“I’ll attack your shield with Spellbot Unit Medusa Emerald!”

With a beam of radiant light emitted from the gem integrated into the robot’s chassis, time slowed, allowing Bruno the chance to block with his Mountainside Hermit.

The beam continued unabated, shattering the first of her opponent’s five remaining glass panes.

This game is mine… “I’ll break another with Palabra de la Montana!” With a similar line of events, the Sky Whale charged through yet another of Bruno’s shields. “No skill?”

“No skill.” He replied, silently seething. The veins on his muscular arms twitched and his normally waxed moustache grew stringy.

Sarah grinned mischievously, “Sorry, I think you misunderstood. I was talking about you.”

The older man reflexively began to stride forward for half a second before catching himself.

“Right, we were having a deathmatch. I forgot we can’t have a little fun,” Sarah shrugged. Even for a little bit, getting caught up in the game and being her cocky self felt nice. But she immediately found herself in the pit of despair as she saw the young boy who was buried in his grandfather’s jogging pant leg. “Fine…”

Sarah continued her assault, “Miraelle, go break another of his shields!”

As the elegant fox woman reached down to pick up the sword being held by one of her handmaidens, she held it close with one hand on the hilt and one on the scabbard.

Putting it back in the hands of her maiden as quickly as she picked it up, Sarah spoke up, “What the fuck? What did you even do-”

Looking past her own creatures and to her opponent’s she saw where Bruno’s Mountainside Hermit once stood was in the final phases of shattering.

“Oh shit. That’s rad.”

Bruno scowled. His only blocker was spent stopping just one of Sarah’s creatures. While he still had Nyctophobia on his side of the field, she still had two shields left like him. He could already hear the ancient turtle creature lecturing him before returning to his home world.

Lifting her hand, Sarah ordered another creature to attack, “Fox Token #1, take out his next shield!”

The young girl drew a knife out of her small wicker basket and dashed towards Bruno’s penultimate glass pane. Having lost his sole blocker to Miraelle, Bruno had no choice but to let the attack through.

Materializing the card in his hand, he found himself smiling. With a sudden gear shift back to his somber self, he held the card forward, “Here’s a skill for you, I’ll activate Slime Czar’s [Shield Skill] and summon it to the field!”

Out from the dense grass beneath them, a similar writhing mass bubbled up from the ground, this time a sickly green versus Nyctophobia’s pitch. The bubbling cauldron amassed larger and larger, until it stood a foot and a half taller than it’s summoner. As it reached it’s peak, a series of spikes made from the same material of the creature reached outward, slightly off center from the slimy mass, ending just a few inches off the main body before ending with tiny spheres. In short, it looked like a crown.

“Now I’ll activate its effect!” As Bruno shouted in the dense forest, his words reverberating off of the dark wood, a portion of the slime creature jettisoned out towards the second fox maiden. As the young girl became swallowed by the slime, the viscous liquid almost made a ‘pawtooey’ sound as it launched her beyond the trees.

With the 1 play point token creature now in her hand, Sarah swore. Breaking into that creature allowed Bruno to maintain one extra line of defence, something she did not want to risk. Thankfully, with her strongest creature already on the board, she had little to fear from gigantic sky whales.

Bruno drew his card, trying his best not to show his disappointment to both the large turtle creature looking between the trees and the young boy looking up from his spot on the ground, sitting and still holding onto his pant leg. “I will cast Gift of the Storm, destroying your Miraelle.”

As the fox woman left the field, Bruno ordered a charge of his two creatures. Both Slime Czar and Nyctophobia slammed into her two last shields, the latter of which whipped her once again on the other shoulder.

With another swear joining the pile amassed just within this match alone, Sarah drew her card without even looking at her hand. “Alright, Palabra will break your last shield!”

The cetan crashed into the glass pane, shattering it into thousands of pieces. Once her opponent sighed in concession, held out her hand once more, “Alright Token #1, finish him off!”

“So… Uh, got any plans after this?”

