The presence above them didn't move, but the air felt heavier. Hikaru adjusted his glasses, his fingers twitching toward his deck as he studied the shadowed figure perched on the crumbling stone above. It wasn't just watching—it was waiting. The way it remained perfectly still, the way its presence seemed to blend with the surrounding darkness, sent a single thought racing through his mind.
This thing isn't human.
Budi's voice was quiet, measured. "Hikaru. Tell me you have a plan."
Hikaru smirked, flicking a card between his fingers. "I always have a plan."
Aldric hadn't moved, but Hikaru could tell from the way his hand hovered near his sword that the knight wasn't underestimating their new guest. That meant one thing—he knew what this thing was. Selene's silver eyes were locked onto the figure, her fingers twitching subtly toward her spell sigils. The fact that she hadn't attacked yet meant she was assessing—which was exactly what Hikaru was doing too.
Then, finally, the figure spoke.
"You should not have come here."
The voice was strange—not deep, not high, not distorted. Just… wrong. It wasn't natural, as if the words didn't originate from its throat but from somewhere else entirely. Hikaru had dealt with plenty of liars, deceivers, and tricksters in his time, but this was different. This thing wasn't lying. It simply didn't need to.
Hikaru grinned. "Yeah, people keep saying that. Yet, here we are."
The figure moved. Not a shift, not a slow adjustment. One second it was above them, the next it was standing on the ground, mere meters away. There was no sound. No rush of air. No flicker of movement. Just instant displacement.
Budi exhaled through his nose. "I hate that."
Aldric finally spoke, his voice even. "Shadow Stalker."
Selene stiffened. "An assassin?"
Aldric's expression darkened slightly. "Worse."
The Shadow Stalker tilted its head slightly, its entire form flickering at the edges, as if it wasn't completely here. Then, for the first time, it moved toward Budi.
"You are the one they seek."
Hikaru immediately flicked his wrist, a card slipping into his palm. [Skill Activated: ♠10 – Phantom Shuffle]
In an instant, five versions of Hikaru flickered into existence, all moving in different directions, their motions smooth, unpredictable. A normal person's eyes would be tricked into chasing the wrong one.
The Shadow Stalker ignored all of them.
Hikaru cursed under his breath. This thing wasn't just using normal sight.
Budi didn't wait. He moved, shifting his stance as his mask changed. In the blink of an eye, his aura sharpened, his posture heavier—his entire presence shifted into something completely different.
The Shadow Stalker stopped.
For the first time, its voice contained something close to emotion.
"...Interesting."
Budi exhaled, flexing his fingers. "Yeah, I get that a lot."
Selene moved, silver sigils flaring around her as she prepared a containment spell, but before she could cast it, the Shadow Stalker vanished again.
Hikaru felt it.
Not movement. Absence.
He twisted, reacting purely on instinct—[Skill Activated: ♦5 – Counter Mirage]—his body flickered, swapping places with an illusion an instant before a blade sliced through where he had just stood.
The Shadow Stalker reappeared behind him, its knife buried in empty air.
Hikaru clicked his tongue. "Rude."
Budi didn't waste time. He lunged. His mask flickered, shifting mid-movement, his strength doubling in an instant. His strike should have landed, but the Shadow Stalker shifted again—not dodging, not teleporting. Something else.
Aldric finally moved. His sword left its sheath in a single motion, faster than the eye could track. The sheer force of the draw sent a shockwave through the chamber, dust and debris scattering as the blade sang through the air—but the Shadow Stalker was already gone.
A voice echoed through the chamber, but this time, it came from everywhere.
"You cannot stop what has begun."
Hikaru flicked another card into his hand. "Okay, I've had enough of the creepy whispering."
Aldric wasn't listening to him. The knight's grip on his sword was firm, steady. He wasn't reacting out of fear—he was calculating. Which meant he had fought something like this before.
Selene's silver eyes narrowed. "It's stalling."
Budi's muscles tensed. "For what?"
Aldric exhaled. "For them."
The shadows in the chamber began to shift.
Not one figure.
Not two.
More.
Hikaru's smirk remained, but his mind was racing. This wasn't a fight anymore.
It was a trap.
Budi muttered under his breath, "This is going to suck, isn't it?"
Hikaru grinned. "Absolutely."
Then the shadows attacked.
The chamber erupted into chaos.
Hikaru moved first, flicking a card into the air. [Skill Activated: ♠7 – Weighted Deck]—gravity itself shifted for a split second, throwing off the approaching figures just enough for Budi and Selene to reposition.
Aldric was already cutting through the darkness, his greatsword moving with precision, carving through the impossible shapes as they lunged from the shadows.
Budi's mask flickered again, his movements becoming faster, more fluid, dodging strikes that should have been unavoidable. His mask was reacting. Adapting.
Selene's magic flared, silver chains lashing out, capturing two of the shadow figures before they could close in.
Hikaru's mind processed everything.
They weren't fighting enemies.
They were fighting reflections.
Each of these things moved like distorted echoes—familiar but twisted, mimicking the shapes of warriors that had once stood in this very chamber.
The Forgotten Ones weren't just buried.
They had left pieces of themselves behind.
Hikaru exhaled. "Alright. New plan."
Budi blocked an incoming strike, barely dodging another. "You have a plan?!"
Hikaru grinned. "Nope. But I do have an idea."
He reached into his deck and drew.
Not randomly. Intentionally.
One card.
[Skill Activated: ♠A – The House Always Wins]
The entire chamber distorted.
For a single moment—reality flickered.
And the shadows hesitated.
Hikaru smirked.
Checkmate.