Phila ignored the cold stares around her. She turned her head, her eyes sparkling as she looked at Niobe, who was tying her tool pouch back onto her thigh.
"Do you want to go to the card shop and open packs together?"
There was a hint of barely concealed excitement in Phila's voice.
"Teacher Aki just talked about how important hand traps are, right? Maybe… now I can pull a card like Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring."
She touched her card case, recalling that cold embrace, and a strange sense of confidence welled up inside her. If she could draw Ash Blossom, her Deck would become stronger, and she could better protect her "family."
The hand pulling the zipper paused.
"Card packs?"
Niobe looked up, a trace of awkwardness flashing across her slightly grease-stained face before she shrugged openly.
"Not really."
"Eh? Why?" Phila tilted her head, confused.
Wasn't going to a card shop and opening packs the most normal thing for a Duelist?
"No money." Niobe leaned back casually, pointing at her clothes, which were clean but clearly worn with age. "Packs are basically a bottomless pit. I was thinking of finding a part-time job here at the academy first."
She pinched her chin, planning seriously.
"I do know some vehicle maintenance and mechanical repairs. Since Synchro Academy uses D-Wheels, they should have jobs like that, right? Once I earn some money, I'll figure out how to strengthen my Scrap Deck."
"Money…"
Phila lightly bit her lip, as if thinking about a concept somewhat distant to her.
Niobe looked at Phila's slightly troubled yet cute expression and couldn't help but smile.
"Phila, you're a rich girl, right? Just look at your clothes; you probably don't lack money. A happy family, parents giving you living expenses every month… must be nice."
There was no jealousy in Niobe's tone, only a simple, sincere sense of wonder. After all, for someone from the Satellite area, the idea of "family" was often tied to hunger and ruins.
Hearing that, the excitement in Phila's eyes dimmed.
She lowered her head, her fingers unconsciously grasping the inverted pyramid pendant made of gold on her chest.
"…Actually, my parents haven't contacted me for a while."
"Huh?" Niobe froze.
"Three years ago." Phila spoke softly, her voice calm as if telling someone else's story. "They gave me this charm, then left for work. I don't know what kind of work it was. Anyway, for a long time, I've been living alone."
She pulled out the Millennium Puzzle she always wore from inside her collar and showed it to Niobe.
The golden surface reflected a cold gleam under the classroom's pale lighting.
Raku, who had been floating beside Phila in his semi-transparent spirit form, perked up the moment he heard "three years ago" and saw the Puzzle.
Again, three years ago.
Yumi's incident, the shift in the Spirit World's time flow, Aleister's talk of interference with the worldline… all of it happened three years ago.
And Phila's parents had also disappeared that very year after leaving behind this replica Millennium Puzzle.
That couldn't be a coincidence.
On the other side, Niobe looked at the exquisite golden object, unsure how to respond.
So that's how it is… She swallowed.
Normally speaking, leaving a fifteen-year-old girl alone at home for three years without any contact, without even a phone call meant… they were probably dead.
And this charm looked like a keepsake from the deceased.
But how could she say something like that to the girl in front of her, who seemed as pure as a blank sheet? And judging from Phila's calm tone, she either hadn't considered that possibility at all or was subconsciously rejecting the worst outcome.
Forget it. Better to keep such cruel speculation to herself.
Niobe quickly wiped the sympathy and shock from her face, slapped her thigh, stood up, and smoothly changed the subject.
"How about this! I'll go to the card shop with you!"
She threw an arm around Phila's shoulder, her lively smile blocking the reflection of the Puzzle.
"Maybe I can find a part-time job along the way! Come on, I want to see what high-end card shops have too!"
Hearing that Niobe was willing to accompany her and might even find a job, Phila immediately forgot her earlier gloom.
"Okay!"
The girl nodded happily and followed her newly made, seemingly reliable friend out of the still tense classroom.
Afterward, they arrived at the school's card shop. It was fully automated; you just took a box and paid online or by card.
Phila held a heavy box of card packs and went with Niobe to the rest area in the corner. There were several clean round tables, specifically for Duelists eager to open packs.