Bruno looked up from playing with Ricardo, comfortably sitting on the notably less green void, he looked with a sunken-in glare, “I plan on celebrating on not being dead…”

Sarah shuffled her deck again in preparation between games, “Shit. I’ve never been in a situation where only one person leaves. Kinda makes things awkward…”

“Why don’t you go talk to your ACE monster?”

Walking back to her side of the endless void, Carbuncle hopped over, still wary of the looming mountainous creature behind her, “Man ‘Buncle, this shit is hard… I wanna win, but well.. You know…”

“Squeak!” Carbuncle chirped motivationally. The sound he made was not anything to write home about, but contextually, Sarah felt more assured.

“Yeah, you’re right. I just don’t need to think about it. And who knows, maybe Freakazoid doesn’t know shit?”

Bruno drew the first card. With the score tied between the both of them, whoever won this final match gets to walk out of this intradimensional space with the least amount of trauma.

Holding the card aloft, he stood behind his freshly placed five shields, “I’ll summon Mountainside Hermit!”

A familiar crustacean creature came into creation before him, snipping its claws in what seemed to be aggravation.

Do we keep summoning the same creature with one card? Do they remember what happens here even in separate matches? Is it like the ACE creatures? Snapping her out of her stupor, a card appeared in Sarah’s hand, indicating her turn.

“Right!” She held the most recently drawn card forward, “I’ll summon my own one-drop creature, Stormstrider Sprite!”

As the ball of verdant green light descended from the sky, Bruno began his second turn, “I’ll go and cast Rapid Growth!”

Sarah scoffed as he already began ramping. She had a similar plan prepared, but aside from that, her hand was not anything to write home about. If only I drew like I did last game, this would be done. No discussion…

“I’ll cast my own Rapid Growth.” As Sarah gained her own additional play point, she motioned forward, “But I’ll do you one better, I’ll target one of your shields with my Sprite!”

Darting forward, the miniscule ball of light launched itself towards one of the panes belonging to the opponent. Just before colliding with the glass, the fairy slammed into the monstrous hermit crab, destroying them both. Nice. Glad to get that off the field now…

After a motion from his opponent, Bruno drew his card. With a surprising flourish from the somber man, the card glowed brightly between his fingers, “I’ll summon out The Dreaded Mask!”

The rag blew in from the horizon, once again forming a ragged head wrapping with a sinister crimson glimmer in the eye socket. As another card formed in Bruno’s hand, he grinned manically, “I’ll go ahead and pull an Innocence Lost with Mask’s effect! Don’t go summonin’ your ACE creature!” Punctuating his sentence with an unhinged laughter that led every living creature in the space to eye him, Sarah had to take half a step back.

“Holy shit. He’s actually fucking lost it under all this pressure…”

The still white void unnerved her a little as well. Feeling trapped in a never ending space with no frame of reference felt almost like the opposite of being buried alive. Maybe that’s how someone dies? They don’t return home and probably die of dehydration? She shuttered at that last thought.

“Lastly, I’m summoning another Mountainside Hermit!”

“Okay!” She tried her hardest to smile, “I’ve got a damn good move here. First, I’ll summon the card I just drew, Pippi, Fox Maiden.”

Thank fuck I actually listened to that stupid Mikey and put four of these in here. She’s been coming up a ton now…

“Now, since Pippi reduces every creature’s cost by one, I’ll spend my remaining two play points to summon Sixth Storm Oracle!” Both creatures hit the board, granting Sarah yet another play point, bringing her to 5 just on turn 3. “Now, I know you said you could handle one of my creatures, but how about two, you crusty old man?”

Bruno had calmed down a little, even though he began to sweat profusely in the surprisingly room temperature space. “I’ll- I’ll go.” With an unenthusiastic draw, he gently placed a hand on Ricardo’s head, “I’m going to spend 3 play points to set a trap card.”

A strange rectangular shadow formed on the ground between his creatures and his shields. It was strange to see such a defined shadow on the ground, with nothing causing it.

“Now,” The bundle of rags began to shift unnervingly, “I’ll attack with my Mask!”

Quickly unravelling and travelling along the ground like a serpent with a world record time in the 100 meter sprint, it jolted forward towards one of the glass panes protecting Sarah. As it whipped and curled, maintaining a beeline towards her shield, it nimbly dodged between the legs of her creatures, a dirty olive shadow on the otherwise pristine alabaster floor.

