"General Raul, do you need something?" Shu asked Major General Raul as he frowned.

'I wonder how much experience I would get if I beat up a Major General. That would only work if he attacks me first, though,' Ryder thought as he looked at the man.

" Maybe he's here to show us the Fifty Million Dollar item that he purchased," Ryder replying to Shu while diverting a taunt towards Major General Raul in an effort to get him to attack in frustration.

" Master Shu, if memory serves me right, you don't have a family member who's living. May I ask who this young man beside you is?" Major General Raul asked casually as he looked at Shu.

"I don't think that you need to know that," Shu responded, shaking his head.

"Oh, nothing. I was just curious about it. The world outside is a scary place. You never know what people might do and when someone might die. I was just wondering who he was so that if I ever had an opportunity to help him, I would be able to do that," Major General Raul said as he glanced at Ryder.

Ryder could feel a subtle threat in the tone of Major General Raul, which simply made him smile. His smile irritated Major General Raul even more.

"If he would need help, the entire Dream Corporation and I will be there to help him. You don't need to bother. Now, if you'll excuse me, we need to get going," Shu said, casually shaking his head as he started walking away.

'Man, I thought that guy would be more of a badass and attack us. He just wanted to threaten me? I guess he needs to maintain the army decorum, at least in public,' Ryder thought as he followed after Shu, leaving the Major General behind.

Ryder and Shu met up with the Guards who surrounded them as they went towards the Helipad.

They entered the helicopter of Dream Corporation, which started flying, soon leaving the airspace of Lavender Town.

The helicopter flew through the air, only getting down in the Helipad in front of Shu's Mansion.

Ryder and Shu entered the mansion.

"Your Booking of Dinner with Alice is of tonight. You want me to get it rescheduled to tomorrow since you already ate?" Shu asked Ryder as he sat on the couch in the main hall beside Ryder.

"There's no need. I can still eat more. Also, I know that girl. She must be excited about it since she hasn't been out like this in quite some time. Also, I'll get scolded to hell by her if I get it rescheduled," Ryder let out as he smiled wryly.

"Hah, Brother Shu. I know you said that you're going to look for a new place to stay but how about you stay here with me? I don't have any family, and it gets pretty lonely here with just me. There's so much space as well. Just stay with me," Shu casually suggested.

Ryder released a mouthful of breath as he started thinking about it. He wanted to have a separate house for her and Alice since it was going to be Shu's house in any case, and he needed something of his own, but as Shu talked about being lonely, it made him think twice.

"I'll think about it," he told Shu as he nodded his head.

****

While Ryder was sitting in Shu's Mansion, something big was happening in this universe.

Far Far away from the earth, existed a mystical place.

It was a Garden that had beautiful green grass. There was a strange thing inside that garden, though.

No wind was flowing inside that garden. A squirrel could be seen in one corner of the garden, but it wasn't moving. It seemed as if the Squirrel was paused in space and time.

Right above the garden, a little bird was also stuck in a similar way. It was stuck in the middle of the air right above the garden. Its wings were still open as if it was flying above the garden when the time had stopped suddenly.

There was also a small pond inside that garden that seemed to have Crystal clear water that seemed to be nothing like anyone had ever seen before. The water was so pure that it was on the edge of being completely transparent. The bottom of the deep pond could be seen with the naked eye.

A young boy was sitting at the edge of the pond with his feet inside the water.

The boy seemed like he was only twelve, but there was an aura of ancient surrounding him. It was giving the feeling as if the boy had lived through centuries contrary to what his age and looks portrayed.

The boy had short white hair. His eyes were pitch black, creating a contrast with his snow-white hair.

If one was to see carefully, they could see three golden needles of various sizes inside each of his eyes as if they were the hands of a clock, continually moving.

There was also a shadow behind him, but strangely enough, it was the Shadow of a clock as well.

The young big looked inside the water as he moved his feet.

"There has been some disturbance in time recently. It usually happens whenever there's a natural shift in the energies of the world but this has been happening a lot recently. It can't be natural. Is this just that or something else?" The young boy muttered as he curiously raised his head towards the sky.

"No one can control time like me, but there are a few that can mess around with time. Are they the ones doing it and having some fun? There's Pluto, Fiona, and Janus. Those three are the only ones that can control some aspects of time. Is it one of them?" The young boy muttered as he sighed.

"Well, if it's only minor things like this, I don't mind. I just hope they don't try to mess around too much. It took me some effort to get him to create this separate space for me where I can stay in peace. I don't want to have to go outside to clear their mess and punish them," he muttered.

He stood up and walked to the center of the garden, where a chair was placed.

He sat on the chair as he closed his eyes.

"Sigh, it's so peaceful here. I don't ever want to have to leave this place. After the chaos of last time where all of us had to come together to handle that person, some peace is nice. That crazy person, hah. I'm glad we don't have to worry about him anymore," he muttered.