September 1st, 2030

(POV: First)

One could only dream of witnessing the crowded hall of humans and monsters. However, my misfortune made it so I could only see it through a small screen on my side of the embassy building. Monsters from each of the many worlds were present with one main speaker addressing the disgruntled audience. The audience, also consisting of monsters and humans, understand that this meeting was going to continue for a much longer period of time.

Representatives with appearances resembling human beings made their case on one of the more pressing issues of this society. These creatures were individuals of many species; dragons, the oni, avians, demons, fairies, angels, beasts, aquatic creatures. Such a colorful room would make one believe that such a matter was being held delicately and cautiously, especially since this issued involving many beings from a large array of different races. However, as I saw their faces—and I assume what many others saw it to—I could tell that they were angry. Actually, that was an understatement. The humanoids were furious. They were tired of ir.

They were tired of letting children decide the fate of the world through the cardgame that connected them all.

Our Human world did not have such a world-bending cardgame many years ago. Before I was born, in 2010, most cards were just paintings on cardboard. Thing is, once the childishly-named cardgame, Buddyfight, started to appear on Earth, we realized that the initially-perceived innocence of things can hide a much more complicated truth. Humanity was not the only form of intelligent life. Still unknown to us now, great astral gates opened, connecting our universe to many others, revealing many other worlds.

When they came, they were treated with segregation. The humanoids were treated like undesirables to be hidden and stowed away. However, other influential groups at the time, such as one of the precursors to my employer's agency, started to ease the introduction of such creatures into our society. With that, they brought a game that had no name. The people in charge of the integration of monsters wanted the next generation of humanity to view the monsters as kind allies, not horrifying enemies. To get the next generation, the children, to grow up alongside the game, the monsters it brought, and to later stand alongside the game, the game was given the childish name of Buddyfight.

This took place after many years of attempting to integrate monsters in society. By the time they started to do this, I was born. I became a part of the next generation of kids welcoming the new monster comrades. Our imaginations were piqued and realized. Dragons, humanoid beasts, fantastical creatures from our mythologies and fictional fantasies were now real. How could children NOT grasp onto such a fond concept? The fake becoming real.

Some people theorize that the monsters from the other worlds may have, in the past, arrived on earth in the distant past, only to die due to the natives hunting them off or ostracizing them. Theories discussing how the human world thought up of the now real mythical beasts were being brought to fruition. Agencies created solely to seek out and understand the newly discovered worlds were being created at an incredibly fast rate. For years, unemployment was at an all-time low. Business was booming and laws concerning the welfare of monsters were being created. However, like the Roaring Twenties, the good times could not last forever.

That was when The Great Disaster nearly destroyed everything.

It was not just our world; all of the worlds, for a time, were put into a state of panic. Shock waves created from these distant astral gates were now emitting waves of unforeseen power. They shook each and every world, affecting the weather, causing earthquakes to annihilate civilizations. Mass flooding threatened the world. Panic rushed through each and every world. People turned on one another, with the governments of each world trying desperately to keep everything together as everyone nearly destroyed each other from the panic the Disaster Brought.

I was only a child at that time. We were lucky to have made it through what we first thought was the end of the world. Ever since then, organizations set on discovering aspects in other worlds were also designated to discover why the gates shook the multiverse.

Organizations like mine, one of the embassies of the DMW—or the District of Multiverse Welfare—aim to try and settle disputes between the worlds while also overseeing the development of the Buddyfight cardgame. This has especially been the case due to players of the game discovering ways to use the card game to make the regular cards become real. The last thing that such a bureau would like is another child in possession of a real magical gun.

Such a fear was being discussed by the boss of my boss. Catherine Denisso, the overseer of DMW of the United States, demanded that the worlds continue to discuss the matter of Gao Mikado and Kyoya Gaen. Although this meeting was being kept a secret from the public, trusted individuals within the embassy were given the ability to watch it from outside the discussion hall through small monitors.

The matter was to discuss the previous two cases of Gao Mikado and Kyoya Gaen, two individuals in Japan with a strong influence in the game of Buddyfight. From what I could understand, Kyoya Gaen was using something called the "Disaster Force" to merge himself with his Buddy Monster, demanding to be called a Deity. Gao Mikado, acting as a child hero, managed to beat Deity and make it split back to two before Kyoya was then sent to one of our branches in Japan. This was not the only matter discussed; previously, another evil entity referred to as "Yamigedo" was stopped by Gao Mikado prior to the incident with Kyoya Gaen. Mikado was allied with monsters referring to themselves as the Omni Lords.