“[Shield Skill]!” She shouted as the shield card manifested in her hand after being destroyed, “I’ll activate Rapid Growth!”

The rectangular shadow before Bruno’s shields ebbed away, revealing a complex glowing sigil. Letting off a subtle glow in the well-lit space, the circle inscribed upon the floor appeared complex. Strange markings and runes nearly filled the space within the circle, shining bright and then fading.

“My trap, Anti-Spell Rune, will stop that there.” Ricardo cheered at the light show as another card appeared in Bruno’s hand, “In addition, it allows me to draw a card.”

“Tch.” Sarah scowled.

“And what a good draw it was! I activate my own Rapid Growth!”

Shit. I didn’t even know traps could trigger the same turn they were set…

“Fine!” Sarah ripped a card out of her hand, getting caught up in the thrill once more. “Using 5 out of 6 of my play points, I’ll call forth, Artephius, Wild Researcher!”

Seemingly from behind her, a tall, pale man strolled out. His thick glasses and deep cobalt robes dignified him, while his wild white hair and sheer number of foreign accessories quickly undid that. As he strolled through her shields before finding a space between her and her foe, Artephius brought an entire forest with him.

Sarah was caught between how close he was to appearing human and the suddenness of the forest surrounding them, much similar to when she summoned Miraelle last round.

“Uh, okay!” She had to shake her head to get back to what she hoped was reality, “I’ll activate his effect, allowing me to summon a creature with 1 attack point from my deck!”

“Squeak!” Right on queue, Carbuncle bounded out from beside Sarah and took his place next to the strange man. “Squeak! Squeak!”

“As I’m sure you know, summoning Gemless Carbuncle gains me an additional play point, not that I’m going to use it yet.” Holding out her hand, she issued her orders, “Go Pippi and Oracle! Target his shields!”

The two quickly dashed forwards, destroying the first two of his five glass panes after the chance for his block with Hermit passed. With a deep breath, he drew his card while receiving his two broken shields.

“I need to do this…” He mumbled.

“One shall allow this to pass. But may you enact your decisions with the utmost prudence…” The low rumbling almost caused Sarah to jump. Slowly toppling trees, stepping haphazardly through the less dense forest, Leben Seher, Elderbeast of Growth had entered the battlefield.

“Now I will attack your Pippi, with my Mask!” The cloth quickly travelled over to the young girl, finding itself around her neck.

As she shattered into thousands of light pieces and ascended upwards, they coalesced into a glowing sphere, similar to the many lazily swirling around Sarah. Flying alongside the cloth back to Bruno’s side of the field, it joined the swarm of now ten play points he had access to. “Leben alone netted me the last three play points I need to win this round!”

“That’s so fuckin’ busted.” Sarah spit to the side, “Fucker gets you two play points and one more for every creature killed?”

Beaming proudly, Bruno nodded in confirmation.

“Shit.” Sarah scanned her hand, taking in the newest one she got for her turn. Even with a solid curve and decent plays, she only had eight play points on her fifth turn, “I’m gonna need to take care of that big bastard.”

With a dull pain working its way from her stomach to her chest, she knew what she had to do. She would have to both win this round and somehow destroy his ACE as well, while her opponent had already beaten her to the latter once already.

Both ACE creatures stood their ground on the field. One the size of a small dog, the other the size of a small mountain.

I know I kinda lost myself in the aggressive plays again, but I’m still in this. She shuffled the cards in her hand, weighing the options. I still have cards. I still have a chance.

She avoided looking at the young boy, running between the shorter trees this space seemed to have taken on with the summon of Artephius. Bruno kept a mindful eye out for his grandson, but maintained his position before her. With everything going on, Sarah felt a wave of exhaustion. I’m sure as fuck he’s feeling it too. This shit is awful…

She looked at Carbuncle on the field before her. He never once slowed down this whole game… While he did his share of cheering her on while not on the battlefield or… somewhere else, she had certainly faltered in both her plays and maintaining her stability throughout this ordeal. I- I can’t-

“Squeak!” Carbuncle stood half turned around. While not able to emote as well as a person, he almost seemed like he was smiling, hoping for her to do the same.

