Arcadia

Seeds of Doubt

Yura left the school quietly. Suddenly, the lively students that just came from club activities and the various stalls outside seem mundane to her now. She tightly clutched a notebook between her left arm and used the other arm to hold her bag. Seemingly ignoring the rest of the people around her, she stopped in front of a bus station. When a bus arrived, she quietly entered and found a seat at the back.

That Icaros... is he, really telling me the truth?

Yura chewed on a chocolate bar she brought with her. After finishing, she crumpled the packaging and put it inside her bag. The notebook soon followed, and she turned her attention towards the monitor at the front of the bus. The bus is actually broadcasting a rather humorous comedy show right now, yet Yura seemed uninterested. She decided to just slouch in the backseat and wait for her arrival at the station.

She got off without much noise and headed straight for a library. With this being her first time to visit the place, Yura started off with no clue as to where the lounge is. If anything, she needed some time right now to rest and take a break.

Sliding doors, not too different from the ones in the Aegis headquarters, marked the entrance to the library. Yura entered, but was stopped by security.

"ID please."

After a brief pause, Yura revealed her ID to the guard. After passing it through a scanner, Yura was allowed entry into the main lobby. 

"Wow, Arcadia never disappoints..." trailed Yura's voice. She smiled as her eyes took in the overwhelming appearance of the library.

She gazed at the many paths stretching out from the main lobby. All of them are marked with computerized signs that show where the path will lead to. Some led to computer stations where people can gather info for their devices. One of them leads to a general convenience store. Another led to bookshelves for reference books.

Despite leaps forward in technology, books remain important sources of information. Yura flipped her cellphone open and saw that internet connection is also extremely strong here.

"There are things here that don't exist back home. Arcadia really is something."

Suddenly, Yura recalled the reason why she came here in the first place. She quickly found a path to the elevator which took her to the second floor. After passing by several tables and people busy with their computers and mobile devices, Yura arrived in front of a group of shelves labeled "Arcadia".

~~~~~

"Let me tell you something about Arcadia. Something that the Aegis might not have told you." Not losing the smug look on his face, Icaros continued. "Believe it or not, this city has been under conflict for years already, even before I was born. Those beasts appeared and started attacking people. Now, what did the people do?"

Yura was feeling uncomfortable throughout the conversation, and it showed. Intentionally or not, she snapped at Icaros the very next instant.

"Senpai, stop playing riddles with me. Get to the point!"

Yura regretted losing her cool, yet Icaros simply smiled, an action which Yura saw as unsettling. She felt some of the hairs on her back stand up, as if a chilling presence accompanied Icaros' reactions, or lack thereof.

"As you might have guessed. People fought back. Thanks to a breakthrough which allowed humans to tap into their inner energies and infuse them into their weapons, these wretched abominations are being defeated. So, what do the authorities do? Sign a damn peace treaty with these demons!" At that point, Icaros slammed the table with his clenched fist.