Things were calm on the shore of the mysterious island. A place that was once the battlefield for the contestants had long been abandoned as they moved closer inland, towards Mount Corona at the center of the island. However, the serene atmosphere was soon broken as a “tear” appears floating in the air in the middle of the beach. It swiftly grows larger, the location inside being difficult to determine, and a figure walks out of it before it shrinks, and then vanishes completely.
	The one who came out of it was the Striker, Alex. However, his fur is purple, his hair is brown, his eyes are teal, and his clothes are a shoulderless, navy blue long-sleeved shirt and simple blue bell-bottom pants. This significant change in his appearance made it clear that he was currently in his Psychic Sync, meaning that his soul was in perfect tandem with that of someone close to him.
	A short distance away, a small white glow appears floating above the sand. It quickly grows and takes the shape of a person before the glow dims and then fully reveals them, a yellow parasol obstructing their face. The parasol is then shifted from in front of their face to over their shoulder, showing that it is an Espeon, who smiles at Alex.
	The Espeon is wearing a bright purple kimono with dark blue sashes, complimenting their purple fur color. Their hair is long and brown, appearing neat and well-kept, and their eyes are teal. The Espeon is overall quite feminine in appearance, but gives off a strange aura… It is clear that this is no ordinary Espeon.
	Without saying a word, Alex projects his thoughts directly into the Espeon’s mind with his sync’s power: [Thank you for meeting with me on such short notice, Pukachi. I see you even got dressed up for the occasion. And in far more feminine attire than usual, to boot.]
	The Espeon continues their smile and responds in a similar way; [Well, I just figured that since this is a professional competition, I should make sure to look my best. After all, you’re a member of the group sponsoring this event.]
	Sighing a bit, Alex explains, [Well, I thought it was going to be exciting, an awful lot has gone on that I never even dreamed could happen. To be honest, I don’t even know who I can trust anymore… Hence why I suggested we hold this conversation mentally.]
	Still keeping their cheerful expression, Pukachi responds, [Mmyes, I remember. You already gave me all the details. There have indeed been quite a few strange things going on. However, I must admit that you’ve dealt with them quite nicely. In fact, you’ve even managed to make quite some creative use of my powers. I honestly have no idea how you were able to use them without going insane, let alone find a new use for them.]
	Alex smiles weakly and ‘says’, half-jokingly, [Oh, I’m already insane…]
	Chuckling a bit, Pukachi playfully responds, [And you have me to thank for it~! But I digress, I’m somewhat disappointed that you have discovered a power with limitless potential, yet you’re only using it in the most mundane ways. Removing the boundaries between two places for easy travel and creating boundaries for blocking things are all well and good, but you could do so much more with them.]
	[I understand that,] Alex replies, [but to play with any other boundaries risks causing severe, irreversible damage. The last thing I want to do is risk something that could have negative effects on such a grand scale.]
	Pointing their umbrella at Alex, the Espeon ‘tells’ him, [Come now, Alex. You know as well as I do that sometimes you have to take risks. After all, there could easily be a time where the risks of not manipulating a metaphysical boundary could outweigh the risk of using it.]
	Putting their umbrella back over their shoulder, they continue. [I know you often worry about what might happen, but if you worry too much about the future you will only become careless about the present. Then your future is TRULY ruined.]
	Alex looks down and sighs once more before responding. [I know that, I just… Don’t want all my work from the present to end up being all for naught. And I especially don’t want to do anything that would cause problems later on down the line… You’re an Espeon, can’t you at least give me an idea of how everything is going to turn out?]
	[Alex, I’ve told you before that my powers don’t work that way. When I see into the future, I merely see possibilities. I don’t see anything absolute.]
	[I know you keep saying that Pukachi, but… you know better than anyone the kinds of stuff that has happened to me over the years. I have a hard time believing all that was merely random chance.]
	Taking their parasol off their shoulder, Pukachi turns it upside-down and folds their arms over the handle, bending forward so that they appear to be resting their head on the handle. [Mmyes, but none of what happened then is important right now. What’s important is what’s going on in this tournament, and how you plan to deal with it. I know you’re worried about what might happen, but I know for a fact you’ll be fine. After all, you’ve managed to survive fighting a monster thought to be invincible, outsmarted a syndicate that clearly has years of experience when it comes to interrogation, and despite the trust issues the other Strikers seem to have with you and your brother, you’ve managed to survive just fine when the competition you’re running is suddenly turned into a battle to the death right under your nose. I can assure you, regardless of what happens in the future, you will be able to handle it.]
	As soon as they finish, Pukachi returns to their normal position with their parasol over their shoulder, and turns around as they begin to walk away. Alex is surprised by this and holds out his hand as he ‘says’, [W-wait! You’re not going to stay?]
	Pukachi stops walking and turns around a bit as they respond, [You kidding? You of all people should understand why this isn’t exactly an ideal vacation spot. It doesn’t help that I wasn’t particularly interested in the tournament in the first place, even before it was given that significant change.]
	Dropping his hand a bit as Pukachi turns back around to start walking again, he ‘says’, [But… what should I do with so few people on the island I can trust?]
	Walking a bit further away, Pukachi responds, [If it’s that big a deal to you, just stick with Verace.]
	As soon as they finish talking, Pukachi’s body slowly glows into a bright white light before it shrinks into a small orb like it was before and vanishes, the Espeon having teleported far away. Alex just stands there a moment with his head down, deep in his thoughts with an unsure expression on his face. After a few moments he smiles to himself and turns around, making a boundary tear to lead him where he was before as he thinks to himself, [Yes… I suppose they’re right. I should focus more on the things I can do at the present. And I think I know the perfect way to start…]
	And with that, he walks into the portal and it closes behind him.