Vista had returned from House Love and his meeting with Sha, in a flash of blue light, he popped back into Codeas. To his surprise, Wayne was waiting just before the Gateway, standing in plain sight. “Uncle?” The boy nodded as he approached the silver haired man.

  “Were you leaving--”

  Vista attempted to speak, when Wayne shook his head. “Join me for a moment, would you?” He insisted, when Vista lowered his sight.

  “Huh?” He paused. “Of course, but why--” Wayne then stepped past Vista, pressing his hand on the Gateway, opening a door to somewhere, as Wayne gestured for the boy to step through--Vista hesitated for a moment, before doing as his uncle insisted.

  Stepping through the Gateway, as he did before--This time, he did not step into a familiar city, but into the middle of a silent forest.

  Wayne followed the boy right after, as the gate closed behind him. “Where is this?” The boy asked.

  “A place where we will be given some privacy.”

  Wayne answered, as he approached a tree--And with his bare fist, punched it, causing it to crack and fall. He then sat atop the felled tree like a bench, patting beside him, inviting Vista to sit next to him. “Which house is this?” Vista looked around, as he sat near his uncle.

  “This is the surface.”

  Wayne explained, causing the boy to momentarily freeze. “The surface?” He took a deep breath. “But I thought you needed to pass the--”

  “The Gateways do not prevent anyone from stepping through them--Those who complete the First Ordeal, and have an Armament have the ability to open a Gateway into Sol, but anyone could follow them as long as the one who activated it intended for them to pass through.

  As such if I open a Gateway to the Surface, you can follow.”

  He explained, causing Vista’s sight to drift back at the Gateway. “Then why are we here?” The boy asked.

  “Because I am going to tell you something, I do not want anyone in Sol hearing.”

  Wayne’s tone was monotone, lacking proper emotion, causing Vista to close his eyes. “What could possibly--”

  “For your own safety, and for Meah's safety, you must swear to me you will not speak a word of this to anyone, even Meah.”

  “Of course, I can keep a secret.”

  Vista responded, when Wayne closed his eyes. “I trust you, but I need to forge a pact, to assure you cannot repeat what will be said, even accidently.” He explained, causing Vista to scratch his head.

  “A pact?” The boy mused. “This must be fairly important.” He paused, turning his attention to the forest. “But I've never forged a pact, I don't have the slightest idea how.” He added, when Wayne nodded.

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  “It is simple, you must invoke the name of Vincent, the True Battle God, and God of Contracts.” He paused. “Allow me to lead:

  I, Wayne, in the name of Vincent, hereby forge a pact with Vista, that all information I disclose at this moment, unless stated otherwise, shall not be repeated, relayed or suggested vocally through words, or written on paper without express and clear permission from myself.

  Should Vista break the terms of this pact, he will be forced to confess that you did so, directly to me.”

  He spoke his terms, then said: “Should you accept the terms of this pact, then repeat the words:

  I, Vista, in the name of Vincent, agree to forge the pact under the terms that Wayne has given.

  Do so, and the pact will be made.”

  As Wayne spoke, Vista listened carefully. “I would only need to confess that I broke our pact? Shouldn't you make the punishment something more severe?” Vista asked, when Wayne hushed his nephew.

  “We are currently in the debate stage of forming a pact, any terms you add to the pact, must be verbally agreed or disagreed with, or else, they will be included when the pact is forged

  As such, I disagree with your point that we should change the punishment, it will remain as it was described in my original terms.”

  Wayne spoke out, causing Vista to think his next words more carefully. “If this is a debate, then this would mean I can include my own terms?” Vista asked.

  “You may, but I am free to disagree with them.

  In any other pact, I would recommend using the debate to ensure both sides are obtaining exactly what they want, without surrendering more than they intend.”

  The silver haired man insisted, before looking the boy in the eyes. “In this case, I will not leave room for debate, you may either agree with the terms as I gave them, or I cannot and will not provide the information I am offering.” It was made clear, when Vista looked down at his hands.

  “Fine, I, Vista, in the name of Vincent, agree to forge this pact with Wayne, under the terms provided.”

  And with those words, the pact was forged. “So, was that it?” Vista asked.

  “The pact is forged.” Wayne smiled. “Then, I will tell you what it is I wished to say, until spoken I say otherwise, these words are for your ears only, unless you break the terms of this pact.”

  As stated; these next words are for Vista, and Vista alone.

  --“And with that, I have concluded all that needed to be said.”

  Wayne was now standing over Vista, with his hand on the boy's head--Some time had passed, as the conversation had gone on longer than Wayne intended.

  “Now, let me take you back to Sol.”

  He turned and approached the Gateway, pressing his palm against the stone of the archway. “I must apologize to Meah when we return, I upset her at lunch, and she has locked herself away in her room since.” He sighed. “It seems that I am not patriotic enough for Sol. It is hard for me to understand why Meah would want to fight.” He turned back to Vista, the boy was clearly lost in thought, as Wayne cleared his throat. “I am sure you will need time to gather your thoughts after all this was said.

  But if you have any advice on how to speak to Meah, I would appreciate it--I wish to apologize to her.”

  Vista composed himself, taking a deep breath. “It isn't too complicated; she wants to be like Father.

  She often tells me that she'll hit a growth spurt and be as tall as him.

  She wants to be as strong as him more than anything.”

  “Then perhaps I should not have said she is only a child.” He opened the Gateway.

  “She is a child though.” Vista stepped on by, stepping through the Gateway, right into the city of Codeas.

  He waited a moment, then the Gate closed behind him--Wayne was still on the other side, Vista watched the Gateway for a short while.

  Then, a blue light flashed across the sky right towards the archway, as the Gateway flashed open, and Wayne stepped through. “Well Vista, it is getting dark soon--You best make your way to the Palace.

  I will go back later tonight, so you should go on ahead without me.”

  Vista, did not say another word to his uncle, simply did as he was told--And headed for the Palace of Combat.