The main speaker for Dragon World looked rather professional. The red-scaled dragon man wore the expected suit-and-tie attire. It was custom attire for the sake of having sockets so that his wings and tail could extend outward from the back of his suit. "Yes, the Omni Lords, I know of such beings," he began to speak. "But I mostly know about the servants of the Fifth Omni Dragon Lord, Tenbu. The Cavalry Dragons are a rather odd bunch, but we've known of their presence for ages."

Denisso took charge once again. "Indeed. I also have here-" she began to say as she tapped a stack of papers on her desk. She stood tall and proud like a judge in a courtroom. In this discussion hall, she carried the most authority. "-other documents telling me that there are other Omni Lords exist in other Worlds."

A demon with two horns, wearing a purple suit, stepped forward. The Magic World representative coughed into her hand for a moment to prepare her throat for the comment back. "Yes. Asmodai was identified as such. This situation worries me though, as we've previously discussed."

"That is correct," Catherine stated back with a slight nod. "The fact of the matter is that we have monsters from other worlds detailing such entities as a true threat to every world. However, each incident introduced has it so that they are able to be resolved by an incredibly young civilian, a child."

The Dragon World representative spoke up. "Yes. Such an action has actually made the reputation of the Omni Lords … wither."

Catherine turned her head. "Oh?" She asked, rather curious. "I wasn't aware of this. Could you please inform the room what you're stating?"

"Well, although I believe that the incident with Kyoya Gaen should be investigated, I believe that the threat of Yamigedo was massively overestimated," the representative of Dragon World continued. "The… how shall I put this… the incredible threat to the many words was first locked away on your world eons ago. That would imply that such a beast would carry so much power that it was unable to be stopped by such deities. However, the "Great and Evil Deity" Yamigedo was stopped by a mere child."

The representative of Magic World snapped back. "Can you get to the point, please? You're wasting our time as it is if you're just going to ramble on like that."

"My point is, the result made the Omni Lords, as well as the servants to each one of them, become laughing stocks in their respective worlds and others." The Dragon World representative chuckled slightly, giving off a small grin. "And I'll be honest here, that is why I wish to cancel our discussion of Yamigedo from this meeting and any ones in the future. The matters involving Kyoya Gaen are much more pertinent."

The Magic World representative laughed back. "But he too was taken down by a child!"

"Yes, but that was because Kyoya was also a child. Regardless, he merged with his Buddy Monster. He is measured as a threat because of what he 'could' become. Who's to say, if he wasn't stopped, that he wouldn't develop power unheard of from any world? Not only did he develop a power that made him, genetically, become a deity, but he did so with a power that we do not know about completely. The potential dangers of this, to a great degree, outweigh the creature that was built up to be a monstrosity of the world only to be beaten by some kid."

The audience members, as well as the representatives of the other worlds present, were beginning to loudly discuss amongst themselves. Theories and opinions roared in volume and seemed to shake the room. It was not before long that the Dragon World and Magic World representatives engaged in an argument amongst themselves and their colleagues. Catherine slammed her gavel, silencing the room.

"I agree with Dragon World, to an extent," Catherine began. "Such a situation does make the Omni Lord, as well as their servants, to be rather lackluster. However, we cannot ignore the destruction it caused to a few areas in Tokyo. Fortunately, I can see that as malpractice on the part of the Buddy Police in that area. I'm willing to suggest that it was mediocrity and malpractice that caused this "Yamigedo" to gain traction in the first place.

The Magic World representative tried to contain her anger. "Ma'am, if I may, but Yamigedo managed to cause-"

"Great damage, I know," Catherine continued. "But most monsters are capable of doing that. That's why they, unless designated to do otherwise, abide by the law by remaining in their Super Deformed forms except in Buddyfights. This monster was threatening, that cannot be denied, but that can be said for many monsters that are now living alongside us and in this room. I will not have a monster that has the power of a common criminal to be built up as something that rivals a Deity. We will stop discussing the matters of this "Yamigedo." We will reevaluate the employees in Tokyo and see to it that they are more equipped. Now, to discuss the matter of-"

That was I could remember. It was two weeks ago when I watched that meeting on the small tablet given to me. I was sitting in the cubicle with my friend and his Buddy Monster taking up too much space. I left them to watch the remainder of it when I got up from my swivel chair and left the cubicle. My tie was choking me more than usual, at least I felt like it was. I was sweating as I tugged at my shirt collar. Listening to that was getting too much for me.