“Shit!” Sarah had to shout. It felt good to shout.

Thoughts of her sister had come rushing back. It’s just like what I had to do for Becky. Rebecca had always been the first to roll over. As much as Sarah loved her, her sister had a hard time standing up on her own two feet. On top of being a serial contender for the world’s biggest pessimist, Sarah always stood on call to help her.

Her whole family came back to her. Albert, while he was still around, always had his big goofy grin. Her father always made it a point to have fun with his newest obsession alongside his kids. And her mom- well, she never really saw her smile, but she had to guess she still probably had the capacity to.

“I need to give Becky a big fuckin’ hug when I see her…”

Bruno was not the only one fighting for his family. Even though I’m a big fuck-up, I’m still somebody’s fuck-up.

“I need to win. I need to get some shit straight. I need to go home.”

“It’s my fucking turn!” Sarah shouted, tears in her eyes. She stood dangerously close to her final tipping point. “Let’s go, Palabra de la Montana!”

The smaller Sky Whale descended once more. She took her card without glancing at it once, “Next, I’m evolving Gemless Carbuncle into Lebok, Platinum Compass Bearer! After which, I will attack your Dreaded Mask with my Artephius!”

Carbuncle once again took the form of the hunter, causing Sarah to gulp loudly as the pale professor on her side of the field took out a spellbot of his own. After an incantation in a language she could not comprehend, the Mask immediately disintegrated.

“Let’s, uh, keep it going! Oracle, Lebok, break his shields!”

The two lupine humanoids charged forward, the first of which quickly found himself blindsided by a large hermit crab. With only one attack point versus the creature’s two, Oracle was quickly dispatched to the graveyard while leaving the card with [Blocker] remaining on Bruno’s field for future use.

As Lebok destroyed the third of Bruno’s shields, he straightened his moustache, “You triggered my [Shield Skill], Slime Czar!”

“Fuck. Shit.”

The familiar viscous mass arose once more, propelling another jet of goo towards her evolved creature, removing him from the field yet again.

Thankfully, instead of being sent to the graveyard, both Lebok and Carbuncle underneath joined the one other card left in her hand.

As he drew his card, Bruno offered another small prayer before holding another card aloft, “I’ll summon Hana, Oni Glutton!” The muscular woman took the field once more, her singular horn emitting a strange light, “And, as you remember, when she’s summoned, two cards are discarded from your hand!”

“FUCK. SHIT.”

Both Lebok and Carbuncle shattered from her hand.

“In addition, I’ll use the Innocence Lost I pulled earlier,” the fog quickly surrounded Palabra until they both vanished, “to take care of your Sky Whale…”

Lastly, with a raise of his hand, the mountainous tortoise laboriously lifted a single leg. After what felt like an eternity, it hit the ground with a large thud, shaking the trees around of their loose foliage. Opening her eyes from the impact, Sarah saw that her Strike Leader was bound in a thick cord of vines, slowly growing tighter and tighter.

“Leben attacks your Artephius.”

With a final gasp, the pale man exploded into a series of broken shards, hovering upwards and fading into the sky. With another dismissive motion, Bruno’s ACE creature resumed his usual relaxed position.

“Okay! It’s my turn!” Shuffling through her hand, Sarah thought long and hard about her next move, “I’ll start by casting our mutual favorite spell, Aqua Regia.” Running on fumes, she could hardly hide her dismay, “Well, there’s my Miraelle. If only I had those two play points back…” She mumbled, looking at the now seven available play points hovering around her in a speedy orbit.

“Fine. I’ll summon yet another Pippi, Fox Maiden!” As the young girl took the field once more, she shot a quick scowl towards her summoner. “Using her ability to reduce all my creatures by one play point, I’ll call forward my Strike Leader Artephius, Wild Research again. And as I’m sure you know, that means I can bring out another 1 attack point creature from the deck. So this time, I’ll summon a Homunculus Lancer!”

