The portal's glow was too bright for Lily to see the other side. Everything spun, and for a moment, she believed she was about to land in the middle of an epic battle, with magical flames and monsters waiting for her.
But when her feet touched the ground and the light faded… there was the smell of cake.
Lily blinked. In front of her, a small kitchen. But not just any kitchen. The ceiling was crooked, pans floated slowly in the air, and a cat wearing an apron was sleeping on top of a cupboard. The lighting was soft, with pinkish tones like the end of the day. The robot beside her scanned the room with a curious blink on its visor.
— This… doesn't look like a challenge. — Lily murmured.
— Confirming: domestic environment. Danger risk: 2%. Embarrassment risk: 98%.
Lily had to laugh.
In the center of the kitchen, a small figure with a pointed hat and lavender hair stirred a sticky batter with a floating spoon. The witch didn't even turn to look at them. She just said:
— Sit down. The cake's almost ready.
Lily hesitated. So did the robot.
— But… isn't this the next challenge?
The witch shrugged, like she had heard that a thousand times.
— Everyone shows up expecting swords and monsters. Sometimes, the real challenge is swallowing a bad cake.
She winked at them with a sly smile. Lily gulped.
Five minutes later, they were seated at the table. Flowered plates, steaming orange-blossom tea, and a tray of oddly shaped cakes: one looked like a crooked castle, another like a wilted flower, the third like… a shoe.
— Try them! — said the witch cheerfully, sitting cross-legged on her chair.
Lily took a bite of the smallest one. The taste was... weird. Like lavender, cinnamon, and charcoal had fought each other in the batter.
The robot beeped optimistically, carefully cut a piece, and brought it to its "mouth" — a metallic tube simulating ingestion.
Two seconds later, the visor flashed red.
— ALERT: flavor out of parameters. Recalculating taste... Error 404: Flavor not found. Restarting taste system. Restarting emotional system. Restarting… restarti—
Thud.
The robot collapsed face-first onto the table, eyes spinning in spirals. Lily's eyes went wide.
— OH NO! You killed him with cake!
— That's talent, not a crime. — replied the witch, laughing and pouring more tea.
Lily almost wanted to laugh too, if she weren't trying to figure out how to restart a magical robot.
Then the witch spoke in a softer voice:
— You're not here for the cake, are you?
Lily looked at her, surprised.
— You want to know about your mother.
The atmosphere in the kitchen shifted. The lights softened even more, and even the apron-wearing cat opened one eye. The witch stood up and walked to a small cupboard. From it, she took out an old recipe book with a lilac cover and yellowed pages.
— She gave me this. — said the witch, placing the book in front of Lily. — Not so I could make the recipes... but so someone, someday, would understand.
Lily opened the book. There weren't any normal ingredients. The recipes had names like "Farewell Fudge," "Forgotten Memory Muffin," and "Silent Courage Pie."
— Each dish… is a memory. — the witch whispered. — She used magical cooking to preserve fragments of herself. And this one… — she pointed to the center page — was made the day she left.
Lily touched the recipe with her fingers. The letters seemed to dance slightly beneath her skin.
— What do I do with this?
— You have to find the ingredients. But not in stores or markets. Each one is in a place… tied to her. And to you.
The witch closed the book gently, as if closing an old story.
— Start with what is withering. — she said, cryptically. — Follow where the flowers do not bloom. There you'll find the seed she left for you.
Lily was silent. She felt something tighten in her chest — a mix of longing, hope, and fear. The kitchen was so peaceful, yet seemed to carry a huge secret.
The robot began to blink again, rebooting. It muttered in a slurred voice:
— C-c-cake… forbidden… by intergalactic treaty…
Lily laughed, even with watery eyes. The witch extended the book to her.
— Take it. But you'll only understand everything when you cook the final dish.
— What is it?
The witch smiled kindly:
— The name hasn't been written yet. But you'll know when you get there.
The portal glowed again, this time appearing inside a magical refrigerator that opened on its own. Lily stood up, the robot wobbling behind her.
Before stepping through, Lily turned back:
— Thank you.
— Don't thank me yet. The main cake is still to come.
Lily laughed. And stepped through.
. . .
As soon as they crossed the portal, Lily and the robot were hurled into a strange barn. The floor was covered in bluish straw, and the air smelled intensely of milk from… something that definitely wasn't a cow.
— Ugh… — Lily stood up, brushing dust off her clothes.
— Location: unknown. Situation: potentially rural. — said the robot, voice still glitching.
From the back of the barn, three cows stared at them. But they had enormous eyes. And eyelashes. And one of them was chewing gum.
— Hi? — Lily whispered, trying to sound friendly.
— THEY'RE STEALING MY MOOMOOS!!! — shouted a man, appearing out of nowhere with a two-pronged HOE and a war-hardened glare.
— Run. — said Lily.
— Confirmed. Running is the most logical option. — replied the robot, hopping off in tiny metal skips while the man screamed things like "Come back here, you interdimensional pests!" and "This is private property, by Orion!"
After jumping over a fence that looked like it was made of hardened sugar, they dove into a bush and waited for the hoe-clanging noises to fade. When they emerged, they were on a wide road lined with technological houses and floating energy towers. There were holographic billboards, flying cars… but also barefoot people in patched clothes. A strange contrast.
— This... looks like our world — said Lily, observing the scene.
— Yes, but there are inconsistencies in the sky. The clouds have visible algorithms. This place was… generated? — the robot tilted its head, curious.
They wandered through alleyways until raised voices caught their attention. Rounding a corner, they saw it.
Metal soldiers, wearing shiny armor and LED-red eyes, had surrounded a small group. Among them, an old lady, two children, and a skinny young man.
— You are under arrest for food theft from the city's storage. This is a crime against the system — announced one of the soldiers in a robotic voice.
— We just wanted a bit of food… — the young man whispered, shielding the children behind him.
The virtual cuffs activated — red lights wrapped around their wrists like digital snakes. People nearby just watched, frozen in fear.
Lily stepped forward, fists clenched.
— This isn't right. I'm going to—
But the robot grabbed her arm.
— Lily. Intervening now could jeopardize our mission. Conflict risk: high.
She tried to pull away, but at that moment, the sky cracked with a sharp sound.
A shadow flew over the rooftops.
— What the…?
A boy in a dark cloak, hooded and masked, dove from the sky with an acrobatic flip. He threw something to the ground — a smoke bomb that released flower petals instead of smoke — and charged forward like lightning.
The soldiers didn't stand a chance.
A kick to one's chest, a spin to take down the second, and in seconds he had already deactivated the cuffs using a makeshift device. He didn't say a word.
— Who is he…? — Lily murmured, stunned.
— He's the The Petal Ghost
Said the old woman, still trembling.
— He shows up when we need him most. Never speaks, never shows his face… but he always saves.
Lily watched the figure vanish across the rooftops, his cloak fluttering in the wind.
Her eyes gleamed.
— The Petal Ghost … Hm…
The robot looked at her sideways.
— Detected: altered heart rate. Are you admiring the individual?
— Shut up, Caco.
Replied Lily.
— Caco?
— You didn't have a name, so I gave you one.
— Adding Caco to database.
A few seconds passed.
— That name is atrocious.
— No it's not, you idiot!