I did not expect this to be my job. I was doing well as a teacher but I wanted to live out my childhood dream of having monsters and humans living together in harmony. God, I'm such a child. Twenty-three and in an office working with other people heavily involved in the political aspects of this mess. I was going over the facts again in my head. "Children… with something called the Disaster Force? A not-so-deadly deadly deity?" I also went over just how much the room tackled the Omni Lords and their servants.

From what I know, the Omni Lords are great guardian deities given the responsibility to guard the multiverse alongside their servants. It's rather incredibly knowing that such beings could not take down Yamigedo alone. Apparently, they needed the help of a goddamn child.

I was unable to remember the rest; I had a pounding headache after one of my coworkers, Abigail Nolke, got me sick the one time she stayed over my place. I didn't find her attractive, but she's a close friend of mine due to her bubbling personality. Not bright, but a bit tubby and kind. I was returning to my desk after washing my face again. I wanted to try and wake myself up. Unfortunately, it wasn't doing the trick. Upon re-entering my branch of the office I was blindsided by the endless storm of unneeded noise. It was unbearable. People were making calls, scheduling issues, making nonsensical small chat talking about someone's Draft Kings; I didn't want to hear any of that crap.

Upon returning to my cubicle I noticed that there was a small bowl of soup on my desk. Instantly, I heard someone yell out to me. Her voice was incredibly loud; she was easy to spot. I turned to the source to see my red-haired friend, Abigail, waving frantically at me with a smile on her face. Casually, I waved back to her. I always thought that was cute; it was easy for me to tell that she wanted me to know, for sure, that she gave me the soup.

When I took up the plastic spoon next to it—rather quickly since it was chicken noodle soup and I love that shit—Mr. News himself, Alvis Boden, peered through the edge of one of the dividers separating our cubicles. Next to him was a small, anthropomorphic black-furred panther dude with a snazzy white suit and fedora. That was Boden's Buddy Monster, Sitri. Buddy Monsters are monsters that fulfill buddy contracts with human beings as a way of permanently being a part of that person's life, like an eternal partner. However, as life has shown me many times before, contracts can be broken. Alvis is lucky to have a buddy like Dandy Guy, Sitri.

Alvis's short and curly hair shook as the blonde man seemed eager to give me some new details. Sitri was rubbing his forepaws together in delight in finding out the new story for his buddy. When I peered over to Alvis I couldn't help but nitpick, in my head, about how unprofessional he looked in comparison to me. Understandably, he has more appealing traits—I mean, being 6 feet, 3 inches tall is intimidating to some, and I doubt people like the big nose I have, even though I have good dark skin and intriguing brown eyes. I can't beat the style of his blonde hair; short, yet somewhat long and curly. He looks rather pale, but he still manages to have a less intimidating height by six inches. His hair is actually alive while my hair is dead with my hairline starting to recede, but he needs to wear decent attire. I was sporting a solid work shirt with professional brown khakis and a red tie. He, on the other hand, was wearing something I'd wear on my casual time; a black sweatshirt and light-blue jeans with running sneakers. Maybe he was mocking me.

Alvis finally spoke up. "Dude!" He exclaimed, yet still whispered in his French accent. "Sitri told me that one of the human employees was caught in a lock, in the bathroom, with a monster, dude!"

"Caught in a lock?"

"Peeling the grape!" Alvis and Sitri were cackling to each other. "Mattress Dancing! Hiding the Salami!"

"… Ohhhhh, okay," I replied. "Where'd you learn that, Sitri?"

The panther cackled to himself. "It happened Sunday."

"You two were working yesterday? I thought most people take the weekend off."

Alvis shrugged his shoulders. "We did it for the extra pay. Anyways, that's not the point. The monster wasn't even his buddy; he basically bumped uglies with someone else's buddy monster!"

"How in the hell does that even happen?"

"I dunno; it just happened!" Alvis exclaimed. "Ask Ms. Fridrik. I'm sure she'll tell you everything."

"Either way, no. I don't want to talk to our boss about someone breaching their contract and someone finding the couch in the common room a bit too comfortable."

Sitri laughed. "The boss found them in the bathroom."

"… I don't want to talk to our boss about such a topic," I replied sternly. "We're working, and it doesn't concern me."

"I doubt it's that. There's a buddy monster involved in this and I know you don't like talking about them nowadays."