As the old man took the field once more, this time he had an accomplice. The second figure appeared more divorced from humanity than the already alien looking man, seemingly made from a semi-translucent substance and, most notably, it’s arms ended in crude, sharp-looking points. It’s features appeared somewhat unrefined and wore no clothing whatsoever, certainly because there seemed to be no discerning features underneath what they would hide.

“And with my last play point, I’m gonna make it real hard for you…” Another homunculus emerged from the trees, similar in features. “It ain’t much, but it should be enough to put you on the ropes!”

Bruno’s moustache appeared frazzled. Dark circles formed under his eyes, and his clothes were soaked. He seems like he’s already on the edge.

The young boy seemed none the wiser, still dancing around the trees.

“It’s m-my turn…” He sighed deeply upon drawing the card. While having the full capacity to play anything, it did not matter if they did not have anything to play. “I’ll just attack with Czar and Hana. Break her shields.”

While the imposing creatures broke her ranks and destroyed two of the glass panes protecting her, she still had two remaining, the same as her foe. He looked through his hand nervously. Wildly looking for something, anything to play.

As the card appeared in her hand, Sarah only had to assume he gave up hope and ended his turn, not playing anything. Looking at the old man, he fluctuated between mania and defeatism. She had felt much of the same, but with a goal to focus on, she had a veritable liferope pulling her through this ordeal.

“Look, man, we don’t have to finish this game. Let’s just call it a draw? Nobody should be hurt if-”

“Fool!” The booming voice almost threw her for a loop once more. The gargantuan creature hardly moved, and with the already natural foliage forming upon the tortoise, he blended in quite well, “Do you earnestly believe that you may enforce the operatives of our objective as you see fit? Verily, there is a structur-”

“No, you shut the fuck up, you massive pile of shit!” It had been a long day and she did not want to translate this renaissance fair reject’s monologues any more, “I want to hear what the fucking guy actually playing the fucking game says!”

“I,” Bruno finally appeared to be succumbing to the pressure, “I just want to go home… With Ricardo…” His eyes were swollen and he appeared physically drained of color.

“Yeah, man, I just want to-”

“No!” This time the coiffed gentleman spoke aloud, echoing through the space, “I don’t want to hear it! Only one of us can leave! Only one of us can continue this God damned war!” Bruno dropped to his knees, his face buried in his hands, “I don’t know which is worse…”

Watching this big, strong man brought to his limits almost led Sarah to do the same. Biting her lip until she tasted iron, she had to remind herself of everything she fought for once again. Without Carbuncle nearby, even with his inability to speak, it was hard. Having lived a life where she next to never had to do something alone, she was not prepared for anything like this. It’s so fucking unfair…

Wiping her nose on her sleeve until she felt the twinge of pain of being rubbed raw, she looked through her hand. With my two Homunculi and Pippi, I can break his last two shields and win the game. But…

The monster known as Leben Seher, Elderbeast of Growth towered before her. Somehow, she had to get that creature in the graveyard before she could attain true victory. He’s not controlling Bruno, but he seems like he has no faith in him whatsoever…

Young Ricardo found his way back to his grandfather, rubbing his back while the old man could not find the strength to get back up.

“I’m sorry old man, but I’m gonna get us out of here. One way or another!” Ripping a card from her hand, she held it aloft, “I’m summoning Miraelle, the Great Fox!”

In a fashion similar from before, two maidens gingerly stepped along the brush, dropping darker leaves behind. Not long after, the haughty figure of The Great Fox herself emerged from the treeline, turning the light green grasses into a darker hue, indicating a harsher climate.

Having taken her spot on the field, Sarah continued, “Next, I’ll break both of your shields with my Homunculus Lancers!” The two humanoid creatures surged forward with an almost blinding speed. Blitzing forward, they found no resistance when they shattered the last of Bruno’s two shields.

With a deep sigh, Sarah closed the fanned cards in her hand, “I end my turn.”

Bruno glanced up.

Having already anticipated his defeat, he stood on his feet, holding Ricardo close. Letting the boy down from his grasp, his eyes flooded once more, “What do you mean?!” He shouted, his cries echoing the dark woods, “WHAT DO YOU FUCKING MEAN?! Are you just giving up? Are you pitying me?!”

