The ruined chamber inside the pyramid had become almost unrecognizable. Dust continued drifting through the broken ceiling while pieces of ancient stone lay scattered across the floor, and in the middle of it all stood Hero and Kanzaki Reiji, neither willing to give the other enough space to breathe. Hero slowly rotated a card between his fingers while Reiji casually held his two black dice between his knuckles, both of them watching the other with the kind of silence that only appeared when two fighters had already begun studying each other's habits.
Hero finally smiled.
"You've been throwing those dice at my cards for a while now, but you're still not attacking me directly. Are you waiting for something?"
Reiji looked at the card in Hero's hand before answering in his usual calm voice.
"I'm learning how you think. Every card you throw has a purpose, and every time you change cards, you change the way the battlefield behaves. If I rush you without understanding that, I'll eventually make the wrong decision."
Hero laughed softly.
"So you're actually taking me seriously."
"I'd be stupid not to."
Hero's smile widened.
"Good answer."
His fingers suddenly released the card.
FWOOSH!
One Spade shot directly toward Reiji.
Reiji leaned his head aside.
The card passed his face.
Before he could even look back at it, another Spade came from behind.
Reiji ducked.
A third card came from above.
He jumped backward, grabbed one of his dice, and flicked it upward.
CLACK!
The die struck the card and sent it spinning away.
But Hero had already thrown another card.
This one wasn't a Spade.
A Diamond flew toward Reiji.
Reiji moved sideways, expecting an attack.
The Diamond passed him.
Nothing happened.
He frowned.
"That wasn't an attack."
Hero disappeared.
Reiji immediately turned.
Hero emerged from the Diamond behind him, already holding three cards between his fingers.
"Exactly."
He threw them.
The three Spades flew in different directions before suddenly changing their trajectories toward Reiji.
Reiji jumped onto a broken pillar.
One card cut through the stone beneath him.
Another passed over his head.
The third came directly toward his chest.
Reiji caught his second die and threw it.
The die struck the card.
CRACK!
The Spade broke apart.
But Hero was already there.
He appeared beside the pillar using another Diamond and swung his arm, sending a fan of cards toward Reiji at close range.
Reiji pushed away from the pillar.
The cards followed him.
"You're getting annoying."
Hero laughed.
"That's the point."
Reiji landed and immediately rolled both dice across the ground.
They bounced between pieces of rubble before suddenly changing direction.
Hero's eyes narrowed.
The dice came back toward him from opposite sides.
He raised a Club.
The first die struck the card.
The Club flashed and redirected the effect.
The second die was already approaching.
Hero moved his hand.
Another Club appeared.
CLANG!
The die collided with it and bounced away.
Reiji caught both dice.
Hero looked at him.
"You can control their return."
"Of course."
"Interesting."
Hero pulled several cards from his sleeve.
"But you still have to roll them."
Reiji's expression barely changed.
"That's why they're called dice."
Hero suddenly threw every card in his hand.
The chamber filled with cards.
Spades moved like blades.
Clubs curved through the air.
Hearts followed behind them.
Diamonds appeared between the formations.
Reiji looked around.
For the first time, his eyes became slightly sharper.
"That's a lot."
Hero grinned.
"Let's see how good your luck really is."
Reiji threw both dice.
The first bounced against the floor.
The second struck a wall.
They moved unpredictably through the battlefield, smashing several incoming cards apart while Reiji moved between the gaps.
One card.
Two.
Three.
Five.
Seven.
More cards came toward him.
Reiji ducked beneath one, jumped over another, and spun around a third.
Then one Diamond appeared directly in his path.
He immediately changed direction.
Hero appeared from it.
"Expected that, didn't you?"
Reiji's eyes widened.
Hero threw a Spade.
Reiji barely leaned backward.
The card passed over his face.
Hero immediately followed with another.
Reiji blocked it with his forearm.
Then another card appeared behind Hero's hand.
Reiji recognized it.
"Diamond."
Hero smiled.