Alvis shook his head eagerly. He placed his hand on Sitri's shoulder and motioned his mouth towards his ear. "After losing three, I'm sure most people would have their fill on buddy monsters." I simply rolled my eyes in response to that. Alvis chuckled. "It's fine, man. I'm sure they'll come back to you when they're done doing stuff in their worlds."

"It's been four years since the first one left," I replied. "Three since the second, and two since the third."

"Yeah, but you said they promised to come back, right?" Alvis walked over to me and playfully patted my shoulder. He chuckled a bit more as I turned around to face him. "I'm sure that, in no time at all, your buddy monsters will be flocking back to you. The urgent matters that they left on probably just haven't been resolved yet. Still, if they're gone for this long, must mean that they had to do something extremely important."

I sighed, turning around. "Right…."

"You okay, bro?" Alvis asked. "You're looking more awful than usual."

"Gee, thanks man."

"Anytime." Hearing his optimistic mood was able to cheer me up a bit more. I knew he didn't mean anything rude; he was like another friend of mine who playfully took jabs at me. Fortunately, I was almost done with my soup and there wasn't much else for me to do today; I usually get my assignments done ahead of schedule. I was able to leave if I wanted to, but for right now I just wanted to go outside and get some fresh air.

I left the offices of my branch and went into the main hallway. Marble and large, decorative and glossy tiles made the hallways have a great shine to them. Although the stone and marble followed a white, black, and gray color scheme, the golden railings and marble staircases made the atmosphere of the building much more refreshing. One wouldn't expect much from the color gray, but with the right substances, you're able to make a truly refreshing piece of architecture.

The main hallway was crowded as usual, but most people were on their phones or looking straight ahead. Some people simply just wanted to get to where they needed to go and some were holding important business calls. Fortunately, since my job mostly consists of writing out extensive reports on the matters of relations between monsters and humans, I did not need to deal with live calls and was able to mindlessly stroll through the hallway.

A familiar voice was echoing throughout the hallway though. It was persistent in getting my attention; her voice was innocent but it also carried a bit or sternness and urgency. It made me actually want to wonder what she was trying to get everyone's attention for. My eyes were quickly drawn to the source.

A light-blue scaled, humanoid dragon woman was standing by the main entrance and exit of the building. Oddly enough, she was slightly shorter than me. She was trying to get the attention of the people that would pass by her, but to no avail. She was wearing an incredibly formal, dark blue robe. It was laced with white string while also sporting armor plating that protected her torso and back. Her brown hair sagged just at the top of her neck. Her blue eyes kept scanning for someone to take interest in what she needs.

As I started going towards her, someone had finally responded to her. I couldn't hear what she was saying now, probably because she has no reason to yell to get anyone's attention anymore; she finally got someone who was willing to listen to her. However, after about twenty seconds, the person leaves her. The dragon woman reaches out for him, only for the businessman to keep walking. I could only assume that this has happened multiple times already.

She was rather morose for a moment. Her long ears, which I initially thought to be light blue horns, sagged to the sides of her hair. Her blue eyes stared at the floor as her shoulders sagged. Fortunately, she shook herself back into focus and got back to work. Before she could start yelling out for people again, she noticed that I had returned from this morning. "Oh, it's you!" She exclaimed rather cheerfully.

"Yeah, sorry about that," I awkwardly stated as I pulled on my collar. It felt like I was confronting an error in judgment once again; I didn't want to ignore her but I was almost late to work due to some late subway trains. "I just really didn't want to be late for work."

"Were you in any trouble of being fired?"

"Oh, no-no-no," I hastily replied. "I just really hate being late."

"Interesting," she replied. "Anyways, I'm glad you came back. I was beginning to worry."

The situation before work was awkward. I was running into the building when the dragon woman tried to reach out to me. She was quick to try and reach out, but failed. However, I stopped for a moment, jogging in place. "Can't stop! Sorry! Nearly late!"

"B-but I need to talk to someone about this!"

"Find someone else! Or give me three hours, okay?"

I was already off. I couldn't even tell if there was another statement from her after that.

Now that I was done with my extra work I was more than ready to help out this dragon. Because of the extremely loud noise in the main hall, I wanted to get out of here. "Mind if we talk outside? There should be less of an echo."

"Sure!" She exclaimed, nodding happily. We both left the building through the large revolving door. After doing so, we sat ourselves down on the stone steps outside. As I looked out to the oddly empty streets, nearly void of any cars and people, I noticed the dragon woman adjust her robe as she sat herself down. I guess she didn't want to get it too dirty or something. "I'm now in a rush of my own, so I'm incredibly happy that you were able to find the time. Unfortunately, this means that I only have a few hours to prepare my findings."

