"Okay, I was... trying to figure out what was different about our bond," I explained. "All the other bonds are just... there. Yours seems to be encased in some sort of crystal or something."

"Crystal? That does not... I cannot see how that could be true." Amura replied.

"Yeah, I'm going to see what I can do about it," I explained.

She watched with interest as I sat down.

I tried not to focus too hard on the bond itself but on the crystals instead. For a second, the crystals seemed normal, and then I saw it. It wasn't a singular structure, it was a series of geometric patterns, and...