She found it hard to look at the older man trying to maintain a grip on himself. “I’m not giving up. I’ve got a family to ask forgiveness from.”

“But you had it! You could have beaten us in the World Game!” His voice strained as he struggled to make sense.

“Go. It’s your turn, you crusty old man.”

With reluctance, Bruno looked through his hand. He appeared conflicted. With what felt like over ten minutes arguing with himself, cycling through tears and glares of anger, he shook his head. “I hate this. I FUCKING HATE THIS!” Just as he appeared to be breaking down once again, he pulled the freshly drawn card from his hand, “This is not personal, Bellisima. I will remember you as we continue this horrid war…”

A familiar cry swept over the two. The wind picked up once more. Creaks of wood as tall trees in the distance tumbled underneath the current. “Brazos del Mar!”

Well, that makes things fucking harder…

“Now, I will break your shields with my three creatures!”

The oni woman, the large slime, and the even larger tortoise poised their attacks towards her glass panes and her. With only two shields left, the third creature would deal the finishing blow.

“I’m-” She stopped for a second, “I’m going to block one of your Leben Seher with my fox token!” The young girl with the hand basket jumped in the way of the creeping vines, taking the blow as Sarah’s last two shields shattered violently.

“You’re not going to get past my Brazos del Mar! If I stop your Miraelle, then you have no creature that can kill my ACE!”

He was right. Had he not broken her shields, she would have no way to counter his follow up move, ending the game, and her life, there.

But in his desperation, Sarah had the play.

“Fuck. I almost didn’t make it…” She slumped over for a second. A sweet relief to take her mind from the grave situation just for a second. “But this is it, Bruno. I told you I’m getting out of here, and I’ve got fucking faith in my partner.”

“First, I’m targeting you directly with my Miraelle, The Great Fox.” The fox woman stepped forward, her flawless alabaster skin shined in the loose sunbeams that created a spotlight upon her. As she held her hand high, preparing to snap her fingers, time slowed once more.

After what felt like a minute, the wind instantly died down.

“I’ll block with my Brazos del Mar.”

With a mighty 8 attack points, it still paled in comparison to Miraelle’s 10, leaving her on the field but unable to strike down her foe’s ACE creature.

“It’s not over yet, old man! Now, I’ll summon Sixth Storm Oracle for two play points, thanks to Pippi’s effect!” As the shamanistic humanoid appeared on the field, he immediately began to glow, “Now, I’ll evolve him into Lebok, Platinum Compass Bearer!”

The familiar fully geared wolf man stood before her, this time not evolved from her ACE. “I want you to trust me on this, Bruno. I’m getting all of us out of here…”

His eyes full of panic, Bruno began to scream as he compared the attack points of the newly summoned creature versus his own. Both creatures had 4 attack points.

“I’m fucking taking that as a ‘yes’!” Pointing forward, she issued her command, “EVO creatures don’t have summoning sickness, so Lebok, destroy Leben Seher!”

The Elderbeast stomped in dissatisfaction, “One will not allow this! You only mean to defeat us and win the World Game for yourself!”

“Fucking far from it, dick head!”

The armored man drew his harpoon gun and aimed it carefully at the creature’s wrinkled neck. In response, the tortoise creature stomped violently, shaking the trees once more. Writhing forward in a speed that put even The Dreaded Mask to shame, the vines slithered towards the creature.

As he fired, he was quickly overtaken by the vines, strangling the life out of him within two seconds. Irreverent of it’s owner perishing just a few feet behind, the harpoon shot through the air before finding purchase within the turtle’s neck. A sickly splash of green liquid erupted from the wound, quickly draining the monster of its strength.

“Verily, one will- one will say… This war is quite cruel indeed…”

The mammoth of a creature shattered away, much like any being lesser. Dropping to his knees once more, Bruno held Ricardo as close as he could to himself. The child occasionally coughed as Bruno hissed and groaned in anticipation.