"Your findings?"

"Well, it's mostly a theory, really," the dragon replied. "But it's a theory based on the many findings present by professors assigned to this embassy."

"Well, that's certainly something," I replied with a small chuckle. "I doubt theories are enough, though. What are these findings for?"

"I'm making a speech here."

"Oh?" I asked curiously. "What's it on?"

"Well, I'm currently presenting a theory involving Buddyfight Core Deck Cases and the Photon Metal and Photon Crystals that make the Core Deck Cases do what they do. You know what those things are, right?" In response to her question, I nodded. "Okay, good. So, when people use those two materials to make a Core Deck Case, the two substances, together, make it so people can "luminize" their cards. I want to touch into that while also expressing why we should be reviving the discussion on Photon Metal and Crystals. They showed up, seemingly out of nowhere, when the Multiverse Gates opened. But enough of that right now; I want to focus on something simpler subject matter."

I shrugged my shoulders. "Yeah, but the theory right now is that "luminizing" involve magical holograms or whatever."

"That is true, but a part of me feels like that is, particularly, too vague. As opposed to this I may seem, I honestly only wish to expand upon this theory. Luminizing the normal Buddyfight cards, or simply, making them become holograms is not enough. If it was, for some reason, considered enough, then it does not explain why real monsters, that are buddies with their human, do not deal lethal damage to a buddyfighter."

"Yeah; at most, the buddyfight will just take 'some' damage, but not enough to kill them."

"So this implies that the 'magical holograms,' you dubbed as such, have a form of mass to them. However, holograms do not sound like a logical explanation; holograms require a source acting like a projector of some sort; something needs to project the image. As of right now, no one knows why or how these Core Deck Cases activate in this way; the only thing most people know is that, after molding the Core Deck Case and wiring it a certain way, it enables the user to manually touch the projections, albeit softly. My theory, in summary, is that there is a possibility that the magic does not work like a hologram, but more like a manifested, matter-involved projection. Something along the lines of something controlling a substance from afar and then having the matter, which is seemingly invisible, manifest itself into something in front of the fighter. Possibly, at the beginning of the fight, a force with matter is sent out from the Core Deck Case. And, possibly, as the fight plays out, the matter, not only becomes visible, but also shifts in form depending on what cards each player use."

"Kind of sounds like a person using a remote control," I replied. "There's no visible projection, but something is controlling another. You use the remote to change the settings. The power in the Television, in this scenario, is the "manifested projection" changing in terms of use based on the remote."

"That is a simpler way of putting it, actually," The dragon woman replied. "I'll be sure to write it down in my notes; I'm sure I'll need to."

"It sounds like you're trying to overcomplicate something," I replied softly. The dragon woman turned to me while expressing confusion. "We know that two things, when done correctly, make the Core Deck Cases work, but we don't understand why or how it does that. In more understandable terms, the situation with them is like using a microwave without knowing why or how it generates the heat it does. To a naïve user, the food is hot because he or she simply pressed a button to do so and is oblivious to everything else?"

"Precisely," the young dragon replied. "I'm just…." She curled her gloved hands into fists. Her body tensed up as she stared wearily at the ground. "… Don't you hate it when… you're one of the only people who question anything?"

"… Yeah," I sighed. The dragon woman looked back to me, surprised. Her mouth slightly opened due to the amazement in, possibly, finding someone likeminded. "I'm not too huge on letting things be misunderstood. However, your response to a question is an unfounded theory that just creates more questions. Magical holograms just sound better to grasp to most people due to how easy it is to take in."

"… So you believe the same?" She asked me in a weary, saddened voice.

I turned to her as she knelt slightly forward. Her shoulders hung solemnly as she rose to her feet. Slowly, feeling defeated, she started to walk off. I realized that I wasn't being completely honest with her. I brought myself back to my feet and called out to her. "But I'm not most people!" She stopped, soon turning back to me. I rushed back to her, looking at her straight in the face. "Listen, I get it, okay? I hate not knowing anything. There's… there's just too much I don't know, and that haunts me, alright? But, here's the problem, you're not going to get anywhere with another theory."

"… But, with another theory, we have a different means of tackling it to see how we can learn what we need to know."

"Look, I can't stop you. Personally, I'm a bit more on the pessimistic side. I don't think that they're going to listen to you. But, if it means anything, I can see where you're coming from, I really do."

