"The hearts in a deck of cards always represent a choice - for whom are you willing to spill your last drop of blood?"
- Fonk's Quote
"Act I - The Judgement Council
Location: Eastcloud Academy - Restricted Council Chamber (High-level access only)
A long, silver conference table. The Vice Principal is seated with several representatives from the Shēngyu Consortium.
The codename of the operation is "Judgement".
On the wall hangs the latest internal control list for ability users. Nightzora Cang's name is highlighted in red:
[S-Class Otherworldly Factor Host].
"The Queen has awakened. The Jack persona has begun to emerge. If the King persona also emerges... he will be beyond control."
The Vice Principal scans the room with cold eyes.
"We have lost control of the Magic Tower. The entire Magic Club must be sealed off immediately."
A nervous intelligence officer speaks up:
"But Fonk... he's reorganizing the club. He's even contacted old mentors. They could be preparing a counterattack."
Bang.
The vice principal bangs on the table.
"Fonk is no longer a teacher - he is a potential heretic."
Long silence.
Then the headmaster speaks:
"Put Nightzora Cang on the 'Controlled Termination List'. Three days of observation. If instability escalates - activate Zero Protocol."
[Act II - Hearts Assemble]
Location: Outside the Magic Tower - Fonk's Temporary Command Tent
Fonk projects a holographic map onto the table. Three virtual cards float above it:
Jack of Hearts, Queen of Spades, and a shadowed King.
Nightzora Cang stands silently, fragments of his dream still echoing in his gaze.
Fonk looks at him:
"Jack was a trial. Now - what lies ahead is the hostility of the world".
Nightzora Cang answers softly:
"I'm not alone anymore."
One by one, Sayo Hōdō, Karuma Mitō and Kagurain Kuren enter, forming a circle around him.
Fonk smiles faintly and hands over a new emblem.
"As of today, the Magic Club will operate as an independent combat unit.
Codename: Hearts."
He looks around at them:
"You are the hope of the resistance."
"Act III - New Challengers
Same Day - Eastcloud Academy Front Gate
Three new challengers appear from other districts, holding the orders of the Royal Azure Knights and supported by the Consortium.
They are:
4th Challenger: Mirror Marauder Abel - Master of Gravity Reflection Arts; can instantly deflect any attack.
5th Challenger: Apostle of Sin Marian - Masters psychic incantations that distort thoughts and implant illusions.
6th Challenger: Bladeflame Fang Gnoss - Combines swordsmanship with fire-based abilities; rumored to have leveled entire battlefields.
They haven't come to spar - they've come to destroy the Magic Club.
The Magic Club gathers at Dragonfang Field, tension in the air.
Nightzora Cang quietly draws the Queen card, its arcane pattern glowing in his palm.
"No matter who you are... I won't back down."
[Act IV - Echoes of the Dream]
Nighttime
Nightzora Cang stands alone atop the Magic Tower, spinning a custom-made Rubik's Cube given to her by Fonk.
A whisper echoes in the wind:
"Jack... Queen... King... which do you really want to be?"
In his mind, the Jack of Hearts reappears - this time with a half-shattered face.
It is his own.
He begins to understand:
Every awakening, every unlocked card... is slowly erasing the real Nightzora Cang.
King's Shadow
Principal's Office
The Principal is standing at the window, looking at the tower in the distance under the night sky.
In his hand: a never-before-seen golden playing card - King of Diamonds.
He speaks to the Vice Principal in a low voice:
"It's time for the king to awaken."