“We’re gonna travel to one of the affected planets, the cold one in decay, then we’re gonna closely inspect it to see what we can find.” Answered Nats, determined. I could see she really meant it.

“That’s why I needed Crystal here. She’s the most knowledgeable of us when it comes to this.”, “Ah…” Everyone else seemed to understand as well. I got a bit nervous, since it was definitely gonna be threatening.

“I know what you’re thinking Matt, it’s very dangerous, but we have to make sacrifices in order to progress. This is a world threatening situation, we can’t back down.”. As she told me that, I couldn’t argue, she’s right… Natalie then pressed a button on the spaceship. A few belts revealed themselves to us from the ship’s storage.

“Huh? Belts?” Dennis was confused at the sight, and to be fair, my curiosity was killing me as well, and just then, Crystal got excited. “Oooh! These are Travel Belts! They’re a blessing as a creation! You put them on and they power your soul to allow you to resist a lack of oxygen, hot temperatures, cold climate… With this we won’t need to wear any long and big space suits so long as we stay healthy!” ...She really knew about this, although it was kinda troubling me. Who the hell uses belts as protective gear?!

Out of everyone here, I am the most ‘normal’. My only skill was being an Architect. Sure, I was really good at it, but it’s not something I saw as something I wanted to dedicate my life to. While I admired how much the world progressed, I felt like my work with buildings wasn’t all that special compared to the flashy and bright ones that some other architects make.

“Hey uh, Crystal, my soul is pretty bland, do you think I’ll be fine with this? I mean, monsters are pretty dominant when it comes to magic but…” Crystal shook her head and laughed. “Don’t worry Matt! They work with bland souls as well, so you’ll be just fine!”

“Ah. Thank heavens.”, “Alright, so we simply put this on and it’s over with?” I asked while staring at the belts.

“Yeah, I agree with Matt. Is it that simple?” Said Dennis. Guess we’re both as curious and nervous. But if Natalie and Crystal are confident in this, then I’m sure it works. “Well let’s just find out by trying.” Replied Arthur, confident and trusting in this technology. We all put on the Travel Belts, and as I did… An awkward, slight tingling sensation through my body started to hit me. The feeling moved to my limbs and later the rest of my body. Then just quickly after, the feeling stopped.

“W-what the…” It took me by surprise, but I guess it was to be expected from something that messes with your soul. Natalie interrupted me however. “Alright, time to get things moving. Dennis…” Dennis looked at her. “Agh, yes Boss?”

“Get the spaceship to Colderes while I explain the matter at hand.”

“Oh alright then.” Dennis got his hands on the ship’s panel and sat on the front seat. Just as Natalie directed her eyes at the rest of us.

“Alright, we’re gonna split into two groups. Dennis and Crystal, then Arthur, Matt and I. Based on our wits and skills, I thought this was a good combination”

“Uhh…” Dennis got nervous as he inputted commands into the ship. “Are you calling me stupid and Crystal smart?”

I helplessly chuckled a bit and Crystal laughed. The ship traveled at incredible speeds towards the planet, however, we didn’t feel anything thanks to how secure our belts and the ship’s fascinating tech were keeping us. Thank god.

Shortly after, we arrived at our destination. My eyes witnessed an empty land with dark splotches scattered randomly across the terrain… “Wow. How is Colderes again?” I asked Crystal. It seemed pretty lifeless.

“Ah. It’s known for having no life in it, being tiny, and cold. Really different compared to our good ol’ planet Meex, right? Well… these dark splotches shouldn’t be here, though.”

“...Yeah.” I couldn’t help but gulp. Natalie then showed her palms and summoned a briefcase using her magic.

“Don’t get alarmed, but I brought a gun for each one of us in case things take a turn for the worse. You all better remember how to use them from Shielder training. If you need to contact anyone, use your cellphones.”

Dennis looked at Crystal then and the guns. “Alright, but if anything happens to me, it’s your fault, Boss.”

We grabbed a handgun each. The weapon at hand was a small, energy powered pistol made for security personnel. A ‘Soul Blaster’. After confirming it was in safety mode, I put it in my pocket.

We split into two groups and went in opposite directions. Natalie, Arthur and I went west, while Dennis and Crystal went east. We also went in a straight line to not get lost.

“I’d like to see if we can find something around here that looks immune or at least resistant to the Emptiness. You know, since there’s the possibility that the Emptiness is traveling and not expanding.” I told Natalie and Arthur. We’re still ignorant of the matter, but I threw in my thoughts anyway.

“I’m gonna keep my eyes watching everything then. Since I’m a robot, I should be more helpful at this.” replied Arthur. It’s true, robots are pretty good at completing tasks. “Although, while we do this, I’d like to ask something off-topic if you allow me.”

“Huh, what is it?” I said as Natalie and I looked at him curiously, wondering what he wanted.. “Matt, why do you refer to Natalie by her name so casually? You call her Boss occasionally, yeah, but Dennis calls her Boss and Crystal calls her Mrs.”

“Oh, we went to the same academy before becoming Shielders. We haven’t been doing much together after that but we went for similar goals so we ended up working together. Although she’s my boss now… Now that you mention it, I didn’t know she moved to an apartment of her own. Perhaps hanging out once again isn’t out of the question.”

Natalie laughed… quite unusual for her in the middle of work, might I say. “Yeah, we were really close back then, we’re still close, but we should probably spend more time together for sure. Back then at the Academy Of Justice I would study law, Matt studied architecture.”

“Yeah…” I exhaled slightly with an awkward chuckle.  “We would always see each other in our free time, although now that we’ve grown up we barely have any. You’re really lucky, Arthur. The world doesn’t need you anymore so you’re free to do whatever, and have gained a lot of wealth and respect due to being so old.”

“Right.” Arthur chuckled lightly… We’re such a mess.