The kneeling Rift Lord cast a shadow longer than the entire slum plaza.
Its massive body—easily the size of a noble mansion—lay crumpled on cracked cobblestones, wings folded like broken sails, violet flames extinguished. The air still crackled with residual mana, thick enough to taste. Citizens who had hidden in cellars and attics began to peek out, whispering in disbelief.
Kairos stood alone in the center of it all, the Sovereign of Eternity card still warm in his palm. The ethereal king had vanished the moment the command was given, returning to the card with a sound like distant thunder fading into silence.
He flexed his fingers. Power thrummed through his veins—real power, not the pathetic dribble he'd scraped by with for years. His mana pool, once barely enough to summon a defective slime, now felt bottomless.
But he wasn't stupid.
The city lords would come. High-rank summoners. Investigators. Maybe even one of the Seven Sovereign Houses.
They would want answers.
They would want the card.
Kairos slipped the Sovereign into the hidden inner pocket of his cloak—the one sewn specifically for his most valuable possessions (though until today, it had only ever held a few card fragments and a rusted coin). Then he turned and ran.
Not toward the inner city. Not toward the gates.
Deeper into the slums.
He knew these streets better than anyone. Narrow alleys that twisted like veins, rooftops connected by clotheslines and makeshift bridges, underground sewers that hadn't been mapped in centuries. Places nobles wouldn't dare set foot.
As he vaulted over a fallen cart, the first horns sounded in the distance—deep, resonant calls from the central spires. The city's elite forces were mobilizing.
Kairos's mind raced as fast as his feet.
He needed time. Time to understand the card. Time to test its limits. Time to build a real deck.
Because one transcendent card, no matter how broken, wouldn't be enough. Not against what was coming.
He ducked into an abandoned warehouse on the edge of the old plaza, sliding the rusted door shut behind him. Dust motes danced in the faint light filtering through cracked windows. The place smelled of mold and forgotten dreams—perfect.
Kairos leaned against a pillar, catching his breath.
First things first.
He pulled out the Sovereign card again, studying it under the dim light.
The border still shifted impossibly—gold to black to colors that had no name. The artwork depicted the crowned figure seated on a throne made of shattered cards, galaxies swirling in its eyes.
[Card Name: Sovereign of Eternity]
[Rarity: ████████ (Transcendent)]
[Level: 1 (Evolved Once)]
[Attack: ∞ | Defense: ∞ | Mana Cost: Variable]
[Effect: The primordial entity that wove the Gacha System into existence. Commands absolute obedience from all cards and summons below its authority.]
[Decree of the King: 1/1 uses remaining this battle (Resets upon victory)]
[Eternal Evolution: Evolves with each battle won. Current abilities — Dominion (All summoned entities within 500 meters bend to your will for 10 seconds), Kneel (Active).]
[Bond: Eternal. This card cannot be removed from your deck by any means.]
Level 1. Even after forcing a Tier 7 Rift Lord to kneel.
Kairos frowned. The evolution had barely scratched the surface.
He needed more battles. More wins,
But where?
A low rumble shook the warehouse. Through the cracks in the wall, he saw golden barriers rising in the distance—the noble districts sealing themselves off. Airships were launching from the central spires, their searchlights sweeping the slums like predatory eyes.
They were already looking for him.
Kairos cursed under his breath. He needed allies. A way to get stronger fast.
His thoughts flashed to the noble students he'd saved earlier. Elara von Astoria. Cedric Brightblade.
They had seen him fight. They knew he was from the slums.
Would they talk?
Probably. Nobles always talked.
But maybe… maybe he could use that.
A sharp knock echoed through the warehouse—three quick taps, pause, two more.
Kairos tensed, hand hovering over his deck holder.
The door creaked open a fraction.
"Kairos Voss?" a soft voice called. Female?
He stayed silent.
The door opened wider, revealing Lady Elara von Astoria, her silver hair tied back practically now, academy uniform swapped for a dark traveler's cloak. Behind her stood Cedric and two others from the group, all similarly disguised.
Elara's emerald eyes scanned the darkness until they found him.
"We followed the mana signature," she said quietly. "The entire city is talking about the Rift Lord that knelt without a fight. They're saying it's impossible. That someone used a forbidden card."
Kairos didn't move. "And you came here why?"
Cedric stepped forward, expression serious. "Because we owe you our lives. And because… we want to know the truth."
The other two students—a quiet boy with glasses and a fierce-looking girl with short red hair—nodded.
Kairos weighed his options. Trusting nobles was suicide. But he needed information about what was happening in the upper districts. And perhaps… resources.
He stepped into the light.
"The truth is dangerous," he said flatly.
Elara smiled faintly. "So is walking into the slums during a lockdown. Yet here we are."
Cedric pulled a small crystal from his pocket—a communication orb. "The city lords have declared a curfew. All summoners above Rank 3 are being mobilized to search for the 'anomaly.' They think it's a new Rift mutation."
"They're wrong," Kairos said.
The group exchanged glances.
The red-haired girl spoke up. "I'm Mira. Flame affinity. That dragon you made kneel… it wasn't mutation. It was submission. I felt it. Every summoner in the city probably did."
