look on Cain's face. Her curiosity sparked immediately.

"You're thinking what I think you're thinking," she said, raising an eyebrow. "That your cooking ability might be linked to something inside you that has nothing to do with just practice?"

Cain nodded slowly. "Exactly. There's something about me. Something that might change how I cook and how others react to my food."

"That's an interesting theory," Anna said, leaning forward slightly. "If it is true, then it means support-type abilities might passively alter things we do outside of combat."

Jayden tilted her head, her expression thoughtful. "So you're saying it's possible your skill could be making your food taste better without you even trying?"

"Not just taste," Anna added quickly. "It could be improving the quality, nutritional value, even… other effects. If that is the case, then maybe our own skills could influence what we make too."

Cain paused, plate still in his hands. "You mean, like, if you cooked something, your skills would make it better?"

Cain paused, plate still in his hands. "You mean, like, if you cooked something, your skills would make it better?"

"Exactly," Anna said with a sly smile. "We will have to test it."

Jayden's eyes lit up with the dangerous enthusiasm of someone who had just been handed a dare. "I have never cooked before, but I am willing to try. This sounds fun."

Cain opened his mouth to object but Anna was already on her feet, pulling Jayden toward the kitchen. "Let's see what happens when we cook. If our innate skills influence us the way yours might be influencing you, then in theory we should be able to make something extraordinary."

"In theory," Cain muttered under his breath, setting the last dish down. He followed them into the kitchen, mostly to make sure they did not burn the building down. "Alright, but if you are going to do this, at least let me supervise."

Anna waved him off. "We can handle this. All you have to do is watch."

Jayden grinned, rolling up her sleeves. "How hard can it be?"

Cain felt a pang of unease. "Very. Cooking is not just throwing things into a pan and hoping for the best."

"We will be fine," Anna said firmly, opening cupboards with brisk efficiency. She began pulling out ingredients with no real plan in sight. Jayden joined her, grabbing random vegetables, spices, and a carton of milk.

Cain's slight smile lingered at first. Maybe they would surprise him. Maybe Anna's precision and Jayden's sheer energy could combine into something halfway decent. He stood back, watching them work.

Then the first mistake happened.

Anna cracked an egg into a bowl and somehow managed to drop half the shell in with it. She frowned and began fishing it out with her fingers, smearing yolk across her hands.

Jayden, meanwhile, decided that "seasoning" meant dumping an entire handful of salt into a pot of boiling water. She glanced at Cain, beaming. "Seasoned like a pro."

Cain's smile faltered.

Anna tried to chop an onion but her knife skills were abysmal. The pieces were wildly uneven, ranging from fine slivers to chunks big enough to be mistaken for apple slices. Jayden was attempting to sauté something but had the heat far too high, filling the kitchen with smoke.

Cain's smile was gone now. "Uh… maybe turn that down—"

"We have it under control," Anna interrupted, though her eyes were starting to water from both the onions and the smoke.

Jayden coughed but soldiered on, tossing ingredients into the pan at random. "This is going to be great. I can feel it."

Cain rubbed his forehead. The smell in the air was strange. Not strange in a mildly concerning way. Strange in a "this should not exist" kind of way. It was like burnt sugar mixed with something metallic, overlaid with the pungent sharpness of raw garlic.

Then things got worse.

Anna decided to "experiment" by adding milk to Jayden's pan, which caused the oil to spit violently. Jayden jumped back, nearly dropping the pan, but recovered with a grin. "That's just extra flavor."

Cain's stomach tightened. "No… that is not flavor. That is smoke and potential hospital visits."

Jayden shrugged and tossed in what she claimed was a spice mix but Cain recognized immediately as tea leaves. "For depth," she said proudly.

By the time both of them had declared their dishes "ready," the kitchen looked like it had been through a minor war. There was flour on the counter, sauce splattered on the walls, and a suspicious sticky puddle near the sink. The food itself… Cain was not sure if it could be called food.

Anna's plate contained something that might have once been pasta but was now a mushy gray tangle coated in an oily, congealed sauce. Jayden's contribution was a lumpy stew of unidentifiable ingredients floating in a liquid the color of rust.

Cain's frown deepened. He leaned in to inspect them and immediately regretted it when the smell hit him. It was not merely unpleasant. It was wrong. His instincts screamed at him that this should not be consumed by any living thing.

Jayden, ever the brave one, took a spoonful of her own creation. She chewed slowly, her expression unreadable. Then she swallowed and said, "It's… unique."

Anna attempted a bite of hers and froze. "That is… a flavor."

Cain's expression shifted from deep frown to horror. "No. No, you cannot eat that. I do not even think it is safe."

Jayden chuckled. "You said no one was allowed to die during this test. This is not poison. Probably."

"It is worse than poison," Cain said grimly. "At least poison is straightforward."

Anna poked at her plate with the tip of her fork. "Alright, maybe this was not my finest work. But the point still stands. Our cooking is terrible. Which means if your theory is correct, your skill is correcting for any potential mistakes you might make."

Jayden crossed her arms. "If this is what happens without your influence, then you must be the reason your food is actually edible."

Cain glanced at the "abominations" sitting on the counter. Even without tasting them, he could feel that eating them might grant him more than just an upset stomach. Perhaps an entirely new resistance altogether.

Jayden smirked. "You know… if you ate this and survived, maybe you would get stronger."

Cain closed his eyes. "That is not how I want to find out."

Anna sighed, pushing her plate away. "Still, this test proved something. Support abilities might subtly influence other skills. Yours, at least, seems to protect people from ending up with this sort of result."

"I don't think so. When compared to them, I am a cooking god. Letting someone eat their cookinh could be considered a war crime!'

Cain didn't voice his thoughts as Jayden, picked up her plate and pushed it toward him with confidence unfit for someone who had just created a culinary disaster.

"You have to try it."

Cain stepped back. "I can smell it just fine."

Anna pushed hers next to it. "Taste both. For science."

"This is not science. This is biological warfare."

Jayden smirked. "Afraid you can't handle it?"

"I am afraid it will handle me," Cain muttered.

Anna folded her arms. "You survived our fights. Surely you can survive dinner."

Cain eyed the two plates, the smell already making his stomach churn. He suddenly wasn't sure if his healing ability could fix whatever this was going to do to him.