"R-Really?!" Her eyes glowed. "You do?!"

"Yeah, but I don't think you're going to get anywhere, especially when you're able to explain everything in a few minutes."

"That was only a summary," she replied. "I don't want to spend hours explaining everything to a random individual; I just wanted to see if people appreciated the details where I planned on going with. However…," she turned away from me, returning to her morose state. "It seems like more people don't trust me because of who I am."

"Well, who are you then?"

Nervously, the woman dragon inhaled deeply. She exhaled, removing any feeling of nervousness that once shook her. I could only assume that this part was the reason why the guy from before, and possibly many more individuals, did not bother to listen to her. She looked up to me, giving me a small smile. "My card is labeled as 'Fifth Omni Cavalry Dragon, Sand Staff Arkaid.'"

"Fifth Omni Cavalry?" I asked. After a few moments of pondering, it hit me. "… So that's why people weren't listening to you. Has the reputation of the Omni Lords really gone that low?"

"I guess so…."

I thought back to the people ditching her. It was like they saw her as some weirdo. "There's not trusting a source, and then there's just being an asshole," I replied.

"You can't help the fact that people don't trust in our capabilities anymore," Arkaid replied with a sigh.

"Also, what brings you to Earth?" I asked curiously. "If you're supposed to be protecting your Lord or whatever, then why are you here? I doubt you left your post just to deliver some speech."

Interested in a shift in topic, Arkaid looked back to me with a soft smile. "Of course not; this was something I decided to look into during my time here. I spent some time in Tokyo and now I'm here. I figured I should come here since, after Tokyo, New York has the largest branch of the DMW and Buddy Police Agency. As to what keeps me here, well… I'm actually looking for someone."

"Who?"

"Can't say," Arkaid replied. I knew she wasn't being cheeky; her response sounded like every other response she had. She honestly couldn't say, almost like she was required not to tell anyone. Even so, I couldn't help but find myself speechless at that. The sudden end to the conversation made things feel somewhat awkward. "… Anyways, I haven't learned your name yet."

Trying to recover from the awkwardness of before, I quickly shook myself out of speechlessness. "Chase Hallows." I extended my hand. Arkaid looked at it for a moment before soon grasping it. We shook hands. "Most of my friends call me CJ though. Good luck to you on your speech thing. I don't think they'll listen to a theory based on coincidental evidence, but I hope things turn out well for you."

"Thank you," Arkaid replied with a soft smile. "Tell me… why is it that you hope things go fine if you don't think they'll listen?"

"Hm…," I thought to myself for a moment. "Well…. I think it's because, well, I like your theory. It has more thought in it than the simple 'magical holograms that are able to work just by molding two magical metals.' However, I feel like they won't take it, simply because they need some actual evidence. Your theory doesn't rule out the possibility that the cases just give out magical holograms."

"What's your personal theory on it?" Arkaid asked. She modestly gestured for me to take the stage.

"Well… right now, I think it's something we may never analyze correctly," I began to state. "Different Worlds come with different laws of physics. For example, magic, something that was deemed impossible based on our world's laws, was able to be performed by individuals from your Dragon World and many others. By that same token, because we have no idea how or why these metals sprang up, we can only assume that they operate under a different world's laws and, because of that, can never be understood. That is because we are forced to think through our own line of thinking. Unless we're able to find the source and open our minds to think with that world's laws, then it's going to be impossible to understand why Deck Cases work the way they do."

The two of us just looked at each other. Arkaid blinked, probably piecing together what I had just explained. Her shoulders shifted as a soft, yet quick burst of air shot out of her nostrils. The process repeated as she closed her eyes. She covered her mouth with her right hand. Soon I was able to hear her giggling. Feeling offended, I kept staring at her with an annoyed look on my face. Finally, when she was able to recompose her regal demeanor, she spoke up. "Now I know I have to keep that in the speech."

"W-wait, what?" I asked in shock. "You thought the same thing? That's a part of your speech?!"

"It was a part of my draft at one point. I didn't think anyone would think of that, but I'm happy you did." Arkaid smiled softly. "I'll be sure to find you when I can, Chase Hallows."

Arkaid began her trek up the stairs. I continued to stare in complete shock as she simply walked away. Even though we were both unable to truly find out why or how the Core Deck Cases work the way they do, I believe I learned a lot about her. Ways of thinking can tell a lot about someone, so it was interesting knowing that she pondered over the same abstract thought I had. Needless to say, I was hoping that she would keep true to her words.