Kairos nodded slowly. "It was a card."
Elara's eyes widened. "What rarity?"
He hesitated. Then decided on partial truth.
"Higher than anything you've seen."
Cedric whistled low. "Mythic? Legendary?"
Kairos just smirked.
Silence stretched.
Finally, Elara stepped closer. "We're not here to report you. We're here because… the Celestial Arena qualifiers start in three months. And rumors say this year's prize is a direct audience with the Card Sovereigns themselves. A chance to petition for anything."
Kairos raised an eyebrow. "And?"
"And," Cedric said, "we think you could win it."
Kairos actually laughed—a short, bitter sound. "Me? A slum rat? They'd never let me enter."
Mira grinned. "That's where we come in. House Astoria has a wildcard slot. One entrant of our choosing. No questions asked."
Elara met his gaze steadily. "Enter under our banner. We'll sponsor you. Gear, training, information—whatever you need. In return… let us stand with you."
Kairos stared at them. This was insane. Nobles sponsoring a slum dweller? It reeked of ulterior motives.
But…
The Celestial Arena.
The greatest stage in the world. Where summoners from every city, every house, every hidden sect clashed in deck battles watched by millions.
Where legends were born.
Where the final prize could rewrite a person's fate.
Thought of breaking the system that had crushed him for years.
"Why?" he asked finally. "Why risk your houses for me?"
Elara's expression turned serious. "Because the current system is broken. The strong get stronger. The lucky dominate. The rest…" She glanced at the crumbling warehouse around them. "The rest are left to die in places like this. My father sits on the Council. I've seen how they decide who gets public gacha access. Who gets academy spots. It's not merit. It's bloodlines and bribes."
Cedric nodded. "And today, a slum summoner with trash cards saved five noble heirs. Then single-handedly stopped a Tier 7 Rift Lord. If that's not proof the system's wrong, I don't know what is."
Mira cracked her knuckles. "Plus, it'll be fun watching the high houses panic when you crush their prodigies."
Kairos studied them for a long moment.
Then he extended his hand.
"Deal. But I have conditions."
Elara clasped it firmly. "Name them."
"One: I reveal my full deck only when I choose. No demands."
"Agreed."
"Two: I keep whatever cards I pull or win. No sharing without my permission."
Cedric smirked. "Fair."
"Three…" Kairos's silver-gray eyes gleamed. "When I reach the top, you help me expose how rigged the gacha allocations really are."
Elara's grip tightened. "Gladly."
Outside, the sound of airships grew louder. Searchlights swept nearby streets.
"We need to move," the quiet boy—introduced as Theo, a support specialist—said urgently. "They're sweeping sector by sector."
Elara pulled a card from her own deck holder. It glowed soft blue—a Rare spatial storage ring card.
"Get in."
Kairos blinked. "You're smuggling me out in a storage space?"
Mira grinned. "Best way to bypass checkpoints. Nobles use them all the time for… less legal cargo."
Kairos shrugged. Beggars couldn't be choosers.
He stepped into the glowing portal that materialized.
Just before it closed, he caught one last glimpse of the kneeling Rift Lord in the distance—still unmoving, as if waiting for its new master's return.
The portal sealed.
And Kairos Voss vanished from the slums.
Hours later, in the opulent upper districts of Eldoria, a secret meeting was taking place in House Astoria's hidden war room.
Lord Astoria—a stern man with Elara's same silver hair—listened to his daughter's report with growing disbelief.
"You brought a slum summoner into our house?"
"I sponsored a potential champion," Elara corrected calmly. "One who forced a Tier 7 Rift Lord to kneel with a single command."
The room fell silent.
Another lord—Cedric's father—leaned forward. "And you're certain this card isn't some new Rift artifact?"
Theo projected a mana recording from his glasses. Grainy footage showed the exact moment the draconic beast crashed down in submission.
Every lord in the room paled.
"That's… impossible," one whispered. "Even the Sovereigns' guardian summons don't have that kind of authority."
Lord Astoria stared at the frozen image of the kneeling monster.
Then at his daughter.
"You're playing a dangerous game, Elara."
She met his gaze without flinching.
"So is he. And I'd rather stand with the one who might actually change things."
Far below, in the sealed storage space, Kairos sat cross-legged in the void-like dimension, surrounded by floating crates of noble supplies.
He pulled out his old deck—the seven trash cards—and laid them in front of him.
Then he placed the Sovereign of Eternity in the center.
The moment it touched the others, faint threads of starlight connected them all.
A system prompt appeared in his vision—something no one else had ever reported seeing.
[Deck Synergy Detected: Sovereign's Influence]
[Offer Evolution Path to subordinate cards? Y/N]
Kairos's breath caught.
He selected Yes.
Light exploded around the seven trash cards.
When it faded, they were… different.
The Limp Slime's card now showed a shadowy, regal ooze wearing a tiny crown.
The fizzling spell card depicted a stable orb of pure mana.
The rusted dagger gleamed like adamantine.
And across each, new text had appeared:
[Mark of the King: This card evolves under the Sovereign's gaze.]