“Carbuncle, I know you can hear me…” Sarah swung multiple times within the same second whether or not she should, or even could, go through with it. “You put all your trust in me… Now I’m fucking putting everything in you…”

As the homunculus lurched forward, it struck the old man, bringing the game to a close.

Carbuncle had never ventured into what the local tribes folk called ‘The Eighth Storm’. In their tongue, it supposedly was the rest of the planet outside of the seven layers of the Origin of Storms.

Even more uniquely, he had never found himself underground outside of novel occasions. After spending days wandering the rocky caverns, guided by a handmaiden of Miraelle’s, Carbuncle began to wonder if he would ever see the sun again. She seemed to pick corridors based on some strange marking or something, but as he passed where she looked, he saw no indication of anything whatsoever.

“Mr. Carbuncle, I believe we have made it.” The young girl spoke in a dull tone. Word on the grapevine was that Miraelle upheld only the strictest set of protocol for her handmaidens. Seeing her handiwork on the poor soul that found them that day only confirmed that belief. “Please watch your step, the cliff is quite sheer.”

As the small fox-like creature exited the cavern and onto the edge of a cliff edge overlooking the domed room, the city within glowed brightly. The structures seemed ancient. Even from a distance, the techniques employed in their construction appeared to be an art long deceased, much like its inhabitants. Strange lights and colors reflected off the walls, as the entire trip seemed to have only just begun.

“Well…” The strange serpent-tongued man moved unnaturally around as Carbuncle found a comfortable seat within the Grand Library, “The Gemmed One himself graces us lowly scum with his presence?”

The man seemed to be a hairless biped not too far unlike the creatures he heard of on the storied travelling castle somewhere further south. The blindfold he wore on his face covered his eyes, which with the only way to approach the city is through pitch dark caverns, eyes seemed to be an unnecessary feature down here.

“Squeak!” Carbuncle chirped politely.

“Aren’t you such a well-spoken individual?” The ghastly man slinked off to the otherside of the table. The grand hall they found themselves seated in contained an innumerable amount of books on shelves. A veritable cornucopia of languages found themselves in attendance here, in the most important place within the Underground. “Tell me, why have you labored so intently to meet us here? Some of us would have even roused ourselves from our deep slumber if it meant the chance to discuss matters with you.”

The man did not seem trustworthy.

Every word dripped in a tantalizing honey. A sweet treat amidst what was certainly a trap.

“Squeak!” Carbuncle chose his words carefully.

“I see…” The man’s ribs shifted, clearly visible with his emaciated body. “This does seem to be a rather… grave matter indeed.” He cackled loudly, each ghastly guffaw echoed through the high chamber.

“So, you wish to strike a truce? That is all?” He held his hand forward, waiting to accept the paw of his guest, “Well, you’ve got one right here, my name is Shēngtiān, don’t forget the proper pronunciation…”

With a chirp returning the greeting, Carbuncle placed his paw in the man’s sickly palm.

“I can’t imagine you going around doing this for everyone… How can we, most notably the Fiction Weavers aid you in your campaign?” He took a prideful pose, “I, myself, am quite the historian. Wars, battles, skirmishes, you name it. If it comes to brutality, well…” He licked his lips a little, “I consider myself quite the specialist…”

Carbuncle looked around the chamber they found themselves in, “Squeak?”

“Ah, well, you caught quite the lucky break. You see, my… friends… are currently dreaming. Creating what is necessary for life down here in the bleak abyss… It’s quite cumbersome to be here with the mortals, but we all have to pay our dues…”

Nodding while not sure what entirely was going on, Carbuncle chirped.

“Yes, it is quite the location. The Great Hall contains anything anyone could ever hope to learn throughout time immemorial. Some even say fictions from over twenty thousand years ago have found their way here…”

With enough small talk, Carbuncle decided it was time to hit him with the hard question, “Squeak?”

“Wait… You aren’t serious, are you? You really are brokering this peace to every civilization?” He stopped to laugh, but caught himself short, “Well, if anyone can do it… It certainly would be…”

Shēngtiān paused to admire himself in the reflection in the gem between Carbuncle’s eyes, “It would certainly be the Treasure of the Storm himself…”

-:- End of Arc 1 -:-