Chapter 24: One

Arcat sips from the straw of his apple juice, "Hello there, would you like apple juice?"

One male and female glance at each other for a second and then look back at Arcat.

"Orange juice, if thee may," says the Male One.

"Mango wouldst be pleasant," says the Female One.

"Cool," Arcat snaps his fingers.

An enclosed glass spherical dome appears, along with a round table and three chairs. Their preferred choice of drinks rest on the table.

"If you may," invites Arcat, gesturing towards the glass dome.

"We can discuss what you want in there freely as well," he continues.

The female One jumps down, flipping upright and landing elegantly with the male falling next to her right after. They walk towards the table as they enter the glass dome.

Even though I had it made out of glass so that it seems more appealing, and they can see what is happening outside, they entered without even a second of doubt or hesitation. As if sending a message to me, that even if this was a trap, no matter what it was, it wouldn't have worked, muses Arcat as he enters the sphere, walking towards the dome at a moderate pace.

Arcat enters the dome where the two others are now seated and then walks to the table.

"So," he starts as he reaches the table, "To whom do I owe the pleasure?" he asks as he reaches out for the drinks, pouring them into the glasses, every action he takes is moderately slow and oozes control. Then he looks at the Male One, making eye contact.

"He is me," declares the Female One.

Arcat breaks eye contact with the Male One and looks to the side, and then at the drink he is pouring for a split second. Then he looks at the Female One right after, making eye contact with her this time.

"She is me," declares the Male One.

Arcat breaks eye contact with the Female One, looking to the side and then shifts his gaze down to look at the second glass.

"We are One," says One, as Arcat grabs the two glasses and places them in front of One.

Slowly, Arcat takes a seat facing them. He folds a leg over the other and rests his arms on the sides of his chair, lacing his fingers together.

"We has't cometh to a most wondrous travel searching for thee, Kayn," says the Male One as they lock gazes again.

Arcat hums, "Flattered. To what reason do I owe the pleasure of this visit?" he asks in a calm voice as he sits up straighter and waves his right hand around a little before putting it back to how it used to be.

"We has't been exploring, and every once in a while, we get in the mood to rustle with someone per se. With our time here, we has't come to hear of thy revered name and legendary status in terms of fighting capabilities in terms to this world. So, we wouldst like to has't a match with thee," explains the Male One.

"Haha, fight? That's a first, never heard that one before," exclaims Arcat leaning his sheathed Katana on the table. He then reaches out for the apple juice to pour himself some.

"You see, One, I want to finish this game as fast as possible because I need the reward of it for something important to me, and I don't know how long a fight with you would last," he pauses, taking a sip of his juice and then looks at them.

"So, if you two would happen to be participants in this game, I think we can come to a mutual agreement here," he says.

"I am. Propose thy accord," says the Female One.

Arcat places his glass back on the table.

"You will support me to win this game as fast as we can. And when this game is settled and my affairs are done, I'll give you a battle so great that you would be satisfied for centuries," he looks at them, "What say you?"

"I wouldst like a few more details, like what wouldst I be doing to support thee?" asks the Female One.

"Well, first of all, I would like you to at least participate in the capturing of properties in this game and defending your own properties," says Arcat, raising one finger of his right hand.

"Second, I would like to have an economical alliance between us and whichever more allies I bring in later on," he adds, raising a second finger.

"Such as thy lady," interrupts the Female One.

"Yes. Her and others as well," says Arcat, glaring at the Female One for a second, "And when there is nothing left but the alliance that stands, you would sell your properties for me so that the game ends," he grabs his glass, takes a sip and puts it down.

"And lastly, we will not transgress on each other, or attack or harm each other in any way. And if any of my properties are getting attacked, you retain the freedoms to help me or not, and vice versa. These are the terms, aside from that, you are free to do whatever and so am I," concludes Arcat, raising a third finger.

"Do we have ourselves a deal?" he repeats.

One Female and Male look at each other and nod their heads.

Then they look at Arcat, "We has't a deal,"

"Great. Cheers to the alliance!" says Arcat, raising his glass to a toast.

One raise their glasses as well.

"Oh, and two last things, but before we get to them," he adds, "If you betray me, I'll know," he says, his tone low and dangerous.

Both One's eyes glow with light and the wind picks up speed as they smile, their hands seem to be frozen as they uphold the glasses while Arcat drinks from his glass.

. . .

The screen glitches as a signal error occurs.

"Ugh! Why?!" shouts Orbit, tapping the screen a few times.

"Man, I didn't see anything after he stepped into that thing," he shakes his head.

"Hey game! Explain this!" he demands only to receive no response.

"Did that dome obstruct the signal or something? Damn it! I wanted to see what was gonna happen," he sighs, "I guess I'll have to wait until they exit,"

"Oh, well. Let's see what Zahtan is up to," says Orbit, switching his focus to another screen.