"Niobe, these are for you. Thanks for reminding me about D-Wheels earlier; I never thought Synchro Academy would require Riding Duels." Phila took a portion from the box she had just opened and pushed it toward Niobe.
Her smile was a bit shy.
"I haven't bought a D-Wheel yet, but being mentally prepared is important."
"Then I won't hold back." Niobe responded readily, reaching out to take the packs.
"Oh, opening packs? Let me take a look."
Raku, in his semi-transparent spirit form, floated beside Phila.
It felt like watching an unboxing stream. Even though he couldn't touch anything, the anticipation before opening a blind pack was very real.
In his original world, one of his favorite things was sitting in card shops watching people open booster boxes, calculating whether there were any cards worth picking up.
Phila responded softly in her heart, "If you like it, Mr. Spirit, you can try drawing too."
"No, no. I'm just a wandering spirit; I can't even touch them. Things like drawing cards are best done with your own hands. Moments that decide fate are only exciting when you place the bet yourself."
Raku rubbed his hands together, his face full of the excitement of a seasoned card player.
Niobe had already deftly cut open the first pack with a small pair of scissors.
"Junkuriboh, Junk Synchron, Scrap Synchron… oh! Scrap Fist and Effect Veiler?" Niobe pinched the card between her fingers, holding it up to the light as she raised an eyebrow in surprise.
"Looks pretty good. Though I didn't expect Effect Veiler to take a liking to me. I thought a neat and tidy spellcaster like that wouldn't like someone covered in engine grease like me."
"That's not true! Niobe is a very friendly person." Phila defended her new friend earnestly. "Effect Veiler must like you very much to come to you. Watch this! Here I go!"
Phila held her breath and carefully tore open her first pack.
"Ah! Ash Blossom! It actually… it actually came."
Phila stared blankly at the five cards in her hand. Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring was smiling sweetly at her.
"Three Ash Blossoms and two Called by the Grave?" Niobe leaned over to take a look and couldn't help but whistle. "Phila, your luck today is basically royal-level. And Called by the Grave seems to match your Deck theme perfectly, right?"
"Mm, I have a feeling… I'll gain many more companions today."
Phila's previously tense shoulders finally relaxed. She could feel the spirits within her Deck almost cheering. Riding that momentum, she reached for her second pack.
The moment her fingertips touched the wrapper–
Clang!!!
A sharp sting exploded between her fingers. It felt like she had been pricked by a needle.
"Ah!"
She cried out softly, her hand loosening as the cards spilled out onto the table.
One card, emitting a dim, eerie blue glow, lay there in an especially eye-catching manner.
It was Red-Eyes Zombie Dragon Lord.
The black dragon on the card was no longer a pure jet black, but instead resembled charred wood burned to ash, with only embers remaining.
Dark blue spirit flames replaced its flesh, flickering through the gaps in its skeletal frame, forming its wings.
Most chilling of all, the dragon's head in the artwork slowly turned, as if piercing through the surface of the card, locking eyes with Phila.
Red-Eyes Zombie Dragon Lord.
Raku felt a surge of delight.
Within the Zombie Synchro archetype, this was quite a powerful boss monster.
However, his smile didn't last long before he realized something.
"Aleister," he spoke in his mind, his voice low. "If me drawing Eldlich the Golden Lord means my soul is destined to bear that curse, then Phila drawing this card means…"
In midair, the phantom of the summoner who had been watching coldly let out a faint chuckle.
"Partner, congratulations. You changed Phila's original fate, allowing her to fight as a true Zombie Duelist. But because of that–"
Aleister turned to look at the dragon card emitting that ominous blue glow.
"–her path has now been redirected toward an even more difficult destiny. What kind of twisted fate, what kind of suffering, what kind of flames must there be for a dragon king that has returned from death to choose her?"
Phila seemed to sense something as well. Suppressing the lingering numbness in her fingertips, she tremblingly picked up the black dragon card, as if it carried immense weight.
"It… is looking at me."
Phila murmured, the joy in her eyes gradually replaced by an unprecedented seriousness.
Niobe looked at the card, whose art style clearly felt out of place, and put down the Scrap card in her hand, a trace of worry on her face.
"Phila, are you okay? This card… feels really oppressive."
...
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