Susie had been going on about the Light World, and how Ralsei should come to visit.

• “Yeah, there’s this festival thing going on soon. You should come! I mean uh… you and Lancer both. And maybe you could like… come to school with us. You could do me and Kris’s homework…”

Susie continued blabbering on, her voice softer than usual. She would add the occasional “um” or “like” as to not seem too sincere. Ralsei would give a few nods, but his smile slowly faded.

• “Susie, I’d like nothing more! But…”

Ralsei began, but paused. He sighed and looked down at the ground.

• “Us Darkners can’t go into the Light World.”

Susie looked a bit confused by this, and honestly, she looked disappointed.

• “Why not?”

• “…You know how in a dark room, objects start to look like things they aren’t? A chair can look like a monster. But what if… the room was even darker than dark? That is the Dark World. You’d start to hear, see, even feel things that weren’t truly there. But when you turn the lights back on, everything goes back to normal. In the Light World, Lancer is just an ordinary playing card..”

Ralsei explained sadly, as if he himself were having a hard time accepting the truth. Susie wanted to smack some sense into him, but all she did was look down and clench her fists tightly.