"Too late."
Hero threw the Diamond.
Reiji expected Hero to teleport again.
Instead, Hero stayed where he was.
The Diamond struck the ground.
A moment later, Hero appeared several meters behind Reiji.
Reiji turned.
"You changed the timing."
Hero shrugged.
"Cards don't have to work the same way twice."
Reiji smiled slightly.
"Now you're becoming interesting."
He rolled one die between his fingers.
Hero watched carefully.
"What did you get?"
Reiji didn't answer.
He threw it.
The die landed.
Four.
Several faint distortions appeared around Reiji.
Hero's expression changed.
"Four?"
Reiji moved.
For a split second, there seemed to be more than one of him.
Hero immediately threw three Spades.
The cards passed through one Reiji.
Then another.
Then another.
"Clones?"
"Not exactly."
The copies disappeared.
Reiji appeared behind Hero.
Hero turned just in time.
A die was already flying toward his card.
CRACK!
The card shattered.
Hero stepped backward.
Reiji caught the returning die.
"You saw three of me, but only one was real."
Hero smiled.
"Temporary repetition."
"Close enough."
Hero raised his hand.
A Diamond appeared.
Reiji immediately threw his die.
Hero threw the Diamond at the same time.
The two objects crossed paths.
The die struck the Diamond.
Hero disappeared.
Reiji looked around.
Nothing.
Then a card struck the ground beside him.
BOOM!
Dust rose.
Hero appeared through the dust.
"Found you."
Reiji jumped backward.
Hero threw another Spade.
Reiji dodged.
Another.
He ducked.
Another.
He twisted.
Hero kept throwing them.
Reiji kept moving.
The battle had stopped looking like a normal fight.
It had become a constant exchange of prediction.
Hero tried to force Reiji into unfavorable positions with cards.
Reiji tried to break Hero's formations with perfectly timed dice.
Neither was using their strongest abilities.
Neither wanted to reveal everything.
They were testing.
Learning.
Waiting.
Then Hero stopped.
Reiji stopped too.
For several seconds, they simply stared at one another.
Hero slowly placed a card between his fingers.
Reiji held both dice in his palm.
Hero spoke first.
"You're not fighting like someone who trusts luck."
Reiji looked at him.
"Because I don't."
Hero's eyebrows lifted.
Reiji continued, his voice calm.
"Luck gives you an opportunity. Skill determines what you do with it."
Hero smiled.
"Then we're not so different."
He raised the card.
"We both turn opportunities into weapons."
Reiji's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Maybe."
Hero threw the card.
Reiji threw his dice.
The card and dice collided in the center of the chamber.
KRAK!
A shockwave pushed dust across the floor.
And neither fighter moved away.
They simply stared through the smoke.
The real battle was only beginning.
---
Far away from the pyramid, Ishika remained trapped inside the strange red crystalline chamber.
The walls around her reflected her image from countless angles, making the room feel much larger than it actually was. She had been searching for an exit for what felt like hours, but every path seemed to return her to the same place.
Then she heard footsteps.
Ishika immediately turned.
Someone was approaching.
She stepped backward and watched the figure enter the chamber.
She didn't attack.
Instead, she studied him.
Her ability wasn't meant for controlling an entire person like a puppet. That wasn't how it worked. Ishika could infiltrate someone's body and interfere with specific internal processes, allowing her to weaken certain movements, disrupt concentration, induce a poison-like effect, or briefly influence a particular action if she could establish enough control. The more complicated the interference became, the more difficult it was for her to maintain it.
And that meant she needed to choose her targets carefully.
Ishika slowly raised her hand.
The mysterious figure stopped.
He looked toward her.
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then Ishika smiled faintly.
"You're not going to tell me who you are?"
The man remained silent.
Ishika's expression became more serious.
"Fine."
She took one step forward.
"Then I'll find out myself."
The red crystals surrounding them began reflecting the two figures from every direction.
And somewhere beyond the chamber...
something else was already watching.